39 Week Update/Delivery

Well as you all know a lot has happened in the last 4 days...let me take you back to how this all began...the birds and the bees...LOL. Anyway, Thursday I had my 39 week appt and i was only dilated 1 cm and was so disappointed, i left wondering...When is he ever going to get here!? That evening I had plans for a massage...so i went to see Carly and about 15 minutes into the massage i started feeling really crampy...thinking in my mind that the more she massaged the better i would feel but it was the exact opposite, the crampy feeling i had just continued to get worse. When i got home i laughed with Jason and have the "worst massage ever" and thought it would pass. But as the evening grew on i found myself in more and more pain...but those "cramps" were actually contractions and i had NO idea what i was in for. I was up the majority of the night, tried all sorts of comfort measures recommended by our doula, I highly recommend the hot bath. The only thing mentally that helped me was to curse like a sailor, i think i used more "F bombs" in an hour than i have my whole life!! Around 6am evidently i told Jason "get in the car", he was coming one way or another. It was the longest ride ever to Abbott Northwestern Hospital (about 30 mins away)...I didn't think we could get there soon enough. We got the hospital and Jason dropped me at the front door with a security guard who took me to the maternity floor. It took them 5...yes 5 tries to get my IV started...then once that was established they were able to get me the epidural. Interestingly enough i was already 5 cm dilated once i got the epidural, i had felt more pain in the last couple of hours than i had in my entire life...that's where i'll recommend to all my pregnant friends...this is the time to DO DRUGS! I can't believe there are woman out there that do this type of thing naturally "just because"...those women are made of steal! So once I had comfort the rest was a relatively nice experience. By 3pm i was dilated to 9cm and the pushing began...and by 3:55 we had our bouncing baby boy! What a miracle!!

It's a Bird...It's a Plane...

My step-dad Wayne, Baby Ward's "Pops" is the handiest woodworker we know...on Thursday Baby Ward received his first hand crafted airplane. Jason and I were amazed with the fine details of the airplane...right down to rolling wheels and a spinning propeller! Its definitely not a "play toy" and has found a special place on BW's shelf. Thanks Wayne!!

Week 38 Update

Well, it appears that Baby Ward is holding out for some warmer weather as January is just too cold!! I had my 38 week check up yesterday and everything is great but NO progress. However as my OB says, just because there is no progress today doesn't mean you can't have your baby tonight, so i guess you just never know! I've always disliked the month of January; post holiday blahs, freezing temps, and little motivation for much so i shouldn't complain that he hasn't arrived just yet as i think i told him several times that he can come Feb 1 and after...which of course if he arrived on Feb 1 he'd share a birthday with his Nana (my mom) which would make her heart skip a beat for sure! So that means we've got to have some serious progress in the next 12 hours to make that happen! Baby Ward and I have also had a conversation about arriving past his due date of Feb 11, he's only allowed to be late if he arrives on Feb 14 and then he can be my VALENTINE!! I'm certain, like most children he's listening and will be sure to obey his mama!

As always I'm feeling great for the most part, starting to get more cramps but of course that's to be expected at this point in my pregnancy. I get up 1,000 times in the night to hit the restroom and when i initially get out of bed i feel like a 90 year old woman hobbling to the bathroom. I've also been contemplating my own company..."Diapers for pregnant woman"...given my own experiences i think there is a market out there for it! hehe...you woman reading this who've had a baby know exactly what i'm talking about!!!

Attached is my 38 week and 3 day photo...! I'm not sure what i'll do when i can actually shave my legs by seeing them verse just feeling them!! Oh the trials and tribulations of a pregnant woman.

The Calm Before The Storm...

If I had a dollar for every time someone told Jason and I to relax before Baby Ward arrives we'd be rich! So this weekend Jason and I decided to take full advantage of it...exhibit A) Jason and Dolly napping on the couch in the sunshine. Dolly has no idea what she's in for...ok who am i kidding...neither do Jason and I!! Dolly loves Jason and is attached to him all the time and I think she's going to have some issues with sharing his lap in the coming weeks. Anyway, i thought this was a cute photo of the two of them sleeping!

Week 37 and 5 Days

Well here i am at a ripe 37 weeks and 5 days...i've given up on having Jason take a 1,000 photos to get the one where i look "just right"; not too chubby, not too pregnant...the reality is...i'm very pregnant and starting to retain water...so there really is no "good" photo at this point! I now have cankles, swollen little piggies and i swear i would NEVER stop wearing heals during pregnancy...i made it to 36 weeks wearing those suckers but now it's all about flats and if it were warmer than zero in Minnesota i'd be in flip flops! No more wedding rings for me either as my fingers are starting to swell and my face is getting puffy...all to be expected as i round third base to home plate of 9 months of pregnancy!

Overall, i can't complain...Baby Ward has been so good to me. No morning sickness, no food oversions, no pregnancy drama so i'm thankful for that. I just hope he's as equally good to be during labor and delivery as he has been the last 8 1/2 months! Still experiencing hip pain and now many sleepless nights...i can't lay on my right side anymore as it hurts, appears he's got his heals dug into my rib cage. I sure hope he's comfortable in there cause i'm certainly not!

Friday i had my 37 week appt and the strep b test came back negative...great news! I've started to "thin" but as the OB said, "nothing to get excited about". So it's business as usual until Baby Ward decides to make his appearance. I'm back this Friday for week 38 check up!

Baby Ward's Nursery...Now Finished!

Baby Ward's nursery looks great (perhaps i'm a little biased!!) but we couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Jason did such a great job painting the room...which includes the stripes and circles!! Now that I know his true painting talents i do have a few other projects up my sleeve for him to complete!! The photos don't do the room justice...but you get the idea. The only thing missing...Baby Ward!! Coming Soon...

36 Week Update

Went to the doctor on Friday and everything is on track and still progressing nicely. I have gained 28lbs so far, which isn't bad but i started the pregnancy off a little chubby! =) The OB did an exam and found that Baby Boy Ward's head is very low however i haven't started to dilate. She guesstimated that he weights about 6lbs and 3 oz, not sure where she got that from but sounded good to me. At week 35 the OB i saw measured my belly several times and make the comment that "you're going to have a big baby"...great just want any first time mom wants to hear, so i was happy to hear that this OB seems to think baby is about 6 lbs. Watch me have some 12 pounder and be featured on the news..."woman gives birth to ginormous baby"...!!

So far i've felt pretty good, i continue to have crazy hip pain in which i wear this hot little hip belt to bed at night and see a physical therapist twice a week. That helps to ease some of the pain. In the recent i've started to have cramping which the doctor told me is due to baby's head being so low and the pressure. When i have these aches and pains I just remind myself that its a fraction of the pain i'll feel during labor...! On other thing that's become such a nuisance is the number of trips i make to the bathroom. I never thought it was humanly possible to go that often...I quickly realized that you can't "hold it" when pregnant...!

I head back to the doctor again this Friday for week 37 check up. I can't believe he's almost here...Jason and i are both filled with excitement and anxiety of the unknown.

Attached is a photo of me from today...I can't believe the belly i'm sportin'...!

Daddy Diaper Service

Jason's brother Jeremy and his wife Amy sent Jason a Daddy Diaper Service holster for Christmas. This clever little thing has everything you'd need for changing a diaper including goggles, a clothes pin for the nose, plastic gloves and all sorts of other very important items that might be needed. We were entertained with it however i somehow think that once baby arrives and its reality we might just use everything...especially the nose clip!!!

Clearly since he has all the needed items HE should be in charge of all dirty diapers for the first month!

Jason's Big Debut...

I don't if you all heard but Jason was selected to appear on a billboard in Times Square...we are thrilled with what this could bring to his modeling career...big money we are hoping! This was Halloween and he's dressed like Hugh Heftner (hence the gray hair)...pretty sexy i might add!!!

You too can star in Times Square...www.photofunia.com. Great way to pass some time if you are bored!! =)

34 Week Belly Shot

As most of you know i'm a huge fan of pictures and always have been. Our house is plastered with pictures and of course I only select the ones where...I look good...I mean who wants to hang an ugly picture of themself. I feel the same way about posting photos on the blog...but as I come to the end of my pregnancy I have a really hard time finding a photo of myself where I feel like..."gosh i look good". For the 34 week belly shot I think Jason took about 6 pics and I still don't love any of them...I guess the pregnancy is catching up with me!! The face a little fuller (i know it can't be the reg trips to Red Robin!!), the skin even more washed out than normal and then the enormous watermellon i'm toting in the front...all a combo for my most cherished button on my computer...DELETE...anyway, i'm putting vanity aside for today...just look at the belly. I'm still feeling good other than the chronic hip pain and this new found acidic stomach ache that lingers all day, otherwise I'm doing great! On Monday I see the doctor for our week 34 check up. I'm on the final countdown...6 weeks give or take and the bun that's been baking for 9 months will see the light of day!