What a crazy few weeks.

At week 39, baby was measuring 9lbs and 6oz via u/s.  Dr. Placede reassured us that everything would be fine and people deliver large babies every day.  The next few appointments were just to measure dilation/effacement, etc... Finally, my first post date appointment was with Dr. Gaines (40wk4d).  He scared the heck out of me!  He kept saying "Why would you want to deliver a 10lb baby and tear into your rectum?  Why would you risk he health of you and the baby just for a natural birth?  There is no reason."  He made me cry and scared me half to death. I went to another practice for a confirmation ultrasound to estimate the baby's weight and they said she was 10lbs 2oz.  I was up almost all night worrying about it.  He called me the next morning to reiterate his C-section preference and I asked him if I could talk to the doctor that is on call for when I was scheduled to be induced (Thurs).  It makes sense to discuss this with the doctor who will be working with us.  He said, "If you want to get another opinion, I'll give your chart to him and wash my hands of you and your husband.  I have already spent plenty of time discussing this with you."  Seriously?  How rude.  I guess people should believe the bad reviews on this guy for poor bedside manner.  Yes, this doctor has some horrible reviews online for this same type of thing.

Shortly after, I called to make an appointment with Dr. Gunter (40wk5d).   I didn't have much experience with him as a doctor because I had only met him once or twice but he was the doctor on call when I was scheduled to be induced.  He had no appointments available but when he heard my situation, he fit me in.  When we finally met with him, he was very calming.  He went over pros/cons with us for the decision c/s vs. natural.  He didn't push anything on us or use scare tactics.  He stepped out and let us discuss and make the decision.  I was very impressed with him.  When he came back into the office, we told him that we would do the c/s but only if he could be our doctor (and it could be scheduled the next day.)  I really didn't want Dr. Gaines to do it - he was the doctor at the hospital for Friday.  He had already scared/intimidated me enough, and I didn't feel like I would want to deal with it.  I'm sure they are both very good doctors - I just get more anxiety around Dr. Gaines.  I'm happy with our decision.

We get to meet our baby girl tomorrow!!!  7:15AM for prep and 10:15AM for surgery.  Please pray for all of us! :)

First trip to labor and delivery

I called the doctor tonight to let him know that I haven't felt as many kicks as usual but the heartbeat sounded fine.  He told me to go to the hospital (labor and delivery) anyway.  So we went!  We were hooked up to some monitors for about a half hour and everything sounded fine.  :)

  Hopefully next time I go to the hospital it is for contractions and labor!

Big Baby!!!

39 week appointment:

Baby is measuring 9  lbs 6 oz (plus or minus 8 oz).  She's a big girl!!! Fluid level is perfect.  I gained 4 lbs between Tuesday and Friday and my blood pressure was high at the appointment.  They said they will monitor the BP and see how things go.  I was negative again for preE.  He said he's not really concerned about the BP since baby is measuring big ... unless it goes up to like 160/110.  It was around 150/90 on Fri.   Every other appointment i've been around 115/70 - what a crazy jump!!!    I'm going to reduce any salt/prepared foods this weekend and hopefully Monday will be better.  :)

Poor Paul was late for the doc appt  by only a few minutes and missed the u/s.  Hopefully he'll learn to be on time from now on.  :)  I couldn't ask them to hold up their schedule for us...  He is sometimes a workaholic.

Because I was measuring at the 98th percentile for baby girl's size, they squeezed me in to see a doc.  (There wasn't any appts available).  The doc checked me again and I have not progressed - still 2 cm/50%/-2. He said he still doesn't think we'll need to induce because people deliver 10lb  babies just fine.  He said if I was diabetic, he would induce.  Ugh, I'm going to end up with a C-section after laboring b/c this baby isn't going to fit out of me.  He said on Monday if my bp is still high, they'll send me to the hospital for some monitoring of some sort.

Work Baby Shower

In late April, my friends at work were very kind and threw us a baby shower.  It was nice to visit with everyone and eat yummy foods!  The cake was SO GOOD!  I liked taking home the leftovers... :)

We got a ton of cool gifts from our registry including a convertible car seat, the bumpo seat, lots of baby dishes and clothes and diapers, etc...  It was a great time!  Here are a few photos:

Easter Weekend

I was having beach withdrawl on Easter weekend, so Paul and I headed to Wilmington Beach for fun.  We stayed at a hilton and spent time relaxing and on the beach.  Next year on Easter the Easter bunny will come for our little girl!  How exciting!! :)

No pictures from this trip - we forgot the camera!  We did go to a nice restaurant downtown in Wilmington... I had some big fish prepared Oscar style (hollandaise/asaparagus).  It was yummy!!!

Tornado Weekend!

In mid-April, Paul's parents came to visit.  They dropped all of the baby shower stuff off (how nice!)  We went on Sat afternoon to a movie and a bunch of tornados hit.  It was quite scary!!!  We had a piece of a gutter pulled down, a piece of siding blew off, and part of our fence disconnected.  We were very blessed because houses near us were demolished.   We still had a nice time visiting even though we didn't have power.  We were thankful that it wasn't too hot out yet!

Myrtle Beach Babymoon

As spring approached, Paul and I decided to go to myrtle beach for a weekend.  We stayed at a Hampton Inn and Suites hotel which was very nice!  We had an ocean front balcony.  We spent time lounging on the beach and taking walks on the beach, sleeping in, reading, watching the news, etc... We went and played a lot of mini-golf and ate at good restaurants.   Overall it was a beautiful weekend, and we made lots of good memories.  I love the beach!