Haley Alexis has arrived!

It's only taken me about forever to get this post up!

Haley Alexis arrived on May 26, 2009 at 3:25 pm via c-section. Haley did not "fit", so I had to have a c-section. I pushed for approximately three hours. Casey was the best coach I could have ever asked for. He helped me so much through the entire time. My doc came in and said there was no reason to continue pushing because if she was going to come and she was going to fit through, she would have already been born.

Having a c-section was a lot scarier than I thought it was going to be. Casey had to wait outside the entire time they prepped me and was only brought in right as they started the surgery. He had to sit outside and just wait. He said he was really scared for me and hated that he wasn't in the room with me. I basically cried the entire time, I was absolutely terrified. The surgery went really quick though and Haley was a screaming bloody mess when she came out!

We are doing well at home now, after Haley had to spend a week in the NICU. She has some bleeding in her brain and was having multiple seizures. She is currently being medicated and seen by about a million different doctors. So far she has seen her eye doctor who says she has 20/20 vision so that hasn't been affected at all by the bleeding. Thank God! We'll take it one day at a time and hope that all will be fine in the end. She is a beautiful baby and I am so thankful she is here.

<3

39 week appointment

Ah, I'm terrible, I can't believe I forgot to update.

Anyway, so today I saw my favvvv doctor in the practice. He did an exam and said I am now 2 cm dilated, 80-90% effaced. He also said I have a very favorable cervix and I should do well during labor. I also lost my mucous plug during the exam. He said he also though my membranes were about ready to rupture.

I'm so relieved that things are progressing, but it was a serious wake up call at the same time.

Dr. Balica is on call tomorrow and he said he might see me then. It would be awesome to me if he would deliver because I really feel comfortable with him. He said he doesn't think I'll make it through the weekend.

I'm so excited, I'm going to be a mommy soon!!!!!!!

36 Week Appointment

And we have progress! Doctor said since this is my first baby, I probably wouldn't be dilated, but she was wrong! I am..or I was on Friday 1 CM dilated. I know that isn't a great indicator of what is to come, but oh well! I also had the GBS test done. It was no big deal, just a qtip and boom, done!

I will be back on Friday for my 37 week appointment and see what happens then. She said they don't check for dilation at every appointment, but we will see if they do since I had been dilating previously.

Anyway, I am anxious to get this baby out now. Bring on the contractions!

35 Week Check-Up

Worst Appointment Ever.

My doctor confused me the entire time. First, she said I was measuring on schedule, then she said I was measuring 1 week behind. Second, she said I didn't need to come back for two weeks, but then said I need to come back in 1 week. Third, I wanted to smack her. lol.

So anyway, I am measuring only one week behind now which means I don't have to have a growth ultrasound. I'm a little bummed because I really wanted to get a chance to see her again before she was born, but I guess the wait will make it even better. At the same time, I'm happy I don't have to have it because that means (hopefully!) that nothing fishy is going on in there.

I'll be going back on Friday for a GBS test as well as my first internal. I am terrified! I know that it isn't a great predictor of when labor will begin, but I like to think so anyway. I hope there is some progress, it'll make me at least feel like I won't be overdue. No one knows, except the Haley girl though.

34 weeks down...

...and hopefully less than 6 to go. That is crazy that I am in the single digit weeks left now. I have another doctor appointment next Friday. It's my last one before I start going weekly. What a scary thought.

Well...I'm going to be a mother soon. Look out world!

33 Week Check-Up

Yesterday was my 33 week appointment. Blood pressure and all is fine, as usual. I'm measuring 2 weeks behind at the moment. Doctor said she could probably have slowed down growth and then speed right back up and catch up again. She is going to check me again at my next appointment on the 24th. She said if I am still measuring behind we are going to do another ultrasound to see what's going on in there.

While I am beyond excited to get another peak at her inside my belly before she's born, I'm still worried that something could be wrong. I know I shouldn't worry, especially when the doctor tells me not to worry and doesn't seem that worried about it. I still can't help it. I hope all is okay in there.

Thanks to my darling mother, she says I can't possibly get any fatter and doesn't believe I could be measuring behind. How nice of her.

Also...

Dear Sleep Gods,

I beg of you to give me a good nights sleep.

I just want to sleep.

I haven't slept solid in months, and it is just getting worse.

I am tired all day and all night long.

Can I at least have a nice nap when I get home?

Love,

Ashley

That is all for now, I guess.

32 weeks down.

Today I am 32 weeks pregnant - only 8 to go. Well, maybe. As long as I make it to 37 weeks, then Haley can make her exit at any time after that!

For the most part, I'm still feeling pretty well although some symptoms are coming back from the first trimester. I am started to get worn out pretty easily. By the end of the work day, I am totally exhausted, so I have resorted to taking naps again. My feet are swollen almost all day long every day. It sucks, but at least it's a good excuse to have to wear flip flops every day. By the way, thank you Old Navy for selling them 2 for $5. I have many fun spring colors now and I LOVE it.

It's hard to believe that it is April 1st. I can officially say that Haley is due next month. How crazy is that? It really doesn't feel like it's been a full 7 months already. Although I can say with certainty that I absolutely can't wait to meet her.

Successful Weekend!

I had such a great weekend, although it was so tiring!

Saturday was my surprise baby shower. Although I'm not sure how much of a surprise it really was since I knew so much about it - minus the date and time. haha. Casey and I got so many amazingly thoughtful (and useful!) gifts for Haley. I can not thank every one who helped out with the planning and the day itself for everything that they did for us. Casey and I are so grateful to have such wonderful family members.

Some of the things we got included, a jumper, highchair, mattress, lots and lots of clothes!, a bookshelf full of books. Once we started getting things organized, I plopped myself on the floor next to the bookcase and started checking out the books. Everyone was supposed to write a note inside for Haley. I was reading all the different notes to Casey and there we sat, crying. We bought a couple of books ourselves afterwards to add to the collection immediately and wrote notes ourselves. So of course, we were crying at those too! Finally Casey said, "I think we need to get used to the fact that we are having a daughter otherwise we are never going to stop crying." It was sweet.

Sunday was a day of cleaning and organizing, etc. We returned some items and got a whole bunch of other stuff. It was so much fun shopping for her! Once all the bedding was washed and put into the crib, I'm pretty sure I stood there for quite some time just staring at it. I can't believe how soon she'll be here.

I'm so grateful for everything we got this weekend. =]

Something To Do..

At least this gives me something to do while I am "working".

Tomorrow I have my 31 week appointment with the doctor. This is the first appointment that Casey won't be going with me to. My mom is going to go instead since she also has a doctors appointment across the street a little while after. I'm sure it will be my usual 5 minutes in and out of there. Although maybe this time, I should ask some of the questions I've been wondering about. I always get there ready to ask questions and then I guess I just get overwhelmed and forget.

A day closer to this stupid week being over. I have had a terrible week so far and just want it to end. Yesterday wasn't so bad, until the dog ran me into a car and then I broke a fork when I was cutting through lasagna. who breaks a fork on lasagna?

First Post

Well, this is probably something I should have started sooner if I wanted to update people on the progress of our pregnancy. Better late than never, I guess!

Currently, I am in the 31st week. I tell you, the end is not near enough - yet it is in sight!

Here is some basic information on the pregnancy so far:

Gender: Female

Name: Haley

Possible Middle Names: Lauren & Alexis

EDD: 5.29.09

Here are some pictures of our precious baby girl!

This is at 7 weeks 5 days:

Progressing to 20 weeks, here she is: