He's here!

Kaci: You're killing me... 1:30pmEST
Grant: Baby Carter is 7lbs 19in born at 9:23am...2:12pm EST
Kaci: Yeeeea send pics Daddy.
Grant: As soon as he's done breastfeeding.

Tap...tap...tap...

Update

Grant: Having a c-section in about an hour.

Kaci: Awhhh bummer...stay strong Daddy.

Grant: Strong is my middle name.

Kaci: Surrre :)

Grant: Going now, getting prepped. 11:35 EST

Update from Kaci

Hi guys! A baby is coming, a baby is coming!! WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!

From the hubby:
She has been in labor since two. Three cm dialated. No epideral yet. But screaming for it. Please update myspace, etc. Thanks love.

Will keep you guys updated!
Kaci

Update

This whole pregnancy I had yet to have a contraction, until last night when I was trying to sleep. Haha. I didn't know for sure if they were contractions but I was pretty sure. Well I went in at 8:00 this morning and my contractions were 4 minutes apart but I couldn't feel them at that point.

They monitored me all day and sent me home at 7:00 pm. I've been having contractions ever since then. They feel like bad period cramps, nothing I can't handle yet. They want me to go back in Wednesday unless I have the baby before then. I think I'll be having him tomorrow because these contractions haven't let up yet. I've always read birth stories where the mom times the contractions but seriously it's hard to tell where one ends and the next begins so I'm having to kind of guess. I think they're about 2 minutes apart, give or take.

I'm going to try to get some sleep now.






39w2d

We're off to the hospital

I just called to make sure they have a bed available and they do so we're getting ready to go. I'm nervous. I was having contractions last night while trying to sleep so hopefully I'm a little more dilated than last week. I had the worse night sleep last night between being anxious, the contractions and my hips. I ended up sleeping upright on the couch most the night because I couldn't stand the hip pain anymore.



Anyway, today could be my last day pregnant. It's unlikely, but you never know. I feel so blessed to have been able to experience the miracle of having a baby grow inside me. I think that it's the most wonderful experience of my life and I have cherished every moment of it.

I also feel blessed that I have been so lucky as to have a fairly easy pregnancy with little complications. Aside from the mild gestational diabetes and my hips hurting the last several weeks all has been great.

I have enjoyed every second of being pregnant, I can honestly say that I have loved it.






39w2d

The baby in my belly

39w1d

More maternity pictures

All our photos were done by one of my best friends at ­Lark Photography. As you can see here, she does great work and we had so much fun.








39 weeks

This sucks!

I have food poisoning. :(

I HATE throwing up. Seriously, hate it.

And I just HAD to eat at the new Lucky Chinese restaurant down the road last night. I'm thinking now that that place isn't too lucky. I don't think I'll be eating there for a long time if ever again.









38w6

A few pics from yesterday

38w5d

Just got back

from a nice long walk. My friend Haley and I drove to Redding and walked around in the mall for about 45 minutes then we went to the Sundial Bridge and she took some pictures of me. We did lots of walking so I'm hoping he's moving down and getting ready.

I should be able to post the pictures tomorrow. I can't wait to see them, she's such a great photographer.







38w4d

The doctor just called

and woke my ass up! Haha!

So I had my appt yesterday and the doctor had an emergency c-section to do so I didn't get to talk to him. I had the midwife check me and I'm a fingertip dilated (so not even 1 cm) and 30% effaced. She said she'll have the doctor call me back in the morning.

So he just called and said that they would like me to come in bright and early Monday morning to start the induction. They'll insert a pill vaginally, monitor my contractions for awhile then most likely they'll send me home. That should get contractions going for awhile and hopefully I'll start to dilate. They warned me that I might be uncomfortable for awhile though. Then they'll probably have me go back in in a couple of days after that to start the pitocin (the IV drug that will start the hard core contractions). They don't want to start the pitocin until my cervix is somewhat ready, which is why I have to go in on Monday for the pill.

But until then I'll be trying to get this baby out on it's own which means lots of walking and sex. Grant will also be using pressure points and I've been sitting on my birthing ball a lot to get him to drop. I'd love to labor naturally as apposed to being induced.

Wish me luck!




38w4d

I'm still here, and still pregnant

I really thought that being on maternity leave I'd have all this time to do stuff, like blog. Not so much. In the last three "work" days I've been to DMV twice, smog'd the new car, lots of grocery shopping, a doctors appointment, went to my work (hour drive each way) to pick up the car seat that was delivered, did lots of laundry (none of Carter's clothes yet unfortunately) and cleaned the house (although it's managed to get messy again). I've also been getting up early with Grant to make his lunch and hang out with him before he has to go to work. I usually end up going back to sleep after that though because I can't live off 4-5 hours of sleep, which is what I've been getting at night. I guess I'm in for a big surprise once Carter comes though. lol.

I'm off to my appt. I should find out lots of information so I'll update later. Here's some pictures to leave you with though.

All of Carter's clothes. This is just his onesies and shirts. I have bags of sleepers, shorts and pants.

Carter's new car seat. I love it!

New belly pic. It's getting hard to fit my whole belly in the picture.

38w3d

Doctor appointment updates

Carter is doing great. He's measuring right on track at just under 7 pounds. My amniotic fluid level is on the low side though so between that, the diabetes and the fact that EVERY time I go in there my ankles are huge the doctor said he wants me to stop working and stay home. He said I need to stay home with my feet up and drink lots of fluids. I'm okay with that. So today is my last day at work.

Well I guess that's just about it. Expect a lot more blogs between now and when I give birth though. Just a heads up, I know I'm going to be extremely bored at home!






37w4d

New baby purchase

I'm in love and it's all mine. I definitely feel ready for Carter to come now.

Growth scan this afternoon at 4:00. I'll update tomorrow (or maybe tonight if you're lucky) with results. Stay tuned!





37w3d

More updates

I had my weekly doctor appointment Tuesday and everything went great. Carter passed his test within 5 minutes like usual and I was measuring on track. Oh and I found out I'm GBS (group B strep) negative which is great. If I tested positive for it it basically just means that if my water was to break I'd have to go into the hospital right away to get on antibiotics. Since I'm negative for GBS, if my water actually does break (I'm doubtful) then I can labor at home instead of in the hospital. This is what I'd like to do, although I highly doubt any of this will happen. I'd have to go into labor on my own before 39 weeks which is unlikely.

How far along?: 36 weeks 5 days
Total weight gain: 13 pounds
How much does baby weigh?: About 6 pounds
Maternity clothes?: Yep. All my pants & most tops.
Stretch marks?: Same ones as before but they're growing
Sleep?: I can't sleep more than 45 minutes at a time now because my hips hurt all night long. But last night I took some Tylenol PM before bed and I actually slept for 3 hours in a row. It was so nice.
Best moment this week?: Finding out I'm GBS negative.
Movement?: Yep, he still moves a lot. It's not so much kicks anymore it's more rolls now and sometimes they're uncomfortable because he's so big.
Food cravings?: Red grapes still
Labor signs?: None yet, still not having ANY contractions as far as I know.
Belly button in or out?: It's back to an outtie. :)
What I miss: Sleep and being comfortable
What I'm looking forward to: My next baby shower this weekend
Milestone: If I was to go into labor now they wouldn't stop me because he's just about ready as it is.


If I do actually go into labor on my own, or when I'm in the hospital laboring I will be texting or calling Kaci so she can keep you updated. I hope you don't mind Kaci! :)

Holy cow I really don't feel this big. I'm HUGE!

36w5d

I just don't have the energy

Remember that post last week with the list of things that I need to do this last weekend? Well it went something like this;

Pack hospital bag
Fill out birth plan
Finish painting the dresser and nightstand
Paint the closet door (currently one's painted and one's not)
Hang the curtains
Laundry
Clean out guest bedroom
Clean out office

This is how it looks now;
Pack hospital bag
Fill out birth plan
Finish painting the dresser and nightstand
Paint the closet door (currently one's painted and one's not)
Hang the curtains
Laundry
Clean out guest bedroom
Clean out office

I only got it half done. I'm not used to this. Usually I make a list and complete everything on it. Between the lack of energy, swollen feet (although they were a lot better this weekend), and my back/hip pain it's hard to move around like I used to be able to.

In my defense though I did attempt to hang the curtains but the battery on the drill was dead so I had to charge that, then by the time it was done charging we had to go out of town for our romantic dinner. And I did pack some stuff in the hospital bag, annnd I was going to clean the office but most of the stuff in there is either Grant's or is too heavy to move so I need his help. Oh, annnnnnnd Grant wasn't out of town like I thought he was going to be so there. That's why I only got half my list done.







36w2d

Going great!

How far along?: 35 weeks 4 days
Total weight gain: 12 pounds
How much does baby weigh?: About 5½ pounds
Maternity clothes?: Yep. All my pants & most tops.
Stretch marks?: Same ones as before but they're growing
Sleep?: Yes please! I want some sleep. I can't sleep for more than an hour at a time. I'm uncomfortable all night.
Best moment this week?: The baby shower.
Movement?: He's slowed down now. I'm sure it's because of the position he's in and there's not much room for him to move.
Food cravings?: Red grapes
Labor signs?: None yet
Belly button in or out?: It went back to flat. Weird huh? I think it's because of his position.
What I miss: Sleep and being comfortable
What I'm looking forward to: My next baby shower
Milestone: Carter is officially head down and in position. I've been waiting for this. Yay!

Our first baby shower 5.30.09

The day of the baby shower was perfect. First Grant and I got up at 7:00 and did some cleaning and prep work in the nursery. Then my mom showed up at 10:00 and I was kicked out of the house while her, Grant and Haley set up. I wasn't to come back until 3:00, when the baby shower started. So my BFF Tonya and I went to Redding (where there's actually some shopping) and had a fabulous lunch at Olive Garden then hit up the mall for some shopping. While there I got a pedicure, bought a dress to wear for the shower and bought a cute little sign for the nursery that says "Monkey see, monkey do".

When we arrived back at the house most of the guests were already there and the house was all decorated and set up. When I left that morning the nursery was completely empty but when I got back it was all set up (minus the dresser, we still need to paint that and the nightstand).

Notice the booties in the crib? I love them! Thanks Ellen Show!

The color between the pictures look totally different but the first picture is more accurate.

Then the shower began.
First we started off the shower with a relay race. Two teams of 3 guys.

Getting ready for the races to begin

The first guy on each team had to dress a baby doll, strap it in the stroller and run it to the next guy.Our friend Steve and my brother Troy dressing the dolls

Then the next guys had to take off the clothes, change the diaper (it was filled with chocolate pudding), redress the doll, then take it in the stroller to the last guy

Here's Grant and Ben changing the dolls

The last guys had to put the doll in pajamas and tie on a bib, strap it back in the stroller and run it to the finish line.

Jorge and Jack dressing the dolls

Grant's team won!

Then we had the beer chugging competition. Except they had to chug the beer out of a baby bottle. Freakin' hilarious!

Ben, Jack, Jorge, Troy, Steve and Grant

Grant totally beat everyone. The other guys kept drinking after Grant was done but none of them could finish so they gave up and took off the tops and drank it.

Grant kickin' ass and taking names

My brother trying as hard as he could to finish. They tried for several minutes after Grant was done.

Then it was the girls turn. We used punch because none of them wanted to chug beer.

Amy, Sonja, Haley and I. Haley's punch was spiked so she choked a little.

I was the first one done by far. Alexis came in second place and she was still a few minutes behind me. The other girls couldn't finish so they took off the nipples to finish.

Here I am telling Haley how to do it. Sonja is trying to get some pointers too.

Seriously, Grant and I must be naturals. It's just funny how we beat everyone out of the water.

Next they had two groups of 3 girls get together and they had 5 minutes to cut out different baby body parts out of magazines to put together a Carter. Here's what they came up with

This one is scary to me. The eyes look nothing like what I think Carter's eyes will look like and what is up with the mouth?!? LOL!

While this one is still a little scary looking I think it's a little less scary. This was the winner based on the eyes nose and mouth. Check out his hair though, haha.



The delicious cake



All the yummy food. We're still eating the leftovers




Grant and I

Like I said before, we had a perfect shower. :)

35w3d

My to do list for this weekend

Pack hospital bag
Fill out birth plan
Finish painting the dresser and nightstand
Paint the closet door (currently one's painted and one's not)
Hang the curtains
Laundry
Clean out guest bedroom
Clean out office



Think I can do it all? I think Grant will be out of town this weekend which means I'll get a lot more done than if he was home.

I'll be posting about the baby shower later. I'm waiting on pictures. It was great though, we had SO much fun!




35w2d