Meet Madison Rae

Meet Madison Rae Gray, she decided she didn't want to wait until Friday. My water broke on its own at around 4pm and at 7:43pm Madison Rae Gray made her entrance into this world. She weighs in at 7lb 13oz 19 1/4inches long. We are both doing great. Andy's mom was my Doula and thanks to her I was able to deliver with no pain meds and I am doing great as well. Thanks for all your prayers she made it! Andy and I are so happy.

My first look at my baby.

39 weeks update

Well we heard from the doctor. They scheduled me for Friday at 7:15 am to discuss some options about breaking my water and where I am Friday morning.

39 Weeks

We went to the doctor again today, he was a little surprised to see us still pregnant. He said that I am 5cm dilated now and was surprised that I was not in labor. The baby is still a little high but he said he could schedule us to be induced. I asked about a cord prolapse since the baby is still high and he just asked if it was better to have my water break at home and have the cord prolapse or at the hospital. We chose hospital. So we are waiting to hear some options for day/time for that to happen but the scheduling nurse at labor and delivery was not in until 9am so we have to wait to hear. I am not really contracting regularly, but I am having a few. I think we will be able to meet little Gray soon. We will definitely keep you posted.

38 Weeks

We had another appointment today to check my status. The doctor said that he can't predict when I will deliver, but that I am still 4cm close to 5cm the baby is a little lower so it could happen any day. We are excited that we made it this far. Hopefully Baby Gray will make his or her appearance soon.

Can't believe I am still pregnant

We have been in and out of the hospital lately because I've been having contractions that are painful and consistent. Each time though, there is no change so we go home. This last visit on Sunday night we finally left about 5am. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday at 2pm. The doctor said that he can't believe I am still preganant. He said that I am still 4cm and fully effaced, but the baby has not dropped so they don't want to go ahead and break my water because it could cause the cord to get caught around the baby's neck. He also said he would be surprised if I don't deliver the baby within the next two days. We will see...we aren't too upset though since we are not quite to 38 weeks yet. The closer we can get to the due date the better, but I am starting to feel uncomfortable at times. I can walk around now and leave the house, but I can't drive. Hopefully some walking will encourage the baby to drop.

Back again

Right after my post last night I was having very strong contractions about 1 minute apart so called the doctor and went to the hospital. Of course, once we got there, they stopped basically all together. They checked me and I was the same as yesterday so home again we went. We are having a lot of practice runs with this child. I wish it would decide if it's ready to be born or not. Oh well, I can't be pregnant forever, at least I hope not.

37 Weeks

I started having contractions on Tuesday morning and we went into the doctor for our regular appointment. I was dilated to 4cm so they sent me to the hospital to be observed. The observation confirmed I was having contractions about 2-4 minutes apart. The doctor decided to admit me and gave me the option to have my water broken or wait. Since we were still just a little shy of 37 weeks we decided to wait to see if I progressed on my own first. We walked the hospital for about 3 hours and I had no change so we decided to just go home and I could at least be in the comfort of home for a little while. I am still having contractions that are getting a little stronger but are still about 2-4 minutes apart. We will probably be able to meet our new little one soon. I have included some more pictures of my belly from last week at 36 weeks and some pictures of the baby's room.

36 Weeks

Well we made it to the "safe zone" which is good because I am starting to have regular contractions around 15-20 minutes apart. The doctor checked me and I am still only dilated 2cm and she said usually with 15 minutes between contractions it's not enough to dilate me any further but if they start to get any closer together to come in. I will have some pictures posted soon of the giant belly and the baby's room. Andy's parents went ahead and came to for the baby's delivery in case I do go into labor and my mom has also come. We are so happy for the company, we just hope they don't have to be here for three weeks just playing a waiting game. Hopefully we can all meet Baby Gray soon.

35 weeks

We weren't sure if we would make it this far. We are so blessed that we were able to make it to at least 35 weeks. We went to the doctor again today and they said everything seems fine. The baby's heartbeat is around 140. They didn't check my cervix because they don't want to cause any problems and I haven't had a lot of contractions. We are hopeful that we can make it to at least 36 or even better 38 weeks. They said I can start to be up and walking a little bit more around the house but they said to listen to my body and if I start to have contractions to rest. We are so happy that all this rest has paid off and we didn't have to take any extreme measures. We are getting excited now that we are so close and it feels good that we can worry a little less and start to just be excited for the baby to arrive. I have some pictures of the new changing table/dresser for the baby's room. I will post that as soon as I can.

34 Weeks

We went back to the doctor again today and had our last sonogram to check the baby. It is measuring about 5 pounds and everything seems fine with the baby. The doctor said the baby is growing well and the heart beat is good. I am still only 2cm dilated so that's great news! I am hoping I can last about 5 more weeks before I go into labor. I am allowed light activity, but we are still going to take it pretty easy to try to keep that baby in there as long as possible. I am very excited that things are staying steady for now. Of course our little one is being shy again and wouldn't show it's face, but we did get a picture of an ear. On a side note we had a great anniversary 2 wonderful years and we are so blessed.

33 Weeks

Wow a lot can change in a week!. Well, per Debbie's request, I have included a picture of my belly at 32 weeks.

We also got permission to go see "Wicked" at the Des Moines Civic Center downtown. Andy bought tickets for our anniversary way back in the beginning of the year and the doctors thought it would okay if we went as long as I didn't walk around too much. We both really enjoyed the show and it was so nice to have a date night, since it may be a while before we can find time to ourselves again. So I included some pictures we took before we left. This way you can see my belly with clothes on it.

On to the doctors appointment today they decided to check my cervix and the doctor said she felt that it was 2cm dilated and I am fully effaced. So she wants me to take it easy for the next week until they can see me again and check me again next week. She is not as concerned as she was when first came in with the shortened cervix, but they want to try to keep the baby in for a few more weeks if they can. I also got another steroid shot just as a precautionary booster to the last set of shots that I received to get the baby's lungs nice and strong. We are hopeful that we can keep gestating a few more weeks, but this baby really wants to be a part of the world. Next week we have another ultrasound to check on baby's growth and we will see the doctor again.

32 weeks

We had a doctors appointment today with an ultra sound but no pictures to share because the baby was hiding it's face between the placenta and the fibroid. My cervix has actually gotten longer. The last measurement was around 1.3 and today it was around 1.7 so they doctors are very pleased with that. Baby's heartbeat is still around 150. I asked if they anticiapte taking me off of rest and he said maybe by week 38 they will possibly take me off of rest. We will just have to wait and see what they say when we get closer to that point. He said they still want to see me every week so we will keep you all updated.