39 Weeks

Today marks 39 weeks. I feel as though the past few weeks have gone very quickly, however I'm just so anxious for Baby V to come out. We had our Dr's appt. yesterday and there weren't a lot of changes. I'm still dilated about the same, but effaced a bit more. He said that the baby has dropped some, which I can tell because breathing is a bit easier and I'm in the bathroom every five minutes. However, I was hoping that after working two 12 hr shifts this weekend that I may have dilated a bit more. Nate and I keep telling the baby that it's ok to come out and play, but he/she seems pretty content in there. So, I have another appt. scheduled for next Monday.

Not much more to report. I'm off to the gym to see if I can walk this baby out. :)

38 Weeks

We are now at 38 weeks and 2 days. But hey, who's counting? :) I had my Dr's appointment this past Monday and we made just a bit of progress. He said I was 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. He told me that he could see the baby coming next week, which makes me very hopeful. I'm working my 12 hr day shifts this weekend. Hopefully being on my feet all day and running around will help things move along. We have another appointment next Monday, which Nate will be coming to since he has the day off.

Other than that, not much of an update. Hopefully we'll have lots of stuff to update next week! Have a great weekend!

37 Weeks

Today marks 37 weeks, which means Full Term...YIPEE!!! The time seems to have gone so slow, but quickly at the same time. As I mentioned before, everything is ready here at home. We just need a baby. Oh, and I need to pack my hospital bag.
I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and he told me that I was dilated 1-2 cm, and was 60% effaced. Now I know that you can be dilated 1-2 cm for a very long time. However, this was encouraging to me. It's nice to know that there are changes that are happening that are bringing us closer to meeting this little one that we've been anticipating for so long. I think that both Grandma and Grandpa B and V are beyond excited to meet this baby as well.
The last couple of days at work have been funny, as everybody "knows" the sex of the baby. One person "knows" that it's a boy, and then five minutes later another person will come up and tell me "oh, I know that you're having a girl". I'm still working full time, and hope to work up until the due date.
Below are some pictures of the every growing belly. I'm hoping that my belly button will return to an "inie" after Baby V arrives...it's been stretched to the max. :)

Yes, those are wrinkles on my belly from lying on the couch (my favorite place) wrapped up in my blanket prior to this photo shoot.

The nursery is ready...

The nursery is ready and so are mommy and daddy, mommy especially. We will probably put a few pictures up on the wall above the dresser in the nursery after the baby is born, but that can wait (as I want to do black and white pictures of the baby). Everything is washed, assembled, and put away. Our living room has been taken over by the bassinet, swing, and bouncer, and our kitchen cupboards and drawers taken over by bottles, sippy cups, and baby utensils.
As I mentioned before, I am ready for this baby to come out and play with everybody else. It continues to be VERY active. Tuesday marks 37 weeks so we will be full term in just a couple of days. As each day passes I get less sleep at night, more trips to the bathroom, a bigger belly, and less ability to pick things up off the floor without much effort. I'm still waiting for this little bundle of joy to drop so that I can breath normally again. It has forced me to have good posture if I want to breath. We have a Dr's appointment tomorrow afternoon so hopefully he will tell me that there have been at least some changes. I don't anticipate going early since nobody in my family has before, however I'm still really hoping. :) I'll keep you posted!

Busy week

Nate and I survived our childbirth preparation classes last weekend. The time actually went quite quickly and I think that Nate learned a lot. We took a tour of the birth center during our class. I had been down there before, but standing in the delivery room looking at my large abdomen made everything very real. I won't lie, it made me a little nervous. However, the feelings of excitement and anticipation outweigh the nervousness (and the thought of an epidural is quite calming to me). We are both very excited to meet Baby V in person. The baby classes continued this week as I went to a breastfeeding preparation class on Tuesday (I let Nate stay home this time), and Nate and Bob did their CPR class on Thursday. I think that we're as prepared as we can be.
The girls from work threw us another baby shower on Wednesday. It was so nice to see so many of the girls again. I don't get to see them much since I joined the float pool a year and a half ago. It was so nice of them to go out of their way and do that. It's always fun to get together with this group of women. Nate and I got so many wonderful gifts. Nate was a bit overwhelmed as he looked around the nursery after going through all the gifts that we received. It really is amazing how quickly the nursery has filled up. Thanks girls for all the wonderful gifts, the loving support, and for a wonderful night!
I had my Dr's appointment on Wednesday before the shower. Everything continues to look great. The weekly appointments start next week. The baby is still in great position and I doubt that it will be moving much. My Dr. is estimating that it's about 6 lbs now. The heart rate was 150 this time. I'm looking forward to the day that this baby "drops". It's getting a little more difficult to breath when I sit, as the baby is quite high.
Well I think that's all for now. We'll be busy this weekend with me working my 12 hr. shifts, and Nate working Saturday and reffing on Sunday. I'll definitely be looking forward to a couple of days off next week!

PS-My friend Erin is scheduled to leave for Haiti next Tuesday. She'll be going down for a week to help with relief work. I wish more than anything that I could be joining her, but obviously this is not an option for me. Please keep her and her group in your prayers. Please pray for safety, knowledge, and strength. It will be difficult for them while they are there, but will also be difficult for them to deal with what they saw and experienced when they return home. Thanks!
Erin, I love you and will be constantly thinking about you and wishing I were by your side!

Waukee Baby Shower

We had our first baby shower last weekend in Waukee. Luckily the roads were plowed and the ice mostly gone by the time that we left last Friday, and we made it safely to Des Moines. Nate spent Saturday with Brent and the kids, driving around Des Moines to various basketball games. He even managed to stop at the mall to change a diaper (by himself, and did a pretty good job even though it was put on backwards) and let Reece play at the playland. It was great to see everybody at the shower. I only wish that I would have had more time to visit with everybody. We got very nice gifts and the nursery is now a disaster as we have been busy putting things together and finding the perfect place for everything. Thank you to everybody who made the trip out to Waukee, it was much appreciated!

We will be spending this weekend at the hospital for our "birth preparation classes". They are all day Saturday and part of Sunday. It should be an interesting weekend. This upcoming week I get to go to "breastfeeding class" as Nate heads off to baby CPR class with his dad. We'll be ready for a break from classes by next weekend!

My next Dr's appointment is Wednesday and then I start the weekly visits. After this week I have decided that the baby should come a couple of weeks early. I have now began to waddle through the halls at work due to the pain in my back, and I surely don't want to deal with that pain for another 5 1/2 weeks. I'm sure that the time will go quickly, but I would still be ok if the baby comes early. The extreme tiredness has again set in, and Nate now has a wife whom he finds on the couch every night upon returning home from work (and she doesn't move a lot for the rest of the evening). I'm sure that this is only the beginning of being tired.

Thanks for checking in. We'll give you an update next week! Kristin, Melissa, Marilyn, Grandma, Lisa, Steph, Marj

Mo, Judy, Susan, Linda, Kara, & Leigha

Marj, Steph, & Lisa

Our little porkchop

It appears that we may have a little porkchop on our hands. I had my Dr.'s appointment yesterday and despite the fact that everybody keeps telling me that I'm not very big (thank you, I take that as a compliment) my Dr. says that I'm actually measuring a bit large. He's estimating that the baby is currently around 5 lbs and estimates a birth weight of around 8 1/2 lbs. I can do 8 1/2 lbs, but I assured him that we don't want the baby to get too big. Neither Nate nor my family is known for having small babies. I asked what the chances were of the baby rotating into the breech position at this point and he said, "that baby deserves a kudos if it can do that, it would be like turning your car around in your garage...with the garage door shut". So, looks like the baby should remain in good position :) The heart rate remains at 160 and everything appears to be going great, 6 1/2 weeks to go.
Nate, Mo, and I are heading to IA this afternoon for our first baby shower. My sister is throwing us one in Des Moines on Sat. It will be great to see family again, as well as friends that I haven't seen for quite some time. We're hoping that the road conditions in southern MN and all of IA improve before we head out at 4 pm. Nate and I encountered enough crappy roads on the way to IA for Christmas. Hoping for a quick and safe trip tonight!