Friday, February 27, 2009

39 weeks!!!

This will be my last update before Baby Benzin arrives. HOLY CRAP!

I am not progressing AT ALL in the cervix department and the baby is at minus 3 station, meaning it is floating and not engaging in my pelvis. So, we are being sent to the hospital on Saturday evening to get a sonogram to see how the baby is lying as well as an internal to see if the baby has moved down at all. The answers to those questions will lead to what happens next. If the baby is in the oblique position (laying diagonally) and still floating at minus 3 we are deemed as unfavorable candidates for an induction and will be scheduled for a c-section the following morning. If the baby has dropped and laying in a regular up and down position, I will be given cervidel Saturday evening and then induced on Sunday morning with pitocin. My Dr. is not hopeful for a natural delivery however.

Here is what is happening with Baby Benzin this week:

Baby Benzin is waiting to greet the world! He or she continues to build a layer of fat to help control its body temperature after birth, but it's likely he or she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

That's all I have for now. Lisa will be updating this blog while we are in the hospital so stay tuned for any updates and news of Baby's arrival!!!!

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Friday, February 20, 2009

Induction is up in the air until Thursday**!

**Turns out our Doctor had minor surgery on Friday and will not be back in the office until Wednesday, so we won't know anything until Thursday. Check back then!!
Let me start off by saying Baby Benzin is a CHUBBY baby. Not because of its weight, just the amount of fat on this kid is unreal and adorable. The cheeks and tummy in particular stood out to me as being so squeezable. As of right now, the baby is weighing in at approximately 7lbs 13oz give or take 6oz. Either way, it is over 7 lbs but not over 8 which is where I needed to be to be induced. I will chat with my Dr. on Monday and see what they think. Here are some pictures from our last sonogram.

Profile:

Foot:

Looking at the camera:
Another Glamour Shot:
Look at those cheeks:


This is an awful picture. It reminds me of Donald from Fat Albert or Bat Boy:

Thursday, February 19, 2009

38 weeks!!!

First and foremost, the Buffalo Theatre community is so small and we consider each other one big happy extended family. Losing someone in that family is painful and this community has had its fair share of losses in the past month. On January 13th we lost Tim White from complications of his dialysis. He was in the show American Rhapsody at Musicalfare Theatre at the time of his death and it came as a shock to everyone of his passing. Today we received another blow. Michael Tosha, Associate Producer of O'Connell and Company passed away while in Cleveland. No word on what caused his death, but he was a wonderful man and will be missed.

Now, on a lighter note...

I am holding up really well for being 9 1/2 months pregnant. I am still working and plan on working until my water breaks or contractions begin. My boss is qualified to deliver a child but has made me promise that he won't have to. Every time he sees me in the office he cracks up and just says, "I really don't think you should be here." The truth is, I feel great! Almost too good. Yes I have aches and pains but for being where I am in the pregnancy, I am doing really REALLY well.

I had an Ob-Gyn appointment today and I lost 5 pounds since last week. Not sure how or why that happened, but the Doc didn't seem too concerned. (Imagine losing weight and thinking of it as a bad thing??) We did hear great news which was I may be induced NEXT WEEK! The Doc is convinced that our child is over 8 pounds and if that is the case, he wants to stop the the cooking process and get the baby out before my chances of a regular delivery are completely nixed. So we have an ultrasound tomorrow to get an estimate of Baby Benzin's size and based on what we find out, we may be parents a week early!! If the sonogram shows that the baby is less than 90th percentile (meaning an average sized baby), we will be pregnant for another 2-4 weeks. On a side note, the baby is still head down and is curled up on my right side with its little feet kicking my left AND while last week the baby had a BABY BOY heartbeat of 132, this week had a BABY GIRL heartbeat of 158. Hm. We shall see!

Here is what is happening with Baby Benzin this week.

Our baby has really plumped up. He or she weighs about 6.8 pounds and is over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). Baby has a firm grasp, which we'll soon be able to test when we hold his or her hand for the first time! The organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color our baby's eyes will be? We may not be able to tell right away. If the baby is born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If baby is born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time Baby Benzin is 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after the birth, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for new pictures of the Baby tomorrow!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I'm weird!!!

This little girl touches my heart. I remember spending hours by myself and making up crap that probably would make other people wonder what the hell was wrong with me. Here, this little girl takes a book with pictures of kittens and just adds captions to each one. She made Todd and I crack up and I completely respect her imagination.

Enjoy!!


Thursday, February 12, 2009

37 weeks = FULL TERM!!!

Holy crap, it could be any day now! Sadly Todd and I are perpetually late to everything so this child may have inherited that unfortunate gene. The baby has not dropped at all and I am so used to the Braxton Hicks Contractions I hardly feel them anymore. Your brain tells you that you are going to be pregnant forever, even though of course I know that isn't the case. Still, it didn't help when I found a program on The Discovery Channel called, "Pregnant for 47 Years." Sigh.

Here is what is happening with Baby Benzin this week:

Baby Benzin is full term! This means that if our baby arrives now, the lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though our due date is still three weeks away. Our baby weighs approximately 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if our baby's hair isn't the same color as ours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

I am predicting peach fuzz for this child with a sporty mohawk perhaps? Looking forward to the next few weeks! I am not at the point where I am saying, "If I am pregnant for 1 more day I will kill someone" so I am taking advantage of the fact that I feel pretty darn good! If I am still pregnant a week after my due date, my tune may change a bit. :)

STAY TUNED!!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I am not a dog person BUT...

This video just about made me into one. Thanks Lou!!

Thursday, February 05, 2009

36 weeks and 4 more weeks to go...

It appears that Debbie Pappas (grrrrr, love you lots) may be correct with her guess of being 2 weeks late. Baby Benzin is comfy and cozy in its warm sauna and has NO intention of coming early. It is still very high and has not "dropped" so Todd and I will be waiting a little while longer to meet this little one. I think February 28th and March 1st are great days to have a baby. Here is hoping.

Here is what is happening with Baby Benzin this week:

Our baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He or she now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. Baby is shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered its body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected its skin during its nine-month amniotic bath. Our baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of that precious first bowel movement. At the end of this week, Baby Benzin will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely Baby Benzin is in a head-down position. But if not, the Doc may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying they will try to coax the baby into a head-down position by manipulation from the outside of my belly.

Baby Benzin is indeed, for now at least, head down and I am measuring right on time. So I didn't have to hear any of this "huge baby" crap today which was nice.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Great movie pregnancy quotes...

"Where do babies come from?"
"Where do you think they come from?"
"Well. I think a stork, he umm, he drops it down and then, and then, a hole goes in your body and there's blood everywhere, coming out of your head and then you push your belly button and then your butt falls off and then you hold your butt and you have to dig and you find the little baby."
"That's exactly right."

Knocked Up

"Sam! My water broke!"
"Well, we'll get you another one!"

"I've got it! Nurse, call the Anesthesiologist, this woman needs an enema!
"An enema?"
"No, uh, she needs a pedicure!"
"This ain't no goddam beauty parlor!"
"Epitath!?"
"She's not dead, you moron!"
"Epidermus... Uh..."
"Epidural, asshole!"

9 Months

"Ow, ow, fuckity-ow! Bren, when do I get that spinal tap thing?"
"It's called a spinal block. And you can't have it yet, honey. The doctor said you're not dilated enough."
"You mean I have to wait for it to get worse? Why can't they just give it to me now?"
"Well, honey, doctors are sadists who like to play God and watch lesser people scream."

"Can I use the facilities? Because being pregnant makes me pee like Seabiscuit."

"You're pregnant?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry... And if it is any consolation I have heartburn that is radiating in my knee caps and I haven't taken a dump since like Wednesday... morning!"

Juno

"It's weird, isn't it? You spend the first nine months trying to get out and the rest of your life trying to get back in."

"Look, you gotta use Lamaze. It works. My sister-in-law used it. You don't use drugs, and it's better for the kid."
"You know, the only people who say stupid things like that are men, because they're idiots!"

"I think being a good father is keeping the mother happy so she doesn't drive the kids crazy."

Look Who's Talking