5/19

I saw in my OB chart a month or so ago that my "other" due date, calculated from my LMP, is 5/19. The doctors have instead chosen to go off the estimated due date from my first ultrasound, which is of course 5/23. 5/19 is tomorrow. That's all I'm saying...

Oh and I've been having low belly cramps and back aches for a couple days now. Maybe just maybe...

Random, but I never got around to doing a Mother's Day post. This picture was on the front of my first ever Mother's Day card (from my very sweet sister). How cute is this little bruiser??

39 Weeks Wednesday

Whoa where has the time gone. I CAN NOT believe we're down to 7 days until my due date meaning before we know it we'll have a little boy in our arms. Went to the doc on Monday and I'm 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Head is so low she couldn't tell where his head ended and my pubic bone began while trying to get a fundal height measurement. I wouldn't - left to my own devices - take any of these observations to mean anything positive, but then the doc amped me up by saying as she walked out that I should go "on my due date, if not sooner." I know I'm potentially setting myself up for disappointment taking her words to heart AND posting them here, but I can't help it. I'm just so excited. I am taking my Lamaze coaches advice though and planning something fun to do on my due date next Wednesday, so it's not as much of a "let-down" when I'm still pregnant.

No new developments. Just feel as though the ligaments or tissues or whatever it is between my ribs is ripping at times. Oh and I'm on a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream a night regiment these days.

Jealous?

Jimmy and I have worked really hard the last couple weeks on my giant To-Do List and we're finally nearing the end. Just a couple appointments for me this week like teeth cleaning this morning and my 6 week cut and color tomorrow. Woo hoo!

Jimmy gets his Masters

The day finally came (yesterday) that Jimmy officially earned his MBA! It was a long two years, but so worth it for his present - a job he loves at Southtek Systems - and our family's future.  I couldn't be more proud of him! Here's photographic evidence of the special occasion and our celebrations - drinks at Satellite and Level 5 followed by dinner at Deluxe.

Graduate students filing in...

Spotted!

Screenshot from the online video, but the best angle we've got!

Life is good...

38 Weeks Wednesday

Please let it be a fluke, coincidental, just because and it's not a new pregnancy symptom...ladies and gentleman, I've had trouble sleeping the last two nights and it sucks. I mean it's one thing to be up in the night or wake up early for a purpose. It's something else when you just wake up wide-eyed...in the middle of the night... and you are unable to go back to sleep for no apparent reason. I feel totally out of it. Anyways, I'm rambling. I blame it on the lack of sleep...

Went to the doc yesterday and all is well. No new developments re: cervix observations, though I do feel like he's dropped ever so slightly.  What do you think? Maybe a little?

P.S. - Yes, that's a non-maternity shirt that I've just decided to stretch over my big belly. I am running out of things to wear and refuse to buy anything this late in the game.

It's funny because just in the last couple days or so, I've had multiple strangers come up to me and ask me, "when he is due" or just smile at me and say, "you're having a boy, aren't you?" Though it's all myth anyways, I guess my b-ball shape just screams BOY! Or maybe I just look like a woman in for some trouble.

Otherwise, just continuing to cross things off our to-do list each evening. I don't know what it is but tasks like packing the diaper bag and putting away his little socks makes me feel closer to him and close to him is what I want to feel, so that's just what I'll do.

Domesticated

Jimmy and I had a big day on Sunday. First up was breakfast at IHOP. Then we went shopping at Lowes and Walmart for some home organization needs. Finally, we spent the rest of the afternoon reconfiguring "my" closet in our bedroom to a hers and his, so I could reclaim the nursery closet as Baby O's again. I'm sorry, but I can't help but draw a parallel between Jimmy and Frank the Tank from Old School.

Frank: I told my wife I wouldn't drink tonight. Besides, I got a big day tomorrow. You guys have a great time.
College Student: A big day? Doing what?
Frank: Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.

And then last night we put together the book/toy shelf and I finally started putting baby things in their place. So relieved to finally be making headway. Did I mention how excited I am to see Miss Shiva this weekend??

Cause to Celebrate

I have not 1, but 3 happy things to share this morning! In no particular order, first off, Jimmy attended his last class EVER on Thursday. He turns in his last paper on Monday and graduates...with an MBA...on Friday. I couldn't be more proud of him. He, of course, is so relieved to have those two years behind him.

Shiva's little brother, Aria, is also graduating this coming weekend (with his undergrad from UNCW), so she's flying in from San Fran for the weekend! What a rare treat to see my West Coast bestie just weeks before Baby O is born. We could use a good belly rub from Shiva. 

Last, but certainly not least, I'm happy to say that my pops has found (back in Fall 2011) a wonderful lady friend and they've made plans to marry this summer. And we all gain her adorable 7-year old son Mac to boot! Belated congrats to my Dad & Beth on their engagement!

37 Weeks Wednesday - FULL TERM

It's just crazy, crazy, crazy to think that I'm officially full term today. On the one hand, the time has flown by. On the other hand, it seems like it was ages ago that Jimmy and I were in Charleston celebrating our 2 year anniversary and finding out we were expecting our first baby. Needless to say, it's been a very special time!

No new or different symptoms for this week - just feeling "full" of baby. I went to the doctor on Monday and I'm 1 cm dilated, cervix is starting to thin and baby's head is very low...like as low as it can possibly go until I dilate more. Doc says that's good for the labor process, but it also means that I shouldn't expect any diaphragm/lungs relief from the baby dropping in the last couple weeks. Poor guy has no where to go but out at this point, so that's just what my belly will do. As all mommas know, the cervix observations don't mean anything as far as when exactly labor will happen, just that my body is preparing for labor sometime in the future. I know I'll feel differently when I see my due date come...and go...but right now I'm glad that most first time moms don't go early because I still feel like I have a lot to do. I won't overwhelm you with my mammoth list, but, for starters, the nursery is a wreck. I've organized everything into piles, but I've yet to put anything in it's place.

One of many said piles

As a side note, I don't know why I have continued to single out my every 4 week posts as ones with "Belly Shots", when I showcase the tummy growth all the time. Oh well - maybe I'll apply more rhyme and reason next go round. Anywho, here she blows...sporting an outie... at 37 weeks.

And, yes, I know I where these pj shorts all the time