Update

I wish I had something exciting to post but all I have had since my last post is checkups with no change and one expensive false alarm this past Sunday. The Dr. promises I won't go beyond 41 weeks so I guess I have a deadline of a little more than 2 weeks at the most. I honestly have no idea how I will make it, I know it won't be on my strength. After my checkup today I had an emotional breakdown in the car on the way home. I know I have absolutely NO reason to feel sorry for myself but that actually makes it worse because on top of feeling sorry for myself I feel guilty for feeling sorry for myself. Wicked nasty cycle I have going on here :-). I KNOW that God's will and timing are perfect but that hasn't made today any easier. If it was time for Gavin to come out he would and I know that the Dr. and the Lord have his and my best interests, health wise, in mind.

So, back to the Dr. on Monday where I will tell myself not to get my hopes up but I will anyway and then get SO upset afterwards because once again, NO CHANGE. Sorry, I know I am a downer today, but Clay is sick of hearing it I am sure and since I can't see any of you roll your eyes, you get to listen to it.

On a happy note, in 2 weeks or less I will get to post millions of pictures of the most precious child that the good Lord has ever created. I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!

Love,
Emily

Sorry!

Just wanted to apologize for being such a downer lately. I could blame it all on the hormones, but it is probably much more attributable to the fact that I am a spoiled brat. The Lord convicted me this morning through my daily devotional. The title was Life Isn't Fair, and as I was whole-heartedly agreeing, I continued to read and realized that not only was this woman's life a whole lot less fair, her reaction was exactly as it should have been and not even close to what mine has been! So here I am to confess my selfishness and my lack of total reliance on God and his provision. I have SO many things to be thankful for such as, my assurance of salvation, my amazing husband, my wonderful friends and family, my super healthy baby size XL :-). I have a super supportive and excellent job, a car to drive and a house to live in. I have so many more things than more people than I can imagine do and I should never forget to focus on that!

Update - No progress :-(

When I went last Thursday the only good thing I heard other than Gavin is doing just fine, is that my fluid level was below the maximum level so in order to go back to once a week appointments, I just needed today's measurement to be below the max also. The midwife also informed me that I had not progressed at all AND the rash I thought was just hives on my back was actually freaking shingles!! Which for those of you who don't know is extremely uncomfortable and can be severely painful as well. On the bright side, mine doesn't hurt it just itches like nothing I have ever experienced. The $50 tiny tube of cream she prescribed me only made the itching worse so I am on a cycle of cortisone cream and ice packs. I actually sleep with the ice pack in the waistband of my pants to be able to sleep, how ridiculous does that sound :-). Work this morning was miserable because every time I moved around in my chair or the 100 times I had to go to the bathroom the waistband of my pants would rub my itchy spot and make it 10 times worse. Hopefully the pills that she prescribed will kick in soon.

Now for today's appointment where they measured my monster size child again. Big surprise, he is STILL a MONSTER! He now weighs just short of 8lbs and his head is the size of a 41wk and some odd day baby which makes his head size in the 97.7% percentile. His abdomen is just short of that at 39 wks and some change. The only thing not overgrown is his legs, which are actually a little short, which is strange since Clay and I both have really long legs. I assume this is a favor from God since there is absolutely no where for long legs to go in my super tight but super large tummy. One praise, other than Gavin's health which I guess I am kind of taking for granted since he has been so healthy this whole time, is that my fluid level was still down, so I am back to once a week appointments. I was hoping that when the midwife checked me for progress I would at least have made SOME progress, but NO of course not. Zero centimeters dilated, and he is in the negative 4 position which I think is either the highest or close to the highest he can be. I did ask her if it was possible that his head was just TOO big to drop and she said yes that it could be a possibility. But I guess they won't worry about that for another couple of weeks, sob.....sob.....

So to sum it all up, I would appreciate some serious praying for my patience in waiting on God's perfect, but sometimes really uncomfortable timing.

Hopefully the last belly picture!

Here I am in my full glory at 36 wks and 1 day. Hopefully the last belly picture I take because I sure don't want to be pregnant at 40 wks, can you imagin how huge I would be!! I got the go ahead at the Dr. Monday that if I go into labor they will not stop me, so I am hoping for anytime after Thursday because I really don't want Gavin to have to celebrate his birthday during tax season. He is already going to miss out on any "family" spring break vacations because I won't be able to take off work. Although I think Clay is kind of excited because he decided that he and Gavin would take yearly turkey hunting trips instead just the two of them or possibly with his best friend Stevie and his little boy. I am also including a picture from 16 wks so you can see just how MUCH I have grown :-).

Dr. update

Not much to report unfortunately.

Gavin performed well on the NST and we got some blurry but cute pictures of his chubby little cheeks when they did the ultrasound to check my fluid levels again. Unfortunately my fluid levels were almost exactly the same as Monday which means they are still elevated and I still have to continue my twice weekly appointments.

She checked me for progress and still not dialated although she did say that I could still dialate really quickly and go into labor tomorrow. Here is to wishful thinking :-). I asked her when they were going to measure Gavin again since he was SO big on my last full ultrasound and she said not until 38 or 38.5 wks. So that is another 2.5 to 3 wks, dang it. I'm hoping Gavin decides to make his appearance before then!! It would be best for everyone if he held off until after Tax Day, I guess....

Nursery Pics

Almost done!!! Just missing a few things and Gavin's room will be complete. Clay deleted my other pictures off the camera before I uploaded them so you don't get to see the before the furniture pictures but I guess that really isn't a big deal. He also deleted my belly picture from 32 wks so you will be even more surprised when you see my picture next week at 36, I am HUGE!! Nothing fits, not even my skin :-)

Status update

I know I haven't posted any pictures lately and I could give at least 20 excuses but instead of that I'll just say sorry and try to get them up soon. Clay is picking up the last of the furniture as we speak so hopefully I can post some mostly completed nursery pictures next time. The only big thing we are lacking is the bedding. Next on the list :).

Dr. update - My fluid levels are down, quite a bit from last week, but not enough to be considered "normal" so I have to keep going twice a week to get them checked until I get 2 normal readings in a row. One benefit to all these visits is that we have already met our deductible!!! Gavin is doing very well, when they checked my fluids with the ultrasound the technician let us get a peek at him for a minute, he is SO cute! He was making little hungry signs with his mouth. I know that is not a great description but that is the only way I know to describe it. He is getting so big that it is getting hard to see him clearly since he is so close to the scanner I guess. Clay, I know that is funny, put me on bed rest last Saturday and Sunday because I was having so many contractions and then when I went for my Monday Dr. appt they put me on bed rest until my Thursday appt. Thursday after I told her that the progesterone shot didn't help, she told me that I was just one of those people that would have contractions all the time and there wasn't anything I could do about it. Luckily they do pretty much stop when I am either laying down or sitting with my feet propped up. So we compromised and I am working from the office 4 hrs a day and then working from home the other 4. So far so good, it is only 2 days in but it seems to be working out well. I actually think I can get more done from home, if I can get used to not having double monitors, since there isn't anyone here to bother me. One small annoyance, our cat believes that he should be included in everything so when I lock him out of where I am working he stands at the door and YOWLS for forever. Little brat!