Cadence is here!

Hi there...Abby's friend Lauren here, updating for Abby while she's in the hospital. :)

Abby had a long day Monday. She got to the hospital at 5:30 am, but after having a day's worth of Pitocin, she had only dilated 1 cm by 3:30, so the doctor decided to try again today. Well, today was the day! This morning she dilated quickly and Cadence Grace Ivester was born at 12:25 pm, weighing 8 lbs and 7 oz!! Mom and baby are doing wonderfully.

The Latest!!

What a rollercoaster these last few weeks and days have been!!! I am thankful to say that things are finally coming to an end and I will get to meet my daughter very soon! :) Last night was a little scary b/c I hadn't felt Cady move much. They told me to be monitoring her due to my low amniotic fluid, so we got a little concerned. I called my buddy, Ashley (labor and delivery nurse at the hospital who is my ANGEL) and she told me to come to the hospital to get checked out. We didn't call our parents or anyone b/c we didn't want to scare anybody, so Matt and I headed up there to see what was going on.

When we arrived, Ashley met us and immediately took me to a room and hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor. Thankfully, Cadence was amazing! The doctor said he hadn't seen a heart that good in about a month and was very pleased with her. What a huge relief! They think the reason I wasn't feeling her move much was due to the low amniotic fluid and the fact that she is so big now that she doesn't have much room to move. They also thought my water might have broken, but it ended up that it had not. I was there for over an hour so they could monitor us, and while I was there I started having contractions. They were pretty regular, but the doc thinks it's partly because he was messing around "down there". haha. They sent us home and told me to take two Tylenol and a Benadryl and to sleep.

I didn't sleep much last night b/c I was very uncomfortable and kept having some contractions throughout the night-but nothing that made me think I needed to jet back to the hospital. We went to the doc this morning for my biophysical exam (an in-depth ultrasound). Everything was perfect! My amniotic fluid levels had risen and Cadence was doing amazing! They measured and weighed her and said she already weighed about 8 pounds!! Holy Cow-I couldn't imagine if I went to 40 weeks haha. I then went and was checked by the doctor (1 cm dialated and 90% effaced). She told me, "I don't know how you're walking around because her head is so low." Basically, Cadence is preparing on her own to come out which really makes me happy. She is a healthy, big baby who just knew she didn't need to stay in 40 weeks haha.

They set me up to be induced on Monday morning and we have to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM to get things started. The doc said she could come on her own before then, so we will see. :) But regardless, I will be in the hospital by Monday having this sweet child!! We are soooo excited and so appreciative of all of the prayers and encouragement from all of you. I don't know if I'll write any more until after Cady is here, but just know we love you all and appreciate you! I'll try to get Matt to update my blog after she is born to give you the weight, height, time, etc. :)

We love you!!
Abby and Matt

More News

I heard from my doctor and here is the latest:

I am scheduled for a biophysical exam tomororw (an in depth ultrasound) because they discovered that my amniotic fluid level is low. If it gets too low it is a danger to the baby and they would need to get her out. So, I will go first thing in the morning to check that out. If it is low, I will go immediately to the hospital to get her out. If it is not low I will wait until Monday and then I will have another biophysical exam to check her out again. If on Monday it is low, they will take her out. If not, then I will wait until Tuesday or Wednedsay (when her lungs will be fully developed) to be induced. My doctor said he would call me by the end of the day to let me know exactly when I will be induced if I don't go in early due to my low fluid. So, the waiting continues. Haha. I'm so thankful that they are taking such great care of me and Cadence. I have faith it will all work out. I will keep you posted!

Amniocentesis and more waiting!

I went in yesterday for my amniocentesis. I gotta tell ya: I was an absolute NERVOUS wreck. Both Matt and mom went in with me (Matt sat beside me and rubbed my hair and momma held my hand...bless her hand, I squeezed it off)! The needle didn't hurt at all but when it hit my uterus, I thought I was gonna scream (it felt like a terrible cramp). The whole procedure didn't take long at all but once it was over I cried and cried. I think it was everything I had held in (my nervousness, all my emotions over everything lately, etc.). After the procedure they took me to a room and hooked me up to a fetal heart monitor to make sure Cadence wasn't under any stress. Her heartbeat was wonderful. I started having these horrible cramps, which later the nurse told me was contractions (it's normal to have that after an amnio). Finally, those went away and I was just crampy the rest of the day. I am so thankful for Meredith, the nurse (who is also a church friend). She kept me calm and reassured me throughout the procedure. She also took care of me after the procedure and she was an absolute God send. Thank you, Meredith!! After about 25 minutes or so of monitoring Cady they told me to go home and rest and stay home today.

I got a call yesterday afternoon that her lungs are not fully developed. I was extremely disappointed b/c I was all prepared to go to the hospital last night and get this show on the road. Luckily I was with mom (she took care of me ALL day b/c Matt had to work). I had a break down. Gosh this emotional rollercoaster! Me and mom had fun yesterday, though. We cuddled, took a nap together, etc. Sometimes you just have to have your mommy and she was just what I needed! Thanks mom! :) Since those results came back negative, they sent them off for a more extensive look and I just received the call that her lungs still aren't developed. They are close, but not there yet. So, I am just waiting to get a call back from my doctor to tell me where to go from here. I'm thinking they will either take her mid next week or next weekend, but I can't say for sure. I promise to keep everyone updated. All of this back and forth has been stressing me out, but I'm finally just going with the flow...that's all I can do. I hate waiting and wondering, but as I know deep in my heart God is in control and that gives me comfort!

Thanks for all of the prayers! Keep them coming. :) I will continue to try to update the best I can. We love yall!

more news...

Hey Friends!! Just wanted to give a quick update. We went to the doctor today and he set me up for an amniocentesis tomorrow. I don't know what time yet, but hopefully early tomorrow. I will hear from them asap in the morning to hear when I go over there. If her lungs are definitely developed (please pray they are) then the test results will come back within an hour, they will call me and then they will take me in tomorrow night in the hospital and give me Cervadil (to get me dialating). Then, they will induce Thursday morning. If the test results come back that it's not 100% certain her lungs are developed, then they will send the results to Charleston for more in depth look (that will take 24 hrs to get the results). If those tests came back positive then I would probably go in to be induced Friday or so. If the tests come back that her lungs aren't developed at all then they will induce me at 38 1/2 weeks (I am 37 now). Soooooooo we are praying that tomorrow its certain her lungs are developed and we will be in the hospital tomorrow night. The doctor thinks her lungs should be developed by now, but they want to be certain. All that being said, we just ask for your prayers. We know everything will be okay and are trusting that God is taking care of everything. We will keep you updated the best we can. If we end up going to the hospital tomorrow night, things may be a tad crazy tomorrow so not sure if I'll have time to update. But eventually you all will hear what's happening. :) Thanks for everything and we appreciate you!

Love to you all,Matt and Abby

Update...God is good!

I will make this short, I promise. I heard back from the doctor and all my blood work came back normal, praise the Lord! So, it isn't URGENT that they take Cadence out yet. He still wants to deliver her early (around 38 weeks)...partly for my sanity b/c of my horrible itching, and also just to be careful and get her out. He said he has no clue what is causing my itching-since I don't have a rash or anything and because of that he still wants to get her out. He is perplexed, but is confidant that she will be perfectly fine in the womb a little bit longer. He wants to wait until I'm 38 weeks so that they won't have to make me go through an amniocentesis (which I'm thankful for). He said by 38 weeks her lungs will definitely be developed so we wouldn't have to worry about that. So, the plan now is for me to go to the doc twice a week so they can monitor her and make sure she is okay, and they will induce me around 38 weeks or so (around Nov. 1). We are so thankful for the results and we are also thankful they are still being proactive about checking her twice a week (since they don't know what's going on). It is frustrating not to know what is causing all of my internal itching, but we trust everything will be okay and we look forward to Nov 1/2nd. I will keep everyone updated the best I can, and I can't thank you enough for your prayers! So, it looks like Cadence will be here the beginning of November, if not before. Wow-that's only 2 weeks away...still a little more time to prepare :)

Cadence will be here soon!

I will try to make this short, but I do want to inform everybody. I heard back from the first set of test results and a few things were off, but overall everything was normal. I should hear back today on whether or not I actually have this condition: Cholestasis. I talked to the doctor last night and he said that regardless of what the test results say, he still wants to do an amniocentesis (to check her lungs) and take her out. He said he trusts a mother's intuition and gut feelings more than any labs, and both me, Matt and the doc think something is wrong and that Cadence needs to come out.

I am so thankful for doctors who listen and who validate feelings. I can't say enough about Dr. Stamm and how he has taken care of me. So, basically, now I am just waiting to hear from the doc about the results. After I hear (either way) they will set me up for an amniocentesis, and after I get those results (hopefully her lungs will be developed) they will induce me. It could be tomorrow, this weekend, or early next week. I am not sure at this point when I will be induced, but I do know it will be soon. Dr. Stamm said that I have all of the symptoms of this condition and it's nothing to play around with, so he just wants to get her out to prevent any problems. So, I still wait and I still pray. I know God is in control, but I can't help but be anxious. Please keep us in your prayers and I will do my best at keeping everyone updated.

Love to you all,
Abby

Waiting and waiting and waiting

I have been waiting on the results of my blood work for about a week. I went yesterday for my 36 week checkup and I was informed that my blood work got messed up. Long story short, the Greenville lab sent it to a lab in Birmingham...the Birmingham lab said my blood was suppose to be frozen instead of refrigerated, so any results would not be 100% accurate. So, after discussing it with Matt and my doctor I decided to go back in today to get the blood work redone so I wouldn't question the results. Talk about FRUSTRATING!!

Yesterday and last night were extremely hard because I could not stop thinking about it and stressing out. I know that if I have this condition, then they will get on top of taking Cadence out ASAP (usually by 37 weeks or so...which, holy cow is next week)! I kept thinking, "If they wouldn't have messed up my blood work then I would already know and they could already be getting on top of things and making sure Cadence is okay. Instead, I am just waiting, and the longer I wait the more serious it can get (if I do have this condition)." Needless to say, yesterday I was a nervous wreck.

This morning I went back to the doctor at 8:30 to get my blood work redone. This time my doctor's office said they were going to take care of the blood work and that I would have my results from it by this afternoon. Part of the test (the part that tests for my liver function) will be in today and the second half of the test (which tests for my bile acids) will be back tomorrow. Basically, if the test results come back positive today then they will definitely take Cadence early. If they come back negative and the second part of the test comes back positive tomorrow, then they still may take her early but it won't be as urgent. And, if everything comes back negative it just means I have a really bad case of pregnancy itching and it's up to me how long I can stand it...if I can stand it until 40 weeks, great, but if not they said it wouldn't be a problem to take her early so I wouldn't go insane.

After they did the blood work they then hooked me up and monitored her heart rate for about 20 minutes. Thankfully, she has a very strong heart beat and everything looks great there. So, now I'm just waiting again for results and what to do. I'm not as stressed today b/c I know that her heart is good and that they are on top of things. If I do have this condition I will probably go back in sometime this week for an amniocentesis to make sure her lungs are fully developed. If her lungs are developed then they will probably induce me sometime next week or so and get her out so she won't be harmed. Gosh, so much to think about!!!!

I have to say that I am VERY impressed with my group of doctors (Greenville OBGYN) because they are so on top of things. They handled me very well today and everyone knew what they were doing, they didn't waste time, etc. I am very thankful to be under such great care! And regardless of whether they take her next week or not, she will be here soon and I am excited to meet her! I will be sure to keep everyone posted! Thanks for the prayers!

Severe Itching, A Muddy Fall, and Ruined Gauchos

My day yesterday was probably one of the worst ones I've had since being pregnant. Let me give you a little recap...I can now look back and laugh-but I still get upset thinking about it. haha.

For the past month or so I have had SEVERE itching all over my body. At first it was localized and I would rub some Aveeno lotion on me to make myself feel better. Now it is so bad that lotion won't help, Claritin and Benadryl won't help (which the doctor told me to try), and the itching is not only on the outside of my body, but it's also this burning/itching sensation inside of me. So, I went for my 35 wk checkup and told him all about it. Before I get into that, let me say that I got really excited b/c the doc said she is doing wonderful, he felt her "noggin" as he called it, and he said she has dropped some and is just hanging out and waiting. That really pumped me up!! :)

Now, getting back to the itching. The doctor said it could just be that I have really bad pregnancy itching (which some women have) or I could have this condition called: Cholestasis of Pregnancy. I don't process information well, so I am about to copy and paste what this is:
"Some women experience a very severe itching in late pregnancy. The most common cause of this is cholestasis, a common liver disease that only happens in pregnancy. Cholestasis of pregnancy is a condition in which the normal flow of bile in the gallbladder is affected by the high amounts of pregnancy hormones. Pregnancy hormones affect gallbladder function, resulting in slowing or stopping the flow of bile. The gallbladder holds bile that is produced in the liver, which is necessary in the breakdown of fats in digestion. When the bile flow is stopped or slowed down, this causes a build up of bile acids in the liver which can spill into the bloodstream. A developing baby relies on the mother’s liver to remove bile acids from the blood; therefore, the elevated levels of maternal bile cause stress on the baby’s liver. Women with cholestasis should be monitored closely and serious consideration should be given to inducing labor once the baby’s lungs have reached maturity. "

So, all of that being said, it's not good for the baby if a woman has this. My doctor told me that if I do have this condition then it would change the way these last few weeks go (meaning I would probably go in twice a week to check the baby instead of once, and he would probably want to take the baby early). He then sent me to the hospital lab (where I sat forever) to get blood work which would determine if I had this or not. Needless to say, this did not make me very happy (I hate blood work and the thought of something being "wrong" really upset me). I am still waiting on the results and they said it would take a few days so I will keep you posted. I know everything will be okay, but I would prefer things to just be normal. If I don't have this condition (my preference of course), then I'll just have to deal with this horrible itching until she comes. I'm telling you, I cannot describe this itching and how horrible it is! I can't do anything without it affecting me (work, sleep, etc.). So please pray for this whole situation and also that this itching will stop regardless.

Okay, moving on. After all the blood work I went back to work and it really wasn't a bad work day...I just couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of all of this and I of course googled it (which is never good...you hear all the horror stories). So, I've banned myself from further research. haha. I left work and rushed home to let our dogs out so that I would be able to make the baby shower that Matt's work was throwing for us. When I got home, arms full, I decided to walk on our sidewalk to our front porch to get something off the porch... I slipped and fell in this HUGE mud pool on our walkway. I busted my left knee, ripped a hole in my FAVORITE black gaucho pants, got mud from head to toe (including my purse and items inside of my purse). Thankfully, the baby wasn't hurt, but I'm so sore today (my knee). I managed to get up and walk into the house but I was dripping mud so badly that I had to completely strip down. I didn't even know where to start cleaning up. I decided to start with my knee b/c it was gushing blood.

I'm so thankful because in the midst of my crisis and cleanup, my mom called my cell phone and the timing could not have been more perfect. I cried (and I mean wailed) on the phone to her b/c I was so emotionally drained, stressed, etc. and she immediately drove over (she is the best mom and friend ever)!!! Mom cleaned me up, washed my clothes and purse, hugged me and let me cry to her forever, took care of the pups, etc. I finally got it together and changed clothes and made it to the shower (15 minutes late...and I HATE being late). We had an amazing shower and are so blessed, so the night ended good. However, when we got home I just cried to Matt again b/c my emotions were all over the place. And worst of all, my gauchos that I wear practically every day (they aren't even maternity...just big and comfortable) are completely ruined and ripped. I've called around everywhere and no store has gauchos right now. I'm so bummed! Don't mess with a woman's wardrobe (especially a pregnant woman's). So, if anyone knows a place that is selling gauchos right now PLEASE tell me. I will buy 10 pair! :)

I am sorry to vent, but this blog is very helpful in that area haha. Thankfully, today has been a lot better. I am limping a tad, my knee hurts real bad and I'm still sad about my pants, but I am overall a happy camper. I am at peace with whatever the blood results show and I am trying to patiently wait and just trust in the Lord. Regardless if she comes early or not, she will be here very soon and I cannot wait to meet this precious child!

And by the way: everyone needs a mother like my mom. She is a lifesaver. And everyone needs a husband like mine b/c he is precious (he voluntarily rubbed my back last night, pampered me, let me cry, and most importantly just listened and understood me in the midst of my cry fests). Thank you Jesus for these precious people in my life!

Some Preggo Pics

Our precious friend, Shannon Leatherwood took some amazing preggo pics for us this past Sunday and we are SO pleased at how they turned out. I am not posting all of them-just my favs. I can't believe that in about 5 weeks or so, our little girl will be here-out in the world with us. I wanted to have a few pics of the "three" of us before she made her debut. :) As my pregnancy draws to an end, I am growing more and more thankful for one on one time with my husband. I am trying to cherish every single moment with him, with us as a couple. I don't want to ever forget these moments with him and regret not soaking in everything.

Updated Nursery

Well, the nursery is officially finished! I absolutely love it and I am so thankful to my husband for hanging everything, putting everything together, etc. He is amazing and I can't wait to bring Cadence home to her room! :)