Last Dr. Appointment...

We had our last dr. appointment yesterday with Dr. Piquard. Apparently-the little guy is pretty content inside of me and is not wanting to come out. I'm still only dilated to a 1. So...Dr. P is still holding out hope that he'll come on his own--which he may-but I doubt it. We are scheduled to go into the hospital on Sunday night to start being induced to deliver on Monday. At least I have a date in my head now! I tried explaining to her how much back pain I was having to see if she would have some sympathy for me and want to push up the date--but she gave me a prescription for Tylenol with Codeine to help with the sciatica. Definitely going to get that today.

Rob is finishing up some last minute work things today so that he can take tomorrow off and we can just hang out for the next few days-which makes me very happy. He's been getting up at 5 AM everyday this week trying to get everything squared away for when Grayson comes. So we've got lots of plans coming up in the next few months with family coming in town, etc. Going to be an exciting ride!

Next time I post it will probably be with some baby photos!! Eeeekkk!!! Yahoo!

First Day of Maternity Leave

So today was the first day that I didn't have to go to work-and it was a little strange. What does a person do when they can't move very much and are super uncomfortable? Lay around all day...and that's what I did. I made it out to the post office-stood in line for about 10 minutes and had to come home-thought I was going to pass out. I called Dr. P today to see if she wanted me to come in today for an appointment-and boo-she said to continue to wait until Wednesday. Grayson has decided once again to set up shop right on my sciatic nerve on my right side-which causes severe pain in my back all the way down my leg whenever I decide to do anything. It's starting to cause lots of back pressure throughout my back as well. I had to ask the nurse when I called about what to do-and she just said to take Tylenol (check) put heat/cold on it, rest (check) and just know that it's part of this whole thing.
So when we go on Wednesday-I'm assuming that we will talk about being induced since Saturday is our due date-I really don't think that this guy is going to come out on his own-even though Rob and I would LOVE for him too...he already isn't listening to his parents!
Keep on checking...I'll update after Wednesday's appointment!

T-Minus 12 Days

Went to see Dr. McGee today-Dr. P is out on vacation--and as you can tell by the title of this post-no Baby Grayson today. Dr. McGee listened to his heartbeat-it was great and then checked me. I'm doing good too-now we just continue to wait. He said that he didn't think that we would be having a baby this week-but sometime next week he was coming. But then again-he said we might surprise him and my water might break tonight and we could have a baby. We go back next Wednesday afternoon to see Dr. P. I'm supposed to call and see if I can get in earlier because she was totally booked and the schedule lady wouldn't book me an appointment-so I have to call her nurse to over-ride the scheduler. So we'll see if Dr. P allows me to wait until Wednesday-or as Rob says-maybe we won't even have to go back on Wednesday. Only time will tell...

We've all been doing good in the Swindle household. Rob and I have been trying to sleep at night-Tubs and Addy haven't been having any problems in that area. Rob and I have been having some restless nights just awaiting the little guys arrival. I've had some major lower back pain and some cramping-and heartburn which keeps me up at night-and then when I'm tossing and turning (well as much as you can with a watermelon in your belly)-I guess I'm not the quietest and that in turn gets Rob awake. Just preparing us for the next 18 years of our lives I guess. This Friday will be my last day of work for the next 3 months. I was going to work right up until I deliver-but if Dr. P is going to need to induce me next week-we have things to do around the house, try and rest, etc. Plus it's getting more and more difficult for me to be on my feet for more than 10 minutes at a time.

I got some cute pictures of Lucy and Olivia the other night from having Sara's birthday dinner at Dad and Becky's-I'll try and post those this weekend. As for now-it's off to bed. Have an excellent week everyone-and stay tuned...

A few more weeks.../'Fire Drill'...

Hope everyone is having a great week. It's been seriously cold here in Kansas-yuck. Anyways-we went to see Dr. Piquard on Monday and to have a sonogram to see the little stinker. Well he looks fabulous-he's exactly 7 lbs 0 oz. So not too big and not too small. We watched him practicing his breathing skills and he was moving his lips up and down like a fish. My mom seems to think that he was practicing his talking skills-as she says-just like his Mom and Dad. Dr. P was impressed with how good he was looking-how well my sugars have been, etc. Nothing has really changed with the physical exam. She did tell us though that she won't allow us to go past our due date-so that's good. She's gone all next week-and Rob has TONS of surgeries-so we all think that he's going to come then-just to prove a point. We go back on Monday for another check-up.

So yesterday we had what Rob likes to call a 'maternity ward fire drill'. I had been feeling different all day at work-having some severe back pain and cramping that I was unable to walk straight. Then some other things just felt off. I called Rob before I called the nurse line to see what he thought. He of course thought that I should call the nurse line just to be safe. Called the nurse-told her my symptoms-how far along I was, etc. She told me I needed to go to the hospital. I started to argue about it-saying that I had just been to see Dr. P the day before-nothing had happened, blah blah blah. She said that she still wanted me to go and get checked out-with being this close to delivery-I could be in early labor. So I left work and went home. I took a shower-got ready-Rob was cleaning the house-if I was in labor I couldn't have a disgusting house! We changed the sheets just in case we were going to have guests, etc. So we left when the contractions weren't anything major-about once every 12-15 minutes. Went to the hospital and was hooked up. Grayson did not like the monitors at all-he kept kicking them off-which in turn would make a terrible sound! My blood pressure was high-I think just because I was nervous that this could be it. My contractions were registering about one every few minutes-but the duration was very small. So after a little over 2 hours on the monitors-they told me I was having non-progressive labor-and there really wasn't anything I could do about it-just to go home, rest, relax and wait. So here I am-resting, relaxing and waiting. Rob and I are picturing Grayson inside my belly with his feet and arms all out saying 'No Mama-I don't want to get out'-so we'll wait and see.

Waiting...

...so this part isn't all that fun. Just sitting and waiting. Hmm...things are going good. Went to see Dr. P. this past Monday. My strep test came back negative--Bonus! And I'm 50% effaced-whatever that means. And that's about it-no dilation-no moving up the due date-nothing--nada. So I go back again this Monday for another check-up and a sonogram--maybe she'll tell me he's so big that we need to have him ASAP! One can only hope...so for now Rob and I are just sitting twiddling our thumbs-re-arranging and re-arranging some more of Grayson's things. Hope everyone is having a great week!

A few more weeks.../Baby Showers Galore!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend-I know that we did! We had 3 baby showers! Whew! You should see our counter top-LOTS of cake there! First-I took a picture of my belly on Saturday at 35/36 weeks-now can I really get any bigger?!?! I was told I looked like an olive on a toothpick this weekend--Yea right! Any more bets on when he's coming????

On Friday my work had a shower for me. I forgot the camera so I didn't get any pictures of it--but it was a good time--good food--good stuff. Grayson got lots of noisy toys that when I brought them home-I couldn't figure out how to turn them off!

I had to go to the dr. on Friday because I thought I was getting a bladder infection-not fun. Luckily the test came back negative-the nurse just thinks that Grayson has dropped pretty low and that he's sitting right on top of my bladder-which is making me feel that way. Thanks buddy!

Friday night we went to Doug and Michele's. I took my camera-and of course the battery was dead-so no pictures of Lucy and Olivia. But I did snuggle on Ollie for quite some time--Lucy noticed how swollen my feet were "Aunt Leah-you have fat feet"--yes dear-I know. We actually watched Lucy and Olivia's baby videos-so that got me even more excited and ready to have the little guy!

Warning: As you will be able to see from these next few pictures-you will notice why there are very few of me on this blog-besides the belly. I look like I ate someone-and they went straight to my chins. You have been warned...

On Saturday-the girls had a shower for me at Jamie's house. Way fun. Here I am with all my fantastic hostesses. I'm not really sure why the picture is blurry-maybe too much light?

Everyone was there-we did the guess who brought the bib game-and I totally rocked it! I was only baffled by one. The spread was greatCan you see in the back corner-my fav-cookie cake-mmmm......
I have lots of picture of me opening gifts-but that gets kind of redundant. So here I am opening Ashley's awesome gift--she sells Uppercase Living and made Grayson's name on weathered blocks-that her husband cut and weathered for me. Thanks Bob! It's going to hang above his crib-once I get them up-there will definitely be a picture of them!

Due to Jamie writing the gifts down-I think she became a little more familiar with what things were...but we did have Steph next to us to help us when we both got stuck! Great time girls-I loved it!

On Sunday-Aunt Carole and Dee made the drive up from Mulvane so that Aunt Carole could attend my shower. We had brunch at Figlio's-which is fabulous-I highly recommend it. Then it was off to the shower! This shower was put on by my mom's friends.

Here's a picture of me, mom and Sara.

And the cake was a turtle! I have another picture of it close up. The shower was fun-more food to eat and more gifts. Isn't that way cute? And it tasted awesome.

Here's a picture of mom using her new camera that we all got them for Christmas. She took one picture-and the camera said full. I told her she needed a memory card for it because it only would hold about 6 pictures. She was all set and ready to be the photographer that day. Mom-here's your reminder-go get a memory card!

Have lots more pictures of me opening presents-got TONS of good stuff!
Here's Sara with our new cousin Lauren-I'm not sure what's going on-but all of a sudden little kids are drawn to Sara-it's very interesting...

And finally-here's the leftovers that we still have to put away. We have already put stuff away twice-and this stuff we still have to find a home for. Rob was getting really great at unloading and loading the car up with gifts!We go to Dr. P tomorrow-I'm hoping we'll talk a little bit more about my due date. Her nurse
said that I'll more than likely be induced-but when-who knows? And if this guy keeps getting bigger and bigger-I might be giving birth to a man! We'll keep you all posted. Have a great rest of the week!

Merry Christmas/Baby Olivia/Holy Baby!!!

Rob and I had our Christmas early this year too. Here's a photo that I'm sure he's going to love that I put up on the blog--he was so excited (and surprised) that he got Rock Band for his new Wii. I figured he already knew-but I guess that guy had no clue! I received some great gifts-some fitness stuff for after Grayson is born-and fabulous Coach diaper bag-which I can't wait to start using-and these awesome slipper socks. What a great guy!

The Sunday before Christmas we all went to Dad and Becky's to do our family Christmas-since Rob and I were supposed to be gone and Michele was going to be way too tired. As always-it was tons of food-way too much food-and lots of goodies.

Lucy and her mom.

Lucy with Aunt Sara and Aunt Jennifer. Doug is in the background watching football.
Lucy was so excited about her big girl make-up that Aunt Sara bought her in New York-she just had to find a place for it in her pocket.
Becky trying to clean-up during the mass chaos.

Cassie loves it when the family gets together and she can get in the middle of it all. Here she is saying Merry Christmas!
We left for Colorado the next day...

On Christmas we spent the day with Mom, Joe, Sara and Nana. One downfall--United had our luggage still in Durango. We received it Christmas night-Rob's was shredded-mine was fine. But after 3 days without it-I was glad to have it back in whatever shape it was in.

Christmas Eve consisted of going to Mom and Joe's and eating tasty Italian as always. This year though-I think I was in bed a little earlier than normal. Next morning Rob and I woke up early and he decided to go and wake Sara up with the video camera and a flashlight-you can imagine how well that went over! After gifts-Rob made his fantastic Belgin waffles for everyone-we watched Mama Mia and just relaxed. Then it was off to another dinner for us.

Here's Joe and Nana opening some gifts.

The infamous video camera that woke Aunt Sara out of her beauty sleep on Christmas morning.

On a side note-I FINALLY got to meet Katie Hoyt's family--so cute! I didn't get any pictures-Carter really didn't want anything to do with me-only Rob. It was great to see you all-and when you come in in April-we're bringing Grayson over to throw in the mix with all the babies!

Baby Olivia is here! She was born on December 30. She is as cute and sweet as can be. Lucy is so excited to be a big sister. When we arrived at the hospital she wanted us to come in right away and wanted to introduce us to her new baby. She didn't want anyone to leave the hospital room because she loved all of us. It was so sweet. Olivia is so little! It made me so excited to have Grayson come! I wasn't able to get too many pictures of her because Olivia was just not wanting the flash in her face. You can't see the t-shirt that well that Lucy has on-but it's from her Uncle Rob-and it says "I'm a BIG Sister" It was way cute.

So now onto the G-Man. You notice in the title it's called Holy Baby!! Well Holy Baby is right! We went this past Monday to have another sonogram of the little guy. Mom, Joe, Sara and Nana all came with us. Nana I think was the most fascinated of all of us because just of all the technology these days. Anyways-everything is looking great with the little guy. He still has 2 of everything and is moving right along. He's almost 6 pounds!!! AAGGHH!!! Already!! Whew! His head was already measuring about 36 weeks--I'm going to give birth to a bobble-head doll! All of his other measurements are a few weeks ahead as well. Dr. Piquard isn't concerned though-she said that we will start talking C-Section around 9-10 lbs. As of now though-she's keeping my due date as Feb. 14--is she crazy?!?! This kid will almost double in size if she does that! I don't think that I can hold him in for that long! We have a $25 buy-in bet to see when he's born. Of course-I have the earliest date-January 22. I give this kid another 3 weeks-max before he comes into the world. I thought that we might be welcoming him yesterday. Rob and I were just getting up when I had this severe pain underneath my belly-so severe that I was in tears. I thought my insides were falling out. After that I was having Braxton Hicks contractions about every other minute. Called the on-call doctor and she told me to just lay down-drink plenty of water and count my contractions and call her back. Well they slowed down-only had 4 in an hour-12 minutes apart-so she said they weren't strong enough to do anything to my cervix. Can you see Grayson't big fat chunky cheeks in these pictures? He's facing you so you can see his eyes, etc.

Dr. Piquard is letting us skip a week of seeing her because my blood levels looked so good-so we have a week off. Rob and I are attending our 'How to Have a Baby' class this Sunday-which should be some what interesting-if not terrifying.

Next week should fly by-we have 3 baby showers at the end of the week! On Friday my work is having one-Saturday-my girls are having one-and then Sunday Mom's friends are having one. Whew! Baby Grayson sure is loved!

Hope you all had a fantastic New Year's. Rob and I were in bed by 10:30-but Rock Chalk Jayhawk! We enjoyed watching the game! Have a great weekend and I'll post pictures from next week!