Tired & Huge

Cami is growing a lot.  I know this because I'm always tired.  And huge.  That's pretty much it.
Ok, not really.  We had a good doctor's appointment this week.  I've been told to do kick counts, which isn't so bad because Cami is such a wiggle worm it usually only takes me about three minutes to get to 10 kicks when she's active.  But, my BP was up a little bit.  I'm not worried because it's been normal every day since I was at the doctor, so, other than getting some puffy ankles, things are looking good.  I have one more two week appointment and then I'm on weekly appointments after that.  I'm ready for Miss Cami to make her appearance, so as soon as it's safe for her, I'll be in "Bring on Labor" mode. 

Herman Cain in America's Hometown

32 Weeks brought an exciting event to The Woodlands.  Herman Cain, one of my favorite potential presidential candidates, came to our local Barnes and Noble for a book signing.  The Woodlands (which deemed itself long ago America's Hometown....a bit cocky, but we'll go with it) is a little bio-dome devoted to a general love of capitalism, so I thought it was a good selection for him to make his presence known to Houston.  James and I both got to shake his hand, and I let him know that we love his 999 plan (look it up if you haven't already).  I, of course, wanted to get a photo with him, but there were so many people waiting to get their books signed, they were moving the line a tad too fast for that.  So, I had to settle for a pic of me (looking a little rough at the end of the day) with him in the background (red tie).  Maybe we'll get to tell Cami she was there when Mommy and Daddy shook hands with the President of the United States. 

Other "exciting" news of the week - my wedding rings still fit.  This was the week when I had to forgo my rings with Bailey, so it's nice that I can still put them on.  I've had a few more contractions here and there, but nothing to signify early labor (although my two weeks of "certainty" are up).  I have a doctor's appointment Tuesday, so we'll see if Cami has any surprises in store....

It's Fall!!!

Well, fall for Houston, which means that it's sort of cool in the morning and mid to high 80s in the afternoon.  After months of 100+ temps and our epic drought that continues, I'll take at least the cooler weather (although we could still use some serious rain).  We had a chance to get outside and enjoy the great weather this weekend, and I have officially decorated with my fall wreath and a pumpkin on the porch.

I took a preterm labor test this week at the doctor's (you might notice that my bump has dropped), but the test came back negative, so for at least the next two weeks, Cami won't make her arrival.  She's now head down and in position, so she's ready, but I'm still hoping she hears me each time I mention that maybe the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving would be a great birthday.  Although, then I miss out on the sales.....

"Wow, you must be about to pop!"

Um, no, actually I'm not.  I seem to be eliciting this phrase or variations of it from random strangers or acquaintances that I haven't seen in awhile.  For some reason, the cashiers at the grocery store especially seem compelled to say something.  Maybe I look like I want to carry on a conversation at the end of the work day when I'm running errands, but, odds are, I don't.  I'm a little bit crabby, most likely tired, and almost certainly trying to hurry home because I'm hungry.  So there.

I'm being a little dramatic....it's really not THAT often people have been saying this to me, and, really, my stomach is big because Cami's healthy and getting bigger, which is awesome.  We can't wait to meet her and 10 weeks seems like a lo-ong time to go still!!  

This week would be Bailey's first birthday.  It's still crazy the journey we've been on in the last couple years, and we still are so thankful for having had Bailey, even for such a short time.  Cami is a constant reminder of the fact that God has a plan; if Bailey had been healthy, we probably wouldn't be preparing for Cami's arrival right now.  We are so blessed by both of our girls. 

Chubby Cheeks!!

We had our 28 week ultrasound yesterday (although, it was actually a day before I'm technically 29 weeks).  It was just a quick growth scan to check and see how she's growing.  We knew from our impromptu 26 week ultrasound that she was on track at that point.  She's grown quite a bit in three weeks.  At 26 weeks she was about two pounds; now they're estimating she's 3.2 pounds (which puts her about a week ahead of the game).  For those keeping track, Bailey was 4.2 lbs when she was born.  Something tells me this delivery may not be as easy.

Besides discovering her weight, we got to watch her for a bit and she put on a little show for us.  She turned her face right towards the "camera" and then stuck out her tongue at us and gave us a big yawn.  It was pretty cute.  When the ultrasound tech came back to her face later, she seemed to look like she was chewing, which made me wonder if she picked up my habit of chewing on my cheek I had (had?) when I was little (Becky, stop laughing).

Here's a picture of her chubby little cheeks:

She also now has a name!  It took awhile, but inspiration struck us one morning and her entire name came together pretty quickly.  She will be Cameron Elizabeth Galloway, but we have yet to decide on her nickname.  She'll probably go by Cami or Cami Beth (unless she's in trouble, then it's the full deal, but that will never happen...right?), but we can't decide between the two.  I'm sure we'll figure it out at some point.... :)

A Full Week of School.....

....and no swollen ankles!!!  AND no hospital trips!  Yahoo for success.  Granted, I spend the majority of the day sitting down, and have given more than one powerpoint guided talk to the kids from a chair in the back of the classroom with my feet propped up on another chair.  Peppy, engaging teacher?  Perhaps not.  But, my kids this year are REALLY sweet (to the point that I'm wondering when something crazy is going to happen) and are being really helpful.  I haven't even needed to yell once.  Maybe slightly raise my voice (which, I'll be honest, I kind of like it when the kids say I'm scary when I'm mad...it means they're getting the point), but that's it. 

I had a follow up with my doctor on Tuesday....Baby G's HR sounded great and her kicks keep getting stronger and stronger.  All of last week my abs felt like they were trying to detach from my body with stretching so much, and then on Friday...poof, I think they gave up, because I was suddenly much more comfortable.  James thinks even though I'm not as heavy (yet) as I was with Bailey, my stomach is already almost as big, hence why I'm feeling so much stretching.  Hopefully the six pack I had before I was pregnant will return (haha).  In two weeks we have a growth scan ultrasound, and I'm glad I'll get to actually see the pictures, because I couldn't see the screen when they had to do an ultrasound at the hospital last week.

We've been putting stuff together too, and have almost everything ready for her to actually arrive.  I wanted to get this done WAY ahead of time in case a) I deliver early again (hopefully not) and b) because I'm insane and trying to work on a thesis and finish grad school.  I'll be defending my thesis about a week and a half before my due date.  Hahahahahaha.  That'll be interesting.

Since college football has started again we decided to be festive and take a photo in front of our AU sign.  If every game this season is like our first one, Auburn football might be enough stress for me to go into labor early.  Here's me and Baby G at 27 weeks....

I didn't want James to feel left out so I took a picture of him too.  I think he might be mocking me.....

Enjoy college football, everyone!  Thanks for continued prayers for us and for Baby G (who actually does have a name now by the way.....stay tuned). :)

Yikes!

We had an eventful day with Baby G today.  I am right at 26 weeks, and went to the third day of school excited about the fun little lab I was doing with my students (who seem REALLY great this year).  Everything seemed normal.  Then, after hearing a couple times "class was so fun today!", I was walking down the hallway and  - bam -  felt like my water broke.  Ummmm.....that's not supposed to happen yet.  So I pulled my co-workers into the workroom and explained the situation, and within about 10 minutes I had called my doctor's office and was off to St. Luke's labor and delivery per the nurse's instructions.  And, oh yeah, I was freaking out.  This is the second time I have been surprised by the phrase "you need to go to labor and delivery now."  When I am 37-40 weeks pregnant and someone says this to me, I will be fine with it, but right now it's not what I want to hear. 

They quickly got me checked in over at St. Luke's and immediately got me strapped in with a HR monitor for Baby G.  I was SO happy to hear that little heart beat (since I had no idea what was going on).  After a few more checks, they said my amniotic fluid levels were fine, my cervix is all closed up as it should be and everything was good.  My water didn't break (I won't get graphic), this can just happen sometimes (chalk it up to some of the really strange things that happen during pregnancy).  While checking my fluid levels, Baby G was checked out too via ultrasound and she's right on track for 26 weeks and doing great.   We also got further confirmation that she is, in fact, a little girl (since she was moving so much at the 20 week ultrasound I wondered).  So, things were looking up, we were happy that our little girl was doing so well and not in any danger.  After the ultrasound they strapped me back up to the HR monitor and contraction belt to monitor for a bit, and the nurse curiously asked me if I felt any cramping.  Hmm....nope.  She left and I looked over at the monitor and noticed this rather frequent rise and fall on the monitor.  Well, then I felt it.  I watched the little line rise on the monitor and felt a little squeeze right in time with it.  Contractions??  What???  The nurse came back after about ten minutes and told me I was having contractions (yes, we know), but luckily a quick little shot of medicine can calm those down at this stage.  After the shot (which apparently makes you jittery), everything stabilized as it should and we were able to be discharged with instructions for rest and water and when to call if all this madness happens again.  I laughed to James that the shot didn't make me jittery and then laughed at myself when I tried to sign my name on my discharge instruction forms.  My signature looked like a sixth grader's because I couldn't hold the pen still! 

After all this fun (read:  me near tears with James repeating that everything was going to be fine), James and I were able to grab some lunch and I have been resting all afternoon (with time to write the blog). 

I will be in my rolling chair for the majority of the day tomorrow.  

Cute little foot at 26 weeks: