35 weeks!

I guess this is the home stretch! 35 weeks! I still remember getting the positive pregnancy test, so the fact that I will be holding this little baby in a just a few short weeks is surreal. I've got some pictures to post but need to warn you...if you do not want to see the *reality* of pregnancy, then seriously please don't look!! The *reality* being stretch marks - which are now quite visible. I didn't even realize how dark they had gotten until I took these pictures because, quite honestly, I don't see that part of my body anymore!!! Also, you can see what a difference 2 weeks makes here at the end. He (the baby) is fully developed now and the main reason for staying in longer is simply to gain weight and fat. So it goes quickly and I feel it! The first picture below is at 33 weeks, and then the last two at 35 weeks.

At lot of people have commented on how I have 'dropped.' And I think I have too to a certain degree (the pictures definitely show a change). He is definitely lower, but it's still difficult to breathe sometimes, though now that I think about it that has been getting better!! :)

Still lots going on with the move to Mayville. Jeremy accepted the position on Sunday night and it was passed by the school board on Monday. We're looking at housing and that's been an exciting thought (possibly buying a house) but wow, lots to think about. New baby, new jobs, new house, new town...scary!!!

TTFN. :)

Been very busy...

OKAY! Update!! We have been very busy over here...

1) I am going back to work this morning - we'll see how it goes. I had another contraction attack last night after a good 4-5 days of nothing. I got them to stop after about 2 hours, but still not fun. They are definitely getting stronger, but as long as I can get them to stop they are still false labor!

2) WE ARE MOVING TO MAYVILLE, NORTH DAKOTA!

3) Baby is doing well! Had another appointment yesterday and everything is measuring right on schedule and (knock on wood) I have had zero swelling so far. Yeah!!

Gotta go to work but needed to update. I will again tonight with pictures, etc.

TTFN!

And I'm...

off of work. For now. I had another appointment today, my first since going to the hospital last Tuesday. The on call doctor I saw that night said to take the rest of the week off and then see my regular doctor at the beginning of this week. Okay - so I went to work yesterday since it was Monday and I didn't get into my regular doctor until today. Yesterday at work was definitely a bit rough. I was only there for 3 hours and by the third hour I was having the contractions every 4-5 minutes. So they are definitely activity related!! I went home at noon and the rest of the night was pretty uncomfortable - just in general all over uncomfortable. I went to my appointment today and the first thing I noticed is...*sigh*...the weight gain. 2.5 pounds in one week!!!!!! Up until this point I have only gained .5-1 pound a week, and then all of a sudden this past week 2.5 pounds. So...right there we're thinking definite growth spurt, and maybe my uterus is not handling it that well and contracting during the stretching. Thus, this would also explain my increased exhaustion, dizziness, lightheadness, pounding heart in my chest, tingling arms...all the fun pregnancy things that come in the last month. So then I finally told my doctor I went to work yesterday and he looked surprised and said it was too soon. He wants me off of work until 35 weeks for sure because at that point the baby really should be okay. There may be preterm issues to deal with, but he's not too concerned. I go back to work next Wednesday, one day shy of 35 weeks. And from there we'll take it one day at a time and see how I respond to work.

Good news is baby has been moving lots and lots and that is always reassuring. I would just love for him to drop though so I could take a deep breath again!!

TTFN. :)

33 weeks

We've made it to 33 weeks! I'm getting bigger by the hour now, and I'm feeling it so much more. Breathing has become so amazingly difficult!! Getting ready in the morning requires at least two sessions of sitting down to catch my breath, combined with feelings of dizziness and lightheadness. (He's still just so high...) I have a feeling the continued growth is also what's bringing on the continued contractions. They're not as bad as they were Tuesday night, but most definitely still there. I have another appointment on Tuesday, and we'll see what he says then about the contractions. With the negative fetal fibronectin test there's not much they can do for the contractions and the worry of perterm labor is significantly decreased. I keep trying to remind myself of that as I'm breathing through them! :) Lots of things bring them on for me, but mostly activities like stairs, bending down, bending over, getting up too fast...things like that.

My mother and Kyla are here right now and we're having so much fun!! I had forgotten what energy a 3 year old can have, but how much fun we can have too. It's non-stop! :)

Here's the most recent picture...notice the stretch marks on the bottom. Not my favorite part of this pregnancy but I guess it could be worse. Give it time, right? I've still got at least 6 more weeks!!

TTFN!

Rough/scary night

My first trip to the L&D floor! (Labor and delivery...) My contractions started like they had the previous 2-3 times and I tried ignoring them. Finally I started keeping track of them around 7 o'clock. They were coming every 8 minutes so I downed about 40 oz. of water and lied down for an hour and a half. At 8:30 they still hadn't subsided and back pain was starting, so I called the nurse line to ask them what to do. They put me through to the on call doctor who asked me to come in. I was monitored for almost 2 full hours and the contractions didn't stop. They actually got stronger! At one point I really had to stop and concentrate because the pain got pretty bad. The doctor did an exam and thankfully I am not dialated at all. She also did a fetal fibronectin test, which can tell what percentage you are at for delivering prematurely. (The test is either positive or negative - positive meaning a 15-20% chance of delivering in the next 2 weeks.) That came back negative, which means that I have a 1% chance of delivering in the next 2 weeks. (She also said nothing is 100%, so if anything changes to come in right away). So we finally got to go home about 1 a.m. and I was told to take the rest of the week off of work. (Work has been great with all of this.) I'm still contracting this morning, but nothing has changed about them since yesterday so I'm just trying to relax.

It was definitely a new experience being there. I had anxiety and fear come over me that I was not expecting. That was a little scary - thinking maybe I can't do labor!! But I know at the time God will give me the strength to do this, but I was not prepared for last night.

The good news is baby was a trooper through all of this. His heartrate stayed consistently normal and I think he was a little excited at the thought of almost coming out - it felt like he was throwing a party inside my stomach. :)

Heading back to bed now...TTFN!

THANK YOU!

Let me introduce you to (okay so many of you already know them!) my seven best friends from high school:

This picture was taken at Erin (Thompson) Gigstad's wedding. This is a group of women whose friendships I feel that I (and I am not just being pregnant-emotional here) will never have the opportunity to compare to anything similar again in my lifetime. We are all over the country (sometimes overseas!) and our personalities couldn't be more diverse. But that's what makes this group stay together. We have the common bond of a tiny town called Park River, and the years that we spent there together are irreplaceable. It has been 6 years since we graduated high school and I still feel as close to them as ever, though in different ways. The effort and money that they put into getting our baby's gift together was so thoughtful, sweet and touched my heart!

I praise God for you, your friendships, and the unique bond we share! Thank you for making the effort to be part of something so special in my life right now.

All my love,

Jessica

31 weeks 5 days...

Almost 32 weeks! My weeks turn on Thursdays, but I'm a little anxious tonight for some reason. Here are most recent pictures:

There was a definite growth spurt in the last 3 days and this time it was a little more painful than the previous ones. I think simply because we're running out of room!! And THEY are here - those UGLY little things. STRETCH MARKS. Thankfully I only have 3 right now - small ones - but there's still 8 weeks to go! They could grow and multiply quickly!!! I was a little sad about them at first but Jeremy made me feel better and he's really the only opinion I care about when it comes to that anyways.

Speaking of which...

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY JEREMY!

We had a good day today with his favorite meal and a surprise dessert. Plus I made puppy chow today and then it's always a good day - right? :) The job situation was an unplanned stress we dealt with today - but hopefully we'll have answers soon as to where we'll be next year and the decision can just be done with! He did get another interview for Mora, MN - a smaller school district in Minnesota but they are not being as flexible with their interview times so we may just pass this one up. We're not as excited about it plus he has responsibilities here that come first. (Like a job!!!)

Baby is doing very well - I think he's been up for 48 straight hours! LOTS of movement and lots of hiccups! Poor guy. This brings me to my next big heading:

THANK YOU GIRLS FOR THE GIFT!

The relationships I have with my girls from high school is one of the main reasons why I'm so excited about the thought of moving to ND. The fact that it has been almost 6 years since high school and you still care enough about me to find a way to make me feel special is so amazing! You girls are truly wonderfuly and irreplaceable. I love you!!

Off topic comment - Tomahawk's high school prom was this past weekend. It ended at 10:30 pm. Isn't that sad? It ended becuase all the kids left to go to other parties! I couldn't believe that when Jeremy told me that - sad and scary that it is so accepted.

TTFN!