Oh, hey due date...

Spoiler alert: I'm still pregnant. Annnnnnd this post is long.

When I last posted we were going in for an induction. We got to the hospital, and got settled in our room, I scarfed down a sandwich because they told me it would be the last time I could eat until after delivery, answered a bunch of questions, and started getting hooked up to all the lovely machines (IV, fetal heart monitor, contraction monitor and BP cuff). After all that the on call L&D doctor came in to check me and come up with a "game plan."

I hadn't made any progress since my last appointment. I was still about 50% effaced and 0 cm dilated, contracting about every 2-2.5 minutes. The doctor talked with us about all the "labor and delivery possibilities" so we understood what methods may be used during induction and what to expect. He wanted to get me started on pitocin so I got hooked to yet another lovely tube and was told that I would have to stay in bed but could get up to use the restroom. I already knew I was going to be sick of the bed in a hurry. I think I was tangled in my gown and all the tubes coming out of me within 5 minutes.

My blood pressure got checked every 20 minutes, and the nurse came in just about as often to update stuff on the computer and occasionally bump up my pitocin. I wasn't feeling anything, so was actually able to get some rest in between the periodic checks.

After about 11 hours on pitocin the doctor came in to check me again to see if progress had been made. I figured something HAD to have happened...I mean it'd been 11 hours, despite the fact I still didn't feel pain. Well....we were at the same point as when we came in. The doctor talked to use again about the next possible steps, and I told him again that the foley bulb sounded TERRIFYING.

They were happy that the baby was tolerating the pitocin so well, and also mentioned that my BP had not been high AT ALL since being admitted.

The doctor came back in with his attending advisor and started with "We've been looking over your chart...." Immediately I thought the next words were going to be "since things don't seem to be progressing we'd like to prep you for c-section." THANKFULLY I was VERY wrong.

They talked about how I really am a healthy person, and the baby was doing very well. They said "you are already at a pretty high dosage of pitocin....we can continue with the induction which realistically could take another 3 days. We know you made arrangements to come in and perhaps have family already on their way OR we feel comfortable that you and baby are stable enough that you can go home, and come back when you spontaneously go into labor."

Call me naive, but I didn't EVER consider this would be an option! I thought inductions led to the inevitable....a baby being born one way or the other.

I looked over at Tim and we both quickly agreed we wanted to go home. Seriously, what a blessing. We would much rather not force things that obviously aren't ready to happen. And how exciting is it that my BP seems to not be an issue again!?!

So here is what we learned:

1. My body is holding the baby hostage. This little girl is stubborn. She's calling all the shots.
2. Tim should bring a blanket next time. Covering up with my spring coat wasn't ideal.
3. If I had to wait 3 days without eating, I would probably give myself a c-section.

Fast forward to today. Baby girl's due date and our 40 week appointment. No changes. Our doctor is working L&D Wednesday night so wants us to come in then to get monitored (make sure baby is doing well, that amniotic fluid levels are sufficient etc.). If we are both healthy we can give her until Friday to come out on her own, but if not we will have a no-turning-back induction. IF by unfortunate chance things don't look ideal on Wednesday (once babies are overdue there is concern about the placenta not functioning as well or baby releasing meconium) then our doctor will start the induction that night.

But hey, who knows, little girl could come before Wednesday on her own. Tim HAS said all along that she is going to be an April Fools Day baby.

Induction Tomorrow

This will be my last "official" pregnancy photo. It was taken today at 39 weeks 2 days. I'm feeling good but am anxious starting to get really nervous for tomorrow!!

I'm being induced prior to the baby's due date as the result of some blood pressure concerns. Although, this was certainly not part of our "birth plan" and I will likely have to adjust a lot of my preferences, the end goal is the same....healthy and safe baby and mama :)

I don't know quite what to expect but trust my doctors and am so happy to have my wonderful husband there to support me (we're both nervous!)

We will update everyone as soon as we can. Just think our next post will have real pictures of our little lady!!

Baby is coming!!

A lot has happened in the last 48 hours and my mind is all over the place so this may be a bit of a spastic post! I'm going to try and put together a more logical post with important info tomorrow :-)

I had my 39 week appointment on Thursday. Baby's heart rate and growth were great, but my BP was no bueno. I was 50% effaced and 0 cm dilated. Although my BP wasn't outrageously high, it was high enough that the doctor doesn't feel comfortable overlooking it anymore. My BP was high in the first trimester, and then it leveled out wonderfully in the second trimester. Starting at my 38 week appointment it was on the rise again.

The doctor had me go get some blood work done and give a urine specimen to check the protein levels in my urine. She gave me paperwork about inductions and told me she was passing along my file to the scheduler, and although I knew this was real, I didn't totally take it seriously. Can't explain it.

She told me she would call me shortly and let me know if I needed to do a 24 hour collection. Well, within about an hour she called and said I did need to go ahead with that.

Keep in mind I'm at work at this point, so I'm thinking great...my second to last day at work and I have to walk around here with a jug of my own pee. Wonderful last impression. But I also thought it was ridiculous to go home. Soooo picture me carrying this box around the office (to disguise my "supplies) with me anytime I had to use the restroom.....yep, for real.

I got a couple "Aww packing up your stuff?" to which I replied..."uhhh not exactly." Hahha.

Fast forward to Friday, my last day of work....I had to leave at noon to drop off my 24 hour "collection" to the hospital. I dropped it off, went and got a pedicure and then came home to try and nap because I was truly exhausted, had a headache and a little bit of cramping. I never got a call from the hospital so I assumed that meant they would just call me early next week and we'd set up something for her due date or that I didn't need to be induced at all.

Around 10am this morning, I was just sitting down to watch Pretty Little Liars after the Comcast repair guy left and I was thinking of a few errands I would run, then the phone rang and it was the hospital. A super peppy doctor informed me that "we have you scheduled for Monday morning!" I said "Oh wow, okay." Then she told me all the details about when to arrive etc. MONDAY. MONDAY. As in less than 48 hours from the time of that phone call. HOLY. CRAP.

Since that call my mind has been racing. I need to do this, I need to do that. OMG. What does one do in their last 36 hours before being induced?!? We're going to have a baby within a few days. There goes my plan to have the next week off work to relax ;-)

So for the rest of the weekend (Tim is at work until 5pm today), I'm going to do a final cleanup of the house, pick up a few things from the store (could be one of the last times I don't have to tote baby with me...ahh!), relax (yeah...right) and think about what life will be like this time next week (picture me eating a subway sandwich, sushi and a margarita....haha).

Baby and I will be home for Easter (score!!) Hmm, maybe I'll put in an order to the Honey Baked Ham Company now....

Baby girl is due NEXT WEEK

It is so weird to say "I'm due next week." Holy cow. 

Things that have been happening around here lately:

- Parking my car at work or in the garage and not being able to FIT OUT THE DOOR. Sh*t just got real, as the kids say. This rock hard belly can't be sucked in. I've dried off the side of my car with the bump (not by choice) on more than one occasion. 

- Leaning to grab something in the cabinet above the stove and setting my belly on a burner. Yep, the burner was on. Talk about not being aware of your own body!!

- Grunting and having to do a 1-2-3 to launch myself off the couch when lying down. 

- Baby girl recognizing her daddy, mama and Taylor Swift's voices. Her movement either indicates she loves us, or she is desperately scrambling to cover her ears. 

- Nesting and resting. It's really one extreme to the other. One day we go crazy organizing (thank goodness hubs is so handy), getting rid of unnecessary items and cleaning and other days it seems beyond exhausting to even stay awake for an hour long TV program. 

- Having some physical signs that things are progressing and baby girl will be joining us before we know it...

Workplace Love

Wednesday when I walked into work I was greeted with a loud cheer of "Surprise!" When I rounded the corner I saw that my team had decorated my desk with all things adorable, and had filled my cube with gifts. Seriously, I work with such thoughtful people!! I think they are trying to induce my labor with all these amazing surprises.

Baby girl got hooked up with precious outfits, blankets, socks, headbands, toys, teethers, bottle and nursing supplies and diapers.

J and V's team even pulled together and made that sweet bouquet of baby socks and flowers and gave me a tear-jerker of a card that they gave me later in the week.

After talking things over with the hubs and doc we decided my last day at work will be March 22nd. I'm a mixed bag of emotions about it. One thing I know for sure is that I can't wait to bring in baby girl to meet all of my amazing coworkers friends <3.

Nursery Tour

Have been wanting to do this post for a little while but I'm a lil technologically challenged and was having trouble with the video.

When we set to working on her nursery we knew we didn't want it to be total cookie cutter. We wanted it to be simple and warm with DIY elements and personalized touches from local or etsy artists.

Truth be told, Tim had to reel me in several times because I wanted to go overboard....so many ideas, so little space!

We had the artwork on the left in the picture below custom made by one of our favorite Etsy artists. It normally is made to say "I love the shit out of you" which we were all about and then suddenly when it came time to order we decided to opt for an alternative in case one day she asks what it says, haha. 

I drew the one in the middle with some good ol' colored pencils and mounted it on sparkly silver card stock. We love us some Monsters Inc.

The one on the right is a small print from another Etsy artist. 

This painting below was done on a thin canvas by an artist who sells her work at Pike's Place Market in Seattle. It's hard to tell in the photo but it has some cute glittery accents. 

These horseshoes were snagged on our recent trip to Mt. Hood, Oregon. They had some other embellishments that we removed to make it just how we wanted it.

We just picked this air plant and the bowl from West Elm. We're all about some low maintenance greenery.

Owls are super adorable right? The one on the right was snagged at a cute children's boutique in Seattle, but was made by some Alberta Street locals in Portland, Oregon. 

Scrap book paper + ikea picture frames = cheap art for baby to look at while on the changing table.

These hearts came with other colored hearts on a string of garland. We just broke it down and then hung a few of our favorites with fishing line above the lounge chair, kind of like a mobile for baby girl to look at.

The bookshelves that I forgot to take a picture of and am too lazy to go photograph right now are just cheapy Ikea spice racks that we painted in grey and green. Can't wait for story time with the little one <3

I love our friends and family because...

Really, I can't count the reasons but here are a couple....

Because they send us adorable personalized hand-painted onesies like this....

And because we have hilariously fun conversations like this....

 "She is gonna be SUPER pissed when she gets out into the world.....the womb is all dark and warm and cozy."

"That hospital room will be so freakin cold and bright for her. She will be livid. She'll be all WHAT THE F*** IS THIS"

"Oh yeah, she will have spastic arm movements, squinted eyes, perhaps a puffy bruised face from her 'journey in the birth canal.' Babies f-ing hate being born."

and this...

"It's amazing to think that size baby is currently jumping on your bladder"

"Umm yes, and fist pumping my pelvic bones"

"Maybe she has a little Pauly D in her if she is already fist pumping"

"She's a bit of a party animal. Good thing Girls Gone Wild just filed for bankruptcy."

There are at least a million other reasons. We are so grateful to have such nice, caring, funny, wonderful peeps in our life :)

Meeting Surprise

Every other week we have a Leadership Meeting at work. This week the Operations Manager sent out an email saying it was going to run long and would have to be a working lunch. We voted on a restaurant and then chose what we wanted off the menu. I was pumped because my restaurant choice "won."

We started our meeting just like normal and then when the food arrived the Operations Manager said we would need to move to the Conference Room because she didn't want any spills and messes all over her desk. When I walked into the Conference Room my jaw dropped. Those little Sneaky McSneakersons had decorated the room and filled it with presents for baby...oh AND there was cake AND balloons!! COME ON...best workday ever. I was totally surprised; I had no clue. They had all been rushing around keeping things on the down low worried that I would suspect something was up, but they totally got me.

I wish I had more pictures but because I'm a good lil worker I don't bring my cell phone to meetings. (I took the photo above once I got home, hence the messy table). We had such a blast - the whole time was filled with laughs. I'm gonna miss this team when I'm gone :-( We're just going to turn a spare office into a daycare right?

Everyone was so generous and thoughtful. We love all of the gifts...they will be put to good use, that's for sure. One of my coworkers wasn't sure what some of the stuff really was so we had fun explaining to him how swaddles and diaper genies work hahah.

Crazy to think I can count on my fingers how many work days I have left.

All my bags are packed....

....I'm (theoretically) ready to go.  I started packing my hospital bag weeks ago. At first it was fun....I got a new robe, some new slippers.....and then as I was actually stuffing the goods in the bag reality hit me that I wasn't packing for a girls weekend or a romantic getaway. I was packing for the hospital...scary! So in pure me-fashion, I stopped packing and said I'd get back to that later ;-)

Well later has finally happened, and the bags are all set.

I read lots of articles about what moms packed in their bags, and what they actually used vs didn't use. Here's my theory....there's not a whole lot I can control for the big labor and delivery day...if there is anything I can pack to make me feel even slightly more comfortable or at home, I'm packing it. I might not use half of it, but man will I be sad if I don't have something I want in the moment. Not to mention, I'll be there for at least 48 hours (hospital policy for first time moms)

I packed things like yoga and sweat pants, loose fitting shirts, robe and slippers, a nursing tank, nursing bras, granny panties, nursing pads, toiletries, feminine products, chapstick, my own toilet paper (seems silly, but lots of moms said they were sooo happy they brought a roll), my birth plan (which I prefer to call birth goals.....we all know things aren't going to go according to plan), and our parking pass. We will toss in things like the kindle, tablet, phone chargers and snacks the day of. Tim won't be allowed to stay overnight (hospital policy) so he won't need a change of clothes.

Baby's bag has her going home outfits (nothing fancy), blankets, burp cloths, wipes, hand sanitizer and travel first aid kit (this is her diaper bag/my purse that we'll be using from here on out).

The good news is that we know if she comes unexpectedly and we don't have the bags with us, the hospital will have everything we need.

36 week 360

For the 36 week photo I thought it would be kind of cool to do a 360 view.

Imagine that fun 360 degree camera E! News uses on the red carpet, but slightly less glamorous.

My humps, my humps, my lovely lady lumps from each side. You're welcome.

Baby is the size of a watermelon. How's that for a comforting comparison??

Whatcha gonna do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk  my bump?

Taylor wanted to show off her bum in the backside shot below too. 

That's all folks!