32 weeks - first goal met!!

Baby is now the size of a: squash, through 32 weeks. It's her last week being squash-sized :)

Total weight gain: About 22 pounds

Maternity clothes: I'm finally wearing some, but not exclusively.

Sleep: Sleep is still difficult and I imagine it will remain so until I deliver. I'm having a hard time shutting off my brain at night.

Gender: Girly girl girl

Movement: Lots of movement, some of which can be kind of painful!

Food cravings: Italian ice and any and all other desserts.

What I miss: I miss not being on bed rest, of course.

What I'm looking forward to: Our new nursery lamp being delivered, along with the glider/recliner.

Milestones: As of today I am 8 months pregnant!!! This is a huge milestone, because it's the first goal we set when I started having trouble with preterm labor. Next goal: 34 weeks. I can do it!

Symptoms: Lots of movement, ever-growing belly, hunger, thirst, increased urination, fatigue, sleeplessness. All the same.

Bump@31w2d

31 weeks

Baby is now the size of a: squash, through 32 weeks. This Thursday when when I go back to the OB, we'll be doing a growth u/s to see how big she is. I can't wait to find out! I'm hoping for close to 4 pounds.

Total weight gain: Not sure. I'm guessing a little over 20 pounds.

Maternity clothes: I placed another online order with Old Navy Maternity for some t-shirts, a pair of yoga pants, and a maternity hoodie. I'm starting to think about what I'll need in the hospital and I want to have lots of comfy layering options.

Sleep: I've been sleeping ok. Falling asleep is still hard for me, and I tend to have a lot of stressful dreams. I'm not terribly uncomfortable, but thats because I'm not that big, either.

Gender: Girl!

Movement: I love feeling her move. I'm starting to be able to recognize which body part is which. She's been head-down for a few weeks now and I'm amazed at how long she is. I can feel her head way down low at the same time I feel her kicks up in my ribcage!

Food cravings: Italian ice for sure. That stuff is the absolute best!

What I miss: I definitely miss going for long walks. The weather has be sooooo beautiful and I would love to be able to walk down to the lake. Fortunately I have a reclining lounger in my back yard and I've been spending hours and hours out there. It's the perfect spot for a bed-restin' momma.

What I'm looking forward to: Still looking forward to finishing up the nursery. I got the curtains hung today (bad, I know, but I had to do SOMETHING) and we ordered our recliner yesterday. We the Little Castle Enchanted swivel recliner in MS Cafe. I can't wait to use it!

Milestones: Another week down, another week still pregnant!! The bed rest appears to be working.

Symptoms: Lots of movement, ever-growing belly, hunger, thirst, increased urination, fatigue, sleeplessness.

Bed rest and the Type A personality

They're like oil and water. Like a peanut butter, bleu cheese sandwich. Like orange juice poured over your Cheerios. Actually, I bet a lot of pregnant women have indulged in those gastronomic delicacies. But the point is, when you're like me, and you thrive on order and cleanliness, it can be very, very difficult to surrender that control.

I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction out of cleaning and organizing my home. I feel that a house should be a sanctuary. A place of order and calm. When I have visual order and clarity, I have mental order and clarity. Now I find that I must rely on Mr. E to do the tasks I no longer can. Just washing dishes, dusting, and doing laundry are now off-limits to me.

I must confess that I cheated today when Mr. E was out running errands. I straightened up the kitchen a little bit. I couldn't take knowing that there was old food in the fridge and that the counter had crumbs on it. I'm back on the couch now, trying to make up for it.

Thankfully I have a partner who is very understanding, and puts forth a lot of effort to do the things I can't. He doesn't argue with me about what needs to be done. He just knows it's easier to do the things I ask of him so I don't freak out. I'm very lucky to have such an understanding and capable guy.

Looks like I'm not going anywhere

We went back to the OB today for another sono to check the fluid level and see how my cervix is doing. I was soooo hoping there would be a ton of improvement and I'd be told I could go back to work and living my life. Unfortunately my cervix us still at 2.5cm - shorter when pressure us applied. To make matters worse, little Beep has her head, both hands, and a foot pressing directly on it! No wonder I've been having so much lightning crotch!

After the sono I was hooked up to the Toco for a while where I had 3-4 contractions in 1/2 hour. This is pretty typical fir me even though I'm on medication to help cut down on the number I've been having.

When the OB came in she informed me that this is how it's going to be until I deliver and that the only thing we can do is try and keep her in there as long as possible. She said the goal is 34-35 weeks and if I can go longer, great, but by that point they wouldn't be doing anything to stop me from delivering. I'm hoping to make it closer to 36-37 weeks but I know that each day she stays in is a victory! I'm setting small goals, and my first is 32 weeks. Just about another 1.5 weeks.

Bump@30w2d

My Baby Shower

This weekend, my wonderful and generous Aunt Kristen and mom threw me a beautiful baby shower. Since I was on bed rest, and needed to stay put, the shower was held at our house, which turned out to be fantastic., casual and comfortable. There were about 30 women in attendance, all family and close friends. Near the end, the "men folk" even crashed the party since their golf outing got cut short.

With the hostesses, my aunt and mom

Opening gifts. That's my childhood friend, Sara, on my right.

Why don't they make adult-sized versions of these towels??

Mr. E's Aunt Adele, mom Cheryl, and cousin Sarah.

My cousin Kelly, sister-in-law Jessica, and aunt Michelle.

My dear friends Lorraine, Amanda and Kay.

My Grandma Marilyn, who is notorious for looking funny in pictures!

My brother, Steve.

My dad and mom!

Because I wasn't mobile I neglected to get any shots of the beautiful food and flowers that were set up around the house, but here is a shot of some of the peonies, my favorite flower that were everywhere, perfuming the house:

The nursery is now packed to the gills with everything this baby girl could ever ask for. I am blown away at the generosity shown to us, and I feel so grateful. Here is a shot of a couple of my favorite gifts, a Vera Bradley diaper bag and a Moses basket completely filled with the most adorable baby clothes I've ever seen!

Several weeks back when the concerns over my contractions began, I wondered if I'd be lucky enough to make it to my shower with an inside baby. I'm so happy to say that I did, and it was one of my favorite days ever! Life is very, very good.

30 weeks

Baby is now the size of a: a squash, until 32 weeks. During my u/s last Tuesday the tech said she was nearly 3 pounds. Way to go, little girl!

Total weight gain: I'm up almost 20 pounds according to my OB. Right on track.

Maternity clothes: I'm still mainly wearing large sized regular clothing, but a lot of the reason is because I live in pajamas since I'm on bed rest. I wore a non-maternity maxi dress to my shower over the weekend. Sooooo comfy.

Sleep: Since getting the steroid injections I'm been sleeping horribly! I'm lucky if I get 4 hours a night. I guess it's good practice for when he baby arrives.

Gender: Feisty little girl!

Movement: So much movement. Every time I have an NST the nurses are amazed at how active she is. They say it's a great sign, and it makes me a proud momma.

Food cravings: Still loving all things lemon!

What I miss: I miss the freedom of not being on bed rest, but I'll do whatever it takes to keep our girl cookin' a good while longer.

What I'm looking forward to: Finishing up the nursery. We got so much amazing stuff from our incredibly generous friends and relatives at the shower. I can't wait to organize it all and put it away.

Milestones: Reaching 30 weeks feels very momentous to me. It was the second goal (the first being 28 weeks)I had in my head since the bed rest fiasco began at 25 weeks.

Symptoms: Lots of movement, ever-growing belly, hunger, thirst, increased urination, fatigue, sleeplessness.

Bump@29w2d

This is kind of an odd picture. I took it in the downstairs 1/2 bath, and the mirror in there is an antique window frame-turned-mirror. So despite what it looks like, there isn't really a window in the middle of my bathroom.

Positive fFN

Unfortunately, on Thursday I found out that my fetal Fibronectin test came back positive. The following is from the March of Dimes website:

"Fetal fibronectin

The fetal fibronectin (fFN) test measures the levels of fFN in secretions from a pregnant woman's vagina and cervix. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the fFN test may be useful for some pregnant women with symptoms of preterm labor (labor before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy) to help predict their risk of premature delivery (1).

What is fetal fibronectin?
fFN is a protein produced during pregnancy. It acts as a biological glue, attaching the fetal sac to the uterine lining. fFN normally is present in cervico-vaginal secretions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy and again at the end of the last trimester (1 to 3 weeks before labor). fFN usually cannot be detected between 24 and 34 weeks of pregnancy (5½ to 8½ months).

What is the fFN test?
Health care providers give the fFN test to women between 24 and 34 weeks of pregnancy. The presence of fFN during these weeks, along with symptoms of labor, suggests that the "glue" may be disintegrating ahead of schedule and alerts health care providers to a possibility of premature labor and delivery.

Providers use a cotton swab to collect samples of cervico-vaginal secretions during a speculum examination (similar to a Pap smear). Results usually are available within 24 hours. The result is either positive (fFN is present) or negative (fFN is not present).

What do fFN test results mean?
Most women with symptoms of preterm labor go on to deliver at term, even without treatment (2). The fFN test can help predict which symptomatic women have a reduced risk of premature labor and delivery. Fewer than 5 percent of women with symptoms of preterm labor who have a negative fFN test result deliver within the next 2 weeks (1). Identifying symptomatic women who have a reduced risk of premature delivery is the most valuable use of this test because these women often can avoid unnecessary medical interventions, such as bedrest, prenatal corticosteroids,hospitalization and labor-suppressing (tocolytic) medications (1,3).

Positive fFN test results in women with symptoms of preterm labor are less reliable. However, positive results allow health care providers and pregnant women to take preventive measures to delay labor as long as possible and to consider labor-suppressing medications."

In order to prepare for the possibility of preterm delivery, I was given steroid shots to mature the baby's lungs. This would give her a leg-up in the breathing department if she's born before 37 weeks, since the lungs are some of the last organs to fully develop.

I am also taking magnesium gluconate, which is helping to cut down on the contractions I've been having for several weeks now. My cervix has been dynamic this week, and has been anywhere from 2.5cm on Tuesday to 3.3cm Thursday. The great news is that it remains closed. The bed rest I am on will hopefully help to keep it long and closed.

Obviously I'm scared and worried about the health and safely of my baby girl. I'm 30 weeks tomorrow so if she were to be born at this point, she'd be ok, but she'd have a long NICU stay. I don't want that for her. I can't bear that thought of her struggling or being in pain.

Bed rest again

Yesterday I went in to the OB for a routine follow up visit. My weight, urine and blood pressure all looked terrific. Next, the sonographer brought me in to the sono room to check my cervical length. Since I've been having an abnormal amount of Braxton-Hicks contractions, they've been keeping a close eye on my cervix to make sure it isn't changing.

Unfortunately, in the two weeks I've been off bed rest and back to work, my cervix went from 3.1cm to 2.4cm. Not good. The baby was also head-down and applying a lot of pressure there. This means that I'm back on bed rest until fourth notice. I go back in a week fir a follow up and I'm hoping I get good news then! In the meantime, I'll be living on the couch.

The good news in all if this was that our baby girl is looking just great! She's already 3 pounds and is even measuring ahead for the first time in get short life. She's so cute :)

29 weeks

Baby is now the size of a: squash! Holy moly! That is amazing to me!

Total weight gain: I really have no idea. I think it would just upset me to look, and my OB says I'm doing great, so I'm going to take her word for it!

Maternity clothes: I wore my first maternity dress to my grandmother's funeral over the weekend.

Sleep: I am not sleeping well. I'm having strange anxiety dreams, and having my parents staying with us so much has really impacted my ability to sleep soundly. My hips are also starting to hurt quite a bit.

Gender: Little girl. I love her so.

Movement: I have a wiggle worm in there! I think she's more and more active every day. It gives me such joy to feel her kicks, punches and rolls.

Food cravings: nothing specific at the moment.

What I miss: While all of my relatives, except for my cousin, who is also pregnant enjoyed drinks over the weekend to help relieve the tension, I was forced to remain stone cold sober! I think I'm ready for a glass of wine or a beer.

What I'm looking forward to: My baby shower this coming weekend! I can't believe its almost here!

Milstones: I got the dresser/changing table for her room painted, AND we decided on a name! Having a name makes this feel so much more real!

Symptoms: Lots of movement, peeing all of the time, trouble sleeping, weepiness, fatigue.

Bump@28w2d

Please forgive the tired look...it's been a rough couple of weeks around here :/