Oh boy...

Tonight Addy decided it was time to show Mommy and Daddy who really is boss.

I decided to get in the tub with her at bath time. Jamie wanted a break from bathing her and it's hard on my poor ol' prego back to lean over the tub, so I figured I'd just get in with her. We were splashing and playing and having fun when she stopped to point at my nose. I've been teaching her different body parts (okay, the nose is only the second), but when you ask her where her tummy is, she pats it, and the nose is the one we've been working on now.

So anyways, she's pointing to my nose and I said "Nose" to her a couple of times, when out of nowhere the little bugger rams her finger up my nose and holy mama does the blood start gushing. Instant tears to the eyes, I'm telling you! lol

So first Mommy gets beat up, but then it was Daddy's turn.

He got her out of the tub, all dried and in pj's and into bed. She fussed for a bit and then made a noise that sounded too much like barfing for him to not go check (I was still in the tub nursing my poor nose at this point). So he went in and she had barfed everywhere. One end of the crib to the other and she wasn't done. She barfed the whole way to the bathroom and a fair bit in the toilet once he got her there.

So then I got to give her another bath, while Jamie had the biggest barf explosion ever to clean up.

Okay, Addy, we get it...You are the one with the power. *sigh*

Ultrasound Update

Well, we had our ultrasound today and apparently the baby is now right on track size-wise. So either last time they were wrong, this time they're wrong or else the baby has really not been growing much in the last 4 weeks.

But everything looks good. Or everything that she could see anyways. It's a tad bit cramped in there. Hmmm. Imagine that. Baby is head down, which is what the doctor had thought, so that wasn't really much of a surprise. Plus I continue to get kicks up in the right side of my ribs, so I was sure he/she had to be head down.

The tech also gave the impression that she knew the sex, but I was very clear from before that point that we do not know and do not want to know, so we are still in the dark and I'm definitely glad about that.

We all seem to be in bad moods around here. I am impatiently waiting for it to be everybody's bedtime.

A Week To Go

I don't have much interesting to say today (although, do I every have anything actually interesting to say??), but I thought I would post anyways because today is 1 week away from my c-section.

I am feeling excited and nervous, and I am also really surprised that the days don't seem to be dragging on and on. I guess I have alot to keep me busy what with all the appointments and getting things ready for Addy's party on Saturday, but I still find it surprising how quickly the days are flying by.

Tomorrow is the ultrasound. It will be the last one before the baby is born and I am hoping that as with all the others, the baby is modest and keeps those legs closed. I do not want to know what it is and because we've come this far, it would be a big disappointment to accidentally find out.

I am slowly getting everything ready around here for our new arrival. It's been tough because between all the baby prep and party prep there is an insane amount to do, but little by little I get my list shorter each day. Tomorrow will probably not be very constructive but I have all day Friday and then Saturday morning to do the last minute tidying and other things I didn't get to. And whatever I don't have ready for the baby can always be done Sunday (assuming cleanup from the party doesn't take too much time) and Tuesday. And that day I will also have to remember to get my stuff ready too. Yoi!

I suppose it's good that these last couple of weeks before the baby's arrival have been busy because then the chaos that I know awaits me shouldn't be such a huge adjustment. Right?

Today Sucks

Today feels like a Monday. I think I should have just stayed in bed, and said to hell with everything and slept the day away.

I napped too long yesterday and it was close to 2am before I fell asleep. Jamie let me sleep in and I woke up at about 9:30. First we get a call from my sister or brother-in-law (not too sure which one) that they needed a boost, so Jamie goes to head over there and gets the car stuck trying to get out in the 10 million feet of fresh snow we have. Somehow, it's my fault he got stuck and I get yelled at every time he comes into the house in another new and wonderful hissy fit because no matter what he does he can't get out.

Then he goes to the town to complain about the snow not being removed yet (which I understand because 90% of the other streets are done, but now they've quit working on getting it cleared because "it's too cold"), but that goes about as well as the getting the car unstuck, so then I get to hear all the yelling and whining about what an a-hole this new foreman is.

Both of our moms were here for lunch and although I wasn't really all that hungry, I figured I should have something to eat. Because there were 4 of us plus Addy, Jamie made 3 cans of soup. My mom was the only one who had dished hers and I went to pick up the bowl and spilt the entire 3 cans (minus 1 bowl) all down the front of myself.

And no sooner than that mess gets cleaned up and I sit down to eat my soggy grilled cheese sandwich, Addy shoves her fingers down her throat and barfs up her entire lunch.

So now this afternoon I am feeling very grouchy and emotional, not to mention exhausted, and Jamie won't stay home long enough to help with anything. How is it that he wasn't even supposed to have today off, yet he still ends up with sooooooo many things to do that he can't stay home for even 5 minutes. Men.

In The Homestretch

Today was my last prenatal appointment. Beforehand we went into the hospital and had a non-stress test done. Everything looked good with the baby and no contractions to speak of (just my usual "irritable uterus"). The doctor said everything seems fine with the baby. I'm measuring large but that's no surprise.

I have an ultrasound on Thursday just to see the size and position of baby. Then on Monday I have to go into the hospital again to have the bloodwork done for the bloodbank stuff for the surgery. I'm also supposed to get my blood pressure and protein checked that day, and then we will be good to go ahead with the c-section on the Wednesday. Only 9 days to go!

Addy's birthday party is this Saturday and I'm very excited for it, although a little stressed too. There's alot to get done before, but as it happens this cold weather has gotten Jamie put off work until further notice, so I at least have his help to get the house in shape for all the company we will be having. Fortunately we were able to get a fair bit done yesterday, so that leaves me with a much shorter list for the week.

Mozart and Casper we supposed to go see the groomer tomorrow but she cancelled because of the weather. I guess she's had dogs get sick before when they get groomed when it's so cold out. But she said that she'll for sure get us in before the 6th. I'm hoping it will be this week before the party so that we have clean, good-smelling dogs when we have a houseful of people.

This morning I was feeling a little under the weather, but after having a long nap this afternoon when we got home, I feel better. I'm almost there now, so I am trying to concentrate on the finish line and not how difficult this last bit of pregnancy is. The emotional rollar coaster is here to stay for awhile I think. Feeling so miserable (yes, I know, pregnancy is a wonderful thing, but I feel like I've been pregnant for almost 2 years and this part of pregnancy no matter how smoothly it goes, is nowhere close to being fun) has made me a bit of a basketcase, and it doesn't take much to make the tears flow. And I seem to be in a neverending grouchy mood, but I am trying to hang in there and be pleasant and happy.

2 Weeks To Go

Today is 2 weeks exactly until Baby Day. I am soooooooo very excited. Oddly enough, most of my excitement is revolving around not being pregnant anymore. Other than for a 3-month break in between having Addy and getting pregnant again, I basically have been pregnant since May of 2006. That's over a year and a half. And anyone who has had a baby knows that 3 months is barely long enough to get through the post-partum stage, it's certainly no break.

Actually, I find it very strange that still at this stage it hasn't really sunken in that I am going to have another baby. That in 2 weeks I won't just be not pregnant anymore, but that I will have a newborn. With Addy, every time I saw a baby or a picture of a baby I would get excited because I knew I was going to have one, but this time, it just hasn't seemed to click. Sometimes it does, but for the most part it doesn't. I suppose that probably has to do with the fact that this pregnancy has brought on so many mixed emotions. I certainly was not ready to get pregnant and have another baby, so the adjustment to the idea of adding to our family again so soon has been a difficult one.

I have been having alot of B.H. contractions today. They're very irregular and vary in intensity and length, but they are definitely noticeable. My low back and hips are also alot more sore than usual today as well. And every so often I get this pain in my lower abdomen. It's like a stabbing pain and I know it is my muscles going through hell and letting me know. Not so pleasant.

Today we went and met with the lady who did our wedding cake and my baby shower cake about getting her to make Addy's birthday cake. The plates, cups, napkins, invitations, etc we got are all pastel colors with a teddy bear, and the streamers and balloons are all pink, purple and yellow, so we ordered a 9x13 inch cake that will be white with pink, purple and yellow decorations and say 'Happy 1st Birthday, Addy" and then for her individual cake we ordered a 3D teddy bear. It's fairly big (she said it's about as much cake as a 9x13) but it's so cute I couldn't resist. So that will be pink. One of the pictures she had was actually the bear on a 2-tiered cake and it was really hard for me to resist getting that, but that would just be too much cake.

So the party is a week from Saturday. The dogs are going in to be groomed 4 days beforehand so I think I will pick up what party food I can that day, and that will give Jamie less to do on the morning of. His list for that morning is already long...Pick up the cakes in town here, go to Veg to get a haircut, the rest of the food and the helium balloons. And then of course there is the cleaning up and decorating to do at the house as well as getting all the food ready. So it will be a busy day, but she's only going to turn 1 once, so it is definitely all going to be worth it.

Anyways, the laundry is calling so I'm off to take care of it.

TGIF

Finally, it is Friday and I am soooooo happy. It will be so nice to get to have Jamie around for a few days and help me out. And after today, I really need the help. I had a rough day. Started out good and I felt fine, but at about 11:00am I went to do some laundry and as I was moving the stuff from the washer into the dryer, I started to feel really dizzy and like I could pass out. I went and laid down for a bit to see if it would help. I was feeling a little better and wanted to get the laundry done before Addy finished her bottle, so I got back up, started and it came back worse than before. So I checked my blood pressure and it was fine, but my pulse was in the 140's. I don't get why my pulse is always so high when I am pregnant. But that is high even compared to what it has been and I really wasn't doing anything. I mean, there is not alot of exertion is moving clothes from the washer to the dryer. I felt like my heart was going to burst right out of my chest.

And after that I just felt like crap the entire day. Luckily Addy slept a looooooooong time this afternoon after having slept in late, so I got to lay down and even was able to fall asleep once my sciatica calmed down. I haven't had any problems with my sciatica in probably close to a month, but today it came back with a vengeance. But after laying down and switching positions and tossing and turning and cursing for about an hour, it calmed down enough that I could relax and fall asleep.

Today Jamie's car also had a little incident. I hate when new cars break down. He was on his way to work and he said about 10 minutes out the heater crapped out on him, and when he got to work and tried to see if he could figure out what was wrong, all the antifreeze was gone. So maybe a hose blew or something? I don't know. Fortunately we have roadside assistance so he had it towed and it is sitting in St. Paul waiting for them to take a look at it.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day because we have to take the Torrent into Veg for an oil change for 9:00am, and then I have some shopping to do and then, if all goes well, we will get to drive all the way to St. Paul to pick up the car. So I imagine I will be exhausted by this time tomorrow.

And then Sunday is my birthday. We're having a little dinner thing at my mom's. Nothing big, just enough so we can say we celebrated. That's all I wanted and Jamie and Mom were happy with that.

Monday I see the doctor again. I have to go to the hospital first for an NST and then over to the clinic from there. Hopefully everything still looks good and we can continue with the plan for the c-section on February 6th. Only 19 days to go!

Only Wednesday?

I think today is, or is going to be, one of those days. I am feeling exhausted already, Addy is kind of crabby and I just want it to be the weekend already.

I am feeling full of aches and pains today. As usual, my hips, back and pelvis are all killing me, but this morning I also woke up with incredibly sore thighs. I feel like I ran a marathon. There is also a limb of some sort sticking up into my ribs and it hurts. This part of pregnancy really sucks.

Tonight I will have to cope without Martina. I am hoping my mom will stay and help me get Addy into bed. I do okay until bathtime rolls around. It is virtually impossible for me to bathe her with my back feeling the way it does. And even if I managed to get through the bath, I doubt afterwards I could pick her up or carry her. So we will see.

She is supposed to be napping right now, but being the stubborn girl she is, she's resisting. So I think I'll go get her out of bed and let her have lunch and we can try again afterwards. That way, I might get to have a little snooze too.

Still Alive

My blog has been suffering lately because I have been feeling very rundown and Addy has been keeping me busy. I was not expecting it to be so hard to get used to looking after her again, but after almost 2 weeks and spending that time resting all day, it has been challenging.

I had an appointment with Dr. Potgeiter yesterday and all is good. No protein and my blood pressure was in the 120/70 range, so nothing to complain about there. We scheduled the c-section for February 6th and he sent me up to the hospital for bloodwork, a non-stress test and to fill out the paperwork for the surgery with the nurses. I have to go for weekly bloodwork and NST's now but I was expecting that so it was no surprise to hear it. I went through all the paperwork with one of the nurses and got all my instructions and we're good to go. They checked my blood pressure at the hospital and it was high (like 164/91 high) but I said it was fine at the office and I wasn't surprised it was high because I was having to be out and about instead of resting (both of which were true) so she didn't seem so concerned then.

We had planned to have Addy's birthday party on her actual birthday because we were expecting the baby to be almost 2 weeks by then, but because of when they had to book my ultrasound and working around that for the surgery, I will probably still be in the hospital on her birthday. So I originally thought we'd have it 2 Saturdays before, but Jamie wants to have it on February 2nd, so that's when it shall be. Ironically, that was the day I was sure she was going to be born on. So I have lots of prep work for that, but I have lots of help so that's good.

I have been feeling not too bad. Very tired and rundown, but that's to be expected. It's hard enough to be this pregnant, let alone having another baby to care for. And I feel huge. My back always hurts, my hips and pelvis are killing me, and no one (not even the nurses at the hospital) can believe I am only as far along as I am. This is going to be a big baby.

But anyways, as long as I rest and take things easy, I feel not too bad. And that's what the doctor said to do. He didn't say bedrest, just to take things easy, and that's what I have been doing ever since I got home.

So the countdown is on. 22 more days until the baby arrives (assuming everything goes smoothly and he/she doesn't have to come early) and 25 days until my baby girl turns 1. *sniff sniff*

First Full Day Home

These last 2 weeks have been such a crazy and insane whirlwind, I don't even know where to begin. After going to walk-in at the clinic on the 27th, I found myself stuck in the hospital in Viking with pre-eclampsia...AGAIN. Didn't I suffer enough the first time? Apparently not.

I was stuck in Viking until the following Wednesday. At that point they decided I was too high risk and likely to have to deliver early and because I was only 33 weeks along, they were just not equipped to deal with me. My doctor wanted to send me to either the Grey Nuns or the Royal Alex, but as "luck" would have it, the only hospital in the city with a bed for me, and a bed for the baby in the NICU was the Misericordia. Where I spefically said I did not want to go. But my doctor promised he would do everything he could to not send me back to the moron I had last time, and off I went.

The day we got there, I met with the OB I was referred to, Dr. Tsui, and she said that she could not see me going even a week without having to deliver. She had recommended to my regular OB before sending me that I get the 1st of the two steroid shots to develop the baby's lungs. She gave a clear impression that she was figuring the baby would be born on Friday, which would give the steroids just enough time to work.

Thursday morning I had an ultrasound and found out that the baby was breech, and also very big. It's measuring 2 weeks ahead in size. We met with a pediatrician specializing in preemies that day as well, and got an overload of information on what to expect from a baby at 33 weeks gestation, but it really was not as bad as either of us were thinking.

And then we got to wait. And wait. And wait some more. I ended up there until yesterday, which was one week after I had arrived. They let me go home because my labs had improved and my blood pressure had been stablized (thanks to the meds they started me on in Viking). It was so bizarre to be leaving the hospital still pregnant when we had been assured that the baby would be born by this time.

Actually, it was bizarre to just be at the Mis period. They had me in the post-partum wing and the last time I was there was when Addy was born. I spent a fair bit of time in labor and delivery too getting what seemed like a million non-stress tests, and it was really bizarre to be over there as well. This year has flown by, and being there and having all the memories of Addy's birth and her first few days of life come flooding back was overwhelming and made it that much more obvious how quickly time really is passing.

Anyways, Martina spent last night here with me and is spending tonight too to help me out with Addy. I am so huge and uncomfortable and my back is constantly killing me, that I have a really tough time moving around and it is really difficult for me to carry Addy, so she has been helping me while Jamie is on nights. The days have been okay. Yesterday afternoon the 3 of us just slept, and Martina came over after work so I didn't have to deal with Addy alone. And today Addy was quite content to spend most of the day playing in her playpen, and when she wasn't doing that she was either in her high chair for a meal or in bed napping. She let me get a good nap in this afternoon so that was nice, and then Martina was back over after work.

It feels so good to be home. Yesterday when we got here, Addy went down for her nap right away, and Jamie needed to get some sleep before his shift and I was tired as well, so him and I crawled into bed and I just started crying. I did so well when I was in the hospital (only cried twice and that was thinking about how much I missed Addy) but once I got home I realized how homesick I really had been and how grateful I was to be home (plus, I really wasn't expecting to be able to go home), and I just couldn't hold it it.

But now I am here and I'm very grateful to be able to be at home and I have been cherishing the time I am getting to spend with Addy. Until I was hospitalized, we had never been apart for more than a few hours and never overnight, and it was so incredibly hard to be away from her. So now I am so appreciative of the time I am getting to spend with her, even if I am dealing with a nasty headache (which I have had for the last 2 weeks) and am so pregnant I feel like I could explode. It was really important to me to get to spend some quality time with her, just her and me, before the new baby arrives, and I am very happy that we are getting to do that.

I see my regular OB on Monday, so we will see what his plans are with the baby's arrival. Because it is breech and because of my now high blood pressure, I know it will have to be a c-section, so I am anxious to find out when it will be. He had said before they transferred me that hopefully I could stay pregnant and have a section in Viking at 37 weeks, but I am kind of hoping he will go with 36 weeks. I would rather go earlier than later so that I have less chance of ending up in the hospital on bedrest again, and also I don't know how much more of carrying around this baby my body can handle. I am already feeling like an 80 year old with killer arthritis.