Elanor Mary 
March 7, 2005:
I've written up Elanor's birth story. Be forewarned - it is long and VERY detailed! Read at your own risk!
January 13, 2005: Elanor Mary Wahlund ("Elly") was born at 12:20pm on 1/13/05 (39w0d) after 27 total hours of labor. She's 7lbs 10.8oz and 20in long. Active labor lasted about 12 hours, and I pushed for 1 hour 15 min. It was the most excruciatingly painful experience of my life, but I'd do it again for her. We had an all-natural childbirth - no drugs, and no episiotimy. I do have a 2nd degree tear, but I'm healing well. I'll post pics once I download them off of the camera. She has a full head of light brown hair!
January 12, 2005: Contractions began at 9am this morning!
January 11, 2005: My tenth OB appointment. Good blood pressure, heart rate of 140 bpm. I'm dilated to two centimeters! It could be any time.
January 03, 2005: My ninth OB appointment. Things are still looking good. I'm 1.5 cm dilated, "almost a 2," according to my OB, which means I've made a little bit of progress since my last appointment! We're both surprised about that, especially since this is my first. Maybe sitting on my birth ball constantly is helping! I'm also 50% effaced. My blood pressure was 116/80; baby's heartrate was 142 bpm. My next appointment is January 11.
December 28, 2004: My eighth OB appointment. I forgot to ask about weight gain, but the nurse didn't say anything so I assume that's fine. My blood pressure was 122/70 (the same as it was two weeks ago, coincidentally enough). The baby's heart rate was 150bpm. I also had the Group B strep test and my first internal exam.
The internal exam was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The surprising news is that I'm 1 centimeter dialated! (My OB didn't say if I was effaced or not and I forgot to ask.) I wasn't expecting to be dialated at all (but considering all the pelvic pressure I've had lately - it hurts just to walk - I guess I shouldn't be surprised.) The baby is still head down (s/he was in that position a few weeks ago and hasn't changed, thank goodness).
If I go into labor at this point my doctor won't try to stop it, obviously. She doesn't think it's imminient by any means, but anything's possible. (Frankly, I'd prefer for this baby to cook for a few more weeks - it gives me more time to get stuff done!)
But we had our last Lamaze class last night, Collin set up the bassinet and the bouncy seat yesterday, I have most of the baby clothes and cloth diapers washed, and we're going to buy the carseat tonight -- so if the baby does come soon we'll be pretty set. :) My next appointment is January 3.
December 19, 2004: My mom threw me a baby shower! (Click the link to see pictures.) It was a lot of fun and Collin and I got some great stuff for the baby, including a bouncy seat, a diaper bag, and a bottle warmer!
December 10, 2004: My seventh OB appointment. As always, it was an uneventful appointment (thank goodness). :) My blood pressure was 122/70, urine sample looked perfect, I've actually LOST half a pound (surpising considering all the eggnog I've been drinking lately, LOL!) fundal height is right on track, and the baby's heart rate was 155 bpm. At my next appointment, my OB will do the Group B strep test and start internal exams (fun - NOT!). My next appointment is Tuesday, December 28.
November 19, 2004: My sixth OB appointment.
My poor doctor had been up all night delivering babies, so she rushed into the room 20 minutes late, still in surgical scrubs and plastic booties. :P She was also kind of slow - I'd ask her a question, she'd stare at me blankly for a second, and then she'd respond. I actually found it rather humorous.
Collin came to this appointment with me, so he was able to meet my OB for the first time. He liked her too.
Anyway, details:
November 16, 2004: Collin and I bought a digital camera, and we took some belly shots of me!
October 30, 2004: I just got a letter from my OB's office - I passed the GTT! No gestational diabetes; yay! :)
October 22, 2004: My fifth OB appointment. Collin was able to come along and heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. :) He didn't get to meet my OB, though; she's out of the office for the day so I saw Tasha, the NP (nurse-practicioner).
Everything looks good. The baby's heartbeat was 158 bpm, which is higher than normal (it's usually around 140 bpm) but the baby was doing somersaults and kicking the microphone the whole time she was trying to find the heartbeat! :P She said that when the baby's really active, the heartrate usually goes up slightly. Anyway 158 bpm is still well within normal limits.
My blood pressure was great - 102/62, I believe - and my fundal height is right on track.
I asked about the flu shot, and Tasha said that the MeritCare staff has such a limited supply that they're only giving shots to the neediest groups - the elderly, infants, and people with autoimmune issues and/or chronic health problems. Since I'm healthy and so is DH (comparatively), neither Collin nor I are "eligible" for one this year. I totally understand but Collin and I are seriously considering driving to Canada and getting flu shots. Collin usually gets sick easily and it takes him twice as long as normal to get well, and I'd rather have the shot if I'm going to be around a newborn 24/7 in January (the height of flu season around here). So we'll have to see.
I also did the one-hour Gestational Diabetes test (GTT). I had to drink a super-sweet, carbonated orange concotion. The orange stuff wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be - it tasted, to me, like orange pop mixed with bug spray. :P It just had a really weird aftertaste. After I drank it, I feel queasy for a moment, but the feeling passed. (I'm lucky - several preggo women I know said that they felt really nauseous, threw up, or passed out because of it!)
I went back to the lobby and got called into an exam room a few minutes later for my RhoGAM shot - right in the butt! OW! It only stung for a few minutes, though. When the nurse looked at my chart and saw that I got the RhoGAM *and* had to do the GD test, she said, "Wow, it's 'Let's Pick on JoAnna Day' today, isn't it?" *LOL*
I went down to the lab to wait for my blood draw. I had been in the waiting room for just a few minutes when in walked my high school english teacher, Kari Jo, and her husband, Jim, who was the pastor of my church when I was growing up!! Pastor Jim was there to get some bloodwork done, so I was able to sit and chat with them for quite a while. It was a great way to pass the time, and SO nice to see them again.
Then I got my blood drawn, and I had a wonderful tech. (The last time I had bloodwork I had a great tech, too - I've been quite lucky!) It barely hurt at all, though my arm is aching a bit now. She said they'd call with the results of the GTT in a few days, but that I could try calling later this afternoon or sometime on Monday if I wanted to find out the results sooner.
September 22, 2004: My fourth OB appointment. My blood pressure was 108/76 and the baby's heartbeat was 146 bpm. My OB also checked my fundal height and said everything looks good. I've gained four pounds since my last appointment, which is right on track (generally, pregnant women gain roughly one pound per week during the later trimesters). At my next appointment, I get to do the Gestational Diabetes test and get a shot of RhoGam right in the butt! Gee, I'm looking forward to that. :-/
September 1, 2004: Our third wedding anniversary AND our big 20-week ultrasound! We got some GREAT photos. Our little one looks big and healthy. Praise God!
August 25, 2004: My third OB appointment. I heard the heart beating at 145 bpm. My OB says everything looks great!
July 27, 2004: My second OB appointment. I heard the heart beating at 150 beats per minute (bpm) and heard the baby kick the microphone! (We have a feisty little bugger, apparently.) Everything looks great!
June 23, 2004: My first OB appointment. I had an ultrasound and saw our little one's heart beating! I also saw him/her kicking his/her legs as well as the pulsing of the umbilical cord. What a little miracle!
May 31, 2001: After returning from a trip to Laramie, WY, I ended up in the ER due to severe vomiting. Yuck! I was rehydrated via an IV and got some additional medicine to help the vomiting.
May 17, 2004: We got our positive home pregnancy test! By our calculations, conception occured on May 3, 2004. We started telling our families five days later (we thought about waiting until later but we just couldn't - we were too excited!).
Our ExpectNet.com baby game. The name of our game is "Baby_Wahlund." Guess the arrival date, time, gender, and weight of our little one!
MeritCare Family Birth Center - this is where we had the baby (it's four blocks away from our apartment!).