2 weeks overdue

Two weeks overdue today, but I just can't bring myself to be panicked for Benjamin's health when he's moving like a little jumping bean! Every time I eat something he goes crazy. I feel fine, Benjamin seems fine, so just because it's the magical "2 weeks" date I want to be careful not to be panicked to get things started. Caucasian women tend to carry longer than 40 weeks. In France, the length of pregnancy is considered 42 weeks.
I've been told that "I would already have my baby by now" if I were at a hospital. Well, maybe so and maybe not. I have heard enough stories of 36-hour failed inductions when the cervix is not a good way there already. It's not unheard of for women to come back for three all-day sessions of Pitocin, only to have nothing happen (except a lot of unnecessary pain). I might have my baby by now, yes, but it might be because the doctors got tired of waiting and performed a C-section.
My thinking is that, if there is no emergency, why let a passing date dictate what you do? I meet with my doctor and midwife tomorrow to discuss moving things along. If there are no medical reasons to induce (aging placenta, low fluid levels, preclampsia), then I see no reason to interfere. The interventions themselves carry risks. Cytotec, the ulcer drug that is used off-label for induction, is not approved by the FDA and has caused uterine rupture (and maternal and fetal death in some cases). In fact, the producer of the drug issued an official warning against using it for induction, but it is still used because of its low cost and quick results. Cervidil is a better choice but carries the same small risks of uterine rupture. Pitocin, unlike the other two, can be more easily regulated...but then again it only causes contractions, doesn't soften the cervix, so it may not work if the cervix is not already ripe.
I am open to doing another ultrasound to see if all is still well in there. I keep thinking...if my date of conception was a bit later than we thought, and I tend to be a longer carrier, Benjamin might just be right on time.

update

13 days late and still no baby, but had an appointment this morning & found out I am a fingertip dilated, the head is lower, and the cervix is much thinner.
We've tried just about all the "natural" labor stimulants, (including eating a whole pineapple!) We've tried the evening primrose oil for 6 days in a row now. Today my midwife told me to take a mixture of black & blue cohosh every 20 minutes, pump, and go for a walk. I'm supposed to call back in 3 hours to report any changes. If this doesn't work, we'll try the castor oil, and if that fails, a ripening agent.
I hope this works!

Monday "blues"

Day 11: Today I'd think this whole pregnancy thing has been a hoax, except for the little feet sticking out of my side occasionally and the feeling of heaviness. This morning was cool and crisp...one of those first days that hint at fall and beckon you outside. I took a long walk in the neighborhood, following the road that winds back through quiet residences nestled far back in the trees. There are some woods and fields and a lake. Beautifully varied morning glories in hues of baby blue, purple and lavender cover the old fence by someone's donkey pasture. There were little white flowers in the shade with a camphor-like perfume. Yellow bitterweed added sunshine to the shadows, and I found a ripe persimmon, just fallen. A huge ugly vulture circled over, maybe wondering if this lone, slow-moving pregnant lady was going to topple over anytime soon! Not today...I was feeling too full of the glory of creation and the life inside. This feeling of peace has to be supernatural...probably a result of many prayers!
I called in this morning to cancel my piano lessons. Jeff's working on design stuff for work and I'm going to settle down with a book. Reading internet stories of late babies and hearing that Jeff was 12 days late have made me realize I'm not the only one. I do understand how some people can say that "an overdue pregnancy is the worst form of mental torture" and I'd probably feel that way if I were at home alone, but as it is having a change of scenery and seeing friends and family have helped so, very much. I feel supported and loved, and not rushed to produce a baby.
To contrast peaceful feelings now, I was pretty depressed driving up to Greenville. I'd finished my teaching week, made final arrangements at the house, and now we wouldn't come back again unless we came with a baby. I'm not sure why that bothered me, but maybe it was sort of saying "goodbye" to life as just me and Jeff. As it turns out I'm enjoying being here and the stress gone from not worrying about a 2-hour drive is pretty significant.
In conclusion, God is good and I'm feeling at peace with my body and with Benjamin. After all he's healthy and kicking. He's just not quite ready to meet the world, and I'm sure he and God have their reasons. When it's time, it will happen, just like the beautiful fall weather that arrived today.

thoughts

Just wondering if anyone else remembers experiencing this. For the last week or so I've had strong Braxton Hicks after dinner. I get excited thinking "maybe tonight" but they go away once I lie down, and by morning not a trace!

Thinking we'd have a baby by now Jeff and I didn't pack any Sunday clothes. Maybe we'll spend the morning praying for Benjamin and the upcoming birth and just enjoying some quiet time together. With all my impatience, I realize we're going to miss being just us soon. It will be harder to make time to just talk or pray together.

It is comforting to know God's been control of when we conceived, Benjamin's health and growth, and everything else from the beginning of this pregnancy. I'm trying not to be a control freak and obsess about which day He's chosen us to become parents.

I said goodbye to my parents tonight...they leave first thing in the morning. I'm sorry they didn't get to meet the baby but maybe it's just as well, as they'd just have had a lot of nerve-wracking waiting to do if I had gone into labor and not much to do to help.

I hope to be able to post some news soon. :)

...

Still waiting! I think he really wants to share my parents' anniversary or Dayton's birthday.

Update

Still waiting! Last night I thought it might be the real thing, since after dinner I was having some pretty strong Braxton Hicks, but they went away and this morning I'm feeling fine.

Yesterday at my appointment I found out I am not dilated at all (it is normal to walk around for a couple of weeks dilated 1-2 cm, but not me!). The arrhythmia was especially pronounced yesterday, so the midwife called in an ultrasound to check on that, measure amniotic fluid and check the placenta grade. The placenta ages after a time and becomes less efficient at nourishing the baby. Again they said the heart structure seems normal, and though they couldn't get an entirely good look at the aorta because his ribs were obstructing the view, the overall report was reassuring. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor for a long time to observe the heartrate. Again they said the results were as expected, and also told me I was having some light contractions. Apparently I can't feel them! The heart structure is normal, but the nervous system is not yet regulating the beats perfectly. It should disappear shortly after birth, but we'll have it checked out afterward if not. The amniotic fluid levels were normal, and placenta grade was good. They estimated his weight at 7 lbs, 13 oz. There is not really a question that my dates are wrong. He's just taking an extra week or so to be ready.

I'm taking evening primrose oil, which can sometimes move things along.

We're staying here in Greenville for the next few days with Jeff's mom, since Jeff is working from home. My parents are here since they can't visit after this Saturday night. I'll spend some time with them while Jeff works.

We are praying that Benjamin will come before Sunday, for so many reasons...parents being here, friends leaving the country Monday, and the dilemma of deciding whether to go back to Atlanta or not. I get 4 weeks off and would hate to waste one just waiting. If nothing is happening by Sunday night, I will feel like I need to go back and teach another three days. It would be nice not to have to do that! :)

Come on, kid.

Benjamin's taking his sweet time, which everyone tells me is normal for a first baby. I'm only three days late, but it doesn't take long to start thinking "what if I have two more weeks of this??" Sitting in church today was very uncomfortable. I didn't play for the church choir...since this was probably my last Sunday for a while, I was looking forward to sitting with Jeff. But I'd forgotten how hard it is now to sit still for any length of time. Benjamin's legs were pushing on my ribs and I really wanted to stand up or stretch out on a couch.

I went to a shower for Andrea Barnard, a grad school friend, two days after my due date. That made me feel better. If you're overdue and feeling decent, get out and do things. I was driving myself crazy just sitting around the house waiting for something to happen!

I'm actually kind of thankful that I have to teach tomorrow...it will keep my mind occupied. I am praying that Benjamin will not be later than the 15th. My mom really wants to come up to Greenville shortly after the birth, and my aunt will be gone the 16th & unable to relieve her from taking care of my grandma. However, this too is in God's hands...He knows best. And in any case, I am thankful for the miracle that's about to happen, whenever it happens. :)

Due date come and gone

Today was the big day, but nothing yet! At my appointment they told me the baby had descended, so at least things are on track.

We're all packed and ready....when we went to Greenville last Monday we brought the suitcase along, just in case. :)

I'm still feeling pretty good, though having trouble sleeping. I must have waked up 6 or 7 times, either too hot, or getting up to go to the bathroom, or rearranging pillows to try to get comfortable. Someone told me this is nature's way of getting you ready for nights with a newborn!

Since he has to drive an hour and a half to work, Turner is allowing Jeff to work from home until I deliver. That is a real blessing, since this way we will be able to leave right away when we need to.

Any day now...

Babymoon

Some wonderful friends gave us an incredible two nights at the Chateau Elan spa. We opened the envelope with the red seal that held our reservation information and were speechless. Two nights, all meals paid, plus spa treatments for both of us. The experience was so relaxing and special. We were greeted at the door by a doorman in uniform who offered to help us with our "luggage" which consisted of a couple of very college-looking backpacks. We felt a little outclassed seeing the BMWs and Mercedes parked out front, but we didn't care, we were here to enjoy our stay! Our Vintage themed room was full of antiques.














We relaxed a little in our room, ordered drinks from room service....














...then had lunch in the beautiful airy Versailles restaurant, modelled after a Victorian train station in France, with the glass ceiling and open feel.














Taking a load off my feet on the balcony of the Versailles (the main hotel is in this building as well)

















That afternoon I had my pedicure, which was extra nice because I have a hard time reaching my toes anymore. Jeff sat there and chatted with me and the pedicurist (is that a word?) while he waited for his treatment. He had a men's luxury facial (and if he had known that included an upper body massage he would have been even more excited). "Mavis" was a tiny Indian woman who gave him a longer massage than she had to, and Jeff said he felt incredible afterward. After dinner at the Cafe Elan, we headed back to our room where they had prepared us a "Spa Journey package" which was rose petals strewn on the floor, tea lights, and rose-scented spa products for a hot bath. It was the perfect end to the day. And the best part was knowing we had a whole other day left...

spa journey
















my red toes













(Not pregnant, just had a good meal.)


















Next day we had breakfast in the little spa restaurant, Fleur de Lis, and then walked over to the winery. I wanted to steal some grapes from the arbors but Jeff wouldn't let me. :) We toured the winery and the gift shop, then had lunch again at Versailles. Our massages were that afternoon. I had a special pregnancy massage. It felt great and almost put me to sleep!
Dinner at Cafe Elan was delicious! I highly recommend the peach bread pudding with ice cream. My only regret was not being able to eat huge meals because the baby is taking up so much room!
Jeff and I really enjoyed our "Babymoon" and will remember it with fondness as we are spending sleepless nights with a newborn! :D Thank you to our dear friends who did this for us--you know who you are--and we appreciate your kindness so much.

Someday my little prince will come

This Thursday I will be at 37 weeks and technically full-term! If the baby comes this week he's not considered premature. I'm hoping he doesn't decide to surprise us, since my paperwork is still enroute from my current care to my midwife. It's taking so long because the ultrasound was done by another practice, who had to send their records to my current care, who take 7-10 business days to process records. I'll feel much better when I know everything has gone through!

Soon, soon, my little prince will come. It will just take him a lot of time afterward to become verbal, do anything for himself besides drool, charm anyone with something other than spit-up, and it will be a long, long time before he looks good in tights. But that's fine, because I believe the spell works so that I'll fall in love at first sight anyway.

Plants Post

Sounds like we all needed a jumpstart for blogging! I thought I'd pick from one of Elizabeth's ideas and start with the gardening tips. So...a short post on growing zinnias. These flowers come in all varieties from daisy-looking giant ones to fuller flowers that resemble carnations. Also come in every color of the rainbow. They have a country charm, not sophisticated, but so hardy and colorful.

All you need is a husband (to dig up the beds), a couple bags of compost and manure (about 2 bucks a bag), seeds, and a trowel.

Plant in mid-May for a longer bloom time (later is fine, just won't bloom as long.) Plant in full sun. Zinnias were originally grown by the Aztecs in Mexico so they don't mind being baked! Dig up the beds about 6 inches down, and mix in the compost/manure. You might have to take some of the original dirt out to make room. Be generous with the compost, since this is what guarantees you good growth, and then the beds are ready for next season's planting too. Then...sprinkle your seeds in rows if you're picky, scatter them if you're not. Either way they'll grow (and actually look better clustered.) Then stir up the top inch or so with your trowel to cover the seeds.

Water VERY liberally. The first watering is the most important!

Then, water a little every two days or so and wait. The plants germinate in a couple of days. If I remember right we had blooms within 3-4 weeks. The cool thing is you get blooms all summer long!

These things are so hardy, that when I put some in a vase and forgot about them, they started to grow roots into the water! We've had a couple of storms that washed out their roots, and instead of dying, they somehow re-rooted themselves. Which makes me wonder, maybe they're a weed??

And couldn't resist posting a couple from the yard....the potted plants and the yellow marigolds are from my shower. Also the white impatiens.

Saga continues

Wellll, little Benjamin's heart appears to be fine. I had the special ultrasound done yesterday where they were able to look at the heart. The extra beat is still there, but they can see no abnormalities in the structure of the heart or the blood flow. The nurse was super nice and explained everything I was seeing...and I got a couple of good looks at his face where even I could tell it was a face! I have a hard time seeing anything other than a blob. He has chubby little cheeks and poochy lips, and a flat squished little nose. He weighs 5.5 lbs right now, which is, surprise, surprise, almost exactly average. He's been average every time they've measured...just an average little guy :)

In the unlikely case that there was something wrong with his heart we were going to plan on staying here for the birth, but now we can continue as planned with the midwife.

Glad everything's okay and can't wait to meet him!

And a pregnancy note...the hand swelling everyone talks about started (though it's mild) this week. When I leave my hands down by my sides too long they puff up. At night I have a hard time getting my ring off. Ah well. If this is the worst I have to endure! :)

Monday night the sweet ladies at church gave me a shower. They were so generous and got us our travel system (stroller/carseat/base) among other things. God is so good to us!

Changing Care

We interviewed with Laura's midwife in Greenville yesterday. It went great, she answered all my questions, and reassured me about the distance (that was our main worry!) She has had clients from Atlanta and other places in GA before and said she could tell us when to come in. And, if it turns out to be a false alarm, we can spend the night at Jeff's mom's if necessary. :)

It wasn't an appointment but I told her we want to go ahead and switch, so she had a listen to the heartbeat and measured fundal height. She picked up something the OBs hadn't...a little skip or murmur in the heartbeat every few seconds. We could hear it very clearly ourselves. She said this could be nothing & often straightens itself out as the baby gets older, but wanted to monitor it in the future to make sure. I'm a little concerned about the murmur, of course, but was glad to find out about it. She also felt my belly to see what position the baby was in, and what I thought was confirmed...feet on the right side, rear on the left, head down.

B/t/w something I wanted to happen was for Amy & Jeff to click. It's very important that your caretaker and your coach be able to communicate well. I loved how she included Jeff in the conversation and even let him feel where the head was. She's an art collector & has more than a dozen pieces from Jeff's old art teacher. So they immediately had common ground and get along great.

My prenatals will be a little more of a hassle since I have to drive to Greenville, but so worth it in my opinion. The knot in my stomach is releasing (Jeff noticed right away that I was more relaxed...on the way home he told me I was no longer so tense when discussing birth!) I am praising God that it looks like this option will work for us.

Nursery coming together

We picked up the crib from Ikea and put all the bedding together. Jeff says "please, no more yellow" :) The curtains will be blue and some of the wall decor will be blue.

The Twins are Here!

I'm looking forward to hearing the whole scoop from Erin when she's able, but as of now I know the twins were born around midnight last night (10:33 and 10:41 a.m. on the 18th Thailand time)! Both were vertex so she was able to have the home birth she wanted. Dayton caught. The babies were 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 6 lbs. 14 oz. Their names are Shira Faith and Miriam Joy. There are beautiful stories behind the names but I'll let Erin explain. I can't wait to see pictures but we'll just have to be patient! :D

8 Random Things You May Not Know About Me

8 Random Things You May Not Know About Me
I got this from Elizabeth! Let me know which ones you knew.

1. My favorite bum-around outfit is a flannel shirt and baggy sweats. So unflattering but so comfortable.

2. When I was little I used to write stories and poems and secretly throw them out the window on long vacation trips, just knowing they would be a blessing to someone! (maybe not the trash pick-up crew)

3. I think it would be fun to be a personal trainer.

4. I have a secret appreciation for haute couture, though only on the computer screen (doesn't fit the budget!)

5. I never plug in my phone. This has become Jeff's job.

6. I think it would be interesting to do a wilderness survival program. Then again I might hate it, but the idea sounds fun. :)

7. I sell everything I don't want on ebay!

8. I love reading about Biblical archaeology.

If you're reading this you're tagged!

Shower in Sumter

Last weekend we went to Sumter for the 4th and for my baby shower. I was impressed by Elizabeth's creativity with the decorations, and the awesome games provided by Laura! I have never seen this done before--working off my nursery theme of ducks, Elizabeth created a "ducks in a pond" theme for the shower. She used a blue tablecloth for the pond, and a green tablecloth underneath for the grass. The centerpiece was the best part...instead of cut flowers, she chose plants that were still in their pots. Everything went in one large container, with tall "pond grass" in the center, and lily-pad-looking plants and flowers surrounding it. (The plants are now looking perky and colorful in my yard!)

Everyone was so sweet to pitch in. With a brand-new baby and sleep deprivation, Abbie couldn't come, but being as amazing as she is, she managed to decorate the cake! Ruth brought her famous chicken salad and helped with the finger food. Ma-Ma let us use her house. Aunt Barbara provided the punch set and plates. My mom made sure we were all housed, fed and comfortable during our stay.
Laura's games were a lot of fun. There was a timed "quiz" first where you had to answer facts about nursery rhymes. Then we played a game sort of like Taboo, where you divide up in teams of 2 and try to get the other person to guess the word without saying any part of the word. A lot of the questions were about current baby items, so it was fun to see what the older ladies had to say about how things had changed. Laura had an "advice sheet" for everyone to comment on.

We packed up the Bug afterward, and everything just, JUST, fit. I don't think there was room for a single other thing!

It was such a fun shower, and made me grateful for the blessing of family...dear friends that are there for you throughout life.

Me with the genius party planners













The table...love those adorable yellow rubber boots!













Cousin Laura and niece Ella.













Ma-Ma and Aunt Frances chat during the shower.

Providence

God is so efficient! Wait till you hear this story!

Last weekend we drove to Sumter for the annual family reunion/picnic and my baby shower, which my lovely cousin Elizabeth and sis-in-law Laura threw for me. We had been planning to pick up a crib Laurance & Kimberly weren't using, so we decided to drive our bigger car. We got everything packed up and started to drive off. We hadn't got 300 yards before we realized we had a flat tire...we'd run over a nail. After 3 months of living in a construction site (building going on everywhere around us), we've never run into a nail, but there it was. So, we put everything in the Bug and left, wondering at our bad luck!

We got to Sumter and met Kimberly's sister & her husband, and found out this newly-married couple was expecting. We told Kimberly we couldn't take the crib after all (wouldn't fit in the Bug) so she gave it to her sister. My thought then was, "oh, that's why we got the flat tire. They needed this crib worse than us."

But there was more. Jeff went in Monday to see about fixing the flat tire, and in the process found out the front tires were misaligned, and as a result were chewed up and ready to blow at any time! If we had taken the Mazda to Sumter we would have been delayed at the least, gotten in an accident in a worst case. (We also had to order the Mazda tires, so they aren't always in stock.) So...God accomplished two things in one, simply by having a worker drop a nail in the road!

It's a little thing, but a great reminder of how God looks out for our safety. Many times we don't even know it's happening. I think about the first weeks I was pregnant. I had two sets of meds, one very dangerous to an unborn baby and one that was safe. "Randomly" I chose the safe meds. God is so good, and nothing happens without His allowing it. That's very comforting.

Benjamin meets the Transformers

Thursday night Jeff & I did something spontaneous. Some friends of ours had free tickets to an advance showing of Transformers and offered to share. So we drove 1.5 hours to Greenville (ok, mostly to see these friends, not so much because we were dying to see T, though who could pass up a free movie?) It was a great time, we ended up seeing several people there we knew, and I even got some nice maternity clothes out of the bargain (thank you Michelle!). The movie was pretty intense. There were lots of blurred machine parts flying around, like a cyclone hitting your local Grease Monkey.
But the funny part was Benjamin's reaction to the sound--jumping at the loud parts and curling himself into a ball on my right side. I found myself covering my side with my arms trying to protect his sensitive little ears. But the woman with the 3-month-old being passed down the aisle from friend to friend made me feel like a better mom. Her little guy seemed perfectly oblivious and content in all the noise!
It is funny how protective you start to feel even before you MEET your little person!
It's been fun lately to share Benjamin's hiccups with Jeff (happens when they swallow too much amniotic fluid too quickly) and his bigger movements. He's not a punch-punch kick-kick kind of baby, but he's constantly in motion. Last night he did an all-over body wriggle. But usually it's just constant gentle movement. It feels like he's hammocked with his head on my left side and feet up under my right ribs.

Silly picture

Nobody was around except us and Benjamin said he didn't know how to take the picture. :)