Well Done

Well, today I am 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I have to admit that this pregnancy thing is getting a little old. We are so eager to meet our son. I never thought he'd be a November baby. 

Tomorrow I will go to the dr. to see if I have progressed. Last Wednesday I had only dilated 1 cm and was only 20% effaced. He prescribed lots of walking, which I've been doing. If my cervix is not conducive to induction, we will likely schedule a c-section this week (assuming George doesn't come on his own). Neither induction nor a c-section are ideal, but I want him to be healthy and not too over-cooked. :) The dr. doesn't seem to believe that George is too big and his heart rate indicates that he is still happy/healthy in there. Please pray for us as we face all of the unknowns this week. Hopefully my next post will feature pictures of our little man!

40 weeks, 5 days

Nursery Pics

Today marks 38 weeks of pregnancy! The end is in sight! 

Good news! George is no longer breech and our c-section has been canceled! We are so grateful to God for answering our prayers. Now George will arrive when he's ready. Right now, I haven't dialated and I'm only 25% effaced. The doctor will induce at 41-42 weeks if George doesn't arrive before then. I've been having contractions every night for the past 4 nights which has been very exciting. Last night they were especially painful. It's totally worth it and it's fun to feel my body gear up for labor.

As promised, I've attached a few nursery photos. 

Walking into the room...

David's Mom painted the walls!

 Elephants!

 Lovely nursery art courtesy of Melissa Hayden.

 Refinished dresser courtesy of Lauri and Aaron. We want to get a changing pad and lamp eventually to place on the dresser. They also picked up this glider for us from Dallas... isn't it perfect? 

 Super cute elephant art courtesy of David's sister, Julie.

Sweetest little hand-knit sweater and hat made by my dear friend, Wendy. 

36 weeks and 5 days

Latest belly pic:

Sneak Peek

At our ultrasound on Friday, we were so excited to get to see his sweet face again! However, he is SO cramped in there now that we could not see his face because his knees, arms, and hands were in the way! The ultrasound technician tried to get him to move, but he refused. We've been joking that he was wanting to keep his appearance a surprise until he's ready for his debut! In the pictures above, you can see his ear, hand (in front of his face as if saying "no pictures, please"), and a non-3D profile of him. As of Friday he was approx. 5lbs. 13oz. Babies at this age gain about an ounce a day. He's right on target, if not a little small. He is still a boy, too! His head is currently in the 50th percentile and his body is in the 38th percentile. David's been joking that he'll be a Charlie Brown look alike with a disproportionate head. Of course, we're just kidding and we know that he will be just right. I'm so glad his head isn't bigger in case I do get to give birth naturally.

George is still breech. Through the ultrasound they found that he is "complete breech" (see graphic below).

This is one of the easier positions for him to flip and we learned that there is plenty of amniotic fluid for him to flip in as well, which is a concern this late in the game. I'm going to the chiropractor today let him try his luck at getting George to flip. 

October Baby

Can you believe it is already October? Yesterday marked 36 weeks of pregnancy. Babies are considered full term after 37 weeks--crazy!!! We are so excited to welcome George into the world this month. Everything is really coming together and I promise to show nursery pictures soon!

We've been seeing Dr. Casanova every Wednesday and this past Wednesday learned that George is still breech, feet first. If he stays this way, we will schedule a c-section for 39 weeks. Breech vaginal deliveries are only an option if the baby is bottom first. Dr. Casanova has recommended several interventions to try to get the baby to flip head-down. Most of them are quite funny and even acrobatic, including doing somersaults underwater, laying head-down on a slant board, playing music in my lap, etc. I'm going to try them all this weekend. We have an appointment with a chiropractor this Monday. He apparently has had lots of success turning breech babies. Please pray for George to flip in the next week or so!

Dr. Casanova also wanted to see how big the baby is and precisely what his positioning is so he scheduled an ultrasound for TODAY! We didn't think we were going to have another ultrasound before the baby arrives. We haven't seen his sweet face since the beginning of June. I'm sure he's changed a lot in the past 17 weeks.

We certainly covet your prayers as we prepare for the new addition to our little family.

Showered

Today marks 33 weeks and 2 days of being George's momma. Our life has been terribly hectic since my last post. David started classes in late August. He is taking 15 hours AND teaching 2 courses this fall. Absolutely crazy. He will be finished with coursework for his PhD this spring though!

David's parents visited over Labor Day weekend to help with the nursery and to celebrate David's 28th birthday on Sept. 4. It was the 10th birthday that I have celebrated with him. Here is a very old photo from his 18th birthday. I made cheesecake and bought him some Hemingway that day.

David's parents were so generous. They bought us a stroller and carseat, fixed our garage doors, took us out to eat, cleaned, and painted George's nursery (among other generous gestures). We are truly blessed to have such loving parents/in-laws. I will post nursery pictures soon once I tidy the room a little better. We decided against the wainscoting because it was going to be too expensive. It sure would have been nice, but just not practical since we're planning to move in a few years (or less).

David and I also celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary on August 23!

Our family dog, Ebbie (a Lhasa Apso), had to be put down on Sept. 4. She was very sick and lived a very long life--18 years! I miss her and will always remember her fondly. She was such a sweet girl. Here is my Ebbie girl:

George is developing very well so far. We will start going to the doctor once a week starting Sept. 20. At his appointment this past week, we found out that he is in the breech position, but will likely turn head-down (the ideal position) by the time he's 37 weeks old. Right now he's about 19" long and weighs about 5 lbs. It definitely feels that way too. He continues to be very active. I love the way it feels for his leg or arm to sweep across my belly. Have I mentioned that I highly recommend pregnancy? It is such a miracle to experience new life in such a unique way. 

Some of my Lubbock friends threw a shower for us today. We are blessed with many generous and lovely friends here. Enjoy a few photos from the circus themed shower:

My Poet Husband

David has a poem featured on Poetry Daily's website today: Poetry Daily

The poem can also be found in the new 60th anniversary Flannery O'Connor issue of Shenandoah. Pick it up at your local Barnes and Noble!

To top it off, David found out he is a finalist for the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship! We'll find out on Sept. 1 if he is one of 5 winners!!!

I'm so proud of my husband and all of his hard work.