Oh, L&D

How far along? 31 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +3
Maternity clothes? all the time
Stretch Marks? ugh... yes
Sleep: as much as I can
Best moment this week: I had a baby shower with some amazing people on Saturday
Movement: All the time now
Food Cravings/Aversions: not really
Gender: Girl
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: wearing regular jeans
What I am looking forward to: the end of the week
Weekly Wisdom: Labor & delivery is not the most comfortable place to be, especially at Saint Francis where they're doing construction
Milestones: 1cm dilated


So, yesterday mid-afternoon I started feeling some tightening and pain while being out and about in Tulsa. I sat down, drank some water, and rested. Paul and I, then, went to grab some lunch at Cheddar's (yummy!). When I started feeling better, we headed over to the mall to pick up a few things. While there, the pains returned and Paul and I headed home so I could relax. Well relaxing, the pains started to lessen but I was able to concentrate on them more. I would tighten up right above my belly button and then it would spread down towards my hips ending in a cramping pain. I was comforted when they went from being 4-5 an hour to 1 or 2, then right before bed I didn't have any. I told myself if they returned when I was at work I would call my doctor. 


This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I felt fine, so I was thinking no big deal. Around the time I got to work the first one hit, then another and between 8 and 9am I had about 4 pains (later determined to be contractions). I called my doctor and talked to the Triage nurse, who told me to head straight to labor & delivery. Once there, I sat in the waiting room for about 20 or so minutes and had several more pains before they got me back to Exam room B. There, I was hooked up to a fetal heart rate and contraction monitor. As my uterus would tighten, Rylee's heart rate would skyrocket from about 130's to 160-170. However, none of the tightening registered as contractions, just cramps. None of what I felt while in the room compared to what I had been feeling. 


They ran an urinalysis to see if I had a UTI, which could cause cramps and contractions, but that came back negative. They also ran a fetal fibronectin test (which is interesting to say the least) which would determine if I could go into labor in the next 2 weeks. This test also came back negative. Both are great, but it doesn't tell me or the doctor/nurses why I was having the contractions I was having. I had an internal exam and I'm already 1cm dilated, which proves to me I was in fact having contractions.


Since they couldn't determine what was causing the contractions, if they return just as or more severe, I'm supposed to go straight to labor & delivery. They don't want everything coming back negative and not really having any contractions while being monitored to hinder me from going, because things could change. So, please, just keep Miss Rylee and myself in your prayers. We need her to stay put for a few more weeks!

Her Little Lips

So I've finally gained some weight, a whole 3 pounds! WooHoo! I'm thinking I won't gain more than 20 pounds total, but who knows, guess I should start that walking/exercising thing to make sure.

Dr. Tran surprised me and did an ultrasound today. Got to see all of Miss Rylee, in sections of course. She's grown so much since the last ultrasound 2 months ago! I could barely believe it! We could still see her spine, and even her rib cage (I'd never seen her ribs before) so that was cool. She's head down, with her feet almost in my rib cage. I knew I had some pains there, now I know why :) Dr. Tran concentrated on her face a lot and then she did the cutest thing (so far), she started smacking her lips. I decided that was her telling me she was hungry and stopped at the QT after the appointment for a snack. We watched for awhile to see if she would stick her tongue out but no such luck. She's weighing a little over 3 pounds, maybe almost 3.5. Dr. Tran doesn't like to make guesses so she was really hard-pressed to answer the "how big do you think she'll be" question. She explained there are so much factors to weigh in, the main one being when she's born. She decided to tell us that if she's born around 37 weeks (full term) then she'll probably weigh around 6 pounds, if I go the full 40 weeks then she'll be closer to 8 pounds.

We had a long discussion on inducing, and I was pleased that she's against it just like I am, she just didn't say it in those words. She basically told me it was completely up to me after 37 weeks if we induce or not. The only time she'll step in and say we need to induce is if I go a week past my due date, or if some complication arises (knock on wood). This made me real happy. I've had so many people I know have problems with doctors pressuring them to induce and then problems ensuing from the inducement. I know that Rylee will come when she's ready, and I have no intentions of forcing her, even if means I'm huge and miserable. Her health is all that matters to me.

I decided to go ahead and get the flu shot, and had Paul get one too. I figured that since my immune system is down due to the pregnancy and all of the things that could go wrong if I got the flu outweighed taking the chance and not getting one. Never knew my arm could be so sore so soon after a shot, yuck. But at least, Paul, Rylee and I are now protected.

I can't wait to meet my little girl in less than 10 weeks!!

3/4 of the way there!

How far along? 30 weeks! Can't believe there's only 10 weeks left!
Total weight gain/loss: +2, finally!!
Maternity clothes? all the time
Stretch Marks? ugh... yes
Sleep: insomnia has kicked in! I'm tired!!
Best moment this week: So far, the work shower I had tonight!
Movement: All the time now
Food Cravings/Aversions: Last night, I had to have cinnamon rolls!
Gender: Girl
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: 
What I am looking forward to: My baby shower on Saturday
Weekly Wisdom: Always heat up baby milk... haha! Joke shared at my shower today
Milestones: 3/4 of the way there!!


The shower thrown by my co-workers today was amazing! Rylee, Paul, and I are very lucky to have so many people that love and care about us. We got the monitor and play gym we registered for, and so many other things! We played some fun games, and I got to enjoy some time with my co-workers that wasn't work related. Here are some pics from the shower:

umm... 9 weeks?!

So I was talking to Dr. Tran at my appointment today, and told her I can't believe there's only 12 weeks left. Her response was "Really only 9 weeks left, because that's when you're full term." I just stared at her! What?!?! I know 37 weeks is full term but that's barely over 2 months left! I told her she needed to slow down HA! I can't believe it's so soon! I'm so excited to see my little girl but 9 weeks?! I've gained 2 pounds since my last appointment so NOW I'm finally at my pre-pregnancy weight. I thought I had gained some more than that, but not according to the scale at the doctor's office. So looks like all my weight is going to come in this last trimester.

I'm trying to decide if I'm going to get a flu shot. Dr. Tran wants me to get one but I've never had one and I've never had the flu. I know I'm more susceptible to the flu being pregnant, but I'm not into getting a shot for something that might not work. If you didn't know, the scientists make an assumption (based off previous strains) at the strain of flu that will be active each particular year and that's what they make the vaccine based off of. If the scientists are wrong, then the vaccine is useless for that year. I just don't know, it's a hard decision....

On a more unimportant topic, I'm trying to decide if I'm going to get a 3D/4D ultrasound. There's a doctor in Dr. Tran's practice that does them, but Dr. Tran, herself, doesn't. I would have to go to an outside place to have it done. The money part of it really doesn't bother me (as my insurance doesn't cover ultrasounds anyway), it's more of the surprise factor. Do I want to know what she's going to look like beforehand or do I want to be surprised? I would love to see her little face, but seeing it in person is going to be incredible. I know that will happen no matter what (duh!) but I don't want it to desensitize that moment for me.

Here is a pic from today at 28 weeks 3 days:

Ha I don't even think I look pregnant in this one. So I changed into a tighter shirt:

I wish my belly would round out, and get rid of that flat area! I think I would look more pregnant (though not 28 weeks) if it would! Little girl is finally starting to move up a little. I've been feeling her higher than in the past so maybe it will soon. She doesn't kick as much anymore. She does a lot of rolls and flips though. She used to only move when I was laying down after a meal, but last night she was moving around while I was in the shower! So very cool!!

Here's the latest addition to her room:

It's the tree decal we bought! I think it's perfect!!! I didn't use a lot of the stickers that came with it, just the colors that would look good. I also left out all the animals but the one pink bird, the other animals were really big and looked creepy. I can't believe how it's all coming together! She just needs to get here so I have a reason to be in the room :) Right now, I just go in there and rock in the glider and relax. 

I'm up to every other week appointments, which is going to make this time go by so much faster, especially with the holidays approaching. Pretty soon Miss Rylee will be here!

28 weeks along..

How far along? 28 weeks 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: +3
Maternity clothes? always
Stretch Marks? ugh... yes
Sleep: more please!
Best moment this week: My mom feeling Rylee move
Movement: Not so much this week, it's bugging me
Food Cravings/Aversions: Still no hamburger meat
Gender: Girl
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: the Yankees being a decent baseball team
What I am looking forward to: my doctor's appointment on Thursday
Weekly Wisdom: I've got nothing....
Milestones: Every other week appointments! 

I'll have pictures and more of an update after my appointment tomorrow!

3rd Trimester???

How far along? 27 weeks-not sure if it's this week or next that marks the 3rd tri, every book says something different!
Total weight gain/loss: 0, I've finally made it back to my pre-pregnancy weight, let the adding begin!
Maternity clothes? unless I'm wearing PJs it's always maternity pants!
Stretch Marks? ugh... yes
Sleep: I think I'm going to have to start scheduling a daily nap
Best moment this week: Monday's over
Movement: Frequently
Food Cravings/Aversions: Still no hamburger meat
Gender: Girl
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing really, I'm really enjoying feeling Rylee and knowing she'll be here soon
What I am looking forward to: Putting up Halloween decorations this weekend, and the tree wall decal will be delivering this week, so I can get that up in Rylee's room
Weekly Wisdom: Being the sober one in a group of drunkards is not fun.
Milestones: Third trimester!!! I think....

Just Another Saturday...

So it's been awhile since I've updated everyone (I know shame on me). It's a nice Saturday morning, so I thought I would sit down and catch everyone up. I passed my 1-hour glucose test! Wahoo!!! Don't have to do that again! Almost passing out due to a sugar crash was NO fun! My iron levels are good so I don't have to worry about that either! So far, this pregnancy (other than extreme nausea and sickness for the first 15 weeks) seems to be going off without a hitch **knock on wood** Had my monthly doctor's appointment on the 23rd, little girl is sounding great! I'm finally putting on weight, still below my pre-pregnancy weight, but I'm getting close. Looks like all my weight gain will be in the 3rd trimester, which is coming up fast! I'll be 26 weeks on Monday!! Here is a pic from 25 weeks and 2 days:

Trust me, I only look this pregnant in the evenings when I'm wearing something without a waistband! In the mornings or when I have pants on, you can barely tell I'm pregnant! You ask all my Louisiana family that saw me this past weekend! Everyone agreed that I don't look 6 months pregnant. 

Rylee's room is just about done. We still need to get knobs for the dresser and decide what kind of wall art we want. I really want a wall decal tree with maybe a monkey or some birds in it to go over her crib, and I need to get the letters painted and decide how I want to hang them. So basically just finishing touches left in the next 3 months :) Here are some pics of her room:

The glider and ottoman have delivered and have been put together, I just don't have a picture with it in the room. But I love that thing! I've spent a little time in her room everyday since I got the glider just rocking and reading or looking around and imaging what life is going to be like in 3 months. I can't believe it's coming up so soon! I know with the upcoming holidays it's going to be here even sooner! 

I can't wait to meet my little princess :)