Baby Shower

I just had my baby shower this past weekend. It was great! I don't believe I will have to buy a thing to prepare for my little one to get here. I had preterm labor once again and had to get another shot to stop it. That's okay. I'm at 36 weeks now and it is getting closer and I'm getting more and more nervous and excited everyday. After everything I have been through I'm thinking little Dalton won't make an appearance until later. He's going to be stubborn like his mommy I'm guessing. I have been so tired lately. No matter what time I go to bed I don't get up until lunchtime. I've got to stop that. Baby is going to need a lot of time and attention when he gets here. We have changed Dalton's middle name once again. We decided on Dalton Bristol since Bristol is a family name. My husband changes his mind everyday about what he wants the middle name to be. Family and friends are telling us they aren't going to believe his name until it is on paper. I've been feeling better these last few weeks. I feel lighter and more comfortable. I don't know why. Maybe he has dropped. If he has I can't tell because my torso is so short. I am also dilated 3cm now. I asked the doctor if labor would go quicker because I was already dilated so much but she said not necessarily. So I guess I will still be in store for a possibly long labor :( Thank you guys for reading my blog. I'm glad you are enjoying it. I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been busy trying to get ready.

Getting ready for the baby....

So my mom and uncle and aunt came down last weekend and put up a crib for little Dalton. It's so cute. I love it! I go to the doctor today which is good. I think everything will be fine. I will let you guys know as soon as I know. I'm getting more and more excited about Dalton getting here and more nervous that I won't know what to do with him once he is here....lol. My husband keeps telling me that my parenting instinct will kick in once he is here and that I have nothing to worry about. I hope that's true! Even if I do get all kinds of confused about what to do when he gets here I always have my mom. She's just a phone call away. She's had three of us so I'm sure she could tell me what to do if I ever needed any advice. Well you guys it's off to take a shower and then to a doctor's appointment!

Updates

So here's what's up. On Friday the doctor had let me off of bed rest and said I could go back to work. I went back to work and only worked two hours before contractions started so I called the doc and she put me back on bed rest. I then had painful contractions on Monday morning at 5am. I called the doc to schedule an appointment to find out what was going on. I went to my doctor at 1:45 Monday and they were telling me that the pains and stuff I felt when I was standing and moving at work were normal. They also told me I could continue working up until my delivery date. Then she said she would check my cervix right quick and she did. Previous hospital stay I was dialated 1cm this time I was dialated 1 to 2 and 80%. So they sent me to the hospital right away. I was having contractions and they couldn't get them to stop with fluids like last time, so they had to give me a shot of Tributelene (not sure how to spell it) and then they admitted me for a boring overnight stay. The contractions eventually stopped but since I have been hospitalized twice in the last 10 days they decided that the baby would probably come earlier than his due date (August 21st) so they gave me a shot of steriods and another shot of steroids this morning to help his lungs develop and mature quicker. They said that they would expect him to come when I'm at 32 or 33 weeks which is really early. I'm at 29 weeks now. I have been put back on bed rest for the next two weeks and I go tomorrow to get another fetal fibronectin test done to see if I'm at risk of having him within the next two weeks. On top of all of this they were very kind to share with me that I also have a yeast infection. Yipee! I will you guys this, the doctors seem to think I'm doing something wrong. I have quit drinking soft drinks and drink nothing but water like they asked me to and everytime I go to the hospital for preterm labor they are like see what fluids do you need to drink a lot of water. Well I've been doing everything perfectly and this baby just wants to come out. I get so frustrated when I have to go to the hospital and the doctor looks at me all accusingly like I have done something wrong. Then they grill me about if I'm having sex or not. I haven't been able to have sex but for 2 months out of this pregnancy and two of those weeks I had a yeast infection and the other two my husband was in Chicago on business. There has been absolutely no sex! I just don't like feeling like I am doing something wrong when I'm trying to do everything right. It's a little frustrating. In the beginning of the pregnancy I had a lot of bleeding so there was no sex the whole first trimester. Oh yeah, so today I go to get my other shot and they have to put me on a monitor. Mind you, I haven't had not one contraction since I've been let out of the hospital and been at home. They hook me up to the monitor and I have a contraction.......a really strong one, within the first 15 minutes. Aaaarggghh! So frustrating. I think Dalton likes to play games with the doctors or maybe he's just going to be a little redheaded stubborn baby like I was when I was little....lol. Well I'm going to go for now. I think I have said waaaaaaayyyy toooo much!

Just got out of the hospital

I just got out of the hospital so I didn't post after the doctor the other day. I will explain later today when I have more time. Update ya'll soon! I may have a baby comming early like in the next 3 or 4 weeks.

Issues, Issues, Issues....

So I was let off of bed rest on Friday. I decided that I would try to go back to work on Saturday. Didn't work out so well. I was at work for about two and a half hours and I started having pain and extreme pressure in my lower abdomen. Not to mention that my vagina felt like it was on fire....lol. I called the doctor and they told me to just get back on bed rest. Well last night I had excruciating pain and contractions, and also pain on my right side which I have never had before. Now I am the type of person that thinks everything I'm experiencing is normal. My husband on the other hand wants me to go back to the doctor to get checked and see what's up. Sometimes though I feel like I'm going crazy and that all that's happening to me is normal and the doctors are going to think I'm some kind of psychopath...lol. Anyways I'm going back to the doc today per my husbands request to see what, if anything, is wrong with me. As of right now there is no pain....at least not as extreme as it was on Saturday and last night. The doctor says as long as my water hasn't broke and I'm not bleeding everything is fine. I sometimes wish I have been pregnant before so I know what is normal and what is not. I will let you guys know what happens at my doctor appointment so that maybe if someone is experiencing the same thing....you will know if it is something to worry about or not. I'll be back and blogging about 3:00. Later ya'll! Thanks for reading.

No More Bed Rest

So I just got back from the doctor this morning and guess what? I'm no longer on bed rest. That is the happiest news ever. Unfortunately I have already been withdrawn from my classes at the college and will have to go back in the Spring after Dalton is born. But I do get to go back to work soon. Tomorrow actually. So that is a good thing. The doctor told me I was measuring small but said that may be because I'm such a little person and I'm just going to have a small baby or because I'm carrying Dalton really low. I think I heard once that if you carry low it means your having a boy and if you carry high it means you are having a girl. Maybe that's all it is. Has anyone else heard people say this? Anyways that's all for now. Just wanted to share the good news.

Some Pictures......

This is me at 26 weeks........before I was put on bedrest. This is my first ultrasound of Dalton at 11 weeks. Isn't he cute? Okay I know you can't tell much from the pic but what mom wouldn't say that their ultrasound pic was cute?

Dalton Cash McKinney...

This is my baby Dalton who is inside of me causing me all this grief with the bed rest....I love him anyways! I can't wait to meet him! It's so surreal that he is 2.5lbs now and about 14 inches long...WOW. I have to keep him in there a little longer so he can gain some weight and have a chance of making it. I'm at 28 weeks now and the doctor put me on bedrest and said that we need to wait to have little Dalton for at least 9 more weeks. 9 weeks isn't very long it's hard to believe how fast the time has went by.

My First Month of Pregnancy

So.....my first month of pregnancy was kind of surreal. I didn't believe I was pregnant and I had cramps like I was going to start my period any day now. Once I peed on the pregnancy test and there were two lines I was freaking out. After all, I was scared and didn't know what to expect and wasn't planning on having children anytime soon. So as the days went by and the prayers for my period to come didn't seem to be doing any good I finally accepted that my period wasn't going to come. I still didn't accept or feel like I was pregnant. I just felt like a girl that wasn't having a period. I know that may sound horrible but I blame it on the pregnancy horomones that make you feel all kinds of different ways when you are pregnant. Because now I do feel pregnant and I am very happy that I am pregnant. Just getting through that first month of emotions and denial was a little tough. Anyone else ever feel like that in there first month? Where you don't accept that you are pregnant yet? Let me know. Leave a comment!

The doctor called...

Finally...this morning the doctor called me back and my fetal fibronectin test came back negative and that is good. I am so happy. I have to continue to be on bedrest...can only get up to go to the bathroom and shower but it is okay. If the test had come back positive there was going to be a likely chance I was going to go into labor within the next few weeks. I'm just relieved. The only thing I am worried about is working and making money to pay the bills. I had to go ahead and drop out of the Graphic Design program at school because I am on bedrest all this week and I only made it to school one week before I was put on bedrest. If anyone has any suggestions about what to do to make money from home laying on the couch let me know....lol. I'm trying not to stress too much about work and money because I know if I do it's bad for little Dalton. Anyways I will let ya'll know more later. I'll probably write another blog later about my first month being pregnant. Thanks for reading!

So the doctor never called....

The doctor didn't call today until 5:00 but my phone didn't ring it just popped up and said I had a voicemail. They told me to call back after 8:30am tomorrow morning and to ask for a certain person. I am figuring hey there can't be anything too wrong or they would have worked a little harder to get in touch with me today. I will call them tomorrow and keep you guys posted on what they say and let you know the results of my fetal fibronectin test. Cross your fingers! I know if it comes back positive that means I could go into labor within two weeks. We don't want that to happen. Little Dalton needs to stay inside for at least 10 more weeks!

I am irritated with the doctor. I was suppose to get the results of my fetal fibronectin test back this morning but the doctors keep putting me off when I call.

Finding Out.....

When I first found out that i was pregnant I was really scared. The pregnancy wasn't planned at all and I was going to school to get a degree in Graphic Design to hopefully start my career and then have kids. I was also engaged when I found out I was pregnant and decided that it would be best not to have a wedding and just go get married to my fiance' for health insurance purposes and to save money for the baby. I'm 25 and I never thought I would be ready for baby anytime soon but here in the last few months I feel ready. It's funny how things change as you go along. In the beginning I was really scared and in denial about being pregnant and now here I am 6 1/2 months pregnant and I'm comming to terms with it and I'm actually getting really excieted about having my little one. My parents were upset at first of course but now they too are really excited about having their first granchild. I know my parents just want what is best for me and wanted me to finish college and have a career and own a home before I got pregnant, but sometimes things just work out differently than you plan. I also have endometriosis and think sometimes maybe I got pregnant now and God gave me this child because in the future the endometriosis may cause me to not be able to have children. Life is funny and things always seem to work out, no matter how much of a disaster things seem to be in the moment.

Hi Everyone!

I am Melissa and I'm 25 years old and I'm 6 1/2 months pregnant with my first child. It has been an eventful 6 1/2 months and I thought that now that I am perscribed bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy I would share my experiences with you guys. Being pregnant is definitely not what I expected it to be. I thought I would get really fat really fast and that wasn't the case. I just got gradually bigger and didn't even look pregnant until I was almost 6 months pregnant. I will be sharing my experiences with you all month by month. I have kept a journal of my pregnancy experience and will relay all my feelings and thoughts to this blog to help other first time Mom's know that what they are feeling and what's happening to their bodies is completely normal. Thanks for your interest in my pregnancy!