Olive Update

 The Little Miss seems to be pretty cozy in this big belly of mine!

Hans and I have been so honored by the flood of text messages and emails that we get on a daily basis from people who are on baby watch and checking to see how we are doing that I decided I should probably give everyone more of an update than just "no baby yet."  Trust me, at this point I REALLY wish that I had something to report because each day is feeling like an eternity at this point!

Full term is considered any time between 38 and 40 weeks however statistically something like 40% of first time moms go well into their 10th month and deliver at 41 weeks or later. Dear God, please don't let that be us!!!  We will official hit our due date on Tuesday August 20th but also statistically, only 5% of babies are born on their actual due date. Sigh.....

Although we are dying to get this show on the road, we need her to stay put for just a few more days. Our Midwife is out of town in San Francisco for a conference until Sunday and after spending almost a year of meeting with her, we would really like her to be the one to deliver Olive rather than a complete stranger. That was the whole reason we went with a midwife in the first place. She did have a few incredibly wise words of advice for us on Monday before she left though. The very first thing out of her mouth when walking in was "Ok...I need you to keep your legs crossed, no sex, and drink lots of wine this week to keep that baby from going anywhere."  Um....OK! I can honestly say I think that is the first time I have ever had the doc tell me that before. However, doesn't wine usually lead to the other things??? Ha ha...Joke!  Now before anyone goes and freaks out about the wine consumption, she wasn't talking about downing a bottle a day or anything. She was talking about a half a glass here and there throughout the week. Apparently alcohol slows down the labor process and at this point we are out of the woods for fetal alcohol syndrome.  She informed us that up until the 70's doctors used to give alcohol through IV's to pre term mothers to slow their labor. That however caused a few cases of FAS and they decided it probably wasn't such a good idea after all. Hmm, you learn something new everyday I guess.  In any case, you don't have to tell me twice about kicking back for a taste or two of wine!

How am I feeling physically you ask?  All I can say is every day is something different. One day I will feel great or as great as a woman can for being this far along and the next I will be so wiped out that it is hard to do much of anything. I have on and off contractions and back aches and there have been a few nights where I thought tonight is the night for sure but I go to sleep and wake up to nothing. Some nights I have been sleeping soundly and others I have been up every hour to use the bathroom, rearrange the fortress of pillows around me, or stare at the ceiling. Well that is a lie. Anyone who follows me on Pinterest knows I have been pinning like a fool and I can blame that on the nights of no sleeping. I am desperately waiting for the day when I am back to my normal body and I can reward myself with some new clothes. I honestly plan on burning every single piece of maternity clothing I own! I am full speed ahead in the nesting department as well. My amazing mother in law Terry came over and helped me paint the dining room the other day. It's amazing how a coat or two of paint can transform an entire room, Even Hans said "this room does feel so much more relaxed." That is a pretty big deal because that man could care less about paint! I also literally scrubbed the dining room and kitchen floors five times the other night and I am feeling overwhelmed by the hundreds of other things I would like to get done before she gets here. I have been so obsessed that it will bring me to tears at times but I know that it will never be enough so I am forcing myself to try to relax or ignore it. Taking a long walk with Hans and the dogs tends to be the best way to help get it off my mind as well as wear the dogs out. They have been a little neglected with me not feeling up to par lately and have not been getting even half of the exercise they should be getting. Good news is that as SOON as Olive gets here we will be out hitting the pavement or in our case gravel every single day at least once a day. Did I mention I can't wait to get this baby weight off???  My plan is to exhaust everyone in the family so we have no choice but to sleep well at night. Wishful thinking right? Overall though I really can not complain about how I am feeling and I am grateful for that. I have not had any of the really bad pregnancy symptoms you hear about, my weight has stayed pretty much under control, and I haven't swollen to the size of a blimp...yet.

So for now all we can do is sit back (with my legs crossed of course) and wait until she decides it's time to come join us which hopefully will be any day after Sunday. The countdown is on!

For anyone interested in a more details about what is going on with momma and baby at 39 weeks, you can check out this link from The Bump.com  http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy-week-by-week/39-weeks-pregnant.aspx?MsdVisit=1   It has been a cute way to update our family each week on her progress plus we get a good giggle at the different fruits and vegetables she has been compared to. This week she's a watermelon and believe me, it looks like I have swallowed one!