The Geer Family
 
So....I have dilated a whopping  1cm as of yesterday!  I had to do another NST test after my appointment and it all checked out well.  My next appointment is Monday and once the doctor checks my cervix to see if I have dilated any more, a plan will be put in to place for induction if necessary, based on the fact that Christopher is big.  I am not sure that I want to go through an induction as it is supposed to be more painful but if it's the only chance of having a vaginal birth, I am willing to try...  I also have to have another NST next Monday just to make sure that Chris is still reactive!

I am definately feeling the effects of the last few weeks of pregnancy.  My ankles, feet and hands are super swollen.  I have had to adjust the laces in all of my tennis shoes so that I can actually get them on my feet.   Once I get them on my feet, getting them tied is a whole different issue.  I practically break out in a sweat.   You are probably thinking that wearing flip flops may be easier but my feet hurt worse at the end of the day than when I have them tied up in tennis shoes.  My back is aching constantly and my body goes numb about every 30 minutes throughout the night which causes me to roll over (I never thought it would take so much effort to simply roll from side to side).  Boy do I wish we had a recliner.

Thank you to all of our friends and family that made it out to my mom's for our baby cookout.  We had a great time and got some wonderful gifts!  I have organized the nursery & washed all of the clothes.  Ed put together the stroller and the hospital bags are packed.  Soooo, we are ready to go..... I think!

Ed was surprised today with a "Daddy Baby Shower" at work and all of his coworkers got together and got us some great gifts!  They had lunch for him and a beautiful cake!  We appreciate all that everyone has done for us!  I will post some pictures of the nursery soon!
 
We had another ultrasound on Monday and baby Christopher is an estimated 7lbs 2 ounces already!  My fluid levels were high which is unfortunate because that means that I am not only carrying around a big baby, but lots of excess fluid weight too.  No wonder my back and hips have been bothering me.  I started to experience swelling of the ankles, feet and hands for the first time last week too.  They look terrible!  I can no longer wear my wedding rings (tear) so I have it around my neck.  Following the ultrasound I met with the doctor who told me I was measuring 38cm so about 2 cm ahead of schedule.  This is most likely due to the excecss fluid.  She also tested me for Group B strep which came back negative and she checked my cervix for any dialation, which was still closed.

Following the appointment with the doctor, I was sent to Women's Hospital for a fetal NST (non-stress test) because of the large amount of fluid surrounding the baby.  The primary goal of this test is to measure the heart rate of the fetus in response to its own movements.  Healthy babies will respond with an increased heart rate during times of movement and the heart rate will decrease at times of rest.  When oxygen levels are low, the fetus may not respond normally.  Low oxygen levels can be caused by problems with the placenta or umbilical cord.  I was told this would take about 20 minutes.  Because I had been at the doctor since 1:30 and it was about 5pm by this time, I was exhausted and hadn't had much to eat or drink, Christopher wasn't reacting the way they wanted him to.  Soooo, after laying in a hospital bed for an hour with a bunch of stuff strapped to me, they brought me 5 large glasses of water and told me to drink as much as I could.  So I did and he responded immediately and they released me at about 6pm, when Ed was on his way to the hospital because I had been there so long.  After that, I had to pee about 5 times within the next 30 minutes...UGH!

I now have appointments once a week and may have to continue the NST monitoring weekly.  I'll be sure to ask for some water from now on!  Ed put together the changing table last weekend and we went and picked up the car seat/stroller last night.  We are getting there...The baby cookout is tomorrow and I am so excited to see everyone!
 
It is getting soooo close and I am starting to get so anxious!  We had the entire inside of the house painted so I have been working to get everything in order before Chris arrives!  The whole nesting instinct hasn't really kicked in yet (don't know if it ever will) but I know that I am running out of time to get everything done.  My back is killing me constantly and my hands and feet have started to swell.  So I can only do so much moving around bedore I am exhausted and have to take a break!

I had a doctors appointment last week and I had lost 1 pound.  I was a little worried at first because I keep hearing that you put on most of your weight during the last several weeks but they assured me that this was okay.  This puts me at a weight gain of 21 lbs throughout the entire pregnancy and I am pretty thrilled about that.  I was also 34 weeks and 3 days at the appointment and I measured 35.5 cm so I am no longer 3 weeks ahead in size, only about 1 week.  I haven't had ANY cravings or other symptoms really....I have left those to Ed.  He is wanting ice cream and sweets a lot and keeps asking me if I'm sure that I don't need him to run out and get me anything, lol!  He's also following my sleep patterns.  He used to be such a night owl and could go to sleep at 3am and be fine for work the next morning.  Now he is yawning at 10pm and asleep on the couch by 11pm.

I usually go to bed around 11pm and wake up about once an hour sometimes more often.  Depending on which side I am laying on, my lower back down my butt and in to my thigh goes numb after about an hour.  It wakes me up and forces me to switch sides.  Then the same thing happends on the other side and so on all throughout the night.  It is quite annoying.  And during all of this I get up about 3-4 times to pee.  Lately I have been waking up at about 3am and not going back to sleep until about 5am.  Since I seem to be in the bed from 11pm until 9am so you would think I am getting rest but I am exhausted throughout the day!!  I would like to think I will be prepared for the sleep deprivation that awaits me but somehow I don't think that's true.

The weather has been so beautiful that we have been enjoying the evenings in our lawn chairs out front while all of the neighborhood kids play basketball in the driveway.  I have loved every minute of it.  Yesterday I was at the house by myself and I sat in the shade for about 2 hours and read.  It was great!  We have another ultrasound on Monday so we'll see where his weight checks in!  We are looking forward to the cookout next Saturday!