Come on Ilyana, you can do it!

Here we are at 38 weeks pregnant and I'm understanding more and more just how much of an understatement it is to say a woman gets "uncomfortable" near the end of pregnancy! Walking (waddling), moving, coughing, laughing, rolling over, it all hurts! My feet and ankles have swollen to monstrous proportions (which sometimes can be a sign of pre-eclampsia, but my blood pressure has been excellent) and they hurt to walk on! At my appointment this morning, my doctor wasn't fond of how swollen my feet were getting so she decided to strip my membranes in hopes that I'll go into labor. Membrane stripping is essentially where the doctor separates the amniotic sack from the wall of the cervix. This can cause the body to release prostaglandins which makes the body go into labor. Membrane stripping is supposedly more effective if the cervix is already somewhat dilated and effaced. Currently I am at 4 cm, "very thin", and Ilyana's head is engaged. Here's to hoping and praying that it works! The good news, if it doesn't work, is that my OB felt very confident that I'll go into labor sometime this week. Of course it's all guess work, but I'm hoping she's right! She also said that once I'm 39 weeks, if I go into labor and go to the hospital they will keep me even if my contractions slow down again. I'm glad, it's pretty disappointing to keep getting sent home with no baby! I've now gone in to the hospital twice with contractions (third times a charm, right?!). I went in again last Thursday morning. I had started having horrible back labor and contractions about 2 minutes apart around 11 pm on Wednesday. I tried laying down, walking around, drinking lots of water, taking a warm bath/shower, and they kept going. Finally we went in around 3 am on Thursday. They were consistently 1.5-2 minutes apart, pain to the point that I couldn't help but cry through them, we were sure that this had to be the real deal! We got there and I was dilated to 4 cm but her head wasn't engaged so they had me walk around for a few hours in hopes that my water would break, but instead, after an hour or so the contractions started to slow down, yet again. They checked me again before I left and said that her head did engage during that time though. So basically I keep going into early labor and having it stop (the nurse said it's not considered false labor since the contractions are causing me to progress).

In other exciting news, our house is coming along quickly! All of the walls are up, the electrician was in the other day, the plummer should be in this week, and we got to pick out all the colors, flooring, counters, etc. the other day! It was so much fun! Assuming everything stays on track, they are hoping to have it completed in April! We are so excited to be moved in to our new house!

Information about Ilyana:
EDD: February 27th (11 days)

How mom is feeling: Uncomfortable. Come on Ilyana, you can do it!

How dad is feeling: Excited for Ilyana to be out and for baby snuggles! And sad that Ash is so uncomfortable all the time!

Stalled labor

As many of you probably know, I went in to labor last night only to have it stall after about 10 hours of labor. Here's a timeline of what happened:

February 3rd:
11:30 a.m. -had an OB appointment, dilated 2 cm.

9:30 p.m. -started having and timing regular contractions about 10 minutes apart lasting 30 seconds.

11:30 p.m. -contractions had picked up to about every 3-5 minutes, getting somewhat painful, tried both laying down and walking around, nothing made them slow down/ease up.
-Called the hospital and was advised to continue timing contractions and call back around 2 am if they continued.

February 4th
12:30 a.m. -contractions consistently 2 minutes apart, 30 seconds long, couldn't talk or move through them.

1:45 a.m.- finished packing the bag and headed to the hospital.

2:15 a.m. -cervix dilated to 3 cm. but still thick and head not engaged. Advised to walk to see if I continue to progress.

3:00 a.m. -Still at 3 cm. but 90% effaced and head engaged (-2 station). Admitted to hospital. Contractions still strong and consistent.

5:00ish a.m.- contractions starting to slow to about 4 minutes apart, still unpleasant but not as painful.

10:00 a.m. -contractions continue to slow to about every 15 minutes. cervical check shows little change.

12:30 a.m. -Dilated to 4 cm. but contractions have mostly stopped. Decided to go home to wait for labor to start up again.


So basically they explained that it seems like my uterus is ready to be in labor but is struggling to keep the momentum going. At this point we are just waiting for the contractions to pick up again and once they are strong and consistent we'll head back in to the hospital to hopefully have this baby!

We are obviously disappointed to have everything come to a halt, however, we were both exhausted and I was feeling extremely nauseated from being so hungry so this is definitely a good opportunity to refuel and gear up for labor to start again. I was also reminded that my cervix isn't going to regress so at least I've gotten almost half of the dilating done!

I'll keep everyone updated!

Soon!

We've made it to 9 months, 36 weeks! I meant to write this post yesterday but got distracted cleaning all day... can you say nesting??? But really, it sounds like miss Ilyana will be making her grand debut soon! I had an appointment today and the doctor was surprised to find that I was dilated 2 centimeters! She said there is no way to predict when exactly I will go into labor, but to not go on any long car rides and she highly doubts that I will go overdue. Jake and I are so ready and excited to meet our little girl so we are ecstatic about this news! I went and did some walking today (and used a pedicure gift card afterwards!) to hopefully keep things moving along. I talked to my mom a little bit today and she said that once she was actually in labor (she went 2 weeks over with both my brother and I! Yikes!), things progressed pretty quick, so we are hoping and praying that I will be the same (except sooner!). Miss Ilyana should now be about 18.6 inches and 5.8 pounds, about the size of a head of romaine lettuce. She continues to keep her foot lodged under one of my ribs, which, by the way, feels bruised at this point! Her head is down and in position and she is just packing on the pounds (about an ounce a day) until she makes her highly anticipated entrance.
As promised last week, here is a tour of Ilyana's room! Enjoy!

Information about Ilyana:

EDD: February 27th (24 days)

How mom's feeling: LOTS of pressure from her pushing down. Ready to meet my baby girl!

How dad's feeling: Having nightly chats with Ilyana about coming out soon!

Our beautiful little girl!

We've arrived at 35 weeks and Ilyana is about the size of a honeydew melon! Yesterday we got to see our little girl with an ultrasound and they said she is weighing about 5 lbs. 4 oz., which is in the 33rd percentile for weight. She is head down but my cervix is still closed so it will still be a few weeks until her grand entrance. It was definitely a relief to know that everything is going well! The doctor expects her to weigh about 6.5-7 lbs. when she is born. It is so exciting to see a snapshot of what she will look like, and it was adorable to see that she sleeps with her arms up by her face just like me! I am absolutely in love with her adorable little lips! She's going to be so beautiful! Oh, and the ultrasound tech checked, she's still a girl ;)

I labeled some of the features to make it a little easier to see ;)

Last weekend I was blessed with a wonderful baby shower thrown by my sister-in-laws, Jenna and Jessica. It was an adorable circus theme, the food was delicious and we had a ton of fun. I was so grateful to receive a lot of the items we need for miss Ilyana! Jake and I have been finishing putting together the nursery which is almost complete, I'm hoping to do a post on it next week!

We're all expecting this year!

Information about Ilyana:

EDD: Feb. 27th (35 days)

How mom's feeling: I'm so excited to meet our beautiful little girl!

How dad's feeling: Trying to convince Ilyana to come soon, ready to meet her!

Maternity pictures!

Here we are at 33 weeks, these last few weeks are flying by! Miss Ilyana is a little over 17 inches and about 4.2 pounds, about the size of a pineapple! A few nights ago I was finally able to get a video of my stomach moving while the little miss was kicking (my phone can't upload it so you'll have to ask if you want to see it!), it was pretty neat! While in bed the other night, Jake glanced over and saw her sticking out a limb, his face was priceless! This week I've been starting to really notice the effect pregnancy has on my energy levels, I definitely have to remind myself that I'm eight and a half months pregnant instead of getting discouraged by how long it takes me to do different tasks. I've also been having an increasing amount of braxton hicks contractions lately, and some of them have been rather painful! But it's great practice for real labor! This past weekend, our good friend Megan from Sonshine photography was able to take our maternity pictures! We had a lot of fun and she did a great job! I'll put a couple of the pictures at the end of this post. I'm really looking forward to my baby shower this weekend with Jake's family and some church friends. It's going to be a lot of fun, plus it's the last "big event" we have planned before Miss Ilyana's arrival! Speaking of her arrival, don't forget to cast your vote of when she will arrive here!

Information about Ilyana

EDD: Feb. 27th (45 days)

How mom's feeling: Excited for the baby shower this weekend!

How dad's feeling: Freaked out by the belly movements!

What's in our hospital bag

We are kicking off 2015 at 32 weeks! My body is currently recuperating from a long weekend. I was honored to be a bridesmaid in my dear friend Jenny's wedding. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding! By the end of the night my body was revolting against me and reminding me I shouldn't be on my feet all day though! Our little girl is now about 4 pounds and 17 inches. Over the past week I've started to notice some more painful braxton hicks contractions, I asked my doctor about them at my appointment today though and she wasn't concerned. Speaking of my appointment, the doctor decided that I'm not gaining quite as much weight as she would like to see so we're going to be getting another ultrasound at our next appointment just as a precaution. She's not too concerned and neither are we. I'm definitely tempted to feel anxious about it, but I'm combating those temptations with prayer. I am very excited to see our little girl one more time before meeting her though! Hopefully this time she will cooperate and not be so camera shy! I can't believe that we will be having a baby next month (don't forget to place your guess of when she will arrive! http://jashleyfam.blogspot.com/2014/12/ilyanas-arrival-date-contest.html )! We are feeling fairly prepared for her birth. Next on my to-do list is packing our hospital bag. Here's our list of items to pack:

Ash:

1. Brush     2. Hair ties (3)    3. Chapstick    4. Make-up bag    5. Toothbrush  

6. Headband    7. Toothpaste    8. Socks (3)    9. Slippers     10. Comfortable day clothes (3)

11. Comfortable pajamas (3)   12. Nursing pads   13. Nursing bra      14. Nursing cover

15. Lanolish cream   16. Birth plan (5) 17. Swimsuit top   18. Bears blanket  

19. Snacks   20. Gatorade   21. Phone/charger     22. Camera 23. Wallet      24. Birthing ball 25. Picture outfit 26. Birthing affirmations 27. Stool softener   28. Breast pump

29. Heating pad      30. Razor

Jake:

1. Phone/Charger   2. Day clothes (3)     3. Pajamas (3)  4. Toothbrush    5. Razor/shaving cream

5. Slippers   6. ID      7. Checkbook    8. Snacks   9. Diet coke :) 26. Picture outfit

Ilyana:

1.  My Brest friend      2. Coming home outfit      3. Mittens      4. Carseat 5. Carseat cover      

6. Heavy blanket     7. Receiving blanket      8. Boots 9. Hat/bow 10. Coat   11. Picture outfit

Misc.:

1. Nurse thank you gift   2. Gum         3. Extension cord

Can you think of anything else that we may want to add?

(Bad picture, but it was all I had!)

Information about Ilyana:

EDD: Feb. 27th (53 days)

How mom's feeling: Ready to meet our little girl! Excited to see her again!

How dad's feeling: Ready for the pregnancy to be done!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope everyone had a great Christmas, we sure did! We really enjoyed the opportunity to see our family and celebrate Christs birth. I have also really enjoyed Jake being on break from both school and work, we've had a lot of opportunities to just relax and spend some quality time together. I am now 31 weeks pregnant, 8 months. I can't believe how quickly time flies! Miss Ilyana is now about 16 inches and 3.3 pounds. I also noticed the other day that she is starting to 'drop', which has helped a little with breathing issues (but has made the bathroom my new best friend). I have been experiencing braxton hicks contractions more often and some of them have started to become a bit painful, but it's all good practice for her birthday. Although not nearly as bad as the first trimester, I have been struggling with some nausea again. I bought some 'sea bands' the other day to try out (they work through acupressure to relieve nausea), and they seem to do a pretty decent job. I mentioned last week that I haven't been sleeping well and was going to try out lavender oil. I am happy to report that the lavender seems to work! I have been sleeping so much better!
Don't forget to cast your vote on when Miss Ilyana will arrive!

Information about Ilyana:
EDD: February 27th (63 days)

How mom's feeling: Pretty good, just slightly uncomfortable. Excited for the faithwalkers conference this week!

How dad's feeling: Pumped for faithwalkers this week!