Well, Baby has DROPPED! (This means he's settled into birth position, with his head firmly stuck in the middle of my pelvic bone) It's the weirdest thing- I stood up at work today and it was like all of a sudden I could breathe! And if it weren't for my pelvic bone I'm sure my stomach would be hanging around my knees, that's how much pressure I'm feeling down there. That's a good thing though! You can also physically see that he's sitting lower on my abdomen. It actually makes it hard to do ANYthing; even walking around feels strained. Doctor says we're right on schedule.

A few more things from our doctor's visit today:

1. I tested POSITIVE for Group B Strep, which isn't necessarily a terrible thing, seeing as it's quite common in pregnancy I guess. Now during labor they'll give me IV antibiotics (something similar to Penicillin that starts with a "K" sound) to keep it from being passed to the baby.

2. I only gained 2 lbs since last visit 2 weeks ago! That brings my grand total to 37 lbs gained this pregnancy, and I'm right on target to gain 40 total, if I go full term...

3. I'm already TWO centimeters dilated and 50% effaced!!!! I'm not sure what the "effaced" part means, I have to do some more research on that. All I know is that's a GREAT thing! I'm actually a little bit ahead of where the typical pregnant woman is at this point. As a piece of general information, once contractions are coming around 5 minutes apart and you're 4 cm dilated, they'll admit you into the hospital for the birth, as opposed to "false labor" and observation.

4. My membranes have been officially "stripped." If you get grossed out easily- don't read the rest of this paragraph. Basically the doctor checked to see how far I was dilated, then swept two of her fingers around the inside of my uterus, but still outside the amniotic sac. It HURT! Don't ever let anyone tell you "you can't feel it," because it was definitely very uncomfortable. Think massive cramping- owwie! It only took a few seconds though and then it was done. The reason they do this is because when the membranes start to separate from the uterine wall, a hormone is produced that helps progress labor. I forget what it's called. "Stripping" the membranes just gets the flow of this hormone to artificially (and slowly) start secreting, letting the body know it's getting to be time. This isn't a guarantee that the baby will come early but it usually means he'll come on time at least. Basically- we could have the baby any minute now. As an aside, I don't think he particularly appreciated this event- he kept kicking me in the rib while she was doing it (she apologized for slightly squeezing his head), and then got a severe case of the hiccups right afterwards...

Everything else checked out perfectly as usual- heartbeat is holding steady in the mid-140's and he still feels like he'll be a small baby. We have another appointment 1 week from today (if he's not born before, eek!). In the meantime I'm getting more and more uncomfortable (especially with him being a low-rider now), and sleeping is getting to be nearly impossible because I have to keep changing from side to side to stay comfortable. I'm constantly thirsty, which means I'm constantly having to use the bathroom, and crankiness is at an all-time high. I guess the next major event will be my water breaking and going to the hospital! We'll be able to post info while we're at the hospital so no one will be in the dark.

 We're so close!!!!

(as in, Delivery Day)

Well it has been an eventful week! I'm typing this entry on my brand new laptop- woo hoo!!!I've been busy all week trying to get everything transferred over so I can get rid of my old one before Baby arrives. I knew my other computer was slow, but didn't realize HOW slow until the new, shiny, FAST one arrived!!!! Haha. Funny thing though- as I transfer pictures, files, music, etc. the old one is starting to run faster and better. I think the main problem was not enough memory and an old processor. In a nutshell- the old one is still in perfectly good condition (if anyone is interested!!!) but just didn't suit my personal needs any longer. Justin is also getting a new laptop from his company (solely for work purposes) this week, so I made the joke that now we're going to both be techie nerds. When he gets home with the new laptop, we will have FIVE computers in our house. Pathetic, yes I know. The good news is that he will be getting rid of his old work desktop computer (I swear the thing was made in the 80s) and I'll be getting rid of my original laptop, so we'll be down to 3 like any other normal couple... okay so "normal" is a relative term, but that's another story for another day.

Another big thing- we've been having a problem with one of our dogs using various furniture pieces as a toilet. Summer, our female dachshund, seems to have a "going" problem, if you catch my drift. Does Flomax work on dogs???? We let them outside several times a day, but the past few weeks I'll walk into a room and be repulsed by the smell of urine. Both dogs love to sleep on the top part of the couch in our den, and she peed up there. And it's not like one of the cushions where I can take it apart and clean it- no, this is a super-project. I've tried a million things, and the smell seems to have gone away for other people, but not for the lady with the enhanced "pregnancy" version of smell. I'm quite sure I've doused the area with enough anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-stench cleaning supplies to supply a small country, but it's not enough because I KNOW it WAS there. My mom's got some enzyme stuff that I'm going to try because I guess it's supposed to "eat" away whatever is in there naturally so it goes away fully instead of just being "clean." Oh and then she's peed on almost every carpeted surface when someone comes in the door, and then on the armrest of the same couch (we caught that one in action so it was easier to clean).

Wednesday night I was about to lose my mind- Justin had been sick with the flu so I decided to throw our sheets in the wash (sometimes you just feel better going to bed in clean sheets when you're feeling yucky). After I re-made the bed, we went to get IN bed, and Justin was like, "why is there pee on my side of the bed????" Yep- she'd made a puddle on TOP of our new suede down comforter that soaked all the way through the mattress pad. I started throwing things (literally). Luckily, we have a sleep number bed (highly recommed it!) so the mattress wasn't ruined because it has a waterproof covering over it. But I had to strip the entire bed again, wash the part of the mattress that was soiled, and leave our new comforter at the dry cleaners where I'm sure I will go broke when I pick it up. And at this point I feel like I'm starting to catch whatever Justin is sick with, so I'm feeling sick, very pregnant, and SUPER ANGRY!!! Not a good combo. Needless to say the dogs have lost ALL bed privileges no matter how much whining until we get this matter fixed, and maybe not even then, we'll see. Did I mention this was 12:30am???

So we took Summer to the vet yesterday and found out it's probably not a UTI (that would've been the GOOD news), but it's either bladder stones (that require expensive surgery) or just her acting up because she senses an impending life change. Neither option makes me happy. We're going to try medication first just to see if it will help the problem (there's still a very small chance it's a UTI), and if it doesn't work in 2 weeks we take her back to the vet to explore other options. Problem: We might have a baby living here in 2 weeks, and I don't want to be dealing with ANY dog problems, much less expensive ones!!!! Aaaarrgh!!!! I'm really hoping this is just a personality issue, and once we get settled with the new baby she will calm down and the problem will go away. Until then, I have to figure out a way to lock the dogs up while we're not home so I don't come home to a new "favorite" smell and blow a gasket...

Speaking of gaskets (ok so this is a stretch)- but Justin has a new car!!! I think I meant to talk about this in my last entry entitled "Test Drive," but was a little distracted by a bundle of cuteness named Adrienne. When Justin got his company car last August we debated whether or not to sell his Crossfire, which he had been using for both work and pleasure. In the end we decided to keep it since he can't use the Honda (company car) for personal stuff, and it would be hard to have just the Jeep for the two of us since we're always going in different directions. Well, over the past few months we've seen how ridiculous it is for us to be paying $400 a month for a "fun" car that sits outside in our driveway except for Sundays when we take it to church. And then the last few weeks we haven't even taken it to church because I can't get in and out of it (it skims the ground). So basically he takes it to his kiddie basketball practices and games (use = 2x a week) and that's about $50 per use which is ridiculous. And with me not working for at least 12 weeks (and maybe much longer!) after Baby comes, we can't exactly afford a car that only seats 2 people so we can't even use it for family stuff at all. So we started looking around for a new car for Justin that he could use for work (big enough trunk for all his equipment), family (backseat please!), and fun (no "boring" sedans, per his words). End of story: Last Thursday we traded in the Crossfire for a shiny new Dodge Charger!!! It meets all the criteria, and isn't that much more per month than we were paying on the little sports car. Justin is gone all weekend (*sniff*sniff*) on his company ski trip to northern Michigan and was able to turn in his company car on the way up. PS- a big thank-you to his boss for allowing this to happen! Now we are down to 2 cars (how many does a family need for goodness sake!!!) and he will be getting mileage reimbursement for his which will take care of the payment and insurance on it. *Insert huge sigh of financial relief here*  God has definitely been taking care of us.

Well, in BABY news- he's growing like a weed!!! You can tell a huge difference between this week and last week's picture. He gets the hiccups at least 3 times a day, sometimes more (one day I swear he had them all day with short breaks in between), and we can definitely distinguish small arms and legs when they move around on my right side. You can even see them! It looks like there's a little octopus under my skin.  It's the craziest thing and I've been trying so hard to get a picture or video of it. Those of you who have actually seen and/or felt it can agree- it's amazing (and apparently a little unusual to get that much detail)!!! I think I'm going to miss it a little bit when he's born. Not too much though- I'll have the real thing to keep me occupied then!

Also, we've got the nursery all set up!!! I've posted pictures for all to see. We're going to hang some stuff up on the walls so they're not so bare, and probably move a few little things around once he arrives, but for the most part it's ready. I'm very happy with how it looks, and I actually spend a lot of time just sitting or standing in the room, soaking it all in. Pretty soon there will be a baby to occupy it! I've also packed and re-packed the diaper bag a zillion times, it's so much fun. And our hospital bags are all packed and ready to go at a moment's notice. I still have to pre-register at the hospital and make a final decision on a pediatrician, so those are my two big assignments for next week.

Speaking of next week- it's my last week of work before my FMLA leave starts!!!  Crazy! It's so hard to believe that in 2 or 3 weeks there will be a real live BABY in my life! I can't wait!!!!

Lessons Learned Since Last Blog:

1. Contractions HURT! Not a lot, but enough of a pinch or cramp to be annoyingly painful. They're still Braxton-Hicks (or "practice") and not the real thing, but it's exciting to see we're starting to progress the right direction.

2. Irritability is way up again. The nesting instinct is still strong, and now every little thing just seems to really irk me. I'm just so sick of being pregnant, and all the emotional and physical baggage that comes with it. It's getting harder to bend over to pick things up, or get up off the couch, or get in and out of cars (which I do all day at work), plus like I said all the little things just bother me now. This baby can come any day and it will be fine with me!!!!

3. I've been gaining more and more confidence in my ability to be a good mother. Last week's experience with the baby girl made me realize how much I already know about babies, and how much already comes naturally to me anyway. And I'm SO so so so SOOOOOOO glad I read all those books!!!! It's amazing what you remember when you need it. Hopefully this blog site will be an inspiration to those of you who will be pregnant in the future, and maybe a little glimpse of what to expect yourself.

4. Priorities are changing!!! The biggest thing we noticed was with the car- Justin changed his mindset from "fun man sports car" to "family car." He was surprised how easily that decision was made in his mind (I wasn't). Also, I used to be the kind of person who was really focused on work and career, always imagining I'd take maternity leave and jump right back into a job. Now I'm chomping at the bit to be done with work and stay home and take care of my house and family. I'm still keeping the part-time work option open, but making no promises.

5. Lastly, it's coming so quickly!!! I can't believe we're almost at the end. If I'm this excited about my little baby boy, can you imagine how Mary felt about giving birth to the Savior of the world??? I would imagine the same normal things I've felt, but maybe to a stronger degree? It would be fun if I could chat with her when we all get to Heaven. Another thing about this- I already love his baby soooo much and he's not even here yet. I love my friends and family dearly, and I would probably give my life to save any of theirs, but I would NOT give my baby boy's life!!!!! NEVER!!! Not even an option to discuss!!!! But... God did just that for us. Think about it- he had to watch his SON's life be given for all of ours, and so many people just DON'T CARE!!! It just makes me sick sometimes. Imagine how you feel when you make a sacrifice for someone, or bend over backwards for people (sometimes you don't even have a personal relationship with them, like customers... arg)- and they just don't care. Or worse, they treat you like dirt in spite of all your efforts. Do you see where I'm going with this? How can God keep loving us, ALL of us, even when we don't love him the same way? Think about it.

Those of you who have been keeping up with the last few entries might recall that I had one friend (Lauren) at my shower who was due any day, and I made a joke about her going into labor at my parents' house during the shower. Well, she made it a few more hours, but ended up going to the hospital that night (!) and delivering a gorgeous baby girl on Sunday morning! We went to go visit them last night and it was awesome!

We walked in the door and saw Travis holding this teeny tiny little doll- I swear she looked too small to be human- and fell in love with babies in general instantly. She was 6 lbs. 10 oz. at birth, and with normal newborn weight fluctuation she was now at 6 lbs 12 oz, but was literally swimming in her 0-3 month size onesie! Of course she had ten fingers and ten toes, and a perfect little nose and mouth, and Justin and I passed her back and forth for a little while until she wet her diaper. I went upstairs to the nursery with Lauren to watch the diaper changing process, and surprised MYSELF with how MUCH I already knew about baby stuff! I found myself pitching in and offering little tips here and there. Lauren told me she'd never changed a diaper or even held a newborn before her own child (which makes it all the more special), but that made me think back to all the dirty diapers I changed in the church nursery and when I was a part-time nanny after high school. I highly recommend that every girl out there get some sort of experience in one of those two areas before considering mommyhood because it is so helpful!

As this tiny baby was lying half-naked on the changing pad (her name is Adrienne- how pretty!), she started to ball herself up into the true fetal position, you know, knees and elbows all crisscrossed and fingers and toes clenched. I had this sudden lightning bolt of realization hit me- this is what MY baby looks like INSIDE me right now!!! Adrienne was just slightly bigger (at 5 days old), but still sooooooo incredibly small. It made me catch my breath because I think for the first time I was able to put a real-life mental image to what my baby looks like, or at least an extremely similar image. NOW it was getting super real to me, this whole baby thing. You know how people say that when you're in a life or death situation your whole life flashes before your eyes? Well, in this instance, my future life was flashing before my eyes. On top of that I've been washing some of his baby clothes this weekend to be ready for when he comes home from the hospital, so I've been picturing dressing him up in all of them.

When we finished changing her we went back downstairs to where the husbands were talking sports (surprise surprise), and as the conversation naturally turned back to all things baby, Justin and I were again surprised by how much we already knew about babies and ours wasn't even here yet! He used to make fun of me for reading all these books and obsessing about talking to friends and relatives about baby stuff, but now we're both glad I did my research! Lauren and Travis are GREAT parents, but they're having to learn most of this stuff in an as-you-go kind of way instead of getting it all down ahead of time and perfecting the method as-you-go. I feel a LOT more confident about being prepared and the kind of parent I will be. Strangely enough, I don't think I'm going to be as high-strung as I thought. I guess really the only part of parenting that I haven't been able to "practice" at one time or another already is the breastfeeding part. Thanks to my mom I have a really good book on the subject, and there will be nurses at the hospital to help me get started, so I'm not even too worried about that.

I'M READY!!! Bring on the Baby!

I was at the doctor today for a regular baby appointment, and when I was checking out, the receptionist scheduled my next few visits, then was astonished that I only have 3 or 4 left! She said, "doesn't it feel like we just started seeing you???" I've been telling everyone lately how time seems to be dragggggging by, but looking back it truly has gone zipping by like the Bullet Train. We've been pregnant since JUNE for goodness' sake!!! Only 5 weeks to go, or 33 days, or... I don't have the patience to calculate the hours and minutes, sorry .

Today at the doctor I had a culture done for Group B Streptococcus. You know you're getting too chummy with the doctor when you sit and chat in the room for a few minutes, she listens to the heartbeat, and then gets up to leave and says, "well the results of the test should be back in a few days and we'll go from there" as she washes her hands. Confused, I was like, "Who's going to do the test?" She laughed- she was supposed to!!! So she did, and then we talked about what would happen if it came back positive (very slim chance). If a pregnant woman tests positive for Group B Strep during pregnancy, the doctors simply give her antibiotics during labor to prevent passage to the baby during birth. The problem- I'm super allergic to Amoxycillin, and just slightly less allergic to Penicillin, which are the two drugs they routinely administer. So if by some chance my culture comes back positive for the bacteria, I have to then go through a 2 week resistance test to see which drugs I can take that will keep the infection at bay with little risk to me or Baby during labor. I've been all-infections free so far, so I'm not too worried, but I suppose anything is possible in this crazy pregnant world I've been living in.

As of now, I only have a few doctor visits left!!! Next one will be in 2 weeks (37 week mark) and it should be an exciting one! She will check my cervix to see how far I've dilated (if any), and also strip my membranes! I'm not 100% sure exactly what that entails, but one of my friends went into labor when her doctor did it! I told Dr. Priddy and she said that only happens very rarely, but usually it helps make the difference between a 41 week birth and a 39 1/2 week birth (basically keeps things moving on track instead of chancing a slow-down in the last weeks). If we don't do it next visit, it will definitely happen on the week 38 visit. We will be seeing the doctor's office every week from now on pretty much. Good thing I love going there! (really, I do!) Between now and week 38 our assignment is to find a pediatrician. So that's on my list of things to do. Speaking of lists, here's the final countdown-to-baby list!:

1. Find a pediatrician, post phone # on fridge

2. Pack hospital bag with clothes/supplies for me and Baby (and pack a bag for the wieners for when they go to stay with Justin's parents), and put stuff into the diaper bag.

3. Install carseat base in the Jeep so we'll be ready to go when Baby is!

4. Wash the baby clothes and blankets that we will be using right away so they're ready to go when Baby comes home.

5. Pre-register at the hospital, which we are doing this week. This makes it easier when we get there; we won't have as much paperwork to fill out (meaning Justin won't have as much paperwork to fill out, hehe).

6. Build shelves in Baby's room to go above the changing table, and hang up some decorations. Also, finish organizing the little stuff (clothes and bedding are already put away).

7. Schedule bills to be paid far enough in advance so they won't be creeping up when we might be in the hospital for a few days.

8. Finish writing thank you notes from the shower and other gifts. I'm already halfway done!

9. Order, receive, and set up my new computer because I know I won't have time when Baby arrives!!!

That's it! We're basically ready! All week long we've been getting all kinds of goodies via Fedex and the USPS, and Justin's been in his element assembling all the cool baby things. I guess he's sees that as one of the major ways he can contribute to this whole baby thing. I'm currently the one carrying the baby and dealing with all the physical and emotional baggage that comes with it, and then I'll be taking care of all the feeding and most of the care when he's brand new (since I will be staying home and Justin will still have to be at work)... so he hasn't let me even help put stuff together, it's kind of cute.  Here's what he's put together so far this week: Changing table, crib, lamp, swing, bouncer, high chair, crawl n play floor gym, and a wheelbarrow. By way of explanation, the latter is a birthday present from my parents (Justin turned 26 on SuperBowl Sunday) and not necessarily related to the Baby. I'm sure our garbage men did a double take when they saw our trash this morning- normally we have one small trash can, and today we had both cans stuffed to overflowing, and about 5 huge boxes filled with other boxes and stuff from all the packing material and wrapping paper.

We have pretty much everything we need by now, in one form or another. My shower was a huge success (see previous entry), and then Mom and I went to Babies R Us yesterday since she had some coupons that expired. We bought a few more necessities, and the money that we received from family we will use towards the few remaining things that we absolutely need for Baby's arrival. Stuff like: Crib mattress, bedding, changing pad cover, Diaper Genie refills, cloth diapers (for feeding, etc.) and some shelves to go above the changing table (for supplies like lotion and wipes). All the rest of the stuff can pretty much wait until he's born, or even a few months old. It's such a good feeling to finally feel really READY for this event to happen! It's so funny- I love to just sit in the middle of the nursery and look at everything we have. The cool thing is, last weekend the room was basically empty, and now it's full and practically overflowing! I can't help but be amazed at the Lord's blessing in that, especially since I always worry about being prepared and having things set and ready to go. Now I just want him to BE here with us!

In other news, Baby is getting larger every day it seems! I'm still not really growing sideways, though my face is getting noticably rounder (some of my shower pictures it looks positively chubby and I have a double chin in one!!! eek!) but I'm definitely growing outwards from the front! One of these days I'll post a picture of me from the back- I don't look pregnant! My hips look wider... He is moving constantly now, but not kicking as hard. One exception- when my friend Nikki was staying with us Friday night, I was leaning over the coffee table and he kicked me so hard in the diaphragm that I couldn't breathe right for several seconds and it almost brought tears to my eyes! I guess that's what I get for cramping his already small space though. We can easily make out feet, elbows and knees by feel now, and the bulges that float around my stomach are extremely visible. My stomach is hardly perfectly round anymore- one side is always sticking out farther than the other, wherever his little behind is.

Lessons Learned Since Last Blog:

1. Husbands are great for putting stuff together! And they LIKE doing it!!! So let them.

2. Parents are great for baby stuff, even before he's born. Both moms co-hosted my shower (hours and hours were spent planning and preparing to make it just perfect, which it was), and have bought hundreds of dollars worth of things and clothes as well. Both dads have been extremely proactive in helping us get our house ready for Baby's arrival as well. I think sometimes we just forget to ask for help with things- so for all you future pregnant gals, make sure you get outside help and influence because it makes things go so much faster and easier.

3. You just need great friends. I have a few, and they're worth more than gold. (you know who you are)

4. Time moves too slowly when you're trying to live in the future. I've discovered this week how awesome it is to be content living in the present and reflecting on the past. And before I know it, days are flying by!

5. Sometimes I feel so unworthy, you know? All I ever do is worry and try to plan and run my life, and then the Lord sends a reminder that He's the one in charge and I should be relying on him more than anything else. Example: I've been stressing about having everything we need, and then I have a beautiful shower with most of my friends and family all together in one spot (seriously, how often does that happen?), and we not only have what we need, but so much more.  We received some very expensive gifts, and one in particular stands out: My mom was talking to the person who bought it for us and saying how generous she was (we had originally assumed a few people had chipped in and later found out that wasn't the case), and her response was, "Really everything we have is a gift from the Lord; so don't consider it to be a gift from me, take it to be a gift from the Lord." Wow, just wow. And that was just ONE of the hundreds of gifts we got. At first it's so tempting to try to wonder and analyze what I've done to deserve all these wonderful blessings, but it's so important to remember that we can't do ANYthing to deserve any of it, it's purely the Lord's love and grace on our lives.

In signing off, I would like to thank everyone who was able to come to our wonderful shower/party, and also those who weren't able to come but still sent gifts or contributed in some other way. Justin and I are so blessed to have family and friends like all of you! (but don't worry, handwritten thank-you notes will be on their way shortly too).