No new progress :(

At our doc appointment yesterday, I learned that I am still dilated only 1 cm, and still 90% effaced.

His heartbeat is still around 150 bpm.

In other news...Josh and I purchased a car seat yesterday...finally. It is definitely starting to feel more real to us that we'll have a new addition to the family soon.

We opted for a convertible car seat, so we'll have to take the little guy out of the car seat each time we leave the car, but Josh and I don't go very many places so I don't see this as being a problem.

Things are winding down at work for me, as I am trying to prepare my collegues as best I can for my departure. At my wonderful place of employment, I get 2 months of physical dissability leave and 1 month of maternity leave, all paid. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful job.

My mom and dad will be driving out to stay with us the Friday after Thanksgiving, so we are really excited about that. We always love it when they visit.

I'll post another belly pic tonight. I keep hoping to find that my belly has dropped slightly.

Here's me at 37.5 weeks

I'll post a belly pic tonight...

...I promise!

I've been busy lately. My littlest bro is staying with us while he works with his fiber optic cable crew here in Fargo. I drive him to the hotel that his coworkers stay at by 6:30 am every morning and then I go to work. Yesterday I worked from 6:30-5:30. It ends up being a long day, but it is totally worth it. I enjoy having my bro around and so does Josh. They both have their x-box 360s set up in our office and they can play the new Gears of War game together.

Lately, I have a pain around my belly button that gets worse when I bend at the waist, twist in my chair, walk, put my seat belt on, raise my hands above my head, and some times it gets worse when I just sit here. So far the only thing that makes it go away is lying down.

The little guy is moving quite a bit lately, which seems odd because everyone says that towards the end babies stop moving as much because of lack of room. This little guy loves to move after I am done eating, when I am sitting in my chair at work, and when I happen to be in a meeting with my boss.

Yesterday, I just hoped that my boss didn't notice my belly moving all around, how distracting! :)

Anyway, enjoy the beautiful weather, and feel free to stay inside and watch comfy movies if the weather is icky where you are at.

I found a stretch mark...

...Now I get to see how many stretch marks can appear in three weeks time :)

I'm actually surprised that I haven't had any until now. I didn't use any cocoa butter or any special lotions on my body because I didn't want to go to all that trouble and still end up with stretch marks. From what I've heard other women say, it seems that you either get them or you don't and nothing you do to try to prevent them works.

I'll post a belly pic some time this weekend, and I'll post a picture of our Christmas Tree. Yes, we've already put it up. We've already celebrated Thanksgiving with my in-laws, so we figured it was ok to put the tree up.

In other unrelated news...I've started ready Ulysses by James Joyce. So far, it is hard to get acquainted with his style of writing. No quotes for dialogs and he seems to be very wordy in explaining things. I am not giving up though, I have two weeks to finish it and I plan to actually finish it...It IS listed as the #1 book to read from the 20th Century by Random House. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Dilated 1 cm and 90% efaced

What does that mean, you ask? It means that there is progress!! He will not be stuck in there forever.

My doctor said that he feels I could deliver as early as 1 week before my due date or as late as 1 week after my due date.

Just under 4 weeks left!!

I thought I'd share a front view this time.



And my typical side view.

Early Thanksgiving with the In-laws

Our family picture, including the dogs.

Josh, Winnie, and myself.

While I was at Ikea with my sister-in-law, Josh and his dad had fun with my camera.

We visited an apple orchard near my in-laws house, and fun ensued.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, and it was so nice to have all of Josh's family there. There was a lot of talk about pregnancy, and how this is our last thanksgiving without kiddies running around.

My sister-in-law took me to GiGi's cafe in Minneapolis and it was just a wonderful experience. I ordered a sesame chicken pasta salad, which was perfect in every way it could be, and my sister-in-law ordered a tart of some sort that she said was also delicious.

I also made a visit to Ikea, spent more than I had intended, but enjoyed every minute of it.

The visit to the Apple Orchard wasn't a planned visit, but was a ton of fun. Sometimes it is good to be spontaneous...it just pays off.

I caught a bit of a head cold this weekend, but it already seems to be loosing it's fervor. So much for me not getting sick the entire pregnancy.

Oh how my body has changed...

What is a Mommy Shower?

It is what happens when amazing family members and friends decide to throw a party for me to celebrate the fact that I'm going to be a Mommy in about 4 1/2 weeks.

What happens at a "Mommy Shower"? Well, start out with my favorite appetizers (pickles and cream cheese rolled up into slices of ham) and non-alcoholic sparkling apple or grape juice, and then throw in some fun and games and presents. Oh, and did I mention the belly cast that was made?

Mommy Shower Pictures


How Fun! 


The girls



The painted cast

Halloween

Last night was our annual pumpkin carving party, but we spiced it up a bit by also making it a costume party.

We had about twelve guests show up. It was great. We had one bumble bee, e-coli, a rodeo clown, strong-sad, two i-pods, a football player, two zoo-keepers and their elephants, a pregnant Shyla, a Winnie, and a Wilbur, and a Mime.

Here are some fun pics of the night: