I was telling Doug yesterday that last week - heck, even a few days ago - I could truly imagine us with a baby. It seemed real and I could picture (to some extent) taking care of it and how life would be different. Now it's gone back to being this vague concept that I can't quite comprehend. I *know* there's something alive inside my body and that it will come out eventually and we'll bring it home. But, a baby...?

Sometimes it feels like there's just too much you need tok now to care for a newborn. I know we need to prepare as much as we can ahead of time. I have the number for a lactation consultant if we have problems breastfeeding. I feel like we should make sure we have plenty of food in the house, but how can I do that when we don't even know when the baby will come? I'm at least glad we took the Bradley class!

These are our official Pregnant Belly Photos. They were taken at 36 weeks (about 1.5 weeks ago), by our fabulous photographer friend, Michele Bennett. 

Look at that belly! It's bigger than Doug's head! And it looks like some strange sort of egg! 

These are some of the PG photos. There are other really cool ones, but they are more like PG-13, so they will only be shared upon request (but feel free to request). 

There are other fully non-scandelous ones too, if you'd like to see them. 

I think I'm getting book happy in my last days here. Doug and I already have a general baby care book (What to Expect the First Year), which I am trying to read as much of as possible before the baby comes. We also have a book called Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, which was loaned to us by a friend and we/I liked it well enough that I bought a copy for us.

Now I've bought a book on breastfeeding (The Nursing Mother's Companion) and a book on baby/child nutrition and feeding (Super Baby Food). The breastfeeding book will come in handy because it should have a lot of information on problem-solving, etc. I won't need the baby food book for about six months, but at least I'll be prepared when the time comes. Now I have to stop buying books!

I'm 37 weeks pregnant now - only three weeks to go! Give or take... My pregnancy is now considered full term and Lila probably weighs a little over 6 lbs and is just over 19 inches long. That's based on average baby development - don't know what's *really* going on in there! I'm noticing some changes in my body near the end of pregnancy. Some things we just won't talk about.

I'm really not having many (hardly any) Braxton Hicks or "practice" contractions. Even though I know better mentally, I have this paranoid fear that my bag of waters will break while I'm in the shower and I won't know it. That is statistically VERY unlikely though. Having your water break as the first sign of labor only happens in about 15% of women and even if I'm one of them, what are the chances that it would happen in the 10 minutes I'm standing in the shower?

We had our doctor's appointment yesterday and all is well. Lila is still in a head-down position. Apparently the pain and upheaval that I felt in my body on Tuesday evening was just her *trying* to turn. And, since I'm officially full-term now (or will be as of tomorrow), all restrictions on my activities have been lifted. I plan on going to the gym on Monday, mostly because I CAN.

I keep forgetting to mention the disturbing thing that's going on with our cats. As of last Saturday evening, we've been putting them out of our room when we're sleeping at night (so they'll be used to the arrangement before the baby comes). The disturbing part is that they are putting up no resistance! They are taking it so calmly that it's making me nervous... :o)~

Well, I think my child has been up to no good. I'm not sure yet, but I suspect that she turned again last night. That is, turned back to a breech position. She was definitely up to something because it was rather painful while it lasted. I won't know absolutely for sure until I go to the doctor tomorrow morning, but I should be able to get a good idea today based on her movements and what I can feel where.

Funny Story: I just poked at Lila a little bit and she started moving. I patted my belly and said, "It's okay, Sweetie Girl." Cordelia, who is laying on the guest bed behind me, thought I was talking to her and opened her eyes and stretched. When she did, her tongue came out of her mouth about half an inch. She then closed her eyes again and is just laying there with her tongue sticking out. Silly girl!

I'm 36 weeks pregnant now! Can you believe that? On Saturday, baby and I will be considered full term! That doesn't mean there's much chance that she'll be born anytime soon, but if she were she wouldn't be considered early! However you look at it, I'll be giving birth very soon! The anticipation is maddening. We won't be going anywhere out of town from this point on. Actually, I don't anticipate us leaving town again before Thanksgiving!

And it might be quite some time before I set foot on an airplane again. That doesn't bother me though because I don't like flying. Things are quite busy for both of us, but more so for Doug. He's trying to get things wrapped up at work in preparation for being gone for three weeks and during the evenings/weekends we're trying to get things ready here at home, and we were supposed to figure out how to install our car seat this weekend - oops!

Positive part of Post:
Went to the doctor again yesterday and all looks well. My blood pressure, etc. is normal. Lila *has* been a good girl and turned back to a head-down position. Hopefully, she'll stay that way. I'm also a whopping one centimeter dilated. For those who don't know - that really means nothing. I'm not going to have her early.

Negative part of Post:
Just before pregancy, there is sex. Just after pregnancy, there is a baby. These are very good things. Everything in between is the pits! If you've been pregnant and you enjoyed it, I'm honestly happy that you had that experience. If you've never been pregnant and you don't understand how it could not be wonderful - just ask me. :oI~

Hello all! Well, I can't be 100% sure, but I *think* that Lila turned herself back to head-down position night before last. She's definitely doing SOMETHING different in there. And because of it I have finally experienced this 'feet in the ribs' thing that I've heard so many pregnant women complain about. It really is not comfortable! Anyway, I guess a couple of days of laying in funky breech-turning positions worked.

I spent much of yesterday trying to get somewhat prepared for her arrival. That is, I packed my bag for the hospital (as much as i could). I read a couple more chapters in "What to Expect the First Year". I started sorting through all the stuff we've gotten at our showers. I also gave myself the first half of a pedicure, which (for reasons i can't explain) I feel compelled to do before I go into labor. :o)~

Here are the latest belly photos - 35 weeks. I look really tired in them because I am. 

I look like a balloon about to burst! 

There's the belly! 

I'm 35 weeks pregnant now. That seems like it's crazy close to the end, but at the same time not close enough! There's not much room for Lila to maneuver in there now as she should be over 18 inches long and over 5 lbs. Unfortunately, that means that she may or may not be able to turn herself back around out of the breech position. Most of her development is complete now.

I can't wait to meet this little person that's living inside my body! She's mostly concentrating on fattening up for the next few weeks. There's not much more room left in my body for growth though. Things feel *so* tight and stretched sometimes! My uterus is now about 15 times its normal size. That's just disturbing! She's getting big, but she's still going to seem so tiny once she's out here in the world. :)

Well, I had my doctor's appointment on Wednesday and it was nothing *major*, but it was a more exciting appointment than usual. We got verification that Lila, as I suspected, has turned breech. Troublemaker! :) Given the fact that I have a funky uterus, they can't turn her manually. So I'll be trying some odd things to get her to turn back on her own before it gets too tight in there (like laying in bizarre positions and burning a root near my toe).

If she's still breech in the next couple of weeks, then they'll go ahead and schedule me for a c-section, just to "reserve my spot". If she turns back to head-down before that date comes, then great! Also, as of now, I am up to weekly visits. I'm not due for five more weeks, but I'll be officially full-term in just a couple of weeks - crazy!!!

It's a short week and it's already halfway over! (almost) It's odd how some days/weeks seem to drag by while others seem to fly. Doug and I need to get a pediatrician chosen soon. I guess it's something that we have decided on a pediatrician over a family doctor, but we need to pick a specific person. Like, before the baby is born.

If you live in Austin and have a pediatrician that you like, let me know. There's one that we've met and are considering and I like her well enough to choose her (after all, if i start taking the baby to her and decide she's not a good fit, then we can always change our mind). However, Doug wants to shop around a bit more. It's our classic personality difference. I describe it this way: I look for a *good* deal. Doug looks for the *best* deal. It can be challenging. :)

Here's the beginning of the Baby Room Makeover. The ceiling has already been de-popcorned and retextured and primered and now the crazy turquoise primer is going on the walls. 

Here is the wall color going on over the crazy primer. The ceiling has already been painted blue at this point. 

Here's an action shot of Irene putting the first color on the crib. This is the crib I slept in as a baby! :) 

Here's the room after the ceiling and walls are all painted and mostly dry. 

Here are some crib pieces after putting the second color on them. 

Here's the crib with the new paint job and put back together. In the corner is our new changing table/dresser. 

Here is Doug putting a sun on the ceiling. 

For the pregnancy update - I'm 34 weeks pregnant now! Crazy! It's so close to the end, but some days I wish it were a lot closer. If our baby were born today, her chances of surviving and thriving would be excellent. Hopefully she won't be born before her time, but it's reassuring anyway. By this week, she should weigh about 4.75 lbs and be almost 18 inches long.

I'm still really hoping that she doesn't turn out to be huge! Her skin is smooth now and she's layering on the fat she'll need to control her body temperature out here in the world. Gotta keep that little body warm! I'm still staying pretty tired, largely because I am uncomfortable at night and have to get up every hour and a half to go pee. I look forward to not have a giant uterus pressing on my bladder!

It is stinking *hot* outside! As in 104 degrees hot! I met a friend for lunch today and then ran a few errands afterward. I thought I was going to melt out there, so I checked the temperature when I stopped by the house to drop off a load of groceries. 104 degrees!!! I will not be going back out to finish my errands at this time. Instead, I watered the plants with ice cubes and closed all the blinds in the house.

One of the errands I ran was to Babies R Us. I was really there because we needed a new filter for our humidifier, but I went ahead and finished off our registry while I was there. The only thing we hadn't registered for was a changing table pad (we wanted to wait and see what kind of changing table we ended up getting) and covers. It took all of about 3 minutes and that was mostly spent waddling to and from the back of the store where they're located. Now we're really REALLY done. :)