37 Weeks and 6 Days...

Is it really true???  I never dreamed Baby Kate would stay inside so long... I'm thrilled!!!  I want her to stay inside as long as possible, but I also don't want to miss Christmas at home with the other kids, so she either needs to come this week or wait for her Scheduled C Section on the 27th... otherwise, we will spend Christmas at the hospital... which we will survive of course, but will not be the same as Christmas at home...


I just posted on Facebook:
I'm really ambivalent- one minute I want her here, the next minute two weeks sounds too soon... but I have a bunch of kids who want her here NOW and before Christmas... I hate the thought of being away from our other kids on Christmas... I wish she would be guaranteed to wait until after Christmas, but the suspense is fun as well... wondering if this is the night or not...


Baby Kate's scheduled C Section is two weeks from today... I don't want this pregnancy to be over... I want to keep her safe and warm inside of me...enjoying every movement... I also want to have the extra time I have at the moment to enjoy Sarah and Anna climbing all over my tummy and lap... I know I will need time to heal from a C Section and those knees, elbows, and feet will cause some serious pain...  I've been trying to sit down and snuggle the girls as often as they will... last night they spent over an hour sitting with me and playing with their toys on my lap... Sarah had tremendous fun shoving Albert Pulhol's statue in her Fisher Price cookie jar... both enjoyed playing with the pretend thermometer as well... Anna would take it out of Sarah's hand, run away with the most adorable devilish grin, and Sarah would yell, "Ann na, Ann na, Ann Na" then Anna would giggle as she brought it back...


I'm feeling great... recovered from my " insane hopping episode" on Saturday... which was just stupid and caused tremendous muscle pain in muscle's I didn't know existed... hoping she stays put for two more weeks!!!


This afternoon, we have our weekly appointments for monitoring and with the doctor, and do not anticipate any news that will cause today to be THE DAY... although it is the Feast of St. Lucy and her middle name IS Lucile...

Anxiety...

slept through the night for the first time that I can remember... it felt so good to go to sleep when it was dark out and wake with the sun out...I don't even think I got up to go to the potty...


I was still so exhausted that I took a nap in the late morning...


Now it's 11:19... I am nervous about getting an epidural... I'm nervous about being in the operating room and seeing all of the nurses in full operating gear... I don't want to go back to the hospital... I just want to wake up one morning and have Baby Kate next to me... I don't want for her to leave my body... I think I'm a mess... I hate the thought that she will be here in 16 days or less... if we put off the scheduled C Section, we will have to pay our $4,000. insurance deductible in January as it starts over on 1-1-12...

Pat has offered to hold me... hopefully I can fall asleep in his arms... 

Officially FULL TERM!!!!

Praise the Lord!!!!

We are super excited... Grow Girl, Grow!!!

It's 2:35 pm and I'm predicting I'm...

WRONG!!!  

That's ok, plenty of time to finish more projects... I just need to quit spending money on custom items for Baby Kate...  I just ordered 3 more hats, her Just Born-3 Week and Monthly Stickers, AND matching birth announcement long sleeved onesie...

Baby Kate did great during her monitoring and no contractions were noted... her fluid level was 19+ cm... our doctor visit went well... unless I suddenly develop pre eclampsia, Baby Kate stops doing well, or go into labor... we will not be meeting Baby Kate until her scheduled C Section date of December 27, 2011...

Will My Perdiction Be Correct???

As you may remember, I have been predicting this baby would be born on St. Nicholas Day, December 6, 2011... I also was confident and predicted it was a boy... well I have been told during at least 5 ultrasounds that Baby Kate is a girl- as recently as last Tuesday at her 36 week growth scan...

Although she is moving a ton, and tonight I would swear she kicked up with her feet and pushed down with her head as I could feel her at both ends of my uterus, not to mention the time tonight I thought she was reaching down my cervix... oddest feeling EVER, I have not had many contractions...

We do have her weekly Non Stress Test and fluid level check, followed by a visit with our perinatologist starting at 9:30 am... unless she breaks her bag of water... I'm guessing I will be wrong again...

Which is fine as I am not emotionally ready as I just love feeling her move inside of me... I also have some projects that I could use a few more days to complete such as adding ruffles and bows to her newborn onesies- just to ensure she is the best dressed newborn at the hospital...

Preterm Labor Scare

To say I'm super excited would be an understatement... after tonight, I'm ready to go... why, because I REALLY want our family to go to Pat's Family Holiday Party for his work... Santa comes and each child gets to sit on his lap and gets a present directly from the man himself... I get to take photos and at the end, our entire family poses with Santa... it is one of the highlights of my year... plus the kids love it and talk about it all year long... also, it is hosted at the same place my parents had their wedding reception, so a bit of nostalgia for me... so, as long as Baby Kate doesn't make an exit move, I have less than 12 hours before the party is over... Pat fears my water will break during the party... I'm not too worried about that...

Well, the party has come and gone... Kid's Gardening Club on Saturday morning as well... 


Basically, Thursday afternoon, I worked pretty hard on decluttering/organizing etc... The kids came home from school about 4 pm and Sarah and Anna were up from their naps... The usual after school chaos began... snacks, stories about their day, and homework... By 5 pm, I was feeling contractions and knew I needed to lay on my side and drink water... By 5:15 the lower back ache began as well... Pat was on his way home, so relief was insight... By the time Pat arrived, I knew the contractions were getting closer in frequency and intensity... the two things I was to watch for... I had William get me Pat's cell phone as I had William download a labor contraction counter app the Sunday before... 5 minutes apart, then 4, then 3... yikes, I drank more water and tried to stay calm... by 6:30, I was worried and called the perninatologist exchange... then the contractions began to slow down... but the call had been made... The doctor on call returned my call at about 6:45, he asked how long the contractions had been going on... I replied since 5:15- he said come on in....

We went in, but by the time the perinatologist called back, the contractions began to slow down... I think all of the water finally kicked in... Pat thinks getting out of the house helped... I have to agree, it is quite chaotic around here with 7 Awesome Blessings...

I was monitored for about an hour, given a can of Shasta and a turkey sandwich that I couldn't eat...  I was assured that Baby Kate was fine, told if I had contractions again due to dehydration they would send me home, but to come back if the contractions returned with a frequency of 3-5 minutes as I need to be careful because I have had a previous C Section... Great... a lot to worry about... a quick drive through visit at McDonald's and we were home before 9:30... 

36 Week Growth Scan, Monitoring, and Doctor Visit

My favorite!!!  That's her sweet arm in front of her chin...

My second favorite... I did not label my princess "chubby" but look at those SWEET CHEEKS and Baby Boobs!!! I just LOVE chubby babies!!!

Sweet Baby Kate and Our Appointments on Tuesday...

Baby Kate is doing GREAT!!!

The ultrasound is predicting she weighs 6 pounds 13 ounces 

at 35 weeks 6 days...

Her head circumference is 33.5 cm... why did I ask... not that I'm concerned about brain growth, no, this mom is worried if the hats I custom ordered will fit... I know... issues... I just want everything to be perfect... ends up, my Mom has a big head and so did my grandma, and so does Baby Kate, so I asked the lady to make the remaining hats an inch bigger...

The 3D photos have warmed my heart and removed any concerns about her development... all of her measurements were ahead of her age... what more could we ask for in our Miracle Blessing!!!

Monitoring went well...Baby Kate did what she was supposed to do... I had 4 contractions they counted... a few weren't strong enough to be counted... in 35 minutes- one was measured at 87 out of 100... we discussed going to the Women's Evaluation Unit, but decided it would be quicker to go to my scheduled doctor's appointment, let him do a cervical check and decide from there...

At the perinatologist's office, I weighed in and was up to 149.8 pounds- the nurse said she would round up... I joked that wasn't fair that was like rounding up a decade- when you are 49, saying you are 50... without rounding up, I have gained @ 11 pounds... with rounding up 12 pounds... not bad...

My blood pressure continues to be fine, which is so different from my last pregnancy...

I'm about a finger tip dilated, so less than a centimeter and my cervix continues to be long and is softening...

My doctor left before I saw him to deliver a baby, so I had my exam and chat with the nurse practitioner...  She recommended resting as much as possible with my feet up and drinking lots of water...