Last Time

My last time to write a blog post before this baby makes his debut!  I cannot believe we are to this point.  In some ways it seems like we have waited forever and in other ways I am shocked that he will join us tomorrow.  Either way, I am a bundle of emotions.  I have found myself hugging the kids a little tighter, snuggling the Professor (before his happy little world is rocked) and cleaning. Ha!  I am excited and nervous and happy and scared.  Please keep us in your prayers and look for an update soonish on our sweet baby!

Check

The bassinet is up and ready with a freshly washed sheet.
Hospital bag is packed and waiting (except for bathroom items).
Kids bags are packed and waiting.
The diaper bag is loaded and ready.
My husband installed the carseat yesterday.
Supplies have been purchased and are waiting to be used.
The house is (mostly) in maintenance mode.
Now....we wait.
I am scheduled for an induction this coming Wednesday, but am still hopeful that labor could start on it's own.  No matter, we are as ready as we are ever going to be for this baby to join our family. 
I am very uncomfortable now and am so thankful that I squeezed so much in with my husband and the kids over this past month.  This afternoon I am making gingerbread houses with the kids.  Last night we drove through a park with over 3 million lights, went to a live nativity, took a horse/wagon ride and saw a house with lights set to music.  So many memories have been made and treasured.  Now we look forward to making new memories as a family of 6.

Better News!

I got a call from my doctor's office later in the day.  My doctor knew how much it meant to me to have her deliver.  She called over herself and got me scheduled for an induction next Wednesday! As much as I would love to go on my own, I know that this is best.  I know my doctor's opinion on c-sections and she knows how much I never want one.  Plus, like I said, she is a Christian.  So it looks like we will have 2 children born in the same state, same hospital and same doctor!  Pretty exciting! 
Yesterday I had a bunch of Braxton Hicks contractions.  Whenever I was sitting they would come regularly but when I'd get up and move, the would completely stop.  Last night I was woken up by real contractions but they fizzled out as well.  Even if I do end up being induced, I am hopeful that these are at least helping me make some progress!
A week from now we could be holding our son!

Mixed News

Sigh.  I had my OB visit this morning.  The good, or rather, great news is that the baby looks healthy and fluid levels are all fine and dandy. 
The rest of the appointment just left me so disappointed.  My doctor hurt her thumb and is having surgery on Wednesday.  So she cannot work for the rest of the week.  During the ultrasound the baby is measuring very normally and not overly large at all.  He could be anywhere from 7-9 pounds right not, but we are definitely not looking at a big 10 pound baby or anything.  So she suggested and induction next Wednesday.  However, when I went to schedule it, the hospital is not doing any inductions on that day because of computer shut down and maintenance.  Well, next Wednesday is my doctors last day of work til 2013.  After all this time with her, she will not be the one to deliver.  I am just so bummed. I really trust her and like her and we have a good rapport.  She is one who helped us through our loss and she has gone above and beyond to help us with this pregnancy.  Plus she is a Christian.  I know it really is not that big of a deal but at this stage I am so tired and emotional it really feels like a big deal to me.
So it looks like our little man will make his appearance at the end of next week unless I go on my own before then.
Today I was 2 cm dialated but still just 60% thinned out.
 

Fitting it all in

38 weeks today!  Knowing that we have 2 weeks or less really makes me feel like we are in a time crunch.  I truly do not have much left to do.  Most of my list could be knocked out in an hour.  But still, I am ready to know everything is crossed off.  Then I just have to focus on my family and keeping the house cleaned.  Yesterday we got the bassinet set up, the carseat cover washed and ready and a few other things that were on my list. 
Even though there are things I need to get done, there is also a list of FUN things I have planned and want to do.
Tonight there is 2 live nativities and a park filled with Christmas lights that we want to take the kids to.
Sunday my husband get a real date.  A date where my parents take the kids and know we will be gone for awhile.  Some time after church they will get the kids and my husband and I will get dinner, a movie and a little bit of shopping.
Monday I have an ultrasound and a check up.
Tuesday my friend and I and the kids are supposed to do a little shopping and get some yummy Chick-Fil-A food.
The Professor has his 6 month post surgery check up.
We have home-school to try and get ahead on.
And I'd really love to cook a few family favorite meals since I know ramen noodles will be a staple soon enough. Ha!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Winding Down

This morning I took all 3 kids to my check up.  It went really well and the kids were so well behaved.  Thankfully these appointments are super fast!  I think we were in and out and buckled back up within 25 minutes.  The doctor said I am still just under 2 cm dialated but that I am 60% thinned out now.  Not quite the progress I would have liked but I will still take it for sure!  I go in on Monday for my next appointment.  The doctor said she will do an ultrasound to check on the baby's size.  About 1 month ago they had him at 6.6 pounds.  The average baby gains about 1/2 pound a week at this point.  In theory, this would put the baby right now at about 8 1/2 - 9 pounds.  Our other babies were 8.5, 8.7 and 9.4 so I think this baby will be on track to be about the same range.  However, the doctor wants to check and make sure he is not getting too big.  She said if he is measuring extra large she may look to set an induction at 39 weeks!  That would be NEXT Friday.  Crazy!  My husband and I will definitely have some discussing to do.  He does not mind an early induction at all, but I have such mixed feelings on it.  I really dislike going early.  However, I was induced with our first and third.  Our 2nd came on her own almost 2 weeks early and she still weighed 8.7.  Anyways, it kinda hit me today that things are really winding down and soon we will be holding our baby.  The only really impending sign I have that the time is drawing close is that my emotions are going crazy.  Today I cried hearing the Mariah Carey Christmas Song "All I Want for Christmas".  LOL!

21

Wow.  It seems like just yesterday that we posted this blog post announcing that baby #4 was on their way.  We did not know boy or girl and we were filled with equal parts excitement and fear.  The journey of losing one baby and then getting blessed with another baby led us to choose this baby's name.  We cannot wait to share it with our family on the day he is born.  My husband and I sit up at night relishing these quiet times after the kids are in bed and we talk about this new baby.  How happy we are with the name, wondering how big he will be, who will he look like, will he sleep?  It is amazing to look back and see all we have come through with this pregnancy and this sweet boy and to know that in about 21 days we will be holding him. 
We are blessed.

5 Weeks

We are 35 weeks pregnant today. 35. Weeks. That means 5 weeks or less til this baby makes his appearance!  This has been such a special pregnancy for me.  After losing our last baby at 15 weeks and 3 days, this pregnancy took on new meaning.  I have not taken it for granted.   I have tried to not complain.  I have felt so thankful for aches and pains, kicks from the baby and all the extra ultrasounds we had.  I have been so thankful for a Christian OB doctor who, literally, held my hand at times during this pregnancy.  This time around came with a lot of fear.  Not just for me, but for my husband and for the girls.  We have all prayed for this baby every single day since we got that first positive.  Rather than surprising the girls, we told them the same day we got the positive to allow them to be praying for this new life.  Now with Christmas nearing, I find myself thinking about and relating to Mary from the Bible.  The Christmas story feels extra special when you are waddling into the church 35 weeks pregnant with a very active baby boy kicking your rib cage.  This pregnancy has been filled with so many doctors appointments.  With the other pregnancies, I never had anything out of the ordinary.  This pregnancy was rocky from the start.  I had the low progesterone and it kept dropping until I ended up on painful injections here at home.  Then there was the scare with the hole in heart.  And now after all that we sit here at 35 weeks with a healthy baby boy kicking away inside me.  I am just overwhelmed with gratitude. 

5 more weeks!

Big and Healthy

Tuesday was such a fun day!  I had my last ultrasound appointment.  A sweet lady from church offered to watch Benjamin for me.  The girls wanted to come with me to the appointment and see the baby.  I also invited our youth minister's wife to come with us.  We made a girls' morning out of it.  The appointment went so smoothly!  Our baby boy still has the hole in his heart but it has not grown and no other conditions are present so that is a big relief.  The baby looked so big and cute and cuddly!  On Tuesday we were just over 33 weeks and he was estimated to already weigh in at 6.6 pounds! Woah!  But I am not worried about a big baby since our other babies were on the larger size as well.  Plus those estimates can be off by a pound or more.  The best news is that he is head down and in the proper birthing position.  Woo-hoo!!!! 
Today I had my OB check up.  His heart rate was actually just over 140 today and everything looked good.  I am measuring ahead but again, our other babies have been big so it does not concern anyone. Tomorrow we will be 34 weeks which means at the most we have 6 week and 1 day til we meet our son.  Our whole family is SO excited! Well, not really the Professor.  He has no clue what is coming.  This baby will rock his little world. Ha!  The Professor is a bit of a mama's boy.  He loves me to hold him every morning and snuggle while we watch cartoons.  I know this baby will be a shock to him but he will adjust and it will be such fun to watch our 2 girls and 2 boys playing together.

A Great Day!

I had my (almost) 32 week check up today.  Lo and Behold, my mom had the day off and agreed to watch the kiddos.  We have never really lived near family before and it is SUCH a blessing!  I mean, yes, I could have handled the kids at the appointment but it is wonderful to just sit and think about baby 4.  The appointment went fine.  The doctor asked my concerns and I had two. 
One:  My heartburn has been attacking with vengeance.  I had been controlling it with camomile tea and Tums but that is no longer working.  So we discussed options.
Two:  I am terrified of a c-section.  Not just because of the procedure but because of the healing.  My husband will likely only get 1-2 days off for the baby.  My parents both work.  We use cloth diapers and our washer and dryer are in the basement.  If I had to heal from a surgery I have NO IDEA how we'd make it.  Truly.  I do not know.  So I asked the doctor about options if the baby does not flip.  She explained that they will flip the baby if he does not flip on his own. 
I asked her if she could check and see where she thinks he is. She felt and said, "I am positive that is a head and that he is head down"!  I go on Nov. 6th for an ultrasound so I can have it confirmed then.  I had wondered if he had flipped but it is hard to tell!  SO I am praying she is right and that he is happily head down.
After my appointment I met my parents and the kids for lunch.  The kids were cute and funny and the food was delicious.
I came home and found out my closest friend had had her 6th baby! 
Such a great day!

9 Weeks or Less

9 weeks or less til baby boy makes his appearance!  We are all very excited!  His Christmas stocking is on its way to our house, the bassinet is inside, bassinet sheets are washed and ready for use, newborn cloth diapers and prepped and waiting, clothes are hanging in the closet and I have my top 3 choices for his bring home outfit hanging up just waiting to go into the hospital bag.  I still have so much to do before he comes though.

Not is any particular order...
1.  The dresser for him is in our room but I need to fill it.
2. Pack my hospital bag.
3. Pack bags for other 3 kids so they are ready whenever we need to leave.
4. Get the playpen over to my parents house so they can have it ready for the Professor.
5. We want to take the kids away for a one night getaway since we have a giftcard for a hotel.
6. I want to keep doing fun and special things with the other 3 kids because I know once this baby comes....my energy will be lower.  And since my husband works 6 days a week it will be very hard to try and go out and about alone.

I am making headway on my goal to be done Christmas shopping by November 1st.  I have most of the stocking stuffers bought and most of the advent calendar gifts.  I am mostly done with shopping for the kids but still need to get their big gifts. 

I go next week for my next doctor's appointment.  I hope they can tell if he is still breech or if he has flipped.  Please be praying that he will be in the birthing position and stay there!

29 weeks and 3 days!

Less than 11 weeks til we meet this little baby.  I tell you what, this baby boy has sure kept us on our toes this entire pregnancy.  I have been to a doctor weekly or bi-weekly since we found out we were pregnant.  In some ways it is fun....lots of sneak peeks at the baby, feeling like I get time to focus on this baby and this pregnancy.
On the other hand, I don't enjoy either taking 3 other kids with me or leaving them with a sitter.  It also makes it feel like the time is moving slowly. 
Today I had a follow up ultrasound.  No real concerns, they were basically just re-checking the hole in his heart.  I guess I have a very cautious office.  Today our baby boy measured in the 74%.  He weighs 3 pounds 8.3 ounces.  He was all snuggled up, had his ankles crossed and one hand flung over his face.  The tech said she saw a little hair on his head too.  Might I add....he seems to be taking after his brother and his head is measuring....large. Sigh. 
The only downside is that he is still breech.  I know that he still has time to flip but I am SO scared of a c-section.  My husband works 6 days a week and will only get 1-2 days off when the baby is born and my parents work full time.  We don't really have any close friends here.  So recovery will be hard enough on me delivering naturally.  I am asking everyone to pray that our boy will flip. 
Other than that it was all good news.  They will evidently keep doing ultrasounds to check on his position, so I go back in 4 weeks again.  Actually on Election Day! 

The Follow Up Ultrasound

Today was my follow up ultrasound.  The reason for this was because at the last one the doctor suspected a small hole in our son's heart.  I got a sitter for the Genius and the Professor and took the Hippie with me on a date (of sorts).  I was not a bit nervous for this appointment until I woke up today.  Then I was...nervous.  Very nervous.  It seems like we have never really had a calm during this pregnancy.  The nurse spent a LOT of time measuring his heart, listening to his heart, taking pictures of his heart.  I think it was about 30 minutes of nothing but heart footage.  I was starting for feel pretty icky.  Eventually she had all she needed and she spent about 10 minutes showing of the baby to the Hippie and I as well as measuring fluid levels etc...  She scored some amazing profile pictures of our baby boy!

In the second pic, he actually has 1 finger pointing.  He was SO cute! We saw him moving and grooving all over the place.  We saw him swallow fluid and turn his head.  We saw his arm bones, leg bones, finger bones.  It is miraculous!  At the end of the appointment the doctor came back in and said that the baby is breech, but that he has plenty of time left to flip himself.  He does still have the hole in his heart but they do believe it is a small hole (thank you God).  At some point, the hole should simply heal itself and close up on its own.  At their practice though they practice with caution.  So I coming back every month for a follow up ultrasound.  I also have to go to a Children's Hospital for a pediatric cardiologist to do an ultrasound of his heart.  I am actually thankful for their caution.  Especially since none of these are invasive procedures.  Plus it means we get to keep seeing our baby boy. 
Thanks to everyone who has been praying for our son!  What I experienced today just reinforces that we have chosen the right name for him.  No one but my husband and I will hear the name until he is born.  It is a privilege we give the older siblings.  At his birth they will get to be the first ones in and the first ones to share his name with everyone. 
3 months and 11 days until his official due date.  We cannot wait to meet you Buddy!!!!

Movin' and Groovin'

Baby #4 was kind of quiet on Sunday.  I felt him move enough but not a whole lot.  I figured he was having a sleepy kind of day.  Then Monday came and it felt like he had been lifting weights.  His kicks and movements were SO much stronger.  Last night, he was kicking strong enough for my husband to feel it too.  It was such a special moment! 

His older brother, the Professor, is quite good at moving and grooving too.  He finds at least 100 dangerous things to do each day.  He loves to climb, try and jump and do things to make us laugh.  Yesterday he about wore me out. 
Boys are a LOT different than girls...in case you wondered.

Up, Up and AWAY!

I had been updating with my Progesterone levels with this pregnancy.  It has been quite the roller coaster.  They started off low, then I went on pills.  Those did not work.  So they tried supposotories and those did not work.  My numbers were dropping.  My doctor suggested at-home injections on a twice/weekly basis.  At that time she expected me to stay on those shots until we hit week 12.  Once on the injections my numbers began creeping up.  But at week 12 they dropped from 22 to 17.  No reason why, as far as we could tell.  Of course this terrified us because we lost our last baby around the 12 week mark, but we did not discover that until week 15.  My doctor said there was really nothing more to be done but to just wait.  So we waited.  But then I was getting hive like reactions to the shots and they were really hurting my arms.  I was told to quit using my arms and switch to my hip (which is really like your lower back).  My husband began giving them to me there.  At this point in time my doctor suggested not following the numbers on a weekly basis to ease my anxiety and because the baby was still doing so good.  THEN I began getting weird reactions on my back as well.  The last shot my husband gave me (like almost 2 weeks ago), I bled all over the place and got a very scary looking bruise and it hurt like crazy! He said he was done.  I said I was done.  I called the doctor and she ok'd me to stop and said we'd follow up yesterday.  I went in for my labs yesterday.  The nurse called just after lunch to let me know that even after stopping injections..my numbers went from 30 to 40!!!! And just like that...I am DONE with injections.  And DONE with weekly blood work!  I feel like I can relax and just soak up with pregnancy and all the kicks I am feeling.  It feels wonderful and my husband is glad to be done giving the shots. =)

19 Weeks!!!!

Our little baby is about the size of a mango right now! On Thursday I felt the baby move for the 1st time and again earlier today I felt the baby moving around.  You know, I honestly do love being pregnant.  For the most part it really agrees with me.  Like everything there are things that are not super pleasant, but I feel so honored each time we are blessed enough to have another little miracle added to our family.  In 11 days we will find out the gender of this baby and we have a little party planned to celebrate and reveal the gender!  In honor of that....I am placing a poll over on the side.  Let's see who is right?

My final guess....girl.  And I feel 100% positive that this is a girl.  I have from day one.  Cast your vote and then on the evening of August 6th log onto my blog for the big reveal!