Perfection

Wow, what a whirlwind this week has been. 

There are so many emotions and thoughts going through my head, I can't even explain. Emily is a wonderful baby, perfect in every way!  Steve and I are so blessed to have her.

I can't really put together a coherent post right now so here are some bullet points

• Emily is breast feeding and doing very well with it.  I have to use a nipple shield to get her to latch but that is fine with me.  It is scary not knowing how much she is eating and if she is getting enough milk.  I think feeding is the hardest part of being a mom so far. I had some issues with engorgement on my right side- holy painful.  I took ad.vil, did a lot of massaging, and pumped - it seems to be getting better.

• Sleep is pretty much non-existent at this point.  Since she eats every 2-3 hours and it takes her about 30 minutes (or more) to eat, we spend most of our time in the recliner.  At first we were having trouble getting her to sleep in her bassinet but my sister gave me the best suggestion to warm up the mattress with a heating pad before putting her in it so it's nice and warm (we take the heating pad out before we put her in) this works like a charm!  (Thanks Kels!)

• Like I mentioned earlier, I'm emotional....about everything.  It kills me when she cries.

• Diapers, diapers, diapers. Just saying.

• Steve has been the most amazing dad and husband through everything.  He has been getting up with me to help, at all hours of the night, and that makes things so much easier to handle.  I can't thank him enough for being such a great husband.  It is so wonderful to watch him with her and to see the pride in his eyes.

• Our families have been so great and helpful, I can't thank them all enough!!

Thank you all for your kind comments, I will be back to checking all of your blogs soon!

I will leave you with a few pics of our sweet girl, stay tuned for Emily's birth story...

She's finally here!!!

Introducing....

Emily Bonnie

Born Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 9:22pm

8 lbs 2 oz, 21 inches

40 weeks 2 days

Guess what? I'm still pregnant. 40 weeks and 2 days to be exact, I guess you could say our stork is still lost!

To keep myself occupied, I've been walking every day and cleaning everything in our house.  Naps have been awesome and I went for a massage on Thursday. Last night Steve and I had our last pre-baby date night, we had a great time and spent most of the night talking about baby girl and trying to pin down her name. 

Our midwife called us on Thursday evening and said she had spoken to one of the doctors at the practice and they have agreed that if I don't go into labor on my own this weekend I will be induced on Monday/Tuesday.

This is a two step process.  We will stay at the hospital on Monday night and I will get cervidil to hopefully ripen my "difficult" cervix. Tuesday morning they will start me on an IV of pitocin to start contractions.  If all goes as planned we will have our baby girl in our arms on Tuesday!

Even though induction was not a part of our original plan, we know that we have to do whatever it takes to get our little girl here safely and if that means changing our plans then that is what we will do! 

Thank you all so much for your supportive comments and emails over the past few days, we appreciate it!

Due date fast approaching...

I'll be 40 weeks pregnant tomorrow and I don't think this little girl has any plans of coming on time.

We had our weekly midwife appointment today and there has been no change with my stubborn cervix.  When we were going through our IUI's and our IVF I remember the Dr. and nurses saying how "difficult" my cervix was and they had trouble with the procedures, but I didn't think anything of it at the time.  Last week it popped into my head to ask my midwife if this could be a reason that I'm not dilating and she thinks it could be. She called it cervical stenosis.

Thankfully, the non-stress test went well and baby girl is still active and having a great time in there.

So here we are, still waiting.  We will be going back next week to discuss induction if there still isn't any progress.

Still waiting...

Sorry for not updating more....I'm still here....still pregnant.

I've gotten a couple of emails and comments, so I thought I'd let you all know that baby girl still hasn't made her appearance.

Steve and I are anxious and excited for her arrival, and we hope it is very soon!

Thanks to everyone for checking on us ♥

Update

We had our midwife appointment today and still no dilation...my cervix is a trouble maker.  We go back next Wednesday to see if there is any progress.

Fingers crossed!!

39 weeks!

I don't have a lot to report at 39 weeks.  I wake up every day and think to myself, "is today going to be the day??"

Size of baby: Baby girl is waiting to greet the world! She continues to build a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, like a mini watermelon!

Sleep: I get my best sleep when I take naps.  I'm only working mornings this week and it has been a life saver! Nights are still a lot of tossing and turning, getting up to go to the bathroom and not being able to fall back to sleep.

Movement: Same as last week, her movement has slowed down a bit, but she still has her active times during the day and right before bed. 

Food cravings/aversions: I've been craving fruits and veggies a lot more and of course, still sweets.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting our daughter! I keep telling her she has so many great people out here that can't wait to meet her!

I have been feeling pretty good.  My hips are very sore but I'm taking this as a sign of progress and hoping that she is moving down to where she needs to be (although I hear every day at work that she hasn't dropped).  At our midwife appointment last Friday I was 80% effaced but not dilated at all.  We go back again tomorrow and I hope there has been some progress!  My bh contractions aren't as frequent as they used to be and when I do have them, they are a little stronger but still not anything super painful.

That's about it folks, I'll try to update with some belly pictures and info from our appointment tomorrow!

P.S.  I just want to say good luck to my blog friend Kelly, she is being induced today :)

38 Weeks!

38 weeks pregnant, 2 weeks left.....or more......or less.

The most frequent question I'm asked is "Are you ready?"  Yes of course I'm ready!  I'm ready to meet this little wiggle worm that has been living inside me for months now.  I can't wait to see her face, kiss her cheeks, and tell her how much we love her.

Monday night I had a lot more bh contractions- they were coming about every 5-6 minutes, sometimes more and sometimes less.  Steve was starting to get a little worried and at one point he said, "Is she coming tonight??"  I wish you all could have seen his face, priceless.  Since then I've had consistent  bh so far, but nothing super painful and I've been feeling crampy. 

Size of baby: She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp and her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Yay baby girl!!

Sleep: I feel tired all the time! 


Movement: Her movement has slowed down a bit, but she still has her active times during the day and right before bed. 

Food cravings/aversions: I haven't had many cravings, but meat hasn't been sounding that great to me lately.

Belly button in or out: Well it's in between I suppose.  It sticks out a little and when I cough, sneeze or laugh it sticks out further.

Stretch marks: Nothing yet, I'm just waiting for them to pop up one of these days.

What I miss: Being able to move easily without all the cracking and popping joints.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting our daughter!

Belly Pic:

Godparents

Steve and I have talked a lot about who should have this important role in our baby's life and we have chosen two very special people to us. Two people who have been here for us through all the good and bad times and supported us no matter what. 

My sister Niki will be baby girl's Godmother.  I've looked up to my sister since I can remember and we have always been close. She is my best friend and the person I call first when something big happens in my life.  I know she will be a wonderful Godmother to our daughter because she already cares so much about her.  She asks about every doctor visit and cheers right along with us with every week that goes by.

Baby girl's Godfather is one of Steve's best friends, Ralph.  Since Steve doesn't have any siblings, he chose someone who is like a brother to him.  He and Ralph met in college and have been close friends ever since. 

After Steve and I met, Ralph and his wife Melissa were two of the first people he introduced me to.  They were so welcoming and friendly and I quickly saw why Steve cares so much for them. Ralph is the kind of guy you can always depend on and would do anything for his friends. He is a genuinely good person and I am so happy he is a part of our lives.

We feel very lucky to know these two amazing people and we know that our baby girl will love them just as much as we do.  

We appreciate your friendship, support and love more than you will ever know! Thank you for agreeing to be our little girl's Godparents!