Happy Thanksgiving!

So tons of people have been on FB posting what they're thankful for….. While I love love love the idea of this, I would rather post on my blog about what I'm thankful for.

Here it goes:

*I am thankful for the amazing doctors and nurses at Mass General.  MGH has just been awarded the top hospital in the nation, and the care that I have been receiving from the Maternal Fetal Medicine team is beyond amazing.  I feel as though baby Percy and myself are in the right hands.

*I am thankful for the advanced medicine and technology that hospitals are equipped with these days.

*I am thankful for my health and getting baby Percy this far in gestation.  It's hard to be on this floor and be aware of the fact that there are people that are far less fortunate in terms of their own health or the length of gestation for their babies.  All of the nurses and doctors keep reassuring me that 33-34 weeks is an ok time to have him.

*I am (or will be) thankful for the amazing staff in the NICU here at MGH.  While I obviously haven't experienced it first hand, I've heard that the NICU is amazing.

*I am thankful for our amazing family, friends, and coworkers that keep offering up love and support to us during this unexpected and scary time.  We have SO many generous people in our lives that have supported us with kind words, food, distractions, visits, etc.  I can not even stress enough how much we've appreciated everything that has been done for us.  I don't think we'll ever be able to express what it means to us.  THANK YOU and WE LOVE YOU ALL!

*Lastly, I am so incredibly thankful for my husband.  I am able to be this strong for the baby because of his love and support.  From taking care of Nyla and Jade, to sending me videos of the animals playing, to keeping me company at hotel MGH, to bringing in clothes or food in my pink Vera Bradley bag (he's gotten compliments in the elevator), he has kept my spirits high and my mood positive.  I could not do this without him.  He means the world to me and I know he's going to be an amazing daddy to baby Percy.  xoxo


I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day today and found something that they're thankful for as well!

Happy Thanksgiving Day and GO PATRIOTS!

Baby Percy's Impending Arrival

So it's been quite a while since I've blogged.  We actually have had an unexpected turn of events in baby Percy's arrival plan.  I'm currently on bed rest at MGH because I've been leaking amniotic fluid since Friday.  While the past 5 days have been nerve racking, unpredictable, and confusing, Ben and I have become stronger parents even before welcoming our little boy into this world.  I've already learned  what all parents say….. the kid is always in control!  Apparently our little man wanted to meet the world sooner rather than later!

Here is an email I sent out earlier today that gives a little bit of a timeline of what has been going on since Friday:

This past Friday I left work early because I felt like I was potentially leaking fluid.  I immediately went to my doctors office where they tested the fluid and confirmed that it was indeed amniotic fluid.  They sent me right up to the Labor & Delivery unit where they hooked me up to monitor the baby's heart, and to monitor if I was having any contractions.  Baby sounded great and I wasn't contracting.  I got a series of 2 steroid shots that helped to mature the baby's lungs, and they started an IV to administer antibiotics.  With having a rupture in the sac, there is a risk of infection…. so I had 3 days of antibiotics to try to prevent against that.  With a ruptured sac it's inevitable that the baby will be coming before my due date.  The protocol is to wait until the baby decides to come on his own…. or try to get the mom to 34 weeks in which then they'll induce.  On Monday I had an amniocentesis (they use a needle to go in to the sac through your stomach) done to be 100% certain that I was indeed leaking.  Because I have very minimal leaking…. and the fact that there was still so much amniotic fluid around the baby, they weren't completely certain if i had ruptured.  Well the amniocentesis came back positive so we're back on our original plan of meeting the little man early.  They've scheduled my induction for Thursday, November 29th…. so we're really hoping that the little man holds out until then.  I'll be 34 weeks and 2 days along.  While it's been hard to come to terms with the fact that we'll be welcoming a preemie into this world, Ben and I have been getting stronger and stronger as the days go by.  I'm on bed rest until he comes at Mass General which is an amazing hospital with an absolutely amazing NICU so I know that he will have the best possible care.  My mom was also saying that I'll have the NICU doctors in the delivery room with me ready for his arrival, which helps to know that he'll get the care he needs as soon as he comes out.  

So that's the gist of what has been going on.  While it's hard to be on bed rest, I've had so many family members and friends stop by to visit and drop off food or goodies.  It definitely helps the days go by faster and keeps me staying positive.  Also, thank you to those of you that have been reaching out to Ben and I.  We really appreciate the love and support that you've been sending.  It really helps us to stay positive!
So, with Baby Percy (hopefully) arriving after the 29th (fingers crossed!), I've got about a week left.  Over the next week I'm going to try to blog a little bit about what has been going on in the hospital.  We're planning on taking a tour of the NICU in the next couple of days, so I'll try to update you on how that experience goes.  I'm also trying to remember to take "a picture a day" while I'm staying here at the hospital.  Just something else to focus on while I'm here.  I actually have a spectacular view from my room… so I'll try to post some of my first pics soon.


Thanks again for your love and support,
xoxo
Laura

31 weeks

We had a very busy week 31!  On Saturday we went to MGH for our childbirth preparation class.  It was a one day class so we were there from 9 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon.  As anticipated I didn't really learn any new information that I hadn't already read about before, but I did pick up some info that will help me plan for the hospital.  A couple of the things that were very helpful were learning when to go to the hospital, and learning where to go when we get there!  Our instructor who is a labor and delivery nurse at MGH stressed to us not to get to the hospital before we were actually in labor.  She said that if we weren't in active labor and at least 4cm dilated, that triage would send us back home.    She also stressed to us that it's better to go through the first stages of labor at home instead of at the hospital.  Once I get to the hospital, I won't be able to eat or drink anything until after our little one has arrived.

We also went on a tour of the labor and delivery unit, which definitely helped to ease my nerves.  It helps to know where exactly to go once we decide to head into the hospital.  We were able to see what triage looks like, what the labor and delivery rooms look like, and what the postpartum rooms look like.  I'm starting to create a list of the different things I'll need to pack in my hospital bags.  Our instructor said it was a good idea to pack two separate bags, one for the L&D room, and one for the postpartum room.  If there are any mommies out there that have some must need items for the hospital bag please feel free to share!

So, on another note, my iphone has totally crapped out.  I'm not a very happy camper right now when it comes to Apple.  I have an iphone 4, and recently updated my phone to the newest operating system.  Shortly after updating I started experiencing issues.  My phone will just power off in the middle of a phone call or in the middle of me checking my email, and then I won't be able to turn it back on unless I bring it into the Apple store.  SERIOUSLY…. not cool that I don't have a working phone considering I'm in the middle of my 3rd trimester!  After going into the apple store to talk to the people at the "genius bar" 3 times in the past 6 days, I've learned that there is basically nothing that they can do for me and that I'll have to get a new iphone 4 for the price of $150.  So frustrating considering Apple is totally not standing behind their product or their upgrade.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, let me know if anyone has an older iphone that they're not using.  I would greatly appreciate it if I could borrow it until May when I can upgrade my phone through Verizon.  Please let me know, and if you need to get a hold of me….. email me or facebook me…… Grrrr!

That being said…….. I don't have a picture update for you :(
I took a picture yesterday… but then my phone crashed.  So all I have for a 31 week update is my weekly status/survey.

How far along? 31 weeks 7 days - Baby is the size of a pineapple 

Total weight gain: 25 pounds- official weight gain from my weigh in at my appointment of Thursday

Maternity clothes?  Pretty much 90% maternity clothes  

Stretch marks?  Still none yet

Sleep:  Able to sleep pretty well      

Best moment this week:  Going to the Kelloggs tour of gymnastics championships.  My boss from gymnastics brought us all to the show.  Yay Fierce Five!

Miss anything?  Missing margaritas this week.  Ben and I had lunch at a Mexican restaurant yesterday and I was soooo jealous of his margarita.  It smelled so good!  8 more weeks! 

Movement:  Still moving like crazy!

Food cravings?  No cravings this week

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope 

Have you started to show yet:  Totally bumping it up!

Gender:  Baby boy Percy!  

Labor signs:  n/a  
Symptoms:  Way less mobile…. Starting to feel like a whale….. and I think I'm starting to feel some braxton hicks contractions every once and awhile 

Belly button in or out?  Oh it's out…. :(

Wedding rings on or off?  On but starting to feel a little snug depending on the time of day  :(

Mood:  Excited to meet the little guy in 8ish weeks…. but nervous for L&D in 8ish weeks

Looking forward to:  Relaxing….. now that I'm down to office hours at the gym.  I'll only be working there Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 4:30-6, and instead of teaching classes I'll be covering the office.  While I could probably suck it up for another 6ish weeks, my body is definitely showing signs of wanting me to slow down.  

Weekly goals/plans: Try to eat healthy

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Baby Percy's First Snow!!

So, Mr. Benjamin Percy, Esq.  (haha)  will be dictating this post…..

I looked out the window today around 1:30 and realized that it was snowing.  I immediately rushed outside to get my first snow experience of this winter.  After a few more hours at work I had to hop on my sister Kirsten's bike which would have been fine if it was a mountain bike, but it was a road bike with skinny slick tires (sketchy!).  A brief ride later, I realized how dangerous of an excursion this could be.  So I ducked into the Davis Sq. T stop and tried to grab a ride into Boston.  Apparently, bicycles aren't allowed on the T until 7.  I arrived at 6:35 and had a slight altercation with the MBTA employee regarding my bike being on the train before 7.  After calling him a "job boy" and other unmentionables, I decided to ride my bike to the next T stop and try my luck there. I encountered a courteous MBTA employee who could not care less if I brought my bike on his train.

So I hopped off the T in Boston, and made my way to Barracuda Tavern to meet Jesse, Hayley, Mark and Ross.  After eating dinner and catching up with some Suffolk friends, Laura picked my ass up on the pedal bike and drove me home…….but, she refused to rip donuts for Baby Percy (he needs to learn sooner rather than later).  After much persuasion, I got Laura to bundle up and take a nice walk around the block so baby Percy could have his first nor'easter experience.

Laura in the first nor'easter of this season

30 Weeks Holy Moly!!

Wow!  I can't believe I'm actually 30 weeks along.  That means I have 10 weeks (more or less) left until baby Percy makes his debut!  While I'm so excited to meet him and see what he looks like, I'm starting to get a little nervous about what labor and delivery will entail.  Next Saturday we will be attending a childbirth preparation class ALL DAY LONG - Ben is so excited!  While I think much of the information will be review, I'm hoping that the class will help to calm my nerves a bit and not have the opposite effect.

On another note, I know of many family and friends that read my blog but I often can't help feeling like I'm talking to no one.  I welcome any and all comments, questions, feedback, etc.  At the bottom of each post you can click on the comment link to leave a little love note for me!  I was also thinking about adding a little interactive portion to my posts every week in the hopes that maybe people will respond.  Keep a look out for this after my weekly bump updates… and don't be afraid to comment!  xoxo

30 Week Chalkboard - I love the board this week!

 30 Week Bump Shot

 Can you spot Jade??  She's very sneaky!

 Me and Jade!

How far along? 30 weeks 6 days - Baby is the length of a cucumber 

Total weight gain: 22 pounds

Maternity clothes?  Still able to mix some pre-pregnancy tops with maternity pants.  

Stretch marks?  Still none yet

Sleep:  Besides not being able to fall asleep one night last week because I was thinking too much about L&D, I've been sleeping really well.      

Best moment this week:  Getting the call from Dr. Kolp's nurse telling me that I passed my 3 hour glucose test!  PHEW!! 

Miss anything?  Being able to breath like a normal person!  My lungs are definitely running out of space!

Movement:  He's OOC (out of control - in case you didn't know!)  He is pushing all his little limbs against my stomach.  

Food cravings?  No cravings this week

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope 

Have you started to show yet:  Totally bumping it up!

Gender:  Baby boy Percy!  

Labor signs:  n/a  
Symptoms:  Still feeling less mobile and running out of breath 

Belly button in or out?  Oh it's out…. :(

Wedding rings on or off?  Still on and feeling good

Mood:  Excited, happy, nervous all rolled into one!

Looking forward to:  I'm actually looking forward to our childbirth prep class…. Call me crazy!  It'll be nice to be able to go over some basic info, and also to get an idea of what we need to do to prepare for our hospital stay.  I'm really hoping that MGH allows you to pre-register, this is one of those tips that I hear really helps ease some of the stress and tension in those early labor hours.

Weekly goals/plans: Relax, eat healthy, and have a great last week coaching gymnastics!

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While I've already put together my registries, I was wondering what was the one item that you can't imagine living without during those first few weeks with your newborn??  Do you have any suggestions on items that might make life a little easier??