38 Weeks and READY!!!

I am hoping, praying, begging the Lord that she will come this weekend and not next!

Yesterday, Phil informed me that next weekend he has class all weekend!!!  SAY WHAAAAAAA!?  He cannot miss any class at all or he will have to re-take the entire course (it is a two month course).  I do not know when they offer this course next (it could be next YEAR), so now I am very concerned.  I really hope she either comes this weekend or during the week, or after next weekend.

If she comes this weekend, my mom would be in town to help me until next weekend, so that would be perfect.  Another factor is that the fourth of July is in a few days and I wouldn't mind if the baby came after the fireworks show... haha. 

All in all, as long as she comes when she is ready, that is good.  I just really hope she doesn't come when Phil is in class. 

We might go to Scalini's tonight to try their "labor inducing eggplant parm."  Here is the website, explaining more about it:  http://www.scalinis.com/Bambino.htm

The only thing is... we have had eggplant for the past THREE days in a row, and not much has happened (although I was pretty sure I was having some kind of mild contractions last night as I was laying down trying to sleep...). 

You know... to be honest, I have no CLUE what a contraction feels like.  Everyone says it either feels like a strong menstrual cramp, or lower back pain.  But I have had cramping on and off a bunch this week, as well as back pain that comes and goes... so I just feel confused.  I think that I have had Braxton Hicks... but then again it could have just been the baby moving in a weird way.  Some people have told me that I will just know when I am having contractions... I believe I will know for sure when I am in labor, but I don't know about whether or not I have had BH. 

As of last week, I am 70% effaced, and a fingertip dilated (boo).  However, I have heard that this info is really not all that relevant and it just gives false hope.  Some people can go from being completely closed to in labor within the same day.  Others can walk around for 3 weeks being 3 cm dilated.  So, really... I guess it is not a huge indicator of when labor will actually start. 

I feel like I am beginning to obsess about labor starting.  I need to fill my mind with other thoughts, and fill my schedule with other plans to get my mind focused on other things.  This weekend, we might go to the DeKalb farmer's market with friends and then spend the afternoon cooking together and playing games.  Then on Wednesday, it will be July 4, so we will go to Phil's parents house and cook out and swim, then hopefully go see fireworks.  Next weekend will be really awful and lonely if Phil is in class and I am all alone at home, still pregnant and miserable...

Sigh.  I wish babies would just cooperate and come EXACTLY on their due date so we could plan more efficiently. 

On an unrelated note, there is a heat wave hitting this area this weekend.  Check out the forecast:

I don't remember the last time it was 106 degrees.  Luckily, we have AC and the fan going... and we can probably go to Phil's parent's pool.  I don't plan on spending too much time outside this weekend.  To be honest, the whole being preggo in the summer thing has not been bad for me at all.  I love the heat, and it has been bearable, especially since I spend most of my time indoors... The time I have spent outside has mostly been going for walks in the evening or swimming in the pool.  I have not felt miserable like so many people told me I would be. :)

Well this post is getting pretty long.  One last thing... I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE MY BABY DOLL AND HOLD HER!!!!!  She is going to be the LOVE of my life, and I cannot wait to experience the emotions of loving someone as much as I know I will love her.  :) :) :)

37 and a half weeks

Sigh.  Every morning I wake up with tingly, swollen hands.  I have now also experienced swollen feet as well, which I haven't ever had.  I am now at the point of so much discomfort, I have zero desire to do anything!

I want to lay down and relax most of the time... and even then, I'm not particularly comfortable.  My back is killing me, and I have random pains in my belly (Braxton Hicks? possibly...)

I have been reading lots from other expecting moms on a forum called the "July 2012 Birth Club"- all of the women are expecting little ones in July, and it's been fascinating to see what they all have to say and what they're experiencing.  Sadly, most of us are in the same boat and feel equally miserable.  Haha.

Luckily I am now working from home so I have more freedom to lay down if I need to, or just relax at different times.  I am loving working from home.  I wonder what it will be like when I am doing this and have the baby as well...

I am just so tired, so lazy, so OVER being pregnant.  It was exciting for a while, but now I am just SO ready for the next step... the part where I get to be a mom, and meet my baby and feel like a normal person again rather than a whale.

I know so many women who are pregnant, or have been preggo at the same time as me.  Most of them have had their babies already.  Sigh.  It's hard to watch them have their babies and put photos up, and meanwhile I am dying to get there already!!  Than again, I spoke with my cousin Stacey the other day and she is only at 25 weeks pregnant, and she said she was jealous that I was already at 37.  I'd be jealous, too.

The things that are currently getting me through the last few weeks of pregnancy:

- Watching How I Met Your Mother on Netflix
- Air Conditioning AND the fan running simultaneously
- Lots of ice water
- Lots of mid afternoon naps
- My amazing hubby who massages my back, my belly, my ribs, etc
- Ice cream, almost every night... I know, bad, bad, bad!
- Thinking about how cute my little baby doll is going to be!

 Lots of people have had dreams that Selah will come out with thick dark hair, and look like me (I hope so!).  I am hoping that is the case!  If the old wive's tales are true, then all of the heartburn I am having should indicate that Selah will have lots of hair.  I had lots when I was an infant!  Here is me as a baby:

Well here is a recent photo of me at 37 weeks:

Hospital Packing List

Wallet

Hospital Paperwork

Birth Plan

Glasses

Contacts and Solution

Toothbrushes and toothpaste

Deodorant

Brush

Makeup

Bathrobe

Nightgown or black dress

Change of clothes to wear home

Socks

Ipod or laptop with playlist

Camera, camera charger

Comfy shoes/ flip flops

Cash - $20 or so (parking)

Bathing Suits for  both of us

Cell phones

Snacks – granola bars, rainbow cookies, juice (capri suns), non alcoholic champagne, orange juice, jolly ranchers

Nursing bra and regular bra

Sanitary Pads – lots of the thick ones

Bradley book

Going home outfit for the baby 

Baby bonnet, socks, booties, cap, gloves so the baby doesn’t scratch face

Baby book? To put the foot stamp in?

Car seat installed in the car already

Receiving blanket for the ride home

Chocolates for the nurses

Nipple cream or coconut oil

Towels – 2

Massage cream

One Month Left

When I say there is one month left, it seems like an eternity.  When I say there are about 4 weeks left, it feels a lot sooner!!!

I am now at 35.5 weeks, and truly, the baby could come at any time.  I am hoping she stays in there until 37 weeks at least, when she will be full term.  I hope she doesn't come past 40 weeks, though.  If my due date comes and goes with no baby, I know myself: I will be miserable every day, impatiently waiting with frustration.  I will try almost anything to get her to come... except caster oil.  I will NEVER try caster oil.  I do plan on going to Scalini's- an Italian restuarant in Atlanta known for their labor- inducing eggplant parmasian.  Supposedly, if you go into labor and have the baby after 48 hours of eating it, your baby gets dubbed an "Eggplant Parm baby" and gets featured on the Scalini's wall and website.  They also give you a little onesie for the baby... haha!  I just hope it works.

Today is the day I began working from home.  I am so grateful that the work I do can be done from home, because soon I will be able to take care of the baby and still get everything done that I need to do for work (and still make a living, too!).  It helps to be at home before the baby comes as well.  My ribs and back are constantly in pain from the baby jamming into them, and I am tired (so much so that when I finish taking my shower in the morning and getting ready for work, I am already ready for a nap again!).   I took a nap midday today, and it was glorious and much needed.

I hate to seem like I am complaining all of the time, but I  am truly uncomfortable right now.  I cannot wait until the day comes and I can feel relief.  I have talked to so many women who said that right after the baby was born it felt like TREMENDOUS relief.  I believe them.  It must be!  I cannot remember what it feels like to feel NORMAL again, but I cannot wait to feel normal. 

This is how I feel right now... like Scott Calvin in "The Santa Clause" where he asks his doctor: "a little weight?  Does this look like a little weight to you?"  That big, lump of a belly that feels like it shouldn't be there...

My Most Recent Ailment, and Life at 34 Weeks Preggo

My most recent ailment: pain in my ribs!

So recently, I have been having awful, debilitating pain in my ribs, on the right side.  The baby has grown so much and has not dropped yet, so she is crowding my ribcage and let me just say…. OUCH!!!

The only way I get any relief is by laying down on a heating pad, or having Phil rub my ribs and back.  The pain wraps from the front of my ribcage all the way to my back!  It's so horrible.  If I am sitting up at work,  I am usually in pain these days.  Therefore I am so looking forward to beginning to work from home soon.  I don't know when though!

I feel like I have so much to do yet.  I am at 34 weeks tomorrow, and I still need to get Medicaid/insurance stuff figured out.  I also need to write a list of what to pack for the hospital, and pack it.  We just finally sat down and wrote our birth plan for the midwives yesterday.  I am just so tired all the time that I have very  little desire to get anything done.  I come home from work at 1:30 every day and then nap for hours.  The other day I missed a doctor's appointment because I forgot about it and took a nap instead.  It was re-scheduled for today.  Sigh.

Yesterday I had maternity photos taken by my co-worker's daughter, who is extremely talented for her age and just has a natural eye for photography.  She did the photos as a loving gift, which we were very blessed to have.  She took us to a field behind their church with tall grass, and we took several photos with different props such as balloons, a little book, baby shoes, letters that spell out the  baby's name, and others.  I cannot wait to see them.  My co-worker assured me they came out good, but I am nervous that I will look like a giant whale in them! 

Onto the weight issue… I have gained 30 pounds exactly at this point.  Most of that is in my belly, but I can tell a little in my face and arms as well.  I am glad I am staying on track for the most part and haven't gone overboard.  I've been very careful with my weight gain, and my midwife has complimented me on that!  I hope that I do not go over gaining 35 pounds.  That gives me about one more month, and five pounds that I could possibly gain. That means I need to continue to be careful, and keep walking and moving rather than just resting and pigging out. 

Here is a photo I took this morning, showing how large and in charge the belly has become!