36 Weeks... What a Week...

Boy oh boy this has been an interesting week. So much has happened already and it's only Thursday! I'm just going to dive right into it. I'll start at the beginning... 


Last Saturday: My sweet cousin Patsy threw me my "family" baby shower. It was great! The entire theme of the shower was "Generations"... and basically, they had pictures of women throughout my family and then all the mother's took time to share with me one piece of wisdom. I enjoyed it very much, and we got so much good stuff!


Monday: Because we had our last shower on Saturday, I figured I would go ahead and start getting us ready to go to the hospital. There were a few little things we didn't get at our showers, so I used some of the gift cards and money to pick that stuff up. What I thought was just a quick trip to the Exchange in Oxford turned into an absolutely exhausting trip that landed me in the hospital :( I pushed through and finished all my errands at the exchange (even though my body was screaming at me to go home and rest)... I was driving home and couldn't make it the whole way. I stopped at my grandparents house (about halfway home) because I was in so much pain and having a lot of contractions. My pain was mainly in my lower back and my hips, but nothing I did eased the pain. I assumed I could just lay down on their couch and then I would begin to feel better... but then I started getting chills and shivering. Sure enough, I was running a low grade temp... 100.2. Once I realized I had a fever, I got scared. I know that fevers are signs of infection in your body, and I wanted to make sure Ada was alright. So... Jordan came straight from school and took me to Dr. Daniel's office. When we got there, they rushed me through to see him. I was still running a fever when I got there and I was still in a lot of pain. When Dr. Daniel walked in, he knew something was wrong. Usually when I'm there, I'm smiling and bubbly, but this time... I was crying and wasn't afraid to tell him how much pain I was in. He checked my cervix... it was closed... so he concluded that he felt I had a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) that may be making its way to my kidneys. He sent me straight to Labor and Delivery to get blood work done and fluids. I was also a tad dehydrated. Once I got to L&D, that was another experience in and of itself. Let me just preface this with the fact that ALL the nurses I came in contact with Monday evening were precious and this is not a reflection on them... I just happened to get there at the "wrong" time... We got to L&D around 5:00... the nurse did our initial paperwork, but was swamped... three people walked in at the same time and they were short staffed. It wasn't until around 7:00 that they finally began "trying" to start my IV. I say "trying", because it took them four times... yes... four. The first nurse tried in my right hand and couldn't get it... sent a nursing supervisor to try... she tried in my left hand and left arm (in the bend of my arm)... nope, couldn't get it. She then decides that she thinks it might be due to me clotting too fast (huh?)... anyway, she then tells me that I could take a rest and she was going to go get an anesthesiologist. So, around 8:00, a nurse anesthetist came in and finally got my IV started. As it turned out, all my labs came back clean... no UTI. Dr. Daniel still isn't sure why I spiked a temp, but he made me stay overnight just to make sure it didn't spike again. 


Tuesday: Needless to say, Jordan and I didn't get much sleep at the hospital (they even gave me Ambien to help me sleep... it didn't really help). So, most of the day Tuesday, we napped and tried to rest from our eventful evening :) That night, I was feeling better, so I went to dinner with some ladies from church for one of their birthdays. I had fun, ate a good meal, and thought that the rest of the week was looking up... so I thought. When I got home Tuesday night, I noticed that I was a little stuffy. I thought it may be just from all the fluids I got at the hospital and that it would pass... then it got bad... fast. I couldn't breathe, couldn't swallow, chills, achy... what? I was so mad. I had been just fine the day before and even that whole day... why was I getting sick now?


Wednesday: Didn't sleep much Tuesday night... woke up yesterday feeling horrible. I called Dr. Daniel's office and they called me in some medicine (whoop! whoop!) Even though I didn't feel good, I am nesting something terrible. I got myself and Ada completely packed for the hospital and the car seat base installed! Call me crazy for packing so early, but I would rather be ready earlier than later. 


That brings me to today... I'm still battling this sinus infection, but like I said... I'm nesting. The nursery is ready, the house is cleaned, and laundry is caught up. Isn't it amazing what hormones and adrenaline can do to our bodies? Needless to say, I am tired. I did take breaks yesterday and today to rest my feet and nap, but I am so thankful that whenever Ada decides to come... we're as ready as we can be. 


Ada's developments this week: She is continuing to put on weight... about 1/2 pound a week. Her gums are firm with ridges that look somewhat like teeth, even though obviously she doesn't have any yet. She is becoming more alert in the womb and we can totally tell. She's responding to our voices which absolutely thrills our hearts. Ada has dropped. I'm not sure if she's totally in place, but I can definitely tell she's dropped. There's constant pressure on my bladder and cervix... it's lovely I tell you :) Because I went in on Monday, Dr. Daniel just told me to come in next Thursday for my 37 week appointment. He told me at the hospital that he would check me again (please pray something has happened with my cervix... I want to carry her until 38 weeks at least, but I know with my first baby, it may take me a while for my cervix to change... he won't let me go past my due date, I totally don't mind being induced, but I really don't want to be induced without my cervix dilating and thinning). I'm also going to ask him for another sonogram. I want to know how much he estimates her to weigh. Plus... I just want to see my baby girl. I haven't seen her since 20 weeks. 


I'm pretty much going to really take it easy from here on out. Like I said earlier, we are pretty much packed and ready for whenever she comes. So, for the next four weeks, I'm just going to rest and enjoy these last weeks with my sweet Ada in my womb. Until next week...