Happy Due Date Brynn!

We've been counting down to this day, May 29th, since we found out we were pregnant in September.

Though I never thought this day would get here, I can't believe how fast it has come.

And today, on Brynn's due date, I have a sweet 5 day old baby girl to cuddle with.
And, oh the cuddling we've done.

Happy Due Date Brynnie girl! We love you more then you will ever know.

Y3W

Of course, I have a million more pictures that I want to share with you, but for now, these will have to do :)

I'm happy to report that today is a lot less crazy! Carter Man was such an angel at the doctor's yesterday and we got him some eye drops. Turns out he just has a bad cold {which is good... I didn't want it to be pink eye or something!} I was nervous to take both kids to the doctors office yesterday by myself {I'm not ready for that just yet, lol} so I dropped Brynn off at my mom's house and took Carter alone. Best. Decision. Ever.

And it turns out, french fries can fix anything. ;)

Well today it's Brynn's turn at the doctor's. Because we just saw the pedi that the hospital provided, our pedi likes to see the baby within 72 hours of leaving the hospital. Baby girl has an appt this morning and I'm actually excited to take her out by myself. Bob dropped Carter off at my mom's house on his way to work, so Brynn and I have actually had some alone time this morning.

And it's been wonderful.

I must also report that Brynn had a 4-hour stretch of sleep last night. Which means that mama did as well. I feel like a different person than yesterday. Thank you baby girl =)

Last, but certainly not least, Brynn's newborn pictures are tomorrow morning. I am SO excited!! I'm sure Steph will post a few for me {she knows how impatient I am!} so I'll be sure to share them with you as well!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend everyone! Be safe.

2 Under 2: Day One

It's not even 8am on our first full day home and here's what's going on:

• Bob just got a wonderful new job last week, so he doesn't have any time off to be home with us. It's great timing and horrible timing all at once, but we're VERY thankful for this opportunity. So he went off to work this morning, leaving me alone with the 2 kiddos. Yikes...I'm totally outnumbered.
  
• Carter has a bad cold and can't even open his eyes. He needs to go to the pedi ASAP.
• The baby didn't sleep that well last night {but she's napping just fine now, of course!}
• The roofers are here fixing our garage roof, which means that I have a dog that is stuck in the house all day and he won't stop barking and whining at the roofers.

I need more coffee.

Little Miss Popular

Brynn has been spending her days talking away to anyone who will listen. And, I have to admit, I am ALL ears. But I wish I knew what she was saying. No worries though... I think Carter may be able to translate for us. :)

I also wanted to share with you one of her adorable hospital pictures from yesterday morning...
le sigh.

Oh yeah...we get to go home today!

Meet Brynn

Thank you all so much for your thoughts, prayers, and congratulatory messages yesterday. We are just beyond happy that our little girl is here and healthy.

What I am feeling right now is indescribable. I feel like I could burst with joy.

I will certainly be posting a birth story as soon as I get a chance, but I will tell you that I'm still in shock over just how fast it went yesterday. I jumped from 6 to 10cm very quickly and probably could have had her after just 3-4hours of Pitocin. But it was a busy day in L&D for my doctor, so I just hung out while she did an emergency c-section and then delivered the baby in the room next to me. This actually ended up helping me because Brynn had even more time to move further down!

And 5 minutes of pushing with no tearing? I mean, can it get any better than that!?!

When they told me I was doing great and I was almost done... I didn't believe them. But what do you know... they were actually telling the truth =)

Our little 9lb 3oz peanut was born at 12:18pm on Monday, May 24, 2010.

And she is absolutely perfect.

Brynn did have to spend a 4 hour stint in the NICU yesterday due to her inability to regulate her blood sugar levels. It was so hard watching her being wheeled off so soon after having her, but she seems to be doing much better now, thankfully!

Carter got a chance to meet his sister when she got back from the NICU and he loved her right away! He gave her hugs and kisses, then he grabbed her hand and poked her eye. And so it begins... ;)

As for me, I'm feeling really great. Just tired. But that's to be expected. I just can't stop staring at my beautiful baby girl. She looks just like her big brother.

I'm so in love.

Happy Birthday Brynn!

Miss Brynn has finally made her arrival (after only 5 minutes of pushing)!

Brynn Sophia

 May 24, 2010

12:18 pm

 9 pounds, 3 ounces

20 3/4 inches

Mom and baby are doing great! Congrats Jenni! Can not wait to meet Brynn!

Baby Watch 2010 ~ Brynn Edition

This is the official Brynn Watch post!

**Updated @ 12:15 pm: Baby girl should be here soon. Mama is pushing!

**Updated @ 9:50 am: Jenni is at the hospital happily hooked up to her epi! She is currently 7 cm. Doctor said Brynn should be here in a hour or two!

A letter to my daughter.

Dear Brynn,
Growing up, when I envisioned my life as a mother, it always included a daughter.

Maybe it's because I am one of three daughters myself.

Maybe it's because I've always had a wonderful relationship with my own mother.

The exact reason, I'm not sure of, but I do know that having a daughter is simply something that I've always seen in my life.

As I got older, I swore I was destined to be a mother of boys. And what a wonderful life that would have been.

But I think, deep down inside, I would have felt like something was missing.

You.

I loved you before I met you.

What the future holds for us, I have no idea. But I do know that it will be wonderful. Because it's a life with you.

Today is your birthday.

A day that I will remember forever. A day that I've envisioned since I was a little girl myself. And it's here.

Today I get to meet you. I get to hold you in my arms. I get to kiss you, and hug you, and hold your little hand.

Growing up, when I envisioned my life as a mother, it always included you.

And today our story begins. As mother and daughter.

I'll see you soon, sweet baby girl.

I love you,
Mom

39 Weeks!

Well, it's the end of the road. Brynn has officially decided to live in my uterus forever, therefore she is being forced out in the morning.

I have to admit... I'm a little nervous.

I doubt I'll get much sleep tonight. Not only is the LOST series finale going to keep me up until almost midnight, the hospital is suppose to call sometime between 4am and 8am to let me know what time to report to the hospital.

So I'm looking at 4 hours of sleep at the most. That's if I sleep.

I certainly want to shower in the morning, but because the hospital usually only gives you an hour to get there, that means I have to get up around 4am no matter what. I guess I can always shower and then lay back down until they call... {pfft, yeah right.}

Well.... we got a lot done this weekend, so I'm excited about that! Bob took it upon himself to completely redo the front garden area of our house. He put in all new stones, mulch, and flowers and it looks soooooo pretty! Seeeee:
I have to admit, I was a little nervous when Bob woke up on Saturday morning and said he wanted to take on this HUGE project. I had to remind him that, once he started, he HAD to finish it this weekend because there would be so many people coming to our house when we got home from the hospital. He said he could have it done.... and he did {with the help of our brother-in-law, Ryan!} =)

Besides that, the inside of the house is completely clean, the laundry is all caught up, there's food in the house, the dishes are done, and we're all packed up and ready for the hospital.

We went out for a nice dinner with my parents tonight. And when they left the house, they took Carter's over night bag as well as his carseat. {But they didn't take Carter... I want him here with ME tonight!}

It seems so real now. This is really happening.

I'm making sure I spend some extra cuddle time with my Carter Man tonight and I also find myself staring at my belly a lot. While it's huge and uncomfortable, I'm going to miss it when it's gone. I'm going to miss my baby girl moving around in there.

But I'd rather have her in my arms.

Pregnancy: 39 weeks {belly pics taken at 39w1d}

Weight Gain: 23 pounds total

Sleep: No more sleeping for this girl!

Gender: Girl

Name: Brynn Sophia

Feeling: Ready. Anxious. Excited. Nervous. I'm just hoping for a smooth induction with a very minimal amount of pushing, thank you very much. =)

Health: Right now I don't care about my health... I'm just praying for a healthy baby.

Movement: Just enjoying these last few hours of feeling her inside my belly.

Belly: BIG.

Next Appointment: No more appointments! Just my scheduled induction tomorrow morning. EEEEKKKKK!!! =)

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! Again, my friend Steph will be posting updates right here on my blog, so feel free to check in if you're interested!

Catch ya on the flip side...

Y3W: Appt. Update

My appointment today went well. Weight was good... I gained that pound back from last week, bringing my total back up to 23lbs. Not too bad! My blood pressure was a little high, but certainly not awful. I was still "almost 6cm" and 80% effaced.

And I got my induction orders for Monday. That piece of paper that is literally Brynn's eviction notice.

Poor baby... doesn't even know what's coming.

My doctor told me that the hospital would call me between 4am-8am on Monday morning to let me know what time I should report to the hospital and that I'd be holding my baby girl by 10am. =)

I sure do hope she's right.

Now I just need to decide what to do this weekend. It's officially my last one as a mother of ONE!

The next time...

Here I sit. In my office. On my very last day of work before maternity leave.

The next time I sit in this office, I will be a mother of two. I will have a daughter. I will have a 2 year old son. I will have countless sleepless nights, loads of laundry, and dirty diapers under my belt.

I will also have experienced meeting my daughter for the first time. Seeing her with her daddy. Seeing her with her big brother.

My heart will grow twice as big as it is this very moment.

The next time I sit in this office, my entire world will be different.

And I can not wait.

Birth Annoucements, birthday cards, and an update, oh my!

What does a girl do when she's patiently waiting to meet her baby? While design cards, of course!

This past weekend, I worked on Brynn's birth announcement as well as Carter's 2nd birthday invitations and I wanted to share them with you!

This is the design I decided to use to announce the birth of our baby girl to family and friends. The front will include 4 pictures from our newborn session with Stephanie Glover Photography {which had to be rescheduled from this Saturday to next Saturday because we thought Brynn would be here by now!!} I'm still playing with the fonts a little bit, and the birth information is obviously made up right now =)

You can see a larger version here.
I wanted to keep the back of the card very simple. It will include just one picture and have the monogrammed "b" on the bottom. You can view it larger here.

The next order of business was getting Carter's 2nd birthday invitations done! We decided to go all out for Carter's 1st birthday, and as much fun as we all had, it was a LOT of work! With a newborn around, we decided it was best to keep it low key this year.

Because Carter probably has more friends then both Bob and I combined, we decided to have a kids party at a local indoor bounce house facility the day before his birthday. We've been to this place for a few parties and the kids always have a blast. And let's not forget about the fact that you're in and out of there in 2 hours and you don't have to clean up =) Again, with a newborn to care for as well, this was the perfect choice!

We also plan to have a little family BBQ on Carter's actual birthday, which falls on a Sunday this year.

So, without further ado... Carter's birthday invitations {with fake info of course... I can't afford to invite all of you ;) } You can see a larger version here.
Bob thought they looked a little "babyish." I think he's forgetting about the fact that Carter is only turning TWO.

And last, but certainly not least, I wanted to share with you the invite I designed for Kelly, who won my Blogaversary giveaway! She decided to use her free card design for her daughter's birthday invitations. She mentioned that her daughter Madison loves baseball and has a lot of little boy friends, etc so she asked if I could make my classic baseball invitation into something fit for a girl!

This is the design I came up with and I think it turned out adorable! I don't have the pictures of Madison for the card yet {and all the info is fake, of course} but I couldn't wait to share it with you. Again, you can view a larger version here.
So that's all I have... let me know what you think of everything! I listed the Bounce House invite design in my Etsy Shoppe already, and I plan to list the birth announcement and the girl baseball invite in there once I have pictures on the designs.

As for me, I'm still hanging in there. Feeling fine, no contractions {of course!} and still working. Tomorrow is actually my last day and I honestly can't believe I made it this far.

Though this entire time I had a gut feeling I would make it to my induction date of May 24th, I guess I was hoping that I would be wrong.

I've been wrong a lot in this pregnancy:
I thought I was having another boy. Wrong.
I thought I'd deliver on May 14th. Wrong.

But making it to May 24th while I sit here at 6cm and 80%. Now THAT, I'm right about.

My Carter Man

With all this excitement over the new baby, I realized that I haven't blogged about Carter in a while.

He's steadily approaching the 2 year mark and I'm in slight denial over it. I actually designed his 2nd birthday invitations over the weekend {I promise to post them soon!} and I can't believe just how fast the past 2 years have gone.

He has grown up so much and I have seen so many big changes over the past few months. From his "big boy" looks to the way he speaks, understands, and interacts with us, it just amazes me.

Just look at the difference...
He is very much a "man's man" and is in total awe of his daddy. They're best friends. :) Honestly, if I thought about the people that Carter loves the most, I'd be lucky if I made the top 5! And they're alllll men {Uncle Ry Ry, Poppy, and Grandpop probably all have me beat!} But I'm okay with that... he comes to me as soon as he needs a hug, kiss, or some cuddle time, so I'll take that any day of the week! I'm also really looking forward to my maternity leave because it means I'll also get to spend a lot of time with my Carter Man and that just makes me so happy.

Some of my favorite things that he does right now:

• Points to my MacBook and says "Tik Toc" or "Gaga" {yep, meaning Lady Gaga} so that we can watch music videos and dance. {He also calls the song "Bad Romance" the "Rah Rah" song.}
  
• Kicks the soccer ball around and says "GOALLLLL" with his hands up in the air.
  
• Sits at the dinner table with us on his booster seat. I just LOVE that he is part of the table and he just looks SO BIG!
• Shouts out letters to the players when we watch Wheel of Fortune. He takes this game very seriously.
• Rides his bike around the living room while ringing the bell.
• Yells "cookie, cookie, COOKIE" and runs to the cabinet to bring us the box.
• Says "Puh Puh PLEASSSSE" when he wants something.
  
• Hands me things that he finds on the floor. {I just LOVE this and totally make a big deal when he does it, because I don't want him to pick up random things off the floor and put them in his mouth!}
• Sits with me every night on the couch while he drinks his "milky". He just started pointing out the "bubbles!" in his milk too.
  
• Watches "BASEBALL, BASEBALL" {Go Phillies!} at night, which he loves. Lately it's been the Flyers too {Go Flyers!} and Carter Man just loves yelling "GOALLLLLL" when they score. :)
• Our bed time routine where he and I cuddle at night until we fall asleep {though lately I've been falling asleep before him!}
  
• The way he says "sweet dreams" and "I love you"... it literally melts my heart.
  

He does so much more, but I just wanted to make a note {mostly for myself!} of all the wonderful things I just love about him right now.

Though, with all the sweet things I just mentioned, I must also tell you that he has a serious attitude problem. He gets mad pretty easily when he doesn't get his way and he's been spending some serious time on the step for not having his "listening ears on"... but that's to be expected, right? Or do I need to think about signing him up for Anger Management classes? Do they have them for 2 year olds?

And, last but not least... while I was home with my sinus infection last week, I did catch my little man dancing on camera. He has some sweet moves, but I, of course, couldn't catch them all on video. But you can see, when the music gets going, he starts his shoulder move, which I just LOVE. =)

{Please ignore my VERY annoying voice... again, it was at the peak of my sinus infection. Blah.}

38 weeks and feelin' good!

You ready for this?

It's a bare belly shot of me holding a monster baby.

You've been warned.
She's SOOOOO LOW. Ouch.

And my "standard" shot...
I just realized that this is the most pregnant I've ever been. And I feel good. I really do.

I had Carter at 38w1d {which was yesterday in my pregnancy with Brynn} and, as I look down at my ginormous belly and see my baby girl moving around, I can't help but think...

Is she 9lbs 5oz right this very minute?

I have no doubt in my mind that I will make it to my induction next Monday. One week from today, I'll likely be at the hospital, hooked up to an IV and Pitocin. And honestly, being at 6cm and 80% right now, how long would it actually take before I meet my baby girl for the first time? An hour? Maybe two, tops. ;)

Ya never know though... she may just pick her own birthday. And I'd really love it if she did.

I wonder what day she'd pick? I think Thursday would be good: 5.20.10. Can I talk you into that, Miss Brynn? I'd have to call out of work that day, but I'm okay with that. Thursday is my last day anyway.

Honestly, any day she picks will be a wonderful day.

But, no matter what, she'll be here in a week. Just one more week. And I feel good. I really do.

Pregnancy: 38 weeks {belly pics taken at 38w0d and 38w1d}

Weight Gain: 22 pounds total

Sleep: Ever since I've been on the antibiotics for my sinus infection, I've been sleeping a little better. It's very much appreciated, that's for sure!

Gender: Girl

Name: Brynn Sophia

Feeling: Ready. Anxious. Excited.

Health: BP is up again. And my reflux is awful because I can't take any Zantac with the antibiotic that I'm on. :( But I still feel better than I did with my sinus infection!

Movement: She's obviously out of room, but I still feel her move quite often. And I still love it.

Belly: Stretch marks showed up at 36w {after not getting any with Carter!} Still measuring 5 weeks ahead.

Next Appointment: This Friday, May 21st at 38w6d. My last day of work is this Thursday, May 20th!!! FOUR MORE DAYS!!!

So, this week is my very last appointment. How weird is that? I will have my last internal and, while I was thinking about declining, {because really, what's the point?} I have decided to have it done in hopes that it may help jump start labor on it's own. I always feel very crampy and get contractions after each internal, so maybe one last check will do the trick!

Brynn will also literally get her eviction notice on Friday as well. My doctor will give me my induction orders and paperwork for the hospital on Monday.

Wow. This is happening. And I feel good. I really do.

Dear Brynn,

Because I'm 38 weeks today, you are free to come out at any time.

But please don't wait too long... you only have a week before the doctor evicts you.

Thanks.

Love,
Mom

Y3W: Appt. Update

Well, I woke up at 5:30am with pretty bad contractions, about 10 mins apart. I knew I'd make it to my appt at 8:45am, so I showered, got ready, and made sure our bags were packed.

Then the contractions stopped.

Ugh... I was so disappointed. But at least I still had my appt to look forward too.... right? Maybe they'd still send me straight to L&D!

Ummm, yeah right.

Here's what went down...

- My BP was high (150/94... I'm usually 120/70) but "not high enough" to move up my induction. So it's staying at May 24th.

- I lost a pound (maybe b/c of the sinus infection?) so I'm back down to 22lbs of total weight gain so far.

- I'm at "almost 6" centimeters right now.

:::faints:::

So, what does a girl do after an appt like that? Why, go to work of course. What else am I suppose to do, right?

Maybe I'm crazy for going to work {again, an hour from the hospital} but I've actually felt better since I got here. It's routine. It's normal. It keeps me busy, and I like that.

I'm a little disappointed... I guess I just thought my high BP would move my induction up to May 17th or that maybe my intuition was right and today really WAS the day.

But I guess not.

So the waiting game is on, and I'm okay with that... baby girl just isn't ready yet, I guess.

And she's worth waiting for :)

Majority Rules?

Looks like most readers are thinking I will have Brynn sometime next week and she will weigh between 9lbs and 9lbs 8oz.

And I think I agree with you.

But, as I sit here at work, trying to get my things in order, I can't help but think that this may be my last day here.

I don't know why.

It's just something about May 14th. Every time I look at the date on a calendar or hear someone say it, I immediately think "that's my baby's birthday."

Mother's intuition? Maybe.

But I still have a feeling she's a boy too, so what the heck do I know?

PS- If I have a baby boy on May 14th, can you remind me to play the lottery? Thanks.

Can't kick the sick.

I sure am trying though. :(

Well, I caved and went to my PCP yesterday for the first time since I needed my college physical to play NCAA soccer. Yep, that was almost 10 years ago. When it comes to doctors, I just don't go.

Advil fixes everything, right?

Of course I can't take Advil right now, so there goes my MD and all my medical training. Right out the window.

I get sinus infections a few times a year and they're usually under control within 2-3 days. But not this one. I think Brynn is literally sucking the life out of me and keeping all the good stuff for herself. And here I am.... dying.

It officially started last Tuesday, but by Sunday night, it kicked into high gear and I started seeing the first signs of strep throat as well. Lovely.

On Monday, I went to work and was "fine" but it got much worse on Tuesday. A few of my coworkers actually had to force me to go home and my mom and Bob had to talk me into calling my PCP. My mom even said "I'm getting off the phone with you right now and you're calling to make an appointment and then YOU CALL ME RIGHT BACK, JENNIFER!"

I knew she meant business.

I headed to the PCP yesterday and my mom had to give me directions because, though I've been a patient there my entire life, their office moved a few years ago... who knew? The receptionist {who I recognized... she's been there forever} laughed at me as soon as I walked in. She said she was going through my folder and I hadn't updated my personal info since I was 8 years old.

Needless to say, a few things have changed since then.

Two hours of waiting and a $20 copay later, the doc confirmed strep throat and a sinus infection {sigh} and prescribed me a level II {level B?} antibiotic.

While it makes me nervous to take anything while pregnant, at the same time I know I'm not getting better on my own. I do not want to be sick when I meet my little girl.

A lot of people are telling me "while you're sick and your body is trying to fight this infection, it won't go into labor on it's own." I guess it makes sense... I mean, how much can it really take right now, ya know? And thinking back now to when everything starting getting really bad {Sunday night} I haven't had a single contraction. Not a single one.

So... maybe their right? Only time will tell.

Oh, and lastly... I have my next appointment tomorrow morning. If the doc tells me that I'm 6cm, I plan to handcuff myself to the table until she sends me to L&D.

Baby Kicks

I took this video over the weekend. Of course, as soon as I turned the camera off, she got even crazier in there! But here is my baby girl....

{sorry it's sideways, it's the only way I could get my whole belly in the video}

Amazing, isn't it?

37 Weeks

Full term! What a wonderful milestone. I am so very thankful to have passed this point in my pregnancy.

And do you see those beautiful Mother's Day flowers in the background?? Carter Man is so sweet to buy those for me along with a few other presents. I'm still wondering where he got the money..... or how he got to the store.

Quick recap of my appointment last week:
-Gained a pound {23lbs total}
-BP was high
-If BP is high this week, my induction will be moved up from May 24th to May 17th. I'll be 38w2d.
-I'm currently 5cm and 80%
-GBS test was negative

Okay, so besides my sinus infection {and despite my post yesterday} I've been feeling pretty good lately. Well, yesterday was a good day, lol. Just general 37.5 week uncomfortableness but no real contractions or cramps yesterday, last night, or so far today. I'll take it.

I've officially given up on sleep. It's no longer possible. I've actually been super early to work these past few days just because there is nothing else for me to do except get up and start getting ready. Even Carter won't wake up with me. Such a brat!

Oh, and I know a lot of people are checking in on me {thank you!} so I wanted to let you all know that I've asked my wonderful friend, Steph, to be a guest blogger when I go into labor. I'll text her with updates when Brynn finally decides to make her arrival and then she'll keep you all up-to-speed right here on my blog. =) I know I always like to read updates when someone I know goes into labor, so I thought some of you might as well!

Pregnancy: 37 weeks {belly pic taken at 37w0d}

Weight Gain: 23 pounds total

Sleep: I'm done sleeping until this baby girl is 3 months old. If I'm lucky.

Gender: Girl

Name: Brynn Sophia

Feeling: Ready. Very, very ready.

Health: BP is starting to rise again. My induction date may be moved up to May 17th because of it. I'll find out later this week!

Movement: I'm going to post a video I took of my baby girl moving around in my belly. It's slightly amazing. =)

Belly: Stretch marks just showed up! Thanks baby girl =) Still measuring 5 weeks ahead.

Next Appointment: This Friday, May 14th at 37w6d.

This entire pregnancy I've actually felt that May 14th would be THE day. And I still have this feeling, I don't know why. So maybe it will be. Only time will tell.

"What do I know?"

That was my response to Bob a lot this weekend when he asked me if I was in labor.

Honestly, what do I know about going into labor? Yes, this is my second baby. Yes, I know what real contractions feel like. But I never went into labor on my own before.

So, what do I know?

When I was pregnant with Carter, I never had a single real contraction until I was induced at 38 weeks. I never felt crampy or close to labor at all. Was I uncomfortable? Umm...yes. He was 9.5lbs. But I never felt like I do right now.

When people hear that I'm at 5cm already, one of the first responses I hear is "well, at least your labor will be short!" And, while I completely see this logic and actually feel the same exact way... I also have to look at it from the other side. From my side.

This is the longest. labor. ever.

Think about it... it wasn't Braxton Hicks contractions that got me to 5cm. It's been almost 3 weeks of torture that got me that far. The inconsistent, but very real contractions. The awful cramps that aren't timable because they never stop.

And lets not forget about the fact that I have no idea when to actually make my way to the hospital.

Being at 5cm already, I obviously don't want to wait too long. But how long is that?

I'm sure the "when should I go?" fear is a common one, and I truly do believe that I'll just know. Like I've said before, I'm a very firm believer in trusting my body and my instincts and that, when it comes to child birth, it will just know what to do...

And it does. I've seen it.

So, I guess I just need to rely on that.

But what do I know?

Y3W: Appt. Update

5 cm and 80%.

FIVE CENTIMETERS.

For most normal pregnant women, 5cm is defined as bring IN LABOR.

But not for this girl.

5cm is "oh maybe I'll see you next week, maybe I won't... but good luck walking around like that without your baby FALLING OUT."

It's hard to think about what happened at the rest of my appointment without going back to "OMG, 5cm!?!" but I'll try...

My BP was high. Now, I'm an idiot and forgot to look and I also forgot to ask my doctor exactly what the numbers were {again, FIVE CENTIMETERS?} but she just said it looked like it was starting to spike again and if it was "this high" next week at my appointment {May 14th} then she would move my induction up to May 17th.

I also talked about my concern with being so far away from the hospital {again, work is about an hour away depending on traffic/the time of day... one time it will take 35 minutes and the next it will take 2 hours} and she didn't seem overly concerned about it. She said the only time she would recommend going to a different hospital is if my water breaks while I'm in labor. Other then that, if I'm "just in labor" or "just my water breaks" then I'll probably make it.

Probably?

Other then that, I did see that I gained another pound, so my total is now 23.

Oh, and my GBS results came back negative. Though I was positive with Carter and I know that it's really not that big of a deal, I was hoping to be negative this time because I have a feeling I will be delivering this baby girl on the side of the road.

Home. Sick.

Carter's been sick for the past week and it finally got passed on to me. I was up half the night coughing, sneezing, and blowing my nose.

Add some inconsistent contractions and it was an all around awesome night.

I have my appointment today anyway, so I figured I would just take it easy until then.

By "take it easy" I of course mean that I'll be cleaning my house, playing with Carter, and getting more stuff together for baby girl.

Now that I think about it... it would have been easier to go to work.

Lastly, I just had to post something today... I didn't want you guys to think I went into labor and left you hanging. I'm still here. ;)

36 Weeks

Wow... I look tired, right? I actually look at this picture and feel bad for myself.

So, Brynn gave me a little gift this week. You ready for it?

I have stretch marks.

:::gasp:::

I should be happy that I made it all the way to 36 weeks with baby #2 before any showed up at all though, right? Maybe?

They're still very faint {almost like a white color} just above my belly button where my belly is the biggest.

Hmmm, I guess I just thought I wouldn't get any because I didn't with Carter {and he was a monster baby} but oh well! I guess my belly can only handle so much monster babyness, huh?

They're very well earned, that's for sure... =)

My contractions haven't been bad or timeable since Sunday, so that's good news. As much as I look forward to drinking wine meeting my baby girl, I really want her to stay put as long as she can. I'd love to make it to 38 weeks, if possible.

Pregnancy: 36 weeks {belly pic taken at 36w0d}

Weight Gain: 22 pounds total

Sleep: I feel so tired, but I haven't been sleeping all that well. It's really hard to get comfortable {as you could imagine.}

Gender: Girl

Name: Brynn Sophia

Feeling: Ready. Very, very ready.

Health: BP is perfect. Reflux is the same {awful}. I'm still happy with my weight gain!

Movement: She has been VERY active, especially this past weekend when I swear she was doing the running man in my belly.

Belly: Stretch marks just showed up! Thanks baby girl =) Still measuring 5 weeks ahead.

Next Appointment: This Thursday, May 6th at 36w5d.

Again, I'm 4cm and 70% at the present moment. Baby girl is over 8lbs at this point. I will have another internal on Thursday and I'm actually hoping that I haven't progressed anymore. I don't think I can handle being at 5cm without actually being in labor. I plan to ask my doc at what point she would just send me over to the hospital... {but hopefully I won't have to if I'm still at 4cm/70%!!}

I'll also get my results of my Group B Strep test on Thursday. I was positive with Carter, which really wasn't a big deal. Of course, I'm hoping to be negative this time, as I think this labor will be a lot shorter then Carter's, therefore there won't be as much time to get the antibiotics in me before she's delivered. But we'll see...

Everything is so up in the air this time. I kinda like it. It's exciting.

Packed!

Although we had a very productive weekend, I think I can honestly say that I've never done more laundry in my entire life.

I washed a lot of Brynn's clothes, all her sheets and bath towels, the Boppy cover, infant car seat cover/straps, swing, travel swing, and bouncy seat covers, etc. Everything is now all set up around the house and it's weird to look at infant stuff again! I also washed a lot of Carter's clothes and my clothes as well, so that I could start packing everything for the hospital.

And it's done. Well, for the most part.

Carter and Brynn are completely packed and ready to go. I used my new diaper bag for Brynn's stuff and then my Vera Bradley beach/duffle bag for Carter's. I was able to fit everything I needed into half of the carry-on sized rolley suitcase, and I saved the other half for Bob.

It was actually rather hard to pack for Carter, because I have no idea what the weather will be like when I go into labor. I packed him shorts outfits, jeans, pants outfits, a sweat shirt, warm pj's, cool pj's... who ever has him will think he's moving in for good! But I don't want him to be too warm or too cold... I want him to be comfy =)

I packed most of my stuff up as well, but I need to make a "last minute list" of things that I can't pack up just yet {razor, make-up, straighter, toothbrush, etc.}... stuff that I know I will completely forget if I go into labor on my own.

I've been telling Bob to start packing his stuff up as well and I don't think he really got that "sense of packing urgency" until I was having contractions that were 2 1/2 minutes apart yesterday {for a good half hour.}

He's packing today. And installing the infant carseat.

Back to the contractions...

I don't know if it's the start of labor, or just the fact that I did a lot this weekend, but they were getting pretty intense yesterday. Nothing that I couldn't walk/talk through though. I drank water and laid down and they slowed down a lot. Whew... that's good news, because I want to make it to at least 37 weeks, please!

I've also been feeling like complete crap. Nauseous, tired, run-down... just "blah." Baby girl has been feeling good though and moving around like crazy. Yesterday, I swear she was doing "the running man" in my belly.

My next appointment is on Thursday, so maybe the contractions led to more progress? We'll see. Although, because I'm 4cm/70% already, I'm not sure how much more progress I actually want before I'm in active labor. If I go in and they tell me 5cm, I think I'll faint. I'll feel like I'm walking around like a ticking bomb, ready to explode at any minute. Not to mention that work is about a 45 minute drive {without traffic} to home/the hospital.

I really don't want to deliver in the car of the side of I-95, thank you very much.

So, no more progress unless it's active labor, mmmkay?