this is what i think about when i have insomnia

The feelings and emotions that come with the end of pregnancy can be very overwhelming!! I would like to blame the hormones, but in actuality I think it's just part of the whole experience.

As the little ticker on the top of this page says, I love every day that I get to be pregnant. It's been an amazing experience, seeing and feeling all the changes in my body and knowing that I am nurturing and growing a new life inside of me! I've enjoyed seeing how people have reacted to this baby...my husband, my parents, my sisters, my inlaws, my friends...and the amount of love and support has been overwhelming. Baby Girl (or Babby Gril if you are one of my awesome 3rd grade spellers) is so lucky to be joining a world that wants her here so badly!

I don't know if I will ever get to experience this again. Unlike most women who just assume that they can have the family and kids they've always dreamed of, I know differently. It was a hard fought battle to get to this point. Not to say that it will definitely be as challenging if we decide to go for it again, but just that I am aware of the fact that it could be. And so I appreciate every day of this pregnancy even more!

At the same time, I kind of feel ready for it to be over. It's really hard for me to admit that, having said everything I said above. At this point, though, the waiting is excruciating. She could decide to come out any day now, or I could end up being induced at 41 weeks. There's no way to tell! Being in limbo is killing me. I am so impatient to meet this little girl!! What will she look like? What kind of temperament will she have? Whose personality will she get? I just want her out and in my arms. We're ready for you, sweetheart!

Catching Up

So, I realize it's been a while since I have posted anything on here. It's certainly not because of lack of free time...summer vacation is in full swing and I have more time than I know what to do with! I am definitely taking advantage of said free time, knowing what is coming and how time-consuming it will be to care for a newborn. Unless I have somewhere to be, I don't set an alarm and just wake up when it happens naturally, take at least one nap per day, watch a lot of mindless TV, read books and magazines, surf the web, and oh yeah, get ready for the baby!

We are about 1 week away from her official due date and she hasn't shown any signs of wanting to come out yet. At my appointment on Tuesday my cervix was still tightly closed, barely reaching what they call "fingertip" dilated. So we've got a ways to go on that end! The way she rolls and pokes in my belly you might think she's saying "Hey! Get me out of here!" but apparently she likes her home. And so we wait, knowing that it could happen any day now but preparing ourselves to wait for August 6 or after. My OB said that she doesn't usually let women go past 41 weeks, so we will probably get an induction scheduled for around then and just hope that things progress on their own before it comes to that.

The nursery is complete other than the wall decorations! You will see some pictures below but I will do a better photo shoot when everything is completely ready.

Here I am showing the room to Kate before we went to the movies. This was the old arrangement of the furniture, which I was never very comfortable with. It didn't look or feel right! But don't worry, we rearranged later.

Candid shot of my belly. I think this was at 37 weeks?

On our way to "get our teen angst on" AKA go see the third Twilight movie, Eclipse. If I am 37 weeks, I think that makes Kate 26 weeks? With twin girls!!
OK, now the furniture is finally in its correct spot! Crib to the left with the super soft birdy bedding, I am sitting in the glider that is on loan from the store where we ordered the real one which will match the rest of the furniture, baby girl's books and toys are on her new shelf, changing table/dresser is to the right...and Halley is checking it all out!

Halley was keeping me company while I was rereading the last Harry Potter book!

Last weekend we had a "Last Hurrah" BBQ, figuring it might be a while before we get to have another adult party. Here are me and Cindy doing the belly bump. I am 38 weeks pregnant, she is 24 i think? I know she told me but I've forgotten. She is due Nov. 1 and they are going to be surprised on the gender!

This time we'll let the daddys be in the picture. :) It was about 110 degrees outside (no exaggeration, and my husband had been out at the grill, hence his slightly sweaty appearance!

35 weeks

Not much new to share. We are busy, busy, busy reorganizing and making space for all the baby stuff. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the dresser/changing table we ordered so i can set up the nursery once and for all! Baby Girl is very active! She is running out of space (see below for how BIG my belly is!) so it is a lot of jabbing and punching. It makes us laugh but there are times when I need her to settle down in there! In one week we have our long-awaited ultrasound and we can't wait to get a glimpse of what she looks like. We are very anxious to meet this little girl!!



Outside our house in the July 4th heat!