The Schmidt Family Grows: Updates

I decided I need to actually update this thing with words instead of just pictures. This is the first time in quite some time I've found SOME time! :) Go figure, Adam is on a business trip, therefore I have time. :) He's actually on his LAST business trip until the baby gets here, so we are forbidden to go into labor until Friday night or after. Fine by me! I finally made a list of all necessary IEPs and other paperwork that needs to be done before Baby Schmidt makes her real-life appearance and while it's a lot, it's quite do-able pending she is at least close to her due date and not super early. I've got several dismissals that can/will happen which is always a good thing - it means the kids have been successful and are ready to be done with speech! Love those!

Alright, updates and questions I've had and had answered the past week or so.

I've been having some pretty hard Braxton Hicks contractions (BHCs) the past few days. They are not painful and still asymmetrical so those are good signs that nothing major is going to happen any time soon (meaning tomorrow). Ideally we'll wait until 37 weeks (a week from tomorrow) and then she can come anytime since that's considered full-term. However, if she comes anytime really, she'll be fine. She's just getting fat now and building lung strength. The BHCs are a little uncomfortable (would almost consider it a hurt, but not really) when I get them right after getting up to go get a student. It seems like this happens frequently at my elementary schools on T/TH mornings. Enough about those.
Holy dropping baby! I got even more comments on the baby dropping and looking lower today. This seems to happen mainly on Wednesdays as I swear she knows the one day of the week when I will be up and down off the floor all day. Thankfully, 2 of my 5 canceled today for one reason or another so the day was not too bad. LONG (10 hrs) but not bad physically. But now next week and the week after are packed.
Monday is the day we see if I've made any progress thus far. My 36-week appt (which SHOULD be tomorrow, but Adam's out of town and I want him there for this one) is scheduled for Monday. While there, I will get a Strep-B (I think that's what it's called) test to make sure I'm not a carrier and could give it to the baby during delivery and then be checked for dilation and effacement (thinning of my cervix). Usually not much is going on and I could be dilated maybe 2cm which really doesn't mean much. I've had a few friends walk around for a week or two there but it could be even longer. I'm pretty excited about that appt (even if it is uncomfortable) just to see where things are. Maybe the doctor will tell me exactly how much time I have left for paperwork...ha. Wishful thinking.
Let's see, what else. The baby's been moving quite a bit lately although she does so in spurts. For example, Monday's sunrise brought with it a very wiggly little baby who does not like to be lightly squished on either side while trying to be full length in my belly. Tuesday brought a little more laid back baby, and then this morning, I wanted her to wake up again. So we cranked up the radio, sang along, and rubbed around the belly until she started to move a little. She then slept the rest of the morning (after "helping" out with the first 0-3 kiddo) and then woke up around lunch time to tell me we were grossly overdue to eat. She never stopped until just a little bit ago after supper. Whew! Funny 0-3 story later...
So I'm pretty sure we've got a baptism date set. We're likely going to have her baptism the Sunday of Thanksgiving, and that way those who would attend can do the Thanksgiving thing all the way up until Saturday at home in WI if they want, and then caravan down for the baptism on Sunday 10:45am. 99% sure about this.
Heavy me. So I'm not necessarily feeling "fat" like I thought I would feel towards the end of a pregnancy, but I AM feeling rather huge in terms of just the belly alone. For example, Sunday in church, it sort of hurt to kneel as in the pressure on my knees was more than I am used to. I later sat on one of our kitchen chairs (not padded) and had to get up within 5 minutes b/c I swear my butt bones (for lack of technical terms) were going to poke right through my cheeks! Ow! And then there's rolling over...ha! So anyway, I'm feeling pretty heavy and couldn't IMAGINE being 30lbs+ heavier than I normally am on a regular basis. Maybe I wouldn't notice if it was regular. Which it WON'T be after this growing munchkin is OUT. :)

Sorry this is turning into the world's longest post, but it's an update/catch up one so that's how it goes. My funny 0-3 story...today I had a little 2 y/o who kept trying to sit on my lap, would bounce off the belly, try again, bounce off, and this went on for about 3-4 tries. I just laughed. Hilarious. Cute little kid...had no clue what was going on. Her mom tried telling her "there's a baby in there!" and the little girl just turned, looked at my belly like "get outta my way!" and tried again...bounce...

In other non-baby news, my close friend from grad school, Meg, is ENGAGED!! Congrats to her & Trey and I'm so excited!! She's marrying someone I haven't met but from descriptions, I think she's found a VERY good match. Woo hoo!

Ok, finally, here are some pictures of an updated (but NOT finished) nursery. On Sunday, the plan is to send Adam golfing (ok, he already told me he was going so I'm just taking advantage of the situation) and then go buy whatever is left to finish up decorating the baby's nursery. Don't tell him that's my plan - we're using last-minute shopping for Julie's wedding next weekend as our excuse. ;) Likely he'll read this Sunday night after it's too late...Bwah ha ha ha ha! This is where I'm the best mommy ever. And will be reprimanded later as NOT best WIFE ever. :) Than he should come with me instead of golfing. Cunning, no? :) Anyway, enjoy the pictures and sometime in the next few days we'll post the 36-week belly pictures. Can you believe that? I think that officially makes me 9 months pregnant. Wow...she's almost here...