He must be comfy in there!

Another week come and gone and baby boy must be comfy in there because again....he doesn't seem to be in any rush to meet everyone that is so anxious to meet him just yet. I am 60% effaced though so that is at least a start! Again, it was confirmed that he is definitely head down (unless he has a really hard butt is what the Doctor said :->). My blood pressure was a very normal 120/72 and Aiden's heartbeat was in the high 150's and I couldn't help it....even though I didn't look at the scale I did ask and it turns out that I haven't gained anything for about a month now. Up a pound or two/down a pound or two....I'll take it! (as long as he is healthy and he is)

If next Monday the 3rd rolls around and still no Aiden then I will have a non stress test and ultrasound to make sure that it is still healthy for me to continue to carry him. So, we'll just go on with business as usual and wait for him to decide to enter the world. Meanwhile, I'm going to continue to take every day as it comes, write in his baby book, read, watch TV and just relax. Oh, and I can't forget about Christmas shop. For the 2nd day in a row now I went shopping for about 3 hours and I'm starting to make a small dent in the list. I will try to continue to do so every day for just a couple of hours until he decides to join Daddy and I. Maybe the walking around will help move things along!

Won't be long now????

Notice I put the question marks after "won't be long now". I had an appointment this morning at 3 days from my due date and no signs of birthing sweet Aiden just yet. My cervix is slightly softened but absolutely no dilation as of yet. If you remember last weeks appointment they thought I might be showing signs of preeclampsia but those blood tests did come back negative so all is good. My blood pressure came down too but not by much.....130/74. Still higher than it has been almost the whole pregnancy but still quite good too. Aiden's heartbeat was a healthy 136 and the Doc confirmed once again that baby is head down and it's been a while since I've seen this Dr. but I really like her....Dr. Bittler. So, that is the 3rd Doc that has confirmed the baby is head down so that makes me feel good! :-) Guess what else?!??! She seems to think that Aiden isn't going to be that big of a baby as I have been fearing! (for no apparent reason other than at birth I was over 8 lbs. and Ryan was over 9!) She's guessing about 7 lbs. right now but then again Dr. Manning guessed 6.5-7 lbs. a few weeks ago too so you never know! My belly is supposed to measure as many cm as I am # of weeks but I am measuring a few under at 37cm, another reason why she thinks the baby is smaller than I was anticipating. Well, here's a picture of me a few days ago at exactly 39 weeks.....

as you can clearly see I've popped quite a bit but I am NOT complaining because my whole life I've thought that when it was my time I was going to be a WHALE! :-)

Oh, and I am officially DONE working! That's right.....when I left work after yet another 10+ hour day yesterday and I walked out the door a HUGE weight was lifted from my shoulders! Work has been challenging to say the least and very emotional lately due to many things going on internally but I can let that all go now and enjoy the rest of my time with Aiden in my belly and anticipating his arrival. Today has been magnificent and I've been humming a tune and happy all day! I know at this point in the pregnancy you hear most woman complaining that they just want the kid out already but not me......I'll be completely ok w/ it if he decides to stay in there another week. I really really would like a few days to just sit around the house, write in his baby book, watch some movies, sleep late and continue to feel him wiggling around in there as he has been....I love it!! If he comes soon then that will be ok too but I've been talking to him and telling him there's absolutely no rush!! Hopefully he obeys Mommy's first wish! :-) Maybe on my next post you'll finally get to meet Aiden....stay tuned!!

Almost time.....

Well, you're used to me posting and being all boring and uneventful telling about how great everything is. Not this time! Actually there is nothing to be alarmed about yet. On Monday I stayed home from work as I wasn't feeling all that great (a bit of nausea & a headache). I felt better on Tuesday and went to work however was very uncomfortable as I was experiencing a very uncomfortable feeling, almost like a burning sensation in my upper right abdomen area. I was describing it to friends as feeling like Aiden was going to bust out of my belly like a scene right out of Alien! Well, at today's appointment my blood pressure was much higher than normal coming in at 138/78. Normally, this is not all that bad of a reading for a normal person, not great either but considering where my blood pressure was for all of my pregnancy it did raise a red flag. The symptoms I just mentioned above (nausea/headache/high blood pressure/upper abdominal pain) all point to signs of preeclampsia however the biggest indicator of precclampsia is protein in my urine which I don't have so I'm not really sure what's up!?!? Just to be on the safe side they sent me to have some blood tests so if I don't hear back from them soon I'm too assume all is fine and I have another appointment next Wednesday. At this point that is also my last planned day at work.....YIPPEE!!!!! :-) If I can make it to that point then Thursday is Turkey Day, Friday the company is closed and the next work day puts me 2 days past due. All I'll want to do is lounge around the house, write in Aiden's baby book, do some reading and anxiously await my baby boys arrival. I REALLY hope that the blood test come back fine because I REALLY am looking forward to the element of surprise and I REALLY don't want to be induced if I can avoid it. Oh, the Doc says that my cervix is just now starting to thin out a bit but nothing to write home about yet and no dilation yet either. Well, hopefully I don't have to post again until AFTER my next appointment next Wednesday. I really hope he's at least a few days late as that will give me a bit of time to relax at home before he comes but it's his rules we're playing by now so we'll see. Stay tuned.....10 days and counting!!! :-)

Tick - tock - tick -tock.........

Well, I'd love to give you an exciting update but there just isn't one. Aiden is perfectly content all snuggled up in my belly and I'm pretty sure he'll arrive close to or after his due date. Today makes me exactly 37 1/2 weeks and I of course had another weekly appointment. Blood pressure was a bit higher than it usually is, 120/70....but this is still really good so I'm not worried. Aiden's heartbeat was a wonderfully normal 140 bpm and as I promised myself.....I didn't look at the scale! Oh, and this week she didn't ask...."do you want to know if you lost or gained?" like she did last week (same girl) so I know I gained but it's all good.....I'm passed worrying about it at this point :-) It's pretty cool to feel him moving around in there but you can definitely tell he's getting cramped! I made the Doctor venture a guess on his weight at this point and his best guess was about 6.5 -7 pounds right now so if he does what he should which is gain an ounce a day and I deliver close to my due date then he'll be right around 8 pounds but my close girlfriends and I have a bet going on and I'm just convinced he's going to be at least a 9 pound porker! :-) I was over an 8 pound baby and Daddy was over a 9 pound baby so the odds are we'll have a larger baby but you never know! A healthy 7 pounder would be perfect for me! Here's an updated picture of me and this time I went bare belly!

and here are some pictures of Aiden's room all finished and awaiting his arrival (I'm just in love w/ it!)........



















of course he won't be in his crib for a few months because he'll be right next to Mommy in his bassinette but only for 3 months at most then it's off to the crib! I've had the wonderful privledge of having several very close girlfriends that have children and I'm able to take bits and pieces of what they do and try to figure out a strategy for what might be best for me but ultimately every child is different so we'll be making up our own rules as we go. Well, that's it for this week! Oh wait....I almost forgot, my work threw me a surprise baby shower today too so I've got a few more things to add to Aiden's collection. Thanks my Jotul buddies!! I knew they were doing something I just didn't know when and my boss said to meet him in conference room B for a quick meeting and I honestly didn't even put it together until I got in there. Now it's time to go get the rest of what I'll need for his arrival which isn't much at all and I certainly don't NEED to have for him to come but if you know me well enough you know I have my lists and would love to have everything done off of it before he comes but if it's not all done....oh well! Until next week (or maybe he'll be here before my next appointment.....stay tuned!) :-)