39 weeks

Here I am, 39 weeks pregnant, past the point of trying to look cute for pictures.  Still carrying baby Darrell around.  Today the doctor said I'm dilated to 2... not much progress.  On the bright side, she said the longest they would let me go is 41 weeks.  Oh dear.  My due date is on Sunday.  We don't have anything planned for this weekend because we were hoping to have a newborn keeping us busy.  Guess we'll have to find something to do!

38 weeks

OB checkup today: slow progress.  But progress is still progress, right?  At this rate, she's on track to be born in October.  Just kidding.  I'm dilated to 1.5cm today.  Baby has dropped and is head down.  I need some contractions!  I'm still feeling good, no miserable-ness here, yet.  My last shift at work is June 17.  I don't want to deliver much later than that because if I'm going to be sitting around not getting paid I'd like to do so with a baby in my arms.

We've been working hard this week to get the house ready for guests.  Scrubbing the kitchen floor, washing towels, cleaning the tub, etc.  Tonight I switched out my winter/summer clothes.  I am ready to start working my butt off to get this weight off.  Darrell is getting ready too - he had a bath, got a pedicure, and is sporting a new collar.  

Nothing much else to report.  Just waiting now...

It's June! (37 weeks)

I can't believe June is finally here.  Our baby will be born this month.  There is no way in hell I am carrying this baby into July.  Although, Darrell's birthday is July 1 so that would be a good date, but I doubt he wants to share his birthday parties.  I am going to the doctor every week now.  My appointment today was uneventful.  Baby's right where she should be.  I'm not at the miserable stage of pregnancy... yet.  I still feel really good.  I am kind of getting sick of my maternity clothes - what do you do when those don't fit anymore?  Clothes aren't comfortable.  I don't have many summer maternity outfits and I don't want to buy any this late in the game.  I love it when I get home and can veg out on the couch wearing whatever I want.  Mike's always saying "Becka, the curtains are open!"  Here are some pictures from our Memorial Day picnic:

One month to go!

This baby is due one month from today... unbelievable.  This past week I've been feeling more tired.  I sleep pretty good but Mike says I'm restless - lots of tossing and turning.  It takes a lot of work to turn over in bed when you have a XX pound belly.  I'm starting to get uncomfortable in my work scrubs.  I keep wondering why I didn't buy maternity scrubs.  I'm still wearing my pre-pregnancy pants, they just sit below my belly.  I get tired of pulling them up all day.  We can wear hospital t-shirts at work so I ordered a size medium this time and they work well for pregnancy.  The hospital where I work built a new ER and it opened on Monday.  I feel like I started a new job.  It is four times bigger than the old ER.  Everything is brand new and I love it!  I am so ready for some time off though.  

Our friends are getting married in Dubuque this weekend.  I really wanted to go, but my OB doesn't recommend travel more than one hour away during these last few weeks.  I'm sure it would be fine, but the 3.5 hour car ride / being away from home / worrying if Darrell is behaving at the in-laws / and I'm the thrill of being the DD is almost worn off.  Plus I would freak if I went into labor there.  The super-plus side is that my sister is coming to DSM this weekend.  We have lots planned and it will be fun to have one last pre-baby "Sista-Sista Weekend."  

Mike seems to be enjoying his new freedom from school.  I know I love having him around more.  I have a list of chores he needs to do before June 1 in preparation for the baby.  He is slowly getting them checked off, after much nagging and one small freak-out on my part.  

I think Darrell knows the baby is coming soon.  The other night I noticed he wasn't in my sight like usual.  I found him curled up in the recliner in the baby's room.  Just waiting for her to get here.  It was so cute.  He loves sprawling out on her furry purple rug.  And one night I heard this rattle noise coming from the living room.  Darrell had swiped one of baby girl's toys (doll with a rattle inside) from her room and was carrying it all over the house.  Oh Darrell!

  

Mr. MBA

In case you didn't know... Mike has been working towards his MBA (Masters in Business) through the U of I (go hawks, I love parentheses) for the past three years.  He started out taking one or two classes each semester.  The classes were either at night or on the weekends.  He was on track to be done at the end of this summer.  But, being the awesome husband that he is, he took three classes this semester to finish this month, before the baby comes.  Muah!  Love him so much for that!  This semester his three classes started in January.  They were every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday from 5-9pm.  Plus, he had to travel to Iowa City every Tuesday for that class.  Plus, he worked a full-time job.  Plus, all of last year he was also training for an IronMan.  Plus, he got A's in almost all his classes.  My little valedictorian...  He had his last test on Monday.  Hooray!  I can't imagine how excited he is to be done with school!  And trust me, he's done with school.  I made him swear that this is his last degree.

Now he's on the hunt for a job where he can use all his qualifications.  Then he can make more money, I can work less, more time for me at home with baby/Darrell, this is really looking good for me.  :)  I'm pushing for a job in Omaha but I don't think Mike's sold on that idea... yet.

34 weeks and Leah-obsessed

Leah (my extremely fun and extremely talented sister-in-law) came for a visit last week.
Extremely fun: going to the Taylor Swift concert!
Extremely talented: painting the baby's room... at midnight... after the concert.  (I have to call it a baby's room because the word "nursery" gives me the creeps).  Anywho, Leah rocks at painting.  She doesn't even tape the trim.  I suppose I could say that I helped... a little... basically I had this giant roller and I painted the middle of the wall.  Then I sat on a dog bed and watched her paint the rest.  It would've taken me hours, maybe even days to finish the job.  Leah woke up early the next day to do a few touch ups and viola!  The room was done!  Then she helped me decorate and hang shelves (which I knew was hard because I heard her cuss a few times under her breath).  Here is a before picture:

And the finished product:

Continuing on with how talented Leah is... The next day she took our pre-baby family pictures.  She did such a fantastic job.  Leah is going to be a super-successful professional photographer someday soon.  I hope she uses my picture on the cover of her brochures.  Here are some pics from the shoot (PS - these haven't been touched up with Photoshop or anything, just Leah's raw talent!):

33 weeks

- Hypertension: At my OB appointment last week my blood pressure was up.  Typically I run about 110/60 and it was 138/70.  My first thought was - "That nurse/tech/medical assistant didn't take it right, let me retake it myself."  I didn't have any other worrisome symptoms (headache, blurred vision, protein in my urine, swelling) so the OB just said they would recheck my blood pressure at my next appointment in two weeks.  Well this put me into a worry-frenzy, which I'm sure made my pressure go up even more.  I checked it the next day at work and it was still high.  I told Mike what he can do to make my life easier: massages, ice cream cones, uninterrupted naps, clean kitchen, etc.  Now my blood pressure is back to normal so no more stress.

- Laptop:  It took a sh*t and died.  RIP.  I loved the convenience of sitting on the couch and surfing the net.  Now I have to get off my buns and go upstairs to a desktop computer.  I've been so spoiled.  The minute the laptop died Mike started shopping for a new one.  I'm not too excited about the idea of buying one at this time, since I'm going on a 12 week unpaid vacation next month (aka maternity leave).  Especially since we have a perfectly fine/working computer upstairs.

- Baby:  Not much new with baby.  The baby website says she is around four pounds and seventeen inches long.  Whoa - no wonder I'm starting to waddle.  I watch the numbers creep up on the scale and wonder how this body can possible hold one more pound.  Will I ever get to wear my low rise jeans again?  I'm getting tired of the maternity pants that go clear up to my bra...  Overall it's been a very smooth pregnancy.  I don't even have to get up in the middle of the night to go pee - just stop drinking water about 8pm.  Still haven't had any unusual cravings.  This week I'm into Eggo's, ice cream cones, and tiger pops.

- Mole:  I had a mole removed a couple weeks ago.  The doctor said the pathology report was "moderately atypical" so I had to go back this morning to get a larger section removed.  And if this pathology report doesn't come back with clear margins then I get to go back again to have an even BIGGER chunk removed.  Since I'm an ER nurse this may surprise you, but stitches creep me out.  And I got seven today.  Two internal and five external - Yeow!  Actually it didn't hurt because I was numbed, but that tugging sensation makes me want to barf.  I could feel my face getting white, I started to sweat, and I thought I was going to pass out and/or puke.  I can torture patients at work all day but I DO NOT like anybody poking on me.  I can't wait to get the first IV of my life when I go to have this baby.

I found so many hilarious old pictures on this desktop computer.  Check out this rejected Christmas card picture from 2006: