38 weeks 6 days

The day after tomorrow I will be 39 weeks 1 day... my life- our lives- will be forever changing. I will be the new mommy of a second precious little girl. John will be the new daddy of a second precious little girl. Delilah will be the new big sister of a precious little girl. I am so many things- excited, scared, nervous, excited. Today I got my reporting time for Thursday- we're to be there at 7:30 a.m.

The plan is for my parents to come here to watch Delilah. After lunch & a nice nap (hopefully she naps!) they'll all come up to meet our newest addition. I have the most adorable big sister shirt for Delilah to wear. It says "I'm the big sister" and it has two ladybugs on it. Delilah has the kitty to give Tatum that she picked out at Build-a-Bear. I have the blanket & owl I knitted for Delilah as a gift from Tatum. Everything is essentially ready- just have to throw a few things in the hospital bag the morning of.

The room is complete- the valances came the other day this week. I went to Tar.get today to get curtains & had some in the cart but decided not to buy them. They're just not THE ones so we're going to keep looking around. Besides they don't need to be in there until she moves in to her room which won't be until at least September.

38 weeks 5 days

Today was my growth ultrasound, non-stress test (NST) and pre-op appointment. It certainly didn't go the way I thought it would. I got there & checked in. I had to fill out some paperwork and then was called back for the ultrasound. Tatum looks great but is now estimated at almost 9 pounds! How did this little girl go from 7 pounds 6 ounces to almost 9 pounds in a little less than 3 weeks?! The best part of the ultrasound was the pictures the tech got. He got amazingly clear 3D face shots of Tatum- and in one of them she smiled!

After that it was off to the NST for them to monitor Tatum. Luckily I wasn't on the monitor long- she cooperated very nicely & gave lots of movement. Unfortunately I had a "room mate" who complained about her fingers hurting or becoming numb from having to hold the heart rate monitor in place (well not really hold it in place but put some pressure on it so it picked up baby better) whenever a nurse came in. Can you say shut up?!

Once I was done with the NST I headed to the exam room to meet with the dr. She came in and said she wanted me to go to labor and delivery because of my blood pressure (152/88) to be monitored. She also did some paperwork that I took over with me. I called John to tell him & was going to have him meet me over there but because he had to get Delilah back in to her car seat I just went out to the car. He drove me over to the main entrance to drop me off (it was Delilah's lunch time so they needed to get home since we didn't think we'd be that long) and up I went. Let me tell you it was very disorganized today. They couldn't find my chart, had no idea what they were doing with me because the paperwork I brought with me didn't have any orders, etc. I ended up being put in to a post-partum room instead of being in the labor & delivery part of the floor.

I got changed and hooked up by one nurse while another one went back and forth between my room & I don't know where else trying to still find my chart (it wasn't filed with the "Ws" hence why they couldn't find it). At one point the nurse who was kind of flitting back and forth really annoyed me because she was like "11, 12, 1- how are we going to go to lunch?" And I'm thinking 'Really lady? I haven't eaten or had anything to drink since 7:30 this morning & you just said that in front of me?' I get they need to eat but even if I was worried about that myself I wouldn't say it in front of a pregnant patient!

After a couple hours of monitoring and having to have an IV lock put in, just in case, I was allowed to go home. I'm not on modified bedrest any more but I do have to rest as much as possible & lay on my left side as much as I can. I'm still scheduled for Thursday for the c-section and should be getting my surgery time tomorrow.

38 weeks 0 days

Today I am 38 weeks- almost one week from Tatum's estimated arrival! Of course after today's events I'm hoping she doesn't make the debut sooner.

I ended up in labor & delivery for monitoring due to vision changes & slightly elevated blood pressure. It all started at work- I was sitting at my desk entering some billing when something happened where this light was flashing in front of my right eye. It was almost like someone had taken my picture & the flash of light was still lingering but kind of pulsing. I couldn't see right & when I looked up signs of pre-eclamsia I couldn't see the words on the screen right. I waited a few minutes but after reading that I decided to call the OB office. The nurse asked me if I had a headache when I told her my symptoms & I told her no. She then took my phone number & said she'd call back after speaking with the midwife. She called back, asked me a few more questions & I told her that it felt as though I was getting a headache at the base of my neck. She said the midwife wanted me to come in immediately.

I called John & he came to pick me up... while waiting for him the pulsing light stopped in front of my right eye but I got this weird feeling in my left eye. Then on the way up I got a headache behind my left eye. I got in & they checked my urine, weighed me, and took my blood pressure. Then I went in the exam room and waited for the midwife. She decided I should go to labor & delivery to be monitored since the vision issues & because my blood pressure was slightly elevated. So up I went and the monitoring began. At one point the nurse came in saying they wanted me to drink some water because I was having contractions. I didn't even know I was having them but after she said about it I realized the discomfort I was feeling in the one spot was the contractions.

In the end I was able to go home but I am now on modified bedrest. This means no more work, no strenuous activities, and no driving (boo!). Good thing I got the letters & wall hangings hung this past Monday!

The wall hangings

The letters

38 week belly pic

37 weeks 2 days

Yesterday was my first of 3 total weekly appointments (yikes!). It went really well- as usual my blood pressure and weight were good. Tatum measured & sounded good- happy little girl in there :-) My midwife A said I'd have one more growth ultrasound as well as a pre-op appointment with the dr. who will be doing my c-section. After my appointment we went out to the receptionist desk and A told the receptionist I needed a growth ultrasound & appointment with the dr- not this coming week but the week after. The receptionist looked at the schedule & said how the ultrasound tech wasn't in on Thursdays so how about Friday, March 18th. I told her my c-section is scheduled for March 17th. So I'm scheduled for March 14th at 9:30. According to A I should get my surgery time that day- yay!

After I returned to work I saw a client outside- he likes my tattoos and ever since he complimented me on them he's talked to me any time I've seen him. Anyway, he asked how I was doing & I responded in turn asking him how he was. That's when he noticed my stomach. Here's how the conversation went:

Him: Are you have a baby?
Me: Yep!
Him: When are you due... October?
Me: No- 2 weeks
Him: I don't think you'll make it more than a week and a half

Now given that he's not only a man but also a mental health client I guess I shouldn't be too surprised he was asking if I was due in October. Then again though I'd be in pretty big trouble if I'm as big as I am now and due in October!

Everything is ready for Tatum- well except me having my hospital bag packed. Which I should probably do. But the car seats are in the cars. Delilah loves having her seat behind the driver's side- it's so cute. She was telling John how fun it was there. The letters & wall hangings are done and ready to be hung. The essentials are purchased. The clothes are washed. The pack n play is put up downstairs (John still has to do the one in our room) and that's about it. We're ready!