Last update for awhile...

Well, this will be my last update for awhile, since it's my last day at work! I'm just here until noon, and then I won't be back until March 30 at the earliest! Yeah! We don't have internet access at home, but we will be getting it sometime soon (so that I don't lose my mind while I'm home on leave). The hospital has laptops to borrow, and WiFi, so I should be able to make a blog update once I'm actually there.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I'm still just 1 cm, but I'm now 70% effaced. So, that's a tiny bit of progress. I must say, I'm really ready to be done... but it's not looking very hopeful that he'll be here any time soon! While there, I told the doctor that I haven't been feeling much movement lately, so they hooked me up to the fetal monitor for about 20 minutes. In that time, I only felt 2 movements... but according to the monitor, he'd moved at least 14 times! The doctor said he's actually extremely active, but that he must not be hitting the sides of the uterus, so that's why I'm not feeling the movements.

My next appointment is scheduled for Dec. 31, when I'll be 2 days past my due date. I sure hope he makes his appearance before then!

39 weeks

Well, I'm due one week from today... and I'm pretty much ready to be done! Come on baby! You can make your appearance whenever you'd like! My belly feels like a rock- he must be super squished in there. I'm feeling a lot less movement, because of the fact that he's so squished. He should be at least 7 pounds now, which is kind of mind-blowing...

I had pretty much the worst night of sleep ever last night. My lower back hurts really bad, my inner thighs hurt (from the pressure coming down, I guess), and I wasn't comfortable on either side, because it felt like the baby was trying to push through the sides of my belly (right into the mattress). All of that, combined with my usual heartburn, and not being able to get up easily from a lying down position, made it a bad night!

I'm at work today, tomorrow, and then a half day on Wednesday. I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, and I'm hoping that I've made some progress since my last appointment on December 11. (I missed my appointment last week, on December 17, due to an ice storm. I stayed home from work for the day, even though Clay ended up going to work. He was really worried that I was going to fall down... and he's probably right!) I'm not sure how far past my due date they'll let me go. Most doctors will induce at one week past the due date, which would put us into January...

I think everything's basically ready for the baby's arrival. The glider is still in a box, and needs to be assembled, but I'm pretty sure that it should be quick to put together. Hopefully Clay will do that tonight.

38 weeks

I can't even believe that I'm due 2 weeks from today! I could truly have the baby at any time now, and it wouldn't be considered out of the ordinary. He should be 6.5-7.5 pounds... about half the size of Chloe (our cat). lolllllll. I just looked at my last picture wearing this shirt, and I think I look quite a bit bigger. I feel pretty huge, and it's tricky getting up out of bed. I'm still really crampy all the time, but I just don't know if I've had any actual contractions. I have strange twinges every now and then, but I truly don't know. At my appointment last Thursday, I was still the same- 1 cm and 50% effaced. Hopefully I'll have had some progress at my appointment on Wednesday.

I feel like I've tied up all my loose ends at work, and am now ready to go at the drop of a hat. On Wednesday, I'll take my files to the two advisors that will be covering for me. My plan right now is to work through Christmas Eve... and then I won't come back after Christmas, even if the baby isn't here yet. I'll just consider it "holiday vacation" until the baby actually arrives. So, after today, I have just 7 days of work! Yeah! I'm so ready to not be here. It's finals this week, so I'm actually leaving at exactly the right time, as the semester winds down to a close.

I think I really "overdid" it this weekend. I've felt so good all through this pregnancy... I don't think I've ever really felt like I needed to slow down before. On Saturday, I was on my feet almost all day. I went to the gym, stood in line at the post office, went grocery shopping, made lunch, baked two different kinds of cookies, made lasagna for dinner (since we had some friends over), and did lots of organizing in the baby's room. By the time our friends left at about 9, I truly felt like I was going to die. My back and feet hurt unbelievably bad. That's when it hit me that I'd been standing basically all day, most of the time in socks on our tiled kitchen floor. I know now that I can't do that anymore, so I tried to take breaks yesterday to sit down and rest.

I think that almost everything's ready now for the baby's arrival. Clay put the crib together this weekend, and we got the dresser/changing table out of the box. I washed all the clothes and bedding, and organized everyting in the dresser. I went to Target and bought everything that we needed to have right away- crib mattress, diapers, wipes, changing pad (for the changing table), hamper, diaper pail, etc. The glider just needs to be picked up (since it arrived in town last week) and assembled. The room is still kind of a mess, so I'll wait and post a picture once it's cleaned up. It feels great to know that the important stuff is done, and that at least he'll have a place to sleep when he comes home!

37 weeks

I'm 37 weeks today, which means I'm full-term. So, as of today, all of the baby's development should be finished, and he shouldn't have any problems if he was born now! This is definitely a good thing! In the few weeks prior to 37 weeks, the baby's lungs aren't always full developed, so this can cause minor problems if the baby's born early. This should no longer be a problem.

He should be around 6 pounds or more right now. I read online today that, supposedly, I shouldn't really have any changes in my weight or size over the rest of the pregnancy. The baby will continue to grow, but I shouldn't. Hmmm.... we'll see about that! I'm still feeling really crampy pretty much all the time, and snacking makes my stomach feel better, so I'm guessing I'm still gaining weight.

At my appointment last Tuesday, everything was right on track. The baby is head down. I had my first internal, which was fairly unpleasant, but nothing too terrible. I was 1 cm, and 50% effaced. I know this really doesn't mean anything, and that I could stay this way for weeks. My appointment this week isn't until Thursday. Hopefully I'll have made some more progress!

One thing to be thankful for- I'm so glad that I haven't really had any swelling. My feet and hands still seem to be the same size. I'm still wearing my wedding ring, and it's plenty big. Hopefully no swelling will develop in these last few weeks.

Clay and I are going to a concert tomorrow night at a bar here in town- they have very few chairs/tables, so we're going to have to get there really early to see if we can actually get seats. The last time I saw a concert there, my friend and I had to stand through the whole thing. I don't think I can handle that at this point, and I would not expect anyone to give me their seat. Wish us luck! lolllllll

Clay started cleaning out the baby's room (his office) this weekend. His goal was to put the crib together, but that hasn't happened yet. Hopefully this will get done this week. The other goal for the week is to get my hospital bag packed. Craziness!

36 weeks

4 weeks to go... which means I could have a baby in 2 weeks... crazy! The baby should be 5.5-6 pounds now. I can't believe that there's a baby that big squished in there- poor thing! He must be so uncomfortable! I know I am! I feel like my belly has hit the breaking point, even though I know that it's just going to get bigger in the next few weeks. I really can't bend over very well anymore- it actually hurts. I've been feeling quite crampy (like menstrual cramps) off and on for the last week or two. It's not very pleasant!

I have an appointment again tomorrow morning. (I had one last Wednesday, and have them once a week now.) I will have my first internal (to see if I'm dilated at all). I've heard some women say internals are no big deal, and others say that they really suck. We'll see- at least it's at 8am, so I will get it over with right away!

I got my completion coupon from Target, so for one day I can get 10% off anything on my registry. So, I went to Target yesterday to add a bunch more stuff to the registry, in order to get the discount. I added the crib mattress, lots of diapers, a CD clock radio, hamper, laundry detergent, etc. It was all stuff I know I'll buy in the end, so I might as well get 10% off!

I ordered the glider/ottoman online today. It's white wood, with blue upholstery. I think it should look cute with all the other white furniture, and the yellow walls.