3 Weeks Old...

Today wasn't as easy to get Rowan's 3 Week Pictures, we didn't have a girly outfit on her, but we were able to try out one of the new bows. Looks super cute, she isn't very happy with the bow, but it is the picture that matters, right?

We also used the big girl bathtub for the first time tonight. We could have used it last week when her cord fell off, but we didn't have it open and ready to use, so she got an extra sponge bath last week. The tub is much easier, she as a bit happier with the experience also.

More Visitors...

Today Rowan's Great Grandma Simonson came to visit with Aunt Amanda and Morgan. They all enjoyed her, more so after she had eaten and was a bit happier.

Rowan and Breyson...

My cousin Andrea came to visit today with her son Breyson. They we so nice and brought us lunch and hung out for awhile too. Tried to get a picture of the two babies together, but Rowan wasn't a very happy camper, so they didn't turn out the best. Some day we will get a good picture of them together.

2 weeks 5 days Pediatrician Appt...

We have a bit of a chunker on our hands....

Let's think back to July 10th...

Rowan's birthweight 7/10/08: 6# 7oz, 20 inches long

Home from hospital 7/12/08: 6# 2oz

1st Pediatrician Appt 7/15/08: 6# 3oz

2nd Pediatrician Appt 7/29/08: 7# 10oz, 21 inches long

Needless to say, the Pediatrician says she looks good physically, is obviously growing well. Clearly I have enough breastmilk according to the Pediatrician also. We are still figuring out the breastfeeding thing, but so far so good. Trying to stop pumping to get my supply a bit more under control, and need to start trying without the nipple shield. If we can't get rid of it within a week or so he wants me to meet with a lactation consultant to find out why she can't latch without it. So we will cross our fingers. Life would be so much easier without pumping and a nipple shield. Of course once I go back to work I will have to start pumping again, but I do have a bit of a supply frozen already!

This picture was actually from the weekend in MI, Molly got the kids gifts and she found these adorable headbands online for Miss Rowan. You will see more pictures with the headbands Thursday for her 3 week pictures!

Rowan's 1st Hockey game...

Rowan and I attended her first hockey game to watch Daddy play! She actually slept through about half of it, then decided to wake up. So I had her quite bundled up when she was awake. My mom was in town for work and spent the night with us, so we were able to get a family photo with Ed in his hockey gear! I think this is our first true family photo, I am still a little upset that we never had a family photo taken in the hospital, oh well, there will be plenty of photo opportunities!

Ed had 4 assists this game, and had no penalty minutes. Of course he didn't score a goal because we were there to watch! The final score of the game was 10-3, Pirhanas won!!

Kieran's 1st Birthday...

I will start by saying, our trip to Michigan was rather successful. I am very glad we decided to make the trip, it was nice to get out of the house!

So we will start with our trip there...

We left the house a little before 11am on Saturday, I don't really remember how the trip started out, if Rowan was asleep or screaming, either way it didn't last long because she slept for 2 1/2 hours out of the 3 hour trip. We ended up stopping at a rest area about 2o miles before Blayne and Molly's exit. Changed her diaper, fed her and got back on the road. Then she decided to scream 15 minutes later when we were in the Culver's drive thru. We were at Blayne and Molly's around 2 or 2:30pm. We were the first to arrive so Blayne and Molly got to enjoy Rowan before the rest of the family arrived.

Saturday night we all went out to dinner to a little Japanese place where you fill a bowl with your choice of veggies, meats, greens, and a sauce and they fry it for you and then you enjoy. It was a cute little place, and the food was great. Rowan slept through the entire dinner, good thing because it was close quarters if we would have had to deal with a fussy baby. Then we walked a block or so for some ice cream, and took a quick trip through a baby boutique, didn't buy anything surprisingly (it was a little pricey, thus it being a 'boutique') got a quick scenic tour or St. Joseph's beach and town and then home we went. Dusty managed to find a wiffle ball set at a little shop downtown, so the guys got all sweaty playing wiffle ball after dinner. I think I heard Blayne and Ed won, don't quote me on that though!

Sunday we spent the morning hanging out, pulling together last minute party items, ran a few errands, and then it was party time!!

Kieran is such a little man now. I think we figured we hadn't seen him since Easter time, and he has changed so much. A couple days before we arrived Kieran had his first haircut ever, it is super cute! Molly isn't sure she is a fan, but it is adorable either way. Kieran is walking all over the place, is happy all the time (except for after a long birthday with not much napping, understandable) and is such a bundle of fun. Can't wait to see Rowan at that stage of the game, not rushing it though.

Molly went all out on the farm theme for the party, and it was a hit. Even the cake was shaped like a barn, and the cupcakes were hay bails too! Very creative. We grilled for lunch, had cake, watched Kieran open a ton of presents, actually I think Blayne and Molly opened most, Kieran lost interest. This little boy has lots of big boy toys now! He'll be busy. Ed made Kieran a picnic table for his birthday. He even ate his cake at his new table, he seemed to be a fan of it.

Our plan was to head home late afternoon, but after receiving news from Ed and Sue about the bad traffic, we decided to wait a bit longer and try to miss the traffic. So we ordered some pizza and had dinner and then hit the road. I think we were on our way about 7pm WI time, and arrived home just after 10pm. Rowan slept the entire ride home!! She cried out a couple times but went right back to sleep, I think it helped that it was dark out.

Here ends a very successful first road trip, first time meeting Cousin Kieran, Uncle Blayne and Aunt Molly, oh and cousin Peaches too! And Kieran is 1 year old (or 12 months as Molly likes to call it) it seems like just yesterday we were visiting him for the first time in MN. My how time flies, can't wait to see Rowan and Kieran grow up together, too bad we don't live closer to them!

2 Weeks Old...

Rowan is now 2 weeks old!!

Again, it wasn't easy getting a picture of her not crying, but we succeeded with a few cute ones. Check the photo album for some others, including outtakes!

This was about the most content she was all day, getting her jammies on just hanging out naked!

Rowan A. Smith...

It was weird posting without any pictures yesterday, but I found a few that I missed out on actually. And of course, sometime tomorrow we will have 2 week pictures too.

Earlier in the week Rowan decided that we weren't getting her food fast enough, or the pacifier, so she found a finger or two to hold her over. She was sucking away, they must have been tasty!

Today we pulled out the Baby Bjorn to see what she thought of that. She did actually like it. So during her awake unhappy hours I may be able to cart her around with me in the Baby Bjorn to at least get a couple things done. We will see. We didn't use it too long today as we had visitors that were happy holding her of course.

The last few days...

I haven't been doing a good job keeping up the blog this last week, Rowan has really sent a tornado through this household! So I need to back up and review a few things that we used to revolve our lives around before she came!

First of all, Ed is still playing hockey! He had a game on Monday July 14th, yes he left us ladies home alone for the first time, and we survived, as did Ed. They won their game, he scored a goal and had a couple assists, and for the record, his first game with NO penalty minutes. He had been leading the league in most penalty minutes, not really something to be proud of. Then he had another game on Sunday July 20, against the worst team in the league according to Ed, and they lost. No goals, no assists, and 2 penalty minutes, not too bad. And he is no longer leading the league in penalty minutes, yahoo!!!

Next, the house. Our house has sort of been put on the back burner since Rowan joined us as well. Both inside and out! We have had a running list of things that need to be done around the house as far as small projects and some larger. We were slowly chiseling away at them, and we are now just starting to look at the list again, well Ed is at least. I can't even find time to clean the house at this point. Just basic tidying and cleaning gets done around here lately. But towards the end of last week, Ed was getting rather bored being off of work and stuck in the house with us ladies, so he decided to start to tackle the last of our landscaping that needs to be done on the one side and back of the house. So that is now a work in progress, pictures to come. We finally have new blinds on every window in the house, well at least every window that has new molding. So that leaves just the two spare bedroom windows that need molding and blinds, then that project will be done. We just need to stain the molding and get it hung, another work in progress.

So I think that sums up the things that were important in our lives before Rowan was born. Now our lives revolve around her which is why not so much is getting done these days.

So here are Rowan's latest happenings...

She has decided that sleeping and eating aren't the only things she likes to do, for the last 3-4 days she has had awake periods ranging from 3-6 hours at a time. They have at least been during the day and not the middle of the night. But these aren't quiet alert awake periods, they are eat a little here and there, cry a little, fall asleep maybe 30 minutes, just kidding I'm awake again, change another diaper, eat a little more, this is the marathon until she is finally too exhausted to stay awake any longer. She doesn't realize that it is impossible to get anything done when she is like this because there is nothing that satisfies her other than Ed or I during these times. No swinging, no bouncy chair, and of course no Pack n Play for longer than 30 minute cat naps. Therefore I get nothing done, no napping, no cleaning, no pumping, no laundry, nothing. Therefore there has been no catching up on sleep.

We have been pumping and feeding from a bottle for several days to rest the breasts, tried to put her back to breast today a couple times and she just wasn't having that at all, not to mention one side is looking rough again already. So not sure what the future is going to be with breastfeeding in this household. This whole pumping business really takes a toll on me too, if I am not feeding her, I am pumping, or cleaning pump parts or bottles, or emptying the dishwasher, or pumping again. It is just very time consuming, and I think it is wearing on me more than I thought it would. Yes, I always wanted to do what was best for my baby, and to this day she has had nothing but breastmilk, but it is getting to the point where my sanity and lack of sleep are going to become more important than the 'liquid gold'. We will see, I am not giving in quite yet, but I am married to the pump it feels like, I can't be away for more than 3 hours or I develope rocks on my chest, and leak like a faucet. And that isn't the way I want it to be. I always said I would breastfeed if it worked, I would never be a nazi about having to breastfeed, but now I don't want to give up too quickly. So stay posted for our future in breastfeeding?

Otherwise, Rowan has been a bundle of joy. We realize how unpredictable babies are and can be, so we just roll with the punches day after day and know that it will get better at some point. Interested to see how much she has grown at her next Pediatrician appointment in about a week, she already looks to be getting bigger and filling out.

We are going on our first road trip this weekend to MI for cousin Kieran's 1st birthday party. Could be an interesting ride? Gizmo will be sitting this first one out, we have our hands full enough with Rowan!

1 Week Old...

Hard to believe it has been a week since this little bundle has entered our lives. Each day is a new adventure, hope you all come along for the ride!

Rowan wasn't a huge fan of her first photo shoot, but she sure was a trooper, we interrupted her feeding to try to get a picture of her awake and not screaming, wasn't easy!

Best Mom in the World!

Mom is enjoying a nap after putting up with Ed, Rowan, and Gizmo for the past couple of days. I don't know how she does it, but she does a great job. We just wanted to say thanks.

Great Grandma Audrey...

This afternoon, Great Grandma Audrey came over for her first visit. Yes, she was the inspiration for Rowan's middle name. Grandma K. (as we call her) is my dad's mom (K for Knutson), she lives in Florida for most of the year, but has been home since the beginning of May to enjoy her first two great grandchildren being born this year. The count is even, one boy and one girl!

So G.G. Audrey was in town getting her hair done, so she and a friend came by to meet and enjoy Miss Rowan.

1st Pediatrician Appointment...

Rowan had her first Pediatrician appointment at 11am today, and it went well. Ed was impressed with how quick it went, we were getting used to the long waits in the OB/GYN office, so this was nice. We didn't see her actual Pediatrician as he was on vacation, but we saw an associate of his, and she was very nice.

Rowan weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz. , so she has gained an ounce since leaving the hospital on Saturday. (Yes, she was 6# 7 oz at birth, but she was 6# 2 oz. when we came home) I was happy to see that weight gain, might be the nurse in me. Glad to know this breastfeeding and pumping is worth something!

Otherwise, there really isn't anything else to report, they said she looked good, a little jaundice, we are supposed to get her some sun, but it is too ungodly humid and hot outside to take her out these days. The nurse had me put her to breast while we were there due to my sore, scabbed nipples (I know, doesn't sound pleasant) and of course she got on right away and did perfect, that doesn't always happen at home. But overall she does very well with it. We are just taking a break over the next couple days to get the nipples back to normal and to stop bleeding, the engorgement down with hot and cold compresses, etc, etc, so the pump and I have become best of friends. Which means I am still up at night with her, if I am not feeding her, I am pumping. Vicious cycle.

Rowan's 1st Bath at home...

Rowan got her first bath this morning before we ventured out of the house. Mommy gave her her first bath, dad was too busy taking pictures to listen to my demonstration, next time it's his turn! She actually didn't mind the bath too much, a few cries out but she didn't scream the entire time, good thing mom is experienced with baths and made it quick.

Later in the afternoon we took a trip to Menards, we needed a few things and Ed needed to work out his schedule for heading back to work next week. (I think we are both dreading him going back to work, they are being very flexible with him which is nice) Rowan and I actually stayed in the car as she decided she was hungry and had dirty pants, so we didn't introduce her to the place where Mommy and Daddy met yet!

Then it was off to Babies R Us, we had a few boy things to return, and plenty of girl things to purchase, among a few other necessities like hangers for the abundance of clothes this little girl is acquiring. Since Rowan is such a peanut, she is just barely fitting into newborn sizes, so the many 0-3 month outfits might not fit for the first several weeks. We will see. Overall, Rowan did very well being out and about. She started to get fussy at the end of the Babies R Us shopping spree, which was a good thing as Mom and Dad almost overspent.

Uncle Dusty...

Rowan's Uncle Dusty made a day trip to come up and visit from Chicago today. Among his many other talents, he made us some wonderful fajitas for lunch and homemade guacamole, and pastrami for a later date too. Let's just say Ed and I ate well. Uncle Dusty isn't one to be into babies so much, but he sure looked cute holding her when we talked him into it (even if it was just long enough to get a picture, pays off to have a fast lens!) Can't wait for Uncle Dusty to take Miss Rowan clothes shopping, he has some expensive but good taste!

Gizmo comes home...

We decided to have Karen and Doug keep Gizmo the night that we came home from the hospital, good thing because it was sort of a rough night. Gizmo was home by 10am Sunday morning! He surprisingly did pretty well. Of course he was excited, he hadn't seen the two of us in days either, so Doug sort of held him back at first. Really all he did was sniff her and lick a bit, but as the days have gone on, it is mostly sniffing that he does around her with an occassional kiss. He is a very concerned big brother though, he is always sniffing the top of the pack n play to see if she is in there. And if she is crying in there he will sit and whine right next to it, it is rather cute. When Rowan is being held, he wants to be right next to her too.

Gizmo is tired all the time too, I guess we aren't the only ones affected by the late night feedings!

Our Hospital Stay and Coming Home...

The last 48 hours were the fastest of my life, many sleepless hours. Looking back to the beginning of the week, we didn't start out with much sleep, so why end the week with sleep?

But anyways, we were taken to our postpartum room 5833 at about 10 pm thursday night. We had ordered pizza from Papa John's since I hadn't eaten since 0715 that morning, and Ed hadn't eaten since lunch time either.

Rowan decided that breastfeeding was great, but of course couldn't get enough of it, so it was a long night full of feeding, she finally decided she could sleep at 0330 after I illegally kept her in bed with me for 2 hours. Ed woke up and put her in the crib at 0530 and she slept until 0730, so we got a few hours of sleep that morning.

We were alone for most of the morning, but from 1130 until about 7pm we were busy with many family and friends coming to visit. It was great because Rowan slept because everyone wanted to hold her, and me and my twins got a break. She was starting to eat better that evening after meeting with the lactation consultant, turns our Rowan is a stellar breastfeeder, just the lack or a break that the twins get has caused them to become rather sore.

So anyway, enough about my breasts, Friday night Ed was able to get a good chunk of sleep while Rowan and I trudged through the night with feedings at least every 2 hours if not more frequently and small chunk of nap here and there. Rowan was busy getting weighed, getting her hep B vaccine, hearing screen, bilirubin check, state screen, all the things in preparation for discharge, so that is another reason she didn't get to sleep a whole lot.

Then today we spent the morning packing up and preparing to go home. We actually were out the door at 1130 this morning and home by noon. Rowan slept the entire ride home, Ed was a little freaked out with driving with a baby in the car now, he has to be a bit more cautious than he used to be, we will see how long that lasts.

Made lunch immediately when we got home, my mom was nice enough to do a little grocery shopping for us today to stock up on some things and had things ready for lunch. Ed grilled some burgers, we ate, then I fed Rowan, and pumped and headed to bed for a wonderful 2 1/2 hour nap.

Was up in time for dinner which Sue was slaveing over a hot stove and oven today for us. Our refrigerator hasn't had this much food in it in a long time. So Ed and I ate dinner and have been relaxing most of the night, preparing to sleep in our own bed, even if it is going to be disturbed sleep, we can't wait.

So anyway, here are plenty of new pictures of us coming home and our hospital stay. Thank you so much to everyone that brought us food and gifts to the hospital and to our home. We really do appreciate it! We enjoyed all the visitors as well!

Rowan using her pack n play!! And hanging out with dad for a little bit, he looks like he is sleeping, but he isn't!

A Delivery Recap...

So I am going to step back and relive the induction/delivery experience for you all. Seems like it was weeks ago and it was barely 48 hours ago.

So here it goes...

Thursday July 10th, 2008 0830 - Arrive at Wheaton Franciscan St. Joseph's for planned induction, we are in LDR 5, put on gown and get situated

1000 - IV is finally started and fluids start flowing with Pitocin. Started low and had the Pitocin increased every 15-30 minutes until we were eventually almost as high as they would allow it to go.

1100-1200 Contractions are starting (not really sure what time, but around there) There was no 10 minutes apart and then getting closer together, when they started they were about 4 minutes apart and just kept on getting closer.

1300 - Contractions are about 1 1/2 minutes apart and I am starting to get uncomfortable, but nothing I can't tolerate. Nothing for pain at this point.

1500 - Day shift nurses are getting ready to leave so they want to check my cervix to see how we are dilating before they report off to next shift. So the resident checks me and says 2-3 cm, 70 % effaced. And head is pretty much right there. Nurse calls Dr. Fox to give her an update, she wants the resident to break my bag of water.

1530 - New nurse comes in for the PM shift and, inquires about my plan for pain management as my contractions are very frequent and I am uncomfortable. My goal was to go as long as possible before getting the epidural, so I said I would wait until after they broke my bag and then see how it went and get the epidural afterwards. So in the mean time, fellow friend and co-worker calls and I give her an update, she recommends I get the epidural before they break my bag of water because things get really intense then. So I tell the nurse I changed my mind and want the epidural first. So shortly afterwards the anesthesiologist is in the room putting in my epidural, in between contractions of course.

1630 - New resident intern comes in to check me and break my bag of water, she says I am 4-5 cm, attempts to break the bag of water, but is having difficulty, gets some 'membranes' and blood but no gush of water. So we consider it broken apparently.

1700 - Nurse decides to check me herself because she will be doing the checks the rest of the night and wants to know what she is comparing to. Before she checked me, I was starting to feel a lot of pressure, not really pain thus the epidural was working, but I was thinking well she just told me I was only 4-5 cm so it must be nothing so didn't say anything. So, the nurse checks me and says, oh my!! You are 9cm!! Okay, that would explain the pressure I am feeling.

1730 - Nurse has called and updated Dr. Fox, she is on her way to the hospital.

1800 - Nurse checks me again, we are fully dilated now.

1830 - We start pushing even though Dr. Fox isn't there yet. "Practicing" 1845 - Dr. Fox arrives, we continue pushing

1923 - It's A Girl, Rowan Audrey Smith arrives!! I am completely surprised that it is a girl. I didn't think I had any feelings all along about the sex of the baby, but I guess I was expecting a boy, and was so pleasantly surprised when it was a girl! Then of course we had to decide on the name, we had 3 options, but it only took us about 5 minutes to decide, Rowan was the top of the list for several weeks, we just thought we would need to see her before we decided!

So, turns out the induction was the best decision we could have made. It wasn't a long and drawn out super painful experience. By the time my contractions started, I would consider the entire labor to have been about 9 1/2 hours. Not bad for your first baby and starting from absolutely no contractions or labor to full blown labor and delivery of perfect little girl. Okay, on to the baby updates and newer photos!!

It's A Girl!!!

Rowan Audrey Smith

Date: July 10, 2008

Time: 19:23

Weight: 6 lbs 7 oz

Length: 20 inches

Induction Here we Come...

Called St. Joe's this morning at 0630, and they have room for us, so let the games begin!!

Wish us luck, Can't wait to share the news of our baby boy or girl?

Induction...July 10th @8:30 am

So here is how the doctor visit went today in a nutshell...

For one, this is the fastest we have ever gotten in and out of the office for an appointment, imagine that. We were in the first waiting room for maybe 3 minutes, did the weight (gained a pound and a half, made up for last week of course), then BP (it was stellar, again, 100/56) then completely surpassed the usual second waiting room and went right into the exam room, and we were maybe in the exam room 5 minutes and the doctor walked in, so this was record time.

So anyway, doctor measured the fundal height (made no comment, so assume it was fine), checked heartrate (120, fairly normal for Baby Smith), then checked cervix (1 cm!!! Yahoooo...progress, right?)

Then she asks us what our feelings are as far as intervention, would we like the idea of an induction or are we completely opposed. I respond by saying, we are absolutely in favor of an induction, how soon are we talking. She thinks tomorrow is better than Friday because there wouldn't be a guarantee I would deliver Friday and then she wouldn't be around Saturday and they try not to pass off ongoing inductions to their colleagues. So, she completely left the decision up to us, she wasn't completely in favor of inducing considering I haven't had a single contraction and am only 1 cm dilated and she would feel really bad if I end up going through this long, horribly painful induction, which could result in a C-section all because she is going to be on vacation next week and my cervix isn't exactly looking very favorable. But she was willing to do it if that is what we wanted. My defense was, I could wait until the original plan to induce on the 21st and potentially still be induced and end up with a long horrible labor then too, and that would be at 41 2/7 weeks, tomorrow I will be 39 5/7 weeks. So what is the difference, at least tomorrow I am guaranteed that she will be the doctor!

So she leaves the room so I can get dressed and Ed and I can discuss, she needed to call St. Joe's and make sure they weren't booked in the first place. She leaves the room, and I start bawling, remember I am pregnant, hormones!! Why am I crying? Not so sure. Mainly because I don't know what to do, I know Ed and I both want to do the induction tomorrow but is it the right decision? Will I regret it? Our luck St. Joe's will be booked anyways and we are stressing over nothing. So I get dressed and regroup so we can meet her out and the desk and see if there is an opening. Oh yeah, we had decided to go for it in the mean time.

So we get to the desk where the doctor is on the phone, turns out there is an opening, and I start crying all over again. (Once I start I can't stop!) Keep in mind there are like 4 or 5 nurses standing around watching me bawl, Ed feels like they are looking at him like he pressured me into this decision, which was not the case at all. It was definitely a joint decision. So anyway, moral of the story, we got the induction all set up for tomorrow morning at 8:30 am. We are to call before we go in to make sure labor and delivery doesn't get swamped through the night and they still have room for us. They better after the difficult emotional decision we just made.

So, I guess that was more of a novel, than the story in a nutshell. After the appointment, we made a few stops for some odds and ends, and really just to waste some time. We went to Sam's Club for some snacks, Walmart, Target, Verizon Wireless for a new cell phone for me, then Applebee's for our last dinner out without a baby, then home finally around 6pm. Forgot to mention the umpteen phone calls and text messages to family and friends to share the news. Sorry if we forgot anyone, the more important update will be when this baby is finally with us on the outside!

Uneventful 4th of July...(39 1/7 weeks)

Sorry we don't have any festive photos to share, or exciting fireworks stories either. Our weekend has been rather uneventful. Ed has been working the last 4 days, and I worked on friday night too, so not much time for fun.

On Thursday night Ed got off of work a little early so we were able to go out to dinner and then take Gizmo over to play with Tallulah while Ed helped his dad trim a few branches off a tree in the yard. I took the camera along to play with and got a few good pictures of the dogs, and some flowers in the yard, and even the men at work. I am not really a flower person, but the pictures sure show how nice our camera is. As well as the action photos of the dogs romping around.

Friday we both worked, so didn't have time to attend any parades or fireworks. Poor Gizmo was Ed's shadow all night friday night as he is very scared of fireworks. But of course that wasn't the only night with fireworks, it has been non-stop noise when it gets dark around here. I am sure our 4th of July festivities next year will be a bit more exciting with a child! Can't wait.

Yesterday, Ed worked while I slept, then we had a chance to wash both our trucks, inside and out, and even wax Ed's truck. It was quite the project, but well overdue. Then we were invited over to Ed and Sue's to grill out. Again the dogs got to play, and we got to enjoy some cards and fabulous food! Now today, Ed is working, again, and I have a day to relax, finished cleaning the house, and probably have a list of other things to get done, but I might take advantage of doing nothing today. Waiting for Ed to come home for lunch and then see what the afternoon brings.

I have been very busy the last few days doing everything under the sun to try to get this child to come out, (mowed lawn, pulled weeds, trimmed trees, cleaned house, washed cars, plenty of bending and squatting, been in plenty of bumpy car rides, and the list goes on) so I have decided it isn't worth all the work anymore, I guess we will just wait and relax and this baby will come when it wants too. Back to the doctor Wednesday, crossing our fingers for some dilation perhaps.

The pregnant belly...

Finally broke down and took a few pictures of the bare pregnant belly. Decided we need to make the best of the last few weeks, despite the few things that we have literally no control over that we posted about earlier. Trying to look at the glass as half full instead of half empty!

Another baby update...(38 4/7 weeks)

Essentially this is going to be quite a repeat of weeks past updates, with a few upsetting concepts that hasn't made us very happy.

So we will start with the positive, the baby is fine, so no worries there. Heart rate was 121, my blood pressure was fine, I actually lost one pound in the last week (not so sure how that happened, but it is fine with me, one less to lose later), measured at 38cm, so right on. Then came the cervix check, and NO CHANGE!

Depressing thought #1: Still only fingertip dilated, although she thinks the head is coming down, but not engaged yet. And the cervix is long still. So essentially in my mind not much progress from last week. I realize my due date hasn't come and gone yet, so I shouldn't be upset, but I am ready to get things moving along.

Then, yesterday I got a phone call from the doctors office saying that I needed to reschedule my appointment for July 14th (yes, after my due date) So today when I got there I attempted to reschedule. Come to find out, the reason I needed to reschedule was because Dr. Fox is on vacation that entire week (Depressing thought #2). So essentially we have gone the last 9 1/2 months seeing a doctor that probably isn't going to be there to deliver our baby unless I go into labor before my due date. Which is highly unlikely with the lack of progress my cervix has made at this point.

So next week Wednesday, if by some great chance I have made great progress, she might think about inducing me by the end of the week while she is still around. Chances are that isn't going to be the case since we went this week without dilating. If I don't deliver the week after my due date while she is gone, then we will plan for an induction Monday July 21st (which is 9 days past my due date (Depressing thought #3), something I was also trying to avoid, but a week past my due date falls on a weekend, and they don't like to induce on weekends unless medically necessary).

Okay fine, so she recommends I make an appointment for the week she is gone, with one of her fellow colleagues. I can choose whomever I would like to make this appointment with, and the only other doctor I have heard anything about is Dr. McCann, courtesy of my fellow friend and co-worker, Cora. So I ask for the appointment to be with him, but he only has appointments on Monday, and is out of town the rest of the week also. How convenient! Currently I have the appointment with him, but I am thinking I should make the appointment with someone else in the group, so that we can meet this person at least one time before they could possibly be delivering our baby. But I have no idea who to choose, if anything I know of one doctor in the group I absolutely don't want, which doesn't help me out at all.

So needless to say, we left the doctors office rather irritated. And now more than ever do we want to get this show on the road, but it isn't looking like it will be sooner than later. Not to mention, if we end up getting induced on the 21st, that is another week of work I have to get through. I could potentially not work, but why waste a week of maternity leave still pregnant?