The final countdown....

Well folks....the time has come. I wanted to wait and share! But we are headed to the hospital tonight to start our induction. Due to my swelling, potential size of the baby and a holiday weekend, my doctor thought it would be in the best interest for me and the baby to deliver before the weekend. I am sitting here waiting to call the hospital to find out what time they will admit us. Looks like there will definitely be a baby some time in the very near future! Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers for a fast delivery and a healthy baby girl!

Nursery Update

What do I do while I'm at home...finish decorating the nursery! Today, we hung Erin's name! And it was a LOT harder than it looks!

Last Belly Book Photo....?

Just wanted to make sure that we post our 39 week belly picture. I don't feel like I have grown anymore and I don't think that baby has dropped yet! So I'm not quite sure when this little lady is going to decide on coming. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that's it's sooner rather than later!

Last week?

We have officially made it! We are in what we hope is our last week of pregnancy! My doctor officially pulled me out of work since he says this is the last time I will have quiet and personal time for a very long time and I'm going to need the rest! So.....here we are! We had some very special visitors this weekend. The Thornhill family came for a visit this weekend! It is such a treat to get a visit from one of my friends from home! But this of course is extra special because we get to spend time with the triplets too! Pizza, swimming, cookouts and a special trip to Hillside Farms for ice cream! It was absolutely wonderful! And such a great distraction of the week ahead! And boy are the girls getting big! Talking up a storm and quick to learn new things! They loved the pool and were fast to try swimming! So much fun! I can only imagine what fun things we can do each summer if they continue to visit! Sunday, Joe finished up the last of the yard work that he was wanting to finish! Mulching and mowing is now complete for the time being! With today being 39 weeks and 2 days...we are just days away from our due date. I will be enjoying the pool and television until the time comes for us to head to the hospital! Hopefully sooner rather than later!

2 Weeks and Counting

I know....I'm really late this week, but I wanted to wait until I went to the doctor to see if there were any changes! Well...nothing to report! I guess we will just have to wait and see when this little lady is going to decide to come! I'm hoping so soon! The ability to function as a normal person no longer exists! The lack of feeling in my  hands, to the swelling in my feet and face....please, please come! It's so bad that I can feel the fluid drain in my face when I roll over during the night! Absolutely disgusting! I know our bodies do all of this for our children, but it seems more like a punishment for getting pregnant sometimes! :) At least I can finally see an end in sight....if only she sticks to the plan!

38 Weeks

Happy Father's Day

Sometimes you just know....

When a man will be a great father!!!

This is one thing that I have always known about Joe! He has always wanted children and the way he interacts and plays with children is such a joy to watch! Sometimes I feel more excited about getting to see Joe be with his daughter more than me being a mother. I just absolutely can't wait!

So, although this little lady hasn't made her appearance! Here's to all of you father's out there, including my wonderful husband and dad!! Happy Father's Day! May this day be truly just for you!

A little girl needs her daddy
To love her with manly charm,
To soothe her when she's hurt,
And keep her safe from harm.

A girl needs her dad
To show her a man who's good,
To help her make right choices,
As only a father could.

A woman needs her father
Just to be aware,
He'll always be there for her
To sustain her and to care.

You've been all these things, Dad.
I hope that you can see
How much I treasure you;
You mean everything to me.
- Joanna Fuchs

A Place Just For Dad
We many not shower him with praise
Nor mention his name in song,
And sometimes it seems that we forget
The joy he spreads as he goes along,
But it doesn't mean that we don't know
The wonderful role that he has had.
And away down deep in every heart
There's a place that is just for Dad...

~ Author Unknown

3 More to Go

In my book, we are down to 3 weeks or 21 days. That is..if we go before our due date! I had a doctor's appointment this week and he isn't giving me indication on when this baby might come. And I am very aware that for most women, the first baby might come as much as a week late. So...only time will tell!

At our appointment, we did have another ultrasound. We have confirmed that "she" is still a girl! :) And right now, they are estimating that she weighs approximately 7 pounds already. They can be a pound off in either direction, but at least we know that she will be a good healthy weight regardless.

I'm still experiencing some severe swelling. It's starting to show up in my face and hands a lot worse. Good thing is, the doctor wrote me a note to get to wear flip flops to work since I can't fit my feet into any type of shoe that comes over the bridge of my foot! Thank goodness for a supportive office!

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks. Just keep us in your thoughts and prayers that we have a safe delivery with a healthy baby.

2011 Pedal to Preserve

I mentioned last weekend that Joe and his sister and future brother-in-law did a 32 mile bike ride in Hershey! Well, they continued their journey in Lancaster, PA this weekend with the 2011 Pedal to Preserve bike race.

I didn't go the previous week, but I have been itching to get out of the house and spend some much needed time with Joe before the baby arrives. I decided to hitch along for the ride and see what these races were all about. Let me just say, there are a LOT of people that showed up for this race. They weren't quite sure what the turnout was going to be due to the torrential downpours that we hit on our way down. When we showed up, there were TONS of bikes and cars. The race was split up into three races: 51 miles, 20 miles and a 4 mile race. The purpose behind this race was to preserve the farmland in the area mainly that of Amish farms.

Joe, Cristin and Brian took off on their race and I spent the time in the car taking a nap and finishing up some thank you cards. When they returned, they said it was such a nice trip - seeing all of the farmland, all of the little Amish kids waving to them as they drove by their homes and just all in all, they felt like they donated to a great cause!

Lancaster is such a beautiful location. I took my best friend Melissa when she visited one time. The people are so friendly and to see all of the horses and buggies integrated with the fast-pace of our civilization is definitely a sight to see. But..the one thing I more than anything were some fresh baked goods. We spotted a small farmers market and came out with some delicious goodies: cookies and apple dumplings! Let me just tell you that will probably never have an apple dumpling that tastes like that...too bad I didn't take a picture before we gobbled them up!

After the race, we grabbed at bite to eat at a local brewery, the Lion Hill Brewery which I would highly recommend to any one in the area! The food was fantastic and according to the other three...the beer was great too :) Thanks to one of my co-workers for the suggestion!

Lastly, we made our way down to Philly to the Baby Supermart to pick up our Ottoman. Unfortunately, they forgot to load it when Joe went down to pick up the furniture and I wanted to make sure we had it before the baby arrives! This made for a pretty long day! I know we definitely got a good night's sleep that night! Just hope we can get a few more of those in the next couple of weeks.

Doctor Update

Well....I'm still here and I'm still at work! Doctor says everything looks great and I'm right where I should be! Even with the swelling which he said could get worse with the heat! Only 3.5 more weeks to go!!!

1 Month to Go

I woke up this morning and realized that we are down to 27 days or less until this baby arrives. Crazy thing is..it's not like the wedding countdown where we have exactly 27 days...it's more like Armageddon that you don't quite know when it's going to take place. 27 days or less...wow....I remember when it was 200 days or something to go...I thought it was going to take forever to get to this point and now I'm not quite so sure I know how to deal with the fact that it is so close.

Last night, it shook me to the nerve that our life is never going to be the same! Of course I realize that my life will only become more richer and full of love for this new life that Joe and I have created, but it also hit me that I will no longer be able to come home from work and throw my feet up on the couch and watch a movie with Joe, or hop in the car and go wherever I need to go at a moments notice, or sleep in till 9:00 on a Sunday  morning (well, that doesn't always happen, who am I kidding)...but it's nice to think of all of the "great" things we will be giving up, only because I don't know of yet of the great things that are going to be entering our new world of parenthood. I am pretty sure that this is pretty normal thinking. The fear that life will not be the same and your hopes of being good parents and raising good kids. That the advice your friends have given to you will pay off and you will have that happy go lucky child that all of your friends seem to have! I know there will be great days and bad days, and happy days and tired days, but in the end...it will all be worth it!

I have officially hit my "I'm done with being pregnant" phase! My swollen, hideous feet and hands along with the extra weight and swollen face....we can be done any time now! It's been an okay week...just not with the swelling! Here is a picture of my feet this morning (without doing anything to make them swollen!) This is pretty mild to say the least, but as you can see...I am now known as "cankles!" There is no such word as "ankle" in my vocabulary anymore. Sometimes, I may have nice ankles for about an hour in the morning, but that's about it! Friday night, I was fortunate to have "girls night out" with my PA friends. They threw me a small shower and were very generous with some adorable gifts. Thanks girls for everything and a wonderful evening out! Scary to think that the next time I see you all, there will a new addition to our group! And a big congratulations to Jess as she just found out she is expecting baby #3 late fall.  I think they were a little scared with the sight of my ginormously swollen ankles and feet! I think it had to have been one of the worst episodes to date! Needless to say, I slept on the couch that night so that I could elevate my feet high enough to alleviate some of the swelling...as well as to give Joe a good night's sleep because he had a big day on Saturday!

So...like I mentioned last weekend, Joe had a big bike race this weekend. Joe, Cristin and Brian were signed up to do a 16 mile bike race for the Children's Miracle Network. Well...that 16 turned into a 32 mile bike race and all three of them finished! I am so proud of the three of them!! What a huge accomplishment! Joe enjoyed it so much that he just ran out and did another 8 while I'm sitting here typing this! Hopefully he keeps up with it and I can join him this fall and he can help me get back into shape after the baby is born! So another Congratulations to the Husband!

And he also gets the Husband of the Year award! Because of the swelling of my feet and hands (I've been wearing a brace during the evenings and nights) he literally comes home from work and cleans and cooks and helps out so much! He is wonderful! I would not be surviving if it wasn't for him!

At last we have our final two week doctor's appt this Tuesday and then we go into our weekly appointments! It's exciting to think that we may only have 4 more visits to go! Bring on this baby!!!

Week 36

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.
At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.