So first off, I know that is probably the worst, most un-interesting blog-post title ever used, but it was the only word I could think of to describe how I feel right now. I went to my 38 week check-up today and I'm 1 cm dilated! And, I know. Plenty of people go for weeks at a time dilated at 1, and I'm told that some people can even be 3-4 cm for weeks. But I DON'T CARE. For me, this is big. I wasn't even 1 cm dilated with Jack when I went into labor, at 41 weeks. In fact, at my 40 week appointment (with Jack) my OB told me I was 1/8 cm, and I was so happy...only to realize after-the-fact that 1/8 cm is like 1.2 mm--NOTHING--he was just trying to keep me from being too discouraged. Well, it worked, Doc!
So in addition to announcing the big news of my dilating progress to me this morning, my OB also stated, "Well, you're all ready to go, whenever your body decides it's time." YAY! Again, I realize it could still be weeks away, and that (gulp) there's still a chance I could deliver late. But for today, I am just SO VERY HAPPY that something is happening.
In closing, I want to apologize to any of our male friends who might happen to be reading our blog lately, especially those who've never lived with a pregnant wife...I'm sure that the last thing you want to know anything about is the state of my cervix, the frequency of my contractions, my moodiness, and any other pregnancy-related symptoms. I hope I haven't scared you off for good. Check back in three weeks and then (God-willing!) you'll be able to read mushy posts about our baby girl. Now THAT should be good reading!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Beautiful Mika
My sister Marika and my niece Mikaila. I know I'm biased, but aren't they both so beautiful?This is why I don't take naps
Isn't there something wrong when you wake up from a nap and all you want to do is...take a nap? Today Eric convinced me to lie down for a nap; we got home very late from a concert last night (a performance of Elijah at the college--excellent!) and didn't fall into bed until midnight. Eric had to sing in church this morning, so I got up with Jack (not-so-willingingly, I admit) when he woke up around six. Needless to say, both Eric and I were exhausted, drifting into dreamland during church, so the idea of a nap was definitely appealing. I figured if I got more rest then I would feel more energized and ready to spend time with Jack when Eric left for work. So...into bed we all went. Here's how it happened:
1:25ish--Put a very hyper, silly Jack into his crib. (I was skeptical he would sleep at all, but thankfully he didn't make a peep once he was in his crib)
1:25ish--Eric fell into bed, and almost into instant sleep. (How does he accomplish this??)
1:27ish--I take out my contacts and get a drink of water. (Isn't this riveting?)
1:30--I gingerly but not very gracefully lay down; Eric asks me to set my alarm clock so he doesn't oversleep--he has to work at three.
1:32ish--I ask Eric a couple questions; it's clear he's barely hanging on, so I decese and let him go.
1:40ish--I'm still awake...trying to get comfortable, re-situating pillows for maxiumum comfort.
1:50ish--Baby is rolling and stretching, I feel a few contractions.
1:55ish--I reapply my chapstick--just generally not comfortable. I actually look at my clock at this point and see that I've been lying here for 25 minutes listening to my husband sleep soundly.
2:15--My alarm goes off. I slap at it, realize I was actually finally asleep, and annoyingly nudge Eric with my foot.
2:24--Alarm goes off again; I slap again; I nudge again. Eric says, "Didn't you set it for 2:15?" "Um, yes," I mutter, "and it went off and I told you but you didn't get up." (In all fairness, I'm not sure I would have interpreted the kick in the shins as "get up" if I were him either. But it might have occurred to me (if it had been me) that it was time to get up when I heard the annoying buzz from the mechanical machine whose purpose it is to WAKE ME UP ON TIME.)
2:33--Alarm clock goes off AGAIN. I forgot to turn it off the last time. Once again I slap at it, annoyed.
2:43ish--Eric comes in to get dressed for work. I groggily ask him to turn on the monitor for Jack's room; at this point I am afraid that I'm so tired that I won't hear him crying when he wakes up around 3:30. Monitor clicks on, Eric finishes getting dressed, and leaves the room. Ah, peace and quiet. Another hour, if I'm lucky, to sleep.
2:45--I discover the bed is not as warm without Eric in it, and start to shiver a bit.
2:46--I discover that I'm NOT lucky after all: Jack starts crying. Not babbling sweetly, to let me know he's awake--the babbling that gives mom or dad at least 5-10 minutes, if not more, to lie in bed and adjust to the idea of getting up. No, Jack is wailing, so there's no sense lying there listening--I not-so-gracefully-or-painlessly get out of bed and go get him.
2:50ish--Jack is delighted to see Eric, unaware that he is about to depart for work land...
2:55ish--Jack has a tantrum when Eric gives him back to me, complete with flattening down onto the floor where it is near impossible for me to pick him up.
3:00--Eric is gone, Jack is crying unconsolably, I feel miserable. How is it possible to wake up feeling worse after a nap? My throat hurts, my feet hurt, my back hurts, my right calf is cramping up, not to mention the severe tiredness I'm feeling. So instead of feeling refreshed and ready to play with and care for my son, I'm sitting here dreading the next four hours until bedtime...a realization which then adds a layer of guilt--what kind of mother am I that dreads her last waking hours of the day with her precious firstborn son? Maybe a nine-months pregnant one?
That, my blogland friends, is why I don't take naps.
1:25ish--Put a very hyper, silly Jack into his crib. (I was skeptical he would sleep at all, but thankfully he didn't make a peep once he was in his crib)
1:25ish--Eric fell into bed, and almost into instant sleep. (How does he accomplish this??)
1:27ish--I take out my contacts and get a drink of water. (Isn't this riveting?)
1:30--I gingerly but not very gracefully lay down; Eric asks me to set my alarm clock so he doesn't oversleep--he has to work at three.
1:32ish--I ask Eric a couple questions; it's clear he's barely hanging on, so I decese and let him go.
1:40ish--I'm still awake...trying to get comfortable, re-situating pillows for maxiumum comfort.
1:50ish--Baby is rolling and stretching, I feel a few contractions.
1:55ish--I reapply my chapstick--just generally not comfortable. I actually look at my clock at this point and see that I've been lying here for 25 minutes listening to my husband sleep soundly.
2:15--My alarm goes off. I slap at it, realize I was actually finally asleep, and annoyingly nudge Eric with my foot.
2:24--Alarm goes off again; I slap again; I nudge again. Eric says, "Didn't you set it for 2:15?" "Um, yes," I mutter, "and it went off and I told you but you didn't get up." (In all fairness, I'm not sure I would have interpreted the kick in the shins as "get up" if I were him either. But it might have occurred to me (if it had been me) that it was time to get up when I heard the annoying buzz from the mechanical machine whose purpose it is to WAKE ME UP ON TIME.)
2:33--Alarm clock goes off AGAIN. I forgot to turn it off the last time. Once again I slap at it, annoyed.
2:43ish--Eric comes in to get dressed for work. I groggily ask him to turn on the monitor for Jack's room; at this point I am afraid that I'm so tired that I won't hear him crying when he wakes up around 3:30. Monitor clicks on, Eric finishes getting dressed, and leaves the room. Ah, peace and quiet. Another hour, if I'm lucky, to sleep.
2:45--I discover the bed is not as warm without Eric in it, and start to shiver a bit.
2:46--I discover that I'm NOT lucky after all: Jack starts crying. Not babbling sweetly, to let me know he's awake--the babbling that gives mom or dad at least 5-10 minutes, if not more, to lie in bed and adjust to the idea of getting up. No, Jack is wailing, so there's no sense lying there listening--I not-so-gracefully-or-painlessly get out of bed and go get him.
2:50ish--Jack is delighted to see Eric, unaware that he is about to depart for work land...
2:55ish--Jack has a tantrum when Eric gives him back to me, complete with flattening down onto the floor where it is near impossible for me to pick him up.
3:00--Eric is gone, Jack is crying unconsolably, I feel miserable. How is it possible to wake up feeling worse after a nap? My throat hurts, my feet hurt, my back hurts, my right calf is cramping up, not to mention the severe tiredness I'm feeling. So instead of feeling refreshed and ready to play with and care for my son, I'm sitting here dreading the next four hours until bedtime...a realization which then adds a layer of guilt--what kind of mother am I that dreads her last waking hours of the day with her precious firstborn son? Maybe a nine-months pregnant one?
That, my blogland friends, is why I don't take naps.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Still Pregnant
Just to clear up any confusion: yes, I am still pregnant! Some of you may have heard through the grapevine that we spent last Friday in the Labor and Delivery unit at the hospital. This is true; I woke up Friday to more bleeding, clotting, and cramping, and seeing as I'm almost full-term (37 weeks today!) they wanted me to come in right away.
So yes, we spent the day at the hospital...but we came home with a still-big belly and an empty infant car seat! They kept me on monitors all day; Eric and I sat around watching Season 4 of 24, as well as Lost reruns, which was kind of fun, but got a little boring and uncomfortable. The good news is that the doctors said the baby looks very healthy, that I'm doing great, and they "just don't know" what caused the bleeding. They did order an ultrasound this time (I didn't ever have one last time I bled in September); they checked for abnormalities in the placenta or the uterine lining but thankfully didn't find any. They also confirmed that we are, in fact, having a girl!!
The only negative to the whole experience (besides spending a day in the hospital, which is never fun) was finding out that she's sunny-side up, just like Jack was. For those of you who don't know just what this highly technical term refers to, "sunny-side up" means that the baby is in the head-down position, but she is facing up (towards my belly) rather than in the preferred birthing position of face-down (towards my spine). What this means is that the head is harder to get through the canal, because the bones that move in the head during labor don't quite form the right angle/size/shape that makes it easiest to come out. SO...with Jack I pushed for almost four hours, and was close to having a C-section until they finally got his head into the canal. The doctor said I would not have that long of a labor this time, "unless she's sunny-side up." Boo-hoo! :(
The other frustration is that sunny-side up babies tend to create back labor, which is extremely painful. I have hardly any recollection from Jack's delivery of what contractions in my uterus felt like, because I felt them so strongly in my lower back. I also read recently that even if the baby turns at the last minute and ends up being delivered face down, you can still have excrutiating back pain due to the weeks that the baby spent lying on your spine! Ugh. This could also explain the lower back pain I've been having for weeks (months?) now, and the accompanying contractions. And when I think about it I'm glad to know this in advance; I'm not sure how I would handle finding this out during labor!
All in all, I'm thankful for this experience last Friday for two reasons: first, they declared again and again how healthy she is, and they even said that if things looked "iffy" they might just induce me since I'm so close to the end anyway--but that she's just SO healthy that there's no reason to rush her. That was really good to hear.
Second, being wheeled by the newborn nursery and seeing all the precious tiny babies was a wake-up call, and a reminder of all the things I still need to do in order to be more prepared for my daughter's arrival. (I love that I can call her "daughter" without hesitation!) I've been saying for weeks how ready I am, how I'm "so done" being pregnant, etc. But driving to the hospital with nothing more in my backpack than the 24 DVD's and my Bible made me realize I'm not as ready as I thought! So I'm thankful for the days ahead of us during these next three weeks--and I'm going to try to remember that I said that when the days get rough! :)
My sister has been here this past weekend (yes, she's very disappointed that her niece wasn't born while she was here!)--I'll post more pictures and comments about that later. It was so good to see her and Jonathan and Mikaila again!
Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers, and for the concerned phone calls and emails. We appreciate it so much. Keep us in your prayers in the coming weeks--for a smooth delivery and also for a good transition at home with Jack, who I'm pretty sure has absolutely NO idea what's about to enter his world. Thank you, and we'll keep you posted (literally! Ha!).
So yes, we spent the day at the hospital...but we came home with a still-big belly and an empty infant car seat! They kept me on monitors all day; Eric and I sat around watching Season 4 of 24, as well as Lost reruns, which was kind of fun, but got a little boring and uncomfortable. The good news is that the doctors said the baby looks very healthy, that I'm doing great, and they "just don't know" what caused the bleeding. They did order an ultrasound this time (I didn't ever have one last time I bled in September); they checked for abnormalities in the placenta or the uterine lining but thankfully didn't find any. They also confirmed that we are, in fact, having a girl!!
The only negative to the whole experience (besides spending a day in the hospital, which is never fun) was finding out that she's sunny-side up, just like Jack was. For those of you who don't know just what this highly technical term refers to, "sunny-side up" means that the baby is in the head-down position, but she is facing up (towards my belly) rather than in the preferred birthing position of face-down (towards my spine). What this means is that the head is harder to get through the canal, because the bones that move in the head during labor don't quite form the right angle/size/shape that makes it easiest to come out. SO...with Jack I pushed for almost four hours, and was close to having a C-section until they finally got his head into the canal. The doctor said I would not have that long of a labor this time, "unless she's sunny-side up." Boo-hoo! :(
The other frustration is that sunny-side up babies tend to create back labor, which is extremely painful. I have hardly any recollection from Jack's delivery of what contractions in my uterus felt like, because I felt them so strongly in my lower back. I also read recently that even if the baby turns at the last minute and ends up being delivered face down, you can still have excrutiating back pain due to the weeks that the baby spent lying on your spine! Ugh. This could also explain the lower back pain I've been having for weeks (months?) now, and the accompanying contractions. And when I think about it I'm glad to know this in advance; I'm not sure how I would handle finding this out during labor!
All in all, I'm thankful for this experience last Friday for two reasons: first, they declared again and again how healthy she is, and they even said that if things looked "iffy" they might just induce me since I'm so close to the end anyway--but that she's just SO healthy that there's no reason to rush her. That was really good to hear.
Second, being wheeled by the newborn nursery and seeing all the precious tiny babies was a wake-up call, and a reminder of all the things I still need to do in order to be more prepared for my daughter's arrival. (I love that I can call her "daughter" without hesitation!) I've been saying for weeks how ready I am, how I'm "so done" being pregnant, etc. But driving to the hospital with nothing more in my backpack than the 24 DVD's and my Bible made me realize I'm not as ready as I thought! So I'm thankful for the days ahead of us during these next three weeks--and I'm going to try to remember that I said that when the days get rough! :)
My sister has been here this past weekend (yes, she's very disappointed that her niece wasn't born while she was here!)--I'll post more pictures and comments about that later. It was so good to see her and Jonathan and Mikaila again!
Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers, and for the concerned phone calls and emails. We appreciate it so much. Keep us in your prayers in the coming weeks--for a smooth delivery and also for a good transition at home with Jack, who I'm pretty sure has absolutely NO idea what's about to enter his world. Thank you, and we'll keep you posted (literally! Ha!).
Thursday, October 12, 2006
First Snow of the Fall
Early this morning we were graced with a beautiful flurry of snow; short-lasted but enjoyed nonetheless. Apparently I seem to have trouble controlling myself when it comes to the camera...I ran out in pj's and bare feet to try to capture the scene, because it was so beautiful and rare to see snow falling on green and slightly orange-red trees.
Good morning, boys! (Jack is not exactly sure what he's doing outside in his pj's this time of day, nor why he's freezing cold.)
Trying to catch snowflakes.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Week 36: Closed and counting
Official doctor's report: "Cervix is still closed."
This was a big disappointment because I have been having so many contractions and pelvic pains that I was at least hoping they were doing something proactive. Wrong I was.
The good ole' doc also said that your body tends to react the same for each pregnancy, as far as giving birth...in other words, since my first baby was late, this one probably will be too. Greaaaaat. So maybe more like five weeks to go?
He also said that she looks and feels to be about 6 or 7 pounds, which seems so small compared to Jack's 8 pound-11 ounce arrival. But considering there's still a month of growth to go, I'm not getting my hopes up for a small baby.
I am trying my best to take it one day at a time, and not to let my physical exhaustion and pain make me too cranky...although I admit it's hard. Good thing I have a very understanding and loving husband!
Despite all the complaints, I am eagerly looking forward to holding and kissing the little feet seen in the picture above; the feet that have poked, pushed, and proded me internally for so long now. Soon, baby!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Wheaton College Homecoming 2006
We were privileged to have friends Sarah Kay and Nate come stay with us this past weekend for our 4-year "reunion" at Wheaton College Homecoming. They brought their daughter, Sophia, who is scooting all over and was enthralled with Jack; she also smiles constantly, which I just love! Our familes went to the football game on Saturday, where we saw many old friends; we also found our college friend Elisa's parents in the crowd...Mama Sven was quite taken with all of our babies and bellies and just ate it up (all in practice, of course, for "Grandmother-hood" she kept saying). Then Saturday night we all drove down to the city and met another college friend Chad and his wife Jane for (what else?) Giordano's Pizza. It was so fun to reconnect with friends and catch up on each other's lives. Even though I live in Wheaton and I'm often on campus, these Homecomings really make me miss all my Wheatie friends and stir up many, many memories...you all know who you are--come back next year! Five year reunion!! Let's do it!!
Jack's new game: I can't go in the street, but my ball can, and then I get to watch Daddy (or in this case, Mr. Nate) chase it down.
See the carpet rolled up on the side of the street? This is a common sight down many, many streets since the flood last week.
I don't know if you can see it, but Jack is holding a tiny stuffed puppy in his left hand--"Puppy," we call it (I know, genius!). This is his new best friend. Next to Simeon, of course.
Sarah Kay and me...for some reason College Church is in better focus...ahem.
Real men push strollers.
Mama Sven, chatting away.
Jack's first football game...he watched the game very intently, although he did NOT like the roar of the crowd whenever we scored (and we scored a lot this game). He DID like running around on the field afterward.
Mommy and Jack...and baby (four weeks to go!!)
Durbins and Svenssons. This picture was taken with the express purpose to "make Elisa jealous" (Mama Sven's words, not mine!!) She looks so proud, you'd think it was her own belly she was touching!
Another "jealousy" picture. Sorry, Elisa! :)
Svenssons and Ndjerareous
Mama Sven in all her glory...running around with Jack, who loved every second of it.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
When It Rains, It Pours
I'm actually speaking literally here: we had quite the storm on Monday night, complete with pouring rain, incredibly loud thunder, lightening that lights up the whole night, and flooding. These pictures are the aftermath; I know that this is no New Orleans, so I'm not complaining. At least not too much. This is the intersection by our house, and it was completely under water during the storm. See the line of leaves on our grass (left of the sidewalk)? That's where the water finally stopped...the sidewalk, our first step, the street--it was all under water. An elderly woman actually got her car stuck in this intersection--there was water inside her car and the thing just shut off, so a firetruck had to come get her out, complete with lifejacket! We never lost power, thankfully, but we did lose all our phone service for over 24 hours, which also meant no internet, and our cell phones weren't working, either. Since we live on the upper level we didn't have any flooding issues, but our neighbors downstairs have had quite a lot of water coming in; we spent the night of the storm helping them sop up water with a myriad of towels and mops. Many people around here had bad flooding--some as much as six inches! The college also got hit hard--one of the dorms had three feet in the basement!! Moral of the story? Next time the weather alert says "Flash Flood Warning," I'll pay a little closer attention!
You can see the leaves rounding our yard; even though that was the end of the water line, the yard beyond the leaf line was very squishy and bog-like--if you didn't keep moving you could almost sink in! See the fire hydrant in the background? The water was just about above the hose openings! And our little "lake" reached all the way back to that van in the background, too! What a mess.
Our festive entryway. October is my favorite month of the year, with December a close second. So I have to have a few pumpkins to welcome me home...even if they are being eaten by the squirrels.
It's beginning to look a lot like...Fall!
You can see the leaves rounding our yard; even though that was the end of the water line, the yard beyond the leaf line was very squishy and bog-like--if you didn't keep moving you could almost sink in! See the fire hydrant in the background? The water was just about above the hose openings! And our little "lake" reached all the way back to that van in the background, too! What a mess.
Our festive entryway. October is my favorite month of the year, with December a close second. So I have to have a few pumpkins to welcome me home...even if they are being eaten by the squirrels.
It's beginning to look a lot like...Fall!
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