What the..?!?!

Where is the baby????? It is May 29th, officially past my due date. I did not get to update this blog over the weekend because I discovered, amongst other things, that Kenny's computer will not let me do so. I really need to get my own computer running. Anyhoo, so it is past my due date and Elise still has not made her appearance. Why doesn't she want to come out?????? Despite my non-labor angst, I did manage to have a wonderful weekend. My sister Vero and brother-in-law Eloy are in town, they came just to meet Elise, and she's not even here yet! They got here on Saturday and we have been having a blast hanging out. On Saturday morning, me and Kenny went to the art festival on Paseo, it was nice. I enjoyed just walking around and seeing all the art, people, and just enjoying the sunshine. That night we went over and had dinner at my parent's house, as my sister and Eloy had arrived. My mom made me a special jello cake that I had requested, it was soooooo good! We had alot of fun just talking and catching up with my family. On Sunday we went out to lunch, and then went to go scope out strollers. We found some nice ones, but I still have not committed to any. We then went back to my mom's house to watch some movies. We saw Lady In The Water and Pan's Labyrinth. They were both good movies, we had a good time. Yesterday, Memorial Day, I spent most of the day cleaning up the house. My lack of energy was rediculous. I would sweep one room and then have to take a twenty-minute break, because I was so exhausted. I made dinner reservations for the whole family at Shogun's, we had fun watching the guy do all his tricks, and the food was pretty tasty too. Mom said that the only thing that was lacking was some hot sauce, I guess they just didn't have any. The whole weekend was pretty great overall.
This morning I got a little excited because I felt a pretty strong contraction, it's actually what woke me up this morning. I have only felt one other one ever since, so I'm not going to get myself too worked up. We had another doctor's appointment this morning at 10. Before we left, I bid farewell to my old '96 Ford Contour, as the American Cancer Society is scheduled to pick it up today, I'm gonna miss that old clunker.
My doctor is as surprised as I am that I have not delivered this baby yet. She checked me again and said that I am now 3 centimeters dilated. So, there is some progress, but still no baby. We decided to go ahead and schedule a date for induction. Past your due date, the placenta becomes drained of nutrients and is therefore not able to supply the baby with nutrients as well as it had been. We want to give Elise the best chance possible of success once she is born, with minimal medical assistance, so it was best to schedule the induction. So here it is...we are scheduled to have labor induced at 5:30 AM on Thursday, May 31st!!!! How exciting! We finally have a date! So, sometime between now and Friday I will officially be a mom, yikes!!!!! I am very scared and very excited.

Still no action

I went in for my 39 week appointment today. There has been no birthing action going on, and I'm kind of disappointed. Granted, my actual due date isn't until Sunday, but I was hoping for some kind of excitement by now! I think everyone at the doctor's office is getting pretty tired of seeing me every week. Everyone was saying things like "where's the baby?" and "haven't you delivered that baby yet?". No, no, I'm still here, still pregnant. I know that I am not going to be pregnant forever, Elise will come on her own time. My doctor said that she usually likes to induce at 41 weeks, so if I make it to my next appointment we can schedule a time to get things rolling. She said that I am two centimeters dilated now, which still does not necessarily mean anything, but only 8 centimeters left to go! Come on little one, time to see the world!

So this is what it's like...

to be sleep deprived!!!! My goodness, what I wouldn't give for a good night's rest. My zombie-like state reminds me of the countless nights that I would stay up cramming during finals week in college. At least I still have time for a daily shower this time around. I am hoping that this little one comes soon, I don't want to think of going through another month of discomfort. It sounds worst than I mean it to, but I just really want some sleep. I get extremely nauseated as soon as I lay down and even if I can put up with that, it isn't long before all my muscles start aching because of the lack of blood circulation. This baby is so big, she's cutting off my blood supply! Last night I slept about 2 hours. I spent the rest of the night flip-flopping in bed like a fish out of water. I finally decided to move to the couch to see if it offered me a bit more comfort. After a few more hours I finally managed to fall asleep, only to be awaken by Kenny thirty minutes later as he walked across the house yelling something about Emma (one of our cats). I have no idea what he said, I was too tired to understand anything at that point. Needless to say, I could not fall back asleep after that. Kenny took a bath while I watched another episode of Baby Story on TLC (which, I admit, I am hopelessly addicted to). I thought I was uncomfortable at seven months, boy, was I ever wrong! I guess this is just a taste of those restless nights I have to look forward to once Elise comes into this world.
Okay, enough complaining. I'm sure I will not die of sleep deprivation. I keep meaning to put up some more pictures here, but unfortunately, my home computer is broken. No computer means no scanner means no new pictures for my blog. At least I am still able to keep posting between experiments at work (teehee!). I like to tell people that my computer was hit by lightning, because it sounds cool, but I think it just broke because it is old. Oh well! I'll try to get it fixed as soon as I get a chance, then I can put up some pictures.

Stretchmarks!

That's right, I said it. That terrible word, filled with dread and sheer unhappiness. I think everyone will agree with me that stretchmarks are definitely uncool and unattractive. Well, add me to the list of victims of pregnancy stretchmarks.
Yesterday I got home and went about my daily routine of slathering Belly Butter on my gigantic belly. I was so proud, no stretchmarks. I was loving my body for the super powers it held in avoiding falling victim. No problems, until I looked in the mirror! My belly is so big now that I can't see the bottom half of it without looking in the mirror. Oh, I should not have looked! Right there beneath my distorted belly button was my very first pregnancy belly stretchmark, and it was hiding from me! I put the Belly Butter down and cursed all the laws of nature, it just isn't fair!
Okay, so maybe I'm over-dramatizing it, but it was still disappointing. 37 weeks along, and I get my first stretch mark, what the..?!? That's not supposed to happen! Oh well, I have plenty of stretch marks elsewhere to keep it company. I just hope this little one is born soon so they don't get out of control!

In the home stretch

Okay, so maybe I'm not ready to evict this little one yet, but she has been hanging out in there for quite some time. I am still enjoying pregnancy, though at times it does weigh on me pretty heavily. I've had some more issues with my consistently low blood pressure this week (hence, my lack of updating this page). Kenny is doing the best he can, but there is not much he can do when I'm blacking out or vomitting on the side of the road. Not much, except try to act like he's not grossed out, which he has done an extraordinary job at. He has been very supportive and I am very proud of his abilty to stay calm when my body is going into panic mode. He takes care of me pretty well. Though, let's not feel too sorry for him, he still doesn't have to deal with all the physical distresses that have accompanied this pregnancy!
I think we're pretty much set for this little girl to make her big entrance. I finished buying some extra odds and ends this weekend which included such things as baby body wash, lotion, a few diapering products that I hadn't gotten yet, and a little flower pot of mini roses to add to her room.
My sister and brother-in-law have graciously offered to buy her a stroller, which I am so thankful for. So, now the stroller research will commence! There's so many out there, I don't know where to start! Any suggestions? I'm looking for something safe and versatile that I won't be too embarrassed or too weak to lug around, ha ha. I'm sure Elise doesn't care, but momma's gotta look good!

It's MAY!

Yay!!!! I can't believe I've made it to May, and I am 36 weeks along! Kenny says that we're officially in the safe zone, and she's free to be born at any time. I went to my 36 week appointment yesterday. I left with a feeling of positivity, it was far more productive than my appointments usually are. Usually my appointments are about five minutes long, the doctor asks if I have any questions, and she tells me everything's normal, and that's it. This time Elise's heart rate was a little slower than usual, which means that she's almost ready to be born!
During undergrad I did some work with zebra fish where I would spend hours looking into a microscope at little baby zebrafish wiggling around inside their chorion's, and I would have to try to break the chorion open without injuring the babies while they wiggled. Several times during this pregnancy Elise has been a wiggly monster in there, and I told Kenny that she reminded me of a little baby zebra fish.
According to our appointment yesterday, she's definitely not a zebra fish anymore! Her little body is just putting on fat now so that she'll be ready for her big arrival. The doctor checked me and she said that I am 1cm dilated! Sure, it doesn't necessarily mean anything, but I'll take it! Only 9 more centimeters left to go. I'm sure Elise will come on her own time, when she's good and ready. She seems to be getting herself prepared, which is so exciting! I can't wait to meet my little girl.