SpiderMan

Update on the newest:
I've been extremely crafty over the past couple weeks; some say it's nesting while I say, it's a little extra time to tie some knots. I still haven't finished Kami's blanket yet, though I'm still actively working on it; just seems to be more of a pain than anything I've put together.
Roger has a nephew that is turning three today, so we are going to his birthday party today. For his birthday present I made him a fleece quillow with basketball, soccer balls, hockey pucks, and stars on it.
With the growing excitement, 'waiting for Kami's arrival', I didn't want Nikholi to feel left out, so I decided to make him a Spiderman blanket. I finished it this morning, ontop of making some blueberry muffins for breakfest, and cleaning the house. Well needless to say, Nikholi doesn't want to have anything to do with it!
My visiting teaching companion came over on Thursday and Nikholi was showing her everything in Kami's room; you could tell that he is also filled with excitement and ready for a new baby sister.
Roger is still actively looking for a job; he's currently beginning more employment processes with a couple other agencies.
Yesterday at my NST appointment I asked for ice chips and once I began eating them, Kami reaction was like a cat on cat nip: SHE WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE, with a heart beat of 180 bpm. She has continued to look wonderful on the monitor. I still haven't spoken with my doctor yet, so more than likely, I won't be induced this coming wednesday - but will be induced the following Monday, June 2 -- 8 1/2 more days; it's coming soo fast!

Please Prescribe Me This Pill

Maybe I'm just overly busy, trying to do too much still knowing I should be expecting my Kami any day now. I'm 38 weeks pregnant and STILL anxiously awaiting her arrival. Last weeks NST's and AFI looked wonderful, every time a nurse walked in to see how heart rate was fluxuating I would get the comment, "Looks like a happy baby!" My AFI was normal, with the amniotic fluid level sitting at 8 cm.

I just completed my Into to Psychology class with a bolded A; which caught me by surprise. Even though I recieve 100% on all my papers and assignments I was absent a day for the precautions taken with Kami's weight and I thought that would have cut into my grade a little bit; but no adverse effects which I was very happy about.

I start a new class tonight, Human Nutrition. I think this class will be very beneficial to be able to add to my knowledge of maintaining me and my family's healthy lifestyle. The only thing I'm worried about is how I'm going to continue with this class and have a baby.. I guess we'll just have to pray for best and hope that I can push through this diffult time.

Nikholi was being extremely hasty last weekend and into the beginning of last week, to the point that I needed to call my mom and tell her I needed a hug; though he did mellow out mid week. I've been extremely proud of his behavoir lately so I took him to WalMart so he could pick out a toy.

On Saturday, Roger, Nikholi, and I went up to the AFB to see the Blue Angels. There was a lot of walking but Nikholi really enjoyed it! He even ended up getting an autograph from an F-22 fighter pilot, he thought that was really something, he didn't want to let the picture of the jet go!

I finally just got our bags packed for the hospital. We are all ready to go! I should be seeing my doctor tomorrow when I go in for another follow up NST/AFI check, where hopefully we'll be discussing an induction date for next week. We'll see what happens. Check back here to keep posted. :)

Trying to maintain a positive attitude: Today is going to be a wonderful day!

Busy, Busy, Bee's

The daily chores for a mother is NEVER completed!

A Typical Day:

- Wake up and take a shower with my hubby (our only alone time)

- Make a well balanced breakfest for Nikholi and I

- Start on laundry and any left over dishes

- Heading into Nikholi's room: playing with Nikholi, fixing his train tracks, picking up toys, and making his bed (this usually takes up a good two to three hours).

- Then to disinfect the kids' bathroom (while encouraging Nikholi to brush his teeth)

- Next is Kami's room: You would think it wouldn't get messy, but with Max (our cat) sneeking in there to take a nap on the changing table, there is always hair EVERYWHERE!

- The living room then gets tidy'd, by picking up all the couch pillows that Nikholi has thrown on the floor, vacuumed, then dusted..

- Then off to the kitchen, by this point I'm wanting to bake something (today will be bannana bread) and with my handy helper, Nikholi, things always seem to get fun and messy. :)

- After we clean up our mess, I go into my bedroom to make the bed and vacuume the floor: Usually taking truck fulls of Nikholi's toys back to his room!

- About this time, we're ready for lunch and I throw together another well balanced meal, and Roger is comes home from work.

Can you believe that's only half of my typical day.. but once I've made it through all these steps I sit down, complete my homework or another craft; and when I look back on the day, I'm able to say that I made many accomplishments and go to bed happy.

Somedays I just want to...

I didn't blog yesterday after my follow-up NST because I was pretty frustrated with the nurses and technicians at Andrews AFB. I'm suppose to have an NST and AFI (descriptions of these procedures can be found in the following blogs) completed TWICE weekly. Well yesterday, my doctor wasn't able to be present to do a follow up and a Group B Strep test (which is mandatory to be done at 36 weeks) which I was okay with, so another resident doctor completed the swab. Kami looked great during the NST, but they forgot to do the AFI; and the AFI is the IMPORTANT test that needs to be completed, because if I drop below 5cm in amniotic fluid then I need to be induced. Then the nurse asked me to drop off the swab, of my Group B Strep test, in the laboratory. I had forgotten my military ID and asked if this would be a problem, the nurse assured me it wouldn't. So I waddled my way down to the laboratory to drop off the test. When I arrived I was hassled for not having my ID for over five minutes - which resulted in me giving the technician an alternate form of ID, then after waiting over another five minutes and watching the technician become frustrated with the information given on the form describing the test, he asked me if I wrote up the form. UH.... Not hardly, try again! By this point I'm extremely frustrated, I thought all I had to do was drop it off! Then I had to wait another five minutes for him to get assistance from another tech. Talk about INCOMPETENT!
Once I arrive back to the car and explained what happened to Roger, he just shrugged his shoulders, like "What do you want me to do about it?" A little sympathy would be nice! I guess this is all the pregnancy hormones coming down at once, along with being overly anxious for the arrival of my baby girl.
Things have calmed down since then though, I've been focusing on Kami's quilt, helping Nikholi build different layouts with his train tracks in the living room (we've tried getting them to go on top of the coffee table), and Roger and I watched a movie last night.
Roger went bike riding this morning and I have to make Enchilada's for lunch because we are going over to Roger's mom's house for a cook out.
Then tomorrow, Nikholi and I will be attending church, and since Roger's not going bike riding, I'm hoping he'll come with. Then we are planning on going to the movies, with the free movie tickets we received from shopping at Safeway, to see Baby Mama.
I guess this would be just a little venting blog on my busy life! :)

In Progress

This picture may be a little difficult to see because of the light pastel colors used, but this is Kami's quilt. It's a work in progress. She currently does not have her own personal crib quilt because I was determined to make one; though she does have all the sheets, bed skirts, etc. along with other crib quilts from when I was a baby.

This is my first quilt that I have attempted with out a pattern and using left over scraps. Once I'm finished sewing together the rows I'm going to add a white satin border and possibly a light green satin binding.

Prenatal Assessment

Yesterday I had an appointment with Prenatal Assessment over at Bethesday, National Naval Medical Center and Kami is progressing wonderfully; weighing a whole whoppin' 6 pounds. The doctor felt comfortable with the results and sent us home. It was very exciting, not only to see a 3-d ultrasound of my little baby girl, but to also have Nikholi and 'Daddy' present. I'm currently 36 weeks pregnant and I'll continue with the NST/AFI testing twice a week, from here, if the amniotic fluid level drops below a five, then they will induce me (no questions asked). Baby's head is already in the down position and ready for a vaginal delivery. We think I'll be delivering within the next two to three weeks.

Another random act from Nikholi: When the doctor entered the room, Nikholi walked up to him, shook his hand and said, "My name is Nikholias." (*in a very diplomatic way*) I couldn't help but laugh, especially when the doctor said he was looking at the next president. Nikholi's manners have definetly been exceeding my expectation. I'm so pround of my little boy!

The pictures to the right are side views of Kami's face. Her arm was in the way the entire time.

Happy Mommy!

Awaiting Her Arrival

For those of you who have been wondering what the heck is happenin':

Our precious little Kami is still in my belly.
Last thursday I recieved a phone call from my doctor regarding the results of my ultrasound. I was told that Kami's birth weight is low; weighing only 4 pounds 10 ounces. And my amniotic fluid level was also low; measuring at a seven when I should be at an eight or more. So I was sent back up to the hospital for an NST (Non-Stress Test: which is where they hook toco's to my belly to record fetal movements, her heart rate, and if I'm contracting) and AFI (which is an ultrasound to document the amniotic fluid volume). With the NST everything looked wonderful, Kami was extremely active, as usual, and her heart rate was fluxuating accordingly. When they took another look at the amniotic fluid level, the numbers were still the same as the ultrasound conducted earlier.
On Friday, I had an early morning appointment with my provider where we discussed the concerns of Kami having a low birth weight and the low amnotic fluid. The concern was that she may not be recieving the nutrients she needs inside the womb and may recieve better care if I were induced. From here, they decided to send me to Bethesda, National Naval Medical Center, to have Kami and I evaluated by a high-risk obstetritian; that appointment will be tomorrow and they will conduct a sonogram that will be able to measure her BBP (a Biophysical Profile: which evaluates fetal movement, fetal breathing, and level of amniotic fluid) along with another NST, to develop an accurate assessment of her fetal well-being.
On Sunday after church, we drove up to Bethesda to have another NST/AFI done. The NST looked great, as usual, though the monitor was picking up my minor regular contractions; I'm assuming they are just Braxton Hicks because they haven't become stronger. As for the AFI, the results came back with me having 13.5 level of amniotic fluid, which is an insaine increase from Friday (this is a good thing, if the test was accurate).
Today I feel like I'm "nesting," I've scrubbed the bathtub, shower, and toliet in our bathroom. Completed the dishes, threw some food in the crock pot, and doing laundry. Whenever Kami decides to get here we are all ready and patiently awaiting her arrival.
Nikholi talked to my mom today on the phone and said, "We're having a baby! I'll call you later. Bye." It was so cute! He's finally started to associate my belly with his new little sister. :)
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