Still Counting and a Backup Birthday Plan

GOOD NEWS! 2cm dilated and still 50% effaced, –3 station.

Right. So it’s progress, but we need to make a lot more progress!

As Andrew mentioned in his post, Dr. Weltman doesn’t want Kennedy to hang out past her due date, so when I saw her today we scheduled what I’d like to call the Backup Birthday Plan. I’m SURE that Kennedy will decide to make her appearance on her own (I mean, who wants to be told when they have to show up somewhere if you could simply show up when you’re good and ready…) but if she doesn’t, then her birthday will be October 4th.

Just in case you’ve forgotten where you placed your bet on the calendar…

Shannon bet on today…I’m thinking that’s lost due to the fact that I’m sitting around typing this and not having to stop for contractions…

KP and Ashley N. are betting on tomorrow. I’ve been given my 24 hour warning by the BFF. And because KP has rarely, if ever, lost an argument, I’ll be packing the final things in my hospital bag first thing tomorrow morning.

Friday’s takers are Susan and Melissa.

Saturday has Sarah’s bet and Sunday has Ashley P. and Lauren.

Since there are some VERY strong opinions in the short list of people, I’m going to stop telling you about placed bets there. If those people turn out to be incorrect, I’ll give you a whole new list of who could be right for next week…

Now if you didn’t sign the calendar and place your bet, you’ve got a serious advantage here…leave a comment with your best guess! As for me, I’ll be doing a lot more walking tomorrow. Thank goodness my mom is here to walk around places with me!

38 weeks, 4 days and counting….

Our last ultrasound was today! According to the ultrasound tech, Kennedy continues to measure slightly ahead of schedule (about 39 weeks, 4 days) and “looks like she’s ready.” The tech was quick to point out her chubby cheeks to us as well! My mom arrived to stay “until…” on Monday and so around the Eckert household things are starting to look ready to have a baby! (Which, I must say is a good thing considering two of our very good friends are DETERMINED that she’s to arrive on Thursday….perhaps its time to finish packing my hospital bag…)

The last update from today’s ultrasound…according to measurements she’s weighing in at 8lbs, 1oz currently. Yep, she can arrive any day and I would be thankful….

I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow…so let’s hope for some progress! Last week I was measured to be 1/2cm dilated and about 50% effaced…. I did my time walking around Potomac Mills today (it’s a rough life, huh?)  so let’s hope for results!

Father's Friday.... Again

Well I know some of you are disappointed that it's just me again, but Ashley has been super busy at school this week, so here I am again.  I'll give you obligatory chance to flip over to www.pinterest.com..... Ok so let's hit a couple of points of interest from the week.

First off, I'd like to relate a story that is both funny and shameful.  In order to truly understand the tale, we have to go back to 1995.  It was the first time I picked up an instrument.  The glimmering brass trombone, as many of you know, plays in the lower half of the musical staff.  I played the trombone for 10 years, from concertos to I'm a Tar Heel Born.  In 1998 I started taking piano lessons.  An since I was in high school I've been learning to play guitar.  What do all three of these instruments have in common?  They all play in the bass clef.  So you can imagine just how embarassed I was when I learned for the first time on Wednesday that in order to figure out the name of a note in the bass clef, you simply go two letters down from what it WOULD be in the treble clef.  Yep... Just learned that... I'm ashamed...

Second, if you understand this joke, we are friends:


Lastly for this week,  the doctor as essentially told us that Kennedy is coming between now and the 5th.  So we are super excited/scared/anxious/ecstatic/patient/inpatient.  Who knows.  By the next Father's Friday, we might have pictures of our little baby.  Stay tuned.

Father's Friday

It has been a long time since I posted. In fact I'm not sure that I've posted anything on my own in a few years. (Apparently that is false as Ashley just informed me.  And I don't even get to use the pregnancy brain excuse.)  Anyway, for those who only tune in to read what Ashley has to say these days I can understand... I'll wait for you to go to choose between moving on to youtube or facebook.. go head.. ok?? Well the three of you that are left, I thought I would share a few thoughts on the pregnancy.  I contemplated for the last few days about what to write, and I think ultimately it boils down to three things:

1. It isn't easy watching something so wonderful make your wife feel so terrible.

After being married for a few years, you come to understand that once a month your wife de-friends her uterus.  It sucks, but at least you know that soon it will go away.  Now having been there for 37 weeks, I can tell you that aunt flow ain't got nothing on havin' a bun in the oven.  At first it was very frustrating, asking what I could do to help, and feeling helpless as Ashley dealt with any number of the "possible side effects of pregnancy".  What I've come to realize is that at best you can maybe actually help 50% of the time, and you have to be happy with that.   Don't get me wrong, you offer 100% of the time and let her know your the go to guy when needed.  But like your favorite baseball players, you'll probably get your contract renewed if you're batting .300.

2. It isn't about whether you "think" the outfit is cute.  It's about whether it makes the momma happy.

I remember hearing friends of mine whine and moan about how their wives were going out and buying all this "junk" for there kid.  Or crying oh-whoa-is-me when they had to go baby clothes shopping.  Don't get me wrong, I could think of a million different things I'd rather be doing when she asks whether I wanna stop by Baby's R'us.  But then I remember that I'll get to see that excited smile and little squeak (That's right.  She has been known to squeak from time to time.)  Yes honey.  I think the ruffle-butt outfit will look super cute.  Of course honey they little dress will make to-die-for pictures.  Yes I really want to get the "I love my daddy" onesie (ok admittedly I do enjoy that one).  

3.  You can be a hero!

No joke.  I used to think that I was pretty good at getting bonus husband points with the big stuff.  You know what I'm talking about guys.  Get her that set of jewelry she really wants. Take her out to dinner at the restaurant that she really likes.  Remember your anniversary (Yes that is big!).  But when the crafty wife is making a human, the relative value of actions can make you feel like you're somehow cheating in the game.  Imagine you're playing football, but instead of your touchdowns counting for 6, it's more like 60. As far as I can figure, the pregnancy point value goes something like this-

Not pregnant flowers = Pregnancy comment on how beautiful she looks
Not pregnant new car = Pregnancy offer to unload the dishwasher for her since bending over sucks
Not pregnancy two week vacation to Hawaii = Pregnancy foot rub

See what I mean!  It's almost too easy.  

But in all seriousness, everyday I get to share this with Ashley I am so thankful for all the blessings we have.  Thanks again to all our friends and family who have been joining us in our excitement.  And Kennedy, we can't wait for you come on out and say hello!

P.S.  Apparently we are coming up on 200 posts!  It surprises us daily how many people still check in with us from time to time.  Here's to hitting 200 and the next 200! I think maybe I'll get into the habit of posting more often.

Thankful on Thursday

Tomorrow Kennedy Grace will be considered full term (by most accounts). I am so amazingly thankful. There were certainly days and weeks and months where I wasn’t sure when or if this would happen for Andrew and I. Simply and completely thankful.

Today I spent some time chatting with Shelly and realized how thankful I am to have people, like her, in my life that when I’m done talking to them on the phone I feel more like myself than I did before I got to chat with them. They are those people in my life who I can say I truly know and who truly know me.

I get to see lots of friends this weekend!

I was recently having coffee with a couple of other Marine Corps wives. One of them mentioned how thankful she was that she got to choose between working and staying home and that no matter what she decided she was just thankful that she truly got to choose. She was SO right. Not everyone is so lucky. I’m thankful I get to be home right now. I have no idea how people work through the last few weeks of their pregnancy…kudos to those of you who I’m lucky enough to call friends that have done just that. I’m in awe of you.

Oh, Andrew. I’m so thankful for him. He’s so understanding when I look at him and declare, “I’m going to burst into tears at any moment now and it’s nothing you did, I just feel it coming…attack of the hormones!” He just accepts it as easily as he would if I’d said something sane.

Nutty. My little shadow during the day. I’d be so bored without him around right now!

Happy Friday!

Wacky Wednesday

So I got to the doctor’s office this morning to drop off my jug and the nurse called me back, weighed me and then took my blood pressure….wait for it…..

122/72

We all knew that would happen, didn’t we?

Then she sends me in to the lab where I assume I’m going to turn in my jug…only the lab tech sends me to sit in the blood draw chair. I comply and then inquire, “So are we drawing blood today?” Oh yes, she has orders to draw two tubes of blood. Hm, that’s new. “Is this for the 24 hour urine screen?” I asked the nice lady (NOT my normal lab tech lady….unsettling.) Now wait for it….

“You did a 24 hour urine screen?”

Um. Yes? Wait a second. Why are we drawing blood? Do you know who I am? WHAT IS GOING ON?!

The two tubes of blood became three tubes of blood after this section of our conversation…because we needed a third tube for the 24 hour urine screen. Are you feeling confused about what exactly happened this morning? I sure was. So tomorrow I’ll call to get my results for the urine screen and three tubes worth of blood work that I didn’t know I was getting done.

So I leave this confusing appointment and head to my favorite store, Target, where surely things will make more sense. I decided that heading to the baby section right away would be the most fun. So I head down the bottles aisle. And there’s a lady already there so I abandon my cart and walk down to the other end where the stuff I need to see is located. The other lady kinda stares over at me and finally asks (if you’ve ever been pregnant, you know what’s coming…) “When are you due?” so I tell her and she follows it up with everyone’s other favorite question, “Boy or girl?” Normally, this is where the conversation comes to a close with a simple, “good luck!” or “Enjoy!” But today was not a normal day. 30 minutes later, after I received all of the advice I never needed from a stranger about childbirth, breastfeeding, and general care of a newborn, I finally made it out alive! Now please, don’t get me wrong. She was very nice and I did not feel attacked….I just felt…well, trapped in the bottle aisle!

After this incident I did what any sane person would do…went home and locked the doors. I’d had enough interaction with people for one day.

I did allow Andrew to enter the house this evening and he was kind enough to take my 36 week picture. So, for the first time in a long time, I’m actually posting the picture in the correct week! And you also get to see the new addition to Kennedy’s room- her tree!

 

Don’t you love Nutty peeking around the big belly?

Hope you’re having a good week!

Adventures in Pregnancy, Part 72

At least I feel like it should be part 72 by now….

Let it be known that if there is a test for something during pregnancy, I’m pretty sure I know about it at this point. Not only do I know about it, I’ve been asked to participate in most of them. I was going to say ALL of them, but then I remembered that I managed NOT to do the 3 hour glucose screen. I only had to do the one hour screen….I digress.

At my 35 week NST, Kennedy was SO unwilling to cooperate that when the nurse left the room the last time to go report to the doctor, she left with, “I’m pretty sure you’re headed over to the hospital for them to run more tests. I don’t want you to be surprised if that’s what he says. There’s probably nothing wrong, but you should know that’s a possibility.” Right. So of course, I panic. Saved by the doctor, I did NOT have to go to the hospital. I was sent home and told to ask Kennedy to play nicer next time.

So I’m getting ready to go in for my 36 week appointment yesterday and I am DETERMINED not to be stressed out. (By the way, whoever named this the “non-stress test” clearly had never had to ask their unborn child to play nicely each week with doctors for an entire trimester….) So I was feeling pretty calm when I went in, thank you very much.

The nurse took my blood pressure and when she reacted with, “uh oh,” I peeked around the corner to see what triggered this reaction…143/81. I made sure she knew that in previous appointments my blood pressure has been taken more than once because it would show up slightly high (never this high) at the beginning of an appointment and then it would drop back down after I was done with the nonSTRESStest. She said she’d take it again later.

I got all hooked up for the nonSTRESStest and then did my normal “pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease” while trying to create an overwhelming zen feeling for myself to bring my blood pressure down. Well, Kennedy was an all-star. She kicked and rolled and her little heart rate zoomed up and returned to normal just as pretty as you please. The doctor came in to check on me after about 15 minutes or so and said we were already done. WAHOO! Way to go, baby girl!

He checked me to see if there were any signs that I might have this little girl someday soon, and after declaring that there was no way I’d be having a baby today, said we were all done. My favorite nurse, Patty (if you frequented the doctor’s office as much as I do, you’d have a favorite too) unhooked me from the NST and just for fun I mentioned that the first nurse was going to take my blood pressure again, but hadn’t yet. No problem, Patty would take it for me. 140/80.

Here’s where the adventure begins. Patty goes to track down the doctor to ask what he’d like to do about my high blood pressure. I sit and wait patiently google high blood pressure during pregnancy on my phone. According to my WebMD research, you get to join me in the high blood pressure category if your top number is higher than 140 and/or your bottom number is higher than 90.  The danger with high blood pressure during pregnancy is that it’s a sign of preeclampsia. It does NOT mean you have preeclampsia. It’s just one of the symptoms. Other symptoms include protein in the urine and swelling of your hands and feet. After reading this, it occurs to me that when the doctor walked in he commented on my swollen feet…oh, good.

For some of you, you may want to stop reading now because things are about to get very urine focused. I’ve managed to find a lot of humor in my day today, but it may be just too much for some. If you continue reading, know that you’ve been warned.

For those that don’t know, when you’re pregnant you get the pleasure of peeing in a cup each and every time you visit the doctor so that they can make sure you don’t have protein in your urine. I’ve never had a problem with protein in my urine.

Reenter my favorite nurse, Patty. “Come on,” she says. “You’ve got homework.”

She proceeds to walk me down the hallway to the lab in my doctor’s office, where the lab tech (who also knows my face by now) greets me with, “Aren’t you done with me? All that should be left for you is to have a baby! I mean, how far along are you now?” Yes, my friend, I should be done with the lab. But fate would not have it that way. Patty reaches under the sink, pulls out a giant orange jug and affixes a sticker to it. “You’ve been assigned a 24 hour urine test. You’re going to write your name on this sticker, collect all of your urine for a 24 hour period in this jug and then bring it back to the office for us to check. You’ll need to schedule a nurse’s appointment to do so.”

Are you having the same reaction I did….if so, right now you’re thinking, “Excuse me? I am being asked to do WHAT?”

I guess the look on my face said it all, because she decided to give me the run down of the situation in a very step-by-step manner with some extra hints for success along the way. Here’s what she said:

1. When you get up tomorrow morning, you’re going to discard your first morning urine. Then from then on you’re going to collect ALL urine from the 24 hour period in this jug. Your life will be much easier if you will go by a drug store and pick up a urine hat to help you.

2. You’re going to store the jug in the refrigerator.

3. You’re going to make a nurse’s appointment to come back to see us after your 24 hours are over.

Let me tell you what my brain focused on…

1. You mean I have to collect urine at 2AM when I barely know I am awake? And what the heck is a urine hat?

2. I’m putting a jug of urine in my fridge….EW!

3. You mean I have to come back here again this week?!

I took my jug, made my appointment and did what any girl would do…called my mother to complain. My mom was kind enough to remind me that though, yes, I have taken just about every pregnancy related test known to mankind at this point, they have all proven time and time again that Kennedy and I are both healthy and doing just fine. Ah, perspective. She’s so good at that. And I asked her the important questions in life like WHAT THE HECK IS A URINE HAT and WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO GET ONE?!

Mom talked me off the ledge and sent me to a local drugstore…should you ever need to know, CVS does NOT, in fact, carry urine hats. Now, even after seeing a urine hat (which, for your reference, goes underneath the toilet seat to collect urine), I could not, at first, figure out why in the world it was called a urine hat. Let me assure you, it does NOT go on your head like a hat. It wasn’t until I set it on the sink this morning that it all made sense….

I sincerely hope you find as much amusement in that picture as I do…

So my 24 hours will be over tomorrow morning at 7:30 and I will be at the doctor shortly after that. When I get there, what do you want to bet that my blood pressure is like 118/75 just to throw everyone off…..

34/35 Weeks

It seems I’m destined to be behind in my pregnancy updates…but at least they continue to occur at regular intervals, right?! The stickers definitely help us to keep track of when we need to take a picture. It’s sad, but without them, I’m not sure we’d remember with all of the preparation for Kennedy’s arrival going on!

Nutty grows increasingly excited to become a big brother soon….or he could be excited about his next treat….it’s hard to tell. But he DOES look happy!

 

Though a very cute picture of Nutty and I, it’s difficult to fully appreciate how big Kennedy is getting if I don’t show you one more like this….

I’ve been feeling more uncomfortable lately and I wondered just how much bigger she had gotten since the last time we saw her “on camera.” We went for a new ultrasound on Tuesday (35 weeks 4 days) and discovered that the answer was MUCH bigger! Though many people will tell you that the estimates made by the ultrasound tech as to her weight are probably inaccurate, it’s all I’ve got to go on right now, so…she weighs 6lbs 2 oz….with WEEKS to go until her due date! No WONDER I’ve been feeling more uncomfortable!

While I’ve been learning to find new and interesting ways to sit, sleep and avoid running into things, Kennedy has apparently learned to find her toes!

As usual, she wasn’t thrilled about being bothered and kept throwing her hands over her face in protest. Here’s her cute profile!

She continues to pass all her tests (though sometimes with great stress for her mommy) and the plan remains the same- weekly NST’s and 3 week ultrasounds…only there’s only time for ONE more ultrasound before the due date! Crazy.