I'm ready...

I've discovered that the link to the online nursery does not work! When the baby finally decides to come we'll post pictures here.

We brought the swing and bouncy seat out to the living room so we could set up the air mattress for Grandma Great yesterday. Austin kept turning the bouncy seat on to make sure it would still vibrate. When asked who it was for he proudly responded with "Our Baby Sister!" He's getting just as excited as Mommy is! Oh, remember how I said I hope he doesn't think his Baby Sister is going to get off the airplane with Grandma Great? Yesterday after picking her up at the airport, we got in the car and out of nowhere Austin says from the backseat, "Now our Baby Sister can come!" How smart is he? (Sometimes too smart for his own good!)

We're off to the grocery store this morning. Hopefully some walking will help move things along! She's not listening to me when I tell her to get out! We'll keep you updated!

It's almost time

I had my weekly doctor's appointment with Dr. L this afternoon. I have dilated another centimeter putting me at 3 cm dilated! Dr. L said that once I hit 4 cm things should really get going! My Dad is still sticking to his prediction of the 11th in the wee hours of the morning. At this rate he might be right on target! We'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm loving all of the comments, keep them coming! Oh, I forgot to mention that I lost a pound! No weight gain this week!

For those who might be interested in seeing the baby when she's born, the hospital where I'll be delivering at has a website you can visit to see the babies after they are born. They seem to keep up with it on a daily basis but it might take a couple days if she arrives on a weekend. I'm also hoping to post some pictures on our website while we're still in the hospital via Michael's laptop. The hospital offers wireless Internet for their patients. We have the ability to take the memory card from our camera and put it in the laptop to retrieve the pictures. Of course it's a nice thought at this point. Who knows how it will all play out when everything actually happens! Where would we be without wireless Internet?

We'll keep everyone updated as the time gets closer!

The "Dunlap"

My husband has informed me that I have developed the "Dunlap" syndrome. My belly has "done lapped" over my pants! Ha, funny I know. I told him I can't help it and it will all be worth it in the end!



38 weeks! Yippee! Two or less weeks to go! At this point I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore and can't wait to meet my daughter. I have decided that Friday will be my last day at work. It's becoming way too exhausting to work everyday. I still have a few things I'd like to do around the house before going into labor and find myself too exhausted when I get home from work to do anything. My Grandma (or Grandma Grape as Austin calls her) will be here on Saturday to stay for three weeks. It will be nice to spend some time with her before all the chaos begins. She is going to stay with Austin when the baby finally decides she would like to join us. Austin also knows that when Grandma Great comes his baby sister is going to join us too. I just hope he doesn't expect her to get off the plane with Grandma Great!

This was the closest we could get of Austin kissing his baby sister. Daddy couldn't get the camera snapped fast enough! Also, if it seems as if I'm larger than life it's because Daddy was laying on the couch while taking the pictures.

Oh baby

So my doctor's appointment with Dr. L was actually exciting today! When he checked for dilation he informed me that I was 2 cm dilated! I'm only dilated and not effaced so he doesn't think that I'll go into labor in the next week but it could be soon. While he was listening to the baby's heartbeat he also informed me that I was having a small contraction. I couldn't feel it but it's nice to know that things are happening and it might not be much longer before this little girl makes her arrival. Dr. L still discussed the idea of inducing at 39 weeks if something hasn't happened as I delivered "a big one" (yes he really said that) with my first pregnancy. I'm starting to think that she is not going to be as big as Austin was as I'm about 15 lbs lighter than when I delivered him. We'll just have to wait and see. I gained 3 lbs in the last week so by the time she does decide to come I could only be about 10 lbs lighter then when I delivered Austin. I guess that means I better get some last minute things around in the next week as I may not have much more time to get things situated. I think it's finally time to get some diapers and get my bag packed for the hospital. I go back to see Dr. L next Thursday. Maybe it will be my last appointment before I see him in the delivery room...

37 Weeks

37 weeks down, 3 to go! I can't believe my due date is just around the corner. I go for my weekly check up with Dr. L tomorrow morning. He will be checking for dilation so we'll see if anything is going to happen any time soon! I'm a little curious as to when she's going to make her arrival. Is she going to be early like Austin? Is she going to be late because she's stubborn and wants to keep us all in suspense? I guess we'll have to wait and see! If you would like to make a prediction, this should be the post to do so. Leave a comment with the date you think she'll make her arrival. If you really want to get creative, you can leave weight and length stats too. Here is some information about what's going on with the baby and a scary picture of my belly! Not the best picture, but Austin and I were laid back relaxing!

Congratulations! Your pregnancy is now considered full term -- meaning your baby is developmentally ready to handle life outside the womb. (Babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 weeks are post-term.) Your baby probably weighs a little over 6 pounds at this point and measures between 19 and 20 inches, head to heel. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children are born blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Scary isn't it!

Appointments

Austin was supposed to have his three year check-up yesterday but when we got to the doctor's office it was discovered that he had a "physical" on February 21st of last year. Since our insurance will not pay for another "physical" if they are less than a year apart, we did not see the doctor as planned. I thought it would have been nice if they would have looked at his chart and mentioned this when we were there a month ago and I scheduled the appointment! The receptionist asked me if I wanted to schedule his appointment and I had to kindly tell her that my due date was February 20th so no, I don't think so! Who knows what will be going on around that time! Hopefully we'll have a baby by then but you never know! She has proven to be a little stubborn already!

After Austin's appointment we headed about two buildings over for my weekly appointment with Dr. L. I am proud to announce that I did not gain any weight in the last week! Maybe I'll get lucky and this girl won't be as big as Austin was! Austin was really fascinated when Dr. L raised the table and listened to the baby's heart beat. Dr L. did not check for dilation this week but stated that he would next Thursday. Hopefully I'll have some more exciting news to share after my next appointment as the pressure seems to be increasing each day! I now feel like I have the pregnancy waddle down to a perfection! Not to mention having to pee every hour on the hour and getting heartburn after drinking water! I'll be very surprised if she comes out without any hair!

Austin has been talking about his baby sister a lot lately so I think he's starting to feel my anxiousness! Tonight he gave his baby some milk and we changed his clothes three times! His baby sister now has clean clothes to wear and her diaper bag is packed with an outfit to come home in! Now we'll just have to wait for her to decide when she wants to come. The next couple of weeks should prove to be exciting for us all! Here's a picture of her laundry before Austin and I removed all the tags to stick them in the washer! So much for my nightmare of her being born and not having any clothes to wear...

A day late

Well my doctor’s appointment update is a day late and once again I don’t have much to information to share. I did find one thing exciting this week; I’ve only gained a pound in the last week! I have been gaining a lot more than that every two weeks so it was pretty exciting when I found out I’d only gained a pound. Of course my appointment was first thing in the morning (and I hadn’t had breakfast yet) instead of in the afternoon, but that shouldn’t matter right? The baby’s heart beat sounded great. She even decided to settle down a little so Dr. L could listen to her heart beat! She was bouncing off the wall while I was sitting in the waiting area. It’s actually getting quite fun to watch her try to get comfortable in there. She doesn’t have too much room to move around in there anymore so when she really decides that she is uncomfortable my belly really rolls from one side to the other! Dr. L said that she is in a head down position and is on her way down, however she hasn’t descended as far as I thought she had. Of course with as many trips as I’m making to the bathroom lately she’s got to be getting further into position each day! So, I got the “Everything looks good, I’ll see you next week” from Dr. L like I get every time I’ve had an appointment. We’ll see what next week brings!

Speaking of next week…I can’t believe that my baby boy is going to be 3 years old on Thursday. It seems like I was just in the same situation with him, eagerly awaiting his arrival! Of course I was a little heavier and a lot more uncomfortable, but it was all worth it! 3 years old, I still can’t believe it! Has it really been that long? He told me tonight that he is not a baby anymore; he is a “big boy!” So not only do I have a doctor’s appointment on Thursday, but so does Austin. He has to go for his 3 year check up. I think this will be the first “well child” check up that he won’t have to get any vaccinations. He shouldn’t have to get any more until he’s 4! We’ll see if he’s reached the 30 lb milestone! Here’s a cute picture of him doing a breathing treatment! Gotta love the wild hair-do! We finally got it cut last night!

Appointment Update

My appointment was not the most exciting today and unfortunately I don't have much information to share! My appointments are now going to become my weekly routine however I'm hoping to receive more encouraging information each week as my due date quickly approaches. Dr. L did test me for Strep B today and checked for any dilation. His response after checking for dilation was "hardly dilated" at which point I can't say that I was surprised! I didn't expect to be dilated at this point in my pregnancy but I'm hoping that as February 20th approaches that my dilation will increase. At this point our house is not ready for her to arrive but I'm hoping that it will be within the next few weeks. Look for another appointment update next week!

Appointment Update

I once again had my bi-weekly appointment with Dr. L yesterday. My weight gain will not be shared this time as (a) it's a little embarrassing if it's right and (b) because I don't think the nurse wrote my current weight down correctly, but I can't remember how much I actually weighed! Anyways, Dr. L managed to squeeze me in between two deliveries! He said that he had delivered 6 babies in the last two days; he's been a busy man! His nurses were teasing him that they should have gotten him roller blades so that he could get between his office and the hospital faster! He asked me how I was feeling and I told him that my midsection had been a little achy lately. He said that it was probably due to being on my feet so much and not relaxing enough. He suggested I get one of those belt things to wear around my midsection to help lift my belly and relieve some of the pressure. I don't think I'm going to that extreme, I think I'll just take it a little easier from now on! I happened to be put in the ultrasound exam room, so when it came time to listen to her heart I got to look at her instead. She indeed has positioned herself head down and I got to see her little face on the screen. Of course it's not so little anymore, but I did get to see her eyes, nose, mouth and chin! I got to see her little chest too when Dr. L was checking her heart beat. He said that everything looked great and he will see me in two weeks. After the next appointment I will start going once a week! That means that my due date is getting closer...I can't wait for this little girl to join us!

In other news...
Grandma Richards has been here since Tuesday and I think she's really enjoying herself! I think that she and Austin have managed to play with almost all of his new toys plus some. We've got big shopping plans for Saturday but other than that we've just been hanging out at home. It's been nice to have her here and I'm sure Austin will be disappointed when she has to go home. He won't have to wait too long before seeing her again as she's planning on coming back to Texas after his sister is born!

8 Months

I made it! I start my 8th month of pregnancy today! I've always thought it was funny that they say women are pregnant for 9 months. Technically a woman is pregnant for 40 weeks, isn't that 10 months?

By now, your baby probably weighs almost 4 pounds and is almost 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. She has tiny toenails now, and her fingernails have grown in, too. Some babies have a head of hair already; others have only peach fuzz.

I thought that this information was interesting, considering I'm experiencing some of the symptoms!

As your baby grows, the increasing concentration of weight in your growing belly causes a change in your posture and a shift in your center of gravity. Plus, your abdominal muscles are stretching, hormones are making your ligaments more lax, and your growing uterus may even press on some nerves. All of this can contribute to low back pain and possibly to some pain in your buttocks and thighs as well.