Pregnancy Update

I had an appointment with my midwife a few days ago and thought I would fill ya'll in on the happenings of our pregnancy...

* All my vitals are good, baby is measuring on target and we are meeting normal milestones.

* Cervix is holding up well and has shown no signs of early dilation (woohoo!). My midwife said that the next risk to consider resulting from the cervical surgeries is that the scar tissue would prohibit dilation once we actually want it. Thankfully evening primrose oil can help in those cases, so I will be starting on that soon. Otherwise the tissue will have to be "broken up" during labor. I don't really know what that would feel like, but it doesn't sound pleasant and I would much rather avoid it!

* As of last week Baby Halo-Halo is considered "viable" (he has about a 50% chance of surviving if born now). Not an ideal situation, obviously, but comforting to know.

* We are not aware of any change in the High Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (the nasty cells on my cervix), but my midwife was optimistic that the labor itself results in enough sloughing off of cells that we can hope to get rid of the bad ones in the process. Lovely side effect I think.

* Baby Halo is not just kicking anymore, he is launching all out attacks on my insides these days. He has made me jump in surprise at work before. I think he gets bored at work sometimes (or maybe that is transference speaking). Ray is convinced that it is the Thai fighter instincts and he must be training for the big day in there.

* I have Group B Strep colonization. Not a problem for me, but Baby has a chance of dangerous infection at birth so I will need to get Penicillin via IV during birth.

* I am Rh negative. I have negative blood, Ray has positive blood. If my blood intermingles with the baby's for whatever reason, I can develop antibodies against his blood and in subsequent pregnancies my body will attack the fetus as an invader. To prevent the development of the antibodies I will be getting a Rhogam shot in a few weeks and then again after the birth.

* I have mentioned to some of you the crazy mystery pain I have been getting on and off for the past month (imagine someone stabbing you with a knife in your left ovary and then twisting it around for an hour or 3 while you kneel on the ground trying to breath and not lose your mind or throw up). Apparently this is simply "severe round ligament pain". Generally you have a quick stab of pain or dull stretching pain as this ligament stretches around your growing uterus. Not this kind of ridiculous torture which is very rare, but also nothing to worry about. I am not entirely convinced but my midwife is, so until I have a reason to doubt it I will go with her expert opinion.

* We have not started the nursery yet *gulp* or gotten any baby gear. We are not doing a lot, but I still meant to get it going before now. We did order a rug, so that might be the motivation I need to clean out the unwanted piles from the room!

Overall, things are going well for us. I feel pretty good on most days and the baby is healthy, so I am very happy with this pregnancy. 110 days left and counting...

May Day & the beached whale sighting

I was right that May Day was a little different this year, but good nonetheless. I forgot to take a picture of our luxury camp setup, but it did the trick in keeping me happy sleeping on the ground. I am pretty sure the dogs thought they had died and gone to heaven - swimming and running free, cleaning up food scraps, sleeping outside, with both of us, on an air mattress. The best of all worlds for them! In fact, they had so much fun that after all of the swimming and running they honestly could not walk for a couple of days. They forget they aren't as young as they used to be and cannot resist chasing a football being thrown back and forth and back and forth or following everyone that goes in and out of the water for HOURS.

paying the consequences... :(
Thanks to our friend Paul, we got the traditional belly shot
(the night shot gave the added bonus of the headlamps):

And our finger (bad) luck continues as Ray suffered a chopping accident that took a little chunk out of his finger - to the bone.

He didn't even take a Tylenol - what a tough guy:

And no, I do not normally wear bikinis. And yes, I did sport one shamelessly at 5.5 months pregnant. There was something freeing about the fact that everyone expected me to be huge and lumpy and cellulitey and pasty white. Like a pregnant badge of honor I wore self-consciously but proudly. At least I didn't have to worry about a pooch! :)

In all my glory:

Ray's full picture album is on his smugmug.

Childbirth class photo

I suppose our first childbirth class will always have a special place in my heart. Our class is mini-sized (the fourth couple is having twins and is on bedrest, so no group class for them). Our teacher, Zann, is completely nuts and also very knowledgeable. We are pretty sure she has a crush on Dylan (second from left). Oh, and she is 65. Everytime we leave class I laugh so hard I almost cry from all of the craziness that happened and I love it. And the information overload is perfect for a junkie like me. Just thought I would share what we are up to on Wednesday nights. :)

Tessa Marie & Parker Glenn

I realize this blog is becoming somewhat baby focused, but tis the time of our lives. And babies are just so exciting and cute!

I am happy to announce the arrival of 2 more little ones for us to love:

Laura & Jesse had a baby girl named
Tessa Marie on Sunday, August 9!

(some photos stolen from Jesse's Facebook)

Traci & Tom & big brother Jackson welcomed
Parker Glenn on Thursday, August 13!

(I only had one photo on my phone and it got deleted *sad face*)

I am so excited that my closest friends and I will have kids so close in age. I only wish we lived closer together, but we will always make an effort to be a part of their lives and make memories with our kids. Congrats to the new parents and many wishes for sleep-filled nights!

A different kind of May Day

4 or so years ago our friend Stephen organized a group camping trip for his birthday weekend in May. It was such a hit that it has become an annual "May Day" tradition, though it is almost never in May anymore. To call it camping is almost inaccurate because we lug in coolers and grills and lots and lots of food (last year we made pancakes - not your typical camping food!) Every year promises lots of relaxing, food and memories made. Here are some pics from last year:Tonight we leave for a weekend of fun and this year promises to be a different adventure altogether. It has been a busy summer this year and I have not gone camping yet. Now I am at the point where I can't even sleep comfortably in my own bed, so sleeping on the ground ON MY SIDE (the worst way to sleep on the ground) made me think for a minute... This is how we used to camp (in a 3-man backpacking tent with the 2 of us and the 2 dogs all cuddled up):

This year we borrowed a 5-man tent from Lisa and Drew and we are bringing an air mattress, real pillows, prenatal vitamins, orange juice and soda water ("pregnancy mimosas") and the address of the closest hospital. I think our days of simple camping are done. At least for many, many years. Kind of sad, but kind of fun to think that Baby Halo's next camping trip will be out of the belly!

Baby bump at 21 weeks!