I am 37 weeks along now! That means that most of the developing of our little one is complete, and if I went into labor anytime from now on, the docs wouldn't be worried.
Speaking of going into labor, I have been having contractions off and on for the past 2-3 weeks. According to my OB visit this past Thursday, I am in the "latent" or slow part of labor at this point. Normally they don't examine patients for dilation at 36 weeks, but I mentioned that I'd been having contractions and I'd like to be checked. I honestly felt that I was about 3 centimeters dilated, but I had no way of knowing. I had told this to Steven on Wednesday, and Thursday morning my feeling was confirmed. The OB checked me, and she said "Wow, you're a
good three centimeters dilated and 50 percent effaced." Of course, I wasn't surprised! I told her that I knew I was dilated that much and was glad to have confirmation! She said, "Well, I always trust a mom's instinct. And I'd offer to have you come back this afternoon to see if you've progressed, but you look very comfortable, so we'll just see you in a week and you come on to the hospital if you go into active labor between now and then. But, honestly, I'd pack your bags now." YAY! Of course, I could walk around for 3 more weeks dilated this much before going into active labor, but it is also just as likely that I could go into labor "any day now". That's pretty exciting to me! We'll see when God wants this little girl to come. So, don't forget to
guess when you think she'll arrive! We'll end the opportunity for guessing on Wednesday, September 23rd, so make a comment here if you want me to add your guess to the list! The person who has the closest guess to Baby Girl Mauney's actual due date will win a prize!
Last week, I mentioned that we were
almost ready for our little one to arrive, but we still had some errands to run. Well, yesterday we took our big "baby" trip to Sam's Club and Babies R Us. We met my parents at Sam's and they walked around with Isaac while Steven and I stocked up on all our toiletries/paper products/diapers for the next couple months. Since we got large packages of big items (like paper towels, toilet paper, diapers), our buggy was piled super-high! I pushed it around until I couldn't push any more, and then Steven took over. We had a great time walking around the store (
and, for me, knowing I wouldn't have to worry about running out of these items any time soon!) After that, we went to Babies R Us to pick up some last minute things we needed for the little one. Isaac had lots of fun being pushed around there and pointing out all the clothes and saying his little sister's name. He knows she's coming soon! Here's a picture of Isaac and me at Babies R Us, taken with Steven's iPhone:
Speaking of her name, you may have noticed that I've not mentioned the name we've chosen for our little girl. If you've talked with me in person, I've most likely shared it with you, but I've kept it a secret from the blogosphere (at least here.) If you're a blog reader but we don't talk in person, you'll have the pleasure of being surprised by her name, which we'll unveil here once she arrives.
Back to the pregnancy: I'm feeling about like I did last week. I'm moving around well and still trying to walk and stay active (which isn't hard since I'm still feeling a pretty strong need to "nest".) I am having more trouble lifting heavy things, which I'm really not supposed to do. However, I do have a 27 pound little boy who does need to be lifted out of his crib and the car a couple times a day. Can't exactly stop that! So, when Steven is home, he immediately takes over any Isaac-lifting, and we're all good!
My goal this week is to make sure that we're stocked up on kitchen staples and easy-to-cook meals. Also, I'm planning to try and clean/wash a little each day so that whenever she does arrive, my house is
hopefully clean and we don't have piles of laundry. I know that our little one is in God's hands and she'll come in His timing, but my prayer is that she'll make it to at least 38 weeks (next weekend) and even more if possible. The more she can develop in the womb, the better! Please join me in praying for us during this very special time!
And thanks so much to those who are already lifting us up!
