38 Weeks

At my doctor’s appointment on Tuesday I was dilated to 4.5-5 cm!  My doctor kept saying how surprised he was to see me.  I guess that’s just the way it goes with babies…unpredictable!  After a lot of discussion we decided to schedule an induction for next week if baby Jude isn’t here yet.  If I haven’t had him by Tuesday, April 6th, I’ll be induced at 9:00 am that morning!!  I’ll be 39 weeks and two days at the time of the induction. 

The doctor thinks that labor and delivery will go fast (he said approximately six hours) since I’m dilated so much.  I hope he’s right!  I’m also hoping that baby Jude will make his appearance before then.  I’m having more and stronger contractions than before but they are still not regular.  So as painful as it is (this baby is sitting so low and causing some intense pressure), I’m doing my best to stay active and walk around as much as possible in hopes that baby Jude will come on his own. 

My step-mom, Linda, arrived on Thursday night.  I feel like I can breathe a little easier knowing she’s here now.  Although we’ve had several friends and neighbors “on call”, I am much more relieved to know that Ben will be taken care of in our home by his Omi!  He’s been her little shadow since she arrived!!

We’re so excited to know that we’ll be meeting baby Jude in as little as four days!!!  Four days!!  We’d appreciate your continued prayers for a safe and healthy delivery for mommy and baby!  We’ll keep you posted!

“Keep It On Easy”

On Thursday morning we woke up to Ben, at Jake’s side of the bed, asking for milk and water.  It was the first time he’d come to our room (without us going to get him) since we moved him to his big boy bed almost a month ago.  We were a little surprised to see him standing there.  This also alerted me to something else.  “Oh, no,” I said.  “He must be sick.”  I know a request for milk and water sounds pretty normal, but it isn’t normal for Ben.  When he asks for these two things in combination in the morning it means one thing…he’s going to puke.  Jake put him in the bed with us and our typically high energy…hopping, skipping, running around the house…boy was lethargic.  We came in the kitchen, I grabbed the puke bucket just in time.  Poor kiddo.  I hate it when he’s sick.  It was the second time in a month he’d done this.  Without fail, the second puking episode came about 20 minutes later.  And as usual, he was done.  

Our plans for a trip to the library, grocery store and a few other errands were quickly replaced with a trip to the couch with pillows, a blanket and the movie Toy Story.  (I just didn’t think I could handle another viewing of Cars at the time).  Ben had never watched it before and it turned out he really liked Buzz and Woody!! 

Around noon we sat down at the table for lunch.  I started him out on crackers, jello and Gatorade.  I asked him if he wanted to try some chicken noodle soup (for whatever reason he’s not a fan and usually won’t touch it).  He replied, “No, Mommy, I’m okay.  Keep it on easy.” 

I think I almost fell out of my chair laughing.  “Keep it on easy.”  “Where did you hear that?” I asked.  “From Daddy,” he replied.  Of course I had to call Jake right away to find out.  Apparently there’s a race car game on Jake’s iPhone they play together.  Ben likes to hit the button to switch it to a harder level and Jake tells him to “keep it on easy.”  They’d played the game in the waiting room at my doctor’s appointment on Tuesday.  So funny how he remembered the phrase and decided to use it at the lunch table that day!