Thursday Max update

Well today was the big doctors appointment where we hoped to know exactly when Max will be here.

Here is a recap- I have lost 4 pounds :) that was some fluid that I have lost due to bedrest. My blood pressure is still 130's over 80's so Dr. P has me listed as mild preeclampsia or PIH(pregnancy induced hypertension). With mild PIH you do conservative management and monitor closely, when my bottom number on my blood pressure stays in the 90's or top stays in the 150's you need to deliver. My cervix is not dilated. My amniotic fluid levels are still great and Max does not look like he is in any stress.

Options we were give today- #1 my cervix needs to be dilated to at least a 2 in order to start pitocin(medicine to start labor) and induce my labor. My cervix is still closed so she would put me in the hospital today and put medicine on my cervix to get it to ripen or dilate. This could take up to 24 hours. After my cervix has dilated to at least a 2 she can start the pitocin to start contractions and continue to progress my labor. This process would take about 48 hours. During this 48 hours I would not be allowed to eat or drink. And Dr P said by the end of the 48 hours I may be to tired and worn out to have Max.
#2 She would stimulate my cervix in the office by scratching it and trying to get it to open some. This should help ripen and dilate my cervix and also stimulate some contractions. Then back home and back on moderate bed rest. Continue to monitor my blood pressure and if my bottom number stays in the 90's to call her. Also if I have regular contractions or my water breaks to let her know. A lot of women who have their cervix stimulated go onto labor in the next 24-48 hours. Go back to see Dr P on Monday as long as nothing happens before then.


We chose option 2. I did not feel that 48 hours without food or drink with be beneficial for me or Max....or Scott. The cervix stimulation was not pleasant. It was a bit painful and has left me with a crampy achy feeling. I have taken part of a pain pill so I'm hoping that the pain will get a bit better.

Dr P also said that on Monday when we go back to see her we will know more but she for sure would not let me go past Thursday of next week. It is a bit frustrating because everyone wants to know when he will be here and are trying to work out their schedules and we don't know. It seems like every time we see the Dr the "he will be here by this date" date changes. But I guess that is because the longer he can stay inside me the better for him and I am still hanging in there.

If anything changes we will update as we can :)

well hello ankles :)

Just a quick post today. I HAVE ANKLES AGAIN!!! I haven't seen my ankles in probably 2-3 months and this past 2 weeks my swelling has been horrible(side effect of PIH). Well Today is day 2 1/2 of bedrest and I have ankles again!! I am still swollen some in my shins, face, hands, and the top of my feet are still a little puffy but not as bad. My blood pressure is staying 130's/80's when I check it so higher then usual but not super high so that's good :) Seeing the Dr. P tomorrow and we will decide then if Max will come tomorrow or Friday! Enjoy the pic of my ankles!!!


Last week when my support hose didn't fit anymore- neither did my socks:( I ended up having to cut them as the day went on


Today after 2 days of bedrest!

Crazy day

This morning I went back to the doctors. On my last visit Dr. P did some tests to check me for PIH(pregnancy induced hypertension). She said if my blood kidney levels(Creatine) were 0.6 or 0.7 and my 24 hour urine protein levels were over 300 then I did have PIH and we would deliver Max sooner then later. Well my urine results were not back this morning for my visit but my blood tests were. My blood creatine level was 0.69. So Dr. P said as soon as we got the urine results back we would know more but that we would have him this weekend no matter what. No change in my cervix from last Thursday. Dr. P also checked my amniotic fluid level by doing an ultrasound and it is a 12(normal is about 8-18). A low level can put the baby in stress, so we are good there. She also checked to see if Max is in stress by watching his breathing patterns during the ultrasound and once again she said he looked great! I did see his hands and they looked chubby! Dr P thinks he weighs about 7lbs 2oz's but that is just her guess, nothing official. I left Dr P's office with an appointment for Thursday morning hoping we would have my urine results and know more about what is going on and when Max will be here.

After the appointment I went to work. I was at work for about 3 hours when my urine results came in....they weren't very good. I faxed them to Dr P and then she called me with the news. My total protein level in my 24 hour urine was 460. Normal is below 150 and she said a pregnant woman with a level above 300 has PIH. Needless to say Dr P said "Lacey you are now on .....BED REST" ahhhh bed rest! I am not a bed rest kind of person. I do think it is a little funny that I was at work when my Dr told me I needed to be on bed rest. I held out till the end! Dr P also asked me what day I wanted Max to be born. I said can it at least be Thursday because Scott needs to get back out to his classroom a few more times to get everything ready for the Sub and the beginning of the year. She chuckled and said yes. She said b/c I have an appointment with her on Thursday morning just to come to my appointment and we would decide then if I will go over to the hospital then or wait till Fri, possible Sat. Of course I was also given instructions to keep an eye on my blood pressure and if I got headaches, got dizzy, or nauseated to call her and come on in to the hospital.

Now Max is making his weekend arrival on one of the most inconvenient weekends for our families. Of course isn't that what babies do? :) My dad and step mom had a trip planned to the mountains, now cancelled :(, My cousin John is getting married Sat in Michigan and my mom is coming here instead of the wedding so is missing out on seeing family she hasn't seen in a long time, and Scott's sister is graduating from college Sat near Chattanooga and his family is heading there for most of the day. So it has been crazy for everyone trying to fix their schedules but I am not going to worry about it, I am just going to focus on having a healthy happy birth with Max and Scott.

I am feeling good. Just tired and worn down. Still swollen. I plan on reading some books and watching lots of TV for the next few days....and hopefully not going insane ;)

Big news!

Today we went to the Dr for our scheduled appointment. My swelling this past week has been getting and staying pretty bad. I have been checking my blood pressure the last fews days and it has been rising. I am up a total of 34 pounds now, 16 of those pounds being in the last 3 weeks. My Dr said that is fluid. My blood pressure in the office was still ok but higher then it has been. Dr P said she will take Max at 39 weeks unless he needs to come sooner due to my blood pressure. Today Dr. P has me at exactly 37 weeks(I have 37 weeks and 4 days) so 39 weeks for Dr P will be August 5th. I had blood work for high blood pressure(preeclampsia) done today and am collecting a 24 hour urine. If my blood work or urine comes back bad she will probably induce me very soon. Blood work should be back tomorrow and my urine maybe on Sat. Also the outer part of my cervix is dilated but the inner part isn't. I don't know that's what Dr P said. I go back to see Dr P on Monday and she said she will stimulate me cervix to get it to "ripen" more. If my body takes to that I could have Max anytime after! So he may be here before Aug 5th. AHHH! We are all ready here, everything is put together and waiting on Max!

Max's Room

Just wanted to put up a few pictures from Max's room. Everything is ready except for a few little cross's we need to put up.....well and we still need Max :)

Full Term!!

Yeah!!! Max has finally reached that magic mark where if he decided to come into this world his body is ready. Here is what my weekly email states "Your baby is now considered full term, even though your due date is still three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long."

We go back to see Dr P Thursday afternoon for Max's weekly check but he seems to be doing fine. I think I may have had a few braxton hicks contractions yesterday....but I have never had them so I'm not gonna say for sure. I am also swollen all over...so yes if you see me and my eyes look puffy, my nose looks big, my ankles and feet are the size of watermelon you do not need to remind me, I know. My ankles and feet look better in the mornings but go right back as the day goes on. I have been checking my Blood pressure at home and it's doing ok so no need to worry about my swelling.

Today we went to lunch with Scott's mom and then went to target to get a few things Max is going to need. It was a bit overwhelming but at the same time exciting! He will be here soon!

Couples Shower

After getting home Sat from Clarksville I changed real quick and off to Rockvale we went to our Couples shower. Some of our wonderful friends Gina, Jerry, Amy, Danny, Kala, Wayne, Meredith, and Josh threw it for us. The food was wonderful, all things Max loves :) and there was super delicious cake!! As a matter of fact after I get done posting this I'm gonna have a piece! Max got some great gifts, all things he needed. After presents we played Left Right Center. This is a dice game that requires each player to have 3 one dollar bills and in the end hopefully you are the one who wins everyone elses money! Super fun and we usually all get very competitive. The night was super fun and so nice getting to hang out with most of our friends for what may be the last time for a little while. I only took a few pics.

Visiting Family

Sat morning I got up bright and early and made my way to my dads to head to Clarksville to visit some family. I hadn't seen my Great Aunt Katye in about 3 years and my Uncle Donnie in several months. My Aunt Katye is 92 years old! wow oh wow and she doesn't look it at all! Even better she has a facebook page and has probably had email longer then me. She is a great cook and spent a lot of the visit going through cookbooks and getting Vicki recipes. My Uncle Donnie stopped by and as usual lot of joking and picking in each other occurred.

36 Week Dr appointment

Just a quick entry. Today was a scheduled Dr appointment. Max is doing great. His heart rate was 142. I am not dilated but Dr p did say Max is low and is in the Anterior position. That's a good thing. I got this info off some website and think it explains anterior position well-

"Your baby is anterior if he is facing your back. So your baby's spine is curled along the front of your belly and his face is towards your spine. Your baby is "anterior" if his spine is straight up against your belly. If baby position is turned slightly to your right, he is "right anterior;" if he is turned slightly to your left, then he is "left anterior." Anterior is the favored baby position. It allows the baby to most easy maneuver through your pelvis and out into the world"

We go back to the Dr next week on Thursday. It's getting closer and closer!

36 Weeks

Wow oh wow 36 weeks! I can't believe Max is so close to being here! This last week was making it real that he is soon on his way. Max has started to drop. Thats great because he is no longer sitting in my ribcage so I can breath a little easier but it has made me a lot more uncomfortable. I can no longer bend over at all, peeing a whole lot more often, and there are times where it feels like he is so far down in my pelvis that he will fall out :) I haven't had any contractions that I know of, not real sure what they will feel like, but people say I will know if I have any. The books say at 36 weeks Max should be about 6 pounds and about 18 1/2 inches long. He should be fully developed just gaining weight. Next week Max will be considered full term. We go back to the Dr on tuesday. Max's room is basically done and we are for the most part ready. I had dinner last night with the girls from my work in Lavergne at Millers Grocery. It is one of my fav restaurants!! After dinner we came back to the house and Max got a gift! They got his travel crib/playpen. We plan on using this as a bassinet so were super glad to get it!


I am also including a pic of something super cool! Our friends Amy and Danny just got back from the beach(lucky!!) and while there Amy found a great gift! Pee Pee Tee Pee's! LOL You put it over Max's Wee Wee when you change his diaper so hopefully there are no accidental sprays. Even better they are washable so they can be used over and over again.

Happy 4th of July!!

The 4th of July this year is a bit different than last year. I find it amazing how much can change in a year. Last year we were in Las Vegas(I worked there for the summer) at the Planet Hollywood hotel and casino partying, gambling, and their big 4th of July party. This year was much tamer seeing how Max will be here in about 5 weeks. Scott's Aunt Jackie had a cookout at her house with a lot of the family and friends. We had a great time, had some great food-burgers that had to weigh over a pound and homemade ice cream(egg free for me and Max). The weather was actually pretty nice and I didn't sweat to death! Below are 2 pictures, one from last year with the Paris hotel behind us and one form this year with me looking gigantic!

The drive-in

Sat night we went to the drive in movie theater in Lewisburg with one of Scott's friends Melissa. We saw Eclispe...me for the 2nd time! I still love it! I had never been to a drive-in before so it was quite an experience. It Only cost $6 a person to get in and you can bring in a cooler and whatever food you want. They do have a concession stand that has very reasonable prices, I think Scott got a large popcorn for about $2.50. Now the drive-in does have very colorful people who go there. I felt out of place because we didn't bring a recliner, a dog, or an old mattress to lay on. Here is a pic of the group that was behind us, it's a little blurry but oh well :)

Welcome McKenna and Mason!!

Our friends Kala and Wayne had their twins Friday afternoon! I didn't get up to the hospital to this afternoon. A big congrats to mom and dad the twins are beautiful! Everyone is doing great also! Both weighed 5lb 10oz and 18 and 18 1/2 inches. There were 36 weeks when they were born. It's weird to think that max is probally just a little smaller than they are right now.

Eclispe!!!

Tuesday night I went with a 17 other girls from Columbia to Franklin to see the midnight showing of Eclispe. I made sure to take a nap so I could make it through the night. The movie was wonderful!! Here are a couple pics from the night.