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So close! Preparations etc.

March 26th, 2012 at 06:35 pm

OK, weirdly enough I've finished all the work I can do right now. That never happens anymore. But it means I have time on my hands and I'm exTREMEly antsy, so here goes a probably long and rambling post.

Friday we thought the baby might come! AS went for her weekly visit and the baby wasn't hitting all its marks just right, so she got sent to the hospital for further monitoring. That's happened before, but this time the score was low enough (and her blood pressure was high enough) that they said if the score didn't improve, they would probably induce labor!

NT left work early and I emailed people warning that I might too. But the scores and blood pressure improved, so they sent her home.

This morning she had another checkup, and they said that with the high blood pressure and imperfect baby scoring, they would want to induce this week. She has an appointment with her regular doctor on Wednesday, so it may be that day or they may schedule it for soon after. Definitely before next Tuesday, which was the due date. Looks like we're most likely getting a March baby like we hoped!

I never had the nesting thing when I was pregnant; too tired and lazy. I feel like I've had the urge this time, though.

We packed an overnight bag for AA, in case she'll stay with our friends for a night or two. (They might also stay over at our place with her, depending on circumstances and what seems easier -- on them and on her.)

Our bag for the hospital is packed and ready, with a list tucked into the handle of things we need to grab at the last minute. (I don't think we got this far when I was pregnant; I didn't really think I'd deliver before my due date.) Although we'll likely be going before AS is in labor, we still like having everything ready so there's less running around when it's time to go.

We've notified our jobs and the lawyer. I'm going to wait to notify family until we know what day she'll be induced.

We've found another possible spot for our giant stroller (which we can't buy until we have somewhere to put it) and have emailed the building manager to see if that spot is OK to use. If not, we'll put up a notice in our garage to see if anyone will rent us part of their spot (we left notes on two cars closest to the door, but no one got back to us). If that doesn't work, we'll ask the people who currently rent our spot if we can have part of it for the stroller for a discount on their rent. If they don't want to share, we'll have to stop renting it to them.

I did some not-quite-baby-related stuff as well that I'd been putting off for a while, just to burn off nervous energy. I organized a big bag of miscellaneous notebooks, organizers, etc., put some on the free table and found places for everything else. I started to get our wills ready to take to the safe-deposit place at the bank. AS and NT need to make their physical assets lists and then we can take it to the bank. I sorted and put away the gifts from the baby shower, and got out cards so we could start doing thank-you cards for everyone who gave us stuff.

We tidied up for the housecleaner, who's coming today. It'll be nice to have a spic'n'span home for the baby (and for our friends if they decide to stay over with AA).

The diaper service regular pickup/dropoff is today; they're bringing a supply of smaller liners for the littlest one! Our service only went up by about $4 per week to add another baby.

This weekend I planned a menu of easy meals for the week, with two days designated for ordering delivery. Ordinarily if we don't cook, we have to use our personal spending money to eat out. But since I'm leaving two open days in anticipation of not being able to cook, I'm going to foot the bill using budget surplus money.

I also did all the prep work I could for the meals. We also bought a few frozen and canned meals to have on hand for when we're too tired or disorganized in coming weeks.

We used to keep the grocery list on the microwave and add to it as we ran out of stuff, then add more after we planned the menu each week on Friday/Saturday. The menu would be handwritten and stuck to the fridge.

The past few weeks, we've begun a shared spreadsheet in Google Docs where we put the menu and the grocery list. It's much easier to make changes, and we can rearrange the order of the items on the list to correspond with the layout of the stores.

Here's our menu for the week; everything can be moved around if necessary.

Monday
Pizza delivery

Tuesday
Crispy tofu, mango, avocado & iceberg lettuce salad

Wednesday
Enchiladas

Thursday
Spaghetti & jar pasta sauce

Friday
Asian delivery or takeout

Saturday lunch
Lunch"meat"-veggie-cheese sandwiches & chips

I pressed and cubed the tofu for the salad, and made the dressing, so all we have to do is fry the tofu, chop the mango & avocado & lettuce.

I made the enchilada sauce and cooked up some pintos, which I'll make into refried beans tonight. I may preassemble the enchiladas and put in the fridge; haven't decided.

Everything else is super easy.

Looking at it and thinking about inducing possibly Wednesday, maybe we should make one of our meals tonight and save the pizza delivery for later in the week.

My gum infection seems to have gone away, but my bite doesn't feel quite the same so my teeth may have shifted again. I'd go and get it looked at right away ordinarily, but I think it can wait until we're settled in. It's not too bad as long as I don't try to close my teeth together all the way.

I think that's it! I'm so excited. I'm feeling quite emotional and almost get weepy when I picture holding the new little one for the first time. Also I'm of course concerned for AS and hope she doesn't suffer too much during the labor. Nothing seems altogether real right now, as I wait for our new reality to begin.

11 Responses to “So close! Preparations etc.”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1332785265

    You are well prepared. I look forward to hearing the news!! Smile

  2. My English Castle Says:
    1332785835

    me too! Best of luck to all of you!

  3. Analise Says:
    1332788800

    What an exciting event for the family! Best wishes to all and keep us posted.

  4. Swimgirl Says:
    1332788837

    So exciting! Happy, healthy, quick labor wishes!

    Call about those teeth! You might be able to squeeze in a quick appointment. And you won't regret doing it sooner than later.

  5. MonkeyMama Says:
    1332790929

    Very exciting!

  6. ThriftoRama Says:
    1332792692

    So... when you talk about scores and blood pressure, is she at risk of pre-eclampsia? A friend of mine was induced about a month early because of this. Good luck and I hope you are ready to start over with sleepless nights and a tiny absolutely helpless baby! Now that DH1 is old enough to put on his own pants, I don't think I could ever go back!

  7. Looking Forward Says:
    1332793044

    How Exciting! Big Grin

  8. ceejay74 Says:
    1332794380

    Thanks everybody! Time seems to be going very very slowly yet flying by. Feels so strange!

    Thrift, no, they definitely were on the lookout for pre-eclampsia, but it never materialized. Nothing is wrong except AS's blood pressure fluctuates from day to day, and the baby doesn't score 10 of 10 on these tests (breathing, heart rate spikes, swallowing, etc.). Since they know that a woman with high blood pressure is not going to have the best veins in the world, it's common to induce between 39 and 40 weeks even if nothing is very wrong. It makes no difference developmentally for baby, it does no harm to the mother, and it lessens the amount of time that everyone has to be on tenterhooks waiting to see if something DOES go wrong.

    It's funny, I'm much more clear-eyed this time about how bad the first few months are, since I've been through it once before. Yet that mommy feeling has taken over and all I can think about is getting that baby in my arms and home safe! I suppose it's an evolutionary thing to keep parents wanting kids. Wink The only thing I'm worried about is that I go back to work almost immediately; I wonder how functional I'll really be. But I'll get through it somehow!

  9. momcents Says:
    1332795640


    Best wishes to AS for a speedy delivery! And a happy baby to join the circle of love of your family! Happy, happy!

  10. Petunia 100 Says:
    1332801179

    When I read your blog last week, I was thinking that the big day had to be getting close. Sooo exciting!

    Best wishes to AS and the whole family. Smile

  11. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1332898838

    Sounds like exciting and exhausting times are on their way! Big Grin

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