A Watched Pot Never Boils

This past week has been exciting yet unbearable all at the same time. I had a doctor appointment on Tuesday and it started off with a sonogram and getting to see our sweet boy again. It was very exciting and the sonographer spent a long time with us looking at all parts of our baby. And oh boy has he grown! He is weighing in at approximately 7 1/2 pounds and 19 1/2 inches long. Already a big boy and still had 3 weeks until his due date!! After getting to look at our baby for awhile we met with my doctor who examined me. I was shocked to hear I was already 4 cm dilated and 75% effaced. She said being that way I could go into labor at any time. She said that because the baby was already measuring so big she would set an induction date if I liked for a week before his scheduled due date in case he hadn't come on his own terms. So we went ahead and scheduled an induction date of May 7th, but she agreed most likely I would not need that date as he'd probably come on his own terms well before then. I left the appointment on cloud 9. Not only did I get to see my baby but I was already well on my way for him to be born and thought I'd get to meet my son within the next day or so.
But here it is Friday, early evening and I'm still not in active labor. With every contraction or twinge of pain I wonder if this could be it, but the contractions never continue to be frequent enough to make the much awaited trip to the hospital. They always say a watched pot never boils and I'm beginning to feel like a watched pregnant belly never delivers! I'm uncomfortable but above all I'm very anxious and excited for my son to be born. I'm crossing my fingers I have some exciting news to report at some point this weekend. I go back to the doctor Monday morning though if I haven't delivered for another check up and if I do have to go to that appointment, I hope I've at least made some progress!!

April Showers...

Bring May babies?? I am surrounded by people that really care so much about this baby it is overwhelming at times. I know I keep saying this, but I am truly so blessed. Last weekend I came home from our normal Sunday lunch with Brad's dad to a loud "SURPRISE!!!" My living room was filled with some of my closest friends and my mom. A group of them had organized a surprise baby shower and managed somehow to completely keep it from me throughout the planning process, got me out of the house and back without suspecting a thing! It meant so much that my friends care so much about me and this baby and spent all the time and planning to make such a special afternoon for us. I am so lucky to have so many wonderful friends in my life.
Here is a pic of Brad and I at the shower....



Then on Friday my work threw Brad and I a shower. It blew me away. So many people came together to contribute to the group gift and were so generous that we were given pretty much all the rest of the necessities that this baby needs and now our nursery is pretty much complete. The hospital will also now let us take our baby home with us, since we were given our stroller/car seat, always a good thing! I work with an amazing group of people who are like my second family and Friday served as a big reminder that they consider Brad and I part of their second family as well. Here is a pic from Friday....



Here are a few more pics of the nursery and bathroom....







While it seems Brad and I haven't really been up to anything besides attending baby showers, that is definitely not true. Brad went and received a second opinion on his knee he injured in hockey a few weeks ago and was determined it was not just nothing like the first doctor had said, but his PCL is 50% torn. Brad now goes to physical therapy 3 days a week for at least a month to see if it can heal on its own and if not surgery will be in his future. We are hopeful this will do the trick however. It is killing Brad not to be able to play hockey but I know he'll be back on the ice in no time. Meanwhile he is busy playing hockey on XBox to get his hockey fix.
We have still been attending our weekly baby classes and have learned SO much. I feel as prepared as I think anyone can be going into labor and feel a lot more confident I can get through anything that comes our way during delivery. Last week's class we learned all about newborn care and all the things that have changed since Brad and I were babies on how to care for our little one once we are home. But in case we forget, thank goodness the hospital gives you an "owners manual" as Brad called it, before you leave! We thought that was pretty humorous. We only have two classes left...breastfeeding and Infant CPR/First Aid. Brad and I have really been enjoying spending the time together getting educated on all that's baby.
Last Saturday Brad and I spent the afternoon taking maternity photos. Our amazing photographer who shot our wedding is doing a great package deal for us to include maternity photos and photos of baby once he arrives up until he's a year old. Here is a sneak peek of more to come...




I'm getting ready to start my 35th week which means this pregnancy thing is nearing its end. With each passing week I'm getting more and more anxious to meet this baby and see what he looks like and to hold and love on him. Brad is getting more anxious as well. We both know we need to enjoy this time (and peace and quiet) while we have it, but we've waited so long for our son to arrive and can't wait to hold him for the first time. I go back to the doctor on Tuesday for another checkup and in 2 weeks I have a sonogram, which I can't wait for. Stay tuned for baby updates and when we think this little one may arrive.

For now, I'll leave you with a pic of our two current babies getting squeaky clean. Aren't they cute??

Baby Showers and Blessings

I have to apologize for the lack of posts over the last few weeks. We've been busy bees around our household. Last weekend I had my first baby shower and it was amazing. My best friend of 22 years and her step mom were the hostesses and I need to really start calling them Martha Stewart and Martha Stewart Jr. From the invitations to the decorations and food, every detail that was put into the shower was so thoughtful and perfect. She even made a surprise video of Brad asking him different questions about babies and parenthood and then asked me the same to see if Brad and I were truly ready to be parents. It was an incredibly thoughtful touch and of course Brad added some great humor to the video. Brad answered the questions surprisingly well, even knowing some answers I did not! We did past the test though, so thankfully we are able to be the parents of this little guy. Whew! The weekend was made even more special because my brother, sister-in-law, aunt and even my college roommate all came in from out of town for the shower. It meant so incredibly much to me they all came in town to celebrate Brad and I's addition to our family and was so nice to be able to spend even the short time with them since I rarely get to see them. It was an exhausting weekend, but so enjoyable and wonderful to be able to put away so many nice things in our nursery.

Pic of Brad and I after the shower

Our last week was a little rough. Our new car was broken into while Brad was at work. The dash was ripped apart and the radio/navigation unit and even Brad's change of clothes were stolen! So now our beloved new ride is in the shop, but thank goodness for insurance. Then a few days later we noticed a water spot on our ceiling. So the roof we knew we'd eventually have to have repaired from the killer hail storm last month is going to have to be replaced now. Two insurance claims filed within two days of each other. Two deductibles that will have to be paid. Brad and I couldn't help but think what's next?!
I am now starting my 33rd week of pregnancy. Only 7 more weeks until my actual due date. Although it could end up being as soon as 5 weeks when we get to welcome our son into the world. Because of the family history with birth weight (i.e. Brad's birth weight...13 lbs 11 oz for those who are not aware) my doctor has ordered another sonogram in 4 weeks to see the approximate size of baby and determine if we need to have him early or if he can wait and come on his own terms.
I have been feeling more and more and more uncomfortable and could spend time complaining about it all but I've been reminded over the last few days from several different events at how lucky I am to be in this spot. Regardless of how miserable I may feel at any given moment in the day...I am pregnant. I am going to be a mother. This is what I've wanted ever since I was little and I am truly blessed. Afterall it was exactly a year ago that I was reeling from the loss of a pregnancy and not sure if I could get pregnant on my own. But here I am, with this miracle of life growing inside me, and there is nothing I can complain about now.

Let it Snow!

Only in Texas is it 70 degrees and shorts weather one day and 3 inches of snow on the ground the next! We enjoyed a beautiful snow fall last night, although I was secretly hoping for bad driving conditions so I could sleep in. No such luck. I think we're back to shorts weather tomorrow.





I'm finally on the road back to feeling better. I thought I was getting better last week and then I was hit even harder with the sinus infection or whatever infection was plaguing me. I missed even more work and spent lots of time getting familiar with the couch and the remote. It was hard not doing anything but I knew my body needed lots of rest. With that rest and the help of another, stronger, round of antibiotics I am now feeling much better. Hopefully I can continue that trend as the week continues! My last doctor appointment went well. Baby is still doing great so I am always grateful to hear that. The killer heartburn and killer back aches I've been going through and with the baby poking my rib cage most of the day, I think I'm really okay for this baby to decide he wants to come a few weeks early. Of course he has some time to go but once he gets to 37/38 weeks I welcome him to come as soon as humanly possible!
For now Brad and I continue to get Baby Jones' room ready. The rocking chair finally arrived today and I think it looks absolutely PERFECT in the nursery!



Next on the agenda...we start our childbirth classes tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it. Friday I'm having a girls night and a good friend is teaching me how to knit and we'll be making baby booties while indulging in Sex in the City Marathon watching party. And next week, doctors appointment followed by BABY SHOWER!!

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

So much good and bad has happened over the last week or so, its been like a roller coaster of events. First, I received back the test results from my last doctor's visit and thankfully no gestational diabetes for me, which is great news. Although my blood work did come back showing I'm anemic. Nothing a little iron pills can't fix. Hopefully the iron will give me back some of the depleted energy I've felt. Friday evening I had my first distinctive episode of Braxton Hicks. Brad was so sweet and wanted to rush me to the hospital to make sure it was not the real thing, but I assured him this was normal and it was definitely not time for this baby to make his entrance into the world. So I laid on the couch in pain and exhausted from the work week and fell asleep while Brad went to play in his hockey game with instructions to call if I needed him. Once Brad got home from his game at around 1am, I woke up and this time around came very very close to having Brad take me to the hospital. I first felt a huge wave of nausea, followed by my whole stomach cramping up and my stomach got hard as a rock. I was feeling so awful and in so much discomfort I couldn't even talk to Brad. Again, he wanted to take me to the hospital, which I probably should have done to be on the safe side, but the stubborn side of me would not budge. Luckily it eventually subsided enough for me to fall back asleep. So, two almost trips the the hospital in one evening...I could go without that for awhile. Saturday morning was some more of the bad when the worst hail storm I have ever lived through in my almost 22 years of living in Texas hit of course no where else in the Metroplex except McKinney. We had golfball size hail that sounded like the windows were going to come crashing in. Luckily no broken windows, however, we do have a badly damaged vehicle that we were wanting to sell and I am sure a very badly damaged roof.
Thankfully, the rest of the weekend only got better as we celebrated Valentines. First, I had my spa day compliments of my parents and thoroughly enjoyed my massage, manicure and pedicure. It was heaven. In the evening Brad and I enjoyed a nice date night with dinner and a movie. It was great to have "Brad and Brooke time" as we like to call it, especially since we'll have much less of that before we know it. Sunday we continued our Valentine's celebration with my present to Brad...tickets to the Stars/Red Wings game. For those of you who don't know Brad as well, the Detroit Red Wings are by far his all time favorite sports team, so I lucked out that they happened to be playing in Dallas Valentine's weekend, and even more lucked out that my good friend works for the Stars still so was able to help out with getting us tickets to the sold out game. We had a great time and really enjoyed getting to watch the game live.
As far as this week, the bad has continued to prevail. First, my pinched nerve acted back up in my lower back, making walking a very painful event. That was followed by the onset of a nasty cold and I have been out of work the last two days laying in bed surrounded by Kleenex.
I do have a lot of things in the coming weeks to look forward to however. I have my next doctor appointment on Tuesday, which I always love so I can hear baby's heartbeat again. Then starting in about a week and a half Brad and I will begin our childbirth classes. I'm really looking forward to them and will cover everything from labor and even going through a mock labor experience, getting a tour of the hospital, caring for a new baby, infant cpr and breastfeeding. It will be great to spend a few hours every week with Brad focusing on all that is baby! And last but certainly not least in just 3 weeks from Saturday I will be having a baby shower!! I have so many of my close family and friends coming in town for it and it will be truly special. I am so excited!
I am ready for all the good to make its way back into the mix and to start feeling like my old self again!