Abbie Brooke Shaw 4-29-10

Abbie has finally arrived, well she is 11 days old today. It has taken me a while to post anything because we've been adjusting to little Abbie and it is exhausting but so much fun!
For those of you who don't know my "labor story," here it is:
I went in to be induced on April 29 at 7:30a.m. The nurse started me on pitocin about 8:45 and the doctor broke my water around 9:15. By that point I was already 4cm dilated and 80% effaced. The nurse took my blood and found out that I had a low blood platelet count which means that I might not get an epidural. So by that point I just broke down b/c the pain was getting worse and my contractions were about 2 minutes apart. The anesthesiologist looked at my results and decided that I could get my epidural. By that time I was 6 cm dilated. After my epidural I felt soo good! I highly recommend them :). Anyways the rest of my labor was extremely easy and Abbie arrived at 4:47p.m. and weighed 5lbs 15.8 oz, but the doctor rounded it to 6lbs which is on her birth certificate.
Life with Abbie is wonderful and I don't know what I ever did with out her. Jeff is such a great dad and I love the way Abbie just stares and him when she hears his voice. I'm not sure how well she can see but you can tell his voice is very familiar to her. (Jeff used to talk to my belly at night before we would go to bed) Today is Jeff's first day back at work after having 11 days off so it has been tiring getting up at all the feedings in the middle of the night, but I'll get used to it. Jeff did such a great job with Abbie. He is such a great dad!

My Belly at 38 weeks and 2 days!

Here is a picture of me at 38 weeks and 2 days. I am very swollen! I haven't been able to wear my wedding and Aggie rings for a couple of weeks now. My legs and ankles are really swollen too. My ankles are non existent at the moment. My feet are swollen as well. I had to buy a shoe in a size 10 this week and I am really hoping that they go back to normal once Abbie is here!!! My skin is also always like a reddish purplish color and now it's just a little worse as you can probably kind of see from the picture! Ok enough about me complaining about the way my body looks right now, it's very temporary and for the best reason in the world!!!
So last night I slept through the night! It was awesome. Before I went to bed I drank 2 cups of chocolate milk, and ate a nutri-grain bar and a banana to keep me full so I wouldn't have to wake up and eat. It worked!!! I feel good and I have been having more Braxton-Hicks contractions. I have every sign in my book that labor is imminent and have had them for over a week now but Thursday is Labor Day for me if it doesn't happen for me sooner. Please keep praying it does!
I feel very blessed that my pregnancy has been pretty perfect minus me feeling bad. I can't wait to hold my little girl!

38 week Check-up

Today we had our 38 week check up and it went well. Abbie's heartrate was 140 bpm and my blood pressure was good. If I don't have her before then I am being induced on APril 29th @ 5:30 a.m.! (That's my mom's birthday!)
I was 3cm dilated and 80 % effaced. I get an epidural once I hit 4 cm so it should be an easy delivery since I'll probably dilate another cm from now until then so he can just break my water, and then I can get my epidural. (That's what we talked about anyways)
I broke down as we were leaving the doctors office for no reason I just started crying uncontrollably which was weird and embarrassing because I don't cry ever, and I don't like it when I do. The receptionist was really nice and reminded me that I am almost done.
I just need to focus on the positive that everything is going well with my pregnancy and that Abbie is healthy and growing strong. The doctor said that he thought she would weigh about 7lbs. :)
I have not been sleeping through the night so please pray that I get a good nights rest!!! The night time is the worst when Jeff is peacefully sleeping and I'm up eating and trying to settle my stomach!

False Alarm 4-18-10

I lost my mucus plug on Saturday and ever since then I felt weird and was having irregular contractions. I thought that I had some "leaking", and Jeff and I went to the hospital to make sure everything was okay. While we were at the hospital the nurse checked my cervix and I was still 2 cm dilated. I was hooked up to the heart rate and contraction monitor and everything was healthy and normal.
We were at the hospital for three hours getting everything checked out and waiting for the results of the fern test (which determines if there is any amniotic fluid present) which came back negative meaning there wasn't any. We were bummed because we had convinced ourselves that, that is what it was and that we were going to be having our baby the next day.
I was glad that I had this experience because when I went into the hospital this time I was freaking out and shaking uncontrollably and just so nervous. Now that I have a better idea of what the procedure is when I go into the hospital I will be more calm.
Jeff and I had our bags packed and everything ready in the car to bring the baby home, and it was so sad to bring an empty car seat back in the house. :( WE ARE SO READY!

Finally Full Term!

Jeff and I went to the doctor yesterday for my 37 week check up. I will be going every week until the baby arrives from now on! I was 2cm dilated and Abbie's head is down in position. My doctor said that we should be prepared to have her within the next 2 weeks. After he checked my cervix, which hurt so horribly bad and just reassured me of how much I want an epidural, I started having contractions every 7 minutes for the next few hours, and then sporadically throughout the day and night.
Abbie has been so active and last night before I went to bed she was the most active she had ever been. She was very squirmy like she couldn't get comfortable. Jeff had his hand on my stomach when she was moving and it's funny to see his reactions to movements I feel all the time. He's like "AHH do you feel that, that's so cool". I love when he gets to feel her move. Jeff is so wonderful, and I am so thankful for him!
Please pray for us to be patient. My feet and ankles are so swollen and I'm getting pretty uncomfortable, but most of all we want to see and hold her!!!

Doctors Visit Update

I went to the doctor today and was 35 weeks and 5 days pregnant. My blood pressure was normal and I had the strep test done. My stomach measured 33 inches which is 2 more inches than I was 2 weeks ago when I went in. I go back to the Doctor next Friday and Jeff gets to go with me this time :) and I will be 37 weeks and full term :). I can't believe it! He is going to check to see if I'm dilated at all and I really hope that I am!
Abbie's heart rate was 146 bpm and as the nurse was checking it Abbie kicked the little heart rate monitor off my stomach and you could hear the kick through the machine. It was pretty funny, she is so strong. :) I am so ready for her to be here. Please pray for patience for me and for the labor and delivery to go smoothly. I really need to work on that because everything is out of my control and I just need to enjoy this time.

35 1/2 Week Update

It has been a while since I last posted an update so sorry about that. We have been busy getting Abbie's room all finished before she arrives and I haven't been at the computer as much.
An update on how I have been feeling...I have days where I have a ton of energy and days where I need to sleep half the day! Some days I can take 2 naps after a full night of sleep, and I feel very lucky that I am able to do that. Jeff has been great when I have no energy and takes very good care of me! He's going to be such a wonderful dad! So as I mentioned before I sleep a lot, but then I have nights where I don't really sleep at all. Maybe that's just my body's way of getting me used to an irregular sleep schedule since that's how it will be once the baby is here!
We have the bassinet set up in our room and our strollers, bouncer, rocker, and play things put together just waiting for her. Everywhere I look in our house there is something baby related to look at (besides looking down at my stomach, which by the way is getting bigger everyday :)). So it's hard to get my mind on anything else. I am just so excited to meet our baby!!!
Abbie is getting much bigger and will respond if you push on my stomach. She also has the hiccups like twice a day and the lady that taught the breast feeding class we took said that it means she is at peace in the womb. She was very "earthy" :) and helpful. Abbie also jumps almost every time I pull the drain to our bathtub because it make a really loud noise and I guess it startles her. I love love love feeling her move, that is the best part about being pregnant!
I go to the doctor this Wednesday and then at my next visit I start going every week and my doctor will start checking for dilation YAY!