Thursday, August 27, 2009

I got to meet Bobby Cox!


He was such a nice guy. I know he's known for throwing bases, kicking batting helmets, and discovering other creative ways to get thrown out of games, but he was so patient with our group. He signed autographs and took photos with everyone. And yes, I was 37 weeks pregnant in these pics and had driven to Atlanta and back by myself. It was a very long day, but what can I say? I'm a dedicated fan and wasn't going to miss the chance to meet Bobby and the boys. I've been watching them on TBS since I was a little kid. If only I had gotten to meet Jeffrey- then it would have been a dream come true.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

We have progress, people!

Today I went to see my midwife for my 36-week appointment. We had the Strep-B test, along with the standard stuff. Blood pressure still looks good (106/60), weight gain is at about 11 pounds, urinalysis came back fine. After the Strep-B test, the nurse advised me to stay in my gown, because "Carlene usually doesn't do internals until 37-38 weeks, but just in case......"

So Carlene checked the heart rate (still in the 120s....boy?!?!?!) and measured me (a little small at 34, but not out of the realm of normal). She felt for the baby's position, and he/she's still head down and ANTERIOR! YAY!!! Then she made a comment about exactly HOW LOW that head was...and randomly asked if I minded if she do an internal. Of course, I was curious, so I told her to go ahead. Big news:

At 36 weeks, the baby's head is already fully engaged (i.e. locked in the pelvis), I'm 50% effaced and almost 2 cm dilated! Wowwwwwww...I was so surprised. Now, I KNOW this might not mean anything, and I could stay this way for weeks, but....Carlene said she would be very, very surprised if I made it to my due date....38 weeks might be more realistic. Yowza.

Game on!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Runnin' against the wind....


Last Saturday I finished another 5K. I have to say that even though I was 34 weeks, it was one of the most comfortable runs of this whole pregnancy! I ended up finishing in 30:50, which still feels ridiculously slow to me.....can't wait until I am running *normally* again. According to my midwife, assuming no tearing, stitches, etc. I could start running again 2-3 weeks post-delivery. Here are crossed fingers for a healthy baby and a natural delivery!

I'll have 35 weeks down tomorrow. Even though I am able to run comfortably, I feel so uncomfortable the rest of the time! I think running really clears my head and distracts me from how big I am, the everyday aches and pains of pregnancy, etc. The Braxton-Hicks contractions that I've been having for weeks have developed from being painless (just feeling tightening) to downright uncomfortable at times. I don't think sitting at my desk all day helps- although I do make sure to get up and walk around frequently. I am staying VERY hydrated as well, because I know that can contribute to BH as well. I have also noticed that sometimes the baby gets in this awful position that pushes against my belly button! I do everything I can to reposition him or her- it drives me crazy and is super uncomfortable.

I can't help but shake the feeling that this baby is going to come sooner rather than later, and that my body's gearing up for it. Of course, this could all be wishful thinking- it seems like every first-time-mama I know went AT LEAST 40 weeks. I'll try to remember to take a tummy pic after my run tomorrow.

PS- When this baby is born, I am soooo investing in some awesome new shoes!

Friday, August 7, 2009

The nursery....

...is almost done! It seems like it took forever, mainly because a few of the things we have are older and needed some sprucing up. But I am all for reusing items, so I didn't mind that much. Take this glider, for instance. The old cushions were a weird plaid...

...so I made new covers for them. The fabric I picked out has baby ducklings on it! With a couple of coats of paint and new covers, the glider looks like new.

The crib was a hand-me-down as well. It was in good shape but needed some new paint. As Brett said, "You can't expect this thing to look good- it had to contain Chris (his cousin) when he was a baby." One coat of primer and two coats of paint later, it looks great. I highly recommend Olympic's no-VOC paint. Environmentally friendly, low odor, and much more safe than traditional paint. I still wore a mask to paint, though.

I sort of underestimated this job. The crib doesn't have that much surface area, but the rails are curved, so it took FOREVER to paint. I'm really happy with how it came out.

My mother-in-law passed on this table. It was already painted a complementary blue, so it was good-to-go. I just need to pick up some plants to put on it. Did you know that plants do a great job of both reducing internal air pollution and increasing humidity? Every nursery should have at least one, preferably two (in my humble opinion.)

Basically, all that's left to do is install one last piece of chair rail, get some baskets for the changing table (to replace the tools there now), and hang pictures! Can't wait to see what it looks like totally done...but I do admit that I feel much more relaxed now having at least this much done.


Monday, August 3, 2009

Random thought.

Just throwing this out there:

My due date is 16 September.


Labor Day, get it??

I pledge here and now that if I haven't delivered by race day I'm going for it, even if I only do the 1-mile fun run instead of the 5K. But probably the 5K.

PS: I'm racing this Saturday in Warner Robins. Stay tuned for pics- which I'm making Brett take as photographic evidence.