30 July 2010

37 weeks today

Starting to efface and 1cm dilated!

Come on out baby!

23 July 2010

Down down down

Drops the baby! The wife belly is hanging lower these last few days and there's a lot more pelvic pressure. Looks like the baby has dropped... Which means about 2-4 wks to go...right on schedule! I love punctuality!

In other news, two weeks until my mother-in-law arrives for her 3-week stay, 5 weeks until we move back to Chicagoland and move in with said mother-in-law, and 11 weeks until the in-laws make there way to Florida for the winter, leaving us with their house rent-free for another 6 months. We are lucky to have such a generous family.

And on an entirely different note, our dog Bailey is recovering from a mass removal surgery in his nether- regions. Poor guy. It hurts for him to walk, pee, stand for too long, and he has to wear the cone of shame until he stops bugging it (which probably means until it's fully healed). He did however enjoy his chicken dinner. It may be hard to get him to eat dog food again!

20 July 2010

2 oz a day...

that is how much i'm collecting right now...which is quite a jump from two weeks ago when i was collecting a mere drop or two on each side! so things are going great...sore cracked nipples and all. Lanolin is my new best friend. I never fully realized how much work breastfeeding is. I feel like all I do is pump! When this milk monster arrives I will probably feel like I'm always shirtless. Pumping at work, is going okay...it's not particularly easy to find the time to do it every 2-3 hours...and I am sometimes challenged in terms of space to do it in (especially at a state hospital where nobody has their own office and the bathrooms are so gross I don't want to even pee in them)... but it isn't impossible.

In terms of baby, we had our 36 week ultrasound this morning (3 days early)...she is measuring 5 lbs 6 oz, in the 23rd percentile...so she is on the smaller side of normal, which might make labor much easier for the wife...so I consider that a win...especially because our doctor says there isn't anything to be concerned about at this weight. We saw her sucking during the ultrasound...it was super cute...she's practicing for her big day! We also saw the lungs going, so they are practicing as well...and she had a nice big belly, full of food...so that is great!

We are due exactly one month from today, and since we are moving 10 days later, our doctor has advised us to induce on her due-date if she doesn't come early. They want her at least a week old before the move...so it looks like we are having a baby in THE NEXT MONTH!!! Holy Cannoli. That's crazy! I would prefer that she stay in for another 2 1/2 weeks (that's how much I have left at work)...and then we are set!

I can't wait to see what she looks like and to see what color her hair is (yes...they saw hair on the ultrasound...how crazy is that?!!!)...

05 July 2010

Third day

I have milk. Not much (yet). Every day there is more and more. The last pumping session of my first day it was barely a drop of clear on each side. Today, I sm collecting maybe a teaspoon from each and the color has changed to white. It's just matter of time before I begin to let down and substantially produce. Not confident enough yet to declare induced lactation success, but at this point I'm optimistic. The 2am wakeups for pumping may pay off afterall. Those of you who have enduced lactation, how long did it take until you finally let down and were able to get a substantial amount (maybe 3 oz or more)?