Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy Fourth of July!

Nothing has changed since my last blog entry. Whenever I call anyone lately, the conversation usually begins with “Hi! No contractions yet!” When Doug goes to work each day, his co-workers now greet him with a “Wow. You’re still here?” It IS kind of annoying to walk into a room when people seem to be disappointed to see your face. I guess I’m getting to know that feeling well again these days!

Doug turned 36 yesterday. Because we didn’t know if we would be in the hospital or not, we didn’t have any elaborate plans this year. Doug asked for a Carvel ice cream cake and wanted some golf shirts. We indulged in a mint / chocolate ice cream cake with sparkler candles last night and grilled-out (per Doug’s request). We were planning on going to the pool, but after hearing from the doc that Ava has an ear infection (and now that Doug is also under the weather), we decided to ix-nay that idea and just relax.

Doug also wanted to buy a chuck to go with his mini-lathe. So, he’ll be picking one of those out soon, too, for his birthday gift. One of his latest hobbies is to turn wood on a mini-lathe. He has turned at least four or five pens, to date. They’re absolutely beautiful! Here are a few of the first ones that he turned...






















Today we’ve had a low-key day so far. With Doug being sick, he didn’t feel like doing too much. Hopefully he can relax and kick this cold before this baby is born. We did decide to check out the Marietta Square for the Fourth festivities. It was pretty hot, but we walked around the square for a bit, listened to a live band and checked-out all of the kid-friendly activities. Ava rode on the “shark slide” with Doug (quite a trooper, being sick), climbed on an obstacle course, jumped on a moonwalk. She really seemed to enjoy herself and is tuckered-out as a result. She fell asleep on the way home in the truck... Doug and Ava are now both sleeping. I hope they both get better soon!

Peace, love and 36 birthday candles,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

40 Weeks: Gestation Frustration

I'm still here!!!

We just got back from my 40-week appointment today. I'm still dilated to "one". The nurse-midwife said that doesn't mean I can't go into labor on my own today or tomorrow. But for now, we play the waiting game. They WILL let me go to 42 weeks if amniotic fluid levels, baby's heart rate, my health continue to be fine. If it doesn't look favorable for having the baby on my own or via induction, they will schedule a c-section, at that point (sometime around 07/15). My next appointment is next Tuesday afternoon.

At this point the baby isn't quite 8 lbs yet, per the nurse-midwife. I don't have any swelling, my blood pressure remains great, and I think I'm up 27 lbs total. I do think the baby has dropped, as I can see / feel my ribcage again. (Now I just look like I've had a few cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon too many ;-).

So, lunch after the appointment was spent eating...what else? Eggplant parmesan. :-) (The third dose of eggplant parmesan in the last two weeks). Doug is now to the point of rolling his eyes when I suggest (with my tongue-in-cheek, as well) that these types of meals can encourage labor.

I've heard that 40 weeks is an average human gestational period. AVERAGE. The window is between 38 and 43 weeks. Being that my Mom carried me 42 and 3/4 weeks, my sister carried each of her boys 41+ weeks, and Ava was 41 weeks and 3 days, I would venture to say we're long "gestators" in my family. Not a club in which I would want to place membership, but obviously there isn't anything I can do about it...

I did have a case of the entirely neurotic nesting-thing hit me yesterday and today. In the past 24 hours I have: swept and cleaned the kitchen floor, bathroom floor, steps to the basement, vacuumed, cleaned the shower & tub, done laundry, washed down our cabinet surfaces, cleaned our refrigerator, organized our freezer, separated out Ava's toys, labeled some of her toy containers, watered the garden, purged the junk drawer(s), separated her crayons from markers from colored pencils and YES, sharpened all of her colored pencils... And painted my nails! (toenails are no longer "reachable" :-)). All of this in hopes that they might tell me I needed to go to the hospital after today's appointment. :-) Oh well. I guess this little guy will come when he's good and ready. So, I am SERIOUSLY thinking of buying a pogo stick and putting it to good use. Even if just to make the neighbors do a double-take. :-)

After all of the cleaning, I do feel some sciatic pain in my lower back / hip area. I had it CONSTANTLY when pregnant with Ava, and think it was because I taxed my body so much with all the walking I did. I think this pregnancy has been much easier in that respect, because I haven't tortured my body so much! I don't feel like a "90 year-old beached whale", as my previous doctor said all pregnant women feel by the end. I just feel like a "beached whale". No aching joints this time around.

Ava seems to be getting better with her cough, but now she seems to have a stomach bug. At our friends' house on Sunday she threw-up three times and then once on the way home. She's been home with me trying to get some rest for the last few days. Her appetite has returned, thankfully. It seemed to hit her out of the clear blue sky. Hopefully she's on the road to recovery!!!

Until you hear from me, assume the baby's birthday will be July 15th. In that way, if he arrives "early", we'll all be surprised!

P.S. - It is a little discouraging for me to hear (via Doug's Blackberry, right after our appointment, still in the exam room) that one of his co-workers had her baby at 37 weeks 3 days, weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz... Which leads me to the inevitable question... If the doctors didn't "make" me have a c-section at 42 weeks, how long WOULD this body hold onto this little guy? Hopefully I will find out the answer to that question, before modern medicine decides to intervene...

Until next time...

Peace, love and PRAYERS this baby will decide to announce his own arrival,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Horton Hears a Who / Giddy-up Cricket!

Now that we're playing the waiting game, my pregnant brain comes up with a few off-the-wall ideas to occupy our time (and beat the heat) before the baby's arrival. I guess I'm also trying to fit in as much "Ava and Mommy time" as possible, knowing my days with "just Ava" are numbered. We've had a blast, so far!

Yesterday I took Ava to see her first movie in a theater: Dr Seuss' Horton Hears a Who. It was showing at the local $1 theater. It was a G-rated, saccharin-filled movie that she could handle, without the presence of any villains (such as the "Uh-gician" from Frosty the Snowman). Knowing the movie started at 4:50, I thought it would be a great time to go.

I packed the diaper bag full of snacks, a sippy cup and a stuffed animal (Frog) that was a gift intended for "baby brudder". She has somehow hijacked "Frog". :-) Ava woke up cranky from her nap (she still hasn't recovered completely from a cold bug this week), but we made the trek to the theater. I told her the "t.v. would be really big", and that we were going to see "Horton". :-)

When we got there, the house lights had already dimmed. She preferred to sit in my lap for the first half-hour, until she got more comfortable and figured out she wanted to sit in her own seat. I had to keep my leg on the bottom of her chair, because her little legs didn't weigh enough to keep the front of the seat weighted down. :-)

She sat GLUED to the screen. I leaned over and told her that we could leave whenever she wanted to go. She got wiggly about an hour into the movie (for a few minutes), but she sat still otherwise. She was quiet as a mouse and seemed to really enjoy the experience. She leaned over and kissed me five times during the movie, I think in an attempt to show her appreciation for such an experience. I thought that was incredibly sweet! :-) Of course Ava's recap of the movie for Doug was "the birdie was not nice..." Oh well. At least she hasn't had nightmares about the birdie, yet... :-0 Total cost: $1.25.

Not to be outdone by the Horton experience, we took Ava to a local horse stable this morning for a pony ride. We pass by this stable all the time, but have never visited. When we showed up, riding classes were finishing up. So, we waited a few minutes and Ava was able to ride the smallest of ponies, named Cricket.

I must mention, on the way to the stable, we asked Ava what color horse she wanted to ride. She emphatically said "A blue one!" Doug and I tried to tell her that there would probably be white, brown and black horses, and MAYBE a red one, but no blue horses. Lo and behold, when we arrived, we met Cricket. Horse "camp" was this past week, and Cricket's hooves were painted BLUE, and her hair / tail colored pink, white and blue at horse camp. I told Doug on the way home: "Does anything unfortunate EVER happen in Ava's world?" The kid asked for the blue horse and gets to ride a pony with blue hooves... :-) Go figure!

She watched other older girls (5-6 years old) ride the ponies and horses before she had her turn on Cricket. We watched the horses / ponies get hosed off with water, too, to cool them down. When it was time to ride Cricket, Ava was a bit apprehensive but finally agreed to sit on the "seat". We took a few rings around and Ava was done with her pony-riding excursion. Total cost: $5.

Apprehension. Notice Cricket's blue hooves?























Getting used to the idea...























Holding onto the reins























Check out the stirrups... Her legs weren't long enough. :-) Notice Cricket's pink pony tail?
















A happy rider
















A smiley gal




















Getting comfy...
















Petting "Cricket"
















Saying goodbye to Cricket
















Other horses cooling off at the stable
















All in all, it's been a fun-filled weekend so far! I wonder what is on the agenda for tomorrow? ;-)

Peace, love, the Whos and blazing saddles,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

P.S.- I will try to take some "belly shots" a 40 weeks, but since we're officially 3 days away from our due date, these should suffice for now. :-)

Let the countdown begin!

So we're officially 39 weeks and two days into this pregnancy today. And still here! Official due date is 07/01.

Truthfully, I can't complain, even being this far along. (And especially in this June heat). Heartburn continues to be killer. I can still sleep through the night like a champ, which I can't believe. Ava has been sick with a cold bug the last few days, so she has been in and out of our room at night. She seems to be getting better today, and her fever has gone away, thankfully. I took her to the doc yesterday, trying to avoid the potential of two sick kiddos.

I'm not swollen yet (although I FEEL huge!), my blood pressure and weight have been great, so far. I don't have any indicators that the end is in sight, though, which is a bit disheartening. (That, and hearing that two people I know with due dates 3+ weeks after mine had their babies last week!). I'm ready to get this show on the road.

The baby does seem to be dropping, which has been made evident with more frequent bathroom visits (he must be sitting directly on my bladder!). I have been drinking more, too, as one of the Nurse-midwives said that I "probably went so far over" my due date last time due to the lack of amniotic fluid level surrounding Ava. (Everyone has their theory, though). Although not normally a water drinker, I am chugging liquids these days.

I continue to knock small tasks off my "to do" list. After completing each one, I inevitably say "Okay, the kitchen floor is clean, I can go into labor now." "Okay, that load of laundry is done, I can go into labor now." Finishing these tasks don't seem to be doing the trick, though!

I continue to say big prayers that I will (a) go into labor on my own SOON or (b) I will be dilated enough that they will induce me. I want to at least give natural childbirth a go, if doctors say it is okay. The docs agree the baby won't be over 8 lbs when he's born, but we'll see about that! :-) They will let me go to 42 weeks, after which time they will decide if I am "favorable" to induce. Pray they at least give me that chance.

I have to share a cute story about Ava.... She KNOWS she is sick. She has woken up from naps saying "I don't feel good," or "I not sleep good," "I sick. I need may-cin" (medicine). It's been amazing to see how well she has been communicating, lately. I was rocking her before her nap the other day and told her it was time for her nap. She was laying her head on my chest. She said "No, I rock. I wee-wax. I cumba-bull." When I said "What? Grandpa Bill?" She repeated what she said again. I FINALLY figured out that she was trying to tell me that she wanted to RELAX (wee-wax) because she was so COMFORTABLE (cumba-bull). I chuckled out-loud at that one. Such a big word for such a little girl! :-)

Another of Ava's word pronunciations that is absolutely hilarious is "watermelon". We need to be sure to catch her saying that one on video soon! ("Thermometer" is a close second).

Please keep us in your prayers. Pray this little guy makes his grand entrance soon!

With love,
Shelly

Poolside

Doing what we can to beat the heat around here! 

Sharing some blueberries and Cheerios. 

Peace, love and chillin' out,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Lately

Bubbles