ANNA CHRISTINE HAS ARRIVED!!

check out her pictures below!

http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk154/MBennettFamily/Anna%20Christine/?albumview=grid

I am 28 & my hubby is 29 and this is our first pregnancy. We are super excited and feel like we are WAY to young for this despite the fact that we planned it. :) Our first appointment was at 8 weeks and was disappointing, but went well. I was hoping to have an ultrasound or hear the heartbeat or something but no, we got shot down. Our second appointment was on Dec. 20th for the early genetic testing and they did an ultrasound and blood tests. The ultrasound was amazing - we didn't REALLY believe we were pregnant before the u/s as I haven't been cursed with any of the typical pregnancy symptoms at all, so it was truly stunning to see the little baby pop up on the screen! Our next ultrasound will be at 20 weeks to determine the sex of the baby. I can hardly wait!

1/23/08

Our gender ultrasound is scheduled for February 21st - I can't wait. My hours got hacked at work, so that is stressful right now, but I pray it will all work out. Not too much else going on, just eagerly anticipating the news of Boy/Girl. :)

3/24/08

Wow - it's been awhile since I've done an update! We are having a GIRL! We were hoping for a boy (this is our first), so we will find out how to raise a girl and hope for a boy next time. :) I start a new job on March 31st & I can't wait. My current job has been extremely stressful with my hours going up and down and now back up to 40, and is a 45 minute drive each way on top of all the yelling and shouting that takes place each day. My new job is full time (32 hrs) with benne's and is 10 minutes from home. It will be nice as I don't have to be to work until 10:00am so I'll have lots of time for doctor appointments and such in the early morning before I go in, and they are ok with me taking time off when the baby comes! I can't believe what a huge blessing it is! I am a very strong person and have not had any pregnancy hormonal fluxes yet the last couple of months, I've come home in tears because my job was so bad. I can't believe I won't have to work there anymore!!! We are meeting with a midwife on 4/4 to see if we want her to take the lead at the hospital when we have the baby. We have not been impressed with our doctors office yet (she is out of the same office, but completely separate) so we have high hopes. If she doesn't work out, then we will begin a search for a new doctor which will not be fun at this point in the pregnancy. :)

4/6/08

The midwife appointment went well, so we will use her instead of the main doctors at the office. The actual delivery will take place in the hospital, but with the midwife as the lead, I will get to choose whether I would like to have an IV, an epidural, birthing position, whether or not to have pitocin if the labor is going slow, etc. I'm glad that I will have these options and not just have to go along with what works best for the doctor's schedule. The new job is wonderful, so far the hardest part for me is getting used to the new pace in the office. For the last five years I have been in a very stressful fast paced environment and this is anything but! They still have dial up internet if that tells you anything! It sounds like the majority of my work in the beginning will be to update their files. Everything that they have is on WordPerfect, and they just got Office 2007 last month. :) It's going to be fun, I'm sure, but it will be so nice to not be screamed at during the day.

4/11/08

I called the doc earlier today at my co-worker's insistence after almost fainting and they made me go to the hospital. I spent close to seven hours hooked up to fetal monitors and the baby's heartbeat was amazingly strong and loud for 27 weeks, BUT, I was having contractions that I didn't know about. Over time (while hooked up to an IV with contraction stopping meds) the contractions INCREASED to the point that I could really feel them, however my cervix was locked up tight. Long story short, they diagnosed a bacterial infection and said that they can cause contractions to start. After three bags of IV stuff and a couple of shots they got the contractions to stop and released me. I have to go back if I have more than six contractions in an hour or don't feel the baby move at least three times in an hour. And the best part - all of this had nothing to do with the fainting thing this AM. It just all happened to coincide. I had eaten prior to the fainting spell, but they think my sugar level got too low. What a way to spend my hubby's birthday! Poor boy. :( We had reservations to go to our favorite (and really expensive) restaurant, but missed them as we were in the hospital. We ended up at a fast food style Greek place near campus and made the best of it. I'm starting to feel cramping for the first time and wondering if it will go away or if I will be headed right back to the hospital tonight....

4/21/08

I had an appointment with the midwife today and while she was measuring me (33 cm) she felt a contraction. Given last weeks events she was not happy. I told her that I still felt them every day, just not necessarily six in an hour so I hadn't gone back to the hospital. She hooked me up to a fetal monitor, and I ended up with 6 contractions in 30 minutes and I DIDN'T FEEL any of them. I'm really freaking out now that this baby may come early. She did an exam and I haven't dilated and my cervix is still high, thick, and tight, and they gave me a prescription for procardia to stop the contractions. She also did a neuchal fold test (determines if you will go into labor in the next 14 days) and I haven't heard back yet. They didn't say anything about bedrest so that's good, but I'm still worried... I thought after last week's drugs for the infection I was in the clear...

4/23/08

I ended up in the hospital again last night with about 50 minor contractions during the day and six or more in an hour, so I had hubby take me in as the doctors said we have to do. They sent me home after 45 min. with the summary of "some people just contract all through their pregnancy". I very specifically asked are these braxton hicks, they said no. I asked are they real contractions, they said not really. So I don't know what they are, but I've been drinking a gallon of water a day plus I'm on procardia for the duration of the pregnancy. They are concerned because these contractions can bring on labor, however all four times they have checked me in the last week and a half I've been "locked up tight" and the fetal fibroneckton tests all came back negative. They said that i don't have to take it easy or go on bed rest as it will not prevent the contractions, however, they may be lower in intensity if I sit or lay down, so if it starts to bug me I can take it easy. They also gave me the all clear to not come back unless they start increasing in intensity and/or I start leaking fluids. I'm not entirely sure how to take all that, but I can take some solace in the fact that my baby doesn't want to come out yet.

5/5/08

Well, yesterday I had some fairly decent cramping to go along with the contractions and brought it up to the midwife this morning. She basically decided that I need to "take it easy" now as it seems that the contractions and cramping intensify with activity. They are going to keep me on the procardia (to stop the contractions) until 35 weeks when it would be safe for the baby to come, but she said she won't be surprised if I end up going past my due date as it seems to happen "quite a bit" when they do all this stuff to stop the baby from coming early, then, when it's "safe" the baby decides to stay put. Ugh. I hope I don't go over! I'm really struggling with "taking it easy" even though I've only been doing it for a couple of days. Hubby works about 45 - 50 hours between his full-time job and the fire department and I'm only working 32, so I really feel like I should have the house spotless, dinners prepared, and all this other stuff. Hubby is awesome and supportive of me, telling me that I don't have to, but I feel so guilty just sitting here watching him take care of things. I know that I should enjoy this restful time before the baby comes, but it's just not that easy.

5/24/08

It's been awhile, I see. On 5/9 I ended up back at the midwifes office because of cramping, and she put me on bed rest until 5/12 when I was to see the doctor. She told me that I could no longer be her patient as she "doesn't do babies before 36 weeks". She has told us multiple times that she only does regular deliveries, no high risk or anything like that. On 5/12 I went to see the doctor in the same office, he did a vaginal u/s and determined that my cervix was still at a thickness of 3. He doesn't think the baby is on the way yet, and told me that I can go back to life as normal and begin seeing the midwife again. My next appointment is on the 28th.

6/28/08

38 weeks yesterday - what a journey! Thankfully, I'm still pregnant and our little girl didn't decide to come early, and if she comes at this point she is considered full term. Other than serious back pain and all the contractions this pregnancy has been very easy. I haven't had any morning sickness, heartburn, or any other issues that so many of the girls talk about thank goodness. I am definitely at the point where I am ready to have this baby though. I just want my body back - not even in a physical fitness kind of way, but in more of a personal way. I want to bend over and put socks on without issues, I want to eat hot dogs and subs again, I want to have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner, I want to hop in and out of bed without drama, and all those little things that you don't think about early in pregnancy when you just wish you had that big 'ole belly that the other girl in the store has... I know that first babies are usually 10 days late, but I'm really hoping that this baby comes a week early as it will just make our lives easier, not to mention that our midwife will be on vacation the week that we are due. It seems the entire family is hoping for a 4th of July birthday, which I really wouldn't mind, but I'm just hoping for somewhere between July 1st & 6th since our midwife leaves on the 7th and won't return until the 15th, and I don't want to go past our due date of the 12th. We see her again on July 3rd, so we may talk to her about some natural induction methods and see what she has to say about them.