38 week update

Alright, so I've hit another milestone...38 weeks! Can the weeks go by any slower? I mean come on, really? I have been a lazy blob as of late and the most exciting things I do during the day are go to the post office and um...go to the post office. The other morning, Mike had to go into work late because he was flying that night. When we got up in the morning, I asked, "Do you want to see what I do when you're at work?" So Mike watched me as I slowly leaned out of bed and desperately tried to find footing on the floor, waddle down the stairs, open the door, let Huey out and then, I sat on the couch. He replied, "Really? That's what you do?" I retorted that I had not made plans yet so that's all I had at that point. I feel guilty being such a bum, really I do, but seriously, when will I ever get to be this lazy in my life again? The next time I'm 38 weeks pregnant, I'll have Rory with me so she'll probably keep me busy enough where laying on the couch will not be a luxury and a precious moment (or in my case, hours) of silence.

To be accurate, I'm 38 weeks and 3 days pregnant according to my doc visit this morning. Turns out I tested positive for Group B Strep (funny because that's what Molly had as well...I swear we're twins). I am not happy about this but I'm not overly concerned about it either. Basically I'm a carrier of this bacteria which can potentially be passed to Rory through the birth canal. About 25% of all pregnant women are carriers of GBS. I wonder if it's because Molly and I took the same prenatal vitamins...I really don't know. But anyway, when I go into labor, I need to be hooked up to an IV right away so that I can be given antibiotics that will prevent the bacteria from being passed to Rory in the birth canal. In almost all cases, it's totally fine but if a mom is not treated during her labor, the baby will have a higher risk of contracting pneumonia. I had actually hoped to not have a IV hooked up right away when I got to the hospital just because I wanted to be able to move around the room and drink my own fluids but testing positive for GBS has pretty much wiped out that option. You just gotta roll with the punches and in the end, all I want is a healthy baby.

I was lucky enough to have the doc "check" me (always pleasant yes) and she said I'm 1 cm dialated, 50% effaced and -3 station. All a bunch of gibberish really but at least there's SOME progress that shows Rory is getting ready to join us. The goal is to be 10 cm (as in baby is crowning), 100% effaced and at +3 station. I've still got a ways to go but it's better than nothin right??? Next week we'll probably get my membranes stripped if nothing new is happening and hopefully we'll see Rory by the end of the month! Sorry to all you male readers who have no idea what I'm talking about, don't read too much into this. This is more so for the fellow mamas who understand this kind of talk.

So last night was really funny and I just have to give a shout out to my sweet husband and pup for being such good sports. You see, I signed up to take a birthing class that was offered by a fellow military wife here on base called Hypnobirthing. There are no other birthing classes offered here and I figured that any class would be better than none so we were open minded to seeing what this was all about. It really is a great philosophy and teaches lots of breathing techniques, prompts and laboring positions to help you relax and "breathe your baby down". Hypnobirthing is not against medical interventions, however it is set up so that you are physically relaxed and able to decide if you would like to deliver naturally or would prefer an epidural.

Anyway, now that you have the backstory...We had our last class last night at our house and basically practiced laboring positions and the birth companion's (i.e. Mike's) role throughout labor and delivery. It really was a sight to see as I'm practicing different squats on the floor while Huey decides to run up and sniff my crotch, or when our teacher is reading prompts to help us relax while Huey is running around with a squeaking rubber chicken in his mouth. At one point, Huey decided to drag out his smurf stuffed animal that is literally his size and hump it ferociously in front of our teacher. Considering his balls are snipped, you gotta give the dog some credit, but come on Huey, that was quite embarrassing! Mike quickly picked him up in between bits of laughter and put him in the bathroom for the remainder of the class. But, I can't forget to mention my sweet, dear husband for participating in this class as well. At one point, I had to lean over a birthing ball and "pretend" that I was having a surge (i.e. contraction) while our teacher leaned over with a stop watch to time them. I had to practice my specific breathing techniques to help me get through this surge and Mike had a very important job to do as well. He had to read specific birth companion prompts to me so that it will help me "relax". But he didn't just read them to me, he leaned down low and whispered in a Darth Vadar type voice in my ear the following prompts: "Breathe love down to your baby....Mother and baby working together to bring this miracle...Clear the path...make it smooth and easy...See the petals of the blossom opening gently..." Oh.MY.Gosh! I could NOT handle it. I burst out laughing. In NO WAY was his reading of these prompts helping me relax, sure it made me laugh out loud hysterically, but if you guys know Mike, you know he is a total goof and took every opportunity to make it as extremely uncomfortable and unrelaxed as possible. The teacher preceded to tell Mike to stop reading the prompts and that we would start over with Mike just doing a light touch massage. I am still laughing about this because Mike is just horrible. At least I'll have some fun in the delivery room ; )

So that's it as far as updates. I got the car seat set up yesterday, Rory's bag is packed, and the pack and play is set up in our room. Things that still need to be done...clean the bathrooms, vacuum downstairs and upstairs, mop the kitchen floor, put away the laundry and pack my bag for the hospital. Then I will officially feel ready for her arrival.

And just for fun, here are some pictures of our family outing to Tama River last Saturday. It's right outside of the gate and with how hot it has been, it was really a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. The water was super cold and clear (fresh from the mountains) and we just had a good time having a picnic lunch and playing fetch with Huey in the water.

Before we left, we had a lazy morning and watched a movie. Huey thought the best spot to sit on such a large couch was Mike's chest.

Do you think he senses that he's going to be replaced by a little baby soon? At least he's helping Mike practice!

Huey testing out the water.

Huey observing a little Japanese boy who was collecting fish and crabs from the river.

He was a wimp at times and found rocks to stand on so that he didn't have to get completely in the water!

Finally he got brave and swam after his ball!

And here's a view of my stomach when I'm in the driver's seat. I'll admit I have short legs so my seat is pushed all the forward but still, I had a least a foot between my stomach and the steering wheel in my pre-pregnancy days...