April 16, 2011

April 16, 2011 our lives changed forever. Brooke decided that was the day she wanted to see what life was like outside the womb. Here are a few pictures from the best day of our life...the day we became parents.

Our immediate family, patiently waiting. Everyone was excited to become a grandparent or aunt/uncle that day! Looking back on it, they were real troopers. They waiting 12+ hours in that waiting room (something I would change if I could go back...I later learned that the nurses said they weren't able to disclose any information to them so they had NO idea what was going on or any progress we were making. I felt so bad that they were in the dark all day).

After 20+ hours of unmedicated natural labor it was determined that Brooke was tired and her heart rate wasn't bouncing back after the contractions...so an OR was booked and I was prepped for a c-section.

Meeting the family!

It was the longest shortest day. The BEST day of our lives!

41 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 41 Weeks

Size of baby: Unfortunately, neither Babycenter nor The Bump delivers a '41 Week' email stating how big baby is...because she should have come by now!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 45 lbs. Yikes!

Maternity Clothes: Thankfully, I have been able to work from home every day this week...so I have been super comfy in pajamas. It's gotten a bit warmer lately so I've been rotating between my two short sleeve maternity shirts when I have to leave the house.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: Our little girl doesn't move nearly as much as she used to...I'm pretty sure its because she's run out of room in there. Time to come out!

Sleep: Who can sleep when they're a whole week overdue???? I think I'm afraid my water is going to break in the bed and then I'll have a huge mess to clean up.

What I miss: Nothing really comes to mind this week. I think I'm too anxious to miss anything.

Cravings: I haven't had many cravings this week. Although I have eaten my fair share of eggplant parmesan...trying to induce labor.

Symptoms: Swelling and just being a BIG ole pregnant girl.

Best Moment this week: We got to see our little girl on the ultrasound again this week. They said that my placenta is looking 'tired'...which hopefully will signal my body to get this baby out! Other than that they said that she looks good and we'll go back next week if she doesn't come on her own this weekend.

40 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 40 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is about the size of a small pumpkin. She weighs about 7.5 pounds and is about 20 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 45 lbs. Yikes!

Maternity Clothes: Thankfully, I have been able to work from home a few days this week...so on those days I've been sleeping, working and living in Mike's pajama pants (mine haven't fit for a very long time). When I absolutely have to go out in public, then I put on my favorite maternity jeans...even though they're a little tight in the thighs now.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: Our little girl doesn't move nearly as much as she used to...I'm pretty sure its because she's run out of room in there. Time to come out!

Sleep: Sleep has been hit or miss. I'm still waking up at 3am but it's not every night.

What I miss: Nothing really comes to mind this week. I think I'm too anxious to miss anything.

Cravings: I haven't had many cravings this week. Maybe the Zaxby's House Zalad with ranch? Yummy! Pringles are still super addicting, but when are they not?

Symptoms: Swelling and just being a BIG ole pregnant girl.

Best Moment this week: This week I reached my official due date of April 8th. It came and went and I was so disappointed that Brooke had not graced us with her presence outside the womb. The doctor said that they typically do not like for you to go too far past your due date and for that they wanted me to come in with two dates picked out to induce labor. I was NOT happy about that. I was very clear that I did not want to pick Brooke's birthday and that I wanted to give her every chance to come on her own. I am only comfortable inducing if there is a major risk to her health. But as for now, she's healthy and snug as a bug in there...so I'm going to let her stay there as long as she likes. The perk to going past my due date is that they want to closely monitor her progress...which means ultrasounds! So, this week we got to see our little Turtle for hopefully the last time via ultrasound. The ultrasound tech said that she appears to be on the smaller side, but since Mike and I aren't large people she said that was perfectly fine. They estimated her to be about 6 lbs 5 ozs...we'll see just how close their prediction is.

39 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 39 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is about the size of a mini watermelon. She weighs about 7 pounds and is about 20 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 41 lbs. although it feels like I've gained 100 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I'm probably pushing the envelope on some of my work pants now. I'm down to 2 pairs of pants that I would consider appropriate and my maternity shirts are definitely getting shorter in the front.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: Some days she moves non-stop and other days I'm in a frenzy and pushing my stomach every few hours because I haven't felt her move as much. I'm pretty sure she's in her final position because her foot feels like a little knob.

Sleep: Dare I say it for fear of jinxing myself, but sleep this week has been pretty good all things considered. Still utilizing the 4 pillow, pillow wedge and the insomnia hours have gotten a tad bit better. I still wake up around 3 am but I'm able to fall back asleep pretty soon after, thank goodness!

What I miss: Nothing really comes to mind this week. I think I'm too anxious to miss anything.

Cravings: I've still been craving Pringles. One day this week I was standing in the living room with a can of Pringles...before I knew it I looked in the can and realized that I had eaten probably 3/4 of the can of chips. Oops!

Symptoms: The swelling has gone to a whole new level. One of the midwifes predicted that it would get worse before it got better (aka when the baby is born) and she was spot on. The swelling has traveled up my legs now to my knees. Also, I forgot to post my stats in the last week post regarding progress...at my 38 week appointment I was 1 cm dilated, 50% effaced and -2 station. This week I was 2 cm, 60% and -2...so it wasn't BIG news but progress is progress.

Best Moment this week: The best moment this week was the surprise date night Mike planned. Saturday night he told me to get ready because he was taking me out. He surprised me and took me to the famous Scalini's to get their 'labor inducing' eggplant parmesan. It was delicious but unfortunately did not put me into labor. It sure was nice to go on a date...might be our last date for a while!