First L & D Experience :o)

So, Matt and I got to experience L & D for the first time Tuesday night. We went in for my 35 week appointment to find out that Dr. Reiter had to leave to deliver a baby. His nurse, Vicky, did not like my BP reading or my swelling, so she sent us over to L & D to have a preeclamptic workup.

I was very nervous because this was all very new. I was also a little frustrated because I didn't want to be one of those women who has to go to L & D before they deliver.... Oh well... So, we went. They had me change into a gown and crawl up into bed. I had to give a urine sample which was hard because I had just given one at my doctor's office. I managed, though, and crawled back into bed and was immediately hooked up to a fetal monitor, the contraction monitor thing, and a blood pressure cuff that went off every 15 minutes. Within an hour, the lab tech was in there to draw blood (not fun). She couldn't find my vein due to the swelling all over my body, so she had to "dig" around to find it. It really wasn't that bad, but Matt's face made it worse! The whole time I am laying down, I am having contractions. I just assumed, though, that they were just Braxton Hicks. They weren't and they were coming 3-6 minutes apart for 4 hours. The doctor on call told the nurse to check me to see if my cervix was progressing. She checked me, and I was 1 cm. dilated and 75% effaced!! This excited me because I figured I would be one of those women who never dilated or progressed! I am 35 weeks and already 1 cm and 75% effaced!

After 4 hours, they discharged me!! They didn't give me any clear instructions about my preeclampsia except to call my doctor the next morning. So, I ended up going to work yesterday to find out at noon that it was my last day at work. Dr. Reiter put me on mild bed rest - no work, no grocery shopping, no walking around for more than 5-10 minutes. Things like that!

My first day of bed rest has been great because I have been laying in bed watching movies, and I even had a visitor who brought me lunch from Marketplace (thanks, Nancy!).

Impatience Abounds!

Cori and I have found ourselves more and more often looking at each other randomly and saying, almost simultaneously, "I want Katie to get here." We are both so impatient right now for that little girl to get here so that we can give her all the love and attention that she deserves! We know that the longer she stays in utero, the healthier she will be when she gets here, but at the same time, we just really, really, really want to hold her!

The date is getting closer and closer... Wednesday will be exactly one month from Cori's due date. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon and hope to get an idea at that time as to whether Dr. Reiter thinks Cori will need to be induced early due to her blood pressure. We're hoping for a 38-week induction date (somewhere around Nov. 17). We'll update this and let you know!

We appreciate all the prayers and well-wishes that we've received, and we can't wait for all of you to meet Little Katie Beth when she gets here!

Really? REALLY?!?!

Barack Obama was given the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Really?

The Nobel Committee cited his "efforts" at bringing about world peace through open channels of communication. Really?

What has he done to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize? More to the point... What has he done since being elected president?! He hasn't done ANYTHING in the last nine months... Pay attention, world!

Sorry... I'm done now. And I feel much better.

--Matt