Buncha more photos...

This post is dedicated to our parents, who have helped us out immensely the last few weeks as I've been recovering. It's been wonderful for Cooper to spend time with his grandparents, and we've been so grateful for all of the extra hands and love and support...not to mention, the extra sleep. THANK YOU so very much!

We love you Mom/Neena & John, Dad/Bob & Jeannie, and Mom/Alice!!!

Doin' the sprinkler dance....

Life is so rough, isn't it??

Chillin' with my feet together...

Asleep and truly relaxed...

Please...no more paparazzi photos...

Some photos...

No time to write these days, but I figure I'd better get some photos of Cooper posted before people start to riot. :-)

Proof below that even adorable Cooper can get a bit...shall we say...cranky at times. We're constantly amazed at how much volume this little guy can produce with those tiny lungs!

Cautiously optimistic...

Recently returned from the OB clinic, where I'm told that things are looking "great" with my incision. I was put back on the aquacel therapy on Monday, which is a huge relief because it doesn't require dressing changes by me and I'm also in a lot less pain these days. Aquacel may be the best thing since sliced bread, in my current mindset!! :-) The wet-to-dry dressing was doing a good job, but it was irritating the wound and creating more pain than necessary, whereas the aquacel is more gentle and ultimately better for promoting the healing process. So I had my third dressing change today at the clinic, and was told not to even make a formal appointment for my next change...just to make a judgement call on when the outside dressing gets too saturated and come in as a walk-in. I'm hoping to make it to Tuesday, but we'll see how the weekend goes.

It has been officially decided that I'm definitely not a candidate for a "secondary closing" (re-stitching) because of being on Lovenox, so I'm stuck with this open wound for the duration of its healing. Perhaps I should call it the Mother of All Papercuts?? Anyway, the nurse and Dr. Kuskowski...the doc who actually did my c-section and also opened me back up last Wednesday...decided to leave closed a little bridge of skin smack in the middle of the incision, so I hope that was the correct decision. Dr. K. wanted to open it, since it's in the middle, but what swayed him to keep it closed is that the skin had matched up perfectly, when usually the skin seals together a bit lopsided. (anyone grossed out yet??) We'll see what the report is next week, but for now I'm cautiously optimistic since I'm not in nearly as much pain, I don't have to spend the weekend working around times to pack my own wound, and I'm still able to use the aquacel.



In the meantime, Cooper is doing wonderfully. We had his two-week well baby checkup on Wednesday and he's now up to 7lbs 6oz, which means that he's feeding well despite being tongue tied. Have I mentioned that in a previous post? Maybe not. Our little boy is tongue tied, where that little thingy underneath the tongue holds the entire length of his tongue, so we'll meet with an ENT doc in the next couple weeks to see about getting it clipped (if left alone, it may lead to speech problems). It's usually a bigger problem in breastfed babies because of difficulties latching on; fortunately, Cooper is able to feed from the bottle well enough to be gaining weight within the normal percentiles and, other than peeing all the way down his mommy's white tee shirt, we had a good visit with the pediatrician. He does seem to have blocked tear ducts, which is the cause of some crusty yet also teary eyes, but hopefully that will resolve on its own by the time he's 6 months old.

Last week we received some fun presents for Cooper...this one (of several) from the Girdleys made me tear up a little, it's baby's first photo album prefilled with photos:






And here's a great gift sent by Bob's command that we've already gotten a lot of use out of:





And finally....while this isn't exactly a "cute" photo, Bob and I think it's adorable nonetheless:



(PS. Thanks to other gift-givers, I don't mean to exclude anyone...hopefully we'll get photos of your gifts taken soon!)

Anonymous Gift?

Quick post to ask who might have sent Cooper an adorable NY Giants creeper and bootie set? The present is from "1LaptoGo" and was sent without an invoice or any indication of who gifted it to our little man, and we want to be sure to send a proper thank you to the giver. Please drop us an email if it's you!

Quick update...

Hi all,

Things have been a bit...challenging...shall we say? I'll explain why in a bit, but suffice it to say that we've definitely been given our fair share of obstacles in the past week and it's been somewhat tough. But the good news is that Cooper is still doing great, he regained his birth weight by the time we saw the pediatrician the Monday after he was born, and other than some eye schmutz that cropped up today (might be a tear duct thing), he's a wonderful, perfect, lovely little guy.

Birth story, abridged: Started induction at 1pm on 3/17 with cytotec, which didn't do a darn thing to dilate me past the 1cm I was already at, so around 5pm they put in a foley catheter...which, holymotherofgod, hurt more than I thought possible. That was put in to dilate me to 4cm, which took about 4 hours. In the meantime, I fully embraced the idea of an epidural and asked to get that put in after the catheter fell out. It worked well enough that I think I was able to rest overnight, but to be quite honest I don't really remember much other than the constant BP monitoring cuff and the oxygen mask they insisted I wear. Oh yeah, pitocin was started at the same time as the catheter and they kept pushing it up and up and up. I was also told to stay on my right side as much as possible, because it was best for the baby, and doing that meant that at some point the epidural stopped working as well on my left side. GREAT! Jump to Tuesday, and I've since lost track of when I dilated to what centimeter, but I do remember that I was progressing VERY slowly and was becoming quite discouraged...and uncomfortable...and worried about the level of pitocin I was on...and sick of being on my right side...and generally just getting wiped out and tired and frustrated. During the day I had two additional doses put into the epidural and they only worked for a couple of hours, and by 5pm I was dilated to 8cm. We got somewhat encouraged by this news, but cut to 4-ish hell hours later and I was still at 8cm, and the docs finally declared me "failure to progress". I was quickly prepped for a c-section, and since the epidural was obviously not as effective as it could have been, they took that out and did a spinal block on me. That wasn't fun, since the same guy who did the epidural did the spinal...and appeared to be a trainee on the spinal part. But by then I was in so much pain and misery that I mostly didn't care.

I'll spare you the details of the c-section (I wasn't a huge fan of all the sensations, to say the least), but Cooper was born with a major conehead - due to hanging out in my pelvis for so long - and apgars of 7 and 9 at 9:50pm on 3/18. I was stitched up and the three of us moved to the recovery room for a couple hours of monitoring. It was nice to have Bob and Cooper in the room with me, since it distracted me from the discomfort, and we were moved to the postpartum room and settled by 1am. Three days of recovery and we were discharged home on 3/21.

I was recovering fine until Sunday morning, when I woke up with some sharp stabbing pains in my incision. It didn't look all that great throughout the day, and I went in to the OB acute care clinic on Monday after our pediatrician appointment where I was told to come back on Wednesday since they weren't sure if it was an infection or possibly a hematoma. So, we go back on Wednesday...all three of us since I'm still unable to drive by myself...and after two doctor consults, it's determined that I definitely have large hematomas/blood clots that are hindering the healing of my incision, and the incision was re-opened to get cleaned out and packed with aquacell. The plan was to come back to OB for a dressing change every other day, but by Wednesday evening the bleeding had seeped heavily through the outside dressing and Bob and I drove back to the hospital to have it all looked at again. Fortunately, my mom made an emergency trip to come help us with Cooper, so at least we didn't have to lug the little guy with us.

The docs in L&D (thankfully we didn't have to go to the ER) decided that the wound was seeping too heavily for aquacell, and they switched me to a wet/dry dressing...which means packing my own wound twice a day. FUN!...not. Bob is unable to do the dressing changes, says he could do it on a stranger but not his own wife, but he's able to hold the mirror for me and either keeps his eyes closed or on the TV. While it's amazingly gross seeing the inside of your own belly (fortunately it's just the fat/skin layer, but about an inch down...seriously, just gross), I'm trying to channel the old days of my college zoology classes when we dissected things and keep myself totally removed from the process while doing what has to be done. Hopefully we'll be getting set up with a home health care nurse starting on Monday so at least I'll have a medical professional here for the dressing changes, with a practiced eye on how the wound is supposed to look, and can help if there are any issues that come up.

It's just so odd that opening the wound is supposed to help me heal faster in this case, something to do with how the blood clots were in the way of the layers properly healing and how opening it and doing wet/dry dressing will help things heal from the inside out. But, I do have to admit to a bit less pain now that the clots have been somewhat removed, there isn't as much pressure. I still have to go to the OB every other day during the week, where they will continue to monitor my progress. And at some point the goal is to get me back on the aquacell, which in theory will reduce the number of dressing changes.

To say we're overwhelmed these days is an understatement. Fortunately, Cooper is a wonderful little guy and we're so blessed that he's healthy so far. His only issue is that he doesn't sleep as well at night as he does during the day...the lovely night vs. day thing that many newborns have...but hopefully we'll get that worked out soon. We're also blessed to have generous parents who have rallied to help us get through these tough weeks. My mom came down immediately on Wednesday when all this incision stuff started and stayed until today, which is when Bob's mom Alice arrived to stay for a week. Dad and Jeannie are then arriving when Alice leaves and we plan on having them stay as long as they can, about 8-9 days. Mom may come back for a few days, depending on my healing status, and then my cousin/sister Susan will be visiting for a little bit (yay!!), and beyond that we're really, really, really hoping that I'll be back to somewhat of a normal health level and be able to care for Cooper the way I'd like to. Bob returns to work this Monday, but we're hoping that his boss will allow him to have reduced work hours or grant him some leave, at least for another week.

So, that's the story about Cooper's birth and our adventures since we've been home from the hospital. I hope you'll all forgive my lack of response to emails and phone calls and gifts/cards for the time being. Any energy and pain-free time I have goes to Cooper, and the rest goes towards trying to mentally heal so I can physically heal. Things could be so much worse, but it's been a tough time lately and it's hard not to feel a little disappointed and drained. Bob has been truly wonderful, as have our parents, and we'll get through all this eventually...and holding Cooper in my arms for our afternoon naps together certainly takes my mind off everything.

More photos....

Still feeling a bit too wrecked to write much (plus, my incision may be infected and/or having blood clot issues...will head back to doctor tomorrow for another evaluation), but I can swing adding a few more photos.

Thanks for everyone's emails -- I'm lucky to get downstairs to the office once a day since I really shouldn't be using stairs, so I'm unable to respond right now, but hopefully this blog will tide you over until I'm able to get back into somewhat of a routine.

Here are some hospital photos. Above is Bob, in his sleep-deprived look. I think he totally underestimated just how little newborns sleep (especially at night)

Best feeling in the world! We have a snuggler, and it's pretty awesome....

Cooper with one of his startled looks....

You are getting veeeerry sleepy!


Finally home from the hospital!!!!

Introducing...Cooper Montgomery Burgess!!

Home now, recovering from difficult labor and c-section (story later), major sleep deprivation...but it's all worth it for our little son, Cooper, who was born at 9:50pm on Tuesday, March 18 (6lbs 15oz and 21"). Here are a few photos to tide you over until I'm more recovered and able to post the details:

Nursery Photos

For anyone who might be interested in seeing the baby's nursery...this is the first incarnation since we'll probably do things a little differently when we move this summer. But these photos will give you a little peek!

The photos are a bit out of order...the above shot was taken right after Bob assembled the crib and put up the Giants teddy bear mobile.

We put the quilt on the wall using cute monkey clips found online.

Last Christmas Mom and John gave me these lovely lion photographs, so up they went on the walls of our jungle/safari-themed room, along with...
...these giraffe photos I took at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego.


I have no idea when I'll be up to posting online again, since tomorrow is our BIG DAY (!!!!), but I'll post photos again as soon as I can. The hospital doesn't have internet access and Bob doesn't know how to use this blog, so please be patient and we'll do the best we can in letting everyone know when Baby Burgess arrives (and posting photos). Wish us luck, a speedy and uncomplicated delivery, and a quick recovery!!

The countdown begins....!

As I hinted in my last post, big baby news....I'm being induced on Monday 3/17! (well, assuming I make it that long without things starting naturally) The docs at my Tuesday appointment decided that it's probably best to get things started sooner rather than later, and I've been put on the books for Monday morning. We're to call Labor & Delivery at 7am to check for bed availability since there could be a lot of natural labors, or c-sections that tie up the nursing staff, but I've been told to take my last shot of Heparin on Sunday night and try to get some rest until it's time to head into the hospital. As if I'll be getting much sleep that night!!

So Bob and I are now officially in the countdown to enjoy these last couple days of "life without kids", and tonight we kicked it off by hitting up our favorite burger joint for dinner (if you have a Five Guys Burgers and Fries near you, we can't recommend them enough!!), then DQ for a Blizzard for Bob and Chick-Fil-A for a vanilla milkshake for me. We have errands to run tomorrow, but only after sleeping as late as possible, and we're going to try to balance the weekend with things that need to get done and quiet time to relax with each other and the kitties.

To say I'm nervous and scared is an understatement. I've always had a colossal fear of the unknown, and I'm thinking that labor, delivery and becoming a mommy is about the biggest "unknown" that I can face. But I'm trying to focus on all of the good advice we've received lately, put my faith and trust in God and the medical staff, and rely on Bob to keep me as calm as he can during the truly scary parts. As for becoming a parent, a good friend of ours said the other day that anytime we feel unsure of our abilities as parents, we should watch an episode of Cops to help us realize that we're doing more than okay. :-)

(thanks Chris D., that really made us laugh...and feel better!)

We're also a little sad to see the end of our just-the-two-of-us era. Perhaps this isn't cool to actually say/write out loud, but after almost 11 years together, it's hard not to feel a bit of melancholy for the loss of some things that being childless allowed us to do and accomplish. I'm sure our child will provide untold amounts of joy and love (and worries and stress, too!) to more than make up for the end of this era, but right now, at the very end of this pregnancy of our first child, I don't think it's all that unusual to feel a certain amount of mourning for the time when it's just been me and Bob.

That said, it will certainly be pretty amazing to finally meet the little person who's been doing cartwheels in my belly for months, using my bladder as a boxing speed bag, and see the miracle that is part of me and part of Bob. I'm also pretty happy to finally get through this pregnancy that's caused some seriously scary times for us!

I'm exhausted, so it's time for bed. I didn't sleep more than an hour at a time last night, but I did get my last NST performed today (passed with flying colors, everything still looks good), was able to hit up Target and Michael's for a few necessities, and get home without rear-ending anyone. Bob and I figure that's a good day for me indeed!

Tale of a bad day...

So, I head off to Bethesda last Friday for my NST appointment, leaving the house around 10am. Now, that may not sound early to anyone else, but seeing as how I typically sleep until 8:30 or 9:00am these days (thanks to nights with anywhere from 7-10 bathroom trips...don'tcha just love late pregnancy??), getting out of the house by 10am is somewhat of an accomplishment for me.

Anyway, the NST went very well, got the all-clear from the nurse that everything was fine. Also learned that the reason they check the amniotic fluid levels at each appointment was to ensure the placenta is remaining efficient (good placenta = good fluid levels). One of the concerns from having a two-vessel cord is that the placenta might conk out, so it's good to know that that hasn't become an issue in my case.

Last week's blood test showed that I was STILL not quite therapeutic on the Heparin and I had to adjust my dosage again, which meant that I needed another prescription filled that I decided to pick up at the hospital pharmacy after the NST. Now, I'm quite familiar with Bethesda by now, and I knew that the wait would be a while, so I'd brought a book, some water and juice and a few snacks. Good thing too, since there were SIXTY people in line in front of me....ahhh, the joys of being a patient at a major military medical center!

After a couple trips to the window, it took the pharmacy about 90 minutes to figure out and inform me tell me that "whoops, we don't have anymore Heparin...sorry 'bout that!" Well, that wasn't going to fly with me, it's kind of a major necessity in my case, so I insisted they try to track down the doc who wrote the prescription to clear things up, because they DID have some Heparin, just not in the concentration that was originally prescribed for me. Skip ahead another hour or so, and by now I've talked to the OB department, who paged and talked to the doc working up in the L&D department (thank God she was on duty that day), who sent me back to the pharmacy, where I was given 60-some pre-filled injections of Heparin and told that I needed to give myself nine....NINE....injections per day in order to fulfill my dosage requirements. Uh, yeah, that's most definitely not gonna happen.

So, I make my way back up to L&D to track down Dr. Wortman and spend about another 30 minutes working with her to clear up the situation. Ultimately, I'm put on a higher concentration because they found vials that could be used, with a lower dosage in a smaller syringe, and I'm sent back to the pharmacy to swap medication (with another wait in line, but this time there are only 20ppl in front of me...wooohooo!). By this time it's about 3pm-ish and while I'm walking back to the pharmacy, the hospital PA system announces a "Code Delta", which from experience I know is a lock-down of the base. Apparently there was a security issue and they even locked down the hospital, no one in or out until the code was cleared. Not a huge deal since I still had to wait at the pharmacy, but at this point I'm starting to lose my sh** because I'm tired, I haven't had a real meal all day, I'm feeling dehydrated, I'm two weeks from my due date and majorly hormonal, and I'm feeling every inch of physical discomfort from walking all over the hospital.

Ultimately, I work out the Heparin problem, and they finally release the Code Delta shortly after 4pm. It takes me about half an hour to get off the base (normally it's about 3 minutes from parking garage to the gate), and oh by the way, it's pouring rain and we've officially entered the DC rush hour time period....I'm facing about a two-hour drive home (would normally take about 45 minutes on a good traffic day). I was doing my best to keep my emotional cool, I kept telling myself that things could be so much worse, at least I was heading home and hadn't been admitted to the hospital with pregnancy problems, etc.

Just as I was about to convince myself that the day was almost over, I was almost safely home where I could get back into my PJs, elevate my leg and figure out a good takeout place to get a warm meal....I rear-ended the car in front of me on the DC beltway!! YAY JEN! Way to make your rotten day even worse!

Fortunately traffic was still very much stop-and-go, so I wasn't moving more than 10-15 mph and none of the airbags deployed, either in my car or the other. Other than being REALLY ticked off at myself, I was physically fine...his car has some paint damage on the bumper and the license plate was a bit bent, whereas Bob's truck actually seemed to be a bit more damaged on the bumper (the EZ Pass transponder is most likely inoperable now) so who knows how this will shake out financially. The other driver said his neck felt a little stiff from the impact, which I guess I can understand since he certainly wasn't expecting to be hit from behind, and he said he'll check with his "regular chiropractor" to see if there is any problem. I asked him several times whether we should call 911 and he turned me down each time, and after exchanging insurance info he drove right off...while I sat in the truck and completely lost it. Long day, late-pregnancy hormones, first accident I've ever been 100% responsible for, tired, achy, annoyed, irritable, etc. made for some serious tears, that's for sure!

I talked with our insurance company today and the adjuster had heard back from the other driver that he's probably wanting to get covered on the damage to his car. He'd originally told me (and Bob, later) that his was a used car and he'd probably not make a claim, but I didn't believe that for a second. At this point, the adjuster said he hadn't made any comments about needing to make a claim for medical coverage, so I'm hoping that he's physically okay and this won't blow up into something ridiculous. Oh, and here is the big coincidence: the guy I hit, is a neighbor who literally lives about 6 doors down from us. Can you believe it? Twenty miles away on the DC beltway, and I happen to rear-end a neighbor. Irony...you suck.

So, that's the tale of my awful Friday last week. Thanks for reading if you've made it all the way through, and hopefully this will become something we can laugh at later. Bob and I are sort of laughing now, but mainly because it could have been a MUCH worse accident and we both realize that "accidents happen". I'm still mad at myself, we certainly didn't need this headache at this point in our lives, but I figure if this is the first fender-bender I've had in almost 20 years of driving, that's not too bad. Granted, I have no plans on repeating anything like it, but I do need to cut myself a little slack.

I'll do another post later, because there is news on the baby front! Still pregnant, but suffice it to say that we don't have much longer to wait at all...

Speedy post...

Nope, no baby...still pregnant as of Saturday night.

Will write more later, with details as to why yesterday was quite possibly one of the two worst days of this pregnancy - not as bad as the day I was diagnosed with the DVT, and the pregnancy itself wasn't what made it a bad day (baby's fine), but man-o-man was it a doozy.

Hope our friends/family in Ohio and Indiana are doing okay after today's blizzard!!

Happiness for the anal retentive, almost first-time mom...

WE HAVE THE NURSERY FURNITURE!!!!!!!!!

After two aborted attempts to get the furniture delivered, the stars aligned and today I was actually able to take receipt of the crib, dresser and mattress for the baby. This makes me quite happy because it means I can finally start getting the nursery better organized. Now, if we could just snap our fingers and the crib would be miraculously assembled! Good thing Bob got a new set of power tools for his birthday...

;-)

Heparin...and contractions...and dilation (or not)

So I got blood drawn last Friday to measure the Heparin levels since upping the levels to 1.25ml/dose, went to my appointments and headed home after getting the all clear from the NST clinic. Did my 1pm shot, and of course about 30 minutes later Dr. Peterson calls with the results. He originally upped my dose after getting a 47.5 on my first test, and he wanted me to be over 50. (I have no idea what those numbers actually indicate but, whatever...) But 4 days of increased dosage later, my number was up to 72, so Dr. Peterson decided that perhaps it would be wise to go back to the 1ml per dosage. He'd rather I be slightly under the recommended levels than that much over. I had more blood drawn today, so we'll see what that number comes back at, which I'm quite curious about since I've now been on Heparin for two weeks. It's done a number on my belly, lots of bruising, some swelling, some pain depending on the site, and I tend to bleed/ooze more easily. Definitely a difference from the Lovenox!

Tuesdays are my OB appointments, and today's big news is that I am....not dilated at all. Okay, well maybe I might be a "fingertip" but the doctor opted not to, um, examine me that deeply to be sure (sorry if that's TMI). She could feel enough to determine that all of my Braxton Hicks and increasingly "patterned" contractions aren't affecting my cervix as of today. Sure, things can change immediately, but today's lack of cervical activity means that we're going to wait until next Tuesday's appointment, check again, and THEN decide when to induce. I don't have a date yet, but I spoke with Dr. Peterson a little while later and he said that next week, they'll consult after my exam and decide whether to induce me early in my 39th week or later that week. It's my understanding that Bethesda does NOT use cervical ripeners, so they'd like to wait and see if my body does its thing naturally.

Dr. Peterson did say that while normally they'd let me go to 41-42 weeks before considering an induction, they will definitely want to induce by my 40th week because of my oh-so-fun complications, regardless of my cervical activity. So I guess at this point, we'll have a baby by Easter at the latest. But who knows? Things can physically change at any time...maybe sooner?!

In the meantime, I'm still being monitored with NSTs/ultrasounds twice a week, and that's to keep an eye on the baby's growth and two vessel umbilical cord situation. So if anything changes there, I imagine an induction will start immediately. Today's NST showed increasingly stronger contractions, but they don't hurt...they're just sometimes a little uncomfortable, and lately almost all of them make me a little short of breath. My fluid levels are great, the baby gave us a thumbs up during the ultrasound, it's still head down....and Baby Watch 2008 continues!

In other news, our cat Riley had to go to the vet last Thursday because something was wrong with his right eye. They didn't find any scratches, which is good, and he was given a steroid shot in case there might be an infection somewhere, but otherwise the doc didn't know what was bothering our little guy. Maybe allergies, maybe an irritant? Riley is doing much better now, and we're trying to come up with a diet plan because apparently our "little guy" is now 15 pounds! I think he was around 13 lbs last year, so this is a bit of a concern and I think we'll have to start exercising him a bit more than his usual chase/play sessions with Sophie.

So...how is everyone doing these days? :-)

36 weeks - Photo (a week late)

Bob and I took a belly photo last Saturday, but I haven't felt up to doing one yet for this week. Some days are more draining than others, and today was one of them...

Anyway, here is what I looked like a week ago!

I had blood drawn at the lab yesterday and was dismayed to realize that my primary technician was "being trained". I'm totally in support of teaching hospitals, but not so much when it involves needles and my notoriously small veins. Anyway, the two male techs were talkative and happened to ask when I was due (perhaps to distract me from the training aspect of our interaction?). When I replied 2-3 weeks, they both did a double-take, immediately looked at my tummy and said they didn't believe me...that I could only be about 7 months at the most! Well, well, well...you two guys are my new best friends! Maybe they were told somewhere to flatter all pregnant women, particularly those who are in the late stages and constantly getting stuck with needles, but hey, I'll take that little mood enhancing compliment any day, regardless of its veracity! :-)

By the way, the blood draw went surprisingly well; I was quite impressed!

Is it okay to complain yet?

Hi all -- here is the weekly update...

I wasn't so confident about the news last Friday that I was therapeutic on the Heparin given the circumstances of getting the results, so I left a message for the Complicated OB (COB) nurse on Friday asking her to follow up with either of the perinatologists (high risk obstetrician) to ensure that I was at the right dosage. I love the COB nurse Denise, she's pretty cool and I get along with her well, so when she didn't call back on Friday I assumed that either things were okay, or that she hadn't made it into work since the weather was so crappy.

Cut to Monday morning, the phone rings and it's Denise...turns out I wasn't quite at the therapeutic level that Dr. Peterson wanted me at, so I was upped to 1.25ml for each injection -- which is a LOT!! My poor tummy is definitely feeling the pain and swelling of each shot, but I definitely want to stay stable so it's important to take the dosage I need. I'm getting blood drawn tomorrow to check the Heparin levels again, so hopefully this little dosage bump will get me over the minimum level the docs want to see.

I passed Tuesday morning's NST with flying colors (blood pressure was still a wee bit elevated for me, but within the high normal range) and was released to go to my now weekly COB appointment. Dr. Peterson was on clinic duty that day, which is great because I prefer him over the other perinatologist...he's more conservative/careful, which matches my own personal preferences for health care, and he also takes more time with his patients. Dr. Driggers is nice enough but she has a dry bedside manner and always seems like she has somewhere else she wants to be. I get good care from both, but in different ways and I just prefer Dr. Peterson. However, neither one will deliver the baby; I've been told that they're always on call for consults when their patients go into labor, but they don't actually do deliveries.

Anyway, Dr. Peterson told me that I'll get an internal exam next Tuesday 3/4 to see what my cervix is doing. If dilation has started, I imagine we'll schedule the induction for early in my 39th week, whereas if there isn't much activity, it'll be scheduled closer to 40 weeks. That conversation was a bit confusing because ultimately the doc said that we might just go ahead and schedule the induction for sometime between 3/14-3/17...so who the heck knows what'll end up happening? We did joke around that often women go into labor as soon as they schedule an induction, so we both agreed to wait another week before getting that ball rolling.

For most of the last half of this pregnancy, I was thinking it would be great if I could get to 36 weeks and then stop worrying so much about going into labor, with the hopes that it's best to go into natural labor rather than inducing. Well, I no longer think that, and we're now wanting to make it to the induction date, whenever that gets set up. Conversations with both docs this week have educated me more about being an anticoagulant OB patient, and it would be best to get to the "controlled" environment of an induction, where I could stop taking the Heparin at a certain point and have the option of an epidural. If I go into labor naturally and I've just recently taken a shot, there is a window of about 10-ish hours where an anesthesiologist (sp?) probably wouldn't come near me. Granted, there are emergency situations that can and would be managed by a hospital staff with an exceptional reputation, and Dr. Peterson told me it's okay to skip an injection if I suspect I'm starting labor while at home, so it wouldn't be a bad thing if I go into natural labor...but we're now hoping to make to the induction!

That said, I start 37 weeks tomorrow and I'm wondering if it's okay for me to complain about the myriad of aches, pains, discomfort and annoyances of late pregnancy?? Will you all grant me some leeway and empathy? :-) I won't complain now, particularly since I'm still a bit anxious about becoming a parent and don't feel quite ready for the baby to arrive, but each day gives me a little more conviction (in the form of pain and discomfort) that I will soon reach the point of wanting the actual pregnancy to be DONE!!

Hope you're all having a good week. I have an NST appointment tomorrow while Bob attends the retirement ceremony of a Marine Corps friend at Quantico. The NST nurses both noticed and commented on some contractions on Tuesday but they weren't regular and weren't cause for concern. However, I have noticed that I'm contracting a bit more this week, and I'm hoping the NST shows they're still inconsistent.

Sorry this is all about pregnancy and baby and doctor's appointments, but to be quite honest...that's pretty much all we're dealing with these days. Bob and I are officially on Burgess Baby Watch 2008!!

A month ago...

Finally had a chance to tweak/correct a photo that was taken of me and Bob just after the baby shower in January...it's one of my favorites from this pregnancy and will most likely be printed out to hang in the nursery.

Home - YAY!

Despite some pretty awful weather, we made it to the hospital and back this morning and I'm soon off to bed for a nap after very little sleep overnight. To report in brief...24-hour BP test results came back normal (some protein but not enough to be a concern), NST went very well, Heparin supposedly therapeutic although I'm not certain I believe that because we didn't talk to the doc who treated me on Tuesday after waiting an hour for him today (finally insisted someone else read the results, and got them 2nd hand from some random staff member), and the ultrasound showed great growth progress for the baby. In fact, baby is now measuring 6 lbs 3 oz. That's pretty big! :-)

We're now in the official waiting game to see if I start labor naturally or make it to week 39 which is when the induction will be scheduled. Today marks the start of week 36, so we're at most only a few more weeks until Baby Burgess makes the big appearance. WOW!

And then there were three....injections, that is!

Thursday evening here, we've just finished dinner and are watching last night's Law & Order. Or maybe I should say Bob is watching it, while I do a quick update here.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day. I'm due at the hospital for a couple of appointments, but I have to hit up the lab beforehand to get blood drawn and then try to hunt down one of the on-call OBs to get some test results. All this wouldn't be an issue, except that we're supposed to be getting some nasty weather very early in the morning and it could be difficult getting to Bethesda. Normally I'd skip the appointments (ultrasound and NST), but I just started Heparin on Tuesday night and it's imperative that I get my blood tested before the weekend to be sure I'm at the right dosage. So we'll see what happens. Bob will go with me if the weather is awful, and maybe the weather will be okay since we DO have to leave at/around 6am. I'm still sooooo happy to be able to be at home, but these early morning appointments requiring a drive through DC rush hour traffic can be a bit stressful.

So Tuesday's appointments went well, for the most part. As mentioned, I'm now officially on Heparin instead of Lovenox since tomorrow marks 36 weeks of pregnancy. Heparin is used at this point because it has a shorter half-life than Lovenox (it's my understanding that Heparin can be out of the system within 8 hours, whereas Lovenox is about 12+), and it doesn't have quite as many interactions with other drugs that may be used during labor and delivery. That will help me/us out when I go into labor, since ideally I shouldn't be on an anticoagulant for delivery. Lovenox was used on me after the DVT was diagnosed because it meant only a twice-daily injection...but now with Heparin I'm poking myself in the tummy three times a day, every 8 hours. Not really a big issue, except one of my injection times is at 5am! Putting the needle on the syringe, then drawing the medicine into the syringe at that hour of the day is certainly an adventure! Fortunately, one vial of the Heparin is currently one dose in my case (at least so far), so there is little danger of overdosing. Now, let's hope that tomorrow's tests indicate that my current dosage will work for the remainder of the pregnancy.

The other issue that came up is that my blood pressure was a bit elevated, more so than at any other time in the pregnancy thus far. They took it twice during my appointment, and it was still elevated enough at the second reading that the doc had some blood drawn on Tuesday and I also am going through another test that I'll spare you all the details on. Maybe those of you who have had high blood pressure during pregnancy will be able to guess what I'm talking about? The frustrating part is that my BP was perfectly normal during the two times it was taken at the NST clinic after my OB appointment, so who knows what's going on in my body these days?

I think I've finally realized that pretty much anything goes on the physical front during the last month or so of pregnancy, so I have my and the baby's hospital bags packed, along with a list of other items that Bob can quickly put together, just in case I get admitted at/during one of these frequent trips to the hospital for my appointments. I'm trying to stay optimistic that I'll be home for a few more weeks, but ultimately tomorrow marks the point where the docs won't stop labor if it starts, one more week will officially be full term, and if my various tests show a problem stemming from the suspected high BP I'll be admitted immediately (big IF, since I'm not displaying other symptoms of BP problems), so the bottom line is...we're getting closer to meeting Baby Burgess!! YAY! (eek!) YAY! (yikes!) YAY! (oh crap!) YAY! (help!)

Okay, sorry about that, had to get it out of my system for the day. Panic interspersed with curiosity and excitement is pretty much the norm for me these days.

Good news: we got our Dutalier glider chair today and it's so pretty. We chose a cherry finish with a subtle green chenille upholstery, along with a matching footstool (thanks to Kim H. for her help in guiding us in the right direction, since I typically HATE those glider chairs). I'm very pleased with the outcome, especially since we ordered it online, and I think it'll look great with the nursery furniture, which leads me to the...

Bad news: we did NOT get the crib and dresser the other day because I was still stuck at the hospital and Bob couldn't get away from work to meet the delivery truck. They've rescheduled for next Friday, so we're hoping it'll work out that time. I'm frustrated because apparently they only deliver to this area on Tuesdays and Fridays, which are the days that I'm at the hospital each week and Bob has been too busy at work to play hooky, but I'm trying to stay patient (not my strongest virture, however).

Not much else going on, other than Baby Watch 2008. We're definitely at the point where we're just taking it easy, waiting for the baby to decide when things'll get started. If I'm still pregnant at/around 39 weeks, it'll be time to induce. The doc on Tuesday did mention scheduling the induction several times, but we didn't get around to it since I was getting switched to the Heparin, so I imagine we'll get it on the calendar at next week's appointment.

Just about time for bed, since I'll be getting up crazy-early tomorrow. Sorry this is a pretty dry post, but I just wanted to get a quick update online before our next hospital day...just in case!

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Random thoughts...

Countin' down the days, except the big unknown is when this baby will make an appearance. At the very least we're hoping it's not tonight since we've been having freezing rain and the roads are a mess! I'm 34 weeks 4 days today, and have been getting very good reports from the NST nurse...strong fetal heartbeat...baby's moving a lot...fluid levels are great...blood pressure good...so we're hoping to get a couple/few more weeks out of this pregnancy. We want the baby to continue to develop its lungs and grow strong and healthy before making an appearance.

That said, I find myself getting into that phase of pregnancy where I'm torn between wanting the baby to stay put for a little while longer (and perhaps that wish might also have something to do with first-time mommy fears?!) but also starting to be uncomfortable enough to begin wondering when it'll be over. For instance, sleeping? Quite a challenge last night...wide awake just about every hour, bathroom trips each time, aches and pains with each position change, not a fun night. But again, I feel like it's still a wee bit too early, so I'll put up with the discomfort for a few more weeks before starting in on the wives tales/home remedies for naturally inducing labor.

Tidbits:

I'm craving fresh oranges and English Muffins every day lately. What's up with that?

Finally started thank you notes for the baby shower this week; we're sorry for the delay and hope you will continue to be patient as we have lots to write!

Bob and I are still on a major high about the Giants winning the Super Bowl. If our team was going to win the big game, it couldn't have been a more perfect situation -- fair play, not too many silly calls by the officials (for either team), and a fantastic final quarter that provided serious excitement for ALL football fans...with the exception of Patriots fans (sorry, Pete and Jen!).

I'm actually interested in politics these days, which is a minor miracle. I'm sure I'll revise my enthusiasm as the months pass leading up to the election, but for now I actually care about what's happening and Bob and I have been having some fun political discussions.

We'll be moving again this summer, it's time for another "permanent change of station (PCS)"...have we been here in MD almost 3 years already? No official orders yet, so it's not definite where we'll go and I'm not tempting fate by saying where we want to go (what is up with my superstitious nature getting stronger these days?). Stay tuned for more news on this topic later on. Oh, and if anyone has any advice about how to have your first baby, prepare/sell a house, find a new house, attend some major social functions, and hopefully have time for the annual family vacation in the span of about 4-5 months, all with major sleep deprivation, please feel free to pass that advice along!

Bob and I are major huge fans of the TV show Friday Night Lights that aired on NBC and there is a serious possibility that it's going to be cancelled. It's critically adored by the industry but not enough people are watching it. I don't know why I'm even mentioning it because they just aired the last pre-strike new episode last week, so it's not like you can catch it on TV right now, but I think it's easy enough to find eps online and they're selling the 1st season on DVD for a ridiculously low price. It's been a long time since Bob and I were both this passionate about a TV show...put it this way, FNL was probably the only show that I was going to forgo precious new-mommy sleeping time in order to watch "live" instead of on Tivo.

I'm really missing margaritas...and champagne...and Pinot Grigio.

I also miss goat cheese.

Our cats have recently discovered the pack-n-play. We assembled it a few weeks ago, put it at the foot of our bed, and they pretty much ignored it for a while. We've been trying to get all baby-related things out and around the house so the cats can get used to them and "lose interest" by the time baby arrives, but they sort of foiled us on that plan with the PNP. Sophie seems to prefer sleeping in it (we have a bassinet insert), whereas Riley thinks it's his own personal playground. Hopefully there is still enough time that they'll eventually get used to it and lose interest.

I've also started playing a recording of a baby crying once a day when the cats are nearby. That may sound ridiculous to some people, but we really want to do everything we can to prepare them for the MAJOR changes that will be occuring around here soon. Bob and I love our kitties very much, we want to be responsible parents to all of our "kids" and it's our duty to help ease the cats into a baby-centric world to the best of our ability. Now, that said, these efforts may not work...who knows? I just know that we'd like for the baby and our kitties to co-exist as peacefully as possible. Anyway, Riley was not too thrilled at first...his tail got all puffy and he was visibly agitated, but he didn't leave the room, just paced it until I turned off the recording. Sophie wasn't as anxious, but she did sort of freeze in place and just stared at me as I tried to soothe them both from afar. I'll keep at it daily, and hopefully get them used to this foreign sound.

We might be getting our nursery furniture earlier than anticipated, which is good news indeed. The store wants to deliver it next Tuesday, which just happens to be the day I have several doctor's appointments, so we'll see if it actually works out that they'll show up "late in the day" as I've requested. I hope we get everything at least sometime next week -- Bob needs some time to assemble the crib. (and yes, I plan on staying far away from the nursery the day he does that...no need to bring on marital problems just before the baby arrives!) :-)

Anyone else watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show? If so, are you as sick of seeing that dang Standard Poodle winning best in group as I am?

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Bob and I met up in Charlotte to see each other and catch a Jimmy Buffett concert during Valentine's weekend in 1998, and it was 10 years ago this upcoming September that I moved down to NC from OH to put our relationship to the test, which I think we've passed so far!

Enough rambling from me for today. It's soon time for bed, where I will find out if last night's insomnia and discomfort was a one-night thing, or something to plan for the remainder of this pregnancy...

The mouse...it is annoying me...

Hi there, Tuesday afternoon here and I'm recently back from another successful NST...baby had lots of heart rate accelerations (that's a good thing), I don't think I had too many contractions, and the amniotic fluid level is good. So they let me come home until my next appointment, which is on Friday, assuming I don't go into labor before then. Fridays mark my weekly pregnancy progression, and I'll start my 34th week this Friday so let's all keep hoping/praying that the baby stays put inside of me until at least the 36/37 week time. That's "full term" depending on which doctor you ask, so that's our current goal. Hopefully my temperamental body and the baby will cooperate with that goal.

For some reason our computer mouse isn't working too well. It's a digital cordless, just replaced the battery a few weeks ago, but it's still dragging its butt. Wonder what the problem is?

Anyway, on to the final batch of photos from our baby shower...

First up in today's post, gifts sent by my Uncle Frank and Aunt Bobbi...a cute hanging froggie toy, the book "Love You Forever", and a beautiful green and white blanket handmade by Bobbi. We're thrilled to have a "Bobbi Original"!!



The above and below photos were taken when we opened up the gift from Shannon and Melodi T. Their gift card said something about "be sure to put the enclosed on the baby or we'll be offended", and since I was familiar with the store from which the box was sent, Uncommon Goods, I suspected what was inside and I was right. Those two...well, brats :-) ...sent us a onesie that says "Teeny Republican" on the front! You can see my reaction in the photo above. Ah well, I'm used to being politically outnumbered whenever the four of us get together, and we sure did get a kick out of the gift! (Bob said when he saw it, "well, the baby certainly won't be wearing that whenever we're around your family, will it?")

Shannon and Mel also sent another onesie that says "I Might Barf" ("might"?...oh, I think it's a certainty!), along with the portable changing pad/station that we requested on our registry. Thanks for the laugh, you guys!

Sue and her family sent us the bouncy chair, wrist rattles and some onesies with matching pants that are really cute. I know that bouncy chair will be the only thing that'll allow me to shower, so we're VERY grateful to have it gifted to us!

Chris and Laura P., who just had their first son about 6 months ago, brought us a Boppy pillow and cover, along with a sizeable stash of diapers and wipes and a crib tent to try keeping the kitties out of the crib. We've only once seen Sophie inside the Pack N Play we bought (since the crib is MIA until at least March), so we're hoping the kitties will just take all of this new baby stuff in stride.

Molly and Rob H. sent us two fashionable bibs from JoyJoyBaby.com that I love...and we definitely needed bibs...along with a gift card to BRU. Trust me when I say that the gift cards we received have already been used!

Ruth and Malcom M. sent a Giants beer stein, a gorgeous fleece jacket with bunny ears on the hood, along with an equally plush baby blanket and stuffed bunny (Bob's too busy holding the Giants stein to hold the bunny up for the photo...the poor thing is there in his lap).

Franco and Ana N. were kind enough to send us the travel swing that was on our registry. We'd already bought the larger version of a swing for the house, and we're thrilled to have received this smaller size, especially since we have three floors in this townhouse and could use soothing aids on each floor.


Beth P. sent us a unique wool crib blanket. I can't say what kind it is without giving away her last name, because she and the blanket company share the same name, but it's a lovely gift and we particularly like the Native American sentiment behind the design. This will definitely come in handy during those cool nights in Canada!

Last but not least for the photos we captured on the shower day...Mom and John gave us this adorable giraffe growth chart (it hangs on the nursery wall), along with a Pfaltzgraff musical snow globe with safari animals inside. What perfect gifts for Mom's grandchild-to-be!

Well, that's about it for the gift photos. I still need to organize and upload photos of the "belly size contest", which I'll try to do in the next day or two. We've also received a few gifts since the shower that I'll write about soon as well. For now, it's time to go elevate my clot leg and think wistfully about a nap (but unfortunately it's too late in the day for one), while watching my belly move with the baby's kicks, pokes, prods and somersaults. :-) More soon!