Allie: 37 weeks

Well we made it: full term. 37 weeks. And I'd say from looking at this picture that I've definitely dropped some from last week.

(36 weeks)

I've been having braxton hicks contractions for 3 straight days now pretty regular, but I know that means nothing. I hope she makes her appearance soon b/c even when Dawson was sleeping at his worst I got more than 45 minutes most nights. Not now. I'm up peeing, literally every hour. My hips hurt and my legs cramp so bad that I'd rather stay up than try to sleep. It's awful. My body is not liking pregnancy as much this time as it did with Dawson. My hemoglobin is low again so I'm on iron supplements along with my prenatal vitamin and they make me kinda nauseaus, but I do have more energy during the day so that's good. I'm definitely ready to meet this little girl and I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore. Let's hope she comes soon!

Contractions.

I was up the better part of the night last night. Not like that's any different than the last two weeks. It was just for a different reason. Normally I'm up to pee every hour and then the leg cramps and hip pain keep me up. I had all of that too, but the night started with contractions. Just braxton hicks ones, but painful enough to keep me awake. I did this with Dawson too and it's not that fun. BH are NOTHING compared to the real deal, but they are still uncomfortable. My ob won't do cervical checks til 38 weeks and honestly I'm not all that interested in them anyway. They can be very disappointing. Examples? My cousin walked around at a 4 for 2 weeks before labor started. I walked around at a whopping "maybe a .5 cm" for 3 weeks before labor with Dawson and my labor was only 3.5 hours. So I know for a fact that dialating means NOTHING when it comes down to it. I may not even have them check until and unless I hit 40 weeks.

In my heart I really feel like this little girl is going to come early. I don't know how early, but I do feel that way. I guess we'll see. Daniel says October 5th b/c that's a big day for him in the working world. Only the only day in October that would kind of be a bad day for her to come. He's probably right.

I finally did it.

I've been lusting after a DSLR camera since Dawson was just a few weeks old. I never could justify the cost and kept putting it off. Well I finally (with the input of my husband of course) bit the bullet and bought one. It's nothing too fancy since I have no idea how to really use it, but it's a Canon eos Rebel t3. All the reviews says it's great for a beginner and I'm so excited to learn about how to use it properly. I can't wait to actually use it and learn a thing or 2 about it. Now to figure that part out...

Why I never open the door for strangers.

So my mother-in-law works for the judicial system in our local area. She texted me earlier and said that a man and a woman in a van are posing as "door to door" sales people and when people come to the door they are robbing them. 1. I NEVER open the door for strangers. EVER. I'll hide in one of the bedrooms looking out the window and wait for them to leave. But this makes me mad for various reasons.

Obviously I take issue with people robbing others, but what really makes me mad is that I can't feel safe taking D outside to play. I can't feel safe opening my front door and just having the screen door locked. I can't feel safe walking to check the mail. Now I live in a safe area. We don't have much crime and that's probably the problem. Everyone here is trusting so this couple can get people to come to the door. My plan? If these people show up in my driveway I'm hittng the police button on the alarm it's both audible and silent and the police will be called. I'll also call 911 myself and if someone does manage to get in my house I have a gun and am not afraid to use it if my family is threatened. I know a lot of people disagree with gun ownership, but if you walk into my house uninvited and are here to hurt me or my family I swear you're not leaving without a new hole in your body.

Allie: 36 weeks

First, my mirror is filthy!! I swear men can't brush their teeth without making a mess...yes this is all Daniel's fault. I'm going to clean it as soon as I finish this post b/c that's disgusting...

Now, WOW 36 weeks!! That means Allie really will be here very soon. She's dropped for sure and out of my rib cage which means I can sit comfortably (sometimes) now. Other times my back hurts so bad that I'm only comfortable standing. She moves all the time and is head down. WAY head down and when she gets hiccups it's really weird feeling b/c I feel them like basically on top of my cervix. Her kicks and rolls kinda hurt now b/c she's getting big and they are more defined. I'm tired b/c I don't sleep so well at night due to pain in my hips and leg cramps, but other than that I'm excited to meet her. Her crib is put together, clothes washed and put away, hospital bag packed. We're getting close!!

Allie, 35 Weeks: Good news!!

I was so nervous yesterday getting ready for my appointment. I had actually packed a little hospital bag just in case they told me I had to deliver her today. Which would have been a very real possibility if my fluid levels had gone down. The good news is they didn't!! They were at a low 9 last week and yesterday were at a 12. Doctor was pleased, I was pleased and the US tech said the baby looked great. She was moving all over, practicing breathing, and still hanging out in the head down position she should be in. I had actually lost 3 pounds from a week ago but weight loss is normal in late pregnancy. My blood pressure was great and my fundal height measured exactly 35 weeks up 3cm from the week before. All in all-Allie looks exactly like a 35 weeker should. I was so happy that all was well and I could breathe a little easier. Low fluid would have meant a probable c-section at 35 weeks. I know she'd probably be fine, but I'm not quite ready to meet her just yet. I want her lungs to be exactly where they should be so that she comes home when I do. I want her to be of optimal health-even if that means I stay pregnant for 5 more long weeks.

I know once she's here I won't be able to imagine life without her...but right now, I'm nervous as hell.

Allie: 34 week appointment, not so text book.

Yesterday morning for the first time ever I took D with me to an OB appointment. You know these appointments are 2 mins-in and out-check weight check BP, see you in two weeks. Well, yesterday not so much. My BP was fine, I haven't gained any weight since 2 weeks ago, but when the Dr. checked my fundal height I was measuring 31 weeks. She wasn't too concerned, but she was concerned enough to order an US. So we waited for the US and the baby is measuring great, my amniotic fluid-not so much. It's measuring at a 9. Which is normal, but on the low end of normal. (Should be between 7-23)So I have strict orders to rest, drink tons of water and come back next week for another US and to check growth again. My dr. said she wasn't too concerned yet, but she would need to see improvement next week to not be worried.

However, there was a highlight to all of this-well 2 really. First Dawson did wonderful!! I mean he was a total dream for the 1.5 we were there. All the nurses loved him and he sat in the chair and just watched everything intently. Secondly-Allie has hair!! Which is amazing b/c D was very bald. This explains the heartburn.

Lastly-for the first time EVER D told me he needed to pee!! Potty training is definitely working very well!

Dreams.

I dream every night. Most of them are very vivid and I often wake up remembering every detail of them. Actually when I dream, I often have full control of my actions and emotions in my dreams. I can wake up in the middle of a dream and go back to sleep and finish the dream. I can make myself wake up during a dream to avoid finishing it.I think this is called lucid dreaming. I'm pretty sure that not everyone has the capability, but I do and have for as long as I can remember. Last night...I had the worst dream of my life. It started out fine.

I was somewhere beautiful with an ocean and the house we (my husband, Dawson and in laws) were staying in was gorgeous. Huge. Surronded by water. A long dock went into the ocean. Apparently the ocean was very deep and you could jump off the dock and swim. There was no beach. Just rocks that seemed to create a hill that would have been impossible to climb because it was that high. The dock sat very high too, it was almost like a pier and not a dock. Anyway, at night time all these sea creatures would come to the dock and swim and jump and practically dance. Dolphins and whales and it was just beautiful. We watched the first night cautiously and then the second night we noticed people in the water playing with these creatures and having so much fun. Well Dawson and I sat on the dock watching everyone else in the water. Then at some point Dawson was in the water with a family member and wanted to get out. So I got him out and he ran from me and jumped in the water by himself. I jumped in right after him and grabbed him. I felt him slipping through the water and grabbed him up just in time. We swam to the edge of the dock to get up and then something happened. He slipped or I slipped and we couldn't both get on the dock and I lost my grip on him. I felt him sliding by me in the water. I had my hands on him and he kept going like I was made of water too. He slipped past my legs and I tried so hard to get him. I just couldn't grab him and he was gone. I forced myself to wake up at this point. I just couldn't. I wanted to finish it because I wanted to find him, but I knew at this point all hope was lost and he was gone. If I finished this dream I knew that I was going to be miserable all day long.

I got out of bed this morning and looked at my little fellow. I can't imagine losing him. He's so important to me and such a big part of my life. He seems to be the force behind every decision I make and the thought of him being here one minute and gone the next makes my stomach hurt and tears come to my eyes. I hope I never know what it's like to lose him.

I am the wife of a firefighter and I will remember 9/11/01.

9/11/01 I was sophomore in highschool. I was in the office meeting with my academic advisor for the school year and the secretary said " a plane hit the World Trade Center" well I'll be honest....I didn't even know what the World Trade Center was. I had no reason to know this and it didn't really affect me. Later in my Chemistry class I was watching the news when the second plane hit. I don't know that it really registered with me what was happening until later on. Now 10 years later I am a married mother and my husband is a firefigther. He's a first responder. He is a man that will run into a building when it's not safe and he will stay with his crew until the end. Just like the 343 of 9/11 did. I hope to God that he never has to experience a tragedy like that. I hope to God that I don't lose him in the line of duty. I hope he's an old old man who's live a very long life before he dies. But that's neither here nor there. What's important is that I live a life knowing how passionate he is about his calling. I know that I could very well be a widow of a disaster like 9/11. And I'm okay with that-it stays in the back of my mind.

But there are countless people and families that lost their spouses, friends, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. 10 years later the pain has probably eased some, but it's never forgotten. And we can't forget what happened that day to this country too. Many of us experienced War first hand. The United States was, for a short few hours, the frontline of War. Thousands of our military have now experienced 10 years worth of war. I feel for their families. To live through deployment to not know if your family member is coming home. To experience the loss of a family member at war. Unimaginable.

I hope I never experience anything like 9/11-ever again. I hope that we never forget how the nation felt that day. How United we became as a nation-and I hope that we can find that unity again...without the tragedy.

In a funk.

I'm in a funk. Down, blue, a little sad. I'm not sure if it's all the 9/11 footage and documentaries that are being shown right now due to the 10th anniversary ( I suspect this is the culprit) or a case of pregnancy hormones mixed with a lack of sleep but whatever it is I'm ready to move past it. We went to the fair this weekend and enjoyed a delicious funnel cake, caramel apple, and all the farm animal feeding we could. Dawson isn't into rides yet and I'm not into the rides for him. I don't like that in SC the LLR doesn't really regulate carnival rides and mix that with the fact that they are put up in like one day...it makes me uncomfortable. So we walked around, looked at all the rides lit up like a Christmas tree and ate good food. We also played some carnival games and D won all the cheap prizes a 2 year old could enjoy. He also FREAKED when we left because he didn't want to leave and has been asking to go back to the fair since. He did excellent with his potty training while we were there and that was the longest we've been out of the house since we started, which was comforting. He still doesn't tell me when he needs to go so any advice on that would be really appreciated! Right now I just take him every 1.5 - 2 hours and that seems to work....but not always. So any ideas on that?

Allie: 33 weeks

So, 33 weeks. I feel huge!! I know I'm only going to get bigger, but goodness it's hard to walk. I'm having a really hard time getting on the floor to play with Dawson due to a really uncomfortable feeling under my ribs when I sit too long, and I definitely waddle, but other than that I feel great. She moves all the time and according to my weekly email is about 17 inches and 4 pounds. I believe it! I'm having a small family shower on 9/18/11 and I'm pretty excited about it. I really felt strange having another shower when I have a 2.5 year old but my in laws feel like every baby deserves something so I agreed. We really don't need anything at all since everything we bought with Dawson was gender neutral (as far as big items go) and we've picked up tons of clothes from consignment. I think all I need are diapers and new bottles. Time is really winding down and we're getting very excited to meet this little girl!!