Almost There...

After a busy weekend of cleaning, organizing, installing the car seat and washing the last of the baby's clothes - I think we are as ready for this baby as we are ever going to be.

This morning I had my weekly check up and I am measuring 38 weeks and 5 days. I haven't started dilating yet so my doctor decided to schedule an induction next Wednesday, July 7, unless the baby comes on its own before then. She said it is definitely a possibility that even though I haven't started dilating yet, I can still go into labor before the 7th. So we will see what happens over the next week!

Other than feeling like I am might just be pregnant forever, I feel pretty good. Pregnancy has been good to me and I have really enjoyed it. I am lucky that I haven't had any extreme symptoms, though as of last week I am dealing with a little pregnancy carpal tunnel. Its pretty common and will go away on its own, but in the meantime I have some awesome wrist guards I get to wear...which I choose to only wear in the privacy of our home.

This week I am getting out and about as much as possible to meet friends for lunch, treat myself to frozen yogurt, and manis & pedis while I can. And I am looking forward to my mom coming in town on Friday, and celebrating my birthday this weekend.

That's a Big Belly

So about 15 weeks ago I thought - I have a pretty big belly, I don't know how this is going to get any bigger! And somehow it did.

Then 10 weeks ago I thought - ok, wow I officially have a big belly. There is no way I will get much bigger. And then I did.

Even just 5 weeks ago I thought - surely this is it, I can't possibly get any bigger than I am now. I just can't!. And...well you can see the pattern here.

So at 37 weeks and 4 days - here is my big ol' baby belly. Obviously this is not in any way comfortable for me, but I am still very much enjoying pregnancy. Bumping Greg out of the way with my belly has become pretty fun (for me).

Watermelon Baby

So technically 37 weeks means I am full term and the baby can safely be born anytime now. I am not having any real signs of labor, but the braxton hicks contractions I have been having for weeks now are definitely much stronger. I also have an awesome pregnant waddle.

It has been smooth sailing up to this point but I am starting to get pretty uncomfortable. I guess its understandable though since I am carrying around a watermelon in my belly and the heat index was 103 today. My activity level has considerably slowed down and I've found that I am good for 1-2 activities a day before I am completely wiped out. This week I have some fun stuff planned including some pool time, lunch with friends and a pre-natal massage at Bliss on Friday morning.

We are trying to take advantage of how easy it is for to be out and about - I know this will change dramatically when the baby comes. On Friday, we met up with our friends Caroline and Mark for a dinner at a "cool" Dallas restaurant. I look about 15 months pregnant and they have a brand new baby girl - we didn't really look like the majority of the clientele, who were mostly not super pregnant and not toting a new baby, but we had a great time.

I wasn't up to posing for an updated belly pic - so Greg took one for the team.

The room is ready - now all we need is the baby.

Nesting has been one of the things I have enjoyed the most during pregnancy. I was so excited to have the extra room in our house to make into a cute and welcoming space for the baby. Both of our families have helped us so much in getting the room painted and furnished and we have it all ready for baby! We picked a neutral green for the walls and a sweet lamb set for the bedding. I think we are hoping all the sleeping sheep will inspire night after night of restful sleep. We are waiting to put any artwork up until after the baby is born - that way we can make it more personalized and gender specific. The rocking chair is by far the most comfortable piece of furniture we have in the entire house...and that's a good thing because I'm sure many a feedings will happen there.

So here are some pics of the nursery...

I think as far as baby supplies go, we pretty much have everything we need. I bought some diapers at the store today to stock the changing table and I think that was the last of the "need to buy" stuff. We have a few favorite items that we have either bought or been gifted. Just seeing them in the closet or in the room has me so excited to actually use them when the baby comes. Here are a few of our favorites:

Boy? Girl? Early? Late?

Over the past nine months, it has been so fun to hear everyone guessing if we are having a boy or a girl, if I will deliver on July 4th (no pressure!) and if the baby is going to be big or small. Even strangers love to give their two cents - the ladies at the pedicure place bet me a Starbucks drink that it will be a boy and he will be early. The Pottery Barn Kids salesman said he will see me back soon to buy some pink accessories, because its definitely a girl.

So now it's your turn - we set up a guessing pool and want to hear everyone's predictions and keep track of them. There may even be some prizes involved for the closest guesses! Get your guess in soon because we are now less than a month away from the target due date, July 8.

Click on the banner on the top right corner to enter your guess.

Summer Melons

This week I hit 35 weeks and Babycenter.com has begun comparing the size of the baby to different melons. It doesn't feel that long ago when they compared the baby to the size of an avocado or a tomato and we thought - wow, that is so big! Now the baby is about the size of a large cantaloupe. This made me laugh to myself at the grocery store today because when I walked in Tom Thumb they happened to be sampling a variety summer melons.

Some updates for this week:

Maternity Clothes: Exclusively...and for a while now. I have a few non-maternity shirts and one pair of horribly unflattering pink PJ pants that I wear around the house. The shirts don't totally cover my belly and the pants make me look like Humpty Dumpty. So, not appropriate for public! I have one pair of shorts I love and the rest of the time I am in dresses. Remember, its nearly 100 degrees in Dallas these days.
Sleeping: Some nights are better than others, but overall sleeping is becoming more difficult. I think my body is starting to get me ready for the baby's schedule. I wake up about every 2 hours for a bathroom break.
Movement: The baby is all over the place and moves around a lot.
Gender: Its a surprise still! We are both having dreams about one gender or another. As of last night Greg had the most recent dream that we are having a girl.
Labor Signs: Thankfully, not yet. And I hope I don't see any for 4-5 more weeks!
What I miss this week: Frozen margaritas. My favorite drink of summer.
What I am looking forward to: Frozen margaritas. My favorite drink of summer. :)