Get Outta My Belly!!!!

Okay, Bryson Laroy Leonard, the fun is over! YOU need to get your little tail movin' in a southward direction ASAP! I've done everything to keep you cooking for the necessary allotment of time, and now, it is time to come out and join your family!

I have been doing everything in my power, that I know of, to go into labor. I figure that if I am already 2 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced, it shouldn't take that much more to get it moving along, right?!! I've tried walking, standing on my feet all day long, eating spicy food, mowing, doing yardwork, washing vehicles, and more! Sure, I've gotten some good regular contractions over significant periods of time, but my water isn't breaking. Someone recommended primrose oil to try, but I've read that it just causes the cervix to soften, which has already happened for me. "Soft and low" is where I sit! I'm tempted to ask Dr. Cornett to strip my membranes at my Tuesday appointment. I've heard it is painful, and it doesn't always work. At this point, I am willing to try it, though. I have quite the pain tolerance, so a bit of pain doesn't scare me. These constant contractions are painful and annoying, so what's a little more pain?

Anyone that knows me knows that I prefer to be in control of everything, no matter the situation. I feel so out of control of our baby's arrival - that's not working for me! As I have stated before, I haven't had the pleasure of going into labor on my own. I have this feeling that it's not going to happen for me this time either. I'm not worried about Bryson being too big, at this point. This Tuesday will be our final ultrasound, so we will see what he is averaging, size-wise, then. I just know that I don't want to be in the hospital during Kaylee's competition, and I'd rather not be in during Easter either. I love the ladies that work at our hospital, and I know most of them. I'm sure none of them prefer to be working on Easter, and I want my nurses to be in a good mood during my stay! Plus, it might be difficult to arrange an Easter egg hunt at Hill Country Memorial!

I really hope Bryson decides to come out and meet us before I have to have my appointment on Tuesday, but if that doesn't happen, I hope that she has some better "news" on my status as a very pregnant lady! Until then, wish us luck! Here's hoping this boy will GET OUTTA MY BELLY very soon!

Love and blessings,
Jessie

38 Weeks!!!

My, oh my, where has the time gone?!! Today, I am 38 weeks along in this pregnancy. There were days when I thought I'd never get here, and there are times when I wish the weeks hadn't gone by so quickly, as well.

At 38 weeks along with Kaylee, I was headed to the hospital to be induced. For awhile, Dr. Cornett thought this would be the route we'd be taking again, but it looks like my blood pressure has fallen back into a normal pattern. I've shown no more protein in my urine (major sign of preeclampsia), in the past three weeks, and I've had no other problems with swelling or headaches. The most irritating thing going on, I'd say, is the on and off contractions that I seem to be having. Since last Sunday, when I was awakened at 2 a.m. with painful contractions, I have been having similar contractions on and off. At times, they are even timeable! Then....they quit....for no apparent reason. Don't get me wrong, they are causing progression, and as of Tuesday, I was 2 cm dilated, 50% effaced, low and soft. I've had a couple other signs that labor is getting close, but here I sit, 38 weeks along and no baby! In fact, my contractions have decreased in the past two days. I am still holding onto the hope that my body will go into labor, naturally, as it should. I can't help but be a bit discouraged at the slow down, though. I, in no way, WANT to be induced, again, but Dr. Cornett says that this stage of labor can go on for the next couple weeks, and she could still have to induce me. I know that some women go past 40 weeks and still manage to have perfectly healthy babies, but I don't know if I have it in me. I am getting so anxious, waiting for something, anything, to happen! Patience is not my strong point!

I guess what is bothering me most at this time is that Kaylee has her first competition March 31st, and I do not want to miss it...nor do I want her to miss it. I have said to myself over the last few weeks that I am going, irregardless of stage of pregnancy or doctor's orders, but it scares me to be two hours away from the hospital. The last thing I want to do is jeopardise the health and safety of Bryson, but Kaylee deserves to have her mommy there, cheering her on! And, I, as a mommy, have the right to see my baby girl perform at her ONLY first dance competition! I keep praying for the strength to get through this, and I know that God has his plan, but it doesn't seem to make things any easier.

With any hope, I will go into labor in the next few days, and Bryson will be able to see his big sister perform! I keep holding onto that hope, since it is all I have at this point. Dr. Cornett won't be available today to deliver because her daughter has a swim meet out of town, but after that, I am ready to roll! I will be walking, mowing my yard, doing jumping jacks....whatever it takes to kickstart this plan into action! And, no worries, you will ALL be informed if and when this plan takes affect!!!

Until then, wish me luck, and please pray for the safe arrival of our baby Bryson very soon!!!

Love and blessings,
Jessie

37th Week!!!

Well, we are trucking through the 37th week of this pregnancy! It's definitely a bumpier part of the road than the previous weeks have been. After spending the last week on modified bed-rest, I did manage to get some good results at the doctor's office, though!

I spent Monday morning registering at the hospital to have an ultrasound in the Radiology Department. Dr. Cornett wants to continue keeping an eye on my amniotic fluid level since my blood pressure has become unstable. The good news was that everything looked great! My fluid level was perfect, and Bryson managed around a pound of growth in just one week! I know, these measurements are not accurate, but it assured me that he is, obviously growing, and is not being affected too much by my hypertension! I measured 6 lbs. 6 oz. and right on target. His head is about a week ahead, still, and his legs look like they will be long, too, measuring about a week ahead, as well!

I still wish my blood pressure had chosen to remain stable, as it has throughout the pregnancy, but I must admit, I do enjoy the weekly ultrasounds leading up to our son's arrival! Perhaps the good Lord knows that I need the reasurance that my boy is healthy and safe, and this is his way of helping me out!

I saw another doctor affiliated with my OB's practice, since my doctor is on vacation this week. She was very nice, bless her heart, but I was never more happy to get out of that office! There are just some doctor's that you connect with, and others....well...I'll leave it at that! The good news was that my week of resting seemed to pay off. I ended up with no protein in my urine for the first time in the last few weeks, although I did get a lecture about needing to drink more water. My blood pressure was okay, and somehow, my weight was down. I am convinced the nurse didn't calibrate the scale correctly because I know that I haven't lost any weight! The doctor had trouble getting my fundal height measurement, but I am thinking it's because Bryson has dropped even lower into the birth canal this week. She kept telling me, "I'm only getting 32!" I told her that Dr. Cornett never told me what my measurement was...just that he was measuring just right. I highly doubt that Bryson measured 35 1/2 weeks last week and only 32 this week. It's like she wanted some kind of explanation from me that I didn't have the answer to. Oh, well! I reminded her that I was supposed to be getting a repeat NST this week, so she went to find the machine and left it at that. Of course, Bryson fell asleep right as I was hooked up to the monitor! I finally managed to wake him up "manually" and told him that if he ever wanted to get out of that office, he needed to show some spunk! Shockingly, he listened! I was never more happy to get out of that office, but I didn't manage to get away without some handouts that the doctor insisted I read up on dealing with Preeclampsia, Toxemia and Going into Labor. Did I forget to mention, I had to keep telling her that this was my second full-term pregnancy? Literally, it took nearly a half-dozen reminders that I had another child at home that I, also, had hypertension with. She kept telling me, "Well, since this is your first..." and "Since you're a first time mom..." Oh my goodness, I wanted to SCREAM!!! I was sweet and nice, instead, and kept on reminding her.

So, now, I have to keep up with Dr. Cornett's orders to try to keep Bryson comfortable in there. My blood pressure checks at home have been all over the place. This morning, I had my highest reading, yet, at 133/95, so I am doing my best to remain calm and relaxed today. I really miss my 105/65 readings that I was getting very used to! I continue to have some minor contractions, but it's nothing that slow and steady breathing doesn't get me through. I guess we will find out more at my ultrasound and appointment with Dr. Cornett on Tuesday! Until then, I will keep doing my part for this boy of mine!

Love and blessings,
Jessie

Past due....Baby Shower Blog!

I know a couple weeks have passed by, but I couldn't go without posting about my adorable shower that my sister and mother gave me! Being that this is our second child to be born, I didn't expect a shower, but, being the wonderful people they are, our family and friends "sprinkled" us with all kinds of wonderful goodies for Bryson!

My mom hosted the shower at her house, and she was so nervous that there wouldn't be enough room for everyone. We had hoped the weather would cooperate to have everything outside, but, as usual, it was devastatingly cold out. That didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves, though! Here are a few photos showing how very nice everything turned out!

Mmmmm...my yummy cake! (Thank you, Mama!)

...and my delicious cupcakes made by my wonderful sister!

My aunt, uncle and cousins brought Bryson this adorable diaper cake!

My sister made us a very cute diaper cake as well as all of the cute decorations!

Of course, you have to have yummy snacks...

...and we were blessed with some fabulous gifts for Bryson!
It is obvious that he is a very loved little boy, already!!!

Omie made sure that he had an Aggie bib and tons of other goodies.
My parents have been so helpful in preparing for their second grandson's arrival,
and he is so lucky to have them!

I had some great helpers when it came to opening up all of those presents!

...and the proud Big Sis, Kaylee even got a few goodies of her own!

After the shower, we had a small barbecue down at the house for family that had come into town. I called it "Gene's Beer, Barbecue and Boy Baby Shower!" (unofficially, of course!) It gave the guys something to do while all of us ladies enjoyed ourselves at the shower! Karen happened to snap a few photos of my belly as I prepared to serve the food, as well as one of us "Proud Parents to-be-Again!"

You woudn't think he's due in the next month, huh?

...the never-changing profile! I'm just fine with that, and he's growing just fine!

Proud Parents! We can't wait to meet our little man!

I am so blessed with wonderful friends and family that have always shown us such love and continue to do so every single day! Bryson couldn't ask for a better welcome into this world, and I cannot wait to introduce him to each and everyone of you! We love you all!

Love and blessings,
Jessie

Bryson Update!

Yesterday, we had another ultrasound and checkup at 35 weeks and 3 days exactly! Bryson is doing great, and is measuring a healthy 5 lbs. 5 oz. at the moment. Aside from being face up, he seems ready to make his entrance into our lives. He spent the entire ultrasound sucking, first his fingers and then just sucking.

He is, certainly filling up the space he has in there. I still do not seem to be growing in my outward appearance, though! People look at me strangely when I tell them that I will be delivering soon.

Towards the end of our ultrasound, the tech got a second photo of Bryson looking straight at us. You can see the outline of his little round face, and it reminds me of Kaylee's when she was born! I can't wait to see if he is going to look like her!



Our boy's head is finally catching up to his body, too! This is the kind of thing a Mommy likes to hear. It's a little less than a week ahead at the moment!

My appointment that followed my ultrasound wasn't until later in the afternoon, so Kaylee and I went to Walmart to kill some time and get a few Easter items. Little did I know, my afternoon appointment wasn't going to go as smoothly as I thought!

I went into my appointment knowing that she would be checking my cervix, doing a strep swab and performing a non-stress test. As usual, the nurse starts out by weighing me and taking my blood pressure. My weight was fine (something I'm always stressing over), but my blood pressure was the highest it has been so far. I told Dr. Cornett that I'd been having some contractions over the weekend, as well, which became evident when she checked me for dilation. I am, now, between a 1 and 2. She told me that it's normal to progress further with your second without any complications just because the body has done it before, and that she wasn't overly concerned. She was concerned, however, about my blood pressure because of my history. I think the part that worries her the most is that she is going to be out of town next week for Spring Break, and she doesn't want me to have to have Bryson prematurely and without her there. I don't blame her...I want her to be there, too! She said that, at this point, they do not adjust meds to bring down the blood pressure. Instead, they start with bedrest, and if that is not successful, then the only other option is to be induced. As she's telling me this, I'm flashing back to my pregnancy with Kaylee, and I know what she is about to tell me. We start with a "modified bedrest" where I am no longer allowed to do those things that I am known to do on a regular basis like clean house and yardwork. There's no more all-day shopping trips where I am on my feet for more than a few hours at a time. In Dr. Cornett's words, "Chill out, relax and put your feet up!" If there still wasn't so much to do, I would be more than inclined to do this. Fortunately, I am a stay-at-home-mom, which does make it easier this time around! The difference is that I have a five-year-old, a bigger house and yard, and a more dependent husband than I did five years ago. I find it difficult to sit around and watch the dust settle! I know, from previous experience, though, that the doctor knows what she is talking about. I wasn't the best listener with Kaylee, and I ended up on full bedrest within a week and a half of those original orders. I'll be at 36 weeks on Friday, and 37 weeks is considered full-term in the sense that the lungs should be developed enough to survive outside the womb without assistance. Dr. Cornett would like to get me to 38 weeks to be on the safe side. That is what we did with Kaylee, and she was perfectly healthy. So, right now, that is our goal. I need to make it 2 1/2 more weeks. I still hope to go into labor without having to be induced, though. That is one thing I don't wish to relive! There will be no other choice if my blood pressure doesn't maintain or go down, though.

So, that is where we sit! I have to have an ultrasound each week, now, to have my Amniotic Fluid Index (AFI) done. Hypertension affects the amount of amniotic fluid, and if the level gets too low, there will be no other choice than to induce, then and there. They will also repeat the non-stress test again next week to make sure Bryson is handling everything without distress. Yesterday, he did just fine, aside from falling asleep! They, literally, made me eat a piece of cake to wake him up. I can honestly say, I never thought I'd be eating cake in the doctor's office! Dr. Cornett told me to bring along a coke next time to make sure he is wide awake for the test. Perhaps, he will be his father's son and able to sleep through anything!

I am hoping and praying that this is a temporary setback, and with rest, the remainder of this pregnancy will go as smoothly as the last nine months have. Bryson and I had a heart to heart discussion last night, and I promised him that I would do everything in my power to help him stay in there to finish growing if he'd have the patience to wait a couple more weeks for his arrival! He gave me a few kicks to let me know that he was right there with me! I see Dr. Rickerhauser next Monday and will have my ultrasound at the hospital on Monday or Tuesday (due to Spring Break complications), and am looking forward to a clean bill of health to get us through the next week ahead! Until then, I will let you all know if anything new arises! Here's hoping that I don't have any new announcements before then!!!

Love and blessings,
Jessie