Zach's Spelling Bee

While I am updating, I might as well tell you about Zach's latest accomplishment. This year, the second grade held a spelling bee. It started out with Zach competing against the kids in his classroom. He made it through that one, so the next day he competed against another classroom. Passing that one, he moved onto a competition with the entire second grade on the third day. He didn't win, but he did really well, and I am really proud of him! Parents didn't get to attend, so there are not any pictures, but I wanted to brag on him, too! Way to go, Zach!!!!

Brittany's awards assembly

School is officially out for summer break! Yesterday morning, Brittany had an awards assemby at school. She did great, and she received several awards. She got one for making all As throughout the entire year, one for good behavior (no demerits for the entire year), one for computer lab, where she completed more activities than the other students in the 5th grade, and the Presidential Fitness Award. She was really proud of this one, because she was the only student in her school to receive it. In order to achieve this, she ran a mile in 8 minutes and 34 seconds, did 43 situps in a minute, did 3 chinups, completed a shuttle run (and she doesn't remember the time), and she had to pass a flexibility test. She sat with her legs straight out in front of her and had to reach 33 inches, but she made it to 35. So, she was super excited about this! She was also recognized for Accelerated Reader points. It was a good morning for us, and I am super proud of my daughter! I have pictures and video that I will post later.

Congratulations, Brittany!!

Busy week!

Well, I guess it has been a little more than a week since I posted. We've had quite a bit of adventure. The Friday after my 36 week appointment, I started having regular contractions. These weren't anything like the Braxton-Hicks that I have been having for months, so I started paying attention to them. They were only 10 minutes apart to begin with, so that was okay. Clay's mom was coming to spend the weekend, so Clay decided to go pick up some food for us all to eat. While he was gone, the contractions were suddenly down to 4 minutes apart. I texted him and told him that I would feel better if he were here, because it was making me a little nervous to have them so close together and be so far away from the hospital. He got here, and I went ahead and ate a little to see if that would make them stop. Nope... they kept on at 3-4 minutes, so we decided to head over to the hospital. We got there sometime around 8:45 or 9:00. They took us up to Labor & Delivery, and got us settled into a room. The nurse checked me, and I had dilated to 2cm and the baby was at -2 station. She got me hooked up to the monitors, but they weren't picking up the contractions at all. We finally got that all figured out, and my doctor decided to keep us overnight. So, Clay and I tried to sleep. My contractions fizzled out overnight, and the next morning my doctor came in and let us go home. We spent the entire day Saturday napping and trying to catch up on our sleep. I continued to have contractions throughout the weekend but nothing worth getting excited about.

On Tuesday morning, we went for the 37 week appointment. Still dilated to 2cm, but I was now 60% effaced. My doctor talked with us, and we decided that I will go to his office first thing next Tuesday and then over to the hospital for an induction. He said that due to my history of fast labors and us living an hour away, that might be the best thing. He said that my cervix is "very favorable" and he thought things would happen very easily. Of course, I've never been induced and people have been ever so kindly sharing Pitocin horror stories with me. I don't use pain meds or an epidural when in labor, so I'm very grateful to these people for sharing these stories! Ha!

I haven't had a lot of contractions this week, and I'm thinking that is due to the fact that I have been stuck on my side on the couch. I had a lovely little friend named "hemorrhoid" pop up early in the week, and I've been trying to get rid of it. So, things are a little better today, and I am thinking it may be time to go for a walk. I really would like to go into labor on my own, but I just have two more days to do that! I am more pregnant today than I have ever been!

Either way, our baby girl will be here three days from now! I can't believe it, and I am so excited to meet her. We all wonder who she will look like, and how she will act. I think she must have her daddy's patience, since she is content to hang out where she is and not come on out to meet us. :)

Watch this space for pictures of our baby girl... soon!

Getting close!

I went for my 36 week OB appointment yesterday, and this was a great one! Blood pressure and weight gain were fine, and I measured 34cm (up two from my appt two weeks ago). I had my GBS test and he checked to see if I'm progressing any toward labor. He had good news to share... 50% effaced and "a loose fingertip" dilated, so almost 1cm. This made me really happy, since it is telling me that my body remembers what to do! I've been crampy for the past couple of days, and I lost a little of the plug this morning, so I'm hoping that means that things are moving forward. I've been spending some time on the elliptical at the gym and did three miles on Saturday and Sunday, and then two more miles on Monday night. Maybe all of that is helping to move things along. I think we're heading back to do a little more in a few minutes.

Clay thinks the baby will be here this weekend, but Brittany is still positive that she is coming next Wednesday. I don't care either way. I'll take her as soon as she is ready to make her entrance!

I go back to the doctor again next Tuesday, and I hope to be able to report more progress!!

Long overdue update!

Well, Brittany told me that it has been too long since I've updated the blog, so I am going to do that tonight. A lot has been going on, and I just haven't taken the time to sit and write.

We had our 34 week OB appointment last week. My weight gain was great, blood pressure great, and the baby's heartbeat was great! He measured, and I am measuring a little bit small (although nothing too bad). He decided to do an ultrasound to check baby's position and fluid level. He placed the wand on my belly and we immediately saw a head in the correct position. That was wonderful news! I also have plenty of amniotic fluid in there, so that is also great news. I will go back next week for my 36 week visit, when he will start checking for dilation and effacement. I will then go weekly until this little girl makes her appearance. It is getting SO close now, and we are all getting super excited!

This past Sunday was exciting, as I had my first ever baby shower! You would think that I would have already "been there done that" since I have had two babies in the past, wouldn't you? Well, when I was pregnant with Brittany she decided to come two days before my shower! Then, when I was pregnant with Zach I already had the baby gear, so there wasn't any need for one. So, I was very excited when my friends Nicole and Jeanna wanted to have one for me this time! They did all of the planning and got everything ready, and they did a GREAT job! Even though it was raining, a lot of people came, and I really feel very blessed to have so many special people in my life. I enjoyed every minute of it, and am so happy to have had this experience! Of course, there are pictures... :)

The beautiful diaper cake that my friend, Mandy, brought:


The yummy cake that we got to eat:


Brittany and Zach helping me open gifts, while Jeanna keeps notes:


A great shot of the gift table, taken by Brittany:


Zach and his friend Bravyn (Nicole's daughter):


A picture of Granny, Brittany, Zach, me, and Mom at the shower:


After Clay came to help bring everything home, he took a picture of me with all of it:



There are so many more pictures, but I won't post them all. We had a great time, and are so thankful for the wonderful gifts. We got so much pink, and I love it!!

So, that brings me to today. I am 35 weeks, 4 days pregnant now and feeling okay, for the most part. I am getting pretty swollen, and I can't wear my watch or my engagement and wedding rings (although I wear them on a chain around my neck, because I'm too sentimental to just leave them at home). I'm also not sleeping so well at night, so that means I am sleeping later in the mornings. I am very blessed to have a husband who will get the kids up and ready, and take them to school so that I can get a little more sleep before I go to work. Other than that, I am just really ready for the baby to be here! I can't wait to meet her, see her, hold her, and love her. It won't be long now!!

OB appt, Baby Position, and Loaves of Bread

I always have the best of intentions to update my blog, but you can see that it doesn't happen as often as I want it to happen. I'm hoping that my energy will return with the delivery of this litle girl!

My 31 week appointment was great! He said that all of my bloodwork at the previous visit was perfect, and that my iron levels were higher than he usually sees in someone at this stage of pregnancy. So, YAY for my body doing what it is supposed to do! :) I also had only gained 1.5 pounds, so that made me happy! He said that the baby was still breech, and we talked some about this. Since she had been breech throughout the pregnancy, he said she might end up not turning on her own. This really scared me, because I just don't like the thought of a c-section at all. He knows this, so he talked to us about some ways to encourage her to turn. So... let me tell you all about my fun week last week:

Every night for approximately 30 minutes, I relaxed with my head down and rear end up in the air. :) Sometimes, we would pile up pillows on the couch. Brittany piled up 5 pillows and then helped me to lie down with my head on the couch and butt on the pillows. I stayed that way for around 45 minutes. Another favorite was the ironing board. Clay propped it up against the couch, and I climbed on with my head near the floor and spent around 20 minutes that way. I put a bag of frozen veggies near the top of my belly and Brittany put her iPod headphones down near the bottom of my belly. Too bad no one thought to grab the camera and take pictures!

So, on Thursday night after we got into bed, I really thought I could feel her head down low, and Clay thought I was right. We were going to have an ultrasound done on Friday, but we got there too late and had to wait the rest of the weekend. On Monday at lunch we had one done and she is definitely head down!! I am SO happy about this. We have prayed every night for weeks that she would flip into a good position, and I am now saying thank you every night! I am SO relieved and have had such a weight lifted.

So, let the countdown begin! I will be 33 weeks on Saturday. Brittany is guessing that she will be born on May 20. This is the night of our AWANA closing program, and she just seems to think that will be the day she is born. I think she could be right about that... it will be about 37 1/2 weeks. So, we will see how close she is! Zach is still spending a lot of time with his hand on my belly, only he can actually feel identifiable body parts now, and he thinks this is really neat.

I'm feeling okay pregnancy-wise, but I am starting to really swell. Earlier this week I got on the scale and it showed that I had gained 5 pounds in a week. I know I haven't been eating that badly, and I actually did 3 miles on the elliptical last Saturday and 3 1/2 on Sunday, so I'm fairly certain that is from fluid retention. On Monday night my feet looked like someone else's feet... completely unlike mine! Tuesday, I could only wear flip flops to work. Wednesday, Clay was sitting in my office talking to me and I propped my feet up. He said, "Wow! I really see what you're talking about now. They look like loaves of bread!" haha They aren't as bad today, and I can actually see foot bones in the top again. My wedding ring still fits, and I am happy about that. I'm still wearing my engagement ring on a chain around my neck, but I will be glad to be able to put it on again in a few weeks.

So, overall, it has been a wonderful couple of weeks! Clay has a meeting in Little Rock at the end of next week, so we are taking the kids and heading up for a couple of nights. It will be our last getaway before the baby is here, and I'm looking forward to it! :)

4D Ultrasound and a trip to Branson

The kids had spring break a couple of weeks ago, so we decided to take a trip up to Branson. Clay closed the office at noon on Wednesday, and we headed to Texarkana for our 4D ultrasound. I was really excited, because this wasn't available when I was pregnant with Brittany and Zach. We got some great shots, but our DVD isn't working. I've got to go back on Tuesday and see if the lady can make it work. Anyway, the u/s went great! I was afraid we might not be able to see her face, but we got a lot of cute pictures. I am already in love with her and can't wait to meet her! The only part that concerned me is that she was breech, and I just want to be sure that she turns before time for delivery. I do NOT want a c-section. The tech who did the u/s said that I have a lot of fluid and that she has plenty of room to turn, but it has been almost two weeks now and she is still breech. At least I think she is... I can feel body parts and kicks that make me think she is still head up.

After the ultrasound we headed to Little Rock and spent the night. We stopped to see Clay's mom and showed her our ultrasound pictures, as well. I think she really enjoyed them! Then on Thursday morning we were off to Branson. We had a great trip with lots of good food and we really enjoyed spending the time together. We took the kids to see the Titanic exhibit, went to the indoor waterpark, did a lot of shopping, and a lot of eating! We came home on Saturday and it snowed on us for a few hours of the trip home. We all had a great time, and it was a great way to finish spring break.

I am now 31 weeks pregnant and am so excited that this baby girl could be here in as little as 6 weeks! I go back to the doctor on Tuesday. I think my two week appointments will start now, and that is exciting! I've also done pretty well with my eating and exercising this time, so let's hope I get there and haven't gained another ton of weight. My shower is scheduled for May 3, and I am also really excited about that! I missed my shower with Brittany because she was born two days before it was scheduled, and then I didn't have one with Zach since he was my second and I still had all of my baby stuff from Brittany. So, this will be my first baby shower and I can't wait!

Okay, now for the u/s pics! The first one is my favorite because she smiled at us. :)


This one is a great shot of her foot:


This one is a little creepy, because her eye is open:


Will report more after my appointment on Tuesday!