Week 35~Oh what a week!

Well today is technically what online Mommy-to-be blogs refer to as my "35/35" day which means I am 35 weeks pregnant and have 35 days to go. However, after the last few days, I doubt I will last for 35 more days. To fill everyone in on all of the recent excitement, I will start from the beginning.

A week ago, Atlanta experienced some terrible rains and storms and many homes were flooded or had some water damage. Our sweet Schnoodle, Sam, was scared by the thunder and managed to push down the carpet in our master bedroom underneath the baseboards and soil the carpet pad. Now that is one place you just cannot reach to clean. Sunday morning I woke up with Spencer trying to cuddle and the room smelling of doggie pee. Spencer does not have a sense of smell so he did not find this to be near as big of a problem as I did! Needless to say, we had new hardwood floors put in on Thursday and Friday. Well, this did require some moving of heavy furniture and against Spencer's recommendation, I chose to help move the furniture- some by myself since Spencer was away on business.

On Saturday, my family all attended the Georgia Tech football game which was so exciting, but a lot of walking for me. Between the game and the moving of furniture, I apparently exerted myself a bit more than my doctor liked. Saturday around 3:30pm I realized that my feet, legs, hands, and now arms were swollen quite a bit. As my doctor had instructed, Spencer and I went to a CVS and checked my blood pressure. It was somewhere around 163/90 whereas the Monday before is had been 120/70. We called the doctor and she asked that I rest, retest, and call. Still, I was testing at 154/83 so she had me report to Labor and Delivery at Northside Hospital for testing.

What I didn't realize is that "report for testing" doesn't just mean stop on in and give some blood. I was admitted, changed into a gown, and given a room in the high risk area. After about 2 hours my test results came back about perfect, but by then I was having contractions about every 3-5 minutes. They immediately started me on fluids and for about 5 minutes my contractions occurred every 60 seconds. That's when I got the shot of Terbutaline to stop the contractions. A little while later my contractions stopped, but one side effect of the medicine is that it makes your heart race like crazy! WOW! But at least I got released that night.

Well Sunday I took it easy, but on Monday I began having very painful contractions so I went to see my doctor again. My blood pressure was high again and I was having contractions, but I was not dilated at all. In order to keep the baby inside until I'm 36 weeks, the doctor gave me more Terbutaline (as a pill this time) and put me on bed rest. BED REST! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS INVOLVES? NOTHING! THAT'S WHAT I'M ALLOWED TO DO NOW! NOTHING!

So today is Day 2 of Bed rest and I seriously have checked out of reality now. I lay down on my back or side for 24 hours a day minus the multiple bathroom breaks (and a quick shower). I do nothing. Even typing on my computer right now I have to sit up which is not allowed, but come on...I need a break.

Because Spencer has some delusion that I am stubborn and hard headed, he has not left me alone since we left the doctor's office. Spencer has been working from home for 2 days now and brings me food and water and cares for the dogs and house since I am unable to do so. I know it has to be hard on him, but he's been such an amazing caregiver! I can't complain that God's giving me too much to handle because I know He's giving Spencer so much more. It's unbelievable how strong Spencer is!

Well the ultimate goal now is to keep my swelling and blood pressure down and to stop the contractions. The doctor said that as of next Tuesday though whatever happens they will let happen. So this means Baby Shell could arrive as early as next Tuesday. If I have any mother's intuition already I'd say he's going to wait for awhile though. I think the constant uncomfortableness that I'm in might be God's way of teaching me some much needed patience that I will use for the next 18 years of Baby Shell's life. Ugh- that doesn't make it any easier though!

Tonight Spencer suggested that we start packing our hospital bag just in case our doctor's appointment tomorrow has any surprises. I seriously doubt anything has changed, but I'm hoping that I've done such a good job of bed resting for the last 48 hours that the doctor will decide to let me go back to work and life. Oh the optimism!

And that is the crazy last week we've had. If you can, please keep us in your prayers. We just want our little baby boy to come out safely (but keeping my sanity would be a great bonus!)

I'll update tomorrow if there's any change! Love, Teresa

Week 33-Sleeping- what a joke!

Over the past 33 weeks I have learned quite a bit about being pregnant. I won't say I'm an expert, but I can give quite a few tips after all of my reading, research, and personal experience. Well, from all of this reading I have come to one unpleasant realization (actually I've had a lot of these, who are we kiddin?). This big realization is that between God's decisions and doctors' recommendations, the possibility of sleeping in the last few weeks of a pregnancy is a complete joke. Let me explain and as I go through these "helpful tips" for sleeping please build your own mental image (preferably not of me) of what this will look like.
Here we go:
1. For the best blood flow to the uterus, pregnant women should sleep on their left side. (not too big of a deal, right?)
2. Recommended for comfort, pregnant women then need to place one pillow under their head and shoulders, one under their chest and belly, and one between the knees. The one between the knees is to help with hip alignment (you heard me, just like a 90 year old woman).
3. Now that I've got the pillows aligned, you'd think I'd be good. But noooo....to alleviate swelling in the hands and feet (which is very common), a pregnant woman should use additional pillows to prop up her feet and hands. (Still creating that mental image?)
4. Now, for back pain I should also be sleeping in a maternity back belt- something I have refused to do simply because my ego can not take any more hits at this point.
5. Pregnant women often have a tender chest and therefore it is also recommended to sleep in a sleeping bra. (Ah, how relaxing, a back brace and bra! Why didn't I do this before pregnancy!)
6. Now all pillowed up and with elevated limbs, pregnant women still suffer from sinus issues. This is because the tissue in your nose is just like the tissue inside your woman parts....and all of it is swollen. To alleviate the sinus congestion, doctors recommend using additional pillows to prop up the pregnant woman's head. (Spencer believes our pillows must be very fertile because over the past few weeks they've multipled over and over, now creating a soft, fluffy Wall of China between us in bed.)
(So far does this mental picture look even remotely comfortable?)
7. So let's say I get in bed at 9pm and am able to implement all of the above 6 steps of pregnant sleeping. Let's say I've finished by about 9:15pm. I am now out of breath (more on that complaint later) so I try moving the kid off of my lungs. Let's say by 9:30 the kid is positioned off of my lungs, however now that he is off of my lungs he is now on my bladder. After 30 minutes of preparing for the sleeping position I now have to go to the bathroom. Great. Just Great. I think you can foresee the issue here and the pattern of me not getting to sleep at night. At least we have a king size bed so Spencer can sleep through most of this. He will pay for it unfortunately when I am crabby the next day. He may even be silly enough to ask, "Did you not get enough sleep?" HA!

So that is the "Recommended Sleeping Position" for pregnant women in the last few weeks. What a crock!

Fortunately, I love my husband very much and for some odd reason, he still loves me! And I know I love this little blessing inside of me- our perfect little gift from God!

For nursery pictures see here: http://www.babyshell.shutterfly.com/

Come on you guys, HUNKER DOWN!

There are a couple very important things going on in Teresa and my lives these days. One, college football season is finally here again! Two, we have less than two months to go before Baby Shell arrives. Unfortunately, the discomfort for Teresa is only growing and I have to take on the roll of Chief Motivator. It is a difficult job given all the things Teresa is going through with the changes in her body and the constant aches and pains. I really don't know how she does it. But in an effort to "raise my game", one motivational tactic I have taken on is approaching these last few weeks as I feel the legendary "Voice of the Dawgs" Larry Munson would do. Here is an example of how this motivational tactic plays out, enjoy!

Teresa: Wow, I can't believe we still have 8 weeks.

Me: 8 weeks! 8 long weeks till glory! Here we are with our backs to the end zone, those other guys are trying to KNOCK US OUT OF EVERYTHING! We have been up and down the field all night and are ahead of these guys by 5 points. Come on Teresa, lets do this. HUNKER DOWN!

Teresa: Ow, he just kicked me pretty hard.

Me: Hand off to Bo Jackson...he's got a block...he takes it for five yards right down our throat! We had him in the backfield and he just KEPT GOING! I think the clock is moving backwards now. Auburn, trying to BREAK OUR HEARTS! I know I am asking a lot Teresa, but HUNKER DOWN!

Teresa: Hey there kid, watch it. He is way up here by my lungs and it is a little hard to catch my breath.

Me: Auburn, on our 21 now. Our defense is GASSED, hands on hips, DEFEAT is trying to climb over the Hedges in Sanford Stadium and get to our guys. They pitch it to that big back again and we missed him! Two big plays and he was down to our 12 yard line before we caught him. TIME OUT AUBURN! Three weeks left to EVERYTHING! I promise I won't ask you again Teresa, but HUNKER DOWN ONE MORE TIME!

Teresa: I can't believe this kid can kick so much and so hard. He is just pummeling me. Cut it out kid.

Me: There's the snap...he rolls out...pressure coming....ball is in the air....A MAN OPEN IN THE END ZONE....ITS ANYBODYS BALL....

Teresa: Spencer, are you listening to those old Larry Munson replays again?

Me: THEY BROKE IT UP! THEY BROKE IT UP! THEY BROKE IT UP! Auburn had a man WIDE OPEN and WE BROKE IT UP! Baby Shell came in and got a hand on it and knocked it down!

Teresa: Ok, one too many beers for you tonight sweetie.

Me: Now here comes a doctor running across the field! And the students are counting it down...3....2....1....LOOK AT THE PAMPERS FALLING FROM THE SKY! LOOK AT THE PAMPERS FALLING FROM THE SKY!

I love football...oh, and of course my wonderful Teresa who won the game for us!!! Uh, I mean who is carrying our child!

Week 31~Oh I am so ready!

One more doctor's appointment down! This week we learned that our precious baby boy still has a small calcium deposit in his heart. The doctor said not to worry because the rest of the signs of Downs Syndrome were negative. She said our baby looks healthy. He has some hair and little, chubby cheeks! It was great to see him again. Speaking of seeing him, Spencer and I can now see him roll throughout my stomach. It's a bit uncomfortable for me, but it is kinda neat to see my stomach roll in awkward positions. It's like a little alien inside of me trying to come out!

Otherwise this week wasn't too bad. The heartburn has increased so much that I might be taking Pepcid daily now to prevent it. I'm also exhausted all of the time again.

This weekend Spencer and I made great headway in the nursery again. Spencer is making fun of me because everything that I want to buy, I try to make first. Sometimes I can make exactly what I want (like a mirror or a growth chart or a toy chest) and sometimes I can't (like the mobile that looked ridiculous). Spencer asked me today how I was planning on making the breast pump! HA! We also talked our way through the day of the delivery as best we can, basically just reminding ourselves that as much as we try to plan, this kid is going to come and do whatever he pleases!

On another note, here are a few of my favorite things that I have had said to me recently. Apparently people believe that pregnant women do not have feelings! Boy are they wrong!

1. Man to me: "Wow, so can I assume you are having twins or is it triplets?"
Me to him: "haha, no just one in here."
Me to me: "Did he really just say that? My doctor said my weight gain is perfect! Am I really that big? What am I going to look like at 40 weeks then??? Well there goes my self-esteem for today...."

2. Man to me: "So how much longer do you have?"
Me to man: "About 8 more weeks."
Man to me: "Really? That long? I have three kids and you look like you're going to pop any minute now."
Me to man: "Thanks." and I rolled my eyes.
Me to me: "I bet he's divorced. No woman would put up with that crap and I'm not as big as a lot of women."

3. Checkout cashier to me: "So how much weight have you gained so far?"
Me to cashier: "Oh, only around 25 lbs."
Cashier to me: "Hmm...I guess that's okay then. You're just big."
Me to me: "When did graduating from medical school become a requirement to work at a checkout line??"

4. Random woman to me: "So how much longer do you have?"
Me to random woman: "About 8 weeks."
Random woman to me: "Oh wow, you still have a long time to go. You're going to be HUGE by then!"
Me to random woman: "ummm..that makes me feel so much better. Thanks."

5. Me to man: "Sorry, I'm a bit tired today."
Man to me: "You shouldn't be. I'm sure you're milking this pregnancy thing. I bet you don't do anything at home anymore."
Me to man: "Actually, I still do a lot of the regular cleaning and laundry. I just don't help with the lawn anymore."
Man to me: "Oh my wife is pregnant so I don't really believe that!"
Me to me: "Maybe your wife would help more if you weren't a jerk!"

So those are my top 5 recent comments I've been fortunate enough to put up with. Spencer is just pleased I have not been arrested for assaulting any of the above men and women. Honestly, I think I've been so stunned by the comments that I haven't reacted as I would have liked to. Oh well, only 8 more weeks to go and possibly even less! (Definitely not more than 8 weeks as I'm sure this kid doesn't want Mommy to be angry when he finally arrives!)

Week 30 (+1 because I forgot about last week)

So this is technically the beginning of our 32 week, but with the weird pregnancy counting I am technically 31 weeks along. Then, since I forgot last week, we need to pretend this is Week 30 (although only for blog purposes...in actuality, I'm ready for week 40 already!).

Anyway, we have had great success with the nursery this week and it seems as though things are finally coming together. I'll post pictures after just a bit more work. It is turning into my favorite room in the house though!

This past Saturday we had a wonderful baby shower for Baby Shell. It was so thoughtful of my friends to organize, plan, and throw such a terrific celebration. I can't thank Catherine C., Cristina, Tara, and Lindsey enough for their time and energy. I felt so honored and blessed to have such amazing friends- about 15 women attended- who mean so much to me. Unfortunately a few of my friends have recently moved away from Atlanta and onto other things so I did miss Casey, Eleanor, Darragh, Kamber, and Suz. They've been great friends since 2001 as well.

The family-Mom, Cat, me, Melissa, and Mrs. Kay

Amy and Cristina

Mary Beth, Jessica, Lane, and Neighborhood BFF Heather

Tara and her mom, Patty, and Lindsey preparing for the Pictionary Game!

Unflattering photo of me with a great hostess and photographer, Catherine!

If I was to add additional photos to represent this week they would include photos of saltine crackers, TUMS, and me waddling through the office with my hand on my lower back. I've become the stereotypical pregnant woman- backpain and fake contractions and all!

Last, but not least, here is the standard "look at Teresa gain weight" photograph!

30 weeks, 4 days pregnant