D day is here...but she isn't!

I figured I'd post this here to keep everyone updated since we are here on D day. Our little one has decided (not surprisingly) to stay in the incubator (that would be me) a while longer. No real signs of labor either...so off to work I'll go tomorrow. We'll keep you all updated on the blog when she does make her appearance though!

There is WiFi at the hospital, so we'll have the camera & the laptop and will be able to update the blog the day (or night) she arrives!

39 week appointment

We have made forward progress toward getting this baby out into the real world. I am 1.5cm dilated (cervix opened), and about 75% effaced (cervix thinning). At this morning's appointment I'd actually lost a bit of weight (um, no complaints here) which is common toward the end of a pregnancy as women tend to carry less amniotic fluid since there's more baby in there. Her head is low in my pelvis (the doctor could feel her head when checking my cervix this morning), which is a good sign. She didn't mention the station she was at to us however.

The doctor offered to "strip the membranes" & I happily obliged. While it isn't the most comfortable thing in the world, it can stimulate labor IF (and it's a big if) your body is essentially ready to go into labor. If my body isn't ready, well it won't do a thing! We'll know if it helped to egg this thing on in 24 hours or so, and if not...well, we'll just be hanging tight until our next appointment in a week. I actually have 2 appointments scheduled for next week. The first is on Tuesday & the next is on Friday. Both appointments will consist of an NST (non stress test) for the baby where they just monitor her to make sure she's moving, and an ultrasound to check on her & my amniotic fluid levels. If any of the above indicates a problem they'd likely induce sooner than later. This is all of course assuming I don't go into labor on my own.

So that's all from our end...we're in a hurry up & wait mode here. We'll post any updates (should there be any) on the blog, so until then I'll go back to my incubator mode...

Landscaping Project

Not only did we have a bathroom project going on this week...we were also busy updating our landscape on the east side of the house (basically to block out our neighbors!). It isn't completed yet...but we added in an entire fence length of trees & are putting up landscape so we can open our shutters & not look at the side of their house (or the porch). Unfortunately I didn't take any "before" shots, but you all know what it looked like out there...

Now it looks like this:

Bathroom Project

Nothing like mixing in home improvement projects while awaiting the birth of our first!

Our Master Bath went from this:


To this...


This is the same guy that did our shelving & crown molding project downstairs. He's super reasonable & does a great job. I think the bathroom looks so much more finished now!

This photo (from the house we had an offer on back at the end of 2008 was what we were trying to have him achieve:

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Today we headed up about an hour north of Seattle to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The weather was great today with plenty of sunshine. We were even able to take the boys up with us. It's probably the last weekend we'll venture too far from the house/hospital just to be on the safe side. We just wanted to share some of the photos with everyone.

37 week appointment

We had our 37 week appointment this morning. Everything appears to be on track, the baby is growing as she should & a "rough estimate" of her size at birth is somewhere between 7-7.5lbs. Mind you this is really rough, no ultrasound was done to determine this.

I'm getting some lovely swelling in my lower right leg & ankle...yes just the right side. Apparently when the baby sits on that side she blocks the return of fluids returning, but only on that side. My ankle was so swollen last night I could have been confused for a congestive heart failure patient with pitting edema I had!


Baby Malchow has moved down a tiny bit more into my pelvis & is now at 0 station. Our doula says this is good as it means baby Malchow won't have any trouble "fitting" & she's been in the delivery room with women that don't have the baby's head this far down when they are in active labor! Baby is cooperating already!! My cervix is somewhere between 25-50% effaced (thinned).

My OB/GYN says she will not let us go past the 41 week mark, so baby Malchow will be here by May 3rd - or at least I'd likely be induced starting on the 3rd, sorry Mom...no birthday baby for you! The 41st week starts on a Sunday & my guess is that my doctor won't be too excited about coming in on a Sunday to induce, so I'm guessing the following Monday. I'm hoping Baby Malchow comes on her own accord & not because someone is pushing Pitocin! Having labor start on its own sounds a lot better than the alternative. I've heard Pitocin drips lead to an increase in c-sections, which is something I'd really like to avoid.

Next doctor's appointment is in one week!

Happy Easter, we're officially full term!

So on this Easter Sunday, we are officially at 37 weeks or what is now considered to be "full term" for the pregnancy! If our soon-to-be-daughter is born before 40 weeks at this point she will not be considered to be premature & will likely not need to stay in the NICU or spend any additional time in the hospital.

Now I'm ready for her to make her appearance! Everything is still going well, though I'm just now (in the last week) experiencing some swelling in my ankles, wrists, & fingers. It is fairly minimal, so I am thankful for that. My next doctor's appointment is Tuesday morning, so we'll see if I've made any progress toward effacement (thining of the cervix). I highly doubt that I will have any dilation at this juncture. Most first babies are not early...they are late, so I'm almost expecting a May baby rather than an April baby to be honest (Mom, don't get your hopes up for May 7th, I'd hate to be that late)!

We'll update again after Tuesday's appointment!