Home Stretch

So much has been going on! We have moved across town and are still getting ready for the baby. It was nice to be able to purge some stuff as we packed. It's amazing how much you accumulate without realizing it. George and the kitties have adapted pretty well. It's a smaller place than we were in, but it is nice and comfortable. Before we moved, our friends Emily and Fiona through us a baby shower which was a lot of fun. It was a "pre birthday party" for the little baby so we had guys and girls there. Played lots of games, ate yummy food, and had a fun time. Once I get the pictures from them I'll post the images here. We did get a great digital camera from Andy's parents so hopefully we'll be able to keep up with the picture requests. Andy wants to do a video tour of our new place once we have it set up.

As for baby development, everything is going well. We are up to weekly visits now. Today we had an appointment with the midwife at the doctor's office. There are two doctors and a midwife who all take call so they make sure we get to see all three of them so we are comfortable no matter who is on duty when we have the baby (and all three are great!). I really liked the midwife. She was very knowledgeable and very friendly. She's also Australian and has a fun accent. I'm measuring exactly where I'm supposed to be and the baby's heartbeat is in a good range. Thursday I am 36 weeks! We're almost there. For reference, my due date is 40 weeks. However, once I'm 37 weeks the baby is considered "full term" which means if I were to go in to labor after that point they wouldn't stop it. Most first babies come later than the due date, not early so even though it's likely to be a big baby it is not likely to come early (although honestly I wouldn't mind :) ). I feel so huge and it's getting harder to move around. I participated in Relay for Life last weekend and walked 10 laps total (with breaks intermixed). It was good exercise and it's nice to know I can still move around, but sitting for a long period of time (like at work) is really uncomfortable. I'm also running in to stuff because I don't realize how far out I poke! It makes me laugh but it also is a little hard on the stretch marks.

Today the baby had the hiccups. That felt really weird. Kind of ticklish. All in all, everything is going really well. And for those of you who want a belly shot, here you go. I didn't realize how big I look until Andy took this picture. I'm so much belly! From behind I don't look nearly so round. But it's good and means the baby is growing strong.