38 weeks

This could be my last 2-week photo update which is just crazy! Of course you could still see me on here in 2 weeks because that's just how these things go....but to give you an update, as of last Thursday I am 80% effaced (that's how thin the cervix is - it needs to get to 100% for pushing out the baby) and the baby's head is in station -2 (which means his head is 2 cm away from the cervix. That part was weird when she told me she could feel his head...wait, there's really a baby in there?!?). Then she said, so you're basically ready for labor so if you want to be induced we can do that now. Um...no that's ok...I'll wait. So yeah, it could be now or it could be a few weeks from now. It doesn't really give you any kind of timeline other than that it's "ready". Well that was enough to get me thinking seriously about it, so last night we finally packed the baby bag (stuff that the baby will need at the hospital). I still have to think about the stuff that I want for me (any clothes you bring they tell you might get ruined/cut off of you) but I did update my ipod last night so I could get some "labor songs" downloaded on there. We also had our last shower on Sunday (my DH side of the family in Tucson) and Friday (with my friends from Phoenix) so after I did an inventory of the loot (and there was a lot!) I went to Babies r us and started buying things that we still need. Yesterday I got the swing we wanted (which is very awesome. My DH put it together last night and we tried it out. Well, no one was in the swing (the dog was spared this time) but we had the music going - including hooking it up to my ipod which was very cool. We can make whatever mix of songs we want for the baby and not get sick of the defaults on there) and today I am going to pick up the mattress for the crib (why am I doing these separate trips you ask? A. Have you seen my car?, and B. They have these 20% off a single item coupons that can only be used once per day. Speaking of, I am really bummed because Bed Bath and Beyond won't send me their store coupons to my PO box! Totally annoying because I'd like to buy some of our bedding from their sister store Buy Buy Baby because target and Babies R Us only carries it online. So I've been trying to convince my friends to give me theirs :)). We also get a 10% off your whole registry on a one-time shopping day, but I'm not sure if I want to save that until after the baby gets here. There are some little things we still need (a grooming kit, thermometer, cover for the changing pad, etc.) but I know there's probably other stuff we need that I'm not thinking of. Like we only have 1 newborn size short sleeve onsie (I know, with all of the clothes we got, how did this happen? And actually, that onsie was one that I had bought myself several months ago). But some people have told me that the 0-3 month size will work just as well (it's only slightly bigger) so I'm thinking I'm going to wait to see how big he is when he gets here to determine if we need more (because I think we have about 10 of the 0-3 month size). I think people are hesitant to buy the newborn size because they either think, a. everyone is buying you newborn stuff, or b. your baby is going to come out bigger than that to begin with (newborn size is about 5-8 lbs).

My other update is that I started having contractions. That started on Sunday, which was a little unfortunate because we had a meeting with my doula in the morning and then our shower in the afternoon so I felt like I couldn't give either my full attention because these contractions kept happening all day (kind of like you're about to get your period but a little more intense vice-grip squeeze). I had a few more during the night and then again yesterday but nothing regular. They have since pettered out - so it's hard to say if they are Braxton Hick contractions (the practice ones that don't do much of anything) or the early stages of labor (which can also go on for days to weeks but at least it's starting to open your cervix). I'll find out more when I go to my appointment on Friday. But either way, it's definitely gotten me panicked into getting my stuff together at work so that I can leave whenever is necessary. So my goal for this week is to get the materials together and sent off to the people who are covering my class. I'm really hoping to be able to teach up until Oct 6th (next Wednesday) so then I won't have to cancel or postpone any classes. So that just means a week and a day this baby needs to hold out!

That's it for now. I included a photo of Brad and I at the wedding. I was going to include a full length shot but for some reason the camera kept making my feet look really swollen :)