Well, better news this week than last.  The doctor says I am dialated to a 2 and the cervix is continuing to soften.  He said he predicted a baby within the next weeek - which is comforting and also a relief.  Though, its only a prediction, it will give me something to focus on, especially because I am actually due this Sunday (16th).

The baby's heartbeat was 145 and I am measuring on target.  The baby's head is at a -1, which is one centimeter "north" (as I call it) of zero.  Zero is the ideal position for the baby's head entering the cervix and getting ready for delivery (I think).  The doctor said a -1 is great, but zero is ideal.   My doctor is on call this weekend, so if Chapstick came on time, that'd be great!!

I have been having pain in my lower back and pelvic area since last Saturday.  It feels like menstral cramps (but obviously not) and it comes and goes in more intense waves.  The doctor said it was becaus ethe cervix is moving apart and getting ready for baby.  Another good sign of delivering soon.

We totally finished with the crib last weekend and put it up in the nursery.  It looks so awesome (check out the pics in the photo album).  I'm so proud of my hubby, he did such a great job!!  All I had to do was sand and stain a little.  "Thank you Lord for bringing me an engineer!"

This weekend we are going to work on building a long shelf - maybe - to go in the nursery.  We have built a corner shelf already, which I finished polying this morning.  Its perfect for the monitor to set on in the corner of the room by the crib.  I'm going to clean the house this weekend and cross my fingers.

Hope baby comes!!

Today was the eleventh OB apppointment with a new doctor, whom I really like and have now switched to my primary doctor.   The disappointing thing is there is nothing new to report.  I am still ONLY dialated to a 1 and the cervix is still ONLY 50% softened.  The good news is the baby is still rollin' around in there quite a bit and the heart beat is looking healthy.

I gotta say though, that I was looking forward to him telling me I was dialated further, but wishful thinking didn't prevail this time.  He also told me that most first-time mothers deliver past the due date - GREAT!!  That's not what I wanted to hear 9 days before Chapstick's due date.  I guess you can't rush a good thing.  He did say that he would not let me go more than 2 weeks past March 16th, as long as I become more dialated down the road.

Next Thursday is the 12th OB appointment, so maybe something will change from now until then.

Alright, those of you wishing Chapstick would come early (me included), will have to wait a little longer according to the nurse practicioner I saw today.  She said everything is pretty much the same as last week so we'll have to wait until the contractions start.  Bummer, the anticipation is eating me alive!  The heartbeat was at 132 then climbed to a 142 because the baby decided to say "Hello" while she was monitoring.  She said I am measuring right on target.

Zach and I did not work on the crib last weekend at all, even though we planned on it for Sunday.  Too tired and drained from a wedding the night before and a little traveling involved.  Hopefully this weekend we can make enough progress on the project that it will be done.  Not much else is new, so we'll have to see if any changes happen next week.  I'll be seeing a different doctor (which I'm excited about), one I've never seen before.  If I like him enough, I may just switch altogether since I really don't like the doctor I have now.  We'll see...

As you can see, I have started going to the doctor once a week now.  I saw a different nurse practicianer this last time, she was very nice.  The baby's heartbeat was 135.  That is the lowest it has ever been, the baby was very inactive at the appointment.  Trust me, it still moves around quite a bit, elbows and feet mostly.  I am measuring right on target and there has been no change in cervix since the last appointment.  We'll see if any changes have occurred this Wednesday.

Zach and I are still pluggin' away at the crib, so hopefully this weekend we can call it done - we'll see. 

I went to a breast feeding class last Tuesday, which was very informative and educational.  I'm glad they provide opportunities for moms-to-be to learn more about it.  Hopefully everything goes smoothly when Chapstick arrives, and if it doesn't, oh, well.  We'll handle it then!

Thursday last week I went to the fire hall in West Duluth to get the car seat situated in the Tahoe.  I'm not sure what I was expecting it to be like, but it went very well.  The lady (Laura) explaine dhow to do it and it looked so easy.  I'm glad we had it done because according to some statistics 7/10 parents install them wrong - CRAZY!!  Anyway, hpefully we can meet Chapstick soon, the anticipation is starting to get to be too much :)