Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Week 38 (and a half)

11 days until my due date!  I am so ready to be done being pregnant, to be a mom, and to have my body be my own again.  I know I'm certainly not the first woman to experience the pains and discomforts present in the last couple weeks of pregnancy, and I do wish someone had warned me about just how ready I'm going to be to give birth.  The waiting game is tough, and it is complicated by a delivery taking place over the holidays, and family and friends who are traveling from long distances for the occasion.  Plus, if our baby decides to come late, Eric will be back in school, and I'd really rather have him around full-time that first week.

I'm doing a LOT of walking, water aerobics, etc. to try and get this process moving, but as of my appt. yesterday, I hadn't made any progress and was still only 1 cm dilated.  If anyone has any brilliant tips for inducing labor naturally, please let me know!

In other news, today is my last day of work (likely for quite awhile) and that is a strange feeling.  I'm glad to have some restful, relaxing days at home before giving birth.  I just hope I can find plenty to do to distract myself from wondering when this birth will happen!

Thanks to all our family and friends who are praying for us.  We're eager to see many of you over the holiday season, and hopefully we'll have a new addition to the family for you to meet.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Weekend in Chicago

Sarah and I went to Chicago for the weekend for some pre-baby fun. It was indeed a lot of fun, not as cold as last time, and despite some worrying from those near and dear to us, we made it home, safe and sound.

Being December and all, Chicago was abuzz with the Christmas rush, and the streets were filled with out-of-towners who drove miles to fight traffic and pay high prices at fancy stores.  Gangs of jolly santas also roamed the streets for some reason, confusing lots of little kids. Even the L was outfitted with Christmas decorations:



Sadly, Santa did not slow down the train to pick us up.

On Friday, after visiting Ikea and reconnoitering the location of our downtown hotel, we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which was delicious. They make a mean cheesecake.

We spent most of Saturday at the Brookfield Zoo, unlike 99.9% of the rest of city. You see, the zoo is not very popular when it is December and the temperature is below freezing. Fortunately, this made for some pretty good zoo-age. With no crowds to interfere, we had more opportunities to commune with the animals. Plus, the cold weather was negated by the fact that the animal houses were kept toasty warm. Highlights of the zoo included the monkeys and gorillas:



and the dolphin show:



Sunday we took in the Museum of Science and Industry, which was also in the Christmas spirit, and featured Christmas trees from around the world. Despite the excitement of the big Star Wars exhibit that others may have been interested in, we stuck to the main exhibits like the coal mine, U-505 submarine (now 100% more underground!) and Jollyball.

After the museum, we grabbed pizza at Gino's East, saw the Second City (not as good as last time), and headed home. It was a great trip, and probably our last as just the two of us for quite a while. Still, I'm looking forward to trips as the three of us, when it will be even more fun.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Week 37

I'm officially full term!  A few days ago at my (now weekly) doctor's appointments, I was dilated to 1 cm.  Now, this means very little in terms of timing, because my doctor said she's seen women who aren't at all dilated deliver less than 48 hours later and others be dilated to 4 cm for almost a month!  Still, it's a sign that my body is preparing a way to get this baby out eventually.

Eric and I are headed to Chicago in just a few hours for the weekend.  We're hoping to enjoy one last getaway weekend while we're still childless.  It should be fun, and we've got a few things planned, but mostly we're just looking to relax!  The grandmothers-to-be are a little worried that I'll go into labor on this trip, but even if that were to happen, Chicago has wonderful hospitals. ;-)

As soon as we get back, Eric said he's going to be putting a plan into action to get the kiddo to come early - he really wants to have as much time as possible before going back to school in January, but who knows if she'll cooperate.  We'll have to wait and see...