Baby Update: 38 Weeks

Size of Baby:  I'd say around 7 lbs now (I asked U.S. tech to guess, but she said it wasn't possible for that type of U.S., oh well) and about 19.5" long (like a leek).
Baby Movement:  Still very active late morning, late afternoon, and late evening, also off and on throughout the night.  Practicing her breathing, likes to put her hands in her mouth, gives Mama a good kick in the right ribcage periodically.
Changes in Baby:  Getting bigger every day longer that she stays in my belly.  I think she already has quite the personality....and may turn out to be a handful, haha.
Changes in Mama:  Noticing the size of the belly these days...definitely harder to roll over in bed and a pillow has to support my belly when I'm on my side or it's just way to heavy.  Constantly out of breath and anticipating when Baby drops....soon?  I hope.
Cravings:  cheesy, bacon-filled potato skins :-) water, baked potato w/butter, salt/pepper, and chives
Aversions:  Meat with weird textures
Current Symptoms:  heartburn, BH contractions, shortness of breath, slight weightloss, exhaustion painted on my face no matter how much I sleep...
Hormones:  I was about 1 second from a pregnancy outburst this past weekend when I was standing in line at a gas station to buy a water (and only a water).  I had horrible heartburn radiating up my throat and I needed the dang water to take my heartburn pill.  There were about 4 people in front of me in the line and one after the other, they all wanted to take their time picking out cigarettes and lottery tickets.  It was taking a ridiculous amount of time, and I almost screamed, "Hurry up!  Are you kidding me?!  None of you are going to win any money from those stupid lotteries and then you're just going to get lung cancer and die!!!!!!!  Get out of my way and let me pay for this flipping water!!!!!!!"  They all made it out by the skin on their teeth and they didn't even know what danger had been lurking just below the surface...... 
Nesting:  Frequent bursts of energy to clean without stopping :-)
Funny Tidbit:  Sunday night I wanted potato skins, so we went to a restuarant that had them....only to find out that the kitchen had ran out!!!  WHAAAT?!  I almost burst into tears on the spot.  Then the waitress wanted to give me a free dessert instead, I am not even a dessert person.  Zach took care of his hunny though- we got up and left since we hadn't gotten any food or anything yet.  We went to a diff restaurant and they improvised a baked potato for me.  What an ordeal!
Bad News:  My OB/GYN resigned, so now I'm in limbo trying to pick a new doc...so far I just haven't found one I really like.  Shouldn't docs who deliver babies be excited about pregnancies, not just so boring all the time.  I want a doc who is excited with me before, during, and after delivery.
Exciting News:  in the process of applying for a FHA loan...if all goes well and we're approved, we could be moving into the house by the end of Sept.  Ah! :-)
Looking Forward to...:  Meeting Holly!!!  (of course)  My last day of work: tomorrow 8/26/11.
Next Doc Appt:  Wednesday August 31, U.S. and weekly prenatal check up.

Exciting News :->

VA certification is taking forever, and it seems like the VA department isn't really giving Zach any answers and he feels like he has hit a brickwall with them.  So, we have decided to go with a FHA loan.  The only difference is that FHA requires a minimum down payment of like 3.15%, whereas VA does not require any down payment.  That's only a few thousand dollars, which is totally doable.  Yay!  We met with our mortgage lender today, and he said that once he gets all our documents, the fee for the apparaisal, and the application submitted, we could be looking at closing in 3 weeks or so.  Holy Cripes!!!  How awesome does that sound?  Pretty flipping awesome, I'd say!  So maybe late Septmember we could actually be in our own home...our first house as a family :-) 

The Time is NOT now :-/

False alarm.  Still only 1 cm dilated.  I was so excited and then wam!  Got knocked off my happy horse when the doctor told me, "Not today..."  Well when?!  Okay, I know I'm just getting over-excited because I've already waited 8 months, and I've never been pregnant before so I don't know exactly what true labor will feel like.  One of my favorite nurses encouraged me that when labor starts for real, I will know.  I jsut wish my water would break at the start of labor so I will know for sure that it's game time.  The nurse pin pointed my personality when she said, "You like to be in control, right?  Not having any control over when you go into labor can be frustrating.  Hang in there, your little baby is just waiting for the right moment."  I wanted to hug her, like I said, she's my favorite nurse.  I wish she could be my OB/GYN...
On another note, I think this will be my last week at work.  My head and heart are no longer coming to work with me.  My head is flying somewhere in the clouds dreaming of babies and pink outfits, while my heart is staying home with my husband because I miss him so.  I want to spend some quality time with him before two becomes three; he's such a wonderful man and he deserves more than a few words here and there in passing (or sleeping since our schedules are so opposite).  I'm not sure how my boss will like the news, but I think it's best for our family.  Plus, I need some time to rest before our world is turned upside down.  Real rest and relaxation, not just sitting at a desk all day.  That's boring, not restful or relaxing.  Here's to going on maternity leave.... :-) 

Could it Be?

   I stayed home from work yesterday because I woke up having some pretty regular contractions, which seemed to get more consistent as the day went on, but then they faded out.  False alarm.  Today, on the other hand, I came to work because I'd like to get paid rather than sitting home and playing the waiting game.  Shortly after I got to work, my contractions started again....
   After a while, I called the doctor's office and the nurse advised me to time them for a couple hours and then report back to her.  I was able to time for about an hour, and they were coming about every 5 minutes or so for about 1-2 minutes each.  The only thing is that they aren't very intense or getting stronger.  That was until I got up and walked around in the back for a while.  As soon as I was up and moving, the intensity seemed to increase quite rapidly.  I reported back to the nurse and she said it sounds like it could be true labor.  As long as my water doesn't break, I'm planning on going in late afternoon for a quick check-up with the doctor.  We shall see...is Baby H ready to make her grand entrance??

Ice Ice Baby

   I know it's so bad for your teeth, but I LOVE eating ice these days.  In the last couple months I guess you could say I've been craving ice, but I wouldn't necessarily consider it a food craving.  It's weird, but I now know which restaurants have the best ice cubes.  The winner is A&W :-)  It's like little rods of ice that have been broken into smaller bits.  Also it's not so hard as normal ice cubes, so...maybe not so hard on my teeth?

Last GB Weekly Visit

    During the ultrasound today, they not only did the usual measuring the deepest pocket, but they also took  a measurement of  baby's size.  Right now, at 37 weeks Holly weighs in at 6 lbs 7 oz.  Wow!  And we still have 3 weeks to go for her to keep packing on that cute, chubby baby fat.  I thought it was exciting news!
    My only complaint about this visit was the ultrasound technician.  I've liked all the rest, but this one wasn't my favorite.  At one point, I guess she wanted Baby to change positions because the tech started shaking my belly using the wand.  I wanted to be like, "Hello!  That doesn't feel the greatest, and I don't really care for you shaking my baby.  That belly happens to be attached to my body!"  And then, even though Baby wasn't moving as much as usual, the tech still couldn't get any good pictures.  Last week the tech got about 6-10 great pictures while Baby was moving all over the place in there.  Thankfully I won't have to see this tech again :-)
   On a side note, I was a little nervous driving to Greenbay today by myself.  I couldn't help but wondering what I would do if I went into labor during the drive or even at the wrong hospital...not to mention, my husband was an hour away.  I kept wondering that if my water broke would the doctors and nurses let me drive myself back to Oshkosh.....  Don't know.  Thankfully I made it back to town without any complications :-)  Except excessive traffic on 41S.

Are you serious?!

  I just got a call from Aurora saying that my current OB/GYN Dr. Katie Murphy is resigning as of this Friday and I needed to reschedule my appointments with a different doctor.  Whaaaaat?!  I'm a pretty calm individual, but this kind of freaked me out just a little bit....First of all, I have 3/4 weeks left in my pregnancy.  Second of all, I liked my doctor.  Third of all, just grrrrrr!  Why now?  Why not months ago when it didn't matter so much?  Well I picked Dr. Sheila Anderson to be my new doctor.  If she doesn't fit well with us, then I will probably switch back to Dr. Holly since he has seen me a few times already.  I just prefer a woman doctor; always have, always will.  I just have to remind myself that, "All things work together for the good of those who love God and keep His commandments."