Monday, November 19, 2012

"Labor" Update

Sorry I've all but abandoned my blog lately. There has been SO much going on as we finish doing things around the house in preparation for Nora. I also wrapped up work at both my jobs last week so I can enjoy a maternity leave. Not to mention there's just been a fair amount on my mind :-)

My final spell of nesting came Tuesday (11/13) after I visited with a midwife and had my first internal exam to see if things were progressing. I was 80 percent effaced (by her estimates) and did not appear to be dilated. I'll spare you details, but suffice it to say that Nora's head was LOW — as in she'd dropped my abdominal measurements from a 37 to a 33 in one week! Baby appeared to be on her way OUT. Even the midwife advised that we be ready to go at any moment, although she still couldn't guarantee that Nora'd come sooner rather than later.

Flash forward to Saturday (11/17). Jonathan and I decided to go on a long walk. We walked probably 2 miles around downtown Newnan. I spent most of the afternoon on my feet doing home projects, a grocery store run, etc. Sometime in the afternoon my lower back began ACHING. The kinda aching that makes you think labor is imminent. Then it spread around to the front and I was cramping. But, no contractions. That was a long night. I was restless and generally miserable feeling.

I woke up Sunday (11/18) and decided not to go to church in case things started to progress quickly. I even texted the fam and friends to put everyone on standby. Jonathan woke up sick — we think he has a head cold. Epic timing, huh? :-) We decided to go on another long walk to try to tempt fate. Again, by the early afternoon I was uncomfortable and severely waddling. I took a nice, long shower and even put make-up on juuuuust in case I needed to be presentable. All evening I was having contractions. They were irregular, but stronger than I'd experienced to date. I was so neurotic that I refused to remove my make-up. I slept in it because I wanted to be ready to spring from bed and head to the hospital. Still, nothing. Nada. What's worse is that the miserable feeling — the one that reassures me that labor is at hand — is momentarily gone. My only comfort (ha!) is that I'm still having sporadic contractions, and they're decently long and painful. You'd think I'd be happy, but now I'm just uncertain where I'm at in the labor process and when Nora's going to get this show on the road.

Now here we are on the eve of my due date — and the week of my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. I know that God's timing is perfect and that Nora will arrive when it's time for her to arrive. I know I should be grateful that my husband has extra time to get well so that he can actually snuggle his baby girl. But, I've reached that point where I've tackled the important things on my to-do list, I don't have work to distract me and I've memorized every food item on the Thanksgiving menu and would like very much to get to partake of that exquisite, once-a-year meal. So, please don't tell me to relax and sit around enjoying being home. I don't have the slightest clue how to rest. Pray that I learn how to rest. Pray for patience. Or just pray this baby gets here (maybe pray for a blend of all these things!) :-)

Even if nothing happens today, I have another OBGYN appointment tomorrow to tell me if things have indeed progressed more, or if my body is playing nasty tricks on me. In the meantime, you can find me walking up and down flights of stairs, cooking last-minute freezer meals, painting the coat rack my dad built in my mudroom and, of course, staring into Nora's closet trying to imagine the cuteness that is just about to occupy those tiny cotton onesies.

Love you guys. Thanks for the prayers, support and encouragement!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

To pass the time...

Figured I'd share the professional photographs of our kitchen while I'm impatiently waiting for Nora's arrival....

The following photos are courtesy Kevin Smallhorn with Kitchens for Your Family. If I can get the name of his photographer, I will update this post with her credit, as well, since she did a fabulous job staging and capturing the new beauty of our kitchen!