Bear with me!

As you can see, the blog is currently under construction. I only have photoshop on one of our computers, and, naturally, it's not on the one I'm currently on (and, at 40+ weeks pregnant, I don't feel like getting the other one right now!). So enjoy the little preview of what's to come, and hopefully my blog will be all neat and organized again by the end of the day!

As far as the current state of my uterus goes, still no signs of baby. Our doctor's appointment this morning confirmed that she's happy in Chateau de Momma and has no plans to move out anytime soon. We've got another appointment scheduled for next Monday to talk about inducing. Her Mimi (I think that's what Karen wants to be called, if I remember correctly!) will be happy to hear that if nothing has happened by then, we plan to induce on Tuesday, February 16 (Mimi's birthday!). We're praying that she decides to come on her own before then, but we'll just have to wait and see!

I had my first nonstress test done today which ended up being a lot of fun for me. Since I hadn't had anything to eat or drink for most of the morning, the girlie wasn't moving at all. To get her going the nurse brought me some apple juice on ice (just how I like it!) with some strawberry yogurt. I told Bran I'd be happy just staying in the birthing center until I have her - talk about service! She loved the juice and yogurt and was her normal happy, bouncing around in my belly self in no time. I loved having the external monitor on and being able to watch (and hear) her heart rate increase every time she moved! We have another nonstress test scheduled for Friday just to make sure that all is well with Mrs. Placenta and that Emma's still doing alright.

I'm still way more comfortable and energetic than anyone in my "state" deserves to be, and I'm loving it. I feel better now than I have in months and even have plans to finish painting the new bathroom this afternoon to see if some physical activity* helps get things going. We've also got two sets of stairs in our house that I might try walking up and down to see if that does anything. I did a few jumping jacks the other night but everyone looked a little horrified so we'll keep those to a minimum :). I promise to update any change in my progress right away!






*Before anyone leaves embarrassing comments about the other forms of physical activity that help with labor, we're well aware and are giving everything a try. :)

How big is baby?

40 Weeks - She's the size of a pumpkin!

How far along: 40 weeks - today is my due date!

Maternity Clothes: Still comfy.

Stretch Marks: Bath and Body works sells a stretch mark cream for $40... pretty sure there's no way to justify spending that kind of money on less than 3 oz of cream that might not even work!

Sleep: WONDERFUL! I've only been waking up once in the night to go to the bathroom, and some nights can fall back asleep without getting up to go. {you know you're very pregnant when you would rather just try and fall back asleep with a full bladder than get up and pee!}

Best Moment this Week: Spending the evening working upstairs with all of our housemates. Things are looking good!

Movement: She's still been going like crazy just reminding me that she's doing good!

Food Cravings: Pop tarts!

Gender: Girl!! :)

Labor Signs: Started having some pretty consistent braxton hicks contractions yesterday but nothing painful. Also did some serious nesting, so we'll see what happens in the next few days.

Belly Button: Pokes through my shirt now.

What I Miss: I can honestly say there isn't anything I miss this week. I've been feeling great, lots of energy, loving my big pregnant belly, and wouldn't change a thing! That is, unless it meant getting to hold my baby girl :)

What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: The bathroom should be finished {for reals this time} by tuesday!

Weekly Wisdom: "Due date" means nothing to me - God has already determined when she'll come, and that's the most comforting thought in the world.

Emmaline's Hospital Bag

Ok so I'm still pretty crippled from my back pain, but I was able to hobble into the nursery for a few minutes to snap some shots of the things I've packed for Emmaline. Here goes!



First, we've got her array of "coming home" outfits:


My immediate family knows I'm quite the over-packer, so why should it be any different with her?! I'm hoping she doesn't end up needing all these different outfits, but we'll be prepared just in case. The kimonos were hand-me-downs, and everything else came from her wonderful "Mom Mom" (my momma)!

Then we've got one of the many blankets that have been handmade for her by friends and family. This one was made by my friend Jamie, and I absolutely love it and can't wait to snuggle her up in it!



Did you catch the little heart detail in the middle of the pink square? How adorable!


And finally we've got her super cozy and soft and warm bunting bag that her mommy bought for her. I'm so excited about this, and I love that you can either snap the bottom to form legs, or snap it another way to make it a bag.



So there you go! I've got that packed for her, along with some diapers and wipes just in case, and a few girly receiving blankets. She should be set!

A post to make me post later...

I'm in quite a bit of pain right now thanks to a backache that culminated in me pulling my lower back this morning when attempting to lift Evie into Emma's crib for a nap. It was so bad I had to wake Bran up, convince him that I wasn't going into labor, and get him to help me up off the floor :(. I'm doing much better now, though I still can't stand up straight when I walk. We're praying that I don't go into labor while I'm dealing with this - a pulled back + labor pains doesn't sound like a good combination.

I'll keep you updated on that, but for now I'm doing a "maybe if I say I'll do this I actually will" post. So my goal for today is to take pictures of all the stuff I've got in Emma's hospital bag (her stuff is way cuter and more fun than mine!) including her coming home outfit(s) and blanket. Check back later to see if I can keep my promise! :)

Hospital Bag help...

LADIES - I need help figuring out what to pack in my hospital bag! I know I'm a bit behind the game in getting this done, but thanks to living in a construction zone for the past few weeks, I haven't yet gotten around to packing it yet.

I've heard it's best to bring as many of the things you'll need/want as possible, since while the hospital provides lots of stuff, they happily add those things to your "tab". In light of that, here's what I'm packing so far:

• Robe (comfy ruin-able one that I got from goodwill for $5)
  
• Socks (the non-skid kind so I'll have something to walk around in should I choose to do so)
  
• Nursing bra/nursing sleep top
• Nursing pads
  
• sanitary pads
• Ibuprofen
  
• Shampoo/conditioner
• My own towel (I'm picky when it comes to bath towels)
• Paperwork (birth plan, insurance stuff, etc. We've pre-registered with the hospital, so they've already got most of it.)
• Camera and camcorder
  
• cellphone/charger

Is there anything I'm forgetting, or anything that you took with you and were glad you had?

Freezer Meals at {39 Weeks}

A few months ago, I had these big plans to make a whole bunch of freezer meals when I quit my job. I figured that since I was planning on quitting around 36 weeks, I'd still have enough energy in my abundant spare time to pop a few meatloaves and maybe a lasagna in the freezer. Well, my lovely pregnant body had other ideas, and my pupps rash showed up on my last night at work. As you know, I spent the next two weeks (which happened to be weeks 36 and 37 of my pregnancy) in itchy miserableness, so the freezing didn't happen.

Finally this week Bran and I sat down and went through my recipe books looking for yummy recipes that would freeze well. We decided on a few and then went on a MAJOR shopping trip to WinCo. This very well may have been both our biggest and fastest trip to WinCo yet - we made the mistake of going around 3 pm, which happens to be the same time everyone in Moscow goes to WinCo! Wait, let me correct that. 3 pm is the time every OLD person in Moscow goes to WinCo. I'm sure you all are well aware of how our wonderful elderly community is in the grocery store, but now combine that with carts that are too big for the aisles, and you've got yourself a shopping trip that ends up looking like a game of Pac Man. We even split up several times, hoping that a "divide and conquer" approach would make things go smoother.

In the end, we got everything we needed to stay nourished for the next month, and didn't run over any old people.

So all of that to say that on Monday I made and froze 3 small meatloaves, and my wonderful brother-in-law, Tyler, made and froze 2 lasagnas for me, and then today I made and froze 2 macaroni and cheese casseroles. Yum!

How big is baby?

39 Weeks - She's the size of a "mini" watermelon! (About 7 lbs)

How far along: 39 weeks - she could come at any time!

Maternity Clothes: I've been getting lots of use out of my motherhood maternity jeans that my mom bought for me. When I wear them I still feel cute even though I'm so huge!

Stretch Marks: They're there. Oh well.

Sleep: Almost back to how it was earlier in my pregnancy. I've been waking up once in the night and it's generally a combination of having to pee and being itchy from my dry skin. Still way better than when I had the rash.

Best Moment this Week: Seeing her nursery all put together!

Movement: Still a little kickboxer!

Food Cravings: I had a craving for pudding the other night so Jen made some for us. Super yummy :)

Gender: She had better be a girl with all these cute clothes I've got for her!

Labor Signs: Still nothing! And I'm still ok with that :) Dr.'s appointment tomorrow so we'll find out if there's anything going on.

Belly Button: Pokes through my shirt now.

What I Miss: Not getting exhausted by simple things like doing the laundry or the dishes.

What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: The bathroom should be completely finished by Wednesday!

Weekly Wisdom: It's all about trusting God.

Almost ready for her to come!

We're all pre-registered at the hospital (which means we'll only have a teeny bit of paperwork to fill out after she's born, and none when we check in), and the nursery is almost done! We painted last night and are going to set everything up tonight. As soon as the bathroom is finished, which should be next week sometime, we'll officially be ready for her to come!

Bran keeps telling me to hold her in until at least next weekend - I told him I'd do my best, but that I can make no guarantees ;)