Waiting

I have to admit that my pregnancy has been pretty seamless. I never did have morning sickness, no medical complications, not even a lot of discomfort until late in the game. I've been sleeping well, eating well (probably too well), and able to do just about all the activity that I have wanted to. However, I can officially say that I am done. Now I am huge, uncomfortable, not sleeping very well, and generally just done. I want my body back and I would very much like to meet this little guy and start this next stage of our lives. I know we need to be enjoying these last days of "freedom" without being tied down by a child. But I would hardly call what I feel these days "freedom". I can't hop on my bike and go for a ride in this beautiful fall weather we've been having, I can't go run up the Butte with the dog, and even the thought of sitting for 2+ hours in a movie theater doesn't sound fun. So I say, "Come on out Bubba! We're ready!".

I actually thought I would have a baby in my arms by today. On Friday, I was feeling unusually uncomfortable with strange cramping, etc. but went to work anyway. After an hour and a half there, and being completely unable to get comfortable let alone focus on taking care of patients, I had to excuse myself and go home. I stopped by the doctor on my way home (since he is right there by work) and had him do a quick exam. Things had changed a little. He told me I was slightly dilated, but made it clear that it didn't really mean anything. He said I could very well "putter" along like this for a while. I, on the other hand, was sure the baby would be born this weekend. I mean how do you go from having no symptoms for 9+ months (never a Braxton Hicks contraction) to significant different 'stuff' going on and not have it be labor? So I called my Mom, told her to be ready, Keith quickly packed his bag and took the dog on a long walk in case she had to be abandoned later in the night. And then we sat around and waited for the action. And waited. And are still waiting. I guess I'm puttering.

Friday and Saturday were pretty uncomfortable for me with on and off cramping, then yesterday, nothing - back to normal (whatever that is). Today the cramping is trying to come back, but not to a very large degree. So I try to keep busy by going for short walks, cleaning and reading a novel (which has been nice - I am so sick of pregnancy and labor books!). In addition, Keith is home a lot now as he tries to land another contracting job, and work at the property has ceased with the change in the weather and the completion of the shed. Quick aside here from my all encompassing pregnancy - Keith is now a full fledged, independent, licensed and bonded contractor. He finished up the paperwork, testing and licensure last week and has spent the last few days starting to advertise in earnest and land a job. It might be hard to get a start with this, but if we can make it work, it will be a dream come true to be an owner of his own business and to have the degree of flexibility that comes with that.

At any rate, it means he does a lot of stuff at home now, and I won't go back to work at this point, so sometimes it feels like we are just sitting around staring at each other waiting for the big event. It's not really like that, but as the days go by and now that it is raining like crazy, and gets dark so darn early, there are definitely many times of the day where we both feel stuck in a bit of a rut. Him waiting for a job to come up, and me waiting for my body to get on with the program already!

Enough griping. Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks.
Like I've been saying, October was a beautiful month. We have had some of the most amazing fall colors I've seen in years and it has been sunny and warm without hardly a day of rain the whole month. November is starting out drastically different however - it's been raining for two days straight, and the leaves have been falling about as fast as the rain.

We spent one very nice afternoon strolling through one of the riverside parks here in Eugene and letting Gracie do her thing in the water.






I thought these parallel jet lines looked so cool with the fall colors, but of course I have no photographing ability, so the picture didn't really come out like I had hoped.


For Halloween, I thought it would be fun to paint my belly like a pumpkin. For our Halloween night, we were a bit preoccupied with the inevitable trip to the hospital and my general discomfort, so it didn't get done in time for the holiday. However, Corrine and the kids came over today and held me to my word of getting it done. It turned out pretty cute!


I love this double chin I have obtained!




It looks like I've been crying, but it's really just poison oak that I somehow got around my eye. Cute, huh?




I've had the chance to spend more time with Bea and Jenn lately as well. Bea is growing so fast. It is hard to believe she is 10 weeks old already. She is already holding her head up and really using her legs to 'stand'. Very active, cute, and animated baby!
We got a nice walk in among those lovely fall colors.






One last pregnancy photo (are you sick of these yet?). And the latest on the bump watch.
This is from Saturday night (38+ weeks). We do actually turn lights on in our house....we just happened to be on our way out the door at this moment.


Week 38


And finally, my new favorite song. Especially if you are in need of a pick-me-up.