Its my due date and I'll cry if I want to...

Tick tock, tick tock...

I feel like I am listening to that Pink Floyd song with all the clocks and then BANG all the bells start ringing, except for in our case, the bells havent started ringing yet.

Blimey! Those clocks are annoying...but I am sure the bells will be even more annoying when they start ringing. And by clocks I mean labor, not crying baby...of course :)

So for now, I will just sit here with my heartburn and try to relish in the glory of me, myself and I time...and Nick, Loki, Puppy and Doozer time. No use in hurrying this little baby out...so they say.

Today I started to read Jenny McCarthy's "Baby Laughs: the Naked Truth About the First Years of Mommyhood" (thanks Mal). Now I am only through page 10 (obviously my attention span has been lacking today), but so far, this book is awesome! Lets just say Chapter 2 is called: Blowing Our Your Vagina, a Vaginal Delivery. I think you can use your imagination...which is exactly what I did...and why I am freaking about a "regular" delivery. OMG! Hilarious, but scary at the same time.

Onto Chapter 3...for more torturous laughter.

As always...we will keep you posted on when Riley makes his move!

See below for new pictures...

No baby yet!

So I realize now that I probably need to keep my cell phone closer to me since I have received a few missed calls and texts wondering if the baby has arrived yet because I didnt answer...OOOPS.

And I also realize that I also need to keep up on the blog more this week since a lack of blog has led some of you to think that maybe I didnt blog because we were in the hospital.

Apparently my laziness last week was unacceptable and I apologize for that! :)

You all have been great. Thanks so much for thinking of us and being as supportive as you have.

But dont worry...I actually made a list of people to call/text when we go into labor so you will all know.

And for those of you holding out for that "we're in labor" text to put in your guess on the RileyRaffle...dont hold your breath because we are going to lock it out before we let you know that we are in labor...

I know...how mean!!! But for those who actually want to put in $$, its only fair, right? Hehehe.

So with those minor details out of the way...onto the important stuff...

Stretch marks and pee pants.

I have officially broken out with a case of stretch marks over the majority of my belly. And let me tell you...they look HOT! Hot like my belly caught fire and has scars all over it! And it honestly feels like I have a rash spreading over my whole belly at this point. Who knew that stretch marks would be so itchy!? I didnt.

So unfortunately my hope of being the hot mom in a bikini a month after giving birth has been blown out the window. Damn those stupid US Weekly, People and Star magazines that make those postbirth star moms bellys look toned and stretchmark free. Damn them!

I guess, stretch marks aside, what I should really be more concerned with is how much loose skin I am going to have to deal with after the birth. I think I just gagged a little thinking about loose skin. Ewwwwww.

I guess I will just have to wait and see. 7 minute abs, here I come!

So I officially have 4 more days until our due date. I cant believe he is supposed to be here on Wednesday. That sounds crazy!

This whole journey has seemed so long in some ways and so short in others. I was in Safeway last week reminiscing about how I lived on Rainbow Sherbert, Cinnamon Pop Tarts and ginger ale for about 5 months. Oh and donuts too. Its a wonder I dont have heart disease from this darn pregnancy.

Now I pretty much hate all those things since most of them ended up coming out my nose soon after eating them. Well, actually, I think I still like Rainbow Sherbert...and donuts...who could hate donuts!!!

Man, all this talk of food has made me hungry...

We will keep you all posted one way or another when he is making his arrival.

Until then...take care!

Important information to win the pool :)

So...we had one of our last appointments yesterday with our midwife and she gave me the due date, his approximate weight and length.

Feel free to offer me any amount of baked goods or Big Spoon yogurt to get the inside info and win the $$$.

YA RIGHT! Believe me, I tried to get the inside scoop so I could vote on the pool and win :) BUT when I asked her what she thought about his due date, she literally laughed at me and said "now Joanna, I cant predict that!"

All I can say is: I tried. I knew she couldnt give me anything exact, but was hoping for a round about. At least. Everyone I see says "could be tomorrow, could be a week after your due date..." All promising answers that I love to hear :) But really, whats my hurry. I am enjoying sleeping in these days!

One thing I can say is that she touched his head during the exam. I know, sounds creepy, but it was totally cool. I cant believe he is actually that low. Another thing she said was that, although he is head down, he is facing the wrong direction.

So now I have to do these swirl dances and lay on my side and literally try to push him in the right direction or I am headed for BACK LABOR CITY! Which I hear is AWFUL!

Another thing I can say is that she gave us some new numbers about cm's and effacement...one of which has changed quite a bit since our last appointment.

Like someone said in the comment section...its weird to think you are just walking around and your body is doing all this work that you cant see. And pretty soon it will just be time.

Crazy.

So now I just wait. And watch movies and TV. Go on little shopping trips to pick up last minute items and eat like a pig :) Yum.

See below for new pictures.

Hope you are all doing great! Oh and congrats to Anne and Kirk...they just got married last weekend! Yiippeeee!!!

Its the final countdown...

38 weeks...today. That means about 0 to 4 more weeks. 2 if I am on time, 4 if I am late. And before 2 weeks if I am lucky :)

For those of you who have put in your guesstimates on the web site, thank you. Its fun to see what everyone thinks. I still have yet to put my guess in. Its harder than I thought. Who knows when this little one is gonna pop out! But of course, we will have more inside information tomorrow after our appointment SO maybe we wont guess...

Either way, make sure you put your guess in soon cause who knows...he could come any day :)
http://www.expectnet.com/games/RileyRaffle

And remember, you dont have to put in $$$. Some people just said they would like to...so I thought we could make it a little more interesting for those who had an interest in making $$$ off our child. Hahahaha.

So this big news this week is that my bladder is completely compromised at this point. Make me laugh and you will see what I mean. Wait, really, dont make me laugh. Or cough. Or sneeze. I didnt think the books were right on this one, but they are!

It is so hot here and the air quality is so bad that I have decided to stay in the house as long as I can stay sane. Which I am going on day 2 of this endeavor and it is becoming more and more difficult. TV is getting repetitive. The cats are starting to bore me. And the babys room is pretty much done...so I decided it might be fun to search YouTube. But once I got to the site, I had NO CLUE what to type in. What the heck do I want to watch? I remember seeing 2 funny videos once. One about a kid named Charlie and the other about a Unicorn named Charlie...so I went to those videos...watched them, laughed and then gave up after that cause nothing else would come to mind. If you havent seen this video yet...check it out. Its pretty funny. http://youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

I guess thats it for today. Dont leave the house and I am pretty boring. Off to watch more TV...I guess.

Pulsating nose zit etc

So...I havent had a pimple since before I got pregnant. One of the cool things about me being el preggo was a lack of zits. Which I didnt realize until right now, actually.

But now...now I have this huge, red, pulsating and extremely sore zit on the inside of my nose...close enough to the edge that I think I can pop it, but far enough back where I cant quite see it and I most certainly cannot get my swollen man hands in there enough to get at it.

Of course my brain is thinking...ohhh, a change in body chemistry...labor is not far off. And my body is thinking...hahahaha...you thought you were going to get through the pregnancy without anymore pain other than labor, but now we have found another way to torture you.

As if the intermittent cramping and crotchal pain everytime I stand up isnt enough. Jeeeez. Thanks body. And to think I tried to congratulate you the other night with sweet, sweet churros and ice cream. Well, I take it back.

In fact, come to think of it...that is probably what gave me this stinkin nose zit in the first place. Too many sweets.

O lovely. Isnt that just lovely.

I try to help you out body and look what you do...

Give me an incredibly annoying and painful nose zit that has actually swollen so much that the shape of my nose has changed and I look kind of weird.

Ok. So I obviously have TOO much time on my hands as I rant about a nose zit, but it really is kind of annoying...

Nick and I just watched the movie Juno. I know, we are probably the last pregnant couple to see the movie, but I just kept forgetting to put it on Netflix until last week.

So anyway...cute movie. And for those of you who said I remind you of Juno. Thank you. Her sense of humor was quite tactful and very reserved...just like me. Ha.

She was believable and I can say she expresses her feelings of being whalish very nicely...but the fact that she kept laying on her back was totally bu%*sh#@. I was told that you CANNOT lay on your back starting in your 2nd trimester cause I could cut off all circulation to my baby...so I have followed that rule and then Juno goes and breaks it. Several times throughout the movie I might add. And she is supposed to be a role model for pregnant women. Wait, no, um...

Well anyway...good movie.

Check out the new pictures of Riley's room. And check down at the bottom of the blog for new pics of me and Loki.

O, also...to come soon...a baby pool. Not the cheap Target backyard pool, but a pool where you can guess Riley's due date, height, weight etc... And maybe win a prize? I think we are still working on that. Not sure how pool's usually work. Nick is going to have to be in charge of that...

Look for an email soon!

Until then...Happy 4th, again!

1 cm down, 9 to go...

So we had our "pants off" visit yesterday (Nick kept his on, otherwise that would have been awkward) and Dr says I am right on track. Riley should be here around his due date (July 23)and should be around 7 lbs or more. She said I am already dilated 1 cm which made me wince a little.

"OMG, this is really happening. My body has already started the process...JEEEZUZ! Wait, how do I breath again? What am I supposed to do when I feel contractions...cry, call labor and delivery or eat KFC?" All those classes started to blend into one in my head and I started getting confused. "Wait, is breast milk okay for adults...wait, no, that wasnt my question. That was that weirdo guys question in breastfeeding class."

So...now there is really no turning back. As if that was a possibility before. Haha. Its exciting and scary all at once. Needless to say, I am spending today looking over all our handouts and reading up on what the heck we are supposed to do. I am sure that will last about 20 minutes...but at least I am thinking about it!

After our appointment yesterday, I felt like I needed to celebrate now that I am at 1 cm. It was weird. Like I needed to congratulate my body for doing what it is supposed to. So naturally, instead of celebrating with a beer, I celebrated with 2 diet cokes and churros with ice cream and caramel sauce at a mexican restaurant and couldnt fall asleep until 1am this morning because of a caffiene high and killer heartburn. CONGRATS body! Job well done! Hahahaha.

And Nick came to the realization last night that he may need to watch his alcohol intake over the next few weeks in case he needs to drive me to the hospital OR just stay awake during the birth :)

What a weird thing to have to think about. I mean, it makes sense, obviously, but I cant say that thought really occurred to me until he mentioned it. Then I started thinking about where we are going to be when it all goes down....

Will we be sleeping? Will I have time to shower? Will my hair look cute? Will I have just eaten or will we have to stop for food along the way? Will we have time to stop for food? Will I even want to eat? Will Nick be at work? Will my water break on the sidewalk and will I have to ask a stranger for a napkin? Will my legs be freshly shaven?

Man, there is a lot to think about. I am sure I am missing a few important details, but these thoughts are important for me. Its amazing how vain I have become thinking about this whole birthing process. I almost cried the other day when I thought I had a stretch mark. I am still not convinced it is "just blood vessels close to the skin" like Nick said. But of course since I cant see, I am going to trust that he is right. Right Nick????!!! hehehe.

But like I have heard all mothers say...none of it matters once the baby comes. They say that I will be so happy that I will forget everything I went through during labor and the birth...

Yea right! I am still finding that hard to believe now...especially since I could poop on the delivery table and that seems like something that might stick with me. But hey, maybe not. Maybe I wont even know it happens. And if it does...Nick, you better not tell anyone :) Hahaha.

On that note: Happy 4th of July everyone!

More pictures to come later today or tomorrow :) Hope you are all doing well!