Joy Alexis arrived!

I'll post full details soon (I have been trying to catch up with some other things first and feel like I should be caught up soon), but I wanted to share the news... Joy was born on the 22nd just before 6 am and after a labor that lasted just over 6 hours total. I'm in incredible pain but just so happy that she is finally here and healthy! We are totally in love with her!

My 40 week pregnant baby bump

I realized last night that I was wearing the same thing I was when Joe took my other belly shot at 30 weeks, so I figured I'd have him take another one for comparison and prosperity sake before we went to bed. I had an incredible headache (that I still have, actually) and was exhausted. But I did try to fake it.

Full moon tonight and drop in barometric pressure

Does that mean the baby will decide to come tonight? I'm not holding my breath, but I wouldn't mind if she did!

I still don't have an induction scheduled, and I don't want one if there's no medical reason to have one. But my doctor said that if I don't have the baby by 41 weeks, we'll schedule one. In the meantime, I have my next appointment on Monday, which is my official due date.

So far she's been very compliant. I told her she was grounded and couldn't come before February. Then I told her she couldn't come until after Valentine's Day. Now I've let her know she can come any time she's ready.

Woo hoo! Finally!

I have been waiting for MONTHS to have the carpet cleaned in our house. I was tempted on more than one occasion to rent (or even buy) a carpet cleaner and go after it myself. However, hearing that someone had offered to do it for free kept me from giving in to that temptation. Unfortunately, we didn't end up getting it done for free, but we did finally get it done. It only cost $100 for the whole house (and they were done in less than an hour). Now when the carpet in the nursery is adequately dry, we can put that together.

Someone online today mentioned that due dates aren't calculated correctly... she said you're not really "due" at 40 weeks. She said it's more like 40 weeks plus 10 days for first time moms. I don't know how much truth there is to that, but it made me realize that I could potentially have a March baby instead of a February baby. I guess I'm okay with that! She'll come when she wants. I'm hoping it's not before Valentine's Day, because I have a lot of things going on next week and then have to teach in church (assuming I'm able) on the 13th.

I'm now having an internal debate as to whether I should go back to Lovenox injections after she is here or go on Coumadin. My OB said I should be on the blood thinner medication for 6 months. With Lovenox, I wouldn't have to have my blood drawn as frequently to check the levels of it in my blood, and it won't pass to the baby through my breast milk. With Coumadin, I wouldn't have to do any injections, as it's a pill. However, it might be more tricky to get and keep my levels in the proper ranges, which means I could have my blood drawn 2 or more times a month. I do have offers to watch the baby while I get my blood drawn, which is nice. I'm still not sure which route I want to go!

My 37 week OB check

Today's appointment wasn't very long. I had to have the Heparin levels in my blood checked at 9:00 am. From there I went into the doctor's office to wait for my 10:00 appointment, hoping they'd squeeze me in early but prepared with a library book.

The appointment itself was fairly short and uneventful. The doctor gave me instructions as to when I should go into labor & delivery. That's when it really hit me that she could be coming any time!

So, do you have any guesses as to the date and time of her arrival? What do you think her measurements will be?