Maternity Photo Shoot

Last night we went out to William Faulkner's homeplace, Rowan Oak, and took some photos to document this pregnancy.  It was humid and 95 degrees but we had been putting it off for a long while!  Here are some of the results.  Not too bad for amateurs with a tripod :)

The doc said I was 50% effaced, but not dilated at my appt last Thursday.  I'm hoping that by this Friday I've progressed a little more, but when he decides to come is outside of my control.  He's still as active as ever.  I did get the u/s tech to take some 4D shots of Baby W.   He's got full lips and chubby cheeks - I cannot wait to see him in person.  Hard to believe I have gained 30 lbs during this pregnancy.    First thing in the morning, my feet hurt when I get out of bed.  They are not used to supporting this much extra poundage.  I'm still going to prenatal yoga once a week and yesterday I got completely breathless doing modified sun salutations and triangle pose.  I am so curious to see how my body handles the birthing process.  I tried the perineal massage a couple of days ago and that hurt like the dickens.  I hope I can get through this without an epidural.  Hopefully I only have about 2 weeks until I find out!

Nursery Pics

It's been a slow Monday.  I had a rough night of sleep, but I think that is just par for the course during the latter part of the 3rd trimester.   At my appt last Thursday, he was 6 lb 3 oz.  I saw another OB because I accidentally went on the wrong day (my brain is turning to mush).  He said my cervix was like a green apple and it needs to ripen up.  Even though my OB predicted that he is going to come early, I have a sneaking suspicion that he is going to take his sweet time.   I went to a natural childbirth class on Saturday that my doula taught.  It made me a little more confident about my ability to handle a non-medicated birth.   It's going to be so interesting to see how the birthing process goes.
Without further ado, here are pics of Baby W's nursery!

The quilt above was my baby quilt that my cousin's grandmother made for me.  My mom gave it to me at my shower and my cousin was the one who hosted the shower for me, so it was really sweet.
So I suppose my theme is stripes and a mix of vintage and modern touches.  The biggest expenditure was the dresser, so I hope we use it for a long time.   We painted the room Benjamin Moore Wickham Gray.  I also installed FLOR carpet tiles - Tidal Blue - I've been real happy with it.

The last thing we are going to do in the nursery is install a ceiling fan and then we are done! It's been fun decorating it and I've also been napping in the twin bed.  Since our house is so small, I still use the this room's closet for my clothes and get dressed in there.  The nursery is right across from our bedroom, so we won't be far from our baby - don't think I will need a monitor.

On Thursday, I will be 37 weeks - full-term!  I can't believe that I've made it this far.  So very grateful and praying for a smooth labor and delivery.  

35 weeks

I made it another week.  It was a rough one for my husband, because he had his tonsils removed and sinus surgery last Friday.  He has been on liquid lortab every 4 hours and says it's the worst pain he has ever dealt with.  He has been meaning to get his tonsils removed for a long time, but there was never a good time to do it.  After his last sinus infection a couple of months ago, he finally decided to pull the trigger during this small window before our baby's birth and while we are still have COBRA for our health insurance.

My Braxton Hicks seem to have settled down since I have been sitting around the house alot more with him.  But yesterday, I did a bunch of errands all day and cleaning up around the house and they came back with a vengeance last night while sitting on the couch watching TV.   Baby W was moving around so much while I was trying to go to sleep last night I had to move to the couch and literally rock my body to sleep to make him stop moving.  Lots of jabs to the bladder now and I can feel his little hands fluttering so low in my pelvis.

I had a scary dream last night that I lost my mucus plug and I was bleeding.  I really hope I do not go into labor until my husband has recovered from his tonsillectomy.

I saw my OB today and she checked my cervix and it's still firmly closed, so that's good news.  Also she signed off on my birth plan - whoohoo!  She said she is scanning it into the computer, so the nurses at the hospital will be able to see it once I go in for labor and delivery.

It really seems surreal that I am getting this close to meeting him!

Time to slow down

Just a quick update on our OB appt this week.   We had our first biophysical profile ultrasound and everything check out fine - baby is about 4 lb 10 oz at 33w5d, so a good size.  His head is pretty low and my doctor checked my cervix because I am still having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions at night.  She said she could feel his head right up against my cervix and my cervix has thinned a little bit, but is still firmly closed.  However, she predicts that he will come a couple of weeks early, maybe as early as 37 weeks.  It's such a guessing game, but I guess I should be prepared for early labor with this little one.  I just want to make it to 37 weeks.  My husband is really wanting me to slow down and not be so active.  It's really hard for me to sit still for very long.  So that's the exciting news for the day, but don't want to get too excited, because I wouldn't be surprised if I end up having to be induced at 41 weeks.   We also got to meet with our doula today and we really like her.  She encouraged me to write up a birth plan, so maybe I will start that tonight.  Getting so close!