Sophia's first week

We've had a pretty busy week here, but managed to get some pictures...

Welcome Sophia Lee

Born Wednesday, April 9 2008, 7:54 AM

Weight 8 pounds, 3 ounces

Height 19 inches

Absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way (yes, I'm completely biased). We are all recovering well and getting to know our brand new daughter.

I'm going to miss my womb-mate

About 24 hours from now and we'll get to meet our baby! After all this time of guessing what she looks like, who's features she'll have, how big she'll be, what her personality will be like, etc. and so forth--it now just seems completely surreal that I have a baby inside me and she is coming out tomorrow. Craziness.
My womb-mate was just served her 24 hour eviction notice. I told her to start packing up over breakfast of Eggo waffles and syrup, which I know she loves because it really gets her motor running in the morning.
I'm really going to miss the close quarters we've shared for the last 9+ months. It's been, to put it in a really sappy way, magical. So here's my top 3 list of what I'll miss most about my little incubated tenant:

1. Daily pep talks on growing and thriving, which she apparently took quite literally since she's measuring so large.
2. Feeling all her movements and hiccups and trying to guess what part of her body is moving, especially waking up and feeling her wake up too, slowly tickling and then stretching and then the full blown rolling and kicking.
3. Knowing I have her with me 24/7 safe and sound and snuggly, not worrying too much about if I'm doing the right thing and if I'm a good mommy. She's pretty easy to take care of right now.

Pre-labor

I've been having quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions in the last few days. Last night was a record for me, and although it's not the real deal, it's been nice to get an idea of what labor might be like. Yeah, call me nuts but I really want to experience labor, and if I have to have the c-section then this will have to somewhat satisfy my curiosity. I have my weekly Dr. appointment with the on-call Dr. tomorrow because my Dr. doesn't get back from vacation until Mon. I'm interested to see of there's been any changes, and still holding out his baby may decide to turn around. Whatever happens, I'm getting really excited to finally meet this baby!

Changing direction a little bit, I want to share some things that I never realized I'd appreciate until poof--gone. Of course, there are probably tons of things through life that are deeper and more meaningful than this following list. Even in a few months I'm sure I'll forget these were important to me at this time. However, the last nine months have produced a lot of change with my body and I hope to get back the old me eventually.

If I get my body back close to where it once was...

• I will never call myself fat again. I can't believe I was so skinny, actually.
• I will never brag that I can bend over and flatten my hands to the ground, beyond touching my toes. Right now I'm lucky to bend over to the point my hands extend the reach of my knees.
• I will be thankful to change positions in bed, blissfully asleep and unaware my body can move with such ease.
• I will fully appreciate my bladder and it's capacity to store more than an ounce of fluid.
• I will run a little bit harder and jump a little bit higher.

38 weeks

Change of plans

I'm not one for surprises, of any kind. I was prepared for most of the labor and delivery surprises that I've read about and felt pretty confident that I'd let this baby decide how that was going to go. Now that's a lot for me, because I can be a little bit of a control freak. However, it was not in my plans for this baby to "have my poor sense of direction" as Rick says. So the baby is breech, butt down and head up. Wrong direction for a normal delivery to take place. And due to her enormous size, apparently the chances of her turning on her own are slim. I am still holding out that she turns because Rick and I are typically on the lower odds scale of life. Nothing ever comes easy for us, why should this be any different, right?

Back to her weight, I measured 5 weeks ahead of a normal size baby. The Dr. could be up to a pound off, but it's looking like she's exceeding the 9 lb estimate. So even if she does decide to flip around and head in the right direction, I might still be faced with the fact that this baby just won't fit out of the birth canal.

We have a c-section scheduled for next week, so if things continue the way they are, we'll get to see this baby sooner than expected! Although I am not happy about the change of plans regarding a c-section, I am very happy to start our family and hold this little stubborn miracle growing inside me, waiting to come out. But maybe she could be less dramatic on her exit, and do her parents a favor and just head in the right direction??

Wrapping things up

Although not officially 100% complete on all the baby preparedness, I have to say I'm 99.99% there. My checklist has a few lingering items, but nothing major. Whew! The past two nights I have been half sleeping, going through all my lists in my head to make sure I got everything I need, or reminding myself to write down things I still need to get. It's exhausting!

I start to see my Dr. every week now, to see how things are progressing. I feel a little bit like a watched pot, not quit ready to boil.

36 weeks

Rockin' 'n rollin'

Not sure if the baby is getting restless or bored in there, but she sure has been moving around a lot. Maybe she's put on more weight and the movements are that much more definable. A few times I swear she's found my bladder and decided to press on it as hard as her little arms can muster. Other times, I think she's trying to see how far she can stick her butt out and stretch her living quarters. And she likes to tickle me too. I've never been ticklish, but somehow she can get her toes into the inside of my rib cage and just so very gently poke repeatedly. I have to say this is one of the coolest stages of movement since when I first felt the baby move. Especially when she really gets going and my belly shakes so much it moves the chair.

34 weeks