38 weeks (and still prego)

Hey all! Just checking in from the hospital. We hit 38 weeks yesterday and she is now as long as a leek. Another boring one again! ;0)

I can say that the last 24 hours haven't been boring though. Ben and I got to the doctors office yesterday for our 1:30 appt. I got all strapped in for my stress test and had only been hooked up to the monitor for about 5 minutes when the nurse came in to inform us that the doctor told her to send us over to the Labor and Delivery Unit since my blood pressure was still high. So we came over here, got registered and strapped back in for the stress test. I had more blood taken for another round of tests and we just hung out waiting to hear if we were going to be able to go home or not. The doctor - who is NOT the doctor I was scheduled to deliver with on Tuesday of course - came by to tell us that the BP was just high enough that she wasn't comfortable sending me home and that we were going to have a baby! YAHOOO! Sounded good to us! So we called the moms and sent out mass text messages to let everyone know that we were being admitted and that we would hopefully be delivering a baby today. We had some company (Parents, Jac & Todd, Heather, Melissa, Antonio & Lauren)for a few hours last night which helped the time go by. They were being called our entourage cause there was so many of them! The nurse wanted to kick everyone out and give me my sleeping pill but I explained to her that I wasn't going to go to bed until after the basketball game ended and there was only 9:45 left in the 4th quarter! Dear Crazy! So once that ended and everyone was gone - I unhooked myself from the machines for what I thought would be one last time before I slept through the night, went to the bathroom and came back to take my sleeping pill while the nurse got everything hooked back up. I was SO ready for sleep - I couldn't wait for my head to hit the pillow. Turns out - sleeping wasn't really what my body wanted to do. I was up all night. If it wasn't for the bathroom - it was my BP cuff cutting off the circulation in my arm every 1/2 hour when it went off.....and since the BP was high - it triggered an alarm on my machine that had to be turned off by a nurse when she could get in here to take care of that. Madness I tell you. :)

So I got up at 6am to take my shower and get ready (yes- I "got ready" - make fun all you want). The nurse came in to get me all hooked up to my IV and started my pitocin flowin around 7:45 and here it is over 5 hours later and we are still just hanging out. I've been dilated about 2 cms this entire time and I'm not feeling most of the contractions that I've been having. The nurse just came in and bumped my pitocin drip up to the max and apparently the doctor is on her way and wants to break my water to get this party started! ;0) HA!

I'll check in again later when I have the energy!

Friday Update....

OK - Here is the latest.......

Blood Pressure is still high - at this point it does not surprise me. I was sent home to rest and I have to be back at the Reston office at 1:30 for a Stress Test and another BP check. Apparently I'm so boarder line that they don't want me to just sit at home until Monday night when I am scheduled to go in but they don't want to admit me right yet either.

The nurse told me to bring my bags because there was a good chance I'm not coming home tonight. I asked for a percentage but didn't get one. Booo!

So we'll see! Either I'm going to post another update later tonight or you all will be getting the email in the next few days letting you know she is here.

Stay tuned......the best is yet to come.......

Thurdays Doctor Visit

First let me start off by saying the orange bio-hazard jug is gone!! I don't think I could have handled one more time of dealing with that monster. Dear Crazy!

Anyway - the initial BP check had me higher than yesterday but it went back down again after laying down for a while. This might be the one thing I haven't read about yet since it was always low - I'm gonna have to go and look this one up to find out why it goes down after laying on your left side.

The nurse gave me the "you're free to go" after it went back down but I have to go back tomorrow morning for another reading. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for the calls and emails.

:) K

Wednesdays Doctor Visit.....

I had a doctors appt yesterday afternoon and learned that my blood pressure had "sky rocketed" and they were/are a little concerned about it. We went through the appt like normal and everything with the baby is fine. Her heartbeat is normal and she's dropped down a little more so we're moving along in that respect. The doctor asked if we were taking bets on how "big" she was going to be and she said she was going to go with between 8-8 1/2 lbs! Dear Crazy!

Once she was done with the exam - she had me lay on my left side for 10 minutes before they took my BP again. She warned me that if it hadn't gone down that she would be sending me to the hospital to have blood work done so they could see what was going on. 10 minutes later the nurse came back in to take it and it went down just enough that I didn't have to go to the hospital but I did get sent home with two very large orange bio-hazard jugs for a 24 hour urine sample. (Stop readying now if you don't want the details) Starting as soon as I left there yesterday - until 4pm today - every time I have to go to the bathroom - I have to go into the jug. It's a HUGE pain in the a$$ but it has to be done apparently. The jugs also have to be kept in the fridge so Ben and I slept on the couch last night so I wouldn't have to go up and down the stairs every time I had to go to the bathroom. It's hard enough to do what I have to do to begin with. So needless to say - I didn't sleep that well at all and I'm trying to keep myself calm until I go back to have my BP taken again this afternoon.

I was also told that if I started to see black spots, got a headache that wouldn't go away with a round of tylenol, or swelled up in the hands and face that I needed to call the dr and go straight to the hospital to be admitted and monitored for preeclampsia . Chances of that happening are pretty slim but since it could happen - we had to go over it. Stay tuned.........

37 weeks!

I must admit that I'm a little disappointed in the email that I received this week telling me how big the baby is. Apparently she is as lofty as a stalk of Swiss Chard and weighs about 6 1/2 pounds. Swiss Chard? We couldn't have come up with something a little more exciting!?! I only have another week of this and one of my last posts has a picture of Swiss Chard! <:( Dear Crazy!

The good news though - we are officially in single digits of our countdown. June 3rd is only 9 days away! WooHoo!!!

Hope you all are enjoying the long Holiday weekend!

Word of the Day is BIG

So today involved another trip to the doctor for a weekly check up! Everything was going as it normally does until the doc was trying to find the baby's heartbeat. We could both feel her moving so we weren't concerned, but she wouldn't stay still for the doctor to hear the heartbeat long enough to register it on her little hand held machine. When she finally found it she asked me if the baby was breech. I told her no - that the doctor had felt her head at my last appt and she responded to that with an "UH OH". What do you mean uh oh!? :0/ She explained that if the head was down where it's "supposed" to be and her heartbeat was were it was - she thinks the baby is "big"! Here we go again with being told she is big. Do they really know? I mean - how could they?
The doc continued with an internal exam to make sure she could feel the head as well and when she did she said "there she is. She's got a little ways to come down - hope there is room for her". Of course - I questioned what she meant by the comment to which she replied with "if she is on the bigger side - I just hope she has room to come down the birth canal". And if she doesn't have room I asked? At that point she tells me that if she didn't have room then I would be having surgery! Dear Crazy!!
So now we get to sit and wait until next Wednesday afternoon when we go back for another appt to find out if she really is "big" and what might be happening in early June.

Stay tuned......definitely more to come.

36 weeks!

Wow - 36 weeks! At the end of this week we'll be considered "full term"!! Apparently she weighs about 6 pounds - which is comparable to a crenshaw melon. I think we can all go back to eating a normal fruit salad again!

I went to the doctors yesterday for my weekly appt. I had my first "internal" exam and I will spare you most of the details - Jessie and Joe already heard them all in person last night. PS - sorry guys! The highlight of the appt was when she told me she felt the head which means baby Killian has turned and is in position for birth! I was told to make sure I had my bags packed just in case she decided to grace us with her presence early (although not too likely). Both Momma to be and baby are doing well - doc is just a little bit concerned about the size of my feet and ankles. She told me to lay on the couch with them up as much as possible. OK - I think I can handle that! ;) Dear crazy!

Have a great weekend!! :0)

Ladies Night at the Melting Pot

FYI for all my ladies out there that enjoy a yummy fondue dinner every once in a while......

The second Tuesday of every month - the Melting Pot in Reston hosts a Ladies Night where you get a 4 course meal for $30/each. Sounds pricey but really not bad for the meal that you get. I went last night with Angela (who found this great deal and made the reservations), Lauren and Amanda and it was AMAZING! I encourage you to try it some day. I'm already looking forward to the next time I'm able to go! :0)

Happy Hump Day!

OH Baby!!

Our Baby Shower was on Saturday and what a great time we had!! Thank you to everyone that helped make the day so special - from assisting with the planning/decorating to those that traveled from NC and Indianapolis! A very special thanks to the two hostess' - my sister Jacqueline and BFF Heather. You guys are amazing!!

It was a fun filled afternoon of eating yummy food - catching up with friends and opening presents. There were a lot of great gifts - we are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends. :) I've got to give Sissy another shout out for NOT having any games at the shower! THANKS! Instead - she had an "activity" in which everyone had to decorate a onesie! There were a lot of creative ones - Jac is very proud of hers as you can see in the pics below.

I do believe the baby officially has more clothes than I do! HA! I still beat her on the shoes and purses but she even got a pair of UGGs before I did - thanks to all of the Glory Days Ladies! ;)

Here are a few pics from the shower.......

Virginia's AMAZING Cake!

2.5 Generations

Jac & her Onesie

1st pair of UGGs

The girls

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE!! WE LOVE YOU ALL!! Kristen & Ben

35 weeks!

This week the baby is now "as hefty as a honeydew melon"! She is really making eating fruit salad difficult these last few weeks. HA! Norma will be here in about an hour so I'll break the news to her then!

Dr Appt

I had my bi-weekly doctors appt this morning and I'm happy to report baby and mommy-to-be are doing great! :) We are on a weekly schedule as of now.......getting so close!

My doctor came in the room as happy and chipper as she always is and said "you're almost done!!" to which I responded with a big happy sigh and said "thank goodness!" :) She got the tape measure out and on my belly and told me I was measuring 35cm and no wonder I felt like I was "done and ready". I asked if that was big and she told me I was right on track since I'll be 35 weeks tomorrow. She then said "let's get one more sonogram at 37 weeks just to check the weight and I gave her an excited YES! She followed that up with "then we'll know how hard you are going to have to work the next week when we induce you" YIKES! Dear Crazy........

Never a dull moment at this doctors office! ;0)

FYI - Leslie is coming home today!! She'll be at the hole at some point this evening. Can't wait to see her and Chris!

Our crib

So I decided to put the dust ruffle, sheets and bumper on the crib this morning. I thought it looked so cute and wanted to share! The white blanket was hand made by Tucker's grandma. It looks perfect with the bedding we had picked out. Many thanks to her! :)

34 Weeks!!

We hit the 34 week mark yesterday. The baby has "bulked up to the size of your average cantaloupe" - about 4 3/4 pounds. Looks like we can go back to eating pineapple again! ;0)

Ben and I went on our tour of Reston Hospitals Maternity/Labor & Delivery unit this morning. We were told that we would have a private room - no roommate at any point in the stay which is nice. While in the elevator with 12 other people - our guide then tells us that one guest can stay overnight in the room with the new mommy - that the couch pulls out. Ben is standing behind me - taps me on the shoulder and tells me that I can sleep on the couch. Flabbergasted - I demand an explaination and he tells me it's cause I'm shorter. DEAR CRAZY! I promise he was joking - and we both got a good laugh out of it when we weren't around the strangers anymore.

That's it for this update. Have a great weekend everyone.

3rd time - NOT a charm

I woke up yesterday morning SO excited - it was Friday - the sun was shining and I had a ticket to Game 6 of the NBA Playoffs in Washington!! Life was good! :)
My wonderful future brother-in-law called on Thursday to let me know that he had one extra ticket for the game and that we would be sitting in his company suite. So not only did I have a ticket - I got to sit in a suite with it's own bathroom! For anyone that has been 34 weeks preggo - that is a HUGE deal - especially since we can't take advantage of the free alcohol. ;)
So the 1st half wasn't so bad - the Wizards had their moments when they looked like they actually WANTED to make it out of the 1st round - then the 2nd half came around and the Cavs just lit us up. Booooooo! To make it sting even worse......there were some nasty Cavs fans in the suite sitting behind me. I'll just say - it's a good thing that I couldn't drink and that I was a guest in Todd's suite (not that being guests stopped these guys from being a$$holes) cause I wanted them to hear my opinion since I got to hear theirs over and over and over......To all you Cavs fans out there - I can respect the fact that you have knocked out my team 3 years in a row now - nice work out of you. I can imagine (according to these guys) that you WOULD want to play us every year since apparently we make it so easy on you to get to the next round. BUT until you win a title - I'd tone it down just a notch. ;0) Dear Crazy!!

So Shelley - if you're reading this - I'll jump on the Utah Jazz bandwagon so you have someone cheering with you in NOVA!