Last doc appointment & only 7 days to go...

So Monday we had another doctor's appointment ... my very last one. We almost didn't get to see the doctor, since she got rushed to a delivery. But, the OB that was on call made it to the hospital in time to take over and she came back to the office ... thankfully we didn't have to wait too long. She checked my cervix again and I was dilated to 2cm, 80% effaced, and she said I was looking really good. She also stripped my membranes at the appointment since she knows I want to go into labor naturally and would love to avoid getting induced next Wednesday. If you don't know what stripping membranes is, and would like to know, I just googled and found this really interesting article about it (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/703499), however, be prepared for a possible "too much information" moment. ;) I didn't realize that the procedure caused contractions. After my appointment we went to dinner and I was definitely having mild contractions all through it and we decided to walk around Target to maybe help everything progress, but as soon as we were home, it all stopped. That kind of discouraged me at the time, but now after knowing a little more about the procedure I had done, it makes me feel better. I am a firm believer that confidence comes from having as much information as possible in situations like this.

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Source: meganphoto.com via Hope on Pinterest

For almost my whole pregnancy, I was bummed that I was due within a week of Christmas, because I didn't want my baby to have to share a birthday with such a major holiday. It's funny how your perspective changes during pregnancy. I know that it would be a challenge to make Conner feel special every year if his birthday is on Christmas, but I know that Jason and I are up to the challenge and will make it work no matter what. At this point, I just want to meet him and kiss him and snuggle his sweet little self. I've been trying to make sure to get plenty of sleep lately because every day could be THE day that we head to the hospital and I endure the amazingly difficult task of birthing a baby ... so I need all the rest I can get to prepare me for that. As anxious and scared as I am, I'm so excited and can't wait.

10 days ...

This week was an interesting one. Jason went on a business trip from Wednesday through Friday and with me being 38 weeks pregnant this made us nervous. Of course, he would have been able to change his flight at the hint of any contractions I might have had, but it was still something that made us uneasy. Of course I was instructed to lay low, which I did. Lots of relaxing and hanging with friends and family.

Wednesday my little brother came over and we had Chipotle for lunch ... then we came back to my house and watched Star Wars Episode V. We watched those movies a ton as kids, so it was fun to watch one of them again together. It was definitely a fun way to spend my first relaxing day.

Thursday Jessica came over and we watched Four Christmases to get in the holiday spirit, and ate delicious cookies that she brought over. It was fun to hang out one last time before Conner is here. Then for dinner I met my mom at Cafe Brazil and it was good to hear about how her week was going right before her Christmas break. She is going to take off the first week of January and help us out while we adjust to our new family of 3. So, she's got 3 weeks off starting yesterday. :)

Jason made it home safely Friday morning and then we headed to our ultrasound where we got to see our big boy! She estimated that he is about 8 lbs, 5 oz ... which is pretty much right on track with what we've all been expecting. I mean, let's face it ... Jason and I are not small people, so what makes anyone think we'll have a petite baby? ;)  We've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow where we'll get to hopefully see if I've progressed any in terms of dilation and effacement. I really hope so. I'm really starting to feel like he'll come this week sometime, possibly that's mostly due to my wishful thinking that I want it to happen naturally and want to avoid getting induced. Baby will come when he's ready and Jason's been praying that my labor will start naturally and when we are together (like, not when he's at work), because he really wants to be there for the excitement of it all and wants to help me time contractions. How sweet is my husband?! Love him.

So now that Jason's home for good, we are trying to get the baby out! I even bowled yesterday ... of course, I regretted it a little last night when it felt like my hips were supported by rebar ... I keep saying it feels like a steel rod is between my legs. I've heard women say it feels like there is a bowling ball between their legs. But, I think it's more like a metal rod. To each his own. I always love spicy food, so I won't have trouble with eating the spicy stuff ... and I've been walking more, although it makes my back hurt, so that stinks. I made the mistake to tell Jason early in pregnancy that there are pressure points in feet that could cause labor to begin ... and he hasn't touched my feet until Friday night! But Friday night was awesome because he rubbed my tootsies for like an hour. It was amazing.

So today is the 18th and we're scheduled to get induced the 28th ... so that's only 10 more days at the most because hopefully he'll come before then. Ah! So exciting. :)

37 and a half weeks...

Here we are at 37 and a half weeks ... can't believe we've got just a little over 2 weeks before we meet our little baby!

Leftovers and freezer cooking...

We actually ate them this week! It was amazing. We seriously have been so bad lately about eating out and letting leftovers go bad in our refrigerator. I think being pregnant may have a little something to do with that, but it's really no excuse. Cooking isn't that hard. This last week was different, though. We had leftover taco soup, thanksgiving food leftover from our Smithschobeysgiving this past Saturday, pumpkin bread, and cornbread. We finished the majority of the leftovers last night and now we have just a few Rosa's tortillas and some butternut squash left.

I also cleaned out our entire refrigerator and freezer and ended up buying stuff to freeze/store for crock pot meals later. Monday I had invited my family over for dinner and decided to make chili and cornbread. I looked in my pantry and realized I had 3 chili seasoning packets ... so I wrote out the ingredients needed to make all 3 of the full meals* on my grocery list. While I was looking at my seasoning packets in my pantry, I found 3 spaghetti sauce seasoning packets, and a chicken noodle soup seasoning packet. So since I'm interested in freezing meals for once Conner is here, I decided to go ahead and buy all the ingredients needed to make all of these meals. The majority of what I bought were canned veggies/beans, meat, and a few fresh veggies. The most expensive things were the meat, but even those weren't too bad. I ended up spending $58 to complete 8 full meals*. I think that's pretty darn good. Of course, there will be things I need to get at the store when we actually make these meals and plan to eat them (like side salads, or crackers {I forgot a couple of the nonperishable things}), but nothing major.

So I got home and immediately got to work chopping up the fresh veggies and separating out the meats to put in gallon freezer bags for each meal. I ended up with enough ingredients for 2 chicken noodle soups, so I'll need to pick up another seasoning packet at some point. I have 7 meals* in my freezer ready for us to make. This makes me so happy and relieved.

Tomorrow I have planned a "Freezer Cooking Day" and will be making double recipes of my lasagna and chicken spaghetti casseroles. So at the end of the day tomorrow, we'll have 11 meals* in our freezer. I can't wait to have that checked off my list of things to do.


*When I say "meals," I really mean recipes. Since it'll just be me and Jason and, at some points my mom, there will be plenty of leftovers to get us through at least a couple of nights a week if not a whole week. :)

Only 3 more weeks...

Yesterday we had our 37 week appointment and it was definitely a short one. At this point there's not a whole lot to talk about other than checking progress and asking questions. The doctor checked my cervix again (at my request), and I was 1cm dilated and 70% effaced, which is not much of a change. There are 3 different OBs at the practice, and we saw the only male doctor yesterday. He acted like he doesn't think my labor will come early and even joked that the 28th is a great day for a birthday (it's his birthday). I have to admit I kind of felt relieved! For the last two weeks I've been more anxious and had more feelings that time is running out ... that's not to say that we aren't prepared for Conner's arrival. We are so prepared! I just don't know that I'm quite ready for that major change in our lives quite yet. So now I'm thinking I have at least 2 more weeks if not the full 3 weeks until my induction. This gives me more time to cook a few more meals to freeze, read the books I've got on my list still (Boundaries, and The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer), finish addressing and sending out Christmas cards, learn how to use my Nikon D40, and spend some good quality time with my husband. I know that I will love having a baby and that our lives will change for the better and all of that, but I can't help but be sad to see this special time where it's been just Jason and me go.

Today I'm meeting up with a friend who I haven't seen in a while for coffee, and I'm so excited! It will be nice to catch up on what all has been going on with her and talk about what's been going on with us. And of course, enjoy a nice Starbucks drink. ;)

Well, hello there, pelvic pressure...

Holy pelvic pressure, Batman! This has been a new thing the last few days, and especially today. I think it's safe to say the baby has dropped. He has been using my bladder as a punching bag, too. Although I must say, as long as I'm sitting down, I don't feel the constant urge to pee. But the second I stand up I'm looking for the bathroom! Craziness. Today I'm 36 weeks, 1 day (36w1d), and I can't believe that in less than a month, I'll be a mom to a sweet little boy. Time is flying.

It's been a while since I've updated on how our doctor's appointments have been going and put some updated ultrasound photos on the blog. We had an ultrasound on the Monday before Thanksgiving to check his size since my uterus has been measuring big. My mom and brother were also able to come, so that was really cool. It was the first time Brady had ever seen an ultrasound which was pretty cool and my mom was just so excited to be there. I was so glad they came. Back to the ultrasound. We got some awesome pics and the ultrasound tech is seriously the nicest lady ever. She's very thorough and you can just tell she loves babies a ton. So sweet. The estimate she gave was that he was weighing in at 6 lbs, 3 oz, but she said that number could be off by up to half a pound. Still. That's a big baby. Especially since I was only 34w4d. So here are a few photos from the ultrasound.

 Picture of his face & arm.

 Another one of his face and arm. :)

My absolute favorite pic so far ... picture of his nose, lips, and chin. So sweet!

So the next day we had an appointment with the doctor and she agreed that the baby was on the bigger side. She said she wasn't worried though, since I'm so tall and have wide hips, which made me feel better. I've been pretty anxious about the fact that he's a big baby, even though I'm not surprised. She also said that hopefully I'll go into labor on my own at 37 or 38 weeks, which I talked about in my last post.

Yesterday I had another doctor's appointment and I am 1cm dilated (loose - meaning almost 2cm) and 60% effaced. She said that is right on track. It was good to hear that things are progressing. My next appointment is next Wednesday, so it will be interesting to see where I'm at in a week.

Now, I'm off to pack my hospital bags so I'm ready for Conner's arrival! Fun times. :)