Lierre Elizabeth Bloch

So sorry, everyone who are not friends with us on facebook....

Lierre Elizabeth Bloch was born in August 16, 2012 at 6:33 p.m. She weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 21.5 inches long.  She was born via c-section and it was a hard delivery.... but more to come on that later (maybe. We are trying to leave some of this in the past). 

We have been home since Monday and have been trying to figure out a "schedule" (haha) and have been falling in love a little bit more every day. 

I will hopefully be writing to catch everyone up sooner than later, but at the moment little miss is my focus. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure! 

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers through the pregnancy, delivery, and now "real life." We appreciate it!!

Daddy cuddling at the hospital

Trying to take a nap--the light is from Bili lights for jaundice

Snuggle time

Exhausted early morning snuggles

Hurry up and Wait!

For all the inquiring minds (I think my facebook status made people get excited and/or panic that I was going into labor.... oops, I'm sorry!), here is an update from the past day or two, including our doctor appointment today.

As of today I am 39 weeks, 4 days pregnant. I am so, so very sorry to all the pregnant ladies that I ever judged. When you waddled, I thought you wanted attention. When you sighed and grunted trying to get off the couch, I may have thought you were a drama-queen. When you said how sleep was difficult or that it was hard to move in bed, I thought you had taken exaggeration to a new level. I am so sorry for judging you. Did you read that? Let me say it again, I am so sorry. This "last week" of pregnancy is kicking my butt up and down and sideways. Every day is literally a little more uncomfortable and I run out of just a little more patience. I always thought that when people got so impatient at the end of pregnancy, it's just because they wanted to meet their little one.

And believe me--I CANNOT WAIT to meet Lierre. Holy cow, she is so close and I love her and I can't wait to snuggle her. BUT. I am so.... so.... so uncomfortable. My hips feel like they have screw drivers in them. I have to get out of bed to roll over majority of the time (don't laugh. you try putting a 20 lb weight on your stomach and take away your ab muscles and then try to roll over). When I drop something, I stare at it awhile and consider how important it is that I try to pick it up. ANNNDDD to top it off:

I think I got maybe 2 hours of sleep last night due to contractions. I had been having tightening type contractions for at least a week and a half (my stomach would tighten, but they weren't painful), but these last night were super uncomfortable. I thought maybe this was it, since they came and were not going away. They continued into the morning while I was getting ready. I was excited despite the pain and exhaustion. I even spent an extra long time getting ready, doing my hair (because, duh, obviously everyone needs good hair if you are going to go into labor). Then, I pulled into the doctor's office parking lot. The contractions came to a screeching halt. I was SO frustrated! They hooked me up for a Non-Stress Test (again, this just monitors baby's heart rate, movement, and if I am having contractions). After being hooked up for about 25 minutes, they only managed to get one medium sized contraction recorded. BAH! I just wanted them to see how many contractions I've been having and for my own personal mind-set, I wanted to see where my most painful contractions were "rating" so I could know what I was in for.

Anyway, the exam was way painful today unlike last week. Not pleased. At this point I was running on about 2 hours of sleep, my contractions had stopped (a.k.a. were pointless in my mind), and then the exam hurt. That on top of my general craziness the past few days (weeks?) made me in a pretty bad mood. The doctor said that I am 1 cm dilated, my cervix is soft, her head is low, and I am "pretty thinned out." She did not give a percentage of effacement like last week (which was 70%). Soo.... in theory, good news (which I know it is--please don't preach to me. I am thankful she is healthy and I am trying to be patient). In my grumpy mind set, I couldn't believe all my contractions had only amounted to 1 cm and that my discomfort was going to have to continue instead of going away after what I was sure was going to be an inevitable and quick labor today (hahahaha I know).

We have another appointment set for Monday (40 weeks, 2 days) if she has not come by then, in which we will discuss/choose an induction date. My practice does not like to go past 41 weeks.

Anywho, ever since leaving today I have had a handful more of the achey contractions, but there is no pattern still. Prayers that it might amp up and get regular or maybe stop, please?

......................................

Here are some pictures from last night at Lake Townsend. Tim saw me quickly heading towards the end of my rope (there are a few other pretty important things I am waiting on at the moment as well, and I feel like I am in the movie "Groundhog's Day" where I just keep repeating the same day over and over), so he decided to get me out of the house for a little. It was just what I needed and it was so pretty!

It was Jack's first time ever being in/near water! He loved it!

He is so handsome. I'm so glad he is mine.

Loving baby at 39 weeks, 3 days

My favorite guys! <3 

38 weeks, 3 days

Here's another update! 

Despite my attempts to sit on a birthing ball a lot, stretch in the floor at night, eat pineapple (ok, so I didn't eat much, but the acidity hurts my mouth after awhile), and eat "jump start your labor cookies" this week, the doctor told me today that I am not dilated any more than I was last week (which was a fingertip a.k.a. pretty much nuthin'). Womp, womp.

However, I did jump from 30% effaced last week to 70% effaced this week.  I think that is still something!! Maybe she will just keep moving down and down and down and then boom, a few easy contractions and there she will be!

"Jump Start Your Labor cookies" Tim made me with cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne pepper

A girl can dream right?

Anyways, although I have been feeling Lierre move this week, it has felt.... different somehow. Softer? Less often? I hadn't quite been able to put my finger on it. So, thankfully the doctor allowed me to be hooked up to the monitor for awhile today just to be sure everything was alright. After about 20 minutes he came back and said "Well, it's just what I thought... the reason you haven't felt her move so much is because you are having contractions like crazy." Then he and the nurse showed me the chart of the heart rate/contractions (it looks like what they measure earthquakes with, the little spikey needles that jump when something happens) and pointed out one contraction in particular--it went all the way to the top line and stayed there for awhile. When I acted surprised they said "Did you not feel that??" and I said "Well, I mean I felt my stomach get tight, but I feel like I have these all the time at home lately, but no pain with them. Is that ok??" They kind of laughed and assured me that they would get worse eventually, but that some people just don't feel pain with these early contractions. I am beyond ok with this!! Unfortunately, even though I had some big contractions, I also had many little ones and there was no rhyme or reason to the timing or strength of them. Hopefully these will turn into the real deal soon and we will have a sweet little girl to snuggle with.

Impatiently waiting at the doctor. Oh, by the way I cut my hair!

I have been bouncing back and forth between over-the-top anxious, to beyond excited, to exhausted and back. I would also describe the last weeks emotions as feeling like extreme PMS.... so very moody. Happy one second, snapping the next, crying at commercials after that, then fine. If you have fallen prey to my insanity, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!! It is uncontrollable and comes on quickly and then leaves and leaves me feeling like a fool. I'm ready for this part to pass! Poor Tim! Poor family members! I cringe at myself sometimes.

Keep praying that I make progress and go into labor on my own. It will be best for our little lady if I do, and I really want to experience this thing start to finish (hopefully laboring at home for as long as possible). I will keep everyone posted as time goes by!