40 days and counting!

If the baby decides to keep with the doctors plan and come on Sept. 3rd, we have exactly 40 days left until we meet the baby.
The baby needs a few more weeks and we still have several things left to do in preparation for his/her arrival but I am physically ready. Just over a week ago I started having this pretty bad pain in the joints that connect my legs to my hips. Every time I stand up and try to walk I am reminded that my body still has some preparation of its own to go through before the baby arrives. My hips are widening and the pain is somewhat significant and makes me feel like I am about 80 years old. I also cannot recall what good sleep is like. I haven't slept well for about a month and a half now. I wake up just about every hour (sometimes less) to use the restroom and the times that I am not awakened by the urge to use the restroom, I am awakened by the stinging running through my arm from sleeping on one side too long! I sit and shake out my hand and arm and make the long and difficult turn from one side to the other until the next time I have to use the restroom again or the stinging returns. I believe that the baby is head down, feet in the ribs and has started to engage. Also about a week ago I noticed I could breath again and that I felt like walking was more difficult...the true waddle has arrived not that wanna be waddle I previously had. ;) Despite all this, every time I feel and/or see my belly move or a foot pressing my ribs, all I can do is smile. It is so hard to imagine that this little baby will be with us very soon! I can't wait until then!

First baby shower was a huge sucess!

Well, I am back and in one piece. :)

The shower was wonderful! It really goes without saying that the food was simply delicious and of course there was waaaay too much of it but it was so nice. Tina worked so hard to make this a special occasion and it was just that, very special. I received so many nice things from the shower that I couldn't even begin to make note of all of them. Some of my favorites were the crocheted set from Tina, the littlest Cincy Red's outfit, a teddy bear that sounds like the womb to sooth the baby and the Fisherprice rainforest sights and sounds you put in the crib. I have already washed and folded all the clothes, towels, blankets and bibs and we put together the changing table so everything can be put away and made ready for the babies arrival. The room is starting to look like all its missing is the baby. I sat in the room last evening with the lights turned out and the rainforest lullaby playing with the lights moving and just looked around the room wondering what the sweet little baby will think of everything. It is so hard for me to imagine but in a matter of weeks, there will be a little tiny baby sleeping in the crib that now holds items for which I can't find the space to store right now. I am getting really excited and anxious. We don't have a single diaper in the house yet and for some reason that makes me nervous and makes me feel like there are still so many things left to do to prepare for babies arrival home. Luckily, with everyone's generosity from the shower, we will be able to buy plenty of diapers with all the gift cards we received! I will try to post some pics of the babies room and the first Baby Eckert shower soon. What a wonderful celebration we had thanks to Tina and Tessa!

First baby shower coming up

Today officially marks 33 weeks. I leave tomorrow for Cincy for my first baby shower hosted by Tina and Tessa. I am not looking forward to the plane ride which is about 3.5 hrs from Austin to Detroit and then about an hour from Detroit to Cincy but I am excited to see everyone.
I go to the doctor here in about an hour for them to give the final clearance to board a plane so if you hear back from me tomorrow, that means the flight is a no go. Otherwise, I will check in with an update on stories from the trip when I get back.

9 Weeks left!

Well, just under 9 weeks and it will be time to meet the baby. I am going to the doctor every other week now but no sonograms! I am just dying to see what the baby looks like now after all those many weeks of having the chance to see the baby all the time. I have dreams just about every night about the baby. There not always dreams with the baby in them but dreams talking about the baby or any number of other things. Sleep doesn't last too long these days but when I do, my dreams are all about the baby. I am getting very excited!

10 weeks and counting

Well, time flies is what they say. We have under 10 weeks to go before we get to see our sweet little baby. When other people ask how much time we have left, it always seems they look surprised. Some of them think 10 weeks is quite a while and others just look at me as if I am far too large to still have 10 weeks left! Either way, 10 weeks seems like it will come in the blink of an eye. I am anxious, nervous, impatient...the list can go on and on. I am anxious because I really am very curious to see what our little baby is going to look like. Will he or she have dark hair, what color eyes, you get the drift? On the other hand though, I am getting very nervous. I am nervous about the labor and delivery. I love it when I tell people I am nervous they just seem to sweep it under the run as if its silly to be nervous that a human that weighs in at about 7 lbs is going to come out of my body through such a small place (if all goes well and I don't need a csection). Drugs seem to be the best answer or advice from everyone. The problem is that I am deathly afraid of needles and can't imagine getting an epidural in my spine! Nightmares, that's what the whole thing causes me when I think of the epidural. Who knows, I may walk in begging for it but until then, I am quite nervous. I am also nervous that we will be bringing home a tiny little baby that will be completely dependent on us and on top of that, one that can't talk! I have had plenty of time over the last 7 and a half months to consider what I want to teach the baby and ways that I will spend my time with the baby but at the end of the day, I wonder how much of what I think will happen will really happen. Too many stories, I suppose, from everyone that already has a child or children. Everyone has a story to add and it is never without that famous line..."just wait and see". Anyhow, I know we will do the best we can but I am still nervous, it's in my nature. Hopefully, the baby will be more like his/her father and won't inherit my inability to not worry!

Vacation '08

Vacation '08 has come and gone already! Our vacation this year was up to Portland and Seattle where the weather was wonderful. Austin temperatures this year have been horrible....reaching 100 degrees in May and no sign of relief in sight. The trip was very nice and I needed the time away from work for sure. I would say this years trip was slightly more difficult for me though. I am not sure if it was the increase in physical activity or the elevation but my feet and legs were swollen almost the entire vacation. They were quite unsightly to say the least. I seemed to be less patient as well which has been the case for some time now. This was the first flight I took while pregnant as well and that was not exactly comfortable either. I will be taking another trip up to Cincinatti for my first baby shower during week 33 which is just right around the corner. I am excited about that trip for sure though I am not looking forward to the flights back and forth.
Kinda sad that its back to the real world now that vacation is over! Until next year.

A couple of weeks testing my nerves.

Ok, I am now 26 weeks pregnant! I just came from a doctor's appt where she informed me that everything looks great with me and the baby, what great news. We are getting ready to go on our family vacation in a couple of weeks and I will have to go back to see my doctor the day before we leave to do a glucose test and have the doctor check my cervix to ensure I haven't started dialating.

A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, I started feeling pretty bad. I had a horrible pain in my right, lower side. The pain started out a little concerning then progressively got worse throughout the day. Derek was planning to take one of his finals that day so I tried really hard to stay calm and wait it out to see if I would start feeling better. Around 5pm I tried to get out of the bed to use the restroom only to find I couldn't even sit up on my own the pain had gotten so bad. I thought I had appendicidous or a ruptured ovararian cyst of some sort. I had to call him in to help me and he told me that we should probably go somewhere to get it looked at if I was in that much pain. Long story short, we went to the emergency room and I was admitted to the hospital since I am more than 20 wks pregnant...common procudure for pregnant folk. After about 3 hours of monitoring the baby and making me wait for a doctor to show up, the told me that it was something called round ligament pain. I told Derek that there was no way in the world it could be pain from a stretching ligament due to a growing uterus! The pain was so bad I couldn't believe the diagnosis. I had packed my bags to stay for a few days at the hospital because I thought I was going to need surgery on something. Thank goodness the diagnosis was something so simple and non threatening to me or the baby. Several of the nurses commented on how cooprative our little sweet baby is. They said they had never seen such a good baby at nearly 25 weeks. The baby was easy to monitor which I guess they typically aren't at that gestational age. Hope the baby stays cooperative! :)

On a side note, shortly after recovering from the soreness of my expanding ligaments, Derek and I were alseep one night and out of nowhere....a knee, right in my stomach! Derek must have had a dream about something and kicked me right in the stomach pretty hard. It startled both of us and I wasn't able to go back to sleep for about an hour.

This is going to be one tough baby!!