2 cm dilated and 60% effaced!

Yep, thats right!!! I went to the doc today, really ready to hear some good news....and I got it! Things have been really rough for me lately, so I was dying to hear some positive news! I'm just trying not to get my hopes up, but I am praying for some fast progression! With (technically) 4 weeks to go, I ended up with the flu last week and cannot remember the last time I was THAT sick!!! It really did me in and at that point started feeling like I just want this pregnancy to be over with and to meet our little one! Pregnancy is just so much more difficult when your chasing after a toddler. I remember the days when I was pregnant with Madilyn. If I just needed to relax and put my feet up, I could. I could do things as I felt able to. Not so much with the 2nd. As my doctor said......It really makes you wonder how people have more than 2! That statement has never rang more true than it does right now at this stage in the game!
I know I'm really really behind with updating this blog. I still havent posted pictures from Christmas, but I swear I will soon! Things have just been really busy and really crazy. Madilyn is still in gymnastics and absolutly loving it! SHe is so talkative and blows our minds every day with the things that come out of her mouth. She put on a hat the other day and asked me "How do I look mommy?" So I told her that she looked very pretty. She quickly corrected me and said, "No, mommy, I look distinguished." WHAT!?!?!??! She makes my heart melt and she can quickly put things in perspective when she comes up to hug me out of the blue and says "I love you so much mommy." Kids are just a true blessing!!!!!!!! (I just need to remember that as I'm getting frustrated with the end of this pregnancy!!!) :-)

Good News....

We went to the doctor on Tuesday. She did an ultrasound to see if the baby was still breech AND.........She was head down!!!! She turned all on her own. Now, the doctor says (of course) that there is no guarantee. She could still end up turning back around on her own, so we shall see. I was just so happy to hear that she was head down! Maddie came with us and was excited to see her baby sister on the "TV." And yes, she also confirmed (again) that it is a girl. This time I actually saw the "girl parts." Only 7 1/2 more weeks to go!!!

Pregnancy update

I'm realizing that I havent really given much of a pregnancy update in quite some time. 2 weeks ago I went to the doctor and informed her that I have been in some pain lately and just very uncomfortable. Think about how your muscles feel after working out after not working out for quite some time. Well, that is pretty much how my pelvic bone feels all the time now along with a ton of pressure. Come to find out, the baby is breech, which according to her, causes 20 times more pain......which now explains my pain and discomfort. Obviously, when a baby is head down they are constantly kicking you in the stomach and often in the ribs. Well, when a baby is breech, you get kicked in the crotch...over and over and over again! So anyway, the doctor gave me an option where they could try to turn the baby. Basically she says I had (at that time) a few more weeks to see if the baby would turn on its own, but after that, there is no room for the baby to turn. So, she told me that it would take 2 doctors and they would basically man-handle my belly, twisting and turning in an effort to turn the baby around. Not wanting to have a c-section, this sounded like a great idea. Sure, maybe I'd be in some pain, but it would be worth it in order to avoid surgery. She also reassured me by saying she has had much success with this. HOWEVER, I have sinced talked to several people, all of which who have had nothing positive to say about this experience. Many people have said that they attempted to turn the baby, then the baby turned back on its own and ended up in emergency c-section anyway. I'm starting to lean more toward a scheduled c-section, if this baby doesnt turn on its own. After listening to everything that people have told me about this, my thought is that it will be better to have a scheduled c-section (low stress & anxiety) as oppose to having to have an emergency which causes much stress on the baby and a longer recovery for me. We go back to the doctor tomorrow (Tuesday) where we will get another ultra sound. THe doc wants to see exactly how the baby is positioned. She said she'd also take a peek to verify the gender again. I plan on asking her a ton of questions and addressing all my concerns with her, now that I know a little bit more about this. I'll keep you all posted!!!

Just wanted to share some new pictures......

Just wanted to share some new pictures of Maddie's new "big girl" haircut, making Christmas cookies, playing with a new friend and Santa's workshop.

I finally decided that we really needed to give maddie a really good haircut. Normally I just tell Linda to "trim it," because I've been so afraid of losing the curl. But I finally decided that it was looking too much like a mullet and really needed to be evened out. So she now has this really cute bob that makes her look so grown up! Yes, we did lose most of the curl, but she still has a little flip at the bottom and its super cute anyway.

Every year, for as long as I can remember, my mom and I have always made homemade Christmas cut out cookies. Its one of my favorite memories. This was Madilyn's 2nd year "helping" and really just taste testing......she's really good at that!!

A couple weekends ago, our friends Nicole and Sanjay came over with baby Paxton....who is OH SO CUTE! Madilyn loved playing with him and is so good around little babies. She constantly wanted to help....feed him, change him, rock him and get him a blanket. We got some really cute pics of them and for 2 days after she kept asking "where is baby Pax?" It was really great to hang out with all of them and catch up.......even if the guys can't seem to keep their beer in a glass!!! :-) Wait, close your eyes and pretend you dont know if its the can or the bottle, then decide which one tastes better!!!

Last Wednesday we went to the Metroparks for Santa's Workshop. We have a little tradition and go with Tree and Kailey every year. Dave had to work, so my mom went with us. The girls had a great time, as they always do when they get together. They scream and yell and jump around (gee, just like a typical girl) when they first see eachother! They each got to build a toy with Elf Brian, we grabbed a bite to eat and then went on the horse drawn carriage ride to see the lights. This year we decided not to even stand in line to see Santa. We walked past Santa when we were at the mall and Maddie is scared to death! She will look at him from afar, blow kisses to him and wave, but DONT GET CLOSE!! She holds on for dear life. After all of this she says......"I LIKE SANTA." Funny Funny girl!

And as you can tell by my beautiful layout, I still have absolutly no idea how to make my pictures corespond with the right paragraph. The first pic I download always ends up last. I am now wondering if I need to download all the pics first and then try to type my paragraphs next to the pictures. Oh well, try again next time! :-)

Keeping busy!

2 weeks ago, Maddie had her awards ceremony at gymnastics, ending the session. She had a wonderful time leading the olympic parade. I am so amazed at how much she loves gymnastics class and very thankful for it too. I think it is really good for her! We started a new session today and she's right back into the swing of things. Every week they do floor exercises and the trampoline and then they rotate each week between the bars and the balance beems. She goes to All Around Gymnastics which is where I went in High School for Cheerleading/gymnastics.

We had a very busy Thanksgiving day/weekend. On Thanksgiving we spent the day out in Twinsburg with all of Dave's family. Then on friday morning at 4am mom and I headed out into the craziness, as we do each and every year. We had a great time shopping and found some REALLY GOOD deals! After 9 1/2 hrs of shopping (dont ask me how my pregnant body did it!!) we finally came home just in time for Dave, maddie and I to go to his mom's for a Thanksgiving dinner. And now its time to get ready for Christmas! Maddie, mom and I made a bunch of cookie dough today and tomorrow we will make all our cut out cookies....which Maddie loves to do!! Its one of my favorite memories growing up!

Happy Birthday to me!

30 years old???? Not possible! Actually, the day passed just like any other birthday. I didnt have a nervous break down and didnt even have the littlest bit of anxiety about it. Turning 30....no biggie! :-) My friend Jamie threw me a semi-surprise 30th birthday lunch. She was so sweet, wanting to keep it low key for the pregnant birthday girl. She knew it would suck for me if we went out and everyone was drinking except me.....on my 30th bday!! THANK YOU JAMIE!!! I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing. I just knew that I needed to be ready to eat lunch! We went to The Melting Pot, which I was very excited when we got there and realized that is was where my party was! I had never been there, but absolutly LOVE fondue and have always wanted to try this place out. So 6 of my friends (Jamie, Alissa, Christina, Susie, Melissa and Mel) gathered around a table with 3 different cheese fondue pots along with bread, apples and veggies. Next they brought out salads and then finally DESSERT! 3 pots of 3 different chocolates and 4 plates filled with marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, brownies, cheesecake & rice krispie treats. Our wonderful server set one of the pots on fire and let us roast our marshmallows! We had a blast. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends in my life! I love you all!!

HALLOWEEN FUN

As you can tell, I still have not mastered this blog thing. My pictures end up in weird orders and in weird places. Anyway, I just love this picture of Maddie "reading" the newspaper with my dad. She is such a Paappa's girl and often mimicks him.

Halloween was a lot of fun. We've had so many activities and we definatly kept busy. We went Trick or Treating at Summerville on Tuesday which is where my Grandma lives. All the residents were set up throughout and the kids got to go around an trick or treat, and Maddie had a great time. Maddie has gymnastics class on Thursday mornings which she has really taken to and absolutly loves it! This past Thursday they were able to dress up for Halloween and they had lots of fun halloween stuff for the kids to do. On Halloween we were able to spend the day as a family. We had another ultrasound scheduled, so Dave had planned to work from home for a few hours, which he did and then we were all able to hang out. Maddie loved her Giraffe costume which she only wore on Halloween. All the other halloween things we went to, it was either too hot or (like gymnastics) would have been too bulky, and her ballerina outfit seemed more appropriate. Funny how in Ohio you really need to have one warm weather costume and one cold weather costume. Or at least be able to fit your costume over a snow suit.....just incase. As much fun as we all had this past week, I think it may have been a little too much activity. Just last week, Maddie had gotten over a terrible cold and ear infection. Well, now she has the flu! It started Saturday night and I have been without sleep since. It is no fun having a sick child.....especially when they use you as their puke bucket!!! She had been having a hard time getting comfortable (probably b/c her belly hurt) so I had been "sleeping" (if you want to call it that) out in the recliner with her. 4am Monday morning at 7:30 this morning I was drenched!! She hasn't eaten since Saturday, so it was all fluid! Her fever is finally gone and she actually wanted to eat something this evening, so I'm hoping that this bug is on its way out and that I may actually get some sleep tonight. I'm also really hoping and praying that her dinner doesnt end up all over me! Enough nasty details for now.....I'm tired!