It's the final countdown...

Today I had my 38 week and final doctor's appointment before our scheduled C-section next Friday. As of today, everything is looking good. Baby is growing, his heart rate was good, my blood pressure was good and my swelling is gone (thank the Lord!) My doctor didn't check me for dilation since he is still breech. We are to be at the hospital at 5a next Friday for a 7a delivery of our little bundle of joy!

Pic of me at 37 + weeks. I haven't taken one today.

"You look really pregnant!"

Sunday was a rough day. I didn't feel good at all and was extremely swollen all over (feet, legs, hands and face). Chad's comment before church was, "You look really pregnant!" Well, I am less than two weeks out so I hope so but I don't think that was a compliment. I think what he was trying to say is that I looked very "blown" up. On top of his comment, I was also asked by a cashier "Are you almost ready?" Thankfully I could respond that, yes, it was only 12 more days otherwise I may have burst out in tears! I spent most of the day resting which I don't do well at all. It made me realize the hardest part of the C-section will most likely be the "taking it easy" part.

I'm feeling much better today and the swelling is minimum - thank goodness! It was mid-80s yesterday but hasn't reached 50 yet today so the cool weather is definitely helping. The bummer of the cool weather though is that my wardrobe selection is minimal. I refuse to buy more maternity clothes so I will suck it up and wear my select cool weather clothes over and over again. Luckily, this weekend should be back up to mid-70s!

As of today, only 11 more days! I'm just praying Colton hangs on for the 11 days and doesn't come early. I have my 38 week doctor's appointment on Thursday so I will update again if anything changes.

Rebel, I tell ya!

We've had another confirmation that we are not in control of little Colton Earl! As I'm sure everyone knows we went this morning for a version (ECV) to try to turn our little guy and he was not having it.

The procedure wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. When I arrived at the hospital they monitored his heart rate for a while and then hooked me up to a IV. I was given a drug to relax my uterus and a little something to take the edge off the pain. Along with an ultrasound my doctor physically put her hands on my abdomen and tried to grasp his little head and butt and turn him around. On the first try she was able to get his head down and as soon as she let go he moved right back. So, she tried again and that really annoyed him. His heart rate started to drop so we all decided to leave him alone and let him be! Afterwards they monitored him for about 2 hours and sent us home.

We are now scheduled to have a C-section two weeks from today on Friday, October 2nd. This is the day after our 4th Anniversary! I'm excited and just glad that we have a plan. If I would happen to go into the labor before the 2nd, we will go straight to the hospital and have an emergency C-section. UNLESS, he decides to turn...there is still a small possibility but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I'm okay with the C-section. One of my biggest fears is laboring for hours and hours and ending up with one anyway so let's just go ahead and schedule it and not go through all that! :-) Plus, if you know me, you know I believe everything happens for a reason. I'm certain everything is in God's hands and will be fine.

Since I spent most of the past week finishing up my "To Do List Before Colton Arrives", Chad and I can pretty much relax and enjoy our time together before our life changes forever.

I'm pretty tired right now after the morning's activities, so I'm going to try to get in a little nap before we head to the Brad Paisley concert tonight.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers today!

37 week appointment and more...

It's been a busy week so I'm a little behind on my blogging. First and foremost, Colton is still breech and unless he turns tonight we are going in for our ECV at 6a tomorrow morning. Wish us luck!

I had my 37 week appointment today and I'm 1 cm dilated. I feel like everyone is 1 cm at 37 weeks so I'm not too hopeful that if he does turn that he will come early. We will know so much more tomorrow. I promise to post as soon as I'm feeling up to it.

This past weekend, Chad's cousin, Chip, and his wife, Isabel, welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Nicholas "Nico" Juaquin, into the world about 10 days early. Chip and Isabel live in Boston but we can't wait to get our boys together during the holidays and family reunions. Congrats to the both of them!

Breech Baby Update

Today at my 36 week appointment it was confirmed that our little rebel is still breech. I didn't need an ultrasound to tell me that since I can feel his little feet poking into my side most of the day but the U/S did confirm it. Other than that though, everything is great. His heartbeat is good, he is measuring on target and I'm still feeling great.

So, what now? After much discussion with the doctor, we've decided that we are going to try the ECV (the doctor will manually try to turn him) next Friday the 18th when I will be 37+ weeks. This is done in the hospital since there is a chance (less than 1%) that something could happen and an emergency C-section may be necessary. In the meantime, I'm going to continue trying the Chinese Moxibustion treatments and also a chiropractic treatment called the Webster Technique. If in the end, he is still breech then we will know we tried everything and a C-section is meant to be.

I do want to stress to everyone that Chad and I are not at all worried or upset about the situation. It is what it is and everything will turn out the way it is meant to be. This is one of those things we can't control. We will continue to pray and ask for your prayers that the best outcome will be!

As I mentioned, I feel great! I keep waiting for the "I'm miserable get this baby out of me" feeling but so far so good. I'm still working out about 5 times a week, staying active getting the house ready, running errands and still sleeping good except for the once to twice a night potty breaks. I really can't complain so I feel extremely fortunate.

Labor Day

Typically Labor Day weekend makes me really sad since it usually signifies the end of summer, my favorite season, and the beginning of fall which reminds me that winter, my least favorite season, is just around the corner. This year feels different though since fall means we are days closer to meeting our son!

This Labor Day weekend was different from the past since we did not get to spend any time on Lake Norman. Chad went to Atlanta for a bachelor party and the game but was home early Sunday morning. We had a chance to chill Sunday and then hit up a Rockies game on Monday. The Rockies won against the Reds - yay! They are in the lead for the NL Wild Card for the playoffs so it was good to see them win.

We are one month out from our due date! One month seems like a long time but then I realize it could be two weeks if I go early like Lacy, or three weeks if our little rebel stays breech and a c-section is planned or it could be longer than a month if he turns and is late! The unknown could drive the "planner" in me a little crazy! No matter what though, the "planner" in me will be ready!

Chad's Barron's Article!

Chad was interviewed by Barrons.com a couple of weeks ago and the article published online today. Colton and I are very proud of him!

If you happen to be a Barrons.com subscriber, you can read it at:
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB125140790090264821.html If not a subscriber and you are interested in reading it, I would be happy to send the PDF of the article via email.