Monday 31 December 2007

The End is Near!

Well, I had my appointment at 9:45 this morning, and very little change. I dilated maybe another 1/2 cm or so, but nothing exciting!

We then discussed what was next. He said that at this point, he wouldn't oppose if I wanted to do an elective induction. He said that he wouldn't let me go past 41 weeks regardless, that an while an induction has an increased risk for a c-section (statistically, 30%) that so is having a large baby who might not fit through the pelvis.. He estimated that she is about 8.5lbs right now between what she was measuring at my last ultrasound and on palpation today.

After some thought, we opted for induction on Friday. That will give her 5 more days (counting today) to make it on her own, and if she doesn't at least Mom will still be here when she does come and letting her go another full two weeks to grow, I could increase the risks of having a c-section regardless. I go in at midnight on Thursday to get induced (unless labor begins on it's own before then), and we go from there!

So that's the update.. hard to imagine by this time next week, we'll have a BABY in our house! I do admit that I'm pretty nervous. I really don't want a c-section, but at the same time I'm not looking forward to pushing out a big baby. I hope he's off on his guestimate at least a little! All I know is that I'll do everything I can, and I hope it will be enough to get the job done on my own!

Also, our shipment came today. Wow, we have a lot of STUFF. We managed to get quite a bit unpacked today, though there's still quite a bit to do. We did have a few losses, a coffee table, a dresser, a book case and our desk were pretty much demolished. Oh, and our night stand for our bed. Hopefully they will be quick to come out and look at the stuff so we can get reimbursed and get some replacements.

I have a feeling we will all sleep well tonight. Not sure if we will make it until midnight or not! That's all for now, I'll update more when I know more.

Happy new year to everyone!!!

Saturday 29 December 2007

Nope, not yet!

I hope I didn't keep you all hanging with the lack of posts!

Still no labor, though I was sure yesterday was going to be the day! Drew and I picked Mom up from the airport on Wednesday night. Thursday, mom and I went walking through the mall and I felt great! Yesterday we went and got the Zx2 registered, and did some more walking and I was having all sorts of pain. Sharp pains in my lower abdomen that took my breath away and made me have to stop and take a deep breath. I wasn't sure if they were contractions or not, they were different than anything else I had felt, but it hurt! I was feeling quite a bit of pressure as well. When we got home, everything just up and stopped! I had one more contraction as I was falling asleep, and had the first uninterrupted nights sleep in a long time! I went to bed at midnight and didn't get up until 9, not even to pee!

Today we all (Drew, Mom and I) went to 3 malls.. the Louisiana Boardwalk, Mall St. Vincent and the Pierre-Bossier Mall and walked..we were out for 6 hours, and not even the slightest sharp pain. A little heavy feeling now and then, but that's it. What's up with that!? This kid is messing with us, I know it! I had two contractions total today so far (and one was as I was typing this). At least we got some exercise, right?

I think all the window shopping wore Drew out, he's currently passed out in the glider. Too tired to play his games even, that's saying a lot! I think we'll all probably go to bed fairly early tonight, I know I'm pooped as well.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring.. we're running out of places to go, so perhaps we'll walk up and down the street! It couldn't hurt anyway.

I'll keep updating, and don't worry we'll call and post as soon as something happens! But nothing as of yet.

Monday 24 December 2007

Merry Christmas Eve!

I was up this morning getting ready for my doctors appointment and Drew was hanging out in the living room when we heard sirens going on and on for about 5 minutes. It sounded like it was on our street, so we thought we better go outside and make sure we didn't have a neighbors house on fire or anything, so we popped out and this is what we saw!





There was a police car with sirens on escorting a fire truck (with sirens on) with Santa up on top waving! Apparently they were going up and down every street in Haughton to wish us all a Merry Christmas! It was pretty neat, and made me smile at the fact that we are in a nice little community where they do things like this.

Since I had the camera in hand, I had Drew shoot a quick photo of me. I think it's terrible, I feel so huge! But I have to think positive and remember that it's part of building a healthy baby! Besides, if my rear didn't get bigger with my stomach, I'd probably fall over from being front heavy right??? We'll just pretend anyway, teehee!

Alright, here's my 38 week photo!



So I went to my Doctors appointment, and alas.. there was no change! He said I'm still doing good for most pregnant women at this stage, for a first pregnancy. I feel like there is definitely stuff going on, but apparently my cervix doesn't agree, so we continue to wait.

I went to the store to pick up some of the last items I need for Christmas dinner tomorrow and came home. Since we missed Thanksgiving, we decided to do Turkey instead of Ham for Christmas. I'm so boring, I usually make the same side items (fresh green bean casserole, and whipped sweet potatoes with coconut streusel topping, mashed potatoes, salad, and rolls) for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but we both love it so it works out well. Plus it feeds us for about a week each time! Can't wait to get cooking tomorrow!

Off for now, I'm thinking I'll go for a walk and see if we can't get this kid to move her way downwards.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Night Before Christmas! Our thoughts are with you, wish we could be too!

Sunday 23 December 2007

Baby Stuff

Since we now have a car big enough, we finally picked up some furniture!

We got the crib today, which is a lifetime crib. It converts from a crib to a toddler bed, to a full size bed. We also ordered the matching dresser which will be here in a week or two. None of the stores in a 200 mile radius had them in stock, bummer! The crib is REALLY solid and gorgeous! We love it! We went with the natural color because it seemed to hold up to wear and tear the best. We looked at all the different finishes in the store, and the dark and white finishes showed dents, bumps and scratches a lot, but the natural they seemed to blend in. Since this crib should be with us for a long time, we wanted to make sure it would stay looking nice.



We also got a glider chair, and it's super comfy! Drew was putting it together and one of the arms didn't have holes for the screw and lock to go in, so he had to go back to the store and swap out the part... then the one he got had holes, but they were off a little. He made it fit for now and it's solid, but we're going to call the company tomorrow and see if they will send us a new arm.


That was what we got today, but this is some of the other baby stuff we've gotten. It's so exciting, but I'll be even more excited to actually USE it! The Travel System.. it's a stroller, carrier/infant car seat. The base (on the floor) goes into the car, and the carrier locks into it, and also locks into the stroller, so if the baby is sleeping, we wont have to wake her up to get her in and out of the car. Amazing the things they come up with these days! You should have seen Drew and I with all the different strollers and travel systems in the store. We were trying them all out, pushing them up and down the isles to see which ones were the most comfortable and "handled" the nicest. Such weirdos!

The swing.. this was more of a luxury than anything, but I hear the Mom's rave about it. Most of the ladies in my pregnancy group (that have already popped!) have one, and can't say enough good things about it. It's the Natures Touch Papasan swing. It swings front to back (positioned in the picture) and it also rotates at the top and swings side to side. It plays music or nature sounds and the leaves and stuff turn at the top. The tray comes off as well.
The Pack N' Play will be great for travel, but we also had it in case she came while we were still in the hotel, and before we got a crib. We'll probably use it at first also, because it has a bassinet addition and a changing table! The changing portion flips up (in the second picture), can be removed, and the bassinet portion comes out, so when she's big enough we can convert it to just the play yard. The little control on the side is a little light, so we can peek in on her in the dark without having to turn the overhead lights on, it also controls music/more nature sounds (that seems to be a popular feature), and it also turns on a light vibration which is under the bassinet pad. I guess it's suppose to be relaxing for them.. We have it in our room now next to the bed, just awaiting a baby!



I'll post more of the nursery when it gets finished, but all this talk about baby stuff and I hadn't produced any pics yet! I can't wait for everything to get completed, but I know it will take some time. I think we've done pretty good for the time and space constraints we've had, and having to have a process for everything this last couple of months.

We want to send a big gigantic thank you and hugs to our family who have been so supportive in so many ways during this transition for us. We feel like our appreciation can't be expressed enough in words, but please know that we are extremely grateful. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, and we've had a few set backs, and definitely a bit of stress, but it's all coming together. It couldn't have been done without you. I feel truly blessed to have such incredible people in my life.

Okay, now that I'm all emotional (it's those hormones I tell you), I'm off to bed. It's 11pm (yikes!) and since I've been waking up at 6 every morning (so not typical of me), I better try and get some sleep. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow morning at 10:45 , and I have to stop at the store and get the last few ingredients I need for Christmas dinner. When I get home I'll update with what the doc says! Progress maybe? Who knows!

Oh! I did have a few really strong contractions last night. The kind that made me wince and go ooooowwwww..... they lasted a little over a minute, and were about 5-10 minute apart, but there was only a few, then they went away. I had a few more sporadic light contractions before bed, but nothing even worth timing. Drew made me giggle a little bit because with that first big one, he whipped out his timer on his cell phone to start timing how far apart they were.. then he realized he hadn't packed HIS hospital bag yet, and went to do it. I think he'll be a good support person!

I didn't have much in the way of contractions today, and actually very little pain anywhere else either, which was a nice change! Drew is going to snap a new photo of me tomorrow, my belly is huge now! Well, compared to what it has been anyway. It sticks WAY out, and I rub it all the time because it's like a foreign object, lol. Okay, I'm really off to bed now, I hope everybody had a good weekend, and hey, tomorrow is Christmas Eve! I can't wait until next year when we can have a tree and lights, and all that good stuff!

Until tomorrow... ta ta!

Saturday 22 December 2007

We got a family car!

I'm just full of updates lately aren't I???

Well, here's the story:

Drew and I went out car shopping today.. we already knew we wanted a Trailblazer and how much we wanted to pay, we just needed to find the right deal. I had found some online, so I printed out their carfax reports and their prices and off we went.

We went to four dealerships, only 2 of which I actually knew they had TBs at, the other two were just ones we were checking to see if they did. The first dealership, the car had been sold. The second one had one, but it was out on loan until Wednesday. An 04 with 25K miles for 13,500... of course we couldn't see it and didn't know the condition it was in or anything, but we gave him our info and told him to call us when it was back. We really didn't want to wait until Wednesday, but since it was the best deal so far we would definitely keep it in mind.

The 3rd dealership had an 05 with 21K miles, but they were asking 16,900.. he said he the absolute lowest he could go was 15,900 so we walked.

The last dealership, I knew there was a car at in our mileage range (under 40K), but they had it listed for 16,999, I doubted they were going to drop down as low as 13,500 but I figured we'd check and see if they had anything else anyway. So the sales guy introduced himself (Dave) and we told him what we were looking for and that we had been offered an 04 with 25K miles for 13,500.. he said he'd look at his inventory. He said, well we have an 05 with 31K miles on it (this is the one I had seen for 16,999, but I didn't mention that).. he totally surprised me by saying, we could probably get it to you for 13,800. He never even mentioned the original price! So we went and test drove it... it was fantabulous! There's a few dings in the paint on the bumper and drivers door, but he said they would get those fixed for us... awesome!

So we went in to check out the numbers.. it was going to come to about 15,200 with tax.. I said, 15 was really our limit, any way we can get it for 15 out the door? He went and chatted with his manager and said no problem, so that dropped the price of the car to about 13,700. The whole process was so laid back, I've never felt more comfortable and less pressured at a dealership before. Come to find out, the sales guy was actually from the town I grew up in! So we reminisced and chatted.. it was good fun. Anyway.. I think we did pretty good on the price, and we now have a family car. We take it back in about a week to get the paint chips fixed, oh and they are going to give her a bath also since it was raining today. It also still has some of the manufacturers warranty left also which the other one didn't . We haven't decided if we are going to do the extended or not yet. We have about 6 months or 5K miles to decide.

So, here she is.... I think I shall call her Goldilocks...

maybe not.Next stop... baby furniture! Now that we have some place to haul it :)

Thursday 20 December 2007

House pictures!

Here's all of the pictures!

Me showcasing the house :) Just call me Vanna.. at least I've got the last name right! :)


Drew opening the door




My turn!

The living room taken from the dining area

The dining area taken from the living room (kitchen to the right)

My new kitchen (I *heart* my fridge!)

Hallway from living room to bedrooms (Master bedroom on right, main bath straight ahead, two more bedrooms after turn left down hall)


Master Bedroom from door (small doors lead to master bath/closet)


Purty Windows

Closet (sellers left us shoe rack even!)


Master Bath (it has a curtain and a rug now, hee hee!)


Hallway leading to other bedrooms (linen/storage closets on left and right, standing next to main bath)


main bath (shower/tub behind door)


This will probably be the baby's room!


From the inside looking out

This will probably be the "office".. I love these windows!

Looking out from office

From the kitchen this is the back door.

The back of the house

Last but not least, Drew checking out the attic, and the car at home in it's garage.

You ready for a novel?

Wow, what a week.

Talk about a bundle of mixed emotions all at once! I'll start from where I left off.

Monday, we packed the car with the rest of our stuff and went to our closing appointment at 11. We started off with the settlement statement where a problem arose right away. Apparently the sellers mortgage company only sent over part of their actual mortgage, they had two loans (an 80/20), so it was showing they were getting back way more than they were suppose to.

Then as we were going over everything else, it was discovered that they had a pre-payment penalty that was going to make them top heavy on their loan. It would have been up in February, but I guess they thought it was up last February and they weren't going to get penalized. So all the paperwork was signed EXCEPT for the settlement statement, and they were having a hard time getting the mortgage company to send over the second mortgage ASAP. They told Drew and I we were done and could leave and they would call us when they got it sorted... at this point they could still back out and we didn't officially own the house yet, so we had no keys or anything, and no where to go! We said that we'd go have lunch next door while we waited since we didn't have anywhere else to go. We were freaking out a little and not sure what we were going to do if they backed out! About 45 minutes later our Realtor came over and gave us keys and garage door openers, yay! They had signed the agreement and it was official, we're homeowners! I guess they only ended up making about a dollar after their penalties, and I felt bad for them, but that was bad planning on their part!

So Drew and I came HOME took lots of pictures which I will upload this evening( I just need to load them on the comp) and then went shopping for food and necessities (like a shower curtain, pillows, and a set of sheets for our aerobed!). We still didn't have any cooking utensils or anything, so paper plates, plasticware and anything we could make in the microwave or eat fresh was on the menu.

Tuesday we got up and went to base so Drew could get a haircut and I could get some batteries for the baby swing and pack n' play (it plays music and vibrates!). I've been putting together the baby's stuff, and reading to keep me busy since we had nothing here. Quiet and Empty! I did do some cleaning though, you should see the faucets sparkle! We also purchased a dining set, since we didn't really have one in England (unless you count the coffee table), but it wouldn't fit in the car so we had to leave it there until yesterday when somebody could help us.

When we got home, our water had been shut off!! We got back in the car and went down to town hall, where apparently a clerical error had been made. The previous owner had gone in to get the water out of her name, and they didn't check to see that I had already gone in to put it in my name effective Monday, so it got shut off. They were really quick to get it turned back on though, only about 10 minutes and they were back!

Tuesday was also my doctors appointment. No change as of yet. Still 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. I admit, I was a little bummed, but she'll come when she's ready, as long as she's healthy. That's the important thing! I'm definitely hurting these days though. I feel like I just got done riding a horse for about 4 hours and then trying to walk straight, just doesn't work. My back and hips hurt, and my stomach is quite hard! I've been having a lot of contractions, the last couple of days, but I think they are just Braxton Hicks ones, they are uncomfortable, but not painful. Nothing regular, but definitely getting more and more frequent.

Wednesday (yesterday) was my breastfeeding class. It went well. No questions or concerns, I'm just thinking positive. I'm sure there will be a learning curve, but I'm excited to give it everything I've got!

Also yesterday, the previous owner finally got their internet services switched to their new address so I was able to set up activation for today. The modem was delivered this morning, so I plugged it in and couldn't get anything to work! We had a storm last night and I guess it knocked out services to this area ALL day. We finally got it up and running this evening.

Our fast shipment also came today, but it didn't have quite as much as I thought it would in it.
At least we have some silverware, knives, cooking utensils, plates and bowls, and pots and pans! Looks like I might just have enough to cook a Christmas dinner after all (as long as I'm not in the hospital, heehee).

Drew started working swingshift this week also, so without a TV,internet, or a car, the evenings have been SOOO long, but at least it's slowly coming together. They called today and said the rest of our stuff was here, but the soonest they could deliver it would be the 31st, so that's when we'll have furniture and the rest of our things (I've been having stamping withdrawls!).

This weekend, we go try and find us a family car. I've been shopping around and have found some pretty good deals, but I need to check them on carfax to make sure they don't have any problems before we look closer, you know how it is.. some deals that sound too good to be true, probably are! Assuming we find something this weekend, we'll also go pick up the rest of the baby furniture so we can get her room ready!

So, how's that for an update??? I'm going to go relieve myself for the millionth time today and then I'll get my camera and load the pics up so I can post them for ya!

Friday 14 December 2007

Happy Friday!

Here we are heading into the weekend before closing day!

I went to Haughton today (where our house is) to get the water set up to be switched to our name on Monday. The electricity is already set, I found the internet company that services the area (YAY!) but the people that live there haven't called to have it shut off yet, so it still might be a few days before we can get service established and the equipment to use it.

Lynn (the mortgage broker) called and we went over all of our prepaids (Home Owners Ins., Per Diem Interest and Reserves) so we know exactly how much we need to bring to closing so I can get a cashiers check. She's also going to call and see if they will let us take a load of stuff over on Sunday when we do our final walk through since we have WAY too much stuff to fit in our car in one trip, but we have to check out of the hotel on Monday morning by 10AM, and closing isn't until 11 when we actually get the keys! So if we can take one load over the day before we should be able to fit the rest in on Monday morning.

So a little recap.. our birthing class is tomorrow (9:30am - 1:30pm). Final walk through on Sunday (at 3pm). Closing at 11am Monday. OB appointment Tuesday (2:30pm). Breastfeeding Class on Wednesday (9:am11:30am). So far..that's it.. lets hope it all goes smoothly! I'll keep you posted! :)

Wednesday 12 December 2007

Do you want an update????

I thought you might!! :)

My appointment went well, I lost a pound which is normal for the end of a pregnancy. Blood pressure, HR, urine check and everything was perfect. My Group B Strep test was negative so no antibiotics as long as I don't get sick. I'm 1cm dilated, and 50% effaced. He said he'd like to see her a little further down settling into the birth canal so he recommended I buy an exercise ball and sit and bounce on it all day long, lol. Since mine is on the boat, I stopped by target and picked up a cheap one, so I'll be bouncing away.

My next appointment is Tuesday at 2:30. It was suppose to be Wednesday, but I have the breast feeding class that I don't want to miss so they moved it a day earlier. We'll see where we're at! It's going to be a busy week next week!

Click this to Meet My OB/GYN! I was looking up some stuff on the hospital and found my Doctors profile on the hospital website. It's kind of weird having a doctor barely older than you are, but he's very nice and I feel very confident, he seems to be a very thorough doc. Anyway, I thought you might want to "meet" who I'm visiting every week!

Also, spoke with the realtor yesterday. Our final walk through is Sunday afternoon, Closing is on Monday. I have our electricity set up to be transferred for Monday, and I'm waiting for a call back to find out which water company they use out there so I can go in and set up the water for Monday also. We still can't figure out if we can get DSL or Cable internet out there, but I hope so! I'll probably cry if we have to go back to dial-up! So, we might be without internet for a few days but we'll have our cell-phones!

That's it for today!

Sunday 9 December 2007

Sunday Update

So what am I this week..36 weeks? 37? Who knows! Sticking with my original due date we'll say 36. Nothing new to report, we had a relatively quiet weekend.

Friday, I went to install the infant car seat in the ZX2 only to find out that it BARELY fits! The base fits in fine, but when you put the actual seat in, the front passenger seat has to be all the way in the vertical position and scooted pretty close to the glove compartment. It will work in a bind, but it looks like we'll have to get a bigger car sooner rather than later.

Yesterday, Drew and I went to see The Golden Compass which was pretty good! Afterwards we looked around town a bit, we stopped at a car dealership to look at a couple of cars. We looked at the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevy Trailblazer and the GMC Envoy. We like the Jeep, but the way the back cargo area is configured, we don't think it will be big enough to haul Cossie comfortably, along with extra stuff. The Trailblazer and Envoy are essentially the same, but we preferred the Trailblazer and the size is right. We also saw an Isuzu Ascender on the road that is also the same (or similar) as a Trailblazer, so we might look into that as well.

Today we stayed in the hotel room for the most part. We went to the commissary to stock up on food for the room (hopefully for the last time before we stock up on food for the HOUSE!). We were going to go check out the FamCamp area and go for a walk after our laundry was done, but the good dryer was in use, so we had to use the crappy dryer and it took a few hours to dry our clothes, by then it was getting dark. Maybe next time!

Plans for this week...our customs form came for the Zx2 so I'll see if I can go get the car registered tomorrow and at least get temporary plates so people don't give us a hard time. I'll also call and schedule a spot at the Breastfeeding class for the 19th. Wednesday Morning I have a Doc. appointment to check progress. Saturday is our birthing class. Next Monday we should get the keys to the house! Yay!!

On the baby front, I've been having cramps on and off all day, I've felt some tightening a couple times along with the cramps, but nothing regular or very strong. Otherwise nothing exciting to report! I wish there was a magic way to tell how things are progressing, but I guess we'll know when we know. :)

Here's an updated picture for you all.. it's not a very good one unfortunately. Now that I'm finally showing a lot, I'm feeling very unattractive and blobish. I do have more pictures from last weekend, but the computer is running so slow I can't process them to post them without going nuts, so I decided to leave them for now until we get our desktop, hopefully next week.

I hope everybody has had a wonderful weekend, we'll talk to you soon!



-Jen

Thursday 6 December 2007

My Doctor Appointment!

Wow, today was the longest appointment ever! The doctor sat with me in his office for about 45 minutes going over all my records so he could update my chart with his office and make sure all my history was covered. After that I went and did my pee sample and went into the exam room.

The nurse came in and checked my sample, normal! Blood pressure was 112/70, HR was 74 bpms. All normal. The doctor came in and did a physical on me, he measured my belly and guess what, I'm still measuring big! He said he wanted to send me to get an ultrasound because he thinks based on my chart information, my previous ultrasound and my measurement that I'm a little further along and he wants to get a measurement of the baby. He did my Group B strep test and checked my cervix. I'm a finger-tip dilated, he didn't say if I was effaced or not, and I didn't think to ask at the time so I'm assuming that I'm not. He said the cramps I'm having are normal and have to do with my cervix dilating.

I headed back to get the ultrasound, she still has 2 legs, 2 arms, I got another picture of her face. The U/S tech commented that her legs were really long and asked if Dad was tall.. yep! She measured her head circumference and her middle. She's estimated at about 6.5 lbs. right now, with a due date of December 31st (which personally I think is more accurate anyway). She tried to check and make certain that she was a girl, but she had her foot in the way and wouldn't move it, so we're going to have to still assume that the first U/S was correct!

Anyway, things are moving a long. I have another appointment next Wednesday at 10:45 to see how things are going. I'll keep you posted!!

Tuesday 4 December 2007

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Well Saturday we heard about something called The Festival of Lights in a town called Natchitoches ( we still haven't completely figured out how to pronounce it). It was about an hour away so we thought we'd go check it out since it's suppose to be a really big deal. We got there, found a place to park and followed the masses into the center of town. There were thousands of people lining the streets for a parade which was huge! It lasted for 2 hours, there were clubs, beauty queens, local businesses, bands from all over. Most of them were throwing candy or beads into the crowd. It was a lot of fun!

After that we headed to find something to eat. It ended up being a little Mexican Restaurant. The service was terrible, but the food wasn't bad. The guy next to us got the biggest burrito I've ever seen! We ate and then headed down to the river front where they had all sorts of people selling their products, there was a live band, tons of fair type food booths. At 5:00 people started finding seats for the fireworks show. We didn't really know where to go, and we didn't have chairs so we found a place to sit on a couple of tree roots on a dirt hill. It wasn't the most comfortable but after standing all day, it was nice to sit!

The fireworks started at 6pm and it was awesome! They were setting the fireworks off on one side of the river and we were on the other side. They were set to music, and they had colored spot lights to add to the effect. It was probably one of the coolest fireworks shows I'd ever seen! They finished it off by lighting the 300K + lights along the river and front street.

When we got home I checked online to see if there was an update on our car, and sure enough.. it was here! The VPC (Vehicle Processing Center) was closed on the weekend so we planned to go pick it up in Dallas on Monday. We left at 6:30 in the morning and got there about 10:30. It took about an hour to do the paperwork and get the car. There doesn't seem to be any damage, a couple of scuffs we don't remember, but they say it was marked on the shipping document. It's not really that big of a deal. The battery was dead, so they jumped it, it died again, they jumped it again, then it died AGAIN, just trying to roll down the window! So they jumped it again and we drove across the street to an auto parts store to get the battery tested. It was dead beyond repair, so we ended up buying a new battery and installing it in the parking lot. At least it starts like a champ now! It has a squeaky wheel that we need to get checked out so we'll do that this week sometime.

Also on the way back we stopped at Babies R' Us since I had found a 15% off coupon online. I printed out two of them so we could pick up a couple of things. We got our pack n' play, a baby tub, a boppy and a few other odds and ends. We split up, I took the boppy and a few other things, and drew took the pack n' play to a different teller to check out. Apparently my coupon was a fraud! The lady I went to wouldn't take it, luckily the boppy wasn't very much so it wasn't a big deal, but I was bummed about the pack n' play. When Drew got to the car I asked him if his lady took the coupon and he said yes! Well, now I felt guilty, but it saved over $20! I guess they DID have a 15% off coupon, but somebody copied it and changed the dates it was valid until.

We also had some 10% off coupons for Baby Depot at Burlington Coat factory (these were real!) so we picked up the travel system, and the baby swing while we were there. We now have a corner of baby stuff in our hotel room, but in case she comes early.. we're prepared! Everything is really cool and I'm excited to use it!

I called and had the car insurance switched to a stateside policy today and they e-mailed me a new card so we can get the car registered. Since we are military we don't have to pay some of the registration taxes, and we don't have to get Louisiana drivers licenses. We just need to wait until the customs form gets mailed to us (the VPC hadn't received it yet) so we can go get the plates which we have 30 days to do.

We also have a time for our closing date... 11AM on the 17th!!

Some frustrating stuff for today. I had my OB appointment scheduled at 10:30. They called at 9:15 really apologetic but that the doctor my appointment was with wouldn't be able to see me... ever. Apparently she just has too many babies due the same time as ours to be able to accommodate me. They said they could get me in next Monday with another doctor. I said that wasn't acceptable. I'm 35 weeks, I haven't been seen in almost 7 weeks, and I have questions. She was able to squeeze me in on Thursday at 1:30, but I'd have to go to our Tricare office and make sure that I didn't need to wait for another referral. I went, and they said they could just switch the doctor since he is in the same office, I wouldn't need to wait for a referral, so that was good. I went to the doctors office to drop off my records and also pick up the new patient paperwork so I didn't have to do it on Thursday.

I'm still doing well.. I'm certain the baby is dropping now, as I definitely have an increase in pressure. I do have some cramping as well, but there are no other symptoms that are raise for concern. She's been dancing a lot this evening and I can feel pressure from my pelvis to my rib cage as she bounces around. I'm really anxious to see the doctor so he can give me some information and make sure labor isn't imminent or anything. I know it would be really early, but weirder things have happened.

So that's the update, sorry it's taken so long!! I'll update again soon I promise, as soon as I know more, I'll post!