3-1/2 Weeks Left! Can That be Right?

Nicole here. Chris has been busy so I thought I would take charge of this blog, especially since we are already a week and a half behind. First of all I would like to point out that the floating baby countdown to my left is not really how it is. I was watching to see if that baby would throw a punch or something, but it didn’t, therefore I think they should take away that feature entirely. They say (who’s they? I don’t remember, I just know I heard this somewhere…hopefully a credible source somewhere) that the baby’s most active weeks are from 33 to 36, and that really was the case with Reilly. I had to tell her to calm it down a couple times for fear that I would just rip right open (gross, huh?)!

We missed last weeks blog because we were road tripping it to IA for the College World Series. There were six of us in a land cruiser and we had a fine time! Chris and I were both a little worried about the trip because if I went into labor in the middle of Nebraska, what would we do? The doctors said that the biggest thing to do was drink plenty of water and make a pit stop every two hours to walk around and avoid blood clots. It worked out because I (and most of the boys in the car) had to use the bathroom every two hours ANYWAY. I didn’t go watch baseball though (and they only ended up watching one which was a bummer, but I heard that Sporcle kept them busy)…I relaxed at my parents' house and had a baby shower! It was really great to be able to see people and catch up on their lives. Thanks to Lisa, Sharon and Sarah for throwing it for me! All of my sisters were able to be there too, along with Josh and Edwin, so it was a nice family weekend. We got home at 6pm Monday night and headed straight to birth class. That whole week was a whirlwind and the reason why we didn’t blog. Sometimes sleeping is just more important.

This last weekend we finally buckled down and got a lot done in the baby room. It was really fun going through everything and finding a place for it! Seeing how much stuff we’ve been given has been an awesome reminder of how the Lord provides! Many many thanks to everyone for the things they have bought or handed down. We have been so taken care of, and that makes everything so stress free! We even have a near complete wardrobe from newborn to 18 months, which is a huge blessing! By looking at all of our great baby stuff because of friends generosity, the awesome house we get to rent, and the fact that we have two good jobs it really proves that the Lord is good. It wasn’t in our timing, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

We also have our hospital bag mostly packed. It made this labor thing feel a lot more real! It is just sitting in our living room, waiting for the last minute additions, and then off we go. It’s a good thing I asked the family when they wanted the “labor call” because if we took off in the middle of the night, I would have waited to call. I figured, labor will probably take HOURS so they might as well get a full nights sleep and we would call in the morning or when she was born, whichever came first. They told me that was a bad idea. It seemed practical to me!

Three and a half weeks to go and time is flying! Thanks for reading!

UPDATE: Chris here. My wife is so amazingly great, isn't she? I am so blessed to have her be my partner in this wonderful journey. I just had a few things to add to Nicole's post. The one thing that she forgot to mention is that her feet and ankles are swollen. I asked her today if it hurt and she said no, it just feels like her feet are going to jiggle when she walks. I laughed at that. Also, Nicole didn't write any baby facts so, here you go:

• The only organ left to mature inside the Bun is her lungs. Every day that she stays inside Nicole (up to 42 weeks) improves her chances and ability to be a great breather when she is born.
• While unlikely (because she is our first baby), Reilly could drop down into the birth canal any day. This would be a win-lose type of situation for Nicole: she would have a much easier time breathing but a much more difficult time walking.
• I get excited about this one: fat is beginning to collect on Reilly Marie's body and create those adorably cute dimples around her knees and elbows.
• The Bun's skin is growing smooth and, yes, I'll say it, baby soft.
• Her gums are very rigid and it won't be too long before we get to learn about the joys of teething.
• If Reilly is exactly the average right now then she is 18.66 inches long and 5.78 pounds. Between now and when she's born, she'll gain about 1 oz. every day.

The last thing that I needed to do was to make sure and post a picture of Nicole. We love you all so much! Thanks for reading and for sharing in this journey with us.