Single Digits

We are officially in the single digits!  We have 9, yes, N-I-N-E days to go!  We're getting so anxious to finally meet this sweet little girl!

Last night I was pretty uncomfortable and was having quite a few contractions and cramping.  I sat on my exercise ball, Danny massaged my back and I took a nice hot bath.  I went to bed to wake up and have nothing really going on anymore.  Not knowing what to expect is the hardest part at this point.  So today I plan on going and pampering myself with a pedicure.

Last night we went and watched the first pre-season game for the Redskins at a friends house.  I must say, the Skins were looking pretty good for their first game!  Lets hope this means we will have a promising season.  Marissa has her onesies all ready to go!

Well, now all we do is wait.  We can't really go anywhere since the doctor wants me to stay within a 30 mile radius of the hospital.  I guess we'll enjoy this quiet time while it lasts and finish wrapping things up here at home.

Wish me luck!

Just For You, Mom

My mom has been wondering if I've "dropped" at all, so here's my 38 week pictures!  You tell me if I've dropped.  :)

So, mom...what's the verdict?  Have I dropped?

I had my 38 week 1 day appointment today.  Not much has changed, but I am officially 1 cm dilated!  Wahoo!  Not that it means anything, and labor could still be weeks away, but it's progress.

I only gained a half a pound in the past week, so I was happy about that!  The fresh batch of brownies I made yesterday are calling my name though, which probably isn't good for the scales.

My blood pressure was perfect and the doctor says I look great.  He estimated that Marissa will weigh in the high 7 pound range if she makes it to my due date.  Which that's great news to me.  I know people always say they want small babies, but I really want her to be as healthy as possible.

I think everyone is getting excited, but I still think she is going to be a little late.  Hopefully no one is getting their hopes up too much (mom).  =)

I know I've put a million pictures of the nursery on here, but with each addition to the room, I feel compelled to take more pictures.  So here's just a few more.

We are just patiently waiting at this point.  Danny and I went on a 20 minute walk this evening.  I could definitely feel the burn in my legs and hips.  I am going to have to get my butt in shape after Marissa comes!

Yesterday we found out that Robby and Katie (BIL and SIL) are having a baby boy!  We're really excited for them!  It would have been cool if they were having a girl, but I'm sure they'll still have lots of fun together.  Marissa is still the only grand daughter on Danny's family's side, and of course this is my parent's first grand child.

Danny and I have been talking about holidays and traditions we want to start with Marissa.  It's so fun thinking of all the things we will get to do with her.  We definitely want to start a family vacation once a year.  We haven't decided if we want to pick a place and go there each year at the same time or if we want to go some place new each year and keep the date open.  I guess we have time for deciding all that!

Keurig = Coffee Time...

...and quiet time!  Danny is still in bed, coffee is brewed, the aroma of french vanilla creamer is in the air and the dogs are being as quiet as they can be, for dogs.  So it's bloggin' time for this momma-to-be!

It's been a busy week at work and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon before I go out on maternity leave.  Oh joy!

Today Danny is going to install both car seat bases (seriously, we're running out of time) and hopefully get some yard work done.  We did some shopping last night and I think it's safe to say we will never need toilet paper again, ever!  We just joined Costco a few weeks ago and buying in bulk is fun.  I even got a 3 pack of relaxing CDs for labor.  We need to update our iPods for the hospital, yet another thing to add to my never ending "to~do" list. 

Danny's parents came over a few days ago just to say hey and drop of this little gal!

How cute, huh?  I love monogrammed and personalized stuff.  Which brings me to our next presentation:

Ohhhh-ahhhh!  My co-worker, Linda, made this for me!  Isn't it beautiful?  I love it!!!  It is getting hung in the nursery, today.  She is so talented and put so much thought into this gift.  Love, love, love!  She even drove 6 hours to hand deliver it.  I don't know if you remember the ribbon holder I made, but it has officially lost its spot on the wall in the nursery, this frame will be taking its spot.  Miss Marissa must be one special girl. :)

Now onto the baby gear!  I promised I would have pictures of our rockin' new stroller that we will be sporting Marissa around in.  Thanks again mom, love you!

And our house is officially being taken over by baby gear.  This will probably become Marissa's play area upstairs when she gets a little older.  I think Danny is going to have to make her a play room downstairs at some point.

Some of my co-workers pitched in and got us our Pack N Play (PNP) and they also got us this adorable piggy bank that matches the nursery perfectly!

Marissa's doll collection has already begun!  I can't wait until she's asking daddy to play Barbie's and have tea time. 

We are all set for Marissa.  We got our changing pad for the dresser set up, which I think completes the changing station.  

Everything has been going smoothly.  I had an appointment on Tuesday and have had no progress.  This week I've had a few more braxton hicks contractions but nothing to watch the clock over.  I'll be 38 weeks on Monday and have my next appointment on Tuesday.  We'll see what the doc has to say!  Mom called to say that her bags are packed and she's just waiting for "the call."  She's making me look bad because my hospital bag STILL isn't packed...I'm slowly working on it though.

I will say, one thing I won't miss about being pregnant is my swollen hands and feet.  I feel like I'm a 50 year old woman with arthritis in my hands.  The doctor said it's normal and I should expect to feel that way until Marissa arrives.  Oh well, I guess I really can't complain too much.  I've had such a great pregnancy so far that I would do it all over again (ask me this again after giving birth, lol).

Well, laundry and chores are calling my name.  Til next time!

It's Marissa's Birth Month (we hope)!!

Believe it or not, it's August!  Which means a few things: 1) Marissa should be making an appearance this month 2) We will become parents in ~ 30 days (holy cow) and 3) Our lives are about to change, forever!

We are pretty much all set for Marissa's arrival.  We still have a few things to do, but I think we're ready!  We toured the labor and delivery floor at the hospital on Friday and wrapped up our last birthing class.  A few of us in the class exchanged numbers and contact information to create our own personal "support group" for once our little ones arrive.  Who knows if any of us will actually keep in touch or get together, but it's nice that the option is there.  One couple actually lives right down the street from us and a few other couples live in the county.  

Friday my co-workers threw us a baby shower, it was really nice and we got a lot of great things for Marissa.  I'm so grateful for such kind and generous co-workers.  Plus there was yummy cake and lots of food!  A pregnant woman's best friend. :)  Ha, ha.

A piece of this cake might be calling my name tomorrow morning for breakfast. :o)

Danny came to join in on the fun!

Here's a picture of our pack-n-play we received, it's loaded down with presents for Marissa. 

As always, we had a very busy weekend.  Friday we had our last child birth class, my mom came to visit and my Brother in Law (BIL) and Sister in Law (SIL) came to visit.  They are also expecting their first child in December.  We are so excited for them and it will be a lot of fun having our children so close in age.  Even though they live far away, it will be fun when we all get together!

Saturday mom and I went shopping.  We got a few things to get ready for Marissa, including a mattress cover/protector, a tummy time mat and my mom also bought our stroller for us (thank you, mom - you're the best!).  I also got an exercise ball and some nursing bras for me.  I made a rice sock and a tennis ball pressure sock to take to the hospital with us.  I love sitting on the exercise ball, it's so comfy and hopefully will come in handy during labor.  We learned a lot of different ways to use it in class.  So now we are all set!  Danny is *hopefully* going to install the car seat this week and set up the stroller.  Pictures to come soon. :)  I have started packing my hospital bag, but still need to buckle down and get it ready to go.  I've been working on the last bit of baby laundry that we got from my work shower and other than hanging up a few decorations in the nursery, I will have the next 3 weeks to relax and enjoy this time with Danny.

Tomorrow I will be 37 weeks!  3 to go!  Can't wait to meet you, Marissa.

Ohhh...and I just have to brag on my husband for a quick second.  On Saturday we were at his parents house and his cousin had her baby there, Aubrey (who is almost 2 months old now).  She was starting to get a little fussy so Danny practiced one of the 5 S's on her -- shushing!  It worked like a charm.  He looked so cute rocking her and trying to calm her down.  I know he is going to be a great dad!

...Time is Running Out

I had my 36 week appointment on Tuesday.  Marissa is doing good, measuring on track and in the head down position but not ready to make her entrance into the world yet.  I think she is going to be fashionably late!  But only time will tell.

Overall I'm still feeling great.  I know, I'm the crazy pregnant lady who actually enjoys being pregnant.  The hardest part is getting up several times in the night to use the bathroom and I have had some slight swelling.  At night my hands and arms fall asleep.  This is a typical pregnancy symptom.  I think I just get so dehydrated at night that it contributes to the swelling.  It will be nice to have my own feet and hands back!  I hope I can fit back into my wedding rings soon.  I miss wearing them.

The full moon is on August 24th and Danny thinks that Marissa will arrive on the 25th.  I'm really curious to see what a contraction feels like.  I wonder if I'll be able to handle the pain or if I'll be screaming for an epidural after the first serious contraction.  I like to think I'll be able to handle things, I just need to keep calm, relaxed, remember to breathe and take it one contraction at a time.  I know that only about 10-15% of women have their water break naturally, and it's nice because it's a sure sign to go to the hospital but I'm kind of hoping that my water doesn't break too early.  If my water doesn't break early in labor then I will be able to use the birthing tub during active labor.  I think that would be really relaxing but if my water breaks then I can't get in the tub because of the risk of infection.  I love that our hospital has birthing balls, the tub, a squat bar and other remedies to help women who want to have a natural, med-free birth.  Laboring on your back in bed is the absolute worst position to birth in (but it's convenient for Doctor's, go figure).  At our hospital, if you get an epidural, you have to labor in bed the entire time!  No walking, moving around, nothing.  Not how I picture things going.

In our birthing class last week we got to try some different techniques to relax, open the birth canal and deal with contractions.  I really like the birthing ball.  There's so many things you can do to ease some of the pain.  We also did things like slow dancing with our spouse, lunges, pressure points, therapeutic massage and dangling in a squat position.  We've practiced some breathing techniques, but I'll be honest, it's really hard to practice breathing through a "fake" contraction.  The instructor suggested that we keep our breathing as normal as we can for as long as we can.  When things start to get tough, we can try deep breaths in and exhale deeply.  Then when the pain really gets strong, we break out the he-he-hooo's (fast breathing)!

We have our last birthing class on Friday and it feels so surreal.  The whole ordeal feels so surreal.  We have a nursery in our house, we have a car seat waiting to be installed, I'm having my last baby shower on Friday, but it just doesn't feel real yet.  The time has gone by so fast and I can't believe we will be meeting our little girl in approximately 26 days.  We get to tour the labor and delivery floor on Friday, maybe that will make things more real for me?  I guess since I am still pretty comfortable, I haven't reached that point where I'm done with this pregnancy.  I see/hear of so many women complaining in these last few weeks of pregnancy (some women complain the day they find out they are pregnant, I think it's just a way to get attention).  They get so impatient and are willing to put the health of their child at risk just to have an outside baby.  It's absurd! People don't seem to understand that 37 weeks is considered "full term" but that doesn't mean the baby is ready to enter the world.  The baby can double its brain mass in the last few weeks in the womb, isn't that more important than your comfort?  Having your child early could cause problems such as learning disabilities later in life, ADD, ADHD, etc.  I just want Marissa to be a healthy baby and I'll do anything I can to make sure that happens.  I don't know that I could live with myself knowing that I did something to jeopardize her health.

Alright, enough rambling...here's my 36 week belly pictures and a quick update on how things are progressing (or lack thereof, hence why I think Marissa will be fashionably late):

• Dilation - I'm closed up like Fort Knox.
• Effacement - Zero.
• Appetite - Still going strong, but I think I've been a little bit better the past few days.
• Total Weight Gain - About 30 pounds so I'm still within my recommended weight range.
• Contractions - A few braxton hicks contractions but nothing to call the Doctor about.
• Bathroom breaks in the night - 3 to 4 a night!  How do I get any sleep?
• Heartburn - Some here and there, I have to watch out for certain foods but V8 tomato juice has been tasting SOOO good lately.  I can literally chug it now and before I could barely take a sip at a time.
• Movement - Marissa is still moving around quite a bit, considering she is probably getting pretty cramped in there.  It still amazes me to see my belly moving, I think I will really miss all the movements.
• Cravings - Still no real cravings, total bummer...I still have a little over 3 weeks to get some crazy craving that Danny has to run to the store in the middle of the night for, wishful thinking...maybe!?
• Swelling - Fingers, feet and ankles are a little swollen, belly is extremely swollen. :-P  I guess it could be worse, plus this heat probably doesn't help.  

Maternity Photo Session

This weekend we had our maternity photo session with Danny's sister.  I really like how the pictures turned out.  I plan to narrow it down to a few that I really like and get them framed for our bedroom.  I hope she will also do our newborn photo session, those will be the pictures that we cherish for a lifetime!

35/35

Happy 35/35 to me!  You might be wondering what the heck I'm talking about...35/35 means I've gone 35 weeks and I have 35 D-A-Y-S to go!  Woot, woot! :-P