7 and definitely counting!

Today I went in for my 39th week doctor's appointment. According to them, I am still the same as I was last Wednesday, dilated to a 3 and effaced at 75%. The midwife was nice enough to give me a "vigorous exam" (stripping of the membranes). Hopefully, this will move the process along a little faster. I am just getting anxious to have this baby and to see what she looks like. Wish me luck in the next week. Luckily, I might have this baby over the weekend. Knock on wood.

Weekend Highlights

Ken and Tressa going down the potato sack slide.

We had a wild and crazy weekend. It all started Wednesday with contractions. Ken was on call at the hospital all night, so I was up with contractions every 6 minutes until 2:00 a.m. Finally, I was so exhausted that I went to bed and woke every 30-40 min. They eventually went away, however, Thursday morning they started up again. Finally around 1:00 p.m., we called Colleen and told her that we were heading to hospital in hopes of having a baby. I was bummed when after an hour, they sent me home with Braxton Hicks. Darn Braxton Hicks.

Ken's mom came in Thursday evening and was going to stay to see how the weekend played out. We tried everything to run me into the ground and get this baby out. So here were the highlights of the weekend.

- Friday morning we went to Apple Blossom Orchard to play on the playground, go down on the potato sack slide and to pick apples.

- The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping at Sam's Club and Wal-Mart.

- Nothing happened that night.

- Saturday, we had an early start in the morning. Colleen, Tressa and I went around the neighborhood looking at garage sales. We found some toys for Tressa and some clothes for Katelyn.

- Saturday afternoon, we headed to Morton (the pumpkin capital) and had to look at all their stores for pumpkins. (Colleen is a nut for pumpkins. She was in 7th heaven.) We also found a farm that sold pumpkins, had a corn maze and farm animals to look at.

- Again nothing happened.

- Finally, Sunday afternoon Colleen decided to leave and come back when we were either admitted to the hospital or my water broke. Sorry Colleen for dragging you out here. False alarm. However, we did have an eventful weekend.

Ken and Tressa picking apples.

Top pic: Tressa running through the apple orchard.
Bottom pic: "Look at all the apples I picked. Yum!"

Any minute now!!!

Today I went to my 38 week appointment and received some great news. I am dilated to a 3 and I am 75% effaced. The doctor said that I should get my bags packed because I could go in any day now. She believes that I will have my baby by the end of the week. Wish me luck!!! We will definitely let you know when it happens and have pictures of our little Katelyn for you. Have a great day!!!

The weight of the baby is......

Today, I had a sonogram done. I guess my OB likes to have one done in your 37th to 38th week. They just want an estimate of the baby's weight, my amniotic fluid count and the position of the baby. Tressa went with me again, she had a great time watching the baby on the screen. She kept saying, "Oh! Look! A baby! Baby Katelyn!". So here are the stats.

My amniotic fluid at a 16. I guess they like the number to be between 10 and 20.

The position of the baby is head down.

The weight of the baby is......8 lbs. 4 oz. That was the size of Tressa when she was born. I could have a 9 lb baby. Ken told me that this was just an estimate, they are usually 10-15% off. I guess we will have to see when she decides to come.

I have my checkup appointment with the doctor tomorrow morning. I will keep you posted.

3 weeks in counting!!

Today was my 37th week appointment. It is now coming down to the wire. Things are going well. Tressa was able to come with me to the appointment. She was able to hear the baby's heartbeat and thought it was cool. She also kept asking the nurse, "what you doing?" when she was taking my blood pressure or drawing my blood. She was actually really good during the appointment, I was worried that she would be running all over the place and getting into things. Luckily, she was on her good behavior, impressing all the nurses and doctors.

Everything is going well, here are the numbers:

- B/P: 110/66
- Dilation: 1 cm still
- Effaced: 20%
- The heartbeat of baby is wonderful

Only 20 days left and counting. Yeah!!!

The Results are In!!!

Yesterday, we took Tressa in for some blood work to determine what she is allergic to. We had taken her last Friday to an out patient, but after poking her twice (once in the arm and in the hand) they were unsuccessful in getting her blood. So we ended up going to the hospital to the lab. It was amazing how fast they did it. The nurse told Tressa that she was sorry for having to have blood drawn and Tressa looked at her with tears in her eyes and said, "It's okay". The nurse's heart just melted and she said to me, "You have the most precious child". If only she really knew, just kidding? Tressa is sweet and kind when she wants to be.

We got the results in today. Surprisingly, she is not allergic soy. Hallelujah!!! However, she does have a peanut allergy. So no peanuts for her. It is amazing what medical professionals have come up with to help answer unanswered questions. We are excited that she only has one allergy and not two.

Daddy Daughter Fun!!!

Sunday morning before church, I was in the bathroom doing my hair. I stepped out into the kitchen for a moment and I beheld my husband painting my daughter's toenails. It made me realize what a great dad my hubby is. Could you imagine watching your husband paint toenails for the first time in his life? Tressa actually let him do it, which in and of itself is amazing.

I might add he did a really good job for his first time. Here is the final product. Oh, so cute!!!

Tressa with the biggest grin on her face. I know that she enjoyed it. She kept going around saying, "Look! Beautiful like mommy's." (I had painted my toenails a few seconds before doing my hair. )
What great daddy daughter fun.

4 More Weeks!!!

Yesterday, I had my 36 week appointment. Everything is going well. Here are the stats:

-Baby's heart rate is great.
-Measuring on schedule
-Dilated to a 1
-My blood pressure was 110/70
-Gained 1 1/2 pounds

We are getting excited and anxious for little Katelyn to be here. We are now starting to get ready for the her. The other day I pulled out Tressa's 0-3 month outfits and reminisced about her as a baby. It is amazing how time flies by. My next appointment is on Sept 12th. I will keep you posted.

Another Allergy

For those of you who don't know, Tressa has a soy allergy. Well, as of Tuesday night she now has another allergy to add to the list. Tuesday night, we went shopping and decided to buy some Reeses' Puff cereal. When I got home, I read the ingredients and found out that it did not have soy in it. Tressa had a little bowl and she loved it.

Later that night, we had read scriptures, said prayers and went up to brush her teeth. She usually fights us at night when we brush her teeth because she just wants to suck the water out of her toothbrush. She was a little bit more fussy than usual, so Ken put her in time out. After her time out, Ken went to get her and noticed that she had been rubbing her eye. Her eye started getting swollen and she was breaking out in hives around her nose bridge, mouth and on her neck. So of course I go playing detective and look over the ingredients to the cereal. We have concluded that she is allergic to......drum roll please......PEANUTS!!! My poor child, she definitely gets these allergies from Ken's side of the family. Hopefully, she will grow out of her soy allergy and luckily her peanut allergy isn't life threatening. We will go get her tested when she is a little older and the test is more accurate. As of right now, we are just going to avoid peanuts all together.

Labor Day Weekend

the Milwaukee Zoo
Cedar Lake
Emma with her fish she caught.
Lake Geneva, WI

This Labor day weekend, Ken was able to have the whole 3 day weekend off, which is amazing. We decided this year we would go and visit Sean and Keli in Chicago. Ken really wanted to see their house and the area where they live. We took a 4 hour drive Friday afternoon and arrived a little after 7:00. We had a great time visiting with them and letting the cousins play together. We were always on the go the entire weekend, never having a moments rest. Here are some things we did while there in Chicago.

Friday night we started with some pizza for dinner and Ken getting a tour of their huge beautiful home. Ken was jealous. Maybe someday we will have a nice house like theirs.

Saturday, we went up to the Milwaukee Zoo, but to Tressa we went to the animal center. Tressa was in heaven. After the zoo, we had a BBQ in the backyard and did s'mores. Mmm...Love 'em.

Sunday morning, we went to sacrament. We came home and spent the afternoon at Cedar Lake just a couple of miles from their home. Tressa really had fun in the lake. She didn't mind walking on the rocky bottom, but when she started stepping in the gooey, squishy mud she would start to cry. Emma, Maggie and Sean were having fun trying to catch little tadpoles. Emma was able to catch 3, she was so proud of herself. Way to go, Emma!!!

Monday afternoon, we headed up into Wisconsin and went to Lake Geneva. We walked around the shops, ate lunch at Popeye's (reminded me of a restaurant at Disneyland). We had Cold Stone ice cream and ate it while enjoying the scenery of the lake and the boats. I have decided that Wisconsin is a beautiful state.

We really enjoyed spending time with Sean and Keli. They are quite the host and hostess. Thanks also to BeBe, their dog, for putting up with Tressa. The whole time we were there Tressa would just smother the poor thing. And no we are not getting a dog.

I hope that everyone had a great holiday weekend. Now back to life and our daily routines.