Here are a few Glamour Shots we had taken a couple of weeks ago - check out myspace to see them all!

37 Weeks

Yesterday, I went for my 37 week check up. I was scheduled to see Dr. Clark (the high-risk specialist), but after waiting for 3 HOURS the medical assistant asked if I minded seeing Shannon the nurse practitioner since it would probably be a couple more hours before Dr. Clark was available. At that point if they had said they had a medical monkey available I would have readily agreed. Anyway, I had had some concerns that Emily was behaving way too much like her mother and had managed to be ass-backwards, or in more polite terms, breech. However, Shannon (the ARNP) did the exam and said she could definitely feel the sutures of the head so she was not breech. BIG relief! She also said that I was still dilated one centimeter. That was kind of a bummer. I had been daydreaming all the way to the Dr. office about being told that I was dilated several centimeters and about to have this baby. But, Emily must be a little too comfortable in her warm, watery digs and in no hurry to make a grand entrance. Oh, well. I have waited this long, I guess I can manage to wait awhile longer.

On a funnier note...

Last night a pretty vicious sinus infection began to make itself known by means of a killer headache. In an attempt to relieve the ache, I went to bed with a cool washcloth over my eyes. At some point during the night, the washcloth must have fell off my face and onto the bed because it made a huge wetspot. Later during the night I rolled over into the wetspot. After a few moments of wondering why in the world my rear end was wet and cold, I suddenly sat straight up (well, kind of. I really kind of pulled myself into a semi-sitting position) convinced that my water had broken. After a few moments my mind cleared and reality set in and I realized that the only water I was feeling had come from the bathroom tap. I really think I am thinking about this WAAYYY to much...

1 CM!!!

We went to the Dr. this morning and found out I am 1cm dilated! Whoo-hoo!!!!! Now, I know this isn't much and I could stay at 1cm for a few weeks yet, but at least SOMETHING has happened! Every cm brings us a little closer to a baby! The Dr. also once again assured us that my big, swollen, cartoon looking feet are no cause for concern. Some wannabe M.D.'s out there (and you know who you are) have told me that they are going to take me off work, put me on bedrest, yada yada yada... Once again Dr. Grider said that as long as my blood pressure stays normal and my proteins are good, then I can pretty much do anything I want.

I really debated on whether or not to admit this, but maybe someone out there can offer me some reassurance... All of a sudden I have this overwhelming, horrible fear that something will be wrong with our baby. All of the tests I have had say everything is A-ok and I haven't been given the slightest cause for concern, but I just can't seem to shake it. Has any other Mom's out there experienced the same thing??

Babyshower

Today we had my baby shower and, boy, did we clean up!! :) Seriously though, we received all kinds of super nice things. I just want to thank my Mom, my MIL Bonnie and my bestest freiend ever Tiffany for all the work they did to make today as special as it could be!! Everything went off without a hitch and I couldn't be happier with it all!!!

The shower was over at about 5pm and Kerry and I have spent the rest of the evening washing all the new blankets, tiny little sleepers and itsie bitsie little socks and finding homes for all of our new treasures. We absolutely cannot wait to try everything out on her. I know it must sound like I am about to conduct a science experiment or receive some kind of new toy, but all of this is such a new experience to us that we are just super excited to experience it all. Tomorrow we are going to pick up just a few last minute things that we didn't get at the shower (after all we did receive it hardly seems possible that there is something we are missing!!!!!!) and then we will be all ready to welcome our beautiful little baby girl into the world!!

PS.

Check out the shower pics!

Yet another Dr. Appt

Had another Dr. appt today. Everything seems to be fine, but the Dr. I was supposed to see was stuck in the OR so I ended up seeing the nurse practitioner instead. She performed the strep culture and checked out some weird rash I have on my belly. It seems that there is something called the PUPPP rash that some women get during pregnancy, so she gave me a RX for some kind of cream to rub on to relieve the itching. And, boy, is the itching intense!!! Thank goodness I got some relief. I asked her if there was any way to tell how big Emily is and she told me that guessing a baby's size is kind of like trying to determine the sex of the baby by the speed of the heartbeat - pretty inaccurate. Oh,well. Just another surprise we have to look forward to.

While I still feel Emily move quite a bit (I was awakened this morning by a case of baby hiccups :), it seems like she is starting to slow down some. I guess she is starting to run out of room in there! As anxious as I am to get her born so I can finally formally meet her, it will be sad not to feel her wiggling around in there.

We went over to visit our friends Roy and Jennifer tonight, who are expecting a little boy about a week after our Emily is due. It was fun to sit around and compare pregnancy symptoms with each other and, of course, my husband the amateur photographer had to snap several pics of us two big-bellied beauties!! :)

34 Weeks

So, we are now at 34 weeks and officially in the home stretch! We had a Dr. appt last Thursday (everything is great) and will have one every week now. I have to say that the Dr. appointments are getting a little monotonous, but I understand why they are necessary. I also have to say that I am enjoying being pregnant now more than ever before. It is so much fun to lay and watch my belly move. From the way she is pushing out, she must really be running out of room in there! The more she pushes, the more my tummy stretches and the more my tummy stretches, the more it ITCHES!!! I have never experienced an itch like this before! Sometimes it is so intense, I can hardly stand it. Oh, well. Small price to pay for a big, healthy baby!
Kerry and Chloe are also enjoying being able to participate in the pregnancy by being able to feel Emily moving around. I can totally see how Dads feel sort of left out of the whole pregnancy thing, but at least he can feel my belly and, in that way, feel more included. But, just a few more weeks and he will be able to feel more included than I think he ever wanted to be!!! :)