First tub bath!

Gracie had her first tub bath today. She started crying when we took her clothes off, and didn't really stop until it was all over and she was clothed and I could feed her. But hopefully she will grow out of that and start enjoying her baths.


We're going to Medical City tomorrow to rent a breastpump. A lactation consultant said that pumping in between feedings will help increase my supply, and now David will be able to feed her! Hopefully this works...

2-week check-up

Well, Gracie has only gained one ounce since her last appointment (6 lbs, 11 ozs), which puts her 4 ozs under her birthweight of 7 lbs. The doctor is not too concerned though, because it was a gain and not a loss. We will take her back in a week to check her weight again, but some babies just don't gain it weight as fast as others. She's also grown one half inch in length, so that is also encouraging. Gracie has also had some stomach issues over the last few days, some frequent diarrhea and spit-up, which could also be attributing to the slow gain. They said I dont' really need to do anything different with my diet, just increase my water intake to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated. I also have to feed her every 2-3 hours instead of every 3-4, but I dont' have to feed her for as long. I've been letting her nurse until she's done, but now they're saying that could be causing her to spit up more because she overfills herself, and her sucking reflex takes over before her stomach lets her brain know she's done. So now I just will limit her to 15 minutes on each side, but more frequently, and she should gain that weight back quickly.

Her umbilical cord fell off last Saturday (12/22), and the doctor said to give it 24 more hours and then we could give her her first real bath (just been doing sponge baths until now). So we will probably do that tomorrow. As for her skin being really dry, the doctor said that's very common in babies this young at this time of year, and that once we start bathing her it will help keep her skin moisturized and to use baby lotion liberally. So she's fine!

Got her 2 week state-mandated newborn screening done today, also. They do it at birth and at 2 weeks old to check for a variety of deficiencies (see this link for details: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/lab/mrs_nbs_tests_ns.htm). They had to stick her heel to get the blood so I didn't watch. For some reason it bothered me to no end and she cried through the whole thing and it made me really upset that they were sticking her. At her 2 month appointment she's supposed to get 5 vaccinations... I already told David that I'll have to wait outside the door; I dont' think I can handle that! Anyways, so she's all fine and dandy, and I'll keep you up to date on how her appointment goes next week. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas!

Gracie's one-week-old birthday! (12/19)

Out for her first walk on an unusually warm day in December!
Gracie's First Christmas!

Doctor check-up on jaundice

Went to the Gracie's pediatrician today, who was recommended by my pediatrician, Dr. Clifford. We loved Dr. Len! He was fabulous with Gracie and she didn't make a peep through the entire exam. He says her jaundice has pretty much gone away, and didn't even the need to test her billiirubin level. He said if we could give her a few minutes in the sunshine periodically over the next week it will go away entirely. She weighs 6 lbs, 11 oz today, which is perfectly normal. She should gain it all back by her two week appointment, which is on Wednesday, December 26th.

So she is perfect! (of course!)

*~Gracie's Birth Story~*

I was told not to eat or drink anything (not even water) starting at midnight Tuesday morning (the 11th). After some delays with getting my room ready, we finally arrived at the hospital at 9:45am for the scheduled induction. We were shown to my labor and delivery room and I changed into my gown. I signed all my consent forms, and had blood drawn (had to draw from a vein in my thumb, because my other veins were too small since I was dehydrated). Dr. Greggs got there and checked my cervix. There was no change in dilation or effacement since the week before (1.5cm, 85%), so she placed Citotec pills onto my cervix at about 12:20pm. At around 1pm I was in a lot of pain and called my nurse. She checked and determined that I was reacting to the Citotec by having contractions 1:30 minutes apart, and because I had no time to relax in between them I was not dilating. After consulting with David and the nurse, I decided to go ahead and get the epidural (because I had still not made any progress). I was very scared of the epidural, but the anesthesiologist did a wonderful job. The IV he gave me beforehand was the worst part, since he used the same vein in my thumb where the blook had been drawn earlier. I had to bend over in a really uncomfortable position to get the epidural, but it was just a pinch and a 4-second cramp and it was over. He was very quick and efficient and talked me through the entire process. I felt great after that. I couldn't feel any pain from a pinch to my foot or leg, just pressure, and if I concentrated hard, I could move my legs a little and bend my toes. I was given a little button that let me "control" my epi to a certain extent; if I started feeling any pain, I could push the button and get a little more. It was great.

Unfortunately, the epidural slowed my progress even more. The doctor came in to check me again at around 7pm and I was only 3cm dilated, and 90% effaced, so she went ahead and broke my water. Well, within a few minutes I started to feel the contractions. I could feel the pressure when they started and stopped. Soon it turned into very real pain, and I started pushing my little epidural button every minute. An hour later I couldn't take it anymore and called my nurse. She checked me and I had progressed to 7cm and was 100% effaced in one hour! The epidural wasn't keeping up with the contractions, though, and I was again getting to where I couldn't relax in between the contractions, so they decided to "up" my epidural... twice! I ended up not being able to feel anything at all. That was the only time I was really really scared. It was like, "This is what it must feel like to wake up and be paralyzed". I couldn't feel pressure or move at all, no matter how hard I concentrated. But David and everyone were really supportive and even made me laugh to get my mind off the scary lack of feeling. Although I was progressing rapidly, the baby wasn't descending through the birth canal as quickly as she needed to, so the nurse and David helped me move into "rolling" side positions to "open up" the birth canal and help the baby's descent. By 10pm, I was at 9 cm, and fully effaced. At around 11, the doctor came to check me again. She put her hand down to check my cervix, then made a funny face, then looked under the sheet. David was standing across the room, having just walked our visitors out the door, and he looked too, and he made a funny face. I asked what was going on. David just said, "I see hair!" The doctor confirmed that the baby was indeed crowning, and things moved very quickly after that. The nurses came in and started setting the room up for the birth. The lights came out of the ceiling and the baby area came out of a cabinet in the wall. At around 11:30 the nurse had me try a few practice pushes. I couldn't feel my contractions, though, so she had to tell me when to push. I couldn't feel anything, but I held my breath and did what I thought was pushing. She quickly told me to stop, because I was pushing too well! It took the doctor almost another hour to get all set up and ready, and I started pushing for real at 12:20am. I pushed through the first contraction (three pushes of ten seconds each), and the doctor said I was indeed a great pusher. With the second contraction, push #1 got the baby's head out, push #2 the doctor loosened the cord that was around the baby's neck and rotated her shoulders, and push #3 she was born at 12:25am! I cannot describe the feeling when they placed her on my tummy, it was amazing. David and I were both crying with joy to see our daughter's face for the first time. She was just beautiful!

The nurses took her to the side and cleaned her up, while the doctor was stitching me up. Gracie had swallowed some amniotic fluid, so the nurses had to spend some extra time with her, but they got it all out and she had no lasting effects from it. They gave her back to us about 45 minutes later, and we were able to spend a very special half hour alone with her, and made our first attempt at breastfeeding. Afterwards, we let the family in that had been waiting in the waiting room during the birth. We all visited for a little while, then David and the rest of the family followed the nurse to the nursery so she could do Gracie's bath and evaluation while I got all cleaned up. Everyone went home around 3am and they wheeled me into a post-partum room for the rest of the morning.

I hadn't eaten or drank anything for well over 24 hours by this point, so they brought me a bunch of graham crackers and juice. The room we were in was in the overflow post-partum wing, so we had two beds, which was really nice for David. It took awhile for Gracie to be released from the nursery so I could feed her because her temperature dropped dramatically after her bath. They kept her in a warmer for awhile, and finally brought her to me after about 3 hours so I could feed her. They had to take her back to the nursery afterwards, though, because her temperature was still not as warm as they wanted (although they told me this was pretty normal). David went to sleep pretty quickly, but my nurse kept coming in every 20 minutes to check on me, go over paperwork with me, and give me medicine so I didn't get much sleep at all.

At 7am the cafeteria opened so I ordered myself a huge breakfast. We got up (after that monster epidural I was finally able to walk on my own by 8am) and took showers (that was the best shower of my life). We had some visitors that morning, and around lunch-time, a room opened up on the main post-partum floor, so we were moved up there. We got to keep Gracie with us throughout the day, which was nice. She passed her hearing screening with an above-average score, and we worked on mastering our diapering skills. We continued to have visitors throughout the day, and finally settled down to sleep around 11pm. I decided to have the nursery keep Gracie again that night, so I could try to get some more sleep. Of course I was woken up to feed her every 4 hours (although I insisted on this, I didn't want her having any formula at all) and to take medicine.

The next morning they said I was ready to be discharged, although I could have stayed another night if I wanted since Gracie was only technically born the day before. We went ahead and decided to go home, and waited for Gracie to be discharged by her pediatrician (my pediatrician, Dr. Clifford!). That happened around lunch-time, and after paperwork (birth certificate, discharge instructions, etc.) and another great shower, we were all packed and ready to go by 3pm. The nurse wheeled me downstairs where David had the car ready and we were off! Gracie was home for the first time by 4pm, 40 hours after she was born.

Hopefully next time I go into labor on my own and don't need to be induced. That's the one thing I wanted to experience, the contractions of early labor and knowing that the baby was coming on its own. I really enjoyed having a bunch of people visit while I was in labor. It made the 12 hours go by fairly quickly. It was very important to David and I that we were the only people present when our child was born (aside from the doctor and two nurses), and we will definitely have it that way again. However, next time we will definitely limit the post-partum visitors to a certain time period during the day. We enjoyed seeing everyone, but we were never able to rest and really suffered because of it when we got home. We really should have stayed that extra night, but we had no way of knowing just how crazy it would be at home. I will still insist on having the baby brought to me to breastfeed, and will still have the nursery keep the baby at night. So, overall, it was a great experience, and we can't wait for #2! (;D)

GRACIE JANE NICHOLS IS HERE!

She was born at 12:25am, weighing 7 pounds even and 19 3/4 inches long! She has ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes, and big feet just like her mommy! It was a very emotional moment for both of us, and now we can't stop smiling! Thanks for all the prayers, and Thank You, God, for our beautiful angel!

We will post a detailed birth story later!

TODAY

Wow, I'm so nervous I just could not get back to sleep. Have to call the hospital in about a half hour to make sure they have my room available, and if they do, we will be out the door at 6:30am. I was told not to eat or drink after midnight last night, and it probably wouldn't be bothering me so much except I keep thinking about it... so I desperately want a cookie and a glass of milk right now! *sigh* Oh well, I will be able to eat immediately after delivery so that's good.

I'm so excited, but so scared. Never been to the hospital for myself before (aside from some minor ER trips). No surgeries, no broken bones, no major illnesses. I've been blessed with health for most of my life, and now in my increasingly anxious mind I wonder if that's because I was born so late (a little over two weeks, I believe). So maybe Gracie needs a little more time... I don't know. Too late now, I think. So we will go into this trusting God to guide the medical professionals and help us deliver a perfect little baby. David is amazing. He loves me in the most genuine way, and doesn't take anything about this for granted. I know he will be there for me throughout the entire experience, and sometime in the next 24 hours (well, hopefully) we will be holding our little girl!

Thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes. We will have the computer at the hospital (free internet, yay!) so we will post something as soon as she's born!

The Plan

Well, yesterday was the due date... and no Gracie. Guess she just takes after her mommy and needs a little encouragement to get on out of there!

We worked it all out with my doctor and will definitely be delivering at Medical City. Induction has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 11th, at 7:30am, if she doesn't come on her own before then. She hasn't made any moves yet to make me think she will. I'm pretty nervous now that I know THE DAY, but I know it will be fine. David and I are very excited to hold our little girl, and introduce her to the world!

This crazy whack of a doctor...AGH!

Why do people think they can take advantage of you just cause you're pregnant? You know how we've been struggling with the doctor trying to get me to change hospitals at 36 weeks, after we had already paid for and attended childbirth classes and everything and registered at and become familiar with Medical City. She got all in my face and said that its no longer "convenient" for her and I "would just have to understand that", etc. I haven't budged; this other hospital she wants me to switch to (RHD) is pretty low-grade, all shared rooms, the lactation consultant is only there two days a week, so if you miss her then tough ***, any nurse can come get your baby, the security isn't all that, etc. And if your baby needs a NICU Level 2, it is transported to Medical City anyway! So we've been struggling with that, the decision has been to just blow her off every time she mentions RHD, when it's time we're just to show up at Medical City and if she delivers the baby then fine, if not, I don't even care who does.

Well, here's the latest development in this fiasco. My doctor told me at my 38 week appointment (last Tuesday) that if I hadn't made much progress by my next appointment (39 week appt tomorrow) then we would discuss a possible induction for the week following my due date (which is this coming Saturday). I'm okay with that, there's no reason to schedule an induction before my due date. I told her at the very beginning that I wanted medication for pain, but DID NOT want any intervention to start labor, unless necessary (in other words, no induction before my due date, no breaking my water for me, and absolutely no c-section unless there is mortal danger to mine and/or the baby's life). Now the baby is not too big, her heart rate is perfect, my blood pressure is perfect, etc. Well, I get a message from the doctor's office yesterday morning that says, "Hi Sara, this is Donna from Dr. Gregg's office. I'm calling because you're scheduled for an induction tomorrow morning and you're not registered at the hospital. Please call me back so we can get this taken care of. Thanks, bye."

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!

This nurse tells me that at some point last Friday Dr. Greggs decided (out of the blue, for no reason and without discussing anything with me) that she no longer wants me to go all the way to my due date this Saturday, and wants to induce me this week. Apparently, she decided to call RHD (the hospital I'm not registered at because I'm not considering delivering there) and tell them that she'd like to induce me on Wednesday (yes, the 5th) and do they have times available. They called her back to tell her that they were booked Wed, Thurs, and Fri and that if I were to be induced this week it would have to be Tuesday (yes, the 4th) morning at 6:30am. So she tells her nurse to call me and let me know that she has now decided that she doesn't want me to go to my due date and that that is my only option for induction. I told them to go ahead and cancel that induction, unless the doctor has a good reason to induce me before my due date, then she can call and tell me why herself. But that I would see them for my 39 week appt tomorrow at 4:30. Oh, and let me guess, was that hospital she called RHD? The nurse said yes. I said, Well, the reason I'm not registered there is because we decided months ago that I would be delivering at Medical City, and I'm not changing that. The nurse says Well sometimes insurance isn't covered at Medical City, I'd hate for you to get stuck with a bill you can't afford. I told her that I appreciated her concern but that I've already verified the coverage with the insurance and Med. City. Then I hung up.

I called my contact Kathleen in the admissions office at Med. City to verify all this, and she said that my insurance covers everything there, and that she is appalled that the doctor's office tried to counsel me on what the billing practices are at Med. City! So she double-checked and verified everything again, but it covers everything, no matter what the doctor says.

WTF?! My doctor has totally lost all my respect and confidence. She is no longer acting in my best interests. I'm just praying this little girl comes on her own in the next couple of days, so I dont' have to worry about this whole induction business.

38 weeks appt yesterday... and a hospital visit

We went to the hospital on Sunday night. At 9:30 I was having horrible pains in my stomach and back, and although the on-call doctor said it probably wasn't labor and just sounded like muscle pains, it was excruciating, so they said it would be fine to go in and get it checked out. It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life; I was crying it was so bad. David grabbed the hospital bag and packed me up in the truck and we went to Medical City. They got us into a Labor & Delivery room, got me changed into a gown and hooked up to the baby monitors, and kept an eye on me for awhile. The baby's heartbeat was perfectly fine and I wasn't having any contractions at all, just "uterine irritability". Turns out the pains were both gas and strained round ligaments. The gas was keeping me from being able to relax my stomach muscles, which just made them keep hurting. After about an hour and a half, they sent us home with instructions to take Tylenol, and to come back if it got worse. Once we got home, I took the medicine and got back in bed, and was able to relax for a few hours before it got really bad again. I took some more medicine, and finally just passed out at around 4:30am. When I woke up the next morning at 9, I was a little sore, but the pains were gone. They came back yesterday at around 3 in the afternoon, but went away pretty quickly after I took some more medicine. So it looks like I will just have to stay on top of it; it will all go away once I have the baby.

The appointment yesterday went well. My blood pressure was 120/60, and I had lost a pound. They're saying my weight has been fluctuating so much lately because of water retention, so they're not concerned. The baby is still gaining weight in there and my uterus measured a little over 38cm, which is perfect. They did an internal exam for the first time and checked my cervix, and I'm dilated 1cm, and I'm 75% effaced, which is good. The baby has dropped quite a bit, but not far enough into my pelvis to put her at a station. Hopefully she will really soon! The doctor said they wouldn't let me go more than a week past my due date, so we will see how much progress has been made at my appointment next week and then discuss the options for an induction, if necessary. Keep your fingers crossed that she comes out on her own before then!!!

I'll continue to keep you up to date on everything! 10 days left, but hopefully any day now!

37-week appointment

Everything's good. No weight gain from last week, which they said is fine. I've gained 5 lbs in the last 4 weeks, total, which is perfect. Blood pressure was a little elevated at 120/70, but they're not worried about it, saying that's normal with this late in the pregnancy and the holidays coming up, etc. If it gets too much higher, they'll monitor me more closely, but they don't think it will rise any more. Gracie's heart rate is 140bpm, which is consistent with how it has been the whole time. I'm measuring right at 37 weeks, so we'll probably be right on time (though we're hoping for a little sooner, hehe). They confirmed that she has dropped, however she also grew a bit, and she's staying pretty stretched out, meaning she can still reach my ribs. Ugh. But her head has stayed all the way down, so that is really good. They'll check my cervix next week to see if I'm dilated or effaced at all. We'll have a better idea of what's going on once we see all that.

I haven't been comfortable at all lately. Back pains, random and painfully intense contractions with absolutely no consistency, headaches... you name it. I am waking up 3-4 times a night now, which I guess is instinct preparing me for those late night feedings! I'd love to have just one straight 7 hours of sleep before she comes, though. I think I've developed Restless Leg Syndrome, a common late-pregnancy symptom that will go away after delivery, but its ridiculous. I can't sit down for long periods of time (not even for 20 minutes) without having to get up and walk for a minute. And I can never get comfortable at night. Poor David, I don't know how he sleeps through all my tossing and turning at night. I also have this insanely powerful urge to make sure everything is clean. I dont' mean just picked up, but spotless and disinfected and unwrinkled. When I dont' have the energy to finish something, it just bothers me and makes me irritable. Hopefully it will just all be over soon. I'm so ready for her to come out now, I don't have anything left I can do to prepare. Just come OUT! Hehe. I spent the last week not believing how quickly the last couple months had gone by, and now I can't believe how slowly its going by now! Ugh... hurry up!

Well, I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving holiday! Will keep you posted on progress (not like there's any now...).

37 weeks today!

Well, today marks 37 weeks. What an amazingly long time! But I'm truly amazed at how quickly the last couple of months have gone by. We had a very eventful October, with both baby showers and childbirth classes and me working so much. I remember in September worrying about how much we had left to prepare for Gracie's arrival, and now I'm so proud of how much we've done! Hospital bags are packed and ready to go, "nursery" is all ready, all of her clothes and bedding are washed, folded, and waiting... all that's left is her sweet face!

Been pretty uncomfortable lately. Having a lot of round ligament pain on the sides and underneath my belly, and my hips are continuing to pop out all the time. There's constant pressure "down there" and a lot of intense Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing too crazy. I think she dropped considerably yesterday; I can all of a sudden breathe a lot better, and when looking at my belly, I can now see a portion of my rib cage above the top of my uterus. My center of gravity is totally shot, so I'm having to take the stairs MUCH slower than before so I don't fall again, hehe. I've also added a ridiculous "waddle" to my walk, due to all the pressure. So... all that said, I think we're getting much closer! I have a crazy feeling she'll come a little bit early, but I won't know more until I get an internal exam done to see how dilated I am. We will see...

At the 36 week appointment on Tuesday, she had flipped back to being head-down! Yay! Just pray pray pray that she stays there! My blood pressure was 110/60, which is perfect. Now, I gained 7 pounds (yikes!) since my last appointment two weeks before, but at that appt I had lost 2 pounds from a week earlier, so that technically puts me at only a 5 pound gain in 3 weeks, which is really good. (See how I try to make it sound better? Hehe) But still, my total weight gain for the pregnancy is about 25 lbs, which is perfect. They did not do an internal exam this time, saying they would like to wait until I'm 38 weeks. But if I am even more uncomfortable next Tuesday, they might go ahead and do it then, just to check me out. So we will see! Anyway...

We're having a bit of trouble with Dr. Greggs. At the very beginning, she told us that we had a choice of delivering at one of her three preferred hospitals: RHD, Medical City, and St. Paul. We chose Medical City, for a number of reasons, and have already pre-registered and completed our child birth classes there. She is just now saying that it's "just not convenient" for her to deliver the baby at Medical City, and that I need to deliver at RHD. She was extremely unprofessional and rude about telling us this, so I've decided to ignore her wishes and continue with the plans to deliver at Medical City (There is a lot more to this story that I just don't feel like rehashing on here, so please don't be too quick to admonish me for going against my doctor's wishes). The admissions staff at Medical City is totally behind me on this, and we're working together to get my records sent over there (Dr. Greggs is refusing to release them, so we're having to fight for them). I dont' understand why she couldn't just tell me that she has other things scheduled at RHD around my due date, and that I just need to understand that if I choose to deliver at Medical City, I will most likely be cared for by another doctor, which I'm perfectly fine with. I wasn't really expecting her to be there, anyway, so I don't see why this is such a big deal. Oh well, we are looking into transferring to another doctor, but with the birth emminent in the next three weeks, that might not be possible. I would say though, that I would not recommend this doctor to anyone in the future. In an amazing coincidence, my boss (at AT&T) and her sister are former patients of Dr. Greggs, and her sister delivered via C-Section at RHD last year, due to Dr. Greggs pushing her for RHD. So she has a history of pressuring patients. She also has an extremely high rate of scheduled inductions and C-sections, meaning she pushes her patients to schedule their births to make it more "convenient" for her. I want to avoid a c-section and induction if possible, but she does not seem willing to uphold my wishes on this. So due to a lack of trust, respect, and confidence in my doctor, I'm pursuing switching to another. My insurance will cover any doctor who delivers me at Medical City, so we'll just show up there when it's time; they already said they wouldn't turn me away and go ahead and admit me since I'm already registered. So that has been a huge stressor over the last few days, but I'm now just going to ignore it and continue with our plans. I think that's the best thing I can do right now, is not let Dr. Gregg's pressure get to me; at this late in my pregnancy, it's just not healthy to let it worry me so much. So on we go...

Well, I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend and Thanksgiving holiday! We'll keep you all up to date with the progress!

Another scare... and Group B Strep test results

Well everything was going dandy this weekend, when I woke up early Sunday morning at about 2am to a huge, painful movement in my belly. Gracie had done some contortionist-flip so that her head was sticking out of my side all weird (I could see it). Well, it was pretty uncomfortable, so I got out of bed and started walking a bit. This usually uses gravity to pull her out of my ribs, so I thought it might get her to settle into a more mutually comfortable position. Well, when I stood up, she moved her head over, so that it wasn't sticking out so much, but then she wouldn't move at all. I sat down in the glider chair to see if she would kick a little for me, but she didn't. After awhile, I started getting worried, because she wasn't moving AT ALL, which is very unlike her. So I got up and walked around the living room a bit, drank some cold water, ate some candy, took a TUMS, laid down, sat in a couple different chairs in different positions, flashed a light on my belly, poked and prodded and did just about anything I could think of to get her to move. At about 6:30am, I was freaked out enough to finally wake David up, who also tried to get her to move (she almost always kicks when she hears his voice). Well that didn't work either. I didn't want to call my doctor, because I kind of felt silly, but at the same time, I KNOW what its like to be carrying her, and this just didn't feel right. We decided to go up to Sherrie's house and see if we could hear Gracie's heartbeat through the stethoscope. If she thought something was wrong, then I would call the doctor and go to the hospital. We got up there, and as I was sitting there waiting for her to get out the stethoscope, I felt a humongous kick. I was SO relieved, but still wanted to hear her heartbeat if we could. So Sherrie listened for awhile, and heard the placenta working (which I guess it wouldn't have been if something was wrong), and a few faint beats at a time (Gracie wasn't cooperating, what else is new), so I finally felt better. Of course she's been kicking and squirming for all she's worth since then. But anyway... I guess that's just the mom in me coming out and worrying about the littlest things. I was actually pretty embarrassed that I made such a big deal about it, but it was pretty scary. Even David was scared, but he was wonderful and kept me calm and focused and even laughing at times throughout the whole ordeal. I think she just got herself worked into a weird position while I was laying down and then passed out from her efforts or something. What a silly little girl... I can tell we'll have our hands full when she arrives!

I did the Group B Strep test at my doctor's visit last Tuesday. It is a small swab to see if I am one of thousands of women with strep bacteria in the birthing area that is harmless to me, but can make the baby sick if it is passed to her when she is being born. Well, that came back positive. While there is nothing that can be done right now to treat it, I will receive simple antibiotics through my IV while I'm in labor that will prevent it from being passed on to Gracie when she is born. So that will be fine.

Other than that, everything is going well. She's sticking her little butt out the side of me right now, and its pretty funny-looking. I'm all lopsided, hehe. She is definitely running out of room for her soccer matches in there, but this makes it easier to identify the various body parts that stick out now and then, so its fun.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a wonderful week! Only 4 weeks and 5 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!

Update

Sorry, I know it's been awhile. Had a lot going on the last couple of weeks. First of all, I'm just fine after taking a fall on the stairs yesterday. I got off work pretty early, so Mrs. Debbie dropped me off at home. I only had three steps left before I got to our floor, and I accidentally got my toes hooked underneath the step and fell belly-first. I was holding onto the railings, but couldn't get my hands down in time to catch myself. I was able to take most of the impact on my knee, but my belly still hit the steps pretty hard. Well, I got right up, but instantly had a very tight, painful contraction for a few seconds. I made it to our front door, got inside and sat right down on the couch and called my doctor. Once that contraction let up, Gracie started moving and kicking as usual. I told the doctor what happened, and she said that I was probably fine, and that if I had any major bleeding, any more contractions, or if I noticed Gracie moving less than 10 times each hour, to call her and get to the hospital. But the fact that Gracie was moving all over the place like normal really encouraged us to believe that everything was fine; I had probably just woken her up. I stayed in bed for a few hours, but didn't notice any of those symptoms, so I was fine. I'm a little sore today, but no worse than if I'd fallen like that while I wasn't pregnant. I'm going to call the doctor today to discuss how the evening went and if I need to come in next week, but I think I'll be fine to wait the whole two weeks til my next appointment. I'll keep everyone posted. (:D)

My Grandad (my dad's father) passed away last weekend. He had been battling Alzheimer's and dementia for several years, and God finally called him Home. I'm very sad that he wasn't able to see his great-granddaughter, but I know he will be sending his blessings from Heaven. I will definitely make sure that Gracie grows up understanding what a wonderful man he was. Please keep my family in your prayers as we get through this difficult time.

Lets see, doctor's appointments: Last week I went for my 34 week appointment, and my blood pressure had jumped to 130/88, which is pretty high for me. I had gained 5 lbs (ugh) and Gracie's heart rate was 140bpm. We had been running around all day, preparing for my grandfather's funeral that night, and had rushed into the appointment, so we figured all that stress was what affected my blood pressure, but they still decided to bring me back in a week to check it again to make sure. So I went back this last Tuesday, and my blood pressure is back to a normal 110/65, so that's good. Gracie's heart rate is 145bpm, and I lost two pounds. This puts my total weight gain for the entire pregnancy at 19 pounds, which is where it should be.

Gracie has flipped transverse, though, which means her head is in my right side, her rear-end is in my left, and her legs and arms are up in the top of my uterus. If she stays this way, it will be an automatic C-section (which we're really hoping to avoid), but the doctor really believes she will flip again and work her way back to being head-down, which would be ideal. If she flips breech, they'll try to work with it, but it would most likely end up with a C-section, too. So please pray she gets her head back down there!!! Hehe... I can tell she's running out of room to move as much as she used to, but she's stubbornly refusing to accept that. I can't wait for her to "drop" and get out of my ribs and off my lungs. I'm sure she finds them fascinating, but its so uncomfortable for her to be up this high. *sigh* Oh well. Soon enough...

Just a little over 5 weeks left! I can't believe it. All the chaotic preparations are slowing down. We moved our room around last weekend, and I set up her Pack n Play and the rocking chair and cleared off what used to be a tv stand to make room for all her changing and feeding supplies. We have almost everything we need to bring her home, just need to make a trip this weekend to Babies R Us and the drugstore to grab a few more small necessities. I'm working on packing the hospital and diaper bags today, and getting a list together of freezer meals I'm going to make ahead of time so it will be easier on us the first couple of weeks after she's born.

I found out that my pediatrician, Dr. Clifford, who I've seen since I was little, won't be covered on Medicaid to do Gracie's office visits. She can still bill Medicaid for Gracie's newborn check-up at Medical City, though, which is awesome. I'm so happy that she'll be Gracie's very first doctor, if only once. Dr. Clifford says she would be honored! I love her; she's just fabulous. She recommended another pediatrician downstairs from her office that does take Medicaid. His name is Dr. Len, and they alternate weekends being on call for each other's patients. She said that he is an excellent doctor, and that Gracie would be just fine in his care. So I am happy to take her to someone with such a high recommendation from Dr. Clifford!

Well, I'm going to go work on the lists for the hospital and diaper bags, and then work on Gracie's family tree for a little bit. I'm trying to make a really neat one to scrapbook into her baby book, so she will have it. Kinda difficult, though, because I'm not only doing her ancestry, but also including her aunts, uncles, and cousins! I'm sure she will enjoy it someday. Have a great week, everyone!

Last class tonight!

Well, we had a great weekend! Played poker with friends on Friday night. The shower Saturday was great (thanks, Mom and Mrs. Debbie!). It was so nice to see everyone and Gracie got a ton of awesome gifts!

Went to David's stepmother's sister's 50th birthday party that night. Had a great time meeting and hanging out with that side of the family! (And the barbeque was excellent!) We spent Sunday cleaning and organizing our apartment to make room for all of Gracie's new stuff. Still might have to re-arrange our bedroom to make a place for her Pack n' Play (her bassinet/changing table thing), but we will see. I plan to put it together on Thursday. David put the stroller and glider chair together Saturday night. The glider is SOOO comfortable, we love it! We haven't installed the carseat yet. We'll probably do that this coming weekend.

Random thought for the day: Did you know that caterpillars can swim? One just fell out of a tree hanging above one of Gran's birdbaths, right outside the office window, and I'm watching it swim around. It will get to the edge, climb out, crawl around the lip of the birdbath for awhile, then get back in the water and swim around some more. Very funny. Anyway, back to the relevant world...

David and I enjoyed the breastfeeding class last week. Seems as though I will learn it all over again with the lactation consultant in the hospital though, so oh well. Kind of hard to remember everything when I don't have a baby at home to learn on. But that time is fast approaching! Less than 8 weeks until Gracie's due date! I can't believe it; time has gone by so fast. We have our last class tonight, covering Infant CPR and safety. David of course already knows it, having been through EMT school, but I have no clue, so it will be good to know!

Have a great week everyone!

34-week appointment

Went today at 11:45. Got there 15 min early, waited 1 hour 15 minutes just to be called back. Finally I went to the window myself and demanded to be seen, so they weighed me, took my blood pressure, and showed us into a room. The doctor came in 5 minutes later, said, "Yay, everything's looking good", checked the baby's heartbeat, and then said, "See you in two weeks." Seriously? I could have done all that at home! This waiting game is ridiculous, and had been steadily getting worse with all my appointments. It's as though now that I'm this far along, I'm no longer that important, so they don't care. At this point I almost want to change doctors, but that's impossible this late in the game. I just don't even feel like she cares, really. Just reads the chart, says ok you're doing fine, and sends me on my way. I'll definitely go with another doctor next time around.

Anyway, all that frustration aside, the checkup was fine. My blood pressure is 118 over 84, I've only gained 1 pound in the last two weeks, and Gracie's heart rate was a perfect 140 again. I asked the doctor about the low cramps I've been having, and she said that's Gracie working her way slowly downwards, and my muscles and cervix and all that down there are gradually making way for her. She's still positioned head down, which is good. So hopefully we'll have a real easy road ahead. Next will be my 34 week appt., two weeks from today, on Tuesday the 23rd at 4:30pm. The one after that will be my 36 week appt. on Tuesday, November 6th, at which time they will do my first internal exam, to check for dilation and effacement. After that I'll be checking in every week, and if she hasn't made progress by week 39, they'll schedule an induction for a day or two after her due date. Hopefully she'll be a punctual baby!

Our 1st childbirth class went well last week. We learned about the labor process, all the hospital's procedures, and took a tour of the Labor & Delivery floor, as well as the nursery and Post Partum rooms. It was very informative, really set my mind at ease knowing the plan for action now and exactly how the hospital handles things. We have our 2nd child birth class tonight, in which we'll be learning about breastfeeding, diaper changing, bathing the baby, etc. Hope everyone's having a good week!

First class tonight!

Up to this point, I've been pretty excited. "Yay, answers to all the mysteries we have no clue about!" For some reason, this morning, I'm nervous! I keep thinking, "Will anyone there be as fat as me? Will they snicker at my ridiculously huge boobs? Will they roll their eyes when I ask stupid questions? Will David participate, or act like its stupid and want to leave?" Ugh, this is just crazy! I feel like its the first day at a brand new school. *sigh* Oh well, no choice. I realize that I have never even changed a diaper before, so I know I need to do these classes. I'm just being weird.

Gracie isn't helping the situation... I think she's flipped perfectly sideways, with her head in my left side and her feet in my right. So now my belly looks like a big gut and its gross. Although I am extremely thankful that I don't have any stretch marks on my belly! All that lotion helps, I guess. This will be good because I'm considering getting maternity pictures done in the next few weeks. Nothing spoils a good picture like a nasty stretch mark! Hehe...

Sick...

Well, David and I seemed to come down with a stomach virus Friday night/Saturday morning. Stayed in bed ALL day Saturday, spent today watching football... GO COWBOYS!!! But we're fine now, just needed a couple days to rest. Gracie was "dancing" in my belly the whole time, so we know she's okay! It's so funny; we can play "tag" with her! I'll figure out where she's kicking the most, and tap there a little bit, and she'll tap back! Then I'll move a few inches and push a couple times, and she'll push back there! Its very cool. (:D)

Well, I am making my first pot roast today (I've been slaving over the crockpot for the last 7 hours, haha yeah right) and it's almost done!

30-week appointment

It went well. Everything looks great. Had a sonogram, which showed that Gracie is measuring within a day of her due date, so that's good. She didn't cooperate in getting any clear profile pictures, but we got a few of her face. Her heart rate was great at 140. My blood pressure was normal at 120/80, and I gained about 5 pounds in 4 weeks, which is great, considering how much I lost in the first trimester. Still looking at an estimated due date of December 8th. All in all, having a very average pregnancy, which is exactly what we want!

After today I start having checkups every two weeks (always on Tuesdays), and after my 36th week appt, I'll go every week. So we're getting down to crunch time!

Weekend

Well, this weekend was alright. Let's see...

Saturday was pretty uneventful, with Gracie not being very active. We had to drive to David's office at 6am to clear an on-call alarm, and then went to breakfast with Greg and Sherrie. Went to CVS to take a (horrible) passport photo for my new work badge, then to the mall to buy me some slacks for work. Then home for awhile, then dinner at Spring Creek BBQ with Greg and Sherrie, then up to their house to watch 300 in HD. We left early, though, because we'd been up since 6am. Sunday, didn't do much at all. Gracie wasn't very active that day, either. David woke me up with cinnamon rolls in bed (aaw!) and we watched Field of Dreams on tv (GREAT movie). Then I got online and researched a new stroller I heard about while we both watched the Philly-Detroit game (what was up with those ridiculous uniforms the Eagles were wearing?! Gross). Then I got ready and we went over to Mark and Brandi's with Bryan to watch the Cowboy game (3-0, woohoo!). We were talking about baby names, and got on the subject of a boy name (we're already preparing for baby #2!), and David and I's favorite so far is "Landon Michael Nichols" (we already decided that the middle name would be Michael, after David's dad). I actually love "Gabriel", but David doesn't like it very much. Oh well. Maybe I can warm him up to it in the next year or so, hehe. Watch us jinx ourselves with another girl. Haha. Let's just get through this one first, okay? (That would be David talking!)

Well, that was a typical Nichols family weekend. Yay for my 'Boys, 3-0, baby! Playing St. Louis next Sunday... psh, that's an easy win. I like it on top of the NFC East, it should stay that way. (;P)Gracie's up and crazy this morning, so I think she's gearing up for another growth spurt. She must have been resting all weekend from her previous one. Going to the doctor tomorrow at 10:15am, and getting another sonogram done, so YAY! More pictures! It's my 30 weeks appointment, and after tomorrow, I'll start going in every two weeks. Getting close!

Ranger Game

Well we enjoyed the Ranger game last night (thanks for the tickets, Dad). Got our picture taken as we were leaving.

I am HUGE! Went over to Mom's yesterday evening before the game and the first thing she said to me was, "Wow, you are huge pregnant!" I just thought, "Gee, thanks, Mom". But now I believe her! Gross... I hope I lose all this weight quickly after Gracie's born. I've never weighed this much in my life! Ugh... and to think that only 10 months ago I was a size 4! Ah! I will so get there again, you just watch.

Had a relaxing day today, and am about to go to bed. Gracie hasn't been that active the last few days. I think she just finished a big growth spurt, and is resting up for her next one. My ribs can't WAIT! Haha...