Week 36 & 37 - Signs this kid is coming

I am due in 20 days.  TWENTY.  Craziness... 

And as much as I wish I knew exactly when this cute little bugger was going to make his Earth debut, I know that I have to be prepared that he may very well take his time, and come mid-December!  Because I won't be induced unless one of us is in danger, and I trust that Baby Ryan knows exactly when to arrive.  But I have to admit...all the signs are pointing to an earlier arrival!

I've Dropped

Right after I took the last belly shot - my mom noticed it early in week 35, someone at MOPS, my stepdad and even I noticed it later in the week.  The Doc said that text book babies arrive 2-3 weeks after dropping - which would put us sometime next week.  Of course, we also agreed that babies don't read text books!

Week 37 - when did I get huge?

Week 37 Naked Belly

Not sure if this shot shows the drop as well as the naked eye.

But I'm not getting naked for the camera in order to fully illustrate!

And, yes, that is my new 'do, but it is fresh out of the shower, not styled in these two photos.  I have a baby shower this evening - a group event that my playgroup does a few times a year - so I'll try to get some photos from there, with it non-air-dried!

I'm having Contractions and am Dilating

I've been having noticeable contractions for about two weeks - nothing regular, though.  And then last Thursday, I endured another non-stress test (hey, Ryan's perfect for another week!), and one of the most horrible exams I've ever had!  If you're squeamish, you may want to skip this, but I started out telling the Doc that I felt like Ryan was going to fall out, he was so low.  So she goes..up there..and says "Wow, that head is right there!"  And then she proceeds to go digging, up high, and then I felt a sensation that literally made me "OW!!" out loud!  She said "Sorry!"  What in God's name are you doing up there lady!  When she's done, she says, "Well, I could get one but not quite two fingers in, so I'm going to call it 1 cm dilated.  And it's nice and soft, but pretty high.  And sorry, but I had to go up, around the head, to find your cervix, and then pull it down to measure."  

WTF?  

All I know is it hurt like hell, and I'm hoping that things shift a bit this week, so I don't have to endure another pulling of my cervix!

Oh, and I'm up to 28 pounds gained as of this morning.  Where did this weight come from?  Oh wait, it's probably those bags of chocolate I ate that are now hanging off my ass and thighs!

My Psychic Dog

In the two weeks before Sean was born, Sophie suddenly started having accidents in the house.  She effectively ruined our carpet in those few days - and of course, it wasn't until Sean arrived that we figured out that she's apparently psychic and was peeing in protest of the impending baby.

So last Monday, I woke up to the first accident in the house in quite awhile.  And she's had two more since, including a little piddle just this morning.  If Ryan arrives next week, she'll be two for two in the prediction of baby arrivals.  We could make a fortune renting her out - when Sophie starts pissing on your carpet, you've got about two weeks!

We Are Ready!

I will never forget that my mom and I put the last book on the bookshelf in Sean's room at 10pm on Tuesday, and I was in labor Wednesday morning.  There's some crazy connection between being ready for baby and baby arriving!  So, while we are not ready in the way I had originally planned (this would be one the Big Issues!), I have set up this mini-nursery in our bedroom.

Ryan's bassinet, with blankets, bibs & cloth diapers underneath.

Small trash can for dirty dipes.

Small end table stocked with basic supplies, including dipes and wipes on top.

And our chaise lounge with boppy - where I assume I'll be spending quite a bit of time!

And THANK YOU so much, Grandma, for the trash can and table - thanks to you, our set up is complete!

Here are all of Ryan's clothes, shoes, hats, etc, packed nicely in the bottom drawer of our ginormous dresser.  Everything that was stored in here....currently residing under our bed!

A funny story about being ready!  I vaguely remember nesting with Sean, and remember at the time thinking that it wasn't much of anything.  This time, with Ryan - I've been crazy.  For weeks!  Last Thursday morning, I was up at 4:30 am, emailing directions to the hospital to the grandparents and aunts, and then ordering newborn diapers from Diapers.com!  On Friday, my stepdad was outside when the diapers were delivered.  I clapped when he brought them in and said out loud "Yay, Ryan can come home now!"  And Sean clapped, too.  Very sweet.  While I was opening up the box, though, Sean shouted "Ryan's home!"  Apparently, the stork now looks a lot like the UPS guy, and babies are delivered in a box!

And a last note ... now that we have newborn diapers back in the house, I'm struck with how huge my 2 1/2 year old is going to look when I bring Ryan home.  And I took this photo to compare - Sean's Size 4 Huggies and Ryan's Newborn Pampers.  OMG!

So, do we need to set up a poll?  Ryan's actual due date is Monday, December 8th.

My mom has chosen this Saturday, November 22nd (her birthday!).

I decided when I found out that November 29th was a good date.

My dad put in an order yesterday for December 1st.

Guesses, anyone?