37 weeks!

Here we are! 37.5 weeks and no sign of baby H anytime soon (despite the fact that I predicted her to come tomorrow)! We had a bit of a scare on Friday night when I was getting some close contractions & having some pain throughout my middle where I was having trouble breathing deeply & I couldn't comfortably sit or lie down...that lasted about half an hour & left as quickly as it came! All has been quiet since then!

Friday was my last day of work and the parents of my 4-year-olds threw me a little shower/ice cream party for the kids. They each gave me a book & a very generous gift card to Target, which I'm sure we'll find many ways to spend! It was really bittersweet to tell you the truth - I do love my job, but I couldn't cry because I'm so excited for the work I get to do at home very soon! My boss cried as I handed over my keys and another co-worker/friend cried, too...I promised the kids I would be back to see them graduate at the end of the year, though!

My parents came over the weekend & my dad finished up some handy-man things in the nursery for us - we got the quilt hung that was a gift to Hadley from our nieces. My dad also hung the over-head light, the blind, and the shelf for her "collectibles" (My poor dad always has a running to-do list when he comes!)

I had my 37w appointment today & everything looks good. The doctor said that my group B strep test came back negative (woo hoo!), her heartbeat sounds great, my blood pressure is excellent & based on the ultrasound a few weeks ago, H is measuring in the 33rd percentile (little bugger!). I also opted for the internal exam today (SO not as bad as the horror stories you hear - unless maybe my dr. was gentle??) & found out that I'm 1cm dilated...which basically means nothing, but at least now I know!

Pictures, pictures!!!

36 weeks!

Wow! 36 weeks! I can't hardly believe it! Let's see what's happened since I last wrote...

On Thursday, the parents of my 3-year-olds threw me a surprise "Books for Babies" shower - it was really cute and I got some very nice books (and a couple other little goodies) for baby Hadley! It was so sweet and certainly not expected.

Then, on Sunday, G & I got up to get ready for church as normal. I wasn't feeling completely like myself & I ended up throwing up right before we left...I assumed it was pre-labor or something like that, but as I ran out of the sanctuary (completely missing communion) for fear that I wouldn't make it in time before throwing up (which I did - but just barely), I started thinking that I was actually sick instead. As we headed home, it was confirmed as I only made it to the front porch railing before becoming sick a third time! Let's just say my Sunday was awful & involved me unsuccessfully trying to suck down liquids all day & 3 phone calls to the on-call doctor to make sure that baby would be ok (I also had a fever up in the 101s). I took yesterday off of work since I hadn't eaten, drank, or slept in over a day. I was dehydrated big time, but the doctor assured me that "baby gets what baby needs" and that it was just me left feeling miserable.

Today, I returned to work & had a nice surprise little shower with the daycare kids! It was so sweet - they all made cards and got a neat toy for Hadley! After our staff meeting, I then had a doctor's appointment & everything looked great. Gregg came along with me, so he got to hear the HB & they also did the group B strep test (I'll get the results at my appt. next week). The doctor offered to do an internal since she was already down there, but I opted against it since I didn't want to deal with any of the spotting or anything that COULD happen. This is the first of our weekly appointments from here on out, which is exciting and scary at the same time!

My parents are coming for a visit this weekend & Friday is my last day of work, so I've got lots to look forward to (although it sure will be weird not getting up and going to work next week)!

And some pictures...the first is our nephew Max looking for the watermelon....

35 weeks!!

I can't believe we're already at 35.5 weeks! WHOA BABY! My belly is getting bigger by the minute, I swear - even my co-workers can't help but comment how much I've grown each weekend when I come back to work on Monday. In general, I still feel pretty good & I don't seem to have as much of the back/belly-spot pain that I had been having - now it's more of just a hip pain while I'm trying to sleep. Once the tylenol wears off, I just can't seem to get comfortable again.

Otherwise, there isn't much new news to report. Hadley's still been moving around like a mad-woman at night, making me wonder if I've eaten something she did (or didn't) like. I go back to the dr. next week for my group B strep test & my regular check-up & then my weekly appointments start (if we make it that far). I haven't been having a ton of braxton hicks contractions or anything, so I would be surprised if we found out that I was dilated at all (if they even do an internal exam).

Here I am in my Halloween costume for preschool at 35 weeks exactly!

And here is Hadley's homecoming outfit (sorry it's a bit blurry - it was with my phone)

34 weeks!

I got chastised by my loving husband last week for posting the 33 week update the day before I became 34 weeks, so I decided to get on top of things & take advantage of my day off of work to post on time this week!

I had my ultrasound this morning to check on Hadley's growth (since I had lost weight last week & she was stuck at 31w, according to the fundal measurement). Everything looked perfect. All of the measurements came back between 33w4d & 34w5d (I think). She is still a girl (LOL), weighs about 5 pounds and is head-down! The u/s tech commented on how active our little bugger is & I think that means we're in for it when she gets here since so many ultrasound techs have told us that - I figure they see babies all the time, so for her to mention something, H must be extraordinarily active! The tech actually saw my stomach bulge as she stuck a foot out the side! LOL! What a crazy girl!

I go back to the dr. in 2 weeks (Nov. 9th) for my 36w appt and my group B strep test. I got the OK to stop my baby aspirin & folic acid - wow, we are really nearing the end of this! I'll update later with pics from the wedding we went to over the weekend (for my 34w belly shot!) and next week's post with pics of me in my Halloween costume for preschool :)

33 weeks!

The weeks are just flying by now! I can't believe that little Hadley will actually be here in (most likely) less than six weeks!!! We are so excited, but still in that surreal, this-isn't-really-happening-to-us, state of mind. Her room is all ready to go, my bag is packed (G's will be after this weekend) & basically all that's left to do is get the car seats installed in the car (which we will do after next weekend since G's going to a Penn State game & his seats will all be used)!

I had a shower with my (former) cheerleaders last week & that was a lot of fun! They are doing such an amazing job this year & I'm sad that I have to miss it, but also very realistic in knowing that I just don't have the time (or energy) for it this year! They "surprised" me (they didn't know that I actually knew about it) with a little shower after one of their practices. Five of the girls gave gifts & 11 others contributed toward the squad gift of a high chair & outfits. They are so excited to meet her - I promised she would come to a basketball game (and maybe a competition?) this winter, decked out in a little team onesie!

My co-workers also threw me a shower last weekend at a cute little tea room near where we work. It was so special & I had such a great time. I'll have to see if I can get a few pics from it to put on (someone printed out pics for me, but I have no digital ones of my own).

Work has been interesting - I decreased my hours starting this week, so it has been nice to sleep in (when I can actually sleep) that extra hour...even if I don't sleep, though, it does help to alleviate a little stress, knowing that I don't have to rush around so much in the morning. My kids are doing well, for the most part & my replacement is starting to pick up a lesson or two here & there, to get the kids used to her. I just finished progress reports, so now I feel like whenever I leave, I've finished all of the big things that I needed to do.

Apparently, there is some sort of drama going on amongst the moms of my 4-year-olds - and if you know me, I am SO NOT into drama, so I'm interested to see how it all pans out. According to my boss, 2 of the moms took it upon themselves to plan another shower for me (yes, that makes shower #5!). The only problem is that they aren't working together to do it & neither one of them wants to relinquish control to the other, so it sounds like one big mess! Maybe Hadley will decide to come before they get the chance to do it???? Ok, not that I really want that to happen, but you know...

Finally, I had my 34 w appt yesterday. The HB sounded great - we could actually hear Hadley moving on the doppler, the little acrobat!, but my fundal measurement is coming up almost 3 weeks behind (it was 31 at the last appt & now 31 at this appt)...the nurse practitioner was not at all concerned about it, but wanted me to go for an ultrasound since I had actually lost half a pound since my last appointment two weeks ago & my fundal measurement had not changed. She wanted me to go for the ultrasound in two weeks, but I wasn't happy with waiting that long, so they managed to squeeze me in next Tuesday instead...I'm not really worried about it, but at the same time, I would be lying if I said I wasn't slightly concerned. I've been trying to load up more on my calorie intake (who has to worry about LOSING weight DURING pregnancy???) and drink, drink, drink! At least we have a wedding to travel to this weekend, to keep our minds off of things!

I'll keep you posted! Please keep our little girl in your prayers!!

This is me at 33w, after the breast cancer 5K (walk)!

And if I can figure out how, I'll upload the 7sec video that G took of our little jumping bean in my belly!

32 weeks!

I honestly can't believe we're at this point - I'm 2 days shy of being 33 weeks at which time, I'll have 7 weeks left until my due date and only 4 weeks left of work (if I make it to either of those dates). I truly cannot believe that we're almost at the end of this pregnancy, that we'll really get to meet our little girl very soon! It's all so overwhelming, but still so incredibly surreal. I have to remind myself DAILY (even with the aching back & bulging stomach) that I'm actually pregnant & that our long and drawn out dream of becoming parents is actually going to become a reality very soon...

I still feel like I have so much to do, even though we've really done almost everything we can to prepare. I just have a few odds and ends to tie up...progress reports at work, shower thank-yous, finish packing our hospital bags, make my ipod list for labor (I'm hoping it's a viable distraction) & getting the car seats installed in our cars. All of the shower gifts have been cleaned & put away, all of the nursery items have been purchased & we've even picked out Hadley's home-coming outfit! Now all she needs to do is stay in there and cook for at least another 5 weeks!

I had my second shower this past weekend & I had an awesome time! My mom threw an amazing shower & everyone was again so generous! Time for pictures!

31 weeks!

These past few weeks have really been flying by! Last week was particularly exciting because I had my first shower (something I never thought I would get to have)! People were so amazingly generous to our little Hadley - our living room was filled to the gills when we brought it all home from my in-law's house! I had a good time the next day, putting everything away, doing laundry, etc.

This past week, pregnancy has really hit me hard & for the first time, I really FEEL pregnant. I have a pain in my back that just will NOT go away & a pain just below my ribs in the front that seems to be here to stay for the duration, as well. The doctor basically said it's from stretching and there's nothing that can be done about it besides Tylenol, which stinks, since I hate to medicate unless I REALLY need to. I was hoping that there were some stretches or something that would help, but so far, I haven't found anything that eases the pain.

I had my 32w appointment yesterday. My blood pressure looked good, my weight was up to 124 (up 21lb from the start) & Hadley's HB was right in the 140s-150s, just where it should be. He didn't give my belly measurement, but said that it looked good & I got my flu shot, as well!

I just looked at my calendar and realized that I only have 25 more days of work to go - um WOW! I have another shower this coming weekend back home with my family & friends there - I am SO excited :)

Pictures...