Hank T!

On Saturday, we hit the 6-week mark. Yes, technically I could be back at work by now but I couldn't get back into the see the doctor until July 5th so for now I'll enjoy my time home with the Hankster. I'm also still feeling incredibly out of shape so that gives me some extra time to get my butt in gear. Hank is growing by the second. We don't have an exact weight from last week, but he weighed 10 lb 13 oz at our last breast feeding meeting - meaning that he gained 15 oz in 1 week! 

Streeeetch!

Hank and Daddy in the work truck. No, he did not take the vehicle out of park or even turn it on.

Tummy time!

Colossus also likes the Boppy.

Oh baby...

After having my mom in town to help out for 2 weeks and then Bill being on paternity leave for 10 days after that, Hank and I made it through our first week alone. On Friday night and last night, we survived our first overnights since Bill had to spend these nights out in the field, a.k.a "the box." I'm pretty sure that's short for sandbox. Our days have been dictated by Hank's eating and sleeping schedule which changes every day. We do venture out of the house to pick up groceries and such, but there really isn't much on post so we spend most of our time at the house. Last week, I finally starting feeling up to taking walks around the neighborhood so we take a late afternoon walk every day now. We also attend our weekly breast feeding support group meeting. I mainly go to see how much Hank weighs to reassure myself that he is actually getting enough to eat - and by golly he sure is - he gained 11 oz. in 1 week! Last week my baby weighed 9 lbs 14 oz! I expect him to be over the 10 lb mark at tomorrow's meeting. Enjoy the pictures!

"Look, Daddy. I already have the military look going on."

Smiling in his sleep :)

"Mommy! I can't believe you're putting this picture on the blog!"

He loves looking at the light coming in through the windows during the day.

Louisiana Bound

For my blog readers who haven't heard yet, we are moving to Fort Polk, Louisiana in August/September. In Army language we are PCSing (Permanent Change of Station) to Fort Polk. I can't say that I'm super excited about packing up our house and moving across the country, but I knew it was only a matter of time. On the plus side, we will be much closer to family and friends - about a 14-15 hour drive from my hometown and shorter plane rides. Once again we will be living in a warm climate - we're just trading the dry, desert heat with little to no precipitation for a much more humid climate with quite a bit more rain than we're used to. I'll keep you all posted as moving day gets closer.

Hank has arrived!!

Hank decided that he would be fashionably late at one day past his due date. My water broke at 1:15 am, and since I wasn't feeling any contractions yet I let Bill take a quick shower before we headed to the hospital. After 19 hours of labor (8 hours without the epidural and 11 hours with the epidural) with 1.5 hours of pushing, Henry Taylor Ferguson arrived at 9 pm on May 14th, 2011. He weighed a whopping 8 lbs 7 ounces and measured 20.9 inches. We ended up staying in the hospital from Saturday the 14th through Tuesday the 17th because silly Mommy ended up having a fever throughout the labor and delivery process so Hank had to receive IV antibiotics for 48 hours as a precaution and Mommy, too. During his first week, we made numerous trips to the doctor to have his bilirubin checked and thankfully after the third check his bilirubin levels were within an ok range. At his 2 week appointment, he weighed 8 lb. 13 oz. This was a huge relief to Mommy because it meant that we were doing a good job with the breast feeding. My mom stayed with us for almost 2 weeks which was a HUGE help. I was able to get some much needed rest with her here helping out with Hank. Enjoy the pictures of our little one! Now that I feel more like myself again, I'll try to make the blog posts more frequent, especially while I'm on maternity leave - but no promises! :)

Patience is still the key...

We just got back from our doctor appointment. I am still 1 cm dilated, but I am now 75% effaced. I let the doctor strip my membranes because I am feeling almost desparate at this point because I'm feeling no action in the contraction department. I have been reassured that stripping the membranes is perfectly safe for baby and just uncomfortable for mom. And yes, in case you're wondering, it was pretty uncomfortable while it was being done. Hank's heartbeat is going strong, and he's measuring at 40 weeks. Good news is we now have an end date in sight. If Hank doesn't decide to come on his own before then, I will be induced on May 20th. It's nice to have a final date set but it seems so far away. Bill keeps telling me to be patient and not rush things. I'm trying to take his advice but it's not like he knows what it feels like to be 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant!

That's enough of my whining for now. Here's your traffic school lesson for today (actually it was my lesson but I wanted to share it with you). I learned that scientific studies have shown that congested traffic conditions can heighten stress levels in drivers. One of the tips for keeping your stress levels under control includes planning your route and schedule ahead of time including considering an alternate route. Now I don't know how many of you reading this have been out to Fort Irwin, but there is no alternate route!! There is one road taking you in and out of Fort Irwin that goes for about 40 miles to the next town with no place to stop at along the way. So I guess considering an alternate route does not work for everyone, Mr. Traffic School. I'm taking this chance to share with you a video. This is a commercial that was shot on Fort Irwin Road about 2 months ago. They closed the road down for periods of time to complete the filming which lead to a lot of unhappy people. I have a friend who had to get a  police escort so she could get her son to a pre-surgical appointment on time. Scary thing is that there are some people who drive very similar to this on this road, just not in a Lamborghini.

Patience is key....

Today makes me 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I won't lie to you - I really thought that I'd be holding a baby boy named Hank in my arms by now. I guess he has other ideas. I partially blame my mom's side of the family for getting my hopes up about delivering early with the claim that "we just grow them fast." It is true that many of my cousins were born around 36-38 weeks and all weighed over 7 pounds, but I have now long surpassed this timeframe. I'm about 99% sure that Hank will weigh over 7 pounds. Now the words that keep running through my head are those of one my patients from the nursing home who kindly told me every single day for the past two months, "that baby is going to be a 10 pounder! You look like you're carrying a watermelon!" Do I really think that he'll weigh 10 pounds? The answer is no, but I wouldn't say that I'm 99% sure.

My last day of work was May 4th. It was a last minute decision that I made that day. I might sound like a wuss but in all honesty I came home from work every day for that last week feeling utterly exhausted. By the end of the day, I was usually slowly hobbling around because some part of me was constantly aching whether it was my butt, my back, or my feet - and sometimes all three. The 45 minute drive to and from work often made me nauseous - not sure of the reasoning behind this but it would go away as soon as I got out of the car. I also didn't feel like I was giving my patient's the high quality therapy that I'm used to dishing out, though my coworkers assured me otherwise. Well, that's enough for my pity party. I've spent the last few days at home relaxing. I've gone on walks, vacuumed, and ate hot wings - but these have not had any influence on Hank whatsoever. I keep getting advice to mow the lawn, but I have to remind everyone that we literally live in the desert. I guess babies have their own agenda sometimes. I'm preparing myself for the fact that Hank could very well go past his due date and that I might have to be induced - that's right Terrell ladies, I could be our first induction.

Approximately 36 weeks

39 weeks 4 days and officially feeling absolutely huge!

I know this is a long post but bear with me - I'm spending my days at home alone with two dogs who don't talk back. One of the activities that I started yesterday to help pass the time and keep me entertained is my online traffic school course. Yes, Mom and Dad, I got a speeding ticket a month or so ago. I was going 70 mph in a 55 mph zone on a road where the majority of drivers go 80 mph or more. I know, I was in the wrong. The California Highway Patrol is nothing like the movie Super Troopers. No joking around. No small talk. No sympathy for the pregnant lady. Nothing. At least in Indiana you get somewhat of a chance to talk your way out of a ticket. I didn't get asked the usual questions of "Maam, do you know how fast you were going?" or "Maam, why were you speeding?" Yes, I've been pulled over for speeding numerous times. A simple "license, registration, and proof of insurance" is how I was greeted. He then left and came back with a ticket. Of course, I expressed my wish to him that they would catch the people going 90 mph and passing in no-passing zones. His response, "Last week I pulled a guy over going 114 mph." CHP 1. Mindy 0.

Anyway, I wanted to share something that I learned in traffic school today. They say that you should do your part to help make the roads safer by helping to prevent road rage in others. One way to do this is to not drive slowly in the far left lane, therefore blocking the passing lane on the interstate. I found this tidbit of information humorous because I bet the majority of people taking a traffic school course are not the people driving slowly in the passing lane!

That's enough to bore you with for today! We have a doctor appointment tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed that I have gone past being 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced!

By the way, I published this and added pictures using my iPad. I guess they do make an app for that. It only took me a total of 3 hours to sync my iPad and figure out how to use this app so I hope you enjoyed this entry because a lot of sweat and almost tears went into this :)

Sorry for the delay!

To my loyal blog followers, I am so sorry for the delay in updates. We're having some issues with our laptops and I haven't been able to upload photos for the blog posts that I have already drafted on the iPad. Apparantly, the iPad doesn't have the capabilities to add photos to blogs. They should definitely come up with an App for that. Be ready for a lot of posts when we get our computers back up and running. I would already have mine fixed if the closest Best Buy wasn't an hour and 15 minutes away.

Anyway, we're at 38 weeks and 3 days right now. Nothing exciting to report. Hank just seems content to stay put for now. I've almost given up hope that he'll get here before his due date so I could be looking at 2 to 3 more weeks of discomfort. We have a doctor appointment this afternoon so I'll let you all know if there are any exciting updates.