Still no baby...

Just wanted to give everyone a quickie update. We've reached the 39 week mark and still no baby. I had a few pretty painful contractions last night but they never got any closer than 15 minutes apart and by midnight, they were gone. Nothing whatsoever today. We went to Best Buy and bought a new video camera, so Joel has been messing around with it all day, including videotaping me on the toilet... have I mentioned how lucky he is that I am huge and can't move very quickly?

Anyway, we're heading back to the doctor tomorrow at 11:40 a.m. for another ultrasound and visit with Dr. Pandeala. It'll be interesting to see how much Baby Harvill has grown in three weeks. At this point, I am so uncomfortable that I would really like them to start the induction process tomorrow, if possible. I know I've survived 39 weeks of this, but for some reason, this last week has been really difficult. We're both suffering from cabin fever as the weather has been pretty horrible and we're a little afraid of migrating too far from Norwalk... you know, Murphy's Law.

So stay tuned... I'll post an update as soon as I get back tomorrow.

Zip. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

That's how much progress I've made. None. We ran through the usual gamut of tests at the doctor today. Pee in cup. Check. Weigh in. Up one pound. Blood pressure. Normal. Then, onto the glorious internal. It didn't hurt at all and quite frankly, I don't know what all the fuss is about if you've ever had a regular annual exam. Anyway, Dr. Pandeala said that I have zero dilation. At this point, the most probable outcome is that nothing will happen this week and that we'll go back to the doctor on Monday for the final ultrasound and check up. At that point, we'll get a better estimate on Baby Harvill's size and make a determination of course of action. Unfortunately, my lack of dilation not only makes the induction success lower (raising the chance of a c-section) it also lengthens the average process for labor. Basically, hours could become days. Thankfully I was never anticipating a natural child birth, so at this point, I guess I'm game for whatever comes my way. Moral of the story: marry a midget and have tiny babies.

Part of me is a little disappointed that I have no progress. Secretly, I was hoping for a Thanksgiving baby and an excuse to make Joel come home from work early at night to go for stupidly long walks with me in a lame attempt at inducing labor. Part of me feels like a success. I guess I'm a pretty good incubator after all and I've provided this kiddo with a healthy, warm and stable environment full of all the sheet cake he can consume. I told the doctor that maybe I'll switch over to lima beans and asparagus since kids hate vegetables. Maybe that will get him moving.

All I have to say is, Joel and my doctor are pretty lucky that I've got a good sense of humor. There I am, naked from the waist down on the table with Joel checking the baby's heart rate (Dr. Pandeala lets him play with the fetal heart monitor and the goo) and my doctor is assessing the swelling of my feet, ankles and legs. She turns to me and says, "Nice cankles!" and Joel responds, "They're not cankles, they are kneegles since they go all the way up to her knees!" Then they both share a good laugh over my sausage feet. Har, har, har. I told them both to watch out because one day, my feet would go back to normal making it easier for me to kick both of their arses.

Harvill, OUT!

Today is my last day of work. The words happiness and excitement do not even begin to explain the rapture that I am feeling currently. In hindsight, since I started working full time back in 1998, the longest hiatus I have ever taken from work has been 2 weeks. It took me just 2 days after graduating from college to start working at ABC. It took 2 weeks to drive across country and start work at KTVU. Joel and I didn't even take 2 weeks off for our wedding! Now, I'm off until March 1. Bliss.

I love my job, don't get me wrong. I think I'm one of those people that actually gets to do or learn something new every day. Just when I think I've got this whole communications thing down, BAM! A crisis takes place and I have to learn how to think again. Its really great. I have to assume that parenting is pretty much the same thing. Just when you get a routine down, BAM! A change happens and you have to start from scratch.

I am thrilled to turn the page and begin this new chapter. That's what my mom has always said to me when an unexpected life occurrence takes place. "You're just writing another chapter in your book, Er." This new chapter is titled "Mom." I'm not really sure how its going to pan out at this point. Who will the main characters be? The protagonist? Will it be an adventure or a comedy? Perhaps a little of both? For the first time, I'm entering uncharted waters. I'll admit that I have no idea what I'm doing or what to expect. I think that's the fun of it though. For once, I'm looking forward to facing the unknown and doing it in my pajamas!

So for now (until Monday when I've got an update from the doc) I say, Harvill, OUT!

37 Weeks = Nothing New

I feel badly that I have nothing to report to you, other than the fact that we have made it to 37 weeks. We are officially full term! Yay! We went to the doctor today for the usual check up. I'm getting good at it now. Pee in the cup, get my blood pressure checked, stand on the scale (no weight gain again), check the baby's heartbeat (130bpm) and measure the belly (36cm). It looks like Dr. Pandeala will do an internal next week to see if there's any progress as the pain in my stomach, back and hips is getting pretty intense. I'm uncomfortable all the time these days and sleeping really sucks. I think what perhaps sucks most of all, is that Joel sleeps SO SOUNDLY. I toss and turn, get up to pee, throw the dogs on his face and nothing wakes this man. And, he steals my "leaning pillow" which these days, is punishable by death. And he complains that its cold. Joel has been calling me the ice princess since we met, as I'm perpetually freezing. It is quite common to find me wandering around the house wrapped in a blanket to beat the chilly 68 degrees that he likes to "heat" the house to. These days, if I could fit into it, I'd be wearing my bikini to sit on the couch. It is always too hot. Babies provide excellent insulation (in case you were planning on running the Iditarod or something).

Dr. Pandeala thinks that most likely, she will opt for inducing or doing a c-section somewhere between 39-40 weeks, so it looks like you should place your bets on the first week of December. I'd still be more than happy to have this baby on Thanksgiving.

My friends Christine and George welcomed their daughter, Mila Jolie Bivolarski into the world at 4:44am this morning. Mila weighed 7lbs, 7oz and I got to see her quickly at the hospital before I went to my doctor's appointment. She was so sweet, bundled and sleeping soundly. Christine looked fantastic for delivering just 4 hours earlier. I hope that I follow her lead and have a relatively easy and painless labor and delivery!

Here's a pretty crappy photo of the belly today:

And a much nicer photo from about a month ago at David and Catherine's wedding. Their photographer took this photo for us and I never thought I'd dig those "husband touching belly" pictures but this one is so nice (please note that despite the fact that my husband has monkey arms, he can still not get them around my huge stomach):

Biggest baby ever vs. ultrasounds are a load of hooey

We had our 36 week ultrasound and doctor's appointment this morning. Just 27 short days to go until December 7! Joel's dad was in town visiting, so he joined us for the ultrasound and he was the only parent that hadn't yet been to one. The ultrasound tech is super nice and she was chit-chatting as she was taking all of the measurements... head, belly, leg, etc. My placenta was in the way, so we weren't able to get too many pictures, and the ones we have are pretty blurry. I'll post them once Joel scans them. I can say that it appears that he has Joel's forehead and lanky limbs and my nose and lips (his lips were pursed like he was waiting to give someone a big smooch).

I've learned that rather than watch the baby moving around, it is way more interesting to watch the calculations at the bottom corner of the screen. The tech was calculating the circumference of baby Harvill's head and I watched the calculation pop up. 40 weeks, 2 days. I was sure she was mistaken, but she just kept chatting away. Next she measured the arm. The calculation popped up at the bottom. 40 weeks, 1 day. What the heck? I finally asked, "are those measurements correct? Why is it saying that I'm four weeks ahead?" She knows better than to explain and said that she would hand over the paperwork to Dr. Kelly who would come to talk with us.

George left and we went to meet with Dr. Kelly, who, in her sugary sweet way (she's from Minnesota and has that type of mid-western attitude that makes me believe she doesn't have a mean bone in her body) told me that because the baby was measuring so large, they would be doing another ultrasound in 3 weeks, once I hit 39 weeks to measure his growth. As of today, they estimated his size at 8lbs 5oz, give or take 10%. The office policy is to not induce before 39 weeks so that the lungs have a better chance to develop and to automatically schedule a c-section if the baby measures over 10lbs. Basically, I have a couple of options at this point:

1. Try every old wives tale in the book to get this kid moving early and on his own (sex, spicy food, drives down bumpy roads, long walks... feel free to add your own).
2. Wait until the 39 week ultrasound to find that he is under 10 lbs and schedule the induction.
3. Wait until the 39 week ultrasound to find that he is under 10 lbs and wait it out to see if he comes early on his own.
4. Wait until the 39 week ultrasound to find that he is 10 lbs or more and schedule the c-section.

Basically, my chances of a c-section just went up pretty dramatically because even if they induce, there's still a chance that he's pretty big. This news sucks. I was prepared to take the meds. I was prepared for a lengthy delivery. I was not prepared for the big "c."

Now, over the course of the day, I've talked to countless friends who have told me that ultrasounds are a load of hooey and that they always over-estimate the size of the baby. Part of me is praying that this is true, and that I really have a normal 7lb baby in there, who was maybe feeling a little bloated after our dinner of turkey chili and cake last night. For some reason though, I'm thinking that with this advanced technology, the ultrasounds are more accurate than we believe, and I'm about to give birth to Zeus or Andre the Giant or Yao Ming.

The one thing it does do for me, however, is make me feel a little less awful about the weight gain. I mean, at this point, I'm carrying around a full-term baby! Bring on another slice of cake!

Anyway, I think I'll give the kiddo another 6 days to marinate and then I'll start with the old wives tales. Anyone have a trampoline they care to offer up?

29 Days To Go

As promised, here are a couple of photos of the updated progress with the belly and baby's room.
First, the completed crib with mattress, sheets, mobile and several blankets for Baby Harvill to choose from. Also, the "Good night" picture behind the crib was a gift from my mother-in-law. It once hung in Joel's room and was given to her by her parents... a gift from Israel. You will see that the words good night are also written in Hebrew.

Here is the changing table, complete with changing pad, fun toys, diaper genie and new shelves that Joel built. My mom made the letters that hang over it and I love them. Yes, that's an autographed photo of Troy Aikman for the baby. We're not Cowboys fans, but I did a media day with him and thought it would be cool to collect some autographed items for our baby sports fan. He recommended that instead of Brice Samuel Harvill, we name the baby Troy Aikman Harvill. I still like Osi Umenyiora Harvill best, but the only one that agrees with me on that one is my father.

Here is our glider, new rug and dirty dogs to ruin said glider and rug. Also, my mom made the quilt that is draped over the back of the glider. She's quite the Martha Stewart.

Finally, here's the belly at 36 weeks. Sigh. I can't wait to have my body back.I'll post an update and some pics from the ultrasound on Monday. The swelling in my feet and legs is getting pretty bad now and is, at times, painful, especially at night. I'm also experiencing RLP (Round Ligament Pain) which occurs when the hips spread out further to make room for the baby to pass through during delivery. I always thought that I was blessed (read: cursed) with wide hips but apparently there is more room for growth. It feels like growing pains all over again!

What the heck is a crenshaw mellon?

Babycenter.com says that at 36 weeks, the baby weighs about 6lbs and is about 18.5 inches long, about the size of a crenshaw melon. I have no idea what a crenshaw melon looks or tastes like (although all of a sudden I'm craving a melon martini) but I can tell you that I feel like I am carrying around a pot-belly pig instead. I feel HUGE. My stomach feels like its the size of an acorn so I'm perpetually either hungry or stuffed. I now pee in excess of 30 times a day (including 5 times during the night). Joel and I are separated in bed by a stack of pillows for me to lean on, even though I somehow manage to wake up every morning flat on my back with Lucy at my feet and Shamus around my head and all four of us are snoring. I wear Joel's pants around the house when I get home because they are the only pants that fit comfortably. I am a picture of beauty and glamour. For all of my girlfriends who said I'd be rocking my tight black pants until my 9th month of pregnancy, I'm sorry to disappoint. I do, however, still shave my legs EVERY DAY. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

We have a doctor's appointment on Monday with our final ultrasound and I'm both excited and nervous. We haven't had an ultrasound in about 4 months , so I'm curious to see how the little guy has changed and grown since then. Heather says that I'll be shocked because the entire baby no longer can be seen on one screen. I'm nervous because I perpetually worry that something is wrong. What if he has an extra nose growing out of the top of his head? What if he's too big or too small? At our upcoming appointment, the doctor will also perform a Strep test. Apparently many women are carriers of the Strep virus and if the test comes back positive, they will administer antibiotics while I am in early labor to lower the chances of my passing this virus along to Baby Harvill. Amazing what technology/medicine can do these days. So, hopefully by Monday we'll have a feel for how big this kid is. I'm sure that they will tell me that the baby is riding high and tight, because he certainly hasn't dropped yet. I've already come to the conclusion that Baby Harvill will most likely come late, because that's just the way this pregnancy is.

I will post some updated photos of the nursery and my belly on Monday (the lovely IT people at Mastercharge have taken away our access to all photo websites) so that you can see all of the progress that we made. The baby's room looks great and I hope he enjoys it as much as I've come to.

Have a great weekend!

Get Your Vote On!

Happy Election Day! Note to readers and husbands: this is not a political post.

Joel and I got up at the crack of dawn to go and vote this morning. Baby Harvill was certainly not excited about the 6:00am wake up call as we have gotten pretty used to lounging in bed until Joel gets out of the shower around 7:30am. We rolled up to our polling location a few blocks from our house to find that the line was already around the block. It was a little annoying that our good intentions of getting there AHEAD of the crowds didn't work out in our favor, but it was wonderful to see the droves of people out exercising their right to vote.

An hour later, we made it into the school gymnasium where we were handed a SCAN-TRON looking ballot and a black pen. I guess this is the technology that we are blessed with in Connecticut. We were told to fill in the bubbles and put the paper in the box. Easy enough (although I did have one high school flashback where I filled in an entire SCAN-TRON test wrong)! Joel and I were outta there in under 5 minutes.

So now we wait. A couple friends are going to join us later to watch John King and his magic map on CNN (I want one of those!). I'm going to take my "I Voted Today" sticker over to Ben & Jerry's to score my free ice cream too. Ahhhh, sweet democracy!

More later...