Full Term

Baby Update! 

I had my 37 week checkup today. Madelyn is officially full term and I am officially ready to have this baby. I have gained 39 lbs so far (only gained 30 with Lilly) which explaines why my hips, legs, knees, and feet hurt. Stairs are my enemy. My waddle is so outrageous that I'm surprised baby ducks aren't following me around. I feel like a huge marshmallow. Even my lips are swollen and puffy. I literally have a handful of clothes left that fit me. It's a good thing that I don't have to wear pants around the house. But despite this glamorous picture I just painted in your head, I still love (yes love) being pregnant. It is one of the most beautiful things that I will ever experience. Feeling her kicks and hiccups are so special. This big round belly is so special. And growing her for 9 months is so special. So even though I am SO ready to meet her I am also trying to enjoy these last few days/weeks. 

I am 2 cm dilated and still about 70% effaced. I have definitely dropped since last week. I have contractions everyday but nothing consistent. I'm so curious to see how this labor is going to happen. Only time will tell! 

House Update! 

We are officially NOT homeowners anymore! We closed on our house yesterday and it is the biggest relief we have felt in a long time! Selling this house has been very stressful and it has really pulled us down at times, but we remained positive and hopeful and reminded ourselves of Gods timing. Mike has delt with 99% of the house stuff. He has done so much for me and didn't want me to feel stressed since I'm pregnant. He is the most wonderful husband and father and I thank God for him everyday. So we are officially in "phase two" of operation move closer to home. We plan to stay at my parents house and have this baby and then we will start looking for our new home after things settle down. We are so excited about our future as we transition into a family of four. As for now we will just sit back and wait for Madelyn to make her  appearance. I can't wait to see her beautiful face. 

Life is a Roller Coaster

So... Life has been a roller coaster lately. I hate roller coasters. My brothers and daddy made me go on my first roller coaster when I was 18. Yes, made me.. (At least that's how I remember it). It was horrible. I think I cried on the way up and then screamed bloody murder the whole way down. And just as I thought it was over.. BAM there was another huge drop. 

I have felt like a ticking time bomb all week. I think I'm just expecting my water to break this time like it did with Lilly. I have no idea what "textbook labor" is like. I don't even know how or when to time contractions or what small contractions feel like. At my 35 week appointment I learned that I had dilated some, which was no big deal, but that I was 70% effaced, which scared the mess out of me. The midwife told me they could check me again the following week to see if anything had changed since we were planning on going to Greenville to pack and move out our furniture. I had pretty much decided that I shouldn't go anywhere after that, but that meant Mike would be 2 hours away for three days. This had me worried sick but we didn't have a choice since our closing date is next Wednesdsay. 

My head cold/allergies/sinus infection/ came back with a vengeance on Monday. I have coughed, sneezed, and blown my nose so much. And coughing/sneezing is dangerous when you are 8 months pregnant with a baby's head sitting on your bladder. My voice is hanging on by a thread. We had testing this week at school. By Thursday I was feeling exhausted and extra crampy/pressure. I just knew that I had dilated some more or something. Mike (my knight in shining armor) met me at the doctors office. We were both extremely nervous to see what they would say since he would be leaving town, and not to mention that I don't really want to have a baby at 36 weeks. I would rather her cook another week at least. AND I definitely couldn't have a baby feeling as sick as I did. 

First things first, she immediately wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic. Maddie Lou's heartbeat was good and she is measuring good. The best news of all is that I haven't changed a bit since last week. What a huge relief. I could see the anxiety float away from Mike's face. We just kept saying we need to get through this weekend. 

So roller coaster ride is over, right!? Wrong. Lilly woke up at 1 am with a fever. By this morning it had reached 102.3 with meds. So off to the doctors office. The first thing they test her for is the flu. The freaking flu. In May. I had sweat dripping down my face waiting for the results. The flu is the last thing I wanted her to have. I was planning on spending this weekend doing fun things with my Lilly Bug. It almost feels like this is our last little bit together before she becomes a big sister. I've been having some major hormonal issues thinking about this. I am extremely excited to meet this new baby but a part of me feels a little sad. Lilly is my best bud and it's hard to imagine how things are going to be with a new baby. I'm assuming these emotions are normal.. and I know we will fall into a new routine. But I just want to get in as many snuggles and kisses as I can. 

So I was so relieved to learn that it wasn't the flu! The doctor thinks it's more viral, but her ear was a little red. She wrote me a prescription just in case she needed something over the long weekend. And I am definitely getting lots of snuggles and cuddles since she is very clingy when she doesn't feel good. 

So our weekend plan is to take it easy, start to feel better, get Mike back home and NOT have a baby. Hopefully this roller coaster has come to a stop for now. I am so ready to hop off of this one. I think I'll stick with the kiddie rides. :) 

The Waiting Game

So at my 35 week checkup yesterday I learned that I am 1 1/2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. Wow. I wasn't expecting that at all. Maddie Lou is head down or "locked and loaded" as the midwife said. She also said there was no way I'll make it to 40 weeks. I kind of thought that anyways but I definitely want her to cook a few more weeks. 

I came home and packed my bag. I'm going to be prepared this time! 

The waiting game is much more terrifying this time around. With Lilly I just KNEW that I would go over my due date, have to be induced and have a long labor. But she proved me wrong at 38 weeks with only 5 hours of labor. 

I am so curious/excited/nervous to see how this baby will enter the world. I bought the girls their first matching outfit. (I love saying "the girls"!!!!!!) I wrapped Lilly's outfit so she can open it and wear her dress to the hospital to meet her sister. 

 We are supposed to go to Greenville next weekend to move everything out but I'm not sure if I will be making that trip. My next appointment is Thursday and she said she would check me again to see if anything has changed. So I've already told Madelyn that I need her to stay put until our closing date. I wonder if she will listen? Only time will tell! :) 

Teachers Don't Cry

"Where do you work" 

"I'm a teacher"

"What grade do you teach?" 

"2nd" 

"Awww, that's a great age. Not too young but they still want to please you." 

"Yes, I love 2nd grade" 

This is a very typical conversation I have when I meet someone new. But there is really so much more I could say about teaching. It's not all about having summers off, leaving work at 3:30, and not working holidays. I am very grateful for these things, especially since I have a child of my own now, but that's not really what it's like. We pin and plan lesson ideas on our days off and there are several days when leaving at 3:30 is impossible. We work 8+ hour days, have a 15 minute lunch (if we're lucky) and we do not get paid for staying late. 

So why in the world do we do this!? 

Some come to us tired, bruised, and hungry. They haven't had a positive word said to them since they left school the day before. They haven't had a hot meal. They haven't had a bath. They haven't had a hug. They haven't seen a smile. It's our job to make sure they get all of these things in the 7 hours they are with us. Oh yeah, and they need to be able to pass all of their assessments and be on grade level. But that's ok because teachers like a challenge. So we teach them and we do it with a smile on our face. 

But after they have gone for the day sometimes our smiles fade and tears fall from our eyes. We worry about you. We hope you stay safe. Even if you drive us crazy we pray you are taken care of the way we take care of our own children. We love you. 

There are times when we feel like you might never get it, but then you surprise us by growing 3 reading levels, using manners in the lunch line, or passing your math test. It makes our hearts so happy. 

And when you aren't looking, we shed a tear or two. We are so proud of you. 

We watch you struggle and fail and we watch you strive and succeed. We watch you make bad choices and we watch you show compassion and sympathy towards a friend. We shed tears either way. 

We see the anxiety written all over your face before a test and we see the happiness you feel when you meet your goal. And once again we shed tears for you. 

Good or bad, pass or fail, clean or dirty, hungry or full, sweet or an absolute hot mess.... We shed tears for you. 

And as summer vacation quickly approaches, we will still have sleepless nights wondering if you are ok. We will miss you and we will be anxious to see you again next school year. And even as we dream about flip flops and ocean water on that last day, we will shed a tear because, believe it or not, we will miss you. ALL of you. 

This is why we really do what we do. We have one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. So even though our bank accounts might be low, our hearts are so full because we get paid with hugs and homemade cards. Thank you to all of the wonderful teachers that shed tears for their students everyday. 

Nesting Made Me Do It

Nesting has begun! I went to Greenville last weekend for a birthday party for Lilly's BFF. I made a pit stop at our house to get all of Lilly's baby stuff from the attic  (car seat, bath tub, rock-n-play, etc). It felt really good to have that stuff with me, but when I got home to Sanford I could not unpack any of it because I didn't know where to put any of it! So it's still in the back of my car... But at least it's here. 

I went through Lilly's baby clothes and washed/organized and then I realized I had nowhere to put them... so we went to walmart yesterday and got one of those 3-drawer plastic bins. Now Madelyn's clothes are nicely folded and put away (and they smell sooooo babylicious!!!). Now I just need to get the pack-n-play cleaned and set up and then I might be ready to get the other stuff out from the back of my car. I've been getting very fixated on certain things lately and if I don't get it done then I feel stressed out. I've been struggling with the fact that I'm not able to decorate a nursery for this baby. In reality, I know that Madelyn will never remember that she didn't have a nursery and that it's not a big deal... But part of me still wants to do all of that fun baby stuff. It will just have to wait until we have our own place! All a baby really needs is love, and she will have plenty of that! 

Other than my crazy nesting mood, everything else is going good. Lilly had a wonderful birthday party and Easter. She has grown so much this past year. She is very much into doing everything on her on (getting dressed, putting shoes on, going potty, getting in her car seat). This is SO helpful to me right now. The only thing she does not like doing is sleeping by herself. That will be fun once the baby is here! She talks about how Maddie Lou is her best friend and it just melts my heart. 

I passed my 3 hour glucose test (hallelujah) and the midwife said there was no reason why I wouldn't make it to full term. My anxiety from all of that has pretty much gone away. Madelyn is a very active baby and I love feeling her move. I survived a field trip last week to the life and science museum but boy was I exhausted after that. 8:00 is my bedtime and it's hard to function the next day if I go to bed any later. I really miss coffee (caffeine makes me feel funny), turkey sandwiches, and sushi. I really love milk, cereal, and potatoes. I find myself drinking milk out of the carton at 3 am. I could easily eat 2 or 3 bowls of cereal a day. I go to the doctor on Wednesday and I'm 100% sure that I've passed my max weight that I gained with Lilly but I could literally care less about that. I'm still in the healthy range of weight gain even though my feet are screaming at me by the end of the day. Pregnancy has been a lot harder this time around but I am so excited to meet this little girl. 8 1/2 weeks to go! Unless she comes two weeks early like her sister did.. Then it's more like 6 1/2 weeks left... uh oh... I see another day of organizing in my future! :)        

Pins and Needles

It's 8:49 am and I'm sitting at the doctors office. The 3 hour glucose test day is here. Oh joy! I've already had my first blood drawn and I drank the drink. I chose fruit punch this time. It tasted more like poop punch but I drank it pretty fast because I AM STARVING. No water or food allowed until the test is over. I'm already planning out my food options when I leave here. I think the drink has reached Madelyn. Bring on the jumbo kicks. 

I had to do this test with Lilly too, and I'm praying that I pass this time as well. When I was pregnant with Lilly I had no idea what a glucose test was. When I failed the one hour test I cried, mostly because I had no idea what that meant. But this time I was more prepared and knowledgable so it wasn't a big shock when I didn't pass the first one, although I am being a big baby this morning. My right arm is still all kinds of jacked up and I was up from 2-5 last night dealing with the pain so I wasn't in the best mood this morning. The third trimester has hit me hard! I went from feeling pretty good to feeling not so great overnight. I don't know how my stomach can get any bigger or how Madelyn can be any more in love with my right side. So now I wait an hour until I get my blood drawn again. 

9:30 am... I could literally drink a whole gallon of milk. Straight from the jug. This needs to happen ASAP.

9:45 am... Stick #2 is done... Only two more to go. After texting and complaining with my friends and Mike I'm feeling better. And there are a lot of cute kids in the waiting room so that helps... And a lot of miserable looking pregnant ladies like me. I wonder how long it will take for me to get the test results. I can't remember if it was immediate or if they call you a few days later. 

Ok I just saw an itty bitty newborn. My hormonal self almost cried. Just 10(ish) more weeks. I can do this. 

Newborn is now sitting beside me. She's 4 weeks old. Trying not to lean over and kiss her. This is a great distraction from the grumbling sounds coming from my tummy right now. 

The lady on the other side of her is now holding the baby while the mommy gets her bottle ready. The baby's name is Ivy. She has a head full of beautiful dark hair. Im extremely jealous of this lady. Come to think of it, her head is starting to look like a giant cheeseburger... Maybe I should move seats.

10:51 am... Stick #3 is finished! Just one more to go! She said it can take up to 10 days to get the results back. So that means I'm totally getting a milk shake after this. And maybe everyday until they call me...

8:30am Friday morning... Well, I made it... But this is where the story turns crazy. After my test was over I grabbed some food and went to my grandparents house. My grandmother had just been to the grocery store and offered me tons of food (fried chicken, cookies, strawberries). I love her. I laid on their couch for an hour before I went to Lilly's school party. I was not feeling well at all. My tummy was hurting and I had some... ugh... Diarrhea... I was drinking water though and just thought it was from my glucose test. 

I went to Lilly's party but we didn't stay too long. By that time my tummy was really hurting and I just wanted to get home. I had more tummy issues at home and the absolute worst stomach pain ever. It wouldn't go away no matter what I did. My mom came home and by that point the pain was moving into my back. We called the hospital and they wanted me to come in. That's when I started to feel very worried. I knew something was wrong. Mike got home just as mom and I were leaving and he took Lilly. The whole way there I prayed that it was just a stomach virus. 

When I got in a room the nurse hooked me up to monitor the baby. Her heartbeat sounded good (music to my ears) but she wasn't saying much else. A few minutes later she gave me a shot to calm down my uterus. She said I was having major contractions. She left the room to go get my IV stuff and she was going to check my cervix when she got back in. 

I lost it. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. I was not ready to meet this baby. I'm only 29 weeks pregnant. I had no idea what was going on. Mike dropped Lilly off at my brothers house and came up there. When the nurse came back in she checked my cervix and it was completely closed. That was best news anybody had ever told me. So the problem now was that I was extremely dehydrated due to my glucose test and the stomach bug, and that was making me have these contractions. 

The next part flat out sucked. Since I was so dehydrated my veins were basically non existent. The nurse stuck me twice with no luck. Another nurse came in and stuck me twice with no luck. Then they got the expert in there. He had an ultrasound machine for my veins. He used it to find a good one. He stuck me 4 more times before he had any luck. By this point there was blood on my hands and arms, pillow and sheets. Between that and my glucose test I had been stuck 12 times total. I would be totally fine if I never saw another needle as long as I live. 

Once they got my IV going and the shot kicked in things slowed down a lot (except for Madelyn.. She was moving around like crazy). I still had bad stomach pain but the contractions were not anything like they were when I got there. I started to calm down and feel better. They reassured me over and over that I was not having preterm labor since my cervix was still closed. Once my body caught up with the liquids they said the contractions should go away. My Aunt Judy and Liz came up to see me along with my daddy. I was still in some intense pain at that point. By midnight I was on my last IV bag. Based on my contractions they said we could go home. I was nervous about going home, but once again the sweet nurse assured me that I was ok and everything I was feeling was normal. She said it would take a while for my body to catch back up and for the pain to completely go away. 

So here I sit this morning trying to take it all in. I'm still having pain but I'm hoping I feel better by this afternoon. I have my huge bottle of water that I'm gulping down. Lilly's birthday party is tomorrow but I've been given strict orders by Mike to not worry about anything. I'm going to stay in the bed and keep hydrated. I hope that I have no more hospital visits for at least 10 more weeks. I'm so glad that this didn't turn into anything more serious. I do feel like I'm on pins and needles now but maybe that's a sign that I need to take it easy this last little bit. I go back to the doctor on Wednesday and I'm praying for a good checkup! You still have some cooking to do Maddie Lou! 

Three's Company

Ahh, spring break is here. We are on our way to the beach for some R&R and it couldn't have come at a better time. This past week was, well... not that fun. 

Last Friday night I woke up to major pain in my right arm. It kept me up the rest of the night. When I got up Saturday it went away. It came back Saturday night when I went to bed. I wanted to saw my arm off. I didn't sleep. Sunday it went away. Sunday night it came back... See a pattern here? I went to the chiropractor after work on Monday. I'd never been to one and I was nervous. He told me that something was out of place and explained it but I wasn't really listening because I knew he was about to do something crazy to me. He cracked my neck both ways after that and it was the most horrible sound I had ever heard... But it didn't hurt! He told me to ice my arm and neck. Monday-Thursday night I still woke up with pain in my arm but it kept getting later and later during the night. Last night it didn't start hurting until about 5am. Maybe it won't hurt at all tonight!! 

Mike got into a minor car accident Monday morning on his way to Durham. A car ran into the side of him on the highway. This is the 2nd bump up he's had on the way to Durham. Que the anxiety. 

Tuesday morning Mike's tire blew out on the way to work. He got 4 new tires. Que more anxiety. 

Wednesday morning I failed my 1 hour glucose test. I failed this test will Lilly also. Last time I cried.. This time I laughed. *sigh* Everything else was very healthy with baby. Except that she hated that nasty drink and let me know it with kicks to the ribs all day. I started the third trimester this week (say whaaat) and I start going to the doctor every other week. She is completely in love with the right side of my tummy. I'm completely in love with her. 

I have to go take the 3 hour test next week during my spring break. I don't really care about them drawing my blood 3,000 times but I'm dreading the no eating part. Serenity now. 

Since things tend to happen in three's, I'm hoping our bad luck is over for the time being. And speaking of things happening in three's, we have our third closing date on our house. The first couple that made an offer on our house backed out because the guy quit his job during the whole process. This was back in January. Then another couple wanted to buy our house. They made a cash offer and everything was super rushed. They backed out a few hours before we were leaving to go pack up the house. So, here's hoping that the third times a charm and we really will be handing those keys over to the new owner. 

But the biggest news of all is that Lilly will be THREE YEARS OLD next Saturday! She is super excited about her Easter egg hunt party. Mommys in disbelief that she will have a three year old. 

But now it's time to enjoy our mini beach vacay and forget the world for a few days. No laundry, no alarm clocks, but lots of laughs! And hopefully crab legs. :)