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So, yeah, we’re probably having a baby next week…

Well, she’s frank breech. Our little girl has her bottom in my pelvis where her head should be.

So, the plan is this: We report to the hospital on Tuesday, August 28 for external cephalic version. This is where the doctor attempts to turn the baby. They give me drugs to relax me and my uterus, grease up my stomach and manually try to push her head around into the right position. I very much want to avoid a cesarean birth, and if she hasn’t turned on her own by then we really feel like this is our best shot. I’ll be 39 weeks and 1 day at that point. If she doesn’t turn, well, we’ll do a cesarean. Best case scenario, we show up to the hospital and find she’s flipped on her own. Then we wait. Bottom line: 2 in 3 chance we’re having this baby next week one way or another.

It’s… overwhelming. Is there a word that describes a feeling beyond nervous, or even anxious?

So, let’s all sing “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Turn around, bright eyes.

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A wet weekend, and things I crave

Oh my gosh! I have a blog! I bet my 2 readers out there thought I had forgotten it completely. Well, you’re wrong! Haha!

Friday night kicked off the weekend with a pipe busting in our hall bath around 7 p.m. Whee! After calling about three plumbers and pulling the “I’m nine months pregnant!” card we got a sweet, sweet plumber out to the house around 10 p.m. The good news: he could fix it, the bad news: not until Saturday morning. It was a little drywall screw in a pipe that took two years to come loose. Lovely. So, we had to leave our water turned off over night. He was there bright and early Saturday and fixed us up, though, and even charged us his regular rate and not his weekend/night rate. We have officially found Our Plumber. Our builder came by this morning and is planning to send his sheetrock guy and carpet guy over to fix up the damages for us gratis. Hopefully, soon, because we’re a short 14 DAYS FROM THE DUE DATE! WE’RE HAVING A BABY! (Side note: the baby is breech and we may be meeting her sooner, like next week. More details to come after we see the doc this afternoon.)

Also, I wanted to get this recorded because someone asked me last week and I don’t want to forget…

Things I have craved at one time or another while pregnant:
peanut butter (PB shake from Sonic, but especially Baskin Robbins Peanut Butter n’ Chocolate iced cream)
strawberries (iced cream, milk shakes, fresh ones, all things strawberry)
sweet tea
lemonade
fruit punch (Crystal Light, or Kool-Aid… Oh YEAH!)
olives
canned peaches (yes, just canned ones)
COLD fresh apple
Sonic steak sandwich (which no longer exists, darn it, and I can find no reasonable substitute)

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89 days

We are now solidly into the third trimester, and there are less than 90 days until my due date. It’s pretty wild. That’s just under 13 weeks! There is still so much I feel like we need to do in the house to get it ready. Mainly, we means Errol. He has a long list of places that I want him to put up some shelves. I have this overwhelming desire to have things organized.

This past Friday, (I have to preface this with: the baby and I are fine, everything is fine) we were rear-ended by a pickup truck in my Corolla while sitting in traffic. Oh, it is such a good thing Errol was driving, because I am pretty sure I was immediately hysterical. I couldn’t breathe, I was so terrified. I know this guy couldn’t have been going more than maybe 15-20 mph, but it felt and sounded like the end of the world. And because it was big pickup versus small compact, you should see the back of our car. I thought I was going to be sick when I got out and looked at it. The truck won’t close, the bumper is bowed out on the sides, the lights smashed out… I really need to take a picture. It’s stayed in the driveway at home since Friday, waiting for our insurance to work it out with his so we can get it fixed. The icing on the cake… we discovered Sunday night that since the trunk was open, the trunk light was staying on. Errol disconnected the fuse, but I’m pretty sure the battery has died. I couldn’t get the car to unlock with the remote this morning. I’m hoping this just means the fuse for the trunk light also operates the automatic locks. More to come.

So, one of the things on my list of what I want fixed up before the baby comes is getting done today… our builder is coming to the house to replace some cracked kitchen tile! Woo! It’s just cracked from natural settling, but in a lovely diagonal line right across the kitchen. I feel like we’re getting a whole new floor!

That’s all the news that’s news for now, I guess. The cats have their annual vet appointments on Saturday, and I have my June doctor appointment next week. At this one, I get to drink the fruity beverage and get my blood sugar tested for gestational diabetes. Super fun!

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What we did this weekend…

This used to be the guest room. We moved a chest of drawers to the dining room, dresser to my mom’s house, bed frame to the attic, and donated the mattress set. After getting everything out on Saturday, we (mostly me) got the first coat of paint done. And, oh happy day, the JC Penney catalog desk called to say the crib and mattress I ordered on Monday had arrived! Yay! I can’t say enough how happy I am with JC Penney. Shipping to the catalog desk is definitely the way to go (Fast! Also, free!). After coat two of paint on Sunday (mostly by Errol), we got the crib put together and set up. Hooray! Now there is a place for a baby to sleep! Up next, a changing table, glider and ottoman. I’m taking it one piece at a time. Also, we have to clear out the closet in that room, which requires some major clearing of the closet in the office, now guest room/office/video game room. One thing at a time, but I’m very excited to have gotten something accomplished.

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It’s a girl!

Wow. Yeah. Definitely a girl. Ohmigosh! Eeeek! It’s a girl. And I love. her. so. MUCH. We had a really amazing ultrasound yesterday. She’s beautiful. Errol thinks she looks like me. I’ll scan the pics asap. Sadly, the facial features we saw on the screen didn’t come out so well in the prints we got. They’re still awesome.

P.S. I hate comment spam.

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No news is good news

That’s what they say, right?

I haven’t had much to report. Our ultrasound went well. We wanted to know if it was a boy or girl if they could see, and they couldn’t see. It was really hard to get a good shot. The technician was fairly certain that it’s a girl, but we aren’t convinced. We’re supposed to get another ultrasound at my May appointment, but I think we might pass on it if that’s all we’d be looking for. I’m starting to get more and more excited about the idea of being surprised. I was already planning to paint the baby’s room green, so it’s not like there’s any big decisions riding on whether it’s a boy or a girl. (Well, except for a name, but we’re not deciding that until the baby is born and that will be a challenge no matter what.) The best part is just knowing that the baby is healthy, has all its parts, and that we have the luxury of that extra ultrasound being optional. I am thankful every day for the health that the Lord had blessed me with, and I don’t take for granted the blessing it is to have made it through this far with no morning sickness and no complications.

Bought tickets to see Alison Krauss & Union Station today! Woo! I’ve been hoping they’d come do a show somewhere remotely near us, and they’ll be playing in Southaven about 45 minutes away in June. I’m so excited. It’s great last concert before having a baby. I imagine it will be a while before Errol and I can do anything like this again.

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Flutters and twitches

Baby is super active this morning. It’s such a cool feeling. I meant to write down when I started feeling the baby move, but just look at how often I post here. You can see I’m not very good about recording things. It all started around 14 weeks. (Early! I know! But, I swear that’s what it was.) At first, it was only when I was lying on my left side when I first went to bed at night. Then, it was just a gentle touch, like a something brushing against my insides. Now, I’m feeling it at all times of the day. I think it’s mostly been after I eat, and definitely if I have any caffeine. Right now it feels like little muscle spasms. I’m so in love already.

Now that I’ve recorded that, I’ve got to start having Errol take pictures of me so I can keep track of how I’ve been growing. My coworkers started telling me last week that I’m definitely showing. Errol sees it, too. I’m still not so sure, though, that anyone who doesn’t know I’m pregnant would be able to tell.

19 weeks down, 21 (or 22) to go!

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Look out Rockies, here I come!

I’m going to Colorado! In April! Yes, with Errol’s blessing, I’m flying off for a weekend to hang out with my bestest internet friend, Julie. I met Julie years ago (3? I think?) in the message boards at theknot.com back when we were newlyweds looking to settle in our own homes. Now, we talk online almost daily. This time last year, Errol and I met up with Julie and her husband, Jason, in her old hometown of Austin, TX and had a great time seeing the sights and hanging out with them. I know this trip to Colorado is going to be a blast. Now, they just have to come here so we can return the favor!

In other news, my mom and I went to a maternity fair at the local hospital last night. I got a lot of great freebies, a lot of great info, and got to meet some great people and ask a lot of questions that have been on my mind. The best part was, I think I met my doula! (Also known as a labor assistant.) She was a great woman, who I really felt a connection with. I just kept going back to talk to her more. I’m going to set up a time for Errol and I to meet with her together. I’m so excited! More details to come.

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Your monthy update

Had doctor appointment number 3 this past Friday. Baby and I are doing great! My blood pressure was perfect, and I had only gained half a pound this month. It was a quick appointment. The doctor just sat down and said “Everything looks great. So, I’ve got nothing. Got any questions or anything you want to talk about?” With all this and the no morning sickness, I think I’m becoming the pregnant woman that totally annoys other pregnant women. I can live with that.

We found the little heartbeat right away and the doctor just held the doppler there and we listened for a while. Very nice. I’ve nearly cried several times just thinking about how amazing it is.

I followed it up with a full body massage and an afternoon off to go shopping with my mom. I have to say it was a good day.

I’ve already booked a 30 minute massage for after my next doctor appointment. (April 13, btw, and this is the BIG one where we get to see the baby and find out if it’s a boy or girl.) I think I could handle a massage a month. The therapist thought I really needed it. I can’t argue with a professional.

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The Greatest Heartbeat in the World

I had doctor appointment number two today, and if they keep getting better I just don’t think I’ll be able to stand it. The doctor warned me that it’s perfectly normal to not hear the baby’s heartbeat on the first try this early on because of the baby’s small size and low position, but assured me I wouldn’t leave without knowing the baby was OK. So I got up on the table and he put the little monitor in position and started looking for the heartbeat. He said it would be fast, and that we would probably hear my heartbeat as well. Then we heard something!

I said, “Is that it?!? Wow.”

“No, that’s your pulse.”

“Oh, my gosh! It’s faster than that?”

“Yep”

THEN! There it was! That’s it! That’s my baby! Then, I realized I was holding my breath.

That has to be the most amazing sound ever, and the doctor said we get to do that every time I go in for a checkup. That’s definitely something I won’t miss for the world.