Directions to Hospital

For those of you who would like to visit us - especially those coming in from out of town (hooray for Aubrey meeting grandparents, her aunt and a cousin! We are excited to see you guys) - below is a map to the hospital, along with some directions. Also below is information on how you might find us, and about visiting hours (and my wishes as a new paranoid mommy, not wanting our baby to get sick!) .

Of course give Jason or me a call if you have questions (good luck getting a hold of us on the big day though!)


Hospital: St. David's South Austin Hospital
Address: 901 West Ben White Boulevard
Visiting Hours: 8am-8:30pm

Directions:

• Take I35 to Hwy 71 / US-290 / Ben White (which is a main highway South of Oltorf and North of Stassney)
• Go West on Ben White/290
• Exit South 1st
• Left on South 1st
• Right on Radam Ln
• Left on James Casey
• Right into the parking lot

I believe the best way to find us will be to go through the ER doors and follow signs to Labor & Delivery/Maternity. I will have a pre-opps appointment on Wednesday, so will get a better idea of where to go. Check back Wednesday afternoon for better instructions :)

We hope you are able to visit! Of course we understand if you are not able, and I know some of you prefer to visit us at home after we are settled (another idea I love!). I only have two requests in terms of hospital visits. And this is nothing personal - it's just me being a first time, paranoid mommy (thanks in advance for understanding!):

1. Of course if you're feeling at all sick, we understand you'd rather hold off on your visit until you're feeling better! We all know how sensitive babies are in the first days/weeks, especially when they have not yet had any immunizations. Which leads to the second point:
2. Although you all know how much I LOVE kids, I'd be really thankful if we could wait to have young kids (as in younger than 6 or 7) meet baby Aubrey. Once we are settled back at home, and have had her first doctors visit/immunizations, bring on the play dates!

Thank you all for your love and support. We can't believe she's almost here!

Week 38 Update

2 weeks to go until the official due date, and 9 days to go until the c-section (assuming she doesn't flip in the next week)! We're getting more and more excited each day.

We had another ultrasound this morning. She's still breech. We will have one more doctor's appointment next Tuesday. Unless the ultrasound reveals that she's flipped, Tuesday afternoon will be my last day at work (I'm almost as excited about that as I am to meet Aubrey!). It's funny how I've flipped on this subject. Three weeks ago I was devastated by the idea of a c-section. Now, I'm actually excited about it. I mean, I'd of course opt for a natural delivery (plus drugs!) if she flips, but I love knowing exactly when we'll get to meet her! No matter how she comes into this world, this little girl is a huge blessing.

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

C-Section

It has been officially scheduled for noon on Thursday, August 5th. That is two weeks from today! Although a c-section was of course not the prefered way to bring our baby in the world, it's so exciting to know an exact date of when we get to meet her (that and it means two additional weeks of fully paid short term disability leave).

I've decided to make Tuesday, 8/3 my last day at work. That will give me a day off to take care of last minute things, and to relax and mentally prepare myself (plus go to the hospital for a pre-opp appointment). I'm so excited to know that I only have 7 days of work left!

Here's how the day of the surgery will go, for those of you who are interested:

• 10am: Jason and I will arrive at the hospital to get set up for the c-section
• Noon: C-section starts (the baby is born in the first 15 minutes or so, but the entire c-section will last a little over an hour - possibly up to an hour and a half)
• 12:30 or 1pm-ish: Jason will go with Aubrey and the pediatrician to the nursery while I am being stitched up. For those of you who are there, you can see her through the window of the nursery. I'm sure someone will come to the waiting room to give you all the update.
• 1 or 1:30-ish: I'll be taken to recovery, where Jason and Aubrey will join me after they've watched me alone for about 30 minutes to make sure I've started recovering well. We'll stay in there for another hour or two.
• 3-ish: By then, we should be taken to our own room. It's around this time that we can first have visitors (I know Aubrey's grandparents will be eager to see her for the first time by then! I know mom is smiling now as she's reading this)
• Insurance pays for 72 hours in the hospital when it's a c-section, so we'll likely be in the hospital until Sunday morning/early afternoon.

There's still a chance she could turn, in which case we'd cancel everything and wait for nature to take its course. For those of you who would like to come into town, please forgive us if we cancel the c-section last minute if she does turn! Although I'll be a bit bummed to have to wait a bit longer to meet her, a vaginal birth is safer for both her and me.

I'll continue to post updates as we learn more at our weekly doctor's appointment! I guess that means we only have one more appoinment before the big day. WOW!

Week 37 Update

We are officially considered full term! It's wonderful to know that if she were born today, she'd be a healthy baby girl.

We had our doctor's appointment this afternoon. Here's what we know:

• She is still breech.
• Last week she was sitting in an indian style position, facing inside of me with her chin tucked down. This week she's in a similar position, but without her chin tucked in, and with one leg under her body while the other leg is extended.
• She is definitely a girl.
• She is now 6 pounds and 8 ounces (she grew 5 oz since last week)

We decided against the external version, which is the procedure they could do to try and flip her to be vertex (head down). It's not guaranteed to work, and comes with risks to the baby. Although the chances of something happening were small, it was enough that my gut told me it's best not to go down that road.

So instead, we are scheduling a c-section. The doctor asked us to select a few dates for the c-section. She said she didn't recommend any earlier than August 3rd, but to do it sometime the week before the due date. Our top pick was Thursday, 8/5. That's only two weeks away from this Thursday! Our two back-up dates are Friday, 8/6 and Monday, 8/9 (which would be cool, since that means our baby would be born on 8/9/10). They are checking these dates with the hospital, and will call me in the next couple days to confirm the date for which the c-section will be scheduled.

We'll see the doctor each week until that time, and each week we will have another ultrasound to see if she's still breech. If she flips between now and then, they'll cancel the c-section and wait for labor to happen naturally. They'll also do another ultrasound right before they prep me for the c-section. So if she by chance flips the morning of the c-section, they'll cancel it on the spot and wait for nature to take its course. So there's still a chance for her to flip and for us to avoid a c-section, but those chances are not huge since she's getting bigger and bigger (making it very difficult for her to turn, since she has little room in there to do so).

So that's the latest scoop. I'll post an update when we have the c-section officially scheduled, and will try to post pictures from the ultrasound later in the week (although I'll warn you, it's hard to see what is what - the picture quality wasn't great).

Now for the update from babycenter.com:
Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 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 your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. 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.

Update on Aubrey

We had our doctor's appointment this morning, which included an ultrasound. She's doing well, and weighs 6 pounds, 3 ounces (that's exactly one pound lighter than I weighed when I was born!). Unfortunately we do not have any pictures to share. She was "hiding from the camera", so to speak. She's in a breech position (meaning head is not down), and she was also facing inside of me. The combination made it really hard to see anything.

We were a little surprised to find that she's still in a breech position. Most babies are head down by now. We are going back for another ultrasound next Tuesday, in hopes that we find that she has turned head down by then. If not, we have a couple options:

1. Wait it out, and see if she turns before birth. If she's still breech as the due date gets closer, we'll likely schedule a Cesarean. If that happened, the doctor recommends having the cesarean anytime a week before the due date, or up to the due date. Either way, they definitely recommend a Cesarean if she's still breech, since there could be complications delivering her otherwise.

2. Another option is to do a procedure called versioning. In that case, I would be admitted into the hospital sometime next week, and would be given some drugs to help my uterus relax. The doctor would then try to flip the baby by doing some heavy pressing around my abdomen. She warned me that it's quite uncomfortable. The good news is that it's successful over 50% of the time, and that it would greatly increase my changes of having a vaginal birth (which is what I really want). They would have to do it next week though, because it becomes much more difficult to flip the baby as she grows. They do this procedure in the hospital in case there are complications that lead to an emergency Cesarean, or in the case that the procedure causes me to go into labor (from what I understand, neither are very likely - it's just a precaution they'll have to take).

Please be praying about this. I know that Aubrey will be born healthy and safely either way, but I'd really prefer to not have a cesarean. I am going to do a lot of reading up on the pros and cons of versioning, and also the same for a cesarean, and we are learning more about cesareans in lamaze class tonight. Once I know more, I'll be ready to make a decision in case she hasn't flipped. But please pray that she does flip before next week so that we don't have to worry about this, or that if she doesn't, that we'll make the right decision for both Aubrey and for me.

Like I said, I know everything will be okay - I just was a bit heart broken to hear that I might need a cesarean!

Week 36 and random thoughts

Since I'll likely have a lengthy post tomorrow due to a fun doctor's appointment (we'll be getting our last ultrasound!), I thought I'd post the week 36 update today.

First, let me just say how amazing my family and friends are. We've had a ton of great support from everyone, from all the prayers, kind wishes, help in getting our nursery to be beautiful, and most recently - the baby showers! My grandma and my Aunt Bonnie hosted a shower for me on Saturday, and my friends Heidi, Jill and Megan hosted one on Sunday. We played a lot of fun games, and Aubrey got some gorgeous gifts! It was a great weekend overall for our baby (and her mommy had fun opening all her gifts, haha).

But now, I'm going to move on to complain. I've really enjoyed this pregnancy, and know that after she's born, I'm going to miss feeling her grow and kick inside of me. But now that I'm hitting the uncomfortable stage, I've started thinking about what I will NOT miss, or post-pregnancy things I look forward to. Here's my top 10 list (in no particular order):

1. I will not miss kankles or balloon feet! It really hit as of this past Friday night. I looked down, and couldn't see the separation from my ankles and my feet, and my feet looked like mis-shaped water balloons. Last night my mom asked me if I have any stretch marks showing up yet. When I said no, Jason commented "but your feet might get stretch marks!" I love his humor. I couldn't stop laughing all the way home!

2. I can't wait to wear my wedding bands again! Speaking of swelling... the first thing to go were my wedding bands. I haven't been able to wear them for a few months now. I really miss them!

3. No more peeing in a cup at doctor's appointments! Let's just say it's impossible to see the cup I'm peeing into each week, which makes it even more gross.

4. No more waking up in the middle of the night! Ha, I'm kidding about that one. But I'm at least looking forward to sleeping more comfortably WHEN I can sleep. It's going to be wonderful to have the option to lay on my stomach or on my back, and not to wake up each time I turn in my sleep (it's amazing what a production it is to turn over when you have a big belly!).

5. No more back or hip pain, and no more waddling!

6. Being able to work out again! I really want to start running and lifting weights again. I miss having that release, and am starting to miss my old body.

7. Being able to wear my old clothes! Although it might take a while to get back into my favorite jeans.

8. No more heartburn! I miss having the occassional spicy food. Right now, I wouldn't even dare.

9. And of course, meeting our baby girl! We can't wait to see what she looks like, and watch her grow and develop a personality.

10. Dressing her up! Need I say more?

And now for the 36 week update from babycenter.com:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby 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 she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Week 35 update

5 Weeks to go!

I either was in a rare mood this weekend, or I hit the nesting phase a bit early. I cleaned ALL DAY Saturday. It started with organizing the closet (prompted by Jason pulling everything off the top shelf, and making a pile in the middle of our bedroom so that we could sort through it). It then spanned to re-organizing our dresser drawers and the cabinet under the bathroom sink, scrubbing the floor of our shower, and then using an entire can of Resolve while I scrubbed out stains from our livingroom floor. None of that is like me at all, and being on my hands and knees at 8 months pregnant was not at all comfortable. But I couldn't stop. The good news is that our house is almost as clean and organized as it was when we moved in!

We have our second Lamaze class tonight. I'm excited about this one, because tonight we get to take a tour of the maternity/labor&delivery unit at the hospital. We'll also be watching some graphic birth videos, which should be interesting. I'm actually more interested to watch Jason's face as he watches the video than I am to watch the video itself. I've done so much reading and research over the past 8 months, so doubt that anything will shock me until I go through labor myself. But it will be interesting to see Jason play catch-up to what I know throughout these classes!

Now for the update from BabyCenter.com. She's getting big!
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.