38 Weeks

It's time for the weekly update...for 38 weeks! Wow. The end is so daggone near...it's too much for me to wrap my brain around. Sprout could come pretty much anytime he or she wants at this point. I'd like for him/her to wait at least until Sunday (or Thursday, depending on whose due date you use), when I'm at the 39 week mark, though. I had to take my own picture this week. I had to teach last night and didn't get home until after 8 o'clock, and when I got home David was mowing. As comfortable as maternity pants are, they still aren't as comfortable as my pj's, and I just wanted to get into them as soon as possible! So here are two self-portraits using the new camera (which we're still figuring out).

You can see the little stool in the background that I sit on when I put on my eyeliner in the full-length mirror. I used to sit on the floor to do that, but many weeks ago I got tired of hoisting myself off of the floor by pulling on the side of the tub. The stool has really helped.

This one is a little better, I think, but still not great. I'll have to get David to take a picture today so that I'll have a good one of each week of the pregnancy. On Wednesday, one of the nurses at my hematologist's office informed me that I had "dropped." I don't know...what do you think? I definitely feel more pressure in my pelvis, but I can't really tell a visible difference.

The sugar ban is getting old. I'm not complaining...I'd do anything to be sure that Sprout gets here healthy and strong, but I do miss sweets. I'd be lying if I said I didn't daydream about candy, cookies, cake, and ice cream. And when someone is eating something sweet, sometimes I ask them if I can smell it (weird, I know). And when someone tells me about a meal they've eaten, I always ask them if they had dessert. And then I ask them to describe it to me. I have a problem, don't I? Most of you probably know that I love to bake, but I haven't been doing much lately because I can't eat the sweet treats I bake and because we've been spending our free time fixing up Sprout's room or cleaning the house so that the health inspector will allow us to bring our baby home. :) Anyway, I was tooling around the Internet the other day and spied the first dessert I'll be making once Sprout gets here and I'm back to baking. Get ready, because it really is a little obscene:

It's called a "Pudgy Cake". The bottom layer is a brownie. The middle layer is egg-free cookie dough, and the top layer is a funfetti cake, all covered in buttercream frosting! Can you believe it? I found it at Cookies and Cups, and seriously ya'll, she's a genius. It's become one of my very favorite food blogs, and I can't wait to bake up lots of her sweet treats. I'd offer to share some of my Pudgy Cake with you, but I really think that I can eat the whole thing, especially since I'll be home with Sprout all day, every day, for 12 weeks. I might just put it on a cake carrier and sit it on the couch next to me, since I figure I'll spend lots of time there nursing for awhile. I'll say it again...I have a problem, don't I?

Enough about the sweet treats. David and I have been working hard on getting things ready for Sprout's arrival. I think we have his or her room ready...or at least as ready as it'll be before he or she gets here. I don't want it to be completely gender-neutral, so there are a few things I'll still do after we know if Sprout is a boy or a girl. Would you like to see what we've done so far?

We put up several little shelves, but don't have a lot to put on them right now. We got a set of alphabet blocks, so I thought I'd put Sprout's name in his/her room. Maybe once he or she gets here, I'll put the real name.

See the quilt over the back of the glider? That's the quilt my sister made for Sprout. I love it! I've put a side table by the glider, but it really makes things cramped. I'm not sure that I'll keep it. I just felt like I might need a table there, but seeing as how I've never nursed a baby (or spent that much quality time with one, for that matter), I'm not sure if it's really necessary. I guess I'll try it and see.

I'm really pleased with how the quote over the bed turned out. It could probably use one more coat of paint, but I'm honestly tired of painting, and I don't think Sprout will notice.

That little storage bench was a great find. Mom found it online at Target. Sprout's Uncle Patrick had given us a gift card, so we used it to purchase the bench. Sprout says thank you, Uncle Patrick! It's already full. The child has a full library already, and I'm not sure where we'll put more books that he or she gets. The two drawers are full of toys! This kiddo is spoiled rotten already.

We built our house knowing that we planned to grow our family soon. As we were working with the architect on the plans, one of the things I insisted on was having an extra bedroom on the first floor for a nursery. On the plans, I think the architect listed it as a dining room, but to me, it was always the nursery. I love French doors, and thought these would be so cute for a nursery, and then later on to close off the room if we decided to use it as an office or something like that. What I didn't know was how stinkin' expensive curtains are for these stupid things. We spent an arm and a leg on these curtains, and they're nothing special. If I knew then what I knew now, I probably wouldn't have chosen French doors...but let's just focus on how pretty they are, okay?

We think we're as ready for Sprout as we're ever going to be. The room is done. I moved the Pack 'N Play into our bedroom the other night (mostly to get it out of the living room so I could steam clean the floors). I've washed Sprout's bedding and clothes (except for his or her going home outfit...because I have one girl outfit and two boy outfits). My hematologist said that my platelet count is 124,000! I have a low platelet count all the time, but he wanted to be sure that it was above 100,000 so that I can get an epidural if needed. I'm hoping to not get an epidural, but I want to have the option in case they tell me I have to have a c-section...with an epidural I can be awake for the birth, not out cold. We've got pretty much everything packed:

This is some of the stuff that we're taking to the hospital. The car seat, the breastfeeding pillow, the birth ball, the diaper bag, our bag, and the comfort measures bag. See the list pinned to the side of the bag? That's still stuff we need to gather to take with us.

I was just telling David the other night that I really can't believe that I have a full-sized baby in my belly. A lot of times, I can feel which parts of Sprout I'm feeling. His (or her) little bottom is right below my chest, and when he or she moves from side to side, I can feel it from the outside. And when he or she stretches his/her legs out (most often toward the right), I can feel what I think is a leg or a heel or a foot. It's just absolutely amazing. I've said to a number of people that I just don't see how anyone who has ever been pregnant or who has felt a baby move (from the outside) could deny the existence of God. When you really understand all of the millions of things that have to happen with perfect timing in order for a baby to be conceived and carried to term, you understand how much of a miracle babies really are. As Erma Bombeck once wrote, "I'd...realized that the wonder growing inside of me was my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle."