Baby on a Deadline

Today we scheduled this baby's birth. Or at least the deadline for his induction. If I haven't gone into labor on my own, I'll be induced on November 7th. My due date is the 11th, which is a Sunday and of course they would rather not come in on a Sunday... of a holiday weekend especially. Anyways, we had our choice of dates and doctors and we picked the best we could. I am hoping to be lucky like Kristen, Dy, and Carlene who all went into labor on their own shortly before their scheduled inductions or c-sections. I like the date 11/07/07 but I suppose there are still no guarantees.

We had an ultrasound at the visit, too. Mike joined me to see the little guy, but it was almost impossible to tell head from tails. His feet and hands were all bunched up in front of his face so we didn't get a good look. We saw some hair, and fingers and spine. And they estimated that he weighed 7lbs 9oz. All is well, now it's 8 days and counting!

Almost ready!

Let's see... I'm almost done at work, just a few more days to wrap everything up. I had another good OB visit on Friday. We talked about the logistics of labor and one of my favorite doctors shared her labor stories with me (one with epidural, one natural). She was impressed with my blood sugar and told me there's no need to be sticking my finger four times a day anymore! So I'm down to two times per day as sort of random checks. Yay! And everything was measuring good - weight, blood pressure, belly size, etc. I have an ultrasound appointment for Tuesday to see if my womb is still hospitable for the little guy. That will help us determine how long we can let him grow before inducing. The doctor sounded open to negotiating if all is going well. :-) Of course the real hope is that he comes on his own when he's good and ready!

Friday night we got ourselves some pumpkins from the local pumpkin patch and went to the Romano's to carve them. It was nice to see friends for an evening and have a real activity to keep us occupied besides drinking and smoking on the patio. Not that there's anything wrong with that... ;-)

Mike and I spent the weekend working around the house and watching sports, as has become our ritual lately. We also made our trips to Home Depot. Target, and Babies R Us. Thank goodness they're all within 1/4 mile of each other, we've got the route down to a science. Got our last minute items like diapers and wipes and hopefully everything we need to bring this baby home. I'm sure we'll think of 100 things we need later. Then we spent time assembling bouncy seats and the pack & play and installing the car seat (which only took like 5 minutes!) and getting the crib all made up... every weekend the room gets more finished, we're almost there!!! We call it the baby's room or the nursery, but it made me smile this weekend when I heard Mike call it "his room" for the first time. We're still working on names, that's our number one question these days and we're still undecided!!

Showered, laundered, tired

On Friday at work, I was showered once again. Yes, I wore my official baby shower dress! My co-workers really threw a lovely party, and I was agog at my colleagues' generosity. People must love shopping for babies, because we got a lot of lovely gifts. I will be busy writing thank you notes for a while! We played a game of "Is it baby Mike or baby Rachel?" The girls got their hands on baby photos of both of us - it was not a very challenging game, but fun!

Saturday we ran errands, got a few new things for the house, and had lunch with Mike's family. Nephew Joey was in town just for a few days. It was great to see him as always and hear his tales of travelling by car through the Western states as part of his new job. I spent half of the day going through baby gifts and gift bags and wrapping paper and gift reciepts. We only have a few multiples that we have to take back to the stores.

Saturday night we got a surprise at the door - Clay and Marina and their two adorable, rambunctious sons - Nikolai and Anton. They wanted to see the baby's room, and I had to fight my urge to clean up after them as they played with the exersize ball and baby toys. I'll have to get used to those daily little kid messes. Of course I was in there straightening as soon as they left. Mike and I walked over to meet them at the church fair across the street. I was counting other hugely pregnant ladies, there were a lot of us there! We ran into Kristen and Kenny and Ady and Bea who were on their way home, all of their ride tickets spent. We also saw Joey and his friends near the beer tent, then rode the ferris wheel - much scarrier than I thought, I got the sweaty palms but survived and had fun once we got moving. It's that stopping near the top that gets me. Mike had an italian sausage and we headed home to put up my swolen feet and hang out with Pat for a bit.

Sunday was baby laundry day! I did four loads of tiny baby clothes and sheets and blankets and towels (this picture is just the first big load). It was adorable and exhausting folding all of that stuff! I filled up the dresser and crib drawer with all of the goodies, and Mike got to have a good look at the outfits and things. We also took some more belly mug shots, and set up the living room as a photo studio with professional lights and shot some artsy fartsy preggo pictures. Those we'll get developed this week hopefully.

Here's my latest huge belly picture... I'm not sure if it's the angle or if I'm really that big now! This week is my last full week at work. I also take a two-evening Infant and Child First Aid/CPR class at the Red Cross downtown. It's going to be a looong day today.

Oh, the difference a doctor makes...

I saw one of my nice doctors today, and he totally set my mind at ease. I had been having some vision problems, seeing spots and wiggles and other disturbances. I had double-checked that my blood pressure was ok, no swelling, no other major symptoms. But I was still worried. He assured me that it could be a number of things, but most likely was my blood sugar. And it made so much sense when he said it.

Baby slept through most of his nonstress test today, I didn't have to push the button much. But he still passed. He's still head down, but I'm not dilated at all yet so he's sticking with me for a while. I also talked to the doctor about having this baby on a deadline - the thought that upset me so much last time. He was much more willing to work with me, even negotiate and talk about how we'll determine when the time is right. And so all is well in womb-land. Tomorrow we celebrate at work, this weekend we take pictures and visit with Mike's family. No more worries.

Showered with love

Mom threw me a shower on Sunday, we filled up my little house with friends and relatives. It was really really lovely and I had a great time. It's a little bit like a wedding, you feel like you don't have enough time to spend with everyone and you're busy doing your shower "chores" like opening gifts and eating cake :-) I did get a decent slice of cake and it didn't seem to affect my blood sugar too much. Now if only I could eat the rest of the leftover cake in the fridge. Maybe one more piece...

Little baby Mulvihill got tons and tons of sweet outfits and toys and gear. I can't wait until I really have the time to go through everything and wash the clothes and fill up his dresser with neat stuff. We got a few double-gifts so we still have some shopping to do - always fun :-)

Baby Barrett, Jennie's four-and-a-half-month-old son joined us, and he was a joy... he had a lot of fun just giggling with all of the ladies. He had a little nap while I opened gifts (too much stuff!!!) and then he was back to charming us with his coos and smiles. He's a dangerous baby, I shouldn't let myself believe that they are all that sweet and well behaved.

Many many thanks to Mom and Nana and Mike for making my house into a baby shower wonderland and hosting all of my gal pals. Sister-in-law Jenny and co-worker/friend Renee got volunteereed to help out too! There aren't a whole lot of pictures, but I'll post a few later.

Thursday is another nonstress test and doctor's appointment. I hope to have my head together enough to ask some semi-intelligent questions about the possibility of inducing and when that might happen. I have big plans to talk them into a later date!

This weekend we don't have anything major planned, thank goodness! But Baby Mulvihill's only cousin will be in town visiting, we hope to see him on Friday. In an embarassment of riches, there's also a work shower scheduled for this Friday. Our kid is already so popular!

40 weeks max

I saw the doctor on Friday morning and all was well... weight is steady, blood sugar is good, had another nonstress test and baby got the hiccups which made for a funny looking printout (I have to push a button every time he moves, and that shows up on the read-out). The only other issue was my doctor telling me that we would deliver this baby BY 40 weeks. She said it's because of the gestational diabetes and the placenta, blah blah blah. They worry about big babies, but they also worry about stillbirth. I'm sure it's mostly the malpractice and liability issues that are the bottom line, right?

Anyways, now I'm worried. I've gotta have a good talk with this kid because I really really really want to go into labor naturally. I worry about being induced and the rest of the interventions that come along with it. Epidurals and higher chances of a c-section, etc. But there's no cause for real panic yet, I keep reminding myself. I've got plenty of time to have the babe, and in the end we just want for him to be happy and healthy.

In other news, the nursery is about finished now, I'll have to post pictures soon. We got it all organized and presentable for guests this weekend. I'm still dealing with the name change and just to make my life more difficult, I'm also still dealing with the fallout from the car accident/repair/stinky rental car from May-July this year. Nothing like some annoying paperwork snafus to keep me occupied when I should be practicing my relaxation and breathing (ha!).

Progress!

It's been a week of real progress.

I got my social security card in the mail on Friday and I am now officially Rachel Gail Mulvihill. I started all of the paperwork to change my name at work and started calling around to other places. I also turned in my parental leave papers at work so they know I will be gone, baby, gone for a few months at least.

We went to Target this weekend and bought our car seat - it was on sale and we got a good deal on the one we wanted. Now we have to read the installation instructions and get it checked out to see if we're the one in five that get it right.

Mike finished painting in the nursery and put the crib together while I organized closets and re-assembled baby swings and things. We still have a few wood furniture pieces to paint, but the room is together and looking good!

I had a non-stress test at the doctor on Friday so I got to lie still for 20 minutes, listen to baby's heartbeat and push a button everytime I felt him move. Which was about every 5 seconds or so... he was very active after breakfast. I passed that test and saw the doctor for the usual quick visit.

Mom's throwing a shower for me this weekend at my house, which should be fun fun fun. I'm excited to see my girlfriends that I have been neglecting in my current state. Ever since Dy and I got knocked up, our entire group's social life has suffered. Pregnant ladies are no fun!

I guess it's official, we have a crib and a carseat so we're ready for this baby - at least physically!

My Hubby's Back!

Last night I picked Mike up from the airport, it's so nice to have him home! While he was gone I spent a nice weekend with mom, shopping and eating. I was exhausted by Sunday. All of that acitivity distracted me from missing Mike too much.

On Sunday, Kristy invited me over to have my belly casted by her friend Julie, as a baby gift. It wasn't as uncomfortable or as hard to clean up as I had imagined. It was actually a lovely experience and the baby really seemed to know that something was going on. He squirmed and rolled around as she put the warm plaster all over my belly. I'll have to take some pictures of the cast, we're planning to decorate the belly and put it in the baby's room. One more thing for the to-do list!

Mike had a nice trip to California. It dawned on me this morning that it was his "last hurrah" trip before he becomes a father, but it was probably also a good lesson for him in what life is like with a child. He visited one of his oldest friends, Chris, and his family. I wonder if he now realizes that life becomes infinitely more busy but also that everything happens at a slower pace when there's a little one in your life. Diaper changes, feedings, naps, etc. keep you moving constantly, but allow you less time for the stuff you used to do quickly - like a trip to the store or an afternoon outing.

At work I'm beginning to prepare for my extended absence. I'm turning some tasks over to other librarians, and people keep asking how long I'll stay at work. I'm learning that there are no guarantees with pregnancy and motherhood. Who knows how long I'll feel up to working - I hope to stick it out until November 1st. That leaves more time off after baby arrives. And I hope to be out for 4-6 months, but that could change too. It's all up to this little wiggle worm in my belly.