3 more hours...

...until I am officially on maternity leave for 12 weeks! WAHOOOOOO! I am all smiles at work today, because at 5:00 p.m., I get to walk out those doors free of responsibility until January 14th, 2008. Man that feels good! :)

My plans include getting a pedicure, lounging around in my p.j.'s, and turning my brain off completely until I start labor. My friend Brooke reminded me the other day that early in my pregnancy I had a dream that I gave birth to a baby boy on October 29th, so that is my guess as to when I will deliver. We'll see...maybe it was a premonition!

I will be on the computer much less from here on out, but will do my best to give at least a couple of more updates before the big day. :)

Me...Full Capacity- 37 weeks

The Final "Stretch"

Ugh...There is officialy no more room in my belly. My skin is as tight as a drum and I am sad to report I have actually developed a couple of small stretch marks over the past two weeks. Woe is me. :( This weekend is the first time I have felt truly fed up with being pregnant, which sounds horrible to say, but I am sore, fidgety, and uncomfortable...and ready to meet my baby! I know he's ready!!! Come out, Come out!!!

The wonderful news is that this is my last week of work before my maternity leave begins, so I won't have to squish myself into the car for almost 3 hours a day after this Friday. Rejoice! I am SOOOO looking forward to having some time to rest before Parker comes...mentally and physically. My 'Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy' book tells me that "general pissed-offness" is one of the pre-labor symptoms she and her friends have all agreed upon, and I do believe I have moved into that phase. Or maybe it's just Monday morning and I hardly slept last night...

All gripes aside, I really can't express how excited I am that we are reaching the end of our long wait to meet our little boy. I know that upon looking down at him for the first time, all memories of aches, pains, and discomforts will be erased and replaced with even more love than we previously knew to be possible. I have no way to wrap my mind around the many ways my life is about to change, but I know it is going to be huge, wonderful, challenging, terrifying, and incredible all at once. I'm ready to make the plunge. :)

Fat Feet

Just a note to let ya'll know that I have sausage toes today. I had to take off my shoes which were sawing my feet in half. My fingers are swollen too. Oh my!

Still feeling good...and FULL of baby...

24....

Ok...I'm ready!

Pregnancy has been fun and interesting and all, but I'm feeling ready to be done with this part and move on to the good stuff (meeting baby, late nights, diapers, etc.)! I've definitely got the huge pregnant lady waddle going on, and am at least a little uncomfortable most of the time now. I've been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions (painless uterus contractions preparing body for labor)and can tell Parker is sitting lower in my body than he was a couple of weeks ago.

I had my doc's appointment today and my weight has stabilized, which is a good thing, and I am 1-2 cm dialated and my cervix has begun to thin. This doesn't mean I'm going to go into labor at any second, but it means things are moving in the right direction. My due date is 3.5 weeks away, but I'm feeling like we might go a little earlier than that. Who knows. I can tell you I am seriously looking forward to rolling over onto my belly for the first time in 4-5 months!!! Oh the things we take for granted!

I had an episode this weekend where I was freaking out that I might go into labor at any second and the house was a wreck. I was afraid that we would have to bring Parker home to a dirty house and he would have a bad impression of his new family. I went on a mad cleaning spree and made Chris join in. We vaccumed, swept, scrubbed the furniture, did laundry, packed hospital bags, and assembled the last piece of nursery furniture. On Sunday, we (Chris) mowed the lawn, trimmed the hedges, and went grocery shopping. Ahhh. Now we are set for Parker's arrival and I can breathe easy (figuratively). *I believe this is called the 'nesting' instinct.

I've got pretty much everything tied up at work as well, so I feel comfortable that when the time comes, I can grab my bags and be ready to go. Now all there is to do is count the days....

26...

Buddha Belly- 35 Weeks

Fun in North Carolina

The family baby shower this weekend at Chris' parents house was so much fun! My friend Christi and I drove up on Friday and stayed through Sunday morning. Many of Chris' family members came to celebrate...aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and lots of good friends. We brought home quite a haul of wonderful gifts as you can see in the picture. We played a couple of fun games, ate cake, and visited. It was a very enjoyable and relaxing weekend.

Today I went to the doctor for a check-up, and found out I have actually lost 2 pounds over the past month! I'm sure it is because I was so sick a couple of weeks ago. Parker is still growing by leaps and bounds (He's about 6 pounds now!) and has begun to drop down in preparation for birth. Lucky for us, he is head down and in the proper position for a normal delivery in just a matter of weeks. I'm 35 weeks now, so he could come as soon as a couple of weeks from now! (wishful thinking...). :)

Above is a picture of me from Saturday...what a belly!

Love,
Laura