Okay, so I'm so excited I can barely stand it. I just got back from my 36 week appointment with my midwife, Laura. I have been preparing myself since my last appointment that when she checked my cervix, I couldn't get my hopes up because no matter what, I could still have another 6 1/2 weeks left if I go as long as I did with Logan. But that has all been thrown to the wind because of what she had to say. While she told me Logan that I would deliver before my due date (and I still went over by 2 1/2 weeks) she didn't say what she said today! Alright... first I just want to say why I'm believing her full-heartedly. My 20 week ultrasound put me at 2 weeks ahead of schedule... it said that I was actually 22 weeks. But Laura and I had decided that we would stick with the original due date because it would be a lot less suffering for me if I went two weeks late and landed right on my due date than two weeks after... so we kept my July 16th due date instead of the July 6th one. But when she started measuring my fundal height, it was always 2 weeks ahead also. At 30 weeks I measured 32 cm, at 31 weeks, I measured 33 cm, etc. That was up until an appt. or two ago. I measured 34 cm at 33 weeks and then 34 cm at 34 weeks. But at 34 weeks she was pretty sure that the reason that I wasn't measuring ahead at all was because the baby had "dropped." Last but not least, today, for the first half of the day, I have been losing mucous... not bloody yet, but definitely the beginnings of my mucous plug. Anyway, today when she measured, I was at 37 cm... which is a week ahead... I'm starting week 36 today. So I had this thought of, "Oh my gosh, that means she's not engaged!" But then she asked if I wanted her to do a check, and how could I say no, so she did. As soon as she was in, she said that my cervix DID NOT feel like a 36 week cervix, it felt most definitely like a 38 week cervix. She told me then that there was no way that I would make it to my due date of July 16th... she thinks that the July 6th one is much more accurate and that I could have the baby anytime between now and then and she wouldn't be surprised one bit. I was 50% effaced and 2 cm dilated, the baby was at 0 station and Laura felt her head! My baby has been touched by someone other than me!!! That's soooooo exciting to me!!!! I'm so totally thrilled I can barely stand it. She told Josh and I to have lots of sex and she gave me a box of red raspberry leaf tea to help get my uterus nice and strong. (I didn't know that it would work that quickly though... I thought I needed to be drinking it all third trimester or something.)

I looked at my journal that I kept for Logan and it said that at 38 weeks, I was dilated 1cm and was 25% effaced... the baby was at +1 station. So, Logan was lower, but I was less thinned out and less dilated. So, this is good news... I have probably less than 4 1/2 weeks to go! Yayyyyy! Today I'm off to buy some Evening Primrose Oil tabs to help soften my cervix even more... after I took those for a week, my cervix went from a 1 to a 2-3 according to my journal. We're going to have this baby! Yay!


I wrote all of that earlier today. Nothing really went on today except that I drank 9 tea bags worth of the Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. It's not so bad as long as you mix it with a whole ton of sugar and kool aid or something. In fact, I actually enjoyed it a little. :)

Chelsea had Chase today. He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz. and was 21 inches long. He had his hand up by his face so the poor little thing has a bruised little hand. I cried when my mom told me about how excited Anthony was to meet him... it makes me SOOOOOO excited for Logan to meet Lelah. Speaking of Lelah...

The shower was wonderful. It was so much fun, and there was a whole ton of people there. We really were showered with gifts. :) We got to announce what we have decided on for a name... Lelah Grace Kathryn. I get excited every time I think of her name... I'm so happy with it. Lelah just sounds like such a sunshiny name... I can't wait to meet her! Especially now. I almost wish I didn't know that I could go into labor anytime because I want to get things moving... and it's funny because we still have so much to do. And besides, I would be horrified if Laura came to the house with it looking like it does right now. I haven't mopped for probably two weeks, and it really does need it. The bathroom upstairs really needs to be swept and mopped before anyone sees it... ew. Monday Delores is coming to pick up all of Desis stuff, so we won't have to worry about the kitchen for too much longer. Thank God! Also on Monday, my mom gets home from Anchorage. I'm so glad, I miss her so much and am done sharing her and want her to be home now. I don't like her being so far away... I like her much better when I can visit her in person anytime I want. I'm so selfish! Anyhow, Joni, Jason and hopefully Brandon fly in on Thursday, and then the excitement begins. Friday there is a BBQ at Lauries house for Joni and Nathan so they can see everyone, Saturday is Vanessas shower, and then Sunday is Logans birthday party. Fastforward to the next Friday, it's the 4th of July, then the very next day Joni and Jason are going to get married at Cannon Beach. The wedding is planned for 11 am and then there will be a reception to follow at Lauries house at 6ish. It will be nice. Laurie has been working her patootie off since she heard news that they wanted to get married, so it's bound to turn out nicely. :) With all this going on, it really would be easier for everyone if Miss Lelah hung around in my tummy until all the mess is over with. I can be a lot more helpful having a baby in me than a baby outside of me... especially a brand new baby that wants to nurse all the time. I should keep reminding myself of that. :)

At the appt. last night, I asked Laura how long she thought I needed to not watch Jameson and Max. She said at the very minimum 3 weeks. I had read that having too much responsibility right after having a baby is one of the leading causes for post partum depression... I thought it might be an inflated theory, but Laura totally agreed. She said on top of that, it also can hinder breastfeeding by either not letting your milk come in at all, making it so you don't have enough to feed your baby, or even by making it low quality so you have to supplement with formula. And if anything could send me over the depression deep end, it would be that I couldn't nurse my baby. Ugh... it makes my eyes well up to even think of it. While this is causing huge stresses in both Kaylas and Jens lives, I think I'm making the right decision by saying that I can't watch them for three weeks. I would never forgive myself if I were to take them after a week like I had originally planned and something happened... Be it my milk, postpartum depression or just poor bonding with Lelah, I would never forgive myself. Aside from the huge worry about money, I'm kind of looking forward to having three straight weeks of nothing but my family. Josh has already arranged to take three full weeks off from work, so I won't have that much to do really... mostly just bond with Lelah and keep the bond I have with Logie. I figured we won't really be able to stray too far from home because of gas, but I'm sure that my mom and Laurie will visit just as much as they did with Logan, so it's not like we'll get lonely. :)

My visit with Laura didn't only consist of her checking my cervix and talking to me about the three week maternity thing. There were other things, that happened to be just wonderful. 1) My blood pressure was fine the second time she took it... it was high the first time, but fine the next, so that's great. 2) My Group B test came back negative, so no antibiotics in labor for me... woot! 3) I only gained 2 pounds, which I'm so surprised about because I've been eating like a freaking cow, and according to everything I read, Lelah is gaining 1/2 ounce to 1 full ounce every single day! 4) Laura doesn't think that Lelah will be any bigger than Logan was... which is wonderful news to me because I've been feeling like she is sooooo much bigger than Logan already. And while I understand that guesstimates can be totally off, I'm comfortable with just believing that she's going to be smaller than Logan or the same size as him. Once I'm in labor it's not like she won't be able to come out if she's a couple ounces over Logans 8lbs 2oz. Laura told us a whole bunch of great stories like normal, and answered all my questions... it was really great. I'm already looking forward to our next visit with her... but then again, I look forward to them from the time I step out her door. :) I'm so strange!

Alright, that's it for me... I'm going to go insert some Evening Primrose thingys and hope that they do some softening tonight. :) I'm hoping to get it all soft down there and then when mom gets off that plane I'm safe to go into labor. :) Josh wants to not tell Joni if we have Lelah before she gets here and just surprise her at the airport with a surprise welcome. :) I don't know if she would really appreciate being held in the dark for that long... and I don't really know how we could pull it off anyhow. We'll see. With our luck we probably won't even have the baby until she goes home. :( Okay, hopefully I'll be blogging better. Until next time, I hope you have a wonderful week!