38 Weeks...Winter Has Arrived

The countdown is on until Baby L and we are trying to take advantage of our last remaining free time.  We had a very busy weekend and ate way too much food.  Joe and I tried a new Mexican restaurant Friday evening.  Saturday morning I met Danielle for breakfast at Northstar.  That night we met Nate, Callie, Katie, and Luke at Harvest Moon Cafe.  I had one of my very few pregnancy cravings when we walked by a specialty cupcake shop right down the road.  Joe and I ended up buying 4 different kinds and have been sharing one a day.  They are amazing!  After dinner we went to check out Katie and Luke's new house and watched the Bengals/Steelers wildcard game.  Sunday afternoon we met the Burgers, Shanks, and Zieglers at Cheescake Factory.  Morgan and Jordyn are getting so big! We always have fun playing with all of the babies and can't wait to add ours to the mix.  Joe has been on a roll and also managed to finish hanging the crown molding in the guest bedroom over the weekend.  He also bought a new headboard, curtains, and side table.  (Yes Daddy is definitely nesting!). We are excited to get some paint on the walls and finally have a nice guest bedroom.  Mama on the other hand might be getting a little excited about Baby L's arrival and bought a few outfits this week. I swear I am done until I find out whether Baby L is a boy or a girl :)  I am much more content though knowing I have some more nice warm sleepers to get us started.  I also got Baby L's bag packed, and my bag mostly packed.  We are preregistered and ready to rock n' roll whenever the time comes.

I bought a couple headbands (Daddy was concerned) in case we happen to have a baby girl :)

I worked on Monday and when I pushed a (unknown to me) leaky heater cooler down the hall it appeared my water had broken as I was standing in a puddle of water by the time I got to the ice bin.  Our coworker Dave immediately sent Joe a picture (he wasn't coming in until a little later in the morning) and asked if he was ready?!  Glad I could give everyone a good laugh.  Luckily for me my coworkers are all taking way too good of care of me when I am at work.  I have to remind them sometimes I am still very capable!

The picture does no justice but the puddle was huge. At least my pants weren't wet.

Looks like Old Man Winter has made his appearance just in time for our winter baby. After a small dusting the other day, we actually ended up getting about 3-4 inches of snow on Tuesday at the house.  And brrr it is cold!  I took advantage of my "prego snowday" and binge watched some shows.  I did go outside with the dogs to play in the snow for awhile, they love it!  I had to rescue/coax Izzy out from under our deck (which isn't very high) at one point because she got stuck army crawling around under there.  She has never done that before but maybe the snow made some critters hide out under there or something? Always an adventure.  Buddy and Izzy are getting increasingly clingy/protective of my belly.  At one point the other night they had both practically crawled in my lap and had their paws wrapped around me. Daddy (who is very hopeful Baby L loves snow as much as him) took advantage of the fresh snow and went skiing at Mad River on his day off.

So everyone always asks me if I have dreams about the gender of Baby L, or a strong feeling one way or the other.  To be honest I really don't.  I am guessing a boy, but there are parts of me that also think it may be a girl so I just won't really be too surprised either way I don't think.  But I did have a pretty funny dream the other night and I am not quite sure what to make of it?  In the dream Joe and I go walking into the nursery at the hospital to see our baby for the first time.  There was obviously no labor and delivery involved so I guess the stork must have dropped the baby off? The first thing we see is a baby with this long dark, pretty hair and long eyelashes...it's a girl! But as we look closer we notice the baby is wrapped in a blue blanket...ok whoops it's a boy!  At this point I pick Baby L up for the first time and it is then I notice a big bald spot (just like Daddy's when we first started dating, haha!).  I was concerned about the bald spot but the nurse assured me it was completely normal and was just due to how the baby had been positioned in the womb.  She told me the hair would grow back...at least for a little while! (haha)  I woke up laughing so hard and had to wake Joe up to tell him about my crazy dream.  His thoughts regarding Baby L's hair situation was "poor baby".
 
My 38 week checkup was pretty uneventful.  Everything still looks great.  Baby L is sitting very comfortably (so is Mama).  The only progress is my cervix has continued to soften but I have still not started to dilate.  Baby L has started to drop a little bit, but not enough that I can actually tell.  She is fully expecting to see me at my 39 week appointment next week.  At this point she is guessing I am going to end up with a 7.5-8 lb. baby :) She doesn't want me to go much more than a week late, and OSU apparently has a very busy induction schedule.  So as of right now I am on the schedule to be induced in the evening on February 2nd.  But she did tell me today we can be flexible with that depending on how everything is progressing.  So in the meantime, we wait!  Alpha Mom (a blog I have been following through my pregnancy with weekly updates) did a good job of explaining my thoughts/feelings at this point :)

"Alternating between crazy excitement about finally meeting your baby and crazy panic about oh my God, you’re finally going to meet your baby and they’re going to expect that you take it home and like, keep it alive and stuff."

Baby is the Size of a Pumpkin

New for baby this week? Weighs about 7 lbs and is about 20 inches long. Lungs are mature and will continue producing more surfactant. Baby could have up to an inch of hair (or none at all!). Has a firm grasp.

Total weight gain/loss? 35 lbs. Guess I am not quite done yet.
Maternity clothes? Are getting boring.  But I am still loving maternity pants, they are so comfy!
Stretch marks? None...can I make it until the end?!
Sleep? I have been sleeping great!  Of course I wake up a time or two to pee, but I am able to fall right back asleep.  I also have been enjoying a nap (or two) when I can sneak them in.  Enjoying it while I can!

Best moment this week? My new favorite moment each week is my OB appointment.  I am always anxious to find out if there has been any progress, and  I always love listening to Baby L's heartbeat.
Movement? On Monday night Joe sat with me for awhile and we just enjoyed feeling Baby L move around.  It was by far some of the biggest movements I have seen and felt (although not painful).  We could feel limbs flying everywhere. I also watched my stomach move around into all kinds of crazy shapes while drying my hair one day.
Food cravings?  Chocolate milk.  Cupcakes :)
Labor Signs? I get Braxton Hicks everyday but they have not been strong or painful.
Wedding rings on or off? Off since Monday morning.  After being so loose recently I almost panicked when I sleepily pushed them on the other morning and soon after I noticed my finger kinda hurt and wasn't getting the best circulation.  I don't think my hands look very swollen but I guess they are more so than I realized (crazy since the weather is so cold!).  It took me about 15 minutes to get them off (which I am sure only got worse the more I tried to force it). So I have decided it probably isn't worth putting them on at this point in case my hands swell more throughout the day.  I feel naked!  I haven't gone a day without them since our wedding day.
How is mama feeling? Honestly pretty great.  Taking it easy helps.  I am also so warm!  We are experiencing temperatures in the teens and single digits and I still get hot all of the time.  I keep turning the furnace down, I hope I am not freezing Joe too much.  I wake up at night hot and sweaty.  Normally I would be bundled up and wrapped in my "cocoon" with these kind of temperatures.
Looking forward to? Meeting Baby L :)  Finding out whether you are a boy or girl! And as you can tell from the bump photo outtakes Izzy and especially Buddy are just as excited as Mommy and Daddy!