BABY PICS! (In utero....)

Well, one plus to making it to 41 weeks with no baby is that you get new pictures of your baby to keep ya going!

I liked this place a lot better. The US tech was really sweet, and kept telling me how "beautiful" Jess Jr was (and how those lips of hers are going to give Angelina Jolie a run for her money! lol)

She kept saying, "big baby" over and over, too... And she is going to be big! The estimate today, according to the ultrasound.... ya ready for this? 11 1/2 lbs. Woah. Well, we knew she was gonna be big! Of course, that's +/- 1-2lbs, but she's probably right... We'll find out soon!

So here ya go. Something to hold ya over until we can get some real live baby shots on here.

Maybe tomorrow............?? I hope so! (I can't believe my Mom won the baby poll... there's no one left but her! Crazy.)



Go here for more, including those from our 20 week ultrasound.

Grr...

It never fails... You're in a hurry, It's rainy, and there's traffic at 1230 on a Tuesday. What the heck.

lol

Lately, I've been discussing with several people who go to our church how my least favorite time of the service is the, "take a few minutes and greet someone around you" part. Now, I'm all for being friendly and welcoming, but I just don't see the point. It's not like you have enough time to really get to know anyone, usually you don't even get their first name... And it's unlikely you'd remember that name even if you did get it, by the end of the service. And as a "visitor" at one time or another, I never found this to make me feel more "welcomed" than if it had been omitted.

Obviously, I'm not alone in this thinking. In yesterday's Dear Abby, someone wrote in with that exact same issue. I don't think I'd ever write Dear Abby about it (so, to answer your question, no it wasn't me. :) but I found it amusing that someone else did. We're one of those families who will show up late to avoid having to do it (usually this isn't intentional, as it's tough to get there, put Jeremiah in his class and be seated by 9 am on a Sunday morning.)

Ah well, what're ya gonna do... I suppose if it makes one person feel welcomed, maybe someone who hadn't stepped in a church ever, or at least a while, then it's worth whatever annoyance it may cause on our end. I just hope it never has the opposite affect (someone who thought about coming to church and then changed their mind after having to shake hands with a bunch of strangers who won't remember their name... I know there's no way I'd know if someone next to me was new or not... nothing personal, it's just a big church, and not so easy to keep track of everyone.)

Forgot to add to the last post...

Jeremiah's also afraid of the trashcan... The same trashcan he used to stand next to and play with over and over again, until we found him something else to do.

See, it's one of those automatic ones--you wave your hand over it, it opens, toss your trash, it automatically closes after a few seconds. Well, one day, Jeremy threw something out, and stayed over the sensor a little longer than normal, so it stayed open, and wouldn't shut without being reactivated. Jeremy walked away, and it was still open. Jeremiah was in his high chair (a few feet away, maybe 5-6?) and he started freaking out! At first it was just whining, but by the time I figured out why he was so upset, he was screaming and could not be calmed down until it was shut and someone was holding him....

Again, same trashcan he used to play with when we first got it... Don't know what's changed since then... It's not like it snaps shut where it would hurt or something, if it closed on your hand. I dunno... Now, he watches it like it's going to try something when we're not looking. Pretty funny. We'll enjoy teasing him about that one when he gets older. Good one to share at the wedding someday ("I remember when Jeremiah was just a toddler, and was terrified of our kitchen trashcan... and getting covered in spaghetti..." lol)

Boo!

We always knew Jeremiah had a "gentle spirit". He's been a "sympathy crier" since he was a baby, turning on the waterworks whenever another crying baby was in range. But nowadays, far more than just other babies and boo-boos are making him cry...

It started a few weeks ago. We were at my parents' house, and they wanted to watch a movie, since they canceled their cable and had nothing else to watch. Someone suggested "Ghost Ship", which I've never seen before, nor did I have any desire to. But we were about to leave anyways, so whatever. Jeremy puts it in, and we proceed to watch it (well, this was still the "let's check out the first few minutes and see if it's something we want to keep watching.) Again, I'd never seen it, didn't know anything about it... Someone else, though, had seen it, and didn't warn me...

Anyways, Jeremiah had been playing around the kitchen, but got curious when the movie was put in. Grandma picked him up and sat him on her lap, just as this steel cable (in the movie) was released and sliced through everyone dancing in the ballroom on the ship. I immediately looked at Jeremiah and hoped he didn't get what was going on. He seemed to not be bothered by it, despite starring straight at the screen.

Well, the next part proved to be just a bit too much for him. To make it hit home that something awful had just happened, they showed the captain (I'm assuming it was him, since he was in uniform) dancing with a young girl, and his head slowly slide off his body. Yeah, Jeremiah didn't miss that! He started SCREAMING and freaking out! My poor baby. I had no idea that was going to happen.... nobody, who had seen the movie before, told me or told Grandma, "He may not want to see that part..." Yeah... Mommy's not a happy camper with anyone in this group. But he got over it and I informed everyone that I would not be the one getting up with him if he woke up upset in the middle of the night... Hopefully, it didn't traumatize him too much. Sigh.

Ever since, though, the weirdest things have sent him into a fit of tears and screams... Here are some examples:

~At the end of The Soup, they cover Joel McHale in spaghetti and bring in the "spaghetti cat" from a couple of weeks ago. That's all Jeremiah saw. And it made him freak. Ooooookay....

~Thomas the Tank Engine: an engine is stuck on a wooden bridge that's about to collapse. Another train saves the engine, and we see them puff away, after which the bridge does collapse. No one is on the bridge, or even on screen at this point. Jeremiah freaks and starts crying/screaming.

~Terminator, the Sarah Conner Chronicles: Okay, we weren't even watching this show. I had asked him to give me the remote so I could turn the TV off, and he changed it to the local channel showing it. I think it's a new episode, so I hit the "record" button so Jeremy could watch it later. Just as I'm about to turn off the tv, a car goes spinning out of control, and does a couple of flips before crashing. This freaks Jeremiah out. More crying ensues (this was just minutes after the Thomas episode...)

~Something happened while watching Fox news that made him freak... I don't remember what it was, but I remember being confused because they hadn't shown anything graphic or anything... I think they might have been showing Hurricane Hanna coverage or something... But he freaked nonetheless.

There are other bizarre examples that just don't make sense to us, but seem to really bother him... So we never know if what we're watching will be okay. Not that we watch a lot of tv that isn't kid-friendly when he's around. But yeah, safe to say at this point that anything NOT kid-friendly is off limits when he's around (though that Thomas episode... I mean, sheesh, it's just a model of a wooden bridge falling! What gives?!) No more CNN or Fox News (ahem...) in the evenings while he's awake, no random movies (after the Ghost Ship thing, my brother put in Monster's Inc. to cheer him up... uhh... yeah, don't think that would help...), nothin'. May have to just start with the Baby Einstein videos we were given for Christmas before Jeremiah's arrival. Surely they're safe!

Then again, who knows... Why can't he just be like that baby who laughs at the Wii for no reason, instead of balling at the sight of the silliest thing! Ah well... he's very sensitive, that's for sure. My poor baby.

Astroland closes for good.

This is pretty sad...

The Astroland amusement park at Coney Island turned off it's lights for the last time over the weekend.  The rides are for sale, and the land will probably be developed into something else.  

:(

I remember going at least once (may have been twice) when I was a kid.  It was so much fun, despite the fact it was no Six Flags or Kings Dominion park.  I guess it's just hard to accept that a piece of "childhood" will no longer be there. 

The Cyclone roller coaster and ferris wheel will probably remain, as they're owned by the city, but everything else will be gone.  

Oh well.  These things happen, right?  I'm sure it won't be the last childhood landmark to be torn down in my lifetime.  

Hopefully Disney World doesn't get wiped out by Ike next!  Though I'd rather still have Astroland around, personally...  All I remember about Disney was waiting in way-to-long lines, overpriced food/souveniers, and an embarrassing episode involving a box of ice cream snacks and a 45 minute wait at Space Mountain....  yeah.... anyways. 

Hmm....

So we were pretty anxious to turn Jeremiah's car seat around once he hit the one year mark.  Now, I'm not so sure that was the best idea.

New recommendations have said that a child is safest in a rear facing position until the age of 2!  Twelve months and 20 lbs is just the minimum.  Some people will even say leave 'em in there until 4!  

I don't know about that, but was surfing the message boards and found this video... It's a pretty convincing argument to leave him rear facing, at least until he's two (by then, Jess Jr will probably be ready to make the transition to a convertible seat, vs the infant seat she'll be in at birth [if she's ever born, of course.... ;) ])

Also, I think we should probably bring the van in to have the seats inspected/installed properly, since we never bothered before... What's the point of paying for a top of the line car seat, that's supposed to be one of the best out there, if it isn't installed properly?  Now, we followed the directions, and it certainly doesn't seem like it's going to go anywhere to me... but why wait 'til we're in an accident to find that out for sure?  

Anyways, just thinkin'.  :)

Well, I just did some quick extra research, and his car seat is only safe rear facing to 33 lbs... So at this point (he was 31 lbs, I think?) he's probably already at that limit, since it was over 2 months ago now...  Yay, I'm off the hook!  

Jess Jr, though... not so lucky.  :)

Oh yeah, and...

Happy 20th Month, Jeremiah! You're growing so fast! I was hoping him and Jess Jr would only be 19 months apart, but that didn't happen. Oh well!

Jeremy gave him a little trim yesterday... I think we had to give him, like, 20 animal crackers in order to distract him long enough to get a snip in here and there. But he did a decent job, considering he'd never cut hair before. At least it's out of his eyes! That was driving me crazy! I'll get a pic later today when he's up from his nap.

For now, enjoy this one! :)

Thanks, everyone! :)

Well, it's obvious a lot of you out there have been praying for me. Last week was terrible. At least earlier in the week, right around our due date. It's not easy to see your due date come and then go, especially when you're NOT a first time Mom--first one was 38 weeks, Jeremiah was right on his due date... Needless to say, it was pretty disheartening to see this side of our due date.

But things are going better now. By our appointment on Thursday, I was beginning to accept things. Of course, that whole thing with the measuring discrepency drained my spirit a bit, but I recovered. I've got my "head back in the game," so to speak. It did help to do some research over this weekend, and reading about other midwifery practices who have half their Moms deliver early and half late. Also read a nice post on a doula's blog about natural induction, and how the best method is "Dinner & A Date!" A relaxed Mom is more likely to go into labor than a stressed Mom, so why not take a time out, enjoy a bubble bath, let Dad make dinner, and relax. If "other things" sound fun and you're up to it, try it, but don't stress about trying a bunch of different things to get labor going--it's just not worth it.

Now, my views on all that will probably change at this point next week, should we still be waiting... After all, I'd much rather "induce" with the help of evening primrose oil and other various "stimulations" rather than in a hospital getting pumped full of pitocin (which I also learned is usually dispensed in doses waaaaaaaay higher than the package insert's recommendation... we'll have our birth assistant there to make sure things are done 'by the book', since I don't know how to find that stuff out. Helps that she's going through nursing school, too.)

Anyways, I just thought I would post that I'm feeling much better about everything. I still want her here ASAP, though... I'd be nice to be able to roll over/stand up/sit up without having my pelvis "crack" everytime--yes, it cracks when I move... it's a pretty weird feeling, too. I guess "12 lb" babies'll do that to ya... Didn't have that with Jeremiah... didn't have a lot of what I've got this time with him. What a strange pregnancy.

So thank you, to all of you who've been praying for me! God has given me peace and has calmed my nerves, and I can honestly say I'm doing well, for the first time in a while. Hopefully, it stays with me--I can see it waning as the week goes on, but for now, I'm okay. So yeah, Jess Jr, Mommy's relaxed, feel free to come anytime.... tonight would be nice (gotta stick with the Sunday thing--both others were born on Sundays... gotta at least get things started on a Sunday, right? And wouldn't it be cute if both Jeremiah and Jess Jr had the same birth "day"?? 9/7/08... not bad. :) If not, it's all good.)

I think I'll need to start shopping for a "prize" for my Mom... yeah, there're still two others in the running for tomorrow, but if tomorrow comes and goes, then it'll definitely be my Mom who wins--there's no one left! Crazy... What'll be really interesting is when #3 is due--I have no idea what my guess'll be for that one!

Okay, back to the game--it's football season again! Need to find my jersey, though... I wonder if it'll fit right now... Go Hines Ward! Steelers are crushing the Texans... but seriously, did they think they'd have a chance, in Heines Field, for the season opener??? I feel bad for the road teams today... I doubt many of 'em'll win...

"Announcing..." [not really, Layton... :) ]

....Jared Aidan Schwarzenegger!
16 lbs, 15 oz. Only 21 inches long, though... That's a fat baby!
Don't believe me? Here's a copy of his birth certificate!

Yeah, I'm not too sure about this "online pregnancy tester"... I mean, at first it didn't even detect I was pregnant! Then it said boy, which is always possible... The fact that he came up as a 16 lb baby isn't that far of a stretch. But uh, yeah, don't know how I got Jeremy and Arnold mixed up... I guess it could happen to anyone... or something. :)

Oh, and I had to go back in time to have him, too. Maybe there was a mix up with Jeremiah or something....

Amusing, nonetheless.

Okay, wait, wait... I thought I'd do it again, just for fun, and it's getting better...

"Jess, you're going to be the proud parent of a baby girl, and just look- isn't she just so damn cute! Based on our remote test results, your beautiful baby girl will weigh about 13 lbs, 15 oz and have red hair and blue eyes. Truly a Wonder To Behold!"

And the father.....?

"Girl, you got no class. Plus we hear that Bill is going to sue you for stealing his 'patriotic bodily fluids' as well as demanding 65% of the kid's future earnings."

lol

I'd better stop this now... :)

The Sad Truth

If I were an Iraqi, bound to a bed, clothes taken, denied food or water and lied to...the American Media would care. But I'm just a woman giving birth in America, bound to a bed, clothes taken, denied food or water and lied to.

~Source Unknown~

HA HA HA HA!!

Oh, it just gets better and better....

Yesterday, we had our 40 week visit with the midwives. They've got a student midwife working with them right now, so we saw her along with Lisa, one of the subs. Everything went fine, of course--my blood pressure was not "higher" than normal (last week, while still in the normal limits, was on the higher end of normal, plus I'd gained a little more weight than I have been. They were a bit concerned, but luckily, this week balanced all that out.) Aside from the fact that I'm not happy still being pregnant, things are good.

Then they did their "listen to the baby/measure the belly" routine. She's sitting right up, straight, not on one side or another (probably because that's the only way she has any room...) Then they tried to find her heartbeat--found the swishy-wishy one from the cord, found mine, but had a harder time finding the "click click" baby heartbeat. They did finally find it, just a little lower than where they were originally looking. And of course, that was all good.

Then they did their little measuring thing. This is where the visit got interesting. Now I've been measuring ahead for weeks, usually by 3-4 cm (for those who don't know, starting around 20 weeks, they measure your uterus from the top of the pubic bone to the top of the uterus... the cm's should coincide with how far along you are--25 weeks, 25 cm, 40 weeks, 40 cm, etc. But for those of us with, ahem, "extra fluff", it's not always accurate. Of course, baby's position, and baby's size can play a roll, too.) Well today, I was measuring 10 ahead! 50 cm! So yeah, they freaked a little (I think if the midwife had been one of the normal midwives to begin with, and not a sub, it wouldn't have been a cause for alarm, but they gotta give the student midwife something to learn from. :)

So they went and got Alice (she and our midwife from last time, Marsha, started Birthcare many many years ago...) and she came up to measure herself. After explaining where the "extra" was coming from, she measured and got a more reasonable 45 cm. Still ahead, but consistent. Feeling around some more, she said, "Yep, we've got a big baby here... I'm guessing 12 lbs." 12 lbs!! Yup, that's what she said. Yikes...

I laugh, though, because it's just one of those things where you're like, "12 lbs? Why not make it 13! And what's it going to be next week?? 15?! Bring it on!" Do I think she'll be 12?? Well, I definitely don't think she'll be smaller than Jeremiah at this point, especially since we've passed our due date. But 12 lbs... I wonder how much different that would be from delivering a 10 lbs 11 oz baby... I mean, Jeremiah was a piece of cake. Will the same hold true for Jess Jr???

Only time will tell..... :)

I wonder if they'll measure her at our sonogram on Tuesday (for the AFI). It'd be interesting to see what the "guestimate" is based on that, since they can be +/- 1-2lbs. It'd be awesome if she did measure 12 lbs, and the technician was like, "That can't be right... must have measured incorrectly..." We'll see.... I'm still hoping we get to cancel that appointment, but that way things have been going, not too sure that's going to happen.

I really think my Mom is going to win this whole thing... I can't believe that... Pretty crazy. At least she's easy to shop for. :) Some other people, I'd have no idea what to get 'em for a prize. But yeah... pretty crazy we're still here. This is really going to mess up Jeremy's work schedule, though... It's the end of the quarter, and he's gonna to miss most of that being out on paternity leave.... Then, he was supposed to take a week off at the beginning of October, but if he's on paternity the last two weeks of the month, that's going to be a little tougher for him to do... So basically, if he's not on paternity leave starting Monday, it's really going to mess things up. But, as Jeremiah proved last time, and she's proving again this time, babies don't come when it's convenient for us! Yeah, it would have been nice if she'd been an August birth, but it ain't happening. So September it is! Hopefully while we've still got single digits... at least before the "teens" start!

Keep yer fingers crossed...

Maybe she'll be born on 9/11 and be 9lbs, 11 oz... Wouldn't that be freaky... Unlikely, though. That's too small. :)

Oh yeah, and I just thought I'd add that it'd be awesome if she were 11 or 12 lbs, and we were able to deliver at home, as planned. Simply for the bragging rights. :) I mean, how many doctors would even let you attempt a vaginal delivery in a hospital, if they knew that baby was 12 lbs?? I'm sure most hear "double digit" L-B's, and think, "complications" or "long delivery" or "I'm going to miss dinner/tee-time/etc" So yeah, how much fun would it be to say, "Oh yeah, she was born at home... it was easy, she was only 12 lbs, 2 oz... yup, no problem." lol Yeah, I would think like that. Well, freaking out about it certainly won't help her come any faster! :)

Kinda scary...

Parents, do your children wear "tagless" clothing?? Ever had a rash or other "outbreak" near the tag area??? Check out this post on ZRecs....

Switching gears...

Well, today's been a tough day, emotionally/psychologically, for me... I'm really bad at this "waiting" thing. So I thought I would try to force myself to focus on the positives around me instead of the negatives, and see if that helps. So here we go.

~Jeremiah's favorite books are "Daddy Loves Me," "Mommy Loves Me," and "Thank You, God." Usually the Mommy & Daddy books are just for naptimes/bedtimes, and we read "Thank You God" down here in the family room. These are the books that he wants read to him over and over again--I've got 'em memorized! It's just so sweet when he brings it up to you, with a little whine (since he doesn't know how to say "please" yet) and settles into your lap to hear it read to him...

~He still takes his daily nap! This enables Mommy to nap/shower/whatever (though it's usually the first two.) It's a nice break in the middle of the day. I'll be disappointed when he's too big to nap anymore! (Although, our former small group leader, who has three kids between 20 mos and 5 years, still has that afternoon "quiet time" where everyone just stays in their room for two hours in the afternoon. They don't have to nap, but they do have to play quietly if they don't. That'll definitely be something we'll be keeping up with over the years.)

~Since it's summertime, I can get away with wearing gauchos and tank tops everyday, instead of having layers upon layers of maternity clothes. Yeah, I wouldn't mind not sweating so much sometimes, but I'm glad that flip flops will suffice for shoes, and the most dressed I usually ever am is when I'm wearing my PJ's! Makes life more comfy.

~The thrill of the deal. Okay, this one is kinda weird, but as a shopaholic (on a budget...) there's nothing more gratifying than finding something you want/need for 75% off. I found really nice sandals for Jeremiah for next year--only $2.50! These same sandals I couldn't bring myself to spending money on a few months ago, because they were "too expensive" for sandals, IMHO.... I love Target. :)

~I've got a supportive husband, who I know will be so glad when baby's here, so he can stop hearing me whine about it. :) He takes it all in stride, though... And he's been to every one of my appointments thus far (which usually means leaving work early, sitting in traffic, getting home to pick us up, sitting in traffic again, and then entertaining Jeremiah before/during the visit, etc, etc...) When we get to Birthcare, and he's still at the van with Jeremiah, the ladies always ask, "Where's everybody else???" because they're so used to seeing us all together. :) I'd say he knows as much about our pregnancy as I do (well, minus what only Moms can know...) I don't know many hubby's who can honestly say that (I could be wrong, though!)

~We were able to finish our bedroom, and amazingly, it's still fairly clean! Okay, neither Jeremy or I are very neat people. I mean, I can't stand a mess, but I'm also not very likely to do something about it until it really drives me up the wall. Since we recently painted our room and finished the headboard (and new furniture), I've been pretty adament about keeping it neat, and it still is! We're a little behind on laundry, and boy does black furniture reveal the dust, but I could easily take two minutes, make the bed, wipe down the tops, and I would be okay with someone outside our family going in there. Hey, I can't usually say stuff like that... this is pretty huge for us. The bigger surprise??? Our bathroom is in the same condition! Of course, I've been trying to keep it that way for the birth--who wants to deal with a messy bathroom when you've got a newborn??? The little things that make me happy.

~I finished re-tabbing all the diapers! It took several nights, a few hours here and there, but I was able to re-tab all 42 of our cloth diapers! [They use velcro tabs to hold them closed, instead of pins or snaps--they'd gotten a little old from all the use, and were coming undone sometimes.] I certainly don't want to do that again anytime soon. I shouldn't have to either--these should last at least through Jess Jr. By then, we may have to replace a chunk of our collection with new ones, but ya never know...

~Wow, the prince of Nigeria has been exiled and wants me to hold onto his fortune temporarily--he'll let me keep 10% as payment! Sweet....

~And I just won a free XBOX/Laptop/big screen TV--just gotta complete XX offers! Wow, lotta generous people out there today... :)

~My parents still have a "floating" week, and will take Jeremiah once Jess Jr makes her arrival. That'll give us time to "get in a groove" and not have to worry about neglecting Jeremiah while figuring out Jess Jr. Such a blessing! [I just hope that week ends up being next week and not the week after....]

Well, that's all I've got for right now. Oh wait, one more...

~Cupcakes. Oh, and soft serve ice cream with sprinkles/jimmies (whichever you prefer...) Mmmm.... :)

There, I'm done. It helped a little. I'll have to come back here and re-read it when I'm feeling weepy and sorry for myself. That's not my normal existence. I know I'm not the most optimistic person on earth, but I can usually look at things and see the pluses over the minuses. I've used all that up early on, though... Oh well, there's always Ben & Jerry's...

Just for fun...

So last week at our appointment, the midwife mentioned that she would not be surprised if Jess Jr arrived as big as Jeremiah--maybe a little smaller, but we weren't at 40 weeks yet.

Now, there are only 5 guesses left out of 16 on the baby poll... And most of those will expire in a couple of days. Since we were all WAYYYY off (with the exception of the one or two likely winners at this point...) does anyone wanna take a stab at how much she'll clock in, weight and height wise???

No prize to win, just bragging rights. I'm just curious. :)

I'll start... at this point, I'm gonna guess she comes out a little bigger than Jeremiah.

10 lbs. 15 oz. 22 inches long. She's gonna be a big girl....

"N to the Izzo!"

Ah, yes... Dan Smith... For those of you who don't know, he was one of the pastors at New Life Christian Church when I went there. He also moonlights as a DJ/white-boy rapper. Some of you may have seen one of his hits floating 'round the 'net, "Baby Got Book" (I was in the original... my .35 seconds of fame!)

Anyways, he's got kids now, and went the kiddie album route for a few songs... A couple, he put up for free on his website (since he doesn't have the "rights" to sell them...) You can find them/download them here!

The first tune, "NOVA" is a parody of Jay-Z's "Izzo" (HOVA) tune--won't be as funny if you're not in the NoVA area, but still creative and funny.

The second is Dan Smith's version of "Green Eggs and Ham". Yeah... Definitely for the kiddies. Fun stuff. :)

Anyways, give it a listen, and share it with your friends! Maybe you'll feel so inclined to pick up one of his other albums--help support his ministry!

Enjoy!

I hope I have to cancel...

Well, part of being "post due" includes extra-special appointments, to make sure baby's okay. Next Tuesday afternoon will be that "fun" day for us... well, for me. I don't think Jeremiah will want to sit quietly for any of it, so most likely, Jeremy will "work from home" that afternoon, while I drive around Alexandria to have all that stuff done.

First off is an AFI (amniotic fluid index), just to make sure the placenta is still working properly and baby is well protected. After that, get to head to Birthcare for an NST (non stress test) which monitors who well the baby responds (heartbeat wise) when active and resting--they want to see three "peaks" to know that baby is still doing well. I'm sure everything will be fine--if so, they'll let us go to 42 weeks (which by their calculations is September 16th.) If no baby by then, we get to do things "the old fashioned way" and get induced at the hospital. Woot.

Obviously, I'm hoping we don't make it to that point... I'm hoping I even get to cancel my next appointment on Thursday. But if not, well, at least we'll [I'll] get to see her again (and make sure she's really a she... I'd hate to find out after being induced and miserable in a hospital that Jess Jr was really Jeremy Jr... Not that I don't want anymore boys, but I've got my heart set on pink dresses and bows... not more greens and blues and circumcisions.... yeah, I'd probably have leave the hospital with a Zoloft or Prozac prescription if that were the case...

Wow, what an uplifting post, huh??? :) Okay, okay... that was all worst case scenario. Best case scenario--labor starts tonight! More likely scenario (hopefully), labor starts in the next couple of days, and I get to cancel all those fun appointments for Tuesday. Everything goes smoothly, baby girl shows no signs of fever or other illness in the few days following birth, and maybe, just maybe, breastfeeding takes off, problem free! Okay, now I'm getting into the wishful thinking area... But ya never know. I've got some samples from the formula companies, though... just in case. Gonna hit up our ped for more when we bring her in for her checkup. I'm sure they've got cases of the stuff, just sitting there.

And that's that. Hopefully, Jeremy will be home soon, so I can have another distraction... In the mean time, I should probably go see what Jeremiah's banging on the table... can't be good.

Yeah, what the heck????

As our ticker says,

Okay, okay, I'll admit it, I really like it in my Mommy, but I'm finally ready to go. I should be here by now!

I concur...

Babycenter won't even acknowledge the fact that women can be pregnant past 40 weeks--they've moved us to the "newborn" bubble! How sweet of them... except she's not a newborn yet--she's still a has-yet-to-be-born.

I tell ya, though, I'm not too crazy about this trend that my body seems to be going with, with subsequent babies coming later, and later than the prior! I'm officially the most pregnant I've ever been today--never actually made it to the 40 week mark before. 38 weeks, yup. 40 weeks, yup (but barely... it was 3:58 a.m. when Jeremiah made his grand entrance, after all!) And neither time prior did I have so much "practice" before the big event.

Anyways... she'll come when she wants to... when she's ready. And in the meantime, I have to figure out how to keep my sanity....... if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear 'em! At least Jeremy's off today. Maybe she'll come tonight, so Jeremy doesn't have to go back to work this week.

Lord... please!!! Give me patience, give me comfort, keep me sane!! I know You're in control, so give me the strength to stay positive, and enjoy the time I have left with my little family of three. I ask [beg] these things in Jesus' name, Amen! :)

Baby pics!

Well, "pic" I should say. Here is the fruit of Jeremy's labor (literally). The first harvest!

Did you know that tomatoes, while botanically are the "fruit" of the plant, are legally vegetables?? All these years, I've allowed teachers and other folks "trick" me into believing they were "fruit". I always thought it was a weird classification.

Anyways, yup, that's the first harvest from our garden. Although, these aren't really from our garden--they've been growing in a pot on the deck all summer, and have been doing much better than those in the garden itself (fancier soil.) But Jeremy did grow the plant from a seed, and that plant is well over 4 feet tall now! It's pretty impressive, if you ask me. So while the garden has been lagging behind a bit, at least we've got something outta it (and if you're wondering, yes, we meant to pick 'em green--they'll ripen and taste just as yummy on the counter, safe from birds and bugs, rather than leave them on the plant. I didn't know you could do that until recently, so I'm sure there's someone else out there who didn't either. Unless I dumb. Possible... :)

Jeremy took Jeremiah to the grocery store. He wouldn't let me go with 'em. Said I needed some "alone" time. That's sweet, isn't it? Only problem is... I don't know what to do now that there's no one home! There are things I could do, like fold clothes, or put Jeremiah's diapers in the wash. But I can do that stuff when people are home, too. [Oo... I could kill the cat, who's making a huge racket right now, meowing at the top of the steps... no one would be around to see it... hmm... must.... resist.... temptation.... Do they make muzzles for cats???? I'll have to look into that...] So what do I do? I sit online and chat with people.... and post pics of tomatoes on our blog. :) Good times, good times.

Last night, Jeremy and I went to see The Dark Knight again. It was cool a 2nd time, but soooooooo loooooooooong.... I just can't sit anywhere comfortably anymore for 2+ hours... By the end of the movie, I was sitting on the edge of my seat, practically squatting, trying to find some kind of comfy position. But it was good... just long. And it's not like there was anything else to see. All the other movies playing (at least at the theater we went to) were STUPID... Seriously, where'd all the good movies go? Thank God for TDK, otherwise we wouldn't have had much of a "date".

Looks like the nice weather is finally back in VA. This past week was mostly "fall" weather, with highs only in the 70's, and cool nights. It was weird. But the next three days should be nice--sunny and high 80's, for the most part. Sweet. If that humidity stays down like it has been, it'll be a beautiful weekend. Sounds like a nice time to have a baby! Hint hint, Jess Jr! No? Didn't work? Sigh...

Well, I should go bake my cake now. We're going to my parents for a party tomorrow (if Jess Jr doesn't feel like making her grand entrance before then...) so I figured I'd bring a "Jello Cake". It's good--very refreshing for a bar-b-que. Nice, cool alternative to ice cream. So I'd better go make that now. Woot.

Hope to have some real "Baby Pics" up soon! Sorry if I fooled you. :) Not really. Well, okay, yes I am.... no I'm not. :)

A bit frustrated...

Well... what can I say. Not a happy camper. Had our 39 week visit today. Went well enough. Nothing new to report, unfortunately. Birthcare doesn't do "exams" on a weekly basis, just at the 36 and 40 week visits. I did opt for one today, since contractions have been no stranger in our household, just never develop into anything further. The result of said exam: nothing new. Absolutely no change from 36 weeks. Our midwife tried to be encouraging, though... :) She said, "Things are definitely in motion, and with how things went last time, it's all going to happen at once, so don't worry about it," etc, etc...

Anyways, I shouldn't have asked for anything extra. The fact that nothing has happened in three weeks does more to frustrate me than encourage me, that's for sure. Monday will be here soon, and if Jess Jr. hasn't come by then, well, I doubt I'll be the happiest camper on the block.

And that's all I've got. Just wanted to get the the video post off the top. :)

Oh, and Jeremiah's cold is gone. YAY!

Yup, now that's all I've got.