It's time...

Apparently!!!

At my Friday's check up, the doctor ordered another 24 hour urine collection to reevaluate my protein levels because of the preeclampsia. She had said that if the levels were above 1000 I should head to L&D but if not, she'd let me know what to do on Monday when she reviews the results.

I did all the labs and dropped of the specimen today. I just got my results a little bit ago...my protein levels are 3153!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, as in, three times the limit she told me to watch for. I immediately called the hospital. I needed them to check and make sure what I was seeing was for real. It is. The on-call doctor told me I needed to head in with the intention of staying for induction. HOLY CRAP!!!

Unfortunately, the hubs knows nothing. That's because he's on his way home from Seattle at the moment. He went to WA for a fire department test. His flight was supposed to be back hours ago and of course was delayed almost two hours. He should be landing in the next 30 minutes. The besty will be picking him up (and hopefully calming him down on the car ride) and once he gets home, we'll head out.

How am I feeling?
Physically: Pretty good. Other than some of the normal pregnancy aches and exhaustion, I'm not ready to be un-pregnant.
Emotionally: A wreck!!! I'm in denial until induction actually starts. I'm nervous, anxious, scared, worried...

So, if you don't mind, please send some prayers and thoughts our way as this all becomes a very real reality. I'll do my best to keep everyone posted.

Calling all mommies!

The doctor mentioned "induction" at my doctor's appointment today!!!! I'm scared to death. I'll be honest, as D(ue) day is fast approaching, I'm scared of labor. I'm a planner and I just don't know what to expect. I stare at the hospital's fill-in-the-blank birth plan form and I'm just lost. I don't know if I want an epidural (I know that I don't want pain but I also know that I really don't want any added complications,) I don't know what to pack in the "go bag" (will the hospital provide ginormous pads?) and I really don't know if we have all the supplies needed to bring home a newborn (I haven't even ordered his bedding set yet!!!) In reality, I know its all just going to work out...but that's not stopping me from freaking out NOW!!!

So...I reached out to blogland when I went to my IVF consult and I reach out again. What do you wish you'd done differently? What did you bring to the hospital that was unnecessary, or vital? What are baby items you can't live with out??? Etc... Walk me through this...I'll take any advice you have.

Another trip to L&D

On Thursday, at 36 weeks and 3 days I had my routine doctor appointment. I was up 2lbs from last week's appointment (up to 202, about 50 pounds since my June IVF, for those that are interested.) In addition, turns out my blood pressure is too high and I'm starting to spill protein in my urine. Because of my swelling issues, this is something my doctor has been keeping an eye on and Thursday, she decided I needed to be monitored at L&D. Ugh!

We checked in at L&D around 5pm. The entire ride to the hospital I pleaded with the baby and God that this wouldn't be an emergency situation and I wouldn't need to be induced. Aside from my own desires to have the baby in March, I'm really not ready to be "un"pregnant just yet.

Good news, baby Gavin is still tucked nice and tight in my uterus with no intentions of showing his adorable cheekers to the outside world for a little while longer!!!

After four hours of monitoring, my first ever cervical check (which I'm dreading ever doing again,) and some blood work, I was diagnosed with mild preeclampisa and ordered on bed rest. I nearly shouted, "I'll take it!!!" If bed rest is what its going to take to keep this little turkey in for a while longer, I'll take it! My cervical check showed that my cervix is still nice and long with no signs of dialation. Woo hoo!!! All is good!

Today the bestie came over and help get the baby's room organized (apparently I'm the only one that doesn't feel the urgency to have his room ready. Is it possible to get the opposite of nesting???) Up until today, it was just a room with four walls and partially installed wallpaper border. Now, the border is up, the crib, dresser and changing table are assembled, the bazillions of diapers we got at the shower are neatly stored in the closet and all the clothes are washed. As soon as its finalized, I'll post some pics.

For now, I'm bed resting and enjoying every minute of it!

Just for fun...

ABCs of Me
I "borrowed" this post from manymanymoons who is a new follower and followee of mine. She had a rough Valentine's Day but her post made me laugh a lot. Jump on over and say hi to her!

A-AGE: 29 but only for a little while longer. I'll be 30 in May...on the 30th in fact!

B - BED SIZE: Currently, queen but I'm really pushing for a king. My parents are getting rid of their gently used California king bed but I'm not sure how I feel about sleeping in a hand-me-down bed but free might make me forget its previously used. Hmm...

C-CHORE YOU HATE: Taking out the trash. I'm totally convinced its a man job. Period!

D-DOGS: No thank you. I'm not a huge animal fan in general. I know, I know...don't think less of me.

E-ESSENTIAL START YOUR DAY ITEM: TV remote. I turn on the TV before I'm even fully awake.

F-FAVORITE COLOR: Gray, closely followed by black. I'm not as drab as I sound.

G-GOLD or SILVER: Silver please.

H-HEIGHT: 5'8" with a 34" inseam. Lots of legs!

I-INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: Ha!!! That's funny. I played a few instruments growing up (french horn, flute and cello) but never committed.

J-JOB TITLE: Senior Clerk Typist and soon-to-be mom. I'm hoping to keep the mom title full time and drop the SCT title. Fingers crossed!

K-KIDS: A perfect baby boy, Gavin, coming soon. Hopefully followed by many more!

L-LIVE: 40 miles North of Los Angeles, CA where you need a tank top and flip flops during the day and your grass freezes at night.

M-MOM'S NAME: Penny, and my dad's name is Bill. I tease that they are made of money. Get it, Penny (like the coin) and (dollar) Bill.

N-NICKNAMES: Among other random nicknames, my hubby calls me "poopy face," in the most loving way though. I call him "weeny head". We're so romantic!

O-OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS: Not yet

P-PET PEEVE: I could go on for days but the one I'll write about today is when people mispronounce words. Examples - "kinNEYgarten" instead of 'kindergarten" (my in-laws are guilty of this one,) "ValentiMe's Day," "birFday," "supposeBly," "puNkin..." Oh I'm sure I can come up with more but this was just off the top of my head. Feel free to add to the list =)

Q-QUOTE FROM MOVIE: ??? I can come up with a million TV show quotes (Sex and the City, I Love Lucy and The Office are my faves) but no movie quotes. I suck at this game.

R-RIGHT OR LEFT HANDED: Right

S-SIBLINGS: An almost 21 year old adopted brother (who is expecting a baby with his 28 year old girlfriend...oops! UGH!!!)

T-TIME YOU WAKE UP: Between 4:30 and 5 when working and between 7 and 8 when I'm not.

U-UNDERWEAR: Uh, not at the moment (TMI?) but usually, yes. I'm a total thong girl. "Big butt undies" make me crazy.

V-VEGETABLE YOU DISLIKE: I loooooove almost all veggies but I'm not a fan of celery. And if you want to classify tomatoes as a veggie, I despise them!!!

W-WHAT MAKES YOU RUN LATE: Not much. I'm pretty crazy about being on time because I HATE it when others make me wait.

X-X-RAYS YOU'VE HAD DONE: Lots of teeth x-rays, foot x-rays (sprained ankle and broken toe, two separate occasions, both left foot,) and HSG

Y-YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: I'm a baker! I make amazing baked goods. I can follow a recipe for 'real' food that equals yummy but I think my baked goods are naturally better because that's what I like to eat.

Z-ZOO, FAVORITE ANIMAL: Penguins!!!

Holy Sh!t...I'm having a baby!!!

Well, not at this exact moment...but soon. I'm 36 weeks pregnant today! Aahhhh!!! As in, just four weeks to my due date...how did this happen?!?! Where did the weeks go? I'm so officially NOT ready yet. No seriously, NOT READY! Good news is, he doesn't appear to be ready either. Other than my frequent contractions, there is no signs of going into labor. Phew! Here are some 36 week belly pics...

Here's what's going on...

Furniture
      We're having furniture drama. I waited until the last minute to buy our nursery furniture and guess what, the changing table has been discontinued. I'm not quite sure why were able to get the crib and dresser but not the changing table but saying I'm thoroughly annoyed is an understatement. We're working with Babies R Us to see about getting the floor model but I want it at a great discount! Shouldn't they have mentioned some items were discontinued when we bought the rest of the set instead of telling us that we just needed to check back on the changing table?! Ugh! The manager is supposed to call the hubs today.

Preeclampsia
      I'm borderline. At my last OB appointment we were having a hard time getting my BP to show at a normal number. It was in the 140/90 region and then sat comfortably in the 135/85 area for a looooong time. Finally, they got it to 127/79 and went with it. I had to do all the preeclampsia labs again. I had to do blood labs and another 24 hour urine analysis which means peeing in a gross jug for an entire day. Its not as bad as you'd imagine but staying home for the day is a must. Traveling with the jug is just creepy (although I did do it briefly when bestie and I ran out to run some errands.) Unfortunately, the urine analysis came back showing a fair amount of protein in my urine. They was to see less than 150 (of whatever unit of measurement) protein in the urine, two weeks ago there was 114 and this time it was 270!!! The doctor emailed and told me that 300 is the scary number and although I'm close, she's not worried yet. She's going to keep a very close eye on me...not sure how much closer of a watch she can have, I'm there three times a week. Jeez! Anyway, I'm only slightly nervous at this point.

The hub's Seattle trip
     The hubs is testing for a firefighter position in Seattle in two weeks. Yep, as in, two weeks from now which is just two weeks from my due date. We knew this was coming and we're just praying that Gavin listens well and stays nice and cozy at least through the weekend. I made him promise to wait until March. I think he'll be a good little boy and listen but we shall see. Our fingers are crossed for the hubs' test since we really want to see Washington as our home one day.

NSTs
     NSTs are going great! I still have a fair amount of contractions during the 30-45 minute monitoring but there's been no change in my cervix yet so we just continue the monitoring. I actually enjoy the NSTs. The sound of baby's heartbeat is just mesmerizing and I go into a peaceful little trance. It's very relaxing and it helps that there's an ultrasound after each NST.

Our miracle
     I just recently realized I never posted a recent u/s pic. Here he is...

His cheekers and amazing lips!

An adorable baby foot!

I know this pic looks like porn but I just have to show you how certain we are that he's a "he". The bestie says it looks like he's sitting on a Xerox machine! LOL!

These pics are from January 22nd when I was almost 33 weeks. He has his daddy's chubby cheeks and I can't wait to smoosh them. He's going to be so sick of all the kisses!

Baby Shower

     It was awesome!!! The bestie outdid herself...as I knew she would!

My mom and I

The bestie and I

The table settings... She made the adorable centerpieces, game booklets and fire hydrant chocolate lollipops.
 In addition, there were candles in the red organza bags. Get it...candles for a fire fighter themed shower. LOL!

This was the welcome table. The vase on the left was for the diaper raffle (one ticket for each package of diapers a guest brought,) fire truck name stickers in front of that, the basket with the red bow was the prize for the raffle winner, the large vase on the right was for the "What's mama been craving" game (filled with Jalepeno Cheetos, Fritos, Kettle Corn, Handi Snacks cheese and crackers, chocolate pudding cups and pretzel M&Ms...all things I've craved at one point and want nothing to do with now. The bestie's hubby counted ALL the items and then people had to guess,) the frame in the front was the signature mat for the baby's room. The garland hanging in the back was awesome! It's all the 20+ ultrasounds and the belly pics I've been taking all in chronological order. I'm going to hang it in his room.

     I'm still overwhelmed with all the gifts. Bestie and I went through them this weekend to make a wash, return and keep pile. I still have tons to get off our registries like monitors, bouncer seat, swing, CHANGING TABLE (!!!)...

Nursery
     This is what the nursery currently looks like...

Not even remotely ready. We've been more focused on making our newly remodeled apartment, home. It's amazing but unfortunately, the nursery is the forgotten room. I think that could be because its a little overwhelming. I also had some fabrics made. I designed them and then sent them to a company and they print them on fabric. As soon as I get the yardage, I'll send them to a company that will make my custom crib skirt, bumpers and blanket. Although, its not a cheap option at all, I know I'm going to be very happy with the end result. I'll be sure to post pics when I get it together...IF I ever get it together.

SIL
     SIL's baby shower, although at the same venue as my shower, didn't even come close to the caliber of shower that bestie threw for me. Her shower came and went without a blink. I wish I had a more dramatic story to tell but it was completely uneventful. She did say that the doctor changed her due date. I'm not sure I get it though. She knows her last period, May 28th, which puts her due early March and even though she's been saying she's two weeks further along than that, the baby is measuring small...not large. I'm due almost two weeks after her and our baby is measuring a week and a half larger than his due date, but they haven't changed our due date. Anyway, her due date is now Feb 21st instead of March 2nd. I just don't get it...I guess we'll see next week. I think she is talking out of her @ss and she just wants the attention when she tells people she's 42 weeks pregnant because she's NOT due 2/21 if her last period was 5/28. Okay, that's enough about her.

Heartburn
     The heartburn throughout this pregnancy has been torturous. I'm no stranger to heartburn, its hereditary and I've had my fair share even before being pregnant. Unfortunately, Tums constipate me (sorry, TMI) so I've been taking Mylanta (the store brand.) I love it!!! Too bad there appears to be some recall that is keeping me from my precious Mylanta. I've tried everything else. They all work okay but taste HORRIBLE!!! From what I understand, the store brands of Mylanta aren't recalled but I'm convinced there's just a slew of pregnant women waiting for those shipments to come in and they swoop them up. Every once in a while I'll find a bottle or two and I do a little happy dance in the aisle. I got two last night! I'm a happy girl!