Thursday, August 30, 2007

Scary Baby!

As my work day was wrapping up yesterday, I came to the realization that I hadn't felt Tazby move for almost all of the day. Now, I can't emphasize enough what an incredibly active baby we have here. I didn't want to be alarmed, but my midwife is always telling me that the baby should never slow down (which is what some people say will happen as you near your due date).

So, I gave my doctor's office a call, but of course by now it was after hours so I was connected with Brigham and Women's and the midwife there said they wanted me to come in and get monitored right away. I called Timmy and told him what was going on, but that everything was probably fine. He sounded so nervous I think he probably had enough adrenaline to run to the hospital faster than he could drive.

I hopped in a cab and went straight to the hospital. They took great care of me and immediately hooked me up to a bunch of monitors to track Tazby's little heartbeat and my contractions. It took her a little while, but after 3 glasses of apple juice, our little girl was back to her normal rambunctious self. Timmy raced to the hospital (even offering to get our labor and delivery bag from home on the way...I told him we wouldn't need it) and he was great at reassuring me that I had done the right thing by getting us both checked out.

Long story short, every thing's great. She's even been overly active today (which is much more reassuring than bothersome right now). I think it might have something to do with the stern talking-to Timmy gave her last night (don't worry, he read her a book right after :-) My midwife even called me at home before work this morning so she could have me come in and get monitored at my usual doc's office just for extra reassurance. Everything looked great. Despite the scare she gave us, she really came through in the end. I couldn't be happier or more relieved.

Only one more week to go until the big due date! Come on little Tazby!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Going Strong!

Well, there are officially only 9 days left until my due date! I can't believe it's here already. I am happy to announce that I am feel much less stressed and more prepared than in my last post. Timmy did an amazing job on our nursery and it's absolutely beautiful. She's a very lucky girl to already have such an amazing dad. All of Tazby's clothes are washed and put away in her drawers and we've stocked up on all our newborn essentials for when she comes home. It's incredible to think we're going to meet our little girl so soon.

I met with my midwife today. Everything is going great. Tazby keeps getting lower and I'm about 70% effaced, but not dilated yet. I'm hoping I'll make even more progress before my appointment next week. Anyway, everything is going great. I'm having some back pain that's making it hard to get around, but it's bearable knowing I don't have to deal with it for too much longer.

I'll try and keep posting small updates every day until the big day comes! Thanks for checking in!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Only 4 weeks to go!

I have to be honest, I'm really feeling the pressure right about now (and no, I'm not talking about the baby constantly sitting on my bladder, which she is.) I know I haven't posted in a while, but things have been hectic and I think there are far too many emotions currently going on for me to be able to really focus on one thing for long periods of time.

On a good note, my mother threw me a lovely baby shower where our little Tazby was spoiled beyond belief by many people who already care about her. She is definitely a very lucky girl and I'm lucky to be reassured that she will be well taken care of always.

Prepared Childbirth class has been going well (despite traumatic video viewings of a birth and c-section), but we managed to survive and Timmy has been great through the whole thing (only one more class to go). I can tell though that he's feeling the pressure as much as I am. While I'm focused on actual labor and delivery and bringing home a newborn, he's worried about having everything ready and providing and taking care of his family. I suppose we're both just anxious about the unknown. It's so hard not knowing when she's coming because, honestly, a due date certainly doesn't mean she's going to show on that date. I even started feeling a lot of cramping and pain in my abdomen on my way home on the train tonight and completely convinced myself that I was going into labor. As soon as I got home, I rested and the pain eventually subsided. I'm pretty sure that she's just dropping and hitting things I haven't felt before, but it did make me acutely aware of how petrified I am that she'll come early. We don't have bags packed or the nursery ready. There is just still so much to do, but we're making progress and my wonderful husband is prepping so much for her.

People who have never been pregnant sometimes compare it to planning for a wedding. Now, this is totally delusional. A wedding lasts for a day! One single day! While some relationships may change slightly after the wedding day, it is certainly nothing like the dramatic change you undergo when you have children. Not to mention how unfair it is that I had 18 months to plan for a single day and only 9 months to prepare to claim sole responsibility for another human being!

Suffice it to say, I'm nervous. I guess I have to assume that every pregnant woman feels this as she nears the end. I know that friends who are expecting after me are all feeling the same pressure. It's hard to get up and go to work everyday and pretend like you're not completely distracted by this little baby jumping and kicking. I've even started analyzing every ache and pain to determine if perhaps it's the "real thing". Well, it's not and rationally I know that, but something in my just wants to make sure that when it's happening, I know it's happening. I just hope that soon I can start feeling more assured and less completely overwhelmed. As excited as I am to meet our little girl, I'm hormonal and emotional and completely scared. Maybe I'll have to wait for that to subside until she heads off to college.

For all you who have missed me, I'll be posting again shortly on the shock of discovering my first stretch mark and fred flintstone feet...oh what a week that was!