35 and 35

Marination Time:  35 weeks and only 35 days to go...although if we make it all the way to 39 weeks, I technically only have 28 days!

Fruit/Size of the week: Large Cantaloupe (19 – 22 inches and 6 pounds)

Movement: This week he is pushing and stretching more instead of kicking.  His butt usually sits high on my right side, and I’m pretty sure he kicked my ribs square in the middle of my diaphragm yesterday.  Its uncomfortable, and sometimes catches me off guard, but it doesn’t hurt.

Cravings:  Dr. Pepper, Sleep, and sitting down. (see below)

Annoyances:  In my naivety, I just assumed that teaching this fall would be the same as it was when I left in May.  Ha! Teaching nine months preggo is an experience.  I’m great in the mornings until around 2pm.  By the time I have swaggered my way to the car to go home, I am beyond D.O.N.E.  Call me worthless the rest of the day.  I crave a nap and to sit down rather than dinner at 6:00!  It didn’t help that this week I’ve had band two nights until at least 7:30 pm (not counting the football game tomorrow) and our birthing class on Tuesday until after nine.  But the good news is, I accomplished all of that and I'm still pregnant!

Belly Button: Still flat and no new stretch marks from last week.  Thank goodness!

Highlights:

•  I am really glad I made it to the first week of school, and am hoping to make it through a couple more.  Its so fun to see my students return, and to get to meet all my new 6^th graders!   We will have more of a routine down by the end of next week and then I can relax about going into this whole labor-you-are-really-going-to-have-a-baby thing.
•  Our car seat safety class is Saturday and they are going to install it so then its really R.E.A.L. 
• Annnnnnd…..our nursery is done ;-) I’m going to do a separate post on all the dirty details over the weekend.  But for a sneak peak…

We are going to the doctor tomorrow for another weekly appointment.  I don’t know why, but I am pretty anxious about it.  Part of me really wants there to be no change in anything so I can teach this entire month….and part of me is really excited to finally get to meet our son.  So, hopefully tomorrow I’ll have an update for you!

To all my teacher friends, one more day and we’ve made it through the first week of school!! I can't wait until week 2 ;-)

You Are My Sunshine

A week ago today our friends here in Dallas threw us a "You Are My Sunshine" baby shower.  I had cleared coming to it by my doctor since I was still on bed rest, and it was so great to get out of the house and see people!!

I love this picture ;-)  Patrick was there on guard duty (and to keep John occupied during an estrogen-take-over) since I was on bed rest.  He just made sure I sat down, drank lots of water, and didn't have to get up for snacking or retrieving things.  I am really glad he was there - it was nice to share the excitement with him.  After all, he is partially responsible for this whole pregnancy thing!

Me and my cute sash that Katie bought for me.  We were so blessed by our friends...and Cohen's room is nearly complete (hopefully I can blog about that this coming week!)

 We had several friends from our Sunday School class come to the party.  Cohen will make baby number 4 (Katie's is baby number 5!) so we have had lots of good baby time over the past few months.  This is Patrick getting some Addison time before she had to leave.  I think I'm going to have a hard time prying my son from his father's hold.  Doesn't he just look like a natural?!?!

A long time ago, before we knew boy or girl, I found an idea on Etsy to make an alphabet wall in the nursery.  They are simple wooden letters in all sizes and fonts that looked really great up on a plain wall.  I was going to just order them pre-painted and done, but I thought it would be a fun thing to have all our friends paint a letter for him.  Plus, each person could be unique and write a saying or their name on the back of a letter.  The girls set up a painting table and we all got to work!

 Joy Ferguson, Christina Chapman, Regina Bagwell and Dina Dunn painting letters for Cohen's room!  Look at those cute polka-dots on the "R"!

 Patrick making a letter...and yes, the boys did break out a few beers ;-)  I guess its the best way to cope with 20 + women in one place!  Patrick painting an orange 'g' as well.  Cohen's going to like orange...

 I am painting the 'W' for his middle name.  I also did the C - can't wait to see what all these look like all in order!

 Katie Lewis painted lots of letters for us...and then we all pitched in to cover the 6 or so letters that went unpainted at the end of the party.

 The finished W for William!

I don't have a picture of all three of my hostesses yet...when I get the second round of photos in, I'll do a follow up blog post!  Just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Christina, Katie and Susan for making us feel so loved ;-)  Ya'll rock!

34 weeks!

Marination Time: 34 weeks. Goal.  In other news, I have completed 224 days of being pregnant, and completed 8 months.  I am officially NINE months pregnant.  (I'm still a bit lost as to how another 6 weeks equals a month- these gynecological calendars are nuts.)

Fruit/Size of the week:  My calendar countdown says he's staying at the pineapple size for the week...I think he's bigger than that.  See comments below.

Maternity Clothes: I think next week I will just take this one off the list.  I mean seriously....I couldn't think about wearing anything normal with this belly out in front of me.

Movement:  Well, he moved down.  Or at least everyone is telling me he dropped this week. I have noticed being able to breathe a bit better.  Also, the coughing fits are way less frequent, so this could be the case!  He is still head down and his hiccups are really low, but nothing unusual since last week.

Cravings: Ice cream ;-) and raisin nut bran cereal.  I'm living up the gluten thing while I still can!

Annoyances: (Just to clarify, not complaints yet, but annoyances.  Really, I just want to look back and think, "I made it through 34 weeks without this stuff....I can make it 5 more!")
New fun third trimester symptoms include:

• Greasy hair and skin.  Ugh.  I swear I feel like I'm 15 again.  Double ugh.
•  I am waking up each morning at 4am wide awake and unable to fall back to sleep.  The weird thing is that I'm not tired during the day.  For an 8-hour a night or more girl, this is really strange!
• Sensory overload - loud voices, lots of noises, visual stimulation, etc have been overwhelming this week.  Weird...what do you think band will do to me next week?
• Dizziness - this is always random.  I'm not sure if its my growing belly on major arteries or if its blood sugar related
• Higher blood pressure after I eat, usually in the mornings after my cereal.  I have had really low pressures (110/60) this entire pregnancy.  However, after I eat it goes up to 140/80-90. 
• My belly is heavy.  Its hard to turn at night and when I stand, the weight just is uncomfortable.
• Tired.  Just tired.  Things that usually weren't an issue just wear me out. 

Belly Button:  I still don't think it will pop.  However, my friends the stretch marks made out like bunnies this week.  I am not kidding when I say I went from 4 to 40 marks in the past 3 days.  They are all on the lower side of my belly and make me think that this kid went through a growth spurt this week (I think he's bigger than a pineapple, but what do I know)

Highlights: My shower was this past Sunday.  I am waiting on photos from friends before I do a blog post on it, but it was so lovely.  Also, being released from bed rest and getting to see all my friends and colleagues at work has been great.  We got our crib mattress and some other necessities in from our shower this week, so I'm feeling really prepared ;-)

Blessings!

Wordless Wednesday

 (i KNOW the pic has words IN it, but its still a pic!)

Blessings!

All Clear

And.....

we got the all clear this evening from my doctor!

Apparently my OB has only had one other patient have a positive fFN test out of all the tests she has given.  That patient had her baby within 48 hours.  THIS would explain why they were so freaked out (and thus freaked US out) about my positive test.  She apologized during our visit but wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

In fact, the three nurses at the front recognized us and called us the "FFN couple."  One of the ladies said news travels fast when a positive shows up.  I said I was sorry to disappoint and that the positive test didn't do a whole lot to me.  I am VERY obviously STILL pregnant ;-)

I asked if she would run the test again and she will not.  By the time 2 weeks is up from the original test, I will be past the 34 week mark and be on the safe side to give birth.  We have weekly appointments from now until the end and she will just have to continue to check my cervix to make sure nothing has changed.  But in the words of our sonographer, "You're plenty long enough to go 45 weeks preggo!" Um, thanks, but no.  We will definitely NOT be going that long!

I am cleared to go back to work as long as I take it easy.  Hmmmm, now how to teach full band while sitting with my feet up.  That will be a challenge!  I am excited to finally get to go to school and start the ball rolling.  I have really wanted all along to start the year off right, and now it looks like I'll get to do just that!

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.  Have a wonderful week!

33 weeks!

Marination Time:  33 weeks 1 day today ;-) only 6 more days to make it to 34, the first goal!

Fruit/Size of the week: Pineappple (19-22 inches long and 4.9 lbs) according to my pregnancy app.  However, we know he is 4 lbs 12 oz right now and will have another measurement on Monday at our next sono!

 Or, for those of you that know our little Olivia, Mr. Cohen is equal in weight to her! Ollie's the one on the left.  Bella is on the right and is pushing 8 pounds, so Cohen should be her size at birth. Ah, these two have NO IDEA what is coming!

Maternity Clothes: Yup, and comfy clothes this week since I'm sitting at home on my rear.

Movement: He's a bit quieter this week.  Maybe he's running out of room?  I can feel where his back and butt are, and sometime where a foot or two manages to stretch.  His hiccups are still really low since he is head down and sometimes his hands tickle my sides.

Cravings:  The steroid shot made me SUPER hungry for a few days.  I wanted anything carbohydrate packed.  In fact, I have strawberry cake and banana bread baked ready to eat at 2am if needed ;-)  I've had some great friends bring me lunch and keep me occupied for a bit- yummy sandwiches and some good girl time!

Annoyances:  If you know me, you know that this week was NOT part of the plan.  I am just annoyed in general that I can't do anything...but I know Cohen's worth it.  I just don't believe he's coming soon, maybe wishful thinking, but I need these extra few weeks!  I've really been working on lesson planning and getting stuff in order just in case.  Its been hard because I'm not allowed to drive, do laundry or clean, so I'm just stuck here with lists.  And if you know my hubbie, you know lists aren't exactly HIS thing ;-) so we will just learn to cope over the next few days.  Also, my heartburn has returned with a vengeance - we saw hair on the sonogram so maybe thats what is causing it!

Belly Button: Flat and more stretch marks.  Boo!

Highlights: Let's focus on the positive, shall we?
Even though the fFN test was positive I am showing no other signs of early labor = good!
I get a forced break before school starts to really sit down and put whatever it is I do on paper for the sub/staff = hard work, but worth it!
My hospital bag is really packed.  Like Cohen could come today and I have everything in there that I need!
I have fabulous friends and family that are checking in on us to make sure we don't go stir crazy = blessed!
We got to see cute little Cohen on the ultrasound - his cheeks and ears were adorable!! AND we get to see him again in less than a week!
The hospital moved our breastfeeding class up to yesterday....just to be safe! = Another thing crossed off the list and we learned a lot.  Now if Cohen will just bake a bit longer, we won't have to worry about the whole NICU feeding stuff.
We got an in house tour during our brief stay at Labor and Delivery.  I know what to pack and what to bring and where to go! = Preparedness for my a-type personality!

fFN test

What the.....?!?!?

That would be the quote of the day yesterday.  First from my OB, then from me and family and then from all our friends.  So here goes what I can remember and where we will be going from here.

Last week I have my usual 32 week OB appointment to check blood, weight, etc.  She had asked if I had been having any Braxton Hicks or cramping, and I had been all week but nothing uncomfortable or anything.  She decided to do an exam to check my cervix and then did this fFN test (similar to a pap smear).  After it was over she said everything looked wonderful, that there was no change and she'd see me in a few weeks....ha!

What Is Fetal Fibronectin (fFN)?

Fetal fibronectin (also known as fFN) is a “glue-like” protein that bonds your developing baby to your uterus. Fetal fibronectin is detectable in vaginal secretions in the very beginning of pregnancy, when this bond is first forming, and then again at the end of pregnancy, when your body is getting ready to deliver your baby.  After the 35th week of pregnancy, it begins to break down naturally, and is detectable. If your body is getting ready to give birth prematurely, fFN may be detected before week 35.

What a Positive Test Result Means

A positive test result means your body is leaking fetal fibronectin, a sign that your body may be getting ready to deliver.  There is an increased chance that your baby is going to arrive early — but not everyone with a positive test result delivers early. The test can be repeated as often as every two weeks to monitor your ongoing risk.

This was taken off the internet - I've highlighted what they have done and are planning to do for Cohen:

Developing a plan of action

Knowing this information will help you and your doctor prepare for a possible preterm birth, and take appropriate steps to help manage your pregnancy.

Depending on what week of pregnancy you are in, some recommendations your doctor may suggest include:

• Limiting activities 
• Reducing stress
• Bed rest
• Finding and treating any undiagnosed infection(s)
• Watching for cervical changes that would signal onset of labor
• Consulting with a high-risk pregnancy specialist
• Tocolytic drugs, which are used to alleviate preterm contractions
• Corticosteroids, which may aid in your baby's lung development
• Monitoring for other symptoms that may be indicative of preterm labor
• Additional intervention if and when preterm labor begins

Monday (8/13) during a break in summer band the triage nurse from the hospital called and said this fFN test had come back positive.  She and my OB were both shocked and ordered me to the hospital within the hour.  I know nurses have to keep us fully informed, but I was an absolute MESS after hearing these phrases:  steroids for lung development, possible bed rest for 6 weeks, possible hospital stay for 2 weeks, bring enough things to the hospital in case we don't let you out, etc.  My students and another director got to see the tearful hysteria...before I headed home to get my bags.

We got here and immediately were put on monitors and given our first of two steroid shots.

Here is a picture of one of my contractions (I didn't know I was having them, but sure enough!)  I haven't had any more since Monday afternoon - I also haven't moved out of this dang hospital bed, either!

L&D memories... Room number 2253 at Centennial in Frisco: Meagan, Kerry and Brandi are our fabulous nurses

We saw the high risk doctor and my OB who said for now everything looks great.  Ultrasound sound revealed:

-Cohen is measuring 4 pounds 12 oz (big boy!)  This is 61% on weight.  They didn't have a way to measure the length but neither doctor was concerned since Patrick and I are both tall (or taller).
-Cervix length was 46 mm
-Cohen's Heart-rate was in the 120-130 range, a bit low for him, but I haven't really been doing anything all day.

Here are a couple of our catered meals ;-) Grilled cheese for dinner and eggs for breakfast this morning.  Guess Patrick's going to have to make dinner for me now!!

We are waiting on the second shot and the second round of doctors visits this afternoon and evening.  If we get the all clear, it looks like I'll be home bound for the week until my appointment next Monday.  If everything looks good then, I might be able to go to work again!

Fingers crossed that the steroids help his lungs, that we make it another 9 days until 34 weeks, and that Cohen stays put until he's supposed to make his arrival!

I'll update when we know more.   Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

32 weeks! (32w1d)

When we went to Oklahoma to see family, we found these adorable matching buff-baby portraits.  We are both 4 months old and in nearly the exact same position- so funny!  Can you guess which one is me and which one is hubbie?

Marination Time: 32 weeks...6 weeks, 6 days until induction date.  Teachers, this is a six-week's grading period!!!

Fruit/Size of the week: Honeydew Melon or 19 inches and 4.5 lbs

Movement: I videoed a clip yesterday to send to my mom of him hiccuping.  He had wiggled high enough that I could see my belly bounce with each hiccup - they usually last about 5 minutes or so, but he has been getting them 2-3 times a day!  I think its so strange that babies can get hiccups in there.

Cravings:  Protein this week has been the top of my list.  I have passed up ice-cream (gasp!!) for sandwiches, organic burritos, yogurt, bacon, or sushi (cooked, of course).  The books all say the next four weeks he will gain 1/2 pound each week in muscle and cute baby fat, so maybe that's why I am needing/wanting more proteins.

Annoyances: My feet.  Everything about my feet. Ugh.  I've already lost my ankles, and now my toes look like little vienna sausages because the swelling just will not go away.  Its really bad in the mid afternoon session of band camp, even though I try to keep my feet up.  Its hard to sit to eat dinner at the table because I can feel the blood just pooling at my feet.  Ah the joys of pregnancy...

Belly Button: Still just flat.  Patrick is secretly hoping it pops out - I'm not thinking it will.  But, I haven't noticed any new stretch marks this week!!! Yay!

Highlights:
Our First Childbirth Class was this week.  I have done a ton of research, so this week wasn't anything new.  We do have a ton of homework to do each week, so hopefully by the time Cohen makes his debut we will be good to go!
Amazon.com has become our favorite thing this week.  We have been getting small boxes of gifts and deliveries almost every day!  This week we've put together the swing, the frame stroller and washed all our cloth diapers!
Another baby came to our church's sunday school class, new directions.  This is ND #3, miss Kenleigh Elizabeth.  We were able to spend a couple hours with her and her parents this week..first playmates for Cohen!!

P.S. If you've read all the way through, my picture is the first baby and hubbie is the second ;-)

Blessings!

OKC Shower!

April showers bring May flowers….or in our case, August showers bring September babies!!

Our family and close friends in Oklahoma threw Cohen a baby shower this past weekend.  It was held at a little place in Edmond called The Tea Room – a place that my BFF Serina had her shower almost 7 years ago!  It’s such a neat place.  Patrick said its like walking into an estrogen factory.  Little quaint tables with real china tea-cups and scones at your place setting.  They have a million different types of tea that you can try and/or purchase along with a very girlie gift shop.

Here I am with Cohen's Lady and Cici ;-)

Anyway, my sister in law, Kara, my friend Serina and my mom hosted with a private tea-room in the back.  It was nice and quiet, cool, and such a fun time.  We got to have lots of catch up discussions between old friends, some talk about cellulite (love ya Ashley!!), and probably some talk about anticipating Cohen – ha!  Here I am with my hostesses.  We didn't mean to match, but I guess we think alike (plus purple and black look really good here!)

Kara had these ADORABLE cupcakes made to match Cohen’s room.  I’m not sure the picture does it justice, but there is glitter on most of the fondant...and some chevron patterns thrown in.  I just LOVED them!

We had chicken salad, soup, and salad after our lemon crumpet.  YUMMY!

I was so glad my mom was there to help - she had to leave immediately afterwards to go prepare for Sunday's services, but it was nice to get to see her if only for a few more hours.  She made us a hand-painted piggy bank with Cohen's name on it!  Super sweet!

Cohen's now part of the 'cool' club - we got our very own Sophie the Giraffe!!

 This is Serina and I catching up before everyone got there.  Can you tell its a tea-room?  Overly girlie and so unique.  I love this place!

 Cohen is already spoiled and he’s not even here yet.  Thank you everyone for your love and support.  We can’t wait for Cohen to get her (I think especially me!)  We were able to finish our cloth diaper stash this weekend as well!  More on that to come….

31 weeks!

Marination Time: 31 weeks ;-) 7 weeks and 6 days to go....OMG

Fruit/Size of the week: This didn't change this week. Cohen's still about the size of a head of lettuce...however, the baby center app said that I should expect a growth spurt over the next 4 weeks.  Lets hope its not TOO much!

Maternity Clothes: A HUGE thank you to my friends that read last week's blog post.  I now have enough maternity work clothes to last me until the bitter end.  Between borrowing and gifts, I feel like I have an entirely new wardrobe :-) And for those of you that know me, I LOVE my clothes, so its really nice to walk into the closet and find cute clothes that actually fit!

Movement:  I'm pretty sure Cohen's been head-down all week.  All of the strong kicking motions are up towards my rib cage and his hiccup spells are all really low by my hips.  All the articles say he will move less as he runs out of room so I am trying to enjoy the movements as much as I can now!

Cravings:  Nothing really specific this week.  Patrick and I have been doing a lot of cooking and this week's theme was Mexican so it was Enchiladas, then Tacos, then Nachos! Yummy!

Annoyances: Not really an annoyance, but this week was pretty rough on my body.  We started band camp, and although I am in the air-conditioner, I am not used to teaching 8+ hours a day....and teaching in my third trimester.  Basically its kicking my butt.  All my second trimester symptoms came back with a vengeance this week; sore hips, not sleeping through the night, sore back, etc.  But I am taking it day by day and getting through it!

Belly Button: Flatter and Flatter.  The bottom is starting to puff out a bit and its a weird shade of red/pink.  I  really don't mind the in or out but I'd like to avoid a plethora of stretch marks if I can!! (Because I have complete control over that - Ha!)

Highlights: Um, we find out we are DONE with the Houston house.  D..O..N....E.......  I think I lost 50 pounds that night off my shoulders alone.  Maybe my back pain will be better ?!?  Lots of fun baby stuff this week!  We got to unpack and go through all the adorable gifts from our shower last week - I washed a bunch of the baby clothes and started organizing a bit in Cohen's room.  We had a couple duplicate gifts so we got to exchange them at some local stores - we didn't realize how fun buying bath toys and little booties could be ;-)  This weekend our family is hosting a shower in Oklahoma, and we are really looking to finish our cloth diaper stash (I'll have to do an entire other post on that!).  We went through what we currently have and set aside some budget dollars to shop in OKC this weekend for the rest of Cohen's fluff. I think we are half-way to having enough diapers and supplies, which is HUGE!

We had a recommendation from a friend to get this diaper changing pad- Its awesome, and I kinda wish they had an adult one for nap time or sitting on the floor.  Its called an Ah Goo Baby...just another fun thing that we got to shop for this week.

Challenges: This is really for me more than you all, I suppose, but I want to keep track of the happenings during these last few weeks.  First of all, as many of my band director friends can relate, we LOVE teaching our students and look forward to school every year.  Seriously - we do!  However, we also go through a week or two of mourning/depression of our loss of summer time sleep schedules, lunch dates, and pool time.  This week was that time for me.  I was just grouchy any time outside the band hall - but once I got in front of the kids I was fine and having fun ;-)  This is a picture of the flute camp that was AWESOME here in Allen.  Love me some fluties!  Here comes my 8th year of teaching!!

Another scary thing happened just yesterday was dealing with our fur baby, Bella, and her illness.  I was home alone and she had stuff coming out both ends...before foaming at the mouth, and slowing her breathing...  I was an emotional wreck and kept apologizing to our vet.  She is going to be OK - we've just got to monitor her food intact, give her a few medications each day, and pray that the vomiting stops.  Patrick got home from work yesterday and I literally felt like I handed off our 'kid' and then left the house for a much needed break band rehearsal.  We are in serious trouble when Cohen gets sick.  I may just need a valium to get through it ;-) Ah, nothing like getting prepared a bit early right??

I can't wait to see our family and friends (really more family!) this weekend in OKC!

Blessings!