• “Wow, you are going to pop anytime now!”
• “Are you sure there is only one in there?”
• …while rubbing a tummy that they did NOT get permission to rub: “awww, you just look so great!”
• “You aren’t due until _____? Wow, it’s going to be a long, hot summer for you.”
• “Do you have a name picked out?” And then you tell them. And then they say “Oh, I went to school/worked with a ________ and they were the most annoying person on the face of this earth!”
• Any unsolicited advice about labor/delivery or any other topic about what you should do or how they knew someone with a very traumatic experience.
• “Was this baby planned?” (This is the question I hate the MOST!)

We are having a baby! I am getting induced at 6pm tonight. At my appointment on Tuesday, my blood pressure was still high, and my protein count in my urine was high, so I did another 24 hour analysis. Since I am on the climb with these conditions, the Dr. wants to get me delivered to avoid any complications. So we are going in tonight! I just can’t believe it! All of the waiting, planning, stressing, worrying, all comes down to finally having a baby boy in our arms sometime VERY soon.

I will update as soon as I can once baby boy makes his appearance!

Still no progress…I am only a fingertip dilated…so baby boy is just pretty content being cozy inside! However, my blood pressure was a bit on the high side so I had to do a 24 hour urine analysis (everytime I peed for 24 hours I had to put it in this jug and keep it in the fridge-fun!) to check my protein levels. If my protein level is high in addition to my higher blood pressure, I would be on the verge of preeclampsia–meaning, a medical condition serious enough to induce labor before 39 weeks. SO hopefully I will get the tests results tomorrow and go from there.

In GOOD news, congratulations to Eric and Laura on the arrival of Caden Michael on 7/14. He’s definitely a cutie-and I can’t wait for many playdates to come!

I feel like I may be behind most pregnant women when it comes to nesting. My house isn’t spotless in preparation for baby (I mean- we still live in it). I have been attempting to start/finish thank you’s for baby gifts, but I just can’t get motivated. Not to mention, it took me forever to even pack my bag for the hospital, which is a pretty important bunch of items!

I guess I just expected a better spurt of energy about this time…but I think that energy is all being spent trying to will myself to dialate before Tuesday.

That said…thank you’s, here I come…

Well, the Dr. says she is ready for this baby to come as long as I am, and that he is ready as well- but the catch is, physically, I am not ready. No progress, no nothing. Close, she says…so I am hoping for SOMETHING by next Tuesday. We’ll see!

This is my 36 week picture, even though technically I am 37 weeks today-3 to go! As I near the finish line on my first pregnancy, I couldn’t help but look back on the last 9 (10) months and share what I have learned/enjoyed/not enjoyed in preparation for motherhood…

• I really can’t complain. I have had it pretty good this go around. Not a lot of morning sickness, occasional restless leg in my left side, and some mild acid reflux. Nothing that a piece of toast, Tylenol, and Tums can’t help.
• Knowing that you have another life inside of you is one thing, feeling it is another. I think this is what I will miss most about being pregnant.
• The look on Brandon’s face when I was on the phone with the nurse while she was telling me that I was, indeed, pregnant, is something I will absolutely never forget. It is almost the same look he gave me when I told him I was ready to start a family. He’s looked at me that way ever since. I think he will miss me being pregnant!
• The weird range of emotions. They can be somewhat annoying, especially when Brandon would ask “Why are you crying?” and all I could do is sob and say “I don’t know.” I just think that those emotions make you human, and that it doesn’t matter how much you cry, worry, laugh, etc. It’s normal. If all I needed was a hug, Brandon was right there. Sometimes a trip to Dairy Queen was right around the corner. If that’s not a temporary fix, I am not sure what is!
• Decorating the nursery. I turned out to be the most indecisive person when it came to starting this task. I love the idea of decorating a space, but when it comes right down to it, I totally lack in this department. It was a fun learning process though, and I am so happy with the end result. It’s one of my favorite rooms in the house, and I look forward to lots of memories being made in that room.
• Belly touching. I think a pregnant belly is an open invitation for anything- a conversation, advice (good OR bad), and definitely touching. While for the most part it doesn’t bother me, there are few occasions where it did, and I will be glad for this part to be over.

Our next appointment is Tuesday morning and I am hoping for progress!

My mom gave us that end table, and it works perfectly next to the glider. AND it was free! Can’t beat that! I love sitting in this chair, looking at baby’s stuff, anticipating his arrival. It’s coming up SO QUICKLY and I just can’t wait to see his precious face. Brandon will be ready as soon as the closet door is done…at least, that’s what he tells me! I told him at this point, I could really care less about the closet door, but he insists. It should be ready to put in Sunday. I think he is ready regardless of which door is hanging in the closet…he will just feel better having it done. I’m still waiting on that bookshelf

I can’t wait to bring baby home, rock him in this chair, with his tractor lamp on, with 2 kitties at my feet, and new daddy watching from the door…

And then the crying will begin….

And life will never be the same…

We got our answer at the dr. yesterday when the sonogram showed our boy measuring 9 days ahead (!) and weighing 6lbs 4oz. My new due date is July 27th- so 4 weeks to go- maybe less! The sonogram at this stage is really not as fun as I had hoped, because he takes up so much room, it’s hard to see him! BUT he is head down with his butt and legs closer to my right side (which I kind of knew due to the movement there- so things are looking good! Not dialated yet but getting close! Brandon says he will be here the 24th, I am shooting for the 22nd, which is Brandon’s gpa’s birthday. Either way, we are on the right track! I need to get my hospital bag packed before next week’s appointment, just in case….

Sometime last week, I decided that I would incorporate some Curious George prints into baby’s room. I found the perfect set on eBay.

I really didn’t want to spend the money on frames, so I asked my mom what she had in her box of old frames, and she gave me 3 wooden 8×10 frames. One was missing the glass, but I didn’t really want to have the glass in there anyway. Since they weren’t all the same finish, I bought some red spray paint and had Brandon paint them. After that, all we had to do was move one of the brackets on the back so that the horizontal picture would hang the correct way.

This turned out to be somewhat difficult, but Brandon being the amazing person he is, he got it to work just right.

All ready to be hung up!

We (as in Brandon) also got my glider chair put together….

Now, all that is left is the side table to go with the chair (we are going to get one from Brandon’s grandma-I am hoping it works out!) and the bookshelf (which Brandon plans to finish this week.) Then everything will be put away! Tomorrow is our sonogram and first weekly appointment- we’ll see if there is any progress!