Elise's Birth Story

After discovering I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced at my 37 week appointment on Tuesday, March 17th, everyone was on high alert expecting Elise to arrive soon.  Every morning as Ty left for work he would say, "See you tonight... or sooner!"  When I would call one of my parents to chat they would make a mad dash to their phones in anticipation of labor news.  I was even getting antsy and wanting to get the show on the road.  Up until our appointment I had been very calm and prepared to wait another week or more to meet our sweet girl.  Due to Carter's early arrival, read his birth story here, everyone was expecting Elise to be early and I was getting lots of daily texts and phone calls asking about potential progress which made me even more antsy.  My dad said, "This is like Christmas but you don't know when Santa will come."  I told him, "Yeah, and I know Santa's going to kick my ass before he gives me my present!"

Thursday night, March 19th, I woke up in the middle of the night at 12:30 wide awake and could not for the life of me fall asleep.  I was a bit hopeful that I had woken up because labor would be starting soon.  That was not the case and I eventually fell back to sleep around 3:00 am.  I really had my heart set on Elise arriving Friday, March 20th.  That way she could share a birthday with her Uncle Paul and her Gma was really wanting her to be born on a weekend.  It would be perfect.  Carter and I had a play date at the park with a new friend and, boy, was Carter a wild child that morning.  The park had trails off to the side and Carter took off running on them.  He wasn't listening to me when I yelled for him to stop and I ended up having to chase him downhill in the woods, not an ideal situation at 9 months pregnant.  He was jumping in puddles and taking off away from me any chance he got.  By the time we got home I was exhausted.  As I was making his lunch I got a contraction followed by another about 9 minutes later.  I figured that would be it as the same thing had happened to me the day before, but the contractions kept coming.  They were really mild and coming about every 9-10 minutes.  I was hopeful it was early labor but then they slowed to 15 minutes apart, then 20 minutes apart, and then became very sporadic.  I knew they should be getting longer, stronger, and closer together but they weren't.  By the time Ty got home I was disappointed and exhausted.  We decided to eat dinner at Olive Garden with a gift card I'd received for Christmas to perk me up.  It did the trick and I went home happy and full.  We went to bed planning to hit up garage sales in the morning.

Enjoying some time taking pictures with Carter on Friday afternoon.

About an hour after heading for bed, around 11:30, I woke up due to a contraction and headed to the bathroom.  An hour later the same thing happened.  I was waking up once or twice every hour with a contraction and possibly sleeping through some milder contractions. At 3:30 I realized I had woken up multiple times with contractions since 3:00 and decided to stay awake for a bit and time them to see what was going on.  The contractions were lasting for about a minute and were averaging 8 minutes apart.  I responded to a text my mom had sent earlier and it turned out she was still up so we discussed what was going on.  I wanted to stay in bed as long as possible so I could rest up for what was to come, but they were getting strong enough that laying down during them was becoming difficult.  I woke Ty up to give him a head's up and was worried he'd get so excited he wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep, but heard him snoring moments later.  Around that time I also texted Ty's mom.  To help myself relax during contractions I was picturing that I was laying on the beach and the tide was sweeping over me.  As the water reached my body it would relax each part of my body it touched.  

At 5:00 the contractions had gotten strong enough I was no longer able to manage them as well as I would have liked while laying in bed so I decided to get up and prepare for the hospital.  The contractions were now occurring every 5-6 minutes and I felt like it was about time to head for the hospital because once I got out of bed and started moving around they really picked up in strength.  I had a feeling things would move quickly.  I texted Jeremy to give him a head's up.  Then I woke Ty up and asked him to call the doctor because my contractions were strong enough I could no longer talk through them.  The doctor debated whether we shoud head in yet or not and then eventually said, "I think she's going to go quick so you guys better go ahead and head that way."  Ty hung up and called Jeremy so he could come stay with Carter.

Right before Jeremy arrived shit got real. My contractions were down to 2-3 minutes apart and were really strong.  When the contraction hit its peak I would count down from 10 in my head and when I got to 0 it was usually starting to fade.  It helped to have something to focus on during the most painful part of contractions.  I was getting emotional because Carter was still asleep and I was hoping we could stay at home long enough to see him before heading to the hospital.  We put the last few items in our hospital bag, fed the animals, and got sheets out for Jeremy to sleep on the futon.  We were getting ready to leave and I wanted to have one last contraction before getting in the car.  I was either getting on my knees with my chest on our birthing ball and rolling or getting down on my hands and knees during contractions.  For this one I was using the ball and at the end of the contraction I realized I was going to throw up.  I looked at Ty and said, "I better be at least 7 cm when we get to the hospital."  Then I rushed to the bathroom and threw up in the sink, but didn't quite make it in time throwing up on the countertop as well.  I grabbed a towel and headed back in to clean it up as another contraction hit so I handed the towel to Ty telling him, "I didn't quite make it."  As I worked through the contraction I heard Carter wake up which was music to my ears.  We gave him kisses and told him we were going to the hospital so Sissy Elise could be born and Uncie J would be staying to play with him.  Carter looked at his uncie, smiled, and said "Bye, mommy daddy," very excitedly.

I was so thankful I got to say "good bye" to Carter.

We got in the car around 6:30 and arrived at the hospital about 15 minutes later.  Contractions in the car super sucked and I was thankful I only had 2 during the drive.  As I got out of the car another one hit and I asked Ty to pass me the birthing ball.  I got down on my hands and knees in the parking lot to work through the contraction and had to do the same right in front of the entryway doors.  Ty was getting down by me, putting pressure on my hips with his hands, and pressing and pulling them downward which felt great.  On our way up in the elevator we realized between me throwing up and Carter waking up I forgot to grab my purse.  We made it to admittance and it seemed to take forever.  The woman was having me sign paperwork and answer questions between contractions and I started thinking, "I hope this baby isn't born in the waiting room!"  At this point I gave up on counting down from 10 because the really strong part of the contractions were lasting much longer and it wasn't helping to count any more.  When we were finally checked in it was a little after 7:00.  A nurse walked us back to triage to check my cervix and said I was 7 cm and fully effaced.  She said one look at my face in the waiting room and she knew I should have gone straight to labor and delivery, bypassing triage.  She called the doctor and he immediately left for the hospital.  Then she said she'd get me a wheel chair and we'd head to my room.  No way in hell was I sitting down during contractions so I told her I would walk.  She said, "Okay, but we need to hurry.  In all my years as a nurse I've never delivered a baby in the hall and I don't want that to happen tonight."  We had to stop for contractions numerous times on our walk and I'm sure I was quite the scene rolling on my ball while on the floor on my knees all with a gown that wasn't fully covering me in the back.  During these contractions Ty went to push on my hips like he had been, but it no longer felt good.  I knew we were getting close!

When we made it to the labor and delivery room I had another contraction and this time had the urge to push.  I was concerned because I had been just 7 cm a few minutes before.  I told the nurses who at this point were trying to put in an IV port and draw blood.  That was the huge disadvantage of arriving at the hospital in such active labor, they needed me to sit still during contractions to do some of that admittance stuff and I needed to be moving around.  While the nurses were poking and prodding me I was breathing really fast and squeezing the life out of Ty's hand to keep from pushing.  I felt like the harder I held Ty's hand, the more control I had over my body.  Every part of me was pleading with them to allow me to move.  They brought in a different doctor and things started getting serious.  I was on all fours on the bed breathing as fast as I could and pushing my legs together to hold Elise in.  My contractions were so close together that I didn't have much time in between them to go back to regular breathing.  All the fast breathing to keep from pushing was making me light headed.  Then I pushed up to a squatting position and my water burst, spraying everywhere and soaking Ty's pants all the way through to his underwear.  I told anyone who would listen, "I can't not push anymore!"  The doctor looked down and told me Elise was crowning. I took that as an okay to push and went for it, feeling her head begin to emerge.  At that point the doctor and nurses started freaking out because I was squatting on the bed. They told me I had to lay back.  I grudgingly did but would have so much preferred to deliver her in a squatting position.  They then asked me to scoot down and I looked at Ty and said he needed to help me so he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into position all with Elise's head partially out.  Then I pushed again and the head was all the way out. I immediately pushed again, probably too hard and fast as the rest of her body came out.  They pulled her up and lifted her onto my chest.  The first thing I noticed was how much shorter her umbilical cord was than Carter's was.  Her cord felt pulled tight with her on my chest.  The doctor told me we were ready to deliver the placenta and it came out immediately following Elise.  I asked the doctor if I had torn and she said "A little." 

I looked over to see our doctor come walking into the room with a shocked look on his face as he saw me holding Elise. He arrived less than 20 minutes after he received the nurse's phone call that I was 7 cm and missed the birth!  He gave the nurse a hard time joking that she had misjudged and I had really been more than 7 cm dilated.  He then got busy stitching me up.  It turned out I didn't tear where I had torn with Carter at all.  My left labia tore.  My doctor said it was because she came so quickly.  I told him I had planned to slow things down with pushing in hopes I wouldn't tear this time and he laughed.  He said that's just how it goes when you don't have an epidural.  I ended up with 11 stitches which was disappointing, but what can you expect when you push a baby out in 2 contractions.  I just have such a hard time not pushing when it comes down to time.  

I had told Ty the only thing I would change about our delivery with Carter was that they took him away so soon after birth and he didn't come back for so long.  We talked about what I wanted to have happen this time and he was fully prepared to fight off the nursery nurses once they arrived. We were both shocked that I had Elise for almost 2 hours and fed her twice before anyone from the nursery showed up.  I guess it makes a difference when your baby is full term! Right after Ty left with Elise to be checked over by the pediatrician my parents arrived.  It was so much fun talking with them.  My mom said they got in the car and my dad took off speeding. She told him, "You can slow down, we're not going to make it there before she's born."  Then a few minutes later they got Ty's text that Elise had arrived.  Ty's parents left at the same time as my parents but had twice the drive.  Leina said they stopped to get breakfast on their way out of town and when she got back in the car she saw she had a picture text from Ty.  She opened it and was shocked to see a picture of her granddaughter.

Really enjoying our time alone!

If I were to describe Elise's labor and delivery in one word, it would be whirlwind.  I knew with it being my 2nd birth it would most likely go faster, but I wasn't expecting things to progress so quickly.  The nurses were joking that if we have a 3rd baby we better leave for the hospital sooner.  In my recovery room the nurse brought me pain Meds and asked to see my ID bracelet which she needed to scan in order to give me the pills.  I told her I didn't have one and she couldn't believe they forgot to put one on me.  She said we must've arrived in very active labor and we told her Elise was born less than 30 minutes after we got in our labor and delivery room. She said, oh my, then yes you did!  Although I wish I had been able to slow down my pushing, I felt like everything went really well.  Elise scored an 8/10 and a 9/10 on her Apgars because of her coloring.  She came out pretty blue which oddly enough, I didn't really notice.  We are all so in love and my favorite moment was Carter coming up to meet his sister.  More on that to come!

This picture gives you an idea of her coloring when she was born.

Feeling Sappy and Pregnant

Being pregnant makes me all sappy and full of love.  Don't get me wrong, I also have my moments where it fills me with anger.  But most of the time I'm thinking all these sweet little thoughts and pushing back tears.  So forgive my sappy pregnant posts, but if I'm pregnant for much longer I'm afraid there will be even more of them!  There's something about pregnancy that really brings me closer to Ty and makes me love him even more.  When I look at him I feel so much love and my heart warms at the thought of the baby we created together who is wiggling and kicking around in my stomach.  I don't know if talking about pregnancy in an inclusive way makes me feel that way or if feeling that way causes me to talk more inclusively.  When we talk about Elise and when we talked about Carter it was never that "I was pregnant" or "I had an appointment".  It was always that "we were pregnant" and "we had an appointment".  When I think of labor and delivery I always think of it as a joint effort.  We will make it through the contractions, the pushing, the struggle because we are a team.  Before Carter was born I wasn't scared of labor although I was a little apprehensive.  I knew Ty would be with me and with him as support I knew I could do anything I put my mind to.  Although Ty didn't feel the pain along with me and couldn't physically push as I pushed, his strength gave me strength.  I knew that anything I needed from him as a coach he would provide.  I knew he'd speak up for me and support me in any way possible.  Going through natural childbirth with him by my side was an amazing experience.  He held my hand, massaged my back, sat behind me to support me, breathed with me, and most importantly stood by my side.

I am a little bit of a pain junkie.  I've run 3 marathons, more half-marathons than I can count, a Tough Mudder, a Warrior Dash, the 400 meters and 800 meters in track although I'm not a sprinter (and honestly those were some of the most painful races for me to run), you get the picture.  I love to push my body and have a lot of faith in what it can do.  Right after I pushed the last part of Carter's body out I was immediately thinking, "I want to do this again."  The whole experience was amazing.  Then he was laying on my chest and I was so in love.  I'm really looking forward to doing it again with Elise.  I'm looking forward to Ty walking with me while I work through contractions, rubbing my back when they start to get intense, holding my hand as I stand on the bed (well, maybe I won't do that again), and standing beside me as I push Elise into the world.  He is an amazing husband and an amazing dad.  Every day I'm glad that we met and that we decided to get married.  Even more so I'm glad that we were both ready to start a family at the same time and then add to our family.  The greatest gift Ty has ever given me is children, followed closely by the opportunity to stay home with them and be a mother full-time.  Not a day goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am to live the day-to-day life that I have right now.  With Elise here I know it will only get better.  For that I will always be grateful to my partner in crime, my love, and my support.

Week 37 Bumpdate

Boom, we made it!  Here we are at full-term.  All I can say is that I feel so calm now.  I know it's a little bit crazy but I'm fine with her coming tomorrow or in 2 weeks.  The weather has been beautiful and I've been having a blast playing outside with Carter!  I'm really soaking up our last days just the 2 of us.  This week we have a playdate planned every day except for Wednesday so I know the week will go by quickly.  For the first time in a while we have no weekend plans other than hopefully hitting up some garage sales and relaxing.  I'm excited for a quiet weekend just the 3 of us, although it would be perfect timing for Elise to arrive...  Before we know it we will be at 38 weeks and then it really will be an any day kind of a thing.  I don't feel like labor is coming soon, but I certainly didn't feel that way with Carter either, so there's really no telling!  Carter woke up a little earlier than usual this morning so we did the pictures before Ty left for work.  I guess I wasn't fully awake now that I look at my tired eyes!

 

I had my doctor's appointment today.  Going into it I was a little bit nervous.  I knew if I hadn't progressed at all and was still sitting at 1.5 cm I would be super disappointed so I was hoping for at least some progress, if not in dilation then in effacement.  The nurse checked my blood pressure and informed me my Group B Strep test came back negative.  When our doctor walked in he immediately congratulated me on making it further than I had with Carter.  He checked me and said I was 2.5-3 cm dilated, almost a full 3 cm but not quite.  He also said I was 80% effaced.  I've read that effacement is what helps your body progress because once you are fully effaced you dilate faster, but who knows.  I was very excited with the progress.  I was 2-2.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced at my 35 week appointment with Carter and he was born a week later.  So we could possibly be meeting Elise within a week.  After checking me the doctor said he's on call this weekend just in case I decide to do anything crazy.  I asked if Elise is low because she doesn't feel that low to me.  I felt like Carter was super low toward the end and just don't feel that way with her.  He assured me she is quite low and is now in position.  She is facing my left butt cheek whereas last appointment, a week ago, she was still facing toward my right hip.  He said ideally I'd make it another week, but he's fine with her coming any time now.  As he left he said see you in a week or even earlier with a big smile on his face.

March 17, 2015

Baby's Size: Baby girl should be measuring in around 6 and 1/3 pounds and measure a bit over 19 inches.  She has developed her most crucial functions at this point. 

Weight Gain:  Up 30 pounds

Maternity Clothes: This week it got really warm.  We had a couple days even reach into the 70's!  Unfortunately I don't own any maternity jean shorts and feel there's no point in buying any now.  I mean, why buy shorts that I will most likely wear for 3 weeks or less.  So I've been sticking to dresses, athletic shorts, and tried regular shorts with a belly band which was just a pain. 

Sleep: I took a nap one day and really struggled to fall asleep that night even though I only napped for 20 minutes so I decided not to take naps any other days.  All day long I feel really relaxed and calm and don't worry about when Elise will arrive.  Then I lay down in bed at night and I start thinking too much and wondering when she will be here and I get anxious.  I am so excited to meet her!  One night I had a dream my water broke that next morning.  Then another night I had a dream I went past my due date.  

Symptoms: During the first part of the week I was disappointed because my contractions really eased up and I was having hardly any and they weren't strong.  It wasn't that I wanted to go into labor, I just enjoyed the contractions knowing they meant my body was preparing for the big day.  Then Thursday night I started losing my mucus plug which made me feel better because even though it doesn't mean labor is imminent, it does mean my body is preparing for it!  It's crazy how different things have been this time around though.  Even my mucus plug has been different.  With Carter I lost it over the course of 2 days and it was huge chunks tinged with blood.  This time I'm still losing it in smaller chunks and so far none of it has been tinged with blood.  I'm having a lot more pressure down low along with some soreness in my hips.  My lower back is also really sore.  My belly is so tight and hard pretty much all day long!  I've also started having more swelling.  On Sunday morning my fingers were so swollen I couldn't get my rings past my knuckle when I woke up.  About an hour later I put them on and they were just a little bit tight.  I haven't had trouble getting them on since, but they are definitely tighter than usual.  One day I had a hair tie around my wrist and when I took it off there was an indention from where it had been.  Honestly I'm still in awe of how good I feel.  I have energy, I'm not terribly sore, even when I don't get much sleep my patience is decent.  I'm not in a hurry to get Elise out other than that I can't wait to meet her!  I think that's what has me convinced she won't be here too soon, I just feel too darn good!

Running: This week is exciting because I've reached full term and that means I can start running again!  I was so excited I figured what difference does one day make and started back yesterday with a 2 mile run.  It was glorious.  I felt so good.  The last half mile I was sore and could feel it low in my pelvis, but my legs felt great and it sure brightened my mood.  Walking has been nice, but it just isn't the same.  I got in 15 miles of walking this week.

Food Cravings: I've been having a hard time eating breakfast for a few weeks.  I'm really hungry but after I eat I feel nauseous.  So I've started eating just half a banana in a smaller bowl of Cheerio's rather than my regular full banana in a big bowl of Cheerio's.  Then around 10:00 am I get so hungry my hands are shaking.  It's craziness.  This week I did a terrible job with sweets.  I just stopped caring and went a little bit nuts.  One day I really wanted brownies with cream cheese frosting and needed to go to the store anyway so I picked up a brownie mix and frosting.  After I made them I preceded to eat almost half the pan of brownies during Carter's nap time.  It was ridiculous.  

Food Aversions: Still get grossed out even just thinking of smoked meat.

Movement: Some days I just feel little kicks and other days I feel more movement.  On Sunday I felt her almost rolling around.  It made me wonder if she was stretching out.  Last week at our appointment her feet were up by her head so I'm hoping she's remedied that situation so she'll be in the proper position for her arrival.  It turns out that was likely the case as she is now in position!

Best Moment of the Week:  Finding out at our doctor's office I've made some progress.  Now I'm getting so excited thinking about Elise being born soon!  I'm hoping we'll get to meet her sometime next week if not a bit earlier! 

Currently Loving: The beautiful weather we've been having.  Carter and I spend most of his waking moments outside and it's amazing!  I'm also loving being able to run again.  There's just something about running that is good for your soul.  I know I won't be able to run for a few weeks after Elise arrives so it's nice to be able to run these last few days of pregnancy!    

Miss Anything: I'm so ready to meet our precious girl!  I'm hoping she holds out for a few more days at least, but I am so excited to meet her that I'm ready any day now.

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: I've been pulling out my ball to sit on in the evening when my back is really sore.  One day I pulled it out and Carter said, "Back sore, mommy?"  It's so cute that he remembers things I tell him.  He's excited to meet his sissy and has been talking about her a lot more.  He wants to give her night night kisses when he goes to bed.  He also enjoys screaming at my belly or pushing on it to "Wake Issy up!"  When we sit on the floor to read books Carter doesn't quite have room in my lap and slides off so he ends up continually getting up and plopping back down in my lap which is hilarious.  When we sit in our reading chair he pretty much always just sits beside me rather than attempting to sit in my lap.  This past weekend he ran a fun run at the St. Patrick's Day race.  My parents came for the race and brought Carter a tractor that he can drive.  He absolutely loved it and spent much of the weekend driving it around the backyard.  Last night Carter told me Issy Eese was going to nap in his bed with him, Big Al, and Buddy.  I thought it was very sweet but explained that she wouldn't be able to sleep with him and he wouldn't want her to because she'd cry and wake him up.  Today Carter was telling my parents "Issy Eese mommy's tummy" so I told him she won't be in my tummy for much longer.  He looked at me and said, "Carter hold Issy Eese."  It was so sweet!

 

 

 

Guesses: Now that I've made it past 36 weeks I have a little bit of an understanding about how people feel when they are close to or past their due dates.  Since I've made it further than I did with Carter people have been asking me when Elise is going to be born and checking to see if there's been any progress. Never got to that point with Carter!

Previous Guesses:
March 16th- My best friend, Erin

This Week's Guesses:
March 17th- My Grandma LeAnn
                     Ty's Aunt Brenda
March 19th- My best friend, Ang
March 20th- Me (like I said, this weekend would be perfect timing!)
                     Ty's brother, Paul (which also happens to be his birthday)
March 23rd- Carter

Week 36 Bumpdate

I am so thankful to have made it another week!  I made it past the week I'd been dreading, from 35 to 36 weeks!  At this point with Carter I was already losing my mucus plug and there's been no sign of that, so I feel confident I will make it another week or more.  My goal has been 37 weeks, but now that I've made it this far I'm hoping for 38 weeks.  That's really more of the ideal time for her to be born, plus it would give me and Carter the week of St. Patrick's Day to enjoy all of the fun activities I have planned.  But if she comes earlier, obviously I'll be thrilled.

We had our 36 week appointment on Monday and I was nervous.  I knew our doctor was going to check to see if I had progressed any more from 1.5 cm and I was afraid I had with all the contractions I've been having.  I tried to stay optimistic since I haven't run in 2 weeks, but I was still nervous!  While we were in the waiting room the administrative assistant called me up to tell me our doctor had been called out for a delivery and we would see the Physician's Assistant.  We started our appointment with the Group B Strep test and then she went on to the ultrasound.  Since baby's size wasn't measured at our last appointment, she measured Elise.  Elise's heart was beating at 148 bpm.  Afterward she checked me and said that she would put me at 1-1.5 cm dilated, so no progress since our doctor last checked.  It was such a relief for me and I felt so happy and calm after finding out.  Ever since our 34 week appointment I've been stressed that Elise will come before 37 weeks but now I am confident she will hang out for another week.  I'm really hoping for 38 weeks now.

 

March 10, 2015

Baby's Size: Baby girl should be more than 18.5 inches and almost 6 pounds.  She should be gaining about an ounce per day or half a pound a week!  She is shedding most of the downy hair that covered her body along with the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protects her skin.  At our appointment she was measured as 5 pounds, 11 ounces which put her in the 49th percentile.  That was a relief because at 32 weeks when she was last measured she was in the 79th percentile.  I know the ultrasound measurements aren't super accurate, but I'm glad she's not on the large side anymore! 

Elise's sweet little face!

Her tiny little feet and toes that I can't wait to kiss!

Weight Gain:  I'm up 29 pounds from my starting weight.  That means I just gained a pound each of these past 2 weeks which I'll consider a win since Elise should be gaining about a half pound a week herself!  I'm 4 pounds over what I gained with Carter, but I'm done worrying about it.  Obviously I'm going to make it longer than I did with him and gain over 30 pounds.  I've accepted that!

Maternity Clothes: It's finally gotten warm enough to pull out the spring maternity clothes I've been eyeing in my closet during this entire pregnancy.  Ty had a co-worker give him a bag of spring maternity clothes and I had a friend do the same.  I'd been starting to think Elise would arrive before it warmed up enough to wear them with the weather we've been getting.  I'm so excited to wear the spring dresses! 

Sleep: I've been so uncomfortable lately and have been having such a hard time falling asleep.  By the end of the day my back is really sore and it makes it hard to get comfortable even with my body pillow.  I wake up to go to the bathroom and also wake up at other times because I'm having contractions in my sleep which is rough.  With all the trouble getting comfortable and being a tummy sleeper, I am so looking forward to sleeping on my stomach again!  Although I'm having trouble sleeping at night I got an extra burst of energy this week and didn't take naps during Carter's naptime.  During naptime I want to be up and moving and getting things done.  The only problem is that I've gotten pretty much everything done I needed to in order to prepare for Elise's arrival which makes me antsy.  I want to have more stuff to do but I know if I did, it would be driving me crazy that I hadn't already gotten it done.  Weird dilemma, I know!  

Symptoms: My contractions have eased up in intensity but are more frequent.  I have them all throughout the day.  Thankfully they aren't the intense stop and breathe through them contractions.  I've also had contractions where my entire belly tightens, much higher than I usually feel contractions.  My back has also been really sore!  My skin has gotten itchier and I can't help but scratch it.  One day I looked in the mirror and freaked out because I thought the scratch marks were stretch marks.  I thought I'd gone from no stretch marks to stretch marks covering my entire belly!  Thank goodness that wasn't the case!  I haven't had swelling in my feet since last week.  I've been having a lot of hip pressure and pressure down low in my pelvis which makes me think Elise must have dropped a bit.

Running: Still just walking, but one more week and I'll be able to start up running again.  In the mean time I've decided an advantage of walking over running is that I don't have to change my clothes to walk.  I just wear whatever I was already wearing.  That's really a huge advantage when you are pregnant and bending over is such a challenge!  I walked a total of 12 miles this week, walking mostly 2 miles per day.

Food Cravings: Some days I have a huge appetite.  Other days I feel kind of sick.  I've still been all about apples with peanut butter, but other than that I can't think of any cravings.  Although I have been loving ice cream in a cake cone.

Food Aversions: Still get grossed out even just thinking of smoked meat.

Movement: She's starting to run out of room a little bit.  I don't feel her moving around nearly as often.  She still moves around when I lay down in bed at night and occasionally when I sit down during the day.  Her movements also aren't as dramatic as they were before.

Best Moment of the Week: A friend threw me a sprinkle to honor Elise on Saturday.  It was so good to see everyone and I had a blast.  I got a few more decorations for Elise's room that we already hung up on Saturday and I washed all of her new clothes and put away all the diapers.  Her nursery is officially complete!  After I got everything accomplished in the nursery Ty installed the car seat in his car which we will drive to the hospital.  He will install the car seat in my car later since we will be leaving it for Jeremy so he'll have Carter's car seat in case he needs to go anywhere.  Carter's car seat will have to move to accommodate Elise's seat, but we don't want to move it yet because then we'd have to climb through the trunk to get to the back row and my parents will be in town this weekend for a St. Patrick's Day race.  We'll all be riding in my car and it would be circus for the people riding in the back seat to have to climb through the trunk!

I took a year leave of absence from work for this school year so I needed to go up to school and officially resign for next year.  While I was there one of my old coworkers said, "I wish I looked as cute as you when I was pregnant."  It was very sweet and made me feel good, especially since I feel huge!

Currently Loving: That I haven't progressed any more since 34 weeks.  My stress level is pretty much non-existent at this point.  I just feel so calm and happy.  I'm so ready to meet Elise, but it is reassuring to know it is highly unlikely for it to happen soon.  Carter was perfectly healthy and scored 9/10 and 10/10 on his Apgar scores even though he was born at 36 weeks, 2 days.  But he was so skinny and needed to plump up which led to him eating every hour day and night.  That meant I was sleeping in 15 minute increments for the first week of his life.  It was rough.  I'd so much rather Elise hang out in my belly for a while longer so I can at least get my not that great giantly pregnant night's sleep.  Plus I'd be worried that we were just lucky with Carter and she might end up needing help from the NICU.   

Miss Anything: Mostly just sleeping on my stomach and Braum's frozen yogurt soft serve.  I'm so ready to meet our baby girl!

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: Most of the time Carter points to my belly and says that's where Issy Eese is.  One day this week Carter pointed to his belly and asked, "Carcar, Issy Eese belly too?"  Another day he stuck a sticker on my belly for her and then gave my belly a kiss.  He loves telling people that the nursery is Issy Eese's room.  He'll point to her crib and tell them that's where she's going to nap and night night.  I've hit the point where I can't bend over or do certain movements without grunting.  Carter has started mimicking me and will grunt when he bends over.  It's pretty hilarious!  His Gma, Gpa, Oma, and Opa were all in town this past weekend for the sprinkle and Carter loved all the attention!  He did great with the time change too.  I always worry that Daylight Savings Time is going to throw him off schedule, but he takes it like a champ!  We had our appointment at 2:40 on Monday so I needed to put him down early for his nap.  I knew putting him down at noon rather than 1:00 would be no problem, but I had forgotten about Daylight Savings Time starting on Sunday.  When I realized that I got a little bit worried because it would be like putting him down at 11:00 normally.  A little before noon I told Carter it would be time for his nap soon.  He looked at me, stood up, walked into his room, and climbed into bed.  Then he asked me if he could read some books so I got him some board books and set them in his bed.  He read books for about 5 minutes and then fell asleep.  Say what?!?  How did I get so lucky to have such a great sleeper?  All of those nightly wake-ups and not sleeping through the night until he was 9 months old were so worth it to have a toddler who is such a good sleeper!  Week 36 Bumpdate with Carter.  That was my last bumpdate with Carter so from here on out I won't be able to link to a bumpdate for Carter.

 

Guesses: With both Carter and Elise we had a "Guess Baby's Birthday" calendar at our gender reveal party.  Carter was born so early that we didn't get to the point where we started looking at the calendar to see if anyone had guessed he'd be born that week.  The closest guess to his birthday, December 14th, was my Grandma LeAnn who guessed December 30th.  I told Ty it would be so much fun this time around if we made it longer and could look each week to see who had guessed Miss Elise would be born in the upcoming week.  If you weren't at the gender reveal and didn't get to guess, leave one in the comment section and I'll add you to the fun!  We have one guess for this upcoming week with my best friend, Erin, guessing March 16th (36 weeks, 6 days).  There are lots of guesses coming up in week 37 which will be fun to keep track of!

Maternity Photo Shoot

This past weekend we visited my hometown during our last trip before Elise is born for my best friend, Erin's, baby sprinkle.  While in town we asked my mom to take some maternity photos for us.  It put us taking pictures around the exact same time we took pictures with Carter so my belly should be pretty comparable.  I had hoped the weather would warm up a little bit over the weekend so we could get some springy shots while I wore the dress I've loved the most this pregnancy and have only gotten to wear twice so far.  Unfortunately we woke up Saturday morning to snow which had accumulated to about 3 inches by the time we left the sprinkle.  Funny how Carter was a winter baby but our maternity photo shoot wasn't too cold and it was 60 degrees when we left the hospital with him.  Elise will be a spring baby but her maternity photo shoot was in the snow and who knows what the weather will be like when we bring her home!  We took some pictures while Carter was napping and then added him in for a few after his nap.  I thought they turned out pretty good especially considering it was snowing while we took them!  Here's baby Elise and family at 34 weeks, 4 days.  See pictures from our maternity shoot with Carter here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 35 Bumpdate

Woo hoo, we made it another week!  This week is the one I've been the most nervous about for a while, making it from 35 to 36 weeks.  Ever since Carter was born I've been worried that Baby #2 would come even earlier than Carter did and I for some reason have been worried she will come during week 35.  I'm much calmer about it now that I'm not running because I feel like that will definitely help me make it longer.  This week will be a busy week with a playdate planned every single day of the week and Elise's baby sprinkle on Saturday.  Now to make it through this week and then we'll just have one more week to full-term!

 

February 24, 2015

Baby's Size: She should be over 18 inches and around 5 and 1/4 pounds.  We'll find out at our appointment on Monday if she's still measuring big.  According to my baby app she should be running out of room and having fewer big movements, but sister is still pretty wild and crazy!  All basic physical development is now mostly complete and baby will just be putting on weight these last few weeks.  That is a relief to read! 

Weight Gain:  Taking this week off from weighing in.  We'll see what I'm at next week.

Maternity Clothes: I'm amazed I still have a few non-maternity sweaters that are long enough especially with a tank top underneath.  Although I'm noticing my maternity tank tops aren't covering my belly with as much excess at the bottom as they used to!

Sleep: I definitely started getting more tired this week.  That may be in part due to waking so much at night to use the restroom as well as skipping naps most days this week.  The days I did nap I kept it to 30 minutes at the most.  I'm also having a harder time sleeping at night.  I'm uncomfortable sleeping on my sides, but when I sleep on my back I snore really loudly.  There have been so many times I wake up on my back.  It's crazy.  I worried about sleeping on my back with Carter but the doctor assured me if it was a problem to where baby wasn't getting enough oxygen, I wouldn't be either and I'd wake up.  So I haven't worried about it this time.  Ty has noticed because he wakes up and I'm snoring.  He says I only snore on my back.  One night Carter woke up at 4:30 am and cried really hard.  Ty went in to console him and he continued to scream and cry so I went in.  By the time I was in there his blanket was soaked from snot and tears, it broke my heart.  He stopped crying when he heard my voice and wanted me to lay with him so I did.  I was really tired and wanted to sleep, but he was playing with my hair so I couldn't.  Then any time I'd start to fall asleep I started snoring and Carter would say, "Oh no, oh no, piggy!" which would wake me up.  I started to get frustrated but then reminded myself that once Elise comes I won't be able to lay in bed with Carter to console him because I'll need to be available to nurse her.  It really made me appreciate having the chance to snuggle in bed with my precious boy!  I had a dream that Elise came during this week and had to be transferred to a different hospital for the NICU (although the hospital we will deliver at has a NICU).  I decided to run to the other hospital and the roads were all icy and I kept falling and sliding across the road.  The weirdest thing was how calm I was.  I wasn't at all worried about Elise, I just wanted to be with her.  While I was running I kept thinking how awesome it felt to run again (although I'm sure that would not actually be the case immediately after delivery).

Symptoms: My back has been super sore and makes sitting down uncomfortable.  I'd rather be up and moving around but sometimes I'm just so tired I want to sit!  In the evening my feet look a little swollen.  I just got new running shoes last week and they feel tight so I think my feet are bigger right now.  My rings still fit though and are only snug first thing in the morning.  My belly button still isn't fully popping.  The top half is out and the bottom half is in.  Contractions have really eased up this week, I think due to not running.  I'm still having a few, but they aren't very painful and are not as frequent.  That's a good thing!  I've been having more accidents lately and have less control of my bladder.  It snowed over the weekend and we went sledding Saturday before Carter's nap.  He had a blast.  I rode down the hill once with Carter and when I went to get out of the sled I had to roll to my hands and knees because I couldn't get out of the sled.  It put too much pressure on my bladder so I peed a little in my pants.  I also have less control of my body.  Carter and I were riding down a slide at the park later in the day.  The snow made us go much faster and threw us off the end of the slide.  I couldn't stop myself and slammed into Carter's back which pushed his face into the snow, poor little guy!  

Running: This was my first week of walking rather than running per doctor's orders.  At first I was a little bit bummed because running was going so well this time and I was enjoying it so much.  I was also worried I would get lots of calf cramps because on days I didn't run I would wake up with calf cramps during the night.  Fortunately I've enjoyed walking, it's so relaxing and I haven't had an increase in calf cramps!  When I get passed by people running it makes me itch to run so badly, but other than that I'm pretty content walking.  At first Carter wanted out to run and walk since we were going slowly but after a couple days he got used to walking instead of running and sat content in the stroller.  I've found that there are some advantages to walking over running.  I don't feel like I'm going to pee my pants the whole time.  I don't have contractions while I walk like I did when I ran.  But best of all I can talk to Carter as we go.  Since I can talk more he likes to peek back through the stroller at me and we play Peek-a-Boo.  It's the best!  So for now, to ensure Elise is big enough to be born, we are sticking to walking and it is going really well.  I'm not going to say I don't miss running, but walking is a good substitute for now.  If I hit 37 weeks you bet your bottom I'll be back out there attempting to waddle/run!  I kept my walks short mostly due to the cold and Carter's desire to get out and play at the park.  We walked 1-2 miles a day for a total of 9 miles for the week.

Carter peeking at me through the gap in the stroller.

Enjoying a walk with my two babies.

Food Cravings: Being at my parents' house this weekend I got to eat Bamboo Palace, my favorite Chinese place.  It was amazing and really hit the spot!

Food Aversions: Still not enjoying smoked foods.  We went to a barbeque restaurant over the weekend and I did okay eating a pulled pork sandwich but felt sick later that night.  Nothing too bad though.

Movement: She's still moving a lot!  I love looking down and seeing a huge bulge sticking out of my belly.  My mom was watching her move around Saturday night and really got a kick out of it.  She said none of us moved as much or as strongly as Elise does.

Best Moment of the Week: We went to my hometown this weekend for my best friend, Erin's, baby sprinkle.  I hosted the sprinkle with 2 other friends and it went really well.  We got a lot of snow that morning so a lot of people ended up not being able to come, but we still had a blast and I enjoyed the more intimate setting.  Of course we got a bump picture since we were together!  The next day I got to go over and visit one of my other really good friends, Melissa, and her girlfriend, Liz.  They had their 2 month old twin boys, Wesley and Graham, with them so I got to meet them and hold them and they are precious!  Wesley and Graham were born at 35 weeks and are doing great.  They didn't spend much time at all in the NICU (less than a week) so I feel much better about where I'm at.  

Erin 30 weeks, me 34 weeks.

Mel and Liz with Graham and Wesley.

Currently Loving: My mom sent us home with the curtains, valances, and crib skirt for Elise's room.  We put the curtains up last night and Ty and Jeremy raised the crib and put the crib skirt on tonight.  Elise's room is now completely finished!  I'm loving it and will post pictures later this week.  Since this past weekend was our last trip before Elise arrives I was able to use my duffle bag to start a hospital bag.  It's exciting to know we just have 2 weeks until full-term and she could arrive anytime after that!  We also had my mom take some maternity pictures for us while we were visiting so that's another thing I can check off my list of things to do! 

Carter helping Ty and Jeremy raise the crib.

 

Miss Anything: Being able to sit down comfortably and sleeping on my belly.  I am really looking forward to rolling over to my stomach that first night at the hospital.  It was a magical moment for me after Carter was born.  I've already woken myself up a few times by attempting to roll to my stomach in my sleep.  Say what?!!?  How does that even seem like a good idea!

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: Carter enjoyed the snow this week and the day of warmer weather we had.  When it was in the 50's we took a walk from our house and I let him hold Harper's leash.  He had a blast and laughed the entire time!  He enjoyed playing with Hayden when Ty came to pick us up from the baby sprinkle.  He and Hayden ran laps together.  Randomly yesterday he pointed at the crib in the nursery and said, "Issy Eese nap here".  It was very cute!  He's really starting to understand that it's her room, I think a lot of it has to do with it looking so different from when it was his room. Week 35 Bumpdate with Carter.

 

Week 34 Bumpdate

Yesterday our doctor had to leave the office for two deliveries so our appointment was rescheduled for today.  Baby girl is looking great and her fluid levels are perfect.  She's still facing my right hip with her head firmly placed toward the left side of my lower pelvis.  Her heart beat was 167 bpm.  I mentioned contractions I've been having that are very similar to what I felt with Carter around 34-35 weeks.  I told him I was just assuming they were Braxton Hicks, but I was starting to get worried they were doing something, as in causing me to dilate.  Before I was finished the doctor said bottoms off and left the room.  I sat nervously waiting to see if I was dilated at all.  I told Ty I was hoping I wasn't dilated more than 1 cm at the most, but ideally not dilated at all.  The doctor came back in to check me and said I was 1.5 cm dilated.  He said my cervix was still low but softened.  He told me he wants me to make it to at least 36 weeks so he needs 14 more days out of me.  So no more running.  He said the gravity and pounding of running isn't worth it.  If I make it to 37 weeks I can pick back up running again.  I asked about walking (I meant going on walks rather than runs) and he said there's no research to say laying in bed is going to do any good.  Bed rest hadn't even crossed my mind.  Thank goodness he doesn't think it is worth it.  I had planned to run after the appointment so instead Carter and I went for a mile walk and then played at the park.  It should be interesting walking with Carter in the stroller.  He loves being in the stroller when I run, but he thinks walking is an invitation for him to get out of the stroller to run/walk ahead of the stroller so he fusses to get out and "Runeet" while I'm walking.  I have mixed emotions about already being dilated.  I'm really excited my body is preparing for Elise's arrival because I'm so ready to meet her, but I'm worried she's going to come too early!  

 

February 24, 2015

Baby's Size: Baby girl should be around 4 and 3/4 pounds and almost 18 inches long!  Not sure if she's still measuring big or not.  Our doctor only measures for size once a month so we'll find out at our next appointment.  It's crazy that she's getting so close to the size that Carter was when he was born.  We are getting so close to meeting her.

Weight Gain:  I'm at a whopping 27 pounds gained.  That means I gained a pound each of the past 2 weeks.  I'm a little discouraged that it's looking like I'll end up gaining over 30 pounds, but I'm still holding out hope that my weight gain will slow down a little bit.

Maternity Clothes: For the most part everything is maternity.  I still have a few longer sweaters that I'm wearing.

Sleep: Still haven't been quite as tired this week.  I'm still struggling to fall back to sleep when I wake up which is frustrating, especially since I wake up so much to go to the bathroom.  I usually wake up around 3 times to go to the bathroom at night, I'm averaging about every 2 hours during the night so my body is getting on a baby's eating schedule!  I napped for 20-30 minutes a couple days and skipped naps a few days too. 

Symptoms: My back hadn't been nearly as sore this time around as with Carter and up until this week really didn't bother me much at all.  It's definitely nothing like what I experienced with Carter, but it has been pretty sore.  Saturday evening after my run I had some monster contractions that I actually had to close my eyes and breathe through.  They were about every 5 minutes or so for around 2 hours and then started tapering off.  Carter and I took a warm bath and they only stuck around for a little while after that.  I could tell it wasn't the real deal, but it still made me a little bit nervous.  Partially because Ty made a big deal about it and kept asking me questions.  I think he just gets freaked out when he sees me go into my Zen-like labor state to deal with contractions.  With Carter I was frustrated because people would tell me Braxton Hicks contractions didn't hurt and a lot of resources I read said they were more uncomfortable than painful.  So then I would get confused as to whether I was having Braxton Hicks or real contractions because what I was feeling hurt.  Finally after my incident on Saturday I found a source that said they are painful for some people.  I would compare the Braxton Hicks contractions I feel to contractions I felt once I was 6-7 cm dilated with Carter.  They are no joke and I wouldn't rate them as simply uncomfortable.  I must be waddling more and I know I waddle when I first stand up from sitting for a while.  On Tuesday my tutoring student told me, "You walk funny when you have a baby in your belly, like this" and then he started imitating my walk.  It was hilarious!

Running: On days I don't run I wake up with monster calf cramps.  My weekly mileage was 10 miles.  I felt good running but my paces were all over the pace.  One day I ran 9:40 pace.  Another day I was barely under 12 minute pace at 11:55 pace.  It was ridiculous.  Monday was really cold and Carter slept late so I debated taking the day off running.  Instead I decided to run after Ty got home while dinner finished in the oven.  I'm so glad I did since it was my last run of this pregnancy unless I make it to 37 weeks.  Then I have to go ahead to pick it up again.    

Food Cravings: Tuna and cheese so I ended up making a bunch of macaroni and cheese with tuna and peas which I had for lunch 3 days in a row.  Carter also loved it and would actually start picking his peas out and eating them by themselves, then asking for more just for the peas.  What other child would choose peas over mac and cheese? I've also been all about apples with peanut butter which I'm sure isn't helping my weight gain!

Food Aversions: Smoked foods.

Movement: Right now she's moving more and more.  She's at the point where she'll move even when I'm walking which is so much fun.  I love sitting and watching her moving all over. 

Best Moment of the Week: Carter and I went to the zoo for our Nature's Buddies session on Thursday.  While we were in the chimpanzee area there was a less than 3 month old baby chimpanzee with it's mother.  It was so sweet to watch and Carter absolutely loved it.  He was all eyes for the baby chimpanzee and when the mother moved away from the window he'd ask for the baby.  Watching the mother chimpanzee with her baby and seeing Carter's reaction to the whole thing made me so happy.  I am so excited for Elise to arrive!

Currently Loving: That we are getting close to meeting Elise and I'm getting lots of little to-do's checked off!  If this were Carter we'd just have 2 weeks left, but I think we have at least 3 if not 4 or more weeks to go.  At least that's what I'm hoping!  One night I was talking things over with my parents to see if they'd rather be at our house with Carter or at the hospital with me when I go into labor.  They decided they'd like to be at the hospital.  Then I talked things over with Jeremy and he's all set to be our go-to person when the time comes.  He lives less than a mile away so he'll be able to come watch Carter and Thomas will be his back-up when he gets off work if he's at work when we leave for the hospital.  I got so excited thinking about Elise's arrival and knowing it will be here soon.  I could tell talking about it was getting my parents all jacked up as well.  That night I was so excited thinking about meeting Elise that I couldn't sleep.  Yesterday I typed up little notes about Carter for Jeremy so he'll know his exact schedule as far as what time Carter eats, naps, and goes to bed as well as where to find things.  It's so nice that Jeremy already watches Carter when I tutor so we know it will go well because Carter loves his Uncie and excitedly says, "Bye Mommy!" when Jeremy comes over.  I've definitely gone into that "I want everything for the baby done and I want it done now!" mode.  My goal was for Ty to install the car seat bases this weekend.  He didn't do it and I was soooo disappointed.  I just want to know that we are ready to bring sister home.  I did get some of my to-do's finished though.  I re-organized the nursery closet and the drawers of the night stand.  I washed all my nursing tanks and bras.  Then I put them in my drawers and put a couple in a bag as the start of our hospital bag.  I also started a hospital bag for Elise with her going home outfit, burp cloths, and a blanket.

Miss Anything: I'm really starting to look forward to some frozen yogurt soft serve from Braum's in a few weeks!

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: Carter had a blast at the zoo and especially loved the baby chimpanzee.  We also finally got snow this week and he LOVED playing in the snow!  When it's snowing he likes to watch out the window.  He's still not a big fan of feeling Elise move, but he loves to watch her move.  One day he looked at my belly and she wasn't moving.  He said, "Issy Eese?" and I told him she was sleeping.  Then he ran over and pushed on my belly until she started moving around.  He looked at me triumphantly declaring, "Issy wake!"  It was hilarious but I hope isn't something that he does after she's born.  I pulled out the photo book I made from Carter's birth and he loved looking through it.  Of course I got teary eyed looking at my newborn Carter boy.  There were a few pictures where he was crying and he'd very concerned say "Carcar cry!"  He gets so upset when someone cries.  Jake was crying yesterday and Carter kept saying, "Jake, okay.  Good boy Jake." and then patting him on the arm.  At a playdate Landon was crying and Carter kept asking, "Landon, okay?"  He even followed Landon around with a toy trying to cheer him up.  Yesterday my stomach growled and Carter said, "Oh no, oh no! Issy Eese scared!!!!"  With all this talk about babies he's become really fascinated with babies and mommies and their relationship.  When we read books he's always quick to notice the mommy in the book and wants to go back and look at pictures, pointing her out.  It's almost like he senses sister will be arriving soon because he's gotten very adamant that he is mommy's baby.  If he's asked where the baby is he points to himself whereas he previously pointed to my belly.  A few times this week he's pointed at him self and said "Carcar Baby" to let me know he is a baby.  I tell him, "Yes, you will always be momma's baby, but you are a big boy!"  My mom called to FaceTime when we were getting ready to take pictures so Carter brought Oma in the pictures with him!  Week 34 Bumpdate with Carter.