37 weeks, 6 days

I am full term now and anxiously awaiting Sophia's arrival. She is still moving a lot and I hope making her descent! I'm overwhelmed trying to get projects at work in order. We are about a month away from the annual reunion at Madeira and it is always a lot of preparation. It is difficult knowing that our staff will be down by two because one of my co-workers is also expecting a baby any day now. I'm just trying to get as much done as possible so that my coworkers feel like things are in control for the weekend and it will run a smoothly as possible!

We officially moved into the house over the weekend. Slowly the boxes are being unpacked and we are finding space for our "stuff." I better get a move on the guest bedroom for when Mom and Dad arrive as well as other guests in the near future! The only problem with the house is that we think the hardwood floors are causing some distress on Dolly's back. She can't get enough traction when walking or even when standing at her bowl to eat and we think it may be causing her some back issues again. She woke us up at 1am this morning yelping in pain. Phillip is going to take her to the vet today. I'll keep you posted.

We had some "Belly shots" taken by a friend of mine. I haven't picked my favorite yet but here is a little sample.

36 weeks

Only about 4 weeks to go-give or take. That decision is up to Sophia! I can tell you that I have weekly appointments from here on out and at my appointment last week I have already started to make progress. Phillip is concerned that Sophia will make her debut before we are fully moved into the house. I had a daydream that she was going to arrive on Easter Sunday! Only time will tell. Remember that babies are born on their Birthday, not their Due Date!

My only ailment is my swollen feet. They really bug me. I have cankles. My blood pressure is fine, no headaches, just fluid in my feet and ankles. Ugh. To demonstrate what my ankles look like normally-bony, well defined, skinny-I found a picture from when I ran the marathon in 2006. This picture was taken AFTER I ran 26.2 miles!

And my ugly, swollen, fluid filled feet at 36 weeks preggers...



Other than that I really can't complain. This has been a great week. I had a surprise shower thrown by my "Virginia" Friends, complete with hay bales in the hostess' living room! Phillip's students threw us a baby shower at school yesterday. And some super soft, luxuriant, and eye pleasing linens arrived from Tuppens (my sister-in-law) earlier this week. We are brimming with anticipation.

This weekend we will continue to move and unpack stuff at the new house. We will attend a breastfeeding class and our final "baby" class. We are definitely in the home stretch and awaiting Sophia's arrival.

Here is what I look like at 36 weeks. Convenient that I have on the same outfit as the 35 week pictures ;) Clothing options are slim pickin's these days!

35 weeks

I am at 35 weeks as of yesterday. So far so good. The only ailment I have to "complain" about are my recently adopted "cankles." For those of you who don't know what those are they are calves that run into your ankles. In other words I'm retaining fluids and my ankles are swollen as if I have broken them. Not a pretty sight. Dr. told me to cut back on my salt intake and drink LOTS of fluids. Drinking lots of fluids is fun for a pregnant woman who currently has the bladder the size of a pea! I start seeing the doctor every week from here on out. My weight gain is good, I only gained 1/2 lb. this week ;)

Phillip and I have been attending a childbirth class that covers a lot of information about pregnancy, labor and delivery. It has been helpful. We are learning Lamaze breathing but we always seem to get distracted because practicing in class is kind of hokey and then we end up laughing hysterically. The instructor thinks I'm kidding when I say I am going to deliver this baby by laughter! She'll be sorry when I publish my first book on the subject!

We are about 2/3rds moved into the new house. We need to head over there this weekend to start unpacking stuff. It's not fun to be in between places but it's the best we can do considering we both work full time and I can really only pack boxes...not move them down the three flights of stairs!

In my "spare" time I have been making some baby things! I have made some reuseable wipes, washcloths and burp cloths! Not the handiest work in the sewing world but not to shabby for a beginner. Besides, the baby won't know the difference.

The washcloths are flannel on one side and terry cloth on the other. The wipes are 2 layers of flannel.




The only other interesting thing going on is Phillip's new found interest in what it must feel like to be pregnant. He thought he'd test out this query by using Dolly as his "baby."