Today marks the start of our 39th week of pregnancy. I will admit for all to see that I was WRONG...I thought all along CP would be here by about week 37. The past couple of weeks have been disappointing in that I'm ready to see my baby's sweet face. At the same time, the past couple of weeks have given Joe and I extra time to be a party of two. We've had several dinners out, gone on lots of walks, and had some quiet evenings at home waiting.

My appointment last Friday was somewhat disheartening when Dr. Nisbet said, "I'm pretty sure I'll see you for your regular appointment next week." Followed by the observation that there hadn't been much of a change. I wanted to scream, "CHECK AGAIN!" "Are you sure???" I had a round of contractions the night before and was totally certain there would be a noteable change. No cigar.

I have noticed a few things this week that are different;
-lower back pain
-crazy indigestion (I had some heartburn but this is fierce business)
-icky nausea today

We go back to the Dr. tomorrow and I'm not expecting there to be a change. I suspect we will talk about an induction and I'm hoping that if we do, Dr. Nisbet will humor me and do it next week instead of making me wait until the week of the 13th. I won't hold my breath though.

In other news, work has been pretty slow this week. My colleague is slammed and I'm not. On the one hand, it is awesome to not be running around like a fool this week, on the other, it means time passes SLOWLY and I have time to sit and dwell on Hadley's upcoming arrival.
Grannie had open heart surgery a couple of weeks ago in Austin. She is currently at a re-hab facility in Marble Falls. I finally got her on the phone last night. She sounded good and chipper. Apparently there is a lady that comes in to do hair and Grannie got her weave did. She told me, "ooooh boy, I got my hair washed, set, and cut. I look like the Queen of the Ball. Everyone thinks so." She is a mess! I got a good laugh out of that when I got off the phone with her. Aside from Joe and I, I think Grannie may be the most anxious to meet Hadley Grace. I'm pretty sure this is the day she has been waiting for forever!

Hadley's I Love Jesus Dress

We went over today and bought Hadley's Dedication dress. I'd had my eye on one for months but never purchased it. Then, we were told Aunt Pat was making her a dress for the dedication. Pat sent us beautiful dresses for Hadley, but we think we will need to wait for Easter so they will be a better fit. So, we are saving those precious ones for a later date. In the meantime, I'm scared to even breathe on them or they will get dirty! ha!

Here is what we selected to dedicate l'il one to Jesus in

BBA

My name is Callie and I am a bow buying addict. I think I may start a support group, Bow Buyers Anonymous.

6 bows came in the mail yesterday and I ordered another dozen or more today. Etsy, you enable me. Especially now that I found someone who sells them for $2 or less! Thank you for helping me with this addiction, at least my daughter's head will be well decorated. I bet she will be able to identify where her bow is before her eyes, ears, nose, or mouth...And, honestly, I'm okay with that....

37 Week Pictures/Update

Yesterday we had our 37 week check up. I was really expecting there to be a great change from our last appointment. Hadley had dropped quite a bit (see picture) since last weekend and I was hoping for more progress. I know that the numbers really don't mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but still....

Sadly, there wasn't much of a change progress wise. Better luck next time! Ha! Here are a couple of pictures Joe took before our appointment. Since my Mom is out of town, I wanted to show her how low Hadley had dropped this week.

Joe was at work last night and asked me (via text message) if it was bad that he didn't want to wait 3 weeks for Hadley to be here. I told him absolutely not, I don't want to wait either! I am already crazy about this little one and I've not even met her yet. How can I miss someone I haven't met???

*The palm of my hand is at the bottom of sternum. The entire space taken up by my hand is "squishy" now and Hadley wasn't occupying space until the point where my finger is pointing. She is squishing herself in a smaller space than necessary!

Doneski...well, sort of.....

Well, we've made it to 37 weeks! Hadley, you are now considered "term" and should be fine to come any time. So, that being said, we're ready to see you, please come soon!

At our last appointment, Dr. Nisbet confirmed you are head down (we had already figured that one out), and there was "progress." We go back again tomorrow. While I know the numbers don't really mean all that much, because you will do your own thing in your own time, I will cry my eyes out if I haven't progressed since last week! Ha! You started dropping a couple of weeks ago. I remember being so excited because I could fit my hand (sideways) between my sternum and the baby bump. You slowly continued to drop a little at a time. Then, on Monday, I woke up and could fit my hand (from palm to fingertips facing toward the floor) from my sternum down before I could feel you. You were sitting in alignment with where my fingers ended. Basically, I don't know that you can get any lower without deciding to grace us with your presence, and we'll take you!

Overall, I still feel pretty good. I'm getting tired of working, but know if I was home I would be going nutso sitting and waiting. I've cut down on swimming and am only going 4 days a week for about 35 minutes instead of 6 days for 45. I still love swimming laps, but have definitely slowed down! You like to have little parties (that don't feel as cute as they used to since you are bigger and squishing yourself in a smaller space) as soon as I lay down to go to sleep. You also wake up with my alarm and start squirming around. I was hoping you'd have your Dad's sleep habits and not mine, but I don't think I am going to be that lucky! Between your sleep habits, mine, and FREQUENT trips to the bathroom at night, sleep is scarce. I'm starting early these days!

Your room is DONE! Car seats are in the cars, bags are packed (full of cute outfits for you to sport in the nursery), and all of your toys and things are put together. Your Dad has had a lot of fun putting together swings, strollers, furniture, car seats, and toys. Let me just tell you, he is toast. You already have him wrapped around your little finger. He is just toast.....
Speaking of, your Papa and Gigi are toast too, but that is a given. Papa has been looking for lacy booties for you (I've had a hard time finding them). Gigi says that anyplace they go, he stops and looks at things for you. You will just adore them! Just wait until you get to have Christmas at Gigi's! We're ready to include you in our cookie baking days, decorating, and all the fun stuff we do for the holidays (this year, you'll probably just snooze through it, but next year, you'll have a BLAST)!

Bottom line kid, we're as ready as we're going to get. So, you have my permission and blessing to come whenever you want (hopefully sooner rather than later)! We can't wait to meet you!

T Minus 5

We are down to about 5 weeks until Hadley's due date. From the beginning I have believed that Hadley will get here early. I could be completely wrong, but I've just wanted to be mentally prepared for her to be here before her due date. People look at me and ask "how much longer?" and shake their heads when I tell them. I don't feel like I'm THAT big, but I guess there is something they see that I don't. Who knows. Everyone always has a guess and an opinion based on their experiences.

I am pretty certain that Hadley started dropping a couple weeks ago. I don't have a lot of space for her to drop, so I think she is slowly wiggling down. There have been a couple of other "signs" of upcoming labor. But, when you read all the information on it, these are things that can happen several weeks ahead of labor with a first child. So, that isn't much of an indicator.

We have one more shower at work this week, then we'll be all set and ready for Hadley's arrival. Joe put the swing together last night. I'm REALLY excited about the swing. I just wish it didn't take up so much space.

Hadley's room is done, with the exception of the niche above the closet. We'll have to find the perfect thing to go up there.

Other than some last minute organizing, we are ready. I hope she will stay put long enough to get her lungs a little more developed. But, we sure are ready to see her face!

Shower Take 2

Last weekend, Joe and I packed up the Big Beag and headed north to my parents' house on Friday night for a shower on Saturday morning. We had a hard time going to sleep and right as we were dozing off, Joe got called into work for the morning shift. Neither one of us got much sleep that night.

Saturday morning, Mom and I got up and dressed and went over to the Whistle Stop Tea Room for the shower. The Whistle Stop had great food, amazing desserts, and was a really cute place! It was a perfect shower, we had a great time celebrating with friends and family. We got some really cute things for Miss Hadley!

Grannie got Hadley her first pairs of earrings. They are so tiny! Dad got her a tiny yellow polka dot bikkini, and we got lots of goodies with her name on them. Everyone was so thoughtful and generous in blessing us!