37 Weeks

Here I am at 37 weeks, considered full-term already. Unbelievable. We are in full-on "get ready for baby" mode. This past weekend, Gregg & I went to Target and bought a few odds and ends that were still needed. We also installed the car seat in the minivan. I sorted through all the gifts we've received and separated them into categories: clothes, changing station, bath stuff, feeding, toys, and blankets. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work when you're nine months pregnant. I took advantage of the glider in the corner of the nursery several times. Tuesday night, Gregg helped me actually put everything away in the dresser/changing table and closet.

My birthday on Sunday was nice and relaxing. Gregg made me waffles by request for breakfast, then took me out to T.G.I.Friday's for lunch. I ordered the Chips Ahoy Sundae dessert which was awesome. Later that evening, Gregg finally gave me my present. He was so sweet and got me a gift certificate to a salon so I can pamper myself! Boy, do I need that.

Yesterday my sister sent a link to her professional wedding photos, which I scanned through last night. They came out amazing, but unfortunately I look enormous in 95% of them. The straight-on shots aren't too bad, but in the ones where I'm standing with my family or the wedding party, it appears like my dress expands ten feet in front of me. I know they say the camera adds ten pounds, but in this case I think it added 100!

This morning I had another doctor's appointment. My weight gain has tapered off. I only gained one more pound between this visit and the last one. The doctor took a culture for the Group-B strep test in case I have a vaginal delivery, and checked my cervix for effacement & dilation. It was closed shut and still pretty hard so I don't think I'll be going into labor anytime soon.

She couldn't tell for sure from external palpation (big fancy term for feeling around the outside of my belly) whether Bubba was head first or feet first, so she wheeled in the ultrasound machine to get a more accurate assessment. He is stubbornly still breached. I wasn't really surprised. I had suspected as much since I kept feeling a lot of movement in my lower abdomen, like his feet are pointed downward.

I knew what was coming next. The doctor said they could do one of two things: either turn the baby manually, or schedule a C-section. I told her I wasn't comfortable with trying to turn him, so I opted for the C-section. After I got dressed, she came back in and told me I'm scheduled for August 14. I have another appointment between now and then, so they'll go over the procedure in more detail at that time and check again to see whether Bubba has decided to turn on his own.

I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I feel like I'll be missing out on the real birthing experience. I've never had any type of surgery before, so it kind of freaks me out. A C-section seems so passive and sterile, almost unnatural. On the other hand, I like the idea of knowing when Bubba's delivery date will be instead of waiting to labor on my own, and possibly laboring for hours and then ending up having a Cesarean anyway. And, I'd really rather recover from an operation where they cut my stomach, instead of my... ahem.

So August 14 is the tentative birth date. I'm still reeling from the news that, in just two weeks, I'll be having a baby. It's only one week before than my estimated due date, but for some reason knowing it's on the calendar makes it seem so much earlier. I feel like there's still a hundred and one things to do. I don't know if I've read enough about how to take care of a baby, or if he has enough onesies. If I've made the most of the time Gregg & I have left as just a twosome.

I'm also very excited that our baby boy will be here so soon. The event that we've been planning for and eagerly anticipating since December 18 will be here in just two weeks!!