Locked and Loaded!

Where has the time gone?  We're at 38 weeks, only 2 left! Wow, it is incredible how fast this pregnancy has gone.  We are now going to weekly appointments to check progress.  Two weeks ago I was dilated to 2 1/2 cm and 75% effaced.  Last week I hit 3 cm, and 80% effaced.  That means that I'm basically already done with the first progression of early labor. Once I start having regular contractions or my water breaks, I'll be going into the hospital to have this baby.  :)

Speaking of having this baby, Saturday night we had some friends over and didn't get to bed until almost 12:00.  I woke up to use the restroom at 12:30 and when I laid back down, I realized that I was having a few contractions.  This was pretty common, but something felt different with these.  I waited a little while and had a few more.  I had never had that many at one time. So I got up to walk around and see if they would go away, meaning they were fake.  I walked for about 45 minutes and started timing each contraction.  They were five minutes apart on the dot! Now keep in mind that we were told to leave for the hospital when they are 5 minutes apart.  After having these for about an hour I went to the computer and printed off my "Hospital List."  And then I went into panic mode.  James had slept the first hour or so, but had woke up to my rummaging around trying to pack the bags.  I told him how consistent and close the contractions were, and we decided he should probably go shower and pack his bag.  The contractions began to get stronger and stronger.  At first it was almost hard to tell when they started and ended, but by 2:30 they were much stronger and were easy to tell apart.  My sister, Ashton was staying the night at our house, and I just about woke her up 3 times.  But decided I'd wait until the last minute, so she could get as much sleep as possible.  I was ready to walk out the door a few times, but James stopped me.  We had everything packed and ready to go by 2:45, but James told me to lay down for a little bit and try to rest.  He realized that I didn't even have an hour's worth of sleep in my system and that if this was for real, it'd be a long night and day ahead of us.  I gave in and tried to lay down.  Each contraction seemed to get a little bit stronger and my mind was racing! I was positive that it would be impossible for me to fall asleep now.  I kept telling James that I didn't want to have the baby in the car!! It's a 30 minute drive to the hospital, but this is my first rodeo and I just don't know what to expect. With each contraction, I grew more positive that we'd be having a baby in the next 24 hours.  An Easter baby! I thought to myself that it was going to be the most memorable Easter of my life, and probably the most painful as well! But how fitting would that have been?! Easter is all about the resurrection; it's about new life.  It would have been too perfect to have a baby on Easter Sunday.

Adorable tractor diaper cake! So sad I had to take it apart,
but we got plenty of pictures! :)

Well obviously I'm still pregnant.  So to finish the story... James kept giving me time restrictions.  First it was, "let's wait until 3:30, then we'll see where you're at."  3:30 came and the contractions were stronger than they'd been, but they were still tolerable.  So we decided to wait until 4:00 to see where we're at.  I felt so unsure.  I think I asked God a million times to break my water so we'd have some clarification and know it's really time.  I'm a little bit embarrassed to say that was my first prayer on Easter.  We really are such selfish beings, aren't we?  Anyways, by 4:00 the contractions were starting to get pretty rough.  I started to have to focus during them and make sure that my body stayed relaxed, and didn't tighten up.  I started breathing through them a little more and was getting good at acknowledging when one was coming on, or one was slowing down.  I'd been laying down for over an hour, so my sleep deprivation started to kick in.  I started feeling more relaxed in between the contractions and I started to use the few minutes in between to rest.  At about 4:15 I told myself, "Okay, two more and it's time."  One finished and I quickly fell asleep right after it.  I woke up a few minutes later to the next one, and fell asleep after it finished.  I had one more and I glanced at the clock and it said 4:30.  By then I was just wanting to sleep through them, so I closed my eyes again.  Next thing I knew, James' alarm went off at 6:00.  The contractions had either completely stopped or just slowed down enough for me to sleep through them.  I was really grateful that we didn't end up making a trip to Grand Island.  I went to church yesterday and to two family Easters.  James and I left early last night so we could come home and catch up on our sleep.  We hit our pillows at 6:30 p.m. and slept very soundly all night long.  I feel much more rested this morning! I'm glad that we had this little eye-opening experience.  I think we were able to get most of the nerves out and now we have a much better idea of what to expect.  I'll be able to recognize contractions much easier and know what they'll feel like.  I also think that we have a better sense of when we really need to leave for the hospital. We feel much more prepared!  I have my weekly appointment on Wednesday and I'm very anxious to see if all of those contractions helped me progress even more! But who knows, maybe we won't even make it until Wednesday! :)


We were able to take maternity pictures last week.  I had a lot of fun and I'm excited to see how they turn out.  We got a couple back to get a sneak peak, and they look great! We shot for about 2 hours and it was a nice day.  It was a little breezy, but we managed.  I was just very happy we were able to get them in before the baby's arrival. This was the third date we tried to shoot.  The first two didn't work out for various reasons, and I was thinking that they just wouldn't happen! But sometimes I'm too much of a Negative Nancy... I'll be sure to post the rest as we get them!

So I also told you that I'd be posting babymoon pictures... Well, if you know me at all, you won't be surprised to hear that I didn't get any pictures taken.  :S  We did have a wonderful time though! We went to the lodge and really just relaxed.  We did a little bit downtown, but for the most part we just enjoyed doing "nothing" together haha.  It's always much easier to do that when you're not at home.  I'm really glad we decided to go; it was so much fun.  It will be interesting when it's not just the two of us any longer.

I was planning on posting nursery photos as well, but I've decided to hold off and wait a little longer.  The nursery is basically completed, just need to find a shade for the window and a small table to put a lamp on.  We also need to get the doors put back on, since they were taken off to paint and re-carpet.  The other thing is that my vinyl wall decor isn't finished yet.  And it just won't be the same if I show the nursery to you now without them.  They might not be done until after the baby comes, but then you'll also be able to see his name on the wall.  So, you must wait a little longer to see the finished product! :)

I mentioned last post that my church was throwing me a baby shower.  It was a lot of fun! I had a good laugh when I read the sign-in sheet at the shower.  My mom wrote, "We can't wait for our little baby Chick to hatch!"   :)  He really should have been an Easter baby, huh?  We received so many generous gifts and we are truly blessed! Chick got some really cute "farm" things, and I know he's going to love them! We are pretty much set on baby items, and I feel a huge relief! We purchased the last of the essentials, but now we're ready for the best gift of all to arrive!  (Chick)

Chick and I with the shower hostesses! 

So last week was April 1st, meaning the infamous April Fools Day.  I woke up on my own, before the alarm and I laid in bed for a while.  I realized that it was April 1st, and I thought, "I should play a joke!"  Well before my brain even processed it, I shook James and said, "My water just broke!"  (Now, keep in mind that at this time, I wasn't having regular contractions and we were not very prepared. haha)  For some reason I felt that I needed to completely scare him to death by playing this awful prank.  His eyes got big and he responded, "Are you serious?!"  (This is where I was a good wife.)  Instead of having the water bottle next to my bed ready to dump out, or peeing myself to make this joke go any further... I simply just waited a few seconds and said, "April fools." in a very sheepish tone.  He didn't laugh. Apparently it was funnier to me than it was to him.  I wouldn't have any idea why... HA! That really wasn't very nice.  I could have given him a heart attack...  I suppose he could have faked one and I would have deserved it.  :)

We toured the hospital 2 weeks ago.  Just one more thing to help us be more prepared for the big day.  The hospital is so so nice.  The LDRP rooms are so big and cozy.  Another nice thing is the entire 2nd floor is just for deliveries, so there won't be any unnecessary traffic going through the halls or past our rooms.  It also has a good sized waiting room for any family that might be waiting there.

Some of you may know that I was trying to finish my semester of classes a month early to give me a little cushion to prepare for the baby.  Well my goal was to finish by the April 1st, and I finished March 29th! I was very excited! It's allowed me to get the finishing touches of the house ready for baby.  One of my classes isn't actually an online class, they record the lectures for me and I watch them the next day.  So I'm still having to finish that class, but it was impossible to finish before the end of the semester.  Other than that, I'm done! And it's wonderful! I'm needing to go in this week to figure out my schedule for next semester.  I'm a little bit nervous because I will have a baby to plan around and it'd be awesome to do the same thing I did this semester, but it kind of sounded like it might not work.  I might be going back to campus for classes, spending more money on gas, and trying to work out babysitters... We'll see what life brings.

When I walk into a room I get the same questions every time.  "How are you feeling?"  "Still haven't had that baby?"  "How close are you?"  I certainly don't mind answering these questions, it's just funny. Lately my response is "A little less than 2 weeks to go, but it may be sooner than that. Things have started progressing, so we'll see.  I'm feeling about as good as I can, considering the situation.  I'm retaining a lot of water though, so that's been a little bit uncomfortable.  But I really can't complain."  That is the latest issue.  Swelling.  I look and feel like a big balloon.  I've put on almost 10 lbs of water weight in the last couple weeks.  haha.  I'm not able to fit into actual shoes anymore, so about three weeks ago I went and bought a pair of soft flip flops, and those are the only things that have touched my feet since!  They look like I've had them for a year because I've worn them so much already.  I think I'm ready to be my old self again.  (After a few months of extreme work outs, of course haha)  I've started to take interest in the old wives' tales about things to do or eat to induce labor.  haha I guess I'm feeling desperate!  We know that nothing will fully prepare us physically, emotionally, or mentally, but we feel as ready as we'll ever be to have this baby in our arms!  We're getting very anxious! And I'm hoping that this is the last post without pictures of our dear baby Chick.  He will, by then, have a new name and I can stop calling him that.  Oh what joy! :)





Chicks coming soon, growing on the farm...