No Baby Today

Friday August 15, 2008 ~ 38 weeks 5 days

Happy Birthday to my husband Brian! Thought a baby girl would be the best present but it doesn't look like that is going to be the case.

Yesterday my mom and sister came down to visit and get some stuff packed up. We ended up painting the bathroom in our current home to give it a little sale appeal, painted it a green color, got the paint from Walmart, didn't exactly turn out to be the color I thought, but looks good. I ended up packing up most of the living room, and scrubbed the house pretty much from top to bottom, so with any luck we might get a buyer this weekend (keeping my fingers crossed). By the time I got everything packed up and cleaned up it was pretty late and I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but my body had other plans. BGR was moving around most of the night and I had contractions off and on all night long, so didn't get to sleep as much as I thought, but oh well.

Went to see Dr. Golightly this morning - lost a little weight, baby's heartbeat sounded good, blood pressure was a little high, feet noticeably less swollen, dilated between 1.5-2, 50% effaced, and still soft, so slightly farther along from last week. I was hoping that I would be dilated to a 5 or 6 and we would head down to Kansas City this afternoon, but no such luck.

The game plan is still to go to St. Luke's in Kansas City on Monday morning for a probable induction, if everything looks the same if not better. I really wish that when I went down I was already into labor...any good hints for getting this baby thing going?, I am still nervous about the induction thing ( my fear of C-section!). I have got one suggestion so far, to drive on this very curvy bumpy road in the area, it worked for one of my friends.

Pictures as Promised

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com


Hope this works- tried to create a slide show of the mostly before pictures of the house. I still have to post the after pictures, but it might be a while since I forgot to take any this weekend when we were up there. I might have my sister take some and e-mail them to me. There is a little sneek peek of the baby's room at the end- pink and brown- I think my favorite room

I Dropped!

Tuesday August 12, 2008 ~ 38 weeks 2 days

I noticed yesterday when I went to put on my "comfy" shorts that they were extremely tight, didn't think much of it, and then I looked in the mirror. My little lady had dropped, and I mean big time, my bra's will have to do their job now that my tummy is not doing it for them. I cannot believe how much lower my stomach got overnight. I have always been carrying high, so now I feel like I have a medicine ball sitting on my bladder/hips. I fear that I now have the dreaded pregnancy "waddle" which I have not had until now, but seriously, it pretty much hurts to walk. I guess that is what women that have boys deal with from the beginning.

Brian had a several dreams last night about the delivery and he is convinced that I am going to naturally go into labor on Friday (which is his birthday). Who knows....but I am starting to feel the signs. I am curious to know if my cervix is changing at all because I have been having contractions off and on for the last couple of days. I know some are Braxton Hicks, but some just outright hurt.

I guess that I have learned a few things from this pregnancy- 1~Buy maternity clothes~ I on the other hand did not and now have nothing to wear after I give birth. I thought since I would either be at work ( in scrubs) or bumming around the house, I could just use Brian's wardrobe as my own and not have to buy anything and save a ton of money. Not the case, I cannot wonder around Children's Mercy in Brian's huge athletic shorts and stained up work shirts. I ventured to JC Penny today in an attempt to buy at least some pants...well since the little lady dropped yesterday, I am pretty sure my waist is about the size of a compact car. I did buy a few pairs of pants, not knowing if they will fit soon after I deliver, they fit in the butt and hips, but were pretty far from buttoning, I guess I will use the old hair-tie trick around the button for a while if I need to. So this is a warning, if I look like I just got done working out, I didn't, I just didn't buy maternity clothes when I should have. 2~ Flip-Flops are deceiving ~ They are so comfortable when you are not pregnant, and when your feet are all swollen up like you are wearing slippers, you would assume that the airiness of flip-flops will be like heaven on your feet, well that is not the case. I have repeatedly made the mistake of wearing flip-flops while working on the house, going shopping, or any other time that my feet required "shoes" and every time that I take them off, I still have the indention of where the straps were because the swelling pretty much engulfs them. You would think I would learn, but no, I continue to wear them. Next pregnancy I hope it is in the winter and then I won't be able to.

To all my fellow St. Francis Ladies- I will be back. Not for good, but I am going to work a few shifts a pay period after my 6 weeks of maternity leave so I can rub it in on how cute my little girl is, oh yeah and to see you all too!

We'll keep you posted if there is anything exciting going on before Monday, Brian said that he is even going to try this blog thing out on that first night, so it will be interesting to hear some news from his prospective. Thanks for all the continued support, it's amazing!

Must be the Hormones

Friday August 8, 2008 ~ 37 weeks 5 days

Last night I couldn't sleep, darn belly really keeps me from getting comfortable since I had always been a stomach sleeper in the past, so I stayed up and read a book for a while. All the sudden I started to get really sad and mad all at the same time and just started bawling, not to mention it was 3:30 in the morning. Brian woke up and thought I was mad at him, defiantly not the case, I guess I was just hormonal and overwhelmed that we are going to start the next chapter of our CDH journey in 10 days! Of course Brian's reply was, "Well baby we have had 20 weeks to deal with this so why are you so upset now?" Not what I wanted to hear and it made me cry even more, and for the life of me I couldn't stop. Brian attempted to console me, but ended up falling back to sleep within minutes which I was glad since he was going to have a long day at work. So this morning I woke up with a "crying hangover" and had a horrible headache that was magnified by the fact that I had to sit through Safety Day at the hospital where I work.

Wednesday night was my last scheduled night to work on the floor at St. Francis, so I have all next week off to get some stuff done, aka packing before we head down to Kansas City. It is so bittersweet, I am going to miss everyone that I have been working with, and knowing that I am not going to go back after the little lady is out of the hospital really stinks. I am going to have to find a job as a nurse in Council Bluffs or Omaha so we can get new insurance that will let us do all of our follow-up appointments at Children's in Omaha since we will be only 45 minutes from there after we move. I wanted to stay on part-time in Maryville, but my insurance would only pay in Kansas City, so that would mean that I would be driving to Maryville to work (100 miles) and to Kansas City for follow-up appointments (200 miles) several times per month, which is so not feasible. If I could only convince my insurance company to let me do whatever I wanted to, that would be so much better but that is pretty much a fat chance!

The last couple days have been really nice, eating out to lunch with friends and doing CPR training and Safety Day have been a treat for the continuing cankles. Today I got a pedicure with my friend Kim from work and it was amazing. I am pretty sure that I could get my feet rubbed all day, even though I felt bad for the lady doing it since my ankles were so puffy, but she didn't seem to mind.

I had a doctors appointment today in Maryville with Dr. Feuerbacher, again everything looked pretty much the same as it has been. Weight- up, Cankles- swollen, Urine- protein, Blood Pressure- normal, Belly- big, Baby's heart rate- 130's. The only thing that was different this week is that I am actually measuring at 38 weeks, I don't really know what that means, hopefully it means that baby is swallowing the amniotic fluid better and that my level is lowered. Dr. F. checked my cervix and I am officially dilated to a 1, 40% effaced or thinned, and the cervix is soft. All in all he said that it was a "favorable cervix" for induction. I have voiced my concerns many times about induction with him, since the last thing I want is a c-section, but ultimately I will do whatever is best for my baby girl. He said that over the next week hopefully my cervix will continue to change and that come Monday the 18th everything will look good for a successful induction. I think he just doesn't want me to not be induced, come home and then go into labor and come to the Maryville hospital where he would have to deliver the baby if I was in active labor, (he didn't say that in so many words) but I promised that I wouldn't do that to him or my friends. I have an appointment with Dr. Golightly next Friday since Dr. Feuerbacher is going to be out of town to have my cervix checked again to see if we are making any progress, which I hope is the case. I really want to go to the induction in Kansas City dilated to a 2 or 3, thinking that will indicated that my body as at least beginning the labor process, instead of being induced and medications starting the labor process for me.

All in all I am super excited and nervous all at the same time. It seems like Brian and I have had so long to prepare for this and have been "ready" to get the baby the help she needs, but at the same time, we are so not "ready" to face all the unknowns. We are heading up to Iowa in the morning to finish up a few of the last projects, and it might be the last work weekend before the baby comes. I am going to post before and after pictures hopefully some time next week when I should be packing and cleaning and not at work. Sorry this post got so long....like I said...It must be the hormones. Thanks to everyone for the continued support, especially all of our friends in the community and the hospital. We have no idea how we would get through this without all the thought and prayers. Thanks again. Brian and Cassi

Just a Quick Check-Up

Thursday July 31, 2008 ~ 36 weeks 4 days

Last night I was working my 12 hour shift and one of the other nurses was taking blood pressures for a wellness thing, and I asked her to take mine. I was shocked when she told me that it was 145/98! Yikes that is super high, especially for me. By the end of the shift this morning I was feeling pretty exhausted and the swelling in my ankles was overlapping my socks- gross! Anyways I decided that I had better go for a quick check-up to make sure everything was going okay. Dr. Feuerbacher was out of the office so I got a late afternoon appointment with one of his partners.

By the time that I slept a few hours today and went to the appointment I was feeling much better and the swelling was almost gone in my ankles. Everything looked good at the appointment, my blood pressure was 120/82 and I had no protein in my urine which I was a little nervous about. Dr. G. said that I should monitor my blood pressure when I got to work and then a couple times throughout the shift just to see how much it fluctuates and if it stays high and for how long. Luckily I don't work any more 12 hour shifts, I am working 8 hour shifts all next week and am off for the entire week before "the big day".

Still working like crazy trying to get the house finished up before the baby comes, we are planning a big weekend of finishing up a lot of the projects before the people come to refinish all the hardwood floors on Tuesday, it should be a long, hot weekend. I cant believe how much we have already gotten done, but how much there still is to do.

It's so hard to believe that in 2 and a half weeks we will be saying hello to our little lady, seems like we have had forever to prepare yet it has gone by so fast too. Hopefully she will wait as long as possible to make her debut giving her more time to gain weight and strength. Thanks to all who have shown us such amazing support during the last months, it was been overwhelmingly kind. Thanks again! Brian and Cassi

Oops..I spoke too soon-

July 21, 2008 ~ 35 weeks 1 day

I guess that I spoke too soon. When everyone says "oh you are going to be the biggest when it is the hottest, your going to be miserable" I would always reply...oh the heat doesn't bother me, I love the summer and enjoy (or used to enjoy) just laying out or going to the pool. For sure, I retract that statement, this Missouri heat is insane...100 degree + heat index. Just getting groceries and dog food today, I walked out of Walmart looking if I had just got out of the shower...yuck! When I got home I didn't even unload the non-perishable items, poor hubby will have to unload that when he gets home from work.. Thank goodness for air conditioning, I will be paying our electric bill with a smile this month.

Please send up some extra prayers for Sofie in Kansas City as she has completely reherniated and has a loop of bowel in her right chest cavity. She will be having surgery this evening, she has already been through so much, so please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers. There is a link to her blog page from ours on the right hand side of our page if anyone wants to know how everything goes.

Oh one more thing, I heard that there were a ton of turquoise CDH wristbands walking around this weekend at the Nodaway County fair from several different people, so thank you to everyone for the continued support, the little lady will be here so soon! Thanks again- Brian and Cassi

4 more weeks!

July 17, 2008 ~ 34 weeks 4 days

4D of Her Precious Little Face, she is resting on her hand.

I have no idea where she gets those chubby cheeks!

This update is a little late, I went to Iowa to paint a few rooms in our house we are re-modeling for the day, and we didn't get home until very late yesterday. Got two rooms painted, the spare bedroom is a red color and the baby's room which is pink and brown. They will both need a second coat, but my mom is going to be doing it this weekend when I am at work.Our appointment on Wednesday was at 1:oo and our ultrasound lasted until 2:15, I think it may be one of the longest one yet. There was a GE sales rep there trying to sell them a new ultrasound machine, and they asked if I would be a guinea pig. I said sure, but didn't realize it would take so long. The pictures were really clear and at the end of it they did some 4D pictures which we haven't had before.


Everything on the ultrasound looked pretty much the same as it had the month before, same organs involved, but Dr. Gray said that since things looked the same, that was the best we could hope for. As for my amniotic fluid level, he said that it is a but higher than average, but overall it doesn't look any higher than a month ago, so that is a great sign too! As for our little princess, she didn't reach mom and dad's goal of 5 pounds, they said that she was weighing in just under 5 pounds and is in the 20th percent on the growth chart, so I guess she is going to have to really start gaining for these last 4 weeks.


After the ultrasound, I met with one of the OB nurse practitioner for a check up to ensure that I was not getting pre-eclamptic. The swelling has gone down dramatically in my shins and ankles. Brian and I discussed the reasons for this, and we are pretty sure it was because the days before my appointment I worked 3 12 hour nights, and then spent the entire weekend working on my house in Iowa, and then went to the doctor first thing on Monday morning. I think I just over-did it and needed to get off my feet for a while. They did a blood test to test my liver enzymes which is a pretty accurate indicator of eclampsia, and all my blood work came back normal. As for my weight and blood pressure, both were fine, no weight gain since last week, so basically that says I am not filling up with fluid.


With all this good news, no changes in the baby especially her movements, as she was super active at this appointment, even Dr. Gray remembered from last time how "naughty" she was. She was even trying to kick the ultrasound wand off of my belly, but Brian and I thought she was actually behaving pretty good considering her normal. Anyways, with baby and I both looking well as can be expected, the team at St. Luke's has decided that I can try to make it to 39 weeks. So the tentative induction date is August 18th. They said that I don't have to come back for any more check-ups or appointments until I am in labor or on the 18th which ever comes first. I will continue to have weekly check-ups with Dr. Feuerbacher in Maryville until birth-day, just for the regular business. Brian and I were pretty excited about this news, so fingers crossed, we have 4 more weeks to get ready for this little lady to make her debut.

This has been a pretty tough week for other CDH babies and their families, two CDH babies, Seth and Daniel have earned their wings this week and Sophie has possibly reherniated, so please continue to pray for their families to find the strength needed to get through these difficulty times. We continue to thank everyone for their comments, thoughts, and prayers for us and our families, keep them coming, we love to hear from everyone!