A whole lotta nuthin'

Well, I am still pregnant. Crap! Even though I am scared to death of childbirth and newborns in general, I truly am ready to be through with pregnancy- forever! Things have just been SO WEIRD around here. I have had several signs that labor is imminent and was sure he was coming the last two nights. Then, things would stop out of nowhere. I have literally woken up Monday and Tuesday, gotten chores done, kids off to school, and rested all day long thinking any minute my contractions and other symptoms* (TMI, but at the bottom of the post if you're curious) would pick up steam. It has been very frustrating to say the least. I haven't been cooking at all. We have just been doing bachelor food (mac-n-cheese, nachos, raviolis, Ramen, etc) just because- A) I'm exhausted and B) I can't think straight long enough to prepare a meal. I even went so far as to have my mom stay the night last night because I was POSITIVE he was coming. She is now back home, bags packed waiting for my call. I have my sweet friend Erin (my kid's second mom practically) at my beck and call helping me out as well. I feel like everyone around me is holding their breath and I feel like I am disappointing everyone or like The Lady Who Cried Labor. So, once again my bags are by the door, we had a quick easy dinner, and I am freshly bathed in my pj's waiting once more for labor. I sure hope I can start a good labor pattern before 7:30am and I can avoid an induction tomorrow morning. Plus, maybe baby boy can pick his own cool birth date without me prompting him. Once again, Thanks So Much for all the sweet phone calls, texts, and Facebook messages. I am sure y'all are just as ready as I am for him to come. Then, I can get busy blogging about sore nipples, yellow poop, and how tired I am.

*mucus plug and bloody show*

waiting, waiting and more waiting.....

I am sitting here on my bed, with a laptop, outfitted in PJ's. And, I am waiting- for a contraction, my water to break, or a baby to land on my bed. I have cleaned the entire house many times over. The clothes the kids slept in are already washed and folded. There is a ton of food in the house and still I wait. For some reason I just knew I was gonna go into labor last night, because I had a hair appointment today I guess? And, obviously he isn't here yet. I had a rough night of sleep, my back was killing me and my dog barked ALL NIGHT LONG. So, I cancelled my hair appointment. The thought of driving to Mansfield when I would rather be resting didn't sound very appealing at all. Plus, I figured when he's a few weeks old a fresh color and cut would do wonders after many sleepless nights, poopy diapers, spit up in the hair, and day after day of sweats and bad breath. Honestly who is gonna notice my hair-do when I am busy pushing a baby out anyway?
Anyway- as of now I have an induction scheduled Wednesday (9-9-09) if I choose to be induced or I haven't gone into labor by then. I am very leery of inductions- I have been induced twice and when your baby isn't ready to come out, it' a long brutal process. So, I am gonna try anything and everything to get labor going this weekend. And, if not I will cancel the induction if I chicken out. The 9-9-09 birthday would be cool, but I really want him to be born on his watch not mine. I am just surprised that he hasn't come yet. I haven't really been resting at all. I have cleaned and walked and pushed myself physically every day for the last two weeks and still he's staying put. He has dropped so low and I have so much pressure down below that for the first time in 5 pregnancies- I WADDLE!
So, that's the state of things. I am just waiting. Today I am alternating between the couch, my bed, housework, the bathroom, and the fridge. And, I am crossing my fingers....

In a nutty shell...

Today I:

got up at 6
went to the OB at 10
got numb/frostbite butt sitting "naked from the waist down" waiting on OB, I am no more dilated or effaced than I was last week... CRAP!
had lunch at home by myself at 12:30
surfed the net til 2
picked Hayden up from school early because I can
napped from 3:15 til 5 (love having older kids, they made their own snack and started homework!)
did a spit shine on entire house and cooked and ate dinner from 5:30 til 7:30
forgot that it was Meet the Teacher at the middle school between bites of meatloaf, oops!
folded three baskets of laundry and read with Hayden
put Hayden and Chloe to bed at 9
haven't left the couch or computer since, except to pee 7 times
fixing to go to bed, I might brush my teeth....

Tomorrow I'm:

getting the kids off to school from 6 til 8
sitting my fat butt on the couch at 8:01 and I am only getting up to eat and potty

**I am not leaving the couch til 2 when I have to get ready to get Hayden. This is because I am SO DONE being pregnant and I am tired. And, because I can. Tomorrow after school- who knows? It depends on if I can tap into some energy of kind. Doubtful. Did I mention I'm done? I have never been more glad to see Friday coming and I might be able to muster a cartwheel because it's a three day weekend. Maybe. Watch me go into labor on Labor Day, how fitting.

P.S. please pray for rain, this will make my Couch Potato Fest all the more fun!

A birth story

**NO I have not had him yet** I am delirious from lack of sleep and decided to blog about when I had Hayden.

Uggh! I have been up for an hour- it's now 5:03 am. Crap! Today was the day I was gonna run several last minute errands and tackle a few little chores. I have forbidden this baby from coming out til I finish this list. Now it looks as if I am gonna spend a good part of my day napping. Hopefully I can get to my list before bedtime tonight. And, before you say anything- yes I know it's not a big deal if I don't finish my list. But, I really want to cross everything off. I just have this urgency that I can't describe.
I had the same thing going on when I went into labor with Hayden:

I was on week two of my maternity leave, it was a Monday and I knew I had to get this list done so I could relax and wait on him to come. I had planned the day out: OB for my check-up, take Chloe to gymnastics, have lunch with Kelli and Amy, after which I would hit Burlington Coat Factory for coats (an ice storm was coming) and the grocery store so we wouldn't starve during said ice storm. I had a feeling the contractions I had been having that morning were the real deal and when I got to the doctor I had dilated to a 3 and I had been a 2 the week before. So, the urgency to get my list done kicked into hyper drive. I ran by the house to grab Chloe for her class (Jon had the day off and was working on his portion of the list) and told Jon to go ahead and shower so we could run our errands as I was pretty sure I would be having the baby that day. I planned to come back by to get him after Chloe was finished. I called Kelli and Amy and told them lunch was off- I was afraid to eat just in case... Almost immediately after Chloe's class began my contractions started to be more frequent and intense. I sat and tried to watch her, all the while timing my contractions and trying to remain calm. At this point they were about 10 minutes apart. However, I thought I could still get all my errands done. I went home when Chloe finished and got Jon and off we went. First stop: the coat store. I made it from the parking lot to the first rack of coats and my contractions intensified quick- they were now coming every 7 minutes or so. And me? I kept shopping. Breathing through them and leaning on the cart, because it felt better that way. I somehow grabbed coats and gloves for the kids and even managed to stop in home decor to grab a birthday gift!
I knew standing and contracting in the checkout line that the grocery store was not gonna happen. I called my doctor who told me to head to the hospital. But, we had to grab Chan and Hunter from school first. Honestly I am not sure what was more painful- waiting on Jon to come back to the car with the boys or driving through construction and school zones while contracting.... Put it this way- it was a reeaal long drive.
During my entire pregnancy I had grand plans (I have them now as well) to have all the kids there to witness the birth. I would have freshly painted toenails, soft smooth legs and bikini line, full makeup, etc. There would be calming music playing and friends stopping by while I sat in bed all epidural-ed and pain free, just waiting until I was told to push. HA! I quickly figured out I was NOT in charge. Not only was I not near as dilated as I had hoped- but my labor stalled when they stuck me in bed. At this point it was about 3 in the afternoon and little did I know it was gonna be a long night. Most of my labor from that point on was a blur.... I remember my mom showing up, my kids driving me INSANE, Kelli and Amy coming to retrieve the kiddos and get them McDonald's, several friends showing up to see the baby, and me in tears because he wasn't coming fast enough and my epidural was NOT working. I remember being so frustrated and so done with ever having more kids. At that point if Jon even got near me- he would have lost his manhood....
Finally around 8 it was time to push. Which I did. I pushed until I couldn't push anymore. Over two and a half hours passed and no baby. My doctor (who had been off playing video games in the doctor's lounge) came in and told me if the baby wasn't born by 11- I was gonna have a c-section. I had been vomiting and needing oxygen and I think he wanted out more than I wanted him out. Really though, I think my doctor wanted to go home. I know I did.... I flat out refused to be cut open. So, I said a prayer- for strength and courage and had them turn off my epidural. All it was doing was making my legs numb, while I writhed in pain. (This is a result of scar tissue in my back and the very reason I am not sure I can have an epidural this go round.) I had little to no pain relief throughout the entire labor. Let me tell you- that prayer and my faith worked wonders, I felt like Xena the Warrior Princess or something. I pushed him out 16 minutes later! I was so relieved! And, as my mother in law will tell you my exact words were: "I am done- no more babies ever." I have never been so glad as I was then- he was beautiful and perfect and fat- 8lbs 3 oz, my biggest baby ever and a big shock after Chloe who weighed in at 6lbs 14 oz. It was a rough labor, I can't stress that enough. My memory has failed me about all the details but I do know most of my anxiety about labor is because with Hayden it was sooo bad.
So, I sit here this morning with freshly painted toes, smooth legs, and groceries. I only have a few little things on my list... and I am having some little contractions. I am almost positive it's not the real deal. It can't be, I have a list to finish first.

the kiddos, Hayden was about 18 hours old and look Chloe has on her new coat

Pig's Feet

So, I am willing for the sake of my blog to show y'all a picture of my cankles. In four pregnancies I have NEVER had swollen anything. I can wear my rings, high heels, etc. Well, my rings still fit but high heels are gonna have to wait awhile. Yes, I know I have a bunion and yes I desperately needed a pedicure when the pic with the black toenails was taken. I got one last night but unfortunately it did nothing for the swelling. If anything it's worse. Without further ado, my feet:

Thursday evening


Saturday afternoon

Back to the OB she went.....

So, today I went in for another check-up. Seriously- bad experience... First I was late and was courteous enough to call. That idiotic receptionist tried to tell me if I was more than 15 minutes late he would have to reschedule! Really? What about all the times he made me wait over an hour?? I managed to slip in a whopping 4 minutes late! Miraculously, I was called back within 5 minutes. Where I was promptly weighed, I am up 1.5 more pounds, wowza! The minute I got in the room I told my nurse exactly what I thought of the receptionist, it rhymes with witch. Then she told me my Group B Strep test was positive. Which made my blood pressure climb to 140/90 and my feet to swell like balloons! Ok, my feet were already swollen but still! They did get bigger, much bigger. I am sensing lots of rubber flip flop days in my future. Anyway, back to the point- Of course I was sitting there panicking about the strep test because I had Googled it the other day and it scared the bejeezus out of me! That didn't help matters one bit! Then that silly nurse asked me if I wanted to be checked for dilation and effacement!! I said to her: "of course I do, don't all doctors check at 36 weeks on?" And she acted like I was WEIRD! That got me even hotter! Anyway, he finally came in and molested my cervix with his big fat fingers. Which was horribly painful and not at all something I care to do again. I think I may tell her no next week when she asks if I want to be checked. She might wet her freaking scrubs. Anyway... to make a long blog post short- I am dilated 1 to 2 centimeters and starting to efface a TINY bit. Which sounds promising if you are going to give birth to a Lee press on nail... As of now, I am on strict doctor's orders to rest with a vat of bon-bons and some cheesy television. Which I fully plan on obeying ;)

P.S. After I calmed down a bit I had my blood pressure checked again and it was down to 122/76 so that's good!

Wondering-

how the kids are handling the first day of school, particularly Chloe. Today was her first day of middle school. I am really hoping Hunter helped her out today... it's nice that they are in the same school again this year.

if I can get all of my last minute nesting done before baby.

how many more chocolate chip muffins I can eat before I get sick to my stomach, hmmm... also, if the chocolate I got on my white shirt will come out.

when I am gonna go into labor, how it will start, how long it will take, and if I can manage without the epidural.

what the baby looks like, if I really want to name him what we have discussed, and if he has hair.

if I will find the mental energy to load the very few pictures I took of the first day back to school.

if my kids realize for the first time in their entire lives that I forgot to put notes in their lunches- it's been a tradition since they started kindergarten. I feel terrible about forgetting....

if Chloe is gonna have a good year. Middle school is when girls become Mean Girls and I can't stand the thought of ANYONE being mean to my Chloe girl.

if Jon will surprise me with the fluffy chocolate brown glider rocker I have been begging for.

if Swine Flu is gonna be as bad as they are saying- kinda scary... supposedly flu season starts in a few weeks. Yikes!

if I can get my last minute errands run before baby.

and lastly- if anyone is reading this and if so are you bored yet?