Week 37 - Almost Done

We had a third baby shower on Saturday - Sparky is certainly a very lucky, very spoiled little girl. Our Sunday School class put on quite the party and I had a great time visiting with all those friends. They are all great ladies and Steve and I are both really going to miss our church family here in Ann Arbor.

Somehow my waistline is back down to 45 inches. Apparently Sparky has been sinking or is getting smashed or something. Not that it's slowed her down any - she is still wiggling away, mostly when I am wanting to nap. I am finally at the tail end of the head/chest cold that I have been battling. Just a few rouge coughs every now and then. Even though I've been feeling better, my discomfort level is about a 9.5 on a scale of 10. There is just not room for this little wiggly girl inside me and she just can't stand to be still. Hopefully she will be a little less active when she arrives so we can get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Steve is off to Dallas on Wednesday, so I am hoping and praying that Sparky will be cooperative and will stay put until at least Friday. As hard as it is for me to sit around doing nothing, I've been trying really hard to do just that. Today's projects include trying to get this condo sold (I spent all morning typing a sales contract to give to an interested party) and trying to get a house in Sault Sainte Marie purchased. Last night Steve did some major cleaning for me and I double checked the bags for the hospital. We should be all set, but since the hospital is only 5 minutes away I haven't been too worried about making sure I have absolutely everything packed up.

All of the laundry is done (again)

I finished washing all of the baby things. I was "done" with the baby laundry three weeks ago, but then we got more things, which required more laundry. And after Saturday's shower I will probably have more things and need to do more laundry. And there isn't even a baby here yet...

Maize, Sparky, and I are starting the first of our two days of being home alone by watching t.v. and cleaning up the kitchen counters. I made two little jobs for myself to do each day so that I can feel productive without getting too tired or overworked. Our other job today is to clean the master bathroom. That shouldn't be too bad either - just a little sweeping, mopping, and counter cleaning - I am going to leave the scrubbing in the shower for Steve to do when he gets home. Not that he will be home long. We will have him for Sunday and Monday and then on Tuesday he is off to Dallas until Friday.

Sparky is cooperating so far and keeping quiet. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she will wait at least the next 10 days before making her appearance so that our doctor can deliver her when he is back from vacation.

The "Day to Day" List - and Week 35 Update

In basketball they list players as "day to day" when they have an injury. Sparky has landed us on the "week to week" list. This week, we are clear for another week of being pregnant, unless Sparky decides to come on her own terms. I talked to the doctor today and he said Sparky is at the high end of normal, but every week counts. So we'll re-evaluate next week and probably have a day or two notice for when labor will be induced. Maybe Sparky will do us all a favor and decide she is ready to evict herself before the doctor has the chance to pick a birthday for her.

Sunday was the start of a not-so-amazing new phenomenon - incredible discomfort. When the doctor asked me with morning how I was feeling I told him I felt like I had a baby elephant riding around, not a baby girl. As my good friend Sue put it, I have a one bedroom apartment, not a three bedroom house, for this girl to live in and she is taking up all of the available space. The poor little occupant is also having a very difficult time moving, so I've had to help her out a few times when she gets stuck halfway through moving around.

My waistline is up to 45 and 1/2 inches, but somehow I've managed to lose another 5 or so pounds in the last couple weeks. That was a slight cause for concern at the appointment this morning, but since Sparky seems to be doing well the weight must be coming off me, which is just fine with me. I'm hoping that by the time that we head to Steve's graduation I can fit back into my normal clothes.

This week Maize decided that she is scared of the kicking belly, so she's taken over Steve's personal space. She prefers his lap, but if he fills it with the computer she just takes over his shoulders. Someone needs to let the dog know that she is not a lap dog or a small kitten.
We are headed to Hastings this weekend to visit family for Easter and for the second of 4 baby showers. We are really excited about visiting family and getting out for a weekend. Happy Easter to you all - we hope you get to eat the share of the Easter candy that I can't have.
A pictorial recap of the expanding baby belly - weeks 8 through 35.

Surprise Shower

My co-workers had a surprise baby shower for us today. I was SHOCKED and very thankful for such generous co-workers. Sparky got a lot of wonderful things, including the really cool Baby Einstein excersaucer that we had registered for. We are so thankful for the many people who are so generous, Sparky already has much more than any baby probably needs.

We are looking forward to a quiet weekend at home, which may be our last since we will be traveling next weekend and Steve may be going to Sault Ste. Marie the following weekend to get our housing situation in order (we hope). We are hoping to wrap up a few last minute projects and to get a lot of cleaning done before we need to start worrying about baby things. We hope you all have an equally relaxing and productive weekend.