36 weeks and counting...

In the past week I have really started to slow down. I still have better days than others but my movement getting from place to place is much much slower. My irritability has increased and patience level has decreased. I am getting a lot of practice removing myself from situations and counting to 30 :). With Macayla I had TERRIBLE swelling at the end of my pregnancy...knock on wood...so far I haven't had very much swelling/water retention.

This weekend my parents came to help me get more ready for the arrival of this little guy. We cooked several meals that could be portioned out and froze. We have 11 meals all set and ready to go for Jason, Macayla and I in the freezer. In addition I got a robe and pjs for the hospital, bought a non-pink crib sheet, curtains for the baby's room, a rug for the baby's room and newborn diapers. I still have plenty to get done before the baby comes, but none of which HAS to be done prior to the baby.

Taking things day by day....

Another trip to the hospital...

Two weeks ago I ended up in the hospital again. Within the previous few days I had been "contracting" more often and stronger. I didn't think too much of it since I had gotten such strong Braxton Hicks with Macayla. The evening I ended up in the hospital the pains were feeling different and much lower so I decided to start keeping track. Over the course of 90 minutes I was consistently having contractions 5 minutes apart. They were not extremely intense but definitely uncomfortable. I took a bath to see if it would help and it didn't. They weren't getting stronger but were consistently 5 minutes apart. With Macayla they would be 5 minutes, 2 minutes, back up to 7 minutes and down to 3 minutes apart...so I was concerned that they were so consistent (usually a big indicator between braxton hicks and the real thing). Jason finally convinced me to call the hospital. I explained the situation and that I had been in 10 days prior...they told me I needed to head in to get checked out. At this point it was 9:45 pm. We called my friend to come over to be with Macayla and by 10:30 we were heading to the hospital.
While at the hospital my contractions continued to be 5 minutes apart. Long story short...the doctor on call made the decision to give me the "shot" again to stop the contractions. 34 weeks is still to early if all can be helped. We ended up getting home about 1:45am. I DID go to work the next day....struggled with only 4 hours of sleep.

You know you are very pregnant when...

• You have a hard time tying your shoe


• You try to fit through smaller spaces than you can actually fit through (i.e. behind the desk of a student and end up bumping them in the head with your belly)


• It takes all your strength and effort to turn over in bed


• You can't cross your legs anymore because your belly is so low and in the way


• It takes 5x times longer to walk anywhere compared to most people


• You lose your breath walking up a flight of stairs due to very limited lung capacity because all of your organs are smushed


• It is normal to get up 3-4 times during the night to go to the bathroom


• You either have tons of energy to get stuff done (nesting) or no energy at all (almost 9 months prego)


• Students are entertained by your dancing belly as you are trying to teach

33+ along...32 week picture

If I would have written this post a week ago I would have told you that things have been going great....I have been feeling awesome compared to what I remembered at this point with Macayla...I am still moving at a decent pace.... but then this week happened....

If you look at my pregnancy calendar that I have been keeping notes on you would see that I wrote on Monday that I had an awesome day as far as how I felt. Tuesday night after dinner I felt very nauseous and had terrible heart burn...these two things may or may not be related to what happened the next day.

Before I continue I have to note that Jason left for Iowa on Sunday straight from Minocqua and was planning on being gone until Friday for work.

Wednesday morning I woke up with a scare, I was bleeding. Within a few minutes of my alarm going off, I had called my neighbor Cathy, my friend Heather and the hospital. Cathy was over within a few minutes and I explained to her what was going on. She was able to comfort me as I was obviously in tears while I waited for Heather to pick me up to take me to the hospital. Although I was very nervous about what was going on and not sure what would cause me to bleed, within 20-30 minutes of being awake I was feeling the baby move.

As we were about to leave for the hospital, the plaster guy showed up at the front door (before 7am), I looked at him and told him..."Just so you know, I am heading to the hospital". He pretty much was speechless, not sure what to say. Heather got me to the hospital, while Cathy took Macayla next door.

To make a long story short I will just bullet point it:

• Jason had turned his phone off during the night b/c he forgot his charger at the previous hotel


• The hospital staff did not act as if this was a huge emergency


• Finally got a hold of Jason, but couldn't really tell him much b/c the doctor hadn't been in to see me yet


• My doctor was actually at the hospital for deliveries and a c-section that day


• Doctor told me that several things could have caused the bleeding


• Within 45 minutes of being at the hospital contractions started...not strong but contractions...bleeding had stopped


• They told me that it was unlikely that the baby would come b/c there were several things that could be done to stop contractions


• Jason and I decided that he shouldn't get in the car and speed to GB, but understood that things could change and he could miss the baby being born


• Step 1 to stop contractions: Drink lots of water and juice....this didn't work, contractions continued and started getting a little stronger


• Step 2 to stop contractions: IV fluids, About the time I was hooked up to my second bag of fluids I started getting a pain in my back. Heather tried to massage it but it didn't do anything but irritate it more. It started out dull but with in 20-30 minutes the pain in my back was severe. It was realized that I was having back labor, on top of stronger contractions, when the pain in my back would intensify and then release over and over again. I could barely walk when the pain was peaking.


• Step 3 to stop contractions: muscle relaxer shot. About 5 minutes after the shot, my mom arrived at the hospital. The nurse had me lay on my side with a heated blanket. Within 30 minutes the contractions had subsided! :)


• The doctor came in around 1:15 and told me that since the contractions had been stopped for awhile that I was free to go home.


• I had to take it easy the next couple of days, but no bed rest...I actually went to work the next day.

My mom spent Wednesday night with Macayla and I so I didn't have to worry about taking care of Macayla. Thursday at work I sat as much as I could and drank as much water as possible. I did okay, but definitely hit a wall by the end of the school day. Thursday night Heather came over (which actually we had planned on Sunday) and was able to help me with some things around the house. As she helped me around the house, I definitely started nesting. I got a spurt of energy and wanted to get EVERYTHING off my to-do list. Although we got a lot accomplished, I forced myself to stop when she went home around 8:00, and put my feet up. I feel back to the way I had felt the week before.

**Hopefully what happened on Wednesday was a fluke and Baby Boy Starke won't be arriving for 6 more weeks.

Easter 2011

Last weekend we spent Easter in Minocqua. It was nice to have a long weekend with everyone. Tricia and Jeremy came from MN and Melissa came up from southern WI. Although most of the weekend the weather was crummy, we saw the sun on Easter Sunday. Macayla definitely understood the concept of "finding eggs". The Easter bunny was able to get away with no candy this year and instead the eggs were all filled with stickers. Macayla LOVED the stickers!

2 going on 13???

Macayla is a very sweet girl....most of the time. Her personality is starting to really shine through lately. My hope is that it is "just a phase", but Jason and I will have our hands full if this is a picture into the future of a pre-teen. Below are just a few of the things that she is doing lately:

• if she doesn't like what we are saying to her, she "shushes" us


• this morning I opened the door so that she could start waking up gently on her own...with in 30 seconds, as I headed back to my room to finish getting ready, I heard her door shut. She shut her door and went back to bed! Guess she wasn't ready to wake up yet...haha

She does some of the typical, or what I am hoping is typical, 2 year old things as well:

• dropping to the floor, on her belly, covering up her head, whining...when she doesn't get her way


• refusing to go in the car seat...not all the time, but man it is sure hard to deal with when it does happen...let alone being so pregnant!


• throwing stuff to get attention

However...how precious she can be makes up for the moments that are so challenging:

• Her vocabulary and sentence building continues to grow


• I love to hear her say "Love you" to us


• She is fascinated with taking care of babies


• If she thinks someone is upset, she comes and says "Are you okay?" and rubs their back


• Her receptive understanding is growing just as quickly as her expressive understanding


• She so desperately wants to be independent with everything

Okay, so that is just a snapshot into Macayla's world right now. I am sure there is plenty more, but this pregnancy brain thing I have going on makes remember things challenging! :)

28 weeks!

*Starting to get tired again

*Starting to get up several times a night again

*Sciatic nerves kicking my butt

*Low back/hips hurting at night

*Starting to swell

*Braxton Hicks continue...although not that bad

WELCOME TO THE THIRD TRIMESTER! :)