36 Weeks and counting!

We are officially less than a month away from the due date now (27 days to go)! Pretty crazy! We had our 36 week Dr.'s appointment on Monday. The Dr. said things look good and everything is just as it should be - which is great to hear. My measurements are continuing to increase so she is still growing, actually putting more chub on now at this point. My belly length (pubic bone to top of uterus) is at 36 cm and I have gained 29 lbs! The nurse took me out of the room to weigh me and when I came back in I told Brad what my weight was. I could see in his eyes that he was thinking back to what I had started at and doing the calculations in his head. Then he let out a big "Wow!". The nurse and I started laughing but the nurse did yell at him and told him that that was the wrong response and to never do that again. It was actually pretty funny cause I was thinking the same thing. So don't feel bad if you just said "wow" too. The Dr. did do an internal exam and said that her head is definitely down there, I am 50% effaced, and I am not dilated yet. She said the fact that I am not dilated yet doesn't mean too much yet. I could start dilating any day or I could stay this way for awhile...you just never know. She did feel my belly and made a guess that Baby Spins would be in the mid 7's. Then once I told her how big I was (9 lbs, 1 oz.) and that my mom had all big babies she said, ok so maybe high 7's. Either way it sounds good to me! Her heartbeat was a little higher this time but she was kicking and moving all around so the Dr. said it was a good sign that her heartbeat was faster since she was so active. Lately she has been very active during the days, especially when I am driving around in the car - I don't think she likes me to sit cause then she is more scrunched in there. The good thing is I think she settles down at night cause she is still letting me get a good night's rest. Now if we could only keep it that way after she is born as well.

The last few weeks we finished up all of our classes at the hospital. We took a newborn care (1 Sat. morning), breastfeeding basics (1 Sat. morning) and also Childbirth prep/Lamaze class (4 Monday evenings). We thought for the most part the classes were all very helpful, especially the Lamaze class. We had a great instructor! She didn't make us watch a lot of boring movies or spend a lot of time on breathing. Instead she focused on our (both mom and dad's) state of mind for the whole labor process. She wanted the guys to feel like they could be involved and not just a stand-by watcher. So in order to help us relax, she taught them all sorts of massaging techniques. It was awesome! They had to practice giving us massages at every class and learned how to massage everything. I think the guys were a little surprised but the girls sure did love it!

We also accomplished a huge step in the past few weeks - we found a Daycare (and we love it)! I did research and had a list of around 25 places to call here in Fishers. I started calling and no one had an opening for an infant this fall. A few places did but I either crossed them off just by talking to them on the phone or right after the interview with them. It was so stressful! I felt like we were never going to find a place good enough for our little girl, a place where we would actually feel comfortable leaving her during the day. When we had the interview with the place we chose, Kid's Corner, we knew right away that this was the place. It is a home daycare - Miss Jaime does it out of her house, and she watches 16 kids (only 3 infants total) but has 2 assistants. She is so great and you could tell right away she was real and really cares for the kids she watches. She has the next 3 months planned out with different themes every week (ex. sports week, luau week, art week, etc.) She is very organized and has a daily routine and emphasized how important it was for our infant to get on a routine (and how much it will help us in the evenings). She follows the High Reach program for the young ones and the Mother Goose curriculum for the 2 year old's and up. I know that doesn't matter for us right away (more for down the road) but it shows us how professional (and not lazy) she is. Another plus is her house is really nice, plenty of space, and she keeps everything spic and span. We are so happy that we found her! What a huge relief off of our shoulders! Oh, and we also met with a few pediatricians this week and chose one that we really liked too. She is in the same network that my Ob-Gyn is in (St. Vincents, where we are having our baby). Her office is right here in Fishers, half way between home and both of our offices so you can't beat the location. And her practice came highly recommended from many people. So as you can see, things are starting to take shape and fall together.

I don't have any pictures to post today and Brad's out golfing so I can't even take a few quick ones. You'll all just have to take my word for it that I am bigger than I ever imagined! My parents, Grandma Sally, Ben, and Bailey are coming down tomorrow for a long weekend. I am so excited to have them down one more time before the baby comes. I'll take some pictures with them this weekend and I'll post those as my 36/37 week pics.

Tomorrow is mine and Brad's 4th wedding anniversary and we are also under 4 weeks away from having a baby girl...my how things change and time flies!