40 Weeks, 4 days and counting...

Well, my due date has come and gone!  I had a doctors appointment on Thursday (picture above of me, Ryan, our nurse Lori & Dr. Macey) and there wasn't any progress so the plan is to induce at 6:30am on Tuesday morning, March 31st - only 2 more days!!!  Dr. Macey said his prediction for the day would be as follows:

6:30am - start the pitocin

8:30am - break my water

10:00am - epidural - yes, I am planning to get one :)

3:00pm - BABY!!

We'll see how close he is come Tuesday!  Mom, Dad, Sarah & Meredith are all driving up on Monday night to be here on Tuesday.  The McSwains will come too so the hospital waiting room will be buzzing!  Patrick & Ryan Fetz are planning to come up over the weekend to meet Madison Claire.  We are *so* excited to meet her and can't wait for her to get here!!  

The week went by fairly quickly considering I was hoping to go into labor each day!  I had a surprise visit from the Robinson's on Tuesday which was great!  I hadn't ever met Carter Caroline so it was sweet to be able to kiss her cheeks and Kate was just adorable...I can't believe how much she has grown since I last saw her!!!  

We've got the bags all packed and everything ready to go so are enjoying our last 36 hours of just the 2 of us!! We definitely appreciate all of your prayers on Tuesday morning and we'll update you just as soon as we can!

Love,

Lauren & Ryan

False Alarm

Well...Ryan and I took our first trip to Baptist Hospital last night at around 10pm. I had been having contractions all weekend but they started getting more intense and consistent around 7pm last night and at about 10pm it seriously felt like the baby was COMING OUT! I was afraid to stand up from the couch because it felt like she was going to reach out – crazy, I know!! My contractions were like 7-8 minutes apart and I knew I wasn’t supposed to go to the hospital until they were 3-5 minutes apart but none of our preparation (books, classes, etc.) mentioned anything about it feeling like the baby was coming out so we decided it would be better to be safe than sorry!

We finished packing our bag, grabbed the pillows and got in the car around 10:30pm. We were excited but in a very tempered way - we knew there was a very big chance that they would just send us home. When we got there to check in, the admitting lady (who I loved) said "You look a little too happy to be in labor" because I was smiling and being nice to her. Ryan and I laughed and said she just didn't know me well enough! Ryan could definitely tell it was intense because he knows my normal disposition and how talkative I usually am! We had to wait about 15 minutes for a bed in the triage area to open up and I continued to have contractions during that time.

They took us back to the room, hooked me up to monitor my contractions & the baby and checked me for progress. I had made some progress from Thursday – I’m now at around 3cm dilated – but my contractions weren’t close enough together for it to continue to progress last night. It was fun to be able to watch my contractions build on the monitor. I will say that I didn't particularly care for our nurse. When I was explaining what I was feeling I told her that I really didn't want to be the high maintenance mom who came in thinking she was in labor when she wasn't even close but that I had felt pressure before but not like the baby was coming out so got nervous. Her response = "All first time moms are high maintenance". Who says that? She did grow on me a little bit, but let's pray for a great nurse when I actually do go in for labor!!

After about an hour and a half or so she checked me again and I was still at around 3cm so she said I could either stay for another hour, walk around, and get checked again or go home and come back when the contractions got to 3-5 minutes apart. It was 2am and we were both really tired so we decided to go home.

This morning I've only been having about 4 an hour or so and they haven't felt quite as intense so I don’t think I’ll be going back today. I have had some other symptoms of early labor that are too gross to comment on here so things are definitely moving. Hopefully we'll meet the sweet little one soon!

Love,
Lauren & Ryan

39 Weeks

So...I know I just posted yesterday but I got nervous today thinking what if Madison Claire comes and I don't have any belly shots of my last days so I had Ryan pull out the camera tonight so we could get a picture of my belly at 39 weeks!  I also put some clothed ones in here in case you're wondering what it looks like clothed :).  PS - I also included the one pic we have from the night we bought the car - you can kind of see it in the background.

One quick funny story for you - I woke up early this morning and took a shower.  I walked out of the bathroom around 8am fully dressed, with makeup, and curled hair!  Keep in mind that most of my work at home days consist of Ryan coming home at 6pm with me still in his sweat pants, no makeup, and hair in a pony-tail!  He immediately said - well don't you look cute!  Assuming that I had somewhere to go today, he asked what I was doing and I told him just working from home.  I then proceeded to explain that I wanted to look cute in case I went into labor today!  I'm convinced that my hair looks better in a ponytail when it is curled and I know that when I go into labor I'll have my hair pulled back and probably feel gross so I want to at least start out feeling good!  So - here is to showering every morning, putting on makeup, and curling my hair every day for the next 2 weeks!  

Love you guys!!!

It's Almost Time!!!

Well...she is ALMOST here!  These pictures are from 2 weeks ago so I'm much larger now - believe it or not!!  My official due date is next Wednesday, March 25th but we've been hoping that she will come sometime this week.  It's Ryan's spring break so he is home all week and Sarah, Meredith & Patrick are all on spring break also so they are all coming up with my parents on Wednesday night.  Of course they are all praying that the baby will come while they are here!

I had a doctors appointment on Thursday of last week and I was 2cm dilated and 60% effaced so she really could come any day!  We've been trying all of the old wives tales - eating spicy food, walking up hills, etc.  My favorite spicy food of choice is the Chicken Pad Thai from Pei Wei - with about 5 scoops of the red chili sauce in it!  I almost passed out on Saturday it was so hot!!  I've also been going crazy the past 2 days - everytime I feel a contraction that is intense, I start talking out loud to myself saying "Come on out, baby girl.  We are ready to meet you."!!  It's pretty funny!

This weekend we got most of our final items accomplished - the nursery is pretty much ready, our hospital bag is packed, all baby clothes are washed and put away and we finally got the NEW CAR!!!  We went with a 2009 Honda Pilot and it is awesome!  Gary was able to help us out with a connection at Crest Honda so we got a great deal and are so very excited!  I'll try to get a picture up sometime soon!  So...we are officially ready and as the last days approach, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on pregnancy for anyone who is interested:

*Pregnancy is truly an amazing experience and a blessing from God.  To think about how a baby grows from nothing to a little person inside of you is such a miracle.  I can't imagine how anyone can experience being pregnant and not believe in our awesome God!!  I am truly humbled and in awe each and every day as I think about the miracle of life - inside of me!

*I have loved being pregnant!!  A quote from one of my books called "The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy" says...."I believe that any woman who tells you that her pregnancy is, without exception, the most pleasant and fulfilling time of her life is either lying or has a personality disorder."  I'm here to say that this is not true!  I don't know if it is because Ryan and I weren't sure if we would ever be able to get pregnant or because I have been extremely blessed - I think it is likely a combination of both - but my pregnancy has been an amazing experience and I am going to miss being pregnant!

*I have the best husband in the whole world.  He has been so supportive and involved throughout the pregnancy - reading my pregnancy books, rubbing my back, cooking our dinners, participating in all of our preparation classes, even doing things he hates - like painting the nursery, hanging curtains and shades, installing the car seat, etc. - just because he loves me.  He is going to be an amazing dad!! 

*I continue to be overwhelmed with gratitude by the outpouring of love and support from all of you.  We are truly blessed beyond measure with the most amazing friends and family!  Our little Madison Claire is going to be SPOILED rotten, just as we have been from all of you.  From the bottom of our hearts - THANK YOU!

Hopefully the next time I post it will be with the news that we are in labor or better yet that Madison Claire is here! We can't wait to meet her!!

Love you all,

Lauren & Ryan

A Fun Filled February

Sorry bloggers for the late update...we've been so busy and I'm still having some computer issues, so it makes getting pictures up here very difficult! We've had a lot going on this month so I'm going to try to give you the highlights:

First up...Ryan and I started attending a new church in the summer of 2008 and joined a small group in August. It has been such a blessing to us over the past few months! Out of the six couples, three of us have been pregnant so it has been a lot of fun going through this time together. We welcomed the first new addition, Austin Henry Ethridge, on February 5th! He is just precious and I can't believe that he is finally here! Cyndi and I are both due at the end of March so we are praying for 2 more healthy babies!

I decided it would be good to get Ryan some practice holding a newborn!!! Isn't he cute (both of them that is)!

Next up....Step Sing! For those of you who don't know, Step Sing is a production at Samford University where different student groups (Greek & non-Greek) perform in a competition. It is a huge event on campus - lasting 3 nights with crowds of 3,000 people each night! Every year they have one male and one female emcee and wouldn't you know that sweet Meredith auditioned and was selected as the emcee this year! We drove to Birmingham on the 14th to see the final performance. We met up with my family in Birmingham and were able to do an early dinner with Meredith before the show. She did an AMAZING job - she was beautiful, articulate, funny, and truly she just SHINED! She had great chemistry with the male emcee, Ben (pictured with her below), and I wish I could post the adorable video of them from the intro to the show...I'm not even kidding when I say that it looked like the preview for a TV show. Meredith loves working at the church, but Hollywood might be in her future!

Next up....Pregnancy Pictures! My talented friend from small group, Cyndi Goodman, took my pregnancy pictures in mid- February and they turned out amazing! Some of our favorites are below. THANK YOU, Cyndi!!






Last but not least...my Atlanta Shower!! Ryan and I drove to Atlanta this past weekend for the shower. We continue to be so overwhelmed with the generosity of our friends and family...we are truly grateful! The shower was beautiful and perfect thanks to my great hostesses - Joanie Sewell & Vicki Bachman...THANK YOU, JOANIE & VICKI! It was so special to have so many people from different stages of life there to support us - friends from Haynes Landing, GACS, Stockamp, and of course my family (grandmother, aunts, cousins & sisters)!! Thank you all for your love and support!




As you can see - a fun filled February for us!! I can't believe the next time we go to my house in Atlanta, we will have Madison Claire with us! I'm now at 36 weeks and will try to take some belly shots this weekend. I go to the doctor now once a week until she comes - it is hard to believe we are on the 30-day countdown to her due date! We have our childbirth class this weekend so are looking forward to that. Please continue to pray for us - for a healthy baby, healthy delivery, and that Ryan & I can enjoy these last few days together before Madison Claire! Love you all....

Pictures!!

Finally some pictures!!! Here are some new belly shots - these were taken 3 weeks ago so I'm much larger now. I'll try to get some more up soon:

Shower pics:

My AWESOME shower host, Anne

Small group friends

The CPA gang

The grandmothers

Love this picture of me & Jenny

I was so thankful that Sarah & Ryan were able to come up from Atlanta!

Ryan somehow escaped without being pictured, but I did grab this one with dad after the shower before they left for Atlanta

It was so much fun and I'm excited for my shower in Atlanta this weekend!

Baby Shower and Contractions - OH MY!!

There is so much to update on, I don't know where to start! Let me start by saying that my computer has been having BIG TIME issues and for some reason I can't get my camera to sync to my computer to upload pictures. I'm so bummed because I have so many great pictures to share - including some new belly shots and some pictures from the shower! Oh well...hopefully Ryan will remember to bring home his computer sometime soon so I can upload them and get them out on the blog. Until then...here is our update...without pictures :(.

I’m at 33 weeks now and have definitely had an eventful week - some ways good, some ways bad. I had a doctors appointment on Friday of last week and told them that I had been feeling frequent contractions. Dr. Macey said if they got worse or increased in frequency to call them back because we needed to try “really hard to keep her in there for 3 more weeks”. I’m like 3 more weeks…how about 8 more weeks!! The problem with the contractions is they don’t hurt at all and I can’t even really feel them unless I happen to touch my stomach and it feels hard as a rock! So unless I have my hand on my stomach all day long, it’s hard to track how many I'm having and how frequently they are coming. I guessed on Friday that I was having 15-20 a day and they said that was a lot for 33 weeks.

Skip to Saturday...my first shower!!! It was *SO* wonderfully amazing and I can't say thank you enough to everyone who came to celebrate with me. It was so great to have so many friends there to support us!!! Mom & dad came in on Thursday night from Destin and Sarah & Ryan drove up on Friday with my Mama & Papa Howard. Anne came over on Friday night and we spent the night getting the house ready & prepping the food for the shower...it was definitely fun...and exhausting! Saturday morning Ryan took the guys and my grandmother to breakfast at Loveless Cafe while mom, Sarah & I all slept in - shocker, I know! This is actually a huge accomplishment for me because I've been waking up at 4am consistently these days and having a hard time falling back asleep. Anne came over around 11am and we finished all of the decorations & cooking. The shower was from 2-4pm and it was so beautiful. I can't wait to get some pictures up! I was completely overwhelmed with gratitude and love for friends & family! It was so much fun having people from all stages of our lives there - there was Ryan's mom & her friends, my friends from Vandy, our friends from small group, CLC and CPA, my mom & sister & grandmother, and so many others - all in one place...it was like a mini-wedding! We got so many great gifts - THANK YOU to everyone!! I also want to say a special THANK YOU to Anne for hosting the wonderful shower all by herself. She was such a gracious host and I wouldn't have done anything differently if I were throwing it myself! THANK YOU ANNE for sharing in the daily details of this time with me...I love you dearly and cherish your friendship!

We spent most of Sunday going through all of the pink little girls clothes - I got all of the tags off and got them all washed and ready to be put away. If this little one comes out a boy, we are in BIG TROUBLE!!! Ryan and I had fun watching the superbowl and eating way to much on Sunday night. I noticed during the superbowl that my contractions started increasing so decided to track them on Monday morning. I tracked them from 8:15am – 9:45am and I had 14 in that hour and a half! I called the doc and they had me come in to be checked. They said I hadn't started dilating but I was 60% effaced. He said that was more than I was at the Friday appointment and the baby's head was also lower than it had been on Friday. So…they put me on some oral medication to stop the contractions and also ran a FFN (fetal fibronectin) test that would tell me if I am at risk of delivering in the next 2 weeks. If it came back positive, they were going to give me a steroid shot to help the baby's lung development. I got the test results back yesterday and it was negative so that was a HUGE relief! Basically…that means that I’m not going to deliver in the next 2 weeks so I’m for sure safe until 35 weeks which they said is a big milestone. They don’t have me on bed rest, but did tell me to avoid heavy activity!

I’m trying not to be anxious about it…and just trust that she will come when God says she is ready to come but it’s hard because I don’t know what to expect or what labor will feel like and it’s driving me crazy - time to totally trust in the Lord!!! When I was having all of those contractions, I kept thinking I was crazy…I’d think, maybe this isn’t a contraction but then when my stomach went back to normal and it was squishy again, I thought – I guess that really was one. It’s just playing mind tricks on me!!

Please pray that little Madison Claire stays in there to bake for a few more weeks - I'm so looking forward to going to Samford to see Meredith be the star of Step Sing on February 14th and then I have a shower in Atlanta on February 21st and then we have childbirth class on February 28th so I really hope we can get through all of those things before Madison Claire makes her appearance!

Thanks for checking in on us...and for your prayers for us!

Love,
Lauren & Ryan