Saturday, July 28, 2007

Due Date Plus Five

My appointment with the CNM yesterday went well. The news: everything looks normal and well, the baby will be here any day (I knew this already, but hearing it from the midwife is encouraging), and I am three centimeters dilated. If our baby has not arrived by next Friday, August third, a non-stress test and ultrasound will be performed. We are, of course, hoping that things not reach that point, however. With the lack of contractions I am experiencing right now, perhaps our baby will come tomorrow or Monday. J.R.'s guess was for Sunday or Monday anyway, as Sunday is the full moon. My grandmother thought that tomorrow would be a special day for me to have the baby, as it was her mother's birthday.

J.R., our parents, and I have been receiving phone calls and emails all week inquiring on the status of our baby. No news yet, but, we assure you: we will let you know when there is news to report.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Awaiting Baby

It is now the fourth day past my "medical due date," and still no baby. Actually, I always figured that this baby would arrive "late" according to that calculation. Family members have been calling asking how the baby and I are doing, and it is kind of disappointing to say, "No news, but it cannot be too much longer now." There have been some signs that labor is imminent, but it is not here yet.

I found myself wishing that labor would hurry up and start earlier today. It is not that I am tired of being pregnant (honestly, I am not). I am ready, however, to meet our baby, to begin my new life as a mother, and to stop receiving comments from others on the baby's current lack of arrival. Today I have an appointment with my CNM, when I made the appointment last week, I assumed that: 1. The baby would be here by now, or 2. I would be at the hospital preparing to have the baby, so either way I would not need to go to this appointment. It appears that I was incorrect in making that assumption. At least I am finished working now until our baby is about two months old, though we are still hoping and praying that J.R. finds a good enough job that I will not have to work.

Of course, there have been advantages of our baby coming after the actual due date. Since we did not know when the baby would come, J.R. and I had not made any real plans from the beginning of last weekend until the beginning of next weekend. This has enabled us to truly enjoy our final days of married life, pre-children. We have had the time to get several last-minute items of business in order. No, our apartment is not spotless, nor will "the baby's room" be completely in order until after we move, but things have come leaps and bounds toward me feeling better about our overall preparedness over the past week.

Come what may, I think that we are about as ready as we are going to be. We are, needless to say, really looking forward to meeting our little one, whether it be sooner or later...

Monday, July 23, 2007

Due Date: No Baby Yet

July 23 has arrived, and I am not experiencing anything to make me believe that our baby is going to arrive "on time." As someone pointed out to me, however, 'babies are like wizards: they are never early nor late, they arrive precisely when they mean to.' Thus, I am content with where the baby and I are at right now. Go ahead and take your time, dear little one. I just prefer that you not take too long, because the thought of induction scares me, and I think that it would be better if you come in your own time, rather than what the medical field determines to be the correct time. Honestly, I figure that I will probably be holding our baby in my arms by this time next week. I think that I am in the very early stages of labor, though I recognize that I could be in this stage for awhile yet.

J.R. and I worked on getting things in order around our apartment in preparation for the baby this weekend. Now I actually feel "ready" for the baby, or probably about as ready as a first-time mother can feel. A first-time mother given my situation, anyway. J.R. and I finally found a new apartment, that we were accepted to, last week. We will be moving around the second week of September. The new apartment is larger and we will be saving money, definite advantages with a new baby. The biggest disadvantage of this arrangment is probably that the new apartment will be on the second floor (making it necessary to carry everything up and down stairs), as we are quite happy with the first floor arrangement of our current apartment.

Certainly things are falling into place, and it is only a matter of time before we meet our baby, our precious little gift from God!

Monday, July 16, 2007

One Week to Due Date

So, here I am at the end of my pregnancy, with what I presume will be no more than two weeks until J.R. and I meet our precious baby. Braxton-hicks contractions have become common, but not overly-abundant, in the last week. I finally finished packing my hospital bag over the weekend, with the exception of the items which I'll have to pack once I know that I am in labor. I am "nesting" some as well, but I have not felt any overwhelming urge to make our apartment appear spotless. My tummy has grown to rather large proportions, though I had not realized just how large until I took a good look at some of the tummy pictures that J.R. had taken of me last week. Other than knowing that I am at the end of my pregnancy so the baby will inevitably be here soon, I have not noticed any signs to make me believe that our baby is going to make his or her debut in the immediate future. I am sleeping relatively well and functioning normally for the most part, however, so it is alright with me if our baby waits a bit longer.

Saturday night/Sunday morning marked my first pregnancy dream (or at least the first one that I remembered in the morning, as I am rarely cognizant of my dreams when I wake). I was at the hospital and had the baby (a boy, in the dream), I do not even recall there being any conflict in this dream, just how happy and joyful J.R. and I were with our baby. Not particularly exciting news, but I think that noting my first (and potentially only) dream related to this pregnancy is worthwhile.

In the last days of my pregnancy, J.R. seems to be doing well. He feels a little unprepared to be a father, and he finds it hard to believe that he is going to be caring for his own flesh and blood in the near future, but he is excited as well. He talks to our baby at least a couple of times per day. I'll admit, I find the way that he'll bend over and speak, inches from my tummy, to the baby pretty cute. Both Faustina and J.R., independently of one another, have adopted this method of addressing the baby. Yes, J.R. has his concerns as a father-in-waiting (what new parent wouldn't?), but I know that he will step up to whatever challenges, trials, and the like that we will face, and that he will enjoy being a father, ultimately.

I feel that I am handling the end of my pregnancy well. As I mentioned already, any physical "ailments" that I am experiencing are manageable and not all that unpleasant. As far as being concerned about labor and delivery, I feel that I am facing only a normal (or perhaps lesser) amount of concern, mostly related to the impending "unknown" of birth and the incredible amount of pain that I have heard tell of. I have read books, practiced exercises, and tried to prepare myself for the birth of our baby, however, so I am comfortable with what I will be facing when the time comes. Like J.R., I feel a little unprepared to take on my new role as mother, but I believe that it must be a normal feeling. After all, God has entrusted parents with a serious duty. One thing that bothers me, unimportant as it is in the big scheme of things, is our lack of a formal nursery. We have the necessities (and more) required for a new baby, but with our future living situation unknown as of yet, the baby's dresser and changing table are in storage still (why move, and set them up twice?), and the only clothes that I have organized are the newborn and 0-3 month sizes. As I said, little things, but the nesting/mothering instinct in me would rather things be "picture perfect" before the baby arrives. That being said, I know that everything is going to work out fine, and that our baby will come home to a comfortable home, where he or she will be well-cared for and loved tremendously.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Thirty-eight Weeks

Today marks week thirty-eight of my pregnancy, meaning that there remain a mere two weeks until my baby's due date. I am not quite ready to have this baby outside of my body yet, however. When I met with the CNM a little over a week ago, she made a comment about how it would be fine for the baby to come any time now. I know most babies that come early survive with few or no complications, but I cannot help thinking that the baby is developing still. I would like another week or so to get things ready around the house as well, to be honest.

Of us six children, I was the only one who came "early," but at one day before my due date, I could hardly be considered early. My sister Faustina came on her due date, and the other four of my siblings were all late by at least several days. I am kind of hoping that I'll be like my mother, and have my baby right around the due date.

Last week J.R. began questioning me on a daily basis whether I thought that I was in labor. Over the past several days, this questioning has risen to several times per day. My parents have begun questioning how I am doing as well over the past few days, they even made sure to call and ask how I was doing this morning before they left to go on vacation for the next few days.

It was so hot yesterday (95 degrees and humid) that J.R. would not allow me to help take care of the animals. Actually, I cannot blame him, and it is good that he is looking out for me, since I have been known to overdo things. After spending more time than I ought to have on my feet and in the heat on Friday and Saturday for Dad and Mom's anniversary party, my feet had swollen. The swelling went down overnight, but going to mass on Sunday caused them to swell right back up. Fortunately, they returned to normal once I returned home to our air conditioned apartment. Although it is over 90 degrees again today, I have not experienced any swelling, which I attribute to my having spent almost the entire day in air conditioning. Whether I be in the comfort of home or at work seems to matter not, so long as I stay out of the heat.

I am feeling quite well at this point in my pregnancy: no pains, not excessively tired, and still able/willing to complete the majority of my regular tasks. I was not feeling quite so chipper on Saturday evening, but now that I have rebounded all is well. I am, of course, hoping to keep this up until (and after, as much as possible, whether it be a reasonable hope or not) the baby is born. I am looking forward to meeting our baby soon, but for now I am enjoying being pregnant still.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

My Parents' 25th Anniversary

Yesterday my brothers, my aunt, and I hosted a luncheon in honor of my parents' twenty-fifth anniversary of being joined in marriage. Overall, the party was a success. In recognition of their achievement, my parents were honored by family and friends; they enjoyed visiting with said people as well.

Of course, not everything worked out as planned; happily, however, this was through no fault of my own. Approximately 100 people attended the party, our guesstimate had been for 150 people, so my refrigerator now holds a sizable quantity of leftover food. Aunt Della, J.R., Chad, and my friend, Sarah, were an enormous help with things yesterday - I am blessed that they were able to help with things, the party would not have gone smoothly without their assistance.

If I had to decide, I would say that a couple of the photographic highlights of the party would be:

1. How happy my parents looked together:


Congratulations on celebrating twenty-five years together, Mom and Dad!

2. The smaller-sized version of their wedding cake that we had made for the event:


Dad could not really recall what the original cake looked like without looking at a photograph, but Mom recognized the cake and thought that it was really nice that we were able to have it re-created.

I am glad that we were able to do this for my parents, with all that they have done for my siblings and I, they deserve recognition for their sacrifices and achievements over the past twenty-five years, and to be reminded that we are grateful for all that they have done for us. May they be blessed with many more wonderful years together.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Independence Day: The Story of Our Engagement

The fourth of July has different meaning for different persons, and I would wager that if you are not from the United States (and it is not your birthday), July the fourth is "just another day" to you. For the majority of my life, Independence Day was a day that Dad had off of work, so it would be spent with family, possibly friends, watching fireworks, and spending time outdoors. Of course July fourth has its historical and political significance for me as well, but it never ranked up there with the religious holidays of Easter and Christmas. On July 4, 2005 J.R. and I became engaged to be married, so over these past two years the holiday has taken on additional significance in our lives.

In 2005, Independence Day fell on a Monday (long weekend from work, hurray!), and while I cannot recall all that my weekend consisted of that year, I do recall the hours prior to when we became engaged and J.R.'s proposal well. In the late afternoon, my family, J.R., and I attended a house-warming/Independence Day party at my cousin's house. Later that evening, J.R., my brothers, and I attended a bonfire and fireworks extravaganza (courtesy of J.R. and my family) at our friends', Sarah and Tiffany's, home. Although J.R. is in a pretty good mood usually, with the occasional exceptions of when he is tired or has been facing trials (I think most people's mood falters some in those situations), he was in an extremely rare, pleasant, happy (almost giddy) mood that night. There is something infectious and delightful about the warm summer night and celebratory atmosphere, along with the bright mortars coloring the sky, that makes the night of July fourth extra-special (kind of like that scene in Sandlot where all of the boys are entranced by the fireworks as they play baseball), even romantic under the right circumstances. I imagine that a number of couples have become engaged on July fourth, though I have never heard of another couple doing so.

The whole group sat around the campfire chatting and having a splendid time, but the hour grew late, and as J.R. and I were scheduled to work the next morning, we decided that it was time to leave. I had rode over to Sarah and Tiffany's house separate from J.R. with my brothers, and as such my brothers decided to stay and visit awhile longer. Honestly, I cannot say that J.R.'s proposal came as a surprise to me (we had discussed our relationship and the possibility of marriage prior to this time), and most obviously, J.R. made up one of the weakest excuses of his life in order to have a "reason" to stop by his house on the way home that night. I believe his excuse had something to do with how he needed to stop and check on his dog, however, he lived only about five minutes from my parent's house, so it would have taken him only ten extra minutes to drop me off and then go home to check Rosie.

J.R. drove up the long driveway to his house, and I saw a strange glow coming from the grass in front of his house immediately. As J.R. had learned earlier in our courtship, I enjoy glowsticks (have you ever heard of anyone else celebrating their twenty-first birthday by playing cards by glowstick light?). With this in mind, J.R. had purchased many glowsticks and used them to write "Marry Me" in the grass. J.R. had me get out of his Blazer, close my eyes, and he led me over to the glowing spot in front of his house. He knelt down in front of me, pulled out the engagement ring, and told me that I could open my eyes. I know that J.R.'s proposal was probably the most eloquent and perfect speech of his life (though neither of us can recall exactly what he said, as he had neither practiced it or written it down, he just knew what to say and how to say it when the time came), in which he declared his love for me, and his desire that we spend the rest of our lives together; the look in his eyes at that moment very similar to that which he had in his eyes when we were joined in the sacrament of marriage, eleven months later. I told him "yes" immediately, and then he placed the engagement ring on my finger, explaining to me that the crosses on the ring were to symbolize our commitment to God and to one another. I remember him standing up and us sharing an embrace - we felt a great peace and joy concerning the new stage of our relationship that we had just entered into.

Next, J.R. and I went to share our good news with our families. We told his family first, his mother and brother were genuinely happy for us, though J.R.'s father had gone to sleep already, so J.R. told his father about our engagement the following morning. Then J.R. took me home, where we shared the news of our engagement with my parents. I remember my mother being very happy and excited for us (she enjoyed telling the story of how we got engaged for some time thereafter), and my father congratulated us heartily as well. My brothers had not gotten home yet, but they arrived shortly thereafter, and then we shared our big news with them. My parents had the presence of mind to take a photograph of us on the day that we became engaged (actually it was after midnight at this point, but the photo was taken within about an hour of when J.R. proposed to me). J.R. and I told my little sisters the next day after work, though as a two-year-old and a five-year-old it took a little bit of processing before they grasped what this meant. Most of the remainder of our family and friends were told within the following week. We began marriage preparation with Fr. Timothy within a week or two of becoming engaged, and the rest is history.