38 weeks

And the broken record continues....

I still continue to feel really great.  Sure, rolling over in bed is not easy and any sudden movements are a thing of the past, but overall I'm doing just great.

Based on the amount of heartburn I've had, this baby is going to come out bald.  Oh well!  My ankles are swelling like crazy, but actually go all of the way back down at night and I get to start afresh every day.  I don't feel like I've reached that c'ankle stage yet, but will be sure to document that when it happens (I know you are all holding your breath for that one).

At my doctor's appointment today, everything continued to look good.  My blood pressure was "excellent," the baby's heartrate was "great" and I'm measuring right on.  I did elect to have the doctor check me this time as I have had a few contractions (something I've never experienced with my other two pregnancies).  I am dilated to 2 cm and am 50% effaced.  The doctor told me that she would see me in a week, maybe.  Translated into KaLee-ese that means that I'll see her in a week.  I hate when they tell you things like that and then you think that it may really happen and the anxiousness starts, etc. so I'm just planning on having a baby around my due date as I don't think I'll go much earlier than that.  Especially since I have yet to have two contractions in a row.

I still haven't packed that hospital bag, but I do have a list so I'm on the right track.  I did decide to pack the things that I don't use on a regular basis (or at all yet) and then have a list with the bag of the other things I'll need to grab as we head out.  The nice thing is that I feel like I can always send Ronnie home to get what I want post baby.  In fact, I don't think we'll even take the going home outfits, blankets or carseat in the initial trip as that stuff just clutters up the room/car.

So tell me this...what things did you just love having at the hospital and what things did you not touch?  For me, I used my hard-soled slippers and robe like crazy (for all of those laps around the hospital floor pre-baby) but aside from a zip up hoodie jacket, I have never put on normal clothes until it is time to go home.  It's just too hard to deal with the layers all of the time, but the hoodie gives the appearance of being "presentable" for visitors and pictures.

Things I've done incorrectly?  With Easton we left the carseat in the car (in December) until it was time to load him up and then we had to wait for about 30 minutes for the nurses to heat it up with warm blankets enough that he could sit in it.  With Kendree, I neglected to make sure the video camera was charged, so we got a few minutes of record time and then had to wait for that to charge for an hour or so.