Here she is!

Alexandra Marie was born at 6:14 PM on September 10. She weighs 5 pounds, 15 ounces and is 17.5 inches. We just came home, and are happy to be here!

Thanks for all of the prayers!

Almost time!

So, it is almost 11 PM my time. I still have not packed, but it should not take long. I have to be at the hospital at 6 AM, and cannot eat after midnight, so Andy just ran out to get me a burrito (one last treat!).

Thanks for all of the prayers and support, not just this week, but over the whole pregnancy. I was able to go to Confession this afternoon, and feel very prepared spiritually. I will be carrying your intentions with me tomorrow.

We most likely will not see baby until late, but will post when we can. Thanks for praying tomorrow. Please say an extra one for my boys. There were a few tears shed tonight by them because I was going to be leaving before they woke up. I have to admit that with them being older, it was a little harder to say good-bye tonight. We are hoping that Andy can bring them up to the hospital Friday morning so they can meet their sister before going to school. We really try to introduce them to their latest sibling when no one other than Andy and I are there so it can be just us.

Obviously, no recipe swap for tomorrow. Hopefully, next Thursday!

Thanks for everything! HUGS to you all!

Thursday is the day!

I saw my OB today, and I will be reporting to the hospital at 6 AM Thursday for my induction. I know there were questions in my earlier post about why I am being induced, and I answered in the comments, but I will try to do it here. Please be kind in commenting-I am very hormonal right now! ;)

I have been induced twice before, so I do know what I am getting into. Peter's was for medical necessity (I had pre-eclampsia), and Drew was full-term and huge! I have to say that on a personal level, I do prefer induction as both were very positive experiences. That being said, I wouldn't just do it on a whim either.

I am GBS positive, and require antibiotics before giving birth for the safety of the baby. I went very quickly with Michael, and almost did not get the antibiotics in time. That alone is reason enough for me.

On a personal level, I have a really hard time trusting doctors. My OB knows this about me. He came in on his day off to deliver Michael so that I would not have to deal with a doctor I did not know. He told me today, that even though he was off, he watched the intakes all weekend because he was prepared to come in to deliver me if necessary (he really is a great guy!). This is his last day on overnight call before my due date next week, and he feels very comfortable with inducing me. As he says, conditions need to be "favorable" for him to induce, and they are.

So, on Thursday, I will be induced. I am really getting excited, and nervous at the same time (mainly about going from 3 to 4 kids!). Please pray for my family and I as we enter this new stage in our lives. The hospital has wifi, so some of you will be getting email from me, and there should be a post here Friday morning! God Bless you all, and thank you for the prayers!

38 weeks!

I have now made it to 38 weeks. I am tired and uncomfortable, so this baby can come any time! I was at 1 cm at my appointment on Tuesday. Not very reassuring as I have literally walked around at 3 for weeks in prior pregnancies. The doctor said that baby is around 7 pounds at this point.

I have also made it through all that I wanted to accomplish. The older boys have started school, and Michael's birthday was yesterday. All I have to say is anytime now! Although, at this point, I am guessing that I will be induced next Thursday as planned.

The Latest

I went to the OB today. Again, nothing. Seems this little girl is liking the cozy conditions. I think this means I may make it to see my boys off to school the first day next week, as well as Michael's birthday on the 2nd.

I actually slept for 7 hours last night. This is the first time in months that I have not had to get up at some point in the night. We had 2 1/2 hours of soccer practice in the hot sun yesterday, and I think it wiped me out! Yes, soccer season has started around here. Peter has 3 practices this week and Drew has 2. I am really looking forward to Andy's 2 weeks at home when the baby comes!

In other news, please keep my friend, Jamie, in your prayers (I know many of you are already). She was supposed to have delivered her fifth via C-section yesterday, and we are still waiting on the news.

Also, me dear, real-life friend, Lisa, is traveling out of state for her Grandfather's funeral tomorrow. Please keep her and her family in your prayers during this time.

So sweet!

Not the most flattering photo of me, but I wanted to share my baby boy snuggled up to my baby girl. I love that at almost 4, Michael still needs snuggle time. He fell asleep in my arms, and his sister proceeded to kick at him-hard! He didn't wake up once!

Leg cramps

I don't get leg cramps often, but did I wake up with a doozie this morning! It was my right calf, and I could not for the life of me get my foot to flex, so I used my left foot to push the right one up. It got rid of the cramp, but caused me to cramp in both front shins and my thigh! Who knew this could happen? I am very stiff and sore this morning. I pray for no more!

Nerves

So, I am starting to get nervous. All of these weeks of preparation are soon to come to a close sometime in the next month. I was doing some cleaning today in the room that will be shared by Michael and the baby. We have received a few gifts, and my nieces are throwing me a shower in a couple of weeks. Just trying to get everything in order.

As I am cleaning out the closet, a thought pops into my head...what if she is a boy again? Of course, in the end, it doesn't matter if baby is healthy, but last time, my mother-in-law and I had purchased several pink items which all were detagged, washed and readied for baby. When Michael was born, these quickly got swapped out for the clothes that Peter and Drew had worn. This time, I am afraid to cut tags. I have some items hanging in the closet, just waiting, just in case they need to be returned.

Then, there is the whole impending birth issue. I had 3 successful deliveries. Drew was almost a c-section because his arm was stuck near his head, and Michael was also almost a cesarean because he chose not to turn until 3 days before he was born. I am still nervous. I see the doctor on Wednesday. He will check me then to see if I have started to dilate. More than likely, I have because well, I have been known to walk around at 2-3 cm for weeks, but being at that point is making me nervous. It's just so close, and although I have had moments of feeling like this pregnancy is dragging, I am now feeling like I don't want it to be over.

I just need to breathe....and pray.

This boy...

I think my Michael is feeling some uncertainty about the impending birth of his little sister. Several times a day, he climbs on what is left of my lap and says, "Mom, I love your baby! Mom, I love you!" I give him a big hug and tell him that Mama and the baby love him too. Today, he informed me that yesterday, he was in my tummy. Oh, it may have been 4 years ago, but it certainly does feel like yesterday...

I am very thankful that I will still have Michael home with me this fall. I think that it will be good for him to have time with the baby and I, and to be able to be the big brother without his big brothers here (while they are at school).

33 weeks

Well, I am 33 weeks tomorrow. I saw my OB today, and all looks good! Baby is head down right now-although her body is more off to one side. He didn't seem concerned about her being in the right place by the time she comes. I go back in 2 weeks, on August 13th, when he will check me for the first time, If I am showing progress, then I will switch to weekly appointments. No progress, I will get another 2 week reprieve. I have a feeling that I will be switching to weekly. It all seems so close now...

All is well!

I had a great OB appointment this morning. I drank the yucky glucose stuff, and am praying for normal results tomorrow. It was fine when they did the test a month ago, so I am hoping for the same.

I had a great talk with my OB. He has delivered all of the boys, and he said he plans on the same for this one (he even came in on his day off for Michael). He just makes me feel so at ease about everything. I had a ton of questions, especially about breastfeeding-we can be honest here, right? I attempted to nurse with Peter, but he was born a month early. I had pre-eclampsia, and so they induced me. As a result, Peter was little (hovering around 5 pounds). They didn't want him to lose any weight. We supplemented with formula, and a week later, I gave up on my dream of nursing. It was a bad week. Every 2 hours, I would nurse, pump, and give Peter a bottle of formula. My milk never came in. I am guessing that the formula we were instructed to supplement with was the root of this problem.

Because of this experience, I opted to bottle feed both Drew and Michael. I was too scared and on some level, I had convinced myself that I was physically unable to nurse. I have no proof of this, it was just what I told myself.

This time, for a plethora of reasons, I want to give breastfeeding another go. I am nervous about this, but I feel like I need to to it. OK, I am now realizing that this is not where I meant to go with this post, but it is where I landed. Please say a prayer that I have peace with my decision and that it goes well.

Oh, and as an aside, my OB told me that he had a dream about me last week (weird, huh?). He said he dreamt that I was pre-eclamptic again. After Jamie's post about dreams, I was a little weirded out that he had this dream. I have been worried about all of the swelling that I have been having, but my blood pressure was good today. So, we are going to pray that bed rest is not in my future this time. With Peter, it was no big deal because he is my oldest, and so bed rest meant I got a lot of me time. This time, though, I have 3 little boys at home, and I don't know how I'd handle it. OK, another worry to lay in God's hands and let go. Whatever is meant to happen will happen. If it does, maybe that means that all of my bloggy friends would have to come visit-right? ;)

Kids say the darndest things...

I am really enjoying watching my boys as they continue to discover new things during this pregnancy. Tonight was one of those moments...



We were driving home, and Peter looked over at me, innocently asking, " Umm, Mom? Is your tummy getting bigger?" I said to him, "What do you think?" His response was a very definite not sure. I told him that yes, indeed, Mama's tummy is getting bigger because the baby is getting bigger-and with 14 weeks left, he ain't seen nothing yet! ;)

Here she is!

I had my repeat ultrasound today. I am 24 weeks, and they confirmed, once again, that our baby is a girl. I feel really confident about that now! This is her profile. I think it is pretty good. You can make out her nose, and her little hands under her chin. I also had a 3D today, but the OB was unable to get any good keepsake photos for us. All of her measurements were great (she's about 1 pound, 4 ounces now, and all looks well!). I also get to have a repeat ultrasound on June 29. The OB who does the ultrasounds is really thorough and wants to take just one more look-OK by me! She'll also repeat the 3D, so, hopefully I will have pictures of that as well!

Suggestions?

I am not here to complain about my stomach issues as of late, although I fear it may sound like it. I am looking for suggestions. I am really struggling here. EVERYTHING I eat is giving me heartburn, and my food aversions (particularly with meat) are causing great difficulty.

I just made taco meat for everyone else to have tacos. It was all I could do not to...umm...toss my cookies while I was making it. Andy just called because he was on his way home, and offered to bring me anything I wanted, but literally NOTHING sounds good to me. I just don't know what to do. I am trying not to sound whiny, I am just looking for some suggestions to get me through what I hope is a temporary issue. Any ideas?

This Morning

Let me start out this morning by saying thank you for all of the prayers and kind words! I feel much better today, and have a more realistic handle on life as I know it. I am slowly working on laundry this morning, and will be content with what I get done. I did not score as much as I would have liked to yesterday, but it is a new day. After I finish this post, I am going to score until I have to leave for lunch duty at the boys' school.

Now for the fun if my morning! I had my OB appointment this morning. I drank the yucky sugar stuff (they gave me lemon lime instead of orange-think flat 7up), and gave blood after seeing the doctor. If I hear nothing tomorrow, it was normal and he will do a repeat at my appointment in mid-June. If it isn't, I will hear tomorrow, and will have to go for the 3 hour screen. Prayers for normal are always appreciated.

I had a good visit with my OB. When he tried to get the heart beat, he couldn't (he could pick up her moving, but not the heartbeat). I told him that I had been feeling her down by my bladder lately (joy, oh joy!). He moved the Doppler with no luck. He decided to do an ultrasound instead. So, I got to see my beautiful little girl and her heartbeat (because he picked up her moving I wasn't worried). The funny thing was her position-She was standing up! Her head was much above my belly button and her feet were indeed resting on my bladder. My OB was hilarious! He exclaimed, "Her head isn't supposed to be up that high yet!" He also took a peek at her privates, and indeed, no sign of a boy (so, in case you are counting, that is 4 professionals who have said we are having a girl!). He also confirmed what I have felt all along-that this is going to most likely be another big baby like Drew was (hopefully without an arm stuck this time!). I am glad the appointment was this morning because it has put me in a great mood! Have a great day everyone!

While I was at Walmart...

Michael asked me a question, "Mom, how DID that baby get in your tummy?" I have expected this from one of the older boys, but not my 3 1/2 year old! I told him that the baby was a gift from God, and that God had put the baby in my tummy. Thankfully, that was enough for him!

Musings on Tiramisu

In case you don't know, Tiramisu happens to be my all time favorite dessert (kind of funny for someone who doesn't drink coffee).

When I was pregnant with Peter, I craved tiramisu all.the.time. Andy used to get a kick out of it because about 30 minutes after I ate it, Peter would kick for a really long time. One of my friends (who doesn't have kids) reprimanded me when I was pregnant with Drew because my favorite dessert contains a tad bit of coffee liqueur. After that, I stopped eating my favorite dessert when I was pregnant. Truly, there is not a ton of alcohol in it, but I would always remember what she said.

Last night, I indulged in some tiramisu frozen custard (no alcohol). I fully expected this little one to start jumping about 30 minutes later. Guess what? NOTHING! My thought was, maybe there's not a lot of caffeine in it. Well, about an hour and a half after that, as I had just crawled into bed, she started to kick, so much so that I couldn't sleep. The best part about it was that Andy felt her kick for the first time. She settled down after about 20 minutes, and then I went to sleep. Today we are back to regular baby movement.

More Michaelisms

Michael is continuing to surprise us with what he is saying. At 3 1/2, he really says some unexpected things.

For example, he is teaching his older brothers about the proper use of can/may. Drew will ask, "Michael, can I have that?" Michael says, "Yes, you MAY" (emphasizing the word may).

After the ultrasound yesterday, Peter and Drew were thrilled at the prospect of having a sister. Michael, however, is not. He heard Andy on the phone saying, "It's a girl." To which he responded, "No, Dad, it's a boy!" Later in the day, he told his cousin, Annie, "I say the baby is a boy, but Mom and Dad say it's a girl." In one last attempt at a boy, When asked what we should name the baby, he responded, "Boy." Poor thing!

It's a...

GIRL!

Andy and I are reasonably confident with these results, having been confirmed by 3 people. The ultrasound tech has been doing ultrasounds for over 30 years, and that in and of itself made Andy say that yes, he believed her. We are really excited, but now we need to decide on a name. We had a name last time, and Andy thought we'd use that one, but I told him that I don't want that name now...LOL! Thanks for all of the prayers!

Ultrasound

I have to say that things went absolutely great today! Thanks for all of your prayers. I am always nervous until we get in and they start to take a look at things.

Baby is healthy! All measurements were perfect. Although, this stubborn baby wouldn't turn, and I have to have a repeat ultrasound in 4 weeks so they can get the last of the measurements. (Darn, I have to see this sweet baby again!).

So, now onto the discussion of gender. We do have an answer, but some of you (KIM) did not want to know...Here is what I am going to do...I am going to post immediately after this one, and title it "It's a..." If you don't want to know (KIM), then don't read it. OK? You have been warned!

Here is the link to the gender post!