The Big Day

    Tomorrow is the big day. I am so excited. I hardly knew what to do with myself on my last day of this pregnancy. Got a lot of things accomplished. The place looks beautiful. My mother-in-law gifted us the use of a cleaning service and I had the maids over yesterday. They are absolutely incredible. And I washed all of our bedding and cleaned all of our dishes today so that when we come home on Sunday we'll be coming home to a spotless house. Feels so good. Made sure the hospital bags were all packed. Shaved my legs. Took some maternity photos.

      I made Michael dinner and we celebrated with sparkling cider and watched the movie Les Miserables. We did some shopping for some last minute baby things. We bought a Baby Bjorn and Michael is just loving it. He can't wait to use it. He's such a proud papa.

    We also finished a couple of last minute projects in the nursery. I've been collecting things here and there to fill up this bookcase and Michael (the adorable stud that he is) hung these curtains up for me.

    We've also, of course, been enjoying our last moments with our little puppy as our only baby. She got a new toy today and she's ecstatic. We love this little girl to death. 

    Not sure how I'll get any sleep tonight. We have to be at the hospital at 6:30 am. I really can't wait. I just want to hold this little baby and love all over him. Wish us luck!!!

Goblin Baby

    We met with our OB this morning. I am so grateful that Michael was able to come with me this time. My blood pressure was still high but not high enough to get me induced today. The doctor did have the results of my 24 hour urine analysis and they were abnormal so it's officially official - I do have preeclampsia. She is hesitant to induce me before Saturday. Babies do best when they can cook as long as they can. So I'm just being closely monitored until then. I had to have another blood test and I was sent home with another jug to do another 24 hour urine analysis test. I was really unhappy about this. It's seriously the most awkward thing ever to have to pee into a cup and pour it into a jug EVERY single time you use the bathroom. And you have to keep the jug in the fridge. Which is just gross. Really really unhappy that I have to do it again. Seriously. Just pissed.
     I was sent over to another clinic to get an ultrasound done today as well. They were checking to make sure that I have enough amniotic fluid to keep baby nice and pickled. We haven't had an ultrasound done since he was 19 weeks. It was kind of fun to get to see him up on the monitor again. Although, he's so big and everything is so squished that you can't really tell what you're looking at. The nurse was really nice and took the time to double check that we are indeed having a boy. Wouldn't that be just my luck to find out that we're actually having a girl?! Thank goodness he's got all his proper man bits. :-)

Here's me getting the ultrasound.

Here's a profile of the little guy's face. This kid is so big that you can't really see much of anything. The nurse had the hardest time even getting a profile because he's so low in my pelvis.

This photo is terrifying. The whole time the nurse is just gushing about how cute he is and I think he looks like a goblin baby. And where on earth did he get that nose?! He better just be super squished. Haha. We'll love him even if he does come out looking like this.

    Anyway, we're supposed to hear back from the doctor tonight if anything extremely abnormal pops up in any of the lab tests or ultrasound that we took today. If not, we're locked and loaded for induction on Saturday morning. I can't wait.

Bed Rest

    We ended up going to the hospital last night. I was feeling fine for most of the day. I even had some vistors come by for a little bit. Michael's aunt and uncle and his cousin came over to pick up Luna and take her back to their place. (We'll be leaving her with them while we are in the hospital whenever we end up going for the real thing and they wanted to have a little time with her so she could get used to them and their dogs. And let's face it. She's just cute and fun to play with.) Anyway, about an hour after they left I started to feel really sick. I threw up. Had a constant dull headache. Since my OB is concerned about preeclampsia she wanted me to call if I experienced anything out of the ordinary so I ended up giving her a call. She wanted me to go into the hospital right away to be monitored. I called Michael and he immediately drove home from work and picked me up. We brought all of our hospital bags because we weren't sure if we'd be leaving with a baby or not. We got there, got checked in and then were taken back to triage where I was immediately hooked up to a blood pressure cuff and a couple of monitors. We had brought the 24 hour urine analysis jug with us per the doctors instructions (hurray for getting that out of our fridge!!!) and handed that off to a nurse. I had my blood taken (again) and then we were left alone for almost 2 hours while they waited for lab results and intermittently checked my blood pressure which kept climbing. At one point it was incredibly high - 159/97. After a while I didn't feel nauseous anymore and my headache was starting to subside. My blood pressure slowly started to decrease. They called my OB and she said that since I was improving that they were going to release me. I was sent home and told to remain on bed rest (which I honestly hadn't been very good at - I cheated a couple of times and went out to the grocery store with Michael). I am still supposed to be meeting with my doctor first thing Monday morning to decide what our next step will be.
    I think Michael is really enjoying this whole bed rest thing a lot more than I am. He's on his third hour of nap #2 today. I just can't get comfortable enough to sleep very long so I've been bouncing back and forth between the couch and the bed and the tub all day. Everyone keeps telling me to enjoy all of the time I have to relax because I won't have any time to myself later. I'm sure that's true. But I'm still really bored.
    I can't decide how I should be feeling. Excited to meet my little guy, to finally not be pregnant anymore and hoping for an earlier induction date? Or should I enjoy the last couple of days I'll have with just Michael and the puppy and I and hope the doctor decides to wait to induce a little later?
   

Induction

    So, it looks like I'll have to be induced. Went into the OB's office today for my weekly check up and my blood pressure was even higher than last week. More protein in my urine. Will be induced next weekend for sure (because I'll be 39 weeks) but it could possibly be sooner. I had to have another blood test done and they sent me home with a big huge jug to do the 24 hour urine collection test. She wants me back in her office first thing Monday morning. That's when a decision will be made on exactly when I'll be induced - if I can wait it out for the rest of the week or if it needs to happen sooner than that. She also checked my cervix. I'm dilated 2 cm and I'm 75% effaced. She hopes this means that I'll go really quickly once the induction starts.
    I do have mixed feelings about all of this. First of all, induction was the most terrifying thing we learned about in our medical interventions portion of the childbirth preparation class. Just because an induction means an IV which means limited mobility and I'll have stronger, longer contractions which means that an epidural might be more likely. It's like a snowball effect. Not really what I had in mind when I wrote up my birth plan. Dr. Carter is really great though. She assured me that they will try and stick to my birth plan as closely as possible and help me have the birth experience that I really want. So that's comforting. It's also kind of nice to know exactly when our baby will be coming. It makes planning around Michael's work schedule and plane tickets for Michael's mom a lot easier to figure out. We'll finally get to meet our little guy in about a week (or less)!!!! Sure hope we're ready!!!
     I'm officially on medical bed rest until the induction and can't leave the house for anything that isn't medically related. I did get approval to tour the hospital this evening however. I've been looking forward to it for weeks. Michael insists that I sit in a wheelchair for the whole thing. Ha. We'll see about that. I'll be good about bed rest after tonight. :-)
    The best thing about all of this is that I won't have to give a talk in church on Sunday after all! Shucks. Oh, and I'm supposed to avoid housework. That'll be nice too.

Baby Shower #2

    I just had the most lovely weekend with friends and family - baby shower #2 was on Saturday. My wonderful sister-in-law and great long-time friend put together the most amazing shower I've ever attended!!! The whole shower was owl-themed. It was absolutely perfect!

Check out these adorable invitations that my sister-in-law put together!!!

And look at this amazing cake that my friend Charlotte made! The little owls on top match exactly the little owls on the invitations! Check out her incredible dessert catering company here. She is so talented!

    It was seriously so much fun! I'm so grateful that I have such wonderful people in my life. And the turn out was really great. 

    We had all of our visiting family over to the lake house for dinner later that evening. We made cuban corn and spicy black bean burgers - vegetarian all the way! It was fun to have a glimpse of what our lives will be like. I mean, how it'll be to have the extended family together and have our kids playing with their cousins and just a house full of happy people. I absolutely love my husband's family. They are the best. 

Emerson's Nursery

    Two posts in one day you ask? I've been a very busy momma today. I have a lot of family coming into town tonight and tomorrow for baby shower #2 and I wanted to finish a bunch of projects in the nursery so I could show them off. I'm pretty darn proud of myself.

    These are my favorite. I've had these three frames for a couple of months. I think we bought them at Michael's. I knew I wanted to use them in the nursery somehow but I could never quite figure out how I wanted to do it. I was in JoAnn's today and came across an aisle that had a collection of random baby stuffs and I snatched up these little gems. We love our owls! I already had purchased the burlap a couple of weeks ago. A little hot glue and viola! 

    Another favorite project. I used some more of the burlap to repurpose a small canvas (the upholstery gun is my favorite toy to use) and just painted a wooden letter E for Emerson. Simple but so cute. 

    (Don't mind the fact that not everything is hung evenly. I am 9 1/2 months pregnant after all and I had a hard time climbing up on the dresser to make this all work. Michael will fix anything that looks screwy later.) This is the collage I put together to go over the dresser/changing table. I used some embroidery hoops and repurposed some more canvases. I found the mirrors at a second hand store and repurposed those as well. The cute little frame in the bottom left corner is from Target. It's the only thing that I bought that I didn't do anything to before it went up on the wall. For some reason, this looks so much better in person. 

    I repurposed another two canvases (I told you - I love my upholstery gun)  to go above the crib since that wall was looking pretty bare. I still have to figure out what I'm going with that blank corner but it's coming along. The pillow is another favorite purchase - Target, of course. 

    This is my absolute favorite thing in the nursery. My mom made it for me when I was a baby. It even has a little tag on the back that says "Specially Hand-Made with Love by Lisa" and it winds up to play "I Am a Child of God". It's definitely seen some better days. It's a little love worn and stained in some places but it's so special to me. Ahhh. I just love it. 

    I was also able to finish organizing Emerson's closet. Well, for now. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to add to it after my baby shower tomorrow. 

    I'm so happy that everything is coming together well. I still have a mobile to make and those darn curtains but for the most part we're pretty much ready for this baby to come any time!!!

Breastfeeding & OB Appointment Update

    Lot of thoughts that I've been stewing on lately and need to get them all out. First of all, I was able to go to three different classes this week that have all been very informative. On Monday I attended an infant CPR & safety class. Michael had to work and wasn't able to come with me. We had to practice on these dummies. I felt pretty silly mainly because I was having a hard time hunkering my body down over the table while trying to use my limited lung capacity to inflate the creepy doll's lungs and give compressions (which is REALLY hard - had no idea it would be so much work!). I was a certified life guard for a couple of years and I really don't remember it being so difficult. We got to keep the mannequins and I had a fun time teaching Michael how to do CPR the next day. He looked just as silly as I felt.
    On Tuesday I took a class that was strictly about breastfeeding. This has been my favorite class by far. I definitely liked the instructor a lot better. I feel a lot more informed and educated and confident in myself. I've wanted to breastfeed from the get go but I was always a little nervous about it. Now I definitely feel like it's the right choice for me and for my baby. 
    Breastfeeding is a sensitive subject among some of my friends. I have some friends who chose to formula feed for the convenience of it, some who formula feed because they are physically unable to breastfeed, some who are middle-of-the-road breastfeeders who aren't keen on public breastfeeding and I have friends who are breastfeeding activists who believe a woman should be able to breastfeed whenever and wherever they want to. 

    I'm sure I'm going to upset a few people no matter what my views are because I don't agree with everyone about everything. That's the first important point I want to make. It all goes back to my baby - my birth plan. Everyone is entitled to make their own decisions regarding their parenting styles and practices. I don't look down on anyone who uses formula to feed their children. I was a formula fed baby and I turned out just peachy. I also don't look down on anyone who chooses to breastfeed publicly - not my particular cup of tea but to each their own, right? 

    Here's what I have a problem with: Lately there has been an article floating around Facebook that hasn't painted some church members in the best light. There are a group of women who call themselves the LDS Lactivists. They are upset because they have been told by local church leaders that they shouldn't breastfeed publicly and reserve that kind of thing for the mother's lounge only because it has become a problem for some of the men in the ward. First of all, I don't think that it is the woman's fault that some men are made uncomfortable by something as natural as breastfeeding. I don't think that they should be restricted to just using the mother's lounge either. And no one should feel persecuted for doing what they think is best for their children. I do feel however that it is appropriate to use a nursing cover. I feel that way about nursing anywhere that is public. I personally don't want to just plop my boob out for everyone to see. I feel like this is totally unnecessary. Will this limit my ability to properly feed my son when and where he needs to be fed? Absolutely not. 

    I also do not feel like church is the right place to be making a statement. I've heard of women staging breastfeeding sit downs in protest at stores like Hollister or Target where they have been asked not to breastfeed publicly. Like I said, I do not feel like any woman should be told where and when to feed her children but church should be a place where you go to be uplifted and learn about the teachings of Christ - not stage a rally. I don't know if any such protests are in the works but I sincerely hope that they are not. What did Christ teach about turning the other cheek? I feel like breastfeeding LDS women should keep their chins up and take the higher road in this particular instance. 

    Wow. That turned into a whole lot of soap-boxing. Not my original intention for this post. Moving on.

    I was also able to take a class on car seat safety this week. I had no idea that 9 out of 10 car seats are installed incorrectly. Or that using aftermarket add ons can void your car seat warranty - things like see-baby mirrors or neck pillows or seatbelt covers. Very interesting.

    I had my weekly appointment with my OB yesterday. Can I just emphasize again how happy I am that she is back?! I just adore her! So glad that we chose to have her be our doctor. I was a little freaked out at the appointment because the doctor found an abnormal amount of protein in my urine which means my kidneys are swelling which means that Preeclampsia is something we have to look out for. She also sent me to have my blood drawn. I haven't had any of the other symtoms associated with it so she's just recommended that I take it easy. I also had to have the Group B Strep test done (ewww) and she checked out my cervix. I am dilated 1.5 centimeters and I've already started the effacement process apparently. This was something I was really excited about. I put it up on Facebook and ended up just getting a bunch of people telling me that it didn't mean anything and that I shouldn't get my hopes up for an early delivery. This bothered me a lot. A) Are you a doctor? B) What is the point of raining on my parade? C) You suck. D) I may not have an early delivery but it may be an easier delivery because I won't be starting out at ground zero and I think that's something to be pretty excited about. I'm sure that my friends had good intentions in their comments but I felt like my feelings of happiness were being negated rather than validated. I hate to admit it but I got so weirdly emotional about this because I felt so stupid for being happy about it. Poor Michael had to sit through my emotional outburst and he just looked so lost. I'm sure he's just excited as I am for me to not be pregnant anymore. Haha. I mean, seriously. I was crying over a Facebook status. That's just ridiculous! And incredibly embarrassing. 

    

The Box is the Best Part

    When Michael got home from work today he helped me set up our new travel system. The system we picked out had some mixed reviews so we wanted to make sure that it didn't have any problems. Most negative reviews complained about flat or wobbly tires but everything seems to be working smoothly. It makes sense that people would complain about flats when you're dealing with rubber tires. That seems like something you're inevitably going to run into just like you would with a bicycle. I personally would rather change a hundred flat tires than have to deal with plastic tires that can't handle any kind of rough terrain though. People also complained that the MP3 speakers weren't very loud. Who buys a stroller for the speaker system?! I mean, really. I doubt we'll even use that feature very often if at all. That certainly wasn't the deciding factor in this particular purchase. I should mention that there were a lot of fantastic reviews however and it the travel system really does fit all of our needs so we're very happy with it. Anyway, Michael and Luna had fun playing with the big box it came in after we had it all set up.

    We also packed our bag for the hospital today. At my OB appointment yesterday my doctor said that I could go into labor at any time and I was far enough along that she wouldn't try and stop anything. (Good news: I'm back to seeing my original OB. She is back in her office and she'll be there for my delivery!!) I'm sure it's more likely that I'll end up being two weeks late rather than two weeks early but it's good to be prepared. We picked out the outfit that we'll be bringing Emerson home in. I'm really excited about it.

    The blanket was a gift from my grandmother. She crocheted it herself. I think it'll be a really sweet keepsake for our little guy. How cool is it that he'll come home from the hospital wrapped in a blanket made by his great grandma?! We're bringing two onesies because they are significantly different in size (even though they are both "newborn" size) and we're not sure how little or how big he'll be. The hat was a gift from my girlfriend from the Peter Rabbit collection at The Gap. (Check it out - it is seriously the cutest collection EVER!! If Emerson didn't already have way too many clothes I would buy all of it!!)

    So, it's the beginning of a new month and I've been thinking a lot about my happiness project and where I want to take it from here. I think, because we have a lot going on in our lives at the moment, that I'm going to take a little bit of a break for the next two months and focus instead on getting our home ready for new little addition and getting into the swing of being a new mom. I still want to focus and work on my relationship with Michael so it's more just like an extention.