Copy Kat

I stole this from my sis in law's blog (Jenny). I'm currently hiding from my crazy house because every time I move I get contractions that are really annoying and I'm not in the mood. Griff has crazy play time where we play fetch with Henry in the basement and I'm the middle man. I think it's safe to say I'm not in the mood.  So, instead of that I'm doing this :)

How Far Along: 40 weeks and 2 days

Size of baby: No clue. Griff was born 9 days early and was 8#5oz....she is currently 2 days late. Mama's scared! Just kidding, I have a feeling she will be 7#7oz.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've gained 25 pounds...and losing...my appetite is gone due to lack of space!

Maternity Clothes: No, I got a few oversized shirts from H&M and have been wearing them with some black stretchy pants I had. I hate buying maternity clothes!

Gender: Girl-Elliot Coco

Movement: A ton, she's like an alien moving around in there...which leads me to believe she will be smaller than Griff

Sleep: Heck to the No

What I miss: running...I stopped a few weeks ago and the Seattle marathon is less than 3 months away! She is not respecting my race schedule!

Cravings: As of this week....Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds. YUM!

Symptoms: Lots of rib and back pain, a million contractions every day, heartburn that my Rx Zantac ain't touchin' anymore.

Best Moment this week: I'm over 40 weeks pregnant. The best moment (hopefully) this week will be meeting my daughter!

April Baby?

Not lookin' good for March for this chitlin. After I got my membranes swept yesterday I had crampy contractions every 2-6 minutes all day until right before I went to bed. I almost called the midwife to go in to the hospital but wanted to finish grading some papers. They were getting pretty painful and were every 2.5 minutes. Then...they started getting less intense and further apart. Foiled again!

I think April Fool's Day would be appropriate since she's been foolin' me for a month :)

I felt like crapola all night last night but not from the contractions...just overall crappy....I hope that is a sign that tomorrow is her birthday!!

I wanna see her face!!

I just figured it out...she is holding out for the diamond birth stone. She is a smart little diva! Also, there is a spa in Lynnwood that is free on your birthday....it's lovingly called the Naked Spa because it's kind of like the Turkish Bath I did in Turkey where you get in hot and cold pools and get rubbed down and can walk around nekked without judgement. If she isn't born by the second I'm totally going. Maybe the hot/cold will "smoke her out" (hehe, Anne..). It won't be pretty for the other patrons but that's the deal. Done.

Fashionably Late

Little missy has apparently decided to be late to the party. Little stinker!

I had my 40 week and 1 day appointment today and I'm 3 cm dilated which is better than nothing...these contractions are doing something! Yay!

Apparently she is still high...my burning rib cage coulda told ya that.

The midwife stripped my membranes so I'm hoping that kicks labor into full gear and doesn't just make me crampy. So far...I'm just crampy.

I've been having contractions since 5:30 this morning but obviously they are just annoying and uncomfortable or I would be in L&D right now instead of sitting on my couch blogging :)

Here's the eviction plan:

Stripped the membranes today and hopefully I will just go in to labor in the next 12 hours or so.

If not, I have an appointment on Friday for a non-stress test and ultrasound to make sure she is doing okay in there. I'll probably have them strip my membranes again after all that just for good measure.

Then we wait and if she still isn't here by April 12 we will call out the big guns and induce.

They didn't seem to think I would make it until the 12th but you never know! I would feel so bad for Bella being here OVER A MONTH but I gotta be honest....it's been super nice having her to hang out with/help take care of crazy Griff.  Dad is flying in on the 1st so I'm hoping she is here by then because he doesn't have as long to visit as Bella does!

Fingers crossed!

D-Day

Today is Miss Elliot's due date...and she's missin' her own party! Fashionably late. She's gonna be cool like that.

I was SO ANXIOUS about her coming and when I woke up this morning at 4 with nothing but the braxton-hicks contractions I was sad that she still wasn't here. I'm uncomfortable but the main reasons I was stressed about this was
1. My mom has been in town since the 17th and I feel personally responsible that she is having to stay so long with nary a baby in sight. She doesn't mind and we have had fun with Griffin but I still feel pressure to perform :)

2. The adoption. Weird, I know but our agency had told us that they wanted a 9 month gap from when she was born and when we bring home our kid(s) from Rwanda. Every day she didn't come was adding to that wait list that has already been so long and I didn't realize until today that it was the main cause of my stress.

We talked to our case worker from Gladney today and she had spent the past couple of weeks in Africa so she told us all about that and then told us something that made me want to drive to Dallas and kiss her. They no longer are making us wait the 9 months! Whenever the ministry give us an approval and referral we can accept and travel and be done with the adoption! I'm so relieved I don't care if Elliot waits another 2 weeks to join us. Except for the fact that I want to see/kiss her face so bad it hurts.

It may be the first time our pediatrician gets the question, "Now how long do we need to wait before taking her to Africa for about 5 weeks?" during her hospital checkup...but....such is life. I'm so excited that we don't have to add another wrench into this adoption that I could dance...if I could physically move enough to do anything that looked like dancing...

They are also not changing our age request so we could get 1-2 siblings for Griff and Elliot between the ages of 6 months and 2...may be artificial twinning which we originally wanted to avoid but at this point with the way things have been in Rwanda we don't want to do anything to change the adoption so we will just deat with the potential problems if and when they occur. I've never turned down a challenge so bring it!

I'm posting this on this blob because it's private. I'm gonna have to make Inside Kat's Head private too because of the recent adoption changes and the fact that we are no longer going to inform Rwanda when Elliot is born. SO, if you want an email to get a password for that blog just email me at katarrack@gmail.com and I will send it to you. Grazie!

No baby on the due date but good future baby news so I'm one happy huge woman!

Psyche!

I got my second 'let's induce labor ' foot massage (that was AMAZING) with mom again yesterday. I was hoping the one last Saturday would be the last one....not that I don't like the pampering...but a baby would be so much better! We live within 2 miles of at least 2 little cheapo massage places and I'm really hoping I don't end up there again next Saturday! I told Andrew that every Saturday that I'm not snuggling Elliot I'm hittin' it up.

Anyway, we got them at 3 and I started getting stronger contractions during the massage. We went on a couple of errands then went home and Andrew and I took up mom's offer of going on (hopefully) one last date before Miss Elliot got here and went to dinner. When we got there we started timing the contractions because they were starting to hurt. They were 2-3 minutes apart the whole dinner and getting more and more painful but I was trying to not get my hopes up since this uterus has burned me before.

We decided to go home after dinner and figure out if we should call the midwife, etc. I did just to see what she thought and she recommended getting into a hot bath to see if they stayed strong or got lighter.

Of course they got lighter and started tapering. I kept having pretty uncomfortable ones until we went to bed around 11 but they weren't as frequent and I was able to actually sleep. SO....long story short. False labor. Glad I didn't go in to L&D. However, now I see myself delivering in a car since my uterus is crying wolf. I may not believe labor when it comes for real!

I go back to the midwife on Wednesday so we shall see what she says! Andrew and I were talking about how we just want to see her little face so bad! I just want to see her and know that she is healthy and start learning her little personality.

Compared to this pregnancy and the adoption, Griff wins the award of easiest child to get into our arms!

Lovey!

Bella has been in town for a week now. While I LOVE hanging out with my mom...I feel bad because she didn't necessarily come to just chill with me forever...she came for a baby!

It gave her time to make Elliot a cute little lovey though! I LOVE it!!! I told E that she has to come out to snuggle with it....I ain't puttin' it in there for her!

See how cute??

Isn't it cute?? I want to see her snuggle with it! Like....tonight!

PS-we went to Panera for lunch after the Children's Museum today and some guy behind us in line for drinks said, "Ask the pregnant girl." No idea what he was talking about but other than the fact that my patience to see her ran out a good while ago and now I'm sick with some weird congestion/throat thing...I gave him a totally involuntary death look as if to say, "Be VERY careful what you say to this pregnant girl." and he looked scared...and didn't ask me anything. Well played, big mama. Ask Andrew...I'm not in the mood, people!

Teaser!

I totally thought I would get to meet Elliot today. She is such a tease! I get so excited and then....nada!

I was really cramping with my contractions yesterday and just felt off all day. When we went to bed I had a huge contraction that made me totally think labor was coming and I was so ready.....and that was it. Just one. I've never been so disappointed to fall asleep instead of writhe in pain all night. Does that make me a freak?

Maybe next time!

My sister said she is loving Elliot's spunkiness already...the little stinker :) I hope she is spunky but the only way to find out is for her to come on out and play!

I put her carseat in the car....maybe she is a safety girl and wants to make sure her affairs are in order before she comes out. Fingers crossed!

March 30?

She did it again!

I'm thinking she is trying to send a message...maybe she will be born on 3-30. That's her cousin's birthday so maybe she wants to be cute like that.

I had my 39 week appointment yesterday and when the midwife walked in she said, "Oh no! You look like you're about to cry!" and handed me about 3 tissues. I wasn't about to cry. I guess the bloodshot eyes and stuffy nose threw her off. I told her I just don't sleep much (hence the blog post at 4am). And she went about her business. I wonder if a lot of women cry at their 39 week appointment...

Her business was pretty much telling me her head was still high as Mars and she wasn't ready to come yet. SO I made my 40 week appointment for March 30. Which is after my due date. Which almost made me go back for those tissues. Not really. But, I am just so ready to meet her!

Therefore I'm re-doing our hall closet into a nook/faux mudroom thingie. Why? Because I'm crazy. Mom and Andrew just look at my huge self like I'm crazy as I stand on a chair to paint. Don't judge! It must be done!

I also think Andrew is getting the brunt of my frustrations. I realize she won't stay in there forever but I'm just so impatient! We have been ready for her for over 2 years and my patience is just gone. I was hurting a lot right before bed last night and poor Andrew touched me as I was brushing my teeth and I'm ashamed to admit that I totally snapped at him not to touch me. I'm becoming that woman! Help!

3:30

This child is a jokester.

Third morning in a row that contractions woke me up at exactly 3:30.

And she is still very much not born.

At least this morning I was too exhausted to stay awake between the faux contractions. I feel refreshed!

So.

In honor of her still hiding from her mama, I'm re-doing our hall closet. That was my rule. I think I'm officially done with the gym till after she is born. I went on Monday and it felt like A.my pelvic bone would crack in half or B. I was going to pass out from low blood pressure or hunger or both. So...Y...see ya in a few weeks! I think...unless I break down and go just to try to induce labor...hmm.

Now mom and I are just gonna hang out and wait to meet the little girlie.

Last night at the dinner table, Griffin was like a standup comedian. He had us all in stitches the whole time. One of his acts was saying, "I want Elliot Coco up and out!" While making motions that he was holding a baby. He said it over and over....so fun!

Bellies!

Just for kicks I thought I would compare my huge Griffy belly and my huge Elliot belly. The Elliot shot was taken after the point that Griff was born but pretty close. I think I took the one with Griff right before he was born.

Here is the G-belly:

And the E-belly:

WOW..
.#1-I look deformed in both
#2-Elliot is WAY lower
#3-They both love my right side which is why the right side of my back is killin' just like it did with Griff
#4-It looks like I have had my belly button surgically moved
#5-I apparently am a creature of habit with the hair band on my left wrist.

39 Weeks

And nowhere to go....

Woke up again at 3:30 with contractions...but....nothing significant and all it did was keep me up so I watched a little tube and laid on the couch getting up to eat a snack every once in a while. Would rather be breastfeeding!

Griff was born by now and he was an 8 pound 5 ouncer so I'm hoping Miss Elliot is more on the petite side because each day she just gets chunkier! And the place where she is coming out ain't gettin' any bigger... I keep picturing her as a nice little 6 or 7 pounder though. Mom said I was 7 pounds 7 ounces which is what I've been telling Andrew I think E will be...perfect numbers! However I was 3 weeks early so I probably woulda been a chunk if I'd been born on my due date.

So... since mom and I didn't make any plans today with the hopes that we would be staring at a cute little baby girl...we are trying to figure out what to do.

Exciting activities on the horizon include dropping a box of stuff off at Good Will...I'm so totally nesting right now that I could probably find more stuff to get rid of in each room of the house if I wasn't so sleepy.

And if we get really crazy we might make the curtains in the nursery a little more girly :)

Luckily Griff woke up in an excellent mood and has been keeping us entertained this morning. Now if I could just give him his 'baby sista' he would be even more cheerful!

I have my appointment tomorrow at 2 so I may be begging to get my membranes swept or something to get these contractions to move along from annoying to painful. I've never wanted pain so much in my life. I sound like a crazy person.

Come on, Elliot!!!

Hmmm

I'm getting a tad frustrated.

And decided to blog.

Shocker. So I have woken up every night for the past several days with contractions that go nowhere. Had one at 3:45 this morning and they are just so sporadic that I'm pretty sure she is just messing with me again. I wish they would get into some kind of rhythm because I'm way past ready to meet  this little girl.

She was crazy active after I woke up that I couldn't really get back to sleep so thank goodness I have a job that I can do in my PJs on the couch at 4 in the morning with tiny feet kicking my stomach.

Every time they wake me up I get so excited that she is going to be born and then they just either taper or go nowhere. With Griff, it was a lot easier because my water broke which was a dead giveaway that I would most likely meet him within 24 hours. This little chicky has me guessing all the time.

On Saturday I was almost positive that she would make her appearance because I woke up at 5 with contractions that just got stronger and more painful throughout the day. Mom and I got an hour long foot massage that really got them going..and then...around 10pm they went away. No fairsies.

I'm trying to not get frustrated because seriously chances are good that she will be here this week and that is so exciting and I'm so insanely blessed. Buuuuuut if she could just quit teasing me that would be lovely.

3/21/2011 would be a great day to be born, right? Elliot....right? Bueller....

Super Moon!!

I had appointment number 2 for the week today (can't wait to be done with the PRE natal and on to the POST natal appointments!) and the midwife was not a fan of my lab work. She kept talking about how my kidneys were involved and she was worried (always fun to hear). She asked is I had problems when I was pregnant with Griffin (no) and if it was the same father (how am I supposed to know?) Kidding...I'm pretty sure Andrew is the father of both my children :) She just sent me home and said she would call after she talked to the doc. Still waiting but hopefully they'll just let me do my thing till she decides to come. It's the biggest full moon in 18 years tomorrow night so I'm turning superstitious and decided that she will come then :)

Therefore Andrew and I are taking our anniversary date tonight thanks to Bella...the last one got postponed due to Griff being pitiful and sickly.

Also little Missy Elliot has decided to go from having her back on my left side...to her back on my right side...to her back to my back which makes her facing the completely wrong way. All in a matter of a week. Every way but the right way the little stinker.

I wasn't too worried about it until we had dinner with our neighbors last night. They have six kids. She said that her daughter was facing that way and she labored for 2 days. 2 DAYS! And when she came out she broke her tailbone. Sounds fun. Let me put that on my list of things not to tell a person 38 weeks pregnant with a posterior baby :) She still has time to flip around hopefully. Marathon training with a broken tailbone does sound enticing though....

Parasympatheti-ouch!

This pregnancy has been pretty different than Griff's. Similar but definite differences.

Thanks to my friend, Anne...who is a super duper smarty pants, I have some idea as to why.

Apparently it's mostly linked to my parasympathetic nervous system. Lots of small ligament pain goin' on...those cramps in my booty are still happening all the time, and lots of nerve issues in my back and legs. Weird! I wouldn't have put it all together but apparently it's all linked. That could also be why she was breech and why she is posterior now. Interesting. I love learning new things about how our bodies work and how thinks are connected.

Just hoping she gets positioned correctly. Not sure if it will make a difference or not but the midwife seems like she isn't a fan of the posterior babies. From what I have read sometimes it makes the labor/delivery more difficult and sometimes they turn during labor and it's no big deal. From everything else during this pregnancy that seemed to be wrong but turned out to be no big deal, I'm not too worried about it. I'm mentally preparing for a longer labor just in case.

During my 38 week appointment there wasn't any protein in my urine and my BP was good so I think we're good to go! They drew blood again just for fun...because it's such a blast to do that for seemingly no reason. Griff kept saying, "I wanna baby!" while they were drawing it again...no clue why he links the two but it cracks me up.

I wanna meet her!!! Mom gets in tomorrow night at 9:40. YAY!!! Then Elliot can just go ahead and make her appearance! I keep thinking she is going to be early but now that we've almost made it to when mom is here I'm thinking she might throw us through a loop and come late. I sure hope not though!

I think that's all I have to ramble about right now. Just getting impatient! 13 days to go!

Contract....Relax.....Rinse....Repeat

I am having constant contractions. Which would be good except when I went to the doc on Wed. I wasn't dilated at all so I'm assuming they are doing nothing but making me feel tired and sick. BUT it is making me even more excited to meet my daughter SOON!!! I CANT WAIT!

I did the 24 hour urine collection and the midwife called me and said that I did have protein in my urine so they are keeping a close watch on my BP to make sure I don't get preeclamptic. I had a Beth Moore conference in Tacoma this weekend with some fun girls from church and had to stop by the hospital on the way to get it checked. Thankfully it was normal so I was able to go on the trip.

Technically the midwife told me to go home and put my feet up and relax....

However...I opted to go to the conference and volunteer in the bookstore for several hours. I love Beth Moore. What can I say? We got into the conference free and got the employee discount at the bookstore....how can you say no??  I had some major contractions on Friday and was feeling a bit weird so I was more than a little concerned that my water would break while in the hotel bed with Shelly and I would have to wake someone up t so that I could get back to Seattle but luckily once I laid down for a bit they got less intense and I woke up feeling peachy!

I'm still having them but they aren't painful which leads me to believe they are just my uterus having fun with me and mean nothing about when I might actually go into labor.

One of my good friends, Lauren, is staying with us this weekend and it's her first time in Seattle so I was also concerned that I wouldn't be able to show her around but it looks like we are a GO!

Tomorrow we are visiting Mars Hill church because she is a Mark Driscoll fan, then heading to Pike Place and all the fun Seattle sight-seeing adventures. After she leaves on Monday I promise to relax...which is so easy to do with a 2 year old. Let me tell ya :)

I can't wait to meet Elliot! I feel like as soon as my mom gets to town on Thursday I'm gonna do all the self induction things that allegedly work but who knows. Raspberry tea....bouncing on a yoga ball....amongst other more fun things...

We'll see if Andrew is right about her coming on the 18th! Fingers crossed!

37 Week Troublemaker

This child is already more of a troublemaker than Griff was when I was pregnant with him. We have been so blessed because despite extra stress she is so far still healthy and I have reached full term and I am absolutely not complaining because we are so so so lucky...yet...she still stresses me out a bit :)

(Woa Nelly!!)

We had the whole taking a long time to get pregnant thing....then the whole kidney thing...then the breech thing. And now they think I may have pre-eclampsia. My blood pressure always measures low and today it was high and I had protein in my urine. Even if I do, it really isn't that big of a deal because she is full term. If I was earlier in my pregnancy I would have reason to worry. Yet I still worry for some reason. I have been having mad braxton hicks since my appointment so even if I'm telling myself I'm not stressed...I think it's obvious that I am a bit. 

Anyway, they just drew more blood and are having me collect my urine for 24 hours (YUM!). Don't drink the juice out of the orange jug in our house! And can I just add that collecting every drop of urine for 24 hours when you have a full term baby in your belly ain't no picnic...wondering how that will go during the wee hours of the night when I stumble to the bathroom in a half sleep multiple times. This could get interesting :)

This is Griffin asking to play with my urine jug....{I want up he'ya!} He sounds like he's from Boston when he says "here" and sounds like he's from the deep south when he says "hill" {He'el}. Eh. What're ya gonna do?

And this is Griffin devastated that I wouldn't let him.

This kid cracks me up. I gave my regular urine sample at the doctor's office and he saw the cup and said, "Mommy's apple juice!!" Not quite, my friend. Also when I got undressed from the shirt down because they actually checked to see if I was dilated (all these contractions and....nothin!) he decided to fall and bump his head so when the midwife walked in I was leaning over helping him get back up...full moon, lady! And the third thing he did that cracked me up was when I was getting my blood drawn. He was sitting in his stroller and kept saying, "I want a baby. I want a baby." Hehe, oh boy, your mama sure does too, little guy.

She is also posterior...I suspected that and the midwife confirmed it today. Boo. I've heard that means longer labors and a longer time pushing. If they have to induce me and she is still posterior....Rob Thomas may have to personally come serenade me because the Ipod may not cut it this time. We shall see!

Also, as a side note, when getting blood drawn and 37 weeks pregnant, EAT FOOD before going on a play date. I nearly passed out. Not good. I'm fed now and all is right with the world.

If he goes down for a nap today I may occupy my time by cleaning or just sitting here timing these contractions for fun. Decisions, decisions....

Baby Showers and Braxton Hicks

Shelly and Tina threw Elliot a baby shower on Sunday and it was just perfect! We met at a restaurant after church (well..it would have been after church but Andrew and I took Griff to the ER instead because he was feeling really sick...poor baby). There were a lot of fun girls there and it was nice to hang out (and actually get to eat in a restaurant without Griff trying to escape the high chair and run rampant around the place).

PS-my camera battery died mid-shower so I'll have to get more pics from Shelly who thought ahead and prepared for such a thing...thanks Shelly!!

How cute are the Owl Cake Pops that Shelly and Shelby made..by hand...like not purchased from a bakery like I woulda done?? LOVE! Also love the picture below.....teehee.

We made it a book shower (thanks to Anne for that idea!) since I feel like I have everything I need for the little cutie patootie thanks to my sister who is lending me a GAZILLION cute baby girl outfits and the fact that I went gender neutral on everything for the Griff.

Elliot got a ton of very fun books and mama is excited because I have been reading the same ones over and over to Griffo for a while. Time for some fresh meat!

She also got some fun pink blankies/clothes/bath stuff which is always fun and precious to look at.

I'm so grateful to have such good friends and such a great church family after only living here a year. Elliot has a great group of friends waiting for her!

On a pregnancy note. These BH contractions are messing with my head! I had a lot with Griffin so I figured I would have even more with her but they are making me so ready to have her in my arms! On Saturday I had them every 2-3 minutes. All. Day. Long. I thought she might make her appearance this weekend in a tiny corner of my mind but knew deep down that she would probably make me wait a few more weeks. Obviously she is still in there cookin'.

Since Griffin was so sick I'm glad she didn't come this weekend. I would hate to be away from him when he was feeling so bad. Also, mom is coming on the 18th and might put her in time out for coming before then :)

I also am starting to teach 2 new classes today...could be a bad decision to do so right before she is born but mo' money is not a bad thing right now...especially with new changes to the adoption process from Rwanda which inevitably means about an additional $1000-$6000. YIKES!

I'm so ready to meet her though! The round ligaments pain is getting annoying when I "sleep" at night and Andrew might get sick of me having dreams that I'm married to Johnny Depp...just sayin'...oh yes I did :)

Epidural Schmepidural

I'm starting to think little nugget could be here at any time since I'm a few days from full term. This probably means she is messing with me and will be fashionably late but I like to be prepared anyway. I'm totally not interested in an epi so I'm working on a new playlist with songs I think I'll like to listen to for a distraction from the pain.

Problem: my ipod is dead and our charger is broken.

Andrew's job is to fix this....very soon....

He may regret putting this off.

In other news we have a little baby sprinkle this Sunday after church that should be a lot of fun. I'm also going to Tacoma on the 11th with some girls from church for a Beth Moore conference...hope she doesn't decide to come then...that could get interesting...

I'm just rambling. I'm trying to get all of my Hague training for the adoption done this week and it numbs my brain every night.

Signing off!

36 Week Appointment

I had my 36 week appointment today....and....it was uneventful.

I thought they would check to see if I was starting to dilate...but they didn't. Boo. I was all ready to get felt up by Sachiko and everything.

Weight/BP/heartbeat/measurements are all just fine and dandy though and her head is still down and ready to go!

I had my Group B strep test which was weird because they had me give it to myself. If you have ever had one...the OB probably did it. However, I guess here they are all about being hands on. Maybe they'll have me catch Elliot on the way out too. We shall see!

I got some prescription Zantac this week for my heartburn and It. Is. Amazing! Such a huge difference. No longer puking at night and my esophagus doesn't feel like it's on fire anymore. Love that stuff.

Griff had a hard time going to sleep the other night. Like ready to party at 11pm. So I crawled in bed with him and felt the acid rising. So I took half a Zantac. I still felt like I was about to narf all over my child. So I took another half. Still felt like I was about to have to run to the porcelain thrown for the GAZILLIONTH time during this pregnancy so I topped it off with 2 Tums and was good to go. Until midnight when I had one of my acid in the throat coughing fits which occurs nightly. I started coughing and when I was done I looked to see if Griff had drifted off to sleep and right when I looked at him he was rolling off the bed. I think my coughing startled him. So I grabbed him and pulled him to the middle of the bed and made my getaway. Ready for this heartburn to be GONE and a cute little girl with lots of hair to be HERE.

9 Months!

Let the countdown begin!

28 days left till D-Day! I am ready to meet her NOW. Mom wants her to wait until at least the 18th since she flies in on the 17th. Dad wants her to be born on my birthday (4-2) so that he can be here....that may very well give my back permanent damage so, sorry dad but I'm hoping she's not born that late :)

I read that movements usually decrease at 36 weeks....this little monkey must be like me because she's like, "Oh yeah! I'll show them!" This morning when I got up with Mr. stay up till midnight and wake up at 6, she literally used my ribs as a jungle gym and my bladder as a trampoline and went to town for about 5 minutes. I even think I heard a tiny little, "Take that, 36 weeks!" arise out of my belly button. She's fiesty!

Anyway, I have my appointment tomorrow and we'll do the strep B check, cervical exam and all that jazz. I'm hoping to hear about some dilation but I think mom and dad are not :) I would love for all of the grandparents to be here....but....my back says otherwise.

Here are some oh so flattering pictures of my 9 month belly: {thick with sarcasm} But I do love it. Part of me will really miss being pregnant but I just CANNOT wait to see her and cuddle and kiss and nurse her!

 Baby Elliot needs to brush her teeth apparently...

 Andrew wanted enthusiasm

 Griffin is wondering why mama is exploding

 This  is Andrew's non-existent belly. He has lost about how much I have gained....well...not that much but he's lookin good!

Griff wanted his "pitture" so he ran to where we were standing and grabbed his belly....little cutie. He had a checkup for the adoption yesterday and when I put him on the exam table he laid down and lifted up his shirt to bare his belly....I think he has been to one too many midwife appointments. I think he was disappointed that we didn't put some gel on there and hear a heartbeat :)

 This is our countdown on the chalkboard in the kitchen....can't wait!

We raised her mattress up (we being Andrew) and Griffin added some finishing touches...newborns like to play with lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners, right? Looks like I'll be washing that sheet...again....

I'll update on the appointment tomorrow! Time to meet some friends for breakfast in Seattle! Hoping Griffin will sit still long enough for me to get a sentence or two in :)