Almost There

I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile, but I have enjoyed putting myself through a sick form of torture in seeing those pictures of yummy sweets pop up every time I looked at the blog! See, I have an addiction! :) Truthfully, things have been nice and boring around the Hendrickson household lately. It's funny to think that in a few more weeks I probably will never be able to say that again though!

At our appointment two weeks ago, we talked about when would be a good time to take out my cerclage. Dr. K. said there's a fine line to walk as far as that goes because she doesn't want to take the stitches out too soon and then I go into labor because they're not there anymore, but she doesn't want to wait too long and my body begin to labor and the baby tears through the stitches. I prefer to not have my stitches torn through either. I told her that I really believe this baby will be "full term", as that is what I and so many others have prayed. (This pregnancy has taught me to believe in prayer!) Obviously, she would love for this baby to be full term as well. Since 37 weeks is considered full term, she said she would be comfortable doing the c-section then and removing the stitches during the surgery. I liked that idea a lot. Remember, these stitches have been in since I was 13 weeks pregnant, and I am a little afraid of how it's going to feel to have them removed. If we do it during the surgery, I'll be comfortably numb! However, if at 37 weeks things are going great, we could wait to 38 weeks.

We went back today for our last bi-weekly appointment. From this point on, we'll be visiting weekly. Today was also our last scheduled ultrasound before Little Man's birth. It's so exciting to know that the next time we see him will be when he's born! Everything looked very good during the ultrasound. Cooper's still measuring pretty big (about 2 weeks ahead). His head and stomach are big for his age, but his leg bone is actually slightly small for his age. He's going to be a short and plump baby. He's going to be the Pillsbury Dough Boy! :) Based on his measurements, his estimated weight today was 6 lbs, 7 ozs. After the ultrasound, we met with the doctor, and she said she is still thinking we'll do the c-section between 37 and 38 weeks (within the next 3-4 weeks).

We're almost there!

Sweet as Sugar

Oh how I miss my sweets! With this restrictive diet, I am always hungry, which means I spend most of the day thinking about food, and that of course just leads to additional hunger. What a vicious cycle! Last night I almost cried watching Cake Boss, and the Food Network is now off limits for me. Oh, and there's a new show coming on TLC called D.C. Cupcakes. Every time a preview comes on, I stare longingly at those delicious looking creations. Cupcakes are my weakness, and these look especially divine. I find myself even getting emotional looking through a cookbook. Yesterday I was trying to find a chicken recipe, and before I knew it, I had flipped over to the desserts section. I just couldn't help but look at those yummy recipes and drool over what I can't eat! I've realized sweets are my dirty obsession. I know I'm only hurting myself by looking because thankfully I have enough self control to not indulge in this love of mine, but yet I can't seem to refrain from the looking. Let's face it, I'm addicted. Is there such thing as sugar rehab?

The first step is admitting your have a problem, right?

Well then, my name is Allison, and I am a sugar addict.

A little of this, a little of that

We've been enjoying the lazy days of summer as we get ready for Little Man's arrival. Karl got me a new camera for my birthday, and I've been learning all the tricks it does. Since we have been so lazy lately, my pictures aren't very entertaining, but I thought I'd share anyway.

We've been working on not only Cooper's nursery but on turning our house into Babyville. It's pretty amazing how something so little can completely transform your home before he even arrives.

Here is the much anticipated crib!

A view of the nursery from the doorway-we're not completely done, but we're getting close. Sadie loves to hang out in here. Last night she got out of bed, and after a little while, I decided to get up and see where she was. She was just sitting in the glider. Her favorite thing so far has been coming in Cooper's room and trading toys. She'll leave one of her toys in there and take one of his. At least she's trying to share.

This is Cooper's bathroom.

The pack-and-play is all set up (thank you, Jennifer) by my nightstand. I love that it's the first thing I see in the morning when I wake up!

Little Man's swing is put together (but still missing batteries) in our living room. The blue and brown quilt in it was a gift that one of the moms in a past class made for the baby. It's really beautiful.

The belly at 31 weeks, 5 days

Although you can't see from this picture, Little Man is practicing his kickboxing skills and warm up stretches. He has been a very active stretcher and kicker today. That's still my favorite thing about pregnancy!

The swelling has begun! The rings have been put away until sometime after September 4th.

Just thought I'd share what my feet and ankles look like too.

Outside of getting the nursery and house ready for our little baby, I've been spoiling this little girl rotten lately. We've had a lot of bonding time since school got out!

Sadie gets so very excited when she hears her daddy comes home!

She goes crazy for him. She runs in big circles (while peeing all over the place) and whines and rolls and just celebrates his return...even if he's only been gone for 30 minutes. I don't get that response when I get home. I'm a little jealous about that too.

And after all the commotion, she has to lay down for a minute and rest.

I can always count on her being willing to be lazy with me these days.