Just had my 37-weeks-and-2-days doctor appointment this morning and things are looking good! First of all the scale this week lied to me (in a good way) and said I'm only at 157lbs (less than 40 up from starting weight), but that's about 4lbs less than last week so I know it is lying haha. With Lydia I ended at 169 though, so I do think I'll manage to stay under that this time around. I did not get to see my regular doctor because she is out this week, so I am trying to keep in mind that different doctors may say different things and not to get too caught up in what I was told. But regardless, this doctor said I am currently at "a good 1cm", 80% effaced, baby's head is nice and low, and the cervix is nice and soft. I talked to her some about the possibility of scheduling an induction if he hasn't come by his due date and her response was something along the lines of, "There's no way you are going past your due date." Ha!

Honestly I hate it when doctors say things like that because I know that it still may not be true... and I hate to get my hopes up or anyone else's hopes up! But she said it, so there we go. It's in my head now. She said she was pretty convinced that I will go into labor on my own. But again, can one really know THAT well? As always, only time will tell.

It is exciting, though, to think that Eli's arrival could be a little sooner than later. I'm looking forward to meeting him and experiencing what it is like to have a son. I'm looking forward to hearing those sweet baby cries again, holding a sleeping little one, seeing how Lydia reacts to him, and just getting to know another of these little miracles. I've been busily preparing as much as I can around the house. Most of the baby equipment has been cleaned up and moved into Eli's room until he arrives. I've got the spare freezer stocked up with frozen pizzas and other quick meals so resting and getting to know our boy can take priority over having to cook dinner. And I am *trying* to get the house relatively clean so I don't feel so bad about letting it go for a couple of weeks post-baby. The biggest things that are not done are the little keepsake things I want to have - his baby blanket (which I've already decided will not be finished until after his birth - sorry Eli!), his baby book, some scrapbooks that are in progress, etc. But these are nice-to-haves, not things that I need done before his arrival. However, there are still things to be done so I really should get off the computer and do them. It's much harder to prepare for a new baby with a toddler to tend to, so naptimes are crucial!
I'm so horrible at making myself sit down and write what's going on in our life. Do I say that every time I post? Probably.

As of yesterday I am full-term with the pregnancy (37 weeks). I'm excited for the day of Eli's arrival, but at the same time feel very at peace about when he decides to make his debut. I am enjoying life as it is now, understanding that change is coming, and will be fine if it is another 3 weeks before my son is ready. At the same time, I would be just as thrilled if he wanted to show up tomorrow! I've been bad about posting little details of this pregnancy, but have one I wanted to be sure to write down. A few days ago we were relaxing and watching TV while Eli danced around in my belly. Usually I am not good at differentiating between body parts (his elbow as opposed to his heal, for example), but that night I was poking at him and could very clearly feel his sweet little baby foot. Looking forward to kissing on that tiny foot next month!

At my last OB appointment I was showing no signs of progression towards labor yet. My next appointment is tomorrow (on weekly visits now) so we'll see if anything has changed. I have felt a few Braxton Hicks contractions (I think... I never had them with Lydia), but nothing substantial. I am not at the point of counting on him staying in there until his due date, but also not convinced he will certainly come early. All we do now is wait and try not to schedule anything too important in the coming weeks.

Lydia continues to do well, growing and learning as always. She gets better by the day at speaking in sentances, though the words are still sometimes out of order. She is a fantastic little helper and does well picking up her toys when we are done with them and following directions. I'm sure if I was not expecting a baby in less than a month we could be successfully potty training. She will talk about the potty and has started to put her toys on the potty for them to use it. But alas, I still don't want to be dealing with all of it when I have a newborn, so we will wait. Good thing I continue to get cheap/free diapers with my couponing. :)
My friend Kim is doing a $50 Hallmark Giveaway! Go check it out... and be sure to check out the rest of her stuff too!
Some much needed Lydia updates:

  • While I try not to let her watch too much TV in any given day, she has a few favorite shows that we enjoy watching together. Super Why ("Why Why"), Cat in the Hat ("Hat"), Word World, Sid, Curious George, and Elmo ("La-lo") are all enjoyed in moderation, though the programing schedule changed and we don't see Word World or George very often anymore.
  • Lydia still loves to run, spin, jump, and dance. She has now started to insist that we join in with her at all times. "Mommy up! Mommy spin! Mommy jump!" or perhaps "Ball Mommy! Mommy ball!" when she wants us to play with her ball. It's super cute but she can be really demanding!
  • For those wondering, potty training is still on hold. As Eli's due date moves closer, I just don't have the time and energy to put into it right now. We will be waiting until she is closer to 2 or perhaps just after her 2nd birthday... depending on what things are like with Eli here.
  • Lydia is getting good at routines and does excellent following directions. When it is time to clean up she will help put all the toys back in their place. She usually even knows where they all go without being told. Bedtime routine is similar. Once she is in her PJ's we can put her down in her room and she will go pick out a book, give it to one of us, and sit on our lap for her story. As soon as we say "the end" she will take the book, put it away on the shelf, give us each two hugs (one on each shoulder) and a kiss, then crawl into bed on her own. I have a feeling she will love routine just like her mama. :)
  • Her language abilities continue to amaze me and she talks in short sentences throughout the day. Most of the time I can understand her, but she gets carried away at times and rambles a whole lot of stuff together that I can't figure out.
  • Lydia's favorite games are pretending to go night-night and playing with her pink ball. Whenever we are in her room she insists that we both flop on her bed and pretend to be sleeping. She also enjoys helping with the laundry and "sweeping" the kitchen floor.
  • Colors and letters are all pretty well mastered by Lydia now. There aren't any letters that give her trouble anymore, so we are working more on numbers. She knows most of them and will usually count to five if you show her your fingers one at a time. I also randomly hear her saying "six, seven, eight, nine, ten!" though I don't think she's actually counting anything. As far as colors go, we've taught her red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, pink, white, black, and brown. She gets them right 99% of the time! She really absorbs information like a sponge. I can't keep up with writing it all down!
  • One funny thing she picked up is the fact that Nana drinks coffee. This is hilarious that she latched onto it because my mom never made a big deal about it. Yet Lydia has decided she loves to talk about coffee and pretend that she is drinking it! She even takes her toy barrels and will pretend to be drinking coffee out of them like a cup.

There are probably a hundred more things I could write down, but I'll still miss some. It's so hard to really capture what life is like around here in words! All I can hope to do is at least give myself a few things to remember when I look back.

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