New Developments....

You'll be happy to know that I made it to Walgreen's and got cold medicine (check), and to Honda to have my tire patched AGAIN because of a screw this time (check), and to get a pedicure w/ Christmas red polish (check), and to the OB's office for my weekly appt (check). I asked a slew of questions w/ my Nancy Drew flip-up notepad in hand. I told Dr. R that our biggest worry was that there had been some debate as to whether the Impending Boy was in fact head down at this point. She confirmed that he IS head down (yeah....and the crowd goes wild). HOWEVER, he is apparently giant. I didn't ask her specifically how big but she is having me come back in 2 days for an u/s to confirm both his size and the amount of fluid in my uterus/abdomen. She is not as concerned that there is too little fluid, on the contrary she thinks that not all of my giant belly is baby but that some of it is fluid....I am retaining fluid all over! I am sporting cankles and swollen arms and hands. Where as last time I lost 3 or 4 lbs, this time I gained that and then some and she doesn't think it was just the holiday over-indulgence!

So that's where we stand! It sounds like they might move my due date closer and she did say something about determining the need for an inducement! Argh! I don't want to be induced! I feel like if I get induced then I will definitely need an epi. I will hold judgement for now but hope things look more normally sized on Wednesday! I am still not dilated but I am starting to efface (meaning my cervix is starting to thin) and baby boy's head is an station -1. The internal exam was definitely more uncomfortable this time than the previous 2 visits so I believe he is heading farther south. I guess that lit a fire under my bottom so I stopped and bought 3 nursing tanks on the way back from the OB. Brad and I will install the car seat tonight (just in case-LOL). :) I am excited and petrified all at once! It looks like our baby boy will definitely be here before Christmas if my docs have anything to do w/ it! :)

Welcome December, thanks for the head cold...

So December is here signaling all things good; Christmas; snow; cookies; hot chocolate; my unborn-but-soon-to-be-born child. Yesterday however I started to feel extra tired (I know, I know who can tell what extra tired is when you are 37 weeks pregnant). I started to get a twinge of a sinus headache. I napped excessively to compensate, to no avail. I'm sure I sawed some serious logs last night to Brad's dismay, breathing alone was not noiseless. And now today I have mucus to spare, a sore throat, and a big fat head ache. Woo hoo. At least it is snowing outside (ish). Ok so I saw like 10 flakes and I'm optimistic. :) I have yet to accomplish any of today's missions.... take car BACK to Honda bc one of my tires keeps losing air and nearly going flat, get pedicure (and come on who has to force themselves to do that but I was too tired to do it yesterday...my fear is that I will continue to put it off and will then go into labor w/ neglected feet for all to see), and head to the OB this afternoon for my weekly appt. I am also grumpy. Brad can attest to this. I will be adding "stop at Walgreens for pregnancy-friendly cold medicine" to my mission list for today. Ok so the self-pity is out there now. I feel better to have vented (mostly). I am now leaving the house to check off my to do list for the day. At least there's Christmas music in the car..... gotta love Christmas music!

Thanksgiving w/ the Cathey Family!

Brad's family all came to visit for Thanksgiving! We are all notoriously terrible at remembering to take pictures to witness our Cathey family gatherings but I did manage to snap a couple of the kiddos (Gabrielle (1) and Trey (2)). We had a great time and strayed beyond the traditional w/ jambalaya instead of turkey on the big day! It was a hit and collectively prepared w/ the women-folk as sous chefs in the chopping dept and my BIL, Dale, as head chef manning the pot and welding the spices (it's his family's recipe). The rest of the time visiting involved chasing the kiddos, discovering the wonders of Wii, cooking and eating, a chilly walk around the lake in our neighborhood, and even a little bit of early Christmas exchanges since we won't be making the trek to Memphis this yr since baby will be arriving soon. We enjoyed the visit and hope to repeat it before too long when the Impending Boy arrives! Brad's sister Valerie is also pregnant and due in March so at the very least we can expect to visit North Carolina some time in the spring when they are ready for company. Look out--the Cathey family is multiplying fast!

We give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
~Author Unknown.

Weeks 36 and 37...bizarre dreams abound..

Still playing catch up here.....During week 36, our baby boy was supposed to weigh around 6 lbs according to my readings.....HOWEVER, my OB estimated that at 36 weeks our little one was actually around 6 1/2 lbs! The doc told me all my aching is normal, which I assumed, and that while I was not dilated, the baby was heading south as planned. What he didn't tell me, and I later found out at my 37 week check up, is that there was some question at my 36 week exam whether baby boy is head down or not. Apparently even if they tell you that your baby is at "station -2" that refers only to "the presenting part"...and that presenting part can be the head, butt, or feet. Not sure what the Impending Boy's "presenting part" is just yet. I am guessing that if there is still debate about this in the coming weeks then we may have to have an u/s to verify the part in question. LOL.

Week 37 means the Impending Boy is officially full-term! If he were born today, his lungs and everything else should be ready for the outside world! What a relief! It seems that my pregnancy is now in fast forward! Where has the time gone? I am anxious to hold him in the outside world but will surely miss rubbing the swell of my giant belly and feeling him kick and roll on the inside. *sniff* After reading my pregnancy book last night, I had a flood of bizarre dreams involving delivery....namely a self-performed c-section (in which my mom and I took turns being the one w/ the gaping abdominal wound) which went off w/o a hitch until it came time to delivery the placenta and I realized that I truly have no idea how that goes down during a c-section....and after I glued my abdomen closed I realized that I had left the scalpel in the incision and could feel it through my skin. Mental note to self, DO NOT read pregnancy books before hitting the hay. (P.S. Our version was not nearly as sophisticated as this depiction).

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I am guessing all would agree that my dreams are a manifestation of my anxiousness about labor and delivery. Fully acknowledged! :) Especially since my OB's office is estimating that the Impending Boy is going to be in the 8 1/2 lb range by the time I deliver! Yowzer! My MIL's last, teary words as she departed this weekend to return to Memphis were "Take the drugs!". She said she didn't want me to suffer too much if I have a giant baby! Very sweet of her I thought. I am still hoping for an unmedicated labor and delivery. I am not going to rule out the need for some form of medicated pain relief. I'll discuss that at Monday's OB visit. In the meantime, I plan to pop out for a pre-delivery pedicure today and save some of that worry for later. I've been listening to some relaxation and delivery visualization CD's and brushing up on my yoga-based breathing strategies. We shall see if any of that comes in handy during L & D. It's nice to know that medications are available and I won't beat myself up if I can't make it through L & D w/o them. My only hope and prayer is that our baby boy gets here safe and sound!

“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
--Samuel Butler