Centimeter Countdown- We've got 2!

We went to the doctor yesterday to get my Group B Strep test and have the check of my cervix and check of the baby’s position.

Best news- HEAD DOWN! I am so thankful for that! I don’t know how to reconcile that with the fact that he seems to be moving ALL THE TIME, but it’s okay.

Other news that we DID NOT EXPECT-

I’m dilated 2 centimeters, 60% effaced, and at -1. I can’t remember exactly what the -1 means. I think it has to do with dropping and moving down vertically through my pelvis. I know the numbers start at -5, but I can’t remember if they go to +2 or +5. I remember seeing a chart of this, but I couldn’t find it again when I looked back through my baby books. Anyway, the fact that I’m moving away from -5 is a good thing. The doctor was not at all impressed or excited by this news, but Joseph and I thought it was pretty terrific. The doctor said I could go right away or any time in the next four weeks. So, that was not really helpful.

We go back to the doctor next Tuesday.

The news of being dilated 2 centimeters helped us get in gear and finish up the room with the baby stuff. I took a little video of the finished room and really wished that I had done “before and after” photos. It’s as ready as we know how to make it, with the crib sheet and mattress cover on, the clothes washed, folded, and organized in baskets under the changing table, and all the other stuff tucked away as neatly as possible. Hope you can tell something from the pictures. P.S. I know that the baby can't be in the crib with the boppy or the alligator; they are just there for decoration at this time.

I “nested” until about 11:30; I just couldn’t stop picking up clutter and organizing things. Then, I did my special thing of waking up at 3:30 am. So, I videotaped my belly while the baby was moving. Joseph and I had talked about doing this, since he’s moving SO MUCH. It’s probably the most boring 9 minutes of footage in the world and no one other than us will ever watch it, but it was fun to make. He moved pretty big about three times, so we now have this recorded for posterity. :)

We’ll see what happens next! Please keep on praying for us!

Dissertation Defense Cake- March 21st (31 weeks)

26 weeks- six weeks ago

24 weeks-8 weeks ago

Dissertation: FINISHED- by Betsy

I have some big news; I finished my dissertation! I passed the "defense" last week, and I submitted my final copy to the graduate school on Friday. I feel so great; happier than I have been in a long time. The picture shows the beautiful cake Mother made for me. It says, "Elementary Dr. Watsons." She brought it on the day of my dissertation defense. It was incredibly delicous- the best cake she has made in a long time. We all loved it.

So, I'm 32 weeks pregnant now, and I can finally concentrate on the fact that I'm going to be a mom!

It’s probably about time that I concentrate on being pregnant. The other day, someone asked me my due date. I said, “Well, if I want to make the graduation deadline, I have to get the final copy to the Graduate School by March 31st.” They looked at me like I was crazy, and then I realized they were talking about my baby, and I was talking about my dissertation. One thing at a time.

We start our "baby classes" at Vanderbilt on Monday night. I am still trying to decide if I want drugs or want to try to do things naturally. It's a big decision. I'm still in awe of what a contraction must actually feel like. I guess I will probably have one soon-Braxton Hicks or the real thing- then I won't have to wonder any more. I'm getting pretty blimpish! I have gained 20 pounds, and I'm starting to waddle. But, I don't have any back pain or swelling, so I'm glad about that. I just loathe having to pick anything up off the floor. It doesn’t hurt at all; it’s just so annoying. We've settled on three names; we're going to wait until he gets here to make the final decision- James Daniel or Daniel Griffin. And we don't know if we would call him James, Daniel, or Griffin. (Joseph's middle name is Daniel, my Daddy’s name is James, and my maiden name is Griffin). So far all of our friends like Daniel the best. We'll have to see.

It’s 4 am now. My body is either pining away for Wayne County (I used to have to get up at 4:30 once or twice a week to go to Wayne County to observe teachers for my research assistantship), or getting me prepared for what’s to come. I’ve done this every night since Thursday.

Today is the twins’ baby dedication at church. I am SO excited! We’re going over this morning to help them get ready. We’ve been helping them get ready every Sunday morning since they started going to the nursery. We are the official baby transporters. We absolutely love it. We can’t get to Sunday School on time to save our lives, but we have no problem going 30 min-1 hr early to help get the babies ready.

I *hope* I will be able to blog a bit more regularly now that the dissertation is done. If I keep waking up at 4 am, it may be easy. We’ll see.

Pregnant and Sick- by Betsy

I woke up in the night last Friday with a sore throat, small fever (99.5) and sinus pain. I slept basically around the clock through Sunday night, when the fever went away. I thought I had a sinus infection and things progressed like they have in the past with sinus infections (feeling bad, sinus pain, spitting out lots of mucus, etc). The only difference was that it lasted longer than usual. I did what I normally do- drink tons of water, eat lots of fruit, sleep as much as possible, breathe steam, gargle, use a humidifier.
I slept on through Wednesday. On Wednesday night I woke up several times due to slight coughing, like clearing my throat, and that still seemed normal. On Thursday I tried to work for four hours. As long as I wasn’t talking I was okay, but during the day my cough got worse. My throat felt very dry regardless of how often I sipped hot or cold water.
My cough got harder to control on Thursday night. Also, the cough itself was harder and more painful. I couldn’t sleep, so I sat up sipping water with a hot water bottle on my chest. I fell asleep once but woke up coughing really hard, and it frightened me a little. I read in the VU baby handbook that I can take guaifenesin cough syrup, but that keeps me awake, so I just decided to keep sipping water and sitting up. I sat up mostly all night in my blue chair waiting to go to the doctor. My throat was completely dry regardless of how much I drank, breathed steam, or gargled warm water. It felt like hot paper. If I talked or went very long without water I coughed, and the severity of my cough concerned me. Everything about the sickness up to this point had seemed like a “normal” sinus infection, except for the coughing and my dry throat.
So today I went to the doctor because I was afraid I had pneumonia or something respiratory that needed checking. She listened to my lungs and said they sounded clear. I feel MUCH better knowing that she doesn’t think I have pneumonia. She said you have to do a chest xray to be sure (and we don’t want that) but that I sounded really clear when she listened to my chest. Mostly my cough is dry.
The doctor was really nice to me. We listened to the baby’s heart beat, which, of course, was fine. She said I should call her if my fever goes over 100, and I should continue to feel better, not worse, although it will just take time to get over it completely. The not talking part really helps my throat feel better. The only thing is that if I go to sleep I wake up coughing really really hard and it takes time to calm down from that. My chest and stomach are sore from the coughing.
It is just SO ANNOYING not to be able to talk (or sleep). Right now I’m sitting in my blue chair again with my hot water bottle on my chest. I can’t even remember the last time I was sick for a whole week. It just blows my mind.
After coming home, I slept again from about noon to two. I have to sleep propped up in the recliner with the hot water bottle on me. It feels weird but it works. The coughing after waking up almost makes the sleeping not worth it, but I think it is already better than last night. Just knowing that I don’t have something worrisome makes me able to deal with the coughing better.
Joseph is so cute. I carry around a tablet and write down what I need and the answers to his questions. He said it would be fun, like charades, if I wasn’t coughing so much. “You know, like sick charades” he said. He is just great, I can’t get over it.
Anyway, so I’m hanging out, still not panicking about the work I’m missing. I’m really praying on that one, and I’m doing well so far. I know I will do this; I just have to be patient.

I’m pretty sure the baby doesn’t even know I’m sick; he is still just kicking away. Maybe he will love swimming! :)

If anybody knows of any “tips” or home remedies of what I should do to get better, let me know. I’m open to all advice! The moral of this story is- DO NOT get sick while you are pregnant. It is a total waste of time!

It's a boy!

Excitement all around, please. These are the first pictures confirming that we have a new baby boy. He might be embarrassed in a few years by these pictures, but that's okay :) We'll post more soon. Enjoy!

arm
Boy
Profile
Foot
Face and tummy

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