37 Week Picture

So, I know we got a little lazy at the end with posting my belly pics, but here is the last one we took. It's me at 37 weeks and 5 days in the hospital waiting for Maggie to get here. She just couldn't wait any longer, she HAD to get here a few weeks early. It was a lot of hard work, but she was definitely worth it. Pictures of Maggie coming soon...

Here it is...Maggies room

So even though she is not going to be sleeping in here for a while, here is what she has to look forward too. Lots of pink! Ill bet you want pictures of the baby don't you? Well just hold on a second.

Willa likes the baby's room

We were putting up some finishing touches in the baby's room yesterday - well, John was putting up some finishing touches while I supervised from the comfort of our new glider rocker, when Willa comes running in with one of her favorite toys (her "baby" that she carries around). She sat on the floor contentedly playing with her toy while we worked. Isn't she just adorable!

35 Week Picture

I'm getting caught up on posting my belly pictures. Here I am at 35 weeks - my God just when I think my belly can't get any bigger it does! I'm still feeling good in general, except for this pesky pain in my neck (No not John. It's an actual pain in my neck.) This is a preexisting ailment which I think is flaring up because of all the extra weight. I go back for my weekly appointment on Monday and I'm hopeful that my doctor can refer me to someone who can help with the pain. Unfortunately all I can take is Tylenol and that doesn't do much for muscle aches. This injury has added a new level of complication to my already restricted state of movement (and sleep!).

I've been thinking

Not that this is something new, but I've been thinking about my mom a lot. I just can't help but wonder what advice she would have given me at this point; how she would feel right now on the verge of seeing her baby have a baby; what would her face look like as she held my daughter, her 20th grandchild. It's harder than I ever could have known to not have her here, particularly right now. This feeling of loss doesn't get any better or any easier. I still shake my head at least once a day because I really just can't believe she isn't here and that she won't be here when my little girl arrives.

I love you Mom and I miss you so much.

34 Week Picture

Ok, so I'm still a little behind on posting my belly pictures. With less than a month to go things are really starting to get busy. So here I am at 34 weeks. As you can see Willa is just thrilled about the baby! I went to the OB yesterday and I'm now officially on the once a week plan until I deliver. Everything still looks good. She is really active, although it's a different kind of movement now that she is getting bigger. I feel a lot of rolling, or a foot sliding across my belly. My belly changes shapes on an hourly basis! It's really just amazing to me that in a few short weeks she'll be here! There will be an actual baby in this house. For so long now it has felt like this idea just floating out there and now it's getting more real every day.

Yesterday I also met with the Birth Advisor at the hospital where I will deliver. She was very nice and put my mind at ease about a lot of things. Overall I feel well prepared for the delivery - mostly because I know I can't control what happens. It's all about managing my expectations. I'm just ready to meet our daughter!

Look at That Little Face!

So Erin went for her ultrasound last week, and we got some great pictures.

I think the first picture is the coolest, I don't know how it will translate to the web, but you can totally see her little face (in this picture it looks like shes lying on her left).

In the second picture you can see how much hair she has already. As she is floating in fluid, the hair is sticking straight up. I'm sure shes going to cost me a fortune at the salon ...just like her mother.