37 weeks

I am officially full term today! We are so anxious for this little girl to come, we can hardly contain ourselves! We have our bags packed and we're pretty well ready to walk out the door at a moment's notice. Now the difficult thing is to occupy myself while I wait. If you know me you know how impatient I am. The wait to go into labor is just about killing me. Being incredibly uncomfortable sure doesn't help either! But I know she will be worth it so it's tolerable.

36 weeks

Well, here we are! 36 weeks! Today we hit our very last milestone before our baby could be born. We now get to join the "any day now" club! This week my doctor removed the cerclage. It hurt like crazy but at least it didn't take her very long. She showed us the surgical string they used to stitch the cervix shut which was kind of interesting. It looks sort of like a thick, bright blue, dental floss. Anyway, after she removed the stitches she examined me and said I was dilated 1 cm and 80% effaced. Bummer. We were sort of hoping I would be at least 2 or 3 cm. Oh well, I guess this just means that our baby has a bit longer to fatten up before we meet her. The really good thing now is that I have been released from bed rest! Malone and I have been going for walks, and it feels so nice to be independent again. But we are so excited for our little girl to come. Of course, being excited and nervous and anxious just makes it feel like time is going by slower.

35 weeks

Well, this week I have been sick, sick, SICK. I managed to catch a cold and I just can't seem to shake it. It makes all the pregnancy symptoms extra uncomfortable. Good thing we're almost at the end right? Anyway, here's a picture. Please ignore my puffy puffy face, my stretchy pants, and red nose.

Our Friends

Last summer Malone and I were able to attend a conference about adoption. While we were there we met some really great people. Two of these people are Savannah and Josh. They have been hoping to have children for a very long time. They've tried to conceive on their own and they've tried to adopt. Last fall they were selected by a birthmom. Just today I found out that their birthmom has backed out on them. My heart breaks every time I hear of a situation like this. Although we respect that only a birthmom has the right to make a decision about placing her child, we also understand how horrible it is to be the couple who gets the short end of the stick. Anyhow, the purpose of this post is not to bemoan our past experiences. We have grieved and moved on. However, moving on from such an experience isn't easy, and I'm sure Savannah and Josh are really in need of extra prayers right now. So please pray for them. I know they're not sure exactly what they will plan to do now. So maybe the best thing would be if we pray for them to find the solace they need and be led to the path which will be best for their family. Thanks in advance!

34 weeks

Here we are at 34 weeks! Hooray! This week I had an appointment with my doctor. I had a non-stress test and an "unofficial" ultrasound to measure the levels of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. Everything looked great!

My next appointment is next week. I will be having another non-stress test, an ultrasound to measure the baby's growth, and an appointment with the doctor. I didn't think we were going to have any more ultrasounds, but I guess the doctor proved me a liar. She also allowed us to go ahead and schedule the cerclage removal. That will happen the next week. And then I guess we'll see where things go from there! The doctor says I could go into labor immediately but it's also possible that it can take a few days or so. All I know is, we are so SO excited to finally get to hold our miracle baby in our arms!!!

33 weeks

This week has been a fairly busy one in our neck of the woods. We had a doctor's appointment and the baby measured at 4 lbs 11 oz. YAY! She's right on target and weighs almost as much as my baby brothers weighed COMBINED when they were born 21-ish years ago. My blood glucose levels have been so so. For the most part I've been able to keep my after meal levels all within the target range established by my dietician. The fasting glucose levels have been a bit trickier though and there just isn't much to do for that but go on medication. So this week I started on the lowest dosage of the medicine they prescribe to gestational diabetics and so far it seems to be doing a pretty good job of helping me keep things within the right ranges.

From here on out, I will be seeing my doctor every week. Because of the medication I am on, they will be keeping a little bit closer eye on the baby. So, when I go in for my appointments I will have to be hooked up to the non-stress test for about 20 minutes before I see the doctor. But we don't have to have any more ultrasounds! Hooray! And hopefully this week I'll be able to convince the doctor to schedule the removal of my cerclage. I guess we'll just have to see if she will be ameniable to that idea.

This week we've also been having family visit from England. It's been really fun and crazy to have them here! My sister-in-law threw me a baby shower yesterday which turned out great! For those who were able to come, thank you so much for making the day so special for me.

32 weeks

Now this is cause for celebration! I am now 32 weeks along in this pregnancy. This means that the baby will be able to be born and cared for at our local hospital. Hooray!!! We can't believe that we only have 4 weeks until they take out the cerclage and we will finally get to be parents. We know that we have only been able to get this far by the grace of Heavenly Father. We are so thankful to Him and to all of you for your ceaseless prayers on our behalf.

31 weeks

Today I am 31 weeks along, and it's my birthday! It's been a great day. And now we're only 1 week away from what we like to call "magic week" in our house. It's magic because if I can make it to 32 weeks before I deliver then I can deliver at my local hospital with my regular OB as the "catcher."

This week the baby seems to be having quite the growth spurt! She is now big enough to really get some good kicks in to my ribs, and when she moves it looks like she's making my belly do the wave. We are having so much fun together! And as you can see, I really look like I've exploded. Apparently my goofy brothers think they're pregnant too, because they really wanted to get a picture of their bellies in the mix.

We are currently working on getting everything ready for the baby. I can't believe we're only 5 weeks away from the cerclage coming out! The doctor did advise us this week that there is a VERY small chance that once the cerclage comes out my cervix will stay shut because it's been trained to do so. However, this is highly unlikely, so we're really looking forward to the prospect of bringing our precious baby girl home in about 5 1/2 weeks. We picked out a going home outfit for her which we think is pretty adorable. What do you all think?