Playing catch up.

Oh my, a lot has happened in the last couple weeks.  On April 10th (my birthday), I went to the hospital because there were some signs that maybe my water was breaking.  They checked me all out and I was not going into labor.  Unfortunately, my first two blood pressure readings were high...very high for me.  Because of this, and a few other symptoms I was having, they admitted me to run more tests for 24 hours.  Not exactly how I wanted to spend my birthday at all.  Luckily, my blood pressure stayed down after that and the rest of my tests came back okay, so I went home the next day but my doctor put me on bed rest.  Now bed rest might sound awesome but it is not really that great.  It's so much laying around that is sucks away any energy that I might have had.  By the third day, I was already miserable.  Last week, I felt sick all week.  Headaches everyday, stomach pain and of course no energy.  I went to my normal appointment on Wednesday and a routine check-up brought up some potential concerns.  I was put on the monitor and the baby looked great but my doctor ordered a bunch of tests and lab work to find out what was going on.  On Friday, I had a sonogram of my gall bladder and of Jake to check his growth.  I went back to the doctor and they put me back on the monitor and when it was all said and done...everything was fine!  After all that, Jake is healthy (almost 7lbs) and right on track and I am still hanging in there.  I am still just hanging out at home but I have added a little more activity which helps keep my energy up and makes me feels better. My doctor wants me to get to 38 weeks, which would be next week, and then she may induce me.  Knowing that everything is fine has been such a stress relief.  I feel much better in general but I am still very ready to have this baby.  I am tired of being pregnant and so ready to meet Jake!

The final countdown.

I still have 43 days until I am due but I have decided to go on maternity leave no later than May 4th...as long as I make it that long. That means that when I updated my work calendar for April today, I could officially start counting down the days until I am unchained from my desk. You would think a desk job would be ideal when you are pregnant but nothing makes my back hurt more than sitting at my desk all day. On top of that, now that I am getting very large, I am running out of vertical belly space and my rib cage is killing me, especially when I am sitting and everything is more compact. I am so uncomfortable (to put it nicely) that I am down to working 32 hours a week. I stay home on Wednesdays to get a "rest" in the middle of the week. Last week was my first short week and it was nice. It does nothing for the back and rib pain when I am at work but that break in the middle makes it easier to get to the weekend for sure.

I will be 34 weeks tomorrow and I know I really have 6 more weeks to go but I am so ready to have this baby now. Partially, due to all the pain but also because I am dying to meet him. I want to see what he looks like, what color his hair will be, what his personality will be like...I am a very curious person so the waiting is killing me. It's the old idea that the closer something gets, the further away it can feel.

I think we are pretty ready for him to come home. We need to give the house a good deep clean and put up the last set of blinds and the valances in the nursery but other than that we are ready as far as the house goes. We have just about everything we need for a newborn. At least I think we do. I am sure he will come and we will realize we needed something else but there will be lots of people to run to the store if needed.

We finished our 4 week birthing class last week. I actually really enjoyed it but I won't miss getting home so late on Thursdays. I really liked our instructor. She was energetic and very knowledgable. I can definitely say I am more prepared for labor but not really less scared. Okay, maybe scared it not the right word. I am just having trouble connecting the concept of labor and delievery to me. I can picture us with our baby but I cannot picture myself going through labor. I really don't know why. I do know that I am going to try to go natural. I am not ruling out the epidural but I am not planning on having one. This pregnancy has not been a cake walk so far so I think I can handle delievery. We shall see...hopefully soon!!