The Home Stretch

So Today was my last doctor's appointment. The doctor cannot believe that I haven't gone into labor yet. I am 4 cm dilated - might be too much info for some, but at 10 cm is when you push. So basically I am almost halfway there.

I have been scheduled to be induced on 2/7 - Next Wednesday. Basically starting at Midnight on Tuesday 2/6 the hospital can call at any point to say "come in, your room is ready for you to be induced." I guess it's like being on call.

My feeling is that once I actually go into labor, It will be somewhat quick.

Today was my last day of driving to work. I still have 2 days of work left, but Justin is now done working until March 3, so he will take me and pick me up for the next 2 days.

My feet are now swollen too. This is the first time this has happened, but today I looked at my foot and it is like a block, with no ankle. I guess I can be thankful that today is the first day of swelling. I know a lot of people are swollen for a while.

Well, I have to go back and lay on the couch now with my feet up. We will keep everyone posted.

Predictions anyone?

So it seems that my dad, Caden's Grandpa, has started the prediction game for when we will have this baby. He predicts February 1, 8 pounds 1 oz.
Anyone else have a prediction? Leave a comment and we will see who is the closest. Maybe you will get a prize - like the first phone call when the baby is born...

On a side note, if I haven't had the baby by February 7, I will be induced that day, so don't vote for February 8 as the birth day, unless you want to lose. :)

Ultrasound update

The ultrasound was today and it went well. The tech said the estimated weight of the baby is about 6.9 pounds. The baby is supposed to gain about a half pound a week at this point, so I am thinking I will be having this baby next weekend and end up with an 8 pound baby. Not sure if anyone is placing their bets yet, but we will see what happens.

Ultrasound this Friday

FYI, I will be having my 2nd ultrasound this Friday. They are going to check the baby's weight. My doctor is guessing the baby is around 7 pounds, but wants to make sure. Hopefully he doesn't weigh more than that right now, or else February 3 is not going to be here soon enough since the baby gains a half pound a week at this point until he is born.....

Also - obviously we didn't have the baby on our birthday, in case anyone was unsure about that.

The Official Countdown

Some people were wondering how much longer we have until Caden is here. Well, the official countdown is on. This is for noon on the due date.
Get your own countdown at BlingyBlob.com

Going home outfit

We have picked the baby's going home outfit too. We each picked a part of the outfit. Let's see if you can guess who picked what - Pictures are below




That's right, Caden now has a camo hunting hat and a I love mommy outfit to wear home. We didn't say he would be coordinated, but Mom & Dad sure like the look.

Preparing the dogs

So, we are working on preparing the dogs for the new addition. What that means is we have a doll - Baby Beth - in a diaper, baby powder and swaddled in a blanket, and we carry her and hold her like a baby. We talk to her and keep the dogs from licking her. All this is supposed to get the dogs ready for the baby.



As you can see from the picture, right now baby beth is sleeping in the crib. Our tests haven't really calmed the dogs down, but Charlie's visit was a good indicator of what is going to happen. Basically we will be letting the dog's sniff Caden for a while before they are used to him.

37 weeks today - 3 weeks left

So I am at 37 weeks now, that means 3 weeks left until the due date. I know that everyone wanted to see just how big my stomach is so I have obliged. As you can see, it's like having a basketball attached to you. Normal things just got a bit harder. For instance, getting up from a chair is hard. Once you get up, your stomach weighs you down. Walking - that is something I can still do, but I am real slow. I also am waddling quite a bit. But I guess that is normal. Getting out of bed it tough too, especially since you have to get up about 5 times each night to go to the bathroom.





I had my doctor's appt on Tuesday. I am 1 -2 centimeters dialated. That means I could have the baby tomorrow, or I could stay dilated like this for a few weeks. We will see what they say after this Tuesday's appt.



The baby's room is all ready, we have installed 1 car seat base so far, the other will be installed this weekend. We are packing the hospital bag too so we will be ready.

The other excitement for this week was our trip to the emergency room. Justin caught some sort of stomach virus and at 3 am on Thursday morning, he let me know that he needed to go to the emergency room. He had been sick for about 8 hours straight at that point and no liquid would stay down. After 2 hours and 2 IV's, we were discharged. Pretty wild that our 3am ER visit was for Justin and not this pregnant lady.

2 more days and I am in the clear to not catch the virus. Let's keep our fingers crossed because I definitely can't deal with that right now.

Life at 35 weeks

35 weeks have passed already! Each week I think I am as big as I can get, and then I just keep getting bigger. Last week at the doctor, they told me I had to remove my belly button ring. The nurse said that I am just going to keep getting bigger and it could passibly rip my stomach. Well we don't want that, but removing it is easier said than done. It turns out, I have never been able to remove the ring. So my solution - go to the professionals! So I went to the piercing parlor and they had to use a tool to remove it. But now, my stomach is belly ring free. Since then, my belly button has also been stretched. It's not to the limit yet, but getting there.

From now on (starting next week) I will have weekly doctor appts. Every Tuesday morning I go to the doctor and they check to see how I am doing. I think it's more of the same, check the blood pressure, my weight and the baby's heartbeat.

Other exciting events that have happened - Justin graduated from Daddy boot camp and we finished the birth basics and breathing class. We practiced our breathing. I am feeling good about that. We also tried using the birthing ball, which is like 2 yoga balls fused together. I think I will request it when it's time for the main event.

Our next task is the birth plan. We will be writing that today. The plan is to hold off of the epidural for as long as possible and not have a c-section.

The other big task to start on is daycare. Who knew, the baby is not even here yet and we already have to start looking for daycare. The places fill up very fast and we need to make a reservation for April for our little baby.

Lots of changes going on.