Still Waiting...

And it is driving Hubby and me crazy! Both of us are ready to be done with the pregnancy part.

No changes in my cervix, my BP was the same as last week, and the baby's heartbeat was still good. I think he is just content to hang out in there. I am actually all right with this for right now, as my OB is off this week.

I have a hunch that he is going to wait and come a whole lot closer to my actual due date. (If not later!)

Updates...

Finally got the results of my lab work for PIH back. Everything came back normal. Thank goodness. One less thing to worry about! Though I still have to rest. That is getting easier now, as I am tired more often. (And not to mention, tired of being pregnant!) My next appointment is Wednesday with an NP, as my OB is off this week.

Yesterday, Hubby realized that we will have a baby in the house soon. He told me that he was looking at the calendar yesterday, and realized that next week is next month. Then he realized that the baby could be here next week! I think it freaked him out a little bit. He put together the pack and play last night. We decided to put the pack and play in his office, so that he has somewhere for the baby down there. It seemed like a good idea.

My parents are in town this week, and they are trying to find a place to rent once the baby comes, and until their house sells. I know my mother wants to be close to us to help out with the baby, and they are looking for something short term. That is tough to find in this area.

For Christmas, Hubby got me an i.Pod touch. I love that thing! It is like a really cool PDA. (All the fun of an i.phone, without the crappy AT and T contract!) I love having some of the organization apps, and some of the games are really fun. I can sync it to icalendar on my computer, so I can keep track of appointments and things. Hubby was sort of surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I think what threw him was that I really do not use my nano that much. But the touch can do so much more! I think it was a great gift!
FIL gave us a digital video recorder, which Hubby has had a great time playing with. At first his videos highlighted his feet prominently. But he is getting the hang of it. Hopefully I will be able to get them on my computer once my firewire cable gets here. That is the hope, anyway. I really want to be able to share video with my family and friends, who are spread out all over the state.

For New Year's we are having our annual deep fry extravaganza. This year, my parents, and my sister and her boyfriend will be joining us. I think my dad is bringing a board game of some sort. We plan on deep frying pickles, onion rings, and french fries. We also are planning on having buffalo burgers. It should be a nice evening.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year's!

Christmas Eve Musings

Just a few random thoughts on Christmas eve....

This is a really weird Christmas for us. We cannot travel to be with family, and family is not coming to us. This is really the last Christmas we have with just the two of us. Next year will likely be full of Santa, and family, and a baby. (Well a toddler, really. He will be almost 1 year old.) Hopefully not a lot of travel. One thing I love about this year is that we are not traveling anywhere. It is is quiet Christmas for us, which is a gift in itself.

I think I am getting sick of being pregnant. I am a little tired of being told to rest. I want to be able to have my hands back again. The carpal tunnel of pregnancy is driving me crazy! It would also be nice to not run out of breath when I walk my dog. It would be nice to walk faster when I walk my dog. It would be nice to be able to do stuff around the house without feeling like I should be resting. Someday...

Hopefully we will actually make to a Christmas eve service tonight. I have missed going to one. I always enjoyed to magical feeling of the service and the evening.

Wishing everyone a very merry and happy holiday!

Oh, fudge!

At my appointment today, my BP was higher than usual. (135/90) They did recheck it after letting me lay on my side for 10-15 minutes, but it was not any lower. Darn it! And things were going so well!

I had a non-stress test, which showed a happy baby. Heartbeat is good, and he is moving well. I was then sent to the lab for blood draw. I hopefully will get the results tomorrow. Depending on the results, my OB may want to see me more often. (Like this weekend.) No signs of labor. (Darn it, again!) No dilation at all. He actually seems pretty content to stay in there a while longer.

Will post more when lab work comes back. Until then, I have doctor's orders to rest. Can I just say I really miss being active?

One less thing to worry about!

I finally got some answers from my employer. Apparently, my management is willing to do personal leave, but they were worried that it would run out before I was cleared to return to work. They are fine with me coming back as regular part time. (I think because it allows them to abuse me a little. I have a hunch I will be working close to 40 hours as "part time.") If my personal leave does run out before I am able to return, they may have to "separate" from me for a month or two until I am cleared to return. They would then hire be back as regular part time. It would mean COBRA for a couple of months, but at that point it is not the end of the world for us. They actually seemed fine with re-hiring me back after a separation.

Whew! I can keep my benefits, and I get some income! That should make my holidays more relaxing!

Waiting.

I am currently 36 weeks and 3 days. My weekly "this week in your pregnancy" email pretty much said that from here on out, it is a waiting game to see when the baby will arrive. I have been having Braxton-Hicks, but they are not all that painful. Baby is moving around in there, which I enjoy feeling. My back hurts more often, so I have to sit differently. It is often more comfortable for me to sit straight up than it is to recline. My belly is huge! Fortunately, the nursery is pretty much ready. I am in the process of working my way through the baby care books I have not read yet.

We finally got out Christmas tree up, sort of. It actually is leaning against the wall, as Hubby could not get it to stand up with our tree stand. It does not help that Oscar keeps sticking his head in the tree, and then gets tangled up in the lights, almost pulling the tree over. (And pulling the lights off the tree!) Honestly, we cannot have any nice ornanments below 3 feet, because the dog will just knock them off.

We put up our tree the night of the big snow. We got over a foot of snow here. It is beautiful, but really obnoxious. We did not really go anywhere this weekend because it was impossible to get the car out. Hubby finally dig the car out on Sunday because we really needed to go to the grocery store. He decreed an emergency, as we were out of coffee. We also managed to get to the post office this morning to mail presents to my family in Reston. I sent the package express, so it will hopefully get there by Christmas. I think my parents are a little disappointed that they could not see me before Christmas, but the snow made it impossible for us to meet. I think they are headed to Reston in the next day or two.

Hubby and I talked about Christmas dinner. It is just the two of us, so we do not have to do much that is traditional. I think we are having rack of lamb, french fried sweet potatoes, and green beans wrapped in bacon. I may also slip some stuffing and cranberry sauce in there. I like both of those things with holiday meals, and it is Christmas dinner. Maybe pumpkin pie or something for dessert. The pie will be store bought, though. If Hubby asks nice, maybe I will bake biscuits to go with the meal.

Wishing everyone a very merry holiday!

My weekly appointment, and some job worries.

My weekly ob appointment went well, other than me being sick. The OB could not feel the head of the baby, so she had me do an ultrasound. I love seeing the baby again! He is still head down, which is good. He is about 5 pounds, 7 ounces. Also, I am negative for group B strep. One less thing to worry about!. Now if only I could get over this cold.

I had a call from the leave representative from work. She was worried about me having enough time to recover postpartum. At the time I went out on leave, the OB put my EDD as Jan 5, so my leave would be until the end of February. The best option is personal leave, which would allow me to keep my benefits. When I called my manager, she was not sure she would be allowed to give me personal leave. She said that she would look into it and get back to me. I have a hunch that I am going to have to call someone next week just to see what is happening with the leave. She also did not really commit to letting me come back part time. (From what I could tell.) So, everything is uncertain at this point. If the personal leave is not approved, I may just not come back at all. Which will leave me worried about insurance again. I will not be heartbroken to leave that job. Not really. I think the only reason I would come back to my old job is for the insurance. I hate the uncertainty. But I would love to have some extra time with the new baby.

Edit: No news on the job front, but I just realized why I am frustrated with this situation. I am not all that confident that management will make the decision in my favor. They do not always make the best decisions. (At least from a nurse's point of view.) They recently let a couple of other RNs go, so they could decide that they do not need me anymore and not hold my job after my FMLA runs out. At this point, I really do not know what is going to happen with my job. While I would like to come back part time, I do not know if they think it will be worth it enough to give me personal leave. I know that they need all the help they can get. They are consistently understaffed, and they have positions open. It seems to me like it would be in their best interest to give me personal leave for the postpartum period, and take me back part time. (Which will likely end up being about 40 hours a week, anyway.) They are not paying me during the leave time, so I do not think it is financial, but you never know. I have no clue how management thinks.

That was all I needed!

This past weekend, I came down with a cold. Let me tell you, having a cold while pregnant is not very fun. The only cold medicines allowed are ones which do not work very well. Sud.afed and ben.adryl will only do so much. It is only a head cold, but it is enough to drive me crazy. Between the baby and my clogged sinuses, breathing is a real issue. And I drove poor Hubby out of our bed because I snore so loudly that I keep him awake, otherwise.

I have been doing nasal saline irrigation. We actually own a neti pot now, and I very familiar with it. I think it is becoming my friend. It does provide some temporary relief. I have been using it several times a day.

At least the house is clean, though. The cleaning people came on Sunday and thoroughly cleaned our house. It has not been this clean since we moved in! I think it is great. Hubby was unsure about the entire thing, as they straightened all his stuff in his man cave. He said he felt like he had to throw stuff around the room just to feel comfortable. I love having a clean house. The house cleaner will be back this Sunday to clean again. Hooray for housecleaning help!

I decided to take a break from baby stuff this week to start on Christmas stuff. The presents I ordered last week are starting to arrive, and I think I want to start wrapping them so that I do not have to do it all at once. I also hope to finally get a Christmas tree up by this weekend. Because I felt so bad last weekend, we did no Christmas stuff. All I could do was lay around and be sick.

At the moment, it feels like this stupid cold will be here forever. I know that is not true, but it is making my life fairly miserable. I hope that it goes away soon!

Nursery pics, finally!

I know, it took me long enough to get these up. I hope it brightens your Friday!


My "One fish, two fish" wall. The decals are off of e.bay. The lettering is freehand. Just some chalk and black paint. Clouds are also freehand. I used paper to get the spacing where I wanted, traced around them with chalk, and then sponged white paint inside the lines. Very easy.


My Horton wall! My sister and her boyfriend did the Horton. I love the fact that he is pink. He looks great on the wall. We also have a glider rocker on the way which will end up right under Horton.


Our crib. It is a stationary crib. It went up really easily, and is very sturdy. Hubby was most impressed with it. I love the cherry finish. The One Fish, Two fish quilt and pillow are off of ebay. I actually have a bumper which matches the quilt, but the latest recommendations to avoid SIDS are the less soft stuff in the crib, the better. So I kept it simple.


A pic of our crib and changing table. To give you an idea how small this room is, I took this pic from the door of the room. The crib has to be off the center of the window in order to get the closet door open. Hubby liked the proximity of the crib to the changing table, too. I found an elephant humidifier. I was so excited! it is so cute!


I did not post any pics of the dresser, but it is cherry finish, like the rest of the furniture. The dresser has a pile of stuff on top which still needs to be put away, so it is not as pretty as the other pics.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

OB appointment, and other stuff

My OB appointment went well. Things still seem to be on track. I had my group B strep swab and my first cervical exam. I had no idea how sensitive I was! I almost jumped off the table! My cervix is soft, and starting to efface, though I still have a way to go. (I am only 35 weeks, so there is time.) The OB felt at the base of my uterus, and she thinks the baby is head down. I hope so, too. I really want to avoid a c-section, if possible. My appointments are weekly from here on out, with a cervical check at each appointment. Hopefully things will continue to go well.

We finally got a person to come in and clean for us! I am sooooo excited! I have missed a housecleaning service, and I am really looking forward to having one. I think it will be essential for me, after the baby gets here. Our first cleaning is Sunday! Really looking forward to a clean house!

I finally did some Christmas shopping. Mostly for my family. I have been putting it off, and really did not feel like going out to do much. Most of my shopping lately has been for baby stuff, given that we will have a baby arriving in about a month. I did my Christmas shopping online this year. (Thank you e.baY!) So I should be getting all my gifts in the mail soon. I hope that they will arrive by the end of next week, so that I can wrap and mail soon after. I think if push comes to shove, I can meet my parents in Lexington and give them the gifts to take up to the Christmas celebrations. We will keep fingers crossed and see what happens.

The nursery is coming together. I know I need to upload some pics. Soon, I promise. I am in the middle of a nesting burst, so I have been organizing, purging, and pitching. I will probably run out of steam soon.

The insomnia post....

Got up to pee at 3:30, and could not get back to sleep. I do not know if I was just too uncomfortable or too worried about stuff. Probably a bit of both. So instead of tossing and turning in bed, I got up and I am going to try to get it all out there.

Insurance. I know some of you will likely tell me try not to worry about this. I may be worrying unnecessarily. I think I need to call HR and ask a few questions. Here is the deal, just in case you forgot. My FMLA ends in January, which means that my benfits subsidized by my employer will end in January. As most of us know, COBRA rates are insane. Most of us are unable to afford them. I would like to try to manipulate the benefits I have with COBRA, to try to make it more affordable. And then pick up the full benefits when I start working again. I do not know if this is even possible. Also, I am unsure what happens to my position when FMLA runs out. Will I have to apply for my position again, or will they hold it for me until after my leave? Will they even let me come back as regular part time? Is this up to the manager of my department? Again, I think I need to call HR and ask a few questions. I may even need to contact my manager.

Child care. My parents are working on moving down here, but it will likely be about the time I go back to work before they finally move. My mother has to have a series of eye surgeries, and the last one will not be able to be done until January. She may not be free until right around the time of my due date. Which could work out well, depending on when baby comes. I also do not know where they are going to land. I suspect it will be somewhere convenient for child pick up and drop off, but you never know. They are debating renting somewhere close to us for the short term, which would be really nice. My mother really wants to help me recover. I would love to have her help, and I suspect that I may need her help!

Just a few very early morning musings. I think it does feel better to have it out there. And I have a record of the questions I want to ask. I think that is helpful!

Baby Stuff.

I finally started putting the nursery together! Hooray! Baby clothes and linens are making their way through the laundry. Our laundry process is fairly slow, so it can take about a week to get through it all. I finally painted my clouds on the nursery walls, and even put my One Fish, Two Fish wall decals up on the wall. I still need to hang Horton and finish one more cloud, but Hubby will not let me play with any of the big ladders, so he is going to have to finish those two things.

Hubby has an interesting reaction to the nursery coming together. The nursery now looks more like a nursery, and not just a room with baby furniture in it. I think it is all becoming more real to him. We are about a month away from full term, and that fact is just starting to sink in for him. We really are going to have a baby in the house in a little over a month. He is happy and freaked out all at the same time. I cannot say that I am doing much better, and I am the one carrying the baby!

I bought some flannel for baby blankets. I wanted blankets big enough to swaddle in. Receiving blankets are too small to swaddle anything in, and I will likely use them as burp cloths or rags of some sort. I just do not understand the purpose of the receiving blanket. The flannel I got for the blankets should make a blanket that is about 45"x 45". Way bigger than the 30"x30" receiving blanket. The blankets are easy to make and should turn out very cute! And they will be great for swaddling our little one!

I am working on hiring a cleaning service to come in and help. I really missed having a cleaning service this past year, and I know that it will be wonderful having someone come in and clean while the baby is new. I may even keep them around. After all, I am thinking of going back to work at some point. It will be one less thing to worry about.

My next OB appointment is Wednesday. I think it is just a check to see how I am doing. After Wednesday, I am every week until the baby is born. Somewhere in there, I think I get another ultrasound, too. Mainly to check baby's position and growth. Hopefully he will move into the right position at the right time. Keeping fingers crossed that will happen. I also need to get together with my doula again. I need to email her and see when she wants to meet.

Oh yeah, and there is Christmas decorating to do, too. Maybe next weekend. This weekend, I want to get the nursery done!