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Last weekend we had a great time in Lake Geneva where we celebrated the marriage of Mike's uncle Tom and his new wife Anne. The whole thing took place on a big boat out on the lake. We celebrated by eating a SUPER yummy seafood buffet, drinking (for some :)), and going out on the town at night. It was a great time - congratulations Tom and Anne!! Below are some pictures of the day. Notice all of the pretty fall colors!
Another milestone this week is that I just turned 36 weeks on Tuesday! We never thought I would make it to this point, but are ecstatic we did. The little guy should now be able to come straight home with us, rather than spending extra time in the hospital! I also had my doctor appointment on Thursday, and found out I am still the same - closed and 50% thinned out. After anticipating an early delivery, it is now looking like we will be lucky to deliver by our due date!
Other changes this week, unfortunately, include adding on some nice water weight. My face and fingers have gotten pretty puffy - I even had to take off my wedding ring, just to be safe. My next appointment is again on Thursday - I'll post again with any news following the appointment! Finally, since all of your prayers worked so well to keep him inside, feel free to start praying for him to come out soon :)
It has been a busy couple of weeks for us. To start off I attached a picture of the baby quilt my mom and I made. It took a lot of time, effort, and a lot of backaches for us both but I think it turned out really nice!
As you know, I started my 4 hour shifts a couple weeks ago now. They went pretty well with just a little cramping afterward. Last Thursday (10/15), I had another OB appointment to evaluate the situation, and the news that came back was great. I am still not dilated and the only change was that his head dropped down into my pelvis more. The doctor says that is a good sign he will stay head down and is exactly where I want to be at this point. So, as of 10/15 I went back to work doing my full 8 hour shifts. Let me tell ya, I am definitely out of shape from my 8 weeks of laying around! My next appointment will be next Thursday (10/29), so we will see if anything changes!
On the same day as my appointment my work threw me a really nice baby shower. I hadn't seen everyone in awhile so it was nice to catch up on everyone's news and all of the endless work gossip :) I was also grateful because, being nurses, they fully stocked all of the breastfeeding products I could ever dream of having - including some really neat strips that determine the amount of alcohol in your breast milk!
Next on our list of activities, was a night out with one of Mike's work friends and his wife to an MMA (mixed martial arts) event in Rockford, IL. I know it sounds dumb, but we love watching it! If you have ever seen UFC, it's the same as that only for local fighters. It was pretty intense, and there was a lot of blood shed, but we loved it and hope to do it again in the near future. As you can see from the picture below, we were pretty close to the ring!
Finally, today we had another baby shower - this time at Mike's work. Again, we were blessed with many nice gifts and great food!
Today was also the day of my UW Children's Hospital appointment. The appointment was a consult with a pediatric urologist (who I loved!) to figure out a plan for the baby's kidneys following birth. Mike's mom joined me on the trip up and was super helpful - I listened to everything the doctor said while she took notes so we could look back if we needed a refresher b/c it was A LOT of info! The overall plan is that he will be born just like any other baby - we don't need to deliver early or have any special birthing plans. Following birth, the doctor recommended that, since the dilation is found in both of his kidneys, he be put on Amoxicillin as a preventative measure right when he is born. He also recommended a circumcision - which we were going to do anyway. Then, within 5-7 days of birth, he wants to see us back up in Madison to run some tests on the little guy. They will be doing an ultrasound, to check if the kidneys are still dilated, and will also put in a catheter (OUCH! - poor little man) and inject dye into his bladder to see if the urine is backing up into his kidneys. Following the tests, the Dr. will determine whether or not he needs surgery. Overall, the stats look good in that 85% of little ones that show this type of problem on ultrasound do not need surgery!
Whew, I think that's all the news I can give ya for now, but I will send out a quick update next week after my next appointment! Love ya!
Today I had another OB appointment. My doctor decided to let me go back to work at 33 weeks (Tuesday night) rather than at 34 weeks. I will be trying out the 4 hour shifts again for 2 weeks, then at 35 weeks I will be back to working full time 8 hour shifts. If I contract during the first week back to work, they will give me medicine to stop labor. If something happens after that, they are going to let me deliver! I guess we will see what happens :)
If you haven't joined in on the baby birthday pool, and want to join (it is $5 per person), let me know! So far we have a total of 19 people in it - which means a payout of about $100!!
Finally, I will be turning this blog into a book...eventually (probably after the baby's first year). In this book, the comments you all leave will be posted, as well as what I have written. Soo.... when you stop by, please leave a comment so I can look back and remember what everyone has said! Thanks!
As Kara pointed out, I'm a little late updating my blog. :) You would think with being on bedrest, I would have nothing better to do, but somehow I manage to keep quite busy! The doctor's appointment on Tuesday went really well. I am still not dilated from the outside - which is good news - and the fetal fibronectin test was also negative - also good news!
My doctor said to basically keep doing what we have been doing with the whole bedrest thing, and she would reevaluate the situation when I am 34 weeks (October 13th). I'll probably be going back to work at that point for 4 hour shifts, then bump it up to full 8 hour shifts a couple weeks later.
Apart from all of the doctor news, Mom and I have been working hard on getting the little guy's quilt made. We are making it all by ourselves - lots of cutting, sewing, unsewing (haha) and measuring. I never knew it would be so much work, and so precise, but it has been fun for both of us - I hope! I'll post a picture of it when we finish it up this next week.
The next big events: I have my baby shower on the 27th (woohoo!), and a doctor appointment on September 29th. That appointment will again be at Meriter, and will be another 3D ultrasound, but this time will be looking mostly at the kidneys to see if we need to hook up with a pediatric urologist - I'll explain more if this is the case - stay tuned!!
Well...I just got off the phone with the doctor and she has put me back on bed rest until 34 weeks (5 weeks from today). It is kind of a bummer, but at least the little guy will be safe with me being off of my feet. I enjoyed the week of freedom while I had it, and the weather was absolutely PERFECT!
I go back to the doctor on September 15th. At that appointment she is going to do another fetal fibronectin test (tests for the likelihood of going into labor within 2 weeks of when it is done) and of course a check to see if I am dilating from the contractions.
So for now, cross your fingers that these contractions go away with the bed rest, and that the little guy decides to stay put for a few more weeks.
Hey everyone! I finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and start a blog. I figure with everything that has been going on with this pregnancy, it might be easier to post updates on here, rather than on facebook where everyone can see. I'll also continue "blogging" after he is born with pictures/updates to keep everyone in the loop. Since we don't have any "real" pics of him yet, here is my favorite 3D ultrasound picture of him.
So I guess I will start with the latest news. My doctor let me go back to work for four hour shifts, basically as a trial. I went in for two shifts and contracted after both. The first time it only lasted maybe an hour or so, but the second time I contracted off and on overnight and into the next morning. She had said to call if I had more than four contractions in an hour, which I didn't, but I thought it would still be a good idea to give her a call. Unfortunately, it was the weekend so I had to talk with a different doctor. He suggested I stay home, back on bed rest, until I could speak with her on Tuesday morning. SO..I'll know more then!
Apart from all of that, we had a pretty peaceful weekend. Mike went away on Saturday to Wyalusing State Park for a bachelor party. He said he had lots of fun camping, playing games, sitting by the campfire, and just hanging out with the boys. When he got home on Sunday we relaxed (go figure!) by playing games and watching TV.
I think that's it for now, thank you everyone for all of the support and prayers, we really do appreciate it! Just keep 'em coming because so far they are working - little bun is staying put!
Another milestone this week is that I just turned 36 weeks on Tuesday! We never thought I would make it to this point, but are ecstatic we did. The little guy should now be able to come straight home with us, rather than spending extra time in the hospital! I also had my doctor appointment on Thursday, and found out I am still the same - closed and 50% thinned out. After anticipating an early delivery, it is now looking like we will be lucky to deliver by our due date!
