Prenatal Visits 10 & 11 (and a Shower In Between)

Any day now. That's what I've been hearing since last week's visit to my doctor. I hit 37 weeks last Wednesday, and that is considered full term. As much as I would like Joey to arrive "any day now," there is a part of me hoping that he will wait a little longer - at least until his due date, but hopefully not too long after. There seems to be so much to do still. His nursery is not finished, and I have loose ends to wrap up at work before I (possibly) take any maternity leave.

Last week's doctor visit included my Group B Strep screening (basically, a Q-tip where the sun don't shine). One third of women test positive for Group B Strep, and although it's not necessarily harmful to mom, it can cause serious problems for baby. If the test comes back positive, it's automatic IV antibiotics for mom upon arrival to the hospital - not part of my birth plan. So, at this week's visit, I was relieved to find out that my test came back negative. *Phew!* I also went over my birth plan with my doc, and save for a couple of comments (none were negative, more just informational), she was fine with everything we had included. She said she's seen some odd requests before (like, "I don't want a c-section under any circumstances," and, "I'd like to give birth while sitting on the toilet.") and she wanted to make sure it didn't say anything like, "I'd like Dr. S to deliver me while standing on her head and singing the Star Spangled Banner. Although I could probably do that!" I love my doctor.

On Friday of last week, my mom and I headed to the Bay Area to attend a shower that my sister-in-law, Alli, was hosting for me on Saturday. She did an amazing job putting the shower together. (Thanks, Alli!!) Our nursery has a safari/animal theme going on, so she incorporated the theme into the shower. There were safari animals on the invitations, a safari cake, animal shaped sugar cookies as favors (that she and her mom baked), and even a "diaper cake" with a little lion sitting on top. Oh, and the cutest guest book ever - a step stool with a giraffe hand-painted on the top with Joey's name (you can kind of see it to the right of the diaper cake - everyone signed the bottom with a Sharpie, and my brother is going to clear-coat the whole thing).


We received so many wonderful gifts - I swear, Joey will be dressed better than both Mike or I for the next year or so! The nursery is totally outfitted, save for a changing pad to go on top of Joey's dresser, and "one of those baby speaker things" (AKA: a baby monitor) as Mike said the other night.

And now, we wait...