A Quick Update

I saw Merrie today AND I took those long-ago promised pictures today so here's a quick post on what's going on in my belly!

I measured 38 1/2 weeks at my appointment today when, in fact, I am 39 weeks and 5 days. Merrie compared this week's measurement to this same week last time and with Gabe I measured 41 1/2 weeks!! HOLY COW!!!! Glad that didn't happen again :)

I am also 15 pounds lighter than I was this same week last time! Yay me!

Merrie thinks that I will most likely be pregnant for at least another week. I know this is what we all expected, but I have to admit it is still disappointing to hear it. I'm ready to see this baby's face and feel his soft, downy hair on my cheek!! My next appointment is next Wednesday and she felt sure she'd see me then and not before. Do you think she's telling me these things to try NOT to get my hopes up so I'm pleasantly surprised when I have him "early"?
Yeah, me too :)

She also spent some time feeling the baby to determine his size. She said that he feels about 8 or 8 1/2 pounds right now, but she said she didn't think he'd be as big as Gabe was (9 lbs). I'm happy with that assessment!

No exam this time. Last week was unpleasant enough and I don't want to know that bad.

My personal feelings on the situation are: I think he will be around 8 1/2 pounds when he is born and he will be born by next Thursday. I have nothing solid to base this theory on, it's just my gut feelings. (Of course, my last gut feeling was that he'd be a girl so we don't take those too seriously around here)

On the Baby Front

So, I am 1 week away from my due date and here's what's going on:

We are completely ready for this baby to get here!!!! The house has been cleaned, the birth supplies have been purchased and organized, the newborn outfit has been laid out, the nursery is stocked with all essentials! We are officially just waiting now.

I saw Merrie on Thursday and she said all looks good ... as usual, of course. I had her do an exam just because I was curious about what was happening. The results were: 2 cm, 80%, and +1. She says there's nothing to indicate I'll go into labor any time soon ... she predicts I'll have at least 1, but probably 2 more prenatal appointments before this guy arrives. I have to admit I was hoping that I might have him a little early, but who was I kidding??? He will probably be late just like the other two.
Everything else is very normal and routine ... I'm gaining about a pound a week, which is good, and I'm measuring right on schedule. I've been very tired lately and have been trying to take it easy. Joel has been so great about coming home from work and taking over the household and the kids so that I can rest. I'm not sleeping very well, but have been given the OK to drink a wine cooler before bed and that helps tremendously (when I do that I sleep all night long, it's FABULOUS!!!). My back pain is pretty much completely gone thanks to twice-weekly visits to the chiropractor. I am actually very comfortable considering I'm 9 months pregnant!!
I'm still having Braxton-Hicks and some real contractions, but it has been much more "quiet" this time than it was last time. Merrie checked my chart from when I was pregnant with Gabe and I was having so many contractions and Braxton-Hicks that she was sure I would have him early and she was doing exams at every visit for a month to check my progress. I'm happy to know that I'm making progress with this one and enjoying a much more peaceful uterus! :)
Merrie advised me to have some plans for myself over the next couple of weeks to keep me busy so that I'm not just sitting at home waiting to go into labor. I had the same thought a month or two ago and signed the kids up for swimming lessons (that end the day before my due date) and have also been planning some playdates so we don't get bored. We have been enjoying our summer days so far! My parents and sister have been coming over often and helping with things like bathing the kids or just playing with them so that I can relax and Joel doesn't go crazy trying to handle everything. I'd love to go on at least one more date before the baby arrives and I want to get a pedicure so we'll try to make that happen too. I think we'll be ready and well-rested when this baby gets here!!

I know I never posted that picture I promised last time ... if you can believe it, I haven't even taken the picture! Homework for this week!!!!! I'll try to get one on here.

Watermelon

I just love summertime!

I love all the things you can do ONLY in the summer ..... like eat watermelon on the front porch after dinner on a warm, sunny evening!!!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Last weekend we took the kids to the park to fly kites. They have never done it before and they had a wonderful time!

Some of these pictures might seem repetitive, but I just LOVED seeing the look of pleasure and joy on their faces so I had to post them all!

[If you can't see the expressions on the kids' faces (and if you even care to) click on the photo to enlarge it!]

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Fishing with Dad

Happy Father's Day, Dad!!!

(Warning: this post is heavily loaded with pictures!)








This is his casting stance!

















Grannie was in the "danger zone". The kids are champion casters, but they haven't quite learned to watch behind them before they assume their position. Good thing they were only using practice casters ... it would have been really scary if actual hooks had been involved!







Grandpa spent pretty much the whole day baiting hooks, untangling lines, and unhooking fish. I think the kids are convinced that Grandpa can do ANYTHING!

And he caught the first fish!!! I believe Gabe's exact words were, "WOW! Is that your fish???" I wish I had captured the look on the kids faces when my dad brought that fish over to show them.

And even I caught a fish! That's something since I've caught nothing on the last two fishing trips we've taken .....over the last two years!

Exploring ladybugs with Grandpa.

I caught TWO fish!!!

And we saw a beaver! NEAT!

Full Term!!

Yesterday marked 37 weeks for me and baby!!!! That officially puts me at FULL TERM - which means that if I go into labor (which I'm totally not expecting to do for at least another 3 weeks) they won't try to stop me and I can have this baby any time now!!!! I had an appointment with Merrie last Thursday and she said that everything looks great ... as usual. She said he is definitely head down, but his head isn't terribly low at this point. She said that his heartbeat was great! He is always sleeping or resting when she checks on him so his heart rate is usually low. She likes to poke at him a bit to get him "excited" so his heart rate will accelerate. He's a pretty mellow guy, but after some persistent poking his heart rate picked up nicely and Merrie was happy with his response. Merrie also felt around for a bit to see if she could determine his size. She said he doesn't feel like a big baby, he feels pretty average. Good news for this mama!!!

I am now seeing Merrie every week. Next week she is bringing her assistants with her to our house so she can see where everything is and make sure we have everything we need. We received our birth supply list a few weeks ago and have done our shopping so we should be prepared for birth day at this point!!!! I've been having a lot of really strong (and irritatingly uncomfortable) Braxton-Hicks for the last few weeks. Just this past week I've also started having real contractions. Merrie says I have an "irritable uterus" so she has told me about a tea I can drink that should un-irritate my uterus so my uterus can stop irritating me!!!! I'm interested to see if that will work. I have also started seeing a chiropractor twice a week. I had been having some pretty severe lower back pain and it was making it very hard for me to function and get through the day with the kids. I was told about a chiropractor in town who specializes in pregnancy and infants and he is amazing!! Since I've started seeing him I've had more energy and less back pain!!! Next week he will start to align me so that things are in the best position for birth. Most of his clients have a less-than-6-hour labor, so I'm hopeful that my labor will be short and "easy" (is there such a thing)? He works closely with Merrie (she's the one who gave me the referral) and if for some reason my labor stalled or the baby got tweaked and wouldn't come out, he would come to my house to align me and, in most cases, I'm told, the baby comes quickly after that. So, I'm happy to have this extra resource in case of a "situation".

I was determined to get a belly pic this weekend to post, but I always forgot until I was in my p.j.'s or had no make up on, so I'm going to work on that this week.

I also had my baby shower yesterday! It was a great time with some of my closest friends. There wasn't a whole lot that we needed, but thanks to the generosity of my wonderful friends we are officially baby-ready!!!