please welcome...

She is happy and healthy and both of us are doing great! More details to come! :o)

false labor = annoying

Last night around 5pm I started getting regular contractions about every 5-9 minutes apart. They weren't terribly uncomfortable but we decided to call the doctor anyway. Normally I like to wait it out and spend as much time at home as possible. But we had one little wrench thrown into my labor plans--group B strep, which they told me I tested positive for at my last doctor's visit. I don't know how many of you have ever tested positive for this late in pregnancy but it is a first for me. I even had to read up on it since I didn't know much about it. Here's what I know:

-it's not something contagious
-the group B strep bacteria is a normal bacteria found in your body
-it's totally not related to group A strep (strep throat)
-you can test positive for it one day and not the next day
-just because you test positive doesn't mean you're infected, it just means you're a carrier

Basically what that means is that I have to be given antibiotics during labor to protect the baby from getting infected. The antibiotic has to be given twice with four hours inbetween doses and all this has to take place before the baby is born...

So now, if I think I might be in labor (like last night) I have to get to the hospital quickly to give myself enough time to be administered antibiotics for something that I might not even have. Let's just make labor and delivery more stressful, shall we?

Long story short, I went to the hospital in the middle of the night knowing full well that I would be sent home, and I was. But I can't take any chances. If any good came from last night, I now know that I'm dilated to 2 cm and the baby's head is very low. I just wish my uterus would make up it's mind.

the guessing game

With three weeks to go I figured now would be a good time to make guesses as to when this baby girl will make her debut. Let me give you a bit of information before you make your guess:

-I'm due December 1st.

-Shailey came exactly on her due date, Eli came 2 weeks early and Isaac came 3 weeks early.

-I am extremely uncomfortable (but who isn't in the last month??).

-I won't have a pelvic exam by my midwife until next week's appointment on the 17th so I don't have any of that info yet. Usually by this point though, I have dilated some.

So with those facts influencing your guesses, just post the day you think she'll arrive (choosing AM or PM is optional), and the typical birth stats (weight and height). Just to fill you in on my last three's birth stats, Shailey was 8'3" (20 1/4" long), Eli was 9' (20 1/2" long), and Isaac was just shy of 7' (can't remember how long he was--isn't that awful??). So as you can see, I am all over the place with my babies! Have fun guessing!

ouch!

One of the baby websites I visit regularly features a slideshow that compares how big your baby is to different produce. It can get a little weird sometimes (like when the baby was compared to a rutabaga) but it's fun to envision how much she weighs or how long she is.

This week, at 33 weeks, she is compared to a pineapple in weight (just over 4 pounds). For some reason the mental image of giving birth to a pineapple popped into my head. I know that giving birth is hard work but I'm so glad that I will be pushing out a baby and not a pineapple.

and the score is...

BOYS - 2

GIRLS - 2!!

We are all so excited to meet

this new little girl!

And yes, Shailey is VERY happy that she will not be "boy trapped"!