39 Weeks

I had my 39 week appointment today, and I am still only 1 cm dilated but Charlotte has dropped even further. Chris gets in tomorrow around 1, assuming there's no missed flights. His flight out of Bahrain was scheduled to leave at 3pm today (our time), but it's currently 2 hours delayed. I'm hoping this won't cause him to miss his connection in Amsterdam. My next appointment is on Monday. Be praying about that appointment, because Chris and I have a lot to think about until then. My doctor informed me today that she won't be in the office the 8th through the 11th (my due date is the 9th). I'd really prefer that she deliver Charlotte since she's my doctor and I've gotten to know her and feel comfortable with her over these past few months. However, I know there's always a chance she won't be able to deliver Charlotte even if she is in the office! The doctor said we could induce as soon as this Friday, but Chris and I are both "weary" about inducing (especially before the due date) and want to see if Charlotte will come on her own. At the same time, knowing that my doctor will be gone the weekend I'm due changes things a bit. Please be praying that God will give us wisdom and clarity or that He'll just allow Charlotte to come on her own before my doctor's vacation!

38 Weeks

I had a Dr.'s appointment today, but I don't have any new updates because the Dr. didn't check to see if I've progressed further. She didn't want to "start" anything since Chris doesn't get here for another week. I have another appointment in one week (the day before Chris gets in), and she said she would check then.

In other news, I always knew I liked Sarah Michelle Prinze. Ever since Buffy, I've been a fan. She recently gave birth to a little girl and guess what she named her? Charlotte. She has excellent taste! I just hope Charlotte won't now become the new Taylor, Kelsey, or Madison!

37 Weeks

I had my 37 week check-up yesterday and there's not too much to share. Charlotte has dropped even further, and in doing so, my cervix has moved. Two weeks ago, my Dr. was able to get a dilation reading of 1 cm, but yesterday she couldn't even get a 1 cm reading because of my repositioned cervix! So Charlotte's low and ready to go, but I haven't dilated further. No one ever told me that checking for dilation is so uncomfortable. If I can barely stand that, how on earth am I going to get through labor??? I know I'll get through it because my body is designed for it, but I can't say I'm looking forward to it. My sweet friend Jan (she's had 7 kids!) gave me some good advice yesterday. She said that when labor begins, I should take it one contraction at a time so that I won't get overwhelmed by everything that is yet to come. I thought that was good advice because I'm already getting nervous about labor and delivery. My pastor has always said, "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer? One bite at a time. That's how I'm going to try and view labor when the time arrives.

Chris arrives 2 weeks from today!!! Woot woot!!

36 Weeks

Charlotte at 34 weeks, 5 days

I'm 36 weeks pregnant and can't believe it! Babies are estimated to be around 6 lbs at this point in time, but Charlotte was estimated to weigh 6 lbs 4 oz before she was even 35 weeks along! I wonder how much she weighs today? I installed the adorable Maxi Cosi Mico car seat last night (we got it in "phantom"). Let me tell you - I felt completely inept as a soon-to-be mom installing that thing. I could not find the instruction manual and simply could not figure the thing out on my own!!! Thankfully, I found an online manual and my dad helped me figure it out. Whew. I hope my complete ineptness with the car seat isn't a forecast on how I'll be as a mom!!!

I've enjoyed being pregnant, but it's a little scary to think that this baby is going to have to come out of me one way or another!!! A lot of people have been so incredibly kind to ask how I'm doing, so I thought I'd take a moment to let everyone know. In talking to other friends who've been pregnant, I think I've been quite fortunate. For starters, I'm on paid maternity leave and am staying at a hotel. I get my room made up every day and get dinner prepared for me 4 days a week. I'm not working, so I'm able to sleep in and take each day as easy as I would like. I also don't have any other kids to parent while I'm getting ever bigger and closer to the due date. I've been so spoiled with everything that when I'm pregnant with baby #2, I'll probably have a rude awakening!!!

Health-wise, I've also been quite fortunate. I got through the first trimester without morning sickness, and while I fainted once and have felt faint a few other times, that's about the worst thing I had to deal with during the second trimester. The third trimester has brought on a few new things. To start, my back almost constantly aches. Sometimes it won't start aching until mid-day, but other days it's continuous from the moment I wake up. The baby has already dropped, so I've been dealing with pelvic pressure that's not always so comfortable. I'm not waddling all the time, but I now understand why women do. When I first stand up, I usually have to waddle a few steps to "ease into" walking!! Other than the above, tiredness and frequent bathroom trips are two things that have never really let up, but I've learned to deal with both.

I can't wait for Chris and I to meet Charlotte and hold her in our arms. I also can't wait for you all to meet her and love on her!! Please be praying for me as I finish these last few weeks of pregnancy. Chris will be arriving on October 1st, so we're hoping he makes it in time for the delivery (due date is October 9th). Among other things, please pray that I'll have a trusting and good attitude if God has planned for Charlotte to arrive before Chris gets here. Either way, God's in control and already knows what's going to happen. I'm so glad I can trust and rejoice in that!

My Newest Passion

I decided to enter the blogging world once again after two failed attempts. The good intentions were definitely there, but then I got bored or lost track of time, and months ended up passing by between each post. Before long, I quit updating the blogs all together. With a baby due in 5 weeks, I figured I'd give the blogosphere another go. Since I'll be a stay-at-home mom in Bahrain, I should have plenty of stories to help keep the blog updated regularly!!

When I came home in May, my goal numero uno was to learn how to sew. I had a great teacher (thanks, Mom!!!!!) who was so patient with me. I know I had a great time learning from her, and I hope she had a great time teaching me. We started off with a baby dress, which taught me much more than I ever learned sewing a pillow in my 8th grade home economics class!!!! I'm already passionate about baking, and now I can add sewing to the list. There is still A LOT I need to learn to become proficient, but you have to start somewhere, right?

I've really enjoyed picking out fabrics for various projects. I can literally spend HOURS in fabric stores (our credit card statement can prove this)!!! Some fabrics are deceiving, so after some trial and error, I'm learning how to pick out fabrics that look as good on the rack as they do when made into the finished product. I'm not sure how fabric shopping is going to work when I get to Bahrain and there's no JoAnn's or Hancock's, but I know I'll manage somehow.

My ultimate goal is to become good enough that I can make my own designs and sell them on Etsy. Yesterday, I sewed a baby dress that had additions and changes I made to the existing pattern, but I haven't yet designed a dress completely from scratch. My sister will be a great reference point when I feel ready for that since she majored in fashion design. Until then, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the dresses I've made for the baby through some frustration and error, but mostly joy.

The dress I sewed yesterday. To the pattern I already had, I added lining to the inside of the dress, a waist tie, longer shoulder straps so that they could be tied into bows, and two decorative buttons:

A little "ruffle" dress with a vintage bird pattern:

A sweet corduroy jumper. I've made a few dresses with this pattern because I love the simplicity of it. I also wanted to "master" a pattern before I went on to learn new techniques:

This was the very first dress I made (with my mom's help). It's the same pattern as the dress above. You obviously can't see all the stitch work involved, but hopefully I've improved at least a little bit since we made this dress in May:
Same dress as above, only a different print:

Same dress as above, only different print:

This dress ties at both sides just under the armpit. It's completely open from the tie down, so it's nice and "airy" for the warm Bahrain climate:

You can't see the back of this dress, but it has cross straps and two sweet accent buttons: I was supposed to add an applique to the chest (the brown fabric), but I couldn't find anything I liked. Every time I look at this dress now, I think something's missing. Oh well: