Okay, it's been TWO WEEKS.

It's been two weeks today since I had the cerclage removed. After months and months of fearing she was going to just fall right out. As of two weeks ago she has the green light to arrive any time. And still... nothing.

Not that we're upset about that. I'm not even at 38 weeks yet (although this week's visit to the midwife on Tuesday did have me "measuring" at 38 weeks). I personally feel like I look... 46 weeks pregnant. Seriously. I'm down to one pair of jeans and a pair of very summery capri pants that still "fit." And 3 t-shirts. So, needless to say, I've been looking really good lately.

It has been really nice to finally MOVE, though. And a big relief for Eric, who can now leave me and Owen on our own for extended periods of time. Although as I mentioned to my cousins yesterday, a new bout of extreme exhaustion has just kicked in this week. Like, 10-weeks-pregnant exhaustion. I've napped almost every day this week. This little lady is zapping all of my free energy (helping me get ready for some sleepless nights, I'm sure).

Owen and I did take a nice little trip to the playground at Red Oaks yesterday before dinner, though. He LOVES playgrounds, and I've barely gotten out to any of his favorite parks with him this summer, so it was fun to watch him run (literally) around to every piece of play equipment. He even pushed me on the swings for a bit. He's a sweet little man.

And this is his new "cheese" face. When I tell him to smile and say "cheese" for the camera, this is what I get. Lucky for me I find his face to be adorable no matter what. Even during this morning's total and complete meltdown because his sunglasses were in the car. Here was our exchange:

Owen: I need my sunglasses!

Mom: They're in the car, just like mine. We'll put them on when we get in the car.

Owen: But I wanted to put them on NOW!

Mom: Well, they're in the car.

Owen: But I want to wear them right NOW!

Mom: Well, I'm not going to go outside and get them, since we'll be in the car in 2 minutes.

Owen: That makes me SO SAD. (Cue the tears and sad face and 5-minute crying jag).

And then when we got in the car, he didn't even want them. Because "it's not that sunny out." Shocking.

Okay, time to go meditate and think baby thoughts!

Guess what? I'm not in labor.

No matter what I do, everyone thinks I'm in labor. If I call my parents, they think I'm in labor. If I take too long to respond to an e-mail, the sender thinks I must be in labor. If I don't post on Facebook for a few days, all my Facebook friends think I'm in labor.

I'm not in labor.

I WISH I was in labor.

This whole "waiting around" thing is starting to drive me batty. Although it has been GREAT having some time not technically on "bed rest" to get out and enjoy the nice fall air and do some shopping and actually have a meal or two out with my husband, I'm now officially ready to have this baby. And this is from someone who genuinely loves being pregnant (I do, I love it).

I've actually been having some really mixed emotions over the birth of this baby. Because. Well. I'm not going to ever be pregnant again. I think that's been decided. This pregnancy has been too scary (and expensive, and has basically turned our lives upside down for the last 5 months). And we always wanted a boy and a girl, which we'll now have. So. Probably no more babies for us. Which makes me a little sad, because I do so totally love the whole experience of it. There are no words to describe having a tiny little person hanging out in your belly. Even if some days (like today) it feels like that little person's feet are lodged in your ribs.

But in terms of labor, nada yet! Although I am definitely dealing with a LOT of "practice contractions" - but that's been going on for weeks now. Next Sunday I'll be 38 weeks and considered "full term," although she's definitely fully cooked and can come on out any time now. Yesterday I even went for a pedicure with cousin Lauren at the SAME PLACE where I went into labor with Owen (while getting a pedicure), thinking/hoping it would have the same results. No luck.

But she's free to hang out in there until 40 weeks if she wants. Hell, she can even go to 41 before I really start freaking out about birthing 10 pound babies. I am excited to give birth to a baby that doesn't sleep for the first 6 weeks of her life! Owen was so early I swear he only opened his eyes like 5 times in the first 6 weeks.

Speaking of my monkey (who, by the way, retorts: "I'm not a MONKEY, I'm a PRESCHOOLER" whenever I use that particular term of endearment these days), here's a shot that daycare sent me of him having ice cream with Papa at the Grandparents Day Ice Cream Social last week. Mostly I just love this photo because I wonder how long my dad sat in a chair meant for a 3-year-old's butt.

Papa was (and is always) a big hit with all the kids - even sticking around for an hour to hang out on the playground after the ice cream was all eaten up. Its no wonder he is Owen's favorite person (I seriously sometimes think he out-ranks me and Eric). Thanks for being so awesome, Papa!

Something to celebrate.

Nope, not a baby being born. But almost as good.

I've been getting these progesterone injections (which are shown to help prevent preterm labor) once a week since I was 18 weeks pregnant. I'm now 36 weeks pregnant. I went in today for my LAST injection. That's 18 injections total, folks. For someone who hates needles.

And I've mentioned before that these aren't your every-day injections like a flu-shot or vitamin injection. It's an unusually large needle. And a "very viscous solution" - meaning it's very thick and hard to inject, not that it has a particularly nasty demeanor. Although I think if it had a demeanor, it wouldn't be a pleasant one. It is a hormone, after all.

Anyway, the nurses were so excited for me. Brenda, the nurse who always gives me the injection, was particularly happy. I think she loathes giving these shots, as she always apologizes the whole time. Lucky for her she's super sweet, and super good at giving the shots as quickly and painlessly (ha) as possible.

Brenda also made a comment today that rattled me a bit, but then really put things into perspective for me. She said: "You know, we don't ever tell anyone this, but the chances of you carrying this baby as long as you have after what you went through so early on are... not so great. So this baby was clearly meant to be and you've done a great job at doing everything you could to keep her in there, and I can't wait to meet her."

I almost cried. Because. Of course they aren't going to tell you what the outlook is if it's not great. It's all about the positive energy and "good vibes" as my cousins would say. And it worked. As I am now SO ready for this girl to come on out and meet us. There are no words to describe the weight that is now off my shoulders.

And sorry, PJ, but it's not looking like she'll be born today, on Trenton's birthday. I even ate some spicy food last night to see if I could get things rolling. Guess we'll have to wait and see if she arrives on MY birthday (the 7th) or Owen's birthday (the 8th)! Although we are not-so-secretly hoping she arrives any time now!

A sweet master suite. Finally.

So a big part of our "getting ready" for the baby was to finally finish our bedroom and bathroom upstairs before she arrived. As per usual, I neglected to take any "before" shots of the "bonus room/office" at the downstairs base of our bedroom that we were living in (which wasn't much bigger than the size of our queen mattress). That room will be the last one we tackle, as it's relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things. I have big plans to put a daybed in there for random houseguests, along with maybe a little flat screen TV mounted above the desk (which I want to replace eventually, too). But we'll get to it when we get to it.

I also didn't take any before photos of the upstairs master suite. But I can give you a visual. It was the same tan/gold color as the rest of the house. And when we moved in we threw about 20+ boxes up there and just... forgot about that whole floor while we got the rest of the house up to date and painted. It was also somewhat by choice so that during my 4 months of bed-rest I wasn't climbing stairs all day to and from my bedroom/bathroom.

However. We now finally LIVE up there! Here is the view from the top of the stairs (which are open to the bonus room).

Thanks to friend Brittany for lending us that great little co-sleeper you see next to the dresser - it's going to be a huge help having a bassinet on each floor!

I couldn't be happier with the paint color (Behr's Pale Lichen) or the help from my parents in actually getting it painted up there. I'm also psyched with my super bargain bed ordered from Overstock, and this awesome refinished dresser we picked up from a local woman in Oxford who refinishes old furniture. How cool is that?

Its nice to have a room to really live in and call our own. And to finally put out some pictures and my perfumes, etc.!

And we're thisclose to being done with the bathroom... Here's a peek at it from the bedroom.

Eric has to mount a couple remaining pieces of hardware (towel hooks and toilet paper holder), but then we'll be pretty set in there... pics soon. It's a crazy long/weird-shaped space, and its going to take us a while to figure out how to best utilize it. There's a great little nook where I sort-of want to put a comfy reading chair (?), but, who wants to sit in a comfy chair and read in their bathroom? (Insert joke about reading in the bathroom here).

And... because I'm pregnant and either eating or thinking about eating all the live long day - here's a random side-note about my new favorite food - Farm Country Cheese House's Olive Cheese.

I've mentioned before that this baby is definitely not vegan, and therefore I haven't been either since I got pregnant. I don't feel guilty about it. Really the only addition to my diet has been cheese and the occasional egg. And the baby LIKES it, okay? Anyway, I especially don't feel bad knowing that this cheese is made in Amish country here in Michigan, and that the cows are grass-fed, antibiotic-free, and hand-milked. Oh, and that we've met the farmers at the Royal Oak Farmers Market. And that it's packed full of green olives. SO good.

I can devour a whole brick of it in one sitting if I'm not careful. Also, we found it for sale at our local grocery store, too - the Value Center Market in Clawson (which, if anyone lives around Clawson, I highly recommend). Despite it's low-budget name, they have a great produce selection, much of which comes from Eastern Market farmers, along with a great cheese and beer selection.

Now... what to have for dessert?

"Like a stalk of Swiss chard."

According to BabyCenter this baby girl is about 19 inches long now, "like a stalk of swiss chard." Good thing we eat a lot of greens in this house so that is actually a helpful reference for me. BabyCenter is about a week ahead of where my doctor thinks I am, though (I'm actually around 36 weeks, vs. BabyCenter's 37 weeks). So maybe she's like a small stalk of chard.

(This is actually "rainbow chard," but its so much prettier!)

So. I'm not really on "bed rest" anymore. I mean, I am, sort-of. My doctors don't want me going back to work - and there's no point anyway, since she could come any time now. But I've basically been given free range to return to a (somewhat) normal level of activity. I did use this newfound freedom to take an hour-long stroll around Target yesterday. And while it was very liberating, it was totally exhausting. I may be allowed to get up and move around more, but my body is definitely not used to it, what with 4 months of inactivity and the nearly 30 pounds I've gained in that time.

I also keep finding myself laying down. Or feeling like I should be laying down. I was feeling incredibly guilty at Target yesterday thinking: I should leave and go home and lay down. Until I reminded myself that I don't have to lay down all day anymore! It's a weird realization. That being said, I still did lay down quite a bit yesterday. I figure I might as well enjoy these last few days/weeks? of relaxation while I'm able!

So far no indications of baby making her appearance any time soon. Eric and I feel really discombobulated over the whole thing. All last week was spent packing bags, getting the house all ready, getting ourselves mentally ready, etc. And now... nothin.' But at least we're much more prepared now!

My favorite new development is that my mother now picks up the phone before I even hear it ringing. I wouldn't be surprised if she went out and got one of those hip clips for her phone so she can wear it all the time just in case I call. That being said, it's nice to know that they're as ready as we are!

I hope everyone enjoys what is shaping up to be a lovely fall-ish weekend!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.

Except that I'm at home. And not with a baby.

Which is good! I may or may not be in the very early stages of labor, but I am comfortably resting at home on my couch with season 2 of Friday Night Lights, and not in a hospital room, which is nice.

So the effing stitch. It's out. But it wasn't fun. And let me preface this by saying that a normal pap smear (sorry boys) brings tears to my eyes. I'm just apparently super sensitive in that area. So I knew this wouldn't be fun. Lets just say it was a great opportunity to practice some of my deep breathing techniques to try and manage the pain. Cause it was painful. There's nothing "natural" about having a stitch cut out of that region of your body, so I was expecting there to be some pain. But man. Good thing Eric is tough because while I tried to keep most of my body relaxed and calm, I did manage to squeeze the crap out of his hand for the duration of the 5-minute procedure. Which felt a LOT like labor.

After it was done and I got all pulled together they put me/the baby on a monitor for 20 minutes. The baby hiccuped the entire time, which was super cool/funny to hear on the monitor. I also started having contractions every 6-7 minutes and a lot of lower back pain. After they determined that the baby wasn't in any kind of distress, they sent us to the cafeteria to get some food. Sweet potato fries and orzo/feta salad - what? That cafeteria has some GOOD food. Anyway, after that Eric and I parked ourselves in a comfy couch in one of the lobbies and pulled out Eric's laptop to watch the season finale of MadMen Season 4 (Spoiler: Don, really? Your secretary?) while jotting down times on a scrap piece of paper for each contraction I was having.

After MadMen and a trip to the hospital Caribou Coffee to get some tea, we determined that A). My back ache was pretty much gone, B). My contractions had spaced out to being anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes apart, C.) My water hadn't broke yet, and D.) Overall I was feeling pretty good.

So we came home.

And I'm continuing to feel better and better. I think the procedure really shook things up and for a good half-hour there we thought for sure I was in labor. But sitting and resting for a bit helped calm things down, and I feel pretty much the same as I have most days this week, albeit maybe a little crampier in general.

I am, however, ONE centimeter dilated, and about 80% thinned/effaced. So. Stuff is for sure happening. I feel encouraged that with Owen I remember being so uncomfortable and in quite a bit of pain by the time I was at 2-3 centimeters, and so far today, I feel great. So. Fingers crossed that I am able to relax and breathe my way right into the delivery room much more easily and calmly with this one. That being said, one can be 2-5 centimeters dilated for weeks without going into labor. So who knows.

Another fun fact is that I was told that she has really dropped, signaling that she is pretty much ready to go, but also making it impossible for me to walk like a normal person. I definitely have the "pregnancy waddle" going on. Super sexy, I know.

Also, we might have picked a name? Being in the hospital and thinking you may be in labor really lights a fire under you to have a serious discussion about naming your child. But we're keeping it a secret for now...

So that's our story! Thanks to everyone for all the well-wishes today. We'll let you know if/when things start happening!

Am I having a baby this week? Oh, also, we threw a party.

So there are several reasons I haven't posted anything in a while. First, after my appointment last Thursday I got totally freaked out that I'm going to go into labor THIS WEEK and have a baby by the weekend. For which I feel unprepared. As I've mentioned, I get my cerclage (stitch) removed this Thursday at 10:00 a.m. (Henry Ford Hospital time: probably more like noon). The plan is to remove the stitch, and then put me on a monitor to keep an eye on the baby for about 20 minutes. After that they want us to stick around the hospital for 2-3 hours (we were told we should walk around, have lunch, browse the shops, etc.), to see if I'm going to go into labor. I didn't ask statistics, but the way Dr. Murphy talked about it, she made it seem like... it was a pretty good possibility? And if I don't go into labor, that it could easily happen within a day or two. But then at the same time she indicated that some women go another "week or two" before going into labor. So I guess she is not thinking I'm going to make it to my October 6th due date!

Which is fine with me, actually. This baby weighs almost 6 pounds now. And I'm getting to that super uncomfortable, achey feet, kicks to the ribs, hurts to move/walk/lay/sit stage that I never had the privilege of experiencing with Owen. Which is less than fun. However, I'll be 35 1/2 weeks on Thursday when the stitch comes out. I'd like to make it to 36 or 37 if possible - let this little lady cook just a bit longer. But since her arrival is completely out of my control, I need to just RELAX and go with it.

Another reason I've been so busy over the last week is that we've been frantically trying to wrap up the loose-end projects around here. And I'm happy to say that over the weekend we (Eric) pretty much finished the master bedroom/bathroom upstairs! As of Wednesday night when my split box spring gets delivered (thank you old house with narrow stairs that our queen box won't fit up) we will officially move into our bedroom upstairs! We will no longer be squatting (literally, the mattress is just sitting on the floor) in the den/bonus room downstairs. I can't WAIT.

Also the baby's room is 98% complete. Curtains and a few remaining pictures will get hung today, and that will be that. I can't wait to post some pictures. It's freaking adorable.

And, the main reason I was so busy this last week? We had my nephew Trenton's first birthday party on Saturday! Which we sort-of combined with Owen's 3rd birthday (for the Millers at least), so it was really TWO birthday parties. And, being the one not working and on bed-rest, I threw myself into decoration- and scrapbook-making for the week prior to the party. Here's a glimpse at some of my handiwork (apologies for the unedited and somewhat crappy photos - lighting was bad, and I'm too lazy these days to deal with Photoshop):

Yeah, I made streamers out of fake money for T-Money.

And cupcake toppers with "T$", 1s, 3s, and assorted Cars characters (for Owen).

And a rockin' Cars banner for O-man.

And, the best part, a banner out of fake money for T-Money.

To top it off I made the best vegan cupcakes I've ever tasted (they may have been the best cupcakes in general, actually). Recipe here. Overall, I think both boys very much enjoyed their party. I mean. It was a day of cars, trucks, bikes, Nemo, cupcakes, pop and no naps. Pretty much every toddler's/baby's dream day.

Happy Birthday boys!

Hopefully I'll have one more quick post before leaving for the hospital Thursday that will say something like: "Bag is packed, all plans are in place for kid/dog care, baby's room and master bedroom are finished, and I'm ready to have a baby." Hopefully.