Of due dates...

OK-you may have noticed that I have like 3 different baby counters on this blog with all different countdowns and due dates...let me explain...According to my last menstrual cycle (August 17th) the due date would be May 23. However, my doctors office put it down as May 25th (we learned this week that some of the wheels the offices use are 2 days off-evidently my doctor's office has one of those wheels). In the first 2 early ultrasounds that were done (and that are supposed to be the most accurate) the due dates were May 23rd and May 17th. The one that said May 23 was done by a tech in the hospital about a week and a half before the one that said May 17th. That one was done in the doctor's office by an OB that did a fellowship in ultrasound. So, obviously there was some discussion as to whether the due date should be changed to the 17th or not. I have, since then been going with the 17th due date-it seems to me to be the most accurate based on all the information through the whole pregnancy. But, officially they have not changed the date from the 25th. In this later part of this pregnancy this has caused some hassle because there has been some question as to how far along I am. But, regardless of all that crap, I am being induced on Tuesday, May 13th (yes in two days)...Yeah!

Baby J #4

No, she doesn't have a name yet...

This morning I am going in for an exam and appointment as soon as I get the kids to school and Angie to the airport. At this appointment they are going to make sure I am "favorable for induction." And if I am too far dilated, they will send me in to have a baby today we think. But the plan for now is to be induced on May 13th.

BTW-for those that might be thinking that I picked that day so my kid would have a 13th birthday like me, you are mistaken (although I do think it is super awesome...). The reason it is the 13th is that he wanted to do it 2 weeks before the official due date, and he said that many of his partners would not be willing to induce me that early so we had to schedule it the day that week when he was the one on call that would be doing it, and that happens to be the 13th...

So, unless I go sooner than that naturally, looks like baby is coming on May 13th...which according to the guesses on the side of my blog taken long ago in this pregnancy, means that Solace and Heidi (Seabury) Jacobs will have the winning guess...Nice work Solace! (If I go earlier Ender is still in the running as he has mentioned a few times...)

Yes, I am HUGE!!!

As per my sister Andrea's request, here is a couple of huge belly shots. If you didn't like me in high school and are still harboring resentful feeling toward me, these are probably the pictures you wanted to see-me at my worst, messy bed rest hair, a fat huge belly, glasses, really the works...enjoy!!!

Solace wants me to let you all know that she took these fine photos!

Still on Bed Rest

Just FYI. At my appointment on Monday, I was told I am on bed rest basically, but that I should be ok doing minimal activity like taking the kids to and from school, and stuff like that. But I am not supposed to lift Armour if I can avoid it, and I am basically supposed to take it easy as much as possible-as Wes says, basically, I am still on bed rest cause we need to put off labor for at least another 4 weeks. (I am 32 weeks along according to the original dates, and it's really a lot better if we get to 36 weeks at least). The doctor I saw yesterday is pretty convinced that my dates must be off, but we KNOW they are not off (based on earliest ultrasound and the fact that I KNOW for sure when my last period was). So, basically, this doctor thinks I am more like 34-35 weeks now and that I might be deliverable in 2 weeks after they check baby's estimated weight and size again via yet another ultrasound...But truly, that would only put me at about 34 weeks, and I think they would have to do an amnio to check lung development before they could safely deliver a baby in 2 weeks anyway. So, for now, we are just trying to really limit my activity by complying to the bed rest orders, and hold off labor for like 4 weeks!

My mom and brother are coming into town tomorrow to help through the weekend and then my aunt Kris is coming out the next week. We are so excited and grateful for the help as it will make it much easier for me to stay in bed and to avoid labor (plus we really like to see our family anyway!) it is Nice to have a mom with 5 sisters-lots of surrogate moms out there!!!

Thank you again for all the great help and support from my ward, my friends in playgroup, my friends at the kids' school & my family through all this! I am very overwhelmed by the kindness and thoughts of everyone!!!

A better day...

I posted this yesterday on my families website, and thought I might as well post it for all to see...

Just as an update all is well. I didn't have to leave home even once today as one of the other mom's in Solace's class picked her up from home, took her to school, picked her up from school, fed her lunch, let her have a play date with her daughter and dropped her off late in the afternoon. I feel better today (and was more able to rest) than I have been in days!! Ender was actually an incredible help, and I think poor little Armour is getting used to his prison in our little town home. He finds ways to keep busy and have fun (and even manages not to be too messy). I read a whole book today while I was home with the boys as Ender helped me with Armour and was a fantastic big brother and helper. It was Twilight that Mel has been hounding me to read-I loved it and cannot wait to read the rest of the series, but Wes says I cannot get anymore books until I finish the one I was already in the middle of in my Wheel of Time series (by Robert Jordan). Speaking of Wes, he finished day one of testing today about an hour and a half early because he took no breaks (even for lunch) mainly because he forgot to bring food with him-whoops-usually I am the one that remembers that kind of stuff. He is now studying his last minute stuff for tomorrow's portions of the test. Overall, all is well and I think I have finally passed all the kidney stones and am now on the up and up (or so we hope)!

Update

Well, yesterday I had what will possibly be my last ultrasound this pregnancy. Just as a reminder, I had to go back for this one because my baby has been measuring big, and they are a touch concerned as Armour was 2 1/2 weeks early and just shy of 9 pounds. So yesterday's ultrasound was to check size, this one place her size at a due date of May 11th, the earliest date yet, but not much earlier than the last one. So they think baby is on a normal growth curve, still due May 25 (or something like that), and just a big baby. So, plan of action now? Just let baby grow and come when she comes. My doctor says that if my belly is measuring really big in like 4-6 weeks (when I am 34-36 weeks along), he will have another ultrasound, and we may need to at that point do an amniocentesis to see if baby's lungs are developed enough to deliver and induce then. Without an amniocentesis, he won't induce me until 39 weeks period. And neither he nor I want to do the amnio thing (really, I won't do that), so it looks like this baby won't be coming Early unless she does it on her own. This is very sad for me as I was hoping to have her around May 10 so that I would be able to have her, get everything all set to move, and have my 6 week check up before we move.

(as a complete side note and to throw in my most recent embarrassing moment...probably 2 months ago I was at a playgroup or a book club-I cannot remember which-and I was explaining this to the women there and I said "I just really want to have my sex-week appointment before we have to move." I hoped that Freudian slip might just pass by, but no, everyone in the room noticed, took note and kinda teased me about it...nice...)

Anyway, that is the baby update. I am still hoping that my little body and my little baby will go into labor early and make the timing of this birth with this move a bit easier!!! Here's to hoping...Oh BTW, the one good thing about getting more ultrasounds is that we get new pics of baby. We spent about 10 minutes trying to get a good 3-d pic of baby's face, but, as usual her arm/hand were up in the way. Here is what we got:

AHHHHHHHHH...LIFE!!

Well, usually when I blog it is to show off my adorable family and tell you our greatest (or funniest) news, but today I think I will take a break from my positive interactions to throw in a rave. So, here it goes-this week has been a bit rough. First I guess I should mention that last week when we had our ultrasound (I may have mentioned before that these cost us $250 each time we have one BTW) it took 2 1/2 hours to get the thing done. Half way through we realized the reason it was taking so long was that the girl doing it was a trainee and she had NO supervision. So the last 20 minutes her boss came in and basically redid the whole thing. I told the boss that she needed to make sure it was all right and all was well because we could not afford to come back in to get another one. She understood as sh has the same insurance we have since she is a hospital employee as well. So, just keep that in mind as I mention my week...

Wes was a=scheduled to take 2 applicants out to a dinner on Monday night , but when he called them over the weekend, he learned that they were actually scheduled for dinner on Sunday night. So, though we obviously don't usually go out on Sundays, we took the applicants out Sunday. Shortly after returning home from the dinner and from getting our kids, I started to hurt intensely in my back. Now, being 20 or so weeks pregnant, I thought it must be a pinched nerve or something, but it was more intense pain than I have had before. I had an appointment on Wednesday so I figured I'd just get through until then. This was a big painful mistake, as my back got worse as well as other symptoms. So by the time of my appointment Wednesday I had a whole list of crap going on. And when I got there the doctor had a report from the ultrasound, that basically had some weird measurements (most likely caused my the tech that was learning), but we have to go get another $250 ultrasound in 2 weeks to make sure it was her error in fact. Also the doctor has decided not to change my due date and is going to stick with the May 25th date (I am sticking to the May 17th). Also, I have some sort of bladder or kidney infection as well as a back injury that is going to have me going to physical therapy now (just more medical bills). This is obviously just another blow financially and to my state of mind, made even worse by the fact that (he will hate me mentioning this), Wes got in a car accident (small but somewhat significant to our car as the hood will not open) on Tuesday night too. So, basically, when it rains it pours!!!

Man, Life is crazy, and now I feel better having ranted and raved about that! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!