38 Week Belly Picture

38 Weeks! We are so close!

Officially less than 2 weeks until my due date now. We are so close but I'm starting to feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever. Which is completely the wrong attitude because it is going to make each day drag on forever. I'm just so excited for her to get here and finally meet her and see what she looks like and what her little personality will be like.

Now that I'm working from home, Caleb says I'm a work-a-holic. I guess I just want to stay on top of things because I don't want to get caught off guard and leave a mess for everyone I work with. When I'm laying in bed now (I don't sleep well as I've mentioned) now I end up feeling like I should just get up and get things done whether its work or cleaning house or what not.

I go back to the doctor today so we will find out today if I've started dialating or not. I would LOVE for them to tell me I might should go home and get my bags and head on my way to the hospital to have this baby. But that is definitely wishful thinking.

I can tell my body is getting ready for delivery because all my muscles and joints are all loose and relaxed. I think that's why things are getting so achy. I walked the dogs by myself the other day and I limped around the house the rest of the night. My hips and back couldn't handle all strength required to walk 2 dogs that weigh 70 and 90 lbs. So now I have to make Caleb go with me so he can handle those two pups.

My sister-in-law was in town this weekend with her husband and my niece. We were hoping I would go into labor while they were here but I'm still pregnant! We went to the mall and did a lot of walking. Then we started talking to another pregnant girl in the Baby Depot who said her and her sister both took Castor Oil when they were pregnant before and both had their babies the same day. So everyone convinced me we should try this. I had no idea we would find Castor Oil in the laxative section of CVS so I started thinking I might regret this decision. But after double checking this was a safe thing for me to take I gave in. I think I have a stomach made of steel though because it really didn't bother me and I didn't have any contractions. Caleb said if I'm still pregnant next week maybe we'll try again. I'm not so sure I'm up for drinking that disgusting stuff again though!

Last night I dreamed that we had the baby and surprise it was a boy. What a shock that would be. But I've had 5 ultrasounds so this is definitely a baby girl!

I don't think I've had any contractions yet, not even braxton hicks. But with this being my first baby its hard to know what I'm looking for. So hopefully we don't make any trips to the doctor or hospital to find out it's a false alarm. Well I will try to keep everyone posted if I go into labor! Cross your fingers it's soon!

37 Weeks, Full Term!

We made it to 37 weeks, she is officially full term now. Which means she can come at any time and we should have nothing to worry about. So I'm trying to figure out how to convince her to come out tomorrow :) My mom and sister are having an extremely crazy week though with 3 weddings so they are hoping she waits one more week and let's them get through the weekend. After that I might get desperate to get her out and start trying to do anything I can to bring on labor. Most of those things are probably just myths though but can't hurt to try!

She is completely under my ribs now so it's getting very painful depending how I'm sitting and how she is sitting. I keep trying to lean back to get her out of my ribs but then I end up with an achy back so I don't think I am going to win this battle. I'm just going to have to tough it out.

Well I went to the doctor today. I keep thinking they are going to start checking me to see if I'm dialating and they put that off one more week. They said usually with 3 weeks to go being a first time mom there is no activity down there at this point so no reason to put me through the pain. I actually lost a pound in the last two weeks so maybe my swelling is down today. But the baby's heart rate was great, my blood pressure was great, and everything seemed perfectly normal. I asked about all the pain and pressure I have in my pelvic area and she said it's definitely her head. For someone as small as me it's a lot harder on my body to carry the same size baby as someone who was much bigger starting out than I was. Basically the doctor said I'm just going to have to deal with the pain but the good news is I probably won't have to push as long as most when I get to that stage of labor since she is already down so low. I do have Group B Strep which is just a bacteria that is harmless to me but not good for the baby. So they are going to put me on antibiotics when I get to the hospital so I don't pass it to the baby during birth. Just one of those things a lot of women have and they deal with all the time but it shouldn't be a big deal.

I have been needing to decide on a pediatrician so I finally called and did that today. I had several people refer me to this doctor now so I feel good about it. They keep a doctor at the hospital during the week and a doctor on call on the weekends so they will meet us there on delivery day to check on Carli.

I've been very lucky and still no stretch marks so I'm hoping to have Carli before any decide to pop up! I haven't been walking as much as I was because it's getting so hard/painful. Caleb went with me last night to walk the dogs and I realized how slow I really have gotten. You can only waddle so fast I guess plus the smaller the steps the easier it is on my body.

This last little bit is going to be hard but the end is getting closer! And we are so close to meeting our little girl!

36 Week Belly Picture

Less than a month now!

I am down to less than 4 weeks now! I just can't believe it. It seemed like it would never get here but now I look back and think where did the last 8 or so months go!

At my last doctor's appointment I was measuring the same size as someone who should be 38 weeks pregnant so I really look full term. As if I didn't feel huge and the doctor confirming it wasn't enough everyone asks now. Anywhere I go someone asks me when I'm due, how much longer, or I get the "Wow, you're about to pop" comments. So everyone must be thinking watch out for that lady she looks like she could go into labor any second. All my shirts are getting to short now that I'm in the last little stretch. I think I'm going to just have to live in my dresses the last little bit. I refuse to buy bigger maternity clothes when I only need them for a few weeks at the most.

I went to the doctor last week and I gained 4 lbs in 2 weeks! I do not like seeing huge jumps on the scale like that but most of that was probably because of the swelling. I was supposed to start going every week to the doctor once I was 36 weeks but when I went last week I was 35 so they said I could have another 2 week appointment or go ahead and start my 1 week appointments. The doctor went back and forth and decided it wasn't necessary for me to come in next week. When I go back the following week, I'll start getting checked to see if I'm dilating and all that fun stuff.

I got everything moved to the house from my office and started getting it all setup. It has been so nice to be able to work from home the last few days. I'm really trying hard to stay on top of all of my work and not get behind so I don't leave anyone stranded when I go into labor.

With our due date being so close now I feel like Carli could come at any second. It's a little strange walking around not knowing and feeling like you better be prepared at any moment. I wish someone could tell you exactly what day and time you are going to go into labor. I don't suppose that's gonna happen though so until "labor" day comes I guess we will be waiting!

5 Weeks Left! So close!

I really can't believe how close I am getting. Only about 5 weeks to go. Everyone thinks she will come early, but I guess no way to know for sure though. I go back to the doctor tomorrow so maybe they will have a better idea.

We did get the car seat put in last week. It is so weird to me to look in the rearview mirror and see it there. It will be even crazier to look in the mirror and see a baby in that car seat soon. I feel like I've done everything I can to get ready for Carli that now I'm just coming up with random things to do that aren't necessary (I even organized the diapers by size). I guess that's what they call nesting. I'm trying to keep the car and house clean so I don't get caught off guard when she comes. I've about had enough preparing for her though, I'm just ready for her to get here.

I'm starting to swell a little bit now, so should be interesting to see how much weight I gain when I go to the doctor this week. By interesting I mean I'm not sure I want to know. The past couple days I've been struggling to get my wedding rings on and off. I think I'm going to have to go the last couple weeks without them so they don't get stuck or have to be cut off when my finger turns purple. I can notice some swelling in my ankles too. I'm glad I at least made it this far without that problem.

I can't even imagine how cramped her living quarters are getting these days. She has to be completely out of room in there. This past week I even started to feel her hiccups on the outside. Even the small movements that only I could feel before you can see/feel now. When she really starts kicking and twisting and turning it is pretty funny to watch my belly.

I went to the pool this weekend and did some swimming. It actually was really nice because my belly was weightless and nothing hurt while I was swimming around the pool. It gets heavy carrying all of this weight around my middle all of the time. I wish I could go more often, I see now why it is great exercise for pregnant women.

I finally got my maternity leave and job situation figured out. Huge relief. So I now have someone to cover for me during my maternity leave and then I'll be able to work from home part-time after that. I started packing up my office yesterday so that next week I can get setup and start working from home permanently.

Caleb realized the other night that he could turn the fan up even higher in our bedroom. And it is WONDERFUL. It has at least solved one of my sleeping problems because now I am cool enough at night. The first night though was very comical. I woke up for one of my many bathroom trips and looked over at Caleb who was freezing his butt off. He was bundled under the sheet, his blanket and the comforter doubled over and wrapped all the way up to his neck. And I felt great with just my sheet on the other side of the bed. So I can't say he hasn't sacrificed at least a little bit during this pregnancy! :)

34 Week Belly Picture