Baby's on its Way!!

OK, the water broke at 10:55 tonight, so we're at the hospital!! This has been quite an eventful evening for us. JR got home from a meeting at 10, we had General Tso's Chicken for dinner at 10:30, and the water broke at 10:55! I had just used the restroom and returned to the recliner when I felt fluid leaking from my body. Realizing it could very well be my water breaking, I rushed back to the bathroom and saw the confirmation!! We immediately started wrapping up the hospital bag, and JR had me get a shower and freshen up. We called the Wargos to come get Freddie, and we were soon on our way to the hospital!

Upon arrival so far, I've had blood tests, been horribly poked in the hand for an IV, been examined, and am now lying on my bed waiting for my body to do something! My parents just arrived, making record time and packing nothing! :-) I love them and am very grateful for their support. Someone will keep this updated as this goes!!

38-Week Appointment

Today was my 38-week appointment! I have only gained 30 pounds so far in 38 weeks, not too shabby! My blood pressure was 110/72, very good. The baby's heartbeat was strong, in the 140s. The doctor estimates that the baby is between 7.5-8 pounds but had a hard time telling for sure because of the way my body is carrying this child. I am now 2 centimeters dilated and 30% effaced, so that's good news!! My regular OB, Dr. McKelvey, comes back from her maternity leave next week, so my next appointment will be with her again. We'll see if this baby holds in there for that!!

Auntie Remembered

Today Auntie went home to be with the Lord at 3:45 a.m. We will be saying our goodbyes at her funeral on Monday in Lima. She had been unconscious for a week now from a massive stroke and bleeding on her brain. We praise the Lord for keeping her from knowing what was going on, as she would have been devastated to know what her condition was. This may seem like an odd entry for my baby blog, but I wanted to make sure this was documented for our child as Auntie was so near and dear to our hearts. She was one of the first people to hold me at the hospital when I was born and reminded me almost annually right around this time (my birthday) of the events from my birth and the sacrificial trek she made to get to see me and be there for my family.
I have so many fond memories of Auntie and look forward to sharing them one day with our son or daughter. May she forever live on in our lives!!

38 Weeks - Countdown begins!

Well, Baby has hung in there to full-term now, so we begin our countdown to the arrival which can be any day now. That is so crazy to say, that any day now we can become parents!! My body is definitely ready for the arrival, especially as my pelvic area is spreading causing great discomfort. However, when I consider all that could have gone wrong during this pregnancy, that is nothing to me and I am reminded of how easy this pregnancy has been overall and how blessed we have been. My husband is probably sick of hearing me complain about how much pain I am in right now, but I try to keep it between the two of us as it really isn't much to complain about compared to things others have gone through!

We have definitely been nesting around here. Over these past two weeks of Christmas break we, mostly because of JR, have cleaned all the light fixtures, vacuumed the ceilings (yes, I did say vacuumed!), organized the office and basement, kept up on all the laundry, finished the last details in the baby's room, cleaned the ceiling fans, and more! JR has been such a blessing and what a trooper during these times. I owe him big time!!

As for an update with doctor visits, I had my first internal check at 36 weeks and was told that I was dilated about the width of a fingertip. I'll get that checked again at this week's 38-week appointment. The doctor also estimated the baby to be approximately 7.5 pounds already, approaching 8 lbs. when checked at last week's 37-week appointment. The heartbeat is still very strong, and the baby is in the correct position for delivery. Thankfully each appointment has been supplied with good news! Thank you, Lord!!

And to wrap up this update, here is a look at how HUGE I am at this point:

34 Weeks Down...

This should have been posted a couple of weeks ago, but here is a quick update as I'm down to Week 34! The baby is starting to move into position now, as I can tell she's dropped some but not a whole lot. What's been interesting now is being able to watch my belly move more and more in such odd motions and feeling the tumbling feelings inside instead of just kicks. I love being reminded of the baby's presence! What an amazing gift from God!!

Here's my 34-week belly pic to wrap this up:

Nearing the End!

The past couple of weeks have kept us hopping around here, preparing for the quickly approaching arrival of our baby. Since the last entry, we have had two more baby showers, one given by the junior high with the clever "What Baby?" theme (inside joke) and one given by my family, mostly my mother. Both were absolutely lovely and greatly appreciated! Our friends the Putnams surprised us with our travel system (car seat and stroller), and we were blessed with more clothes, bath supplies, some feeding supplies, and so much more. This coming Saturday we have our last shower, given by my sister with the help of my friend Becky. We look forward to the time with family and friends and the showering of love upon our child!! I still can't believe how much is needed for a baby! We are so blessed and grateful for the showers of gifts and love to help us out!!

Also these past two weeks included our 32-week checkup with Dr. Funk (Dr. McKelvey is on maternity leave) and the beginning of my Braxton Hicks. I'll never forget that first feeling of a practice contraction! It happened Sunday, November 22, during the sermon at church. I had 5-7 in that small time frame yet went a few days without another one. It's such a strange feeling with no discomfort. I wish real contractions were without discomfort as well! :-) The doctor at the appointment said all is good and we're right on track with 32 weeks, so that was very refreshing to hear. After that appointment, we were expecting to have a 36-week checkup next then start our every week appointments. However, Dr. Funk determined that he'd rather us come in at 35 weeks instead, this time to meet with the last of the doctors in the practice - Dr. McComsey. I'm not sure what to expect after that one!! That will be so close to the end!

JR and I continue to get things ready around the house. As I type this, I'm washing up the first load of laundry for the baby (blankets, burp cloths, and bibs) thinking of the MANY, MANY more loads I'll wash over the years for this child. It's making everything seem so real and close! Last night we also continued our preparation and cleaned out cupboard space for the baby, straightened up a lot in the basement, and organized all of our seasonal decorations and game closet to make room for toys down the road. We also ordered our crib and dresser for the nursery!! We're just elated and so anxious to meet our child. She (or he?) should be here soon enough!

First Baby Shower!

Today my friends at work threw me my very first baby shower! We had a great time of eating, jabbering, and opening gifts. I love it that I have such great friends at work who would care so much about this child to do all of that! We had a great time with veggie tray, fresh pineapple and strawberries, and scrumptious cupcakes. Sue and Ashlee Klein (mother and daughter, both Language Arts teachers), Shirley Burdecki (10th grade secretary), Summer Burris (math teacher), Lindsay Kaya (Spanish teacher), Jess Thompson (LA teacher), Sarah Marsh (French teacher, and Krystal Evans (Spanish teacher) were such an amazing crew of women!! Lexi was given some clothes, books, CDs, socks and shoes, stuffed animals, hooded towels, diaper bag, and diaper goodies to start of her collection of many needed items. I can't wait to start using the gifts and dress her up!! It's so exciting! Today made everything feel that much more real!!! Thanks, ladies, for everything!