40 weeks and one day

At 8 a.m. today, we head to the doctor's office to see the progress of little Amelia. I'm assuming we'll be told about induction (what a dirty little word) if she doesn't come by some point. I just need to last until Saturday night, although Sunday morning would work, too.

Sending vibes to our little Munchkin now ....

Happy due date!

The day has finally arrived -- July 19. It seemed like so long ago that I circled that date on any calendar I could find. And, at nearly 5 p.m., the day will pass.

It's not all bad, though. Many co-workers incredulously balked at my answer to the dronish question -- you're still here??. I replied, why yes I'm still here. And I plan to work the rest of this week because my little brother is tying the knot on Saturday. I have to be there to celebrate them!

Here's to hoping ...

Baby's first O's game

Brent and I met friends in Baltimore and cheered for the home team against the A's last week. Of course, the Orioles lost, but I got to hang with the Oriole Bird him/herself!

37 weeks

We have our next appointment at 8:15 this morning. On Friday, nothing was really going on labor-wise, so I'm not expecting anything fantastic tomorrow. Just the run-of-the-mill listen to the baby's heartbeat and see if she's dropped any farther.

(Heehee ... I know. I can't even type that with a straight face! There's no such thing as a run-of-the-mill listen to Amelia. I can't wait!!)

Man Hands

You know that episode of "Seinfeld"? Yeah, today was definitely a Man Hands day.

So much for wearing my wedding rings till the end. I've retired them until little Amelia makes her debut.

Our 36-week appointment

At 8:45 a.m. today, we're heading for our first of what I hope will be several weekly appointments. Now that we're on the home stretch, the docs will be "checking" to see if any action is happening. Part of me wants to go early enough, so we aren't left in limbo for my brother's wedding.  (Plus, I can't wait to really snuggle this little munchkin.) But then the other part of me wants her to extend her stay until July 25, so everything is manageable and together at the wedding. Either way, whatever will be, will be.

I've just never been the most patient person. Please, please don't send Amelia an eviction notice July 22 through 24. (Heck, the nighttime of July 24 would even be OK.) I will be at that wedding, I will be at that wedding ... I WILL.

Shower No. 3

I know, I know. It's boring reading about all of the showers we've had, but I just have to tell you about our third one! My mother-in-law threw a bash in Berrysburg, and my parents came with us. The boys went to hit golf balls, and Mom and I hung out with the ladies.

The gifts were mostly of the hand-made variety, especially my MIL's baby blanket. You know, on a funny note, Amelia is due in July, yet we have close to 10 blankets. She'll be set come fall and winter, that's for sure!

Beat the heat?

So, it's supposed to be close to 100 degrees today. I knew that a summer baby would mean lots of air conditioning, but that only does so much when it's sweltering outside.

Still, I think I'm handling the swelling pretty well. I haven't had to take my rings off yet, and my shoes still fit. I'm taking that as a small victory.

More blessings

It's been a while, but I wanted to put up a quick update. Our wonderful friends at the office threw Brent and I a surprise baby shower a few weeks ago, and it was unbelievable! We received so many adorable outfits ... a jogging suit, handmade knitted sweater and too-cute-for-words sets ... just to name a few.

We're so lucky to have pals like this! The cake was awesome, too.  It was made of all cupcakes ... mmmmm

One of the best days ever (cont)

(Check out the first post here.)

Mom decked the house with safari animals galore, and you should have seen all of the lengths she went to. Unbelievable. We dined on shrimp salad and chicken, there was a diaper cake (pic to come on that one), little animal beanie babies were everywhere. A zebra here, an elephant there. Gerber daisies in glass baby bottles dotted different tables. And you should have seen and tasted the cake. To. Die. For.

I could go on and on and on ... what an awesome day. Overwhelmed doesn't begin to describe it.

Normal, normal

We had our 35-week doctor's appointment today, and everything is A-OK. Amelia's heartbeat was around 144, and she was pushing back against the fetal monitor. Oh, it was too hilarious.

The midwife checked her position, and she's still head down. I even was able to feel her little noggin, with the midwife's help, of course. She's continuing to kick away at my ribs ... and I'm loving every minute of it!

Just a quick post

I have officially dubbed today and Sunday "put stuff together for baby weekend."

Look out -- stroller, changing table, dresser, blinds, clothing, crib, etc -- HERE WE COME!

Amelia will be here in five or six weeks, give or take. And this is our only free weekend until July 10. Needless to say, we have our work cut out for us.

Welcome to Bawlmore, hon

Finally, we satisfied our cravings. Remember this post about Brent feeling the pinch?

Saturday night, it was time to crack into a few lovelies. Mmm...

One of the best days ever

You know when you look back on  your life (yes, I'm "only" 28), and you can pinpoint events in your life that you know you'll remember forever?

Those include college graduation, when Brent proposed on the Golden Gate Bridge, our wedding day.

I'm adding my baby shower on Saturday to that list. My mom completely pulled off the surprise of a lifetime. Mom knows how much I love surprises, and she told me about two weeks ago how it was getting difficult to plan the baby shower, so she was just going to tell me it was June 12. No other details would be divulged. I didn't mind -- the summer fills up quickly, and who knows when Amelia will make her debut. Oh, and don't forget my brother's wedding in July, too!

Anyway, my brother forwards everyone an e-mail -- mom, dad, Brent, his fiance and me -- from the wedding coordinator at the Rusty Scupper, where the rehearsal dinner is going to be. He wanted us all to go for a tasting.

So, we woke up Saturday morning, I mowed the lawn, Brent trimmed and I couldn't wait for a relaxing evening.

Long story short, Brent dragged his feet endlessly at home. I sat in the car in a huff, complete with my arms crossed, annoyed that he was taking so long. I sat there fuming," Why is Brent taking his sweet, old time?? Tom and Jess set this special tasting up for us, and I don't want to let him down by holding him up!"

I quickly moved from the passenger seat to the driver seat. I'm a much faster driver, so I knew I could get us to Towson by 2:15. We pulled into my parents' cul-de-sac at 2:14 p.m. Perfect. On the drive, Brent talked animatedly about all sorts of things.

But then as I tried to find a spot on the street, I was amazed at how many vehicles took up space. I turned to Brent and asked, "Wait a second, is this the shower???" He said no.

Then, I walked in the door and everyone yelled surprise. I nearly died ....

Sympathy cravings

I've been lucky enough to avoid any pregnancy cravings. Some others I've talked to crave slushees or chocolate or certain drinks.

Yesterday, I figured out why I'm not the one with the cravings. Turns out, hubby is such a nice guy that he's taken that part of pregnancy for me. (What a guy!)

He e-mailed me this:

"I think I officially have sympathy cravings. I am so hungry for crabs with Old Bay right now, and I have no idea why."

Of course, I can't blame him. All things crabs top my favorite food list for every meal. In fact, I could go for a crabcake right now. 

Amelia's chariot

That's what my mom dubbed our new Honda CR-V. Based on the last blog post, it was a sticky situation. The dealer was trying to upsell us, which just made our skin crawl. In the end, Brent was able to work out a deal and we drove home our brand-spakin' new vehicle.

House? Check.
New lead-free windows? Check
Crib? Check.
Safe, reliable, big(ger) car? Check, check.

There is plenty more to do before our daughter arrives, but domestication, HERE WE COME!

(or, more accurately, we have arrived)

Today was a long one

We were buying the CR-V, we weren't buying the CRV. Then we were buying it, then we walked out on the sale. And now it could be back on the table.

Is your head spinning? Mine certainly is.

So, about mid-afternoon in an effort to escape the craziness, I thought I'd run a few errands. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the grass next to our little Morgan. I never thought that a cemetery would bring me peace or calm my head ... but it was so beautiful. The brisk breeze, the warm sunshine, the sweetly singing birds. I just closed my eyes and cried ... and talked to our baby ... and ultimately felt better.

I feel a little morbid admitting that I found solace in a graveyard. But I think it's more about being with Morgan.

More "funnies"

On my latest trip to the ladies' room, a person in another department stopped me on my way back to my desk. (You remember the last comment, right?)

This time, the "joke" was:
"You should really get a hospital bed pan for you to have at your desk, since you're peeing so much."

Why is she counting the number of times I pass her?
When does she have time to analyze my bathroom habits?
How is this her business?
What will people come up with next?


The point? I need to use the other bathroom more.

Go to the head of the class

We're finished with two of the four-class baby series. Two Wednesday ago, we learned about the "happy" stages of labor, which is stage one. Nothing much happening and things are moving right along.

Last night, I wished that I could have just stopped learning right there. Last night, the class was much different filled with painful words, pictures and a movie. "But," exclaimed the teacher, we'll get down and dirty next Wednesday. (I think I'm coming down with a cold ... I might have to miss.)

Still, I did learn a lot. We talked about "relaxation" techniques, which felt great 12 hours ago. In the heat of the moment, well, I guess we'll find out. At least I feel armed with more useful information of what to do. The first class was more an overview of this is what is going to happen, when and how to time contractions and tips for the coach.

I think there's a line between learning enough that you are not fearful of the unknown and learning too much. I'm not sure where I am right now ... but next week's class does not look promising.

Best. Purchase. Ever

I surprised Brent once again, and went against what I said I wouldn't do.

I bought a fetal heartrate doppler. (The other major milestone I said I wouldn't do -- find out the sex of the baby.) We told ourselves that we don't need to add the extra anxiety and stress of one night not being able to find the heartbeat for some reason.

Now that I can feel her moving every so often and especially now that she's about three pounds, I figured why not? I do worry when she has a quiet day, so the doppler seemed like the logical choice. Of course, I read a ton of reviews, and this is what we settled on.

And I L-O-V-E it. I even brought it to Baltimore so Mom, Dad and my brother could hear it. So exciting!!

The countdown is on ... less than 10 weeks, Ms. Amelia Margaret.