39 weeks and done. Seriously, can this be over?

I didn't take a picture this week because I'm too damn tired and apathetic.  I just want pregnancy to be over and I want my baby.  Today I thought my water broke for a second but it didn't, false alarm.  Thank you, fun pregnancy surprises.  I've been having contractions all week though, all day long.  The bump has a handy contraction calculator which is awesome for those of us who suck at math. When I time them they are irregular.  Plus it's hard to time them because although it's easy to tell when they start, they gradually fade and it's hard to tell when they stop.  I suppose when it's true labor I'll be able to identify the stops and starts?

On Saturday we went to a friend's wedding.  It was at Mahoney state park, which made for a beautiful setting.  Matt was a groomsman so we got there early.  I had to tag along in case I went into labor.  By the end of the ceremony my legs were like tree trunks and they HURT.  My skin felt really tight like my legs couldn't get any bigger.  I got lots of sympathetic looks.  Thankfully, although it's been 120 degrees every day for the past month, it was only in the 90s or so and there was a glorious breeze.  I didn't even need the fan I brought that sprayed water.  I was so tired and so much in pain that we only danced to one song at the reception and left.  It was 10:00 though so I lasted quite awhile.

On some positive notes, the other day Matt had a bad day at work and he said he wished the baby had been born so he could hold him and feel better.  How awesome is that :)  Plus did I mention Matt's 86 year old paternal grandma is here from Virginia and she will get to see her first great grandson?  She has had some health scares so no one was sure if she would ever meet her great grand-babies.  Her husband passed away before Matt was even born.

On Monday I went to Target with mom and Michelle and ended up with a box of donuts, 3 pizzas, 2 tubs of ice cream, strawberries and what you could essentially call fat pants.  Isn't that a stereotypical pregnancy cart?  I got the fairly big, comfy pants for my way home from the hospital and if they fit well I can live in them while I'm recovering.  I really dislike all the pressure maternity pants put on my belly and I don't expect to fit into my normal clothes for awhile.

My next doctors appointment is on Thursday.  She said if I haven't delivered by my due date we will start discussing our options, which I'm assuming means an induction. She said babies start pooping and it can cause in infection so she doesn't like to go too far past the due date. My due date is Saturday so it would be nice if we could schedule an induction at this appointment.  Any time now Adrian!

38 weeks; Preparations and the waiting game

 Today I finished washing the baby's clothes! Not to mention his blankets, sheets, boppy cover, etc.  I am SO ready for this boy to be born.  I packed the hospital bag today.  There's a diaper bag I want at Younkers which I might pack the baby's things in, but it won't be a big deal if baby comes first.  

I'm not completely finished, but if I were to go into labor tonight I would be fine with what I packed.

In the bag:

*2 nightgowns (if they get ruined no biggie)
* light reading
*Sarah Bareilles, She and Him and Taylor Swift Cd's
*Camcorder
*hygiene essentials for both Matt and I (shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, hairbrush)
*my boppy

Other things I still want to add but need to buy or that wont be put in until the last minute:

*the camera
*Matt's netbook
*cheap slippers
*some girl stuff just in case
*Matt's clothes
*insurance info etc.
*cell phone and charger
*my own pillow

Now this will be useful as I try to finish packing; I keep looking at lists on the internet for examples.  Hopefully my feet will stop swelling soon after, but I'm not holding my breath.

For the baby, we will obviously have the car seat put in the car and:

*A newborn outfit (although I'll probably have him wear Matt's pick, regardless)
*A 0-3 month outfit
*socks
*mittens (didn't realize the green ones were smaller, the big ones will probably fall off)
* receiving blanket, swaddling blanket

I've always been more of an over-packer.  It will probably be 100 degrees outside but he will mostly be in air conditioning.  Everything seems so real now, I can't wait to bring him home!

How far along? 38 weeks

Total weight gain: 26 pounds

Maternity clothes?  I'm getting sick of them and can't wait to have my figure back and buy myself a new dress.  I deserve it after these cankles.  I mean, Adrian is the ultimate blessing and reward but a dress would be nice.

Best moment this week:  waking up in the middle of the night to Matt's hand on my belly feeling for the baby.  Also, all the insane speeches Matt gives him about geek trivia and woman advice.

Miss Anything? My clothes and feeling normal.    

Movement: He likes to stretch a lot!  I feel all kinds of movements all day long, especially when Matt comes home from work and talks to him.  One time I woke up at 4 in the morning and he was flailing about like nobody's business. 

Food cravings: Still anything cold (smoothies, ice cream, slushies mmmmm)

Food aversions: nothing in particular

Gender: Boy!

Symptoms: Did I mention the edema in my hands and feet? Also heartburn, stiffness and soreness.  I feel like an old person!

Looking forward to: The big day.  To which Matt has given the following code phrase: "Thundercats are go!" which he stole from Juno, but oh well.  He wants me to tell that to his work if I go into labor while he's there.  I don't think so dear.

A little sneak preview of the nursery.  We almost have all of the furniture but it still needs some work and some decorations.

I painted some letters to put above his crib.  So far that's the only decoration I have actually finished.  

Thankfully I am on maternity leave, so I have lots of time (supposedly) to work on making his room pretty.  If I run out of time or willpower, I don't think he will care.

Cankles and 37 weeks

We're getting ready for baby!!

I get so annoyed when people take forever to update their blogs, but here I am taking over a month.  I have a good excuse though; I’ve been trying to get my house together and for 3 weeks we stayed at my parent’s house.  They have the slowest internet ever.  I think my blood pressure goes up when I try to use it.  Plus I’ve been stuck on the couch an awful lot due to my enormous cankles.  My feet look like an elderly persons feet, and my ankles are MIA.  Only one pair of shoes fits me. This week we made it to 37 weeks!  That's full term!  I lost my camera charger and my camera died so I’ve been a complete failure on weekly pictures.  I think I have 3 from the past month and a half.  I’ll just put the recent one on here because I don’t know how to take the others off my parent’s camera. 

I'll have Matt take a better one.  Our mirror slims you down and I know my bump is bigger than this.  

My kitchen is finished, I have a lovely makeshift pantry, my living room is 95% finished and my bedroom doesn’t look much different than normal.  Adrian’s room is coming together nicely; Matt put the crib together and we got a hand me down dresser.  We are waiting for the rocking chair and changing table to come in.  I have most of what I need for the baby’s arrival; I just really need to get my hospital bag together.  We bought travel sized toiletries for it the other day and it made me feel like I was going on vacation.  Then I got slightly depressed that I’m not going on vacation.  Plus Mrs. Know it all is getting a wee bit nervous about being a parent, even though I know all about taking care of babies.  So I can only imagine what my husband must feel like.  I’m still counting down the days and once he is here I think I’ll feel better. 

We got a new couch for the living room!

It's gray with gray and yellow pillows.  I'll take pictures of the whole house when we are all finished.

So remember when I went on a whole rant about whether or not I should do childbirth or breastfeeding classes?  Then I decided not to?  Now I’m wondering if I missed something important.  We started our weekly appointments and my doctor said I’m 1 cm dilated at negative 2.  Which means baby is not stationed for take off yet. So the doctor was explaining it and she said “but you probably already learned this in your prenatal classes” and I was caught off guard so I said “…uh huh.”  Matt said I’m a bad liar.  We haven’t even done a tour of the hospital yet.  FAIL.  I need to just buy a book that’s all about bf, I’ll have support during labor and then I’ll have drugs so I think I’ll be fine.

I asked Matt what Adrian’s coming home outfit should be, and he wants him to wear this onesie that says “Daddy’s little monster”.  Aren’t I so nice to give him an opinion even though I would have chosen something different?  His first choice was a suit and I absolutely refuse to put my poor newborn in a suit, especially when it could be 100 degrees outside that day.  I think that onesie is a 0-3 month, so I’ll pick out a newborn outfit in case that’s too big and voila we have a compromise.  “Voila” makes me think of chicken voila. And now I’m hungry.

Now that things are getting settled I’ll have more time to blog again.  Then who knows what will happen when baby is born but I’ll still be blogging when I can.