Full term!

I am 37 weeks pregnant today and considered full term! The baby should be able to come any time now with the expectation to "thrive." What a milestone for us mentally... to know that unless something really out of the ordinary happened that we should be meeting our little girl any time!
The nursery is finally finished! She will stay in the bassinet in our room for a little while, but she now officially has a home/room to come home to! I feel so much more relaxed knowing that I don't just have a ton of stuff left to do! Her laundry is done, diaper bag packed, and everything put away in its place.
This is my 37 week belly picture. You can definitely tell she is dropping. Some people even think I've lost some weight because my belly is starting to be shaped differently as she moves down.
This is catch up... 36 week belly picture.
Aunt Jill and Bryce came over yesterday and helped me clean house. We got all the bathrooms cleaned, the floors mopped, the stairs vacuumed, kitchen cleaned, and strollers put together. We even had time for some down time and visiting, which was a wonderful mental break! Aunt Jennifer is coming next week and hopefully we will be able to vacuum/spot clean the carpet and wash the windows. I am going to try to get my car cleaned and set up the car seat this week. I need to try to finish my thank you notes from last week's shower this week too. The fridge and freezer are stocked and ready! I am almost ready! My bag is packed... let me get a few more things done this week and let my parents get back safely, and I'm ready for her to make her entrance!

Quick update

I know I haven't done my weekly update, but things have been hectic this week! I am 36 weeks and 5 days pregnant as of today. At today's doctor appointment, she said that I am almost 3 cm dilated and progressing well. I told her I was a little nervous that both of my parents going to be out of state in different places this next week, but she was optimistic that it wouldn't be this week, because the baby is still mildly high (but getting lower every day... as I can tell by my increasing sciatica!).

Sunday I had my shower in Marion. There were probably at least 75 people there and the amount of gifts was absolutely overwhelming! We got some really nice things and some of our bigger things too. I really enjoyed myself. My dad had to bring the gifts to our house in his trailer because there was so much! I was so overwhelmed with everything that my mom helped me put things away for 6 hours on Tuesday. Whew!

We are pretty much ready for her when she comes now. The doctor said it is now up to her whenever she decides to make her entrance. Sunday I will officially be full term! Wow!

I promise to post some pictures this weekend in my 37 week post!

News!

I had my doctor's appointment today and I am 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced! The only thing is I won't be full term for another 1 1/2 weeks, so she really needs to stay put a little longer. If I went into labor in that time, she said they would probably try to stop the labor if possible. She said it could be a week or four...who knows?! They will check me again next Thursday and then Dr. Hoover might be able to give me a better idea as to what the plan might be.

Wow! It's almost time! Please say some prayers that she will be healthy no matter when she comes!

The end is in sight...and so is the beginning

In the last week, I felt pretty decent for the most part. Yesterday, we went to Marion Airport with our friends, the Blackabys, to the "Fly in Cruise in" and got to see a whole bunch of planes and cars, as well as have an all-we-could-eat pancake breakfast. It was wonderful and the weather was perfect! Then we went to Upland to the town rummage sales and walked around for another few hours and topped the day off with some Ivanhoes. Yum! Needless to say, I was really worn out when I got home and ended up napping for a few hours. I woke up with some serious nausea and a crick in my neck. No fun!
35 weeks...only 5 weeks (or less?!) left to go! My next shower is coming up next Sunday, so hopefully I'll have everything laundered and things put up on the walls in another week or two in the nursery. We should also be getting our glider delivered this week and her room will almost be complete! I've started packing my hospital bag with a few things, but it's not ready yet.

This week, I have been battling a cold that one of my patients so gracefully passed on to me. We were standing almost face to face and he coughed right in my face. I have been really congested and extra achy so that hasn't been super fun. Then on Wednesday, I have a patient try to sit before she was instructed and I ended up having to catch her from falling and force her back into a standing position. It took three of us to get her in her chair after that. She was fine, but unfortunately, I was not... I have been dealing with a little back strain and some extra sciatica down both legs (occasionally) since then.

We have a beast of a week ahead of us at work with the holiday tomorrow and a lack of coverage for several that will be gone this week. We unfortunately found out that a coworker's parents were in a terrible car accident, and both of her parents ended up dying a few days apart from each other. My heart and prayers go out to her and her family. I guess if it is a little busier this week, it is the least we can do to help her out as she is mourning with her family.

I am looking forward to our last family get-together tomorrow before the baby arrives. I can't believe our next big outing she will be with us, Lord willing! Thursday, I have my next doctor's appointment where I will get my group B strep screen and be checked for dilation. Wow... it's almost time!

I can't believe in just a few short weeks that we will be meeting our little girl. Please keep us in your prayers over the next several weeks! Enjoy your Labor day.

6 weeks left!

34 weeks! Wow! I am 8 1/2 months pregnant! The realization of the little one coming our way in the next few weeks is really becoming the number one consuming thought for both of us. My last appointment went well. They did give me some medicine to help with this occasional, but sometimes debilitating, nausea that I've been having again. She said at the next appointment, they are going to start checking me to see if I am starting to efface or dilate at all. Wow!

Surprisingly, I have been sleeping better the past week and my pain has been minimal except for when she makes abrupt movements. I took a nap Saturday and today, so I guess I'm still exhausted.

We are having a special gospel meeting series this week on "Family Matters." So far, we've had 3 really good lessons. These topics couldn't have come at a better time!

Other than that, nothing major to report. Let's hope things stay relatively uneventful for a few more weeks. Have a great week!

A Wonderful Baby Shower with the Church Ladies

Two of my good friends from church, Stephanie and Sarah, organized a baby shower for me on Saturday with the ladies from church. It was wonderful! There was probably 25-30 ladies there and my mom got to come and enjoy it with me.
My cousin Brenda made my shower cake. It was so adorable and very delicious! She just makes cakes for fun, but she is very naturally talented!
Sarah made a cute diaper cake... which is very practical since I get to keep and use all the diapers!
They had Sarah's house all decorated up in Classic Pooh with little animals and books everywhere. The whole place was so cute! We got A LOT of really nice gifts including: lots of clothes, burp rags, blankies, toys, socks, hats, books, toiletries and a Classic Pooh pack 'n play. Everyone was so sweet and generous!
Here is my 33 week picture. Seems like I have really grown in the past week. I am starting to have a really hard time sleeping through the night. We are trying a few things to make the bed more comfortable and sometimes I have to take a Benadryl to get sleepy enough. I feel like I wake up like a zombie! The iron pills have been pretty rough on my system too. Lately, I've also been having quite a bit of nausea, sometimes quite severe. During the day Tums seem to help, but the nighttime nausea is only relieved by sleep (if I can get any). She is really getting up in my ribs now, and they are starting to twist and turn every which way, giving me quite a bit of pain sometimes. I had a massage on Saturday and it was the most relaxed and restful I have felt in the last few weeks. The weather has been cooler over the weekend, which has been a nice reprieve. I have another doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so hopefully everything is going well!

Please send up some extra prayers this week for me and the baby to stay healthy and safe as the end approaches. Have a great week!

Watch out for Uncle Jared

32 weeks and moving right along! I am officially 8 months pregnant...and when I say that it seems like the end is getting closer so quickly! I won't deny it, I'm starting to get ready for it. She stays very busy in the belly. Sometimes I think she is trying to make an "Alien" exit because her foot comes 3 inches outside of my belly sometimes. I'm getting a lot more sharp pains now that things are really starting to stretch.
I can't believe the difference in this full picture from the last one I took just a couple weeks ago. I am definitely starting to feel rounder! The doctor said that I'm still "all belly" and so far have only had a 19 pound weight gain. My blood pressure and overall health has been really good. In good news, the doctor said there is a chance she won't induce me and let me go on my own. She still may want to control it some with pitosin once I go into labor depending on her St. Joe schedule, but I was so relieved to hear that.
It's been a busy and emotional week full of projects. Nathan started painting the front room on Monday and I finished up a good portion of it by Thursday ( mostly just trimming) and we got the furniture moved back. We finished the final bit of it yesterday and I am so relieved! Nathan's car broke down on Wednesday (we were supposed to take it in for service on Thursday!) and that made for a hectic Wednesday and Thursday with the driving situation. Thank goodness I don't work on Thursdays anymore! Did I mention that Nathan was running a fever and had a sore throat for two days? Finally, the baby's dresser came in (I saw it just sitting on the porch as I was leaving for work Wednesday morning) and we put it together last night. Her room is finally taking form! My first shower is this Saturday with the ladies from church and I'm super excited to start celebrating with everyone!
Uncle Jared decided to see whose belly was bigger when he brought his girlfriend over for a visit Saturday night. What do you think? I think it's almost even! We went to Outback and we all had AWESOME steaks! Yum! Baby and I love our red meat protein!
Then finally, to cap off the week, Uncle Jared decided to demonstrate what going through labor would be like. I am so thankful for my little brother's wisdom. I think I am going to have to closely monitor what he teaches my daughter! Haha!

This week should be pretty restful. I'm really happy about it and I think I really need it. Not much longer before I won't be able to control my personal rest time and some little lady controls it for me. Have a great week!