Cody's Coming!

This morning I went to the Dr. for the first of my weekly visits. David couldn't be with me this time because he will be in CSI training all week in WilCo. We're so excited about this class because it's one of the last he needs to attain his Intermediate license. In the State of Texas Peace Officer's have different levels of licensing- entry level, basic, intermediate, advanced and master. Way to go DD!

Back to the Dr's visit before I forget the details. My weight was about the same, and blood pressure was still great. The Dr. did the Group B Strep swab (fun times) and as we were talking decided to check me for dilation...and sure enough 1.5cm! A couple of weeks ago Cody's head was still pretty high but this time he is 'locked and loaded'. I can't stop smiling.

It all began on New Year's Eve.

NYE was an interesting day. Emma's school was closed and I never imagined that everyone in our family would have to work on that day- usually at least one of us is off. Nana, Grandad, Grammy, Paw Paw, DD and I all had to work so I didn't have a plan for Emma. My Dad had a pretty light morning at work planned so he was able to keep her for the first half of the day. But by 11AM she had gone through all of her books and was bored at his office. She asked him to call me and ask when I was coming to get her. Things were quiet at my office so I went to pick her up and get her a Happy Meal. She was an angel all afternoon! I have a pretty large U-Shape desk so she had one whole side of the desk to herself to do puzzles, workbooks and draw on copy paper with my massive array of colored pencils, markers and highlighters. By 4PM though, we were both DONE for the day. Our office was pretty empty by that point and I decided it was time to call it a day.

We picked up Grammy from work and Emma went over to Grammy and Paw Paw's so Mommy and DD could sneak out for a dinner date. As we were about to turn on to their street, I told my mom that maybe she should ride home with us- that I felt like I was having contractions. I decided it was all in my head and I'd be fine for the 20-30 minute car ride home.

From 4:30-5:30PM I had four contractions that were 3-4 minutes apart. I knew it was too early to be worried, but was pretty uncomfortable so I decided to lie down and read my What to Expect book on labor and pre-labor signs. I'd been having a lot of "symptoms" of labor but they're also all common during pregnancy. Instead of getting dolled up before David got home I stayed in bed until he got home around 6:30PM. From 5:30-6:30PM I had three more contractions that were 3 minutes apart. I was thoroughly freaked out by the time David got home. I didn't feel like this was "it" but if they continued I was going to have to call the Dr. During those two hours in bed I tried changing positions, I even got up and walked around a little, went to the bathroom etc. Everything I was reading said that false labor or braxton-hicks contractions would go away with position change. Obviously between 4:30 and 6:30 they weren't going away. Finally enough time had gone by that I thought they were done. David and I got dressed and went to dinner at Carrabba's. It was sooo yummy. We picked up cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory for dessert for us and my parents- who were now at our house with Emma.

What a stressful night! We were so in awe of what was beginning to happen that we actually stayed up late enough to toast sparkling cider and watch the ball drop. Now I know that those were indeed contractions (I didn't feel them with Emma's labor, so wasn't sure what to watch for).

New Year's Day, the three of us went to pick out paint for the nursery. Emma got so excited that she could hardly wait to help in Cody's nursery. On Saturday Emma was with her other set of grandparents so David and I went to see Sherlock Holmes- which was great! Painting Cody's nursery (just an accent wall actually) took two days but we're really happy with it and can't wait to get the crib put up, bedding in and decorations on the wall. I'm not going to stress myself out, or push myself, because he's not going to be in that room for weeks anyway. I got all of his clothes washed- gotta love the smell of Dreft and feel a little more prepared now.

Next on the list, start packing hospital bag, install carseat and continue to mentally prepare. I'm so thankful for progress and how healthy we continue to be. So glad I did not gain another 30lbs with this pregnancy, no swelling etc. I definitely bitched and moaned about the nausea and vomiting but I know how blessed I was!

We can't wait- Cody is coming!