Pregnancy Journal

Wow, did I just write that: "The Ninth Month?!?!?"

I am 38 weeks. Let's do this. Ross and I are about as ready as we can be, well, once we get the car seat in the car and I finish packing my hospital bags. I've been taking it easy a lot more now that I'm in the home stretch. I've washed all of her clothes and now I wonder what to pack for her on her way home from the hospital.

I went to the doctor today and saw Dr. Lies. I almost pray that he delivers Caroline. I like him the best. He says next week they may check the cervix to see if they can tell when Caroline will be here. I have gained a total of 23 pounds so far and tonight its almost 10:00pm and I'm craving an M&M McFlurry from McDonalds!

My mom is coming Sept. 13. Caroline may or may not be here by then. We shall see.

I just kinda sit around and wait around for the real "labor pains." Sleeping at this point is not quality sleep. I can't fall asleep most of the time and then wake up really early and feel very tired by 9ish so I feel I need to go back to sleep. Everything hurts when I wake up. My shoulders, my arms, my hands, my hips, my ears, my stomach, my legs, my feet....pretty much everything I have to lay on all night long. My feet and hands started swelling about two weeks ago and they feel kinda bruised at times. Guess its from the pressure of the swelling.

I will have to have extra antibiotics in the IV when I go to the hospital because of strep b. I freaked out about it but the docs say its very common and that the antibiotics will take care of everything.

Ross and I have been working on taping and mudding the bonus room. Now we are in the process of sanding it. Its coming along but Im ready for it to be complete! It will add alot of extra space to our house!

Everything else is great. I finally found some caffeine free Dr. Pepper today! That was exciting! Maybe on Ross' way home tonight he can get me my McFlurry Im craving!!!

Sept. 14- I am so ready for this to happen! Every day I wonder, Is this the day? I am having more contractions. They aren't very regular though so I must continue to wait. I was a little nervous lastnight because I felt a lot of contractions not too far apart and she was moving around a lot. But then they seemed to stop so I figured it was false labor.

Any day now!

I haven't been writing as often as I should. I guess because I've been so anxious and ready. It is  Sept. 22 and Baby Caroline is still comfy and cozy in mommies belly. However, good news. The last three appts. I was dilated 1 cm, then 2, now 3cm and thinning out which means baby will be here possibly today, tomorrow, and if not now, Wed. morning I will go in at 6am to the hospital to be possibly induced! Mom came last Monday to visit so she has been here a week and she is very ready as well to see her granddaughter! I am having more contractions and they are starting to become more and more painful but not too bad. Can't wait!

Ok, we all know that pregnancy is a beautiful time and EVERY precaution is worth taking with baby growing in your tummy. But lets be real. We miss things when we are pregnant and can't wait to be able to do those things again post pregnancy. I have made a top ten list of things I miss while being pregnant. I also made a list of the top 10 things I have enjoyed!

I MISS:

10. Running short/long distances

9. Going to a themepark and riding rollercoasters

8. Pedicures/Manicures because of the harmful chemicals/smells

7. Dying my hair

6. Shaving my legs comfortably or painting toes comfortably

5. Having an alcoholic beverage

4. Taking a HOT bath completely submerged using the jets on my tub

3. Sleeping on my back

2. Sleeping on my stomach

1. Sleeping through the night without having to go to the bathroom 10 times!

I ENJOY:

10. Only putting on 17 pounds into my 8th month

9. Not feeling like the huge cow I thought I'd feel like by this time

8. Wearing comfortable stretch top capris in the Summer

7. Swimming in the pool and feeling light

6. Decorating her room and receiving cute gifts

5. Attention from strangers

4. Not having to clean Candie's litter box

3. Hanging out with my other pregnant friends and sharing stories

2. Feeling her move inside my tummy

1. Loving her so much already and I haven't even met her!

I am 34 weeks now! On babycenter it said only 42 days to go! Thats not long at all!

I have a checkup tomorrow August 7. Everything is still great. Ross and I went to Myrtle Beach, SC. for the weekend and my feet did swell up a lot. I was also retaining a lot of water that weekend and have been making frequent potty trips ever since we got back! We went to see the Dixie Stampede and the guy giving our food asked Ross and I if we wanted to be part of the races they were having (with about 3 other couples) in front of a huge audience and we had to say no because I'm eight months!

I am getting alot of attention these last months. I never realized how much attention pregnant women get. I have to say, its kinda nice! Everywhere I go to checkout it never fails that the woman asks how far a long I am and if its a girl/boy. I still don't feel like I am as big as I am supposed to be. I thought I'd be much bigger at this point. Its nice when people do give compliments as to how good I look for being almost 8 months. I do continue to eat well and give my baby good nutrition!

Yesterday Aug. 5 I went to the base to walk the 2 mile trail. It felt good to walk it. I may try to walk it each evening from now on. When I wasn't pregnant it took me 30 min. and yesterday it took me 50 min. I assume its because I made 2 bathroom breaks (could have made 3) and stopped for water twice. I wanted to be sure not to overdo it.

Sleeping is not very comfortable for me anymore. In fact, I toss and turn now most nights (which is hard to do when you are trying to get your belly around the other side!) and my arms and hands are asleep when I wake up. Sometimes its hard to turn the alarm off because my hands are asleep. I also wake up very sore...and my ears are even sore! Wierd huh. I'm trying to sleep somewhat on my back at an angle and that seems to make me feel better. Im also waking up almost every hour to use the restroom!

I am trying to finalize Caroline's room so its ready to go. I hung three crosses recently from Audra, Nana Stevener, and Grandpa Clark. I also moved her bookshelf out of the closet and put it next to the rocker so the books are easy to access for when we want to read to her. I took tags off of some clothes/hats, etc. and started washing clothes and crib sheets. I bought some bins for the changing table that will store diapers/wipes/lotions and creams. The decorative boxes that I did have there will be storage for under the crib or in the closet.

The squadron has set up a shower for me for August 24. I am excited about that. I had to update my registries and I am trying to make sure I am registering for the last few items I need!

Soon our baby girl will be here! :) Ross leaves for 2 weeks (Aug. 8-22) and we are praying she waits till daddy gets home for her arrival!

Aug. 7- I saw Dr. Lies today! Everything was great with the pregnancy. At 34 weeks they did the weight check, urine sample, heartbeat, measurement, and gave me a pre-hospital registration form along with a list of things to watch out for this last month. Thats it! Next appt. is 8/19 and doc. said it was a strep test and had to stick a q-tip in both places down there! OUCH! Not sure that will be fun.

Aug. 8- Ross left this morning for Utah for two weeks. I already miss him. At dinner Wednesday night, I asked Ross, so how would you feel if I went into labor while you were gone and you missed everything? He said he would be sad, but that he would get over it. HAH! I said, I WOULDN'T!!! And his eyes got big. He didn't think of it from my perspective I guess! I laughed. I signed up for the womans gym on base for a month. I am doing water aerobics and walking along with stretching and light arm weights. It feels good to get some energy out at the gym and stretch this pregnant body!

Do you see the teddy bear at the top???! He sure is getting closer to 40 huh?!?

Top Questions I have at this point:

1. When will she be here? 2. What will she look like? 3. Is it really a girl? 4. Can't I just hire someone to come clean my house right now? 5. What do contractions really feel like? 6. Why do these cramps hurt so bad? (doc says they are ok) 7. When can I sleep on my tummy and back again?? 8. Why doesn't this car seat seem to fit in the truck and how do you install it? 9. Should I wash ALL of her clothes? 10. Am I drinking too much caffeine!? 11. Will Candie(cat) ever understand that the crib is NOT HER BED?!?!