37 weeks. full term. 4cm.

Well we have made it to full term and I am already in early labor. Saturday night we went into the hospital but I was only at 3cm so we decided to go home. I got checked out again by my doc on Monday and was told I was at a 4 and 80% effaced. It is now wednesday and I'm praying and praying I go into active labor soon.

I have loved being pregnant. Seeing the way that God has guided us through this time has been amazing. His provision has been steadfast and His love has been shown to me in ways I have never seen before. I really do believe I will miss being pregnant.

With that said... I can't wait! for the next stage. Naz and I have been saying over and over that we can't wait to hold her and see her and cuddle her. Its just time. For her and for us... to move onto what God has in store for us now. I have to say I am getting pretty impatient, knowing that we are so close to having her in our arms. Especially feeling contraction after contraction hoping that thats going to be the one to start the whole deal.

What to do in the meantime? Lots of prayer and crying out to Jesus, bouncing on the birth ball, doing squats... and of course walking. Naz and I took such a long walk last night... at least I got a foot rub afterwards! haha. ok. I gotta get out of the house.

t.v tears.

I think being pregnant makes you notice every other lady who is pregnant. And that goes the same with television. I've been tearing up with every baby commercial. So I thought it would be fun to post the good ones I could find online.

even though we plan on cloth diapers.. it still gets me.

P&G might not be a very good company cuz of their animal testing... but what a sweet commercial.

36 weeks.

wow. 9 months. No more then 4 weeks left... but probably less. I've always had the feeling that she is coming early, and I feel it even more now.

Yesterday was nothing short of a blast. We had our LA baby shower and were so overwhelmed by all that Brandy and Jennifer did to prepare for it. They turned our very empty pool area into the sweetest baby shower ever. Brandy was up and over here early and went so far and beyond anything I could have asked for. I can't wait to get the pictures from it. Brandy's sister in law, Heather, made the deserts and they were incredible! Everything was so delicious.

Speaking of pictures. Our friend Jennifer Jasso who also did the shower... took some rad pictures of us down in hollywood at Amoeba records. It was CRAZY windy that day. But for the ones that she sent me over so far... they came out great. They don't even look like us! haha. It was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad that we get to have these pics to remember our time with the nerd inside. She also took some pics of the party of course and some of us in the nursery... so I'll post those when we get them. How lucky am I to have such talented friends.

Baby: she is still moving around and it is so much fun to feel her. I think I'm actually going to miss it when the time comes. Funny hu? I was so nervous to feel her in the beginning.. thinking I wasn't going to like it. But we've come a long way. She is dropping lower and I've even felt some contractions here and there. Its definitely exciting to know that she'll be here soon enough.

Mom: I feel really prepared and that is reassuring. My mom got her flight booked today for the 14th... so thats exciting. It's going to be fun having my family around to welcome their first granddaughter.

woops.

I am so THAT girl! The one that can only talk about her dang baby. haha. I would talk about other things if there were other things in my life to talk about... but especially in the last few weeks and days, Naz and I have just been focusing on getting ready. Well... if thats what I've become then I'm just gonna have to embrace it. ok at least for right now.

It's been amazing though seeing Gods provision throughout all this. Getting pregnant was such a huge answer of prayer to both Nazareth and I... even though we had two different questions we were asking. All along He has guided us... and now that we are so close to having her here, His provision is all around.

1. We were able to move into a 2 bedroom apartment! Such a good deal... and we got to stay in the area we love and the complex we love. It was going to be a stretch every month... but then a month later Naz got a 2% raise! just enough for our increase in rent. DANG! God is so good.

2. My sister is letting us borrow all the essentials like her stroller, car seat, breast pump, and cradle.

3. We got a great deal on a dresser and mirror... were gifted the money for a book shelf.

4. Our baby shower was great. And Naz's parents got us, not only the big car seat and the most beautiful bedding, but they also got us the prefold diapers that we so desperately wanted. We were so shocked!

Seeing how He has provided all along in our 6 years of marriage just reassures me of His provision for the whole rest of it. And that's including the birth! haha.

This monday is our LA shower, and its going to be so much fun. My friends Brandy and Jennifer are going crazy! We are having a co-ed pool party here at our complex. My sister Jamie is driving up too so its going to be an awesome day. Naz wanted to have the girls room all ready to go for the party... and hanged if it isn't. We finished it up yesterday and it looks great. I'll have to do a post of it later with pictures.

35 weeks.

We have officially ended our Bradley Birth classes. I can't believe 12 weeks went by so fast! We had a blast going to our classes and learning so much about birth and babies. I would highly recommend them. Even if someone wasn't planning on a natural birth, there is so much to learn about the whole process... and these classes were so helpful. We feel as prepared as we are gonna get!

Since it was our last class, the couples all decided to go out for dinner at BJ's afterwards. It was so much fun getting to know them all even more. And the stares from other dinners were pretty comical... seeing 5 very pregnant ladies walking in a row. How bizarre!

I am still fighting my sickness. I had a fever most of friday and saturday but it's gone now and left me with sniffles, coughing, spitting, and blowing my nose. I also still have a crick in my neck that I got from sleeping at my sisters house. It wasn't her fault of course... I totally slept on it wrong. But I feel like its getting more stiff. So I'll be looking into a local chiropractor this week. Oh I wish I could just go to the one I love in SD... but thats just not going to happen.

My dad is coming for a quick visit this thursday. He travels a lot for work and will be meeting with some schools in the area so he gets to come by for a visit. I can't wait. I miss my dad SO much... so I'm really looking forward to it. He'll come again after the little girl is born while my mom is here. I am stoked.

Baby: She's getting bigger... I can tell. Specially the amount of people asking me if I'm having twins. sadness. After this week... We're gonna do it all to get her out as soon as we can. haha. I just hope it works. But her little movements are still so fun to feel.

Mom: looking forward to our LA shower this weekend. Its a co-ed pool party shower and it's gonna be a blast. I can't believe how close we are getting to holding our little girl.

getting anxious.

I have now an overwhelming feeling to see my baby. And of course that would also mean to have my body back a little bit (all but the boobs I guess) which would be nice. But I can't wait to hold her in my arms and see her little eyes. See her in her little outfits and wrapped in blankets.

The last few days I've had a bit of a cold. It started with the awful soar throat and now I have a hacking cough.. not very easy without abdominal muscles. But it should be gone soon. I haven't had a cold or anything for such a long time I guess I was due. haha.

34 weeks.

Well our weekend was awesome... but boy did it wear me out! The shower was so much fun. I can't wait to post the pictures when I get em. It was so nice getting to see so many awesome friends who were just as excited as me for our little girl. We got so much good stuff that we needed, and I feel more ready then ever for her arrival. We're borrowing the infant car seat and stroller from my sister... and its all in the car. installed. and ready for another round of baby. And since we were down at my sisters house we did most of her laundry. Knowing that that's all ready to go too is fun.My eldest sister Jen came out for the shower and brought a bunch ofclothes, toys and blankets that we all wore when we were little and they are so rad! I already know what i want her to wear home from the hospital.

It was rad having my sister here for a few days. I showed her as many bits of LA as possible. We had breakfast at aroma, went down to west hollywood for shopping and had lunch at CPK. Next day we went to Glendale to the galleria and the americana.

Heres me and naz at the place we got married 6 years ago.

We can't wait to bring the girl here.

baby: I told my doctor my plan to try and induce labor at 37 weeks and she was totally fine with the idea. So in 3 weeks we'll start pushing on the pressure points. haha.

me: Since the weekend my feet have been swelling like mad. its pretty funny to look down and not recognize your own feet. And life is becoming a little more uncomfortable and slow... but I'm still having a blast being pregnant.

And some sad news: I totally burnt my tea kettle to oblivion. I thought I had turned the stove off and was letting the water cool a bit, but I went in there and it was already gone. The handles were totally melted and the pretty blue color now has brown spots all over. The smell was awful, I couldn't even look inside. I loved that kettle, and I can't seem to find it anywhere online... like they don't make it make it anymore or something. Oh well... I guess its a travesty of a pregnant brain.