Any day now!

So I went in for my almost 38 week check up today. I gained the one pound that I lost last week. My heart rate and the baby’s heart rate were great. The doctor asked if these storms have been bothering me. And YES they have been. All weekend I was pretty uncomfortable and was having a lot of contractions. Apparently when the barometric pressure drops it sends a lot of women into labor. And we've got three more storms coming this week! He checked me and said I’m ALMOST dilated to a 3! And I’m still 70% effaced. He said it could be any day now. Let’s cross our fingers that it’s sooner than later. I’m hoping that was my last check up, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. We’ll keep you posted.

Fuel on the Ducky Fire

So, I thought that writing a post about Brady's rubber ducky obsession might embarrass him a little and maybe hinder his love for the duckies. Nope... I think it just added fuel to the ducky fire. This morning Brady and I were cleaning our apartment. I was in one room and I could hear him bustling around clearing things up in the other room. Suddenly he was really quiet. That's when I got suspicious. I walked into the bathroom and this is what I found....

Yup, Brady was playing with the duckies! He then asked me very seriously, "What ducky do you think Stockton is going to pick first?" I told him I didn't know, we'll just have to see. He continued to tell me what awesome rubber duckies these are and how they were a "great investment."

Aside from the duckies, Brady was also pretty excited about the baby monitor we bought. He got it out and charged it, then he wanted to test it out. So he gave me the "speaker" part and he went into the other room. Then he started making little baby noises, he made the little baby grunts that he says sounds like a car trying to start. Then he burst into a huge "WAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" I was laughing so hard! Needless to say the monitor works great!

Ducky Devotion

It has been a blast watching Brady prepare to be Daddy. Somethings he just doesn't care about (like how excited I was for the little tiny newborn diapers) then there are other things that he is OBSESSED about! Like .... Rubber Duckies! At my shower my Aunt Rhea gave me two little rubber duckies with sailor hats on. I set all of the baby's bath stuff in a basket and put the duckies on top of the wash clothes.

When Brady saw it he freaked! He loved the little duckies and got all excited for Stockton to play with them. Then the other night we went to Babies R Us to get some baby essentials. We walked by the tub toys and I reminded Brady that we had registered for some other rubber duckies, but we didn't get them from anyone. These were little sports rubber duckies. He just couldn't resist and he had to buy them! When we got home he opened the package right away and set the rubber duckies up by the other ones. Of course the basketball ducky is in front. He said that when Stockton's in the tub we'll set all the sport duckies in there and whichever one he grabs first that's the sport he'll play. Every time Brady sees the duckies he makes a comment and I just thought it was a cute little fetish.

Well, last night I realized it was a little more serious than I suspected. I had just done a load of laundry and the cream colored wash cloth was in there, so I took the rubber duckies off put the wash cloth down on top and put the ducks back in the order that I thought they had been in. A little while later Brady saw it and he got all worried and yelled to me, "Someone's been messing with the rubber duckies!" He was seriously concerned. I can't believe he even noticed! At that moment I knew he was obsessed.

Oh, and by the way... Brady took these pictures. I was laughing so hard when he did. Then when I asked if he wanted to get in one of the pictures he said, "No! It's is not about me, it's about the duckies!"

Weekly Update

So I went in for my weekly appointment. It went a little differently than I expected, but nothing too drastic, just a couple of surprises.

Surprise #1- I lost one pound. I don't know whether to attribute that to my steady diet of eclairs, brownies, and candy bars, or if it was the fact that I had different (lighter) shoes on and I no sweater this time. But, my guess is it was the change of clothes.

Surprise #2 - My blood pressure was a little higher than usual, but not much.

Surprise #3 - The nurse thought my uterus was measuring SMALLER than last week, she's new so she had the other nurse come in to measure. This other nurse said I measured 35 cm, the exact same as last week, which is unusual for me, but they weren't alarmed.

Surprise #4 - The doctor checked me and said, "WOW! That baby is low!" But, I haven't dilated any more, but I am now 70% effaced.

Surprise #5 - I tested positive for group B strep. That is not strep throat. It's a bacteria that a lot of people carry in their bodies and it doesn't harm them, but it can pass to the baby during labor. So as a precaution they will put me on antibiotics during my labor.

So a few little surprises, but nothing too drastic or harmful.

Head's down! Thumbs up!

So, I've started going in for checkups once week now. I went in yesterday. I was really nervous, because I was convinced that the baby was transverse (horizontal) in my tummy! I could feel two big bumps on either side of my belly. I even had a dream that I went to the Dr. and he said the baby was horizontal and that I had to come back the next day at noon and he was going to try to get the baby to turn. But, the doctor checked things out and he said the baby's head is definitely down! So that's a big thumbs up!!! So what are those two bumps I can feel? I guess the baby just has really big elbows or something. Who knows. I am also dialated to a 1 and 60% effaced. Everything else is going just great. Babies heart rate was around 138, my blood pressure is good, and I've gained about the right amount of weight (okay, maybe a little more, but not much! I swear the Dr.'s scale is off) But, everything is just great and we are so happy!

Whites, darks, brights... BLUES?

So, today I'm washing all of little Baby Stockton's clothes, getting ready for his big arrival. I separated them all out into 4 loads- whites, darks, brights, and BLUES!!! And yes, the blue load was the biggest! I've never seen so much blue in my life! But, I love it! Every cute little outfit or blankie I throw in I have to make some little comment to myself, in baby talk of course. Like "Oh, cute little softness!" "Oh, the cutie little Jazz outfit!" "Oh, the cutie little puppy dogs!" (Yes, everything is cute and little... and BLUE!)

Meet Emily Raquel

This is the new born daughter of a family I lived with in my last area in Peru. I only lived with them for 6 weeks, but we got really close. This is the family that helped us when Brady and I were mugged in Peru last year. Well, they recently had another daughter and named her Emily Raquel. Emily is after the sister missionary that was in the area before me, Raquel is after me!!! Isn't that so crazy? I have a little Peruvian girl named after me!

I Recommend Making this Mistake

So, this weekend I made some oatmeal applesauce cookies. Last time I made way too many, so I halved the recipe. When they were done I tried them, and they tasted great, and I couldn't figure out why I liked them so much more this time around. Usually Brady doesn't like those cookies, but this time that he ate tons! I didn't even realize until the middle of the night while I was laying in bed awake that I had forgotten to half the chocolate chips! But, I highly recommend it. Cookies are great with twice the chocolate! And needless to say, the cookies are just about gone!