40+4... and more

Just wanted to write a quick update. It's almost midnight on Tuesday, June 27th. As of tomorrow, I'll be 5 days past my due date and we're still waiting for Baby!

Monday's Appointment
We had an appointment yesterday morning. I asked Mr. Merman to go with me in case they do anything exciting. He worked from home so that he could go, and I'm so glad he did!

The midwife checked my cervix, which was 1 cm. dilated. I was about 70% effaced. We had discussed stripping my membranes prior to her checking. She said that I could make the decision once we determined if I was dilated or not. (I didn't realize that meant that I had to decide while her fingers were up in there)! Imagine the awkwardness of me trying to make a decision while her hand is still in my hoo-haa with a finger in my cervix. After a moment she said, "Okay. Let's make a decision, this is starting to get weird." I wanted to die laughing!

I told Mr. Merman to grab my hand and told her, "Just do it!" It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It was slightly uncomfortable but I had a hand to squeeze. Afterwards, she told me that I may experience cramping and bleeding so I got a mini-pad to wear. Then she wanted us to have an ultrasound to see how things were growing and make sure baby was doing okay.

Merbaby's sweet smushed up face

We got to see out little baby's smushed up face again! He's measuring around 7 lbs. 9 oz. now and is doing great! Our midwife was called into labor and delivery during our ultrasound so we met with a different midwife to go over the results, which were all great! But she said that the baby is measuring a little behind, more like 38 weeks. If the due date was based on his measurements, it would be July 9th. However, the measurements are just an estimate and could be off so they don't base any decisions moving forward on these calculations. (THANK GOODNESS)! I keep reminding them that we did IVF so we know the exact day of conception, which means there is no doubt about how far along I am at this point. They always nod their heads in agreement and assure me that they are aware of this.

The next step: Just keep waiting. If he's not here by Friday, we have a non-stress test scheduled that morning. Assuming everything looks good, we will continue to wait but will schedule an induction for the following week as they must be scheduled a week in advance. I'd really like to go into labor on my own so let's hope he starts pushing his way out.

Oh! I almost forgot! He's still sunny side-up but has turned slightly to my right. I like to think that the Baby Spinning has helped with that. We still haven't tried the Rebozo but will definitely be doing that soon.

After the appointment, we grabbed some lunch and headed home. I only had a little bit of cramping. It reminded me of the cramping I experienced after the HSG and other infertility procedures. I felt good enough to go to the gym with Mr. Merman last night. I walked on the treadmill for about an hour while he did his whole workout. And of course, the walking didn't cause any contractions whatsoever! :(

Today has been pretty uneventful, as well. I got my eyebrows waxed this morning then grabbed some Starbucks and perused my way around Target just to kill time and get out of the house. My stroll through Target resulted in buying a black nightie for delivery, Depends diapers for after delivery, and more massive pads for the weeks following.

Eggplant Parmesan
There's an Italian restaurant nearby that is known for helping women go into labor. All a woman has to do is eat the Eggplant Parmesan and she can expect to go into labor within 48 hours. They even have an "Eggplant Baby" wall with pictures of all the babies that were born within 48 hours of their mom eating this meal. Unfortunately, the meal isn't gluten free but the recipe is posted on their website. This means that I can make it at home and substitute my own ingredients to make it gluten-free! I purchased all the ingredients tonight and am going to make it for dinner tomorrow.

As I was checking out, the cashier saw all the eggplant and asked if I was past my due date cause she just knew that's why I was buying it. Then they all complimented me on "looking great" for being overdue and wished me luck! If he's not here by tomorrow... maybe this meal will do the trick!

Mucus Plug?
I may or may not be losing my mucus plug. I was told to expect bleeding after the membrane sweep but never had any. However, there was definitely something in my panties tonight that looked like it could be part of a mucus plug. I ran out of the bathroom to tell my husband, who got overly excited! He googled images to see if that's what was happening but none of them looked like what I had seen. However, I know that you can slowly lose it over a few days so for now, I'm assuming that's what's happening. I'm feeling a ton of pressure down there so maybe... just maybe... "M" is working his way out??


PS: I'm avoiding bathroom construction talk because I'm over it. But things are finally progressing in that area. Our project manager just quit! He no longer works for the company so we've got someone else taking over the job. He came out today to look at everything, which actually helped move things along. We were able to sit down and go through pricing and come up with a total of what we owe so far and an estimated cost for completion. Hallelujah! If this baby doesn't come soon, we may actually get this bathroom finished before he gets here. :)

Still Hanging In There

Yep... I'm still pregnant. 40 weeks + 1 day.

Due Date Belly

How did I spend my due date? Trying not to think about my due date!

Of course, I woke up extremely early (when my husband was getting up for work) and couldn't get comfortable enough to go back to sleep. I threw on some workout clothes and took the dog to the park. My plan was to walk 2 miles but it felt SO GOOD outside yesterday morning. With all the rain we've had and the tropical storms, a cold front has come through so it was a beautiful 70ish degrees and overcast. There weren't a lot of people at the park and Piper was in heaven. So I decided I'd just keep walking as long as she didn't seem to be getting tired or overheated. And we walked a total of 3.15 miles in a little less than an hour! Did this do anything at all to help induce labor? NOPE! I didn't even get Braxton Hicks. In fact, I felt great! Like a million bucks!

Beautiful view of our morning walk

After the walk, I swung by Starbucks for a special decaf treat. (I can't wait to drink real coffee again!)
I spent some more time cleaning up for my sister & niece's arrival, which involved lots of squats and moving around... still nothing.

I made a cup of raspberry leaf tea, filled the tub with stress relieving bubbles and lavender oil and spent at least 2 hours soaking in the goodness. Taking a bath during the day is so calming because the sunlight is coming in through the window and I can look out into the trees and sky while I relax.

Our guests arrived around 5 PM. I showed off the nursery and the almost-finished-bathroom. Then we just sat around and talked until someone decided they needed food. We went out and had a really good dinner but the waitress forgot to sing to my niece! We told her that my niece was turning 13 and to feel free to come do the whole birthday song. She laughed and said they'd do something. But, she must have forgotten cause we paid and left without so much as a bowl of free ice cream.

Once home, we decided we'd veg out on the couch and watch TV for the night. But then the cable went out! Not only that, the internet also went out! No internet meant that we couldn't even stream anything on Netflix or Hulu. I'm assuming it's from all the rain and bad weather we've had recently. It was coming down in sheets while we were eating dinner. Maybe that had some kind of effect on the signal? But have no fear! Mr. Merman to the rescue! He put in our Planet Earth DVD. lol! My niece ran upstairs immediately claiming that her whole class fell asleep when one of her teachers turned this on. We were actually pretty into it and it was something we could have on while talking to each other. Even my niece came back downstairs and watched some of it with us.

Today
My niece is currently sleeping on the couch and my sister is still asleep in the guest room. Mr. Merman is hiding in the bedroom since we can't watch TV in the living room or use our computer in the guest room. I'm hoping they wake up soon cause I want to go eat a big breakfast! I'm not sure what else we have planned for today. They'll have to leave to set-up for her birthday party in the early afternoon. Then Mr. Merman and I will head to the party a little later in the evening. Other than that, we'll probably just sit around talking some more. Aren't we an interesting bunch?

I'd like to get outside for a walk but the weather is supposed to be pretty gross. I think Piper needs a break too. I imagine her tiny little muscles are pretty sore from all the walking we've done this week.

Real Contractions?
I think I may have had a few real contractions last night. As we were getting ready to go to dinner, I had some really sharp pains in my uterus. It was so much that it stopped me in my tracks. I kind of just stood there for a minute trying to process what I was feeling. Once it stopped, I chalked it up to the Baby moving and pushing against my pelvic bone. But then it started happening again and kind of took my breath away. I stood in the garage for a second waiting for it to pass. This one was a little worse than the first. So, I whispered to my husband that I thought I was having some real contractions because it's nothing like I've ever felt before. It was extremely uncomfortable, almost like cramping. He said, "Well let's go get food before this gets started!" I told him we'd have plenty of time before anything exciting happened and agreed that we needed to get some food in our bellies. Once we were in the car, I had another one but just breathed through it. By the time we got to the restaurant, they had stopped completely and I felt fine the rest of the night.

I'm not sure if those were real contractions or not but I'd like to think maybe my uterus is trying to do something to get Merbaby out of there. I'm hoping for a little more "action" today so I can determine whether those were contractions or just weird pains.

Rebozo and Spinning Babies
Since we've got extra time, I've looked up some ways to help spin little "M" so that he's facing my spine, rather than my stomach. A friend suggested looking up Rebozo videos on You Tube. I talked to Mr. Merman about it and we watched this video:

He agreed to try it so that's probably something we'll try to squeeze in before the birthday party today. I've also found a good website and video about using yoga positions to encourage the baby to "spin" towards the back. They suggest doing the child's pose every time I feel baby moving and try to hold it for 30 minutes. This allows him to dislodge from the pelvis and easily move into position. However, if he's already locked into a station in my pelvis, this won't work. I've been doing it just in case.

Every time he starts moving around like crazy, I assume position! (My niece and sister think I'm crazy). I will admit that doing just a few minutes of this is really uncomfortable so I've been taking breaks in between and stopping when I don't feel him moving anymore. 30 minutes seems a bit extreme.

How I've been hanging out the past few days

Everyone is still sleeping so I think I'm going to grab another morning snack and try to hold off on breakfast a little longer. (It's almost noon! When do these people wake up?!)

Here's some of my favorites from our maternity shoot and from my husband snapping pics in the nursery. Enjoy!

Happy Weekend!

Hello Due Date...

Here we are... 4 1/2 hours away from our due date with absolutely no signs of labor.

I had an appointment on Tuesday and was really excited about it. I'm not sure why I expected something to happen but I really thought maybe 1) We'd make a plan for what to do if I go past my due date or 2) They might insist on doing a cervical check and tell me my options from there.

The night before the appointment,  I had a dream that Mr. Merman and I were on a plane with a doctor and a midwife. They were guiding me through pushing each time the plane dropped. (Somehow the force of gravity when climbing back up was supposed to help with labor... lol!). In my dream, they checked my cervix and were shocked by how ready I was. So I pushed him out, then pushed the placenta out, and then woke up to the reality that was... nothing! Just a husband and a cute dog lying in bed next to my largely pregnant belly.

The real appointment was quick and routine. Urine sample, weight, blood pressure check. Then the midwife did the doppler and measured my fundal height, which was ~37 weeks. She confirmed that he is still sunny-side-up in there and told me that when I start having contractions, I will likely feel pain starting in my back radiating around to the front of my stomach. She told me to just keep waiting and they'd see me back next week. This is when I stepped into panic-mode: Wait! What??! That's it?!?! I just go back home and keep waiting???
I asked when they would consider inducing and what the next steps are. Basically, they'll do a cervical check at the next appointment (once I'm past my due date) and determine what needs to be done. It's likely that they'll do a membrane sweep if things don't seem to be progressing at all. Then, they'll want to see me again later in the week. I mentioned that I didn't want to go past 41 weeks. She said we would discuss that next week but then gave me this little speech, "...inducing labor increases the likelihood of a c-section and we really want you to go into labor on your own."

I came home feeling really upset. I was on the verge of tears but couldn't figure out why. Why was I feeling so upset? Mr. Merman was working from home that day so I was able to come home and talk to him about it. I think he'd also been expecting something more to happen  cause he said, "Oh gosh! This is going to drag on forever, isn't it?" And that is exactly how I'm feeling.
Now that it's almost practically our due date, I'm just so ready to meet him! I really had to work on my mood that day. I had to do some self-motivating speeches in my head to remind myself that he will be here soon and I should enjoy the little time I have left to myself. It's unreal how depressed and irritated I was feeling that whole afternoon. I didn't want to do anything but sleep.

Making plans for the next few days helped pull me out of that funk a little. I'd been planning to lay low at home just in case so making plans helped give me something to look forward to. It was a good way of reminding myself that life will go on!

Then I took a long bubble bath to relax and refresh. It was more of a meditation-type of bath. I took time to rub my belly, talk to the baby, do some breathing exercise, clear my head, and breathe in the scent of lavender oil and stress relief.

This little piece of cuteness peeking over the edge helped perk me up too. 

Keeping Busy

Yesterday, I took Piper for a 2.5 mile walk. I've been walking a good bit over the past week to try to get things going. It can get pretty uncomfortable while I'm walking but nothing more than Braxton Hicks have come from it. It does feel great being active though. Sometimes I'm so tempted to just run! I miss it so much!

I met up with a teacher friend and her 2 kiddos at Chick-Fil-A for a little catch-up session. We had a great time and I realized two things while there. First of all, I'm so excited to finally be joining the Mommy club! Secondly, maybe only being able to have 1 kid is a good thing. While her children were very well-behaved, it was quite a handful to keep them both entertained. lol!

Last night, we had dinner with friends to find out what the recent bride is having. We met up for Mexican food and drinks (for those of us who aren't pregnant). The mom-to-be made cupcakes for everyone that were filled with pink or blue icing. After waiting forever, it was finally time for dessert so she passed out the cupcakes and counted down to "bite time." We all bit in and saw PINK!!!! Another girl to add to our growing group of babies. Now we'll have 3 boys and 2 girls in our group of friends. It's perfect, I think! 

Yardwork

My mom and stepdad came over on Saturday to help out. Our yard has really gotten bad over the past year since we've been avoiding Zika. The flower beds have been taken over by weeds, branches have grown over the sidewalk, and the entire backyard looks like an abandoned field. It's embarrassing to be those neighbors that can't keep up with their yard work. [Disclaimer: My husband does an excellent job of keeping the grass pretty and trimming the bushed].

I had a landscaper come out to quote a clean-up and that quote is what ultimately motivated Mr. Merman to just do it himself. My stepdad offered to help and they spent 7-8 hours pulling weeds, cutting vines, trimming branches, etc. It looks so much better but is no where near finished. We need to spray the small weeds with weed-killer and have someone come lay fresh pine straw. But the rain has been endless this summer, which makes spraying weeds nearly impossible. So, let's all do the anti-rain dance, shall we?

While the boys were in the yard,  my mom and I put our newborn sleeper pack n' play together. It was a lot harder than we expected. This is what we plan to keep downstairs for now as it has a place for baby to nap and a place to change diapers. It even has little shelves to hold wipes and diapers in it so we don't have to keep running up and down the stairs. If Merbaby doesn't enjoy the Rock N' Play sleeper we have in the bedroom then we'll move this upstairs to use as the bassinet in our bedroom. 

Nesting

I've been cleaning like crazy! Everyone says I'm nesting but part of me wonders if it's just me. I've always been one to plan ahead, organize, and prep so this just seems normal. I've cleaned the entire house- vacuumed, dusted, reorganized, cleaned toilets and sinks, thrown away unnecessary items, done all the laundry, cleaned the sheets, done the dishes, etc. I even gave the dog a bath this week and cleaned my make-up brushes. I'm so ready for Merbaby to come!!! Mr. Merman asked what I'd do if he came late and everything needed to be cleaned again. UGH! He really knows how to frustrate me cause now that's all I'm thinking about. I plan to dust again tomorrow because now I'm noticing dust on the furniture again. lol.

I've also been over-buying at the grocery store. During my weekly trips, I'm loading up on extras so that we'll have a lot of "quick food" once the baby is here. But then I start eating that food during the week instead of the healthy food I intended to eat. So I buy more. Ha!

Inducing Labor at Home
Today, I decided to try nipple stimulation to induce labor. I've been walking a good bit, drinking raspberry leaf tea each night, eating pineapple, and trying out self-acupressure but nothing seems to be working. So I whipped out the breast pump and decided to give it a try! As luck would have it, the tornado sirens began going off in my neighborhood as soon as I got the pump out. I turned on the TV as the weatherman was alerting people in my area to take cover immediately because the rotation was hovering over the school a mile from my house! I grabbed the dog, my water bottle, phone, and took off to the basement. Luckily, it passed right over us without making any ground contact. But it was an adrenaline-filled experience as all of the bad weather usually passes right around us. I started having Braxton-Hicks after that so it was the perfect time to try out stimulation.

The initial feeling of the pump sucking was shocking. I had it on the lowest massage mode just to stimulate, not to actually suck and it was still pretty uncomfortable. But I got used to it after awhile. Obviously, it did nothing to induce labor. I stimulated for 30 minutes, which is the recommended time and nothing happened. But at least I know how to work the pump now!

Getting Through the Weekend
My niece's 13th birthday is on Saturday. Her and my sister are coming in town tomorrow. They're planning to stay here for a night unless I go into labor. I think we may get birthday brunch on Saturday morning and then her big party with all her friends is that night. The party is about an hour from us so I'll have to see how I'm feeling before we decide if I'm actually going. I'm so excited to see her and get to celebrate! If the baby had come early, we weren't going to be able to make it.

I really hope he doesn't decide to make his appearance on her birthday! I'd like them to have their own separate days to celebrate each year. I also don't want my mom to have to decide between going to my niece's party or being at the hospital.

Sunday's weather report is showing that we may (finally) get some nice weather so I'm hoping to go for a long walk. Then I'll go to prenatal yoga that afternoon and beg the instructor to show me how to get him out. haha! They were all so excited at last week's class because they didn't think I'd be back this week. So it'll be a little defeating if I have to walk back in there Sunday night with an even bigger belly and no baby! :(

Feelings
I'm not feeling nervous about the birthing experience/pain at all. I know it's going to hurt but I also know it's what has to be done before he can make an entrance into this world. What I am nervous about is being induced and then not progressing enough for vaginal birth.

My mom and sister both had c-sections. My sister had to be induced cause she went past her due date. She labored for well over 2 days and nothing was progressing so they had to do a c-section. My mom's pelvis was too narrow for my sister to come through so they had to do a c-section for her after she'd been laboring for a while... which leads me to another fear: narrow pelvic bones!

I asked my midwife if this was still a thing that could happen. I was hoping maybe this was an old-timey belief. But she confirmed that it is possible to be laboring and find that your pelvis isn't wide enough to birth the baby. In that situation, they will do an emergency c-section.

The longer I'm pregnant, the more he's growing! He was estimated to be 6 lbs. over 2 weeks ago, which would put him around 7 lbs now. I'm afraid that if he gets any bigger, it may be too big to fit through my pelvis. Which is why I really don't want to go past 41 weeks.

I'm also feeling excited that I'm actually getting a baby soon but at the same time I keep asking the world if this is some sort of cruel joke because it feels like he's never going to come. I'll tell you what, these end of pregnancy emotions are no joke! I can only imagine what post-partum emotions will be like. I already feel as if I'm going a little crazy.

Full Term!

38 weeks today and it feels so unreal. This time one year ago, we were starting our second round of IVF in hopes that a modified protocol would work. Little did we know that this round would end in failure too. Ironically, it was cancelled on June 23 (my current due date) and we were left feeling defeated and hopeless. I remember crying all afternoon, wondering if we’d ever get to be parents… if I’d ever get to experience pregnancy. I never would have believed it if you told me I’d be full-term and expecting a baby boy exactly one year later. I’m still pinching myself every day because it feels like a dream. Check out our this amazing picture from our final ultrasound with the MFM doctor:

We had no idea we were going to get this shot! I was 37+3 weeks. The technician casually mentioned that she would try to get a good shot of his face and the screen suddenly transformed to 3D and this image popped up! I think we were both shocked into silence. I felt like crying and just kept thinking, "That's my baby?!?!" What a precious little face! I can't wait to meet him. He was estimated to be 6 lbs. 1 oz. and is measuring right on track. They don't think we'll have any problems with a vaginal birth so now we just wait...

Catch-Up

It's been quite busy over here and I've had a hard time blogging. There is just so much going on and so much to do! First of all, it's summer! YAY! I've been out of school for 2 weeks now and it's been wonderful having time to get things accomplished. 

Baby Shower

My baby shower was beyond amazing! The entire day was like a dream. Catered Mexican food, virgin margaritas, children's books galore, literacy themed decor, all of the most important people in my life, and a special painting made by my best friend that was used as the guest book. I loved every second of the day and didn't want it to end. My friends really outdid themselves. I'm so thankful that my best friend put the extensive amount of time and effort into this shower to make sure it was everything I dreamed it would be (and so much more). 

We were truly showered with so many awesome gifts. Between the gifts we got and all of the gift cards, we've barely spent a dime of our own money prepping for "Little M." Mr. Merman's work threw him a celebratory surprise shower in which they popped champagne and gifted him one massive gift card. My work shower was pretty awesome, as well. They had lots of gluten-free options for me to eat and each grade level/team gave us a gift card or something off the registry. My favorite gift was a handmade Dr. Seuss bib and burp cloth. They really know the way to a teacher-mom's heart. :) 

House Construction

I don't even want to talk about this one, to be honest. The dining room is finally finished and it was such a relief to be able to get it back in order. But, the bathroom construction has been taking so long. The most frustrating part is that the project manager doesn't seem to be checking the paperwork (insurance claim and his company's quoted details). We've really had to stay on him and make sure everything is being done the way it was planned. 

Finished Dining Room

There have been quite a few hiccups along the way. Construction in the bathroom began on May 15. It began with demolition but wasn't completely demolished the way it should have been. Someone had to come back at a later date to finish that up, which pushed back our start date because nothing could be done until the demolition was complete. The tile guys installed the new tile in the shower floor while we were at work. Unfortunately, it was the wrong tile because of a mix-up with the sku numbers at the store. If one of us had been here, we probably could have caught it before they put it in. The store was very compliant and replaced it with the correct tile, free of charge. But replacing it cost us a few days of work. Believe it or not, the bullnose tile was also incorrect thanks to the labels being misplaced at the store. But we caught this one before they put it in.

The painter spent an entire day painting the whole bathroom and left without painting the trim, baseboard, etc. So, we had to push things back another day so that he could come in and complete that. The mirror was cracked when they were replacing the counter top so now we're having to get that replaced. In the midst of all the chaos, both or our sink faucets were damaged. We agreed to buy new faucets (we were wanting new ones anyways) but the company was going to charge us for the installation of these. *gasp* NO SIR! I had to call and fight for this one yesterday. "They were damaged during construction. We would not be spending the money to replace these right now if they had not been broken. This wasn't our choice or money we wanted to spend. Yes, we'd like for you to cover the cost." They replaced them this afternoon, at their own expense. 

Before

During Demolition

At this point, things are mostly complete. I let them know that I was full-term and needed this bathroom to be as close to finished as possible because a hugely pregnant woman needs a couple more relaxing bubble baths before giving up her privacy to a child. They've done pretty good making sure this happens. The maids came out today to clean everything up. I am now convinced that I need maids in my life on the regular. They dusted the blinds and the light fixtures... two things I keep putting off. My bathroom has never been so clean! 

All that's left is the glass shower enclosure and door, a new mirror, putting the door to the toilet room back on, and putting metal plates where the new floor meets the bedroom and closet carpet. I'd like to feel confident that it will be done before "M" arrives but I truly don't think it will be. The company can't get their act together enough to get with us on pricing of the shower glass. 

But, at least I can take a bath tonight!

Bathroom After... but not quite finished

I'm thankful to have the time off so I can be home to oversee everything and take care of my puppy. But it's stressful to constantly have people in and out of the house. I'm having to get up early each morning to make sure I'm dressed before they arrive. I'm unable to leave to run errands or take the dog for a walk at the park. Worst of all, I can't nap whenever I want and I want to nap ALL DAY! 

Also, there's paint on the tile that didn't come off when the maids cleaned so we'll have to ask about that... 

Nursery

As of today, the nursery is officially done! It's been a work in progress and I'm so happy with the final results. It took a while to organize everything since it's such a tiny little room but we made it work. As Mr. Merman says, "It's the most finished room in the house. This is where it's all gonna happen!" 

Me/Baby/Pregnancy

I feel pretty good most of the time. However, there have been a few rough days that left me wondering if I was going to make it through the final stretch. I'm having Braxton Hicks every night starting around 7 PM. They usually last the entire night as I'm still having them during my trips to the bathroom at 1:30 and 5 AM. It's not painful but can be uncomfortable and sometimes causes back pain. They also make it hard for me to get up and move around. Therefore, if I want to get anything done, it has to be done during the day. 

Merbaby is in position for birth! But he's face-up which means that I should expect back labor. My midwife told me that the back pain during Braxton Hicks could be because of his positioning, as well. She advised that I pay close attention to the pain because any big changes could indicate early labor. In my mind, back labor = epidural! After taking all of the birthing classes, I was feeling good about trying to go natural for as long as possible. But the idea of back labor does not sound appealing. It's already bad enough with the Braxton Hicks. I don't think I could endure hours of this with even more pain. No, thank you!

One of my best friends came over last week to help me prep some freezer meals for after baby is born. We made four meals: chicken enchiladas, shredded buffalo chicken (for sandwiches), chicken broccoli rice casserole, and picante chicken chili. My goal is to make a couple more in the next couple of weeks if Merbaby doesn't come early. (Hopefully he won't have bad acid reflux with all these spicy meals).

We were supposed to have maternity pictures taken around 35 weeks but the weather didn't cooperate so we had to reschedule for last weekend. Having pictures taken at 37 weeks had me super nervous! I was afraid of going into labor before getting the pictures taken. Seeing as this will probably be my only pregnancy, I was desperate to have beautiful pictures to document it. A good friend of ours took the pictures and I totally bought the long flowing, open-belly dress. I can't wait to see what they look like! I'll definitely be printing some to hang around the house. Now that the nursery is finished, I think I'd like to get Mr. Merman to take a few of me in there with the puppy, as well.  

Sneak-Peek of an unedited shot

Other Pregnancy News

"Freezer meal friend" is now about 17 weeks pregnant. We had her sex-reveal party this weekend and found out that she's having a girl! It'll be the first girl in our group of friends, as Merbaby is boy #3. Another friend just had her 12 week appointment last week and will be finding out the sex of her baby soon. Lastly, another friend told me that she's pregnant today. I'm extremely happy for her! Especially because she has stage 4 endometriosis and had been told that it would be difficult for her to get pregnant. She actually started seeing my RE a few months ago and had planned to start IUIs this month if she wasn't pregnant. I helped her learn how to track her cycle and time sex with ovulation and it worked! She got pregnant on her own! As happy as I am for her, I'm feeling overwhelmed with all of the pregnant people in my life. I don't think I'd be able to survive this if I wasn't pregnant right now. 

To be honest, I'm feeling extremely jealous. As my pregnancy is coming close to an end, I'm feeling more and more emotional about it. I have loved being pregnant and constantly pause to admire my belly in the mirror. I'm not ready to say goodbye to pregnancy forever. This would be so much easier if I knew we'd be able to do it again. I plan to embrace every last second of this pregnancy, false contractions and all!