The Countdown..

Well, the countdown has begun.....I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and I am dialated to 2. Only 8 more to go! I was very surprised because I did not dialate at all with either Lauren or Josh before I was induced. My doctor scheduled me to be induced on October 4th, but maybe I won't make it to then : )


On another note, here is a picture of the "kids" - all three of them! Lauren wanted to take a nap with Dixie on the floor and as soon as I got the camera out, Josh was all "CHEESE"!!

And Dixie is the biggest ham of all - it took every last doggy bone and muscle in her to stay still for just a few seconds and after the picture she was all wiggles!

Hormones, Shmormones

I have had a surge of emotional pregnancy hormones this week. I can finally function without breaking down crying......it's so silly! It started Monday with Oprah.....ugh! I'm not a huge fan of Oprah, but I happened to turn the channel to her show and it was extremely distressing to me. The show was about child abuse and internet child pornography. It sent me into a tailspin realizing all the things in this world I cannot protect my babies from and seeing a glimpse of the evil that is out there. Then I waged this internal battle between wanting to keep this baby inside of me where I can protect it versus wanting this baby out and soon! This only made me more emotional. Tuesday brought little sleep and a very busy day. We had an ultrasound appointment in the late morning, which was reassuring and amazing! The baby looks fantastic and is weighing about 6 1/2 pounds as of right now. I didn't get to see my doctor, though, which bummed me out as I am constantly searching for a "plan" being the planner that I am. Plus the frustration of having to pee every 15 minutes, driving 45 minutes to the doctor's office and feeling famished only brought on more tears. I had to stop at Brian's office on the way home to pee and eat my long overdue lunch. And I couldn't stop the waterworks there, so his assistant and other people in the office probably thought I was a crazy person. I just wanted to eat my Chipotle (yum!), pee AGAIN, and be on my way home. Tuesday evening I broke down and just cried and cried. Brian kept asking me what he could do and there was nothing to do, I just needed to get it out.
I have been hit with an increase in energy yesterday and this morning and our dog Dixie has been acting weird around me, which is what she did when I went into preterm labor. So MAYBE labor is just around the corner. Probably not, but a girl can hope!

So, here's an interesting thing that's been happening in our house. Lauren has not been sleeping very well. She says she's tired all day, but when it comes time to sleep, she just won't. When we tuck her in, she gets up after we are downstairs, opens her door and lays on the floor at the top of the stairs with her blankie until we tell her to go back into her room. Last night I went to check on her before I went to bed and ended up bumping her head with the door as she had fallen asleep on the floor in her room next to her door. We are thinking that maybe she just likes hearing us talk, sort of like lulling her to sleep. I'm sure she senses that big changes are coming and it's probably very comforting to her to be able to hear us talking or watching tv. We have been talking about the baby alot lately and I'm sure she is feeling anxious, excited and a whole bunch of emotions that a 3 year-old just doesn't really know how to process.

The countdown is on! Two weeks - that is when my doctor is likely going to induce me and we will meet this sweet baby! My doctor had told me that we would TENATIVELY look at the first weekend in October because he is on call, but that we would see. As he put it "it's like when I tell my kids that MAYBE we'll do something and then we don't and they say 'BUT YOU SAID!'" I told him I understood and I do, but you can bet that I'm going to the hospital that weekend with my baby bag and I'm not leavin' there until this baby is in my arms and not in my belly!!

A Little Too Early

Well, I guess it is true that every pregnancy is different and every baby is different and same holds true in this baby's case. I had a little bit of preterm labor yesterday! We went to the Defeat of Jesse James Days parade here in Northfield and apparently all the bands, sirens, fake gunshots and cowboy princesses made this baby want to come out in a bad way (probably to tell me to get he or she out of there!) I started having contractions at the parade but wasn't too concerned about them since I've been having them here and there for the last 3-4 weeks. However, when I got home I laid down to rest and they were five minutes apart. Then four minutes apart and getting stronger. They weren't really super strong contractions - definately not the "GET ME MY EPIDURAL NOW" kind, but they were noticeable and more than just the tightening of my uterus. I called my doctor and away to the hospital we went. The 35 minute car ride was filled with contractions that were 2 minutes apart. At the hospital I was monitored and then given two shots of Terbutaline to stop the contractions and it worked! Yay!! I am 35 weeks along now, so it's a little too early for the baby to make his or her grand entrance if it can be helped. So, we'll let the baby bake for a couple more weeks before we go through that again!!!! Hopefully!!!

I was so grateful for the support that I had and so thankful for all the wonderful people I'm surrounded by, especially in a moment of quick action. Brian was so great and although I'm sure he was freaking out a little on the inside he was solid as a rock. He questioned whether we should go to the Northfield hospital instead of Woodwinds up in Woodbury and I told him that we were fine until my water broke and that I really didn't think the baby was coming today. He just stated that he did not want to make his OB debut in our car! Can't blame him there! My parents were up here for the parade and they totally took care of the kids with supper and bedtime, which was such a relief. AND they had to drive home last night after we got home so they could both work this morning - thank you Mom and Dad!! And our neighbors came over just as we were going to leave to say a prayer with us that everything would be alright. That was very special to us and we are so grateful to live next door to such incredibly kind-hearted and caring people. They also had Lauren over for supper last night and she played over at their house for the entire evening. Thanks so much Brenton and Stephanie!

Since I did not go into labor on my own with either Lauren or Josh, this was a brand new experience for both Brian and I. I didn't even have a contraction with Lauren until I was induced!

It is definately true that each baby brings a new adventure!

Our Wisconsin Boy

Our little Joshua is growing so fast! His language has just exploded lately and he's aware of so many things, mainly things his sister either shows him or does herself. He's into numbers right now and holds up two fingers together (his pointer and middle) and waits for acknowledgement that he is counting for us. Lauren is trying her best to teach him one thru five : )

Something else that we discovered about Joshua is that he likes saurkraut!!!! We have been having a lot of brats with saurkraut and I decided to give him a little to try. He inhaled it! This boy has true Wisconsin blood running through him!

And, of course, what would a Saturday afternoon be without Badger football?

Although Josh loves his boy things (trucks, balls, burping, making LOUD noises, dirt, motorcycles, and so on), he had developed a little bit of a fondness for princesses.....

Notice the lovely crown on his beautiful baby boy head in the picture above and the nice "glass slipper" on his foot in the picture on the right! He cracks us up!

So, here is to our sweet Joshy. I hope he knows that no matter how old he gets he will ALWAYS be my "Joshy"!!