The eve of the BIG day!! =)

Just a quick little update on the eve of the arrival of our sweet little girl! It is so nice to actually KNOW when she is coming and I feel very comforted knowing I don't have to wait much longer! Tomorrow we will be blessed with the arrival of our little bundle of joy! =) I am so very excited I can hardly wait! TJ is also very excited, but he informed me today that he is also scared to death! =) I think it's cute! My trip to the Dr.'s went as follows:
Arrived and found that the sonogram had been cancelled since we scheduled the C-section for tomorrow. After talking to the Dr. he reassured us that a C-section was still an option, but also pushed the induction more this time. Strange that he didn't mention it last time? Oh well, we were both up for the induction as opposed to the C-section. He checked me again, still no effacement, the baby still had not dropped, and still no dilation. So, we had planned to go to the hospital tonight to start the induction and see where we were tomorrow afternoon. If nothing was happening, then we would do a c-section. Out of pure inspiration (I think anyway) he decided to obtain the sonogram anyway to measure how big she was. Guess how big? Anyone? I was thinking about 8 lbs., but no, she measured at 9 lbs. 1 oz. The Dr. was SOOOO surprised at this, he thought for sure she would be under 8 1/2 lbs. His response was very comical! =) Anyway, after finding out how big she was and that I had not progressed at all my percentage of failed induction was probably around 80% or more. So, we decided to just do the C-section. After finding out how big she really was, I think I am more relieved then ever not to have to push out a 9 lb. baby. You women who have gone before me and done that, you are amazing! =)
Anyway, so we are very excited! We will post pictures after her arrival and we will let everyone know how big she really is! I am so excited! It's finally time! =) Thanks for all of the supportive phone calls that we have received and the prayers on our behalf, we truly do apprecite them! We have such great family and friends, we are truly blessed! We hope you all have a wonderful day and we love you all!
P.S. What did we do on our last night as a married couple without kids? We went to eat at a chinese buffet! YUM!

4 days late and..........still waiting! =)

So, we don't have a baby yet, sorry to disappoint everyone! I was hoping that at this point we would have some great news, but still nothing happening! =) I can't even say that I've had any contractions or anything, still no progression! At this point we are just waiting, and waiting and waiting! =) TJ is getting a lot of work done on his paper though! =) So he is very happy! Since I'm not progressing AT ALL, I have another Dr.'s appointment on Tuesday when I will have a non-stress test and an ultrasound to make sure everything is alright. If nothing has changed, I have a C-section scheduled for Wednesday. Although I was quite nervous at first, I becoming more and more comfortable with this decision. I guess the best part is that atleast I know that by Wednesday we should have a baby! =) HAPPY DAY! Anyway, if anything changes sooner we will definitely keep you posted, until then we will just keep waiting! =)

Haircut and due date!

So, for fear that I might lose all my hair after my baby was born. A co-worker suggested that I cut it and take the vitamine Biotin. The combination usually helps decrease the amount of hair loss! So, above are pictures of me 40 weeks pregnant and with my new haircut! TJ really likes it and I have to give a shoutout to my friend Liz for cutting it! She did a great job! We will keep you updated on our baby progress, but still no contractions! =)
P.S. So I resolved to drinking castor oil this morning! My mom told me it worked with her, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! It really was not as nasty as I thought it would be, but we will see what I'm feeling like in a few hours! =)

Still no baby =(

So, this is just a quick update. I still have not had a baby! Sorry to disappoint you, but I promise none of you are as disappointed as I am right now! =) I went to the Dr. and I still have not Dilated AT ALL! He said that I have started to efface, but until I start to have contractions, I will not start dilation. So, here it is, my due date, and nothing happening! =) I am REALLY being taught some patience! =) So, because my cervix is not cooperating I can't even be induced because the induction would fail and then I would have to have a C-section! I really don't want a C-section, but as each day passess it seems as though it is more and more intrigueing! =) Anyway, I will post more later and as things happen (if they ever do) I will let everyone know! However, you will probably hear the screams of joy from out here if and when contractions start! =) Love you all!

39 weeks and...........still no baby! =)

So, I just wanted to let everyone know that as much as I wish I had some exciting news, there is nothing changing at this point. I still have not had any contractions, and I mean NO contractions. I still have not had any progression with dilation or effacement either. Not to mention, the Dr. I saw today does not believe in stripping the membranes and they said that they will wait until between 41-42 weeks before they induce! I really hope I don't have to wait that long, it will mess up ALL of our plans! =) Anyway, so if there are any secrets you know of to increase this process, please don't hesitate to share. I already know walking or exercising and I walk about 3 miles 2-3 times a week WITHOUT any results, I also know Castor Oil, but I read that it can make you have really bad gastric cramps WITHOUT uterine contractions. So, please let me know! =) We will keep you posted if anything happens over the weekend, we love you and hope you are all doing well!

Slowly but Surely........

Dont' worry, the Stork is Still in Flight and delayed upon arrival at this point! We will keep you updated with his flight plan! We apologize for any inconvenience. =)
I went to my Dr.'s appointment on Friday and she said that I am still NOT dilated OR effaced at ALL, but my cervix is Softening. I think she just said that to give me the SMALLEST glimpse of hope that progression was happening to save me from utter discouragement that this baby was NEVER going to get here! =) She then followed up with the comment, "don't worry, it could happen at any time." Right, any time, it's taken nine months for my cervix to "soften". At this rate I MIGHT be dilated at Thanksgiving! =)
I am just learning patience, which obviously I don't have enough of yet. I will be 39 weeks this week and going strong. No real contractions yet, but if anything changes we will let you know. I'm just planning on the fact that this baby will probably be LATE and won't come until October, which will be fine! We are estimating her to be around 7lbs, which I think will be perfect! I am hoping she is between 6.5-8lbs.
Although no baby news, TJ and I still had a wonderful week! He is really enjoying his cliniclas and continues to learn so much each and every day. I love to see the excitement on his face as he talks about the patients he saw that day, or the treatment he remembered that would help them. He only has one week left of his family medicine rotation and then he'll be home with me for four weeks writing his paper! I'm quite excited about him being home, as I am SOOOOOO sick of doing the dishes all by myself! =)
My work is going well too. I continue to work 40hrs a week or so. This past week was SOOOOO busy, it really made me want to go into labor just to get out of coming back to work! Oh well, although my due date is September 24th, my boss has me scheduled until September 27th. So we shall see how that all plays out!
This weekend was enjoyable as well. TJ had to work late Friday night, so I lounged around the house, cleaning a little, doing some laundry and finishing some "small" projects in the apartment. Saturday I had to work, but then came home to find TJ sick of studying and ready to go out! We went and did the "massive baby shopping" to get everything else off our list we still needed. It was a lot of fun, but took a lot longer then we had thought! We got some diapers (so many choices), bottles (so hard to try to choose, and SO expensive), wipes, infant tylenol, a bathtub, boppy, etc. Then, TJ's FAVORITE thing, the DIGITAL BABY MONITOR! I don't mean any monitor, this is like the Tim the Tool Man Taylor Baby Monitor! Now, it doesn't have video feed, but it has just about everything else! It was so funny to watch him read all about it and get so excited about picking it out! He just cracks me up!
After shopping we headed to a work barbeque with all of my co-workers. It was so much fun! There were a lot of people there this year and I knew them much better then I did last year! We weren't planning on staying long, but ended up staying for 2 1/2 hrs! TJ was such a trooper, he didn't really know very many of the people, but was very patient with me and very supportive! To reward him for good behavior, we stopped by the Cheesecake factory for a little dessert and then returned home to watch USC dominate Ohio State. (well, he watched it, I was too exhausted and fell asleep, surprise, surprise!)
Well, sorry about the long post, we hope you are all doing well and we look forward to hearing from you and we love keeping updated with all of your wonderful news and your fun lives! We will post if anything exciting happens, but seriously, I wouldn't plan on it for another two weeks or so! =) Love you all and have a wonderful week!

Hotel Michelle..........No vacancies!

I have to thank my mom for my new nickname, Hotel Michelle. She mentioned it to TJ this last week, and he LOVES it. So that is what I am being called now on a regular basis! =)
Well, things here continue to go very well for TJ and I. We are one week closer to the delivery of our little girl. I will be 38 weeks along this week and doing well. I have not really had any contractions, but I honestly can't complain. My ankles are not swollen, I am still sleeping well at night, only waking up once, still able to work and can still bend over to tie my shoes and shave my legs! All in all, I am very lucky! =) My Dr. told me on Friday that since I was full term I could deliver any time. Especially since tropical storm Hannah was coming. The pressure changes often cause women to go into labor. Well, Hannah came and went, no baby, so obviously it is going to take more then a tropical storm to get her here! =) Althought I am anxious to see what she looks like and I am so excited to meet her, I am very comfortable being hotel Michelle for another two weeks or so! =)
TJ continues to trek along in his clinicals. He is learning so much each and every day and truly enjoying his experiences! His preceptor is really quite good and he receives good feedback almost every day. I continue to be amazed at how much he has learned over the past year or so and am so proud of how hard he is working! What a trooper!
This past week went by fast, but still held some great memories. TJ and I enjoyed our Monday by starting out with a brunch, went miniature golfing (which he creamed me at), and spent five dollars playing arcade game classics like skee-ball. It was a lot of fun to just be out and about during the day enjoying the weather. However, I was quite embaressed after we were finished with our arcade games and only had 100 tickets. I wasn't feeling too bad until the kid next to us said with excitement "we have 1000 tickets!" I gave him an encouraging grin and told him that was great, then he looked at our pathetic pile and said "that's all you got?" Ego demolished! =) After using our tickets to purchase a foam airplane we left and headed to the pool to see if we could launch bees out of the pool with our new toy. Guess what, it works! =)
This weekend we were going to go to a soccer game, but with the wind and rain decided to do something indoors. So, it was off to support the Lady Bluedevils in a volleyball match! It was really quite fun and they actually won! TJ and I even went down at half time to try to serve for a T-shirt, but neither one of us were successful! Oh well, maybe next time! Saturday night we spent finishing our nursery. WE FINALLY FINISHED IT! YEAH! Attatched are some pictures of our nursery and our stoller/car seat combo! Now all we need are some diapers and bottles and I think we might be set! =) (probably not, but we will see)
We hope you are all doing well and we will keep you updated with our baby news (if we have any) as it happens! Plus, we also want to thank everyone for partcipating in our online showers! They have been so much fun and we truly appreciate you taking time out of your schedules to participate! A big THANK YOU to all of you! Have a great week and we love you all!