Predicament

I've recently realized I'm going to have to come up with a new name for this blog. So far I have zero ideas! One more thing to add to the to-do list I guess. :-)

38 Weeks

Good news at my weekly doctor's appointment this afternoon! My blood pressure has returned to a more normal reading of 120/70, as opposed to last week's reading of 140/90! I had an internal exam and I am possibly about a centimeter dilated, but my cervix is still high and soft. I still have two weeks til my due date, so plenty of time for Mother Nature to step in and do her thing. Provided everything is still looking good by the time I get to my due date, my doctor will allow me to go another week on my own before talking induction with Pitocin (depending on my progress up to that point) or possible repeat C-section (provided there's been little to no progress on my own). After today's uneventful appointment I have renewed hope of having a surgery-free delivery!

As far as progress here on the home front, we are slowly but surely getting things in place to welcome Andrew home. The second baby has been such a different experience from the first as far as preparation goes! I'm sure having a toddler to care for and to distract you from how little time you have left plays a big role in that. At least we have the nursery painted, the crib together, and his bedding purchased. I've washed all of the baby clothes, and I'm putting the finishing touches on my hospital bag. Oh! I've also filled out Andrew's baby book (as much as I can up to this point) and have it tucked into my suit case. Really proud of this since I majorly slacked with Philip's and I'm still playing catch-up filling it in (sorry P!).

In Philip-related news, our almost two-year-old continues to wow us with his increasing vocabulary. He is talking up a storm and will say almost anything if prompted! My favorite thing is when he says "mommy." Must of the time he calls me "mum" which is fine, but he has his whole life to call me mom so I'm really pushing the mommy thing lately. Anyways, Phil will often get him to say "Hi Mommy," and it always comes out "Hi Money!" A-dor-a-ble! It melts my heart every time. He's now stringing two words together to make little sentences and is working on three. His first three-word sentence was "I see you!" So stinkin' cute! I'm going to work on getting some of his words on video this weekend. I don't want to forget a thing from this sweet, special time in his little life.

Pregnancy Update

37 Weeks

I had my weekly appointment on Wednesday and my blood pressure read higher than normal. Up until this point it's been a-okay. On Wednesday it was 140/90. My doctor isn't immediately concerned but I can't help but be! I developed pre-eclampsia around this time with Philip and while it's supposedly very rare to get it a second time, I'm still worried. My doctor told me to take it easy and to call if I develop any sudden extreme swelling. So far though I haven't had any abnormal swelling which has been a welcomed change from my last pregnancy! I still have ankles at 37 weeks pregnant--can't complain about that!

I read online that gestational hypertension (high blood pressure) is characterized by blood pressure readings of over 140/90 so I'm right on the borderline. Pre-eclampsia isn't diagnosed unless readings are over 140/90 and there is protein in the urine, which is an indication that something is going on in the kidneys. If I were to develop pre-eclampsia again, A's cozy stay in the womb would surely be cut short. Although at this point I'm not so sure I'd complain about that one bit seeing that as of today I am carrying around a full term baby (yay!!).

So I go back to the doctor's office on Thursday for my weekly check up and to see how my BP is looking. I'll also have another internal exam to check for any signs that A has any plans of evacuating any time soon. Wish us luck!

Something's Cookin' in the Kitchen!

35 Weeks

Considering how miserable I've been feeling lately, I was totally shocked when my doctor told me last week that everything is looking great. Surely it's not possible to feel this awful and have things still be rolling along smoothly. Well, apparently they are. My weight gain is good so far, I have minimal swelling (unlike my first pregnancy where I was suffering from awful edema at this point in time), my blood pressure is good, and I'm measuring right where I should be. Who'da thunk it?

I've been telling myself lately that, not only will this pregnancy end in an successful VBAC and a healthy baby, but little Andrew will also come early. Two weeks early, to be exact. That way I can tell myself as of today that I only have 3 weeks of misery left! Isn't that great? I refuse to entertain any other options at this point.

It's funny how when you're not pregnant, you (or at least I did) see pregnant women who look so happy, all aglow with the gift of carrying a tiny little life, yadda yadda yadda, and you think to yourself, "Aww, I miss that. It really was so great being pregnant, wasn't it? It couldn't have been nearly as bad as I remember it!" Then one day you find yourself in that same woman's position, only, something's different: You're not glowing, you're sweating, because it's 105 degrees outside, and you're not relishing every moment because you're too busy chasing a toddler around the house, lugging him up and down the stairs in order to change his 4th poopy diaper of the day while he does his best to free himself from your arms and escape. Everything around you is in utter chaos and you've gone from somehow feeling like you sort of had things together to apologizing to your husband for the lack of dinner when he gets home, and for the fact that the dishes have been in the sink for 3 days straight now and the living room looks like a thousand toddlers stampeded through it all day long. Oh, don't forget the fact that you've been in the same super sexy, about-to-be-outgrown, mismatched outfit for the past 2 days, half of which is normally jammies. Yep.

Recently I've determined that as long as the house is still standing, Philip has been fed, changed, and kept safe and (reasonably) clean, then I consider the day to have been a success. Phil now understands that he cannot and should not expect anything beyond this, as it is the absolute most I can find the energy to do in one day. So he comes home after his 14 hour day at work and gets right to work at home making the two of us dinner, God bless him.

And all of this before I even make it to becoming a mother of two under two!

In the spirit of surviving, here's an awful picture of me at 35 weeks. I was undecided as to whether or not to share it, but if I wait around for an opportunity where I'm looking awesome, I will have nothing to look back on! LOL

Pardon the weird face, sloppy outfit, and stretch marks, please. At this point in my pregnancy I'm not out to impress. ;-)

Sweet Little Boy

I couldn't possibly love you any more.