36: Latin for "Now's the time to FREAK OUT."

Editors Note:  As I sit here finally adding pictures to this post, I am actually now one day away from being 38 weeks.  Timeliness is obviously not my strong suit.

I could not tell you how the heck we got to this point but somehow we did.  What is this point?  Ohhh, you know... the one where I am (most likely) within 4 weeks of giving birth to a tiny little human.  The point where I am frantically looking around our house and wondering if we are even kind of ready for this ginormous undertaking. The point where I am really cursing the fact that I can't have a glass of wine to calm my frazzled nerves.

Last post I said we didn't get much done and that I hoped next time we talked I blogged that I'd have more to share.  Be careful what you wish for because we accomplished a lot in the last few weeks.  Go ahead and get yourself a snack or a beverage because this one is going to be long.

Where do I even start?  Let me think.  First, we've managed to procure a few pretty crucial items.  Namely, we ordered and picked up our glider and my new "mama purse" (laymen's terms: diaper bag). I am very enthralled with both.  I may or may not have practiced rocking said purse in said chair.  That's not weird though, is it?

This chair will likely bring new meaning to the term "rocking all night".  (Do you see what I did there?!)

Mama's got a brand new bag.  (Also, upon reviewing these iPhone screenshots, it seems I have a problem with keeping my phone fully charged.   Cool.)

What else?  Let's see.  Ryan and I made it to an infant CPR class on February 5th.  While I pray we never have cause to use it, I am so thankful that we went.  This was the shortest of the classes we have been to.  However that did not stop Ryan from making more priceless commentary.  Most notable during this class was requesting to have the life-size maternity picture on the wall of some randoms replaced with one of us.  Request was not accepted for those desparately wondering.

Since we were never able to make a prepared childbirth class work with Ryan's crazy shift schedule, I instead opted to buy a well-reviewed DVD off of Amazon.  Just check this cover out and tell me these aren't the people you want teaching you about the process of labor?  The she-mullet, amongst other 80s hair-dos, was nearly as prevalent as the term "birth" in this video.  Once you got past that and the fact that they kept saying "sonometers" instead of "centimeters," I would say the video was very informative and helpful.  If you ever find yourself in need of such a video, please let me know.  I'm sure I could manage to pry it out of Ryan's loving grip long enough for you to watch it, if you so choose.

Making childbirth look good.  (I also have no idea why her eyes are closed.  I think perhaps multiple takes of the photo weren't in the budget).

In terms of the nursery... we have come a loooooong way my friends.  First, Ryan and Brendan used their brute strength to successfully navigate the dresser and hutch upstairs and into baby girl's room.  I was very impressed and they promptly rewarded their efforts with fast food, golf and beer.  Thank you, men.  Next, my dear Mamacita started tackling the daunting task of sewing her bedding and curtains.  As of the time of my writing this she has finished the crib skirt and the curtains.  Both of which look amazing.  Lastly, I finished (with assistance from Ryan) the letters for little miss' room.  I would love to show you pictures of all of these things buuuuuut I am going to wait until her room is finished.  After all, who would have been impressed with the Sistine Chapel halfway through?  I'll also try to share some stories of our trials and tribulations in that post.  For now let's suffice it to say that while it may not be perfect, my little ladybug's room has been sufficiently infused with love, laughter and lots of familial bonding.

Photographic evidence that both her Grandma AND Grandpa had a hand in this project.  Per Daddio there's very little difference between engineering an offshore platform and engineering a curtain panel.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I finally got to move the well-organized piles from her floor into her dresser and closet.  I still don't regret laying on the ground eating those M&Ms in a state of panic though.

Let me see... What else?  We finally got our carseat bases installed in our respective vehicles.  For having 5 pages of instructions, it wasn't quite as difficult as I thought it would be.  AND I packed our hospital bag.  Yes, I did have to argue with Ryan about the propriety of wearing a Ninja Turtles shirt during the birth of his daughter.  It's refreshing to know that some things never change, isn't it?

You'll be pleased to know that yes, I have indeed been driving around the city of Houston with that Beanie Baby buckled in for the last week.  Practice makes perfect guys.

Our 34 week doctor's appointment went well.  Sweet pea's heartbeat was at 153 which is higher than it has been but still within perfectly normal range.  Perhaps I fed her a little bit too much hot chocolate immediately before.  Per Dr. P everything was still measuring right on track.

Our 36 week appointment was the exciting one.  We got to see our little lady bug for the last time before meeting her face to face!  Pre-ultrasound Ryan and I both guessed that our little nugget would weigh between 6 and 6 1/2 pounds based on the weekly updates I keep receiving from Baby Center.  Well, that and the fact that the Dr keeps saying my belly is measuring average.  So you can imagine our surprise when we were informed that she weighed 7 pounds and 9 oz.  Also of note, our ultrasound tech had to measure her head twice because the first time she thought it seemed too large.  M-A-R-T-I-N.  Other than that, she looks healthy, her head is down and things seem to be moving along as expected.  Good news = happy mama. 

Baby Girl was being a little bit uncooperative.  Hey, somedays you just aren't ready for a close up.  This was the best profile shot we got.

At my 37 week appointment I was nervous because she hadn't been moving around much, so they did an extra ultrasound just to make sure she was okay in there.  Of course at that point she decided to demonstrate all of her gymnastic abilities in order to make her mother look like a total paranoid drama queen.  Fortunately, she is just fine in there and as a bonus I got a better profile shot of our little princess.

I seriously love her little feet already.  I look at this picture more often than I care to admit.

Last, but certainly not least (in terms of poundage that is), here are a few pics of the big ol' belly over the past few weeks.

33 weeks.

34 weeks.  Please note that shirts are really starting to toe the line between fully covering where the pant material and belly panel material meet.  I pray they continue to keep it together a few more weeks.

35 weeks.  Why do so many maternity tops feature horizontal stripes?  It seems kind of cruel, doesn't it?

36 weeks.  I fear that if I go past term, I'll no longer be able to fit sideways in this bathroom to take pictures.

Depending on how everything goes over the next few weeks, I may post another update.  It probably largely hinges on how depressing I find the belly pictures for weeks 37-40.  ;c)  Thank you all, as always, for all of your love, support and help with everything.  I could not feel more elated or fortunate to have you in my life.  I can't wait to officially meet our little lady bug!

Editors Ending Note:  Seriously.  I can't wait.  I mean, I will obviously, but this experience is like looking forward to Christmas except you don't know what day Christmas is.