39 weeks and counting!

We're READY!! The baby room is ready and our labor bag is packed! Welll, actually we are still missing our freakin awesome glider (total bummer), which will replace the high chair in the corner. We're hoping at this point that Little Long beats the arrival of his glider, which isn't due here until end of month or early Feb. (augh! Patience is not really my virtue in case you hadn't noticed...)

39 week update:

Getting bigger every day. Seems like he's dropped a bit (though not enough - haahaa). Getting hilariously out of breath by doing the simplest of tasks. Micah thinks it's pretty funny. We're trying everything to encourage our little man to come meet us. Hunter's enjoying the increased walks and I'm enjoying the reflexology (foot massages!) We're encouraging his arrival not because he's taken it so rough on me (comparably, I've heard some pretty awful stories), but because we just can't wait to meet him!

a weeeee bit more effaced. still no dialation. I hear the full moon is coming 3 days after our due date & that's supposedly a sure bet. Keep your fingers crossed for us that we don't make it to Feb!

Best Sister Ever

This weekend Sissy far out did herself yet again. She hadn't seen me for a week or two and seemed shocked how big "little Long" has gotten lately. So we decided to make sure to take some pics. She took a ton. Here's a few...

Then, as if that wasn't enough, she offered to go grocery shopping for us. She mentioned prepping our food to make dinner time simpler. I thought she was talking about when we actually have the baby, so I was super surprised when we picked up groceries and everything was sliced, diced, and bagged by dinner. She has totally saved the week. The timing is amazing because I have zeroooo energy and don't want to go out either. Between her prep and Micah's willingness to cook, this mama is one healthy well-fed chica.

Oh & did I mention she's reworking the bassinet bedding? Yeah, she's a slacker. I just want to point out I know I did a thing or two while she was pregnant, but I had no toddler, no job, no husband to consider. Homegirl is putting me to SHAME and I LOVE HER FOR IT!!

38 week update: Dr.Offerdahl wasn't available today due to someone else's birth. Aug! The audacity of someone else giving birth when I clearly had an appointment!! Anyways, I met with Dr. Johnson again. She said no real change since last visit. So hopefully no news is good news? Perhaps her perception is different that Dr.Offerdahl's, so perhaps progress (currently a bit subjective) isn't being measured very well given I haven't seen the same doctor two weeks in a row. Regardless, she also said that effacement and dialation is no predictor of when we'll go into labor. Perhaps the new pain each day is a better predictor. If that's the case, it could be any day now! :-)

37 week update

Guess I'm making up for lost time (or not so many blogs)...

I got to see our little man at my last appointment. Unfortunately, due to some scheduling conflicts, Micah wasn't able to be there to see him, but I brought him pictures.

The ultrasound tech did a formal measurement. He's in the 91% (I was super excited that he's already making As. Yeah, I'm old school because nowadays they don't do As, Bs, etc. but that's digressing). Anyways, our baby's a biggun. The UT suggested his weight to be 7 lbs. 11 oz. already (yes, with at least 3 weeks to go!). Speaking of how our boy is an achiever, he's already head down & has been for some time. (I hope the sarcasm of the proud parent of a fetus comes through in blogspeak).

Anyways, this ultrasound was much different that I expected. Since he's so developed now, it was actually more difficult to see all his parts. For example, his brain is harder to see because it's more dense & his skull is more formed. And when we looked at his heart, she had to peek a boo through his ribs. It was cool to see him though. When we did the 3D ultrasound, he was SO cute. Again it was hard to see (fluids are less than they used to be as is the space in there), but he was still mighty cute. I think he's got his daddy's nose - definitely the "Long" genes at work. He was also sticking his tongue in and out. I mean who woulda though that could be so adorable, but it is... You can see his cute little tongue and his chubby cheeks in these pics.

Then, I met with the doctor. She measured him & believed he's probably not quite as big as the UT said. She was guessing by her measurements he's probably about 7 lbs. 5 oz. (still plenty big if you ask me). She checked me for preeclampsia - I'm good. Got the results of the strep B test - it's negative (that's good). And my iron is up, so all around we got good news.

Now for the potentially TMI session - not for the faint of heart, so feel free to stop reading. Not dialated yet, but I have begun to efface. Now that I'm at full-term, the doctor said we could begin all kinds of things to encourage Little Long to come (like exercise). With my family history (my, sister's & Roan's births 2 weeks late), encouragement couldn't do any harm. She said if we get to 40 weeks, considering the family history, she'll probably see if she can stir stuff up down there to prevent having to induce.

Merry Christmas from the Long's

Baby Showers Galore!!!

Boy oh Boy! Did we have an incredible time being back home in Texas.

Mom & Heather threw Micah & I a great shower on Thanksgiving Day after lunch. We are so thankful to have so many supportive family and friends who were able to make it. Even those who weren't able to make it were surely there in spirit. We had a great time seeing family & friends we hadn't seen in waaaaay toooo long.

The games were so fun. The decorations adorable. Thanks, Mom & Sissy!!

Then, we went to Austin where we got to enjoy yet another fantastic Thanksgiving feast as well as another excuse to shower us with gifts. Angela did a fantastic job decorating Tresa & Andy's place. We had a really great time visiting with everyone - almost all the cousins were there (Justin & family, you were certainly missed!)

Thanks to everyone who totally spoiled us! All the gifts are incredible. Sorry those thank you notes are so delayed. We're getting there... but please know if you haven't received a thank you yet, it's not from lack of appreciation! Thanks to everyone, Little Long's room is coming along and he is sure to be well dressed upon arrival!

Here's a couple more pics of our fun TX trip. There's a ton of great pictures, but I don't have them all...