36 weeks

If this doesn't prove that I'm huge, I don't know what will.

The next doctor's appointment is tomorrow morning. I'm hoping I get the word that I no longer need to take pills if I have contractions. If that's the case, I plan on doing a lot of walking this weekend.

Camp Foley

Six years ago I went north to Pine River, MN to an experience of a lifetime. I had just finished my sophomore year of college and needed to get away from small town MS for a while. I found Camp Foley on the internet the summer before while trying to pass the time after ending a long term relationship. I needed to escape and meet new people and Camp Foley seemed like the perfect opportunity. Looking back now, I wouldn't change anything about that summer. It was perfect. I met Tom.

Since 2002 Camp Foley has always had a special place in my heart. I have so many memories there. When I was leaving camp that summer I made a promise to myself to send my neice and nephews there as soon as they were old enough. This is the first summer I got to keep that promise to myself. Tom and I sent Hannah, our neice, to Foley. Despite being required to eat celery and having close to 50 bug bites on her butt, she had a great time. I'm happy.

This is the boy I fell in love with back in 2002.

35 weeks

I'm pressed for time since Tom wants me downstairs to watch Weeds. Here's a pic of my belly at 35 weeks. Enjoy.

Are you ready?

I'm ready. I thought Tom was ready until last night when I began to have contractions again. I was relaxing on the couch in the basement when I suddenly felt like I needed to pee really bad. When I got up I realized Micah had dropped. I tried to use the bathroom with no success, but I did start having contractions. As soon as I mentioned the word "contraction" Tom had already sprinted up the stairs to retrieve my procardia pills from my purse. For the next few hours Tom had this terrified look on his face. I was doing fine. Just trying to deal with all of the pain and discomfort while trying to calm him down. Turned out that a warm bath and tons of water to drink helped slow things down and I got 4 straight hours of sleep. That's a huge feat!

So, after all those child birth classes I figured Tom would be ready for the baby any day now, but I think he went into a state of shock or panic. I talked him through it though and I think he'll be ready to go when the real thing comes around...especially with all of these trial runs.

At the last child birth class all of the men got to experience what it's like to be pregnant. Well, minus the morning sickness, hormone changes, bloating and swelling, and all of the other fun details. But, he did get to wear the sympathy suit. Enjoy the pic. I look terrible, but it too shall pass.

Barefoot and Pregnant

The heat of summer that I have anticipated and longed for is finally here, but it is having terrible effects on my body. My feet are swollen and hurt. And, yes, I have been drinking a ton of water for those of you wondering.

Monday I had another appt with the doctor. Micah is close to 5 lbs now. My doctor say we will try to hold off the labor for another 3 weeks, but he may let me go after that. Tom wants me to wait as long as possible using the procardia pills, but he isn't carrying around an extra 30-something pounds every single day. Waiting a few extra weeks to him is a walk in the park.

In other unrelated news, Hannah leaves for camp tomorrow! I'm so excited for her and I hope she has a blast!

33 weeks

At 33 weeks I miss being smaller. It's become extremely difficult to get in and out of the car and off the couch and out of any chair for that matter. Thank goodness I'm almost there.

Tom and I had our usual child birth class on Wednesday which taught us all about epidurals and C-sections. I definitely want the epidural and definitely don't want a C-section. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes as planned.

Thursday we had breast feeding class. Tom was one of only two husbands that attended class. Everyone else brought their mom. I guess that makes sense since most of them breast fed their own children. That makes them good supports and teachers in that field. I had to nudge Tom quite a few times to keep him awake during the class although I think he enjoyed the videos.

Saturday morning we had yet another baby class. This time it was baby care class. Tom changed his first diaper. So what if it was on a doll. It still counts. Now he has no excuses when it's his turn to change Micah's diapers. Too bad he didn't quite get the whole swaddling technique down. It should come with practice though.

Other than classes all last week, no other news. One child birth class to go this week.

Live Birth Video

As we began our second child birth class, we were instructed to tell how our week had progressed and if there was any exciting news. Tom and I by far had the most interesting story about the pre-term later. But, by no means do we want to be the talk of the class next week. During the breaks everyone was coming up to me to ask how it felt and all the awful details of the 27th. I suppose it was good to talk about it. I think sharing the story helped calm my nerves a little. The more people I've told, the more people come out and say, "Oh, that happened to me with my first." That makes things a little more reassuring.

After the second break in class, we came back to a room with the lights dimmed and everyone had just made a fresh plate of snacks to munch on during the movie. It was the movie Tom had heard horror stories about. A co-worker warned him to excuse himself from the room to avoid watching the video. Another of his friends told him to stay out of "red zone". The ever dreaded video of the live birth was about to begin. I looked at Tom, and he looked at me and said, "I can do this." And he did. Honestly, the video wasn't that bad. I think the version we watched was toned down quite a bit from what everyone else says they've seen. Tom did mention that the movie would have been better if it were Pamela Anderson giving birth rather than a Skeletor look alike. Figures.

A couple interesting facts I learned in class: The number of mothers requesting an epidural at the Littleton hospital, where I will deliver, is around 90%. The number of mothers requesting an epidural at the Boulder, the land of the hippies with way too much money, hospital is somewhere around 15%.

Pre-term Labor

Pre-term labor is defined as going into labor before the 37th week of pregnancy. At 31 weeks and one day, I woke up having cramps. Little did I know that I was actually having contractions. After showering I decided I needed to lay down for a few minutes in hopes that my tummy would start to feel better. I managed to finish getting ready for work, but by the time I arrived at the office I was almost in tears. I called the doctor's office to reschedule my appt for that day to an earlier time and I was taken right in. The next thing I knew I was on the phone with Tom telling him I was being wheeled next door to the hospital. When they were checking me in they took me straight up to labor and delivery. I'll be honest. I was alone...well, besides the doctors and nurses... and I was terrified! I had no idea what was going to happen. It took about an hour for Tom to get to the hospital and when he arrived I started to feel a lot better. After three shots of tribulalene and two pills of procardia, the contractions stopped. Thank Goodness! Micah and I almost had the same birthday. So, needless to say, I won't forget my 26th birthday any time soon. The down side is I know exactly what contractions feel like and I have to go through all that again in just a few weeks.

I remained on bed rest for the weekend and was released to go back to work on Monday. I'm happy about that b/c that allows me to use more of my maternity leave after Micah makes his grand entrance rather than stuck in a bed waiting on him to get here. I'm on strict orders to take it easy and get plenty of rest and water. Lots and lots of water. I have to drink at least a gallon of water per day. Have you ever tried to drink a gallon of water in one day? Now imagine having a 4 lbs lump in your belly constantly pressing on your bladder. 1 gallon of water + small bladder= at least 20 trips to the bathroom per day. And I'm supposed to be taking it easy...