37 weeks

That's right, folks... GREEN GRASS! How is this March in Mn? Usually we get one final blizzard that leaves us with extreme cabin fever until the blessed spring arrives. This year, we seemed to have bypassed spring altogether and have jumped straight to summer. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the weather! We've grilled out three times, hung our wash out on the line to dry, and spent several afternoons reading in the sunshine with homemade fresh fruit smoothies. It was pure bliss. The negative trade off for the warm hot weather is that I have developed what we lovingly call "elephant feet". Meaning my legs go straight from calves to sausage toes... no ankles. I had to remove my wedding ring after several days of it "chocking" my finger. I have a permanent indentation. So swollen! Every night I sit on the couch with my feet iced and elevated as we laugh at the flip flop indentations still on my feet after hours of not wearing them while we watch The Office on Netflix starting from the beginning. It was so hot one day this week and I had such extreme swelling that I got nervous about preeclampsia so we went to Walgreens to get my blood pressure tested to see if it was high. It was in the normal levels so nothing to worry about. Phew! Just a result of heat and humidity. Remind me to never be hugely pregnant in the summer... if I can avoid it!

We are now having weekly Baby Doc appointments. This week I measured at 40 weeks. Still a bit above what I should measure at 37 weeks, but after she felt my belly she said that she's not worried, but that I am probably just having a big baby. She estimated that Baby Bird is already 7.5lbs! She also teased/pitied me as she felt my belly and saw my feet and how much I'm swelling. Because this is partially a blog to keep family and friends informed and partially for my own records/memories, you may not want to read every detail, so I'll give a TMI ALERT for the next couple sentences. Feel free to skip them haha. Baby Doc said that I could chose whether or not I wanted her to check my cervix since I was checked last week, and Brian said maybe it would be a good idea since I have continued to have contractions and I've been off medication for a week. Turns out I am now 1+ dilated and 80% effaced. I also told the doc that I lost my mucus plug this week. Because of these two things (specifically the cervical change that occurred from last week to this) and my history, she predicted that the baby could come this week! She also clarified that she isn't making any guarantees because that would be cruel (haha), but as we left she said, "Come back next week... if you're still pregnant!". I also feel like baby has definitely "dropped" and I am carrying a bowling ball between my legs. This embellishes my "waddle" and is awfully uncomfortable. Wow! Time to really start prepping mentally and getting everything in order around the appt! My next blog post could be a birth announcement! I am just hoping that Baby Bird will stay put until at least Tuesday night when my Mom gets in town!

I love feeling Baby Bird squirm around in my belly and will definitely miss it. The other day I woke up laughing because someone was tickling my ribs... from the inside! I can tell that Baby Bird is running out of room because he/she is constantly stretching and trying to get comfy in his/her tight quarters. It almost makes me wonder if baby ever sleeps?!?! Which makes me a little nervous for him/her to sleep after birth! Brian is always looking at my moving belly and saying "Oh. My Gosh!". It's adorable how excited he is to meet his kid! He wakes us up every morning by kissing me and saying "Good morning, Mommy!" Then he kisses my belly and says, "Good morning, Baby!" He repeats this twice. It makes me smile. He has also started me on a "lets go into labor routine". This includes parking in the furthest parking spot from every entrance, eating lots of pineapple and spicy foods, and hitting potholes in our car for an extra bumpy ride.

 (L) Parking in the last Target parking spot. (R) Permanent indentation from my wedding ring on my swollen sausage fingers!

 (L) Officially out of lap for my laptop. This position works temporarily but Baby Bird eventually kicks at it so much I get seasick from looking at a moving screen. (R) Hanging the wash on the line in the sun!

 (L) Made some girlie headbands in case we have Vivienne. I want her to have some pretties right away! If we have Crosby, I guess I'll either save these for the next kid or give them away. (R) Grilling out!

(L) I told Brian I made Baby Bird a camouflaged onesie. I think my hunter husband expected something a little different haha. (R) Flip flops and green grass. This iPhone photo foot photo took a lot more balance and maneuvering than I expected. Big Belly kept getting in the way!