Just the two of us...

...but not for long! I am writing this on the eve of being admitted to the hospital to be induced. Actually, they will admit me tomorrow and probably break my water and see if I'll go into labor on my own and then actually induce me Wednesday morning.

I can't believe we are here. It seems like it has been so long and also that it's flown by. I can't believe I've been pregnant for nearly the last year. I can't believe I've grown a person inside me...and that now it will be coming out to live with us. So weird! I also pointed out to Troy that it is our last night at home as just a couple. I'm sure it'll never be the same but that we'll never be able to imagine what this has been like (before the baby).

I just wanted to take a moment to get this down so I won't forget. It's just so amazing to me...I'm about the experience the greatest thing in my life up to this point! (I said that to Troy at dinner and I think he was a little insulted at first but marrying someone - even someone you truly love - just can't compare to growing someone!)

So...thank you for all of the thoughts, prayers and well wishes. It really means a lot to me. And thanks for following my little preggo jounrney on this blog! It will now obviously become all about Little Miss Benton and I can't wait. :) We'll post pictures as soon as we can!

The Final Countdown

Has anyone else noticed that I usually update my blog on Thursdays? Not sure why that is. Anywho!

So...the big news for us is that by this time next week, our baby girl will be here! I went to the doctor yesterday and they said that I have not started towards labor but because the baby is rather large, they scheduled me to be admitted Tuesday night and induced on Wednesday. Which is exciting and weird all at the same time. To be honest, I'll be a little disappointed in my body that I couldn't get things going in a timely fashion on my own but I also don't want to let things go too long and then have no option but a c-section. I'm still holding out hope that labor will progress naturally and that I'll be in the hospital having this baby before my induction date but time will only tell!

In the meantime, I think I'm going to buy a Hanes XXL and write on it in permanent marker: "I'm due on Sunday. It's a girl. Yes, I'm very excited. No, we're not settled on the name yet." I went to Sephora today and was the main attraction. Every worker there asked me this litany of questions. I kind of wanted to call a meeting or make an announcement from the registers so I could answer everyone at once. One girl kept coming back over to talk to me about my pregnancy, plans, experiences, etc. All of that is fine, it's just a little funny. Plus, she was a little pushy (I mean, when you ask if we've picked out a name and I say, "Well, sort of...we've got one we like but we're still not 100%" you don't come back with "Oh...well, what is it?" Yeesh people.) The other thing I think is really funny is how everyone always asks if I'm excited. Do you really think I'm going to say, "Hell no! Have you SEEN a birthing video??" although I think that's going to be my next response. :)

Also, apparently I have the pregnancy glow. I thought it was just because it's 96 degrees and humid because it's July in NC but hey, if people think I'm glowing, I'll take it. It's a lot more flattering that just looking like a sweaty girl with facankles. I think my work sees through this though because they keep asking if I'm okay and hinting that I maybe look a little worn out. I guess toting around this extra 40+ pounds is starting to weigh on me (pun intended). By the end of the week, I just want to spread out on the couch and get a massage. Too bad my days usually end with my running some errands on the way home and then cooking. Oh well...I keep hoping gravity will be kind and get things moving.

So keep us in your thoughts & prayers that I will go into labor soon and that it will be smooth and problem-free. Baby will be here soon!!

Sweet Baby

Okay, I know I promised a slideshow of belly pics but then when I put it together, I was not sure that I was ready for that to be out on the interwebs! It's a lot of large bare belly. I might still...we'll see.

I know I've been a little absent from the blog. I had a couple of worrisome doctor's visits but everything's fine. It started with my 37 week appt where I was measuring 41 weeks. Um, yeah. I have always been concerned that she would be a large baby because I was (I weighed 10 lbs, 7 oz...go ahead, pick your chin up) and it was suspected that my Mom had undiagnosed gestational diabetes. So this is something I've brought up repeatedly but my doctors have never seemed very concerned. After all, my 25 week glucose test was fine. But last week they were a bit surprised by this and decided I should go back for another ultrasound to get an idea of how big she is. Wednesday I went in for that appointment and they checked her and her measurements were kind of off. She was a bit misproportioned with her head measuring small and her abdomen measuring quite large. Needless to say, I was very concerned and upset.

They decided to send me to Duke Perinatal Consultants to get a more high-tech ultrasound just in case their measurements were wrong. After all, her head is now very low so it was hard to get a good angle. So we went this morning...and they were right. I was really upset but the doctor was great and explained that it's not so much that she has a small head (she's just petite) but that her stomach is really large. She said that this is usually an indication that the mother has had some sort of diabetes. Well, imagine that! I gave her the background on my mother's experience and how large I was and she was shocked that my doctor's office had not kept a better check. She was really surprised when I told her that on a few visits, I'd had elevated sugar in my urine. She said, "And they didn't check you again?!" Nope. Soo...the baby is fine and she said there's nothing to be concerned about but I feel terrible that I've been poisoning her with my peach milkshake infatuation. This also explains the facankles. So even though I'll be 39 weeks on Sunday and am so close to the end, I'm going to work really hard to cut back on my sugar to see if that helps any. I'm just relieved that she's healthy and fine...she'll just have a big belly at first. So now we're just waiting on her to decide to come out!!

July = Baby

I apologize for slacking off a bit in my blogging. To make it up to you, I plan to add a slideshow on here of the belly pics we've been taking weekly since finding out I was pregnant. It has really been interesting to watch my belly (and other things) grow! It's funny looking back...I thought I was so obviously pregnant around the beginning of my second trimester and now I look at the pics and it's like, "Oh, what a tiny little bump I had!" And then we get to 24 weeks...

Anywho...we've been busy getting the house together and washing baby things and just generally preparing ourselves for the fact that we will soon be bringing a tiny, helpless little person home. That just almost doesn't seem legal.

Now for the Holly & baby update. To put things into perspective for you, I'm typing this at work while wearing flip flops and with my feet propped up on an empty paper box under my desk. So needless to say, the recent boiling temps have been taking their toll on me. By the end of the day, my feet and ankles are huge. Troy has coined the term "facankles"...as in, not just cankles, but fat cankles. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. I also quit wearing my wedding bands a few weeks ago because if my hands would swell, it was awful trying to get them off and I didn't want to end up having to have them cut off or something. So now I look like a knocked up floozy with facankles.

Baby is still doing great...just getting crowded. She now does what I call her fish flop where it seems like she gets to frustrated at her lack of space that she does one mighty flailing to change position. It's pretty entertaining. :) And I still love when she pokes her little feet out. I can't wait to grab those little feet!

I go back to the doctor tomorrow morning so we'll see if there has been any progress from last week (where they said no dilating and they think she'll sit tight until sometime around her due date). I'll keep you posted!

It is easy being green (sometimes)

My friend did this on her blog and I thought it was a great idea so I'm doing the same. By posting the "Green" button on the right side of my blog, I'm having a tree planted to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from this blog. If you'd like to do the same, just check out this site.

The Heat Is On

Seriously, it is way hot out. I love how we have an "unseasonably warm" summer when I'm pregnant! Oh well...thank goodness for A/C.

So I am now officially one month away from my due date. The scarier fact is that the baby will be full term a week from Sunday. Yikes! The little green lady to the right just keeps on marching closer & closer to 40 weeks and I am just dumbfounded. Here's hoping we'll be ready!

One thing that definitely helped was a shower that my sister and friends threw for me last week. It was so much fun and BB (Baby Benton) got lots of great stuff! Here I am enjoying a (virgin) daiquiri with Aunt Laura:



It was a fun tropical theme. Keeping in that theme, baby is about the size of a honeydew melon this week. And I look like 2 grapefruits on top of a watermelon. I can't imagine getting much bigger but I'm sure I will with another month to go. It's funny though...I guess when you get close to 9 months, you cross some threshold. Now people have started telling me that I don't look that big (so they are obviously lying). Even Troy has started to say that I look totally normal except for this large bubble on the front of me (which is actually a compliment considering before he just told me I was huge). ;)

I hope you are all managing to stay cool in this heat. Have a great weekend!

I Win

Troy just ordered a desktop for the house. Should be here before the baby he says. I have the best husband! :) Soo...hopefully pictures again soon!