2 Centimeters and 70% Effaced

At today's appointment, Dr. Bell confirmed I am dilated to two centimeters and am 70% effaced. Charlotte still hasn't dropped at all, so Dr. Bell and I both think Charlie Jo isn't making her debut any time within the next week. If I want, at the next appointment Dr. Bell can help things along a little by "stripping the membranes", but that will only encourage labor to begin if I was on the cusp anyway. Since I'm still two weeks and a day shy of the due date, there's no huge hurry.

Corey asked a very good question at today's appointment. If he has a cold, should he be allowed at the delivery? Dr. Bell said it would be fine, since the baby is going to go home to live with us anyway and can't live in a bubble forever! She said it's pretty rare that a husband is so sick that he shouldn't be there for the birth. Of course, we often have a hard time distinguishing between Corey getting sick and his allergies just acting up, so it's nice to know we don't need to stress about which one it really is.

More good news - Dr. Bell also confirmed that Charlotte is still head down. Considering all of the dancing she has been doing lately, I was afraid Charlie has been doing backflips! It doesn't sound like we have anything to worry about in terms of a breech birth, but I know there's still other reasons why a c-section may still become necessary.

Cross your fingers for some more progress, but not so much that I miss my last two and a half days of work!

Redneck Baby Shower

Unfortunately, I don't yet have photos from the Redneck Baby Shower (it's kind of hard to take photos when you're the guest of honor). You'll just have to take my word for it that the costumes people showed up in were absolutely hysterical (lots of camouflage, overalls, and even a halter top made out of a pair of men's undies), the food was to die for (pigs in a blanket, fried spam sandwiches, ding dongs, twinkies, cheese whiz, etc.), and the redneck baby advice I was given was priceless. Alicia and Jean (the hostesses) are two very special individuals. Very special, indeed.

Charlotte also attended a very fun show Saturday night. Alicia and some friends had a gig at Puckett's Grocery in Leipers Fork, and our neighborhood basically took over the place. By the time we left, a waitress was in tears and I don't think there was a beer left in the place. Ok, so maybe the part about the beer wasn't true, but the waitress was feeling a little overwhelmed since she was the only one on shift that night and she hadn't exactly kept good track of who ordered what. Whoops. The music was excellent though!

Only three more days of work after today. Then, I need to get going on all of the final preparations for Ms. Charlotte's arrival. I have yet to hang a single photo in the family tree on her bedroom wall and the house is an absolute wreck. We have another appointment with the doctor tomorrow, so we'll have a better idea of how close I might be getting to giving birth. I don't think Charlotte has dropped down any yet though, so we're still probably looking at a couple of weeks of waiting.

Woo hoo!

I have figured out how to post to the blog from my Blackberry!! That means that although we won't have wireless internet access from the hospital, we can still post text blog entries while we're there. We'll be documenting our experiences as much as we can for two purposes -- to keep anyone who is interested informed, and to help us remember everything that happened throughout the chaos.

I have never been good at keeping journals, and this blog has helped me keep my thoughts organized. Whether anyone ever reads the entries, I have had a really good time posting and hope Charlotte will enjoy reading it all someday!

ET - I'll send you an e-mail to let you know how absurdly easy it was to post from the Blackberry. Then we can hear all about your New York Adventures even while you're on the road without internet access!!

Test

Test message from Blackberry.

Niki Stringer '02
Associate Director
Development & Alumni Relations
Vanderbilt Law School

Top Ten

Top Ten Ways My Life Has Changed in the Last 8+ Months:

1. I am never more than three steps away from a bottle of antacids.

2. I have no problem discussing my cervix with my co-workers.

3. I actually don't mind when Corey rubs my belly.

4. I don't mind when people break eye contact when talking to me to check out my changing shape.

5. I see pregnant women EVERYWHERE! I know it's just psychological, but it suddenly seems like the whole world is pregnant.

6. Edamame is no longer a special treat (not after being force-fed it in a vain effort to reform my marginal eating habits in a fit of nutritional consciousness in the first trimester).

7. I don't stress about wearing the same outfits over and over again. I do plan on burning some of them in the near future, however!

8. I get excited over things like little overalls with a stuffed pig sewn into the front pocket.

9. I'm actually looking forward to my first-ever real admission to the hospital (getting stitches in my finger and another minor surgery to remove a benign fibroid cyst in my breast don't count, since they were over within a few hours, didn't entail an overnight stay, and didn't require me to eat hospital food!).

10. I don't find it weird when people call me "Mommy".

37 Weeks and Still Dilating

We have hit the magic 37-week mark. If Charlotte comes now, she will be considered a "term baby", and she will probably not need any special care. It's still better if she continues to "cook" for another three weeks though just to ensure proper lung development and to get some more fat on her body (to help with body temperature regulation). According to Dr. Bell's measurements, I'm measuring as big as a 38-week pregnancy, but that's within the 1-week margin of error that is considered absolutely normal. My weight gain is right at 20 pounds (yea!).

I also progressed slightly on the dilation to about 1.5 centimeters. Effacement is still holding steady at 50%. We asked Dr. Bell is anyone ever really regresses in their progress, and she said no. We forgot to ask if Charlotte still seemed to be head down, but since Dr. Bell didn't mention anything different we're just going to assume that this is the case.

Only 20 days left until the due date and a week until my last day of work. Everything seems to be winding down smoothly and now we're just waiting. It's hard to be patient when you're waiting for your life to completely change!

Here's what's happening with Charlotte this week:

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Swiss chard? REALLY? If that's the best analogy they could come up with, then they are watching a little too much of the Food Network.

Oh my...

Corey and I live in the best neighborhood in Tennessee. Cannonwood is full of some kooky folks, and they have welcomed us as part of their families. We're all from different backgrounds and work in different industries, but somehow it all works and we have a blast together. And now, two of our neighbors have taken it upon themselves to throw me a rather unique baby shower this Friday evening. Take a look at the invitation (a brown paper bag we found duct taped to our front door) and judge for yourself...

Corey's favorite part is the portrait of me and Charlotte on the invitation. Last night, we went out to Wal-Mart and bought a special shirt for me to wear to the party as part of my costume. We'll post a photo of my complete get-up later. I will also, of course, be barefoot.

36 Weeks Down, 28 Days to Go

The other night, Corey and I packed my bag for the hospital. He is also going to throw another smaller bag together with stuff he might need, including camera, batteries, etc. Since we live only a mile from the hospital, it will be easy for him to run home to grab something we forgot, but we both know it's going to be hard for him to leave my side at some points during all of this.

Corey's good buddy from high school and college, Nancy, is due to give birth any day now to her second daughter. We have been swapping e-mails on our progress, and have gotten a lot of valuable advice from her on everything from communicating with your obstetric team to getting a baby to sleep. Good luck Nancy - we're thinking of you and can't wait to hear the good news when the new little one arrives!

I am getting lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions (they don't hurt) that make my belly feel unbelievably tight and almost numb to the touch. Despite Charlotte running out of room inside there, she is not slowing down with the movement at all. Just stay head down there, kid! Here's what BabyCenter.com says about little Charlie this week:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Another valuable piece of advice from Nancy - try your hardest to work it so the hospital nurses change the meconium diaper! Not a bad thought...

Some final touches

We put some final touches on Charlotte's room last weekend. I painted a tree on one wall where we're going to hang family baby photos, and Corey hung the Michigan State mobile for maximum MSU-indoctrination exposure. We also stocked up the dresser beneath the changing table with tons of diapers and wipes, because we heard a rumor that babies need frequent diaper changes. We had our neighbors, the Marshalls, over for some cake and ice cream last night to celebrate the start of the final countdown to Charlotte and to see how her room is shaping up.

We keep asking ourselves if we have everything ready. It's hard to know, since we've never done this before! What if Charlie doesn't fit into the newborn clothes we have ready for her. Yes, we do have some bigger outfits, but not that many. I spend way too much time going through her closet and pawing through the outfits, probably because I'm so sick of my own current limited wardrobe and am living vicariously through her. It's funny - she has tons of clothes already, but they could all probably fit in one or two washer loads at once. Yes, there is a lot of pink, but Corey has luckily overcome his aversion to the color. I reminded him that the color of her outfits is likely going to be the only clue most people have about her gender until she gets some hair!

1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced

I feel like the countdown has officially begun. There are exactly 30 days until the due date.

Today we had our first appointment where the doctor starts checking for things like dilation and effacement. We were tickled to hear that I am already at 1 centimeters dilated and 50% effacement. (For reference, the baby is ready to pop out when there is 10 centimeters dilation and 100% effacement, as well as a couple of other things.) I am measuring as big as I'm supposed to be for 37 weeks (I'm still a couple of days away from even hitting 36 weeks), but she said that's well within the normal range.

Dr. Bell said this was terrific, but that I could hang out at this point for weeks. So, it's not like I'm going to the hospital tomorrow or anything. She indicated that Charlotte is still head down and that everything looks good to go for a regular (non-caesarian) birth. She's happy with my weight gain (just a little over 19 pounds), blood pressure, etc. Yea! The overachiever in me loves passing tests and meeting goals.

Shower at work and 35 weeks

Today, my co-workers threw Corey and me the sweetest baby shower. Everyone brought in a different dish and we ate ourselves silly. I was so touched that everyone took time to help us celebrate, even though I'm leaving in a few short weeks. Charlotte received some wonderful presents, and I think Corey was tickled to have been invited as well. Looking back, I think I probably should have let him help me open some of the presents. Whoops!

One of the sweetest presents we got was a big magnet to stick on the car that says "It's a Girl!". Since I won't be driving around much in the first few weeks after Charlotte is born, I think I'm going to wait until Corey isn't looking and then slap it on the back of the Mustang. Think he will mind?

I am now 35 weeks pregnant, and even though the illustrations aren't changing much from week to week, I am really glad for each day she stays put and continues to mature. Virtually every mother I know had her baby early, so I'm trying not to put much stock into Charlotte waiting until March 13th. Of course, I am the daughter of a woman who carried TWINS until the day before her due date (this is really rare), so I might just have the same "talent".

Here's what's happening with Charlotte at this point:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Yeah, Charlie isn't slowing down her kicking one bit. If anything, I think I'm feeling her moving around even more. If she comes out with a black belt in karate, I will not be surprised. My sister Erin is reporting that baby Zach (now 22 weeks along) is kicking her more and more, and higher and higher. By the time Erin and Andrew come to visit at the end of March, I bet Zach will be working on his black belt as well.

Visibly pregnant voter

After my OB appointment this morning (more about that later), Corey and I voted in the presidential primary election. I was tickled to see a sign that informed everyone that the elderly, disabled, and the "visibly pregnant" would be allowed to skip to the front of the line. Wheeee!!

So we walk in all excited about skipping to the front of the line one to find that there is, in fact, no line. Bummer! Had there been a line, I would have felt bad leaving Corey at the back and probably not have exercised my right to skip anyway. Oh well -- at least we got out and performed our civic duties, right? I got one "I Voted" sticker for me, and one for my belly (the poll worker insisted).

ANYWAY, back to the OB appointment. We met the last doctor in the practice, Dr. Lynn Ellington. We really liked her, and not just because she's a Vandy Med School grad. My weight gain still looks great, my blood pressure is great, my fundus measurement is great, and the baby's heartbeat sounds great. Lots of greats. We were happy when Dr. Ellington confirmed Charlotte is still head down. Stay that way, kid!

Now we start going to appointments once a week. Dr. Bell will start checking me for dilation and effacement. Once I officially hit the 35-week mark, Dr. Ellington says they won't try very hard to stop my labor if I do go into pre-term labor (term is considered 37 weeks, even though the due date is calculated as 40 weeks). A lot of women who start getting contractions pre-term are just dehydrated, so I'm going to need to keep drinking lots of water over the next month to distinguish false labor from the real thing.

All in all, things are going very well!