Bed Rest - Days 30 & 31

Saturday, 30th

I was able to sleep in today, fortunately. The contractors didn't come today to work, but are coming tomorrow instead (Sunday). So I slept in until 10am. I had plans to go out and get some things today, such as going to Walmart and doing some food shopping, but then I started feeling like sick. I was light-headed, nauseous, and had a lot of pressure down low. So I decided it would be best to stay home, and not risk passing out in public. So on the couch is where I stayed.

I eventually started feeling better, and made my way upstairs to make myself some lunch, since our stove is covered in stuff. I then relaxed a little bit more, and made my way down to the pool. I love being in the pool, because I feel weight-less, and don't feel pregnant. It's amazing what water can do. I spent about an hour in the pool, and it was lovely. Although I didn't go out and do some errands, I did want to do something. So I did a couple of loads of laundry, and washed some dishes.

Sunday, 31st

Today was a busy day! We got up at 8am, and the contractors came to put in half a days work at 9am. They wanted to put a second coat of mud on the walls, install the door knobs, and trim around the doors. Matt and I had plans to go out and get some things, so we left about 10am, and didn't get home until around 4! We went to Burlington Coat Factory (Baby Depot of course!), JC Penny, ate some lunch, and then went to Lowe's to get our paint.

We spent about $100 at BCP, but we got so much stuff! We were originally looking for a Newborn size take-home outfit, but weren't able to find one. But we got a bunch of cute outfits in 6 month sizes, and they were all much cheaper than the original price. We found out that we should have bought most of Cael's clothes there, instead of Babies 'R Us. The discounted prices were much cheaper, and they have all the same things. Oh well, you live and you learn.

We also hit amazing clearance sales at JCP - we got onesies for $2.99 each! How could you resist that!? And we also found our NB take-home outfit...for $4.99! It isn't a 3 piece layette set like I originally wanted, but instead a romper. I ended up asking my friend Lindsay what she brought Liam home in (because I was originally thinking about a onesie set with either shorts or pants), and she said a snap-up onesie, because of his belly button stump. I didn't even think of the stump, so I figured we'd get a romper-type outfit as well.

We got our border in mail on Friday, so we were hoping to match a blue and brown from the border. Fortunately, for us, we were able to find an almost SPOT-ON matching brown and blue. We're just hoping it still matches when it's on the walls. We should be able to paint at least Cael's nursery on Tuesday - I'm so excited!

The contractors will be back tomorrow to apply the 3rd coat of mud, sand, install door knobs, install the trimming and molding around all the doors, and install the base molding in Cael's room. When we got home from our outing today, only the 2nd coat of mud was applied, and the exterior doors were sealed. I'm sure it took them longer to mud than they thought. So hopefully tomorrow, everything will be done! I can't wait!

35/35!!

•How far along?: 35 weeks, with 35 days to go!

•Current Weight: 145!!! :(

•Total weight gain: +22 from pre-pregnancy weight.

•How big is baby?: Large cantaloupe. 19-22 inches long; around 5.5 pounds.

•Movement: All.The.Time.

•Stretch marks?: On my belly button, on the skin that would be over my piercing. It's starting to turn red, and feel like it's tearing.

•Sleep?: Surprisingly, it's actually been getting better. I'm sleeping through most of the night now - with the exception of having to constantly switch what side I'm laying on because of hip pain.

•Symptoms?: Minimal heartburn (thank you Zantac!), hip pain, lower pressure, difficulty breathing, and minimally swollen fingers, toes and ankles. No cankles though, fortunately.

•Food aversions?: Not currently.

•Food cravings?: Hamburgers, cheese, pizza, pasta.

•Labor signs?: I may have possibly dropped a little? I'm not sure though. And I'm still getting occasional BH's and contractions.

•Belly button in or out?: Some in and some out, depending on where he's laying and whether or not I'm contracting.

•What I miss: Bending over, moving easily, deep breaths in, and seeing the skin below my belly button line.

•What I'm looking forward to: The construction being done early next week; and our final ultrasound on Wednesday.

•Best Moment this week: Making it to 35/35, and being told I can start to slowly increase my activities! But I'm still considered on bed rest.

•Milestone: Being 35/35!

Bed Rest - Days 28 & 29

Thursday, 28th

Four weeks of bed rest has been completed by the end of today! I can't believe it, and I'm actually quite surprised at how quickly the time has gone by. Thank you Facebook and The Bump!

Today was day 3 of construction. Although visually it didn't look like much got done by the end of the day, there truly was. All the rocking was finished, and some of the mudding was done. Also, the two closets took the longest to rock, so that took up some time. We had a weekly ob appointment, so we were gone most of the morning, and returned after lunch. When we got back, all of the above mentioned was done, as was rock repairs in Cael's nursery. There were some pretty bad areas of missing or lumpy sheet-rock on the walls, and I'm surprised they fixed them all. The walls now look like they have white chicken-pox, but I'm grateful it will all be repaired, smooth and ready to paint.

Initially, we were just going to keep the blue the same as it was on the upper part of the wall, and then just paint the lower part a shade of brown. However, Matt and I didn't think that through too well, because we forgot there was a new wall going up, as well as a door. Duh! That new wall has to be painted anyway, and that paint is from 5 years ago, and I doubt it will be any good. That is, if we still have it somewhere. I'm happy about it though, because recently I starting hinting to Matt that I wanted to repaint the whole room as opposed to only the bottom half, and choose a different color blue. Now we can, and we can pick a blue that will match the blue in the wallpaper border we ordered. Which, by the way, should be coming on Friday!

My appointment went well. It was actually the easiest, quickest and least times I've been poked in an appointment ever - type of appointment. Caels' heart rate was 130, I got my progesterone shot, and that's about all that was checked. She is happy with the progress I've made (or rather, lack of progress), and that I have so far made it to 34 weeks 5 days. Her original goal was to get me to 35 weeks, so she's happy now and more relaxed. The other midwife I see wants to get me to 36 weeks, so either or. The midwife I saw said I can slowly start to increase my activities over the next week! This is perfect, because we'll have a nursery to paint and work on by early next week.

She still doesn't want him born yet, but I think she'd be comfortable if he was, because he's not considered too early at this point. When asked about having sex/orgasms, she was a little hesitant to say yes, so I know she's still being cautious. She asked if we could wait until Sunday, in which I'll be 35 weeks 1 day, and we said of course. It's been longer than 4 weeks already (for me anyway), so what's a few more days?

Friday, 29th

Today started off with some anxiety over the construction. We figured they'd be sanding today, so that's what set me off. The idea of getting rock dust all over everything started me going. I even cried after Matt left for work. It just overwhelms me to think of how messy it's going to get, and I know rock dust stays around for a couple days, even after cleaning it up. However, it turns out that they will probably not be sanding today, but instead tomorrow. They still have to finish mudding, and let that dry completely before sanding.

So that's what they've been working on since this morning. First, they covered all the corners of rock with a metal covering that was nailed on. I always wondered how they got smooth corners. That took about an hour to do, because there were a lot of corners. Then they started on mudding. It's coming along very nicely, and finishes off the edges nicely, so you can get an idea of what it will really look like without the visible screws and raw edges. Once they are done with the mudding, it will probably be around lunch time, so they'll take a break.

Once back from lunch, the mud will probably still be wet, so I hope they'll start working on the exterior doors. They're both crooked and hung wrong, and one doesn't even latch closed, so it will be nice to have working outside doors for a change.

Other than that, that's all going on today. I want to go to Babies R' Us to get some diapers, because they're having a sale on Pampers, and some other stuff we still need for the nursery, but I'll probably stay home. I woke up sore and tired this morning, so I think I'll just stay put on the couch today. Matt's computer plays BluRay movies, so maybe I'll finally get around to watching the last Shrek movie. I think Matt got it for me for Christmas, and it's still in the plastic wrapper.

I also should really write my last Thank You note to my sister-in-law, who threw my shower. I know, I know. Talk about procrastination. I saved hers for last, because it's on a different card, and it's going to take me longer to write. I should really make myself write that card before I do anything else, so that I can mail it tomorrow morning. I don't know why I've waited so long - I have no reason. My other Thank You's went out about 3 weeks ago! I've got to get on top of it, and just finish it so it's done.

I'll leave you with a picture of a face that Matt had to draw on my belly. It's kind of cute, really. He used my semi-sticking out belly button for a nose. And here is a video of Cael moving around.

Bed Rest - Days 26 & 27

It has been quite an eventful couple of days. Yesterday was day 1 of construction. Yippeeee!!! I'm so happy and excited to see the progress right before my eyes. It's literally right in front of me, because our couch is out in the new living room, which is where I've plopped myself, and where most of the renovations are happening. It's noisy and a little dusty, but not too bad. I've been just occupying myself with Facebook and The Bump.

Yesterday, the contractors did a lot. Actually, a lot more than I think was in the original plan. As it turns out, the morons who built this house liked to cut corners..with everything. Therefore, what I originally thought was going to be "put a stud here, and hang all the drywall there", turned into "we have to take these electrical outlets and switches apart, and re-wire everything because it's not done properly". Great. All I could see were dollar signs flashing before my eyes.

Our original estimate was about $2500, which then turned into about $3000 when we turned around, and asked them to finish sheet-rocking the "particle board" wall. We figured Matt wouldn't be able to get around to it anytime soon, and the contractors might as well do it while they're here and doing everything else. HOWEVER, now that most of the time has been spent on electrical work and wiring, I'm terrified to know what the final cost is going to be. There really isn't expensive electrical parts to buy, but it's rather the labor. And trust me, from what I've seen, it's very frustrating and labor-intensive. Especially when the wiring is majorly fvcked up to begin with.

Just to give you an idea, some outlets/switches are double wired, neutral wires are live and giving shocks, and (my favorite) an outlet in the living room somehow was connected/circuited to an outlet across the room, by Matt's dad's computer, which ran the cable router for the internet. They were trying to figure out where the second circuit went to, so they un-wired it, and nothing in our apartment or living room went out. So we figured it went to God-knows-where upstairs. Well, as it turns out, we went to use our lap top, and the internet wasn't working. Matt checked over by the router, and everything was out. BINGO - at least we didn't have to go searching for where it was connected to. Now, I have no idea how this stuff works, or what should be normally done, but by listening to them talk among themselves, it doesn't sound good or done right.

Within the first few hours of being here, they had all the framing done - for both walls, and the two closets in the living room. It was when they got to the closets that they were spending the most time. Although it was already framed, most of the beams had to be replaced. And then there was the outlets and switches. I think once they got there, they realized that all the wiring was going to be a problem. Long story short, from about before lunch time to when they were ready to leave at 4:30pm, they spent all that time on electrical-related stuff. The wiring and electrical in this house, or at least in the extension (which is our apartment and new living room) is extremely done wrong, and it's kind of scary. I'm glad we are having a professional fix everything, because it will at least be a little safer, and done correctly. Even if it does cost more money.

That brings us to this morning. They got here right around 7 am, and have been working on...yup, you guessed it...electrical stuff. However, before they can start sheet-rocking what they've framed, they have to have all the wiring done properly in the wall. They are adding a new outlet and cable wire hook-up for us in the living room, as well as dropping all the outlets they can. For some reason, most of the outlets are up higher, like belly-high. So where ever they can, they're bringing them to the floor where they should be. I'm assuming when they're done with all the wiring (hopefully by lunch), that they'll start sheet-rocking, and everything will start to take shape.

I had my breastfeeding class last night. It was ok. I took Laureen with me, because Matt had to stay back while the contractors were finishing up for the day. I felt like I knew most of the stuff already. It turned out to be a 3 hour class (was supposed to be 2.5 hours), and we only got one break the entire time. It was extremely uncomfortable, as we had hard, plastic chairs to sit in. So basically, I felt like it was a waste of time. It started at 6pm, and we didn't get out until 9pm, and then I had to drive all the way home - the hour and fifteen minutes. By the end of the class, I was tired, cranky, and in a rotten mood. We didn't get home until about 10:30pm, and Matt was already in bed. It was a long night.

I plan on updating with pictures of the renovation progress as soon as it's all done. I'm just really looking forward to having everything finished so we can move all our furniture back to normal, and set up Cael's nursery. Just a couple more days.

:::I love you Baby Cael:::

Bed Rest - Days 24 & 25

Bed rest? What bed rest. ::::shhhh..don't tell my midwife:::: I hardly feel rested after these last few days. Yesterday, we (well, Matt) spent the entire day moving furniture out of the new living room (which consisted of all the baby stuff we got, as well as some things that belonged to his parents), and moving all our living room furniture out of our old living room and into the "new" one. The contractor is starting tomorrow at 7:00am with the construction, so we needed the living room empty - he's starting on Cael's room first by building the wall. Once he's done with that, he'll probably start working on the wall between the kitchen and new living room, making an archway where the apartment door is. Then he'll probably finish by building the wall to close off the living room from the rest of the house, and sheet-rocking the two closets.

Matt did so much work yesterday, and moved and cleaned so much - I'm so thankful. We currently don't have a functioning living room, but that's ok - it will only be for a few days. We have our bedroom, lap top and Netflix, so we are set :). Today, my job was to clean the bathroom because the contractor is also replacing our bathroom faucet for us - something we didn't think he would do. I'll be brutally and disgustingly honest - I have not given our bathroom a full cleaning...well, ever I think. Right now, it's probably cleaner than it was when we first moved in. :::cowers in embarrassment:::

I also have to do the dishes, which I will start in a little bit, because cleaning the bathroom took me 2 hours, and I was on my hands and knees (so much for bed rest, huh?). Luckily, I didn't start having contractions or anything, so that is good. We also have to kind of clean up and organize the remaining "junk" we have in Cael's soon-to-be-nursery, because it's not entirely empty. It's amazing how much crap 2 people can accumulate! Needless to say, it was quite dusty, and I'm paying for it now with my allergies. They're absolutely horrendous!

Tomorrow I have my breastfeeding class, so I'm excited about that. I believe Laureen will be coming with me, so it should be a good time. I'm looking forward to it, because I really want to be successful at breastfeeding.

Well, it's getting later in the day (currently 4:20), and I have some more things I want to get done before Matt gets home, related to cleaning. I will update tomorrow.

:::I can't wait to organize your nursery!:::

Bed Rest - Day 23

:::Hee-hee-hee-huuu::: Yup, that's right! We had our all-day birthing class today, and it was much more informative than I thought it would be. I was afraid it would focus on medicated birth and c-sections. But instead, there was a lot on natural relaxation techniques and breathing, geared towards a medication-free labor and delivery. It made for a long day, but I think it was totally worth it. We were there from 9-5pm! Needless to say, today wasn't really a "bed rest" type of day.

After the class, we had to run to Lowe's. We needed to get a new faucet for the bathroom, because the contractor said he'd replace it for us. We've been without a bathroom faucet for about 2 years now, so it will be amazing to have running water in the bathroom sink! We were surprised when the contractor said that he would replace it for us, because we didn't expect it. Hey, less for us to do! I ended up taking a Brethine right after the class, because we knew we'd be walking around a lot, and I was already feeling uncomfortable from being out all day.

We also picked out a bunch of paint ideas for the kitchen and new living room wall. Now we just have to narrow them down. We're going to wait to pick the shade of brown for Cael's nursery (bottom part of the wall will be brown, upper will remain blue) until we have the border picked out. I'm just so happy things are moving along. We'll have so much more room by next weekend!

We have a lot to do tomorrow too. We're going to wake up early to get an early start, and we'll probably be moving and organizing things all day so that the contractor has room to work. For starters, we have to move everything that's in the new living room out. That includes all of the baby stuff, and even all the stuff we got for our wedding 2 years ago. Yes, that's right. We haven't used any of our wedding gifts yet. But now we will :). Everything needs to be moved from the new living room to either Matt's parents' living room next door, or upstairs and out of the way.

Then we need to move everything from the old living room out (which will be Cael's room), and into the new living room. The contractor will be putting up the wall for the nursery first, so we have to make sure that all of the big stuff (couch, tv, tv stand) is out so we don't have to worry about fitting it through a narrow door. Come next week, when that wall is done between the nursery and kitchen, we will move all of the nursery stuff into the nursery to get that out of the way. Then when the wall is done for the new living room, we will move everything back into there. It's confusing, but all should take only about 3 days. I'm so excited!

:::Keep growing strong, Cael!:::

34 Weeks!

•How far along?: 34 weeks, and still pregnant!

•Current Weight: 139.

•Total weight gain: +16 from pre-pregnancy weight.

•How big is baby?: Honeydew; 5 pounds 3 ounces, as of yesterday; and the 63rd percentile.

•Movement: All.The.Time.

•Stretch marks?: I swear I see a small one right above my belly button, between my belly button and piercing hole. But Matt says I'm crazy, that there is nothing there.

•Sleep?: The last 2 nights, I actually slept through the night! I took a Zantac 150 before going to bed both nights, so I'm thinking that's helping.

•Symptoms?: Same as last week - uncomfortable belly, BH's, contractions, peeing all the time, and massive heartburn.

•Food aversions?: Not currently.

•Food cravings?: Hamburgers, cheese, pizza.

•Labor signs?: Eh. I've had a few contractions here and there. I had to take my Brethine today though.

•Belly button in or out?: Remaining even with my belly. I don't think it will pop out.

•What I miss: Bending over and moving easily.

•What I'm looking forward to: Construction starting on Tuesday!! We'll have a nursery by next weekend!!

•Best Moment this week: Finding out my cervix is still stable at 2 cm.

•Milestone: Being 34 weeks!

Bed Rest - Day 22

So today was a good day. This is probably because I slept through the entire night last night - something that hasn't happened in a long time. I decided to give in, and take a Zantac 150 before I went to bed, hoping it would work. I stopped it a few months ago because it wasn't helping anymore, so I figured why keep taking it. Well, I did not wake up once uncomfortable, or with heartburn. I slept right until 9:30 this morning, and only woke up for a minute when Matt was getting dressed for work. Definitely amazing!

I also had an appointment and ultrasound today, so I was anxious about that. I'm surprised I slept at all, actually. And everything looks PERFECT! My cervix is stable at 2 cm, and it's still closed. I am so relieved. I was fearing the worst, and was having images in my head of it being funneled and only 1 cm long. I am so happy that wasn't the case.

Cael also looked perfect..as I expected. My fluid measured 16 cm, which is great; his heart rate was 132 bpm, also great; and Cael is an estimated 5 pounds 3 ounces, and in the 63rd percentile still. Absolutely beautiful. He's also still on my right side, which is probably why I'm so uncomfortable. With him being on my right side completely, it pushes up on my liver - squishing that - which then pushes up into my lungs. Definitely a reason to be uncomfortable.

Because of my progesterone shot being due on Tuesday, they made my next appointment on Tuesday. However, I think it's dumb for me to go in on Tuesday, because then only 4 days have gone by since my last appointment. Plus, I liked my Thursday/Friday appointments, because Matt could go to the ones on Thursday at least. So I plan on calling the office on Monday and asking if the shot has to be given every 7 days, or if it can be 9 days for just this one time. If it can, then I'm going to reschedule my appointment to Thursday, and do everything then. If not, I'll have to figure out what to do.

We have our breastfeeding class at 6pm on Tuesday, and my appointment is at 2:45. That's a long time to wait between the two. Plus, Matt can't get off work that early for my appointment. So at this point, I have no idea what to do. ALSO, we have to have someone home on Tuesday evening because :::drum roll please::: construction starts on Tuesday!!!

I'm so excited. I thought it would never start! So we'll have a nursery to start setting up next weekend!! So I'm thinking of having Matt's mom come with me to the breastfeeding class (Matt would love that, since he doesn't want to go), and Matt can still leave early and come home for the construction. In the end, a 2:45 appointment just won't work on Tuesday.

We have our all day birthing class tomorrow, from 9-5:30. It's going to be a long day day, but well worth it. We're then going to go to Lowe's after, and buy paint for the new living room and kitchen. We have to pick out a border for the Cael's nursery before we pick out a shade of brown to paint the bottom part of the wall, so that can wait until Monday. I'm just so excited! It's going to be a busy next week couple of weeks. Hopefully Cael decides to stay put until at least the nursery is done.

:::You're looking perfect, baby:::

Bed Rest - Day 20 & 21

I'm miserable. Let me start there. I'm still not sleeping well at night; I'm uncomfortable; I have heart-burn all the time; I'm emotional and can't seem to put a finger on why; I feel like a hippo; I feel completely useless; etc.

Let's talk about yesterday, shall we?

It was an ok day. I mostly lounged on the couch, and was on Facebook and The Bump most of the time. Matt came home from work early, around 1:45, so I was thrilled and really happy about that. We relaxed on the couch, and I decided to whip out "Heading Home With Your Newborn", a book that my OB office gave me at my first OB visit. The first chapter was about breastfeeding, and quite honestly, it overwhelmed me. So I put the book down, and tried to relax on the couch.

I was growing increasing uncomfortable. No matter how I laid or moved, it hurt. Cael is sticking his butt up higher in my chest, and it just hurts at this point. So I just broke down and started crying. Actually, thinking about my crying bout yesterday makes me want to cry right now. Matt said something along the lines of "I'm just going to let you cry it out." And he did for a few minutes, until he realized how miserable I was, and I wasn't stopping. He put the computer down, and wedged himself closer to me on the couch. He started rubbing my legs and feet, and rested his head on my thigh, and just looked at me helplessly. I could tell he didn't know what to do or say to make me feel better.

He asked me what was bothering me, and I honestly couldn't tell him. I don't know what's bothering me. Hormones maybe? Being overwhelmed, being uncomfortable, or maybe just feeling done. He asked if I wanted to go lay down in the bedroom, and I figured it couldn't hurt to move and change positions. We cuddled, he consoled me, and I ended up falling asleep. I woke up about 2.5 hours later. I got up, and made my way to the couch again. We then ordered pizza, and spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Around 9:45 or so, I started having contractions, and they were really uncomfortable. I used my contraction timer app on my phone, and they ended up being 4-5 minutes apart. Wonderful. I had only experienced a handful of contractions each day over the last few days, so I guess I couldn't really complain. I took a Brethine, and waited for it to take effect. Around 10 or 10:15 we got into bed, and and that point, I was feeling the side effects of the Brethine. And I felt like crap. But my contractions stopped, so I guess I could deal with it.

I was having heart palpitations, felt anxious (great, just what I needed), and felt like I was shaking uncontrollably, even though I wasn't. Matt encouraged me to "breathe it out", so I focused on my breathing. I think I finally fell asleep around 11 or so, which was well after Matt had fallen asleep.

I woke up at 4:30am this morning, used the bathroom, got back into bed, and couldn't get comfortable. I guess I shouldn't really complain, because I don't remember waking up between when I initially fell asleep and 4:30am. No matter how I laid, I couldn't get comfortable. And then there was Matt's snoring. Which, by the way, needs to stop before this baby gets here. At about that same time, the horrible heartburn started, and wasn't letting up.

I got back up, took 2 Tums 1000, and climbed back into bed. It helped for a little while - maybe 3o minutes - and then the heartburn returned. I propped my pillows and Snoogle up so that I was pretty much sitting up. Being like that felt 'ok', and I tried to fall asleep. The heartburn hurt so bad, and I was so thirsty, but I knew if I drank water, it would make it worse. So I got back up, and drank some Coke. I figured it was the only thing that wouldn't give me heartburn, and if anything, would maybe help me burp some of it up.

So I got back into bed - in my sitting-up position - and actually dozed off for maybe a half hour. But I was woken up by Matt's snoring. Once I was awake then, I didn't fall back to sleep until about 7:15. I played on my phone for that whole time. One good thing is that I figured out how to get rid of the "Application Data Space Is Low..." message that has been on my phone for the last few weeks. Yay. Before I knew it, it was 6:45 and Matt's alarm was going off. At this point, I still had heartburn. And oddly enough, I was having hunger pains for about an hour. I was trying to figure out if I should get up and eat something, but I decided not to.

So Matt was up and dressed, and I asked him to bring me bread on a plate. I was hoping that it wouldn't make my heartburn worse. I helped my hunger pains, and since I was already sitting up, I figured it would be ok if I fell asleep. I finally nodded off, and didn't wake up until 9:30 this morning.

I refused to get out of bed until after 10, and I didn't.

I was excited for today, because I had an appointment to get a manicure and pedicure at 1:30. I showered, and then laid around until it was time to leave. I got my mani/pedi, and then came home, which is where I'm at right now. But my gosh, is it hot out!! The thermometer said 97 degrees. I felt miserable while I was out, but it was worth the mani/pedi. Matt should be getting home within the next 45 minutes or so. Maybe I can convince him to go into the pool with me. As hot as it is out, floating in the pool will make all the pressure and discomfort go away. We'll see.

I have an ultrasound and appointment tomorrow at 1:30. I'm getting anxious for the ultrasound, as my cervix hasn't been checked in 2 weeks, so I have no idea what to expect. I just hope it's not a lot shorter. I have to go by myself to this appointment, as Matt can't get off work. His mom can't go either. I don't mind going by myself, but I'd rather have someone there with me. But oh well.

I'm going to leave it off here, as I think I want to lay down for a little while before Matt gets home. I'm just not feeling well, between the pressure and horrible taste in my mouth.

:::I can't wait for you to be an outside baby. I want to hold you so bad:::

Bed Rest - Day 19

Let me start off by saying that I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night. And it was a very long day. I woke up at 2:30am to pee, which is no biggie. But when I laid down to fall back to sleep, Cael had the hiccups. This must have irritated him, because then he moved non-stop for about an hour to an hour and a half. That brought us to about 4am. Finally, when he calmed down, I wasn't tired anymore. How wonderful. So to try and pass the time, and make myself tired again, I Bumped from my phone for a while. That took me until about 5:30am, when I put the phone down and tried to fall asleep. I think I finally fell asleep when Matt woke up at 6am to go to the bathroom himself. Luckily, at that point, I was tired enough to fall back to sleep.

I was hoping that I wouldn't have trouble sleeping, because I had to get up early to go to my MW's office for my first Progesterone shot. My progesterone was delivered yesterday afternoon, so I didn't have enough time to get to the office. So I woke up at 9:10, and was out the door at 9:30, feeling "eh". I got to the office, waited only 10 minutes, and was given my first shot in my right butt cheek.

I really thought that it was going to hurt, because it's a thicker, oily consistency. However, the only thing I felt was the sting of the needle. I didn't feel the medicine at all, which I was happy about, considering I have to have these every week.

I then headed home, to finish folding and storing all the baby clothes we got. Matt came home with a box and garbage bag filled with baby clothes from a co-worker. We sorted through them last night, and I washed what we were keeping - twice. We needed larger space bags, because there just wasn't enough room in the medium sized ones we go, so I stopped at Walmart on my way home from the doctor.

By the time I got home, I really didn't feel like doing anything. So I relaxed on the couch, and Matt came home from work early. I was really uncomfortable all day with a lot of pressure, so I figured a dip in the pool would help. And it did! I didn't feel pregnant at all while in the pool, and it completely relieved my pressure and discomfort. We floated around for a while, and as soon as I stepped foot on the ladder to get out, and my belly was above water, the discomfort came back. The pool is absolutely amazing!

We came back in, and I finally finished storing the baby clothes by size in the Space Saver bags. I feel accomplished, yet exhausted. I may have done too much today, although I didn't have many contractions. So that is why I'm relaxing ALL DAY tomorrow, and not doing anything.

Bed Rest - Days 16, 17 & 18

Saturday was a pretty good day. However, I didn't get much sleep at all the night before. I was up every hour pretty much, just uncomfortable. And Matt's snoring didn't help either. It was also a very emotional day for some reason - I just couldn't stop crying for whatever reason. I was in bed at about 10pm Friday night, but pretty much cried myself to sleep. And poor Matt couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.

Saturday was also a very exciting day. At about 5am Saturday morning, I get a text from my best friend Lindsay that she was on her way to the hospital. Her water broke at about 4:30am. I was so excited, and then couldn't sleep much after that. I finally fell back asleep at about 7am, when Matt was on his way to work, and was up at 9 am.

At the same time, Matt's sister-in-law, also Lindsey, was also at the hospital at 6am for her induction. So we had two people we know and are close with in labor at the same time. It was pretty crazy and exciting. Matt was at work, so I was in charge of updating him. Long story short, Lindsay was ready to push at around 6pm, and Liam was born at 7:19pm, weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces. The other Lindsey, however, wasn't as lucky with a quick labor. She ended up in labor for about 22 hours or so, and needed a C-Section. Briley was born at 5:14am, weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces. They are both so adorable, and I cried when I saw pictures (darn hormones).

Sunday was pretty much just as exciting, but not nearly as relaxing for me. We were supposed to have our Birthing Center Tour at 4pm, but Matt and I just didn't feel like driving the hour and 15 minutes one way. We just didn't. So I called and rescheduled it to August 11th. Let's hope Cael isn't here by then!

So we spent the day together, pretty much out of the house. We went to the hospital to visit Lindsey, Brian and Briley. She is just so adorable, and so tiny! Surprisingly though, I was so nervous to hold and handle her. I didn't want to drop or hurt her. But holding and seeing her made me so excited and anxious to have Cael in my arms.

When we left the hospital, we made a plan to go to Babies 'R' Us. I think some of my anxiety came from not having everything we needed for Cael (despite not having a nursery to set everything up in). We got a lot of great and awesome stuff at my shower, but surprisingly, we didn't get a lot of the "little" stuff we needed in the nursery. We didn't get crib sheets, a changing pad, changing pad cover, plain white onesies, socks, mittens, hamper, Dreft detergent etc. So I had a slew of coupons, and a bunch of gift cards from our shower, and we headed to BRU to get what we needed. After coupons, we spent about $250 - $50 of which was out of pocket. Not bad for the cart full of stuff we bought. We then headed to Target (which I also had gift cards for) so that I could get my breast pump. After getting white onesies, socks, mittens and my breast pump, we only spent $1.76 after gift cards. Not too bad. And I felt a lot better after getting everything.

Monday (today) is going to be a much more relaxing day. Meaning, I'm not going to go out anywhere. I need to relax after yesterday. However, since we now have Dreft, I plan on going through all of the clothes we have for Cael (while on the couch), and sorting them. I'm also going to wash some of the newborn and 0-3m clothes we got. We got Space Saver bags yesterday so I could do just that. Matt knows I'm going crazy not being able nest because we don't have a nursery yet. So it was his idea to get the SS bags, so that I could do something. Plus, how can you not have fun sorting through baby clothes!?

Speaking of construction, the contractor said that he would start the last week of July. That's quickly approaching, and we haven't heard anything from the contractor. Matt figures that he would show up, and just tell Matt when he would start - probably within a week. So if Matt doesn't hear anything by the 25th - next Monday - then he'll contact him. He doesn't want to contact him ahead of that, because the contractor is actually doing us a favor. He has a waiting list about a year long, and the only reason he's doing this for us "so soon" is because he's friends with Jeff, who Matt works with.

I'm growing increasingly uncomfortable. It's getting harder and harder to move, roll over in bed, get off the couch, get in and out of vehicles..should I go on? And I'm only 33 weeks. I still have several weeks to go, and a lot more to grow. I can't imagine. I'll just have to take it day by day. I'm still having contractions, but not nearly as many or as frequently, as I was having in weeks past. So that's a good thing. We'll have to see on Friday how my cervix looks.

:::I love you much already:::

33 Weeks!

•How far along?: 33 weeks! Just a little longer!

•Current Weight: 139.

•Total weight gain: +16 from pre-pregnancy weight.

•How big is baby?: Honeydew; 19-20 inches long, and about 5 pounds! We'll know more accurately next Friday.

•Movement: All.The.Time. He moves so much, it makes me nauseous and queasy.

•Stretch marks?: Zippo!

•Sleep?: Sleep? What sleep?

•Symptoms?: Uncomfortable belly, BH's, contractions, peeing all the time, and massive heartburn.

•Food aversions?: Not currently.

•Food cravings?: Cheese, pasta, pizza, hamburgers.

•Labor signs?: They're under control at this point.

•Belly button in or out?: Remaining even with my belly. I don't think it will pop out.

•What I miss: Moving around easily, not having heartburn.

•What I'm looking forward to: Seeing how much Cael has grown next Friday.

•Best Moment this week: Finding out my FFN was negative.

•Milestone: Getting to 33 weeks! Keep baking!

Bed Rest - Day 15

Today was a good day. However, I was really uncomfortable last night, and had a hard time sleeping. My belly was painful and uncomfortable, and I started feeling just "blah". I'm thinking I'm going to have to resort to sleeping in the recliner soon. For most of the day today, too, I've been uncomfortable. Some weird stretching pains throughout my belly, I guess. Or I hope.

But I was productive today, I must brag! I started and finished Cael's letter's for the wall in his nursery. I absolutely LOVE how they came out. I got the idea from a fellow Bumpie on The Bump. She did her letters in a similar way, and I got the instructions from her. You simply use any scrapbook paper you want, trace the letters on the paper, cut them out, and then use Mod Podge glue to glue the cut-out paper to the wooden letters. Wait for it to dry, and then apply another coat of Mod Podge to seal it. Wait again for it to dry, and then apply one last coat to finish it off, and let dry completely.

The only thing left is to get brown/blue ribbon to match, so that we can hang the letters on the wall. But we still need a nursery to do that :) Hopefully soon.

Here are the letters from start to finish:

I now want to try and find other projects that I can do. I'm excited. I've never done anything like this before, and I am not crafty AT ALL. But I feel I did a really good job on these letters, and want to see if there is anything else I can pull off. :)

In other news, Cael has been moving around like CRAZY! He's constantly pushing his feet into my upper left belly, and likes sticking his butt out. It's really uncomfortable at this point, but I still love feeling him move and poke at me.

:::I hope you like the letters for your nursery, Cael:::

Bed Rest - Day 14; And An Appointment Update

Everything went well at my appointment today. I already got the results of my FFN test..and it was NEGATIVE! So that is good news. But let me tell you, the speculum and swabbing hurt really bad. Maybe because Matt and I haven't been able to have sex for a while. I'm still on modified bed rest, which I expected.

My midwife brought up a recent study of how Progesterone shots may hold off pre-term labor, so she suggested starting them as soon as possible. I had to order the Progesterone over the phone through an outside pharmacy, and when it gets delivered to me (Monday the latest), I bring it in to my office and they administer the shot.

The progesterone (enough for 10 injections) cost me $126 plus shipping, but I'll get reimbursement forms with it, so I can submit it to my insurance company. So hopefully they'll reimburse me for it. I'm guessing I'll get one shot a week until I reach 36 weeks. At that point, my MW said they'll let me be, and if he comes, that's fine at that point. My next appointment is next Friday, in which they'll do a cervical ultrasound to check the length.

Being out since 9:30 this morning, and just getting home at around 4pm caused me to start having contractions regularly, so I just had to take a Brethine pill to stop them. Luckily, it worked, and I haven't had a contraction in some time now. I am now on the couch resting, where I will be for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

I did get my first "Wow, you're going to have a big baby" comment today. We went out to get some food after my appointment, and our waitress asked me how much longer I had to go. I told her two months left, to which she replied the previously quoted statement. I thought to myself, "Do I really look that big??" I asked Matt, and he said that he's told me recently that I'm getting big. Well gosh, that didn't do much to help my self-esteem. But that's ok. I didn't bother explaining to her that Cael will probably be here sooner than 2 months :).

:::Keep baking Cael. Just a few more weeks longer!:::

Bed Rest - Day 13

So today was one of those days where I did nothing. I got up, got dressed (yes, that includes putting a bra on), and plopped myself on the couch with my pillow and Snoogle pillow. I guess because I did "so much" yesterday, I wanted to take it easy today. Plus, I was feeling lazy - is that even possible being on bed rest?!

I do have to admit though, and Matt will probably be livid with me when he gets home, that I just finished doing 10 minutes worth of dishes. I don't think that's too straining, and it has been driving me nuts not being able to do anything. Plus, as much as Matt has been doing, the dishes were piling up. I feel somewhat accomplished now, though.

My OB office called me this morning, asking me questions regarding my disability paperwork. I'm glad they got it, and actually surprised they were working on it so quickly. The lady said that she should have it done by hopefully tomorrow, and then will forward it to my HR department. Along the same note, I woke up this morning with the most random thought. On the paperwork I filled out, and mailed to HR yesterday, I remember putting that I was 26 under an area asking for my age. I'm NOT 26, I'm 25. What was I thinking?? Is my brain really not functioning that well? Why would I think I was 26? I can ask and wonder forever, but the point is that I have to call my contact person tomorrow, and tell her that I mistakenly put my wrong age on the paperwork I mailed to her. How embarrassing is that? Geez.

Tomorrow is my weekly OB appointment. They'll be doing the FFN test, as well as everything else that is part of my routine visits. I was thinking about asking if she could check my cervix to see if I'm dilated at all. I know you're not supposed to go in a pool or take a bath if you're dilated, and I don't want to have to worry about that. I don't know if she will check it this early, but it's worth asking about.

Other than that, nothing else new is going on. I watched the last part of the USA v. France women's soccer game, in which the USA won! I've been flipping between channels and the Japan v. Sweden game, but it's really not as interesting as the USA game was. But currently, if Sweden can't score 2 more goals in 15 minutes, it looks like it will be Japan and the USA in the finals.

I'll leave you with a picture of my cute Tyson, taking over my Snoogle pillow and part of the couch today. I guess I should get ready to not have personal space anymore, huh? And also, here are two pictures from today's HDBD on The Bump that I feel like sharing :)

:::I don't know what else to say, but that I love you so much already:::

Bed Rest - Day 10, 11 & 12

So it's been a while since I posted any updates here. Well, a while considering I'm home all day now. In general, I'm feeling ok. I honestly think I'm starting to do too much out of boredom. Meaning, getting up and walking around too much. But hopefully that will stop, because I had a bunch of things I had to get done - repair paperwork (for my Jeep), disability paperwork, etc - that I needed to complete and fax out. That's all done for the most part now, so I've been trying to remain conscience about how much I'm doing every day. Other than that, I'm still having lower pelvic twinges (today is my last day of being on Cipro..hmm), and contractions, but nothing consistent.

Sunday was a pretty good day. Matt took apart the back of the dryer to clean it out. For the longest time, it took about 2 cycles through the dryer to fully dry the clothes. We've been meaning to take off the back, and clean out all the built up lint for a while now, but never got around to it. Saturday, I brought up how I'll have to start washing Cael's clothes soon, so Matt took the hint. I helped him with that (and I probably shouldn't have), but I didn't do too much. He took off the back of the dryer, and was on the floor vacuuming everything out. I just held the garbage bag, and cleaned out the vacuum canister when it got too full. I felt I needed to do something. Needless to say, the dryer works much better now!

Later in the afternoon, Matt's brother and sister-in-law came by for a visit. She's 6 weeks ahead of me, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of their little girl Briley. If she doesn't go into labor on her own this week, she'll be induced on Saturday. It's so exciting! She will be Matt's first niece, and I can't wait to have a baby around to prepare me :). We had BBQ for dinner, and then later the whole family made S'mores outside. It was an action-packed day (for me, anyway), and I definitely felt it.

Monday was eventful as well. I got up at around 9:30 (I'm sleeping later, because I either can't fall asleep at night, or I'm up at all hours of the night), finished my Thank You notes (woohoo!! Finally!), put stamps on them, filled out my disability paperwork (that in itself was stressful enough to put me into PTL!), and then went to Matt's work to utilize his fax machine.

I thought I had to have my supervisor fill out a part of the paperwork, so I faxed it to her at work, and waited for her to fax it back. While I was waiting, I went to the post office (mind you, Matt's work is literally a minute away, and the PO is only 5 minutes away) to mail my Elfster gift, and pick up stamps for the Thank You notes. After a 15 minute wait at the PO, I went back to Matt's work. There was nothing faxed back. At this point, I was exhausted (it was only about 11:30am), so I decided to just go home, and wait for Matt to tell me I got the form back.

I was waiting because after I got that form back, I needed to fax that and 5 additional pages to my OB's office for them to fill out their part. The sooner I get this disability paperwork processed, the sooner I'll start receiving my disability payments. My last paycheck will be this Thursday, and that one will only be half of what I normally get. The disability paperwork was a real hassle to fill out, so I'm happy it's done at this point.

That brings me to about 2:50pm. I'm on the couch, getting ready to blog while watching a show on MTV, and the power just goes off. I figure it's because of the hot weather outside, so I don't think anything of it. I waited about 5 minutes, and it never came back on, so I made my way upstairs to see if Matt's parents were home to see if they could call the electric company. On my way upstairs, I slowly noticed that there is power on around me - the kitchen radio is on, lights are on, etc. I realized that only our apartment has no power.

Long story short, it turns out the electric bill for the apartment wasn't paid for 2 months, so they came and turned our power off. I won't go into the logistics, but just know that this was of no fault of ours. After calls were made to the company, and the bill paid in full, we were informed that it could take 1-3 days for the power to be turned back on! Great - I'm home on bed rest, and I have no power to my apartment.

Tuesday (today) was a much better day. I had bad heartburn last night again, but not the worst. It still kept me up though, along with the lack of background white noise. It's hard for me to fall asleep without any noise (fan, air purifier) going in the background. Otherwise, my ears pick up on every little noise and creak, and I can't fall asleep. Last night, it was the sound of Killian licking himself disgustingly right outside our bedroom door.

I had Matt mail out my Thank You notes in the morning when he left for work, so I felt accomplished with that. I then called my HR again, to double check what sections of the paperwork needed to be filled out my supervisor. Turns out, NOTHING! Duh! So I went back to Matt's work to use his fax machine, and I had him fax everything to my doctors office for them to fill out. Hopefully, it doesn't take them too long to fill everything out and get it back to my HR. I'm going to call in the morning to make sure they got all the paperwork.

After being at Matt's work for the 2nd day in a row, he yelled at me to go home and rest, like I'm supposed to be doing. Everything that needed to be faxed was faxed, so now I needed to take it easy. And that's where I've been ever since I got home. Resting on the couch, catching up on The Bump, and blogging. I'll probably go outside and relax in the pool too. Like I've said before, it feels great to float weightlessly.

On a good note, our power was restored this morning at 11:00am! I couldn't believe it. Unfortunately, I had already made a call (an embarrassing call) this morning to my OB/Gyn to hopefully have them help us get the power turned on sooner. The power company said that we could be bumped up to a higher priority to get our power back on if there was a medical need; and if a physician called to verify there was a medical need. I had to explain the whole embarrassing situation to the lady who answered the phone, and then had to wait for my MW's nurse to call me back. She didn't call me back until just a little while ago (about an hour after the power was restored), and I told her that we didn't need them to call. I guess she didn't get the message that I called and that we had power, so she didn't need to call me back. I certainly felt like a pain in the ass patient today, that's for sure.

That brings me to currently. I'm thinking I'm going to go float in the pool for a little while, just to do something. I still have to write 2 more Thank You notes out, but they're special ones to my sister-in-law and mother, who threw the shower for me. I'll either do that later tonight, or tomorrow.

I've also been thinking about how we'll set up Cael's nursery when the construction is finished. I'm getting overwhelmed with the thought of the construction finally happening. I guess we've been waiting for so long, and the idea of Cael being here early are all contributing to me becoming anxious. I just can't imagine our apartment looking nice and "finished". But it will nice to have the nursery done at least a few weeks before Cael gets here, so that I can still nest.

We'll still have so much to do after the construction is finished, and maybe that's also why I'm overwhelmed. We will need to paint both the nursery and new living room wall, as well as the new wall that will be facing the kitchen. Matt will also have to lay the new flooring down throughout the living room and into the kitchen. Not to mention build all the furniture, and set everything up. My brain is just swirling!

Finally, I must say that Cael has been constantly moving! He is doing beautifully, from what I can tell. I'm so happy he's very strong.

That's all for now. I think I've written enough :)

:::Keep growing strong, Cael:::

Bed Rest - Day 9

When I woke up this morning, I decided that I had to set up some kind of routine for myself since I'll be out for a while. So when I woke up, I moved my Snoogle and regular pillow out to the couch, as I normally do. I let the dogs out, grabbed a bowl of cereal, and plopped myself on the couch. After I was done eating, I wrote a To-Do list for myself, to keep myself in line for the day (It's so easy to just lounge on the couch with the computer, and waste the day away). It included writing out at least 10 thank you notes (yes, I managed to only write out 5. Not very good.), wash a load of Matt's work clothes, go to the post office, and go to CVS.

Since I'm allowed short, occasional visits out of the house (as long as I come right back home and relax), I decided to go to the post office. I needed to get stamps, and mail my Elfster gift out. Unfortunately, I forgot the post office closes at 12 on Saturdays, and I got there at 20 minutes after 12. The office was still open, but the window was closed. So I picked up a Flat-Rate box, and went along my way.

I was upset about the closed post office, so I figured I'd treat myself to Dunkin' Donuts - the drive-thru of course! I got a ham-egg-cheese on a bagel, a strawberry frosted doughnut, and a frozen hot chocolate. It was definitely delicious. I then came home, laid on the couch and ate my sandwich, and then packed up my Elfster gift so it would be ready for me to mail out on Monday. I told Matt yesterday that I would wash a load of his work clothes, so I put them in the washer (he was upset when he got home and saw I did that, because I'm supposed to be resting. He was thankful though).

At this point in the day, I decided I had done too much. I was starting to get irregular, yet frequent BH's, so I decided I was done moving around for the day. I set myself up on the couch, watched Harry Potter, and started writing out my thank you's. I managed to get about 90% of them done - all the ones that my guests had self-addressed are finished; I only have to do the ones for gifts that were sent. I want them done by Monday, so that when I make my quick trip back to the post office, I can mail them all out and be done with them.

Matt came home from work, and we lounged on the couch a bit more. He had a long, busy day at work. It was about 4:00 when Matt asked if I had been down to the pool at all. I hadn't been, but then wanted to. So we got into our suits, and headed down to the pool. It was still hot out, but it felt amazing to float weightlessly in the pool. I didn't have one BH while in the pool. We got out, and then relaxed in the evening sun - where I got some color :)

That brings us to now. Matt went out and got some chicken to grill on the BBQ, and he's currently working on that now. He has been truly amazing, I must say. He jokes around with me, saying "You're lazy", or "Oh, let me get that for you. I know you've had a hard day..laying around!", but I know he's just being his sarcastic self. That's just how he is; he always has been, and always will be. He means no harm by it.

Tomorrow will be another day. Another day of rest. And another day of Cael growing stronger in my belly. I am truly cherishing every moment of being pregnant, and every moment I feel him move in my belly.

:::I love you so much already. Keep growing stronger, my little Cael:::

32 Weeks!

•How far along?: 32 weeks! Keep cooking baby Cael!

•Current Weight: 137.

•Total weight gain: +14 from pre-pregnancy weight.

•How big is baby?: Head of lettuce; 18 inches long, and 4 pounds 4 ounces!

•Movement: A lot! He moves around for a good 30 minutes every morning around 9, then in the late afternoon, and again around 10pm.

•Stretch marks?: Nope!

•Sleep?: It sucks! I'm up about 2-3 times a night to pee. Last night was horrible - I couldn't fall asleep because of the worst heartburn I've had ever.

•Symptoms?: Sore, BH's, lots of discharge.

•Food aversions?: Not currently.

•Food cravings?: Cheese, pasta, pizza, hamburgers.

•Labor signs?: So far they're still at bay. I'm still getting contractions, but they're inconsistent. My cervix is still measuring short (effaced) at between 1.7-2.0 cm.

•Belly button in or out?: It's even with my belly, but whenever Cael moves, it starts to "suck" back in a little.

•What I miss: Moving around easily, not having heartburn.

•What I'm looking forward to: Bed rest. At first, I was upset and disappointed to be pulled out of work until after maternity leave. But now I realize it's crucial to keeping Cael cooking for a while longer.

•Best Moment this week: Finding out my cervix is still stable.

•Milestone: Being 32 weeks!

Bed Rest - Day 8; And It Continues

My appointment went well. My cervix is holding strong at 2 cm long (it did get down to 1.7 cm during a contraction), and it's closed and NOT funneling, which is great. I'm still getting occasional, inconsistent contractions, and needed to take my Brethine last night due to some consistent contractions. Due to this, and the stress of my work and work load (plus the 1.25 hour drive one way to work on bumpy back roads) possibly being a catalyst for pre-term labor and delivery, my midwife thought it was best to just put me on disability now.

I now have to go in for weekly appointments to stay monitored, which is fine with me. They are going to alternate between cervical ultrasound checks and the fetal fibronectin test. So Thursday at my next appointment, they will do a FFN, and the week after an ultrasound, and so on..unless, of course, something changes during that time frame. There was even talk of another round of steroid shots for Cael's lungs, but we'll talk about that at my next appointment.

Basically, my midwife said that because of my short cervix, I'm at an increased risk for pre-term labor and delivery, and they want to get me to at least 35 weeks. However, they did tell me about a patient whose cervix measured .8 cm at 30 weeks, and it ended up staying that way until 41 weeks, when she had to be induced! I guess it just goes to show that you never know, and pregnancy is just so unpredictable.

I'm feeling better about being taken out of work. Almost relieved, because I know it's the right thing for Cael. I have my disability paperwork from HR to fill out, so I have to get that in as soon as possible. Today was my 8th day out of work, so technically today is the day I start disability. I'm still on modified bed rest until further notice. So that means still no vacuuming, laundry, dishes, etc. Also NO SEX or orgasms either! Sheesh :( I can get up to shower, use the bathroom, get some food, and make quick trips out occasionally if needed. It's not strict bed rest, but hopefully me staying rested does the trick.

Some info from my appointment today:

• Cael's heart rate ranged from 140 bpm to 158 bpm :)
• He has hair on his head, that we saw on the ultrasound in the form of "speckles".
• He weighs approximately 4 pounds 4 ounces, and is in the 63rd percentile.
• I'm still on the Cipro for the vaginal infection, even though I continue to have no symptoms what-so-ever (weird..)
• I've lost 2 pounds, making my current weight 137.

I think that's all for now. Here is Tyson and I "bed resting" it up. And Cael from our ultrasound today, giving the "Thumbs Up". I'm so in love.

Bed Rest - Day 7

I can't believe this is my 7th day of bed rest already. My follow-up appointment is tomorrow, and I'm really starting to get anxious about it. My mind just keeps wondering about the "what-ifs". What if my cervix is longer, will I still be taken out of work? What if my cervix is shorter? What if my cervix is funneling? What if my cervix is the same? And then everything that revolves around those scenarios.

Matt, and a bunch of people at work, think that I'm done with work until after Cael arrives. I feel the same way, but unless it's medically necessary for me to be out of work, I'm stuck. I can't go out of work without some type of pay coming in (from S-T Disability). And I don't know what the requirements are for someone to be taken out of work and disability to kick in. All I know (or think I know) is that if my cervix continues to be short - whether still at 2cm or shorter - I will be out on ordered bed rest. If it gained length, which would be the best situation, I'm not sure if they could still take me out of work based on the fact that I'm very uncomfortable whenever I get up to move around.

I'm still getting twinges down low, and every time I get up and move around, I get BH's. Does that constitute being pulled out of work? I guess I have to wait until tomorrow to find out. I just can't stop thinking about it. I guess the root of my worrying is the financial aspect - whether or not I'll be getting disability.

Matt got free tickets a month or so ago to a Scranton-WB Yankee's game, through his work. It would be up in the VIP box, which is air conditioned with free food and drink. The game is tonight, and I really want to go since I've been home-bound for the last week. I'm trying to convince Matt that it's the best situation for me to go out, because I won't be in the sun, but in air conditioning; and I'll have access to food and drink. What could be better!? And I just want to get out of the house, and figured this would be a fun time for us. I couldn't get a read on Matt last night when I brought it up again, so I'm just waiting to hear from him as to what he thinks we should do. He said I'm not supposed to be going anywhere, so I'm guessing we'll be staying in tonight. But maybe he'll change his mind. We shall see.

I also had the weirdest dream last night. In my dream, I was asleep, and when I woke up, I had stretch marks all over my belly. Like TONS of them, and they came out of nowhere. I don't have one stretch mark (yet), so this was a very disturbing dream for me; to go from none to a belly full.

Bed Rest - Day 6

I didn't get much sleep last night. I was awake at 3:15am, got up to go to the bathroom, and laid back down in bed to go back to sleep. Except, I couldn't fall asleep. It's like I wasn't tired all of a sudden. To try and pass the time, and make me tired, I went on Facebook on my phone, and played Angry Birds. Before I knew it, it was 5:30am, and I had to pee again. When I got up this time, it was daylight outside. Wonderful. I peed, and got back into bed where I suddenly felt tired. I think I eventually fell back asleep around 5:45am. I woke up at 9:15 when Matt texted me to let me know that he was able to get off on Friday to take me to my appointment. I was really happy about that.

He wasn't going to be able to get a day off work this week because the other manager will be away on vacation, so he was going to have to work all week. However, he was able to talk to one of the higher-up managers, and they will be having someone cover that day for him so he can be with me. My sister-in-law was going to originally take me so I wouldn't have to go by myself, and I appreciate that very much, but I'm relieved that Matt will be going.

I am in a somber mood today. I guess my moods change with the days. My family is upstate camping, about 1 hour and 15 minutes away. When my mom and the kids camp, they usually go for a week or two, if not longer, and we were going to go up there for the 4th until I was put on bed rest. Well, a few days ago, my mom said that she, my step-dad and the kids would come up to visit me, and I was thrilled. I haven't seen them since my shower 3 weeks ago, and I figured it's be a nice way to pass the day by hanging out with my family.

My mom texted me this morning, telling me that they probably weren't going to be coming. She later called me, and said she wasn't feeling well herself, and she didn't want to stress me out with everyone and the dogs being here. Of course it wouldn't stress me out, but make me happy to see everyone, but I understand. Mom said she wanted to wait and see what my midwife says on Friday, and that they'll be camping for a while longer, so maybe sometime this weekend or next week they would come visit me.

So what to do today? I really should get off the computer and write out my Thank You's. I didn't get to that yesterday, and I should do it today. I also need to send out my card to one of the ladies on the Bump. I'm part of a card exchange for the Bumpies who got some not so good news at their ultrasounds. I think I'm actually behind with sending the card out, so I have to get on that too, and send it out tomorrow.

Until later...

E. Coli What?!

My midwife's office called me around 5pm tonight with the results of my vaginal culture I had done on Thursday. This was a call I didn't expect, actually, because I didn't think anything was wrong. Apparently, my culture came back positive for an E. Coli vaginal infection with "heavy growth". Whawhawhaaat!?

I don't have any symptoms of a vaginal infection, so I was caught off-guard by this news. The nurse who called me was unable to tell me if the infection is what possibly caused the contractions. She said she knows that UTI's can cause contractions, but isn't positive about vaginal infections. I will ask on Friday when I go to my follow-up appointment. Matt will be picking up my Cipro antibiotic tomorrow morning for me to start.

Bed Rest - Day 4 & 5

Day 4 - July 4th

Today was a pretty restful day, despite the holiday. Matt and I ended up sleeping in until about 10:45am, which hasn't happened for a long time. We spent most of the day lounging on the couch, watching the Travel Channel's Food Paradise, which made me crave everything from ice cream to hamburgers. Matt was a great help in vacuuming (he did a better job than me - but I can't reach those cobwebs up high!) and doing the dishes. Ok, ok - so he lugged all our dishes upstairs, and used his parents dishwasher, but he did make 2 trips and put away all the dishes. They're done, so that's all I need to be happy. We eventually made our way upstairs when his brother and sister-in-law got here. We had some amazing BBQ, courtesy of Matt's parents, and then hung around in the living room for a while.

I did end up having to take a Brethine yesterday, because I started having some discomfort and mild contractions. It made me feel like crap, that's for sure. I was sitting outside with everyon

e before dinner, and Matt and his brother were lighting off bottle rockets, and I had to go inside to lay down because I felt like I was going to pass out. I was shaky, light-headed, and felt like crap. I guess my reaction was so intense because it had been a while since I had taken it last.

I should also continue to mention how great Matt has been. The night before the 4th, I was having a major craving for mashed potatoes and corn. He ran out to the store, bought a tub of Country Crock mashed potatoes, a can of corn, and mixed and heated it up for me to eat - serving it to me on our bamboo tray. Isn't he just the greatest! I ate about half of it, and it was absolutely delicious! I let him have my left-overs..lol.

Day 5 - July 5th

It is currently almost 12:30 in the afternoon, and other than getting up to go to the bathroom and grab a bowl of cereal, I have been laying in bed. I think today I'm feeling sorry for myself, and I know my attitude needs to change. This is not the worst it could be. I think a lot of what I'm feeling has to do with my anticipation for Friday. I hate not knowing what to expect, so now knowing how the bed rest is affecting my cervix is driving me nuts. I'm glad they only wanted to wait a week to recheck my cervix, as opposed to 2 weeks.

I'm hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. To me, the best case scenario would be that my cervix still measures 2 cm; OR is longer. Worst case scenario would be my cervix is measuring shorter, with or without funneling. I'm not sure if it's part of me expecting the worst, but I almost feel like it's going to be shorter than 2 cm.

I'm also preparing myself to be taken out of work for good, until Cael arrives. Matt actually told me several times that he thinks this is going to happen, and it would probably be best for Cael and I - especially since I've been so uncomfortable, and every time I move my uterus screams at me. My two co-workers feel the same way too. They've both told me separately that they think I'm done.

I guess I'm becoming ok with the idea of staying out of work until he gets here; at least I would get short-term disability. And I know that it would be the best situation for Cael, if that's what they felt. It's a better situation than being out for a week, going back to work, and being taken out again for good. I would then lose 2 weeks of pay, as opposed to 1 week, before my disability kicks in. My mind just keeps wandering about the what-ifs. I need to stop that.

On the plus side, Cael has been a bowl of energy. He is such a strong little baby boy, and I sometimes have a hard time believing that a baby just under 4 pounds can have the strength he does. He rolls and pushes constantly, contorting my belly. I have some videos I'll post at the end of this. He's also had the hiccups A LOT lately. He had them 4 times the other day, and has already had them once this morning. I am just so in love with him already, it's just amazing.

It's not quite as warm out as it has been the last few days, but I'm thinking about getting out of bed and heading down to the pool to relax. A little fresh air never hurt anyone, and if I get hot enough, I can relax on my back in pool on a floaty raft. I need to get my Thank You notes done for my shower, so that would be an excellent time and place to do that. I should also write a list for Matt to go food shopping later, since he most likely won't let me go because it entails walking around.

Here are a few videos :)
This one is from Thursday morning, 30w5d. He was moving constantly for about 2 hours.

This one is from this morning - 31w3d. He had the hiccups, so I tried recording it. He gives me a big movement towards the end of the video.

And finally, this is a continuation of the one above, except I put my vitamins on my belly so you can see the hiccups better.

The sunshine and fresh air are calling my name, so I'm going to finally get out of bed, and head down to the pool. More updates to come, I'm sure.

:::Keep growing stronger, Baby Cael. We love you:::

Bed Rest - Day 3

Today marks day 3 of my bed rest. I figured I'd start by sharing the ultrasound photos that we got of Cael on Thursday during our ultrasound. Here's his face and profile - he's such a handsome little man!

Last night was a rough one. I woke up at around 3:15am this morning with contractions. They didn't feel like simple Braxton Hicks though. They felt like the ones I was having in L&D that were 3 minutes apart on Thursday. They started in my lower back, and then reached around to the front of my abdomen and uterus, where it got tight and very uncomfortable. At that point, it had been several hours since I needed to take a Brethine. So I decided to wait a couple of minutes to see if they would keep coming, or if it was just one contraction. Well, they did keep coming - about 4-5 minutes apart. I reached over, grabbed a Brethine, and waited for it to kick in. It didn't take long, but I continued to have about 3 more contractions until everything finally calmed down.

At this point, I was pretty much sitting up in bed, unable to get comfortable. Matt woke up, and I told him I was having contractions about 4 minutes apart, and he got upset that I waited so long to take a Brethine. Maybe it was a dumb idea to wait and see if they were consistent, but I guess I needed to know for some strange reason.

At the same time I was having contractions, there was an amazing thunder and lightning storm going on outside. The first good one in a long time. Hopefully, there will be another storm during the day that Matt and I can go outside on the porch and watch. We love big storms like that.

:::Please stay in a little longer, Baby Cael:::