Happy Belated Turkey Day & Baby Potter Update!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with your loved one's!
I was going to post updates yesterday, but I actually spent most of the day sleeping. It was kind of nice. Have not slept much lately...Anyhow- we did go over to Kathy's at about 3 p.m. and had a wonderful dinner. All the food was DELICIOUS and all I showed up with was rolls. Kathy did all the cooking and baking. It was kind of quiet from what we normally do, but it was nice. I even took a nap before we came back home last night! I wanted to show you all Lilly's Thanksgiving feast...she is SUCH A PICKY EATER. We had so much yummy food and below you will see what she had to eat...CRAZY KID! Ritz crackers, dried banana & strawberries and fruit snacks. YUCK... but she was happy. It's amazing to me that she even functions, thrives, grows on what she eats. Mac is totally the opposite of her when it comes to eating. He eats anything and everything and eats all the time! He is a bottomless pit. In fact, he ate a ton at Grandma's and then when we came home, he ate another full meal...

Now for the next bit of news... I saw my OB on Wednesday and found out that the baby is higher now than it was 2 weeks ago! There is a reason for this and may make things a bit harder for me to deliver on my own. I have an inverted pelvis. (means it is tilted forward a bit) This was not new info to us, but with this baby, it is really inverted. It must have tilted a lot sometime in the last two weeks and it actually caused the baby to move up, instead of down. That doesn't help either of us! Especially because baby is now over 8 lbs and crammed all up in the top of my belly area. They checked me and the baby out very thoroughly and we are both fine other than being uncomfortable. We went over all my options and I told her that I wanted try my best to deliver. So, I have until Monday evening to do exercises that may or may not help my pelvis tilt back enough for baby to drop down. I have had a lot of hard and strong contractions, but without baby moving down, they are not doing us any good. The one good thing is that the baby is not stressed at all. It is so high up that it does not feel most of them. The last two nights, I have had some very strong pressure in my chest, like someone is pushing/sitting on it, but I think it's from the baby being up so high. It is a weird and uncomfortable feeling. I think I will be glad when we are all done with this part...
So, here is the plan- we are going in on Monday evening at 8 p.m. and I will be admitted. They are going to give me a very low dose of putossin and some pain meds. They are going to "manipulate" my pelvis in attempt to help the baby drop. Doc says that hopefully I will be able to rest in between all of this, but that it is kind of painful. My OB will be in early on Tuesday morning to see how much progress is made. Hopefully she will then be able to break my water and labor will take off if baby has dropped. If baby has not dropped, we may be looking at a C-Section. I guess we'll just have to see how it all goes. I am really hoping that I can do this on my own. A C-Section would be more days in the hospital with a longer recovery time and I don't really want that. But, what's most important is doing what's right for baby. I am glad that I made it to my due date. We are anxious and excited! SO, baby will arrive sometime on Tuesday, December 1st! Everyone will be contacted via phone, e-mails and our blog. We will post pictures as soon as we are able.
We plan to take it easy over the next few days and get rest. The kids will go back to school on Monday, so we are just hanging out. I am having some maternity pictures taken tomorrow and taking the kids to see a movie. I may even do a little bit of shopping. Pat is going skiing this evening with his brother and some buddies.
Cathy B. (Momma B) will be coming over on Monday eve before we go in and she will be here with the kids until we come home. Kathy (Pat's mom) will be at the hospital with us. I think we are as ready as we can be.
That's it for now. Again, hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have plenty to be thankful for! Love you all-

Now, it's my turn...

Kelsey had her baby this morning around 4:00 am. He weighs 7lbs. 14oz. and is 21" long. His name is Robert Fox Judd. I have been told all of them are doing well! Yeah...I am very happy for them and can hardly wait to see pictures!! I am sure that Kelsey is very relieved to no longer be pregnant...
I am hoping my turn comes very soon!
We had a pretty busy weekend. I have been really tired, so it has been a challenge to keep up on things. I have been fighting a sinus infection for over a week now, so it has not been much fun around here. We decided to have a pre-Thanksgiving/b-day dinner with all of the Potter Family on Saturday evening. It was a lot of fun. We went to Sherry and Jimmy's. There are a lot of b-days on the Potter side in November. Pat, Jimmy, Dick, Dave and Kelly all have November b-days. We are hoping to add another one very soon!! The dinner/food was awesome, I ate as much as I could....which isn't a lot at this time because I have NO ROOM in my tummy! The kids all had a blast running around and keeping us all on our toes....
We (all the Potter's) usually go over to the house in LaPine for Thanksgiving, but with my DDay so close, we will not be making that trip and neither will Kathy, so we just celebrated a bit early. We will be staying close to home for the next week or so...
On Saturday morning, Pat went for a run and the kids rode their bikes along. Lilly had a pretty major crash...she bit through her lip. I was surprised that she didn't knock out a tooth. This is a picture later that day...it looks like it hurts- but as usual, she bounced right back and has ZERO fear of her bike. Guess that's a good thing.
On Sunday afternoon, we had some of our friends over to celebrate Pat's b-day. It was fun and low-key. We had lots of great appetizers/food and lots of kids running around. Pat's b-day was the 18th. All in all, it was a fun weekend. I had some very strong contractions last night, but had a feeling they were going to let up and they did. I see my OB on Wed and we will make a plan based on how I check out. If baby does not come on it's own by the 30th, I think she will induce me. She doesn't work on Mondays and of course, the 30th is a Monday...so we may have a December 1st baby! I cringe a bit at that thought, but know it's a possibility...I keep telling myself that I can hang for that long, but with each passing day- it's harder and harder to convince myself that I can. My skin is stretched so tight...very tight...my stretch marks can't even possibly stretch anymore!
Well, better get off here. Lilly is getting very impatient with me at the moment. We are suppose to make a Play-Doh castle. Talk to ya all soon!

Lilly's latest concern...

Lilly and I spent most of today snuggled up on the couch. I have zero energy and the weather has been very yucky, so a day on the couch was the thing to do-
As she laid her head on my tummy, she was asking the usual questions; Momma, is the baby getting bigger? Momma, is the baby okay? She also sang some songs to the baby and gave it hugs and kisses. She then looked up at me and asked- Momma, how's the baby gonna get out of your tummy? I replied- the doctor will take the baby out. She thought for a moment and then exclaimed- But Momma, your tummy will break!!
She was very serious and all I could do was laugh. It was pretty funny and sweet. I love how little one's minds work...

Turkey Day is almost here!

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Prenatal Appt- 37 wks

I had my 37 week appt yesterday and I was a little bit disappointed, but also relieved.
Disappointing because I have been contracting pretty darn hard, to the point where we have almost gone in to the birthing center. The contractions were strong and exactly 5 minutes apart for over an hour one night! (Pat was running around packing our bags and loading the car seat in the truck.) Anyhow, I was sure that at this appt I'd find out that I was dilated more, baby was low and things ready to progress...well, I was wrong. I am still at 2-3 centimeters and cervix is not that favorable and baby has not dropped down any lower than it was 2 weeks ago! I was shocked. My body feels like it has been working so hard, I was sure I had made some progress. Of Course, I realize this could all change over night, but it was still a little disappointing.
However, I am somewhat relieved simply because I still have a few weeks until estimated D-Day and the longer baby "incubates", the better. Especially with all the flu viruses going around. I just wish that the contractions would ease up a bit, they are WEARING me OUT! My body is sore and tired all over! My OB is a bit concerned about my legs (varicose veins), but I am doing everything possible to keep my circulation pumping. My TED stockings are very uncomfortable, but I wear them and I elevate my legs throughout the day. Not much else I can do a the moment. She said they would have to watch me closely after delivery and I will have to see the vascular surgeon at about 6 wks postpartum. What a bummer to know that I will have to have vein stripping done again- it is such a painful surgery!
It will all be worth it when I get to meet my new baby... I will forget about it all.
The kids are doing good and seem to get more anxious each day. Lilly asks every morning "Momma is the baby ok?" and "Momma is the baby getting bigger?". It's very sweet. She also runs to hug me and bumps my "basketball" of a belly a bit too hard at times. Mac is now changing his thinking of it's a boy to a girl. He's anxious to find out.
I am getting the hang of driving my new "bus". I am very grateful for the sensors that beep at me when I am backing the thing up...
Pat is keeping busy at work and has been extremely supportive and helpful. My not sleeping has kind of rubbed off on him too- but he still manages.
Well, that's it for now- our bathroom is still not finished. I really can't discuss it or think about it anymore. It just aggravates and infuriates me, so I am ignoring each thought that pops up about it.
Oh, one more thing-
Mac says "THANK YOU" to all who have helped with his fundraiser!

Sandy Grade Elementary Fundraiser

Howdy all of you!
Mac is having a fall fundraiser this month. His school needs as much help as possible with fundraisers. The money goes to all kinds of programs that the school does not have enough funding for! I am not big on fundraisers, but I am on the Community Club Board and have realized how important they are for our school. The company came in and cooked us all of the wonderful food that you will find in the on-line catalog...it WAS WONDERFUL & DELICIOUS. (my fave is the Cheese Garlic Bread, Item# 330 and it's only $7.00!)
The catalog items/gifts are also very nice quality, not junkie/cheap. So, shop with confidence because I "scoped it all out". They are also very affordable, over 100 items are under $10.00 and 100% of the profits from this fundraiser go directly to our school!
You can click on this link to view the catalog-

http://www.cherrydale.com/shop/index.php?click_id=81282
If you place an order, you need Mac's Student ID#- 67176 and School ID#- 158549 at checkout.
Any order placed will make a difference. Thank you for your support! Mac really appreciates it.
The sale ends NOVEMBER 13th.

Halloween and Baby Showers...Oh My!

We had a nice, mild Halloween. Met our big group of friends at Paola's Pizza before we let the hoodlums run wild in the neighborhood Trick-or-Treatin'.
I didn't walk as much as everyone else did- was more than happy to hang at home and pass out the candy! Mac was a Wolf...hard to see his hat from these pictures, but it was pretty cool. Lilly was a Princess...big surprise there. I tried SOO hard to talk her into something else, but she was dead set on it. I informed her that she will have to be something else next year!! They got tons of candy and were extremely excited about their "loot". I am very happy to say that we hid the candy away after they went to bed and they have not even asked about it since...Ha!

On the Baby News- had an appt last week and am still at 2 centimeters. This is good news! Baby will not be coming too early. She decided to give me this week off from having an appt and I will go back in next week on the 11th to get checked again. She thinks maybe baby will come in the next 2 1/2 weeks. We'll see...they have their own time line and we have no control over it! I am not going to sugar coat how I feel at the moment....have ZERO energy, lots of cramping/contractions, hardly sleeping and I can no longer walk- I WADDLE. I feel like a "zombie"....I am extremely tired, nauseous and can't remember anything....it is very frustrating, but I am very happy with how this pregnancy has gone for the most part. Mac and Lilly were a lot tougher....I was SICK the entire time with them and that has NOT been the case with this one. I had two, just wonderful, baby showers! We had fun going through all the gifts we received. We have been working diligently on getting everything ready for the arrival. I have all the clothes, bedding, etc washed and baby's room is stocked. Baby's bag and car seat are ready to go.
OH and last but not least- we should be getting our new vehicle today. I am going to call it "the bus"...it's huge. A Ford Excursion....diesel engine at that! It is going to take some getting use to. We decided on this over a suburban for several reasons- I will spare you all the boring details. It is VERY NICE....I just hope that I do not hit anyone/anything with it.
I have just a few things left to do before I will feel "ready". The kids are getting anxious and have been very good lately. They are bummed that they will not be able to come to the hospital, but we will get home as fast as we can!
Bathroom Update- There are finally people here today working on it. Pat and I had to get pretty ugly with our builder, but I guess that's what you have to do sometimes. They are still in the demolition phase this afternoon. I have not gone up stairs yet to look- am a bit scared at what I am going to find. I think I should just stay out of there until it is almost done!! Would have been so nice if they had responded to this way back in July when I first contacted them about it... the timing just sucks- I REALLY miss my huge soaker tub.
Well, that's it for now... hope you are all doing well. I know I have forgotten some things...like-

OH yes, we had a HUGE SURPRISE 70th b-day party for Pat's mom last weekend! It was a blast. Pat and I did all the food and the party was at Kelly's house. It went off without a glitch and she was TOTALLY surprised. There were about 60 people there! She had no idea....I got her over there with a story. A story of "I am going into labor, need you to come meet me!" I felt pretty guilty, but they taped me calling her and I apologized ahead of time. Now we will see if she believes me when it's the real phone call!
Ta-Ta for now.