37 weeks...and counting!

We made it! Lloyd is officially considered full-term as of today! I have to admit, I got a little teary eyed when I opened up my Babycenter.com update email for this week. We have come so far and I can hardly believe it has been 8 weeks since I was admitted to the hospital!!

We also made it to our OB visit yesterday where she let us know that my cervix is still closed, I am 80% effaced and Lloyd's at zero station. Basically this means that my cervix is softening again, which is totally normal at this point and Lloyd's head is hanging out on my cervix. I've also gained 27 pounds since being pregnant...which is showing in my face a bit.

37 weeks

The OB also formally ordered me off of bedrest. We let her know that we wanted to stay on it so that we can get him as close to his due date as possible, but she explained that there are several complications for me that can arrise as a result of extended bedrest (including blood clots, swelling, etc.) and that at this point it is riskier for me to be on bedrest than it is for Lloyd to be born now. This made since to us and so we decided that I will just gradually start doing more. As it was, I had already started doing more things like get my own water or the occational snack, while Brad did all the regular meals and house chores. I was also limiting showers to every other day to keep down on that effort...even though I do have that groovy shower chair to use!

So, yesterday while I didn't go for a formal walk like she suggested (after all we still aren't in any rush to get him out and I do need to get my strength back...I get tired and winded really easily), we did go out for dinner and I actually went to the grocery store to get dessert after! It was funny, because it was really hard to eat sitting up at a 90 degree angle. It almost hurt and I kept wanting to lay over in the booth to rest. By the time we were done with dinner, I was exhausted! But it was so nice to be out! I also took another shower this morning and we went to the library to get a DVD I had requested. I feel like there's nothing wrong doing these things and still taking it easy around the house. After all, I am 37 weeks pregnant! I wouldn't be doing a lot of things at this point under the most normal of circumstances, so there is no reason for me to feel like I have to act like I'm not pregnant and push too much. I figure, I can do more things around here, but if I get tired or he starts to put a ton of pressure on my pelvis, I will sit down!

I also have to say that with the news of how I was progressing and where Lloyd was at this point, I got really excited. I feel like I can say that I am mentally ready. I got excited about getting a few of the birthing preparations completed (birth plan, hospital bag, etc.) and once we make it through next week (Brad is super crazy busy next week and we have a baby shower on the 31st :-), he can come whenever he likes! It will be so nice to feel like when things start happening this time, they can actually happen! Also, the calm that I was feeling about labor as a result of our HypnoBirthing preparations has started to come back and I'm really looking forward to meeting this little guy!

Me moving around more is also good for Jenny. I noticed several times today that she got a little ticked at me when I wasn't sitting on the couch. Obviously she will get over this, but it is nice that she can start to adjust to our normal life before she also has to adjust to having a baby around the house.

And if you think that she is a bit spoiled, you would be right...I mean, look at this face?