7 more days...sigh.

I promise I am not holding out on you.  There is no need to text/call/email or otherwise ask me if I've had this baby, in fact it just kind of irritates me if we're being honest.  I will tell you, I promise.  You won't be the first to know, but you'll know.  :)

Being past due feels a little like not being invited to your own birthday party.  Every day it leaves me feeling like "hey, what about me?!"  I've started getting sympathetic looks from friends and strangers.  It's like everyone knows.  I guess they might know because I'm SO gigantic.  In reality, the doctor says the baby doesn't feel huge, but in that same reality I FEEL HUGE.  I have to be strategic about how to put on pants each morning.  I'm down to 5 shirts and 3 pairs of pants.  I can't button any of my jackets, which is okay since I'm so hot all the time the cold usually feels like a gift from above.

I have delusional dreams of going into labor naturally.  But it's easier for me to cope if I just believe he isn't coming until his induction day on the 17th.  I guess technically the induction starts on the 16th, but he won't likely come until the 17th.  Either way, this is only one week away.  So now I know without question that within a week, I will finally meet our son.  I couldn't be more excited and ready.

In the meantime, I am LOVING not being at work.  I thought I'd regret burning a week and half of leave before he came, but that isn't the case.  I don't regret it at ALL.  I've been visiting friends, cleaning every surface of our house, taking walks and otherwise totally enjoying myself before my whole world revolves around parenting.  As a result, I feel relaxed (as much as can be expected when you can only sit leaning to one side), happy, rested and thankful.

Love to you all!

Baby? No, gallstone.

The joys of pregnancy continue with a surprise painful visit from a gallstone (which is apparently a regular occurence during pregnancy).  I knew I wasn't in labor, but the pain was so bad I went in to the doctor and was promptly sent down to labor & delivery for monitoring.  I called Chris who of course was 40 miles away, but managed through some seriously illegal driving to arrive in about 25 minutes.  I'm not sure whether to be impressed or terrified.  I chose thankful.

Anyway, a few hours being monitored the gallstone passed and I was sent home.  I was hoping to convince the doctor that having the baby asap would help...but in all honesty the stone (or whatever it was) started to pass by the time she came around to see me. 

And so the wait continues...I like to try and guess when he'll come.  My new guess is that he'll come on my birthday just to spite me.  Chris is holding out for 11/11/11.

While hooked up to the monitor, we got to listen to his perfectly healthy beating heart for the entire time.  What a joy!  The doctor said he looked totally perfect and I wholeheartedly agree.

4 more days?  or maybe 13.  Soon enough.

J

Yes, it looks like I swallowed a beach ball....plus swollen man hands. 

Oh!  And I forgot to mention that (JOY) today is my last day of work until February!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!  Now the fear of my water breaking during a meeting will finally subside.

Progress!!

This sweet, perfect baby has FINALLY started to look like he's interested in coming out.  At least he's now in the right position, with his head nicely engaged!  I know internally that this does NOT mean that he's coming today or even tomorrow, but it is just such a relief to know that he is in fact coming eventually.  We also got our induction (if it comes to that) tentatively set for the 17th.  The idea of waiting that long to meet him (and to carry him for an extra 9 days) is something that I'm ignoring entirely.  Fingers crossed that he decides to join us sooner than that.  Please, please.

In other news, there is no other news.  Thoughts of this baby coming, preparing for his imminent arrival and all that jazz has completely filled my life.  Oh and terible sports upsets.  I still can't bring myself to read the newspaper about the Rangers.  It will break my heart to see/hear/read about their disappointment.  Yes, I walked away from the TV so I didn't have to see their disappointed faces.  I can't bear it.

I've stopped reading the size/weight updates that I get, because this baby is now fully grown and just getting bigger.  The idea that something of that size is about to exit somewhere of that size is something I'll think about later.

Love to you all and thank god for progress!

Darn giant headed stubborn baby!!

GET OUT!!

Jk, I don't feel that strongly yet.  YET.  We went to the dr this morning and were told (again) that the baby is not making any move to leave the womb.  I hope this doesn't translate to our 29 year old son living in the basement of our house.  Yes, I'm optimistically hoping we'll have moved farther north by then, so we'd actually have a basement.

Anyway, I blame Chris.  I'll start with saying that I think he is incredibly attractive and has really only gotten more hot with age.  I love him and his giant head.  I'm sure the genetics that made his head above average size has translated to our bobble headed baby.

All isn't lost, there are still a few weeks for him to make his move down but the clock is ticking.  At any rate, it's not likely to happen anytime soon.  After a long bout of contractions on Monday, I have barely felt any since.  I think every parent interprets the pregnancy as a sign of how their baby will be, so I'm interpreting his reluctance to engage and get out as a sign of how laid back he'll be.  Again, I'm optimistic it doesn't mean that he'll be co-dependent and afraid to leave the nest.  :)

After our appt this morning, we went up to the nursery to see all the babies.  There was one baby that had the perfect comb over style, almost entirely bald on top with an awesome ring of hair along the sides of his head.  Seriously, the cutest/funniest thing I've seen in so long.  Now, I'm secretly hoping our baby has a comb over which should accentuate his bobble head quite nicely if I say so myself.

I have no idea why there appears to be a soccer team with this name, but it made me laugh during my google search for a comb over giant headed baby.  Happy Friday!

Disclaimer:  The doctor has NOT indicated any sign that our sweet baby has a ginormous sized noggin, this is only my personal assumption.

Full term, and fully ready.

21 days left until the day you're supposed to come out, but I know you won't.  It's funny that we count down from this day and babies are rarely born on it.  Oh well, I don't really care.  Counting down gives me a boost to keep going.  Growing a baby is truly hard work.  I'm not sure I've ever done anything every day for 9 months, but I have been growing this baby on a daily basis for a number of months.  I'm tired.  I'm impatient.  I'm anxious.  I'm ready.  Ready, ready, ready. 

Yesterday, I had contractions all day and I secretly jumped with glee thinking that maybe this boy will make an early appearance.  Bah.  After some rest and water, the contractions stopped and he seemed to hunker down for another day.  The doctor says his head is still high, but I'm hopeful that the contractions might have worked him a bit lower.  Fingers crossed.  It wouldn't be the end of the world to have a c-section, but it isn't my first choice.

I feel like celebrating today (although I'd feel more like celebrating if I hadn't been up from 3:30 am - 5:30 am).  I was never at any risk to not carry this baby to full term, but it feels like an accomplishment nonetheless.  Happy full term day baby!  I'm so glad that you've stuck it out to full term...now feel free to come out whenever you're ready. 

Oh and because I'm counting - I have 13 days of work left.  Thank you Lord.

Stuck between a rock and an uncomfortable place

I'm more than a little tired of being told that my body knows, when the baby's ready, blah blah blah.  It's so easy to spout these things when you aren't carrying a giant sack of potatoes on the front of your body.  I KNOW that it's better for him to stay in there for as long as he wants.  I KNOW THIS.  But that does not stop me from googling "how to get the baby to come" and "natural ways to induce labor" 5 times a day at work.  The truth is, I want this baby out - now.  Possibly that makes me a bad mother already...I guess the only redeeming quality I have is that I haven't actuall followed through with any of the steps to get him out.  Why am I constantly learning a lesson in patience?!  I feel like I'm fairly patient when compared to the average person.  I don't seethe during traffic...usually.  I don't snap at people who click their pen non-stop, but I guess that's mostly because glaring at them is just as effective.  Maybe I deserve this lesson in patience after all.

The problem is, I know it's better for this baby to come down so he can exit naturally.  I feel anxious that this needs to happen soon in order to avoid a c-section.  But the truth is, so says my very experienced aunt who happens to be a labor & delivery nurse & a lamaze teacher, that it'll likely happen in the next few weeks on its own.  My new mantra is "everyone's _________ is different."  Insert:  labor, body, baby, last few weeks, etc. 

The bottom line is:  this baby will come out one way or another.  Likely sometime between now and the next 33 days (I added a week bc first time babies are notoriously late).  After all, even though I'm anxiously awaiting this sweet one's arrival, I could do with a few more nights sleep, dinners out, lazy Sundays on the couch.

Let's make a deal baby.  I won't rush you out, if you'll agree to not come on my birthday.  :)

Because I know you want it...

Stubborn baby.

I was surprised to hear the doctor today tell me that the baby is still really high.  I know that birth is imminent, but the little guy still has weeks to make the move into my bony pelvis....right?  She started already preparing me, that if he doesn't drop there is a high likelihood I won't be able to birth naturally.  Now I know some of you pro natural childbirth people are now freaking out that my doctor is jumping to a c-section, but that's not the case.  She is putting the thought in my head very early on that this labor might not go the way I envisioned it, which is something that I, quite frankly, love about her.  It would be devastating to not talk about the possibility of a c-section and then end up with one.  At any rate, I have 4 weeks to coax the guy down and out.  Everything else checked out to be as normal as it's been the entire pregnancy, no concerns whatsoever.  She's guessing (she lectured me about how often they are wrong about guessing) he's about 6 lbs, which she determined by squeezing various bits of my stomach together.  He did not enjoy the squeeze and it has been susequently causing contractions on and off today as a result.  Don't worry, they're the fake contractions.  I think he's pretty comfortable in there, so I don't think he'll make an early appearance.

My sweet friends at work threw us a shower last friday.  I wish I had the foresight to bring a camera, but I didn't.  It was fun and we really appreciate the generosity & kindness that we've received from all our friends & family.  I can't say enough, this is one lucky baby.  But it's nothing compared to how lucky I feel.

I finished washing all his clothes, sheets, blankets, socks, etc.  I even sterilized all the bottles & pacis.  Is this nesting?  I have no clue, I just think it's good preparation.  Chris thinks it's insanity.  I think he doesn't fully understand that the kid is fully baked in one week.  One week.  Well, one week until he's full term.  4 weeks until my due date.

I also finished up his room, which I posted on facebook - so enjoy the pictures there.  It turned out to be everything I wanted and more.  It's bright, colorful and comfortable.  I love it.  The dogs love it.  I hope he'll love it.

Oh, and I got my 2nd stranger belly rub.  This is every bit as awkward as it sounds.