Saturday, April 23, 2016

38 Weeks

I had my 38 week doctor appointment yesterday.  Alexis is doing well, measuring in right at 38 weeks.  We brought Abby with us to the appointment, as hubby was off from work for the day and was taking care of her, so she got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time.  She thought the whooshing heartbeat sound was just water moving around in my belly.

I was checked to see if I am making any progress and was told I have not begun to dilate yet.  This was good news to hubby's ears, as he has a lot on his plate at work over the next week through Monday the 2nd, so he is really hoping the baby doesn't decide to make an early appearance.  No pressure on me!

I saw the nurse practitioner on my care team, as my usual doctor did not have any availability on her calendar when it came time to schedule my 38 week appointment (thankfully I'm seeing the doctor again next week for my 39 week appointment).  The NP asked me if the doctor and I had decided on a birth plan as far as VBAC vs repeat C-Section goes, and was a little confused by the plan that the doctor and I had agreed on.  Typically they schedule planned C-Sections for 39 weeks and thought it was unusual that I want to wait until 40 weeks for a repeat C-Section.  Since it wasn't usual, she didn't feel comfortable scheduling it herself and sent my request to have it scheduled for my due date up to Labor & Delivery so they could call me to discuss and schedule it.

I received a call late yesterday from Labor & Delivery to get it scheduled.  Unfortunately, the schedule is already booked up for my May 6th due date for scheduled C-Sections.  The closest date they had open around my due date is two days prior on May 4th.  While it isn't necessarily ideal as it means my mother-in-law needs to adjust her flight out here to help us with taking care of Abby, it isn't horrible.  This will only adjust my return to work date by two days as well, with my last day home on leave falling on Abby's birthday, which is a day I really wanted to be home for in order to make it an extra special day for Abby.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Week In Review

While I don't want to have two posts in a row starting off with me mentioning the time, I have to note that it is currently just after 9:00pm and I am still awake!  Even better, it is by choice lol.  My typical bedtime for much of this pregnancy has been somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30, so this is an unusual change.

For some quick updates on the childcare front, hubby first went by the child development center on base on Monday to get the girls on the wait list there.  Apparently, they actually have a longer wait for Abby's age group than for the infants.  There is currently an estimated 90-day wait for the three-year old group.  We really want to get both girls into the same school, however if that means we might have a spot secured for Alexis when it's time for me to return to work, that works since the infant classes are typically much more limited on space.  The CDC also opens at 6am, so hubby could take Alexis easily on his way to PT in the morning, while I take care of dropping off Abby.

Hubby called up the school that is at the top of our list once he was done on base, and scheduled a tour of their current sister-school, which is under the same ownership.  He went by on Tuesday to look at the school, meet the director, and get more information.  They said we would be about sixth on the wait list for getting Alexis a spot, but should have a spot secured for Abby once she turns three.  Hubby fell in love with the school, and I immediately did as well after hearing everything he saw and learned about their programs while touring.

We decided to move forward with trying to get both girls in at the school, as we feel it would be the best for them developmentally.  Hubby stopped back by on Wednesday to officially register the girls and get them on the list.  Depending on how the infants currently on the list age before the school opens, Alexis may or may not have a spot available when they open in June.  They said she would have a spot by October by the absolute latest, however that is just based on an assumption that all of the infants currently on the list won't turn six-months old and age up into the next class until that time.  We did learn that Abby will officially have a spot when the school opens, and will be placed in their preschool program.  In addition to your classroom basics that you find at any childcare center, they also incorporate math, science, and social studies into the preschool curriculum for the three-year old group.  We think this school will provide Abby the focus, direction, and challenge she needs, which has currently been lacking in her current school.

Yesterday, I saw the doctor for my 36-week visit.  Alexis is doing well, measuring in at 36 weeks on the dot and had a heart rate of 140 beats per minute.  The doctor also confirmed again that she is definitely head down, so no breach baby situation to worry about here.  At my 32-week visit, I had my counseling session with the doctor about my delivery options (VBAC vs. repeat C-section).  At that time, I was still really torn about which path I wanted to take.  Based on the details of my delivery with Abby and why a C-section was needed there, the doctor came back and said I pretty much have a 50/50 chance between being able to have a successful VBAC and needing a C-section again.

While it is customary to schedule C-sections for 39-weeks for repeat cases, she did say that I have the option to decide as late as 39 or 40 weeks that I am done and get the C-section immediately.  After talking it over with hubby and how I am feeling, with regards to gut instinct, I decided that I would like to try for a VBAC if I go into labor on my own prior to my due date.  If I do not labor naturally by my due date, then I would prefer to just have the C-section again, especially as they really try not to induce mothers who have previously had a C-section, as it means there is an increased risk of uterine rupture due to the stronger contractions caused by the use of pitocin.

I discussed this with the doctor yesterday, and she was in agreement with my plan.  She was unable to schedule a C-section yesterday for my May 6th due date, as the calendar is not yet out for May, however we are set with the plan of a C-section if I do not go into labor by my due date.  I also have all of the rest of my appointments scheduled for the remainder of the pregnancy.  The only other item I need to take care of with regards to the doctor is to get pre-admitted at the hospital, which I will take care of at my 38-week visit.

Monday, April 4, 2016

What a Weekend

It's 7:30am on Monday morning, I'm currently sitting in my car in the parking lot, waiting to go into the office, and I'm still reeling from the events of the last several days. There have been highs and lows worth note, some of which are going to result in some unexpected changes to life as we currently know it.

Friday was hubby's and my 5th wedding anniversary. This was our very first wedding anniversary where he was actually home. Every anniversary so far, he's been away from home due to TDY or deployment. While it was a big anniversary, we didn't make any plans out of the ordinary, likely because we were waiting for something to come up that would prevent us from spending the day together. We had a date night with Abby in tow at a nice seafood restaurant we had been wanting to try. The food was delicious, and they treated us with a dessert of our choice on the house to say happy anniversary. 


The same day as our anniversary, we received some upsetting news, as we learned that Abby's school is closing, with just two weeks for us to secure new childcare arrangements. This brings up several issues. First, while it shouldn't be too difficult to find a new place for Abby given her age, we also need to secure a location that will have space for Alexis in June. Infant classes have much smaller teacher-to-student ratios, so it is usually more difficult to obtain space for them. Second, we were really hoping to keep Abby's life and routine as normal as possible with the birth of Alexis coming up. Now she's going to be facing a new childcare situation just two weeks before she then becomes a big sister. We're trying to prep Abby for the change coming her way, already letting her know that she will be changing schools soon and likely won't see any of her current classmates anymore.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of working an eight hour day, to get work done for month end close. While my day wasn't spent in the most enjoyable way, hubby tried to have some fun with Abby. For a little while, we've been talking about getting her into gymnastics. We think she would have a lot of fun with it, and it would be good for her. Hubby took Abby to go look at a gym in town and got information about their 2 and 3 year old classes. Abby loved the look of the gym so much, she got upset when they left without her getting to do anything. We hope that is a good sign. In order to make it up to Abby for not letting her "bounce" (aka, have time on a trampoline), hubby took her to a nearby trampoline park for an hour of jump time before we all met up for dinner.

For Sunday, we decided to let Abby have another fun afternoon and brought her to see Disney On Ice after we finished with church. She got really excited before we went into the arena, knowing we were doing something for her. But it wasn't until we got inside and she began to see Disney merchandise everywhere she looked when her excitement really grew. We were really shocked at how cheap the tickets were (just $20 each), but then quickly realized it was because they more than made up for it with their overpriced merchandise. We were feeling generous, though, and got Abby a storybook with the characters, as well as food to munch on and an Olaf cup filled with a snow cone that she loved. While Abby thoroughly enjoyed the show, she did get really upset during the Frozen part, when they had all of the main characters from the movie except for Sven. Apparently Sven is a very important character to her. Not that I can say I blame her, he's probably one of my favorites as well.


After we got home that evening and got Abby to bed, hubby and I made a short list of schools we wanted to check out for Abby and Alexis so he can begin making the rounds and calls today to check out our options. Unfortunately, I have to work late today, tomorrow, and possibly Wednesday, so it is up to him to do most of the legwork. There is one school in particular we are very excited about from our research, however the location we are looking at is currently still under construction, scheduled to open early summer. Currently, we're looking at possibly needing to obtain a few weeks of temporary child care, until I am out on maternity leave. While I am not looking forward to the possibility of having to care for both girls while recovering from childbirth, hubby is planning on taking a couple weeks of leave on top of the 10 days paternity leave he gets in order to assist me. Here's hoping everything works out as it should!