went in to measure baby since i have been measuring about 5 weeks ahead this whole pregnancy. i had bet that she was bigger than mya, but not by much...

boy was i wrong. she is measuring at 9 pounds. mya was 7 pounds and she was born at 38.5 weeks. of course, i was a 9 pound 3 oz. baby...but still. i was shocked when the tech told me that. i am SO READY TO BE DONE!! i am waiting for my dr. to call and say "come on it and lets get this baby out!" i donno if they would do that at this point tho. i can cross my fingers and am doing so.

anywho...thats about it from my end. here is hoping to have a  happy and healthy baby by the end of the week...

yea, yea, yea...i know--keep on dreamin'!

7.15.2008

Dear Baby Ava,

It’s early in the morning and I have been up for hours. It’s hot and muggy in the house and the last few weeks I have had trouble sleeping. Today is my birthday and I am wishing you would arrive a little early and share my special day with me…but I doubt you will decide to come. You aren’t due until August 6^th, and our c-section isn’t scheduled until the 1^st…I’m sure that with my luck you will hold out until the very end. I am so ready to be done with pregnancy.  You and I have a non-stress test this morning. We have had them twice a week for the last two weeks and will continue them until you are born. They are boring, but I get to hear your heat beat and also see you a little in an ultrasound, so it’s worth being bored for an hour.

I am mostly ready for you to come home. You get to take over your big sisters room and aside from a few things to put away, it’s ready for you. I honestly have not been motivated to do much around here the last few weeks. It’s not much fun to feel nauseated and hot and miserable, and we don’t have a/c…so I often think of excuses as to why I can’t finish any project. I don’t like not being completely prepared for your homecoming, but I also know that once you are here, I will feel better and can work around the house while you cat nap between feedings and diaper changes.

Everyone is so excited to meet you. I wonder what you look like, or who you look like…the only ultrasound picture I have of your profile shows a nose more like mine than daddies. Poor you! Your big sisters ultrasound profile picture looks just like her profile now, it’s amazing. I think you must have daddy’s big flat feet, or at least it looked that way last time I saw them. I think you are bigger than big sister; it will be fun to compare the differences between the two of you. Wow, as I type this, you are very active. You must know that I am thinking about you…you are stabbing me in the belly and sort of slowly turning around in there.  Your big sister is especially excited to meet you. Every night before bed she kisses and hugs my belly and says she loves you. I think she’s going to be a very good helper and take good care of you. She will teach you so many things. She is a brilliant artist and so very smart. I hope you are smart like she is. I hope you have her wonderful personality. She is full of energy and likes to put on a show for anyone. She is a hamm. I never knew how much joy she would bring to my life and I am thankful that I have the chance to be a mommy again. I didn’t expect that I would like being a mommy or that I would be any good at it, but I think I’m doing OK.

It seems like I am watching the clock every second, every minute, every hour…counting the days until you are supposed to be here, crossing my fingers that you will want to meet us as bad as we want to meet you…and that you will just give in! Haha—probably not though, huh?

Well, I think I shall end this here. I should be sleeping as I have to be up in an hour to go to the doctor and I’ve had hardly any solid sleep tonight. So, hold tight in there and give a little thought to giving mommy a really good birthday gift this year, OK? Make your debut! I love you so very much already and can’t wait to meet you…

All my love,

Mommy

well...i had hoped that my water would break on the 13th, and then both my kids would have been born on the 13th. mya on 10-13 and ava on 7-13, but no such luck.

spent the day in the HOT car traveling from home to brightwood and back to pick up a used/new stove from sarah. got it home and in the kitchen (in the 100 degree heat) and found out the outlet was wrong. spent the afternoon (after getting a new digital camera) at home depot trying to figure out if we could change the cord or get an adaptor. mark managed to switch the cord from the old stove onto the new one, and now we have a semi-new stove (its black, so it doesnt match the white fridge and dishwasher) that W O R K S for once and isnt a fire hazard. i have to admit, im looking forward to cooking on/in it soon!!

i talked mark into going to an aa meeting after we finished all the hot and sweaty work, and he was reluctant (he was HOT and tired) but he went and i think after the meeting he felt good about going. im glad we went.

glad i got a new digital camera as my other one broke. cant have a baby without a damn camera--especially when i will probably be out of it for the first few hours of her life. i dont wanna miss out on seeing her entry into the world.

i guess thats about it. going to dads on the 15th to say "hi" on my b-day. maybe ava will decide to enter the world that day--it is after all shared by aunt lil and me...so why not add one more to the list? plus, she didnt come on the 13th, so the 15th is my next wishful day.

ok, i guess thats about it for now. nighty night.

things are getting down to the wire. only 3 weeks (or 21 days--sounds less to me) until my c-section. had my 36 week appt. today. didnt have to do the group b strep test (thank god!) since i wont have a vaginal delivery.  ive gained 4 pounds in the last two weeks--thats a grand total of 38 pounds. man...i sure hope it comes off fast after shes born. i think she will be a bigger baby than miss mya was. altho, i was barfing until the end with #1, so maybe thats why i didnt gain so much weight. i donno.

anyway, had nst # 4 after my 36 week appt. didnt drink coffee before this test, so baby wasnt so active. everything seems fine. i am supposed to go in for some liver test because i have had itchy skin, but it requires a 10 hour fast...and im just not willing to set myself up for getting sick, so i emailed my dr. to see if i could pass on the test. the only thing they will do is monitor me twice a week to make sure baby is active, and im already doing that...so i just dont see any point in risking a trip to the ER this close to delivery. i hope she sees that i have a valid point. shes pretty cool, so im thinking unless shes overly concerned, she will be ok with it. i had the same issues when pregnant with mya, but WAY worse and they didnt do a damn thing for me at that time.

im trying really hard to get some stuff picked up around here. its hard to motivate myself. last time i worked for hours to get it neat and tidy for marks homecoming and he and mya just trashed it--and it hasnt been cleaned since. the bedroom is good to go. closet is free of clutter and the bassinette is up and ready for baby. i have the port-a-crib cleaned and set up in the family room. julio seems to think he should be able to sleep in it which royally pisses me off, so ive moved it away from the ledge where he cant jump into it so easliy, i think this will keep him out of it (i hope so anyway).

anyway...i guess thats about it for now. not too much going on. getting anxious about miss avas arrival. the days seem to be dragging on...