Halloween

Today is Halloween. I've been having small contractions every 20 minutes or so since last night...sometimes they will stop for an hour and then start up again. But they are not progressing just yet.

I'm not sure he'll be coming today...but maybe, maybe tomorrow...

So tonight we will much on some candy, pumpkin soup, and maybe another goody or two, and watch movies. A nice relaxed Halloween.

I look forward to next year though - I will decorate, and dress up, and hand candy out to little kiddlets. That'll be fun =D

40 Weeks!!!!

Yup, today is my due date! Only 5% of babies actually come on their due dates...and I have a pretty good feeling that Patrick is not going to come today.

I am very hopeful about this weekend though...I am definitely showing signs: lost the plug, moodier than usual, more achy and tired than usual, feeling a bit "off", contractions here and there, 2 cm dilated and a bit effaced...the baby is in perfect position and dropped VERY low...

It really does seem more like a matter of days than a matter of weeks.

Then again, who really knows? I think it is so cool (and only a teeny bit frustrating) that there is absolutely no scientific way to figure out when a baby will be born. Babies choose their birthdays. I am really hoping mine is wanting an end of October birthday. I can handle Nov 1st too...but after that? Man oh man...I really will cry...

So how does it feel to be at the due date?

Surreal.

It feels like I have been pregnant forever, but at the same time it seems like this has gone by so fast.

I will miss the rolly little pumpkin in my belly.

But I am sure the rolly little pumpkin outside of the belly will be a ton of fun too...even though he'll poop alot...

Really?

So I watched "A Baby Story" each episode tells the story of a baby's birth. The one I watched said the mother had an easy pregnancy but not an easy delivery and labor. It looks like most take place in the hospital, but I thought, hey why not see what this is all about since I've heard people talk about the show.

Ok, first off...I'm not quite sure how the labor and birth were difficult, especially since the mother got an epidural the moment the pain was "too much" and pushed for all of 5 minutes for the baby to come out. Seriously...5 minutes.

So, that aside. I don't think this couple went to a birthing class because no coping techniques were used at all. She moaned and cried and freaked out a teeny bit, and he sat there and held her hand. Neither was an active participant.

No wonder people think I am insane to want to do a natural birth. No wonder people talk about being too scared to do it natural, or the pain being too much. If you don't educate yourself and find some coping techniques that work for you, of course it is too much!

Even if I was planning on having a medicated hospital birth, I would want to be educated. You never know...I mean who hasn't heard stories of the epidural not kicking in in time?

It just surprised me to see this story, of a birth, nothing crazy or especially difficult about it, just a birth. But they made it sound like it was so awful.

How annoying!

I'll probably cry too when I'm in labor. I suffer no illusions that it won't hurt. But I am confident enough in the education I have received and the people by my side, and myself, to know that I'll get through it just fine...and I won't be calling it "difficult" because I could actually feel it. 

Please.

39 Weeks

6 days until my due date...

I am so ready for him to come out now! I am still totally freaked out about being a mom...but my body is done...done! It is time to just face the facts - baby is coming...I WILL be a mom...facts faced...ok come out now...PLEASE!!!!!

Waiting...

Yesterday my braxton hicks got stronger, and I started having the dull backache that then moves to the front. There was a slight pattern to it, but it was about 45 minutes apart, then went away. So, it could be any day now, or it could be a few weeks more. Still no telling. We are definitely getting to the point where we want him here. We want to meet him and tickle him and kiss him and squish him and snuggle him. I'll miss being pregnant, but I am finally feeling ready to be Patrick's mommy.

This gorgeous weather has me feeling all sentimental (more than usual) and mushy (...more than usual). We went for this wonderful walk today, and I just kept thinking about how I can't wait to share these things with Patrick.

I wonder how he'll like having a cool breeze kiss his cheeks while he's all bundled up, safe and warm? Or what he'll think of the sunshine? Or the tall trees rustling in the wind?

I can't wait to show him the world.

But now we're just waiting...if he really does hang on until my due date, or later...we may go a little crazy with the wait...Drew especially...he's SO excited! =)

Henna Belly 38 Weeks

Last week one of the ladies at the birth center did a henna tattoo for me. It looks really great! Here's the belly at 38 weeks...growing growing...with a bit of decoration =)

38 Weeks!

Getting close to the end...

I am both super excited and can't wait for him to be born...and kinda freaked out and hope he'll stay in there as long as possible.

It's funny to me how there really is no telling. Most first time mom's are late, but that doesn't mean all.

Also, I have heard from multiple sources that the low pressure system with the moon phase can make babies come.

Pretty cool!

Will it make my baby come?

Part of me hopes it does...and part of me really would like a little more time to get ready...

But it doesn't really matter what I want, or think, or what anyone guesses...

Patrick will be coming when he's ready.

He's all about the surprise =)

Who are you? Who will you be?

I often find myself wondering what he'll be like.

Will he be big and tall like his Daddy?

Will he be nerdy, sporty, preppy, artistic, punky, too smart for his own good, sensitive, rough n tumble, a little bit of everything?

Where will his talents lie? Will he be good at math? Music? Art? A rocket scientist? An Engineer? A Financial planner? A rockstar? A programmer? Will he really be a ninja?

There are no limits...that is both utterly frightening and completely fascinating to me...

37 Weeks!

Officially term...

he can come anytime now...

Mom thinks he'll be late, a few random people think he'll be early. Funny thing about that is many of them guessed the same amount of early...38 weeks...

I hope it'll be a bit longer than that. I really don't mind letting him cook a little more, even though I am getting a tad bit uncomfortable.

The thing is there is really no predicting when he'll be here. He's going to come when he decides he wants to come. Isn't that just crazy!?

In the mean time - I have quit my job (I miss you job! They even gave me a little going away party with yummy cupcakes) and after this upcoming weekend I will be relaxing like crazy! Movies, books, journaling, day dreaming...here I come! I'm pretty excited about that =D My little reprieve before the baby is here.

I'm actually looking forward to the weekend too. The cleaning urge has been strong (nesting? maybe...) so getting some good cleaning done will be awesome! I'm finally getting that bag packed too! We will also be getting a little area in the bedroom ready for Patrick.

Drew and I will be going out on a nice date this weekend too! I'm even going to get dressed up =D I'm excited! Oh! And we are taking some pregnancy pictures out at a pretty park. Really - it should be an awesome weekend!

It is possible it'll be the last one we have before the baby comes...if not...well next weekend will be totally relaxed and full of video games! (When Drew reads this I am sure his heart will skip a beat! LOL*)

So Sandi is 'term' as of tomorrow. What that means, for anyone who doesn't know, is that as of tomorrow, she is officially complete in her pregnancy, she's gone 9 months, and the baby is ready. The wonderfully scary thought that conjures is that I could be a daddy anytime....ANYTIME NOW FOLKS!!!! Holy jeebus....


I'm good...I'll slide, however awkwardly, into my daddy role and we're going to have a blast with our baby. I love my Sandi, my Patrick, and all my family and friends. I know we'll make it through!

Getting Ready for Baby

This Thursday I will be 37 weeks and officially full term. This means Patrick could come at any time. There has been a prediction that I won't make it past 38 weeks...I hope this is wrong...but if it isn't, I better be ready!

There is alot to do yet, and I am going to have to rely on mom and Drew to help me get it done because I have been doing WAY too much.

My last appointment went well, I'm ok and the baby is perfect, but I was seriously swollen and had gained 7lbs very very quickly...not good signs. My blood pressure was also slightly elevated.

So I was put on a diet, told to have my feet up always, told to take it much easier than I have been, and told to take dandelion, yellow dock, and nettle to help get things flowing and make sure my liver is working properly.

Now, in under a week I have lost 5lbs and the swelling is MUCH better! Very good things! Tomorrow is my next appointment and I have a feeling they will be very pleased with the change. =)

Thanks to the heaven of pillows Drew made for me I have finally been sleeping better, I have been resting a whole lot more, and I have quit my job. My last day will be Thursday, and it is also the only day I am going in this week. I have some loose ends to tie up, other wise I would not go in at all.

I also have only one class meeting left...

and then nothing. Nothing but getting ready, and waiting...

and resting a ton of course.

now to make a list of all that still needs doing, and not get overwhelmed by it...

The Greatest Gift

I was given the greatest gift anyone could give a very pregnant woman who has been plagued by heartburn and sleepless night for far too long...

My wonderful and amazing and quite genius husband gave it to me...

A night of sleep...with absolutely no heartburn...

in fact, I slept so well I only got up to pee twice instead of my normal 5 or 6 times...

Our poor couch and giant chair have been stripped of all their cushions. Some of the cushions were sacrificed so I could work on my laptop with my feet propped up. But most of the cushions have found a home on our bed. They kept me propped upright but oh so comfy all night long.

Thank you Drew!

I am so happy I could cry!

Super Awesomeinity

This is my new word. I think it sub-consciously formed from the feeling of being less than a month away from being a father. I even conjured it on the exact 1-month mark. I haven't been the best at posting consistently here, Sandi told me that out of 95 posts (including this one), I am making this my fifth. Those odds don't give me good chances of winning the secret blogger parent award raffle, but I feel happy none-the-less. I think the prize I'm sure to receive (a new baby, that is) is much more important and fun! My wifey has been just the best throughout her pregnancy, and I want her to know how very blessed it has been to not have her on bed-rest, and not feel alienated by her in the least, and just have a relatively gentle pregnancy, from what I read. She is having some heartburn/coughing issues where each one triggers the other...a vicious cycle.

In my line of things, work is going well. Each day that passes I ask fewer and fewer questions, and look more and more information up on my own. I have homework to do that I'm 'reserving' for later (read : procrastinating). I am in the process of getting a potential 10 extra points on my mid-term, provided my line-of-thinking is correct. All-in-all, an extremely blessed existence. I could complain about only one thing, and that is male interaction. I have a few really good friends, but they're all a ways away. Not through any fault of their own, really, just the way things shaped up. Just wish all my people were within 15 minutes of me. While I'm wishing, I wouldn't mind a few mil.

I'm so lucky to have what I do, and on that note, hope all is well for the next 5 weeks!!!

36 Weeks!

That mean 28 day to go (give or take) Wow...just wow! It is highly likely that in less than 1 month I will be a mommy. Drew will be a daddy. We will be parents...OMG!!!

So you may wonder what is new this week? I'll tell you - we are still struggling to get the house in some kind of order, get everything ready for the baby, and have ample time to just rest and enjoy the last month of my pregnancy, nothing new there...but...

My belly officially sticks out more than my butt...which is quite the feat let me tell you! And due to some stretching and pulling in interesting places my poor husband has to help me dress. Pants have become impossible for me to put on without some help. How come you never see something like that on TV or in movies? It is funny stuff! Seriously!
Ok, maybe right now it makes me want to cry just a little, but I know that when I can dress myself again and walk without pain or waddling, it'll be damned funny!