Baby Kruse

Welcome Ava Marie Kruse!

Matt — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:56:05 +0000

38 1/2 Weeks

Dawn — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:19:01 +0000

Today’s appointment went well. I talked to the Dr. about all the pain I am having in my pelvic area and she said it is because the baby is so low. She did an exam and I am now 4cm dilated and 80% effaced, so a little progress from 2 weeks ago. My blood pressure was high on the first reading(140/94), she took it 10 min later and it was down to 122/82 and she was fine with that. My blood sugars have been fine but they don’t like gestational diabetics to go much past 39 weeks. There are certain risks to doing so and we would like to avoid those, but since I can’t have a traditional induction we have to weigh the pros and cons of delivering her. I will have an ultrasound later this week to check fetal weight, fluid levels and the general well being of the baby. We will decide what to do from there. I am really hoping my body kicks into gear and labor starts naturally, on the other hand the ultimate goal is to get baby girl into this world safe and sound, if that means an induction(breaking my water) or possible c-section I am really ok with it.

37 week check up

Dawn — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:18:34 +0000

Matt took me in for my weekly appointment this morning. Nothing too exciting to report. My blood pressure is creeping up there (140/86), normal for me is 115/70- not too alarming so the Dr. is just going to keep an eye on it. I am measuring a little ahead(39 weeks). I did not have an exam today so I don’t know if all these obnoxious contractions are doing anything or not. I am getting them a lot at night so sleeping has become difficult. My next appt is on the 13th, until then I plan to lay around and do nothing

36 Week Check-Up

Dawn — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:26:01 +0000

My Dr. appointment went well. My blood pressure and blood sugars are still normal and everything else checked out ok. I have gained 4lbs in 10 days- the Dr. feels it is due to water retention. Lets hope so! I had an exam as well and I am dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. Yeah! It is encouraging that my body is starting to prepare on its own. The Dr. said, "well, we will see you next week if not sooner." She thought baby girl was around 7.5 lbs and could come anytime now.

I thought I would post a few more pictures of her room. Joanna and I made the artwork above her crib this weekend. I had seen something similar in a baby boutique for $45 a print, but I decided we could make them cheaper and cuter I spent about $25 to make all 4. I have never been known for my craftiness or thriftiness, so I was pretty proud of how they turned out.

I found a cute “chandelier” from Target, and Matt got it hung up tonight. It turned out to be more work than expected. but it’s so cute!

Almost 36 Weeks!

Dawn — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:23:48 +0000

Things continue to go well. My last appointment(1 week ago) was normal. I am starting to swell in my hands and feet. It can get uncomfortable so I am just trying to take it easy.

Matt got baby girl’s room painted and her crib put up. We still have some work to do in her room. The light needs to be hung and I ordered some hand painted letters that match her crib bedding. They should be here this week. Joanna and I are going to make some prints to hang on the walls as well.

I am working on getting her things washed and getting all the baby equipment put together that Joanna has let us borrow. We thought we were done having kids after Kevin was born so we really didn’t have much. Joanna still had everything from Keaton so that worked out well.

A few weeks ago Jeni threw an awesome couples baby shower for us. It was such a good time. The games had us all laughing! We feel so lucky to have such great friends to celebrate our new arrival with.

My next appt is June 29th, then I will start going weekly- we are in the homestretch!

33 weeks

Dawn — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:40:52 +0000

I can finally say we are having a baby next month! My appointment on Monday went well. Everything checked out normal. The Dr. did express concern over the baby’s size since I will be doing a VBAC. He said we will “wait and see”. I think it will be fine, a big baby doesn’t scare me I start going every 2 weeks now and then will go every week once I hit 36 weeks. I am so glad we have made it this far without complications.

Today is Emily’s last day of school. She is looking forward to being home for the summer and it will be nice to not have to get up early, make lunches, and do homework.

Not much else going on, we are working on getting the pool going and getting ready for summer. Matt will be home for 4 weeks once baby girl arrives- that will be so nice.

31 weeks

Dawn — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:55:38 +0000

Yesterday marked 31 weeks! Things are still going well. I am starting to experience the joys of late pregnancy- heartburn, breathlessness, sleepless nights, etc… I think both Matt and Emily are looking forward to the end

Next Friday is my last day of work, I will still work the first Saturday of the month and some occasional other Saturdays. I will miss work but look forward to being home with Emily once she is done with school.

I check back in with the Dr. in 10 days. We will schedule another ultrasound then just to check and make sure things are still a go for a vaginal delivery. I am still working on the hypnobabies program. I really like it and think it will help a great deal.

We are going to start on the baby’s room in the next few weeks, I will get pictures posted once we are done. I had fun picking out girly stuff and her room will be painted pink- I know, really original

I plan to spend the next 2 months resting, getting things ready for baby girl and wasting time on Facebook…..

28 Week Check-Up

Dawn — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:12:33 +0000

I went in yesterday to get checked out. Everything is still going very well. Blood pressure and urine were normal. Blood sugar levels look great. I do notice them creeping up a little bit as I get further along, I may have to lay off the ice cream a bit in the final weeks. Baby’s heart rate was fine and I am measuring how I should.

Last week I had to go in for blood work because Emily contracted fifth’s disease. I didn’t even know she had it until the school nurse called and said she had a rash. It is normally not a big deal, but should I contract it the fetus could become anemic. So I went into see if I had it or if I was immune. Turns out I am not immune, but had no active infection. So I will go in again for more blood work next Monday just to make sure I did not contract it. Should the blood work show I have been infected, the baby would need extra monitoring. I am not that worried about it, my Dr’s seem to be on top of it.

I asked if I would have another ultrasound before delivery just to make sure we are problem free before I attempt a VBAC. As much as I want a vaginal delivery, I would never risk the baby’s health. I just want to make sure she is head down and everything else looks ok. The Dr. thought that was a good idea.

I go back in four weeks, it seems like everything is going so fast! Emily was born at 37 weeks(naturally) and Kevin was born at 36 weeks. If things go how they did with Emily I have less than 9 weeks to go… eek! I know that not all pregnancies are the same and I could very well go past my due date though.

I ordered a program called hypnobabies. It teaches you relaxation techniques to use while you are in labor. I am going at this without pain medication, so I figure it can’t hurt to try it. I am confident that I will be fine, but my last (and only) natural birth was almost 10 yrs ago. I am not sure my 29 yr old body is quite the same as my 20 yr old body

27 Weeks

Dawn — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:33:01 +0000

Today marked the first day of the 3rd trimester, yay! Things are still going well. I feel great most of the time. I do have some trouble sleeping sometimes - it is hard to get comfortable. Not much else to report, we are just hanging out at home and enjoying the spring weather.

25 Week Belly

Dawn — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 01:48:42 +0000

I’m now almost 26 weeks along and I thought I would post a picture for those who haven’t seen me in a while.