9 months - 36 weeks

Well, Manuel and I are just about ready for baby Jacob's arrival. We took every class that the hospital offered and we'll continue to take another outside class weekly until the baby's arrival. I have my hospital bag half packed, but all the clothes I want to take are washed so I'll have Manuel help me finish putting it together tonight. The baby clothes from newborn through month three are all washed and in drawers. We have a co-sleeper in our bedroom so the baby can sleep near by the first several months. We have plenty of diapers, wipes, and a variety of other baby products. The car seat bases are securely installed in both cars, so we just need to take the carrier to the hospital. So, I guess we're as ready as we can be : ) Until the big day, I'll continue reading all the materials we picked up in classes to try to cram it into my brain.

My foot and hand swelling has continued to progress, and over the weekend the fingers in my right hand began to feel numb. It might be carpel tunnel, which is being aided by the poor circulation to my hands. And I'm down to two pair of shoes that fit - even my wide crocks are snug on my right foot. So I went to see the nurse on Monday morning because the hand numbness is not feeling pleasant, and they found my blood pressure was a bit high. After laying down for a little while, my blood pressure went down. So, my doctor wants me on bed rest this week (and potentially for the rest of the pregnancy) to see if the swelling and blood pressure will go down. I go back tomorrow morning to see the doctor for some additional testing, so let's see what she says. I'll be 37 weeks on Thursday, which is technically full term, but my fear is that the baby won't be ready to come out until 41 weeks and I'll be sitting around until then because we were hoping to have a natural child birth (i.e. let the baby come out when he's ready without drugs or medical interventions). So, we'll see what happens.

So, I'm here in my living room laying back in my recliner. I watched an hour of TV and I'm already bored, so this might be a long week... I have a few things on my 'to do' list that involve the computer and a few shower Thank You cards to finish, so I'll work on that today. I'll try to work in a nap and a movie too before Manuel comes home from work at the end of the day. I can't help it, but I still feel the need to be productive : )