Happy Due Date To Me!

Today is the day...40 weeks of pregnancy...the big due date.

I went for another check up this morning; I am 3 cm dilated (cervix opening) and 70% effaced (cervix thinning). I am pretty excited about the progress since Tuesday, however I am still not having any contractions to speak of. Little "twinges" here and there, but nothing to indicate actual labor at this point. We will just keep waiting!

Many of you have asked for pics of my belly, so here you go...This is me at 40 weeks!

I am hopeful that things will kick into gear very soon...My doctor is on call tonight and Sunday night, so that would certainly be convenient! The sooner the better so we can send Daddy to represent at the Baylor game on Thursday :)

Happy Brithday Matelyn!

Our dear friends Matt and Ginny had their precious baby girl last night! Matelyn Kate was born at 11:31 pm :) Matelyn is Caroline's future BFF, so we are so thrilled that she is finally here!!! It has been such a blessing to share our pregnancies together, I can't wait to raise our girls together, too. Congratulations, Matt and Ginny!

Baby/Football Watch

I think that it should be noted that if Caroline is born on Thursday the 28th there is a "small" chance that I will have to miss the first Baylor game against Wake Forest. Therefore we need a lot of praying that she comes on time or atleast before Wednesday the 27th. Do you think they will wheel a tv into the delivery room?

Thanks
Jon

Baby Watch

I went to the dr. again this morning. I am now dilated to 1.5 cm and 60% effaced. So we have made a tiny little bit of progress since Thursday :) We now have a plan of action...I go back on Friday (my offical due date) for another ultrasound and a non-stress test. If there are any concerns, they'll go ahead and induce me. Otherwise, we'll wait until next week...Thursday, Aug. 28th to induce. That means that Caroline will be arriving on the 28th at the very latest and it's so great to have a definite end in sight. Maybe I will go into labor on my own sometime before next Thursday...that would be even better!!!!

Caroline Update :)

I will officially be 39 weeks tomorrow, which is hard to believe!!! I went for my weekly check up today, and there has been no real change. Dilated to 1 cm and 40% effaced. The most important thing is that she is still head down :) So, we just continue to wait...I go back on Tuesday morning for my next appt! Waiting is so hard...I just want to meet her and hold her!

On a completely different note....I LOVE the Olympics. I think I have developed a bit of an obsession/addiction. I have been staying up way too late watching every night, but I just can't help it!

Books, Books, Books...

Since the school year ended back in June, I have been catching up on my reading. Here are some of the book I have read recently...

I have tried to alternate back and forth between light and fun, heavy and serious, and the ever-exciting baby how-to's.

So good. It's a memoir and it definitely reminded me that you never know where someone has come from or what they have been through.

Amazing...This is one of the best books I have ever read. I STRONGLY recommend it! As soon as I finished reaading it, I wanted to start over and read it again! Jon has been teasing me a little because I haven't stopped talking about it since.

I love James Patterson. His books are such quick and easy reads. I am especially fond of this series...The Women's Murder Club (1st to Die, 2nd Chance, etc, etc). The 7th one is out now...I need to pick it up!


My mom gave me this one for Christmas, and I have to be honest, I was not really all that interested in it. I had never heard of it and didn't think much of it. Well, I was mistaken!!!! I read the whole book in one day. It's very interesting, especially for those of you who are familiar with Autism Spectrum Disorders. It's written from the perspective a 15-year-old boy with Autism and it's really fascinating.

Gotta love Nicholas Sparks! His books are always such great mix of sappy love story and tearjerker tragedy. This is another good one from him.

There are so many books out there dedicated to baby and their sleeping/eating habits. Of course everyone has opinions and advice regarding the subject! Here are the ones I have read so far...I'll keep all my opinions to myself until I can speak from expereince!!!! :)

Heard lots of great things about this one from friends! Jon has been practicing his swaddling skills and he is already quite an accomplished swaddler :)

This is from the authors who brought us Baby Bargains, which I found quite helpful as a reference during the shopping/registering phase. Hopefully this will be a good reference, too!

This one is so controversial...I couldn't resist. It seems everyone has an opinion about Babywise. Some good, some bad.

Like I said, I'll save my opinions until I can speak from experience. I figure every baby is different and every set of parents is different, so there can't be a one size fits all method to this whole parenting thing ;)

Yum!

Jon and I enjoyed the Ice Cream Festival and even Luci got in on the fun! Check out her dog bone shaped ice cream treat...

What a good girl...she waited until Daddy gave the go ahead...

Then she dominated it...Yum!

I Scream, You Scream...

One of the many reasons I love this city...there is a festival for EVERYTHING! Including this festival, which was obviously designed for those of us who are 9 months pregnant in the sweltering heat of August in Texas...

This is seriously like a dream come true...Count me in!

Nursery Pics

Here are the pictures of Caroline's nursery that I promised. Since we are temporarily renting, we opted not to paint the walls, and unfortunately they are still white...i am not a fan of white walls! But that's ok. As soon as we move into our more permanant house, I can paint to my little heart's content :)

The only thing missing is Baby Caroline herself! It won't be long!

Side note...I had my weekly dr. appt. yesterday. I am still dialted to 1 cm (same as last week), but my cervix has thinned out a little bit more. At least things are progessing, slowly but surely :)

They call her Flipper, Flipper...

YEA! We had our version appointment this morning and Caroline cooperated just beautifully. The doctor was able to flip her successfully (and quickly). It was very painful, but well worth it. Now she is officially head down and ready to go. So now all we have to do is wait for her to arrive! Thank you for all your prayers and support...we are truly, truly blessed :)