non stress test and unrelated stress!

Delaney did fabulous today! Lots of good long accelerations! YAY! She was not being easy at first though, the nurse was having a lot of trouble getting her heart rate. I said that LUCKILY I feel her moving, otherwise I'd be really nervous! The nurse could see her moving too.. but eventually she got it on the monitor and all was good. I only needed to be hooked up for the 20 minute minimum.
After leaving the appointment I needed gas. I stopped off at Meijer and swiped my card.. see attendant is said - grr! so annoying to have to go inside! They swiped it and said, DECLINED! WHA? no way.. so I gave them some cash (which I normally NEVER have) and called the credit card company to say WTF? They tell me that they placed a hold because of some purchases I made yesterday (hmmm Trader Joes for 11 dollars and El Patio for 15? those were the only purchases I MADE yeserday) 738, 434, 34, 1 - at Walmart - one that is about 40 minutes from my house. Shaun and I both have our cards.. so someone is out there making credit cards that you can actually swipe at the store! It seems like no big deal to the credit card folks. They closed the acct, said we aren't liable for the fraudulent charges and will send new cards express. Hopefully it goes as smoothly as it sounds.

3 year olds!

Gwen - daddy, can I watch a movie?
me, listening from the kitchen - NO, it's time for bed!
Gwen - noooo mommy, if I was talking to YOU, I would say, "mommy, can I watch a movie", but I'm talking to daddy.
me - but I said no, it's time for bed. (and I'm the BOSS!)
Gwen - but mommy, I was talking to daddy, remember what I just told you? If I asked you, you would say YES! :) HAHA

The best thing about this exchange is that she wasn't at all bossy with it.. she was just very matter of fact.. like if I say 'daddy' I want HIS answer, not yours! She already knows how to do this, doesn't she?

NST

I am so impressed with the hospital appts! Things seem to go so fast and smooth.. I barely sit down in the waiting room before being called back. :) I told the nurse about our bad NST the other day and how I hoped the babe did her buisness today so I wouldn't have to worry. The nurse hooked me up and said, OH, looks like she's having an acelleration right now! YAY! AND she continued to have them for the 20 minutes! She probably had 5 or 6 during that time.. so I felt much better! :) I guess making sure she's awake does the trick. Then she did a really fast ultrasound to check fluid levels (which is a 'modified bpp' when done with the nst) the fluids scored a 10/10 so all is great! While she was doing the scan, I mentioned that I fell last night and is that something I should tell them? She said.. well, yes.. you should have called triage last night and they would have had me come in for 4 HOURS of monitoring! Yikes! I never even thought about a trip to the hospital for that. But she said something about falls or accidents could cause abruption and it would show up in that 4 hour period? So, I guess I'll be keeping that in mind for future falls. My total time from parking lot to leaving was 1 hour.. AND it took forever to park because the place was full! I'm happy for a good appointment... oh and btw, ms. Delaney is back head down again!

I fell :(

It was bound to happen.. I keep tripping over cracks in the sidwalk! BUT.. this fall was not my fault. I was carrying Gwen to bed when I slipped on a little puddle of water (thank you GWEN - she was giving some 'tea' to her daddy a bit before and a little spilled). The fall wasn't too bad.. my left leg slipped out and somehow my right knee took most of the impact - I'm kind of shocked worse didn't happen to my knee just because it was behind me in a weird way and all scraped up!? Shaun kept asking the rest of the night if Delaney is moving?.. like the fall would kill her instantly or something? He hates when I say negative comments (or when I don't assume that in 5 weeks there WILL 100% for sure be a baby to bring home- even though mostly I DO believe that, I'm just afraid of getting too cocky) but the way he kept asking last night shows me that HE has the same worries too.. he's just not so open with them. She's been moving like normal.. and I have an NST/BPP today, so if the fall did anything we should be able to catch it. I hope the tests go good today and I don't have to be there for HOURS!

33 weeks with 5 to go!!

http://pregnancy.emedtv.com/pregnancy-week-by-week/33-weeks-pregnant.html

http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/calendar/33-weeks-pregnant.html

What a tragic beautiful story

http://freep.com/article/20090726/FEATURES08/907260333/Nursing-moms-come-to-aid-of-baby-boy

Ugh!

So, the first NST was not great.. The minimum time you're hooked up is 20 minutes. I believe I was hooked up for 1 hour 20 minutes. A couple of times the baby moved (or I moved) and lost the heartbeat.. then I wasn't able to find it myself and tried calling to the nurses, who didn't hear me.. eventually they came in and worked their magic and got us going again. You're supposed to have 2 accellerated heart rates that last at least 15 seconds each.. Delaney wasn't giving us that.. which I think was partially my fault, since I know that she normally wakes up around 10:30 (and I made the appt for 9:50) after the nurse had me drink some ice water, the babe perked up a bit and started having more accellerations, but none lasting long enough to appease the doc. So, he decided to do a quick scan - Biophysical profile - and saw everything he wanted to see in about 3 minutes. AND.. it appears that this baby, who's been head down since APRIL (and at the ultrasound I had just this past MONDAY) has moved! How in the heck did I not notice a 4.5lb baby doing THAT big of a move?! She is now lying transverse (sideways) with her head on my right side and her back down... well, that would explain the different kind of movements I've been feeling the past few days. If I wasn't already having a c-section, that's a sure fire way to assure you get one! So, hopefully the next NST goes a little better than this one, and she passes it in 20 minutes. I made sure to make the rest of my Friday appts for 11 and later too.. hopefully that helps!

Mark your calendars!

This is really for friends and family who are local.. we've got a few events coming up in October that we want to get you all excited about! ;)

October 4th - Metro Detroit Share group remembrance walk - they haven't posted details yet, but this is a local support group (that I haven't actually gone to, but plan on eventually meeting some of the other local families who've experienced a loss like ours) we'd like to get involved with. October is infant loss awareness month, and this walk is in honor of our babies. It'd be great if you can join us! http://www.metrodetroitsharegroup.com/

October 11th - Gwen's 1st annual kids halloween party! I am seriously so excited about this!! I want to make invitations NOW.... I want to pull out Gwen's halloween books, but it's JULY!! But how does one go about having a halloween party without tons of alcohol and na*ked men?!! haha I'll have to put candies in the pinata instead of booze, right?

October 17th - Our annual halloween party.. can't remember what number it is.. 7? 6? Anyway, you know what it's all about...

October 31st - OMG!! I just realized Halloween is on a SATURDAY this year!! YAY!!

Okay, so now I've got my burst of October excitement out.. it's a busy month, esp. once you add in apple orchards, hallowe'en in the village, pumpkin carving with the Moitozo's and Brandon and Ro's (really spooky and dangerous - because they have Coyotes now!) Halloween party! I can barely contain myself!!

Family room renovations

We've decided to drywall the family room! We figured we'd do it before finishing the kitchen off, since to properly finish the kitchen we need more drywall! :) I'm so impressed at how great it already looks.. and it's not even mudded yet! Shaun has been putting in a couple hours a night after work and made a lot of progress in just a weeks time. The whole back room is drywall now!! Mudding starts tonight! Painting should be next week (or maybe by THIS weekend?? hehee) We're on a timeline now, we have about 5 weeks to finish the family room AND the kitchen (which still just needs one piece of trim, and the counter ledges) I told my mom my painting plans yesterday and she said.. umm didn't you paint when you were pregnant with Dresden? I said, yeah, mom.. but I hardly doubt that my painting last April killed him. It's one of those things, I guess.. like Shaun not wanting me to drink apple cider (AS if I would before September ANYWAY!) and me being afraid to do a whole list of things I did last year toward teh end of pregnancy, that are probably stupid - but better safe than sorry, right? So maybe my mom will be painting!? haha Even if she does, I think i'll at least paint the trim --outside of course for proper air circulation.
Here are a few pics of Shaun hard at work! ;)

Ultrasound

I had my first Biophysical profile today! Everything looks great! Delaney was breathing right away - which is one of the things they need to do to pass the test. (I guess they do practice breathing, but not constantly) They also checked measurements and amniotic fluid levels. Everything is just perfect! She was moving lots, little punches with her hands and looking very sweet! Shaun took off work early so he could see her too.. Gwen fell asleep on the drive there, and was quite the little crab when we arrived. haha The ultrasound tech asked Gwen if she wanted her OWN picture of the baby and Gwen said.. NO! With her sassy little crab face! haha
OH! Her estimated weight is 4lb 6oz!! (I guessed 4lb 5oz!) :) So, going by the half pound per week that babies usually grow during these last weeks.. would put her 8lb 6oz at a full term birth. SO, she should be around 7-7.5lbs when she's born! Have I mentioned how I can't wait to hold her??
The lady gave us a TON of pictures.. unfortunately, none of them were super great! Delaney is already not photogenic, just like the rest of her family! hehe But here are a few.. the 3D scans kind of stretch areas.. so keep that in mind and we think the pic with her arm up looks like she has Popeye biceps!! haha

Dr. appt

So, I had an appointment today.. not much to report. My appointments even now seem so boring. Anyway, the biggest news is...
Delaney is scheduled (wow, it feels weird to say that my child has a scheduled arrival date!) to be born via c-section on Monday, August 31st! The countdown begins!! There is always the chance that she comes earlier than that, since my previous history includes labor beginning 2-3 weeks before the due date (last year I had some hearty contractions around August 24th lasting about a week and then just stopping) IF I have those early contractions again, I will be delivering sooner. Otherwise, I can actually officially say it! Our baby will be born NEXT MONTH! (last day of the month, but STILL! haha)
Other happenings - My twice weekly non stress tests begin next week! I asked him about doing 1x per week at first, but he said the reason they do them twice is because the NST (I can't use the work guarantee's) but pretty much says that the baby will survive for 3-4 days.. he said that it's very unlikely for a baby to die anyway, buuuuuuut... we've already beat those odds once, so it doesn't offer too much comfort. SO.. hopefully the NST's will give us something positive to focus on in these last weeks, and help relieve some of the stress that I feel starting to creep in. (like when lil' one decides to sleep more often than usual and not bounce around as much! this was yesterday!!) So, even though it WILL be a pain to go to these NST's twice a week.. (30 -40 minute car rides each way! and probably not Gwen friendly) I think we'll feel good about checking on the babe often and KNOWING that we're doing everything possible to make sure she arrives with screams!
And last.. I've got a growth scan on Monday, so we'll get to see Delaney and get an idea of how big she is! hmm I'm going to guess 4lbs 5oz - Shaun says 4lbs.. we'll see!!
MAN!! Can the next 6.5 weeks just GET HERE!! :)

31 Weeks!

http://www.pregnancyhut.com/31-weeks-pregnant/

31 weeks! Why does it feel like I should be 32 this week? hmmm
Everything is going well, I feel good.. don't have any of the usual annoyances of pregnancy, which is normal for me. I can't run though! haha Gwen always wants me to chase her and well.. it's just not happening! ;) Delaney is moving regularly, letting all of our friends and family cop a feel! The little jigs she does inside my uterus have at times caused a jolt of discomfort! haha Like when she jabbed a foot or fist into the top of my pelvic bone.. yowwch! Gwen likes to put her face on my belly, so Delaney can kick her face! Ah, sibling bonding!! I have a doc appt on Friday, we'll be scheduling the first of my NST's.. now the fun really begins! I'm still thinking about asking how he feels about 1x a week NST's for the first few weeks, and bumping up to 2x a week after that?
7 weeks or less little one....

Sad

I've been feeling very sad since last night. I read on a fellow loss mom's blog, whose first child was stillborn that her second baby, was diagnosed at her 20 week ultrasound with Trisomy 18 - a terminal condition, he was born earlier this week (full term) and is spending whatever time he has on this earth with his family at home. She kept saying in her post that she just wanted to be able to take her baby home this time.. I'm so happy that she at least got to do that. I feel so heartbroken for this family, I can't stop thinking of them.. who deserves THIS kind of tragedy - and TWICE?!? I just can't wrap my mind around it... life is not fair, not at all.

30 weeks

http://www.pregnancyhut.com/30-weeks-pregnant/

The big week is finally here.. well, I suppose it's not THE BIG WEEK (that would be birth, right?) but we have now entered the final weeks! I will be 30 something weeks pregnant when Delaney is born!! Nothing new to report on the pregnancy front, she's still moving lots and letting me know she's okay. There are still times when i get nervous that she hasn't moved for a bit, and I start going over in my head how horrible it's going to be and how I'll react and what happens next and all this crap that I don't really want to think about - but once something so terrible happens to you, you don't get to live in a dream anymore. Even with those feelings and thoughts creeping in at times, I feel really positive and just KNOW that I'll be holding this baby in 8 weeks or less, and she will be alive. I can't wait for that day!!

Up north

We took a weekend trip to the cabin and had a blasty good time! We got to see fireworks, and a good home town parade, swimming, and just relaxing, we even ate some homemade amish ice cream! MMM! Here are some pics from our trip..

Gwen's favorite item in the cabin? Kitty salt and pepper shakers!

Mio pond (aka leech pond) just before Gwen sat down with her pants on and then swam in her und.ies

The start of our nature hike

wild blueberries that weren't quite ready yet.

the joys of nature!

Gwen just before being stung by... a LADY BUG!

Shaun and Gwen

Gwen with the annual pink elephant shot!

Shaun was trying to get Gwen to jump off the log.

love!

Gwen loves this kind of swing!

Shaun being super cool by jumping off the bar!!

Shaun doing his CHAMPION move, since he beat Gwen in a slide race! hahaha

Gwen with her first sparkler.. and yes, we were freaked out by it and who knows when or if it will happen again!! But at the same time it was really neat! ;)

Swimming at Smith Lake!

Collecting candy from the street during the parade!

Gwen's first parade!! A really great one too! :)

I did it!!

You might not think this is a big deal.. but for me and the last 10 months of my life, it really is ! I purposely went to visit our friends and their new baby girl! She is so tiny, 5.5 pounds, and with these delicate little adorable features! AND a TON of hair, with frosted tips! She's already stylin'! ;) Shaun and Gwen held her.. and Gwen had the biggest grin on her face.. she called her precious! I thought it would be hard seeing Gwen hold a newborn, but it wasn't... it was really a beautiful moment! Congrats Rob and Amy!! Your sweet girl is just lovely! :)

Well, I just gotta say it... It' JULY!! Our baby will most likely be born next month!! hehe Of course, not unil the very end..but still! :)
I had a bad dream last night.. not that bad, and it surely would never come true, but i still didn't like it! Shaun and I had plans to go to Canada for drinking? and the baby was born, it was Dresden, but also Delaney and we decided to go ahead with our plans and leave Gwen to sleep on the couch and the baby to sleep in the bed. I said as long as we're back within about 2 hours all would be fine, because that's when the baby would wake up to nurse. Well, we went and I drank and passed out - woke up 4 hours later and was frantic that the baby was probably up and crying for 4 HOURS!! I know, a stupid dream.. but when I woke up to pee, I was pretty traumatized by it.
Anyway, I don't think I've ever felt so happy that it was July! I can only imagine the giddiness in our house when August rolls around! hehee
In other randomness.. yesterday felt like Autumn.. it was a really beautiful day! I know, many people don't agree with my idea of beautiful weather! But to me- 65 is perfect!! I even wore a sweater! I've asked Shaun before if he thought Fall would feel like Dresden.. and I found yesterday that it will.. and while it felt a little more sad than normal, I also felt peaceful.