9 days to go...

I had another doctor's appointment today. I'm continuing to make good progress. I'm now 80% effaced, and almost 2 centimeters dilated. My cervix has also dropped quite a bit (along with Emery!). My doctor says I probably won't go into labor in the next few days, but feels like it could happen anytime Friday through Monday. I still have an appointment next Tuesday just in case. He said if I'm tired of being pregnant he would offer to strip my membranes at my next appointment. We'll see what happens. I don't think I'm feeling that desperate (and the percentage of that helping isn't really convincing either). I had my first experience with false labor yesterday. Nothing reallly intense. We went on a long walk to and from campus (The U of M). I noticed that while walking, my contractions (which I'm having regularly all day every day, but not consistently) would come faster and stronger. So after I got home I started to time them for kicks and giggles. For about 3 hours they came every 6-10 minutes. They slowed down shortly before bedtime and luckily I was able to sleep very comfortably. I realize that is now in part to Emery's getting a little bit lower. I didn't have any rib pain at all last night! What a miracle! I have become accustomed to sleeping on my right side, with my left hand shoved under my rib, because it tingles otherwise. But last night I didn't have to fall asleep on my hand. How great! Although I had about 3 different dreams about being in the hospital for the baby. They were all odd, none of them very reassuring. Aaron was never there, old high school friends were throwing my things out the window, they wouldn't take me to a bathroom, and the umbilical cord was prolapsed (I think that's what it's called when the cord comes out before the baby). Fortunately for me, I know that the labor and delivery here is amazing and my brother in law's girlfriend, Jessica, is a nurse there and I know she will make sure they take good care of me! Ooh, in other nice news, I even lost half a pound. We blame that on the ridiculous indigestion I had this last week. I couldn't eat a fist size amount of food without needing a tums afterwards, so I just started eating less. I wasn't ever hungry, so I just did what worked. Luckily though, I think her final dropping the last few days has taken care of my indigestion issues too. Woohoo! Great updates for me this week. Can't wait to give you the big news, whenever that day comes.

The Belly Picture

I promised another one, so here it is. I took the liberty of putting on my maternity bathing suit and comparing it with the picture I took the day I went into the hospital for Joseph. Now we can see how big I am comparatively. After looking at both pictures, I can see that there's a lot less room in my suit this pregnancy. I didn't think it would be that different, but that's what happens. Anyhow, here they are!









For those who can't tell, the one on the left is from Joseph's pregnancy, the one on the right was taken today.

When you just look at the belly, I guess it is hard to tell the difference. But when I look at how that top fits, I can see the difference. What do you think?

14 more days...

I had another doctor's appointment Tuesday. My doctor did an ultrasound to see if we have another Joseph on our hands. According to her measurements, Emery is weighing in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. Her size put my "due date" a week from now, instead of 2. Of course we don't think she's coming early or anything. We're just anticipating her to be in the 8 - 8 1/2 lb. range. I'm dilated 1-2, still 50% effaced and Emery's sitting low at 0 station. I'm still right on track for the due date on April 22. As much as I would love for her to come early, I'm totally okay with waiting for the due date because we have things planned out so well for that date. Aaron's mom is going to come down from Kalispell. She'll take care of Joseph while we're having baby and in the hospital. Then she'll stay with us the entire week afterwards. Then on May 2, my parents are flying up from LA! We're very excited to have them visit and help around the house. I'm especially glad my dad can come and help out to keep Joseph entertained and make sure he has some good quality attention. They're only staying for about 5 days, but by the time they leave, Aaron should be done with his student teaching, and will be able to be around, keeping Joseph occupied and helping me recover. We're so pleased with how it is all planning out. Of course we know nothing ever goes as planned, but with such a great initial plan, even if things get tweaked a little bit, it should still go okay. And Joseph came on his due date, so we're hoping this little lady will follow suit.

The countdown begins...

19 days approximately until the due date. I'm not going to do a countdown, but rather wanted a reason to post and put up a few pictures since it's been so long. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of me (because I'm generally the one behind the camera, of course) but I'll make Aaron take one soon. But since I brought up the countdown, I did have a visit to the doctor Tuesday and I have started dilating. Only 1 centimeter so far, but I am sure my body will slowly progress. Seeing as I have about 19 days, we're not too worried. This coming Tuesday we're having an ultrasound to check on Emery's size. Since I was the average size with Joseph's pregnancy but still managed to have a 9 lb. baby my doctor thinks it will be helpful to check on Emery too. I remember them saying I was "all baby" last time, and now I know why they say that. I may not be gigantic (I've seen a few of those pregnant types and I tell ya, I didn't know pregnant women could do that) but that doesn't stop our babies from filling out. I tell Aaron that my body must know something I don't. I figure if my tummy just got a little bit bigger the baby would have more room and I might be a bit more comfortable. However, maybe if my tummy got bigger, I wouldn't be able to stand up straight, or I'd just fall over. Or maybe I'd have horrible back problems. I am only 5'3 mind you. Anyway, that's the pregnancy countdown news. I'll update next week after the ultrasound and let you all know how big we think she might be (they're only so accurate, but do give you a good idea if you should expect "big"). Well, here's a few pictures of Joseph. Enjoy!He made this tower all by himself.Joseph and I doing some painting and sponge-lettering.

Everything Emery...

Time is flying by fast, and we know it's only going to go faster. Since our last post, Julie celebrated her 25th birthday with a great BBQ thrown by Aaron with some close friends and family. It was tons of fun, and Aaron's a great chef at the BBQ.

Julie's pregnancy is going along great! Her doctor thinks Emery will be a little bit larger than average, but not as big as Joseph (9 lbs). Julie has started to experience Braxton Hicks in the last 3 weeks, which she didn't have too much with Joseph. This has gotten her wanting to prepare for Emery's birth even more. They started out with just a couple each day, but now they're pretty much all day long. Emery's position used to cause Julie quite a bit of rib discomfort. Her little bum was next to a rib and kept her in pain if she sat for more than an hour, or laid down. Unless she was standing or on her hands and knees, it hurt. But luckily last week, Emery decided to drop! Julie heard that after your first, babies tend not to drop until labor, but are we glad Emery did anyway! Julie is sleeping much more comfortably now (and not taking Tylenol every 4 hours) and hopes that Emery's being lower will help the Braxton Hicks be more productive. As of her last appointment (last Tuesday) she was not dilated, but was effaced 50%. Her doctor says that she's on schedule for her due date and that's just fine for us!

In other Julie news, Julie is officially unemployed! Last week was her last week watching Olivia. After 19 months of taking care of other children besides Joseph, Julie hardly knows what to do with herself. Not really. She's very ready to have one less thing on her mind, and it makes the necessary shopping trips, etc. that much easier. It's hard to believe Julie watched Olivia for so long, and at the same time it's hard to believe it's over! But we're ready to trade Olivia in for a little girl of our own!

Joseph is doing well. He is very excited for Emery to "come out of Mama's belly". We think he has a really good grasp on what's going on. He took the hospital tour with us, and helps us get ready as much as he can. Her clothes are in the closet, bed is up, etc. Joseph is excited for her to come out so we can have her birthday party. Then he talks about all of the things he wants to do with her when she comes home, like take a bath, watch a show, and drink milk. Joseph is also really excited for the grandparents who will be coming to stay with us when Emery comes out. He talks about that almost more than he does about Emery. We're so excited for this next stage and know it will be a great new challenge. We think Joseph is up for it, and hope we don't have any dramatic attitude adjustments to deal with after Emery comes.

Aaron is doing great in his student teaching. He passed his mid-term a few weeks ago, and has one more observation to complete (his University advisor watches him teach). He is working really hard to finish everything possible before Emery's birth. All of his mentor teachers, advisors, etc. know about Emery's coming and seem really sympathetic to the demands on Aaron's time. We're hoping that they'll be lenient with Aaron's time after the birth and that he won't have to be gone too much. Here's hoping!

The countdown begins. 3 weeks to go!