39 Week Check-up

I am SO PROUD of the progress my body has made over the past week!! Here is what we found out at our 39-week check-up...

Blood Pressure: 102/56
Weight gain: 1.5 lbs (36 lbs total)
Fetal heart rate: 132 bpm
Fundal Height: 37 cm

(Now for the exciting stuff...)
70% effaced
3cm dilated
-1 to 0 station

I was very excited to find out how much I progressed this week, and so was my midwife. I could tell my body was changing and it was wonderful to hear her tell me what changes had taken place.


I have been crampy again today-- another indication that labor isn't too far away. This morning, the house got yet another thorough cleaning, though this time it was not out of desire. Our three animals make quick work of destroying any level of cleanliness I achieve, and thus it was necessity that urged me into action this morning. After getting out of bed, and surveying the house, I burst into tears at the thought of cleaning everything AGAIN. So with tears streaming down my face, I wandered from room to room grabbing at messes and hurling them into their proper place while scolding each item for all its faults. I had somewhat of a meltdown. After the tears ran dry, I calmed down, turned on the radio and enjoyed the rest of the morning cleaning to music. I forced myself to think about why I was cleaning-- to prepare a safe, healthy home for our baby. That seemed to make things a little better.

Tomorrow night, Jared and I have a "labor date." We are going to put into practice any and every natural method of encouraging labor that we can. We are going to have this baby by Wednesday-- that's the plan. Here is what we have so far:

-Go for a rigorous mile-long walk
-Eat spicy tacos for dinner
-Push on my ankles
-Hanky panky

If you have any more to offer, we will try it!

A Birth Story...

Jared Earl Nourse

It was a brisk, December afternoon in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Jan clutched her belly and glanced over at her two-year-old daughter, Cassie, playing on the floor. Fondly, she recalled the many conversations they had had about how excited Cassie was to have a sibling. Jan was nine months pregnant, and had been experiencing some rather painful contractions for awhile now. It was time to call her husband, Gary, at work.

As soon as the call went through, Gary packed up his things, and ran to the car. He drove home in eager anticipation of what the evening might bring. When he arrived, he gathered up his wife and daughter in his arms for a big hug. Jan humored him for about one second, and then pushed away to get in the car. She was in labor after all, and ready to get to the hospital.

They arrived at St. Luke's a few minutes later. The nurses scurried around attending to the laboring mother, while Gary brought Cassie to the children's nursery and dropped her off. This would be her home for the next few hours. After seeing Cassie settle on the floor, with toy in hand, he retraced his steps and began to fill out various admittance and insurance forms. Soon, he was able to join his wife, and support her through each painful contraction. As he looked down into her face, he thought of how lucky he was to experience this with her. Hospitals were just becoming open to the idea of fathers being in the room during labor.

After two hours of pain and pushing, Gary and Jan met their baby son, Jared Earl. He had a full head of dark brown hair, and looked like he had been in a boxing match with all the bruises covering his face. They could tell from the get-go that this child was going to be their wild child-- that he would be the polar opposite of their little angel, Cassie. And he was. ;)

Jared in the hospital nursery, only a few hours old

Jared and his daddy

Cassie playing mommy with her new baby brother

Jared's first Christmas, at three weeks old

Jared Earl Nourse
Born: December 1, 1978 8:30pm
8 lbs. 9oz

St. Luke's Hospital
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

39 Weeks

My body is gearing up for delivery, I can feel it. Whether that delivery is hours away, or weeks away, I do not know.
My body has undergone a lot of change in the past week. Last week, I felt like I was getting closer to my due date and mentally ready to deliver, but my body didn't feel much different. This week, however, my body is getting ready to deliver as well. This is very encouraging to me. I am very anxious to go to our appointment tomorrow and see what kind of progress I have made.

The mucus plug (bloody show) is done passing. Now I am waiting to feel the trickle (or gush) of my water breaking, or a strong contraction (please, I will take anything!).

I have still been experiencing quite a few Braxton-Hicks contractions everyday. Some days bring far more than others.

The itchiness of my stretch marks has somewhat subsided over the past few days. I still keep my Mentholatum and cold pack nearby, but I am not needing them quite so frequently. (Praise God!) My belly feels SO HEAVY. Every time I turn over at night, I feel like I just might pull a muscle because of all the weight of my belly. It will be nice to transfer that weight into my arms, and not have it strapped to my belly at all times!

Lately, several people have told me to enjoy these last few days without a baby. I can completely understand their advice, but at this point, I am really ready to meet this baby. I am so uncomfortable all the time, that there is very little hope of enjoying my time in this state (uncomfortable is really not a strong enough word...) I have enjoyed my time being pregnant, but now I am completely ready to move on to the next stage of this beautiful process. I am anxious to meet our child-- the beautiful creation God has been growing inside of me.

Daily Report

Warning: This post is graphically inclined. Beware.

I am up in the middle of the night, because once again I cannot sleep. I feel like a lot has changed since I updated yesterday. I am quite sure my body has been progressing considerably!

Here is the latest:

• There is a significant increase in pressure on my pelvis. The baby may possibly have dropped more.
• My hip and butt bones are very sore. I believe they are very loose and ready to expand for delivery. I have to take it pretty slow walking around.
• I had around 25-30 contractions yesterday. That is almost 2 per hour that I was awake.
• I am having the "bloody show" and passing the mucus plug. This started three days ago.
• I have had a constant backache accompanied by a crampy, premenstrual feeling.
• Jared checked my cervix (the midwife showed him how to do it safely), and said it feels far more open then last week. This could mean I am dilated more. Our next appointment is on Monday-- I will let you know for sure then.

I feel my body gearing up for the big day. I am sure it will come soon. Even if I go past my due date, that is still soon! One way or another we will have a baby within the next few weeks. Wow. Simply amazing. Keep your phones nearby!

Daily Report

Kristi had the good idea to give a brief daily report of my progress, since it could be any day now...

Due Date Countdown: 9 DAYS

• I have at least 10-15 Braxton-Hicks contractions every day
• I have only had a few mildly painful contractions, these are rare though
• Jared and I have been trying various techniques to encourage labor, but my body is not getting the hint
• My stretch marks are so itchy, that it is honestly driving me out of my mind. The only thing that helps at this point is slathering on some Mentholatum and holding an ice pack on them. When they start to itch though, there is honestly nothing else I can think about, because it is such an urgent and unrelenting itch.

38 Week Check-Up

Once again, our check-up was fabulous. And once again, everything was the same as last week. Details:

Weight gain: 0.5 lbs
Blood pressure: 102/62
Fundal height: 38 centimeters
Fetal heart rate: 140 bpm
Effaced: 50%
Dilated: 1 cm
Station: -1

Next appointment: Monday, Sept 24th, 3:20PM

38 Weeks

Thirty eight weeks. Wow. Only two weeks until my "due date." I was happy to read this week that pregnant women are actually due for a span of four weeks (38-42), and they just give you a due date at forty weeks because it falls in the middle of that four week span. So looking at it that way, I AM DUE NOW!!! This baby could come anytime now over the next four weeks! (Let's hope it got a little of mommy's impatience, and decides to come early!)

I have been extremely tired all week. Everyday I feel like my energy level is on empty, and I am always up for a nap.

On Saturday morning I woke up at 5AM with a burst of energy and an urgent need to clean. So I jumped out of the bed and scoured the house from top to bottom for three hours. I have read that this sudden urge to

make things ready for the baby is called the "nesting instinct," and that labor can follow shortly after it hits, even within hours. (However, this instinct can hit up to several weeks before the baby is born as well.) Believe me, I was jumping at every little pain that day, waiting for the contractions to start. Obviously they never did. :(

My feet have begun to hurt this week. It is mainly at night right before I go to bed, and then again in the morning right after I wake up. I believe that the cause of the pain is blood or fluid pooling in my feet and making them slightly swollen and painful to put pressure on. Also, I have a sharp pain across the arch of my right foot, that I think may be tight tendons or ligaments. Every time I take a step and it stretches the tendons running from toe-to-heel, it shoots pain through my foot. I am not sure what is causing this. I have just been stretching my feet and legs as much as possible, trying to keep them loose. (I talked to the midwife about this, and she said that it is similar to carpal tunnel . Basically, the increased amount of progesterone during pregnancy breaks down the sheath covering the tendons running across my arch. Which means that there may be a spot on my tendon that is exposed, causing the shooting pain. It is like a live wire that has lost a section of its outer shell.)

My stretch marks are continuing to grow, and continuing to drive me out of my mind. They are SO ITCHY all the time. It nearly makes me cry when my shirt brushes against them and the itch fest starts all over again. It is like scratching one of the most itchy mosquito bites you have ever had only once, and then trying not to scratch it again. Or like a mosquito bite between your toes, that constantly rub and initiate the itch factory AGAIN. The vitamin E oil and cocoa butter have been rendered useless as they no longer grant any relief to the insatiable itch.

Those are my only two complaints this week. God has been granting me comfort in these last days. Jared and I are both eager to meet our baby. Last night, Jared surprised me when he stared at my belly for a moment, and then posed the question, "Are you gonna have that baby soon?" I could hear the excitement in his voice. Then he ran into the kitchen and got the bottle of "Mongolian Fire Oil" and poured it over my plate of spaghetti. Then he said, "We are gonna help it out a little."

(nothing happened. sorry babe.)