37 weeks

Look, I'm actually updating soon after an appointment.

I had my first "internal" appointment and all went well. I am "1 and thick" which is pretty decent for 37 weeks. Basically that means that I am one centimeter dilated and my cervix is still thick. I have been having braxton hicks contractions daily for about 2 weeks and have been wondering how thing were starting to progress.

My only complaint is that I tested positive for Group B Strep and that may hinder my "going natural" plans, but oh well. Maybe it just isn't in the cards for us. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Dr. D didn't give any kind of estimate, but then again, he isn't that kind of doctor and I am ok with that.

I will try to update often so that you all will know what's going on with Jerry and me.

Nearing the end

Today I am 36 weeks and 1 day pregnant and scared to death. I honestly thought I would be the pregnant lady that would be cool as a cucumber and be sitting on ready. However, I am not. I am scared, nervous, and anxious.

I'm scared that I'm not as brave and strong as I think I am. I haven't told a ton of people this, but my plan is to go through labor naturally. I don't want any drugs, I just want to do it on my own and know that I can really do this. But, my brain is screaming "YOU ARE INSANE!!!"

I'm nervous that I don't really know what to do with an infant. I have my BS is child development and can rattle off all kinds of interesting information on child rearing and education, but not mothering. I want the best for Jerry and I want everything to be perfect. Is that even possible?

I'm so anxious that I won't know when labor has actually started. About a week or so ago I started having some pretty good braxton hicks contractions and they honestly make me uneasy. A "WTH is that?" kind of feeling. My poor friends are being inundated with texts and emails of "what is this?" "is this normal?" I know this is all part of it, but whoa, am I ready?

I know I can do this, I know I will be a good mother and I know our house is ready, but I'm just so nervous. Who knew, huh?

The nursery

I'm going to do two posts, but this one is going to be centered around our (beautiful) nursery. I think it is just about finished. The only thing left is to hang his name on the wall above his crib and to hang some hand-painted pictures in the room, but I will probably do that this weekend or very soon (since we are quickly running out of time).

So, here it is. I am so pleased with it. I just love the way it turned out.

This is the view from the door. You can see the rocker and the antique hutch. The rocker originally belonged to Jeremiah's great-grandfather and the hutch came from Jeremiah's Aunt Beverly who is an antique dealer. You can also see the toy box which was made by my dad many years ago.

This is the other side of the room. You can see the crib, which is a Bonavita. You can see the medicine cabinet that came from an old pharmacy and the church pew. The blanket hanging on the back was hand knitted by Jeremiah's step grandmother.

A better view of the hutch and church pew. Can you tell we (well, I) really like elephants?

This is the view going out the door. More elies! The sign over the door says "hello little one."

The wall over the crib. We decided to put our maternity pictures over the crib. I wanted to do something a little unusual and thought that having some pics of us during this special time would be great. The mirror is an antique that Jeremiah refurbished for me.

The crib! The bedding is JJ Cole and we got it for $30. It was our first craigslist find and I have to say that I am in love with this. Also, here's a fun story for later. Jeremiah called the lady about the bedding and discovered that the lady selling it was the original owner of our house. Small world, huh?!

So, what do you think? Like I said, I love it. I am getting so excited to have Jerry here to enjoy it also.

February recap

Wow, February was a really busy month and I absolutely neglected my blog. Sorry folks.

In a quick fashion, here is what our month looked like:

• February 1st - my shadow at work started, which isn't what I expected it to be.
• February 5th - prenatal massage, the best thing ever in the whole world.
• February 6th - maternity pictures, Erin Hollis (Lens Envy) did the best job.
• February 7th - meet with Birmingham Pediatrics to help choose a pediatrician. I'm very impressed.
  
• February 9th and 23rd - 30 and 32 week appointments, everything is progressing great.
• February 19th - Preparing for Parenthood Class, we now know everything there is to know about raising a baby - YEAH RIGHT!!
• February 25th - Baby Shower thrown by 3 great friends.
  
• February 28th - ended the month with a stomach virus from HELL!! I honestly thought I was dying. It was terrible.

So, like I was saying, February was really busy. I'm still feeling great, so this update is just going to be short.

I will come back in the next few days and update more.