Full Term!

Well, I know it's crazy to believe, but I am full-term! That means, Clara could come any day! It also means that if she doesn't come until her due date (or later... yikes!), it is going to be a very LONG three weeks! 

We feel generally ready for her to get here. She has a cute car seat ready for her, a stroller, a bed to sleep in, far too many adorable clothes to wear, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, and just about anything you can think of that a baby needs. 

False Alarm

At my last doctor's appointment on Tuesday, the doctor said not to get antsy, because 3 out of 4 girls go past their due date with their first baby. (Probably not what any new mom wants to hear, but probably good to hear anyway). Anyway, so I was fine "not getting antsy" until later that evening I started having contractions, three minutes apart, for about three hours! My doctor had told me that it is time to go to the hospital if contractions are five minutes apart and I can't really talk through them. Well, I could talk through them (they hurt enough that I couldn't sleep through them, but were definitely bearable), but they were three minutes apart. We didn't really know what to do. Finally, after doing everything we could to try to get them to stop we decided to go to the hospital just to make sure I wasn't in real labor. We knew there was a pretty good chance we'd get sent home, but we also thought "what if it IS real?" and "maybe I just have a really high pain tolerance" or "maybe I'm like grandma Davis, and all I'll have is a little backache and then I'll be dilated to a ten!" and "why are these contractions so consistent?" etc. 

So we packed our bags and headed to the hospital at about 2 AM. When we got there the nurse put some bands on my belly to measure the heartbeat and contractions and did a little check-up. She said I was dilated to a 2 1/2 and 90% effaced which is apparently "really good for a first timer." She said we could stay for an hour and then she'd check me again and if anything had changed, we could stay and have a baby. If not, we were free to go! Basically as soon as I got situated in the hospital bed, the contractions started slowing down and not hurting as bad, so I was pretty sure we'd be going home. Sure enough, she came back and nothing had changed. She seemed pretty hopeful that we'd be back sooner rather than later, and that I wouldn't make it to my due date, but who knows! She also said that once things get going, I should have a fast and easy labor. Don't know how true that will be, but it's good news to hear anyway! We finally got home and were able to fall asleep at about 4 AM. I wasn't even really that disappointed, because it was a fun little adventure, and good practice for when the real thing is actually happening!

Fun Facts

I can't wear my wedding ring anymore. :-( I thought I might make it to the end, but my fingers have started to swell a little bit in the past week or so. 

I wake up at least every two hours in the night to use the bathroom. I guess this is good practice for when baby comes. 

I have Braxton Hicks (painless) all the time. Occasionally I'll have the ones that feel like really annoying menstrual cramps. 

Sam and I officially "graduated" from our Lamaze/Childbirth class. It was pretty fun, and we feel really informed and ready after having taken the class. 

I've had a baby shower to go to for 6 weeks in a row (only one of them was for me), so apparently having a baby is the thing to do right now! I'm excited for all of my friends that are on the same road as me!

My hospital bag is packed! 

Clara weighs at least 6 1/2 pounds by now

Next Doctor's appointment: Monday

Days I think would be fun for her to come on: June 10 (my Dad's birthday), June 16 (Father's Day), June 21 (longest day of the year), or I guess any day that she comes will become the best day in June! 

Finally a picture: 

37 weeks

photo by Jeehee

photo by Jeehee

Hopefully my next post will be to announce baby Clara's arrival! :-)