Week 40

Well, here we are at week 40 and still no sign of Ethan...sigh. I guess starting tomorrow we are officially "overdue." I honestly thought he was going to be born early so I'm surprised that we're at this point (although this is not at all uncommon with first babies so perhaps I should have adjusted my expectations awhile ago!) I'm really scared about the whole induction process since it requires more medical interventions than I had initially been planning on (again, perhaps I shouldn't have had quite so many expectations of this process since I very clearly am not in control of this situation!) but I know that my doctors are doing everything they can to help me and take excellent care of Ethan. While I wait for him to arrive, I am walking miles a day and employing every recommendation I can get my hands on to bring on the labor process.

We had our doctor's appointment this afternoon, and should Ethan decide not to attempt to greet the world on his terms he will be induced on August 3. If we get to that point I will check into the hospital on August 2 and we will have him in our arms sometime the following day. They'll start the process that evening and then wake me up really early on the third to start the Pitocin, break my water, administer an epidural, etc. The doctor indicated this is usually a pretty long day but generally within 12 hours or so the baby is born. Hopefully we won't get to this point, but I am at peace with the fact that this may be the route we have to take to meet our stubborn little guy.

Ethan's heartbeat is still strong and my belly measurements and blood pressure are both still well within the normal ranges. I gained almost 2 pounds this week (I'm packing it in here at the end evidently!) so I am now up almost 24 pounds total. This is right where I am supposed to be so hopefully that means Ethan is growing and thriving as well. If I am still pregnant next week we will go in on Tuesday for an ultrasound to ensure that everything is still functioning well and that Ethan is doing okay in there and then again on Thursday for a non-stress test (again, to ensure that Ethan is still doing well) and then we'll check into the hospital the following Monday night. Hopefully we won't need all of these appointments, but it's good to know that there is an end in sight.

We celebrated Patrick's 35th birthday this past Tuesday. While overall it was a fairly low key day, I made sure to have an ice cream cake from Cold Stone (yummy - this may be why I continue to gain weight at warp speed here at the end!) and a few surprises for Patrick to help make it a special day. We finished the day with our Tuesday night trivia at the local pizza place with our neighbors and we all had a good time. We'll have to have a big birthday celebration for Patrick next year though since this year was fairly uneventful.

Patrick with his Oreo ice cream cake - it was sooooo good!!

Patrick's birthday present from me - new running shoes (we're an exciting couple, aren't we?!)

A common sight in our house these days - I've heard that bouncing on an exercise ball can help bring on labor so I've been sitting on this thing almost exclusively while watching TV to help jump start the labor process (which Patrick thinks is hilarious!)

Caddy is scared of the exercise ball and I caught her giving it her best "look of death"

Spot loves the upstairs baby swing - I'm not really even sure how she managed to get into this one but she settled in for a nice nap here

Spot & Holly usually take turns sleeping on the changing table (this is their FAVORITE new item!) but yesterday I found them cuddled together up there

I know I'm biased, but how cute are they?!

And not to be left out, here's Rocky who is just so tired...he can't take it anymore (and yes, I brushed him when I noticed how messy his fur was in this picture!)

Here's the official word on week 40: "It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little cone-headish after birth. Rest assured - it's normal and temporary."