Dear Son,

Dear Son,

I am mere days from meeting you yet I know you so personally, so intimately, holding you for the first time will be as though I am gaining a piece of my that I never knew I was missing. I will cradle you in my arms, sun up and sun down and provide everything I humanly can. We loved you before we knew you even existed, and we have talked to you daily, your daddy gives you kisses on my tummy. We've treated this gift with such care as you grow everyday. It all seemed so surreal to us at first, but as we had our first ultrasound, got to feel the first kick, and then got to physically see you moving within my womb you've become more and more real to us, and now we have just a matter of days before you are in our arms and we start this whole new journey as a family of 3.

I pray for guidance, guidance on raising you to be a good man. You will grow and we will teach to the best of our abilities. We will make mistakes as will you. We will fight and not see eye to eye. You will think you hate us at times, and sometimes we will be so frustrated with you that we won't be able to stand it. I will cry... Lord knows I will cry. I will cry the first time I lay eyes on you, I will cry the first time I see you in pain, I will cry when I can't figure out why you won't quit crying, I will cry your first day of school and your last day of school. I will cry the day you meet "the girl" and will cry when you take her hand in marriage. We will be here to talk to you about life, to cheer you on in the stands, to give a shoulder to cry on, to give a hand to help you up, to give you an ear to listen, to give you advice to take.

I hope and pray that we are able to raise you into a man just as great as your daddy and I hope that you never doubt our unconditional and steadfast love that we have had for you since the moment we knew of your existence. We love you a million times over & we can't wait to meet you.

Your mom.

Week 39

Well here we are with my last weekly update. We are in our last 3 days one way or another. I'll admit it's been a rough few days and I anticipate a rough couple days ahead as well. There is nothing like the weight of a 7+ pound baby on your bladder on top of a UTI. Yup. The two combined equals a world of hurt and misery. There were 2 negative cultures in the course of a week and a half before there was finally a positive UTI culture was found on Monday. I'm on Augmentin now, which I will remain on through Sunday just in time for the scheduled induction! Luckily I am on the mend and feeling much better!

Week 39 has brought with it the blatant and obviousness that I am done with being pregnant. Yup, I am completely over it. I love this little boy and I am ready to be holding him in my arms. Baby W has pretty much 2 1/2 days to decide to come on his own, otherwise we will be induced medically at the hospital on Monday morning.. I am so full of emotions and thoughts in this last week I can't even begin to express everything going on in my head, I am literally days away from meeting this little guy who has been camped out in my tummy for months and months... who started out as nothing but a bunch of cells and a unexpected positive on a pregnancy test and now here we are. Brace yourself world... Baby W is on his way.

How far along are you? 39 Weeks && 4 Days!

Total weight gain? 33lb.

Maternity Clothes? Nope, wearing a lot of sweats or sundresses though thanks to the warm weather!

Stretch Marks? No more... unfortunately no less.

Sleep: This week has sucked thanks to the UTI I was up for hours at a time multiple times a night. Now that I am on the mend though I wake up maybe once a night.

Best Moment Last Week? Just getting another week closer to getting to see my little boy!

Movement: I can tell he wants out as much as I am ready to have him out!

Food Craving: Anything spicy... but that's more of a ploy to go into labor more then a 'craving.'

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.

Labor signs? A few contractions here and there. 

Symptoms? Just this big ol' tummy!

Belly button in or out? flat.

Wedding Ring on or off? Keeping it on a necklace still just to be cautious.

Most common emotion? Excited.

Looking forward to? Our baby boy making his appearance any day!

38.

Week 38!

Can anyone really believe we are nearing the end of this journey? That technically I could go in to labor ANY MINUTE!? I sure as hell can't! It feels like this pregnancy has flown by, at least the last trimester - which I am thankful for because it really is true what they say... the third trimester is by far the roughest. Don't get me wrong compared to many women out there my pregnancy has still been pretty Easy Street Ville, but that doesn't hinder the fact that I am pretty uncomfortable. What has taken the biggest beating? My bladder! As Baby W continues his decent into the pelvic region this little guy has added extra pressure to everything down there. I can't stand or walk without the need to know where the nearest lady's room is. That has by far been the most frustrating and uncomfortable of all that I have faced during this pregnancy. I have no tolerance for it. So it's been suggested that I get a lot more rest, lay down more and get pressure off my lady bits for some relief which I gladly do.

In other news we are 2 days away from our 38 week doctor visit, unfortunately my doctor is out of town however his nurse practitioner will be seeing me and doing a membrane sweep to try to induce labor. I didn't even know what a membrane sweep was until I was in my third trimester and googled 'inducing labor' and it was one of the many things that popped up. Membrane sweeps are performed by your doctor (or in this case my nurse practitioner) during an internal examination, they sweep their finger around your cervix which separates the membranes of the amniotic sac surrounding the baby from the cervix which releases a hormone that can induce labor. Membrane sweeps don't always work but they do have the potential to. I have my fingers crossed that this sweep or the one at 39 weeks is effective because as we all know I don't want to be induced with pitocin on my due date! I'm also trying to walk more, bounce on a yoga ball... and whatever else is suggested that could help Baby W decide to make his appearance early, but I know he is stubborn like his mama and will come whenever he is good and ready and there isn't much I can do to sway him otherwise.

Speaking of being stubborn, I think my hormones might be getting the better of me. I'm learning that at this present time, when it comes to my child... boy oh boy can I hold a grudge like nobody's business. If you've been MIA pretty much my entire pregnancy don't expect me to go out of my way to make you feel involved or to really discuss anything regarding my pregnancy or little family with you, "family," friend, or acquaintance. If you've made no attempt to be involved don't expect me to give you the courtesy of trying to involve you.

I forgot to take a picture today but I will post a quick one in the AM at some point. Is it crazy to think about how this could very well be my last baby bump picture!? On one hand it will be weird to have my stomach begin shrinking back down but on the other I am SO ready to be able to get out of bed without it feeling like a physical chore.

38 weeks 1 day

How far along are you? 38 Weeks!

Total weight gain? 33lb.
Maternity Clothes? Still sporting the same gear.
Stretch Marks? Has stayed the same.
Sleep: Pretty much the same as last week.
Best Moment Last Week? Getting to full term!
Movement: More defined, just cause he is running out of room I can feel every little movement.
Food Craving: Same.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.
Labor signs? He is moving lower into my pelvis. Contractions aren't really happening much.
Symptoms? Having to pee every 15 minutes. Yeah... It's super.
Belly button in or out? flat.
Wedding Ring on or off? I can still put it on but I am keeping it around my neck still in case of sudden swelling.
Most common emotion? Excited.
Looking forward to? Hopefully having this membrane sweep work in a couple days!

Baby W is the size of a Pumpkin!

Due Date Countdown : 13 days!!!

37 Weeks! Full term baby!

There is light at the end of the tunnel! With week 37 here it means that Baby W is considered full term, meaning if Baby W was to want to make his appearance now they wouldn't stop my labor and the chances are high that his lungs are fully developed and will adjust well to life outside the womb. Hard to believe we are at that point already. As much as I have tried to continue to stay upbeat and positive I have to admit that I am getting a little tired of being pregnant, or at least tired of some of the symptoms that seem to plague me. My hips are hurting more and more each day, I swear if I didn't know better I would have thought that I pulled a groin muscle. My right bottom rib aches pretty much on a constant basis. And I get up 2 - 4 times a night to visit the bathroom. All in all I got off pretty easy, I know I could feel miserable and be dealing with a plethora of other symptoms that I have luckily avoided like the severe morning sickness and hemorrhoids so I really shouldn't be complaining. However, at this point I can't imagine getting any bigger then I already have... I feel like my tummy is at maximum capacity.

I had a prenatal massage today. Oh. My. Gosh. Simply heaven, if only for the mere fact I got to lay on my stomach thanks to the special bed pillow they use for us knocked up gals. It was an hour of pure bliss, unfortunately the second I stood up from my massage my body made it perfectly clear that 'Hey, you're 9 months pregnant you didn't think that the relaxation and comfort was going to last past this comfy bed, oils, and unnecessarily calming music that almost made you fall asleep did you!? Hahaha...' Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what my body said to me. But hey... for 60 undisturbed minutes I was happy as a clam. I was also dangerously close to committing a crime and stealing the pregnancy pillow that was applied to the bed that allowed me to lay on my tummy, but I figure I don't want to deliver my baby in the clank so I left the pillow there.

How far along are you? 37 weeks!

Total weight gain? 33lb.
Maternity Clothes? Still sporting the same gear.
Stretch Marks? Just the 2. Dammit. Still slathering on lotion at a ridiculous pace to prevent them getting bigger or getting more heaven forbid!
Sleep: I am waking up 2 - 4 times a night to pee, and I usually take those opportunities to lay back down on alternate sides. I am waking up with pretty severe hip pain now though.
Best Moment Last Week? Our birth month got here!!
Movement: Constant.
Food Craving: Same.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.
Labor signs? Apparently my hip/groin pain is signs that Baby W is getting into position and I am having sporadic light contractions.
Symptoms? Exhaustion and a lot of "down there" pressure.
Belly button in or out? flat.
Wedding Ring on or off? It could be on but just to be safe I wear it around my neck now.
Most common emotion? Impatient for his arrival.
Looking forward to? Thursday. Here is hoping I am further dilated! It's Operation Get this Baby Out time now!

20 Days till our Due Date / Induction Date!