41 Weeks: Hello in There!

Our girl is starting to remind me of this little egg, Sherman, from Garfield and friends.  She just does not want to hatch! I had a doctors appointment yesterday where they did a non stress test and an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid.  Both were fine, but she is definitely a relaxed little lady, or a cramped little lady.  It's hard to tell.  She still has her wild karate moments, but she has started to just relax/sleep more and more.  Lets hope she keeps that up when she is outside of the womb as well!  After my tests, I saw the doctor and he asked if anyone had talked to me about being induced. (I've only dialated 1 cm and haven't had any real contractions.) When I said no he said, "Well, we need to talk about it."  I knew this was coming and had already prepared myself for it.  Cory gave me a blessing over the weekend and part of it talked about being blessed to have all the benefits of modern medicine with my delivery.  Before that, I had been sort of against everything that I did not consider "natural" but after receiving a blessing, I have felt much more okay about it.  Sometimes, it is what you need. I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life and worthy priesthood holder as my husband.  I have definitely needed those things and they have made the rough moments of this pregnancy much easier to get through. 

So I scheduled my induction for the 26th, tomorrow, and have felt at peace with the decision ever since.  Dr. Salley will be the doctor on call and I really like him.  He is my sister in law's main doctor and is the one I saw when I had the subchorionic bleed.  He made me feel so at ease during literally one of the scariest days of my life and so I'm sure he will be great to have for this experience as well.  I took today off work and have loved being able to plan everything out and make lists.  I already had most everything done but this extra day of planning has been great.  It has helped me relax.  Who gets relaxed from planning and cleaning all day?! I know I'm strange.  Also, a control freak so it works out that those things do make me feel better. :)  Tonight Cory and I are going out on our last date before we are parents and I'm excited about that.  I may even post one last belly picture since I'm actually planning to do my hair. :) 

Lydia Jane's Nursery

You would think now that I am 4 days overdue, the nursery would be done, right?  Wrong.  It is complete enough that she could use it but it still has some work that needs to be done.  They are all just the final touches like hanging up pictures and new curtains so not a huge deal.  I thought I would share what we have done so far anyway.  Hopefully soon we will have a little sweet girl in here to show off as well!

Her crib and rocking chair.  You can also see her little giraffe hobby horse partially.  The bed skirt on her crib is the one my Granny made for my crib when I was born.  It's a little long but I'm sentimental so it's staying.

 Inside of her crib.

 Rocking chair and ottoman.  My mom bought a regular storage ottoman from Target and recovered it to match the chair. 

 Her dresser.  Mom also made the lamp shade and painted the dresser white.  It was originally in Cory's room growing up and brown.  We also changed the knobs to make it more girly.

 Close up of her dresser decorations.

 Believe it or not, I inherited this little cabinet from my Granny years ago.  The doors are just perfect for holding her hair bows!  The teddy bear was Cory's when he was little.  His mom actually made it for him.  The first thing he said when he saw the pink ribbon and pearls:  "That's a boy bear."

Last, but not least: her closet!  That may look like a lot of clothes, but it isn't even the half of it.  You can't see the ones that go all the way to the back of the closet.  I don't know how she is going to wear them all!



40 Weeks: Happy Due Date!

Today is my due date.  As some of you may know, I've had 3 different ones and this one is the earliest so I'm not really getting anxious yet.  Cory, on the other hand, more and more frequently shakes my belly saying "Come out of there!  We want to meet you!"
I had my doctors appointment yesterday.  I'm almost completely effaced but I haven't dilated at all.  I also haven't gained any weight the past two weeks which is honestly shocking to me because I have been eating like crazy.  This morning after I woke up, the first thing I said to Cory was "I'm starving!"   I guess our little girl is burning lots of calories in there getting ready for her big debut!  She is even more active than ever.  The squirms and wiggles are weirder than the punches and kicks, I think.  Definitely makes me feel more like there is an alien in there instead of a baby. 
After I had my regular OB appointment, I went by Dr. Holladay's office for a quick chat with him.  Well, that quick chat turned into another hour long appointment.  After looking at my chart, he couldn't believe I hadn't dilated at all and wanted to check me himself.  I know getting checked is really uncomfortable for most people, but it doesn't really bother me.  So he checked me again, but it just confirmed that I still hadn't dilated.  I did learn that he will be on call this weekend so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will have Lydia Jane then.  I like all the doctors except one in my practice and I'm even okay with him delivering her, but it would be super nice to have my doctor.  We will see though.  If she doesn't arrive by next Tuesday, I will have a non stress test and an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid.  I really hope she is here by then, but if not we will just go from there!
I'm still working and honestly, I'm really glad.  Monday I had the day off but Cory had to work and it was fine for the morning but by the afternoon, I was going crazy.  There was so much I wanted to do still but I was exhausted from everything I had done in the morning.  I couldn't really relax and I couldn't really work either.  Plus I had no one to talk to and time passed super slowly.  So while some people may think I'm crazy for working still, I know I really would be crazy if I wasn't! Today a couple of people asked when my due date was and it was really funny to see the looks on their faces when I replied "Today."  You would have thought I said I had a time bomb strapped to my belly!  The guys at work have a plan already for if I go into labor at work.  The plan is to throw me in the back of Cory's truck so it can easily be hosed down and take me to the hospital in that. (The guy who sits beside me has the same name as my husband which only causes confusion sometimes.)  Jack says he could deliver the baby if it is an emergency because he was there when his two children were born.  Also, Cory is terrified my water is going to break and gush under the wall between our cubes.  It doesn't matter how many times I've told him how unlikely this is to happen.  Basically, I'm very grateful my hospital is a very short 5 minute drive from our office because none of their plans sound good to me.  It is nice to be surrounded by such entertaining people while I wait on my girl though! :)

39 Weeks: Not Yet

Those are the two words I use most often these days.  "Any signs of the baby coming?"  "Not yet."  "Have you stopped going to work?"  "Not yet."  "Is the nursery finished?"  "Not yet."  "Are you ready?" "Not yet" "Are you in labor? "Not yet." And on and on...The last one comes most often from Cory when I have trouble getting up from lying on the couch.  So many things are 10 times more difficult when you have a huge belly. 
Basically I am just going about my normal routine trying not to wait and think constantly about when the baby will get here.  This is much more difficult than it sounds because I am constantly being asked when I'm due, have I made any progress, ect.  I understand people are curious, but as I've said before I really don't understand the feeling everyone seems to have that pregnant women are public domain. Also, I'm not talking about friends here, these are perfect strangers. I guess I had better get used to it though because I'm pretty sure people treat babies the same way.  Right now, I still want to find a way to fight it.  So far I've been unsuccessful. 

In good news, this guy is no longer in my house.

Squirrel Invasion!

When I walked in the door from work on Wednesday, I heard a noise.  Then I saw a grey furry thing run across my floor.  When I got over the shock of this and noticed the ruined blind on our breakfast room window, I freaked out.  I immediately thought of Lydia's nursery and ran upstairs.  Of course the squirrel had run into her room as well.  As soon as I saw it, I was so mad!  I yelled "Get out of my baby's room!"  The squirrel, not understanding English and thus my motherly fury, ran further into the room.  I then walked to the window and was going to try and open it to shoo him out but he ran past me and out of the room.  I realize now I probably should have followed him and contained him in one room, but at the time my main concern was my baby's room.  I did a check to make sure everything was fine, which it was, and called Cory.  Luckily he was on his way home already and told me where I could find a net in the garage.  I'm walking around the house with this huge fishing net when he calls back and says "Actually, you should probably stop looking for the squirrel.  I've called Mike (my brother in law) and he's on his way and I'll be there in a few minutes."  So then I am again worried that the squirrel is in my baby's room even though I closed the door on my way out. This will become a theme for the night;  I think I have made Cory check it at least 5 times. I barricade myself in her room and call my cousin Nancy.  She is really more like an aunt to me and I lived with her my last year of college and Cory even moved in for a few months after we got married while our house was being finished.  A few years ago, she came home from a trip and her house had been ransacked.  Things were torn up, her blinds we all ruined, it was terrible.  At first she thought someone had broken in.  Then while her sister was there helping her get things back in order, they found the squirrel.  Cue the jokes about the squirrel burglar. After the second squirrel got in her house a few months ago, it became an even bigger joke.  At Christmas Eve this year, my cousin Wesley made a huge show of presenting her with a ring that looks like a squirrel.  We all laughed and laughed about it but I am definitely not laughing now!  (Even though she and I did share a few laughs on the phone tonight at the craziness.) Mike got there shortly before Cory and took over my net, but the squirrel was nowhere to be found.  I must be pretty scary because he definitely chose a good hiding spot from me!  After doing a full sweep of the house and some research, we decide to go to Lowes and get some traps.  We set those, pulled up all the blinds and left for church, where all my young women were in a tizzy over the squirrel (I had earlier called my YW president to let her know what was going on and that I might be late).  One offered to come help us catch it (I already jokingly refer to her as Bindi Irwin, so this was no surprise), and a couple even wanted it as a pet when we do catch it!  They have obviously never had one in their house or I think they would not be saying any such things!  I was hoping he would be in one of the traps when we got home, but alas, no.  He is still on the loose somewhere in my house and I am left feeling both trapped and extremely exposed.  While finding a squirrel in your house at 39 weeks pregnant is definitely not ideal, I guess it beats finding him after coming home from the hospital.  Here's hoping he has a taste for peanut butter...

Tears Everywhere

Shortly after our good friend David got home from his mission, our group of friends got into a sort of crazy situation you can hear about by watching this video: http://youtu.be/TFZacbTloU4
In one part of the video, David talks about me crying and that there were "tears everywhere."  Ever since, every time I get upset and cry I hear David's voice in my head talking about my tears everywhere.  I feel like that has happened a lot lately.  The closer I get to my due date, the more likely to burst into tears I am.  Yesterday during testimony meeting: tears everywhere.  Telling a story during young women: tears everywhere.  Tonight thinking about labor: tears everywhere.  I'm super excited about our girl getting here, but I'm super emotional about it as well.  When I got home today I was really tired so I just relaxed and took a nap instead of doing my usual organizing/cleaning whirlwind.  I hadn't realized what I device of distraction that was until I wasn't doing it anymore.  There is way too much time to think when you are relaxing, that is for sure.  One thought I have had several times over the past few days is that while I'm going through an experience I've never been through before, our little girl is doing the same.  I'm going through the process of becoming her earthly parent while she is leaving the comforting presence of her heavenly one.  In comparison, mine seems a lot easier.  Sometime in the next few days we are all going to be starting a new journey, but I take great comfort in knowing we are starting that journey together.

38 Weeks: Nothing to See Here, Folks.

Basically at 38 weeks, I feel exactly the same as I did at 37 weeks.  The biggest change has been that I can't sleep on my back anymore.  I feel like I'm being crushed if I try.  Oh well.  I'm very grateful to be feeling as well as I do at this point.
In a complete reversal, people are now shocked to hear I have less than 2 weeks to my due date.  The same people who were shocked I was not overdue a month ago are now shocked I'm due so soon.  It just goes to show people really know nothing about pregnancy.
Nesting is still driving me crazy and I've been organizing everything like mad.  Cory is so ready for our girl to be here.  If I say any little thing hurts or feels weird he asks "Does that mean the baby is coming?" in a super hopeful voice.  It is really cute.  For now though, we are just playing the waiting game!

Holiday Time!

After two years, I'm still trying to get used to this whole two family Christmas thing.  We are constantly rushing from here to there and it is just crazy.  Crazy, but fun.  I didn't take very many pictures.  I don't know if it is because I was having too much fun or was too exhausted.  Probably a combination of both.  One thing I did notice is that the few pictures I did take were very similar to ones I have taken previous years.  Oh well... 

Because we don't stay home for Christmas, Cory and I unwrap presents on Christmas Eve morning before we begin our travel rounds.  Here is my love with one of his presents.

      

My husband is so silly! He wrote on my present "Believe it or not I have no formal training in bow making." At least he tried, right? :)

Not even born and already being visited by Santa... Lydia Jane's new giraffe hobby horse.

I take this picture of my Dad's "Christmas morning hair" every year.  It makes me laugh just as much every time!

Crafty Christmas

I made handmade stuff for Christmas.  I was pretty happy with how it all turned out...

 My first attempt at making Bakerella's cake balls.  It was really messy and time consuming, but they were really yummy!

 I made these two popcorn bowls with a bowl I got for about $2.50 from Walmart and some vinyl I cut out with my Silhouette.  The names were really difficult to center on the bowls so I added the polka dots and I think it helped a little.  Next time I will research more about putting vinyl on curved surfaces and how to make it easier.  I added a movie, popcorn and some candy and they were very popular gifts!

This wine glass was a gift for my Aunt Jean.  I cut out the "J" and polka dots with my Silhouette and added them to a $2 plastic wine glass I got from Target.  I wanted plastic so she could toss it in a bag and take with her to tailgates without worrying about it breaking.  One letter is definitely a lot easier to center than an entire last name!