I think I'll have a baby today

My water broke at 4am this morning. My body is trying to find a regular contraction pattern. The contractions have progressively gotten stronger since 4. My Mom is here and we are going to start walking the block and timing them. Then I'll call the birth center and give them all the info.

It's going to be a great day. The sunrise was gorgeous (you know this night owl pretty much never sees those) and I'm getting very excited feeling confident that this isn't yet another false alarm.

Past due update

There's my 40 week pg photo. It really doesn't look much different from my last photo. It's typical to not see much of a change in size at this stage (at least not for the mother, the baby is only getting bigger and bigger). I know that doesn't make much sense. If the baby is getting bigger, why wouldn't I continue to grow too? It was the same way for me with Gwendolyn's pg. He really can't get any lower unless he is born. My next appointment is on Wednesday when I am 40 1/2 weeks. I'm uncomfortable at certain times but far from miserable which is what most people think I must be since I'm past due in the end of August in Texas. If Ginger wasn't going out of town on Friday, I don't think I'd even be that anxious about when I was going into labor. That said, I hope he decides to come by Thursday but, since I don't have any control over that, I'm trying to relax when I can and not stress out about it.

I haven't given an update on Gwendolyn in a while. She is doing quite well and seems to understand that my belly isn't named "baby braher" but that, there will be a baby joining the family. She likes to look at his clothes and tell me "cute" as she holds them up.

Her favorite color these days is yellow. When I've gotten caught up on laundry, we have great mornings. As soon as her yellow clothes are dirty, I'm in for a challenge trying to convince her to let me put on her clothes. Thankfully, she's also in a phase where she always wants "2 ponytails!" and points to the sides of her head where she excepts them to be. If I put in yellow hairbands, sometimes, it's enough to keep her happy even if she can't wear yellow clothes that day.

Gwendolyn loves to color as long as she can give you the crayon and you color or draw where and what she tells you. She of course always colors with the yellow crayon and each of the rest of us has certain colors that are usually assigned to us. The other assignments she usually has for us is where we sit. As far as she is concerned, everyone has their seat and she'll be happy to tell you where it is. It doesn't matter if we are in a car, at the table or in the living room.

Would you say we have a very particular daughter who knows exactly what she wants?? ;o) LOL Gwendolyn is also a cuddler and enjoys twirling your hair while she sucks her 2 fingers and enjoys a favorite show. She's very into "Super Why" which we have protected on our DVR. There are a few other shows she enjoys but nothing holds a candle to "Super Why". She still loves music as always and will often just burst out in song. Her other favorite activity is "bimming". Gwendolyn would go swimming at any time for as long as you are willing to let her. She's loves jumping in from the side and going under the water. She always pops up with a big smile and says she's going to do it again.

We are still very active with our playgroup. With the boy being born any minute, I'm sure there will be some time when we need to slow down on our playdate schedule for at least a little bit. I hope I'll recover from the birth very fast and we can adjust quickly enough, that we aren't away from our friends very long. We have the best time at all of our playdates and have the greatest friends to spend time with.

A couple days shy of 40 weeks pg

Today's appointment at the birth center wasn't very exciting. I've progressed a little farther but am still in the "it could happen any minute or still be weeks away" place. I doubt it will be weeks but I've found patience from somewhere and really am not begging for labor at this point. I sort of feel like "whatever, when it happens it happens". Being the control freak I am, I'm surprised at how laid back I feel about it all. Hopefully it'll be a new leaf turned for me and I'll keep this laid back don't need control attitude. Only time will tell on that one ;o) Meanwhile, I'm just going to enjoy the end of this PG and be thankful that I got to see so much of the Olympics and wasn't in labor for any of my favortie events. I'm actually really hoping I get to see all of the closing ceremonies too :o)

On comes the edema

I've been very lucky in the swelling department. I didn't have any edema at all with Gwendolyn. I've recently noticed in the last week that a have some lower leg and feet swelling at night, until today. Today I decided to take my rings off because they were feeling a bit snug earlier this afternoon. I feel lucky to have lasted this long being PG through the summer in central Texas to only now be experiencing some swelling. It's still minor in my opinion and doesn't cause me too much discomfort. Hopefully the boy will arrive soon and I'll only look like a bloated whale for a couple days. ;o) LOL

Hoping to post videos, here's my first one...

This is a movie of my Dad Ski Skiing this summer

39 weeks update

TMI ALERT!!!!

There could be information in this update that is more information than you want to know about me. Consider yourself warned ;o)

My appointment went well. My midwife still has me at 2cm 70% effaced. Today she said my cervix was very soft and very well behaved. LOL She did a membrane sweep and cervical massage since I'm totally ready to go into labor now that Ginger is home. The exam has given me a small amount of bloody show through the day. If is stops by tomorrow, I'll think it was just from the exam but, if it continues or gets more in volume, I'll think, just maybe this is it! I've started accupressure points and intend to climb the stairs a million times and maybe even break out some jumping jacks if I get really desperate. ;o) Oh yeah, during the exam, she also said he's lower. I swear, if he gets any lower he really will be hanging on my ankles. LOL I have contractions daily and many at night but even if they form a regular pattern for a while, they subside eventually proving them to be false labor.

38 weeks update

My appointment went well. The current standings are; 2cm dilated, 70% effaced and the boy is at a -1 station. I've been having lots of contractions daily which apparently is helping him go lower and lower but not changing my cervix too fast. That's okay with me since I'm hoping he stays put until next Friday when Ginger will be home and Lisa and Stephanie won't have to take time off of work. Also, if it works out that I do have him on a Friday afternoon, that will give Ken the most time at home with the baby before having to return to work. I'm still fairly comfortable until the evening sets in. By the late afternoon, I start to get pretty tired and I'm shot in the energy and comfort department by evening. I contract a lot in the evening and he's so low that every time I stand up, I keep checking to see if he's hanging on my ankles. ;o) LOL My midwife told me he's in perfect position for the birth. YAY!!! The boy is doing very well in there, his heart rate this week was in the 150's. His movements are regular and not hurting me to bad even when he gives me a good kick in the ribs. ;o) My midwife also thinks he'll be a good sized baby but, is thinking less than 9lbs. We shall see! I'm not totally convinced of that with all the family history on both sides of larger babies. I'm actually okay with a big baby as long as his head is small. ;o) LOL!!