Final Approach

In 20 minutes, the month of November will be here. It really is hard to believe how quickly this year has gone. Early in the pregnancy, everybody told us, "The time will FLY by." It's not that we didn't believe them...it's just that in the early stages (10,12,14 weeks), the pregnancy, in my opinion, is still a bit surreal--you know in your head that your life is on course for a huge change, but the concept is still so very new. Our life at that point really wasn't any different. Leah wasn't sick. Her clothes still fit. All we had to do was wait and wonder what the next several months held. I remember actually commenting to Leah, "Just think, we've got to endure the entire summer, daylight saving time, Halloween, and maybe even Thankgiving before he gets here." It seemed so far away at the time. Now, we're 4 weeks away--and that's if he's on schedule and not early. We know we're getting close . . . and beginning to make sure all i's are dotted and t's are crossed in terms of preparation. The suitcase is ready and waiting beside the door.

I was playing golf on Saturday, and my cell phone rang. My boss said, "I guess the phone ringing takes on a whole new meaning these days, doesn't it?" Indeed it does. I don't know how feasible it would be for her to go into labor at, say, 36 or 37 weeks, but I suppose stranger things have happened. I've always been the planner, the organizer, the antithesis of the "impromptu, just take it as it comes" type. From cigars to photo ops to outfits, I wanna be ready. That's just the way I am. I've thought about where I or we will be when "the time" comes. About all the jillion things that will be running through my head as we head to the hospital. Something akin to strapping myself into the Revolution, anticipating the lifelong ride that is about to begin.

Of course, any woman that has endured pregnancy knows that this is easily the beginning of the most miserable stage of it all. The baby is bigger and has less room the move. Ligaments and nerves and vessels and bladder are all being sat on, kicked, and probably twisted like an Auntie Anne's pretzel. The back hurts more. The discomfort factor gets kicked up a notch. The insomnia is in high gear. Leah was having some pretty painful, uh, pains last night and this morning (in places and of intensity not yet experienced), so she thought she'd describe them to the doctor's office and see what they said. She wasn't freaking out or anything--just wanted to make sure they agree that it was perfectly normal. Actually, they told her to come on in and get checked. The doctor determined that Leah is dialated 2 cm--a pretty drastic change since her visit a week ago Thursday. Her blood pressure was a little high, which can indicate preeclampsia, but no other indicators were present that would lead to worry. The doc suggested having it rechecked tomorrow (which she will), but she's already checked it tonight with our home bp monitor and it's dropped significantly. Leah's regularly schedule appointment is Thursday, at which time an ultrasound will be done to get perhaps a final peek at him before we see him live in few weeks!

Doctor Visit and Sunday Shower

I just realized that I haven't done any sort of update since last Thursday's appointment. Oops. Sorry about that. Of course, the only way you'd know that there was an appointment is if you were religiously checking the "Quick Facts" box of the home page. But anyway, Leah was feeling kinda crummy at the time......She had endured several days of congestion and coughing--often waking up in the middle of the night and having a hard, dry cough for 5-10 minutes. Not fun.

All the routine checks were good.....blood pressure, weight, etc. As a matter of fact, Leah had lost 2 lbs since the last visit, making her over weight gain for the pregnancy like 2 or 3 lbs. In other words, if Nicholas was born today, Leah would most likely experience a net weight loss since becoming pregnant. This isn't really a concern, because in a perfect world, your weight gain should be inversely proportional to your starting weight (the more you weigh, the less you should gain). The funny thing has been that Leah has discovered that a few of her 'regular' clothing items fit better now because the weight is distributed a bit differently that it was when she had it on the last time.

The doc took care of the intensified congestion and funk with a couple of prescriptions. Of course, one was available in name brand only, leading me to strengthen my belief that doctors really are in a secret alliance with drug companies to get free pens, shirts, post-it pads, and maybe even luxury skybox tickets to the Super Bowl. Dr. B mentioned that she is going to do an ultrasound on the next visit, to do measurements and see how much our little boy weighs. I don't know if she could or will alter our due date at that time, or if it's just to fill in blanks on the chart. But I guess we'll know after next Thursday.

Sunday, we had our final baby shower, given by our sunday school class. The hostess, Heather, is also a labor and delivery nurse at Baptist, so there's an outside chance that she'll have a ringside seat to Nicholas's birth, and we won't have to endure some 70-year old nurse, wearing horned-rimmed glasses with a chain, and insisting that leg tourniquets are always used in childbirth, because that's the way they trained her after World Ward II. But on to the loot....Nicholas got some adorable stuff from Baby Gap, as well as plenty of tea, I mean, milk bottles, a bottle warmer, some diapers, and lots of other goodies for mommy and daddy to carry along in the diaper bag.

After a brief stop home, we were off to Target. We had a little over $200 in gift cards to spend, and wanted to get some things that we hadn't gotten but that we absolutely needed (which is why we waited until after the last shower to do so). Our main purchases were the Pack 'n Play, a humidifier, and a bouncy seat, and a few other odds and ends. There are still a few necessities left that we'll have to buy (e.g., changing table pad, carseat base), but the rest is stuff that he/we won't need until he's a few months old, and will most likely be put on a Christmas list.

When It All Began . . .

Three years ago today, Nicholas's mommy and daddy walked down the aisle and said, "I do." Heck, I really don't remember it, so perhaps I was under the influence of mind-altering drugs. Just kidding, honey. Scott meant absolutely no harm on Friday night when he and the guys took me to, uh, never mind.

Anyway, if you wanna read my Anniversary entry into blogspace, and take the "Eric and Leah Quiz" that we gave to our wedding party at the rehearsal dinner, it's over at the Front Porch. If you don't, then fine. Stay tuned for more baby updates at a later time.

So Close, Yet So Far Away

These days, the emotions run the gamut between excitment and exhaustion. Here's why: We know we're close. Things are starting to happen with Leah's body that indicate that a birth is near. Kristi has decoded some of her feelings as "Yep, you're close!". Yet we look at the calendar, and we're at 34 weeks. Given a full 40-week schedule, we're still 6 weeks away. But they say anything at or after 37 weeks is full term, so we're 3 weeks away. But first timers are always late--at least, that's what they say. So while we're slowly but surely making final preparations and becoming overcome with the excitement of what's just around the corner, the reality kicks in a few seconds later and tells Leah that she's got several more sleepless nights and uncomfortable days ahead of her.

Would I want Nicholas to be born today, or tomorrow, or this weekend? I find myself asking that rhetorical question almost daily. I was 5 or 6 weeks early, so I'm assuming that right about this stage in my mom's pregnancy, I was born. I weighed only 5 lbs, 14 oz at birth. According to a typical 7 1/2 lb baby growth chart, this week Nicholas weighs 4 lbs, 12 oz. So in about 2 more weeks, he will probably weigh about what I did when I arrived at the soon-to-be-blown-up Baptist Hospital in March of '73. And I turned out arguably normal. : )

For the most part, I think we're ready. Emotionally, we're definitely ready. The nursery is pretty much ready--the crib is set, the quilt is hung, the Diaper Genie is in place. Film is bought and in the camera. Suitcase is pretty much packed. I'm sure we'll think of a million things to do on the way to the hospital ("Is the coffee pot still on? No, I think I turned it off....wait, never mind, we don't have a coffee pot!!).

Patience is a virtue.....and we're learning that daily.

Keeping Up With the Joneses, er, Duggars

I'm flabbergasted. Shocked. Not really sure what to say. Seems like this family over in Arkansas wasn't satisfied with 2.5 children. Or 5. Or even 10 or 15. Seems they've welcomed their 16th child into the world recently, and haven't ruled out any more.

There are so many practical elements to this that make it, I don't know, crazy. Even if they are affluent enough to afford diapers and clothes and god-knows-how-much groceries, can this be healthy? I'm not criticizing them, but one wonders if at any time in Jim Bob (ain't that a great Arkansas name?) and Michelle's life, they will stop and say, "I think we went a little overboard." I guess they'll have plenty of folks to care for them when they get old, but Christmas shopping has to be a trip. What do they drive? A mini-van wouldn't be enough. Heck, a 15-passenger van isn't enough. Maybe they've got a customized school bus.

Love the "J" names, too. Seems like some of them are a bit of a stretch (and there were plenty of normal J-names available), but as long at they're happy and aren't complaining about how hard life is and how society breaks them down by not giving them enough.

Trying My Patient

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I think some pretty famous literary work that I was asked to read in the 12th grade began like that. I frequently consulted the Notes of some guy named Cliff to assist my insight and overall understanding of thematic elements, so I'm kinda blurry on the title. But I digress.

Things are getting tougher. Maybe I'm overstating the situation, but a combination of several things kinda hit us all at once this weekend. All of a sudden, we're anxious, frustrated, uncertain, excited, miserable (Leah more than me) and everything in between.

Leah's getting to the really uncomfortable stage--we knew it would come, and it's definitely here. At night, she's restless, can't get comfortable, often can't sleep, and all that. Maybe it's God's way of giving us a glimpse of what frequent interrupted sleep is like!! Of course, lots of folks offer a remedy (e.g., sleeping with 112 pillows), but more often than not, it just doesn't work for her. Dr. B did prescribe a prescription sleep aid for her, but now the trick is getting used to the dosage and it's effect. Should she take it early or late? Is it too strong? Trial and error might be the only answer. That, or having the baby.

Work and paychecks and finances are another consideration. This week, we finished paying off the "delivery deposit" to the doctor, so now their services are paid in full. I'm not sure when all of that started, but we certainly do appreciate the fine folks that caused us to write a check each month for 5 months to cover the 20% of the estimated cost of a "normal" delivery. I think Leah's annual deductible has been met, so the biggest remaining expense (aside from the screaming, needy child that the process leaves us with) is the hospital and any remaining doctor bills like the staff neo-hyper-checkums-ologist and crap like that who will invade our mailbox at some point. Luckily, we'll be pretty close to our out-of-pocket limit, so we'll proceed to call Blue Cross/Blue Shield and say something to the effect of ,"We're done for the year, so pay up, suckers!!!"

On top of that, the discussions have commenced about taking Leah off of a full 40-hour work week. If Leah sat at a desk and answered phones for 8 hours, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion at this point. But walking around a bank branch, behind teller row, into and out of the vault, etc. etc. including darting across the lobby to temporarily do another position's task is starting to take its toll. Leah isn't jumping at the opportunity to get out of work, but the bank wants a concrete "the doc must tell us precisely what her orders are" type answer. Being that days are typically 8-9 hours (depending on day of the week, day after a bank holiday, etc), working 4-5 hour days raises questions--what will the schedule be? Same hours every day? Determined on Monday based on staffing needs? At this point, Leah wants to be as helpful as possible to the bank, but keep her sanity and health (and Nicholas's!) at the same time. Hopefully we'll be able to arrive at an answer shortly.

One small, annoying note for the week involves this rude, incompetent person at the doctor's office. She filled out the form excusing Leah from work for Thursday and Friday, but she included Monday and today's date as well. Leah went to work today, and was told to go home since the doctor's office's note indicated as such, and they couldn't let her work. Now, because she's not at work today, she can't leave early on Thursday for our baby shower being given by my office. The response from the immediate supervisor was, "Well, I don't have a problem with it, but you work with a bunch of women who don't get to leave early and probably won't understand." A pretty flimsy excuse, if you ask me (especially since all of them have children), but we'll see where it all ends up. Leah's first response was, "No big deal--it'll just be you. I'll see the stuff when you get home." Well, you have a first child one time, so I think it's crappy that she might not be able to come.

It's been a really up and down day emotionally, but hopefully we'll arrive at some answers before all is said and done.

Update: Effective immediately, Leah is going to be working 20-hour weeks (i.e., 4-hour days), with a consistent schedule from week to week unless something changes. We first discussed somthing like 6-hour days, but apparently this can't be done because of benefit time being used and some goofball reasoning like that. So it had to be either 8 hours, 4 hours, or none. So 4 hours it is. A by-product of this decision and its immediate commencement is the fact that Leah gets to attend the shower on Thursday. So all is right in the world of Russellbaby! : ) The new schedule will definitely take some getting used to, but it should give Leah some much needed rest and keep her from running herself ragged at the bank for 8+ hours a day. She gets to sleep late 4 days a week (Tue-Fri), so now our morning routine won't be the same (read: Eric gets more sleep!! lol), and on Monday she'll have the afternoon off. This also is very complementary with doctor's appointments, which are usually first thing on Thursday morning. So as of right now, it seems like it'll be good all the way around.

Practice Makes Perfect

Thursday was an interesting day, and by "interesting," I mean, "A roller coaster day of emotions, ranging from 'Oh crap, what if this is really happening?' to 'Whew! I kinda knew everything would be OK.'"

I woke up to Leah complaining about some pain in her abdomen that had apparently been bothering her for a few hours. She said that it started in her mid-section and kinda radiated around to the sides. Just assuming that they were Braxton-Hicks contractions, I told her to go drink some water (which will usually make them subside). Concerned about the intensity and the fact that it wasn't getting any better, she called the after-hours nurse's line. The nurse who returned the call was apparently annoyed by having to call a paying patient while she was navigating her vehicle through traffic and talking to the cars in front of her. The response was basically, "Well, you're at 32 weeks, so just go to Labor and Delivery." Uh, thanks.

We decided to take a more rational route, and called the doctor's office after they had time to open. Leah got squeezed in, and they told her to show up at 11:00. Dr. Bannister checked her out, noted a slight change in her cervix, and said that the the pains sounded like contractions. Just to be on the safe side, she wanted us to go to, you guessed it, labor and delivery. Even though the end result was the same as Miss Multi-tasking Non-helpful Nurse, R.N., I still felt like we had done the right thing. Dr. B said that she wasn't freaking out or anything, but pre-term labor was the most important thing to rule out.

So after a brief stop by the house, and the bank (Leah had keys to drop off), we were headed for the hospital. At home, pessimism met optimism for the first time. Should we grab the suitcase? What about the camera? Nah, surely this isn't IT. Who knows, maybe it is. So, we bet on the "Everything's OK" line and hoped that we'd roll a 7. No suitcase, no camera.

We went through the motions, got checked in, and Leah got called back to do the intial super-private, even-your-spouse-can't-be-in-here question and answer session. Then I got called back, and for about a minute, I think my heart lodged in my throat somewhere.

First, let me explain how it works. Your first stop is Assessment, where you are, uh, assessed. The aforementioned interview occurs here, you're put on a fetal heart monitor, etc. Think triage for pregnant women. If it's false labor, or something like that, you don't need to ever go to the next step--an actual Labor and Delivery (L/D) room. These are on the same floor, but in a different area. Assessment area is a long hallway with 3-walled "rooms" on each side with a curtain separating each room from the hallway (kinda like an E.R.). L/D rooms, are, well, complete with TV, bathroom, couch, etc--cause you're obviously gonna be there for several hours--in addition to all the equipment (e.g., warming table, scales, blanket warmer). So anyway, they called me back, and I stopped to ask where she was. I was expecting, "Assessment--Room 3". Instead, I got, "Room 212--all the way at the end of the hall." Uh oh. Oh crap. Maybe we should've grabbed the camera. Oh crap. Is my son actually gonna be born today, 5-8 weeks early? Maybe we should've grabbed the camera. All this went through my head as I walked down the hall. I really hadn't expected to be caught so off guard. I opened the door, and there Leah was, just laying on the bed smiling. I said, "Why are we in this room??" The answer was simple--Assessment was full. We should've been in assessment, but instead got a private room with TV and bathroom. Cool.

So, after watching her for a bit, they actually moved us back to the Assessment area, where we departed from 30 minutes later. As it turned out, Leah's contractions were caused by a lack of sufficient fluids, which in turn acts on the body the same way pitossin does--the drug they use to induce labor. So with sufficient fluids, things would calm down and her "mini-contractions" should subside. Whew.

Of course, this day made us realize that we're not "ready" in a sense of "sitting on go" if something were to happen. Does the camera have batteries? What about film? Have we packed all the baby outfits we wanna take? I think it's safe to say that over the next week or so, we're gonna make sure we can answer "YES!!" to all of these questions.