I'm a Mommy!

A lot has changed since my last post! Olivia Grace was definitely worth the wait! Labor pains started around 1:30am on Tuesday August 26 and Olivia arrived at 9:17am.

Childbirth was a surreal experience and Chris was an amazing and supportive husband throughout the entire process.

Olivia is a great (not to mention adorable) baby so far and we feel truly blessed to finally have her outside of my tummy!

She has blond hair, big blue eyes, and a cute little baby smile. She is already a snuggler - she must get that from me. But Christopher eats up all the snuggle time possible with her.

She had her first sponge bath yesterday, her maternal grandparents have come to visit/help, and her first pediatrician's appointment went very well.

We are off to a great start - so please continue to keep us in your prayers!

Making the most of it

Well, it's Sunday already, three days past the estimated due date, and this little lady is giving no signs that she wants to come out. That's okay though, because I'm still enjoying being pregnant. Yeah, it's annoying to need Chris' help to get up off the couch, and rolling over in bed is no easy feat - but feeling the little baby continue to move inside me is such a blessing.

Chris and I are trying to make the most of our time together (just the two of us) before she arrives. We went on a 'last date for a while' several weeks ago...and still have all this time to ourselves! Yesterday we went to a cute town in New Jersey along the Hudson River and walked around for most of the afternoon. It was nice to be able to talk, enjoy each other's company, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

So, we're doing our best to keep ourselves occupied, that way we don't spend all of our time wondering when the baby will arrive.

We have done our fair share of trying to induce labor naturally - but we've decided that my body just isn't ready, so we're not pushing it. This baby will come when God decides its time.

Although my estimated due date has come and gone, I'm not worried. I'm counting it as a blessing to have the opportunity to be pregnancy more than 40 weeks. After all, not many of my family members have had the opportunity to go into the 41st week of pregnancy! :)

The baby is moving around a lot, which the doctor says might be leading up to the impending labor...but I think it's because of all the sugar in the ice cream I've been eating! I was dilated 1 1/2 centimeters this morning at the doctor's office...although I think she just gave me the extra 1/2 to not make me feel bad about still being at a 1!

I have several options for ways to naturally make myself go into labor, but so far none of those have worked. I'm not trying them because I'm anxious to get this baby out - I'm trying them because I would rather not have to attend the scheduled induction at the hospital for Wednesday night. I would much rather it happen naturally than artificially.

Besides, feeling this baby move inside of me is an amazing experience. Last night, Chris was talking to her, then he'd kiss my belly, and she responded right away by pushing her foot out. They did that three times and it brought a huge smile to both of our faces. She's constantly moving, and constantly reminding me what a blessing it is to be pregnant. Thankfully, this has been a great pregnancy and I'm not extremely miserable waiting on her to arrive. Anxious, yes. Miserable, no.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to wait patiently. We are very excited about being parents - and can't wait to meet our little girl.

ESTIMATED Due Date

When Chris and I had our first doctor's appointment back in January and the doctor established the estimated due date, we knew it was just an estimate. We didn't get completely attached to the date, althought we knew we would be having a baby roughly around that time. Well, as of today, all of you who thought the baby would arrive before the due date are wrong! We still have 12 hours left in the day to have a baby before those of you who thought we would give birth on the due date are wrong. The only option that will be left come midnight will be to deliver after the due date.

While it is still extremely anxiety provoking for me, Chris, and all of our family members...the doctor has assured us that the baby is healthy, just not quite ready to make her entrance into the world! I went to the doctor yesterday, and I'm headed back tomorrow, just so she can keep a close eye on me.

If nothing else, the doctor plans to induce next week so that the baby doesn't get too big. This isn't the best option and we all prefer to allow me to go into labor on my own. So, please keep me, Chris, and this little baby in your thoughts and prayers as we venture into the 41st week of pregnancy! Hopefully we will have good news for everyone soon and we will be able to share her with the world. For now, she is certainly teaching her father and mother a lesson about patience!

Still no change - but no concerns

I went to the doctor today for a Fetal Non-Stress Test. She monitored the baby's heart rate, my uterine contractions, and then checked the fluid in my uterus. Everything is normal and seems exceptionally healthy. I'm still 1 cm dilated, so that hasn't changed at all.

The doctor isn't concerned about anything, but she's getting anxious too! Only God knows when this little girl will arrive, so the rest of us will just keep waiting!

Nothing has changed

Here is my picture from yesterday. 39.5 weeks pregnant

After my doctor's appointment today, she said that I am still 1 centimeter dilated. Nothing has changed since Friday. There are several appointments in store for me throughout the next week - pending I don't go into labor. So, check back for an update later in the week!

1 centimeter - but waiting patiently

When I went to the doctor on Friday, she said I have dilated 1 centimeter. While that seems exciting.....I'm still waiting patiently on the other 9! I told Chris, "if getting to one centimeter was this easy, I can only hope that getting through the other nine will be this easy too!"

Still no real contractions, no pains, no hint that a baby will be arriving soon. I think this is the cause of my anxiety lately - that I have no idea when anything will happen. Will my water break first? Will contractions start? When? Where will I be? Will Chris be with me? I just don't know - only God has the answers. So, I'm doing my best to wait patiently.

Chris on the other hand, is waiting not-so-patiently! He's anxious to see how he can help me through labor - already anticipating that he will feel hopeless. So, keep us both in your prayers as we journey into the days ahead.

No action yet...

While this baby seems to be moving around tremendously inside me, there is no evidence that I will go into labor any time soon. We'll see what the doctor has to say at tomorrow's visit, but for now I'm just relaxing and enjoying my free time off work.

Everyone seems anxious for me to give birth - including my husband. I think so many people are just ready to meet this little girl. I guess we will all just have to continue to be patient!

My body is preparing...

It seems as if pregnancy is beginning to catch up with me. So far, it's been really great and I haven't had any complications. Now that my due date is just around the corner, my body is getting very tired. I even seem to have a head-cold now, complete with a stuffy nose, sneezing, and watery eyes. I thought it was a cold at first (although I've never had one in August before) - but I'm beginning to think that my body is just getting tired of being pregnant! Any thoughts?

Two more days of work!

It feels really good to only have two more days left of work. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I would make it to the end because I thought I might go into labor before the last day arrived. Unless something happens today or tomorrow morning, it looks like I'll make it to the end!

It has been great to work here and I feel truly blessed by the opportunity I have had. I am going to miss working with the kids and communicating with my coworkers on a daily basis - but I'm leaving it all to stay at home with my new baby girl. It's nice to know that in the near future, if I would like to go back part time or even full time, my boss will welcome me back. But for now, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to stay at home with the new baby.

These two days should be pretty stress-free, as all I have to do is meet with my coworker to transfer the cases back to her. I also need to clean out my office and say goodbyes, but I'm completely caught up on paperwork and have no loose ends to tie up. It's a pretty good feeling!

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as these next two days come to a close!

Everyone has opinions...

Everyone seems to have an opinion about how soon I will be delivering this baby. Some say, "any day now" some say, "you're not big enough yet" some say, "wait until I return from vacation"....the list goes on. I was warned early in my pregnancy about people wanting to give their advice to you...but I didn't think it would go so far as to them picking when I should deliver! I guess you never know what people are going to say!

It's a start

I started this blog in hopes that I will keep it updated regularly - that way my friends and family can see/read what I have been up to. Truthfully, I haven't been too good about updating posts in the past simply because I've been a) too busy or b) too lazy. Hopefully this one will be a little bit different. I feel so far away from everyone I love (except my husband) and it's so hard to regularly email everyone. With our little girl due to arrive within the next few weeks, I'm hoping to update everyone on her progress as well. Help remind me to post regularly!