Photos, trips, and appointments and rambles

All is well in the Willingham household!

Cricket is doing quite well these days! I had an appointment this morning with the midwife and he is measuring right on target. His heart rate is 150 bpm. He will be here in 7 weeks at the latest! His due date is 44 days away, however if he doesn't come on his own they will induce before the 13th of May. Josh and I are hoping that he comes on his own and we won't have to worry about induction, but to be honest, all that matter is that we have a safe delivery and a healthy baby.

This last week was spring break for my school and I got much needed rest. I got caught up on almost all of the house work. I'm not able to clean bathrooms because of the smells and of course because I'm so big. I'm going to have someone clean them for me. Josh is suppose to call a family connection. I feel bad for asking for someone to do it, but with Josh working full time, and going to school it's hard for him to do it.

I had some maternity pictures taken over the break and there are a few pictures below all the text. Ron and Steph came over and took pictures right in our home. It was fun to hang out, pose, and just be silly. Ron does amazing work and I feel so beautiful in the pictures. I hope that we do this for each of the children we have so we can cherish the memories forever!

Josh and I also went on a mini trip. It was so nice. We only went to Apache Junction, but it was beautiful at the resort we stayed at. It had a huge bathtub that I took full advantage of! We were only gone for two days, but it was so nice to spend that time alone with Josh and away from all distractions of life. I fall in love with my husband more and more every day we are together and I just know how great he'll be with our little guy.

In other news....

I'm back at work and have the rest of this week and three weeks after that left before I stay home on maternity leave. I'm going to miss my students, but I can't wait for April 16th. It's becoming difficult to walk across the campus and I'm so tired that I often feel like I need a nap. My feet and ankles are swollen by the end of the day and I've been skipping walking at the gym to come home and put up my feet.

With parent teacher conferences this week I know that it will be tough and I will be more than ready for bed by the time I get home. I'm not staying very late tonight, but have appointments until 6 pm tomorrow and 7 pm on Thursday. Fortunatly I'm finished by 1:30 on Friday! Its nice that I'll get to see all of the parents before I go on leave and I'll be able to talk to them about who is going to be taking over and what they can do now to ensure that their children are well prepared for the transition. I think most of them think I'm coming right back after I have the baby. My midwife says that I should be o.k. to take baby into the school to meet my class on the last day of school, but to keep him covered and not to let anyone touch him. I haven't made up my mind about bringing him in yet and will have to make that decision when he's born and near the end of the school year. If nothing else I do plan on sending them lots of pictures!


Speaking of pictures! All of my maternity pictures were taken at 32 weeks and 6 days.

An unexpected trip to the L&D triage

I had a meeting this morning at 7:15. I got to work at 7, dropped my things off in my classroom, took my lunch to the lounge and then went to my meeting in our Math AA's room. After the meeting I walked into the work room and I suddenly felt horrible cramping in my belly.

My stomach got real tight and I start to panic. I got out of the work room and away from the handful of teachers who are in there scrambling before the school day started and walked into the office. I sat down and within seconds I felt the cramping again.

Our secretary grabbed the school nurse and our admin secretary. The nurse ushered me into her office away from prying parent and student eyes while our Admin Sec called Josh. Once she got a hold of him she came into the nurses office with our principal and we waited for Josh. During that time I felt the cramping again. The pain didn't last long, maybe 10-15 seconds, but my belly felt real hard. By the time Josh showed up at the school I'd felt the cramping 6 separate times. I called my CNM's office and they told me to drink lots of fluids and head into L&D triage.

I was a mess and in tears. I'm only 32 weeks today. It's too soon for Cricket to arrive and I was going out of my mind because I a) have no idea what contractions should feel like b) don't know if it's Braxton Hicks I'm having or something else c) don't know if I'm just over reacting and worry if I am then how the heck am I going to react when its really time.

They got me into a room in triage right away and I had to give them a urine sample. Josh helped me change into a robe and they hooked me up to the fetal monitor. I hadn't felt any more cramping since getting to the hospital, but I was still stressed out and my belly felt really tight. The CNM on call, Anita, came in after about 30 minutes to do a pelvic exam and check the monitoring tape. She was super friendly and very calm.

I feel very fortunate that out of the 4 midwives at St. Joe's I've met three, and they have all be great to me.

She said that the baby was fine and there were no signs of contractions and that he was moving around. I told her that I believed her, but my belly felt tight and I couldn't feel him myself. She did a pelvic exam and asked if I had ever had an abnormal pap. I told her no and she said that there was some bacteria that she was going to send to the lab to have analyzed and that she also thought there might be a cyst on my cervix. She ordered an ultrasound to have my cervix measured and then sent my pap to the lab.

The ultrasound Tech was great and showed Josh and I Cricket. She said he looked great and was moving around. She checked his heart rate again and then she did the trans vaginal to measures my cervix. She said she couldn't see a cyst on my cervix though. When I went back to triage they got me hooked back on the fetal monitor. The nurse left the volume on so we could hear Cricket's heart beat. I finally started to calm down and I could feel him moving again. Josh tried to get me to watch tv, but I just couldn't get into it. I turn it off and just listened to Cricket's heartbeat and random movements.

I dozed off while Josh held my hand. When Anita came back in she said that the labs came back fine and that the bacteria is likely from hormonal changes but she was going to prescribe an antibiotic on the safe side. She also said that she wanted the doctor on call to take a look at the spot on my cervix since the ultrasound tech didn't see a cyst. While we waited for the doctor she told me that I needed to stay off my feet and recommended that I take the rest of today and tomorrow off from work. She even wrote me a note so the district knows that I legitimately needed to take the day before the break off and wasn't just trying to get one extra day.

The doctor who came in was really nice. He talked to us for a little bit about what was going on, check the monitor tape, and generally made me feel more at ease before he did another exam. He said that it could be a cyst or a fibroid, but that it's nothing to worry about and they would take a look at it again after I deliver. He also told me to stay off my feet for a few days and to relax before the big day arrives.

I've had a very healthy pregnancy so far, so this really scared the crap out of me. Josh was great though. He didn't panic or worry and he kept me as calm as he could. The staff at the hospital were wonderful and I feel very confident about giving birth there. Now that I've met Anita I'm not as worried if Tanya isn't present for the birth. I would rather have one of them there since I've spent time with both of them, but there is only a 50% chance since there are four midwives who rotate.

I called work to let them know and they told me not to even worry about sub plans and that they would take care of it, which takes a lot off of my shoulders.

I've been napping, and laying on the couch between talking to family and friends who've called to see how baby and I are doing. The thing to do right now is not worry because that won't help my cause.

Third Trimester Ultrasound

We had our thrid trimester ultrasound on Saturday.

Our little guy is now in the head down postion!

It was so great to see him again. Although I've always thought that the 4D ultrasounds looked a bit on the creepy side, it must be because it's my own child, because I thought he looked adorable!

I loved watching him move and am falling more deeply in love with him. It's amazing that he is due in about 8 1/2 weeks. I can't wait to meet him and hold him and shower him with love.

I've embeded the video and I hope it shows up, because I've never done this! It is a little on the long side, but I hope you enjoy viewing!

Baby Willingham from Victoria Willingham on Vimeo.

His little foot was practically attached to his forehead the entire time!

Big Yawns!

Tiny baby feet!

All curled up!

Chubby cheeks!

The growing bump

27 weeks 5 days

28 weeks 3 days


29 weeks 2 days

29 weeks 2 day

30 weeks 3 days

I feel like my belly has grown so much in the last few weeks. I physically feel bigger and my body is moving much slower these days.

It's almost unbelievable that in 9-10 weeks I'll be holding our newborn son.

Between now and then we have so much happening...

This Saturday we have an ultrasound (31 weeks 2 days)

Next Tuesday we have a prenatal appointment with our midwife

March 19th we are going on a mini-weekend trip

March 27th is my baby shower

April 3rd is our birthing class

April 14th is my breast feeding class

April 15th I'll be consider full term

April 16th is my last day at work

And I'll have a few more appointments with my midwife mixed in there too. It just seems like so much and not a lot of time!

Fortunately the baby's room is pretty much finished. We registered for a few things that will finish it off, but overall it's ready to go.

I need to wash and prep diapers and clothing for him. We are fortunate to have family who are giving us hand-me-downs from their son, who happens to be our god son. I know our little guy will never be in need for clothing, and adorable clothing at that!

Things are slowly falling into place which is wonderful. I've been having what I think are Braxton Hicks contractions and some pretty uncomfortable back pain, but otherwise I'm doing well. I'm still not sleeping a great deal, but I anticipate not sleeping much once the baby gets here anyway.

Oh and I think we finally have a name, but we aren't sharing it just yet!