It's Getting Closer!!!

I had an appointment today to check my progress, make sure everyone's healthy, and finalize leave dates and paperwork. At the beginning of the appointment my midwife, Marcy, checked the position of the baby (which is still head down). I asked her if she could estimate the weight by feeling so she started feeling around again and estimated the baby's weight (today) at 7lbs 13oz! Holy crap kid, time to come out! Then we listened to the hearbeat which was all normal. Based on my weight gain, she called me a weight champion. As of the day I got pregnant I'm still down about 7lbs... I've gained about 10 since they first weighed me. So... based on the baby being around 8 lbs, once baby is born I'll weigh probably 10lbs less than when I started! How cool is that?!

Anyway, after feeling the baby and listening to the heartbeat she checked my cervix, yuck. I'm about a fingertip dilated (1/2cm) compared to not dilated at all from last appointment and I'm 60-70% effaced compared to last appointment at 30%. So, as little as it may be, I have moved forward. At this point it's all a waiting game. I can tell you though, I'm going to start walking A LOT. I feel a lot more tightening when I walk and get more Braxton-Hicks and I'm eager to get this show on the road. The baby is officially fully baked.

I was also told that I need to stop working so when I mentioned I was contemplating beginning my leave this Friday, she said she was glad to hear it and that I was crazy for working this long. (I did let her know that the word working probably wasn't such a good description for it since I haven't done much at work lately) So, my last day is officially Friday. The paperwork has been sent into State Disability and Liberty Mutual (work FMLA group) and I think I'm ready for some time off between working and having a baby... gotta rest up and save some energy!

While I'm ready to have this baby, I will mention that we STILL DON'T HAVE A BOY'S NAME PICKED OUT!!! OMG!! If it's a girl, we're pretty set on Kaili Rose. I like the name Kaili (alternative spellings are Kailee, Kylie, Kylee, etc) but we are leaning towards Kaili because that specific spelling is Hawaiian and in Chinese it means beautiful and victorious (Brian is both Hawaiian and Chinese). As for a boy, we have nothing we can agree on. I'm liking Sebastian but not 100% in love with it mostly for the reason I DO NOT like the nickname Bastian... I would go with Seb or Ian. Brian liked it for a while and now... not so much. But if we don't pick something before the birth, I'll have a bargaining chip: I just spent ___ hours in labor! I want the name to be ____! (Who thinks I'll win that argument??)

Well, that's all to update for now. Hopefully my next post will be "It's a ____!" If not, it will be another update after my appointment on May 5. That's when they'll decide when or if we should induce at all, what the complications are if we do or don't, etc.

37 Weeks Today!!

I'm 37 weeks pregnant today... know what that means?? I'm technically full term. Full term is considered anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks pregnant. Under 37 weeks is pre-term and over 42 weeks is post-term. 40 weeks is just an average. So, that means if I have the baby today, he or she should be just fine. It's also a reminder that I could go into labor at any moment although unlikely.

I had an appointment this past Wednesday and the baby was head down so as long as nothing changes, we're good to go for a natural birth! I wasn't dilated at all (that's a good thing since I'd like to wait until at least 39 weeks to give baby a chance to fatten up) and my blood pressure was 104/62 which means I'm not showing any signs of pre-eclampsia! All good news. From here on out it's the waiting game mixed with the guessing game. Don't forget to submit your guesses on expectnet.com (search for game: rexsarrival) of when you think the baby is coming and how big/long, what time, etc. We've got 16 people guessing so far. It's about half and half on the boy/girl competition but only 5 people think this baby is coming before the due date... c'mon guys, give me a break! And yes, there will be a prize at the end. Don't forget to spread the word so everyone gets a chance to guess, even those who don't read the blog or my Facebook. I will be closing the poll a week from today.

Well, I've got to go wash some baby clothes and make sure everything is in my hospital bag. Hopefully I'll be using it sooner than later!!

Hi all, I've been gone a while, I know. I suck at this whole blogging thing. I guess it sounded like a good idea but I hate sitting in the computer room to type all this out. It's uncomfortable (although what isn't at this point!) and it's cold in here. But alas, dad asked me to update so I will. Let's see, it's been over 10 weeks since my last post. I'm 36 weeks, 1 day as of today. That means I have one week until I'm considered full term (37 weeks), 4 weeks from my due date, and likely 5 weeks or so from the actual birth... since first babies are often latecomers.

We've had both of our baby showers and received everything we needed (Thanks everyone!). We just finished up with our birthing class this week. We've taken the newborn care class. All that's left is the breastfeeding class at the end of April. We've started packing the hospital bag, mostly everything is at least purchased, just not necessarily packed in a bag yet. I think we're ready. Except for the baby's room. It seems so close now. It could be any day even though I'm assuming it wont be. I can't believe it's already been 8 months! The beginning went by so slow, I thought I'd never get to this point and now here we are... having a baby any day. Our lives will be forever changed... in a good way (aside from the sleepless nights maybe). I'm excited to find out what we're having, I can't wait to see who the baby looks like, and I can't wait to experience that first meeting with my little one. Everyone says it's the best moment in life and cannot be described and the wait is killing me. I feel so close to this baby already and can't even imagine how it will feel to meet him/her at birth. This little human being kicking and rolling inside me, even hiccuping, will soon look at me and love on me and it's just an amazing thing thinking about it.

Well anyway, as I mentioned, we had both baby showers. You should be able to view the pictures here: http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=823111271038421200/l=7912734007/g=56592906/otsc=sye/otsi=saer

There was one in Santa Maria (Nipomo technically) and one in Sacramento (Citrus Heights technically). The one in Nipomo was awesome, thanks to Pam and Christine for planning it all out and thanks to Dad for cooking the best BBQ ever (always). The one in Sacramento was just as great, thrown by three friends, Sharte, Nichoel, and Karen. They did a great job doing it up Dr. Seuss style. We had a ton of people at both showers and we really made out with all of the gifts.

Thanks everyone at both showers, for coming and all the great gifts! I can't believe how much we ended up with... at the first one it was too much to even fit in our car to take home! (Don't worry, dad brought it up to us this weekend)

Unfortunately, all of the stuff is sitting in the living room still. We still don't have a nursery! It's okay though, the baby will likely be in our room until it outgrows the bassinet anyway so the room would mostly be for storage and cuteness he he. But incase you're wondering what the deal is... we have an appointment this Wednesday for a guy to come out and texture the bathroom and while he's here he's going to texture the ceiling in the nursery (we took down the popcorn a while back). Once that's done, Brian and I will paint (if I can, it's getting harder to move, lol) and then his dad is supposed to come up and put in the new floor which should be arriving any day now (we ordered it through Lowe's last week). Once it's textured, painted, and re-floored (<-- not sure if that's really a term) then we will set it all up... I can't wait!! It's killing me to have all this stuff in boxes and I can't open anything, put anything together or start playing with stuff. Plus, I'm not nesting yet but I can tell I'm getting there. I've already organized the piles of stuff in the living room twice. I don't however feel the urge to clean anything else... hmmmm. Poor Brian. In my defense I have been creating human life for 8 months and this last one has been pretty tiring.

Well, the last little bit of info is that I have an appointment Wednesday (I haven't had one since the beginning of March!) and I'm going to assume they'll do a cervical check or something since it's getting close... or at least check which way the baby is facing. That's my newest obsession. I would love to know if this kiddo is head first or not. I need all the time I can get to obsess over old wive's tales of how to turn the baby if it's necessary. And of course, if the baby is head down (fingers crossed!) then I can start obsessing over old wives tale's of how to start labor! Feel free to email me your ideas!

Let's see, I've heard to eat spicy foods, go on long walks, eat Mountain Mikes Pizza (a friend of a friend knew someone who went into labor twice after eating there!), have sex, drink castor oil (NOT trying that!), or some sort of aroma therapy with red tea leaf??

Well, we shall see what happens. I'll try to keep everyone in the loop but I'll be sort of distracted. We have our list of people to contact. I will likely be putting the burden of information movement in the hands of family members. For instance, we'll tell my dad and grandma and the two of them can tell the rest of the family. My mom will be there and can call her side of the family. I'll tell Sharte and she can share with all of Lowes. You get the idea. Our list of people to call is small. So make sure you keep in touch with someone on the list!