What happens when your first internal exam at your 36 week appointment reveals that, not only is your baby's head super low because he has dropped into your pelvis, but that you are dilated 3 cm and about 90% effaced?
I'll tell you.
The first thing that happens is that you laugh for about and hour -- all the way home from the doctor's office, in fact -- because you were so not expecting to hear such crazy numbers. You had expected to hear that you weren't dilated or effaced at all, and that your baby would be coming later than your due date.
Then you get serious and realize that this could mean your baby might come in May and not June. This will cause you to almost panic.
Then you will repack your hospital bag and wait.
And if at your second internal exam a week later you discover that you are further dilated to 4.5 cm and basically fully effaced, and you start to wonder what exactly is holding this baby in, don't worry about it.
Because really, no one knows what that means. Baby could be coming super soon, or... not.
So I'm waiting -- not very patiently at all -- for my inside baby to become my outside baby.
Any minute now...
Right?
5.25.2011
4.19.2011
Pregnancy update
Well... I'm 32 weeks now and we're in the home stretch for having this baby join our family! I guess it's time to share some "bump" pictures and let everyone know how we're doing.
I haven't had much of a bump until fairly recently, but the baby has now asserted his presence in a more unmistakable way. I continue to lose weight, much to the chagrin of my OB. I've lost 30 lbs. so far and I don't anticipate gaining much, if any, of that back. At this point my gallbladder is the culprit, but since it's a situation largely out of my control and the baby is doing great, I refuse to worry about it.
Baby is doing really well. We haven't had another ultrasound, so gender is still iffy, but we refer to baby as "he" all the same, since it's a good bet that he's a boy. He moves around a LOT. It's fun to interact with him and wonder what he will be like when we finally get to meet him. (I'm guessing he'll be athletic, judging by the amount of constant movement.) I think Preston is really enjoying this stage because he can finally feel the baby's movement and feel like a part of the party.
I'm in full nesting mode these days, frequently freaking out about what we still need for the baby. Which is basically everything, since we haven't yet had a baby shower. :) That will be remedied soon enough.
I sewed up a bunch of cute burp cloths, since you can never have too many. I'm not a great seamstress, but I'm happy with how they turned out!
Since quarters are tight in our current living situation, we've decided to borrow a bassinet from Preston's parents (instead of setting up our second-hand crib). It's a beautiful Erickson family heirloom, and I'm honored to be putting our baby in it. My mother-in-law sewed a sweet cover for it and Preston surprised me by bringing it home last night! Things like that make baby's imminent arrival all the more real, and I'm getting so excited and anxious!
Only 8 more weeks to go before this little guy is due to make his grand debut! Can you believe it?
I haven't had much of a bump until fairly recently, but the baby has now asserted his presence in a more unmistakable way. I continue to lose weight, much to the chagrin of my OB. I've lost 30 lbs. so far and I don't anticipate gaining much, if any, of that back. At this point my gallbladder is the culprit, but since it's a situation largely out of my control and the baby is doing great, I refuse to worry about it.
Baby is doing really well. We haven't had another ultrasound, so gender is still iffy, but we refer to baby as "he" all the same, since it's a good bet that he's a boy. He moves around a LOT. It's fun to interact with him and wonder what he will be like when we finally get to meet him. (I'm guessing he'll be athletic, judging by the amount of constant movement.) I think Preston is really enjoying this stage because he can finally feel the baby's movement and feel like a part of the party.
I'm in full nesting mode these days, frequently freaking out about what we still need for the baby. Which is basically everything, since we haven't yet had a baby shower. :) That will be remedied soon enough.
I sewed up a bunch of cute burp cloths, since you can never have too many. I'm not a great seamstress, but I'm happy with how they turned out!
Since quarters are tight in our current living situation, we've decided to borrow a bassinet from Preston's parents (instead of setting up our second-hand crib). It's a beautiful Erickson family heirloom, and I'm honored to be putting our baby in it. My mother-in-law sewed a sweet cover for it and Preston surprised me by bringing it home last night! Things like that make baby's imminent arrival all the more real, and I'm getting so excited and anxious!
Only 8 more weeks to go before this little guy is due to make his grand debut! Can you believe it?
3.20.2011
Ireland, Part 4 (and Final)
Anyone still with me on this travel log? Wouldn't blame you if you weren't, but I'm not stopping now. Might as well finish. :)
Angie and I spent Friday and Saturday in Dublin. Preston met us Friday night, making me one very happy girl. There wasn't much time to cover all that Dublin has to offer, but I think we hit some highlights.
On Friday, Angie and I took a hop-on-hop-off tour of the city. I'm trying to remember what we say while on the bus... I don't remember really. But we hopped off at Kilmainham Goal, and old prison where many leaders of Irish bids for freedom were held captive. I loved visiting the jail because it was like a crash course in Irish political history. I was touched by the devotion these men and women had to the cause of fighting for their freedom.
On Saturday, we headed out to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells -- an ancient illuminated text of the four gospels of the New Testament. As with so many cool, antique things, no pictures allowed inside... But the exhibit was really remarkable. It's amazing to me that these sort of artifacts remain intact through the ages!
(Also of note here is that I should never attempt to write travel books. I can't sell the virtues of the cool sights I've seen. Trust me, if you're in Dublin, Trinity College and the Book of Kells are well worth your time.)
With not much time to see Dublin, we mostly walked around and hit some of the nearby sights. I particularly love architecture and old churches. Dublin didn't disappoint, and I wish we'd had enough time to see more!
These last two shots are on the River Liffey. Beautiful Dublin!
It's over! I loved my trip to Ireland, but there's always so much that goes undone on any trip. Ireland has so much to offer, and I hope someday to go back and visit some of the things I missed this time around.
Angie and I spent Friday and Saturday in Dublin. Preston met us Friday night, making me one very happy girl. There wasn't much time to cover all that Dublin has to offer, but I think we hit some highlights.
 |
| We stayed at the Trinity Capitol hotel. It was so fun, funky and kitschy! Highly recommended if you're staying in Dublin. |
On Friday, Angie and I took a hop-on-hop-off tour of the city. I'm trying to remember what we say while on the bus... I don't remember really. But we hopped off at Kilmainham Goal, and old prison where many leaders of Irish bids for freedom were held captive. I loved visiting the jail because it was like a crash course in Irish political history. I was touched by the devotion these men and women had to the cause of fighting for their freedom.
 |
| Kilmainham Goal |
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| Kilmainham Goal |
On Saturday, we headed out to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells -- an ancient illuminated text of the four gospels of the New Testament. As with so many cool, antique things, no pictures allowed inside... But the exhibit was really remarkable. It's amazing to me that these sort of artifacts remain intact through the ages!
(Also of note here is that I should never attempt to write travel books. I can't sell the virtues of the cool sights I've seen. Trust me, if you're in Dublin, Trinity College and the Book of Kells are well worth your time.)
 |
| Me and Preston waiting in line to see the Book of Kells. I'm only slightly happy to be with him and not possessive at all... |
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| Beautiful Trinity College |
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| Cool sculpture on the grounds of Trinity college. Preston says there's a similar one in the Vatican, but I don't remember seeing one there... |
With not much time to see Dublin, we mostly walked around and hit some of the nearby sights. I particularly love architecture and old churches. Dublin didn't disappoint, and I wish we'd had enough time to see more!
 |
| Christchurch Cathedral |
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| Flying buttresses! |
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| Another view of Christchurch Cathedral. Love the old stone and windows! |
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| Yet another church. I'm feeling too lazy right now to look up what it's called. Maybe later... Probably has something to do with St. Patrick. They like that guy over there. |
These last two shots are on the River Liffey. Beautiful Dublin!
It's over! I loved my trip to Ireland, but there's always so much that goes undone on any trip. Ireland has so much to offer, and I hope someday to go back and visit some of the things I missed this time around.
3.18.2011
Ireland, Part 3
Reluctantly (at least I was reluctant, having missed my husband all summer long), Angie and I left Preston in Cork and headed up to Dublin, where Preston would meet us on the weekend.
From Dublin, we took a day trip out to see Newgrange and Monasterboice.
Okay. I'm sure you're tired of my pictures by now, but just one more post (rather brief), and our trip will be at an end. :)
PS: I'll brag a little, because I'm proud of it, that pretty much all of the pictures I've shared were taken by me. I'm not much of a photographer, so I'm impressed they came out so well. Of course, it helps to have something amazing to photograph. :D
From Dublin, we took a day trip out to see Newgrange and Monasterboice.
Newgrange is the site of a "megalithic passage tomb mound" dated back to around 3000 BC, about 500 years older than the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt. It was built in such a way that when the sun rises on the day of the winter solstice, it shines directly along the passage inside the tomb for 17 minutes, illuminating the passage floor. Human remains found inside Newgrange suggest that its main function was that of a tomb, but the construction's tie to the winter solstice suggests that this was probably also a site of great religious significance to the people who made it.
They take small groups in at a time. The passage is very narrow and cramped. Once inside, the tour guides replicate the effect of the sun on the morning of winter solstice. I thought it was truly amazing.
Newgrange was, hands down, the coolest thing we had a chance to see while in Ireland. The surrounding area has many similar passage tombs that we didn't have time to explore. Someday, perhaps, we'll go back...
Anyway, on to the pictures:
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| Newgrange from the outside. (Sadly, no pictures allowed inside.) |
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| The entrance to Newgrange. The stones along the bottom are intricately carved. |
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| A closer look at the intricate carvings on the stones at the base of the tomb. These are around the back of the structure. |
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| Angie selecting a shamrock from the grounds at Newgrange while we waited for our turn to go inside. |
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| Honestly, I don't know what this stuff is. Unmarked graves is my guess. Looks cool, though! |
Monasterboice is the ruins of an early Christian settlement, founded in the 5th century. It features some amazing and intricate Irish "High Crosses", which are really the main attraction. I admit, I just wanted to roam about on my own at this point, so I didn't listen to our tour guide tell us about this place, but I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there.
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| Monasterboice was home to a monastery, which was burned in 1057. The ruins of a building and watchtower remain on the site. |
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| Religious carvings depict the life and ministry of Christ on this High Cross. |
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| Beautiful and intricate! |
Okay. I'm sure you're tired of my pictures by now, but just one more post (rather brief), and our trip will be at an end. :)
PS: I'll brag a little, because I'm proud of it, that pretty much all of the pictures I've shared were taken by me. I'm not much of a photographer, so I'm impressed they came out so well. Of course, it helps to have something amazing to photograph. :D
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