Don't read this if you're sick of me complaining about still being pregnant.

I swore I would never be that girl who complains about being pregnant. I am so thankful that I even get to be pregnant, considering all the women in the world who struggle to get to this point, or who never do. I used to hate hearing women talk about how much they hate it and how awful it feels because I don't feel that way. I love being pregnant. It has been a wonderful experience for me. It doesn't interrupt my sleep, I was never sick one time, I haven't had unbearable rib/back pain. Really only in this last month or so have things gotten a little uncomfortable. I have some acid reflux and occasional back pain, my feet swell (let me tell you how pleasant THAT looks) sometimes, and my hips hurt all day everyday. Oh, and I get kicked in the ribs a lot. But it's not her fault, the poor thing has no room!

All that being said, can I just be done already? I know everyone says to enjoy these last few days of life with just me and Joe and that I will miss this. And I know I will, I know I will miss feeling her moving around in my belly, and I know eventually I will long for the days when Joe and I could just get up and go when we wanted. Maybe it's just the fact that I'm home alone with my thoughts all day, and the fact that I just had THREE friends in the last two weeks have babies doesn't help, but I can't help being sad that she still isn't here. Sometimes it really does feel like I'm not actually going to ever have her!

I have enjoyed being pregnant, but I'm ready for the next part! I know I will lose sleep, I know I will feel overwhelmed, and I know I won't know what I'm doing. But I just want to hold her. I just want her here in my arms. I want to see what she looks like and if she has hair and how long she is and if she's chubby or not. I just want her here with me. Outside with me.

Hopefully soon. I am 39 weeks and four days. I go to the doctor on Thursday. Please Lord give me good news.

Book Review: The Help

This is the first book review I've ever done, so bear with me! I finished this a few days ago, but I have been grumpy lately so I didn't feel like doing the review. :) But here it goes.

The Help is a book about black maids in Mississippi in the 1960's, and the white women they work for and encounter everyday. The main plot is that Skeeter Phelan, a white woman in her early 20's who just graduated college, wants to be a writer. She gets the idea to write a book from the point of view of 10 or 12 different black maids in the form of interviews, about what it's like to work for white families. She changes all the names of everyone involved. At first, the maids are skeptical, such as Minny and Aibileen, who are the two main maids she starts with. But eventually they agree to the book, and get others to agree as well, and then the focus is on keeping the book a secret, and whether or not it will be a success, and whether or not anyone in Jackson, Mississippi can figure out if the book is about them or not.

I loved this book. I should just leave it at that and have you take my word for it. :) But not only is it very well written and culturally accurate for the time period it's set in, it is very personal to the author's heart. At the end of the book, there is a little bio from Kathryn Stockett about how she grew up in a home with a black maid. That made the story so much more real and personal to the reader (me!).

This book is about racism and civil rights and the complicated relationships between white and black people during the 60's. It is also almost completely about the relationships between women, white or black, and how they change over time. One of my favorite lines from the book, that Kathryn Stockett also mentions again at the end, is "We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought."

I know this isn't very in-depth but eh, I will get better as I do these more. :) Next book on the list: The Hunger Games.

38 weeks.

I will be 38 weeks tomorrow, but I had my appointment and growth ultrasound yesterday. The ultrasound went well, she is measuring in the 44th percentile for weight, which was around 6 lbs, 14 oz. My doctor estimated she will be around 8.5 lbs at birth. Doesn't sound average to me, sounds BIG! lol but oh well! I'm just glad she is healthy and everything looks great and on track. However, I was very excited about getting another ultrasound and...I literally could not tell what anything was except the top of her head and one of her legs. She is so crowded in there. They gave us pictures but they just look like blobs lol.

I am still just dilated 1 cm. Nothing exciting going on, and it's not looking like it will anytime soon. I know I could go from a 1 to a 5 in a matter of hours, but I just don't see that happening. I asked my doctor about inducing me eventually and she said they will do that at 41 weeks. Since this is my first baby, they like to give you as much time to go on your own, because there is less risk of a c-section that way. I was really disappointed about this at first, but when I thought about it, that means I only have 3 weeks left at the most. Which sounds pretty good to me! And I know I am ready for her to be "done" but I know she needs as much time in there as she can get.

In other news, my doctor did give me the okay to go to Women of Faith with the ladies from my church this weekend, since my cervix is "doing nothing" as she said. :) So I'm looking forward to that! It will be so fun and a lot of my close friends are going this year. I can't wait. It will take my mind off of "when the heck am I having this baby".

Also, my friend Amy had her baby, Madeline Grace, on Monday. I got to see her yesterday and she is so beautiful and has a full head of hair! And my friend Kayla is being induced tomorrow, I can't wait to meet Jaxon! All these people having babies! And I am really close to them, so I know I'm gonna feel left out lol. But oh well, these next three weeks (or less) will fly by quickly I know. Well....I hope, anyways. :)

37 weeks

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant so technically full term! I'm not sure it has really hit me that she could be here any time. I am trying to be as prepared as possible but we still have a lot to do. My mom is getting our bassinette ready this weekend, we still need to get both car seats inspected, and I still have hospital bags to pack! I think I will do that today, along with putting her letters up in her room since I painted them. Although this all depends of course on whether or not I find the energy to accomplish these tasks. :)

I have gained right at 30 lbs and I am pleased with that. I've had a couple of break down moments about my weight (like when I gained 10 lbs in 4 weeks) but for the most part it is all belly. I haven't noticed any extra weight anywhere else, at least. Hopefully I won't gain too much more in the next 3 weeks but at this point, what does it really matter?

My doctor estimated at my appointment yesterday that Bella is around 6 lbs. She said that is right on track for her being 7-7.5 lbs at birth. Joe and I were both 7 something so hopefully Bella will stick with tradition. :P She did say I was measuring slightly small, so we are having a growth ultrasound next Wednesday to get a better idea of how big she is. I was kind of concerned at first, but she didn't seem to be, so now I'm just excited about getting to see her again. I haven't had an ultrasound since April and really wasn't expecting anymore.

Other than talking about her weight, she said I am almost a centimeter dilated. I don't really have an opinion on that haha. She can come whenever she wants. Of course I have my days picked out, as you all know, but we are on her time now, so I'm just waiting for any hint of labor.

Here is my picture I took on Wednesday, at 36 weeks 5 days.

I think she looks lower, don't you?

Okay, totally unpregnancy related: I am thinking of doing book reviews on this blog. I read SO MUCH and I'm opinionated, so it only seems logical to throw in some posts on my opinions of what I read. :) I just bought "The Help" today, and I'm sure I will finish it pretty quick, so a review will be coming up soon. Also, our church is doing a Bible study on the book "Radical" for a few more weeks and I'm definitely doing a review when I'm done with that.

Happy Friday, blogging friends.

Getting closer...

Okay we have a little over 3 weeks left until due date. Hopefully that means she will be here sometime between now & then but I know she does what she wants and doesn't care in the slightest when I want her here. :)

I can't complain though, I have been so incredibly blessed to have an "easy" pregnancy. This last month is harder than I thought, though, I won't lie. Mostly because I have had some sort of allergy/sinus mess going on for the last WEEK which has made it impossible to breathe through my nose at all. So sleeping is pretty difficult, I just try to stay elevated.

I think she has dropped though! Thursday/Friday of last week I could feel her in my ribs a lot and it was pretty uncomfortable. But I woke up Saturday night/Sunday morning with cramps in my lower stomach that wouldn't go away. Then everyone at church on Sunday was talking about how much lower she looks. That makes me anxious to see what they say at my Dr's appointment on Thursday.

Speaking of doctor's appointments, I had one last Thursday (my first internal exam of this pregnancy, yayyyy) and nothing exciting was happening. I'm not dilated, but she is head down! Maybe there will be some progress this week who knows. But I am supposed to be going to Women of Faith with a lot of women from my church next weekend, so I'd like to still be able to do that if at all possible. On the other hand, if I go to the doctor Thursday and they tell me to head on over to the hospital, I will be more than happy. :)

Other than baby things not much is going on. I finished my summer semester with 3 B's, so I'm happy. Especially considering I was a huge procrastinator and thought there was no way I would get decent grades. :) School started last Wednesday so Joe went back to work and I have been kinda lonely. :( I was totally spoiled in spending the whole summer with him so it's hard to get used to. Especially since he is coaching basketball with my dad again so doesn't get home until after 6 now. It'll get even worse when games start. But I shouldn't complain, I am blessed to even get to see him daily.

Even though I just sit at home all the time, I don't really feel like going anywhere! A lot of that probably has to do with the fact that I've been sick, but I don't know. I just don't feel like getting decently dressed and leaving the house ever haha. And my sleeping is all weird. I woke up yesterday when Joe left at 6:30 and didn't nap or anything until I went to bed last night at around midnight. Then I slept till 11 today and woke up still tired. I figure I might as well sleep while I can though, and I'm blessed that sleeping isn't too uncomfortable and I really don't ever get up that much to use the bathroom or anything.

Now we are just playing the waiting game, I suppose. We are as ready as we can be for her to be here, it is just hard not knowing when that will be.

Since I am lazy and never take pictures anymore, here is a belly pic from my phone that I took like a week and a half ago. I really need to start taking them weekly so I can compare....but here is 35 weeks and one day.