Final week

One week to go! And very ready...it is getting so hard to sleep at night because the bigger Libby gets, the more upward into my ribs she goes. I think she is confused, haha, instead of dropping like most babies in the end of pregnancy, she must think she will exit through my throat. That is exactly how it feels sometimes!

On Monday, we had our Meld meeting (which is a parent group meeting for our teens at Paces). I was so pleased with how it went. It began a little rough because we realized we had not ordered enough food for everyone but we got a few pizzas to supplement. We had nearly 10 teen moms and 3 in our group for older moms. I taught the teen group and it was one of those times that reminded why I love what I do.

So Eric and I are still on the search for the perfect little dress to bring Libby home in from the hospital. Even though it will only be like a 2 minute car ride, I want it to be special. There is a dress from Baby Gap that I just adore and would buy except the smallest size they have in our store here is 3-6 months. And I refuse to pay $17 in shipping (the dress is already $36) to order it online and have it here in time for her birth. I'm running out of places to look though.

One more weekend

I realized this morning that this is the last weekend that it is just Eric and me. Next weekend, Mama is coming to be here a few days before the c-section and then for a couple of weeks afterward to help me as I recover. Wow...how crazy! I really can't believe Libby is almost here!

Nothing new at the doctor's appointment yesterday. My Group B strep test came back negative, which is good. I had a ton of questions for my doctor about the c-section and I'm sure I will have even more for her at my appointment next week. I have been reading and researching as much as I can over the past week and it is really helping me become more accepting of the c-section, not that I have much choice. I suppose I am glad that I have some time to prepare mentally for it rather than having to have an emergency c-section with no notice.

This has been a nice, relaxing week. I have been into the office only a few days this week and working a little bit from home as well. It makes me wish I would have cut back on my hours a little sooner. Not only am I less achey and tired, but also I have had time to get some much needing housework done.

So I am getting pretty excited about the nursing program again. Even though it still about 8 months away, I know they will go by quickly, especially having Libby here. Granted, I get a little stressed when I think about the work load involved and the financial pressure of paying the tuition on top of bills without the help of a 2nd income...BUT I have full faith that God will provide a way. It has been a whole year ago since I made the decision to withdraw from the social work program and enter nursing instead. And though we made a slight detour from the plan, aka Libby :), it is the best detour that could have ever happened!

Please flip....

So today's visit to the OB was quite disappointing. Despite the fact that I have known from the beginning that this was a large possibility, it does not make it any easier to hear that I will probably have to have a c-section because Libby is breech. People keep telling me, don't worry, she has plenty of time to flip. And, I appreciate the reassurance and if I had a regularly shaped uterus like most normal women, then I might be able to find comfort in those words. However, because I was born with this stinkin bicornuate uterus (picture a heart vs. a pear), Libby essentially does not have any room to make a flip. I'm not completely hopeless, though. I am going to try the exercises that my doctor recommended to try and get her to flip, but even my doctor was not very optimistic that these would work in my case.

In case some of you may be wondering about another method that most have heard of, the external flip, I am not a candidate for this. This involves the doctor physically pushing the baby from the outside to try and make her turn. When I asked her about this, she told me that 1. She would not do this as it would be ineffective with the shape of my uterus 2. It is not performed on first pregnancies because the uterine muscles are not flexible enough 3. It is quite risky because it can cause the placenta to dislodge thereby causing a stillbirth. So...needless to say, the external flip is not an option.

If Libby does not flip before then, the c-section is scheduled for 10:30 on November 11. And even on the day of, my doctor assured me that they will do an ultrasound to once again make sure that she has not flipped.

I know it is a ridiculous thing to be upset over. In the end, we will still have our beautiful baby girl and that in and of itself is beyond worth whatever I need to do to get her here. It's just going to take me a little while, I suppose, to get the concept into my head. For the past 6 or 7 months, I have had this scenario in my head of the ideal birth and how I was going to deliver naturally and recover quickly. And now, in one day, that whole scenario has changed. It's quite a bit to take in, really.

On the positive side, the ultrasound showed a healthy baby girl (and yes, there was a surprising amount of relief to see that she is still in fact a girl, lol). Based on her measurements, she is approximately 6lbs 6oz right now. We didn't get any really good photos of her so I won't even post them because even I can hardly tell what they are supposed to be.

Going, going, going.....

Whoa! What a busy week for the Lloyd's! We returned home last Sunday from Murfreesboro where we were thrown 2 baby showers. We got some great stuff and are still working on putting things away. Early Tuesday morning we were on our way to Atlanta with our dear friends Dan and Veronica. It was one of the best ways to spent nearly 8 hours in a vehicle. We arrived at our hotel just in time to freshen up and leave again to make it to the U2 concert at the Georgia Dome.

The concert was AMAZING!!! I love U2's music but I love their message/mission even more. At one point during the concert, Bono lead the entire 70,000 fans in a chorus of Amazing Grace. It was pretty darn cool! I kept watching the couple sitting in front of us as they downed one beer after another. I lost count at one point and kept waiting for the guy to possibly fall over because I KNOW he had to have drank at least 12-15 beers within those couple of hours. What's more is that one beer cost $8!!!! Who can afford that????

Anyway, we headed back to Jonesboro and made it back Wednesday evening. Cara, Noah, and Ashley W. arrived at my house on Thursday afternoon. It was a short stay but I was sooo incredibly glad they came. They helped me unpack all the gifts and organize them. I have quickly realized we do not have enough room for Libby and all of her new things, lol. And there are still several things we still need...including: changing pad for the table, bathtub, burb cloths, monitor, and breast milk storage bags.

Friday, we all drove to Dyersburg to make it to Candi's rehearsal dinner. It was a such a great time for our family to get together. It doesn't happen real often so I always enjoy events like this. The wedding was beautiful today! Though I think they may have set some kind of record for largest wedding party ever (nearly 40 on stage!), it turned out beautifully choreographed and I can't wait to see the photos. So, finally, after the reception Eric and I are finally home and winding down our incredibly busy week by watching a few episodes of The Office, one of our favorite things to do at home :) And, on the drive home this evening, I realized that in the last 5 days, we have been in a total of 5 different states! Quite a feat for being 8 and 1/2 months pregnant :)

Counting down

So if you haven't already, you should check out the sweet maternity photos that are up on Facebook. There are only a few up, we will get to see the rest in the coming weeks once the photographer is done editing them. She did an amazing job and she will also do Libby's newborn photos. I can't wait!

And the wait continues to get shorter and shorter. Just barely 6 more weeks left :) I can hardly believe it, BUT I am sooo ready to meet her. I can't wait to see what she looks like and get to know her and her little personality. I know a lot of women have mixed emotions toward the end of pregnancy. And while I am indeed so overjoyed that God blessed me with the opportunity to help take part in creating life, I am SO ready for my sweet baby to just be here in my arms rather than in my tummy, lol!

We are heading to Murfreesboro tomorrow evening and I am so excited! Saturday is my baby shower that Cara and Mama are throwing for me and then on Sunday, my aunt Debby is hosting Libby a baby brunch. It is going to be a fantastic weekend :)

On target

It was such a great weekend, albeit busy, but great! Most of my time was spent with the girls for Erika's wedding, which turned out beautifully. They drove off in a pretty awesome car too...a brand new yellow Camaro. I also was able to spend a lot of time with Noah. He spent the night with me Thursday night and Saturday night. He is always the best part of coming home!

I am now going to the OB every 2 weeks. I went this morning and everything is great. The back pain has eased up considerably which I am so grateful for. I guess things have shifted just enough to give some relief. I measured exactly on target....32 cm. The cm should correspond with the number of weeks you are, so Libby is just perfect :)

I am about to start reading a book titled Hypnobirthing. My friend Amy recommended it and she is going to lend me her CD's that go along with it. The basic premise is that childbirth is a natural process (obviously) and by preparing yourself with relaxation and breathing techniques you can train yourself to not "fight" against the changes your body undergoes during labor. So instead of being afraid of labor and therefore slipping into fight or flight mode (which tenses muscles, releases steriods, etc), you simply let your body do what it needs to do. Granted...I don't for one second think that labor will be easy or pain free, I'm just really trying to have the best chance possible to have a natural labor and delivery. I am also praying that Libby flips into head down position (and am asking you to pray for that too please) so that we don't have to have a C-section.

Noah

So my husband watches the weirdest TV shows. Tim and Eric's Awesome Show Good Job!, The Mighty Boosh, Tool Academy....to name a few. I don't get it.

My house feels very empty right now. Chris, Cara, and Noah spent the weekend with us and they left this morning. We had such a great weekend though. Cara and I actually were able to go shopping on both Saturday and Sunday. That usually never happens. Since Noah was able to hang out with Chris and Eric, Cara and I were a bit more free than usual. Noah was just as entertaining as usual though. Here are a few of those classic Noah moments: Yesterday, around 3:00, Cara realized that Noah had not brushed his teeth that morning. She told him several times to go brush them and each time, in his whiney voice, he protested that he didn't know how. He then walked over to Cara, picked up her hand, and got very close to her face and said in his very mature, grown-up voice, "Mom, don't you understand? I don't know how to brush my teeth!" I about died with laughter, though Cara was pretty frustrated.

Then, at the Red Birds game that they went to last night, Eric told us that every time people would get off the elevator, Noah would say to them "Remember to buckle up and drive home safely". Oh, my....what a kid!