Whoooa oohhh, you're almost there!

June 28, 2013 (39.5 weeks)

Okay, so that's not really the chorus to Bon Jovi's, "Living on a Prayer" but since we are already over half-way there I thought I would switch it up a bit. Yep, we are almost there... to the 40 week mark! Who knows what that actually means it terms of when Sierra will make her big debut, but at least we know we are here! 

My first week of maternity leave is far from exciting, except all of the practicing my uterus has been doing. I have had plenty of  uncomfortable contractions and cramping. All of which are great signs we are getting closer, but nothing has lasted over an hour. So my body is just in prep mode right now. My exercise has dropped off even more this week... no lifting, barely any swimming, and my walks are only about 30 minutes every day. It kinda drives me crazy, but since I can't sleep very well any more I am usually exhausted at some part of the day which leads to prolonged napping in place of the exercise I used to do. One would think this would lead to weight gain, although the doctor told me I have only gained 34 total pounds so far... hmm. I must have miscalculated somewhere along the way because that would mean I lost weight since last week. Not so. Anyhow, I am still in the "normal" weight gain range which is great to hear. I only have one more pound until I am at the MAX of normal, so it would be nice to just not gain any more at this point.

Anyhow, mother-in-law, Anne came to town on Thursday and spent the day with me! We grabbed lunch, went for a good walk, and headed to my doctor's appointment in Sac. All was well at the Doctor's and Anne got to hear Sierra's heartbeat (144 bpm)! I was sorta able to clear some things up about the big "I" word (induction) and have deduced that he was more than likely talking about the possibility of inducing only by scraping of the membrane (although it wasn't said directly) or referring to induction from the other doctor when I hit the 41.5 week mark. Either way, I have the chance of TRULY clearing it up on my July 3rd appointment (if she's not here yet). I figured I shouldn't stress about that if I don' t actually need to, so I will bring it up to him on Wednesday. 

Sister-in-law, Lyn, came over in the evening and brought with her delicious Indian food! Spicy food is another supposed trick for getting labor to start! One of the dishes was Eggplant Masala. My friend, Amy, went into labor after having eggplant for dinner, so I was hopeful. Unfortunately, all I had was cramping/contractions that went away after an hour. Anne and I went walking this morning and my cramping/contractions were VERY strong during the walk, but once I got home, drank a lot of water and laid down... everything stopped within about 10 minutes after "changing my activity levels." It's all good practice, as the doctor says. 

Anne turns 60 on Monday and the weekend is full of plans to celebrate. I am bringing her to get a facial in Davis today, and tomorrow Lyn rented a limo to go wine tasting in Clarksburg (although I won't be tasting I will be going along for the ride so to speak). There is also a brunch planned for Sunday morning at our house with some close friends of the family from Sac. So it's a big weekend, but who know's what can happen... you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...

39.5 weeks:

Did someone say induction?!

June 20, 2013

Well the controversy surrounding this subject needed further delving into... especially since I hadn't discussed the subject much or even thought it was an option unless I reached 41.5 weeks (which was when my doctor feels that I should be induced for medical reasons) until today when he brought up the possibility at my visit. I thought having him deliver the baby was the highest priority and then I got home... 

The reasons not to be induced were reviewed in our labor class and also listed in my pregnancy books, but in my mind I reasoned if she's not here by July 5th I would be okay with certain methods of induction. For example, there are non-medicinal induction methods... unlike what everyone initially thinks of with induction http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/inducing-labor. For example, stripping the membrane or breaking the water if the cervix is ripened. I really don't have any issue with those methods, and thought either of these two options would be fine. I even considered a distant but possible third option of a prostaglandin gel being applied to the cervix to ripen it. The final option which I wasn't a fan of (and don't want to do) was triggering contractions using a drug called Pictocin (which is essentially manufactured Oxytocin, which naturally triggers contractions). 

Either way the whole topic has "triggered" if you will, a debate at the Wick residence. I suppose it seems counter-intuitive that I want to be unmedicated for pain, but am open to the idea of some forms of induction. Especially when everything you read only states induction should only be done if medically necessary not for convenience.  To some degree I can see how the reasoning for being induced on the 5th would be out of convenience, but I also see that I have been with the same doctor for every visit for the last 9 months and I am very comfortable with him at this point. Even if I were able to deliver in water at the Davis hospital magically being fully-covered by my insurance, my main reason for not wanting to do so was because I really trusted and felt most comfortable with my doctor. Hence, if he wasn't going to be delivering me it would be a bigger let down than not following my birth plan to an exact "T." 

Still I am not the only person to consider in this decision, hence, why talking to your partner then changes everything. He has less qualms about having a different doctor deliver me and just waiting for it to happen (up to 41.5 weeks) than me having my doctor and being induced on July 5th (although we can agree that stripping the membrane would be relatively okay). Let's put it this way, I hope it doesn't come to July 5th and she makes her appearance before that. For one, I would rather NOT be induced at all, but under the circumstances I have a different opinion than Gus does. Still, I wouldn't go through with an induction if he couldn't support that decision, so it would be better if we didn't have to get to the point where we REALLY have to have this conversation again... Because then it wouldn't be a "pretend" scenario it would be, the evening of July 4th we are making the final decision of waiting it out or having some form of non-medicated induction being performed the following day. 

So, since I am asking... What are some of your thoughts on the big "I" word... Induction?

Before Baby (B.B.)

June 20, 2013 (week 38.5)

Last weekend was the weekend to get those “last-minute” chores done “before baby” (B.B.). I am sure many couples can relate to my use of B.B. because after baby (A.B.) life sure does seem like it is going to be DRAMATICALLY different.  We started on the basic household chores and advanced to Gus making a gate for the end of our driveway to prevent our dogs (and our nanny’s little 2 year old) from getting too close to the road. It also, “helps to define our outdoor space better.” That quote is not from HDTV, but my husband after he completed the project this week. He is such a handy guy around the house! He also hooked up our diaper sprayer for use on cloth diapers right next to the toilet. Since it wasn’t actually meant to be a diaper sprayer (but was a dog bathing sprayer we found on clearance) he had to make a fitting that hooked up to the toilet plumbing to get it to fit. We also got my car aligned (it was drifting quite a bit and all cock-eyed), which we thought was an important thing to do before we loaded our newborn into it. We managed a quick hike, while that was being done too.  I prepped the food for dinner at Bailey’s (our nanny) in the afternoon while Anne and Lyn stopped by to chat for a while. We had a great time at dinner! We loved talking with Bailey and Marcos and seeing them as parents to their little girls! We were given some very good parenting tips and enjoyed the delicious veggie food!

Anne came over Sunday morning and gave us the BEAUTIFUL baby quilt and bed skirt she made for Sierra and we immediately put them on her crib. (Pictures below).

Gus continued his work on the gate (picture above) and I began cooking and baking to freeze for A.B. One thing many people have told me is that you will NOT want to cook after the baby is born so prepare ahead of time and freeze some meals. I made veggie lasagna (2 trays worth), veggie chili, pasta sauce, meatballs, and chocolate chip cookies and froze them all. Then I went on a cleaning rampage… I could have sworn I was “nesting” (the burst of energy you get before you go into labor) because I hadn’t had that type of energy in such a long time. As it turns out I was just getting excited and it gave me the energy to do it all.

This week started out rough, the pressure of Sierra’s head on my pelvic girdle is starting to get more uncomfortable (luckily this is my last week of work). Tuesday night I woke up 9 times for various reasons, and on Wednesday night I actually had false labor. It was almost time to head to sleep and I started getting really strong Braxton Hicks, and I started questioning is this it? So I asked Gus to go for a walk with me and the dogs to see if it went away, which usually happens if it is false labor (the doctor prefers the term practice labor). Except the extra pelvic pressure from walking added to the “cramping” and they were still coming pretty consistently. Next thing I thought was to lie down, and soon after I did they started going away. During that time I went through many, “This is really happening” thoughts and I was surprisingly nervous! I am glad I got it out of my system because I really want to be calmer than that going into delivery. Also it reminded us of things we need to have ready in the car when we actually do have to go to the hospital.

My doctor’s appointment was relatively unexciting, since everything is pretty much the same (except I am a week closer).  He did say that he was going on vacation on July 9^th so if I was really late he would induce me if I wanted to on my last appointment (July 5^th). I definitely want him to deliver Sierra, so if she’s not here then I will be getting induced. I heard that there are pretty painful contractions with an induction, but I think it’s more important to me to have him be the delivering doctor. He has over 30 years of experience, knows my birth plan, and I trust him.  I scheduled a haircut for this Saturday (the last one B.B.) and Julia and Chris are coming over for dinner Saturday evening to hang out one last time B.B. Otherwise, we are officially at the point where we are just waiting for the baby to be born (especially because my maternity and sick leave start this Monday).

My weight held steady (the nurse said I actually lost a little although our scale didn’t) but I just LOOK bigger… as you can tell by my facial expression… Can I really get any bigger??? I guess we’ll see:

The OP

June 13, 2013 (week 37.5)

No, I’m not talking about some silly television show about spoiled high schoolers; I am talking about the current position of my baby. She is currently in the left posterior position, also known as OP or occiput posterior. Unfortunately this creates some issues with delivery… BACK LABOR pain and increasing the likelihood of tearing are the two main concerns; of course there is also the longer labor. This totally makes sense to me because of where I feel her little feet pressing into me all the time (mostly my right side obliques and just below my rib cage). This is what she may look like right now:

The doctor told me there’s not much I can do about this, either she will sort herself out or she won’t (hopefully she does) and even if she doesn’t get her body (her head especially) in the right position before I go into labor, she might actually shift to the anterior (the normal) position while I am delivering… Anyhow, any energy I spend worrying about it will surely be wasted since it’s out of my hands. Although, I am still going to try to hang out in a forward leaning position to “help” her shift as much as possible. Either way, it was a great doctor’s visit today. Gus came with me and we were able to see her little squished up face briefly on the ultrasound monitor! Her heart rate was good, I’m all healthy and the group B strep culture was taken (really not that big of a deal considering what I will be doing in another 2.5 weeks).We will find out the results at the next doctor's appointment next week.

The baby is around 6.5 pounds and 19+ inches. She is now full-term according to most sources, although delivery is much “better” for your baby at the end of 38 weeks, she would be ok if she came out today. She has hair and a little layer of fat now. Luckily, my cold has finally kicked it, and I did have some strong Braxton Hick’s contractions this week! My doctor even said that I may even be part of the “lucky” 15% of first-time moms that does deliver early. I sure would be okay with that!!!   

We had the last labor and delivery class last Sunday.  We were able to find out some comfortable positions to deal with contractions and other positions to deliver in. Also we did a simulation of how far apart contractions are and how long they last… during transition it definitely speeds up!!! Gus is all about being there for me and being the best support person he can be. He had his very serious face on while we were learning new material. It made me laugh and also feel very lucky to have such a dedicated partner with me.

Gus’ mom will be in town for a quick visit this weekend and she said she will be bringing the baby quilt and bed skirt she has been working on for Sierra with her! She is such a great quilter and Gus and I are excited to see the finished product. We will also be having a potluck dinner with our "nanny/babysitter" and her family to get to know them better this weekend. I already gave Gus a father’s day card and gift… so typical of me, I just have a hard time waiting… plus the Sacramento locally grown and brewed beer was sitting for him in the fridge when he opened it, how could I say you can’t have it yet!? HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all of the DADS!

I gained .5 pounds this week; the doctor said I am doing very good… How nice to hear! (34.5 pound weight gain):

On the exercise front, I am still at it. I lift 3x/week, swim ~30min ~5x/week, walk or hike ~30min ~5x/week. My lifts consist of: 8x3 Hang Cleans @ 20K-45K, Back Squats 5x5 @ 45K, OH Press 5x5 @ 37K, Pull-ups/Chin-ups 5x5, DB Incline 5x5 @ 80lb, Seated Row 4x6 @ 110lb, and Good Mornings @ 37K. Even though, all of my weights are lighter than what I normally do, I believe it really has helped me stay fit/healthy and feel good. The same holds true of my cardiovascular training, it’s not much nor is it ever “intense” (anaerobic) but it is enough to keep my heart healthy and maintain good blood circulation throughout my body (a.k.a. helping the baby stay healthy too).

Full term... Almost

June 6, 2013 (week 36.5)

The baby is now around 6 pounds and a bit longer than 19 inches. She is almost full-term (she will be at 37 weeks). This week I had a few contractions/cramps that came on after severe coughing fits. My cold has traveled to my chest and throat and doesn’t show signs of easing. I am sure the pregnancy would seem a bit easier if I wasn’t sick for the past 3 weeks. I think I have a harder time fighting infections than I usually do, because this is unheard of!

The temps in the valley are going to be well over 100 on Saturday and Sunday, so Gus and I are taking the dogs to the Tahoe region to swim in the cool rivers and boulder (he will be bouldering and I will be spotting). The last labor and delivery class is this Sunday and will discuss the coaching aspect of delivery that I have been looking forward to.

The good news of the week is that Gus’ dad will be coming in July for a quick visit and also in the fall for 2 weeks. It looks as though, even with him living in Costa Rica, he will be able to be a part of little Sierra’s life after all! The bad news of the week is being sick still…

Somehow I gained 2 pounds this week; hopefully, I don’t gain anything else next week before my doctor’s appointment (34 pound weight gain):