Our Last Night as Two

Tonight Roy and I went to Olive Garden to "celebrate" our final night of being just the two of us. My mom is flying into town tomorrow, and Warren will be here no later than Tues., so tonight was our last night to be "alone" for many years to come. Roy has been so sweet during my pregnancy. He's really been extra caring and kind. Even tonight when I told him I brought my camera, so I can blog our last night alone, he got up and took the above pic w/o even complaining! That's a true miracle!!! LOL So, to a life of just the two of us, we say goodbye. To a new life of the three of us, we say welcome.

37 Weeks Dr. Appt

We are holding steady! I am 1.5cm dilated and 80% effaced. I gained 1lb, which is mostly from the water in my swollen ankles, and my belly measured the same due to Warren having dropped. The doctor said Warren's head is way down; he actually said he felt it!!! We set an induction for March 31 at 6am. I have another appt. next Thursday.

Getting Ready for Warren

I have been giving Roy plenty of honey-do's lately. One of which I am so excited, and it is really for me and not the baby - a jewelry organizer! I had all my earrings and necklaces in a pile, and they were always getting tangled, and I was always getting mad about it, so Roy made this organizer for me. It is in my closet, so it's right by my clothes, which makes so much sense.

I was nesting like crazy last weekend after my OB told me I was 75% efface. I cleaned out the two big storage closets we have in our laundry room just off of our kitchen. I actually wiped down the shelves with disinfectant cleaner! My nesting once again made work for Roy, because he had to carry out to the shed all the paint and stuff that I didn't want in the closet. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, I offered to help, but he told me to go sit down and cross my legs, so Warren doesn't come early! LOL

Warren's room is pretty much ready. I got the diaper stacker that matching his bedding and filled it with diapers, and I also used the ribbon and clothespins from my friend shower diaper cake and made a little "mommy, daddy, and Cleo" picture area in Warren's room. Looks a little cheezy, but my decorating abilities are extremely limited!

I also got all of our bags packed and ready to go, and I have made arrangements for Cleo, too.

In all my nesting, I still managed to buy something just for myself - Bath and Body smell-me-goods! They had a buy 3 get 3 free sale, and so I stocked up.
I have been feeling pretty good this week, considering that it's my first week back to teaching since spring break, and also considering that I am nearly to D-day. I have felt ginormous most of this week, and Warren is obviously bigger. I actually felt his head at my hairline this week! I guess he must have reared it back or something, but it was amazing. He is moving all over the place, and I think he is moving farther down. It's so hard to tell because I have carried low the whole time. I have had more pressure, for sure. I have also had quite a few contractions today, but nothing painful at all, and they don't stay consistent very long. I don't want to make an unnecessary trip to the hospital, so I won't go until I am pretty sure it's the real deal. Tomorrow is my next OB appointment, so we will see what he says!

My final two showers are this week - tomorrow night and Friday! I have really been blessed!

36 Weeks Checkup

Well.... I am dilated 1cm but I'm 75% effaced! He said it was good that I was effaced because some women dilate but don't efface -- guess that makes delivery harder or more painful or something. The exam was a little uncomfortable, but not too bad. I do have quite a bit of bleeding/clotting, but he said that might happen.

Dr. said baby is head down. His heartbeat is about 140bpm. He is about 6.5lbs. I had only gained one pound, and I measured at 35cm. My group B test from last time was negative, so that's one less thing I have to think about.

While the doctor didn't say it, I think he thinks I am going to go early rather than late, but I suppose these things are never an exact science. I talked to him again about inducing me on the 2nd, but he reminded me that his office is moving to the new hospital on the 1-3rd, so he won't be inducing those days. So, I just told him that I will be walking from 7a - 7p trying to get this baby out on the 2nd!!! He laughed, and said "If you go that long, I can induce you on the 31st." He has never said "if" before, so that was another clue that maybe he thinks I will be earlier. Anyway, the 31st would be convenient for me and Roy, but my mom's flight doesn't arrive until the 1st. We'll see what happens. My next appt. is in one week.

It's soooo close now!!!

Friend Shower

Saturday I had a wonderful time with my friends at my friend shower. It was great to be with a group of ladies that know me well and I know them well, so we could all be ourselves and not have any awkward "shower moments," if you know what I mean. Here are some pics of the day:

My wonderful friends and hostesses, Staci and Melissa

Staci made the most delicious white cake I have ever had - I mean it! She also made a cookie bouquet that was adorable, and the punch was ice cream, sherbet, and ginger ale - all sooo yummy! The crazy thing? She left ALL of that with me after the shower!!!! Warren will be enjoying lots of sugar this week! LOL

Staci also filled these little bottles with candy pacifiers and made little tags to welcome baby Warren. The guests each took one home. Such a cute touch!

Melissa was my college roommate. She has a secret talent for decorating! Every item she used to decorate was something for the baby! Isn't this the cutest diaper cake ever?!!!
See the daisies below? Melissa put them together in that vase with marshmallows! Who would think of something so cute?

I received so many nice things for Warren: a wipes warmer, some super cute outfits, some very nice tennis shoes, some bowls and spoons, a spinning bottle dryer, foot rattles, and so much more.

I had just told my mom the other day that I needed to get Warren a little hat - and he got a puppy one at the shower! It has little ears that stick up on the top! My friend Kita made the cutest letters for Warren's name. I am using the puppies from the shower decor to accent the letters. I plan to hang them around the letters. Right now I just set them on top, but it still looks really cute, I think.
After the shower, Melissa, Kita, and I went and ate and then did a little shopping. It was so much fun to just hang out and laugh with each other. Melissa stayed the night with me because Roy was in Dallas presenting a paper at a conference. She and I rarely see each other, so it was so much fun to hang out together.

Thanks to everyone who made this such a special and fun day for me! I can't wait for Warren to meet my great friends.

Holy Crapoly! I'm almost there!

Did you notice the ticker above? I am on the final baby block!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAh!!!!! I am not sure whether to cry or cuss!!!! :)

I can't say I am nervous about labor and delivery, really, and I am not nervous about knowing how to take care of Warren, but Roy and I are both nervous about prioritizing a baby in our busy lives. My heart tells me that it won't be too difficult at first because I will want to spend all my time with him (I'm a naive new mom, I know!), but once the school year starts, I will have to be sure and not bring much work home, which most years seems nearly impossible. I must say that I am really excited to see my husband as a daddy, and to be able to help Warren pick out a Father's Day gift. We are definitely both ready for this time in our lives; I am so glad we waited nearly twelve years to have a baby!

A friend gave me a $100 gift card to Barnes and Noble and told me it was for books for Warren. I got online and was able to get 13 books, two of which were box sets! So even though Warren can't even see a book right now, that totals to about 25 books he already owns - anything to keep him from liking sports!!!! Ugh.

34.5 Weeks Dr. Appt.

This picture shows how I feel these days - stressed, exhausted, and swollen! I am thankful this pregnancy has been so easy, but I am now in the last 5.5 weeks and having some of the normal aches and pains/symptoms that come along with it: swollen feet, tiny blood spots on my belly (though no stretch marks - yet!), waddling, sagging/wider breasts, restless nights, stress, more noticeable veins, and so on. When Roy took this pic, he had to get "just the right angle," of course, because he wanted to get my belly button in the pic. It's still an innie, but it is stretched out so much that it is very noticeable. But hey, look at those milk machines! LOL I bought some nursing bras and they are 38B. I normally wear a 34A, so that's a big jump for me. I am still practicing how to get the nursing flap undone in less than 5mins!

The appointment... I gained 4lbs (in two weeks!), but the doctor said some of that is the baby and some is the water weight/swelling. I measured at 34 centimeters, which is right where I should be. My BP was 130/70, and Warren's heartbeat sounded strong as always. The doctor did the group B strep swabbing, and I guess I will find out results in two weeks at my next appointment. He will also start checking me then. We talked again about induction, but he said he his moving his office on April 1-3, so inducing on the 2nd is not his preference. We may just wait until April 7th to induce, if Warren doesn't come before then. My due date is April 5, so we'll see. He said we will get a better indicator of time when he starts checking me, but one never really knows when labor will begin. You know I love that unpredictability!

I finally have a substitute for my maternity leave. I met her this week, and I think she will work hard with the kids. I have been working hard to get my lesson plans finished. So far I have through April 3 - only 8 weeks left to write. Ugh.

My next baby shower is Sat. the 7th, and then school is throwing one for me and the other mommy-to-be on the 20th, I think. I love checking my registries to take a sneak peek at what people have bought! I'm bad; I know. :)

32 Weeks Dr. Appt.

I LOST 1lb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hurray!!!!!!!!!!! I was so worried that I was going to have gained another 4lbs in these last two weeks, but I lost one! Super happy about that! I measured at 31 centimeters, and Warren's head is down now. His heartbeat is still strong.

At my next appt. (in two weeks), I will have the group B streptococcus screening. While I know the worst is yet to come, I am a bit anxious about this test, because it will be the first time my OB has seen my cha-chee while I'm pregnant. It is all so swollen and huge down there, that it is very hard to know if it's completely clean since I can't even see it without a mirror. I'm being too paranoid, I know; the doc sees women all the time with the same issue, so it would be no big deal to him, but I keep thinking about a story an old friend told me: Do you remember green stamps? You know, the stamps you got at a store after making a purchase, and you put the green stamps in a booklet and turn them in to get an item for free? Well, a former coworker told me this story about a lady who had gone for her yearly exam, and while her doctor was doing the exam, he said, "Oh, how nice, you didn't have to give me one of these," and he held up a green stamp! Apparantly she had sat on it while getting dressed, and it got stuck on her cha-chee without her knowing it!!!!! My goal for the group b test is to have no surprises waiting down there for my OB! LOL

The Abominable Snowoman - 32 Weeks

This is the name I gave myself today. My belly grew overnight, and in this white shirt, I look huge, so I tried to just make a joke of it. My students got a kick out of it! The top of my uterus has been sore all day, and that's always been my indicator of growth.

Can you believe I am already at 32 weeks? After school yesterday I had an hour long massage, which was very relaxing, and I think it may have helped my aching hip some. Today after school I got my hair cut into a bob. Roy says it looks "fresh," and I think it makes me look/feel younger. It was a good end to a day of feeling like an abominable snowoman or the Michelin tire guy.

Target had a big sale on baby stuff last week, so I got this Baby Einstein playmat for Warren - it was 1/2 half! It was on my registry, but I felt like I would be ripping people off if they had to pay full price for it when I could get it for half off. It came in and Cleo just loved it! I had to keep telling her it was Baby Warren's, so she would not bite all the toys and chew them up. I am having issues with clothes right now due to my growing belly. I have winter clothes, but none of my spring/summer clothes fit anymore. Thankfully, I have a great friend who was due in November, so she had some bigger maternity clothes for warm weather. She brought them to me this week, and they all fit!!! I told her if I were a guy I would marry her; that's how great I felt after trying them on. Incidently, the white shirt I have on today came from her, and even though it makes me look huge, I love it. It is super cute. And hey, my belly is huge, but so are my boobs, and those are some things I've never had!!!!

The Good, the Bad, and the Smelly

The Good:

I had a great surprise waiting for me when I got home today - a Valentine's box from my big sister! She had sent something for all four of us: a sweet puppy dog for Warren, some yummy treats for Cleo, a giant Toblerone candy bar for Roy, and all the rest for me!!!!

I bet this will be Warren's favorite stuffed animal!

Cleo loved her V-day treats from Aunt Kim! She picked out the sweetest icing treat first and chowed down!
On Sunday, Roy and I got a glider and ottoman for the nursery. It was the last big item we needed, aside from a highchair. I also ordered a second base for the car seat and an activity mat that was half off! Today I bought another puppy outfit for Warren. I might make this his coming home outfit.
Another good thing is that we found out we will be getting a tax refund, which is fabulous because I need to get the condenser or compressor, or something like that, fixed on my car. I will be so glad to have my a/c back!

The Bad:

Being 31 weeks pregnant brings on some aches and pains that I have not had this whole pregnancy. One of which is clumsiness. Not only do I bump into something or someone at least twice a day, but I am spilling things, dropping things, and losing my footing. I slipped on our bottom step a couple days ago. I was carrying Cleo down the stairs when it happened. Thankfully I held onto her and just landed on my butt on the bottom step, but I did hit my big toe and scratch my elbow. Nothing bad, but I must admit it was scary afterward because I realized it could have been bad and hurt Warren.

Another ache I am having is muscle cramps in my calves. I have had some off and on for several weeks now, but last night I had one so bad that I couldn't even move my foot. It was like my muscle had completely locked up. I had to get Roy to help me. After a calf rub and some tears, I was okay. It happened again in the middle of the night, but not as bad, so I was able to stand on my own. Today my calves feel like I worked them out super hard. I guess I need to eat more banana splits to give me potassium!

I also am running out of clothes that I can wear. I tried on all my clothes and had to put most of them away. I have several winter shirts, but it's the spring/summer shirts that just don't fit anymore. I found one at Kohls tonight for only $6, so that made me happy.

The Smelly:

Pregnancy gas is sour and lingers in the cushions of the car for a looooong time! (And that's all I have to say about that!) LOL