Sweep Sweep Sweep

What is that? Do you hear that?? It is silence. Or least the silence of no baby crying (yet), no diapers to change (yet) and no OMG I am SO excited to tell my birth story (yet)... SIGH. I am STILL STILL STILL very pregnant BUT we had positive news today at the appointment. 2-3 CM, VERY soft, her head is engaged, and I am 75% effaced. I am so FLIPPIN' excited I could do a little dance. The midwife swept my membranes so we shall see how that goes. I am taking the rest of the day off so I can go for a long old hot, rainy walk and maybe get some minor last minute things done. VERY EXCITING PEOPLE!!! Weeee...

I know this could mean nothing but it is better then last week. I told Kevin he HAD to hold my hand (which he did and did not flinch at all!) after last week's check. I had tears when she checked last week because the exam was SO painful. This week it was barely anything and the sweeping of the membranes - well someone told me it was quite painful but for me it was not, I felt a little ouch-y (for lack of better term) but nothing like last week SO yeah yeah yeah!

So that's out of the way. I thought I would share with everyone what my most awesome boss got for our little family. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! We were over at a friend's house and I was looking at all of the professional photos that were done. I thought to myself "self, the last time you took M to get photos done was when he was 18 months old and you did not even ORDER any because you were too cheap and you were in them and you felt like you looked like crap, WOE IS YOU."

Then I went home and looked at the photos we had out - sadly VERY VERY few and the ones that are out are horribly outdated. M is THREE now and most of the photos in frames at from when he was UNDER the age of two. Now we have taken several hundred photos between two and three but I just have not printed any that stood out and framed them. Also, HOW LAZY AM I??!!

SO I emailed a lady who was recommended to me and she responded immediately but I have been on this whole non communication jag suddenly (seems to be the thing to do for me at the end of a pregnancy...) and I have yet to write the poor photography woman back.

In the mean time I mentioned to my boss how we have not done any professional photos of M since he was 18 months old AND the new baby was coming and now I had to think about photos for two... OH GAWD WOE IS REALLY ME. Two days later she gathered K and I up and said 'I have a surprise for you.' AND she did.

She bought us a package photo deal with her brother in law who is an exceptional photographer. In fact I have wanted to have him do photos of M for three years but her brother in law is not only very good but VERY expensive. She bought his package called Baby's First Year! We will be able to get photos done at 3, 6, 9, & 12 months plus two additional photo sessions which we can do anything we want (family portrait, baby's first weeks, Mommy/baby session, etc...) After the first year, the brother in law puts together a framed photo of all four pictures so you can see how much changes during that year!!! I about died with excitement!

I may still go to the other woman for a set of three-ish pictures for Matthew and just use this gift for Pancake. Just another thing to look forward to once Miss Pancake makes her appearance (any day now little girl!!)

Engaging

Nothing new to report. I am tired like no other at the moment from lack of sleep, I am feeling worse today then I did yesterday in terms of this head cold and the baby is still the same - that is inside of me ;) We are still at 1 cm, slightly more then 50% effaced and "soft" (which UMMM TMI, I know...) The only difference between this stage with M: I was not "soft" and I never did become soft as the term goes... And Pancake's head is more engaged but not fully engaged - M never ever dropped down to be engaged. However, he is an engaging child, or at least I think so BUT I digress. I am tired and feeling random. I will take a photo of me in my 38th week of pregnancy today and post it shortly.

Liz suggested trying something like Ambien tonight to get a good night of sleep and that is now on the agenda. Make dinner, get M ready for bed, pop a pill, SLEEP. And really underneath being tired I am still excited and enjoying pregnancy, just so you do not think I was making that shit up yesterday! I just wish I could breath and sleep - you know vital components to being a human being!

Do you now what I am getting "tired" of? Gloom and doom on the radio and TV about our economy. I know the economy is tanking as evidenced by massive losses to our retirement and investment accounts. Even with the losses we are even for the most part. I cannot imagine what folks who are not in this position must be feeling both in the saving area and the simple things like gas and food. My mom is one of them and it sucks...

Also, the presidential election. Haven't we elected someone new already??? I feel like we have but OMG we still have not?!?! Please make my pregnancy brain last through November, please (see also skipping the memory of turning 35 in November as well!!!)

In other "news", we have made some minor progress in getting stuff done around the house. We bought this console table (which to me is a sofa table but holy shit how out is that to say?) and it will arrive shortly.

My lovely boss took a photo by Randall Shedd I bought at the 4th Street Art Festival in for me to be framed and so it is finally hanging on our wall and I am in LOVE!

I found a place for some of the displaced photos from the old entertainment center and I AM happy about where they ended up (in the basement on top of the cupboards if you are curious.)

We hung one shelf in the family room and there are some photos up there.

I finished the horrible scrap book I started about a year ago and I wrote thank you notes at long last to everyone both for M's birthday gifts (it was family so I figured they would forgive a tardy thank you note) and the baby shower my lovely co workers threw for me two months ago. Better late then never, right!?

TO DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK:
Find shelves for Pancake's room
Clean the basement including the bathroom
Do laundry including sheets
Clean windows in the basement (with my new window cleaning rag that TOTALLY ROCKS!)
Hang pictures in the basement
Go for long hilly walks
Drink Raspberry leaf tea until it is coming out of my ears
Have a baby

My Little Fashion Critic

Conversation I had with my three year old before I left for work yesterday morning.

M: Mommy I love those green shoes...
Me: Why thank you Matthew.
M: They match your shirt PERFECTLY.
ME: bahahahahaha (Kevin in the background also laughing and at the same time looking slightly perplexed.)

M seems to be feeling better. He slept through the night and has a tiny cough but otherwise he seems to be at the end of the cold. Me, not so much BUT I am keeping a positive attitude. I figure being sick with a minor cold is about the least of my worries at this point!

Mostly today I decided to turn my bad 'tude around and enjoy the last days of pregnancy because THEY ARE MY LAST DAYS OF PREGNANCY, dudettes!!! I am amazed by this. Week 38 or TWELVE days till touch down! I love it. I love that for most of the time since wee Pancake has dropped she keeps her heel (or what I assume is a heel and until the midwife tells me differently I will continue to assume HEEL) firmly planted in the front of my belly down low so you can feel and see the shape of it. I cannot wait to see and meet that heel which I rub all the time (and it makes her move - maybe she is ticklish like her big brother!!!)

I stopped having contractions for a couple of days and Pancake's movements have slowed a bit which kind of freaked me out last evening as I thought about it but then the contractions started back up not five minutes after I mentioned this to Kevin and I have been having some here and there since then.

Sick or not, I am SO ready to meet this wee little tot, to snuggle her face and check out those fingers and toes. To find out her hair color - will it be red like M's or something new? To dress her in some of that cute clothing we have been hording away for months now and have her home tightly wrapped like a little burrito, to lay her on the floor and let the dogs sniffle her face, getting to know her, like they did with Matthew, to see M's reaction to Pancake and see them grow and become siblings over the coming years. To find out how life will change and get used to four (six?!) instead of three in the house.

I realized last evening as I grunted and groaned to get off the couch that I am VERY excited to meet this baby far beyond any amount of complaining I can do here or anywhere for that matter. I feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel even if it is a "late" light, I know it is there, finally and I am terribly excited about that!

Now if I could just regulate my body temperature, life would be groovy!!! I have the 38 week appointment with Liz tomorrow at 8:30a so look for possible updates tomorrow some time!!!