Broken Water

Well, I'm sure most of you have heard by now, but we are at the hospital. I woke up at 2:30 am this morning with some cramping and slight leaking. I went to the restroom and went back to bed. I kept noticing the contractions like I had been having, but noticed that there was pain with them now. I didn't wake up Doug, but just waited to see what would happen. Then came the gush. My water broke and it was everywhere! Needless to say, I woke Doug up and he jumped out of bed quicker than I have ever seen. We called our doctor and she told us to head on up to Good Sam Hospital. Good thing I had the bags packed! We were a little in shock the whole way and I kept thinking I was dreaming. They checked us in at triage and hooked me up to all the monitors. They confirmed that it indeed was my water breaking, and I continued to leak there some more. I was then transferred to a room around 7am.

They want to try and hold off on me giving birth as long as possible since it is still a little early. It would probably be okay if he came today, since everything in his body is developed except his lungs. He may have a little trouble breathing or he could be fine. We'll just have to wait and see. They told us to expect for him to stay in the NICU for at least a little while, but they said there is always the chance he will be fine and get to come home with us.

They are giving me a shot of some kind of medicine that acts as a uterine relaxer. It has worked really well so far, and I don't have any pain or contractions while it's working. It wears off after about 4-6 hours, then I get a new one. They are saying that we will just continue with this process until the labor becomes so active that the medicine won't help anymore. We have no idea how long this will be! That is the hardest part about all this--not knowing if I will give birth in the next day or if it could be a week. The doctor is still betting more on the sooner than later side, but we will just have to wait and see. The good news is that Grant seems quite content. We hear his heartbeat constantly, and it is perfectly fine. He just wanted to tease us a little bit!

We are now just trying to pass the time here in the room. Luckily we have a laptop, some games, and TV to keep us busy. One of us will try to update you as fast as we can, but we can't promise anything. Thank you for all the prayers and support!

34 Weeks and Counting!

We can't believe there are now less than 6 weeks to go! Although, we are both convinced Grant will make an early appearance--just a hunch, I guess. Maybe that's bad to be thinking, and he will end up being really late. I will technically be full term at 37 weeks, which is only 19 days from now, so anytime after that will be fine. We are ready for him whenever! We actually started packing our hospital bags this week, and they are stored in our front closet for whenever we need to grab them and go. We had so much fun packing a few little outfits and other things for Grant knowing the next time we see them out of the bag, he will be here to use them! We've actually created a baby pool for you to make your guesses as to when he will arrive, how much he will weigh, etc. Click on the link on the left to play!

We also had our 34-week appointment. Everything is still great, and the baby is still low and head down. They measure my uterine growth every visit, and as I've said before, it's usually a centimeter for every week that you are. But I actually measured between 35-36 centimeters this time. (Two weeks ago, at 32 weeks, I was 32 cm.) The doctor said this could mean I may go early, or it really could mean nothing. I could have just had a lot of growth these last 2 weeks and it may even out by the next measuring. He said it's all really subjective, so they don't rely too heavily on the measurings. We will see where we are in 2 weeks when we go back!

We have a fun week ahead. I have another shower tomorrow thrown by a group of my parents' friends and their daughters that I grew up with, and I have a shower at work on Tuesday. I am so lucky to be surrounded by such love and support, and it is so nice of everyone to spoil our little guy!

33 Weeks

Well, I had to go back to work after a week off for spring break, and realized even more how uncomfortable it is to teach while late in a pregnancy. I find myself sitting at my desk a lot more. It was so hot this week that I had hand and foot swelling, and I really noticed that I am starting to waddle. Everyone keeps telling me I am carrying low, and I feel slight pressure down lower as well when I walk. Grant is head down and must be taking advantage of all the space down there due to my big hips. But even after all this, I still love being pregnant and walking around with my big belly!

We had a meeting this week at St. Antoninus that is required before you can have your baby baptized there. We weren't planning on doing this so soon, but the deacon just happened to have a night open this week where he was already having a meeting we could join. So we decided it might be easier to get it out of the way before all the craziness starts. Luckily, it was short and painless, and we met another mother there that I know from crossing paths growing up that will have her baby baptized possibly on the same day as us. We are considering doing the baptism somewhat quickly after Grant is born--possibly on Father's Day--due to a crazy summer and many family trips planned. But we will see when he decides to be born if that is possible.

We also went out and got a new video camera. Doug wanted to use his birthday money for this so we had something convenient to use for all those moments we hope to capture! We got a Kodak pocket HD video camera that is just about the size of a regular digital camera--similar to those new flip cameras. It starts up quickly and videos are easily downloaded and stored on a computer or put to DVD. We already have a larger, older video camera, but this one will be easier to travel with or just grab at a moment's notice when Grant does something cute! Doug has had fun playing with his new toy, and he may post a video of the nursery or something soon to test it out. We can't wait to document all the wonderful memories for Grant!

32 Weeks

I am now 32 weeks along! I can't believe there are now less than 8 weeks to go. I know it seems like time is going slow for us sometimes, but I'm sure these next few weeks will really fly by.

We've had a fun and busy week. On Monday, Grant got to attend his first Opening Day parade. We can't wait to take him to a game this summer. Hopefully the Reds won't be completely out of the race by the time he is born. On Tuesday, we celebrated our niece Clara's first birthday. That year went really fast, and made us realize even more how much we need to cherish every moment we have with our baby since time really does fly! She had a great time digging into her cake and opening her presents. She got a nice big wagon from my parents with an extra seat in there for Grant. I spent the rest of the week putting away shower gifts and washing his clothes, blankets, etc. I also got us registered with the pediatrician's office. And we officially joined St. Antoninus parish this week too--the same church/school that Doug attended growing up. We go there for church all the time since it is right up the street, and we wanted to become members before Grant was born. We will also schedule a baptism date sometime soon as well.

Today was our 32-week doctor appointment. Everything is still great! The doctor felt for the baby's head and found it facing down--right where is should be around this point--so he can be ready to descend when it's time to be born! He should stay in this position, which explains why his movements have been in pretty much the same place lately. I feel his feet up in my rib cage on my right side all the time.

This weekend we will be celebrating Doug's 30th birthday. While this may sound depressing to him now, hopefully this will be the best year for him! We will also be celebrating his sister Kristen's birthday and the baptism of our nephew Timmy. I am so honored to be his godmother, and we can't wait for the 2 little cousins to meet!

Happy Easter!

Well, technically it is the morning after Easter, but this weekend was so busy, that we didn't have one free moment to get on the computer! I am now 31 1/2 weeks. Grant is about 16 inches long and about 3 1/2 pounds. I've been feeling more stretching and growing this last week, so he must be having a growth spurt. He is still moving like crazy, and we often see him poking out or making my belly move in waves. It is so fun to watch and feel, and I know that I will really miss that feeling when he comes out.

I had my first shower on Saturday. Grant's Aunt Susanne and Aunt Tammy, along with help from his Grandma Gates and many other relatives, threw me quite the party. They did so much to make it special for us. Both sides of my family, Doug's family, and some friends were there--all to spoil our little guy! It is so nice to have all the support we do from so many people close to us. I really hope Grant enjoys being part of such a big, fun family! We got so much stuff, that we still have piles of gifts in the living room waiting to be put away and organized. Luckily, I am off work all this week for spring break, so I will really have fun going through it all. Doug will also have lots of fun putting many of the gifts together. Thank you so much to everyone!

The nursery is really coming together now. We finished hanging everything on the walls, started organizing the toys and books on the shelves, and we have washed a few loads of the clothes that we have so far. We sorted them by size and put the ones we will be using right away in the draws and closet. I love going in there and just looking at the cute outfits all hanging there. Doug's favorite outfit so far, besides all the Notre Dame apparel obviously, is a tiny Michael Jordan jersey/onesie that we found, since he is Doug's favorite athlete. Grant is going to be one well-dressed little boy.

We had a great Easter celebrating with our families, and we can't wait to have the Easter Bunny visit our house next year with a little basket for Grant. We also envisioned him taking part in the Easter egg hunt with all the other little ones. We can't wait!

We will hopefully have more pictures to post next time of the nursery/shower/my belly/etc. Just under 2 months to go!