False Alarm

Yesterday afternoon, Kent and I ventured to Fayetteville in search of dining room chairs to go with our new dining room table. While walking through Peir 1, I started to have contractions. They never hurt, but they were pretty consistent, so Kent and I decided to time them. Once we left Pier 1 we were headed to Bentonville to attend a meeting for Gateway. Before getting on the bypass we decided we better go home and put our hospital bag in the car just in case. When we arrived at our meeting destination, my contractions were very regular, in fact they were happening every 3-5 minutes. Our good friend Allen showed up for the meeting and eventually told us we should go to the hospital. Now, let me tell you, these contractions did not hurt at all, they were just a little uncomfortable that's all. I told Allen this and he said that his wife's never hurt in the beginning, but eventually did. So, with that being said Kent and I left the meeting a little early and headed to the hospital.

Kent and I have been attending prepared childbirth classes every Monday for the past 4 weeks and every week our instructor would remind us as to when we would indeed need to go to the hospital. She said that if your contractions were 3-5 minutes apart for an hour that you needed to go to the hospital. That is exactly what Kent and I did, except we waited 2-3 hours before going to the hospital. Anyway, when we got to the hospital, we checked in and were then brought into a labor and delivery room so they could monitor me. My blood pressure was a little high, so the nurse wanted to check it every 15 minutes for an hour. She also conducted a physical exam to see if I was dilating. Let me just tell you that 4 weeks ago, my dr. had informed me that I was starting to dilate. Well folks, I have not changed at all since then!!! So anyway, I was hooked up to monitor where we could hear my heartbeat and the baby's heartbeat for an hour. During that time I continued having contractions every 3-5 minutes but never once dilated any further. Needless to say, the nurse just said that I was having braxton hicks and needed to go home and drink more water. She said that this could be the start of labor or it could still be days before I actually go into labor for real.

I was so disappointed by this whole event. My wonderful husband tried to encourage me by saying nice things like, the baby will come when he is ready and so on. I know he was trying to help, but I couldn't contain my tears. We decided to go to the movies to get my mind off of the evenings event.

Here I am today, still pregnant and still no signs that labor is near. My official due date isn't until Monday, but I would love for him to arrive before then. I'm trying not to dwell on this situation, but it seems to penetrate my mind all the time!!

Hopefully the next time I blog it will be about me at the hospital having the baby instead of being sent home from the hospital empty handed.

Apple Shower

Last Friday that Apple family threw Kent and I a baby shower! We had a great time. Linda caught some great pics. Enjoy!

The first pic is of course of me holding up the wonderful gifts from my sister! Thanks!

The second pic is of me LOVING the tiny hand made pumpkin hat and pants from Bea.

The third pic is of me and my hunny kissing, and the third one is of me at 38 weeks!

Waiting and blankets

We had another dr. appt. today. Our dr. said that he was thinking about us because it's been almost 3 weeks since our last appt. I was very quick to remind him that he said that he didn't feel it necessary to see us weekly because I was very healthy and the baby was healthy. Of course he mentioned that if at any time we felt we needed to be seen to give him a call. I love that about him! :) I decided that I wanted to be checked to see if I have made any progress. The only difference from our last visit is that I'm still continuing to thin out, but not dilate. I have a little over 2 weeks left of this pregnancy and I'm feeling very ready to have this baby. Dr. said that the baby is at about 7 pounds now and he anticipates him being just at 8 pounds when he is born! HOLY COW, that is a big and healthy baby! So, we are still in our waiting game. I keep having contractions, but I guess they aren't really doing anything to speed up the process. Our next appt. is next Friday, we'll see if we make it. Maybe we'll have a little baby boy in our arms!

On a side note, I have fallen completely in love with this little guy. I have this little blanket that I got at one of my showers, it's satin on one side and a really soft material on the other. I fell asleep with it last night because I was thinking about the baby and how he might love this particular blanket. I don't know, I think somehow I'm trying to bond and connect with him. I just can't wait to meet him!!!!

The LONG Wait......

Here I am 2 weeks after my last Dr.'s appt. and we've got nothing except for serval Braxton-Hicks contractions. My next appt. has been moved to this Thursday. Maybe the Dr. will give me some good news like, "hey you're dilated to 4 cm, we need to admit you." Boy, wouldn't that be awesome! I had contractions Saturday night and for several hours Sunday, which made me believe it might be time, but no, it was all just a false alarm!

My dear friend Christa keeps it real with me and has helped me step out of my fantasy world and back into reality. Afterall, I still have 3 weeks till Nolen's official due date. On the bright side of things, I guess it's alright that Nolen hasn't been born just yet because I still have bedding to finish up, homework and a house to make final preparations to. Honestly, I'm not miserable, in fact this pregnancy has been really great.

I keep thinking about how much I want to hold him and can't wait to see what he looks like, but then I look at my HUGE belly and think about how much I'm going to miss seeing him kick the crap out of me. Oh, how I can't wait to meet the little guy!

I'll keep you posted!

Happy Halloween!

Kent and I had a little gathering of friends over for a Halloween party! We had a great time!