37 Weeks

I have made it. Max can come any time now and be considered a full term infant...and I encourage him to do so.

I am so tired, sore and worn out. When it comes to this stage of pregnancy, I am a wimp. I am a horrible mother when it comes to pregnancy, but I think a pretty good one when the baby gets here :)

I am pretty sure today was my last day of work. I am too sore and tired to continue and honestly I'm of little value right now. As long as Max comes next week, I won't regret going out now.

I am holding on hope that Thursday will be end of this pregnancy and that I will have a little baby in my arms. I must just keep focusing on that.

Today's Appointment

Well, today was a mixed bag. No real news but maybe a plan?

My cervix, despite the pain and pressure, is the same. 2cm. Max's head has come down some more though, so that's good. She checked to see if I was leaking any amniotic fluid, based on some things lately, and I'm not. So that's good...I guess. I had another US. Max is still head down and well engaged but OMG...in 4 weeks he has put on over 2lbs! Neither I nor the midwife expected that. He is now approximately 7lbs 4oz.

I checked out fine. BP good, urine good, weight - actually lost 5lbs.

So our plan...my next appointment was made for next Thursday, December 3rd. If everything looks okay she will strip my membranes and be more active with trying to bring on labor. The concern is now that Max is growing quickly and I don't want a 10lbs baby!!

So, while I still hope that my three days of working on the unit this week will bring on labor, it looks like late next week may be the 'end'.

36 Weeks

The magical 36 weeks. I am finally there!

This past week has been another long week with uncertainty and waiting, but Max really was were he needed to be - inside growing :) I still have days with hours of contractions and anxiety over whether the 'big event' may be near. The waiting sucks but I know it won't last forever.

Thursday my work had a baby shower for me. It was very nice with co-workers floating in and out, yummy food and of course generous gifts. I think I have everything I need for the little man now all I need to do is unpack and organize it all. My thank you cards have finally shipped, so maybe those will come in before Max is born and I will have time to send them all out.

Today was a little extra uncomfortable. Whatever position Max is in, resulted in intense shooting pain down my belly and into my pelvis. OUCH! Hopefully he will decide to shift soon and give his poor mama a break.

This weekend will be fairly low key. Tomorrow I am going to a Holiday Bazaar and hoping to finish my shopping. Other than that...no plans! Then I think my dad will be coming this weekend and staying the week which will be VERY NICE. Doctors appointment, which includes an US on Monday and then our typical busy Tuesday.

One more week of living day to day....but the end is near.

S Update

S woke up yesterday morning in much better spirits. He moved and walked like he was virtually pain free and although his buttocks was still a little swollen and red...it looked so much better!!!

Today he is back to his old self. Sore still there but not as hard, red or warm. I will finish out today with a warm bath a neosporin but I think after tonight I won't need to continue any other treatment other than the oral antibiotics that he will be on until next week.

Glad to have a speedy resolution on this!

Poor S!

Last night S was acting weird and touching his right buttock/thigh a lot so I finally pinned him down to take a look. The poor thing had a hard knot that was reddened and inflamed. I knew from my experience as a nurse that he had an abscess. At that time there was no 'head' to the sore but a small bump surrounded by very angry, red skin.

This morning while at work I called and made him an appointment. Luckily his nanny, Q, brought him to the doctor and I met them over there. The doc looked at it, confirmed my diagnosis and started him on antibiotics, warm compresses, neosporin and frequent warm baths. S was so brave letting the doc look and manipulate the sore. You could see by his body language that it hurt badly, but he braved through it. Doc claims it MRSA, although didn't take a culture (whatever). I was a little more relieved though, because by the time I saw S at the docs, the abscess had formed a white head and looked like it might actually drain on it's own.

When I got home I put a warm washcloth on his buttock and let it sit. I then removed the head's covering, much to S's pleas not to, and I was able to allow some of the contents to drain - YUCK! The applied neosporin and a bandage followed by some ibuprofen and antibiotics.

The poor boy is miserable, limping around the house and complaining that the doctor did not make his boo-boo feel better. Hopefully tomorrow he will feel some relief. I can't imagine how sore he is. That abscess is huge for his small body!

Another Appointment Today

Pretty un-exciting.

My midwife chose not to check my cervix again since she just checked it last week. She said based on my history of walking around dilated for several weeks with the twins, one week wasn't going to make a huge difference. I don't disagree with her, but it would have been semi-nice to know where I stood.

My blood pressure and urine were fine. Platelets dropped again, but still aren't at any dangerous level (143) so I'm happy with that. Weight was actually down a pound or two.

My midwife thinks I will deliver between 37 and 38 weeks which is good for Max, and I guess I can put up with two more weeks of this. This week at work I am out of staffing which is great, but next week, being a holiday week, I am back on the floor which will be VERY difficult. Who knows, maybe this is what will put me into labor - I honestly wouldn't be surprised! After this Friday (36 weeks) I will be okay if he comes. I know 36 weeks is still early yet, but any major issues should be avoided by this mark.

If you go by some current theories of my friends, Max will be born on Thanksgiving since the twins were born on Valentines Day. This will put me just under 37 weeks. I'll take it!

35 Weeks

Everything is about the same. Contractions and cramping; crazy pressure and pain...but nothing worse and no more bleeding. Max is still very active as well.

Still hoping for at least one more week, although 2 would be better. I have another appointment on Tuesday so we shall see.

This weekend I hope to take care of my to-do list. Knock out most of my Christmas Shopping (I'm thinking mostly gift cards) and get the h0use cleaned. I believe J, my sister is going to help me with the latter. We'll see how much I can get done.

Gymnastics on Monday and Tuesday; Appointment Tuesday; Back to work Wednesday to Friday and I'll be 36 weeks before I know it!

An Interesting Day

Today has been a little nerve wracking. It has been spent pretty uncomfortably with constant cramping, frequent contractions and nausea. I feel bad and I cant help but feel like labor might be near (although I've never been in labor so I don't really have anything to base that on).

**And TMI Alert**
This evening when going to the bathroom, I found that I also had bright red, bloody discharge.

I would really like Max to stay put a little longer. I will be 35 weeks this Friday but that still makes me nervous. I would much rather he stick around until at least 36 weeks. The last thing I want is leaving a baby in the NICU when I go home.

Doctors Appointment

Today was a busy day.

We started out with maternity shots done by a local photographer. She does amazing work and I hope that some of these pics turn out, but with the way the twins acted, I'm not so sure. They were such butt heads - and that's putting it nicely. I should get a preview later this week and my full CD next week.

Then I had to run to work for an all day meeting, but arrived late due to said photo shoot. Spent the rest of the morning/afternoon discussing things I really had no interest in all the while wishing I could crawl into a bed somewhere and take a nap.

Next was a doctor's appointment. I had decided that I wasn't going to have her check my cervix because it was so early and why go through the trouble. Well when I mentioned that I had some (TMI warning) blood tinged discharge this am, she wanted to check. Well, low and behold I am 2cm dilated and 60% effaced. Great! I have so much shit to do and now most likely only 1 or 2 weeks to do it in. I emailed my boss and told her that I would appreciate a lighter assignment because although I would LOVE to be not pregnant, I would like Max to hang around at least another two weeks to avoid a NICU stay. And surprise, I am now on weekly doctor visits and have orders to take it easy.

I will say that with the twins I walked around for three weeks at 3cm and 80% effaced and never went into labor so I'm not hugely concerned that labor is imminent right now. Of course, with the twins I wasn't working and didn't have toddlers and everything else I have to keep up with, and I'm sure this can make a difference.

So, I will try to take it easy....except for the million things I need to get done, the appointments I must keep, the gymnastic classes, the speech therapy and the general day to day goings on. That's easy...right?

34 Weeks

Well the complaints are still the same, so I will skip those.

Max is still a moving and a shaking. He is now at the size that I think I know what body parts are poking me where and he is a very active little boy. His knees sit right about at my belly button and I often have these weird bulges on my belly in that area. Yesterday people at work were laughing because you could just see the waves of movement across my belly. I can honestly say, this will be the one and only thing I will miss about being pregnant.

I got an unexpected gift today when work called at 5:45am and said I wasn't needed to I could take the day off - YAH! Since my babysitter was paid for, I slept in until 10am and then ran around taking care of some errands that I wanted to do this weekend. I was able to finish getting all three kids their holiday outfits (now all I need are matching pj's), a birthday card for a party tomorrow, the last two Hallmark Ornaments I wanted and even some dirt cheap Halloween costumes for the kids to play dress up in. All that and I was even able to get back home in time to let the sitter go 2 hours early and lay down for a nap with the twins. (yes, I napped even though I slept in until 10am)

This weekend we have a birthday party and a brunch to attend. Next week will be pure HELL as I have a million things scheduled to do. This was partially intentional to get everything done as early in the month as possible so that I could rest for the rest of November, but I'm now thinking I wasn't too bright to do it.

I will probably try to update Monday as I have a doc's appointment and a maternity shoot that day...but with also a full day of work and a twins mom meeting that night...I'm making no guarantees :)

Hoping this is just a Fluke

The last 24 hours has been miserable. I woke up early this morning, around 4am, with intense abdominal pain. It lasted for about 2 hours. I almost called my midwife, but I knew it wasn't contractions and rather just pain and I must have fallen back asleep about 6am.

I woke up with the alarm at eight and realized I was once again in pain. Within the hour I was throwing up food I had the night before for dinner. Since then, I have not vomited again, nor have I had the intense pain, but my gosh, everything that goes into my mouth makes me nauseous. I haven't taken any meds because this feels more mechanical than hormonal. It feels like my stomach or intestines are so compressed that nothing is moving through.

Hoping this is just a short lived thing. I guess it really even could be a stomach virus. I am hoping for the first thing because if it is a virus, only a matter of time before the twins start with it.

Shower Today

Today I had my first shower. It was a lovely gathering of friends. Max got some great gifts. Some new outfits, diapers, toys and other essentials. A friend even gave me 4 hours to my favorite drop in childcare place for the twins. I also received the Space Saver Highchair I had wanted and some other great mom made gifts.

The food and company was great, but special mention needs to be given to the cake and cupcake tower. It was adorable! I cute cake with puppy and pacifier along with a bunch of cupcakes adorned with other baby items. Not only was it super cute, but tasted great! I will definitely keep this baker in mind for future events of mine :0)

K initially wanted to open all of Max's presents but the novelty quickly wore off. The twins did have fun though playing with a few other children who were there and adding to their earlier suger binge with more brownies and cake.

This shower has reminded me of all the things I need to get done in the next four weeks to ensure that we are all ready for his arrival. I think tonight before bed I'll start making my list and then work at crossing things off.