26 days and counting!

Ok, I know I've been the biggest slacker ever, so hope you guys are prepared for me to make it up to you! :) Between baby showers, childbirth class, working 10 hour days, and trying to put the baby room together, it's been a super busy couple weeks! I can't believe that she's due to arrive in less than a month, it totally blows my mind that my pregnancy is almost over... it seemed to be taking forever, but now that I'm in the home stretch, it feels like I can't slow time down to get everything I need to get done... I'll update on baby stuff in a little bit, let's start with the showers. They were both wonderful!

My mom and Chelsea threw me my first shower in Gig Harbor about two weeks ago, and they even had a red velvet cake made by the bakery that made my wedding cake! It was delicious!

Posing with the cake

Cute little onesies!

So many gifts! People at both showers were way too generous! :)

Sue and Lindsey came up from Albany for the shower and spent the night, and we had a fun girls night just relaxing. I absolutely love that my families mesh so well together! :)

The next weekend, my mom came down and picked me up and we continued to Albany for the next event. Kyle's Aunt Pam and cousin Sarah threw me a shower, which was so much fun! Another great day with family and friends.

Almost 36 weeks with a BIG belly!

Cousin Sarah, me, and future sister Lindsey :)

A bunch of girlfriends from OIT, I was so honored they came to celebrate with me!

Cutest cupcakes EVER!

Me with my moms! :)

My mom and I stayed the weekend in Albany, and we had another fun girls weekend together. Kyle and I are now in the midst of organizing all the gifts so that they're ready for when she arrives! I have another shower tomorrow that my work friends are throwing for me, which I'm excited about because I love hanging out with my co-workers outside of work; we don't get the opportunity to do it enough!

Kyle's been busy too, putting together all the stuff that requires assembly. We have the crib up and stroller and car seat all ready, and as we speak he's assembling the pack n play while I'm trying to do our taxes. I had the day off today, and our mission was buying all of the stuff that we still needed. So, armed with lists and coupons we hit Target, Babies R Us, Fred Meyers (for some storage bins for her closet) and got everything! We felt pretty accomplished. :)

Kyle working on the crib...

The finished product!

Stroller and carseat

But enough about baby stuff, let's talk about baby!

At 35 and 36 weeks, Baby Hall is packing on the pounds, at the rate of about an ounce a day. She weighs about 6 pounds (we're suspecting more than that, but we'll see!) and is about 18.5 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, which is the waxy substance that has protected her skin for the last nine months. She swallows both of these substances, along with other things, and this will form her first bowel movement, which hopefully Kyle gets to change. :) Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can even process some waste products. At the end of this week, baby will be considered full term!

I've started to go to the doctor once a week now, which means that my exams are starting to get a little invasive. I was checked for Group B Strep this week, which is a bacteria that lives in the birth canal that doesn't affect the carrier at all, but you can pass it on to the baby, and it can be really harmful. I guess up to 30% of pregnant women test positive for it, so we'll see; I'll get the results of that at my appointment next week. It's not a big deal if you do test positive though; they just give you antibiotics through your IV during labor. She's also started to check my cervix to see if I'm dilating, and I'm 1 cm dilated! Woo hoo! She said my cervix is really soft too (sorry if that's too much information), which she said is good because that means it's preparing to thin out and efface. It's basically a baseline exam, it doesn't predict when you will go into labor. She said I could go into labor tomorrow, or I could be 1 cm dilated for the next 5 weeks. I'll get checked again next week to see if I'm making any progress!

Every time I go I have to pee in a cup, and unfortunately I got a call today that my last sample showed I have a UTI. It's just a mild one, but I have to take antibiotics 4 times a day for the next week. I'm thrilled because you all know how great I am at taking pills. :) She said she'll know more about it on Monday because they sent it to the lab for culture, so I'll let you know when I know!

Kyle and I have breastfeeding class tomorrow morning before the shower, so it's time for me to go to bed... hope you all have a special Valentine's day! :)