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.

34 Weeks!

I know it's been over three weeks since my last post, but I promise that I've been busy! :) I've continued to work full-time much to the horror of some of my patients and their families and some coworkers. I get asked a lot when my last day at work will be and to be honest I actually have no idea. I just might work up until the day that I go into labor. This worries Bill because he keeps picturing me going into labor while driving through Jack Hammer Pass on my way to or from work and having no cell phone service to call for help. I assured him that during the times I'm on the road, there are plenty of people driving by who would stop to help a pregnant lady.

At our last appointment (32 weeks 4 days), my blood pressure was fine, and Hank was positioned head down. Since everything is going like it should, our next appoinment is scheduled for past the 36 week mark.

34 weeks 3 days

34 weeks 3 days

Bill had a 4-day weekend this past weekend along with a military ball down in Los Angeles. I decided to take a few vacation days and took off work Thursday through Monday. We did domestic type activities around the house on Thursday. I've had a hard time keeping up on the house cleaning, and I can't really blame it on the pregnancy. I just don't like to clean the house. I keep waiting for that "nesting" thing to kick in, but so far, nothing. I also gave in and got a pedicure since I can't reach my toes anymore.

On  Friday morning, we dropped the dogs off at the kennel and headed down to the Los Angeles area. It was just our luck that a rock came out of nowhere giving us a nice crack in the windshield of our brand new minivan. Less than 500 miles and we already have a crack. Unbelievable! I couldn't even be mad at Bill because he didn't do anything wrong. After I got over the whole windshield ordeal, we stopped in Pasadena so I could get a haircut and to stop by Pottery Barn Kids to use a store credit. Bill went to get a quick fix on the windshield to keep the crack from spreading while I did my shopping. We also stopped by Buy Buy Baby to pick up the nursery recliner/glider that we had ordered a few months ago. We ate dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp place at Universal Studios CityWalk which was within walking distance of our hotel. I must say that I thought the food was awesome!

On Saturday morning, we did a little more shopping. I took advantage of Life Uniform's trade in event to get a couple pairs of scrub pants to get me through the rest of this pregnancy. I tried so hard to make it to the end with what I had, but I just can't wiggle into those scrubs anymore. Not to mention, wondering every time that I squatted down whether or not I'd hear a big ripping sound.

Due to the time difference, I was lucky enough to be able to watch the entire Butler/VCU game in the hotel room on Saturday while getting ready for the ball. I opted for the comfortable look for this ball. I won this dress for $27 on Ebay and paired it with flip flops since my feet started swelling a little bit over the past few days. Bill went for the required military look, as always. :)

The ball was held at CBS studios. It was supposedly on a TV show set, but no one could figure out what show it was from.

We had a good time, and I was very happy that there was a shuttle to transport us back and forth from the hotel. After getting the crack in the windshield on the way down, I did not want to test our luck by driving the van in LA traffic at night.

31 Weeks!

Hank's due date is exactly 2 months from today. We had our weekly appointment this past Thursday, and apparently my blood pressure was borderline high so for the first time we have to go back in 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks. I have my explanations for why it was little high for me, but I'm not going to argue because it actually makes me feel better to go back in 2 weeks since I know many doctors in the civilian world have you go every 2 weeks once you reach the 3rd trimester. My explanation is that I was a little stressed anyway because I thought the appointment was at 9:40 when it was actually at 9:30. I've always hated being late for appointment type stuff, but even more so after completing my internships in outpatient settings where late arrivals can really throw off your day. Anyway, they called me back for the weight, vital sign, and stupid question part almost immediately after I had left Bill in the parking lot and had rushed in the building to check in. I even let Bill park in the expectant mother parking spot for the first time ever just to speed up the process. So the first blood pressure was 136/82. The second was 117/76. Since the first was borderline, I guess I am now being monitored for preeclampsia. And don't get me started on the fact that they only use the vital sign machine on wheels because every time I report a high or low blood pressure to a nurse at the nursing home, I get asked whether I took it manually or with the machine because the machine is not as accurate (I haven't actually researched it so any nurses out there feel free to enlighten me).

Enough on that, and I'll keep you posted. I don't have any belly pics for you this week, but I just couldn't leave you without any pictures at all. So I decided to leave you with a few of Hank's new things.

This is the jogging stroller that I'm very excited about. We also purchased the infant seat adapter so we can use it for walks until he's big enough/old enough to sit in the seat.

This is the Fisher Price Snug-a-bunny swing. This is the updated version of their lamb swing. I went with this one because you can plug it into the wall or use batteries and I just think it is adorable.

Bill picked the one on the left, and I picked the one on the right. They were having a very good sale at Gap Outlet :)

My cousin Meredith gave us the one on the left, and I didn't want Bill to feel left out so I picked up the Army one at a store on post.