Finally full term!

Tomorrow will mark 37 weeks completed in Ivory's gestational life so far, meaning she will be officially considered full term and ready for harvesting whenever she chooses. That is based on my last menstrual period, though, not on the actual date of conception, which we aren't really sure of but think may have been 8 days earlier than the assumed date, meaning she'd actually be 38 weeks today. That being said, she was measuring a week behind in our last ultrasound, and my doctor measured me at 35 cm at yesterday's appointment as well. He is unconcerned, though, saying as long as the measurement is within 3 cm of her estimated gestational age, all's looking good.

I went to see my doctor yesterday morning for my 37 week blood lab, Group B streptococcus screening, and the usual prenatal checkup. There were two instances in the past when I had to have my cervix checked (once after that horrible catheter incident and once when I went to labor & delivery for fear of preterm labor), and both of those times, it was incredibly painful. When he checked yesterday, though, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't hurt a bit! I guess this is because Ivory has "dropped," neatly descended into my pelvis region. He gave me no exact measurements or numbers but said I was a fingertip dilated (and this guy has really big hands, let me tell you...) and my cervix is soft. I asked him what that meant in terms of when he thinks she'll arrive, and he said that if this were my fourth baby, he'd tell me to have my bag packed and camp outside the hospital, but since I'm a first time mama, she could hang out in that position for up to two more weeks. Two weeks from today is the date we're supposed to be closing on our house, so if she decides to come nowish, I won't complain 😄

I've really slacked off with posting bump photos, but I'll just say this: I truly admire the women who still feel motivated to do their hair (okay, even brush their hair), put on a pretty dress, and head outdoors to pose in the summer heat at 9 months pregnant. I've found that ratty hair and pajama bottoms are my new best friends. I also spent the last week and a half refinishing a coffee table that I found at a thrift store, which I'll post pictures of one of these days, but I'm sure no one wants to see a sweaty, sun burnt pregnant woman covered in sawdust and wood stain, so I'll just keep those images to myself.

Just for fun: Transformation!

I took the photo on the left this morning, at 35 weeks & 4 days. The one on the right was my first "bump shot," at 5 weeks (right after finding out I was pregnant). Quite the contrast!

34 week update

This morning was our final ultrasound to check Ivory's growth, and although Felipe wasn't able to go, my mama joined me. Our little darling is just perfect! Her weight is in the 24th percentile at 4 pounds and some ounces (we can't remember what the technician thought exactly), but my doctor said that simply means she'll most likely be a smaller baby, between 6.5-7 pounds if she makes it the full 40 weeks. She has a full head of hair that sticks up all over the place and is about 1/2 inch long already. Her chubby cheeks and big lips were just sooo smooshy!

My next appointment is in two weeks, when I'll be getting my 37 week labs done and they'll start checking cervical dilation. After that, we'll have weekly check ups until she decides to climb on out and let us cuddle her for real!

Reminiscing

It's been an incredibly long, busy week since I quit working. Last Saturday, we looked at about 5 houses in Ashland, then decided we were going to make an offer on one of them on Sunday evening. When we visited it the first time, only my mom came along, so we requested a second walk through with all four of our parents. Once that was over with, we trekked over to the real estate office to write up an offer, and our agent informed us that we'd just done the most difficult thing in buying a first home (showing it to our parents). Tuesday morning, we got a "yes" from the seller, and I made an appointment to meet with the mortgage lender at our bank in the afternoon. I walked in with a whole stack of documents I'd been gathering since contacting them for pre-approval the previous Wednesday (my birthday, coincidentally!), and after over an hour in her office, I was sent off with another thick stack of documents needing Felipe's signature. I went to my parents' house to get a couple of other paperwork issues taken care of and emailed over to our lender, then Felipe met me there, where I explained the paperwork to him and we signed it all together.

Tuesday morning, I also woke up with an intense sore throat which worsened throughout the day. In celebration of Felipe's new job position in probation and the acceptance of our offer on the house, we decided to go out for dinner one last time, but unfortunately, I had to leave the restaurant mid-meal due to feeling increasingly sick and like I was going to pass out. Wednesday (yesterday) morning, I woke up feeling much, much worse and called my doctor to see if they felt it necessary that I come in. They were concerned about strep so asked for me to be there at 9:30; fortunately, the strep test came back negative, but I was diagnosed as having a bad sinus infection and prescribed an antibiotic.

Today, I met with our lender again to finalize paperwork before she left for vacation this afternoon. I called a home inspector and set up an appointment to have a general home, pest, and radon inspection completed next Monday morning at 9, so as long as that all goes smoothly and the results are positive, we are looking at a closing date by July 15th. All we have left to do is figure out what insurance provider we will be using. I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of companies with quotes.

Anyway, I've been browsing through our wedding photos this afternoon. It will be 9 months next Saturday since we tied the knot! I can say that I love him more every day. I'll leave you with these: