The Week in Review

I haven’t actually **written** anything for a week, although it has been pretty eventful (hence, little time for blogging). Last Friday evening, Rich and the girls ventured over to West Boulder campground (in the Absaroka-Beartooth mountain range about 45 minutes away, right behind Tom Brokaw’s ranch) for the Ward Campout. Rich (as EQP) was in charge of the breakfast in the morning. I stayed home for obvious reasons, and had a quiet little slumber party.

I went to the store and bought some organizing stuff and some candy bars, and spent the evening watching house-flipping or design shows while I finished up more Christmas gifts and ate some chocolate. I felt—questionable—all weekend. Kinda nauseated and headachey, tired, but pressing forward with all the little chores that need to be done around Casa Melin. I took 2 boxes of old clothes and shoes to the consignment store and made another box for the Relief Society give-away table. I cleaned up some more in Heidi’s former bedroom and made up the crib (although the baby won’t be sleeping on it for a few months—we’ll have the bassinet in our room). I finished laundry, cleaned kitchen, made lunch and a batch of cookies. When my campers came home around noon on Saturday, I fed them and all 4 of us crashed! We had nice long naps, then finished up some other chores and got ready for Sunday. That was the night the baby went crazy and my belly kept morphing into all these crazy shapes. The hyper-activity continued on Sunday, with my belly shifting violently to the left and back again throughout our church meetings. By then, though, I was getting more uncomfortable. I think the baby was kind of “burrowing” because each day I was feeling more and more downward pressure.

On Monday we had a sort of normal day, but by evening discomfort had turned to pain and the pain was making me nauseated. I couldn’t eat dinner and I rested on my bed for a few hours, til Rich came to bed and noticed that I was really not doing very well. As we chatted, I decided to go to the hospital and just SEE if this was early labor. I mean, I know this is my third baby, but I never really had contractions or anything with the girls. Rich offered to take me and have his mom come stay with the girls, but I knew they’d send me home in a while, so I drove myself over to the hospital. I cried a little bit on the way because (a) I felt terrible and knew it could last another week or two, and (b) I felt stupid. The admissions lady and the nurses just assumed I was there for a non-stress test and checked me in. I told them how I’d been feeling and they taught me how to recognize contractions and count them. The nurse said they were medium contractions, as far as strength goes, but they were consistent and making progress. She said I would feel them stronger and more often over the coming week or two, and I could come back if they got too painful or closer than every five minutes. The baby performed well on his part of the test and we were done in a little over an hour. They sent me home to take a nice warm bath and I slept pretty well that night.

Tuesday morning I went to my regular OB appointment, and later I saw the chiropractor, too (that made the headaches stop , thank heaven!). I am dilated to 4cm and 60% effaced. For me, that’s normal at 36 weeks, but the doctor took some birth-plan-type notes just in case the baby decided to crank it up and bust outta there. Since I need Group B Strep antibiotics, we decided to follow the same route as we did with Heidi and plan an induction during week 38. I voted for September 5th or 6th, so we’ll see next Tuesday which doctors are on duty which days and go from there. So there is a light at the end of this tunnel, and I will either have the baby this week or next week. I hope all goes well. It’s a fine line you walk during pregnancy. There are all these little milestones you pass where you feel a little safer, a little more sure you’ve got a healthy baby, but you never stop worrying, even just a little, until they are safe and screaming and pink in your arms (and then all the other worries begin!). It was great to hear a heartbeat at 10 weeks; it was great to see a healthy baby on the ultrasound at 20 weeks; it was great to pass 35 weeks and know I was close to “full-term” and could deliver here at our tiny hospital. But I know birth is a tough experience on a baby and a mother. I hope it all goes as smoothly as Heidi’s delivery. The thing I look forward to most is introducing the baby to the girls! It’s going to be so great!

So we have been busy wrapping up tiny details, stocking up, organizing and reorganizing, trying to clean up for my mom’s visit (9/1-9/9—she hasn’t seen our house yet). I even packed my hospital bag today and got a haircut and highlights (don’t want to scare the baby with my roots!). It’s a fun time here—everyone is excited, I am excited and a little nervous, so anxious to meet this little acrobat who’s been flipping around in my belly the past few months. It’s the most amazing thing to watch as another personality is added to the family mix. Everything changes, mostly for the better. I have been watching Addie and Heidi with a closer eye, observing how we all interact and pondering how much they have changed my life (and each other’s). Mostly I wonder how I ever lived without them, what a void there would be if I lost them, and what this new little person will bring to the table and teach us.