First Contraction

About 3 hours ago, I felt my first real contraction!!!! Maybe it is because I spent yesterday evening shampooing our carpets? Or maybe it is time for Pierce's arrival...

I was sitting on our bed watching a movie while writing thank you cards. I know they say you can get them if you are dehydrated, but that is not me right now. No other contractions since... cross your fingers!!!

38 weeks {What I Know Now}

• 2 weeks left til our due date and still have nausea at least twice a week!!! 
• I am so clumsy! Just this morning I somehow missed my mouth and poured milk down the front of me.
• Even more people ask about our baby... it is amazing how miracles like this bring strangers together. But again... it's bizarre. Knowing that the status of my uterus and cervix are fair game for anyone to talk about. My coworkers, relatives and even those strangers... 
• I am hungry consistently every 2 hours, but never seem to each much at those times.
• Pierce is COMPLETELY out of room as he moves around... 
• I am not done nesting yet. Yesterday consisted of shampooing our carpets!
• Our house is kept so cold that our carpets haven't been able to dry out and it has been nearly 24 hours! So the temp was turn up to 74 and guess what? I am sweating!!!! 
• Still no signs of an early delivery. Our OBGYN is out of town until Tuesday anyways... so hopefully Pierce will wait until then!
• Just when I thought my feet couldn't swell any more... I was wrong! I now have invested in CROCS!!! 
• Whenever I leave for a meeting at work, everyone starts betting that I am in labor. I guess I have to leave notes anytime I leave!
• Will we make it another week?

Ben's Haircut

It was time to cut Ben's ears! They have been driving me crazy!! Thanks to motivating Janis, tonight was the night!! here is Ben's before:

And the MUCH BETTER after:

Dresser

I just now realized I haven't posted pictures of the dresser. My Padre did an AMAZING job making it! Here is the progress along to the final product in Pierce's room:

 

Childbirth Preparation Class {Day 4}

Today was the last and final day of our Childbirth Preparation Class.  Overall, we both believe it was worth it. There were some topics we found very informative while others not so much.. but we couldn't imagine the perfect class.

Tonight's focus was on everything after birth. This included:

• What the nurses do right after he is born. Such as:
• Clearing his nasal passages with a suction bulb
• Measuring his weight, head circumference and length
• Putting the ointment in his eyes to help prevent any infection that could have happened during birth
• Determining his Apgar score which measures his responsiveness and vital signs. This includes his heart rate, breathing, color, activity and muscle tone as well as reflex response.
• A vitamin K shot
• What tests will be done. Some we are aware of include:
• Newborn screening that includes a PKU screening
• Hearing test

We also discussed briefly different ways to help soothe our baby if we have tried feeding and changing him and neither has helped. They include:

• Swaddling him
• Taking a drive in the car
• Listening to music
• Turning on the vacuum
• Changing his position
• Burping him
• And many others... 

Overall, the best piece of information we learned tonight was that during the first hour of Pierce's life, he will be alert - so alert that we need to soak up this time with him, just the two of us. He will spend a lot of time studying our faces. I can hardly wait to see the look on his face when he recognizes our voices.... what a moment.... Plus his smell and touch will help to further identify and become attached to us.

HURRY UP PIERCE!!

OB appt

Today was our 38 week OB appointment. We are still measuring 2 weeks ahead! That puts us at 40 weeks... but doesn't mean anything as we are only dilated 1 1/2 centimeters. But we are ok with it. Pierce will come when he is ready.

Once again, I love our nurse!!! And good thing as we didn't see our doc today. He is out of town until next Tuesday... so Pierce better stay put!

Next OB appt - July 26th at 9:40am

37 weeks {What I Know Now}

• I didn't think it was possible for Pierce to grow that much in one week, but boy was I wrong!
• Going to a wedding extremely pregnant is a much different experience. You don't get the questions of 'Why aren't you dancing?' but the statement of 'Good thing you aren't dancing, we would hate for you to have your baby on the dance floor.' I agreed completely with that last statement so my wonderful husband sat still with me the ENTIRE time and kept bringing me glasses of water, one after the other.
• These past 2 weeks were the first time I only worked 80 hours in over 12 months!!! And I am STILL exhausted!!
• A pedicure is now my best friend.
• My husband massaging my feet at night is so routine that I don't even have to ask. Usually it's because he sees my feet and doesn't like to sleep with Professor Klump!
• I have to remind people that walk with me, that there is no reason to hurry up when crossing the street any longer as my walk doesn't have that mode anymore. So enjoy the slow paced world with me for a while!
• All of our bags are packed and we are ready to go!!!