Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Update

Hi everyone! Sorry that we've been MIA for a couple of days. It turns out that 7-mile walk was pretty productive! (Thanks, AlRo...I owe you one.)

Yesterday we started noticing some signs that perhaps the baby was on his way out; this morning, I awoke with contractions and have been steadily progressing all day. We checked in at the hospital briefly, and for those with strong stomachs who know what this means (all others skip this next line):

I was 2 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced, with the contractions coming between 5 and 7 minutes apart.

The better news is that my own personal doctor is on-call at the hospital tonight, so when she released us back home to keep strolling the halls and trying to relax, she said, "Guys, it's gonna be me! I'm gonna deliver the baby!" (As cheerful as she sounded, she couldn't have been half as happy as we are about that scenario.)

So here we are, pacing and contracting--well, one of us is, anyway--and waiting to give all of you some big news by tomorrow at the latest. We probably won't be using the phone much since we're trying to stay active and get this show on the road, but we promise to make up for it in the days to come!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Chariots of (and legs on) Fire

At Wednesday's doctor appointment, I was told that the baby was completely in gear and ready to go...it was just a matter of alternately taking a lot of walks, baths and naps in order to encourage him to venture out.

After I vowed not to sit down again until that baby was in my arms (!), I convinced AlRo to go for a "long, slow" walk with me today. This is the route we ended up taking:


View Larger Map

We walked for 6.8 miles continuously, stopping only for bathroom breaks and some snacks to help us through the last leg of our journey! No baby yet, but at least I'm doing my part!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Asking the Audience

Here's hoping that the 50% of you who predicted I'd go into labor by today (at 39 weeks along) are as reliable as the audience on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

No, I'm not particularly uncomfortable, and I'm doing a good job of enjoying these last days of non-motherhood...but I have no objections if this baby wants to make his way out in the next few hours!

Here are some of the things I've been distracting myself with--many ideas courtesy of my lovely friends and family members:

  1. Walking. Everywhere. (Thanks, Cindy.) To the post office, the grocery store, our new favorite dinner spot, no holds barred. The only caveat is that I have to make sure there's a restroom every .6 miles or I have to rush home, trying to cross my legs as I walk (which is a difficult-to-impossible feat).
  2. Hanging out with all my local girls, including Lauren and Kerry in their rare off-hours and AlRo before she gets tied up with her new job.
  3. Reading before bedtime; going to movies; trying to fit in other fun stuff that will be more difficult in the coming months! (Thanks to Maria and Julie for the wealth of suggestions.)
  4. Cleaning and organizing our office, guest rooms and closets.
  5. Baking for my doctor's office, for my hairstylist, and for anyone else willing to accept treats from me. Yes, otherwise known as "nesting."
  6. Having no attention span for TV anymore, although I did watch the "Dancing with the Stars" season premiere last night, and I think it's actually mindless enough to suck me in!
  7. And of course I will be eating pizza for dinner on Friday evening after my dad returns from his business trip. (Thanks again, Cindy!)

Any other suggestions for the last week or so?

Also, don't forget to leave a comment predicting the baby's size!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Pounds, Ounces and Inches

It's time for you to "weigh in" on our final Nooner poll!

We're asking for specifics here, so please leave your guesses in the comments section. Tell us your thoughts on pounds, ounces, and inches...you can even throw in eye color and hair/no hair opinions if you've got 'em! Plus, because with this poll we can see who made which predictions, we can reward the most accurate respondent with a surprise package of goodies...so it's really worth your while. :-)

To give you something to go on:
  • My father was ten and a half pounds at birth. My husband was nine pounds, fourteen ounces. I told this to a nurse many months ago, and she replied, "Oh, that's OK. How big is your husband now?" When I said he was over six-foot-two, she raised her eyebrows and admitted that the baby would probably be big.
  • The nurse who saw his most recent ultrasound said that based on the amount of fluid she saw, "you've got a big baby."
  • The same nurse then palpated my abdomen and said that he was "about eight pounds, and will probably be nine or nine and a half if he goes to full term [forty weeks]."
    When I fretted about this report to my nurse practitioner, she reassured me that she'd been told her own baby was going to be eight pounds...and turned out to be five and a half, even at full term.
  • The average size of a newborn in the United States is seven and a half pounds, with boys trending toward the eight-pound mark; the average length is between 19 and 21 inches.

Thanks for giving us all your guesses--we love reading them, and we can't wait to name a winner!

Two Weeks to Go...

Well, I hope that the majority of poll respondents were correct in that I will be going into labor this week. No, I'm not desperately uncomfortable, and I've still got the energy to work out and get around every day, but I am so impatient to meet this (not-so-) little devil.

Here are some pictures of the 38-week profile. No real changes from two weeks ago, which hopefully means that the baby's good and baked!



Saturday, September 6, 2008

Belle & Joe Visit

We got a visit from our niece and nephew last weekend, and we got to show off our new digs. My sister brought over breakfast, and we had a great time hosting the kids and seeing the house through their eyes. Of course, no visit from Bella and Joe-Joe is complete without at least one game of "Whoopee" (Dave twirls Joe in the air until he shouts "Too high!" or "Too scary!") and one round of "Spider-niece" (pretty self-explanatory once you see the pictures below).




There was also a little time for the mouse game, which is too hard to explain here; suffice it to say, the mouse game was the cause of all the giggling going on:



The kids also gave us ideas about how to use our outdoor patio area--even if they aren't great at keeping their flip-flops on, they are still cute and helpful!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

36 Weeks and a Brand New Poll


Here I am at 36 weeks, with nine lunar months under my belt (and roughly nine pounds of baby above my belt, from the look of it).

And now that we are crawling through the last month of pregnancy, it's time to ask our family and friends for some more fun guesswork. We'd like to know when you think this baby is coming, so be sure to record your vote on the poll in the sidebar. Hopefully you are more accurate this time around!