40 Weeks!

Absolutely unbelievable. We made it! 40 weeks of pregnancy. This journey is far from over... there's still labor and delivery of a healthy baby that we are anxious to have happen any time now, but one miracle is that I got pregnant, remained pregnant, and am now officially due to have a child. Wow. Last year at this time, it wouldn't have seemed possible.

But here we are, on our due date. Mr. D took me out for breakfast, we took a walk, played around in the baby's room, and I am looking forward to a spicy Asian dinner tonight at a local joint this evening. I am so ready to have this kid, but really trying to enjoy the last day(s) - hopefully - of this wonderful pregnancy.

And, with no further ado... here is the grand finale (although no baby yet): my 40 week update:

Best Moment of the Week: Hitting 40 weeks. Although I would have loved to deliver already, the other side of me is so incredibly thankful that our little guy has had 40 weeks to develop inside of me. So many concerns are avoided by hitting this point of pregnancy (he likely will have lower risk of jaundice, more fully-developed lungs, better sense of sleeping and eating, etc.). It is all a blessing.

Entertaining Question/Comment of the Week: "WHEN IS THAT BABY COMING OUT?" Asked by: everyone, including me. If anyone has the answer - not guess - so I can plan this whole labor thing, let me know and I will seriously pay you a lovely cash prize.

Obsessions: Wondering when this show is going to go down. Will my water break? Will I start having hard contractions? Will I end up being induced? Who knows...

What I am Most Looking Forward to This Week: Giving birth. I have a Doctor appointment on Tuesday morning, and if he's not here yet, my Doctor said we will likely have an ultrasound to ensure everything still looks good (right amount of fluid, baby is reacting to certain senses appropriately, etc.), and she will likely schedule an induction for later in the week. So, I am assuming that we will have a baby by this time next week - even with induction - but maybe the induction won't be scheduled until next Sunday? Not sure. Either way, I am looking forward to learning more and *hopefully* welcoming this little guy to our family this week.

What I Miss the Most: Nothing really... I am sleeping better this week (although a night sleeping on my stomach sounds like absolute heaven).

Symptoms: Contractions here and there, but nothing in a pattern. Foot/ankle swelling. Anxiousness, nervousness, excitement... all of the emotions you can think of (if those count as symptoms) :)

Like Father, Like Son

It totally clicked when my Doctor got done with my cervical exam yesterday, took off her gloves, and said, "Well, you're still not dilated."

Key the "ah-ha" moment (imagine a lightbulb going on in my head): Little Man isn't even born yet, and I already know... this kid is totally like his father.

Although I haven't passed my due date yet, after this true ah-ha moment, I now am pretty sure I will go over.

How do I know this?

Have I shared that my lovely Mr. D was 2.5 hours late to our first date? Oh, yeah, 2.5 hours. Long story made short, we met one another, talked on the phone for a few days, and decided to go out on a date. He was to pick me up at my apartment Friday night at 6:30.

Imagine me... dressed to the 9's, ready for the big date. I was ready by 6:15, the latest. At 6:30, I tried to appear that I was still busy - just in case he came to the door right then - by washing the countertops, writing out bills, watching TV, and hanging out and messing with my hair in the bathroom. 6:45, 7:00 passes... no Mr. D. 7:15, 7:30. I am now a bit ticked, but mostly worried. Did he get into a car accident? Get cold feet and not want to see me? Forget about our plans all together? I called his phone, and he answered. "I'm on my way!" he told me. Okay, no big deal... he's just running late. I tried my hardest to be patient as I watched TV.

8:00, 8:15, and 8:30 now pass. And I am ticked. It is TWO HOURS after he was supposed to pick me up - where the HELL is he? I called him again and got some lame excuse about leaving the house late, had to stop and get gas, there was traffic, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. It was at 8:45 that I finally decided I was going to put on my PJs and call it a night. So, I did. And no more than 5 minutes after I put on my PJs, who showed up at my door? Mr. D and all of his handsomeness (with flowers, thank goodness). To this day, I can't believe how his charm, smile, and apologies completely faded the past 2.5 hours away. Within 10 minutes, I was back in my going-out clothes and we were out the door to dinner.

Seven years ago, when this happened, I should have taken this as a sign. The boy was late. Not just a few minutes, but HOURS late. And what did I learn from this experience? Not just Mr. D, but his ENTIRE family, are ALWAYS LATE. Not 2.5 hours late, like he was for our first date, but just straight-up LATE to everything they go to.

For years, it drove me nuts. I used to get so mad every time he was late, or WE were late because of something or another... church, parties, dinner reservations, movies, you name it. It's almost like it's in his family's blood. My family is always on time (or early), so this was quite the change. But over time, guess what happened? Mr. D made ME late so many times that I now consider it EARLY if we actually make it somewhere on time. I've gotten to be really sly about what time I tell Mr. D to show up at things - for example, doctor appointments. My appointment yesterday was at 3:50. What time did I tell Mr. D to arrive? 3:30 - actually, I told him 3:25, because I reminded him that we need to be there 5 minutes early. We drove separate, and guess what time he got there? 3:50. Right on time, due to my meticulous planning :)

I am now 2 days from my due date, and it finally struck me like a bolt of lightening...

What am I waiting for? Do I actually think anything is going to happen before Saturday? Heck no... not anymore.

Like father, like son... this kid's gonna be late.

Let's Get This Party Started

It's probably weird to WANT labor to start, but I am officially there. Bring it on. I've had on-and-off contractions all week, and I just want them to finally be in a pattern.

I have a Doctor appointment today at 3:45, and I am praying that this little guy is getting close. Last week, I was effaced, but not yet dilated... hoping that I've progressed and dilated since then.

Come on, Little Man, it's time for you to come out and meet your Mom and Dad. We've been dreaming about and waiting for you longer than you can imagine.

38 & 39 Weeks!... And, I am Ready...

I am 39 weeks, 1 day pregnant, and I can officially say that as of this past Friday, I am ready. I want this little guy to be born. Selfishly, it's starting to get harder and harder. I have had the easiest, most blessed pregnancy up to this point, and I am just starting now to slow down. It's impossible to sleep. My hands, joints, back, legs, ankles... they all ache. And I think the baby is thinking the same thing... time to blow this Popsicle stand. He can barely get comfortable himself... every movement is a significant adjustment, and I am sure he is thinking, "okay, there is clearly NOT enough room in here anymore."

I was done working as of Friday. I work for the best company in the world, and my boss is cool with me working from home until the baby is born. So, although I'll be logging in and calling into meetings, my production level will be cut at least in half, and nobody seems to care.

So, now it's just a waiting game. Will he be born today? Will I go into labor tomorrow? Or surpass my due date? Who knows, but I just told Mr. D last night that I am officially ready for him to come out. Mr. D agreed. It's time. After planning and waiting this long, it's time to get the show on the road :)

I pray that everything is going well for my blog friends... now that I'll have more time on my hands this week (assuming Little Man decides to stay put), I'll have some time to check up on you ladies and leave some comments :)

I missed last week, so here are my two weekly updates:

Best Moment of the Weeks: We had a baby shower at my work that Mr. D came in to attend. It was so much fun... 30 people at least, and everyone was excited for us. That was a fun day. Also, getting everything - and I mean everything - situated. We've been planning, and organizing, and situating for months now, and we're FINALLY all done. Feels so good. Now we just need Little Man to be here.

Entertaining Question/Comment of the Week: Because I am officially trying to get this kid out, Mr. D and I started BD'ing (not that we had stopped, but it's a different experience 9 months pregnant). I don't remember the exact comment, but he said something to the effect that he was having back spasms... the positions you have to try at this stage in the game are interesting, to say the least!

Obsessions: Whatever it takes.... let's just get this show on the road.

What I am Most Looking Forward to This Week: Not physically going back to work until mid-November - whoo-hoo! - and going to my Wednesday Dr. appointment. Curious to see if anything has progressed from last Wednesday...

What I Miss the Most: This week, I miss sleeping. It's impossible to sleep well right now.

Symptoms: Contractions here and there, but nothing in a pattern. Foot/ankle swelling. All exciting, lovely stuff :)

37 Weeks!

Here we are, well into the 37th week. We are set. I think. For the most part, anyway. If he were to be born tomorrow, we'd be ready. But selfishly, I want him to hang out inside of me as long as possible. Is it fear? Probably. I am scared, I'll admit it. But I am also excited, anxious, nervous, happy... you name it. Every single emotion you can think of.

I am finishing out the rest of this week at work, working next week, and then working from home until Little Man arrives so that I don't have to waste leave time on non-baby-related time off. I am crossing my fingers that I can make it through this week and next. After that, I would be fine with him coming at any point. Let's hope that's the case.

Here's my update:

Best Moment of the Week: Turning the corner and officially being "full term." Going to my first weekly appointment and finding out I am not effaced or dilated yet. Whew... thank goodness. Our next appointment is tomorrow (I feel like I am back with my RE, going to the doctor ALL THE TIME), and we'll see if anything has progressed.

Entertaining Question/Comment of the Week: Are you scared? Uh, what kind of question is that? Yes, I am very scared. For everything. Water breaking at work (my #1 fear), contractions hurting like hell, the entire labor process, caring for this new little baby. The fear is in the unknown, and I guess that's what this is all about. But I am also excited :)

Obsessions: Keeping him inside... as much as I can not wait to meet him, I want him to stay put so that I can get through everything I have planned in the next two weeks and he can continue to grow, develop, and put on weight... we want a healthy little guy!

What I am Most Looking Forward to This Week: 2nd Doctor Appointment... tomorrow at 4 p.m.

What I Miss the Most: Let's just say I will be having a glass of wine as SOON as I get out of the hospital. No lie.

Symptoms: Hard to sleep, Braxton Hicks contractions, a little foot/ankle swelling.

36 Weeks!

Worst blogger award in 2011 goes to....

Mrs. D.

It's cool. I own it. Have I just completely fallen off the face of the earth? Sometimes it feels that way. Life has been insane. Awesome, but insane. I reflect back on the last 12 months of my life, and can't believe so much has happened. By far the craziest, busiest, happiest, hardest, most challenging year of my life, and shame on me for not documenting it all. Someone once told me that one should not have more than one life change in a year (ie: new house, new child, death of a close family member/friend, divorce, etc.). Me? I can barely count how many Mr. D and I have been through since last July. The highlights include: redoing our house to place on the market, having the horrible IF procedure, selling our house, losing a TON of saved up cash to buy us out of a shitty mortgage, moving to a condo, having lap surgery to clear out my clogged fallopean tube, getting pregnant, saving up more money than I thought to be possible (seriously, living off Ramen noodles in the meantime to save $), buying our house, and getting dang close to bringing our little guy into the world. It's insane. But man, am I thankful... all of these things are wonderful, and although they've stretched Mr. D and me more than I ever thought, we are so much stronger for all of it. And our relationship has gotten even better.

... and holy cow, I am about to have a baby. After all these months (YEARS) of IF and wanting a baby so badly, I can't believe how unprepared I feel. In less than a month, we'll have a baby... incredible and at times, unbelievable. How did this happen to us? Where did the time go? And... am I really ready to have a baby? From an IF perspective, hell yeah, I'm ready. But the closer it comes, the more and more I realize that this is real and I can not prepare myself. I just need to do the best I can.

Obviously, history repeats itself, and I am behind in my blog posts. I am posting for last week's update and will post another this weekend with this week's update:

Best Moment of the Week: Noticing that little man prefers one way to be situated in my tummy. Head down (let's hope it stays that way), but up above my belly button, legs/feet toward my right side. It's funny that as my tummy grows, I no longer worry about if I can feel him or not... I worry more about getting kicked in the bladder or his butt moving across my stomach and taking my breath away.

Oh, and the four baby showers held for me. It was a wonderful week :)

Entertaining Question/Comment of the Week: Nothing I can really think of. EVERYONE, however, is interested in how I am doing in the heat. Minnesota has had a pretty hot and humid couple of weeks, and it hasn't been too bad for me. I also work (and live) in lovely air conditioning, so it's not like I am out in the 100 degree temps.

Obsessions: Getting everything ready... his room, birth announcements, hospital bag... you name it. Just thinking about all of it stresses me out.

What I am Most Looking Forward to This Week: 1st weekly doctor's appointment - wondering if I am starting to progress?

What I Miss the Most: Wine. Beer. Margaritas. Martinis. Enough said.

Symptoms: Hard to sleep, but not really impossible. Braxton Hicks contractions.

34 & 35 Weeks!

I totally missed last week's update! Darn. I've been keeping up on my bloggie friends' blogs, but haven't commented on their posts or written my own... so sorry. I just haven't had time to sit down and type... hence, two weeks of updates in one post. I'll start posting comments this weekend, I promise!

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Minnesota? Mr. D and I live about 15-20 miles from both St. Paul and Minneapolis, and we just love it. The weather in June/July has been amazing - great sunshine, warm days in the 80s/90s, and overall, beautiful everything outside... grass, trees, everything. I am sure that when I re-read this post in February next year, I will curse my own self, because yes, it does get cold here in winter. But these 4-5 months of amazing weather always makes the painful winters worth it.

So, needless to say, we've been spending time outside. We have a huge backyard, so we've been spending time grilling, out on the patio table, walking around the neighborhood with our dog, and just enjoying life....

... and enjoying pregnancy. Seriously, I love being pregnant and think I am definitely going to suffer from the baby blues... I will definitely miss being pregnant. I love how I feel, love how I can feel him, love my huge tummy, love my body... it's just weird. I've never felt healthier in my life. I know not all women experience such a wonderful time, and I feel horrible for them. Nine months of not feeling great would flat-out suck. I think God was looking down on me when we finally got pregnant and said, "you know, they've been through enough trying to conceive this little guy... I think I'll give her a really easy pregnancy."

So, here's the summed up overview of my past two weeks:

Best Moments of the Weeks: My sister threw me a huge family baby shower, which was way fun. So great to see relatives I hadn't in years. People in general are so kind and generous when you're pregnant... I received wonderfully generous gifts. We got our stroller, carseat, and tons of things off our registry. We are so blessed. We spent last weekend at home over the 4th of July, and I washed all of his clothes... hadn't washed a thing yet. Three loads later (which, if you've ever laundered baby clothes before, you know that 3 loads is a LOT of items... everything is so tiny!), little man has a TON of washed clothes, ready for him to jump into once he's here.

Entertaining Questions/Comments of the Weeks: "What is UP with your belly button?" This one came from Mr. D. I didn't get the dark line down my stomach, or popped out belly button, but my belly button sure has stretched. It is the weirdest-looking thing... it's basically not a button anymore but a flat, weird surface. I think Mr. D hadn't looked at it in a few days, and all of a sudden realized that it looks completely different.

Obsessions: Lots of obsessions... more mental than anything. Here are a few: getting hospital bag all situated, thinking about how the heck I am going to get through labor, checking out my ever-growing boobs, wondering if breast feeding is going to work, stocking up on more and more diapers and wipes, and feeling him move. I had a Dr. appointment yesterday (they are scheduled weekly from here on out!), and his head is perfectly positioned down (he was in the same spot two weeks ago). His butt pokes up a lot - close to my belly button, and feet kick out close to my right hip bone. He's getting bigger!

What I am Most Looking Forward to This Week: FOUR baby showers! My sister-in-law (Mr. D's sister) is throwing me one tomorrow for Mr. D's side of our family, Mr. D has a work shower on Wednesday with co-workers, we have a couple's shower on Friday night (thrown by the wife of Mr. D's good friend), and another couple's shower on Saturday (thrown by one of my best friends). We are so fortunate to have such wonderful people in our lives to celebrate with!

What I Miss the Most: Being able bend down easily - takes much more precision these days.

Symptoms: Sleeping continues to be a bit of a challenge... mostly because I need to re-adjust several times a night, and I get up to pee 3-4 times throughout the night. It's just more annoying than anything, I guess.