She'll Be Here Soon!

Avery will be arriving any day now! I can't believe it! We are so excited to finally meet her. I am 37 weeks and 5 days pregnant today and things are going well. Over the past couple of weeks of doctors appointments I have begun to dilate, my cervix is softening, and Avery's head is down in my pelvis. So far everything is very "normal" as I tested negative for the Group B Strep, I've gained my 30 lbs., and my belly is growing about 1 cm per week.

We set a date to be induced at our last doctor's appointment on Monday. If she has not arrived by the 25th, I'll go in at 8 pm to be induced that night and deliver her on the morning of the 26th! The doctor predicts that she will weigh about 6 lbs. when she's born, which will be great for me.

I've been off school for three days this week for snow, which has been super nice because I haven't been feeling the best. I've had a lot of drainage at night and waking up with a sore throat every morning for the past three days. It's been a nice little break from working and we've gotten to do a few more things for Avery.

Mom and I went shopping yesterday for a "Bring Me Home" outfit. I had already picked one out at Mom's store, but we wanted to find one that might be a little more special. We found a store downtown called Bella Bliss, which LB had told me about. There stuff was precious. We got a pink gown with Avery's monogram on the front, a little matching hat, and a blanket with pink bunnies and her name embroidered on it. I thought about having the date put on it as well, but I figured I was being a little too gutsy.

Her nursery is mostly finished. We are going to order some shelves for the wall and a end table for beside the glider. Mom has also ordered some "art" for the walls. These will all be "add-ons" after she arrives. The most important things are here: diapers, wipes, changing table and the bassinet.

Mom did an awesome job with the bassinet. It has been in the family since my grandfather was a baby and Avery will be the 4th generation to use it. Mom repainted it, since Ben was very concerned about lead paint, and she also put in a new liner which turned out beautiful! It's a yellow and white gingham in a silk material.

We've been attending some maternity education classes at the hospital. The first class we took was great: Infant CPR. We learned the basics to what to do if a baby goes unconscious or is choking. This was reassuring and not scary at all. The second class was a birthing class. This class was scary and should be taken by any woman who thinks she wants to get pregnant, not by those who are about to deliver a baby and it's too late to change your mind.

We watched 4 videos of real live births. They tried to show us the different types of interventions that may have to be performed. I don't want to go into any detail for those of you who still have a very rosy picture of a baby being born, but I DO NOT want my experience to be anything like what 3 out of the 4 births on that video turned out to be. Yikes.

We were scheduled to do the Breastfeeding class this week, but it got rescheduled because of snow, and next week we'll be doing the Baby Steps class. And then, I'll officially be ready to be a mom. :)

Things haven't been too crazy busy lately. Ben and I went to Gatlinburg last weekend with a group of 14 friends. We spent some time relaxing, eating, sleeping, talking, and outlet shopping for baby clothes. We got the CUTEST bathing suit ever made for little miss Avery. It has a little bubble butt for her diaper. We are currently planning a trip to the beach for the first week of October. I already can't wait.

Life is good and it's about to get much better!! I'll keep you posted on these last 14 days of progress towards her grand arrival! Much LOVE!!