Here's the Scoop...

I am so happy to have this sweet little girl here! I apologize that this post might be a little long...I had originally planned to post an update last week, but didn't get a chance.

Last Wednesday night, I noticed that I hadn't been feeling the baby move as much as normal. I could still feel her, but it just felt kind of sluggish. DH and I were eventually able to get her a little more active, so we decided to go to bed and see how things were in the morning. On Thursday morning, I still felt like she wasn't as active as she should've been, so I called my doctor's office and they got me in for a non-stress test. Fortunately, everything looked perfect, and it was good to have another u/s of Jumper and hear her little heartbeat.

On Friday, I was officially 40 weeks and had a doctor's appointment. At that point, I was dilated to a 'tight 2' and 80% effaced. She said that it was their policy not to induce first-time moms until 1 week after their due date, which would have met being induced on September 9th. However, she wasn't going to be in that day, so she said if I hadn't had the baby, they would induce me on September 11th. However, she was really doubtful that I would make it that long without going into labor on my own. For the meanwhile, I was supposed to have two more non-stress tests and I also had another appointment scheduled with her. I figured that if I did have to wait until the 11th to be induced, I could handle it because I was feeling pretty good overall.

Before I left my appointment, I was told that I would have a lot more cramping and contractions, and that definitely proved to be true! I expected them to kind of fade away like they had the week before, but they never did. I typically had one contraction every hour or so, but sometimes they would start to build up and happen more frequently, while other times they weren't strong and hardly noticeable. On Saturday, we went to a couple of different family activities, and while I was feeling pretty uncomfortable, it wasn't like I was miserable. Overall, I just felt really tired.

On Sunday, I noticed that I was feeling my contractions in my lower back/tailbone area, and they were getting to be really painful. The problem was that they were still pretty irregular. They would start to get closer together until they were 6 minutes apart, and then they would start to fade again. By this point, I was pretty miserable. We went to a family dinner, and I pretty much just laid on my mom's sofa for most of the time. I remember commenting to DH and my sister that I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it another week if this is how I was going to have to be feeling.

As we were getting ready for bed Sunday night, I was feeling more and more miserable, but my contractions were still so irregular. Finally, around midnight, they got to where they were 3-4 minutes a part and I could hardly talk through them. At that point, DH and I decided it was time to head to the hospital. We arrived about 1:00 Monday morning, and when they did my initial assessment, I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced. They decided to admit me, and during my next check, I was dilated to a 4.

After I got admitted, I got an epidural and they broke my water. They ended up giving me a little bit of Pitocin, and that definitely worked...I went from a 4 to an 8 by the next check. I felt really comfortable and it was nice to be able to just rest while I let me body keep getting ready for the delivery. I started pushing at around 9:15, and I think that at that point, it really sank in that this was happening and I was in the middle of giving birth. The whole experience seemed a little surreal. I pushed for about two hours, which wasn't too bad. I was able to feel my contractions enough to know when to push without being in pain. Our little Baby A was born at 11:25...they had to have the NICU nurses there to suction her because she aspirated so much meconium, but after a little work, she pinked right up and has been healthy. She is such a sweet little girl, and DH and I are so in love with her. We can't imagine not having her in our family.

I know I need to post some more pictures and give some more updates about having her home from the hospital, so I will try to get to those within the next few days or so. Right now I am just enjoying the time I have being home with my family. :)

She's Here!

Born September 5, 2011 at 11:25 AM.

7lbs, 11oz

21" long

More details and pictures to come soon!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Almost There!

Well, I feel like things are going better than they were last week. It is crazy to look over at my ticker and see that it says there are only three days left!

My appointment last week went well. The doctor said that I was 80% effaced and dilated to a 1+, so that is a little bit of improvement from before. She also stripped my membranes, in the hopes that would help move things along. She encouraged me to do a lot of walking and of course, have s.ex, which is the last thing on my mind. :) At least something I am doing has been paying off, because I lost my mucous plug on Friday. It is really good to know that things are progressing and my body is getting ready.

Part of me just wishes that I would go into labor, but part of me still feels like this has gone by so quickly and that I need to cherish every last minute. I hope that I will have the opportunity to experience pregnancy again in the future, but I know that I can't count on it.

Going forward, I have another appointment this Friday, which is my actual due date. Last week, my doctor told me that they typically won't do an induction until the baby is a week overdue, so hopefully that means no later than a week from this Friday. I have been joking with my family that Jumper is going to wait to be born until then so that she can join our family's September birthday party - between me and two sisters, there are three birthdays within four days (September 10, 12, and 13).

In other news, I just received a really sad phone call while I was typing this post. I got a phone call from K's (J's birthmom) mom, who said she wanted to let me know that K has relapsed on drugs and that she wanted to warn us so that we could take adequate steps to protect our family. We talked for a while, and it broke my heart to hear about the choices that K has made. I have been thinking about her so much lately, and perhaps this is why. Her mom did say several times that she has so much peace knowing that J is with us and part of our family, and it scares her to think about where he would be if K hadn't placed him for adoption. I love J so much, and it is horrible to think of what type of environment he could be living in or what kind of life he could have. I also still have such a love for K for the decision that she made to place J with us...I wish there was something I could do, but I don't think there is anything other than praying for her. At her mom's recommendation, I think that DH and I will likely stop e-mailing K and making a few other changes just to be on the safe side, but we need to talk about it some more.

Friday, June 24, 2011

30 Weeks!

Wow, I can't believe I have made it to 30 weeks...time is going by WAY too fast, and I feel like there has been so much going on and so much to get done. I am still feeling really good. I have noticed that I get tired a lot easier, but besides that, I feel great.

I went in for my biopsy yesterday, and things seemed to have gone well. I saw the same doctor that I did last week, and he confirmed that he thinks the tumor is benign. He said that he has seen cancer in girls my age before, but none of their tumors looked like mine, and that he has seen tumors like mine before, but none were cancerous. He said that it just has all the hallmark signs of being benign, so that is a relief. The biopsy itself was very easy and painless. It only lasted a couple of minutes and I think that the most painful part was having so much pressure put on my boob (to stop the bleeding) after it was over. I should hopefully get the results on Monday, so then I will know for sure what is going on in there.

The baby preparations are coming along, but it seems like there is still a lot to get done. We need to buy a closet organizer before I can really start putting the nursery together, but at least it is painted and we have a crib. I will post pictures once it gets a little closer to being done. I also still need to buy a car seat and a double stroller. We are planning on having Jumper use the car seat that J has been using, so I just need to buy him a bigger one. I have slowly been buying "girl" items, like clothing, bibs, etc, but there is still a lot to get. I have just been trying to spread it out so that I am not having to pay for it all at once.

I tried to sign up for childbirth class, but the classes are all full! My doctor warned me that they fill up quickly, so I guess it is my own fault. I would have really liked to have taken a class, but I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. I did a few rotations of labor/delivery when I was in school, plus we saw J's birth, so I know what happens...it is just a matter of it happening to me! I also think it would have been helpful for DH to go to the class, but I think he is a little relieved that he is off the hook.

J is doing so great and is getting SO big. I started taking him to swim lessons this month, and he has absolutely loved it. Granted he is far off from being able to really swim, but I can tell that he is learning things and he just does so well in the water. He has also started crawling and he is always pulling himself up to a standing position and trying to walk. I have a feeling that he will be walking, even if it is just around furniture, by the time Jumper is born. The crawling is already making him so mobile, so I can only imagine how it is going to be when I am trying to keep track of him and care for a new baby. It should make life interesting, but I know that I wouldn't want it any other way.

Oh...and one of the most exciting things is that we are finalizing J's adoption on Monday!!! I am so excited! It kind of seems strange in some ways because he just feels like he is my kid, so why have to go through this process? It will be so nice to have it all taken care of and for him to legally be mine!

Friday, June 3, 2011

27 Weeks!

I can’t believe I have already made it to 27 weeks! That means I am officially leaving the second trimester behind and moving into the final stage! For the most part, I still feel like things are moving so quickly. It is crazy to think that at the end of the summer, I will have this sweet baby girl in my arms. It has been sinking in more and more that she really is coming, and I am getting so excited to meet her.

I have started making more and more progress in getting things ready. I still don’t think that DH has realized all that we need to do. He always falls back to the fact that we were able to get ready for J so quickly, but I have to keep reminding him that we had a ton of showers after J was born, and I just don’t feel like we can plan on having that happen again this time. It has been really fun for me to be able to plan everything and start buying little girl things. So far, I have bought another crib, bedding set, and have started buying her some clothes. I also bought fabric so that I can make her a quilt. Some times it seems like it is easy to prepare for her since we already have J, but other times it seems like there is so much to buy!

I go in for my glucose/diabetes screening next week. I am not too concerned, so hopefully everything goes well. The one thing I am concerned about is that I found a lump on my breast a couple of weeks ago. I showed it to DH and he was able to feel it pretty easily, too. It hasn’t gone away and is maybe a little tender, but only if I am touching it a lot. I read in my WTE book that sometimes women will get lumps because their milk glands get clogged, but it also said that these lumps are usually tender and the surrounding areas are red. I know that chances are it is related to the pregnancy and will not end up being anything to worry about, but it still concerns me. What if it IS something to worry about??? What if after all this time I finally get my precious kids, only to have something else happen?

It is also time for DH and I to sign up for a childbirth class! I don’t think that DH is really looking forward to this – he keeps saying that he has already been through a childbirth, but I keep telling him that it will be much different now that I am the one having the baby. I have been trying to decide between the regular childbirth class and one that has a heavier focus on breathing techniques for people that are going naturally. I haven’t decided yet what I want; I have a feeling I will end up getting an epidural, but there is a small part of me that is considering going natural. I know the classes are filling up pretty quickly, so I need to make some sort of decision soon. I am kind of leaning towards just the normal class, but we’ll see…

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Precious Moment

As I was snuggling J on the sofa this morning, I could feel Jumper start to move. I don't know if J could feel her or if it was just total coincidence, but he started wiggling down so that his face was closer to my stomach. He then reached out, started touching my belly, and then leaned down and kissed it! I know that he probably isn't old enough to really be doing that consciously and it was probably a coincidence, but it seriously melted my heart. I hope that he feels that way about his sister once she arrives and they grow up together!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Catching Up!

This post is going to be a bit random...lots of quick updates and thoughts.

First, I finally took a belly pic! I took it on Saturday, so it is me at 23w1d. It was kind of crazy for me to see the picture. Maybe that sounds weird, but sometimes I don't picture myself as being "that pregnant". Like maybe it hasn't sunk in still? Anyway, it is nice to see tangible proof that there really is a baby growing in there!



Mother's Day was amazing and definitely surreal. I had a lot of different thoughts and emotions that day. I feel like I had so much to be thankful for. I am so thankful to have J in my life and the opportunity I have to be his mom. I am also so thankful for Jumper and I can't wait to get to know her and be her mom. I also thought a lot about the past few Mothers Days. As I was sitting in church listening to the speakers talking about motherhood, I remembered all the pain and bitterness that I had felt before...everything that I thought had been buried was brought to the surface again. I almost started to get choked up remembering how hard it was and to feel like such an outsider. I think it made me really appreciate the day and my kids even more. I would like to hope that the pain of infertility will never allow me to take them and being a mom for granted. Sometimes it still doesn't seem real, but I am so thankful every day that it is!

I had my follow-up ultrasound today. This was the one that was scheduled because they weren't able to get all the measurements they needed of Jumper's head last time. This morning, I started to have a little bit of anxiety that something would be wrong...what if Jumper hadn't grown? What if there was no heartbeat? I suppose that the anxiety never goes away completely until the baby is born and is safely in your arms. Anyway, everything looked perfect during the ultrasound! Her growth is right on track and she weighs 1 lb, 5 oz. After the ultrasound, I decided to play a little joke on DH since he couldn't come with me. When I talked to him on the phone, I told DH that during the u/s they found out that Jumper was really a baby boy...not a girl! He totally bought it...he was silent on the other end of the line and then said that he was disappointed. I finally fessed up, but I thought it was a good joke!

I go for my routine appointment on Thursday, so it will be great to check in with Jumper twice this week!

As for the nursery, I ended up buying some bedding that is pink and brown. It is the same brand as J's crib set, so even though it doesn't really match, there are a few things that are similar. I figured that I will use chocolate as the mutual color, but besides that, I probably won't have a theme. I plan on printing some pictures of both kids to frame and hang on the walls, and finding a few other things to decorate. I will be sure to post pictures once I make more progress.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Jumper is a...

First, THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who left me those kind, encouraging words on my last post. It felt really good to be able to process my thoughts, and I really appreciate your support. That is one of the (many) reasons why I love this blogging community!

Anyway, we had our big anatomy ultrasound yesterday, and Jumper is a GIRL!!!! We are so excited! I had kind of had a feeling throughout my entire pregnancy that I was having a girl, but I knew that it wasn't for sure. As soon as the tech started the u/s, that was the very first thing that we saw...even DH and I could tell. She was positioned head down with her face toward my back, so it made it a little difficult for them to get all the measurements they wanted. Because of that, I get to go back in a few weeks for another u/s, but I am not complaining about that. Both the tech and the doctor said that everything looks great and I am still right on target for a September 2 due date.