Week #38 - subtitle - Final countdown!

This week, Baby Raposa is approximately 19.75 inches long, 6.8 pounds, and about the size of a leek.  The good news for this week is that my weight gain should slow, stop or even drop a little (thank goodness because it's starting to get uncomfortable!).  This photo pretty much sums up how I feel:

This one is pretty funny/true as well:

Some people have been asking me about working out/running and I am still staying slightly active.  I haven't really "ran/jogged" since January, but I have been walking several times a week.  The walking should help open up the hips and help prepare for childbirth.  There are some days when I just need to come home and relax after work, though.  I foolishly thought that I would be able to stay extremely active throughout my pregnancy, but that just hasn't been realistic some days. Here is a run down of what I did last week:

Monday: yoga
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 2 mile solo walk
Thursday: 3 mile walk with Ben
Friday: rest
Saturday: walked to and around Kumquat Festival, maybe 1 mile or so
Sunday: 6 mile solo walk at Flatwoods

Here is a rundown of the highlights from Week #38:

On Friday, my coworkers threw me and Ben a "book shower". (Yes, another shower - this is the last one!).  The premise is to give books instead of traditional baby shower gifts, which was awesome.  Both Ben and I love to read and we have been reading to the baby almost every night before bed.  We haven't received any Dr. Seuss books until Friday.  It was kind of interesting how many we got from people who work in academics(!).  But here is the growing collection of books that Baby Raposa has accumulated:

We can only hope that he or she loves books and reading as much as we do.  The only shower game we played was trying to guess which coworker bought which book.  Let's just say that we did not win.  But, the shower lots of fun and my coworkers got specific gifts just for Ben, which was adorable.  Also, I have to show you this adorable photo on the fruit carriage that one of my coworkers made:

On Saturday, we decided that we were going to check out the Kumquat Festival in Dade City.  It was crazy crowded!  In hindsight, I don't think we would have chosen to go if we would have known how nuts it really would be.  But, we did pick up some kumquat honey (so good!) and got to squeeze in a quick visit with Ben's parents.

We had a couple of things to drop off/pick up in Wiregrass, so we decided to stop in at 100 Montaditos, which just opened in the mall on the way home for lunch.  They are a Spanish tapas style restaurant with mini sandwiches (3 inches long).  The sandwiches were really good, but the dessert sandwiches were amazing!  We would go back just for dessert!

Then we decided that we should stop in at Sam's Club on the way home as well, just to stock up on household/paper goods for when the baby comes.  Since it was the Saturday before the Super Bowl, it was obviously pretty crowded.  But, we were able to stock up the pantry and freezer.  It's hard to believe that our lives are going to be so different in just a few short days, but we are doing our best to squeeze in as much as possible and get ready before then!

On Tuesday, we had another doctor's appointment.  This appointment was literally the first time that we haven't waited almost an hour for our appointment, but since this will most likely be our last appointment it was pretty fitting.  The doctor, Ben and I discussed the ECV again and decided that the procedure would be a little risky for me because of the blood clotting disorder.  I'm not even kidding when I tell y'all that right now my stomach looks like a literal battlefield.  The heparin shots have caused quite a bit of bruising and it's not a good look.  That combined with the ECV would cause even more bruising and may potentially not even work.

The doctor agreed to order another ultrasound for Monday to check the baby's positioning.  Until then, we are basically in a holding pattern - a few things can happen.  One, the baby can chose to come at any moment (best case scenario).  Two, at the ultrasound on Monday the baby could have moved to the correct position and we are going to be induced on Tuesday evening.  Three, the baby is still in the breech position on Monday and we will have a c-section on Tuesday (worse case scenario).  Whatever happens, it appears that by this time next week, Baby Raposa will be here (just typing that is nuts!)

Finally, I have to brag on Benjamin for just a minute, because he's really been nothing short of amazing the past couple of weeks.  He has assumed so many new roles - storyteller, doctor (now administering two shots per day, which he draws up himself), chef, and official assembler of all things baby.  He patiently sits next to me as I hang upside down on the stairs and talks to the baby, it's all very sweet.  I'm certain I may melt in to a little pile of mush upon seeing him with the baby in his arms.

That is all for now, y'all - next post may very well be Baby Raposa's birth story (assuming I can still form coherent thoughts).