40 weeks and counting.... that's 10 months kids!

So today is my official due date, but rather than magical pictures of a squishy pink face and feelings of accomplishment I'm sitting at my desk at work making faces like this one to everyone who says, "What? No baby yet" My stomach is huge. I am ready to meet this critter, but just like everything worth having she's making me wait. I appreciate the life lessons, but at the same time I wouldn't mind a quick jump into labor. It's pretty amazing how labor, the once semi dreaded end of the pregnancy road is now the shiny gilded door at the end of the tunnel. Go figure. I think biology has yet again scored a big one- Getting women excited and antsy about squeezing out a giant baby person is pretty impressive. I am 100% in the excited and antsy camp. I'm just milliseconds from yelling to the world COME ON CONTRACTIONS! LETS DO THIS THING!



I'm walking a lot. Hoping for progress. We'll see what happens soon.

Waiting in the Starting Blocks

We’re so close; I’m hoping that the next post will include pictures of the BABY in person. Yesterday’s doctor appointment yielded some great news. I found out that the baby is in position (the doctor said she felt her head) and that I’m already 70% effaced and 3 cm dilated. Whoot! Keep it up baby Moe! The doctor also told me that she didn’t expect me to make it all the way to Tuesday. I’m hoping for labor to start FOR REAL at any minute. Mike and I are both at a decent ‘stopping place’ at work. We’ve got all the bags packed. The car seat’s ready and we even got a guest bed upstairs. These last few days of waiting seem like years. For example I think today has stretched into a week. I’m walking as much as possible and daydreaming of babies.

I will say however that at the same time the reality is setting in. That pelvic exam was less than pleasant yesterday. I’m getting ready to batten down the hatches and be pretty uncomfortable for a few hours soon. I’m sure that it will be worth it, but the butterflies are hanging out in my displaced stomach all the same. Wish us luck!

I'm a King Cake and I'm ready for the baby to come on out!

As I impatiently wait for our little one to arrive I’m having a hard time coming up with much to say that any of you lovely folks out there might find interesting or useful. My mind is always at least 50% dedicated to thinking, “WHEN IS SHE GOING TO ARRIVE!?”

Last night I laughed so hard at dinner with my favorite folks (the Atlanta delegation of the Krewe of Madness) that I was sure she was going to jump out and join the fun. Instead I just enjoyed amazing food and had a great time. It’s nice when you can have as much fun being pregnant sober sally as the folks drinking about 1 bottle of wine each. Good times. I realize that last night may be one of the last times Mike and I have a dinner out with friends for quite some time without things like boob pumping and babysitters.

There is a recent decline in the number of photos on this page, there is a really good/ridiculous reason for that. I have already packed the camera for the hospital. I’m just that optimistic. However, as this year is the first year in three that we’ll be in Atlanta for my favorite holiday of the year, Mardi Gras, I figured I’d post some oldies but goodies for old time’s sake back when any extra stomach space was occupied by muffaletta, king cake, cocktails and crawfish rather than a bouncing baby girl.

This year Mardi Gras falls exactly 1 week after my due date. It also happens to fall on Mike’s birthday. Something tells me a 1 week old baby is going to make for a significantly different type of celebration. Any way it happens I’m sure we’ll still “Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez.”

Ready for Launch!

Friday I had my first of the last series of doctor visits. The ones that happen every week in the last month of pregnancy. Very exciting stuff! Turns out they can tell that the baby is not only head down (YAY!!) she is also ‘engaged.’ In other words when it comes times to exit she is apparently in the right position. This could change. Some kids get tired of being so compliant and start to move about again before arriving, however the doctor assured me that it’s a lot harder for them to move back once they’ve ‘dropped.’ Don’t get too excited, she’s not popping out today or anything, in fact it’s totally normal for a baby to be in position for a whole month before delivery. I can’t lie, I’m hoping she likes to be prompt.

I was two whole weeks late. Yikes. I’m typically kind of obsessed with being on time, the idea that my first arrival on the planet was two weeks behind parental expectations is something I still haven’t gotten over. I’ve been lecturing the baby about the value of being on time. I like to think she’s listening, she is sort of a captive audience.

So far (KNOCK ON WOOD) I’m still not puffy or stretch marked or otherwise miserable looking/feeling. Yay for exercise and cocoa butter! I’m hoping the last month isn’t the time I loose all self control and find myself driving to fast food in the middle of the night. I considered driving to McDonalds recently while Mike was at a friend’s record release to buy a hot fudge sundae. Happily I talked myself out of it- but I was getting pretty close to doing something so totally unlike my rational self that it was more than a little bit frightening.

Mike was awesome and put the car seat in his car. Now we can legally take her home when she’s out. It also makes this even more real. Looking at the seat in the back of the Accord (we’re getting it inspected by our fire station for safety) is a constant reminder that in less than a month I will cease to be pregnant.

I had my final lovely and thoughtful baby shower this weekend. My sweet friends Gina and Susan had an awesome neighborhood get together full of hand crafted baby goods and hilarious shower games. Who knew melted chocolate in diapers could be so funny!

Giant belly photos will come soon.

It’s raining gifts… THANK YOU EVERYONE!

This weekend a wonderful group of friends and family celebrated with us, and were ridiculously generous. We cannot express how special it was. Per usual my best friend and company of other extremely fine ladies went all out for another Mary life event.

She proved that just because you throw a killer scandalous bachelorette doesn’t mean that you can’t also host a lovely baby shower. What can I say, the girl’s got talent. I can also say that I had the best baby shower bartender in town at my event. I don’t think she does gigs, but she will keep you hydrated amidst all of the tissue paper wonderment.

Everyone brought magical treats and gifts and made a bunch of super sweet pages for a scrapbook that I can’t wait to show baby girl when she’s older. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Tears of happiness. I have amazing friends who I cannot thank enough for all the sweet things they do.

As far as baby gear and baby outfits (and everything amazingly precious) go, WE’re READY. Baby Moe/Squanto is going to arrive in a world that loves her so much already it makes me tear up a bit. And, I think I have more than just hormones to thank for this. I am soooooooooooo thankful for our friends and family for sharing the excitement and anticipation with us in this crazy time. The amount of positive energy directed at the person currently sitting on my bladder is pretty astounding. I can't wait to meet her!

We have a nursery! Now we're just waiting for the baby...

Though the lighting is less than ideal, here's the big reveal:

Mike and I have had a lot of fun putting together this room for our little girl. Now that she's almost here we're happy to have it finished. Lots of the pieces are from our favorite Swedish superstore, but we've done our best to rehab some old pieces and put our stamp on a few new ones to fit into our ideal gender neutral approach to a girl room. She may come out a sparkly pink princess, but we're going to let her decide on that a little later. In the meantime the room is full of our favorite things. It's the best way we can think to welcome a person to the planet.

We inherited the green room when we bought the house, but feel really lucky with it. The Red rocking chair is porch sized, for baby girl's giant momma and painted my favorite red, thanks to Mike's hard work. Another touch that makes me smile is borrowed. A very special lady's lamp will light some night time stories

We painted a lot of the furniture using two small cans of Martha Stewart low VOC. The sea glass blue and off white were picked way back in warmer months, and we're still happy with how they make us feel. I could go on for ever about all the ideas and steps to get to this room, but here are a few pictures instead.

Now that we're at 35 weeks we're looking forward to the time, a little more than 1 month from now when we can give you all updates about the person living in this room.

Nursery: the home stretch

We're almost there! Today our Expedit storage shelving went up, and all of my craft supplies went away to the attic, at least for the time being. It's looking a lot more like a real baby room now. Once the final pieces of art, shelves and a mirror are up we'll give you teh 360 degree view. But for now, we're feeling pretty darn productive. Credit must be given where credit is due. Mike reconfigured the space, and the fun red star light so that they give more floor space for baby girl, and less of a chance for scary shelf crashing down on tiny tots. We couldn't be more excited. Friends and family have been so generous, this little girl is pretty lucky already.