37 Weeks

Today was Mother's Day. I'm so thankful for my mom and Ben's mom too, and really for all the mothers in our lives who shaped us and our family. I hope I was paying attention all these past years, because I'm close to needing all their wisdom to put into practice myself!

Yep, this weekend I made it to 37 weeks! General consensus says this is full-term, although 38 weeks is the mark according to some sources. Either way, our baby boy is green-lit to safely arrive any time, from tomorrow (I'm not quite ready for that) until I get close to 42 weeks (I'll be way more than ready by then). Of course I'm under strict non-medical orders from my sister to keep a lock-down on Sweet Baby James until after her masters-program graduation in two weeks. I've assured her I'll do the best I can!

For my almost-a-mother's day gift, Ben took me to the mall to complete our family set of grey Chucks. I had posted previously about how we received tiny baby shoes to match Ben's favorite pair, and I am so excited to have my very own now! Here's me on the left (or I guess on the top):

Yesterday I had a little shower with some ladies from church. It was such a sweet afternoon and everyone was so generous. After that, Ben and I got a few remaining needed items at Target and on their website. I'm getting close to having the nursery ready and will take some pics and post them soon. I did remember to ask Ben to take my picture before I left for the shower. This belly is serious business! Or as we like to joke around the house, does this dress make me look pregnant?

The other news from this past week was that, after all the drama of Tuesday and the hospital, I had a follow-up ultrasound on Thursday afternoon and the results were GREAT! He aced his BPP, 8 out of 8 points, and the amniotic fluid levels were at almost 12. So far I've been at 6, 6, 5, and 7, so 12 was such an exciting improvement! I drank over a gallon of water on Wednesday, which I'm convinced must have helped. So if anyone else has low amniotic fluid, and they tell you to drink a lot of water, they mean a LOT of water! This week I will just have a regular check-up and no other tests. Praising God for this development!

You Little Stinker!

Sweet, Ornery Baby James,

Alright, look you. I'm beginning to think you have quite the little personality in there already and you're not even born yet. All these little spooks and scares you've been giving us have, thus far, turned out to be false alarms, and yesterday was the biggest one yet.

To back up a little, last week we had two great appointments with good reports at each. At the appointment with the midwife on Tuesday, we got hooked up to the monitor. You looked great - healthy and normal. My tummy measured right as it should. And as an added bonus, my Group B Strep test was negative. Then on Friday we had a special ultrasound called a Biophysical Profile (BPP). They measure you as usual, and measure the amniotic fluid, but also look at your movement, your positioning, and the strength of your practice breathing. You, my dear, aced it all with flying colors. They estimated you had grown to over six pounds, little chunk! You were moving around a lot, and doing lots of good practice breathing getting your little lungs ready for the outside world. And the best news of all: my amniotic fluid levels had gone up to seven. That's still on the low end, but a nice improvement over the previous week. So we had lots to celebrate last week!

Yesterday we went in for our regular 36 week check-up with the midwife. I got hooked up to the monitor again. After the first 20 minutes, Lauren said she didn't really like what she was seeing. Your little heart was thumping away, but it was staying on the highest end of normal, and when the read-out showed I'd had a little contraction, your heart-rate had dipped down briefly. Neither of those things are desirable. She explained that the normal heart-rate is usually between 120-160, and it is best to have a baseline with little jumps and leaps that correspond with your movement. Since your heart-rate appeared to dip with my contraction, she said that could be a sign that you weren't very comfy in there and could use more fluid to cushion you. She had us remain on the monitor for another 20 minutes to see what would happen, but there was no change. After looking it all over again, she decided she would send us over to the hospital to be admitted. Thank goodness your dad was with me, because otherwise I probably would've lost it. Lauren explained that at the hospital they could give me IV fluids and monitor me for a longer time so they could watch for improvement. She said they might also choose to do a BPP ultrasound to check on you more. I would also be able to meet another one of the midwives, Lori, who was currently on call at the hospital.

So off we went to the hospital! Which was, conveniently, right around the corner. In a way it was a good little trial run for when we have to go in for the real deal. We figured out where to park and where we would check in. I got admitted and put in a room with a comfy bed and the nurse hooked me up to their bigger, fancier monitor. Ben happened to have his computer, so we got that hooked up to the free wi-fi and watched some shows on Hulu while we waited! The nurse also had to put in an IV, in the back of my hand, which really hurt! She apologized profusely. We got the fluids started and then it was just a waiting game. The midwife on call was in the middle of a delivery so I'd have some good time to be monitored. When the nurse came to check after about an hour she commented on how great you looked. We could tell a difference based on what Lauren had described too. This time, you were bouncing around and your heart-rate was correspondingly jumping up too. It was staying in the 120-160 range, too. And there wasn't any dipping when the monitor recorded contractions. After a couple hours and one liter of fluids, the midwife Lori came to check on us. Once again, she thought you looked great! She didn't think I needed more fluids and after consulting with the doctors, they agreed that I could be discharged and not get a BPP ultrasound that day, but just continue with the one I already had scheduled for later this week.

So home we went! We decided you must have wanted some extra attention and knew just how to get it. I am so thankful that you are okay, and I'll take all the reassurance they can give me, but I'd prefer if it was just smooth sailing from here and no more false alarms from you, mister! That's a direct order from your momma here.

I can't believe it is such a short time until we will be meeting you face to face. Less than four weeks till my due date now. Can you just behave yourself a little longer?!

Love,

Momma

Brownie Batter and Fake Bling

My cravings of late seem to have taken a turn from cheese and pasta to the sweet stuff. Specifically, I've been wanting chocolate icecream or brownie batter. Not brownies. Brownie BATTER. I get the fancy pasteurized eggs so I can make the batter and eat it safely. I try to eat only a little, though, and then bake the rest. But honestly, once it is baked, I don't have much interest!

In other news, my rings were getting a little tight, so rather than get to a point where they might have to be forcibly removed from my fingers, I went ahead and took them off. Now I'm wearing a "placeholder" set I got from Dillards for $25. I got them a little big so there's room for the dreaded third trimester swelling. I also got them a little... bling-ier than my actual wedding set. What's the point of fake diamond jewelry if you're not going to have a little fun? Still, I miss not wearing my real rings and am hoping to find a pretty long chain to wear them around my neck.

Two more weeks and I'll be in my third and final trimester... where has the time gone?!!