34 Weeks and Showers Galore!

Here I am at 34 weeks! I can't believe there's only 6 weeks to go (maybe less)!

Health Update:
-Baby is still passing all of his/her tests- yay!! SO WONDERFUL.

-The doc also did a fetal fibronectin test last Friday, which tests if you have a higher likelihood of going into pre-term labor in the next 14 days. They wanted to do this as my contractions did increase quite a bit after my last treatment. It was negative! Woohoo! I was glad to hear that. My contractions have subsided GREATLY, anyway, and are back to just every now and then like they were before.

-Had my levels drawn yesterday- as expected, they were the lowest they've been yet, as the chemo has a cumulative effect as far as that goes. For you medical-types out there: hemoglobin was 10.2 and WBC were 4.6. Ech. Made me nervous, but again- for a chemo patient, those results aren't that bad and there's nothing that needs to be done for it. I will probably get checked again next week just to make sure things are coming back up OK.

-It's still taken me longer to recover from that last treatment, but I've been feeling pretty good lately.

-Baby just needs to stay put for 2 more weeks to get his/her WBC's back up, then we're good to go!


How sweet is this bib?? My friend Krista made it for Baby...I love it. Of course, I got pretty teary-eyed when I opened it!

Now, onto the showers!

My friends Jenny, Beth and Angie threw a friends shower for me this past weekend. I had all of my good friends there, plus my moms! It was amazing. As you can see from the pic above, it was very Martha Stewart-esque. The party had a "bedtime" theme. They made the table into a bed (hence the pillow) and we had cookies and milk and other bedtime snacks. Also, everyone got to come in their PJ's!


The adorable sign Jenny made.


A close-up of all the treats, all labeled in different jars...SO YUMMY. Also, Jenny made the quilt on the table for Baby- cute or what? It even has kitties on it!


People chatting before we dug into the snacks. My friends were sweet enough to come to me at my house, which was nice!


Mmmm....so much good food!


Kendall and Shantell gave us this little Gopher jacket! How cool is that??


A semi-group pic...I just wasn't thinking and didn't get a group pic before a bunch of people had left! I'm kicking myself for not getting pics of everyone who was there!!


Mary Kay playing with Scott and Jennifer's little boy, Jackson. So adorable.


The hostesses and I- Jenny, Angie and Beth!


The moms and me- Joanie, Mary Kay and Kathy.
It was just so wonderful to have my moms and close friends there! THANK YOU to Angie, Jenny, Beth, Katie, Jennifer, Jenny O., Alicia, Jess, Shantell, Erica, Dorothy, mom, Kathy, and Mary Kay! Love you all!!!


My wonderful friends at work also had a baby shower for me last week.

The group of us- minus a few who had come and gone! It was so wonderful to see everyone- I missed you!!


Me and my awesome shower hostesses, Ashlee and Krista.


The amazing diaper cake that Michele made- isn't it cool?? The "flowers" are bibs!


The adorable and yummy ducky cupcakes Ashlee made.


Michelle and I


Sally, me, Tanya, Ashlee


Doreen, Jax, me


Karmen, Addison, Joanna and me


Michele and me


Jenny and me- Jenny is due just 3 weeks before me! Look at those baby bumps!!


Opening up some gifts....I was just completely overwhelmed by everyone's thoughtfulness and generosity. I love you guys so much and was so happy to celebrate with you!!


Tessa, me, Jill


Also, I meant to get these in a while ago- Greg, Kevin, Joel and Ryan have season tickets to Gopher football, and of course were at the TCF Bank Stadium opener.

Doing some tailgating


Ryan in his maroon and gold


A view of the crowd


Waiting to get inside the stadium, which apparently took FOREVER. They thankfully made this go more smoothly at the next game.


The concourse


A view of the stadium from their seats- pretty awesome, huh?


Joel and Kev-o
Gophers won- WOOHOO!!

And, a couple of cat pics:

As you may recall, we had problems with Tiger climbing into the baby's crib. Our friends Dan and April were kind enough to let us use their pet keeper-outer. So, Greg was in the room putting up the new curtains, and I went in to see how he was doing. I happened to glance in the crib, and saw this!! Tiger STILL got in there! Granted, we didn't have the side flaps down and the holes sealed up...but still pretty nervy.


Good thing Tiger's cute enough to make up for being naughty.

The rest of this week: another baby appointment, Gopher game for Greg on Saturday, and my family's baby shower for me on Sunday! Oh- and I keep forgetting to take pics of the Baby's room, which is pretty much done. I'll get those up soon!

4th and Final Chemo!!! (for now)

YAAAAYYYYY!!!! No more of these icky chemo treatments til after Baby is born (and they'll be much easier!)!!!
Had my 4th chemo round last Tuesday. I cannot even describe the relief I feel that I am done. I'm still recovering, however...this last one has hung on with a vengeance. This one was definitely the worst. I was pretty sick straight from Tuesday-Saturday. Now it's Sunday and I feel half-way normal, but know that I still have some uncomfortable days ahead of me. Hopefully the worst is over.

My contractions definitely picked up more with this round, as well. My OB gave me a med to take if my contractions were 5 or more an hour (which they have been a few times), but I'm being a bad nurse-patient and am too leary to take it. It can drop your blood pressure, and my blood pressure is already 90's/60's...I don't want it to drop any more! The contractions have always subsided though, and I have no other symptoms of pre-term labor. One of the nurses at the OB's office reassured me that these contractions can't hurt the baby (they are the painless, Braxton-Hicks ones).

Baby got checked out on Friday, and again, passed all of his/her tests. SO grateful for that. Way to go Baby!!


My dad and Greg's aunt Sue came to visit during my last treatment, which was so nice! It's wonderful to have people there for support and also as distraction! My aunt Bobbi came again with her dog, Dixie...but I forgot to get a pic!

The infusion overall went without incident, which I was very relieved for. They were able to start an IV no problem- YAY!! I still had some pretty uncomfortable moments with pain in my arm during the infusion, which made me nervous after last time...but they just slowed down the infusions by A LOT (we were there for like, 6 hours) and that helped. My veins are just shot..can't take much more. Thankfully, they won't have to.

My arm is STILL healing from Round 3's infiltration, but it is getting better. My oncologist reinforced that it WILL heal, it will just take a while.

So, just waiting for my body to get back to "normal" (if there is such a thing) after this last treatment. And, praying that Baby will stay put for at least another 3 weeks so that his/her white blood cells can get back to where they should be. Otherwise, just hoping for an uneventful last few weeks of my pregnancy and a happy, healthy baby in the home stretch!!


Here I am at 32 weeks...getting huge...:)


And, we continue with the work on the baby's room! Our friend Jenny came over and painted a palm tree on the wall for us.


Here's the finished product- isn't it awesome?? Jenny is so talented- she whipped this up in no time. THANKS, JEN!!
Baby's room is almost done, just doing some of the finishing touches.

And, of course, cat pics:

The DAY AFTER Greg put the crib together, Tiger found a way into it. NAUGHTY. We honestly didn't think he'd be able to get in there, but he did.


Notice how he even brought his cat toy in with him. Decided to claim the crib as his own. Yeah, we've had to keep the door closed now because of this. I don't think Tiger will have the guts to get in there when the baby's in there, but we'll have to keep a close eye on him!!

***Back to cancer stuff: I just had to take the opportunity again to thank ALL OF YOU who have been such a wonderful and amazing support to Greg and me during these 4 chemo treatments. I honestly don't know how to thank you all without sounding cliche...but let me just tell you, I couldn't have made it through this without all of you. I am just so overwhelmed by everyone's thoughtfulness and love. From just the quick little E-mails to let me know you've been thinking of me, to the phone calls, cards, gifts, visits, food, PTO donations from coworkers (oh my GOODNESS, you guys!!) drives to Dr. appointments, to most importantly, your prayers...I can't even tell you what these have all meant to me, and what you all mean to me. Thank you.

I especially have to take the time to thank my wonderful husband and best buddy in the whole world, Greg. He doesn't know I'm writing this and will be embarrassed when he sees this, but I have to say what an incredible support he has been to me. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again- he has been my absolute rock. From day 1 he has been nothing but my shining, positive, bright light in all of this turmoil. He has such a "kick butt" attitude. This is a marathon unlike any that we've run, and even on my lowest of low days he has picked me back up and kept me moving towards that finish line. He has never once said anything other than we're going to beat this cancer, hands-down.

I know I have not been easy to live with, and Greg has NEVER ONCE complained...EVER. He has taken it day by day with me, sacrificing so much. He'll work all day and then come home and take care of me or pick up the slack around the house. He keeps my focus on all things good and positive, especially Baby! I LOVE how he brings home little baby things all the time- a pair of booties, a onesie, etc...and we've got them hanging all over the house as motivation.

Most of all, Greg has kept me smiling and laughing in the midst of all of this. Greg has one of those smiles where his whole face just lights up..and that's all it takes to put a smile on mine. I am not the type of person who likes to be babied or coddled or pitied...and Greg has given me the perfect balance of TLC while still maintaining our everyday stuff and encouraging me to stay strong.

Babe...you are already the most amazing husband ever, and I can't wait to see what an amazing Daddy you'll be.
I know our journey isn't over, but I'm so glad that I get to take it with you. :)
I LOVE YOU.

Lots of Fun Stuff!

Wow, it's been a busy week! Again- me being naughty and not resting like I should, but like I've said- I refuse to let all of this interfere with my life more than it already has!

Updates:
-First, BABY!! I had another level 2 ultrasound and biophysical profile done today, and Baby got 10 out of 10 points! Still doing perfectly! The best part- Baby weighs 4lbs 4oz at 31 weeks...WOOHOO!!! I was ecstatic! I was hoping he/she would make it to 3.5lbs at this point, and it was even better! So, Baby is growing wonderfully. No signs of a lower-birth-weight baby so far.

-Just still been fatigued this week. Had my levels drawn on Tuesday, and all continues to be well! WBC's and hemoglobin are doing OK, though my hemoglobin was the lowest it's been, and I can definitely feel it.

-My stupid arm...let me tell ya. I mentioned I had a bad reaction with the last treatment...it's STILL healing! It occurred to me last Friday that it might be infected, so got into urgent care the next day- that doc thought it was, and got me on an antibiotic. Hasn't done a whole lot. Went to the cancer clinic on Tuesday, and they're thinking that the IV did infiltrate. Ugh. That's what I was fearing, as chemo going into your tissue is a really bad thing. The nurse assured me that it was a small infiltration, and they've seen it lots...there's no sign of blistering or a burn or anything, and it will heal. It just takes a long time. The most important thing was that this won't delay my last treatment. I just hope they can find a good vein with this last one and I have no more problems...come on arm!! You can make it through one more!!
Here's a pic of my arm (it looks much better here than it had been, though it's much more red than the pic shows):


OK, now for fun pics.
I had my FIRST BABY SHOWER this week! YAY! Greg's side of the family had a wonderful shower for me at his Aunt Sue's house.



The group of us.


Our Bumbo chair that we got from Aunt Rose! Love it!


The awesome monkey cake!


Grandma Vitelli, me, and Greg's 2nd cousin Lauren. :)
I had such a great time!! It was so good to see everyone- it had been quite a while for some people! I was just overwhelmed by everyone's generosity. It's so fun to actually have baby stuff in the house now! Thanks everyone!!

Last night I went to my friend Angie's house- our friend Jenny T., who is in her residency in Michigan, was home to visit.

Nicole, Angie, Jenny T., Jenny P., and Beth. This was the first time the 5 of us good high school friends had been together in a long time!!


We also had a little celebration for Beth's and Audrey's (Ang's girl) b-days coming up.


Lily (Ang's oldest) dressed like a princess! I had so much fun playing with her!


These next pics are from the State Fair on Labor Day. Greg and I went with Jenny and Chris, and met up with Jenny T. for a bit- first time we got to see her in a long time!

Jenny T., Nicole, Jenny


Mmmm..chocolate covered potato chips- one of my faves.


Oh my gosh, Jay Leno was there! Ha.


Had to give him a smooch.


It's becoming tradition- Greg and Chris did their annual Fox Sports North broadcast. Absolute pros.


Jenny and Chris doing American Gothic.


Riding on the Skyride!


A view of the street from the Skyride.


Had to get some Sweet Martha's before heading out.


We also had Jason and Erica's wedding last Saturday- it was beautiful!

Gorgeous bride Erica walking with her dad.


Wedding party- they actually got married at a girl scout camp that Erica had gone to lots when she was young. It was such a pretty and unique place to have a wedding!


Awww..saying their vows.


Beth and Jesse being their usual selves.


Kevin, Jenny, Alicia, Joel


OK- so they had this little "dress up corner" at the reception where you could put weird outfits on and take pics and stuff. Our group obviously took advantage of this. Above- Scott as the Wicked Witch of the West.


Ryan as Dracula...kind of...



What the...


Jesse...RASTA!!!


Farmer Greg...and I have no idea what the chains were about. He proceeded to head out to the dance floor and do the Electric Slide in this getup. Gotta love him!!


The group of us headed out to the Blue Heron afterwards.
I forgot to mention the pic at the top of this post was also from the wedding.

MORE Fair pics!
I feel pretty lucky I got out there 3 times this year! Not bad for being 7 months pregnant and undergoing chemo. We could only stay for shorter amounts of time and there was a lot of food I couldn't eat, but I still got some good stuff in.

Last Friday we met up with Sean, Brenda and Liam. Above- the boys in their Gopher hats!


Mmmm...brownie..glad that was one thing that settled OK!


Greg trying his hand at archery.


Sean, Liam, and "Fairborne," the Gopher. Liam loved him. This pic even got on the MN State Fair website- they're famous! :)



Liam, Sean and Fairborne again

We've also been getting Baby's room ready- finally!!

Greg taping the room up. We'll get pics up when it's all done, but it's coming along nicely! Paint is done, crib is put together...it's looking great!


And, funny cat pic: Poster giving Mom and Baby some TLC after chemo. The cats love to sit on my belly, which cracks me up- I think they know there's a baby in there.

Well, that's it...FINAL CHEMO TREATMENT on Tuesday!!! I'm dreading it but SO EXCITED at the same time. Please pray that Baby and I will make it through this last one OK, and also that my arm holds up- no more bad reactions!!

As always, we'll keep you posted...