Going Home Outfit

Michael and I enjoyed a pretty hot date last night. Both of us were still sick yesterday, so we spent most of the day in bed. Come evening though, we were ready for a bit of adventure. I insisted on a taco cabana date night. It was hot, as taco cabana dates always are! I don't know what it is, but that 2 taco combo just always gets me.

After dinner, we went to Target and then to Babies R Us to find the 'going home outfit'. It was pretty exciting just because this was the first time Michael and I actually really went shopping for Jude together. We've bought things here and there, but never something super sentimental like the going home outfit. At first, Michael did not understand the importance of commemorating the occasion with a new outfit. I'm not sure he completely sees it now, but I do know that we both had fun getting to pick out an outfit together for our baby boy. It's fun watching Michael get excited about some of this stuff. Most of the time he's just a guy about it. (Remember, an earlier post mentioned Michael asking why he wasn't just coming home in a onesie. That was a real quote.)

Anyway, we had a hard time finding something because so many boy clothes have baseball or football themes. Michael likes soccer, but not really any other sports. He wishes we were from the UK. Anyway, Michael actually picked out the above outfit which made me happy. I like knowing the daddy picked it out I guess. Anyway I thought it was adorable. Very much a baby outfit but with the muted colors so it's not too overdone. And I think trains are super cute. Michael loved loved trains when he was a little boy, which is why he was probably drawn to this in the first place. I just love it. We've been having cool weather which hopefully lasts through his birth. The thing about Texas is you just never know. It can go from 80 to 30 here in a matter of hours. Picking out a weather appropriate outfit for an October baby is kind of like playing the lottery. Please pray that Jude comes home on a cool/cold day like we've been having. Otherwise he will be burning up in these little sweat pants. Oh well. Regardless, Michael and I think his little outfit is very cute and we can't wait to bring him home in it!!!

Less that 2 weeks left now!

38 weeks and a leek

Jude is now 38 weeks now. We are really and truly in the waiting stage. At this point he is about the size of a leak. Inside, he's really starting to plump up. Most likely he weighs about 7 lbs. Again, this is going off his last sonogram when he weighed 6 lbs and 1 oz. Babies gain approximately and ounce a day from that point. Given that information, he should be about 7 lbs. This is a little bigger than the average which is 6 lbs 8oz for this point in pregnancy. At 38 weeks, he has a firm grasp which will be fun for us when he's born! He also has fully mature organs and is ready for life on the outside. From this point forward it is really just a time of waiting to see when we will actually pop. As I said yesterday, I probably have at least another week left before I go.

Michael's mom gave me his birth stats a couple days ago. He too was born with a full head of hair! Also he weighed 8 lbs 8 oz. According to her our babies should fall somewhere in the middle of our 2 birth weights. I was 7 lbs 14 oz. I'm guessing that Jude will be 8 lbs 3-4 oz based off of that. Given his ounce a day statistic from this point, he should be 7 lbs 7oz by week 39 and 7 lbs 14 oz by his due date. That's exactly what I was. We'll see. Of course, some of this depends on when he actually comes. While I get braxton hicks contractions a little more each day, it is still nothing to make me expect labor to be around the corner. I have a feeling it will be a long wait...

My goal this week is to get things ready for the hospital. For those of you out there that have had babies, please comment with any advice on packing. I'm the worst packer in the world and truly will find this ardent task overwhelming. Help is appreciated!

The Journey Continues....

Well the past 24 + hours has been pretty rough. I started getting really fatigued with body aches yesterday afternoon. By evening it progressed in to fever and all that. I went to the dr and luckily it is NOT the flu. Apparenlty it is something called an adenoid virus. The doctor didn't seem too worried. I think that luckily with me being so close to delivery, there is less risk involved. I'm just trying to keep fever at bay, stay hydrated, and rest. I took today off for rest and drs appts. I'm taking tomorrow off too.

Unfortunately, Michael came down with the same symptoms this weekend. We have the keys to the apt we are subletting in Lewisville for the next 2 months until our house is ready. We can move in any time, but with us both feeling so badly, we'll have to wait at least a little bit for that to happen. Boo!

I also went to my weekly obgyn appt today. Nothing really to report. A couple of the nurses were saying how surprised they were they I hadn't had Jude yet. Too bad this baby has no desire to come out! One asked me if I was having contractions yet. Luckily, I can say that I am. At some point during the day I will have 10-30 minutes of contractions and then that will be the end of it. The nurse kinda got crestfallen when I said that because apparently thats not enough to be getting close. Again, boo. I know I'll be 38 weeks tomorrow, but I honestly don't think he's dropped at all. He STILL feels like he's camping out right in my lungs. It becomes more miserable every day as he grows so much. No one can really call it, because all babies seem to do things their very own special way. We shall see, but for all of you anxious fans out there- you don't appear that much closer to saying 'Hey Jude Dylan'....

Double on the Rocks Bartender...

If I had a personal bartender I would ask for nothing short of the good stuff. A double pepto on the rocks. Maybe mix it up with a maalox on the rocks. Seriously. As if peeing every few hours was not enough to ruin any chance of a good night sleep, I am continuously topping that off with ridiculous amounts of baby induced acid reflux. I have resorted to keeping pepto on the nightstand and I drink it several times a night. Now that Jude is approximately 6 lbs 13 oz, anytime he moves around, he hits at least one organ. If he rolls into my stomach, he immediately sends this shot of stomach acid right up the throat. Isn't that delightful? And the best part is the most I can hope to do is to coat everything with the yummy pink stuff. It's not like heartburn where I can watch what I eat and curtail miserable consequences. This can only be solved by giving birth. One of the many reasons I am really getting over this whole pregnancy and am just ready for him to get here. In the meantime, my personal bartender will be fixing me the 'baby too big' cocktail at least once during the night. Maybe 2 or 3 times if we decide to get a lil crazy up in hurr!

Waddling Update

Today one of my little boy students pulled me to the side to share a very important observation with me. He said, "You know Mrs. Doner, you're starting to walk the way my momma walked right before she had my little sister." I told him that happens to momma's to be at the end :)

I'm hoping that means Jude is actually starting to drop and I'm starting to waddle more. I'm really getting ready to get this over with. It doesn't matter what position he finds, it makes me uncomfortable. I'm sure it makes him uncomfortable too.

37 weeks

Congratulations are due to Michael, Jude, and I because we have officially reached full term status! That means Jude can come at any time and he will be perfectly ready to function in this world. What a wonderful feeling! This will sound totally moronic, but he's a legit baby now. Based on our last sonogram, he is probably about 6 lbs 10 oz at this point, assuming he's gaining an ounce a day. He's getting pretty big! By this time next week, he will likely have hit the 7 lb mark. Length wise, he should be about 19 inches which approximately the length of swiss chard which our lovely picture portrays.

Michael and I are really getting ready for the big day now. We officially have the car seat, so we are free to take him home with us. I also have the basic essentials of bath wash, lotion, diapers, wipes, etc. Someday soon, I want us to go on a 'date' to find that first coming home outfit. This will be the first outfit we will be buying him together, and I'm really excited about it. Of course, when I mentioned this to Michael he said "An outfit? Can't we just bring him home in a white onesie?" Hah, great idea hun.

As the mom, I am hanging in there. Feet are huge and I'm generally miserable, but I'm still kicking it. I have parent conferences this week, so I'm just trying to make it through that. I'm spending all Tuesday working on sub plans. I figure come this Friday I should be comfortable with whenever Jude decides to come. I'll be 38 weeks at that point. That being said, I would just like to point out that they doctor still does not anticipate him coming until I'm 40 weeks. Truth be told I hope she's right, although I am getting really miserable and there just really isn't any more room for him to grow. He's taken up all available real estate.

On a funnier note, I had a school shower on Thursday with my Lee family. They had all this little toy decorations on the cake which they gave me and are now sitting on my desk. Friday morning my kids were fascinated by these. I explained to them that they were from my baby shower cake. One of my boys said, "You had your baby last night?!" I asked him if he thought I looked like I'd had the baby yet. Obviously he said no. What a bunch of nuts....

I also had a couple little girls whispering about me during my morning duty time. One little girl was going on about how she feels so bad for me. The other little girl didn't get it and asked why. The first little girl was like "she is going to be in soooo much pain!" Don't know how she knew childbirth was painful already....

That's all for now. Check back often- you never know when we'll PoP!!!

Faithfulness

This post is going to be short because I want to get to bed;) However, I just wanted to share a praise and the awesomeness that is God really quick. If you haven't kept up with us recently, please read yesterday's post so that this will make sense.

As you know, Michael and I have been quite between worlds with the ending of our lease and the unforseen house hunting issues. We took that step in faith and are going to keep looking for God's best house for us. That left the question 'what do we do in the meantime?' Well God has provided an option and for that we are so very thankful! Miracle of miracles my father stumbled upon an ad on Craigs list to sub let a 1 bdrm apt in Lewisville during (drumroll) October and November. This was perfect for us because it gives us somewhere to be during the this time where we are finishing up house hunting and everything. The perfect time span as well. What are the chances. God is amazing.

Anyway, Michael checked it out and we are good to go for taking over the lease for the next couple months. We are very thankful and amazed at the perfect timing of the whole thing.