Countdown 4

Wow, just four weeks left. But currently Jackson is reminding me that I still have four long weeks to go as he shoves his foot under my rib.

It seems like it has been forever to get to this point and now in just four (or 3 1/2) weeks our little guy will be here and home with us! The nursery's finished, our suitcase is packed his clothes are laid out. The changing table is set, he has toys galore, and he even has a potty. The car seat is in the car, the strollers in the living room, and the pack and play, bouncer, and swing are all put together with batteries already in them. But it's still so unreal that pretty soon, despite all the new things in the house and all the fuss, a baby will be joining our home... forever! I feel him move and roll and kick everyday. I hear his heartbeat at every doctor's appt (and sometimes at home when I'm worried he hasn't moved enough) and yet still, it all seems so unreal. I'm actually typing this while I'm sitting in his room looking around at his crib and armoir, his name above the crib, his new animal pictures, the boppy pillow under my feet, and I know that no matter how I think things will be, I cannot fathom what it will really be like to meet him at last!

I think I left off the last post talking about the baby showers. I finally have most of the stuff put away and ready to go for Jax. This past week wasn't too crazy exciting for us. Justin and I did both work the Beastie Boys show on Tuesday which was quite interesting, and then we hung out for a bit after so Justin could have a few drinks with some guys from security and some of the bartenders. We made it home at, oh, 3am maybe knowing very well we had a 10:30 doctor's appointment. I was up and ready to go, but I could tell Justin definitely felt like crap after the night before, but of course I still dragged him to the doctor's with me anyway. I knew this would be the appointment where the doctor would check me for the first time to see if I've dilated any. And he did check me, but no dilation for me yet. He did say that I'm 50% effaced or thinned out which is good. He also said that the baby is head down (YAY!!!!) and that he probably ways approximately 6-7 lbs right now (YIKES). And then, out of nowhere, he tells me he doesn't need to see me for another two weeks. I was pretty shocked considering this week was supposed to be the start of my weekly visits and quite frankly I was disappointed, but who's to argue with the fact that everything has gone well, I'm right on target, and he doesn't anticipate anything going wrong from this point on. I'm still kind of bummed out though because I was kind of excited to get weekly updates as to when the doc thinks he might arrive. So we went about the rest of our day and that was that.

Thursday was a pretty low key day for us. I had lunch with some friends from high school and then ran errands all day. Friday was another practicum day for me at the hospital and man was it a lot busier than I've been subjected to so far. At one point we had patients in 7 out of 9 rooms and 7 patients in the three room triage and the waiting room combined. Jen and I had two patients to take care of and at some point it seemed like they might deliver very close together. I went to help at triage stripping beds and putting patients on the monitors. Then Jen came in and said our patient was about to deliver. And sure enough, with one push, she had her fourth baby. It was very fast, a little chaotic even, but it was the first girl I got to see delivered and she was probably one of the cutest baby girls I've ever seen. Then, while Jen was taking care of that patient she sent me off to our other patient to be the "nurse" while she was getting her epidural. Thankfully the charge nurse was in there with me, so while she did all the catching up on the charting, I stayed with the patient. After her epidural, we took our first patient over to the mother/baby unit and then I headed off. I had already stayed an hour later than I had planned and I had to work, but I really would have liked to stay until 7 when Jen got off and gotten to see two deliveries in one day (and my first delivery from someone from another culture). Anyhow, I got home quickly, changed for work and relaxed on the couch for a bit, only to get a call about not working. While I know I should have work, I definitely welcomed the night off because I was exhasted.

Yesterday was a day of parties for us. Justin and I had originally planned to go to our friend Mike Maiste's karaoke party and then we found out that friends of the family were having a dual graduation party. So Justin and I decided to split the forces to have one of us at each place. Justin went to Mike's and apparantly had a great time, and I went to the Oberlanders and also had a great time. I can't speak to much for Justin's party, but the Oberlanders had tons of delicious food, volleyball, cornhole, horse shoes, a fire pit, an open pool (which I bought a new belly bathing suit for but it was a little to chilly for me), lots and lots of drinks, and karaoke (by my Uncle Bert). I think it's safe to say it was a good time had by all. The oldest, Rocky, graduated from UMBC this past winter and his younger sister Sara graduated from Bel Air high school a week or two ago. The night ended with a poker game (which I lost my money to my own brother) and I was home and in bed by, oh, maybe 2:30am. It was a good weekend so far.

Today, June 14 2009, is mine and Justin's one year anniversary from our actual wedding day. It's a gorgeous day out but we didn't plan anything big. We're heading off to Justin's aunt's house for a cook out and then, as far as I know, that's where our plans end. With all the chaos of the past few weeks, we didn't have time to plan much or get eachother anything that great. I did at the last minute order Justin a "paper" gift (because that's what I heard the gift is supposed to be for your first anniversary) but it probably won't be here until tomorrow. I wish we would have had more time to plan something (like a nice dinner by the water, a weekend away, or even a picnic with just him and I) but that's our busy lifestyle for ya. Maybe next year?

Anyhow, here's some more pictures to add to the bunch. Have a great Sunday. Enjoy the gorgeous weather that June 14th seems to grace us with annually :) And pray for a baby in the next week and a half because we're ready to have this little one with us!

New shelves in the baby's room!

Animal pictures that Justin's mom painted for the baby's room. Justin's dad made the frames.

Belly pics: 36 weeks 2 days!

BabyShower #1 at my brother's house (from the last post)