38 Week Update

Our little girl's room is finally 100% ready, woohooo :) Our bags are packed for the hospital and my last day of work is tomorrow. I seriously could not be more excited to meet our little girl. We found out last Friday that she is 7lbs 8oz so she is probably past 8lbs now. I still have not dropped or dilated at all...bummer. My doctor is confident that she will stay with mommy until her due date but I am really hoping to meet her sooner. June 10th just seems really far away. The good news is that my fluid levels are great and her measurements dropped from the 90th percentile to the 70th percentile. We were a little concerned that we were having a gigantic child. I've heard a million people say that the doctor's weight estimations can be totally off, so maybe she won't be as big as we are expecting. My goal next week is to do everything possible to induce labor (Noah and Katie were both gone this week so I had to wait). I'm going to ask my doctor about a membrane sweep and working out (well, walking up the hill on our street). I'm excited to catch up on all of the things I've been postponing like scrapbooking and organizing all of our photo albums. I'm determined to just leave TLC on all day as I reorganize the house probably a hundred times. There are some books I've been dying to read for a long time that I will finally have a chance to open. I'm sure there are more thank-you cards that I need to write and I definitely want to make time to catch up with friends :) I think I'll stop by my hubby's office for lunch at least a couple of times. I love surprising him at work even though he might feel differently, ahahaha!

36 Weeks

We were laughing hysterically when Luke wanted a turn!

Baby Care class at Hoag

Assembling the pack and play!

Ladies night! My margarita was a virgin :(

Cutest Children's Bakery in Newport! $9.75 per Cupcake, CRAZY!
So excited to be 36 weeks and almost to the end! I absolutely cannot wait to meet our little munchkin :) It's been really nice continuing to work because it keeps me distracted from the back pain and allows me to focus on the kids at school. I'm going to try and make it until the 27th of May (assuming Ella doesn't come early). I feel so fortunate that things are going really well. Luke has been working his butt off and it's paying off..... the timing couldn't be better :) Not to mention, a couple of our best friends just moved back from the East Coast and will be nearby again, woohooo! Andrew & Kara, your timing is impeccable!

Every weekend Luke is putting together another baby project. This weekend we assembled the pack and play and are working on installing the car seat bases. Those are pretty much the last things and then we are ready to go! My mommy friends have all recommended getting everything ready before baby comes so it's not super stressful when she's here. I'm determined to do just that! We did our baby care class at Hoag and it was awesome! They are pricey but I definitely recommend them because they are so informative :) I wish we had done the labor class there as well. We got to swaddle and diaper the dolls. Luke was much better than I had anticpated and is an expert swaddler! We just have to work on not covering up the belly button nugget when diapering :) We have two doctor appointments this week. Tuesday is to see the status of the kidney infection and on Friday we have an ultrasound to make sure the baby has not gotten too big! I can't wait for Friday, I just want to see her again SO bad. This week was especially tough and uncomfortable so I am looking forward to having a better week starting tomorrow. I had a great ladies night on Saturday which is just what I needed. I love you Kimi & Janelle :)

34 1/2 Weeks!

Here's the gift basket we won, woohoo!

My baby shower at school! Thank you so much for all of the wonderful gifts!!!!

I am feeling the baby now more than ever. Every twist and turn is amazing and it's so cool to watch my stomach move from the outside. Ella loves kindergarten and always starts moving when we do our morning & math songs. If it's true that babies can hear in utero, our munchkin should come out knowing her alphabet, days of the week, & numbers 1-100 because we do it everyday together :) I haven't quite accepted the fact that she will be here next month....sometimes I feel like I'm still not ready. On the other hand, I can't possibly imagine getting any bigger at this point since I'm so uncomfortable. Luke was laughing at me because, even in the mall, I want to drive to the next department store because they just seem so far from eachother (and to think I used to enjoy jogging!) The exciting part is that I get to fall asleep every night just thinking about the first time I get to hold her and how magical that will be :) I'm just so unbelievably excited to be a family of three. Luke and I will have our 10 year anniversary this August! I feel so fortunate to truly be married to my best friend and now we get to start this whole new chapter of our lives. I can't think of anything better :)

This past weekend I had some serious upper back pain for the first time. On Monday it was still bothering me so my doctor had me come in right away. Much to my surprise, I have a kidney infection and now have to take medication that will affect the baby :( The doctor is adamant curing the infection is the first priority because it can cause preterm labor. Fingers crossed that all will go well this week and we can have a full term munchkin!

Check out our baby shower video at http://vimeo.com/22710878