God's Ways

Interesting visit to the midwife on Friday for my 39 week check-up...We scheduled a sonogram for that day since I had some concerns that my uterus was measuring smaller than average (about 2 weeks earlier than I should be last week, and as of this week, 2.5 weeks earlier). Though baby is measuring a bit smaller, she's still within normal, and everything else they examined was within normal too (amniotic fluid level, heart rate, placenta among other things. David came to this visit since he wanted to ask some questions, too :) And after a long talk we soon learned that all our fretting about delivering baby before October 1st was for naught: the doctor is out of town NOW (as of this past Wednesday. Looks like he moved his trip up one week)! "A last minute change," my midwife said. He would be back Sunday (today).

My prayer quickly turned to, "Hold on there, little lady! Don't come out just yet!" To think that I was aching to deliver all this week, when in fact it would have been the worst timing.

STILL waiting

39 weeks today...Looks like our baby is quite comfortable inside. I have to admit all the anticipation and excitement has waned...I've been staring at my suitcase for the hospital for weeks now, and I've looked in the baby's room dozens of times, going through her drawers and closet to make sure I have enough of everything.

I've put my life on hold for the past couple of weeks, thinking that she would be here by now. I think I probably feel even worse about the fact that my mom came a week early, interrupting her schedule at home so she could watch Ethan while I make my trip to the hospital. At the very least, it's good bonding time for the two of them. They have played quite a bit, and it's great to hear both of them laugh and giggle as they play.

I don't have a picture taken yet, but I can't imagine I look all that different. Friday morning we have one last sonogram (at my request) and another check up to see how baby is doing, and to see if I have dilated any further. I haven't felt too much this week as far as contractions go. She does move regularly, so that is reassuring. But it just seems she's not quite ready to meet the world...

38 Weeks--I'm still here

Well, looks like baby isn't coming as early as we thought! Now that my mom is here I'm anxious to be done and delivered! But, I realize that it's all in God's timing. My midwife says I'm a bit bigger than 3 cm, and I'm 70% effaced. But that's not much of a change from last week.

In the meantime, mom and I have had some fun ourselves. This weekend we had a little mini spa day! She had an hour massage while I had a facial, and then we both got our nails done with a paraffin treatment! Ah...relaxation and pampering :)

Things I love about being pregnant:

• My growing baby bump
• Feeling baby move
• Eating whatever I like!
• Dreaming about baby

Things I do not like at all about being pregnant:

• My growing rear rump
• Varicose veins
• Aches and pains
• Physical limitations (there's so much I'm not allowed or unable to do!)

I'm sure I could add to both lists, but these are the things that I'm thinking about right now.

Picture Taking

Ethan has a little camera that he likes to play with once and a while. It's actually a REAL 35mm camera with waterproof casing that we bought on a vacation years ago. It's so big and bulky and bright, that it looks like a toy, which is probaby why he likes it so much. But a couple of days ago he started using it just like his mommy does.

I often take family photos by putting our digital camera on the tv stand and setting the self-timer. Looks like Ethan picks up on things rather well... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWzxVRuGgjU)

37 Weeks--What's in a Name?

I was sitting in the doctor's waiting room yesterday when the door opened and the nurse's voice called, "Vicky?"

You may be wondering why this surprised me so much. Since I married and moved to this new town, I've used my legal first name (Maria) for all paperwork. Being a stickler for rules, I fill everything out with my full legal name, and as a result, anyone who doesn't "know me" calls me by this foreign name that I have never used.

So what happened here? Strange how I've been to this doctor's office for nine months and they've finally called me by "the name I go by". You see last week, I was discussing baby names with one of the midwives, expressing my dilemna at not having a suitable middle name to go with the first name we have chosen for our little girl (some of you know this name, but I may change my mind, so I won't mention it here!). She then asked me, "Well, what about YOUR name?" I then told her that I actually go by my middle name, and not my first, and that I wouldn't like the way any of those combinations would sound anyhow. She quickly made a note on my file...

So what's up with baby this week? She's doing great. Her movements are slower since she's low on space, but she still moves and stretches. She is considered full-term now! I've been feeling some contractions for a couple of weeks now, and am 3 centimeters dilated already. My midwife thinks I may go into labor next week! Many have said that I don't look that big for being 3 weeks out, but since I've taken the above picture I feel like my tummy has gotten considerably bigger! I don't know, maybe it's all that chocolate cake I've been eating, heh heh heh...

36 and a Half Weeks

Every week that goes by I get more and more excited, anxious, even impatient! This week I'm dilated 2 to 3 inches (technically, my cervix is dilated 3 inches externally, 2 inches internally), and my cervix has obviously begun to soften. My midwife thinks I'll go earlier than my due date.

Well, lets pray that I do. She also told me that the doctor will be going out of town on my due date--a last minute thing--and when he goes out of town, neither one of the midwives perform any deliveries. I would hate to repeat the last childbirthing experience I had with Ethan--my doctor back then also left town, and I ended up working with a complete stranger! It wasn't fun at all since she and I butt heads quite a bit during the whole ordeal!

Tea Time

Yet another birthday celebration! Yesterday I went up to Chicago to meet with my old small group gals to have afternoon tea! It was a beautiful setting, a delicious selection of treats, and two and a half hours of girl talk. As a food enthusiast, I usually take pictures of food when I go out to a special restaurant (David laughs at me when I do this), but I just can't help myself. The top plate had assorted finger sandwiches (the turkey and arugula was especially good), the middle section contained a variety of pastries (the fruit tart with a slice of fig was delicious!), and the bottom section had an assortment of scones and breads. Their plain scone with lemon curd and devonshire cream on the side is to die for! Ok, I should probably stop talking about food!

I was blessed with an easy drive up to Chicago and back, though the walk from my car to the hotel went a bit slower than usual! I had forgotten that I was carrying a little extra weight :)

Thank you, ladies, for celebrating with me! It made my 30th birthday very special!

Happy 30th Birthday!

Today is my 30th birthday! Last night David threw me a wonderful birthday celebration with our closest friends. It had been in the planning for some time, and I finally told him "what I wanted to do". We ordered several pizzas from Monicals and cheesecake for all, and had everybody over at Casa de Snyder.

What a fun time! After eating pizza, David called everyone to our tiny living room to watch a little video he put together. What a surprise! I knew he wanted some of my baby photos, but I had no idea that he was going to put all THIS together. Take a look at the video below (or click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xkmQcEP5Bg)-- It made me laugh and cry! We then sang Happy Birthday with my birthday cheesecake before me. Yum!

Afterwards, we had some fun and games. At a bbq this summer, the kids were playing a water balloon toss, so I thought it might be fun for the adults to do that, too. David made up some "how well do you know your mate" questions for all the couples out there. Incorrect answer? You both take one step back. Correct answer? You get to stay where you are. Then...TOSS! You know, silly questions like "Does your wife still have her tonsils?" or "Does your husband still wear any clothes from his college days?" I'm sorry to say David and I actually missed a few answers and by the end of the game we were standing several feet apart! But no matter how hard we threw, our balloon never broke! Turns out maybe we should have filled them up a bit more! We eventually ran out of questions, so we had several winning couples left standing at the end (with the exception of the engaged Erika and Rob, whose balloon DID break!).

It was a fun time. Ethan had so much fun, in fact, that he didn't eat dinner until almost everyone left for the evening! (I'm glad he finally ate SOMETHING). Thank you to my wonderful hubby for throwing me such a great party!

Not only did he throw me an awesome party, he had a little surprise for me this morning on the breakfast table: a gift certificate for a spa pedicure! Woo hoo!!! What gal can say "no" to foot pampering??