Shirt for sale (or is it?)

Starting on Thursday afternoon (Thursday, February 26th), I had some signs that things may progress on their own sooner than I thought. Those signs continued and intensified and now, it's time! Today, the last day of February, we're at the hospital, I'm in labor and this shirt's on the market because we've been told we're having a baby today! Stay tuned...

Update: Stop the bidding; this shirt has officially been removed from the market! Now I can say it was worth the money since our stubborn little child wanted to wait for a March 1st debut!

39 weeks: Photos

As the end draws near

Even though I am definitely ready and unbelievably excited to meet our family's new addition, I'm also feeling somewhat sad as the prospect of my pregnancy coming to its conclusion becomes more of a reality.

I know some women are very sensitive to this issue, but I never minded having my belly touched, no matter who was doing it. After all, my stomach may be far from flat, but it sure is rock hard and if there was ever a time to feel good about having paws all over it, that time is now in my opinion! Lord knows once this kiddo pops out, it's safe to say the solid "abs" as I knew them when he or she was inside will be a thing of the past. For fear of hands disappearing in my very own Bermuda Triangle, I think I'll have to say that the belly rubs will be off limits for a while. I believe you all will thank me for that. Back to my point though---I found it quite sweet actually, even encouraged it, when people wanted to touch my stomach or try and feel a kick (I probably even startled several of you by my lack of modesty as I'd whip my bare belly out!). The bundle didn't always oblige, and enjoyed playing the game of kicking me and then stopping the second I told someone to feel, but there was something so pure in the joy I could see in people's eyes as they tried to catch a sign of movement for themselves. It was even better to watch them when it happened. I'll miss that.

People, total strangers even, are so kind and curious. The smiles, the happiness on their faces when they inquire about the details of my pregnancy and the child on the way is priceless. The congratulations, the best of luck wishes, the hopes for a quick labor and healthy baby have turned me to mush. The men, the big and burly men who serve me way too much Chipotle and bagels, whose emotions pour out as they talk to me, question me and reflect on how parenthood has affected them, I tell you, they get me every time. I've left many a conversation this last month where I've turned away from people crying without control as our chat ends because of how much I will miss this experience and yes, the attention too. I am proud of my efforts and thinking about not having this to talk about when it's been such a big part of my life for so long leaves a void I can already feel. I will thoroughly miss so much of this.

These last weeks have been rougher and of course less comfortable, but I have had a fantastic time being pregnant. The experience of carrying our baby has been sensational. Even though I've tried very hard to capture so many facets of my journey in writing via this blog (and verbally to all those around me), so much of it is altogether indescribable. I will be forever thankful for the answering of my prayers for the ability to become pregnant, stay pregnant and give birth to a child in my lifetime, all with the most loving husband by my side at every step. I pray the miracles continue and that our baby comes into this world healthy and happy. I would be overjoyed if you could all keep us in your thoughts and help to wish that for us as well.

I would guess it's obvious by my writing a post almost every day now (and two today) how much I will miss this blog also. Bundle in the Oven doesn't really work when the bundle's out and done cooking! The response to my blog has been overwhelming to me and it warms my heart when so many of you comment on it to me, on the blog, in an email or in person. People I didn't even know read it will say things to me about it sometimes and it makes me want to keep on writing even more! I love that. It's been a blessing for me to document my experiences, occurrences, stages, phases, incidents and predicaments as a first-time bundlewarmer and having you all as my audience has made what started as just a way for me to remember it so much more than that. Thanks to each of you for providing me with this enriched adventure. I haven't decided if I'll start a new blog for our family (Jeff jokes that it'll be time for me to concentrate on "family time" and not blogging when this one is done!), but it's not out of the question.

Until the Bundle in the Oven blog concludes, I hope you all enjoy my last entries; I know I have enjoyed writing every single post. Sincere thanks from the bottom of my heart for reading and for sharing these moments with me. I hope I've done a good job of keeping you all interested and informed and I hope I do an even better job of being a mom for my great inspiration, our precious baby who Jeff and I love so much already.

Our baby at 39 weeks

At 39 weeks, the baby weighs a bit over seven pounds, about the size of a mini watermelon (ouch!), and is about 20 inches long.

Spalon, take me away!

At 39 weeks today, one week until my due date, my bod could practically melt from the mere thought of a long, professional massage right now (no offense to the bundlebreeder; his short, unprofessional ones are nice too :)). Heck, I'd pay good money just to plop down tummy first on a table, but the addition of a massage and a few hot towels could send me into sensory overload. So imagine how I felt when along came a gift card for one across my desk from some of my co-workers yesterday! It was the greatest. When I opened the card and (through my tears) saw all the notes (sniffle, sniffle), I was so touched. A couple of them suggested I go in before I have the baby in hopes of massaging him or her out of me. Hmmm, not a bad idea.

What an unexpected and thoughtful surprise that made my entire day.

Doctor appointment: 38 week fetal and maternal assessment

I should have known that the night before my doctor appointment, both of my ankles (and feet) would be back to their old tricks and balloon up again. I’m blaming them for my four pound weight increase at my appointment yesterday (Tuesday, February 24th). They have been so much better lately, but when I came home on Monday night, both my left and right stumps were swollen almost as badly as they were at my 36 week appointment when my doctor had some concerns. Fortunately those concerns remain in check since my blood pressure continues to look good, so my doctor isn't worried about the weight gain or the swelling right now. Still, he went over symptoms to watch out for in case anything with my blood pressure should happen to change.

Every time a work meeting request for this week had been asked of me, I accepted but continued to think my participation would be unlikely. Then it was next week's meeting requests coming in and I figured there'd be no way I'd still be working by then. However, it's been business as usual at the office (and at home) with no sign of this baby budging. I'm succumbing to the fact that March 5th is going to come around and I may still be working full time trying to fit my fat feet into something presentable for an out of office meeting that day. Even though everyone says people will understand, I'm not setting foot into a client's office in some of the getups that have embraced these feet of mine as of late. And quite frankly, it blows because two hours in decent looking kicks means more swelling and discomfort after the fact. I will admit though, I've begun reasoning with myself that it's all right, even a bit sexy, to sport shirts that inch up to reveal the belly panel in the three pairs of pants in my rotation that are still comfortable enough to get me through a work day. OK, it only happens sometimes and I absolutely lied about even considering it to be in the ballpark of sexy, but wouldn't that be nice? My gosh, the designers who don't get that maternity shirts could use an extra inch or six of fabric length in the last trimester should be paraded on a scaffold and publicly humiliated...forced to wear crop tops and leggings in three sizes too small or something.

Back to the point I was going to make a paragraph ago---if anyone hasn't guessed, my doctor let me know yesterday that I'm still not dilated. He explained that he would look at inducing me anywhere from March 12th, a week after my due date, to March 19th, two weeks after. Waiting until the 19th would undoubtedly require a great amount of patience, even by his admission, but the longer the wait (within reason and if the baby's size isn't an issue), the better the chances of going into labor naturally, ultimately making it a better labor process hopefully. I think we'd have to weigh that decision heavily because our patience meter is running a little low. We're just really excited for the day to come (and I'm ready to bend over again!).

If someone would have told me two months ago that I may not have this baby until the middle of March, I would have been blown away. Convinced for some reason I was going to go into labor well before my due date, still being pregnant by March 19th just seems crazy. Doesn’t he or she know that being half Irish, the “Baby’s 1st St. Patrick’s Day” onesie is washed and waiting? I'm trying not to complain because without question I know things could be worse than going past my due date. Mexican food could be prohibited outside of Mexico. Soft pretzels and tortilla chips could disintegrate when coming into contact with cheese. Chewy cookies everywhere could harden and never melt in my mouth again. I could find out that Minnesota's martini supply runs dry after tonight.

Kid, I love ya and all, and I know bouncing around in my belly, tapping against my lungs and hanging out on my bladder feels real nice, but it’s time to gain some independence and get out on your own. Make your grand entrance. Dr. Chow is on call this weekend and I think he’d really appreciate it if you’d take the opportunity to meet him.

My next appointment is on Monday, March 2nd and as it looks, I’ll be there.

38 weeks: Photos