Defining a busy life

At 35 weeks pregnant, I am:



A soccer mom cheering on doodle bug @ his 8 am soccer game.

Being celebrated at a surprising and wonderful shower @ HEB.

Sitting in the rain and cold for an hour waiting for doodle's bike rodeo to begin at school. It was eventually postponed.

A dugout mom at doodle's tee-ball game, helping the little boys get ready to bat or hit the field to be coached by my Mr.

A hostess for my friend Hope's baby shower.

I am also....
-working still.
-moving offices at work.
-going to doctor's appointments- had sono- update of its own soon. Great appointment and going again in the morning.
-nurse mommy to doodle bug who was down for a day with fever- flu tests negative! He was back in action the next day....mama has since been immunized too!
-celebrating my mom's b-day with a birthday lunch.
-celebrating Reese's 6th birthday.
-a mom going to her son's first teacher-parent conference.
-and all the things around the house that us wife & mommy's do.

...did I mention I am over 35 weeks pregnant and this is just the list from one week?

33 Week Update

We saw Dr. F yesterday for my 33 week check-up. Lots of good news and some things to contemplate. Frist, my blood pressure remains great! 126/70- which is very, very good for me. At this point with doodle, I was already sent to a heart specialist and went through testing because my blood pressure was high and steadily increasing. Prayers answered so far!!! I only gained one pound from last visit (2 weeks ago) even though Camdyn had a huge growth spurt (I am getting to that.) Total weight gain so far is 27 pounds. I gained 53 with doodle so I think this is a huge factor in keeping my blood pressure down. Dr. F began to talk about scheduling the C-section as she was measuring my fundal height. She stopped mid-sentence and said, "This baby is big." Miss Priss is now 4 weeks ahead!!! Dr. F kept loooking back and forth and MSW and I asking, "how do you make such big babies?" The talks shifted from scheduling the c-section to our new game plan. Because of her size at this point, Dr. F feels there is no way that I will make it to 39 weeks. The hopspital does not allow for a scheduled C-section to be planned prior to 39 weeks. We have a problem....

So, for now the game plan is to have a sonogram on Wednesday (she moved this up a week) to do a weight check of baby girl. If we have an idea of how big she is now, it will influence our delivery decision if it comes prior to 39 weeks. So basically, Dr. F beleives that I will start going into labor in the near future. If I am at the 35 mark she will not stop labor. Based on the infromation we find out on Wednesday about weight, I will then either have a regular delivery or we will then do a c-section at that point. Dr. F thinks I will have no problem delivering a 7 pounder though she is giving me the option of doing a C regardless of her weight.

It leaves me with more questions than answers, truthfully. On one hand, I am terrified of delivering another huge baby and have settled into the idea of having a c-section. This is a likely scenario if I make it past 35 weeks. However, there seems to be a really good chance that I will go into labor in the next couple of weeks. I am having fairly regualr contractions that have began dialation. Camdyn dropped Saturday night and the change is very noticeable. I feel and look different than just last Saturday. Could this be my body getting ready? I feel her weight and I feel the pressure that I did right before my water broke with doodle. I do not want to deliver my precious this early. 35 weeks makes me nervours, even. I can't stand to think that she will have to be in the NICU for under developed lungs and that I could possibly be discharged from the hopsital without her. I just can't think about that. So, is it possible to have a big baby with under developed lungs???? Only time will tell.

So on one hand I am hoping and praying for her growth to slow down and stay in until 37 weeks, while at the same time I am hoping and praying that she speeds up her lung development. I often confuse myself with what I am hoping for! The truth remains, that this is beyond our control. We have faith and just trust in it that everything will be fine.

Will I have a preemie or will I have another giant? Maybe Wednesday will give us a better idea.

"big mama"

Before I can even drive the 200 yards home after I pick him up, I am anxiously tearing into his "travel folder." I love to see what he did during the day. Did he earn his sticker? What volunteer opportunities are there today (because, yes, I am so that mom!) And the art work...oh the art work that I treasure and adore. So yesterday here is what the art work entailed.... The assignment? Draw a picture of what makes you happy on one side and what makes you sad on the other.



This is a close-up of the sad side...Hmmm? Who does that look like? Hmmmm....I wonder???




A picture of the whole page.

So we sit down as I make him each day when we get home and tell me about his day and describe all his work to me. We get to the Happy/Sad picture. "This side shows what makes me happy. See sweets, (love, love that I am still sweets!) this is me hitting a baseball really far. See that fire coming out of the ball because I hit it so hard! That is what makes me happy! The sad side is my Legos that I built. I work and work and get it really high and then they always start to fall over. That is what makes me sad." And that person right there; who is that doodle? "Oh, the one with the big tummy?" "yeah, that one." "That is you mama....but don't worry I did not tell anyone that was you?" Oh thanks! I feel so much better!

A trip home

A trip home
I like that we grew up in the same town. We have the same kind of roots and we have known each other our whole lives. Though we go back there now, and talk about how much the town has changed and believe that "it was so much better when we were growing up." There is not much to our little town. However, it will always be a piece of our past and our hometown. We probably only make a couple trips down there each year but as doodle gets older, it is fun to show him around. The background of the first picture is MSW's Little League field. The field is no longer in use, the grass has overtaken the infield and the scoreboard is rusted. If you were to head 200 yards past the scoreboard, you would run right into the house that I grew up in. On the other side, the spot that I am standing to take the picture is MSW's parents' graves. It was not until I was standing in that spot, taking that picture, that I realized the magnitude of that. MSW spent more hours of his childhood on that field than any where else...they were perfectly placed.





Another picture of the field. I would ride up the dirt road on a 3-wheeler to go watch the games and hit the snacks at the concession stand. I had no idea that 20+ years later that I would be telling my son, "that is where I watched daddy play baseball when he was your age (or a little older)!"







Pizz-A-ghetti....because who really makes a trip home without a meal at Bob's?

The things people say....

Maybe because I am back at work now (amongst the real world and not the nice, safe harbor of my home), I have been getting some of the funniest comments on my belly. I am right at 31.5 weeks- still at least a good 7 weeks from delivery I would hope. I am not too self conscious about the fact that I am big girl these days. I have a mirror and I know, so it cracks me up that people feel the need to comment on the obvious. Every day I can count on getting..."any day now." Nope- I still have 2 months until my due date. "Are you sure you are not having twins?" Well my doctor who spent many years in medical school is pretty sure there is only one. And it goes on and on.... My favorite are usually from men. I guess they have no idea what to say so they just kind of stare and make some ridiculuous comment. Truly, it is ok not to say anything at all. See, look up, see....ah there it is my head, that contains my same brain- I can still carry a normal conversation that does not revolve around the size of my belly. People are crazy....

Last week, I had to do a large presenation for faculty and administrators. It was my first "performance" in my 3rd trimester and it was the first time that many of my colleagues have seen me since early May (I've changed just a little since then :) I was presenting on a "hot" topic that usually pushes some buttons and raises some debate. Nope, not this time, instead everyone in the audience just looked at me with pitty. Maybe it was do to the fact that I was gasping for air like I had just ran a marathon- I am pretty sure the baby has taken up every single bit of room so that my stomach and diaphram are pushed up into my throat. Try giving an hour long speech in that condition without breathing heavy...it was rather embarassing. I finally had one lady mouth to me "just sit down." People are funny....

So talk of size is a big thing right now. Part of me does not think she will reach the proportions of her brother. We pulled out some pictures of me at 30 weeks with doodle and compared to 30 weeks now...let's just say if there is a difference it is that I am bigger now. yikes. I have not gained as much weight yet so that is a good sign, right? We are 90% sure that we are going to schedule a c-section. At this point, it just seems like the smart and safe thing to do. While I am not crazy about having a surgery, I think given my past experience it is the best for all of us. My doctor, while not requiring a c-section yet, recommends a c-section too. At my last appointment at 29 weeks, I was measuring 3 weeks ahead. I should have a sonogram each week starting at 35 weeks to monitor the size of miss Camy e. If she continues to be on track to be 8 lbs or more, doctor will go ahead and schedule a C-section prior to my due date just depending on size, development, etc... If she looks like she will be 7 lbs I would like to do a regular delivery. MSW and dr. don't fully agree with my thoughts on this and they may win out, but I just have hopes of having it that way. With doodle, he was immediately taken away and it was not until 8 hours later that I finally saw him. With a C-section, I assume I will be in recovery for some time after delivery. I just hope for that immediate bonding experience- I want to hold her right away, I want a delivery room and not an operating room. However, I have wrapped my brain around having a c-section and I am ok with it. In the end, I just want a healthy baby. However she comes will be just fine.

I do have an appointment this afternoon and I am a bit nervous. At my last appointment, DR. F mentioned doing the 3 hr. glucose test again at 32 weeks....no!!!! She is convinced that gestational diabetes is a concern for me. Couldn't it just be possible that I have big babies without that as a cause I ask??? Uggh! To go through that test again would be a drag. I'll do what I have to do to insure our health, but I am hoping my measurements are right at 31 weeks (which I guess is impossible unless I shrunk bc I was already at 32 weeks at last appointment, my blood pressure is on target and weight gain is low and I think in that case, she will not have me do the glucose test again. So pray, my friends!

I cannot wait to meet this baby girl. I cannot wait to see what she looks like, what color hair/eyes she will have, will she have the same birthmark that her daddy and doodle have? I long for the newborn days. I cannot wait to wrap her in a blanket and hold her all day long if that is what she wants. I cannot wait to wake up to her little cries in the night and anxiously pick her up to feed. I anticipate how quickly she will change and how fast the time will pass. I have about 30 photo shoots already lined up in my head for her. What an amazing gift God gives us. To be blessed with motherhood is such an honor. There are times I think my heart is about to explode with anticipation.