Merry Christmas

Ridley enjoyed her first Christmas and Phil and I enjoyed our first Christmas as parents. I can't wait to be able to make memories with Ridley like baking cookies for Santa and picking out/making gifts for family and friends. This year was fun, but next year will be even better!
On Christmas Eve, Phil, Ridley and I went to Phil's grandmother's home to what I lovingly like to call "Christmas Chaos." There are a bunch of kids running around and family members gathered. Ridley didn't know what to make of it all quite yet, but I'm sure it will soon become one of her favorite places to visit. Her Aunt Elizabeth told her all about Santa coming that night, and Ridley must have listened because she went to bed at 8:30pm (the earliest she's ever gone down for the night BY FAR). She woke up at 4am, but went right back to sleep.
The next morning, we opened a few gifts at the house, but honestly I didn't wrap many of her gifts. I didn't see a point really. We put a tree up, bought her a stocking and her first christmas ornament and I felt like that was enough for a first time mom to handle with a two and a half month old!



We went to Phil's mom's house (Grandma!) and Ridley had plenty of gifts to open there. Her Aunt Felicia in particularly spoiled her with a big bag of toys and clothes. She was so well behaved too! She was in such awe of all the bright colors on the tree and on the wrapping paper. She also loves to watch her cousins run around the house with her Aunt Elizabeth. Philip made his famous mashed potatoes and I made banana pudding--my nana's recipe.



After dinner we returned home and had a nice little afternoon with my mom (Grammie!) and took it easy. It was nice and relaxing. And Grammie brought over lemon squares and a pie.
We ended the day with a short walk down our road with the dogs. We got Ridley all bundled up and put her in the front carrier, a great way to walk off some of that turkey and banana pudding.



Hope everyone else had a great holiday as well! Now it's time to post pictures, take down decorations, and put away gifts. Whew!

Hands On Genius

The last few days and weeks, Ridley has been discovering her hands. She's staring at them, chewing/sucking on them and grabbing things better. Her favorite thing to do is to hold on tight to her burp cloth and munch on it. She's also reaching for things that I hold up for her. Tonight she grabbed a hold of her rattle shaped like a ring and shook it around for a minute or so before dropping it.

While staying with Nana Evelyn on our road trip last weekend, Ridley proved to me that she's a genius. So, I'm just letting everyone know right now: my child is a genius (I may not be the first mother to say that, huh? haha). I was talking to her on the couch and she was in a very talkative mood. She kept "coo-ing" and giving me some crazy facial expressions. She wanted to really tell me something! Then I started cooing back to her and I said, "ooh ooh ooh." And without missing a beat Ridley repeated back to me, "ooh ooh ooh." It was in the same tone and everything! I looked at Phil and Nana Evelyn. "Did you hear that?!" Nana Evelyn chuckled and said she heard it and Phil told me to do it again. So I said, "ooh ooh ooh." And sure enough Ridley repeated it again. We all got a kick out of it and I have witnesses that Ridley is a genius baby! The fact that she hasn't done it again is in no way proof against her genius!! I'm telling you, Ridley is twenty years away from taking over the world.

Road Trip

We just got back from our first family road trip! It was a great weekend of fun and family and Ridley did surprisingly well.

We left Friday evening after Philip got off work. Ridley cried a bit on the first leg up and we thought we were going to really be in for it. But we stopped and grabbed some quick dinner that allowed me to nurse and change her. After that she did pretty well. I sat in the backseat and played with her a little and then Philip and I changed places after the second pit stop. Towards the end of the trip (it was about a six hour drive total), she just fell asleep and rested until we arrived in North Wilkesboro.

We stayed that night with my great Aunt Evelyn. She has an RV camper on a mountain campground that is anything but a plain ol' RV. It's more like a small trailer. Aunt Evelyn calls it a "park" model. It was super cozy and comfortable. Ridley didn't sleep through the night once we were settled, but she only woke once and wasn't too fussy. We spent the next day (Saturday) helping Aunt Evelyn cook and talking/catching up. It was wonderful, and Ridley really enjoyed getting to know her Nana Evelyn.

That evening we went to a local church (across from the elementary school where I went to kindergarten and first grade) to have our family dinner. Everyone in my family from my great grandparents and down are welcome to this dinner. That means a lot of people since my great grandparents had seven children! I wish more could have made it, but there were still cousins and aunts aplenty (someone pointed out that our family is good for producing females--definitely true). Among the family that made it: Aunt Nancy, Evelyn and Shirley, cousin Cindy with her family, cousin Lindsey with her new addition, cousins Jessica and Tabetha with their families (Tabetha has another one on the way...a boy!), and cousin Sheila.

My cousin Cindy has a posting on her blog about the dinner and about meeting Ridley that really touched my heart. Here is the link: Soulshine-cindy

Isn't she incredibly sweet, loving and wonderful? And aren't Ridley and I lucky?! Cindy put it a bit more eloquently than I can, but I too felt it was special for Ridley to meet her family and for her family to meet her. (I will post pictures soon under a holiday posting, but for now check out Cindy's post with pictures!).

The next day we had an even larger family lunch (from my great great grandparents down) over at our family church (Bethany). Nana is buried there along with my great grandparents and great uncles. Aunt Nancy and Aunt Evelyn keep their graves full of flowers year round. I helped them this year while Ridley was in the car with Philip to change all the flowers over to winter/Christmas flowers. Then we had a large buffet style lunch with the extended family before heading back on the road (mmmm...southern country cookin'...yummy).

This time we only had to drive a couple of hours down to Gaffney, SC. That's where my dad's side of the family lives. Ridley cried a little on the trip, but fell asleep and let us make pretty good time. Mimi Hilda had everyone over to her house that evening and I don't think I held Ridley all of 20 minutes the whole night! Everyone loved meeting her, holding her and playing with her. I couldn't even begin to name everyone at this family get-together! But my uncles were there and so were all of Mimi Hilda's children, grandchildren and great grandchildren! And of course my dad, aka the new Papa John was also there to dote on his first and only grandchild! Ridley loves her Papa John.

There was so much excitement going on that night, Ridley didn't fall asleep until 1:00am! I thought I had her down around 11:00pm, but I walked back into the bedroom soon after putting her down and there she lay, staring at the ceiling content as could be. I just had to laugh. But once she fell asleep, it was another full night! She didn't wake until about 9:30am.

We headed out on Monday around noon and really had an incredibly smooth trip back. Ridley slept almost the entire way back. Our only stop was in Chapel Hill to eat at PF Chang's. Ridley got to nurse and get changed and we got to sit back and relax a bit too. Of course that night after we got home, Ridley didn't sleep well, but how could she when she had slept all day?!

I wish we could have stayed longer with everyone. I look forward to making another road trip with Ridley when she's a little older. Maybe we'll take a trip with warmer weather next year.

2 Month Checkup

Ridley had her two month checkup on the 9th. She weighed in at 12 pounds, 8 ounces which puts her in the 90-95% for weight! She's in the 75% for head circumference and 50% for length. She's growing well!

She also had her first set of vaccinations. It was a hard appointment to sit through because she was upset for most of it. I wanted to wait to nurse her until after her shots (so that I could soothe her) so she was hungry and crying as we waited for the doctor, talked to the doctor, sat through the doctor's examination, and then waited for the nurse to administer the shots. When they came in to give her the shots I was already a wreck. I wanted to feed her already and get the shots out of the way! I ended up nursing her a little in between the doctor's examination and the nurse anyway because I couldn't stand it any longer. But I just nursed her long enough to calm her down. The nurse came in finally, put a shot in each leg and quickly left the room to Ridley crying again. I wished she had been as fast to come in and give Ridley the shots as she was to leave the room afterward! I think it was a little over an hour after our appointment time by the time the vaccinations were given. I nursed her right after the shots and it seemed to calm her. Of course the shots took their toll on her because she slept almost the rest of the day. And when she did wake up during the day she was fussy and sore. Although I like to limit medication as much as possible, I gave her a little dose of infant Tylenol to ease the soreness. She did better the next day. I hate to think we have to do that all over again in two months!

Smiles and Songs

Ridley smiles a lot now and she recognizes me when she sees me. She's grabbing on to things, mostly her burp cloth and lovey (and my hair!) And she loves to talk a lot in the morning. She's in the best mood in the mornings. Her favorite place is the changing table where she'll tell me what she dreamed the night before and we sing Christmas songs together (Ridley coos along to my attempts). She also loves it when her onesies go over her head. She smiles and coos every time. And recently she has discovered the little birdie that hangs down from the handle on her car seat/carrier.

Sweet Sleep

It goes without saying that sleep has been in small supply since Ridley's arrival. The first few weeks home, she wanted to nurse every two hours (or more) from start to finish, day and night. It was exhausting and difficult. But I'm happy to say that she quickly started to get her days and nights sorted out and on December 2nd, she slept through the night for the first time! It seems that moms have different definitions of "sleeping through the night." I read some where that 5 hours was "STTN." I don't know who's night 5 hours is, but it ain't mine. So when I say Ridley slept through the night, I mean 7 hours or more. On December 2nd, she went to bed around 10pm and didn't wake up until 5:45am. I was so excited, I couldn't go back to sleep!

Of course the next night she didn't go to sleep until close to midnight and woke up twice in the night. But she's had a few more nights of full sleep since then. Last night she went to bed around 11:30p and didn't wake up again until 7:45am. I hope these nights get more and more frequent. Now we have to get her to sleep earlier! As of right now, she's asleep (went down around 9pm) and it's the earliest I've ever gotten her to sleep. Here's hoping (and knocking on wood) that tonight is a STTN night.

Bottle Battles

As I sit here typing this, Philip is in the nursery with our crying baby. We are trying to get her to take the bottle. I hadn't considered the idea that this would be an issue for us. I was so set on breastfeeding and nervous that I might not be able to do so that I made sure I did everything I could so that Ridley would take to the breast. As it turns out, she didn't have a problem taking to it at all. I was told not to introduce the bottle until she was at least four to six weeks old for fear she would prefer the bottle and not go back to the breast. We'll that's definitely not Ridley. She hasn't taken any types of pacifiers either. We've tried a couple of different types of bottle nipples to no avail and we've tried every suggestion we've come across. She has taken about an ounce or so before, but that's been rare. My mother-in-law watched her for us for a couple of hours and said she drank an ounce "under protest." Mostly she'll cry until she either gets the breast or falls asleep or she'll simply chew on the nipple!
She'll have to take it eventually. I will be going back to work in January and there won't be an alternative for her!

Trick or Treat and Giving Thanks

Here are a couple of pictures of Ridley's first Halloween and Thanksgiving. She didn't seem impressed this year, but I'm sure the hoopla will interest her a bit more next year.

With her great grandparents from Florida (Brewer).

Catching Up

Now that Ridley is about two months old and I'm getting a better handle on this thing we call motherhood more and more (do any of us ever really get a complete handle on it?), I've decided to pick this blog back up. What started out as a blog for my pregnancy will become a journal of Ridley's growth and development. I want to record her milestones and remember this hectic and crazy time in our lives. Of course the hectic and crazy aspect of our lives is what will make it all the more difficult to keep the blog up to date, but I'm going to do my best! I'm not sure how many people are still reading this blog or will come back to see it grow, but that doesn't matter to me as much as keeping a record for me and for Ridley. But for those of you here, thanks! And I hope you get a kick out of the Buehler Family journey!

3 weeks old

We had some pictures taken today! Ridley is 3 weeks old as of tomorrow. It's both gone by fast and seems like forever. We're still adjusting, but I think we're beginning to really find a rhythm and routine now. Here are a couple of teaser photos:

Birth Story

Experiencing childbirth was definitely a life experience that I won't ever forget. It was everything I expected and then some. It was certainly painful. Mine was long. And it was rewarding.

I started to have regular contractions Wednesday evening (the 6th) and thought I was in early labor. I went to bed that night to conserve energy and hoped to wake up with stronger contractions that would let me know I was really in labor. But I woke up the next morning and the contractions had stopped.

"Another day, still pregnant," is what I thought to myself and I continued on with my normal day by heading into work. I was greeted with the same greetings I'd been getting all week: "Still no baby?!" "When are you going to have that baby?!" and "You're still here?!" But then an hour and a half after getting to work, I started to have contractions again. I timed them for the next three hours (without saying anything to my co-workers) to make sure they weren't false alarms and that they were regular. By 1:30p they were still happening and they were still regular. I decided to tell my boss and co-workers and head home. I was still cautiously optimistic that I was in labor, not totally sure. But if it was going to get worse, I didn't want to be stuck at work!

I called Philip and arrived home. I also called my Aunt Tammi, who had agreed to be backup help for me and Philip when I went into labor. After she arrived it soon become obvious that I was definitely in true labor. My contractions were getting stronger and more intense and they weren't letting up. I spent the next several hours laboring at home: walking up and down our road, sitting, meditating, laying down, and doing what I could to get through contractions and hopefully get closer to the ultimate goal: 10 cm dilation! I kept checking in with my midwife via the phone to let her know my progress.

During this time, I feel that I dealt with labor pretty well. It was definitely painful, but I used pain management techniques I had learned in childbirth classes and rode them out. The contractions were hills and valleys and I rode through them. Towards the early morning hours, as it approached 1:00am, the contractions were getting stronger still, and I even threw up at one point, nauseous from the pain. Around this time, I thought that my water may have broken and decided it was time to head to the hospital. We called my midwife and she said she'd meet us there.

After getting to the hospital and checking in, I was at 6 cm. I got the labor and delivery room I had wanted: the one with the laboring bath tub! It was the first thing I did when we got there: I took a nice warm bath. The water definitely helped with the pain.

This is where things really get foggy for me. I lost all sense of time because of the pain and remembering specific things seems almost as if I dreamed it instead of lived it. I was having double and triple contractions without any breaks in between. Even between contractions, I still felt an enormous amount of pressure because my water had not broken and Ridley was very low already (she was ready to come out!). Basically, I labored for a few more hours until I was at 7 cm and then labored for another 6 hours and didn't progress at all, even after they broke my water for me. It was at that point, at 7 cm and holding, that I was offered a small dose of stadol.

Now, you all know I wanted to have a natural childbirth. And I was still holding strong against getting an epidural. But when I was offered Stadol by my midwife Mary and was told it would simply let my body rest in between contractions for a short while, I took it. I took the smallest dose they gave, but I took it. The big down side was that I also would need a small dose of Pitocin. I was really not happy about that, but in that moment, I wanted and needed the promise of a small break.

The Stadol lasted about an hour. I would wake up for the contractions, but got to rest in between. When the Stadol wore off, the Pitocin didn't waste time kicking in. If my natural contractions were hills and valleys, the Pitocin contractions were freight trains. They were a different beast! At this point they had me on a monitor to measure my contractions and the baby's heartbeat (another concession I had to make in order to take the Stadol--before that I was completely untethered and free to move around). Philip and Tammi said they would watch the monitor and see the contraction go off the chart and not come back down. But it certainly worked, because after only an hour or so of that, I was ready to push.

The pushing was by far the easiest part of labor for me. I was doing something, progressing and feeling like an active member of birthing Ridley into the world instead of simply getting through pain. I pushed for about 30 minutes and Ridley was born. They placed her immediately up on my chest and cleaned her off there. It was an amazing moment. I finally got to meet my daughter! She had a head full of hair and beautiful bright and alert eyes. I didn't think she looked like either Philip or me, but looked gorgeous and perfect.

All in all it was a 29 hour labor. Ridley was born 8 pounds, 6 ounces , 19.5 inches long at 3:27pm. Philip and Tammi were my rocks! I never would have gotten through it without them. They were by my side even when I didn't want anyone to touch me, they supported me when I would completely let go while standing up during a contraction, and they definitely heard some choice words leave my mouth!

It was all worth it! Ridley is adorable, precious and growing every day! She's at 9lbs2oz at her last checkup (2 week check up). My girl!

Happy Birthday, Ridley!

Ridley chose October 8th, 2010 at 3:27pm as her birthday! She weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and measured 19.5 inches long. We are so happy that she is with us! Tomorrow she'll be 2 weeks old! It's hard to believe it's been 2 weeks already! I've been slack in updating this blog for obvious reasons. But I just wanted to touch base quickly with a quick picture of the new Buehler family addition. I plan to update the blog with our birth story and more pictures later when I find the time (aka in between feedings and while Ridley is sleeping).

Thank you all for keeping up with the blog, and thank you for all welcoming little one into the world!!

Non-Stress Test and Ultrasound

I went to the hospital today in order to have a non-stress test and ultrasound done. The purpose of the ultrasound was to check my fluid and make sure Ridley had plenty. They told me I actually have more than most 41 week pregnant women, but was definitely still in the normal range. So that's good news!
Then they performed the non-stress test. I sat in a bed with a monitor on my tummy for thirty minutes while they measured Ridley's heart rate and my contractions with how Ridley reacted to them. She did wonderfully! The nurse said that when I had a contraction, it was good that Ridley's heart rate increased, showing that the placenta was giving her plenty of nutrients to get excited.
Then my midwife Mary came and checked up on me. She can't tell me when I'll go into labor of course, but she said she was very confident that I would go on my own before needing to be induced by next Wednesday. That lifted a big weight off my chest. The looming "deadline" of getting an induction next week was probably my biggest worry.
Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers!

The World is My Waiting Room

Day 5 past due date:

Phil has been trying very hard to get my mind off wondering and waiting for Ridley to arrive. I feel fine physically, but mentally I feel like I've been waiting for five months instead of days.

This weekend was about trying all the wives' tales we could think of to encourage little one to come along. On Saturday, we went to Riverfest in downtown Wilmington and walked. And walked. And walked. I came home and danced around my living room (jumping around and acting ridiculous!) for an hour.

Today we had Indian food for lunch (yummy!) in order for the spicy content to take effect. We walked some more around the mall. I even tried sitting on top of the washing machine while it was running because someone at work told me it would help. Well, it didn't hurt! But no labor pains yet...

And the other suggestion that usually comes with a *wink*wink* and *nudge*nudge*? Well, I'm telling you, we've tried everything this weekend short of castor oil!

One of my midwives actually gave me a call today to see how I was doing. I thought that was nice. Of course she told me that I was fine, that it was normal with a first time pregnancy to be overdue and that I'm not even a week late. Relax! Easier said than done. It's the only thing anyone else wants to talk to me about, it's the only thing I can think about, and there's no telling when it will happen!

I was told that if I'm two weeks late, they'll suggest I get induced. I would rather not be induced. So, everyone think happy thoughts and I will try and relax. This is surely a lesson in giving up control.

As Long as We're Waiting, Here's a Picture!

Phil took this last weekend (39 weeks and 4 days prego). We were in the arboretum here in Wilmington (the same place we were married). Phil had a photography assignment and took a bunch of great photos of plants and flowers. And then we walked around. I spent ALL day walking. We left the house around 10:00am and came back home around 7:30pm and all we did in between was was walk walk walk in stores, around town, along our street.
It was a good day.

Happy Due Date!

Today is September 28, 2010. But does Ridley know that? It's not looking likely. But I am definitely ready! I just have to get my body and my baby on the same page.
Come on you two, let's do this!

Why Natural Childbirth?

I am very determined to have a natural childbirth. When I tell people this, I've gotten some pretty interesting reactions. From "Oh...well, good luck," to "Oh yeah? Well, you might as well tie your uterus to the bumper of that truck over there and pull the kid out that way; it would be less painful." (Thanks for that visual, by the way, Woman I Just Met).
But the most common reaction is simply curiosity. People want to know why I'm not opting for drugs. Why am I choosing to experience pain that is supposed to be incomparable to any other pain on earth?
I have a lot of reasons why I want to do this au' naturale. Google the question and you'll find many other women around the country giving the same reasons: because I can, because any drug given to a pregnant woman has a multiplied effect on the baby, because you never really know how a drug is going to affect you personally, because when labor is over I want it to be over and not still recovering from pain meds, because I don't want an epidural to possibly slow down my contractions and then have to be given MORE drugs to "speed me up," because...you get the idea.
Let me express that I believe this choice is for each individual woman to make. I'm not commenting or judging any other woman's decision, because the choice she made was what was best for her and her family. This is simply MY reasoning for what is best for ME and MY family. Also, I’m not saying that I won't accept medical intervention if the need arises. Of course I know that birthing is unpredictable, and I want to put the safety of Ridley and myself above all else. But when it comes to choosing my first option of how I ideally want to give birth, I choose natural.

Childbirth is THE life experience of life experiences. I have at times thought of myself as being a collector of life experiences. After all, what are we given life for if not to be experienced? We weren’t made to sit and watch from the side lines, but to get up and play the game. I get a lot of pleasure out of getting the opportunity to experience something for the first time after hearing other people try and describe it. Maybe "pleasure" isn't always the appropriate word for life experiences that aren't so positive, but I always at least find the value of having experienced something first hand for the first time.

When I was a kid, this meant riding the biggest roller coasters that I was tall enough to ride, but also getting my first ear ache. In middle school it meant kissing a boy, but also getting dumped for the first time. In high school it was testing out my independence with friends and going to prom, but also finding myself on the wrong side of the rumor mill. In college it was traveling the world, but also feeling the full weight of being homesick. After college it was getting married to an amazing man and earning money in a field of work I enjoyed, but also experiencing my first job interview rejection.

I have never been one who wanted to "dull" an experience, good or bad. Every experience we have shape who we are, how we think, and how we interact with other people in our lives. Pain is painful, but it can also be useful.

Giving birth to a child is about the most kick a$$ thing there is on the planet! What's more kick a$$ than giving birth to a new life? Not much. Talk about a "life experience!" Sorry Arnold and Sylvester, but nothing you could ever do on celluloid could match the awesome power and strength that women possess while giving birth. And half the human population doesn’t even get an opportunity to experience it! It's an experience that is only offered to women.

I understand I can experience childbirth and still have an epidural. Every woman who gives birth, no matter what her particular circumstances, has an undeniably strong memory of the event (of course!). But I’m a purist. I want to be completely present, cognizant and clear headed during the experience. I want to be in the moment. I don't want to dull any sensation because every sensation is part of the experience. I want to drink it all in and have it with me, knowing that you don’t get many opportunities to experience this Life Experience (yes, with a capital “L” and “E”). It may be the most intense pain that I'll ever feel in my life, but I'll know what that really means, completely. I'll know what every step of the labor journey feels like, from the first contraction to the last push.

If unforeseeable things occur and I end up getting an epidural or having a Cesarean section, then that is the experience that I will have collected. I don't want to feel disappointed if that happens, because of course the most important thing is the next set of life experiences I get to have throughout Ridley's life. But as an ideal, going natural is the way I want to experience childbirth.

So now you've read the entire long winded post and you can go ahead and say it: "Spoken like a woman who's never given birth." Yep. That's exactly my point.

Maternity Photos

The photos at our home are by Rhonda Howard and the beach photos are from the Dana Jackson Photography Shoot at Fort Fisher. I think I'm about 34 weeks in these shots. (Doesn't Philip look great?)

The Countdown is On...

Hello Week 39! The phone calls and texts have started: "How are you? How are you feeling?" aka "Are you in labor? Are you gonna be in labor soon? When is Ridley gonna arrive?!" Heehee.

Well, I feel great. No signs of labor or imminent labor. I was 1 cm at my last checkup, which I was told is "perfect" for 38 weeks. I have a checkup again tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I'll check my dilation again. I think I'll go crazy if it's still at 1cm. I think it's best not to know for now. I'll probably check next week though. Excitement has definitely hit, but honestly I'm trying to conserve it since I don't know if Ridley will be on time or two weeks late!

In other update news, Phil and I went to a breastfeeding class a couple of weekends ago. I know Phil just went to support me, but when we got there I think he got a lot out of it (and he definitely wasn't the only partner there). Of course the best teacher is experience, so I'm anxious to try out some of the techniques we learned.

I'm still going to prenatal yoga every week, which has been fantastic. I'm definitely the furthest along in the class now. It's strange because I remember starting the class and not really even showing yet. And then one by one there would be news of another one of the women giving birth. Finally one day after talking about the latest birth, the instructor casually asked, "So who's the next one due in here?" I looked around the room trying to access who the next Momma was going to be before noticing everyone else looking at me! "Ah, I guess I am!" It was a strange feeling and exciting at the same time.

7 days until due date. I know there won't be an immediate blog update if anything should happen, but I promise Phil and I will get the word out. We're on Ridley's schedule now!

13 days!

Less than two weeks until due date at this point! Physically, I feel pretty good, too. I'm still working and plan to work all the way up until the end. I do feel the occasional awkwardness of pregnancy throughout the day, that's for sure, but I don't feel bad by any means. And I feel lucky and grateful that I've enjoyed my pregnancy and continue to enjoy it in its final weeks.
Ridley gets the hiccups EVERY day! At least once. It's hilarious and I wonder if she'll continue to get hiccups once she is out in the world. I heard another wives' tale that frequent hiccups are a sign of a full head of hair (although I can't think of any logical reason why this would actually be true), so we'll have to see!
Last Sunday night I was having quite a few Braxton Hicks and it made me realize just how close I really am to due date! Of course I didn't feel a single one the entire next day. It's impossible to tell how far away Ridley's birthday really is. I have a checkup at the end of this week that I'm looking forward to if only to perhaps find out if my body is progressing towards labor yet or not (last time I was checked two weeks ago I was 1/2 a cm dilated).

But in the meantime, here are a few pictures of me at 38 weeks. I don't think the pictures really do justice to the size of my baby belly, but it's close.

38 weeks

A full shot of the belly photo

This was after walking the dogs in the evening.

Under Ridley's Tree

Updated Nursery Pictures:

Overall view

Butterfly on the wall. A little 3D art.

Where I'm sure to spend many late night/early morning feedings!

There's that monkey again with the incredible mobile Stephanie made.

The already cluttered bookshelf and changing table/dresser.

An Aunt Elizabeth original little rocker with a Mama Creech original doll (1984 edition).

Ridley's latest picture on display.

Sadie inspects the room.

Nine Months

I hit 36 weeks this past Tuesday. Amazing. We've been planning for, talking about, and dreaming about Ridley the entire year of 2010! Whew. And now we're very close to finally getting to meet her. We'll see what her little face looks like, what kind of baby she is and how much trouble we're in with her!

People are asking me how excited I am. And I'm very excited! I am also nervous, scared, happy, curious, etc. I'm just a ball of emotions. Phil is excited and I'd say a little nervous too.

We received our car seat and stroller yesterday (thanks, Tammi!), I have washed her little clothes with mild detergent, and I have all the cloth diapers I could fit under the changing table. We even have a borrowed cradle all set up and ready to rock (thanks, Felicia and Wendy!). And when we travel or go to Grammy's and Grandma's, we have an entire portable nursery (aka a play yard with bassinet, changing pad and mobile--thanks, Mom!). I guess we're all set up, though it doesn't entirely feel like we're ready! Does it ever?

Any gamblers out there want to place bets on when Ridley will decide to arrive? ;-)

Here is my 36 week and 1 day tummy photo:

36 weeks 1 day

September's Here!

The countdown is on! Hello September, aka the month of Ridley's due date. She's due on September 28th, but of course we'll have to see when she decides to arrive. She could decide to wait until October. I've heard that the last month of your pregnancy feels like the longest for this exact reason: you don't really know when your pregnancy is going to end! Since I'm a big planner, this is probably going to drive me crazy. But all I can do is make sure everything is ready for her and attempt to stay mentally busy with other tasks so that it isn't the only thing I'm thinking about (much easier said than done).

Phil Hard at Work

Throughout our preparations for little Ridley, Philip has been doing a lot of work. He put together the crib, the cradle we just borrowed, and our new high chair (thanks, Corinne!). Not to mention he completely refinished the glider (thanks to Stephanie for reupholstering the cushions)! Here are a few pictures:

Putting together the high chair.

Finished!

Testing it out.

The monkey seems to approve.

This is the BEFORE picture of the glider.

Philip spray painting the frame.

The finished product! That monkey is a bit of a camera hound.

32 and 34 Week Belly Photos

Last couple of belly photos:

32 weeks 1 day

34 weeks and 1 day