The 38 Week Bump

38 Weeks, 1 Day

Remy in the Spring

Ashley took some cute shots of Remy and our backyard, so I thought I'd share.

Seafood Eat Food

Every year in June we host a little party called Seafood Eat Food where we invite our friends and family over for a seafood feast.  Because of the impending arrival of our baby this year, we decided to do a totally scaled down version with a couple friends over the Memorial Day weekend.  We made it a potluck and ate like kings.

Stone Crab steamed in beer.  Denise was a champ at cracking these open!

The spread.

Raspberry rhubarb cobbler a la mode.

One Centimeter Dilated...

...which basically means... nothing.  Ha.  Though I think she's "dropped" a little (I'm feeling more pressure on my pelvic area), the doctor doesn't think labor's going to start anytime soon.  Not that I thought it would either.  Our OB doesn't expect to see any changes for another week to ten days (at least), so we'll just hang tight.  I guess this calls for more napping!

Full Term

I have officially reached the 37 week mark, which is a huge relief for us knowing that baby is considered full-term and that we can start expecting her at any time soon.  It also marks the start of me feeling uncomfortable and awkward.  I feel like I've been pretty fortunate throughout this pregnancy and have only begun to feel the strains, aches and pains.  But already I'm tired of the restless nights, the achey hips, and the feeling of not being fully mobile.  I've come to love my yoga ball which gives me lots of relief and am told it will help move my baby into position.  I'm definitely trying to conserve my energy for the actual birthing process, but I'm happy to report that the nursery is 98% done (with pictures coming soon) and we are mostly packed and ready to go.  The car seat is installed and I feel good about our preparedness (for what we can control, that is).  Now I just have to mentally prepare for the whole birthing a child thing.  I mean, really, it's starting to sink in how much it's going to hurt, and it doesn't help that I'm tired all the time and the thought of 15+ hours of laboring is just much too daunting.  It's such a strange feeling wanting time to pass so we can finally meet our little one, yet trying to enjoy the time we have left as just husband and wife (and pug and pug).  Because once she's here, there really are no refunds, right?  

Counting Down

There hasn't been too much to blog about lately, mostly because we've been starting the waiting game and counting down to baby's arrival.  We're still getting last minute things together (packing hospital bags, filling out forms, finishing up the nursery) and just staying vigilant for labor signs.  I know I still have a little over three weeks until my due date, but it just feels like it will happen so soon.  My weeks consist of doctors' visits and finding the energy to do little things around the house.  We're excited and anxious and can't believe that we'll be meeting our little girl soon!

I get fetal monitoring twice a week.

Love the sound of the baby's heartbeat.  And it's fun to hear her move around.

Adam at the Lake

Adam went up to our cabin to take care of some things before the baby comes.  He took the boat out (first time of the season) and had a great time showing his friend, Christophe, around (who is visiting from Aix En Provence).  We're really looking forward to taking our little one up there this summer.  It's hard to believe we bought the place with aspirations to fill it with lots of family memories, and here we are about to have our first child and making plans to take her up.