Wednesday September 21 is the big day!!

After my doctors appointment last week Dr. Vanek decided it would be best to schedule a c-section for 9/21/11 at 11 AM! Our little girl will be here in no time!! I will be delivering at Riverside! I go in on Tuesday to fill out the paperwork and have to be at the hospital by 9AM on Wednesday morning!

We have been hard at work getting her things put together and ready! Nana and Rudi have been so great at helping out with everything around the house. And our friends and family have kept us well fed!!! Thanks to everyone for your support and prayers!

Come visit us after she us born...at the hospital or at home! We can't wait to meet her!! XOXO

4 exciting stories!

We've had lots of great things happen over the past month and one pretty scary event, so this blog will be filled with lots of stories!  I'll start with the good stuff first!

1. My co-workers threw me a FANTASTIC shower on 8/28/11.
2. I turned 36 weeks on 9/10/11.
3. My fantastic friends - Carmen, Mauri, & Courtney - threw me a SUPER FUN couples shower on 9/11/11.
4. We made our first trip to Riverside Hospital Labor & Delivery on 9/11/11.

Work Shower

Meghan, Sue, & Lori threw a fantastic shower for me at Bel Lago in Westerville on Sunday August 28th.  We had such a great time!  They started with giving everyone bows and if you said "baby" you had to give it to the person that catches you.  The one with the most bows at the end of the shower wins!  It was a cute game and now Harper has many adorable bows.  The decorations were great - Meghan created a HARPER sign that is just too cute - it will definitely be used at many birthday parties for the little missy in the future.  Shannon made the most beautiful cake for the shower and it was so yummy.  We had a delicious brunch & we got a lot of great gifts for Harper.  There were so many little things that made it so special.  I was definitely spoiled by my fantastic team!  It was a lot fun to hang out with my co-workers outside of work and they were very generous to us.  Here are some pictures from the fun-filled day!  

Lori Watiker, Meghan Humphreys, & Sue Dyar - The Hostesses w/ the Mostess! 

Cake Baker Extraordinaire

The AFO Gang + Nana & Aunt Ashley

36 Weeks on 9/10/11:

9 months down, 1 to go!!  Here is a picture of my big belly!  

Couples Shower on 9/11/11:

Carmen, Courtney, & Mauri threw Rudi & I a couples shower on Sunday September 11th.  It was so great to see all of our friends, many of which we haven't seen in a long time!  The boys got a reprieve from the baby shower and were able to watch football and drink beer in their basement, while the ladies caught up and told stories in the kitchen while sipping on wine and champagne!  The food was fantastic and looked like it was catered - they did such a great job with all the finishing touches.  Everyone really enjoyed themselves!  We got so many great gifts.  Many people went in together and got a few of our really big items that are much needed - our stroller, car seat, video monitor, and pack-n-play.  We also got our swing,  play centers, tons of fantastic books, toys, and adorable clothes.  She got her first OSU tutu - too cute!  There were so many great gifts I can't think of them all!  We are really blessed to have so many great friends that were so generous as we start this journey of our life.  We are so thankful for our friends and family who made everything so special for us!  Here are some pictures from the day!

Poppy & Nana 

Fun opening gifts!

Rudi's own Man-Diaper Bag 

Beautiful set-up and decorations!

First trip to Riverside Labor & Delivery:

So....the above shower ended with some excitement.  Well, it wasn't exciting, but definitely eventful.  After opening gifts, I headed to the restroom and noticed some blood.  I got my mom and some of the girls that were sitting around my mom and we convened upstairs to evaluate the situation.  After discussion, we decided it was best to contact the doctors office to find out the best thing to do.  They suggested we head to the hospital to get checked out.  It was a very scary moment as you aren't sure what is going on!!  Rudi was not in the loop at first as I didn't want to scare him, but once I got the phone call back that I needed to head to the hospital, he didn't skip a beat to get me in the car.  He was very good and helped keep me calm (and even drove a little faster than normal) :) to get us to the hospital quickly.  One comforting thing was that I could still feel Miss Harper moving around, so I felt a little better knowing she was still active.

We got to the hospital and they checked me out, but weren't sure exactly what was causing the bleeding, so they admitted me to stay overnight.  Luckily the bleeding did stop that night, but they hooked me to an IV and put a monitor on the baby to keep an eye on her heartbeat and my contractions.  It was a long night trying to sleep in an unfamiliar place, uncomfortable being hooked up to all those wires, having to pee every couple hours, having doctors/nurses coming in all the time, etc.  But, we made it and were scheduled for a high risk ultrasound the next morning at 11:15AM.

So, we waited for them to come get us and went downstairs to the maternal fetal unit where a nurse filled us in and gave us the most information we'd received since we got there.  She said they were going to do an ultrasound to determine what caused the bleeding.  They were also going to do in-depth measurements of the baby to determine her weight, etc.  So, we watched the ultrasounds and found out the following:

• Harper is currently 6 lbs and 1 oz.  Babies gain about a 1/2 a pound per week, so if she goes to 40 weeks, we are going to have an 8 pounder!
• They also showed us that she has some hair!!  No wonder I have heartburn!!  Too cute.
• The bad news is that I have what is called Marginal Previa...this means that the placenta is really close to the cervix.  This is what they believe caused the bleeding.  Basically you don't want the placenta to come out before the baby comes out.  As you dilate/contract, the cervix opens and since the placenta is so close to the cervix, this could be VERY bad for both the baby and mama.  For those that don't know, the placenta is the blood supply to the baby through the umbilical cord.  The baby takes a cup and a half of blood from the placenta.  If the placenta keeps/starts bleeding, the baby will lose blood and doesn't have that much to lose.  

Therefore, she sent me home from the hospital, but I am on bed rest until the baby arrives.  I am not able to work, clean, cook, go anywhere, etc.  Basically the calmer I am, the calmer everything else will be.  Activity causes contractions and we want Harper to stay in there a bit longer before she blesses us with her presence in this world.  My instructions are that if there is any more bleeding, contractions 5 minutes apart, or my water breaks, I am to get to the hospital immediately and they will take the baby.  I have a doctors appointment tomorrow where I will find out more information, but likely will now schedule a C-section if she doesn't come on her own earlier.  I will keep you all posted on the news I hear tomorrow.

I am doing and feeling great.  I will probably go crazy sitting here doing nothing, but whatever it takes to make sure Harper comes into this world ready and healthy.  I will try to keep myself busy by updating her baby books, reading, watching tv, catching up on my thank you notes, etc. I'll find something to keep me busy for sure!  Family and friends have been great in helping us out already, which is so fantastic and we are so grateful.  

We will get through this and look forward to the arrival of our baby girl!!  Feel free to stop by and visit us!  I'll be here ALL DAY and Rudi will be here after work/on the weekends.  Thanks to everyone for EVERYTHING - the gifts, showers, food, support, kind words, prayers, etc.  We can't express how blessed we feel to have so many wonderful people in our lives.  We are truly blessed.