On the way to the hospital.....

Full report to follow. :)

Chirp, chirp, chirp

I realize today is not even her due date but I was really beginning to think something was going to happen. I suppose it still could, too. I had this overwhelming urge to tidy up the house this morning. I vacuumed, did some light dusting, swept, washed what little laundry there was, changed the sheets on the bed, picked up the dry cleaning and my vitamins, etc. I even packed a bag for Clay to have at the hospital.

Mia was very quiet this morning and even slept through breakfast. I had a few cramps and thought my water might break every time I got up to walk somewhere. Clay got very excited thinking we might be spending the night at the hospital and now I am sitting here wondering if anything will happen at all, like maybe I jinxed it or something.

I have always had such good instincts and I just can't seem to get this one at all. Maybe that is a sign for me that children really are full of surprises and I had better learn to take things as they come.

I could really use another nap and I just got up from one! A sign? :)

Pics at 39 Weeks and 4 Days

No more progress so far. Had a few cramps last night but nothing like the night before. Mia has been very quiet and still this morning and GranE says that is a good sign. :) I have decided to try to not think about it at all today and just get some rest and work on some projects around the house. Maybe that will help.

Clay took these at the park the other night.

You can't really tell in this picture but apparently my belly button is not going to "pop" like a turkey timer. It's still hanging on!


This was taken during one of those contractions. Can you tell?

A real contraction

After dinner last night, Clay and I drove to a nearby park to take some late pregnancy photos. We had just started walking when my belly tightened up and it actually HURT. It stopped me dead in my tracks and I definitely had never felt that before. That same thing happened one other time while we were there and for the rest of the night it was just menstrual-type cramps with some lower backache. I was getting them so frequently that Clay started taking note of them and they were about 10 minutes apart.

We watched a movie, ate some raspberry sherbert, and then went to bed. I continued to have them throughout the night and they were gone by the time I got out of bed this morning to get ready for work. I was having the gas-like pains which according to a website I found this morning is also a form of contraction. It was reassuring to read that. I've had the belly tightening and the cramping off and on a few times today but nothing at all like last night.

She has to be coming out soon!!!!! Please.

Nursery pics.....finally!

While we are waiting on Miss Mia's arrival, I thought I would post some pics of the nursery. Enjoy!

View from the door.


Crib with the beautiful bedding that Auntie Kim made for Mia.


Crib and comfy glider.


Crib and mobile.

Week 39

It's hard to believe we are SO close now. The doctor's appointment this morning went well. We met Dr. S and liked him very much. He said my weight was good. I just KNEW I was getting a lecture on that because my swelling has been even worse this week. Blood pressure was good, as usual. He checked my cervix and I really thought he was going to tell me that I had dilated more and blah, blah. I knew all the new feelings I was having this week would mean something and they did, just no progress on dilating. I am still only a fingertip dilated (about 1 cm), but my cervix is now 70% effaced. He said she was still pretty high up there. She's comfy. :)

I need to start taking everyone's advice and not put much into what my cervix is doing. Even the doctor said labor could happen at anytime regardless of what my cervix is doing. We talked about induction again if I have not delivered or gone into labor by next Friday, the due date. After talking about it this morning, I do feel a little more at ease about being induced if needed. Dr. S said my pregnancy has been "textbook" and problem-free that he would hate to see it turn into a high-risk because I was past term. I guess with age and all going overdue would increase the risk for c-section and meconium discharge, etc. If we have to be induced, we are going to try to insist on July 31st so she can still be a July baby. :)

Still feeling great and trying to stay cool!

Not today...

July 20th has been sticking in my head for a while now and I really thought maybe today would be Mia's birth day. It doesn't appear that will happen. I am still having the mild menstrual-type cramps, a little bit of lower back pain and some odd sensations in the area of my cervix, the usual pelvic pressure, and belly tightening. I still have not lost my mucous plug, as far as I know. I'm not really sure that means much anyway.

I stayed home today to work instead of going into the office. My boss was nice enough to agree to that. I've gotten a lot done so far and I am finally to the point that I feel ready for maternity leave to start. Tomorrow morning at 9:30 is the 39 week appointment. Dr. E will not be there so we will be seeing Dr. S and meeting him for the first time. I hope that he checks my cervix and tells me that all sorts of progress has been made. I would like to think I am experiences all these "feelings" for something.

Going to get my hair cut this evening. Can't wait! My bag for the hospital is pretty much packed. I need to put a few last minute items in there but otherwise, I'm ready. I am thinking about going to buy a birthing ball after the hair cut appointment. I really think it will come in handy for when labor finally gets here. :)

That is all for now! Will update again in the morning.

A move in the right direction?

I didn't sleep so well last night. Lots of pee breaks, pressure in the pelvic area, mild menstrual type cramps and I think actual contractions. They weren't painful but they were uncomfortable. Although, they were gone by the time I woke up this morning. Miss Mia spent a good portion of the night making weird movements. I call them weird because I couldn't quite figure out what she was doing or moving. She's been doing a bit of the same this morning.

I'm working in the office today but I'm not sure if I will make it through the whole day. I am VERY tired and someone as already mentioned that I look tired and my face is chubby. Rude, I know. I'm cranky from being tired anyway, but hurt my feelings, intentionally or not, and I'm going to want to cry. Just trying to hang in there!

Whoa! Check out that belly!

Clay took these last night. 38 weeks and 3 days. I keep getting the feeling that my prediction for a birth this Thursday will not be happening. Miss Mia has her own agenda. She was very active last night and Clay kept joking that maybe she was packing up to leave. Just a wait and see game now.




Can you tell she's dropped a little?

No make up!

Week 38

No new progress to report. Dr. E says my cervix is about the same as last week. He didn't mention that she's dropped anymore either. If she has it isn't that noticeable to me although I have been feeling more pressure in the pelvic area. Apparently, my weight increased since last week, but I'm still not looking so I don't know if that means 1 pound or 20. He feels that it's from the swelling and fluid retention. It's certainly understandable. It has been much hotter this week and my swelling was worse yesterday. I am even getting it in my fingers and I just feel a more bloated, so to speak.

I'm still feeling pretty good. I have been more tired this week but sleeping well. Maybe my body is trying to tell me I need to get MORE sleep and store it up for the upcoming labor. Dr. E gave me orders to take it easy this weekend and drink lots of fluids. I think I am going to actually listen to him this time. :)

He also mentioned that if I made it to my 40 week appointment that we would start to talk induction for the following week. I am really hoping I don't make it to my due date at all now. I want my baby girl to stay in there as long as she needs to but I'm now hoping that she will be ready soon and come on out. I am just against the idea of induction and will try to be as nice as possible about it. I think starting to talk about scheduling an induction a few days after my due date is ridiculous to me. I'd be more inclined to start talking about it a week after my due date, maybe. I'm going to try not to worry about it right now and get upset for nothing. I'll wait until I actually have a reason, too.

We are going to meet Mrs. C tomorrow. She is the lady that we are hoping will be watching Mia when I return to work. She sounds great and I really hope we all hit it off and I get great "vibes" about her, her husband, and her home. Will update again soon!

New pics

Taken at 37 weeks, 2 days...



If you look closely, I am bending backwards in this picture and the lump in the center of my belly is Mia. :)

Forgot to mention...

Apparently, the "preggo" brain only gets worse as the pregnancy progresses. :)

In addition to the small change in my cervix, I have been noticing something different in my hips as well. When I'm changing sleeping positions, my hips and pubic bone have started "popping". It doesn't hurt or anything but did surprise me the first couple of times it happened. I guess that's been happening for a week or so now. Doctor says my joints are starting to relax and my hips are preparing to spread for birth. Yippee! I had a dream last night that I was having contractions that were actually painful. My belly only keeps getting bigger which also means that Mia is living in cramped quarters these days. She has been so active this past week and I am enjoying the little bit of time I have left. I think she lays in a "L" shape most of the time and keeps her little feet planted on my right side. When I have my arm resting there she starts wiggling her feet as if to protest. I can't wait to tickle those little feet!

Week 37

Another week gone and boy did it fly by! I'll get straight to the good stuff and update about the doctor's appointment this morning. We are both doing great. After much distressing over my weight the last week and last night, the verdict wasn't so bad after all. The doctor didn't lecture me and I actually got a "great job on the weight" response. I'm sure next week, I'll get a lecture...that seems to be the pattern these days. LOL! I only gained 0.3 pounds. WOOHOO! It really shocked me to hear that. I was just noticing last night that my face looks chubbier and with the 4th of July holiday this week I was a bit worried.

Mia is still head down and the doctor says she's dropped some into the pelvis. I think I even notice that today because I feel like I have a little bit of a waddle going on when I walk. I asked the doctor how much he thought she would weigh at birth. After feeling around he said she was just under 6 pounds right now and was guesstimating an "average" weight of about 7.5 pounds at birth. Phew. I just knew she was going to be over 8 pounds like her mommy. Her heartbeat was a strong 154. My cervix is softening and I'm about a fingertip dilated. That translates to about 1/2 cm, maybe 1 cm. Dr. E seemed to lean more toward the 1/2 cm measurement. No predictions from him on when he things she'll make an appearance. Lately, I have had July 20th stuck in my head but no one really knows except Mia!

My next appointment is scheduled for next Friday morning. We are headed to Chang's this weekend for one last trip before Mia. Since it has been about 2 weeks since we've taken belly pictures, we are planning that for the weekend too. Maybe I can get them posted by Sunday. Also, in the works for this weekend is another trip to the movies. We went to see the DaVinci Code last Monday and are planning to see Pirates of the Caribbean this weekend. JP keeps reminding me to go to the movies as much as possible before Mia gets here because after she arrives, I can forget seeing a movie all the way through in one sitting for a while! Hee hee.

Week 36

As you can see from the last pictures posted my belly is really growing! There are about 4 weeks left, give or take, and I know she is only going to grow more! I am really ready to meet her but I am fine with her staying in there a bit longer to fatten up. I'm also beginning to realize just how little time there is left to feel her moving around inside me. Pretty soon I will have to share her with the rest of the world. She's been very active this week and I've been enjoying the heck out of it. I'm starting to experience the indigestion and heartburn again, still swelling, and still have the pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel, but it's all tolerable. Secretly, I am really looking foward to my ankles and feet not swelling anymore and actually being able to feel the fingertips on my right hand!

I had a doctor's appointment this past Wednesday. He did a cervix check and it is still closed tight and unchanged. Oh well. I guess Miss Mia is very content with her little home right now. She's giving mommy and daddy a little more time to get ready for her. As soon as we finish a task, I still feel like there are a million more left to do. I really need to make an actual list instead of keeping it in my head. It probably won't seem so overwhelming if I put it in writing.

I've had to spend a couple of mornings at home this week getting the computer set up for remote access to work at home. My new work schedule begins on Monday and I am so looking forward to working in my pjs two days a week. It will make things much easier on me during this last month of pregnancy.

Until next time....

Week 35

Whoa! Check out that belly! It's something else, huh? I don't realize how big it's getting until I see a picture. Clay took these last night so these are the official week 35 pics. We are doing just great. Can't complain too much, anyway. Actually, I can, but it's gets boring after awhile. Just ask Clay! LOL!

I was having some trouble with heartburn for a little while, but I haven't had any for the past 3 days. Woohoo! I don't know if that means she is starting to move down a little bit or what. She still stills pretty high to me and I still get little feet in my ribs. All in all, I'm feeling pretty good.

I still do not have pictures of the nursery to post, but I will try again this weekend. Everything just seems to be falling into place. We met with a pediatrician yesterday and we both liked her a lot so that is pretty much settled and something to scratch off the to-do list. Clay spoke with the lady that we wanted to keep Mia when I return to work and she has decided she wants to give that a try. We've had our breastfeeding class and our childbirthing class. We still need to figure out how to operate the car seat so we can actually bring Miss Mia home from the hospital. We've also been inventorying everything we've received from the showers and figuring out what we still need. Luckily, we have a huge gift card from Babies R Us to help us out.

I think that is all I have to report at the moment. I will work on those nursery pictures this weekend....promise. :)

Week 34

Happy 34th Week! We had an appointment this morning with the doctor and we are doing just great. Our next appointment is June 28th and after that we will have appointments every week. We are getting so close! I would really love to deliver a week or two early and the doctor is fine with that as long as I am at least 37 weeks along. It's very likely, but I really don't want to go into August. I am ready to meet our little sweet pea.

Clay surprised me again last night and brought the changing table home with the pad and cover. He's really good about keeping those secrets and surprising me with them at just the right time. ;-) He unpacked it and it looks great in her room. I am going to try to get some pictures this weekend to post. We have been taking inventory on all the things we received at the showers and trying to figure out what we still need. It's been so much fun! All we need now is the little munchkin!

Our second baby shower

We had such a wonderful time! The shower was held in the evening, outside by Papa's pool. Yes, it was really hot and I wanted to jump into that pool on more than one occasion but only ended up with my swollen feet dangling in at the end of the night.


Actually, once the sun went down completely, it cooled off and we were left with a nice breeze. The guest turn-out was more than I was expecting and the amount of gifts were also way more than I was expecting.


Mia received some really cute clothes, accessories for her room, frilly girlie accessories, the dresser/changing table that matches her furniture, the stroller/car seat travel system, a swing that vibrates, some Gamecock items including her first Cocky doll, rain boots, a tiny bathing suit and cover up for next summer, the beautiful crib bedding courtesy of her Auntie Kim and tons of other stuff I know I am forgetting.


The food tables were amazing and the cake, delicious and one of my favorite parts.

The adult beverages looked tasty although I did not partake in those.



The pictures shown here are the only ones I have so far that turned out good. It was a beautiful shower and everyone was so sweet and generous.

Week 33

It's almost hard to fathom that I only have approximately 7 weeks left. There have been times, and still are, where Mia's arrival seemed a lifetime away. Then there are moments like this where I wonder where the time has gone. WEEK 33! Just hard to imagine for me.

She is probably weighing a little over 4 pounds right now and could possibly measure anywhere from 17-18 inches. My baby girl is really growing. My belly button is hanging in there but it's just about gone. Funny thing about that, too. I discovered I have a tiny freckle inside my belly button. How that happened, I will never know, but I thought it was interesting. I can tell the space in there is getting cramped for her because her movements feel as if she is quite crowded. I get some serious nudges and bumps throughout the day and she's been really active this week. I realized last night that I don't have much longer to enjoy that movement.

Her room is a mess right now. There is luggage in the middle of the floor from our Hilton Head trip that I have not put up yet. Her crib is still full of the items she received at the shower last month. Clay surprised me the other night and brought home the armoire for her room. Yes, it's BIG! Hopefully, we'll figure out a way to arrange the room very soon. I'll probably start washing all of her clothes and blankets and such on Sunday and start putting them away in her new drawers. I'm just so ready for her room to be complete. I'm ready for everything to be just perfect for her arrival.

We have our childbirth class tomorrow and we are super excited about that. A tour of the labor and delivery floor is included. The hospital just remodeled that floor a couple of years ago and it's really nice. I've already seen it. :)

Tomorrow night is our second shower and as you might have guessed, we're excited about that, too! My good friend from Charlotte cannot make it but she sent a present which arrived yesterday. I was so excited that I could not even wait for Clay to get home. It was a box full of tiny bottles, pacifers, teething toys, crib toys, a book of nursery rhymes, a little pink dress with bloomers, a receiving blanket, a bib and burp cloth, and a memory book. There was SO much, I'm pretty sure I've forgotten to list some of it. It was so sweet and I cried. I will cry for just about any reasons these days! The generosity from everyone during this pregnancy has been overwhelming and yes, that makes me emotional.

And, Monday we have a breast-feeding class. I have these fairy-tale visions of Mia just latching on and things going perfectly but you just never know. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that BF works for us.

The next doctor's appointment is next Friday, the 16th. I think he'll probably check my cervix again and tell me "it's still nice and closed like it's supposed to be." ;-)

The babymoon

Ahhh, the ocean. Is there really anything better? It's so calming and powerful at the same time. We had a very relaxing extended weekend in Hilton Head. The weather was beautiful and it wasn't overly crowded. We did a little shopping, walking on the beach, splashing in the pool, and just plain sitting on our butts. One night we went for dinner at a seafood restaurant that overlooked the water and I had some delicious halibut, while Clay had Alaskian King crab legs for the first time. He was nice enough to share a bite with me and mmmmm, they were tasty! Another night we had Chinese at a little hole in the wall that we wish we had near home. They have the best chicken and broccoli. It's called the Red Dragon if you're ever in HH and want some good Chinese. The last night we had dinner at The Crazy Crab, although I like to call it the Crabby Crab because I think that sounds better. :) Sometimes, I just can't get enough fish and seafood. Can you tell I was really into eating?

We also entertained ourselves with a visit to a little discovery museum at the welcome center. My favorite part was going out back and taking some pictures with the marsh in the background. There really wasn't much to the museum at all.



Another favorite of the weekend for me was the gelato find. Found a little place on the island that served real gelato and it was so refreshing. I chose strawberry and literally could have sat there all day eating it. I can't wait until we go to Italy and have the real thing from the country it originated. Man, it's been way too long since I've been out of the country.



The last night we went to Harbourtown in Sea Pines. It's where the famous lighthouse is located. That's where we had dinner at The Crabby Crab and also drove over to the Salty Dog to listen to some music. Before dinner we walked over to the other side of the harbor to get shots of me with the lighthouse and the sunset in the background. While leaving that spot I tripped on an uneven spot in the sidewalk and if it weren't for Clay I would have landed flat on my face and my belly. My eyes welled up with tears at the slightest thought of landing on my belly. Pregnant women really do become the biggest klutzes.



What else can I say except our stay was just not long enough. Ideally, I would love to go again before Mia is born but I really don't see that happening. We are going to be pretty busy the next couple of weeks and by then I think it will be too close to the due date to be traveling away from home. It's not like the island is going anywhere and I'm sure we will make our yearly trip at least next June. And we'll have little Mia to take with us. I can just picture her splashing in the water and digging her toes in the wet sand. Now, THAT makes me smile.

Week 32

Posting this a couple of days early since we're off to Hilton Head. I've been doing very well. Feeling pretty good and getting lots of nice comments about how great I look. I think pregnancy really does suit me. :)

The swelling in my ankles and feet has increased over the last couple of weeks. I have been downing the water at a ridiculous rate but that doesn't seem to help too much. I think sitting at a desk all day and the heat are starting to take affect. In the last 2 weeks I have also developed carpal tunnel symptoms in my right wrist and hand. From my reading, that also appears to be due to increased fluids and swelling. Don't have much longer, though, and this little girl is so worth it. All in all, I really have not been too uncomfortable at all.

Nursery update: we went to pick up the armoire for Mia's room and it was not in stock so we had to order it. Delivery is supposed to take 7 to 10 days. We did find a nice glider on sale and GranE bought that for Mia's room. We were able to take something home with us, at least. It looks really nice sitting by the window. I'll get a picture posted when I get a chance. Still need to purchase the changing table/dresser, get a few decorative items and the bedding and we should be all set. It's all coming together nicely.

I think that's about it. If there is anything significant to report from the doctor's appointment today and I have time before we leave I'll post about it. Otherwise, have a spectacular rest of the week and weekend!