The Final Weeks

30 weeks.

32 weeks.

33 weeks.

34 weeks.

36 weeks 2 days.

39 weeks.

Due Date! 4o weeks. Too short maternity tank
making my belly look smaller than it really is.

One year ago today...

I was due to have a baby. I was 44 pounds heavier and had more sleep on board than I've ever had since. What an amazing year it has been!

Past due...

We've started having two appointments every week to keep an eye on the quality of my placenta, the amount of amniotic fluid left and the health and well-being of Mini. We're both still healthy but Mini doesn't seem to want to cooperate - he/she has been head down since at least 28 weeks but refuses to face the right direction. Last week, Mini was in a left posterior position, which means that his/her spine ran along my left side and arms and legs were poking my right side. The preferred position, anterior position, is to have the spine along my stomach because this is how the baby best fits on the way out. I went through every technique I'd been taught to encourage this little one to turn into an anterior position, including going to the chiropractor. But at today's appointment, Mini had turned in the wrong direction and is now totally posterior (his/her spine is running along my spine) despite my best efforts. It's still possible to deliver a baby this way and there is still enough amniotic fluid for Mini to turn into anterior position but we'll see if that happens. If you wouldn't mind saying a little prayer that this little person starts to cooperate, that would be much appreciated by all parties. Delivering a posterior baby is harder both pain-wise and time-wise and we'd like to have Mini in our arms as soon as possible.

That said, I do have some good news in that I have had a contraction "on the record". At each appointment, they hook me up to monitors to show Mini's heartbeat and and any contractions I may be having. Up until now, Mini has performed amazingly while my uterus has been totally quiet. Today my uterus stepped up to the plate and, well, contracted. This made the doctor very happy, especially because Mini was happy even during the contractions. If Mini was starting to get stressed out by contractions it could have been a signal that my placenta was getting too old. Contractions are a sign that my body is figuring out what to do and it increases the likelihood that we won't need an induction.

Our doctor is scheduling an induction for early next week, however, as after the 42 week mark it becomes much more risky to wait for labor to kick in on it's own, but with any luck (and lots of prayer) Mini may be here before then.

We'll keep posting the news... hopefully soon we'll be able to share that Mini is here!

Getting closer!

We just got an email from our good friends with a due date 5 weeks ahead of ours that they were about to head into the hospital because her water just broke! Yay!
If you have a minute and would be willing to send some prayers their way, I'm sure it would be appreciated! Specific things to prayer for could include labor kicking in without intervention (which can make labor more intense) as well as peace for both mom and dad so that they can be confident in their decisions during the labor.

This is also exciting because it means we're next! Matthew and I are ready to meet out little one. We've got a boy's name and maybe a girl's name picked out. We've got the car seat and diaper service taken care of. We've got cute little clothes and loads of baby goodies like shampoo and diaper cream. All we need now is our baby!

It's amazing to be so in love with a person we haven't even met yet. Every movement brings a smile to my face and we're constantly imagining what our little home will be like with this new addition. I think the baby is ready to meet us too- last night at a caroling party, Matthew sang a solo and it made Mini start dancing about, as if to say "That's my dad- isn't he great?!"

We're so close! I only have to drive to work 4 more times before leave starts. And then watch out world, I'm going to be nesting because I want everything to be just right for Mini. 6 weeks and 1 day until our due date!

Double Digits

Only 99 days until Mini's estimated due date. Of course only about 5% of babies are born on their actual due date. But getting closer!