Eversmashing

Well, Baby and I had our "40-week" appointment (a bit early, albeit!) today.  Baby's still doing great, and has seemed to drop even further than last week.  I'm feeling hesitantly optimistic that Baby will be here within a week or so... keeping my fingers crossed anyway.

Towards the end of last week I did end up coming down with a nasty head cold, but I'm feeling tons better now, thanks to lots of vitamin C, rest, and tea.  I've been having some discomfort and achiness, but no major complaints!

We're feeling excited (and somewhat impatient!) for Baby's arrival... we'll be keeping everyone updated as we get more Baby news!

Baby and I had our "39 week" appointment today.  Baby had an excellent appointment -- measuring right on track, showing off his/her strong, healthy heartbeat, staying in the most optimal positioning, and -- we discovered today -- Baby even has his/her head engaged already!  Looks like someone's getting good and ready to come out into the world in the next few weeks!

Earlier this week, Baby was VERY wiggly, with lots of very strong kicks and movements that seemed to bruise me from the inside, particularly in the ribs.  After our busy weekend, though, it seems that Baby has needed some time to recuperate, and has been pretty quiet the past few days... until Jon comes home, anyways.  Baby really likes hearing his voice and tends to wiggle up a storm when he comes home for lunch and in the evenings.  Baby's been getting hiccups pretty frequently, too, which tends to feel quite ticklish to me!

And the question eveyone's been asking -- how do I feel?  Well, I can honestly say that I'm feeling quite well, though I've definitely been starting to feel more aches and pains... my hips and ribs have felt rather sore this week, and it doesn't help much that I've been waking up with a sore throat and stuffy nose.  I've been "cocooning" a lot, staying in to avoid all the germs and sicknesses that have been going around, and taking vitamin C and drinking lots of tea to try to stay healthy. 

We now have the car seats installed, the nursery mostly ready, and everything else seems pretty set to go... we'll be sure to keep everyone updated in these next few weeks as we wait patiently for Baby's arrival!

Well, we survived another busy weekend!

This weekend the youth group tackled a major youth center remodel!  We picked out new paint, new tile, and started on our renovations!  Saturday was our painting day.

Away with the purple and pink... on with the teal and orange!

Then yesterday (Sunday) we got together a group of hard workers once again to rake leaves for some of the older members of our church, who would be unable to take care of that lawn maintenance on their own.

Afterwards we picked up some fried chicken and headed back to church for a hot meal, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin carving!

Jon decided not to carve a pumpkin.  He was too tired.

Happy Harvest-time!

Another week, another appointment for Baby and me!

Baby and I both did very well at our appointmnet today.  It seems that the cold I was fighting has nearly gone away (yay!), and my glucose hasn't given me any more issues.  Huzzah!  My uterus is measuring right on, and Baby even cooperated while the midwife listened to his or her heartbeat.  Baby's heartbeat has been in the 120-130 range for the past few weeks, which according to the Old Wives' Tale means that Baby is a boy... I wouldn't count on it yet, though... I could definitely see us having a mischeivious little girl who just wanted to throw us a red herring!  Baby also has wiggled around in the womb so that s/he is now positioned head-down, facing my back, with his/her back on the left side of my belly -- the optimal positioning for birthing!  S/He also has dropped since last week, though his/her head is not completely engaged yet, so s/he still is able to wiggle around quite a bit.

Baby has been VERY active this past week, and has been enjoying playing video games with us (s/he almost always wakes up as soon as s/he hears the theme music of our most recent game!), and has gone back to doing the wave on my belly while I'm sitting still for a long time.  Baby has gotten hiccups a couple of times this week, and thinks it's fun to kick and nudge Jon at bedtime.

As for me... I'm still feeling great!  We had some wonderful visitors this weekend (thanks, Kurt & Christi!), and enjoyed having something to take my mind off of the waiting!  Not too much longer now!

Christi 27wks / Wendy 37wks

Baby and I had our "37wk" appointment yesterday.  Baby was very well-behaved and let my midwife find his/her heartbeat and didn't kick around the doppler like s/he has been doing the past few weeks.  Maybe we just caught Baby at a quiet time this week!

37 weeks is officially "full term," so Baby is almost ready to be born!  Baby's found a snuggly place in the womb, which is good news for me since I no longer have feet being jabbed in my ribs as often.  Baby is now just working on gaining weight and getting ready to be born.  Baby's had a pretty quiet week, probably due to me being busier and running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  When I finally do have a chance to lay down or relax a bit, Baby tends to kick it up a notch, particularly if s/he hears that Jon is home, too.  This weekend we had fun watching the Nationwide NASCAR race together, and Baby picked the winner for the week (I asked him/her pick which driver to cheer for by reading off the names of the drivers and seeing when s/he would kick )

I've been feeling quite great, though emotionally I'm feeling more and more ready for Baby to be born.  I've had some minor discomfort when I've sat for too long in one position, and have had some random nausea throughout the past few days, but nothing major to report.  I've been sleeping a lot better over the past week or so (probably just due to being so tired!)

Otherwise, I've just been trying to keep myself busy in case this turns out to be a long wait... though I may go a bit crazy if Baby decides to wait another 4 or 5 weeks!

Baby and I had a great adventure today -- a baby shower!

We were very excited that both grandmas and Aunt Carla were able to come with us to the shower.  In addition to our little group were about 60-some members of our church!  Tha ladies that organized it did a fabulous job -- the decorations, food, and games were all just perfect!

A diaper & wash cloth cake we received --

The gift table (what OVERWHELMING generosity!) --

Baby and I had the first of our once-a-week appointments today!  Now marks the point where Baby's lungs are developed enough that s/he could be born and be perfectly fine and healthy without any stay in a newborn intensive care unit!  Yay!  With that mile marker out of the way, I feel like the "counting down the days" has finished, and the "sitting around and waiting" has begun!

Baby has had a busy week of growing and putting on weight.  By the end of this week, Baby will be almost six pounds, and around 18.5 inches long.  S/He has also been spending a lot of time exercising and trying out his/her limbs... on his/her own terms, of course.  There are times when I can tickle him/her awake, and bring on those cute little wiggles and movements, and other times when Baby seems to just kind of say, "Go away, Mom... I'm still sleeping!"  On the other hand, when s/he is awake, Baby has been spending time playing his/her new favorite game... doing "the wave" across the top of my belly with his/her feet!  It's weird seeing my whole belly move while I'm sitting perfectly still!  Kicks, nudges, and wiggles are still lots of fun, too, and seem particularly common when I've been sitting for a long time in one position (like in church, or Bible study).

As for me, I've been feeling really well, and am very grateful for that!  I feel quite off-balance (particularly when getting up from couches, out of my car, or out of bed),  I think that Baby must have dropped down at least some, since I haven't had a foot in my rib nearly as often this week and have not been getting heartburn as often, either.

So... we'll keep you updated on our waiting... don't hold your breaths, though -- it could very well be another 5 or 6 weeks before Baby's arrival!

Baby & I at 35.5 weeks

Baby had another appointment today with our midwife, the last of the every-other-week ones, so from this point on we'll be meeting with her every week until Baby arrives.  It seems crazy that Baby will be born in the next 2.5 - 7.5 weeks.  The time is going by so quickly!

This week Baby's been working on growing and exercising.  By the end of the week, s/he will be over 18 inches long and weigh over 5 lbs.  The kidney and liver were also developing this week so that when Baby gets here, s/he can work on filling up diapers right away.

Baby has been enjoying music a lot lately, and seems to have similar tastes in music as Jon does.  Baby also seems to be responsive to other voices besides mine and Jon's, and likes to wiggle around during youth center and other places where there are a lot of people talking and things going on.

As for me, I think I'm finally feeling some of those third-trimester symptoms that people warn about... the other day I had a very tender and sore rib (thanks to someone putting pressure against it all day with their foot); I also have had a night or two with less-than-ideal sleep, waking up every few hours for no particular reason at all.  Other than those minor issues I've been feeling fine, though still making time each afternoon for a nap.

Well, it's hard to believe that Baby will be here sometime within the next 4-9 weeks, but we're finally to that point now!

According to my weekly email updates, Baby is now up to 4.5 lbs... and I can definitely tell!  Baby definitely feels heavier was I'm carrying him/her around in my belly, and s/he has definitely been throwing off my balance when it comes to things like bending down, getting out of bed, and getting up off the couch.  I often can feel kicks and nudges both under my ribs and against my hipbone at the same time, so it's no surprise to me that Baby's now almost 17.5 inches long. 

Baby has been most active in these past weeks the hours after I've been active.  The day that we volunteered at our church's 5K run/walk, it felt like Baby was doing his/her own run/walk afterwards!  And on the drive back from our youth group's highway cleanup (which involved Jon & I also walking over a mile, stopping to bend down and pick up garbage along the way), Baby was kicking and wiggling up a storm... perhaps protesting that s/he missed out on all the action?  Baby also likes to kick and wiggle as soon as Jon gets up in the morning (which is usually quite a bit earlier than I feel like getting up!), and as soon as my stomach starts to growl with hunger.  I'm not sure if the noise startles Baby, or if s/he is just giving his/her two cents about my eating schedule.  Baby also likes the band Motion City Soundtrack, and seems to protest when I try to lay on whatever side s/he is facing.

As for me, I've been feeling quite excellent... definitely better thanI had expected.  I had a bout with back pain one afternoon this week,and a dull, throbbing headache that I might attribute to a sugar dump(yes, I'm still watching my sugar intake, so those chocolate chipcookies definitely hit hard!), and have been much more tired than usual(thanks to my newfound inability to sleep through the night), butoverall have been feeling really great.

In other exciting news, Baby's lungs are developing this week, s/he may be growing hair this week, and Baby is now gaining about a half pound a week!  Grow, Baby, grow!