Pictures!

Here are some pictures. Once we all get back from the hospital I'll post a bunch more to a gallery some place. But for now, here you go:

Molly Elizabeth Kirkwood

She's here! Molly Elizabeth was born at 11:41 pm on 12/16. She weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz and is 21 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing fantastic. No time for more posts as I need to get back to the hospital. I'll have pictures and more details soon.

More waiting, thank goodness

Our ultrasound went great this afternoon!

Amniotic fluid was borderline low at our last ultrasound, so the midwives have been watching the baby carefully. If the fluid was low today, they were prepared to induce labor.

However, our little girl scored a 9.9 amniotic fluid index, which is well within the normal range. (She was 6.5 last week and anything 5 or below is risky). That means no need to induce!

In fact, there's no other testing on the horizon that we know of. We're finally back to a plain, old normal pregnancy. We have one week to our due date, and I still think she might hang on a little longer than that.

My Braxton Hicks contractions have gotten a little stronger and more frequent, and I'm just starting to get a little uncomfortable with all this weight to carry around ... just a little, no complaints! Still, I feel normal enough that I made it through a yoga class last night.

The snow's coming down pretty hard here right now, so we're hunkering down for an evening at home: hot cocoa, movies and maybe some baby room decorating. That's so much better than going to the hospital and inducing labor in a snow storm. Phew!!!!

Still waiting

No baby yet. She's kicking like she's ready to pop out the front, but still no signs of labor.
We'll keep the updates coming.

The Bags are Packed

We got our car seats professionally installed this weekend by the excellent folks at the Westminster Police Department. They even took the time to go over all the details of making sure the baby is properly secured, and signs for when it is time to get a new seat and all that sort of thing. Plus we got to share some woodworking stories since he'd recently cut off the tip of his finger on a table saw. Julie also packed her bag for the hospital, so I think we've got all the most important things ready to go. I won't go so far as to say we're prepared.

By request ...

Belly photos:















At our breastfeeding class last night we practiced with dolls -- how's that for an image. The lactation consultant encouraged us to practice more at home, perhaps with stuffed animals. Now where did that monkey go?

Big belly

It's getting much harder lately to bend down and pick things up. And today we had a laugh when I tried to get out of my big purple chair and couldn't quite do it. Baby's getting big!

I've spent the past several days assembling baby gear: swing, bouncy seat, bassinet, mobile, stroller frame, etc. It's funny that somewhere in the instructions for every single item there's a warning that says "ADULT ASSEMBLY REQUIRED." As opposed to...? What, the baby can't put this together herself? Silly people.

So we've officially made it to full term -- 37 weeks. I have only two weeks of work left, unless I decide I'm feeling good and I'm bored and I want to keep going. My midwife said labor usually starts so slowly that I would have time to drive myself home safely, even if contractions started at work. And my coworkers very eagerly made a plan for how they will get me and my car home or to the hospital on a moment's notice if I need it -- they're very excited about this. Still, I think it would be nice to have at least a day or two at home to get ready before the baby comes.

I think we've got a while to wait, though. The baby is head-down but she hasn't dropped yet and there are no other signs she's on the way. I have a feeling that she's not going to come out for a while, and I don't mind. I haven't nearly reached the point where I'm sick of being pregnant. In fact, I think I'm enjoying it more now than I was a couple months ago. It's so much fun to feel her move around in there!