Almost September!!!!!!!!!!!

August 31 today.......a wonderful day for two great reasons.......dad's birthday (he's secretly pulling for baby's arrival today), and the last day before the much anticipated month of September!!! :-)

I worked my last weekend and finished my last long 5 day stretch of work until the baby arrives. It feels good to be on for a lighter work schedule for the last couple weeks!

Overall, I'm feeling great!!!! So much anticipation and excitement!!! With each contraction I wonder if this could be the start of something so special!!!

I went to the OB yesterday and baby still looks very healthy, and very low!! My cervix is still not dilated, but thinned. This is the first time I've gone to the doctor and didn't gain any weight....my OB said that this sometimes happens as we approach the end.....I've definitely noticed that I'm not as starved as I have been for the last several months. As of now, the induction date is still set for September 16...two weeks from this Thursday! I'll return to the OB again on the 7th for more news......unless of course baby Parker decides to make her debut before! Such an amazing waiting game! I've decided that today will be the day to pack my hospital bag just in case!

Looking forward to Labor Day weekend......Noah and I have the entire three days off together....planning to bbq with some friends, maybe do a nice dinner out and try to get some last minute tickets to the Twins game if it isn't too hot! It'll be so nice to relax and spend this time with him before our focus becomes our new little one for a while.

I have attached a pic of my huge belly taken last night on our evening walk with Wally.....enjoy! :-)

36 weeks tomorrow!!! :-)

It has been a fun-filled past week.......a wedding Saturday night, swimming at a friend's pool Sunday (so nice!!), dessert with a friend who visited Monday night, and a friend's bday/shower dinner out last night.........trying to make the most of the last few weeks of being able to get out before the little one arrives! Noah and I have a list of things we want to do before her arrival including a Twin game, a nice dinner out, and perhaps a theater night......we'll see what all we can fit in these next couple weeks!

As for baby, she is doing great!!! I went to the OB yesterday and the cervix has now thinned as she remains way down in the pelvis...the OB said this is perfectly normal for this late in the game! I have started having more and more contractions, and have gotten a little more uncomfortable with walking and sleeping; however, overall I feel great!!! I have quite a burst of energy lately and feel relieved that she could pretty much come any day now and we're ready! :-) My OB scheduled my induction date for September 16th (right at 39 weeks) at 8am unless baby decides to come before!! :-) This works great as my OB is on call that day, so will be there with me! I now have weekly appointments, so they'll be checking me to see if this date needs to be moved up at all so that I can get off the lovenox in time. Only time will tell!

As for preparations, I think we are getting there! Noah and I bought the pack and play this weekend that she'll sleep in for the first couple weeks, and that we'll have to travel with after that. We also looked in to getting the car seat installed and plan to do that this weekend! Everything is washed and ready in baby's room! We ordered the window shade this past weekend, so that will be arriving in the next two weeks.......still need to make the final decision on the nursery rug, but plan to do that today. So much to think about and organize, but definitely having fun with the nursery preparations!

This is my last long stretch of work...working 5 days in a row starting tomorrow....but only have 12 days maximum of work left....I took a few extra days off the last couple weeks. Everyone has been super supportive at work and so excited for baby's arrival! My patients are so sweet with their comments about my big belly and baby's upcoming arrival.

I posted some pics from this past weekend at the wedding.....enjoy!!! :-)

A healthy ultrasound!!

Just returned from my ultrasound to check on baby's growth given that my fundal height was measuring small last week. Luckily, this is only due to her head being so low down in my pelvis, and other than that she is perfectly healthy!!!

They have her measuring around 5 lbs. 4 ounces, which is right on track..... They checked again to make sure...and indeed it is a little girl.....it was much clearer to see this time!!! :-) That made me feel much more relaxed now that everything we own is pink, flowered and little-girlish!

I got the cutest picture of her little chubby arm with 5 stubby fingers in a fist....I absolutely love it...only wish it was on a disc so that I could share it with everyone!

The other finding was that she actually has a little bit of hair on her head..it shows up white on the screen per the tech, so we'll see. Kind of excited that she might actually have a little hair....that sure would be unlike her mother (I think I was bald for a couple years! :-))

As for me, I'm feeling a little stronger today......starting to eat some other foods besides crackers and bananas...and so far, so good on holding things down. As of now planning to attend my breastfeeding class tonight and work again tomorrow. So glad to get things back on track!

Fun weekend, then a trip to labor and delivery

Well, it sure has been an eventful last few days!

My work shower went wonderful on Friday.....so many delicious desserts and sweet gifts from my amazing coworkers! They are all so supportive of me throughout this special time in my life...and I am so lucky to be a part of that team. I received many of the remaining things that I was needing for baby too.....so nice to be almost done with getting things together for her arrival!

Saturday morning Noah and I drove up north a couple hours to our friend's (the Voss's) lake house....we had a wonderful time relaxing, walking around, griling out and playing with their precious little 8 month old, Ben! It was really fun to get away for a couple days! Enjoy the pics of my huge belly and Wally having a blast swimming as much as possible! The final picture was our attempt at a bonfire Saturday evening...just in time for a downpour. Our friend Chris decided we could gut it out and grabbed us all slickers!!! Hysterical!

Unfortunately Monday morning I woke up sick!!! Ugh! I stayed home from work and as the day proceeded, I became more uncomfortable with a horrific stomach bug. I finally called my OB in the late afternoon and she told me to report to the ER to check me and baby, as she figured I was probably dehydrated. Long story short, I was very dehydrated and proceeded to get sicker once I arrived on the labor and delivery floor. I had a fever and started having contractions regularly (first every minute apart, then it slowed to every 3-4 minutes apart). Luckily the cervix stayed closed and the MD said that it was just baby being stressed by the fever. After letting me relax, keeping baby monitored overnight and pumping me full of fluids-she did finally settle and I was released this morning from the hospital. I am now at home recovering and starting to reintroduce foods slowly...so far, so good. The labor and delivery nurses and I both said that I hope to not return for a few more weeks......!!! :-) Although I did receive excellent care the entire 15 hours I wasa there....definitely reassuring.

Tomorrow is my ultrasound to check how baby is growing and my breastfeeding class to learn all of the ins/outs....looking forward to another day of rest before hopefully returning to work on Thursday!

34 weeks!!!

Wow, 34 weeks!!! Although in general the pregnancy has gone very quickly.....I think this is the time when it seems to last forever........definitely more and more uncomfortable and it's impossible to sleep!!! On top of that, so much anticipation of the baby's arrival!! :-) We can't wait to see her!!

I had an OB appointment on Tuesday where the MD decided to check my cervix due to my "low" belly and the fact that I was complaining of some lower abdomen/pelvic pressure.....although I'm not dilated, sure enough the doctor could feel the baby's head pushing right above the cervix. She is definitely low for this early...... My uterus is measuring a little smaller than 34 weeks.....which the doctor thinks is due to her low head position; however, just to be sure they are having me come in for an ultrasound next Wednesday. I am actually excited to get another sneak peak at baby and to be assured that everything looks healthy! They will measure everything on the baby again, just like they did at 18 1/2 weeks....although this time she'll be so large that it will be a little harder to get full glimpses of her!

As for work.....ugh!!! It has definitely become quite the chore to make it through the days..... I'm usually dripping sweat by the time I walk to the bus in the morning, and basically don't stop sweating the entire time I'm at work. Being on my feet all day is truly exhausting...but at the same time, my patients are all so understanding and supportive and seem to work even harder with me than normal since they don't want me bending over to assist. Very cute!! Maybe I should pull this pregnancy card more often! :-)

The nursery is coming together.....just bought a couple more of the things we needed yesterday....and then spent last night putting her monkey sheet on the bed and monkey decals on the wall above to see how the look......I love it! Everytime I walk in that room I'm so excited!

Tomorrow is my last baby shower......my work one. Looking forward to yummy desserts at lunch and sharing this time with my coworkers!

More to come soon..........

33 weeks and nursery addition complete!

The contractor came today to complete the nursery project!! Finally!!!

I spent all day washing baby clothes/blankets/etc in Dreft, organizing the closet and dresser, and setting things up. Although not all the way complete by any means, it is so nice to have all the baby stuff in one room now! Noah and I spent some time rearranging the furniture and hanging pictures tonight....so nice to be getting things together in preparation for her arrival! :-)

Although we still have to buy several more things including a window shade, nursery rug, changing pad, etc......I wanted to share some pics at this stage. More to come as more organization continues and we start to get things in even better order over the next couple weeks.

This weekend is baby class!!! Looking forward to learning how to best care for the little one!!

Feeling pretty well overall, just more fatigued, and I've had a headache all day today...ugh! Maybe it has something to do with my all-day efforts on the nursery! :-) Just getting super excited and can't hold back!!!