Walkin' the baby

Happy Anniversary Momma & Daddy!

Today is our first anniversary. Nancy and I were married on February 29, 2004. Although this is just our first anniversary, it feels like we've been married for years!

Seriously though, today is a special day for us. But we wouldn't mind sharing it with another special person. Baby wanna come out and play?

Nancy had some more intense practice contractions last night. She made the comment to me early this morning, "...this is going to hurt...but it's not something I can't endure." She's still showing strength and determination. Won't be much longer.

41 Weeks

After yesterday we successfully completed 41 weeks. At this hour, we've only got a little over 24 hours left to have a February baby.

Nancy is feeling more pressure in her pelvis, but not anything yet that she has to breathe with to get through. She usually gets some good contractions around 2 am...we'll have to wait and see!

Any Day Now

Today was our weekly visit to the midwife. Officially Nancy was a week past her expected due date today. During the examination, the midwife observed Nancy was 2 cm. dilated now about 85-90% effaced. She also said that the baby's station is now at +1 (or below the pelvis). Only 10% of her clients progress to this point prior to being in labor.

This was all good news and signs towards a shorter labor. The baby's heartbeat was strong and the midwife measured the baby to be around 7 3/4 lbs. It seems the only thing holding back the labor at this point is a case of poison oak Nancy has on her left side. It seems Nancy got this after working in the landscaping in the front of the house last week. She was trying to be good by being on her hands and knees, holding a position that would keep the baby in anterior.

Well, we've been treating the poison oak the rest of the afternoon and it's definitely looking better. So maybe now that her body can redirect it's energy away from the rash and focus on the labor!

Happy Birthday Momma!

What's the Point?

Nancy got her acupuncture treatment this afternoon. She got stuck on both her hands, her ankles and feet, her shoulders and her backside. The "point" of all this is to stimulate her body for labor. If she doesn't go into labor by Saturday, she has another appointment Saturday afternoon for another round.

I don't think they got the needles in deep enough...she's still smiling too much...

A leap day baby?

Well, it looks like baby Clark is in no rush to get here. We were wondering if we would have an Aquarius or a Pisces. It looks like baby will be a fishy like its momma. (Yeah! I am looking forward to having someone that understands my logic.) We could all use another dreamer in the world-of course that makes the typical Taurus cringe. It's a good thing we are as adorable and loving as we are. Christopher's consolation is that he will at least be able to influence this one with routines and the finer points of linguistics from birth. :) (Aunt Patsy, you'll have to give us some pointers!)

The baby keeps giving us signs that it wants to come, but then gets all cozy and decides to wait a little longer. Our midwife says that babies like to go for 41 weeks which would be this Wednesday the 27th. We will have to put up a new poll- will it be born on its own unique day, will it be born on my birthday or will it be a leap day baby? Of course since I am the Pisces, we will have to wait for Christopher to get out there and set that all up.

One thing to consider-I am going to the acupuncturist tomorrow and will have an "induction" treatment. Although, it is not a guarantee that baby Clark will come, it is supposed to stimulate points that encourage birth.

Well, keep checking the blog and we'll let you know if anything changes. For you Indiana Jones fans- "...choose wisely"

False Start?

What started out as a quiet, normal weekend got a little exciting yesterday. While on our way to church, Nancy was noticing some stronger Braxton-Hicks contractions about 10 minutes or so apart. As the day progressed, Nancy's hunger was up which is a good sign the body is preparing for the athletic even we call "labor". Later in the afternoon, Nancy's energy was fading and she took a nap, still experiencing contractions here and there. When we went to bed, I half way expected to be awoken in the middle of the night. I was prepared to grab my pen, paper and stopwatch, but apparently that's going to be another night. Nancy had a few crampy contractions last night, but was able to go back to sleep through it all. I tried to time one of her contractions this morning, but after not feeling anything after 10 minutes, we didn't feel it was anything we needed to concern ourselves with for now.

Nancy's visiting the chiropractor today for another adjustment. Tomorrow she has her acupuncture appointment where they'll hit some spots that will help stimulate labor. Although they call it "induction treatment", it's a little different then being induced with pitocin. The treatment Nancy's going to get doesn't guarantee she'll go into labor, but if her body is ready, it will respond to the treatment. In the end, it's still her body that's going to drive the labor. Pitosin, on the other hand, is used to "mimic" labor when your body isn't doing it on it's own. Hopefully Nancy's body will do what it needs to do naturally and we won't have to pursue any pitosin type option.

40 weeks (and still counting)

Like the Energizer bunny, we're still going...

Nancy had her weekly midwife appointment yesterday. Everything checked out normal. The midwife is estimating the baby is probably somewhere around 7 1/2 pounds right now. Some great news was that the baby had turned back around to an anterior position! As long as the baby stays facing Nancy's back, this will reduce the amount of labor and sometimes even the degree of pain.

Nancy's been working really hard on sitting in positions that promote this position for the baby. I think what was really helpful was seeing the Chiropractor on Monday which loosened some ligaments and created a little more room for the baby to move. There's just so little room left now.

Nancy saw the Chiropractor again yesterday after our midwife appointment. Today, she has her weekly acupuncture appointment. Last night she was feeling a little crampy during some of her braxton-hicks contractions.

So, it seems things are continuing to progress. Tonight's a full moon. Some crazy things happen during full moons!

Just Another Day

For us, today was the day we were counting down to meet our baby. 40 weeks of charting, appointments, anxiety, excitement and surprises were supposed to build up to everything being revealed today. However, Clark2B has different plans it seems. Today isn't anything special at all. Today is just another day.

Last Day to Vote

Well, it's another primary day in the race for President and here in the blog for Clark2B, it's the last day to vote on whether you think Clark2B will be a boy or girl. The vote for early, late and on-time has already closed, even with some last minute jockeying and shifting of votes. But don't worry, all votes will be accounted for. The nice thing about this vote is that regardless of what you decide to vote for, we're all going to end up with something we can all be happy with!

Nancy and Clark2B are doing well. For the past several days Nancy has said to me that she feels like she's getting close. And of course, she's right. Each day is a little closer! But I think she's really starting to feel like it just can't be much longer. Tomorrow is our calculated "due date", but there's still 9 hours left for those early birds out there who voted "Look Out"!

Water Breakage of a Different Kind

Well, I hope everyone had an enjoyable Valentine's Day last week with the one you love. Mine was spent on my hands and knees with a wet vac, sucking up water out of our carpet.

No, Nancy's still intact. Remember the pool we started to fill up Monday morning? Well, we've been keeping a foot of water in it in anticipation of Nancy going into labor. Everything was fine until Thursday when in a matter of hours, one side of the pool deflated and water started to spill over the side out on to the carpet!

Fortunately, only a couple inches emptied out, but it was enough to soak a good portion of the carpet where the pool was sitting. Thanks to the Dupres, we were able to borrow their wet vac and suck up most of the water. Then, I went out to Craig's List and found someone who was selling a dehumidifier for $35. I drove down and bought it from him on Friday and had it running over the weekend to dry out the carpet the rest of the way.

We're back to normal now. Fortunately we didn't need the tub this past weekend, although we were anticipating maybe something would happen with the storms passing through Friday night and Saturday. It's common for hospitals to see an influx of women with their water broken during a storm. However, our midwife thinks this is due to a mineral deficiency and doesn't experience this phenomenon with her clients since she puts them on a vitamin regimen that includes a mineral supplement.

So, the wait continues. Part of me obviously wants to see the baby as soon as possible and have it here to hold. But there's another part that says enjoy the time I have as much as I can while it's just Nancy and I for a little while longer.

39 Weeks

Happy Valentine's Day!

The past several days have been filled with anticipation. I've commented a few times how it feels like I'm watching paint dry or the grass grow. Nothing seems to be happening fast enough!

Yesterday, Nancy had her weekly appointment with the midwife. The baby's heartbeat was in the low to mid 130's this time. It seems the heart is getting stronger which is definitely encouraging.

Nancy was 70% effaced and approx. 1 1/2 cm. dialated. The midwife's explanation for the decrease in effacement was due to Nancy's appointment last week was in the afternoon when Nancy had been on her feet all day and the baby was applying more and more pressure throughout the day. Yesterday, Nancy's appointment was in the morning, more in line with all of her previous appointments. So, in comparison with her appointment 3 weeks ago when she was 65% effaced, Nancy has definitely progressed, just not at the rate we were thinking last week. But anything can happen!

The baby was also positioned posterior again. During Nancy's acupuncture visit yesterday afternoon, they got the baby moving around again. This morning Nancy seemed to feel like she was only feeling the baby move on the right side. Now if we can just keep the baby there!

Nancy and I also visited with a new pediatrician group on Tuesday night as we explore our options. We have another appointment next Tuesday with one that this really close to our home. I guess we'll see if Nancy will make it to that appointment with me or not!

Today, Nancy's getting her haircut. She enjoyed the style she got last time which was very low maintenance. That will be important for the next month or two. Plus, by doing it now, she won't have to worry about trying to fit an appointment in before going back to work in April.

Only 13 hours left to have a Valentine's Day baby. Time's runnin' out!

Scrubs

Nancy made some scrubs for me to wear when the baby is born. A few weeks ago we found an Indianapolis Colts pattern and the search for the type of scrubs I wanted was over. With the help of Nancy's mom, they got finished just in time. I may not know what to do during the birth, but I'll look like I do!

First Contraction

At about 2:50 a.m. this morning, Nancy experienced her first painful contraction. Nothing super painful, but she definitely felt something. She felt a couple more about 10 minutes apart. The last one wasn't painful at all, so she was able to drift off back to sleep.

Nonetheless, the moment is getting closer, so I'm filling up the tub for Nancy to use once she goes into labor...

Let the Spoiling Commence

A couple weeks ago, there was a big question mark on whether or not we thought Nancy would even make it to her own baby shower which took place yesterday, 11 days before her due date. Clark2B cooperated and blessed Nancy with a wonderful day with family and friends. We received so many nice gifts and words of encouragement. It's wonderful to know that so many really care about us and our family.

Here are some photos from yesterday...

38 Weeks

Today our midwife visit happened at our house. The midwife was able to see the layout of our house and where we planned to have the baby. Good thing we had the house cleaned last weekend!

The midwife performed her routine weekly exam while she was here. The baby appears to be right at 7 lbs. now and is completely engaged in the pelvis. For the first time, the baby appears to be turned posterior, so Nancy is going to have to get on her hands and knees and try to get the baby to turn around to a more anterior position before labor. Nancy is also now 90% effaced. Two weeks ago she was 65% effaced, so we're getting really close now.

This weekend, Nancy is having a shower thrown for her by some women at our church. Nancy's sister and my sister and Nancy's parents are all traveling from out of town for the shower. It will be really nice to see everyone for one of the last times it will be just the two of us.

Well, next week's Valentine's Day, so I guess we have the possibility of a Valentine's Day baby. In the spirit of all the primary voting going on for the presidential election and yesterday being Super Tuesday, I'm going to throw another vote on the blog to see who thinks the baby will be early, late or on time. Happy voting!