Michael's Home!

I got the call this morning; he had arrived in Atlanta and would be at the Indianapolis Airport at noon. I was beyond excited and headed up there early and still missed his arrival! His flight got in early and so while I was waiting for him where the passengers get off the plane, he was waiting at the baggage claim. And we both had the same picture in our minds of what it was going to be like, running to greet each other. Oh well. It's good to have him home and I now feel a huge sense of relief that he will definitely be home for the baby's birth. He's sleeping now, his schedule is extremely off from being half-way around the world and not getting a whole lot of sleep the last few days, but hopefully he will catch up on all that sleep tonight. We don't have much planned, which is good as two weeks won't be long enough as it is. We're just going to relax and enjoy each other's company and anticipate Nathan's arrival. But he's safe at home and happy!

Trying To Be Patient

Michael should be coming home on leave in the next few days. The days have already seemed long and now I know they're going to seem extremely long until that day arrives. I'm super excited to see him and I just can't believe that the time is here. It feels like forever I've been saying only this much longer (weeks, months) until you get home. Now it's just days away. Which brings on the next thought, the baby. I tell Nate everyday just hang in there a little bit longer. Just wait until daddy comes home. It's is surreal to think that there's really only a little over a week at most until he is born. I'm so anxious to see both of them! I pretty much have everything ready, but I think I want to clean the house one more time so it's really clean. And I might have to make a stop at Hobby Lobby this weekend to grab some craft stuff to keep my mind focused on something else until Michael gets home. The worst part is not knowing when I will get to see either one of them. I don't have details on any of Michael's flight information and well, Nathan sure isn't telling me anything!

38 Weeks

Since Nathan is ready to come out there is really no new developments this week. Just growing a bit each day. They say 6.8lbs and just over 19 1/2 inches long. I guess we'll be finding out soon enough how big he really is.

The power went out shortly after I got to the doctor's office. They had flashlights set up everywhere--they were very prepared! And unfortunately the scale is battery operated so they could still weigh me--yay! Which my weight was about the only thing that changed from last week. Another 2 pounds! I can't believe it! So this means I'm officially over the 190 mark, which I never thought I would hit at the beginning, but now it looks like not only am I going to hit it, but probably pass it up by next week. I've been okay with my weight gain up to this point and it's a good thing there's only a couple weeks left or it might really depress me. So my weight went up but I'm still at 1cm and not effaced at all. I have my next appointment on Monday and we'll see where I'm at at that time and talk about induction. Crazy how real this is all getting.

I was up last night again with horrendous heartburn. The pain was so bad it felt like it was going straight through my body to my back and into the bed. Must have been the darn broccoli at dinner! That's all I can think of. And I guess taking it moderately easy is working, just until Michael comes home in about a week. Then I'm going to do whatever it takes to bring labor on. Although the closer to the end it gets, the more I'm relishing the pregnancy. Weird, right? I just want to remember his little movements and hiccups and stuff. We've been so close for so long it's going to be weird not to have him inside me anymore and to feel all his little movements. Yes, I must be going crazy---can't wait to have him and already missing him before he's born!

A Day at the Spa

Well, a couple hours actually, but it was a wonderful couple of hours. Jaime received an email from a spa in Madison for this amazing deal for the first 15 callers. She had told me about it on Saturday when they came up and so we called and they had 3 spots left. It included a facial, full body massage, and a hand & foot paraffin dip, all for $50 (originally over $200!). We thought it might be some kind of gimmick, but it wasn't. I've never had a facial before, so that was neat. The guy liked to talk, but that was okay. I've never had a paraffin dip either. The wax was so hot! But it left my hands and feet pretty soft. And the body massage was exactly what I needed. She didn't talk at all, which I loved (have you ever gone for a massage and had the person talk the whole time, not relaxing at all), and she was really good about the big belly. I laid on my sides and then when I was on my back she elevated the back and put a pillow under my knees. It was all very wonderful and relaxing. Now Jaime is getting her turn today--a very much needed break for her.

37 Weeks

Well, today I am officially considered full-term. So I could have this little guy and he would be all ready to enter the world. He's approximately 6 1/3 lbs. and around 19 inches long. And from here on out the only thing that will be changing will be his size. All developing is done! It's weird to think that one minute he's on the inside, making movements that from the outside are very alien-like, and the next minute he will be this little baby. And even though he's all developed, it's my plan to keep him in there until Michael gets home in a couple of weeks. Let's just hope Nate's on the same page.

My doctor's appointment went well. I gained another 4lbs, which is probably much more than I should be gaining at this point (I think it's at most a pound a week, so 4lbs in 2 weeks doubles that, but oh well). Everything else was good-blood pressure, measurement, heartbeat, etc. I'm dilated to 1cm so just a bit up from 2 weeks ago. I'm happy about that because I don't want to progress too quickly and have to worry about having this baby before Michael gets home. And while it is still a concern of mine, I feel a lot better. Now it will be not having this baby too late either! I talked about inducing with the doctor today. A lot of it will be based on my body and where I'm at. The concern is with a first pregnancy that inducing before my body is ready doubles the chance for a c-section. He would like me to be at least 50% effaced and dilated to 3cm before he induces me, but is willing to induce me at 40 1/2 weeks if I don't go into labor before then. So as soon as Michael gets home, I see a lot of long walks happening, even if the doctor says that doesn't work. Just ask my sister.

Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good. Since Nate has dropped the foot in the ribs is much less of an issue. I'm surprised at the strength of his movements though. When he really gets going I think he could knock the book or plate (or whatever else might be resting on my belly) right off. It's amazing to feel and see. I'm extremely tired and enjoy my afternoon naps almost daily. This might have something to do with my sleep, or lack thereof, at night. But I'm lucky that I can take those naps. I've been feeling a lot of anxiety over the birth and becoming a mother. I ask Jaime a million questions and I just hope that everything will fall into place when he arrives. I'm becoming more terrified of the birth, the anticipation and the unknown are probably what's making it even worse. But I know I will get through it and I am so excited for the reward I will get at the end of all of this. I cannot wait to meet my baby Nate.

Trick O' Treat

The Toppes came up on Saturday. They were in the area for their family pictures and came over afterwards so that Lucas could go trick or treating in the neighborhood. He dressed up as a ninja and it was so cute to watch him go to the houses. He was so excited about getting candy and was so happy when one lady commented how nice his costume was. We probably hit less than a dozen houses but he was ready and that was good amount for a 3 year old. We came back to the house to look at all the candy he got, drink some hot cocoa, and watch a Halloween tv special. I'm so glad they came up so I could go trick or treating with them. These are the activities I can't wait to do with my own kids. It will be such a fun part of parenting. And I haven't been in a really fall festive mood with Michael gone (I didn't even carve a pumpkin which means no seeds for me), but I just wasn't into it. I can always count on little Lucas to lift my spirits. And maybe trick or treating will be a new tradition for our families.

36 Weeks

Baby Nate is now the size of a crenshaw melon, whatever that is. I think they've run out of fruit big enough to compare to him. He's approximately 6lbs and 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding the downy hair that covers most of his body and also the waxy layer that has protected his skin from the amniotic fluid.

I think all this means is that it's getting close, really close. I feel full, very full, like there's no more room for him and I don't know how he's going to grow anymore, but I guess he'll just keep stretching me out and finding a way. Some days he's very active and others he's not. I'm enjoying watching my belly just roll around and bump up with all the movements. He's definitely putting more pressure on my bladder. Sometimes he takes little jabs and it almost hurts a little. But it's better than wetting my pants all the time, which doesn't seem to a problem yet. Just the constant going that is.

I just got home from my hospital tour, so now all the paperwork is done. The rooms are really nice. I think they were nice before, but they changed them since the flood. Some of the hospital rules are not my favorite. Since it is cold/flu season their visitor rules have changed. Now there can only be 2 visitors in the room at one time-this includes the father, so really it's only one visitor at a time! And no one under the age of 18 is allowed up there at all. I guess it's all in the best interest of the baby, but it complicates things some. Especially since we won't be having any visitors at the house after we come home since it will just be time for us until Michael has to go back overseas again.