36 weeks and counting...

Today I am 36 weeks pregnant and worked my very last day of work! YAY! I can now sleep past 5am and get some much-needed chores done around the house before Nahum comes!

We had a doctors appointment yesterday at Kaiser. The fetal heart monitor reading was good. They did have to "buzz" him to get more movement but it worked and it was fine. Our nurse practitioner measured my uterus and did some kind of vaginal/rectal test for a bacteria that could be there. I'm pretty sure it's not anything to worry about otherwise they would have notified me by now.

My blood pressure was higher than they liked to see so she's going to have me come in for the fetal heart monitor 2 times a week now until delivery instead of just 1. That's ok with me because I want to make sure there isn't any pressure on Nahum's heart.

I have been having more and more contractions throughout the day; especially yesterday and today. There have been a few times it was painful or felt like stretching or sharp pain for a few seconds. So, I think my body is still just getting ready. I should start keeping better track of how long the contractions are and how far apart they are. I guess I just keep thinking that when REAL labor starts, it will feel MUCH more painful and then I'll know the difference. That may not be accurate or very responsible of me, but I really don't have any other experience to go off of.

Nahum continues to move in rolling movements and lately I've felt him stretching (like w/ a yawning movement) towards my bladder and that is making things more uncomfortable.

The last several times I've gotten to take a nap during the afternoons; I'm sleeping VERY soundly. So much so that I wake up drooling and in the same position (which is good for me 'cause I usually switch sides a lot.) I am also waking up not remembering what day it is or how long I've been asleep. So, my best quality sleep is during the afternoons. At night it's spent tossing, turning and getting up to use the bathroom or straighten out a leg cramp (which are also more frequent now.)
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My co-workers threw me a surprise baby shower on Monday and that was so nice. I honestly thought they were going to forget about me and that I'd have my last day of work and that would be it, but they did a great job! We got a couple more cute outfits, a home-made blanket, some full-sized Johnson & Johnson bath products and a REALLY big Target gift card! AND my co-worker made a Hungry Caterpillar cake too! We felt very blessed by them all.

I have one more baby shower this Sunday afternoon for the ladies I grew up with in Sanger and some of Steven's and Debby's close friends from Reedley. I haven't seen many of these women in years so it will be SO nice to catch up! I'm really looking forward to it!

34 Week Ultrasound

Well, we're coming right along now. At 34 weeks and 3 days we had another ultrasound and although the doctor wasn't actually there, the tech still got all the good shots of measurements that she needed.

According to his measurments, the doctor estimated his weight to be 5 pounds 2 oz!!! He's really getting big now and running out of room in my belly! Doc also said that he would recommend delivery by 41 weeks unless of course I go into labor naturally sooner than that.

So, in this picture, you can see his head to the right and follow his profile to the bridge of his nose and mouth and then you can see his tummy and I think his hand at the bottom left.

He's still moving a lot these days, which is good news that he's active and means that, even with a 2 vessel cord, he's getting enough blood-flow to move around.

I will now be going in to Kaiser every week for doctors appointments in addition to the fetal heart monitor for 20-30 min each time. I guess I'm glad about that. I keep hearing stories about pregnant women around the same time-frame as me having their babies early or other women who have had their babies around this time and it doesn't sit well with me. At only 34 weeks, he is NOT done "cook'n" yet and if I'll be monitored every week, then it makes me feel better that they would catch something if it arises.

Thanks for your continued prayers for us. I'm down to only 8 days left before my maternity leave starts and I can't WAIT!!!

!!!CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS!!!

Congratulations to our brother Peter and his new FIANCE Katie Hughes!!! Peter proposed to Katie on their 3 year anniversary last week. He took her for a ride in Sam's plane and had the kids at Great Western school out in the yard holding letters that spelled "Will you marry me?" Katie was surprised and VERY happy! She said "YES!"


We're SO excited to have Katie as part of our family and look forward to their wedding day!

Nahum

We were inspired to take some pictures of a verse in the Bible that we hope will a source of joy and encouragement to us as well as our son. Nahum 1:7. We'll be framing these and hanging them in his room.