alrighty, we had our doctor’s appointment today, complete with my first internal exam and i am pleased to report that i have next to nothing to report. ha!!! since we told you our definitive news about the c-section being scheduled, people have asked “what if you go into labor before the 22nd?” well today’s internal exam confirmed that “the gate is still closed” (to borrow my cousin kim’s words) and the little man is still cookin’. i have not begun to dilate, which was good and reassuring for me to hear. the baby has started to drop in the last few days, but is not what my doctor considers to be “fully engaged” in the pelvis. my interpretation of this is that the little man is slowly on the move, as i am now technically “full term” in the pregnancy, but in no rush (he takes after his daddy already). hahaha…. all jokes aside, my blood pressure was good, my weight has leveled out leaving me at 22 lbs gained, and the baby’s heart rate was on par as well. my fundal height (the measurement of the “bump” that has turned into the mountain) is measuring large, surprise surprise, and is now a running joke between paul and i and my doctor. the height should correspond with my gestational age, meaning that at 37 weeks right now, my mountain should be measuring 37 cm, but i measured in today at 39 and a quarter cm. nice….. the three of us just laugh each time that dr. thomas measures me. needless to say, the c-section is a very good idea. paul was with me and able to ask the doctor some good recovery-based questions for his own knowledge. i think he’s trying to get a good idea of what he needs to be expecting of himself in terms of help when we come home, caring for me and a new baby. i will see the doctor again in a week and will keep you posted, hopefully again with no big news. it won’t be long now……..

hi everyone! i find myself posting constantly now that the days are dwindling down…. there seems to be news to update everyone on all the time. we will have even more news tomorrow (monday) since i have a doctor’s appointment, and i will be sure to post again so that everyone knows what’s going on in the little man’s world. thank you again for your constant support. it’s awesome!

last night paul and i had a “family” shower (which is what all of the attached pictures are from). for those of you who don’t know, our “family” consists of paul’s naval academy roommates and dear friends (there are about 6 of them) as well as their wives. the funny thing about the wives is that within this group of us, we have 3 wives (myself included) who have been with our now husbands since we were freshman in college (some of us even before that), and the other wives started dating their now husbands either while the guys were at the academy, or shortly there after. needless to say, this dear group of friends has certainly become it’s own “family” in a sense, and we have referred to ourselves as that for years now. this entire group has come through jacksonville in the 3 years that we have been here, and with the exception of one couple, we are all together, gathering for “family dinner” at some point during each weekend…. you can imagine what things are like for us during football season. we have been through it all with each other, from the very first days of plebe year for the guys, to long distance relationships through college, parties with each other, crazy trips with each other, all of our weddings (with one more coming this october), the birth of the first “family” child miss lily (who is pictured)… and now more births on the way.

with all of that being said, “the family” (why do i feel mobster-esque when i say that?) wanted to have a baby shower for paul, myself, and the little man. being that i am not the best when it comes to showers, sarah and her husband phil (our gracious hosts) promised that it would basically be a low-key “family” dinner plus a few gifts. it was perfect!!!! we all shared dinner together (which included baked macaroni and cheese… my FAVORITE pregnant food), sat around sharing crazy stories of each other, and opened some very thoughtful gifts. it was a great night and paul and i feel so thankful for the time that we have with this amazing group of friends.

so, enjoy the pictures of our “family” and i will post another update tomorrow evening, after our doctor’s appointment. keep the thoughts and prayers comin!!!

ps- if you can’t tell from the pictures, miss lil is the queen and steals the show…. ok, we all totally give it to her willingly.

19 days and counting!!!! ohmygosh!!!! i can hardly contain my excitement. i know i just posted a couple of days ago, but paul and i have been getting so many messages and emails from dear friends and family, letting us know that we are in their thoughts and prayers. it’s so awesome to know that so many wonderful people are thinking of us during this time. at this moment, paul is exhausted from work (he’s in a class for the next two weeks that begins at 5 every morning) and my body is completely worn out and tired. (i know this is nothing like the exhaustion that our little man will soon bring… ha!!!) but sweet friends, like mom’s friend susan, who send us messages like the one that i am attaching in this post, totally renew our energy and keep us focused on the little bundle that we will be bringing home in 19 short days. so THANK YOU for all of your kindness!!! enjoy today’s post….

A newborn’s conversation with God…. Watch the baby’s eyes.

A baby asked Father, ‘They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?’ God said, ‘Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.’

The child further inquired, ‘But tell me, here in heaven I don’t have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.’ God said, ‘Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel’s love and be very happy.’

Again the child asked, ‘And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don’t know the language?’ God said, ‘Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.’
‘Who will protect me?’ God said, ‘Your angel will defend you even if it means risking her life.’

‘But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.’ God said, ‘Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.’

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, ‘Father, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.’

God said, ‘You will simply call her, ‘Mom.’

i can honestly say that i had been looking forward to this time with mom (grammy) for sooooooo long…… and it was WONDERFUL!!!! we planned a trip where she came down for a few days to help me wrap up nesting and prepare for the little man’s arrival. i had my “mom list” ready to go, and she arrived here wednesday, ready to get to work. she just left yesterday (saturday) and i am missing her already, but so very grateful for the special time that we had together before the baby is here.
i have felt more and more “ready” during these last few weeks, but having my mom here to confirm that feeling in me was so very comforting. hearing her say “9s (her nickname for me) you’re ready for him,” made me feel like i really was. mom helped in every possible way from simply keeping me company, to cooking casseroles for freezing, to an unbelievable amount of baby laundry (complete with cutting tags that seemed to never end), to a final babies r us trip to make sure that all of the “must haves” from our registry had been purchased. having mom here to nest with me was heaven (and i know red agrees with me). i mentioned in an earlier post that i feel as though mom’s visit was really a great kick off to these final few weeks, and it truly was. she even came with me to my doctor’s appointment on friday and met the infamous dr. thomas, who she completely fell in love with. mom was able to see her gigantic grandson (who is now over 7 lbs) on the sonogram machine, which was great too. there are no words to express how incredibly grateful i am to have had her nest with me for 3 full days.
and so as far as the little man is concerned…. yes, he is over 7 lbs now (we’re basing that on the specialists telling us that he will gain between 1/2 of a lb to a full lb per week from now on). given that his estimated fetal weight came in at 6 lb 10 oz, we’re thinking he’s now about 7 lb 2 oz (unless he gains more than the average baby which is quite possible too… ha!) anyway, the big bruiser is doing well, though hardly letting me sleep these days. between the insane hot flashes that hit me in the middle of the night, having to pee constantly, and ninja baby kicks 24 hours a day, i am finding myself to be used and abused. the dr apt that mom went to with me was great. i have put on a total of 22 lbs and i am starting to “peter out” with the weight gain according to my favorite nurse…. once i saw that i had only gained 1.5 lbs since my last check up, i asked her if that was bad and she said “nope, you peaked and now you’ll peter out.” it’s really hard to see the little man on the sonogram machine because he is so big now. dr. thomas helped us get a good face shot that showed his enormously cute baby cheeks and full lips. it’s precious!!! the neatest part about it is that my mother-in-law sent
me a photo of paul when he came home from the hospital and it looks JUST LIKE HIM…. cheeks, lips, squished face, and a little smirk. i love it!!!! i cannot wait to see this little fellow and learn all about him. it won’t be long now…… 3 weeks and counting….
enjoy the attached pictures of our nesting time together. i am also posting pics of the glider and ottoman that paul and i picked up today. our baby’s room is now complete!!! WE LOVE OUR LITTLE NEST!!!!

well given that tonight was a full moon, and i am very full of baby… can’t say i’m too surprised to be up at this hour. ~ the little man has been absolutely bananas all night! combining that with paul’s snoring landed me out on the couch a little over an hour ago. at least one of us should be getting good sleep, right?

i suppose this would be the perfect opportunity to tell everyone that my c-section has been scheduled, and the little man will be arriving exactly ONE MONTH FROM TODAY, on april 22nd. i am stoked!!! paul and i check in to the hospital that tuesday morning at 6 AM for an 8 o’clock surgery. it’s unbelievable to think that in just 4 weeks we will have our little bundle.

ok, ok, so this is how it all came about…. my doctor made it known to both paul and i from the very start that she typically draws the line between a regular delivery and a c-section at 9 lbs. this being said, she also told us that she is willing to work with us one way or the other… for example, if i were totally geared up for a regular delivery and the baby was just over 9 lbs then she would go with my wishes (assuming everything was safe and the baby was progressing just fine)…. however…. after learning that the little man is 6 lb 10 oz right now (which puts him in the 95th percentile), my doctor called me at home the other night and immediately after i answered the phone, i heard giggles at the other end and then my doctor’s voice asking me “are you growing a linebacker in there?” basically over the next 4 weeks, the little man will be gaining between 1/2 a lb to a full lb per week. it’s much safer for both me and the baby that he be a c-section (duh!) and we’ve known that this was a great possibility from the very beginning. so there ya have it.

APRIL 22nd is the big birthday!!!

in other news, mom is coming down on wednesday to help me finish up “nesting” and i am so excited. we’re going to do all kinds of fun stuff like baby laundry, getting meals ready to freeze, finishing touches in the baby’s room, etc… hahaha! i know, it sounds totally boring when i actually write it out, but i can’t wait. to me, it feels like this visit of “grammy’s” will be the kick off to the little man’s arrival. i’m sure we’ll be taking all sorts of pictures this week, so i will be sure to post those (especially since we’re finishing up the baby’s room).

i also start my once-a-week dr. appointments thursday, so i will keep everyone up-to-date on that info too. i’m assuming i will get a ton of info regarding c-sections and what to expect at this next appointment. oh, and mom gets to meet my doctor this week since she’ll be in town too.

alrighty, i guess i should try to lay back down and get some rest. it’s getting harder and harder to sleep with each passing day. i’ve got the little man’s limbs practically growing right out of my sides!!!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!! ENJOY THE WEEKEND!!!