It’s officially BABY WATCH time in the Grevers household! It’s very difficult for me to focus on anything but signs of labor…but I need to because time is going by so….very….slow….ly. I feel like Halloween was a month ago, but it was a week ago. Wahhh. Speaking of Halloween, Matt and I take it seriously. We were planning on getting dressed up while a bunch of Wildcat alums were in town for Homecoming last weekend, but this rotund lady was ready for bed at 8 p.m….so dressing up only happened in the intimate setting of our home. I hope our neighborhood trick-or-treaters enjoyed our efforts.
I actually wore my Smee costume to swim practice, so I had an audience of Ford cohorts and swimmers. When I got home from practice at 6:30, I walked in the house to a disheveled Captain Hook standing in the kitchen. I started cracking up at my husband, wearing burgundy tights, a women’s jacket I bedazzled and a wig of black locks. He looked at me like a frustrated little boy, “I’m hot and uncomfortable…the mustache doesn’t stick and the hat is way too small.” I continued to laugh and tried to help with the faulty accessories. We self-timed a few photos in between doorbell rings. I had to laugh when Matt answered the door and was greeted by shrieks from children who were just terrified by his size. I’m sure the Captain Hook get-up was shocking to some, but as the night wore on, most of the costume was shed, so the kids were just gasping at sheer Matt mass filling the door frame. haha.
Here’s one of our little family:
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| Gretel and Nala were cooperative mermaids. |
So this was one week ago. Since then, we’ve been to the hospital twice– one trip planned, one not. Last Wendesday night (Nov. 2), the Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years. During the game, I was having regular contractions…regular enough that MG got out his stopwatch and started timing them. Every 10 minutes…pretty much like clockwork. I was on high alert all night, thinking labor was inevitable. In the morning, we timed them again. Seven minutes apart, five minutes, back up to six. They weren’t every five minutes on the dot, but they were pretty dang consistent. After tracking what we thought was 14 hours of “early labor” MG and I grabbed our hospital bags and headed out, telling the doodles they just might have a baby sister the next time they greeted us.
In the evaluation room, I had not one but two pelvic exams…the first two of my pregnancy. And boy, they get up in there. One doc said maybe 1 cm. dilated, the other said either closed or .5 cm. Wohmmmwohmp. I instantly got impatient to get out of there. Alright, we’re the over-excited first time parents…let us go and pretend we know what labor actually feels like.
They kept us for an hour, tracking baby’s heartbeat and my contractions. I was still having them every four to six minutes….like, that’s when you’re supposed to come in, right?! They gave me a bottle of water and said “You should just drink more water.” I was insulted. If only they knew what a hyper-hydrator I am!
We headed home a bit disappointed, but not regretful for going in. I’ve been sleeping better now that I know this consistent abdominal tightening isn’t the real deal. I just hope my water breaks or I have excruciating back pain to let me know when I’m actually in labor….
On a different note– one pleasant surprise throughout pregnancy has been my body’s ability to continue to workout. My doc said to keep my heart rate < or = 160. Sure, it gets up there pretty easily these days, but I’m far from a life of bedrest. I always assumed once you get to 37+ weeks pregnant you just waddle around holding your back in pain. I did decide to stop going in to use the Arizona Athletics weight room this week. The strength coaches look at me nervously every time they see me doing squats or cardio. One of them has made a habit out of yelling, “Chandler, you better not have that baby in here!” for the past four months. A little premature, I’d say.
So, instead of going into the weight room, MG and I took a trip to Walmart and bought a cheap set of free weights. I did my first home workout today and felt like I was able to do quite a bit in my mini-home gym. Shameless home gym photo coming right up….those dumbbells look heavier than they are…they’re plastic, so…
So new pregnant mommies-to-be, be encouraged! You are not only allowed to sweat whilst pregnant, you’re encouraged to. You can consider it training for Labor day. Although I’ve really considered it training for the many post-labor days when I won’t be able to workout due to a sore down yonder and learning how to take care of a brand new human. Perhaps I’ll post another selfie one month post-baby and that bicep won’t be as perky. But on the other hand, mama biceps kind of come with the motherhood territory right? Pretty much perpetually curling a baby.
Comments
You look radiant Annie! Hang in there! Baby Grevers will be here in her own sweet time! Girls have to practice at being fashionably late!😘💅🏻👨👩👧