Our Blessing Has Arrived!!

At 3:44 pm on April 22, 2009, our blessing, Elijah Calvin, made his appearance into the world. He was 6 lbs 13.7 oz., 20 inches long, and is absolutely perfect in our eyes! I already love him soooo much!!

We Did It!!

Immediately after birth

Getting Measured After Birth

Who Says Fetal Movement Decreases w/ Pregnancy Progression?

Here's a little clip of Elijah in action again. (11 days from my due date 38 weeks, 3 days.)

I Was Looking So Forward to Today's Appt. and...

I ended up disappointed again. Last week I was told by the NP that "he's definitely dropped" and "he's head down and very low." Then I meet with my Dr today and hear "uhhhhh......... I want a ultrasound to be sure he's head down" and he's still pretty high!" WHAT?? I was just so upset:( On top of that, I'm only dilated a fingertip IF that. I suppose I really need get over it and count my blessings and be thankful that he's still safe in there. The ultrasound did show him as head down and fluid levels being fine so that's what's really important.

As for everything else, my hips have been bothering me and after 3 days straight of little to no sleep, ( either because of my hips or just being anxious), I was finally able to sleep through the night last night. It's gonna feel so good to be able to sleep on my back or belly again. On top of that, I'm still gaining weight, which I was fine with at first, but now that I've reached what I thought was the end, it's getting a bit irritating especially if it continues at 3lbs a week like it is now. I guess now I'm gaining all the weight that I had wanted to (and couldn't ) in the past!!

All in all, I'm doing great and still am enjoying the ride. I've had a bit of an emotional moment last night that was really unexpected. Todd and I were getting ready for bed and talking about little Elijah when he said "have you realized that this MAY be your last night of being pregnant?" That when it really hit me............ and I just started balling. I'm really going to miss ALL of this. Although I'd love to have him in my arms and my body back as my own, I'm going to miss the little man in there and all of the unexpected surprises that goes along with it. I'm going to miss every kick, turn, hop, and jab. And the hiccups........ There's just nothing like it. Pregnancy is truly a blessing that is just undescribable!

(Change topic.... before I start crying again!!)


On a lighter note, I've always heard of how some people make what they think are innocent comments to pregnant women before thinking so I'm gonna have fun with it. Here's my list so far (and I'm sure it'll grow before all is over). The Good, The Bad and the Ugly:




The "Good" :



* "You actually look like you're grown now" ( This one almost made me cry. It came from my daddy. I'm not a little girl anymore :( )

* Ahhh... You are soooo cute pregnant!"


* "You make pregnant woman look good! You are adorable!"

* "Ahh. I wanna be as cute as you!"




The "Bad":


* " You're STILL here?"

* You look ... different"

* From a nurse while checking me: " He has a BIIIIGGGG head!"


* One of my favorites came from one of the neighbors little kids: "She looks funny!" (Although I thought it was funny)


* "Ahhh!! I think your nose is starting to spread!" ( Not too bad I guess. LOL. Thanks, Ma :)




The Worst of the Worst, The "Ugly":

* (From a complete stranger) " Wow!! Are you gonna pop yet? Gosh!" (How Rude!!!!)


* Them: "I hadn't seen you in so long, I thought you already had your baby."
Me: Nope. I have a couple weeks left."
Them: "Oh. Your BIG"


* "I bet you're ready for it to be over!" (This one's not too bad; I just hate how they assume late pregnancy is horrible.)




And the Ones I Just Don't Know How to Take or Don't Know Where They Fit:


* "You look like you have a basketball under your shirt. You're ALL baby" (Which agree with)


* "You're glowing!!!" (I've never seen myself with the pregnancy glow, just some extra oily glands, LOL so I don't quite get this one! )




And last but not least, here's some pics of the little man from today's ultrasound. He wouldn't look at us or move his hand way from his face, but as usual, he did flash!!!





His cute little foot!

Him flashing once again!!


Profile shot. Look at that nose!!! (His hand is right under it... maybe he's picking, LOL)

We Have Progress!!

I had my 37 week appointment today and it went very well. We finally have some pregress!! I'm 70% effaced!!!!! I'm not dilated at all, but I was happy to hear that things have at least gotten started. She seems to think that I may go the full 40 weeks if not beyond. Elijah is definitely VERY low and has dropped. I'm just about positive that the night I felt all that pain is the night that he dropped.

I was told that with my BP being where it is, I can do as much as I want to and as much that I am physically capable of without worrying. I'll definitely be trying to get more active. The only news I was a little down about was my weight. I'm 150 (up from 116)...... and I was THINKING I wouldn't go beyond that. Well,I still have 2 weeks left so so much for that plan!!

Anyways, the most important thing is that he is doing very well and growing fine. she is thinking he'll be a 7 lb'er :)

It's Official!

Eliah's growing like a weed in there and I officially feel huge! It's funny how pics show you what you normally don't see. I knew my belly was getting big, but after seeing these pics, I feel huge! It looks like I have a basketball in my shirt! Everyone's been saying that for weeks now, but I didn't believe it. Well, I can't deny it now after seeing these! And people say I don't look like I'm down to weeks, yeah right!!! Nonetheless, I love my belly!!!!

All of these were taken at 37 Weeks, 3 days

And comparison pics for fun:

(15 weeks, 27 weeks 3days, 37 weeks 3 days)

Ahhh!!! Freedom!!

I had my first official outting after being off bedrest this week end and it felt SOOOO good. We met with Todd's cousin and husband and had lunch. Afterwards, we spent some time strolling the mall. Poor Todd had to deal with not just one, but 2 pregnant, indecisive, women cooing over almost every food vendor around, potty breaks, and our drolloing over outfit and after outfit. He took it like a champ though and did great!


Afterwards, we went strolling though Buy Buy Baby to browse and ended up spending most of our time sampling the gliders and ottomens with our feet up. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. They were sooo comfy!


Later that night, I was really expecting contractions to pick up with all the walking ( I had a couple while out) , but surprisingly, they didn't. Unfortunately, what I got seemed so much worse. I'm not sure what was going on, but it seemed like Little Elijah was fighting to either get his head deeper into my pelvis or to get his head out. Maybe he dropped a little. Who knows what was going on, but talk about painful!!! Luckily it didn't last long and aside from hip and tailbone pain , Elijah settled down and all went well for the rest of the night.

Thank you, Lord!

36 Week Dr. Appt.

Well.......... I'll start from the beginning.

I didn't sleep well at all because of come and go contractions on top of hip pain that started up for the first time. I finally gave in and got up at 5 a.m. thinking that we MAY be meeting our little man today. I thought that if he didn't arrive today and I did make it to my appt this evening, I'd at least have some great progress under my belt and know that the time was fast approaching. The contractions weren't extremely painful so I hopped in the shower to relax, managed to get some last minute things done, and waited. The contractions continued for about another 2 hours (somewhat as strong, but not regular) and then.................... the contractions stopped. :(



We went to the appt and I have no progress at all. Not dilation, no thinning, etc. As much as I know that Little Elijah can use 3 more weeks baking in there, I was really looking forward to seeing him soon. So for those that made early predictions, you all may have to reconsider!



On the good side, I'm officially off bedrest! Dr says that he is continuing to grow well and he has a very strong heartbeat. Other than having my GBS test done, it was a pretty uneventful appt.



I have to keep reminding myself that this is what's best and it's a huge blessing making it to full term.... I'm just being a bit selfish in wanting to meet him sooner. I'm beginning to get so anxious!!!





Appt stats:

Mommy's weight: 148 (Yes, I'm STILL gaining)
His heartrate: 130- 140's