Last Doctor's Appointment

Well, we went to our last doctor's appointment on Tuesday. The baby's heartbeat was at an average of 135 and I measured at 40 weeks. The doctor said I was at a -1 station which basically means the baby's head is farther down. He asked at the end of our appointment if we would like to schedule to be induced before the new year and we said yes. The hospital fit us in to go on Sunday night at 7pm meaning the baby will be born some time on Monday. It feels good to have a date set for her birth. I would still prefer to go naturally before Sunday, but I don't think that will happen.

38 week doctor's appointment

This week I met with my actual OB. He said I was still 1 centimeter dilated and the baby is still head down. The heartbeat was an average of 125 and I measured at 39 weeks. Next week we will be able to schedule an elective induction. He said probably between Christmas and New Years. The reasoning…so my husband can cash in on that tax credit for having a baby in 2009. I hope to go into labor naturally, but it is kind of nice to know that I will not go past a certain date. The anticipation is killing me!

The baby has hiccups at least once a day and sometimes more often. It is really cute and reminds me that she is always there. I can’t believe we will have her here soon.

Bunco ladies

I am in a bunco group that meets the second Thursday of every month. One of the ladies is also pregnant and 4 weeks behind me. We got our pictures taken together last week. She doesn’t know what they are having yet. It will be nice to have play dates with our little ones. The bunco ladies also gave me a baby present and Ashley a wedding present. It was really nice of them to do that.

Rosie at 33 weeks and Candi at 37 weeks

December Bunco Ladies

Baby's Room

The room is finally coming along. Mom and Dad brought over the finished crib last night. It looked so cute in the baby’s room. They worked hard making it and varnishing it. Thank you to Dad, Mom, and Grandpa for all their work! Our baby girl’s room will have damask stickers on the wall when I finally get to it. They will match the bedding in the crib. I also took pictures of the pack-n-play and high chair. I am slightly obsessed with damask print in case you couldn’t tell. We finally packed our bag for the hospital and started putting things together. I guess it was a wake-up call last Thursday that baby girl could actually come soon!

Crib in room

Our crib and bedding

Inside the crib

Pack-n-play


High Chair

Cat

Here is a random picture of my brother’s cat. We had brother/sister cats when we lived together and both of them still live with him and my new sister-in-law. His cat was not taking care of himself so they had to get him shaved. This was too funny for me not to post.

Dr. Appointment

I had an interesting day today. Sorry about some of the details, but they will help my story make more sense. Mom and I went to the doctor yesterday at 11:00 for another check-up. The nurse practitioner said the baby’s heartbeat was at 145 and I was measuring 37.5 weeks. I was not dilated and completely closed. She also confirmed that the baby is head down. We decided to go to Avanti’s with Dad for lunch after the appointment. After lunch, I went to the restroom and noticed quite a bit of blood. We called the doctor’s office and they told me to come in again to make sure everything was fine. This time she said I was 1 centimeter dilated and the baby’s heartbeat was at 140. Since I had so much blood, they hooked me up to a monitor to make sure the baby was not experiencing distress of any kind. It is common to have some blood after a check-up, but they wanted to make sure baby was fine. Anyway, they said the baby was fine and also noticed that I had two contractions while being monitored over the 20 minutes. This was definitely a wake-up call to get things done and ready for the baby. Maybe we should finally pack for the hospital just in case. Right now I only have 5 days left of work and 18 days until my due date. Wow…where did the time go?!?! She will be here before we know it.

37 week picture and Baby Basics class

Here is the latest picture of me at 37 weeks. The baby moved a lot on Saturday and I think she is now head down. Her old position was her head in the middle of my right side, her back curled up to my rib area, and her bottom on my left side. On Saturday, I could feel her move around for about 2 hours straight and then I felt her hiccups at the bottom of my belly. I previously felt them on my right side since that was where her head was. We will find out for sure where she is at her next doctor’s appointment on Thursday.

We decided to take a Baby Basics class since our Lamaze classes are over. It was pretty informative, but a lot of the stuff was definitely basic. I think Joe benefited from going and now he will be able to help out a lot more with changing and bathing her.

Joe and I got an early Christmas present from his parents this week. They gave us a video camera so we can get it charged up and learn how to use it before baby comes. Thank you! She could be here before Christmas!

Updates and Thank Yous

I meant to blog about this a while back. Baby is responding to Joe’s voice. Joe gets really close to my belly and talks to her every morning and sometimes at night. A few weeks ago she started responding to his voice by moving around. It is really cute!

Update! My splints are definitely helping me sleep more at night and keep my hands from going numb all the time. I guess it has been a pretty uneventful and easy pregnancy so I can deal with this for three more weeks.

I would like to give a big THANKS to my cousin, Alicia, who gave me a giant bag of baby girl clothes over Thanks giving. I have finally sorted everything and am really excited to put her in the cute clothes. Another big THANKS goes out to my co-worker, Melanie. Melanie gave me a lot of maternity clothes at the beginning of my pregnancy and just the other day she gave me a bunch of nursing tanks and pjs. They are so comfy!

Last Lamaze Class and 36 week doctor’s appointment

We graduated from Lamaze class Monday night!!! Instead of a diploma we got a Monicals Pizza gift certificate. We talked all about what happens to baby after delivery and how I need to take care of myself afterwards. Fun times!

Tuesday was my 36 week doctor’s appointment and our baby girl is still doing great! I am measuring at 36.5 weeks and her heartbeat is at 150. I do have a new pregnancy side effect of carpal tunnel syndrome. My hands are so swollen that I haven’t been able to sleep the last two nights. They go completely numb and I have been spending the night in the recliner. I just got some cool wrist splints and I have to wear them all day and night. Everyone here at work says that they match pretty much all my clothes. See the picture of my new bling!

My splints

Almost finished

Dad put the finishing touches on the crib the other day. He put an extra board across the top of each side. The boards for the head board and side rails had to be bent to fit the cut of wood. I was pretty impressed with his skills. The only thing left to do is the varnish. This week Dad will be busy putting hardwood floors and tile in Chris and Ashley's condo so he will start working again next week.

Full view of crib

Close up of the head board and side rails

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!! I am thankful for Joe, my baby girl and all my friends and family!! Lots of Love!!!

3rd Lamaze Class

This class was all about emergency situations and pain management. We watched a video of a c-section. It was mostly animated so Joe made it through just fine. He did ask for an epidural for himself though.

We took another little quiz like last time about what we should pack in our overnight bag for the hospital. We tied with the other couple and let them have the prize of two pacifiers. Joe’s first thing he will remember to take to the hospital was his wife…I guess that is a good thing! Maybe we will win again next week if we play another game. Our next Lamaze class is all about what they do to baby after she comes out.

35 week picture and crib update

Baby is moving a lot still!! I think she is practicing her back walkovers for gymnastics. She does have a lot of hiccups. We can't wait to meet her!

Candi - 35 weeks

Dad put the crib together today. It looks great! He still has some finishing touches to do and then it will be ready to stain. I will keep posting pictures of the progress.

2nd Lamaze Class and 34 week doctor's appointment

Joe was able to go to our 2nd Lamaze class on Monday. We took a tour of the hospital to see the birthing rooms, watched the birthing videos, and practiced our breathing. Joe did really well with the videos and I really hope he doesn’t pass out when our baby comes. One of the three couples is having a medically advised scheduled c-section. They are only going to the first part of our last two classes. We did an exercise to see if Joe could guess what I would like during labor. It had questions like do I like massages, where do I like to get a massage, how I like my massages, what makes me relaxed, and what will take my mind off of the pain. We did really well and only missed 2 out of like 12. The other couple still there only got 3 right. We got a jar of baby food and baby spoon as a prize. Yay!!!

Our 34 week doctor’s appointment was on Tuesday morning. Everything looks great and I am measuring 35 weeks. We are still consistently one week ahead and we hope that means we will be early. The baby’s heart rate was 143. We have another appointment December 1st.

Crib updates and new carpet

Dad finished the headboard and the footboard last week before the wedding. I got to take some good pictures of them to show the progress.

Footboard

Headboard

We also got new carpet for the stairs, hallway, and baby's room last week. It looks great and I can't wait to start bringing her stuff up to the room to decorate. I will post more pictures to update you.

The pink baby's room and new carpet

Chris and Ashley's wedding

Here are a few pictures from Chris and Ashley's wedding on November 14th.

The Wedding Party


The Whole Wedding Party

Wedding Party Baseball Picture

Candi, Ashley, and Rosie

Mom and I

The Derry Family

The Adcock family

Lamaze, crib, and baby's room

Last night was our first Lamaze class. It was great to have my husband there. We learned all sorts of terms that we will need to know for the rest of the classes and during labor. She also talked about our current pregnancy symptoms and how to relieve them along with what to expect for labor. There are only three couples in our class which is pretty small. The teacher split the couples up and had the guys come up with what they were going to do in the delivery room. They had some cute and funny ones like talk, be quiet, support her, and hold her hand. I am pretty sure they are not sure what to do in there, but they will be there anyway. I think the class will be good for Joe to feel more comfortable in the delivery room with me. I really hope he doesn’t pass out! Next week we are watching some birthing videos and touring the hospital. We have three more classes and I hope Joe’s job lets him attend them all. Mom is going to be my back-up support just in case.

After Lamaze, I went over to my parent’s house so Dad could show me how much progress he made on the crib. He started last week and has all the pieces cut out and put some of them together for me to see. He and my Grandpa are rounding off the corners tonight so baby doesn’t hurt herself on the edges. Dad is also going to make the dresser for her room too. I can’t wait to see the final products.

Dad rounding off the corners

The foot board

What it will look similar to...we are making some slight changes

I also want to report that we finished painting the baby’s room. By “we”, I mean Joe and my parents. They did a great job. The room is pink to match the baby's bedding and I ordered some damask print stickers for the wall to complete the look. We are getting new carpet in the baby’s room, hallway and stairs on Friday so I will post pictures then. We can’t wait to have the baby’s room done. The shower gifts now reside in our family room and it will be nice to put them away.

Family room floor right now

Baby clothes

32 Week Doctor's Appointment

I had my doctor's appointment yesterday. Everything looks great and baby is growing. At my 28 week appointment she was measuring 29 weeks and yesterday at my 32 week appointment she was measuring 33 weeks. I guess we are consistent. Her heartbeat was an average of 163 beats per minute. Everything looks good and I go back in two weeks for my next appointment. Baby and I have graduated to appointments every two weeks. Soon we will have to go in every week and then she will be there. Time is flying by!

Weekend of showers

We decided to have a weekend where Ashley could have a bridal shower and I would have my baby shower to make it easier for out of town family and friends. It was a crazy weekend.

We started out with Ashley's shower on Saturday, October 24th from 2-4pm at the Savannah Greens Clubhouse. It was hosted by me and Mom. Chris and Ashley are going on a Disney Cruise in the Caribbean for their honeymoon.

Ashley and her cake

Appetizers

Punch and drink table

Ashley and her gifts

Group shot #1

Group shot #2

My baby shower was on Sunday, October 25th from 1-3pm at the Savannah Greens Clubhouse. It was hosted by my future and current sister-in-laws, Ashley Cruze, Lindsey Hitt, and Kami Logsdon

Party hosts

Gotta have a bow on the baby picture

Side view - 31 weeks

All the Grandmas: Doris Derry, Sandy Derry, Me and Baby, Carol Logsdon, Joanne Logsdon, and Judy Kipfer

Kelsie, Kamille, Sherry, Mom, and Karissa

Ashlea, Grandma Derry, Breanne, and Joann

Janel Reed, Jessica Woods, Kelly Elgin, and Brooke Grieder

Melanie Schaafsma, Kristen Strom, and Megan Prentice

Carol Logsdon, Molly Stillwell, Susan Rogers, and Joanne Logsdon

Carol, Audrey, Judy, and Lindsey - 4 generations

Gift table

Diaper cake made by Ashlea Heier-Derry

30 weeks

I am now 30 weeks and I can’t believe it. I love feeling her kick all the time. It just seems like she is moving so much. The doctor gave me a pamphlet on movement and asked me to count her movements per hour. He said on average a baby will move or kick about 3 hours a day. Our baby is well over that average. She will move and kick for a long period of time.

30 weeks

Here is my favorite baby quote from my brother, Chris. I was around 24 weeks or so and Chris wanted to feel the baby move. He put his hand on my belly and she kicked. He got a smile on his face and looked excited. He then asked, “Are you flexing your muscles?” I laughed and said that there are NO more muscles there to flex at all. Yep…my belly is hard, but it is all baby!

Candi at 25 weeks

Mom saw me and decided that I needed another picture of my baby bump. The shirt really showed off how big she was getting. She is definitely getting a lot more active. Last weekend, she was kicking really hard. I lifted up my shirt to look at my bare belly and could see exactly where she was kicking. It just makes it so real to not only feel but now see how much she is growing. It has now become my favorite past time to just watch her move. I am enjoying pregnancy so much.

Candi at 25 weeks

Candi at 23 weeks

We decided that I am definitely showing a cute little baby bump. People at work have been commenting that I am looking pregnant now.

Candi at 23 weeks