Happy Halloween! Hadley the cow, Carrie the farmer, and Ana the black cat.
We all trick-or-treated our cul-de-sac and a few houses at the end of the street, but since it was so chilly out, Ana asked if we could just go home and hand out candy to the other trick or treaters and we were more than happy to oblige her! You can see all the pictures from Halloween here.
I had my six-week postpartum doctors appointment today (it’s actually been seven weeks, but my doctor was off last week for Christmas) and have this to report back:
Weight: down 20 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight
Blood Pressure: 110/70
She checked me over and said everything looks great. I was given the all clear to start working out again! Stroller Strides, here I come! I’m motivated by my pregnancy weight loss and don’t want to lose my edge. Not to mention the 500 calories I burn a day just by nursing Miss Hadley! Now I just need to tone things up and keep up my energy.
I have to do a two-hour glucose test later this week to check my blood sugars. Apparently about 10% of women who had gestational diabetes develop regular diabetes, so it’s important to check my postpartum levels and do a check each year thereafter as well.
Otherwise, I’m looking good and feeling great. If I weren’t carrying around this new little person, you’d never know I recently had a baby. And isn’t she just the cutest thing you ever did see?
On Monday, November 8th I woke up at 4:30am to use the bathroom. Nothing unusual about that for a pregnant woman. However, I thought it was a little odd when I felt the need to pee again a half hour later. I got to the bathroom, barely sat down on the toilet and felt a gush of water. My water broke. It was seriously the most convenient water breaking in the history of, well, ever. It was so convenient I would have thought there was no possible way it could have been my water breaking if it weren’t for the fact that once the gush stopped, I was able to actually pee. I then promptly went back to my bed, turned on the light, and started checking my sheets to see if anything leaked. Nope, totally dry (Again, super convenient for this OCD mama). Sim woke up, asked what I was doing to which I replied, “I think my water just broke.” He was instantly up and wanting to take me to the hospital. I told him I wasn’t having any contractions so I was pretty sure we didn’t need to go anywhere. I climbed back in bed, grabbed my phone and Googled “water broke no contractions” and figured we had some time to kill.
A half hour later, at 5:30am, I finally had my first contraction.
So we had a nice leisurely morning. Ana and I cuddled in bed for awhile. I cooked us a nice breakfast of French toast and sausage. I had no idea when they would let me eat again and I knew I would need something to keep my energy up. I took my time getting ready, shaved my legs and finished packing my hospital bag. I arranged to have my good friend Cyndie pick up Ana for the day. Then when my doctors office finally opened I called and the advice nurse told me to come on in.
We arrived at the hospital about 9:30am. We walked into the maternity area and Sim commented that he didn’t remember any of this from when Ana was born. But it was all coming back to me. They checked me in to the maternity triage to make sure my water actually broke (it did) and after a series of medical questions, tests, and monitoring I was final admitted to the hospital and checked into my Labor and Delivery Room at 11am. We walked into room 322 and it was instant déjà vu. Sim said, “Now this part I remember.” To which I replied, “That’s because I am pretty sure this is the same room where we had Ana.” We checked the pictures from her birth on my blog and sure enough, everyone was wearing security badges with 322 on them. We were going to be having Hadley in the same room we had Ana. I decided that was a very good thing and instantly felt comfortable.
At this point my contractions were still really irregular and not painful, so it was clear that my labor was going to need a little assistance. But since I had tested positive for the Group B Strep, the doctor on call wanted to get in a round of antibiotics (about four hours) before starting the Pitocin. So Sim and I kicked back, watched some bad daytime television, and waited.
At 3:15pm they started the Pitocin. Initially it completely stopped my contractions and I was getting a little worried they might start talking c-section, but after continually upping the Pitocin my contractions started coming more frequently and started to really hurt. I was happy that my body was responding to the drug, but not too happy about the pain.
At 6pm they checked my cervix for the first time (since my water had broken AND I had the Strep B they wanted to check me as little as possible to prevent possible infection) and I was dilated to 3 cm. THREE. With the pain I was in, I was sure I was at least 7 cm. I could not believe I still had so far to go. The contractions were coming so close together and were so intense I was really shaky and light-headed. At this point, I made the decision to get the epidural. They called the anesthesiologist and by 7pm my epidural was in and I was one happy girl.
At 8pm the doctor checked me again and I was 8 cm. I was ecstatic! I am a firm believer that the epidural allowed me to finally relax enough that my body was able to progress. At 9:25pm the doctor wanted to check me again and I was 10 cm, 100% effaced and at zero station. The doctor and nurses got everything ready and at 9:30pm I started pushing. Hadley Elizabeth Bateman was born exactly eight minutes later at 9:38pm.
I am 39 weeks pregnant today. One week from my due date. Since Ana was two weeks early, this is officially the most pregnant I have ever been. I’m still not overly uncomfortable, but I am really excited to meet my daughter already. My hospital bag is packed, the car seat is installed in the car, my camera has an empty memory card and a full battery, and all my friends and family are on stand-by. The point is, I’m ready.
Since I’m not really a fan of this hurry-up-and-wait business, I’ve done a couple searches on the Internet and tried some of the easier “natural pregnancy induction” techniques. I’ve walked. A LOT. Eaten lots of spicy food (which just kick starts my heartburn). Tonight we spent almost an hour in the swimming pool and then I had eggplant Parmesan for dinner. And I haven’t had one real contraction (I’m having Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing more serious). With my gestational diabetes, my OB won’t let me go (much) past my due date, so if this little girl doesn’t start her descent soon, I may have an induction in my future. I’d much rather do this naturally, so keep thinking positive baby thoughts for me!
Hopefully this will be the last one of these I do. Here is my 39 week belly shot:
As always, any pictures of Baby Bateman 2.0 will be collected here. Also, earlier in the week, Sim, Ana and I met with my lovely friend Elle who took the most amazing maternity/family pictures for us. You have to see the fabulous slide show she put together for us over on her website, Zober Images.
I had my 39 week doctor’s appointment today (my doctor is off for the rest of the week, so it’s a little early since I won’t actually be 39 weeks until Sunday) and have this to report back:
Weight: lost 1.4 lb since last week (2.4 lb total gain)
Blood Pressure: 110/70
Baby’s Heartbeat: 140s
I also had my first internal exam and I am dilated 1 cm and am 50% effaced. Basically no where near going into labor. Then again, I had no signs before going into labor with Ana, so I guess you just never know. But stay tuned, things are about to get interesting!
I had my 38 week doctor’s appointment on Friday and have this to report back:
Weight: gained .8 lb since last week (3.8 lb total gain)
Blood Pressure: 110/70
Baby’s Heartbeat: 144
My appointment was pretty uneventful, so there isn’t really much to report back (just the way I like it!). Baby is officially full term and now we just wait for her to be ready to come out!
In honor of Halloween tomorrow, Sim, Ana, and I decided to get a little creative with this week’s belly shot. Sim and I painted my belly like a pumpkin when I was pregnant with Ana, so it was only fair. Here is my 38 week (pumpkin) belly shot:
Ana thoroughly had a blast while we were painting our bellies, so make sure you check out all the pictures here.
I had my 37 week doctor’s appointment on Friday and have this to report back:
Weight: gained 1 lb since last week (3 lb total gain)
Blood Pressure: 104/71
Baby’s Heartbeat: 142
I got the results back from the Strep B test and it was positive. So, just like with Ana, I will have to have some antibiotics (for the baby, not for me) while I am in labor and stay in the hospital for at least 48 hours to be monitored. So nothing extreme and I’ve already been there before so I’m not worried. Otherwise, everything at my appointment was nice and normal. Baby Hadley is growing right on schedule and everything looks great.
Sim is going to be out of town for the next few days at a conference in LA, so he is insisting I take it super easy while he is away so I don’t accidentally bring on labor. He’s asked me not to workout, go for long walks around the mall but permitted to do carpet cleaning around the house with the help of an expert.I think I can handle it. Ana and I will find some nice leisurely activities to keep us busy and close to home. But, in the event that Hadley decides to make a surprise appearance, I have several friends on stand-by. So all my bases are covered.
But I’m still keeping my fingers (and legs!) crossed… just in case.
Here is my 37 week belly shot:
Then Ana wanted to be in the picture.
And she didn’t want Sim to be left out, so Ana took one with him and I.
36 weeks? How am I that far along already? I don’t feel uncomfortably huge (unless of course I am trying to tie my shoes or pick something up off the floor) so sometimes it really sneaks up on me that I am already so close to my due date. A couple days ago I felt like the baby was sitting pretty low and I could actually breathe for awhile. Granted, I felt like I needed to pee almost constantly, but there was also a little break from the heartburn, which was nice. But today she feels like she is back up in my ribs. So the Tums are once again my constant companion. I don’t know if it’s just been four years since I was pregnant with Ana, but I don’t remember her moving around as much as Hadley. I have felt some serious kicks and jabs that practically take my breath away (not that I need any help with breathing issues). This baby stretches and moves around so much, all I can do is sit back and marvel at how strong she is. The other night, Sim was feeling some of her mightier movements and he had a moment of panic that maybe this baby wasn’t going to be all easy going and sweet like Ana was as a baby. It was funny for him to realize that Hadley is going to be her own person and we have no idea who that person is going to be. But she will be here soon enough and we just can’t wait to meet her!
Anyway, here is my 36 week belly shot:
As always, any pictures of Baby Bateman 2.0 will be collected here.
I had my 35/36 week doctor’s appointment today and have this to report back:
Weight: down 1 lb since last month (2 lb total gain)
Blood Pressure: 110/70
Baby’s Heartbeat: 169 (she was being very active today!)
At my appointment today my doctor did the test for Strep B. I tested positive with Ana (it only meant they gave me a course of antibiotics while I was in labor before she was born) so I had assumed that meant I would have it again, but my doctor said that’s not the case. Some people have it at certain times, but just because I had it before does not mean I will necessarily have it again. Good to know. So we shall see how that test goes.
As with every appointment, my doctor measured me and confirmed that baby is growing right on schedule. So despite my obvious lack of weight gain (two pounds? Woohoo!), she is not at all worried. While she was pressing around on my stomach I asked her if she could tell if baby was head down or not. She pressed a little more and said with 90% confidence (short of doing an ultrasound) baby was, in fact, head down. That made me feel a lot better because at my last appt the doctor I saw thought her head was up. While, yes, she could have flipped in the last couple weeks, I have been pretty sure she was head down. I am constantly feeling what can only be feet and knees kicking and stretching me in every which way just under my ribs. So it was nice to confirm what I was thinking all along.
I start seeing my doctor every week now which just reminds me that this pregnancy has gone far too quickly. Plus I have this application on my iPhone that keeps telling me scary things like “4 weeks and 4 days until your due date” or “full term on October 24th.”
I had my 34 week doctor’s appointment on Friday and have this to report back:
Weight: down 1 lb since last month (3 lb total gain)
Blood Pressure: 118/70
Baby’s Heartbeat: Normal, in the 140s
Not much to report back. I didn’t see my regular OB this week since she was on vacation, so the appointment was pretty brief. But everything is going great and right on schedule, so I can’t complain!
Here is my 34 week belly shot:
