Welcome, Baby Girl!

Welcome, Baby Girl!

Our lives have forever changed. Landry Ann Matthes arrived at 4:56 on 12/6/12 weighing 6 pounds and 19" long with a beautiful head of hair. We are so in love!

38 Weeks - Less than 14 DAYS!!

- 38 Week Baby Bump -

How far along? 38 weeks - Daddy has been counting down the days for awhile now and I can't even believe that we are in the teens already. It is going to come so fast, and I am trying to remember that I have very few good nights' sleep left and definitely trying to appreciate every.single.hour. that I get.
Total weight gain: 33 according to my OB - which I was actually surprised about despite all of the swelling I have.
Baby is the size of a: Pumpkin!!
Maternity clothes? Most definitely. And still scrubs and tennis shoes for work.
Stretch marks? Nothing new here
Sleep: I am still not going to complain about this. I am sleeping well, getting up about 5 times a night to go to the bathroom but I can always fall right back asleep.
Best moment this week:  Baking Christmas cookies and getting pedicures and having dinner with a few special friends!
Miss anything? Pretty content right now. But I am getting really excited about the glass of wine that I will get to have in less than 15 days :)
Movement: Absolutely, but they are fewer and more forceful. I can tell she is out of room!
Food cravings: Nothing in particular actually.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Gender: Sweet baby girl :)
Baby Name: Yep! Daddy and I were talking about it this week (she already has 2 nicknames) and I asked him yet again if he was sure that that was what he thought we should name her, and he said "Of course, that's all I think of her as and I can't even imagine it being anything else."
Labor Signs: This week I started having a couple legit contractions on top of some braxton-hicks contractions. One was after a long day of work and I had to sit down for a little bit and then it was over and then just a couple more random ones that caught my attention but weren't anything I was worried about. It seems to be picking up these past couple days, so I am getting more and more anxious everyday! We did get the hospital bag packed this week, but still have lots of last-minute touches in the nursery.
Symptoms: Still having heartburn but it is much, much better. Lots and lots of swelling (despite diligent compression stocking use) in my feet, legs and hands.
Comments Solicited from Others: Nothing particular, but no one believes me when I tell them we only have 2 weeks left. Although I'm starting to feel like I look more like we have 2 weeks left.
Belly Button in or out? Flat as a board...surprisingly has not popped yet!
Wedding rings on or off? Most definitely off and showing no signs of return.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Increasingly more uncomfortable, but still content. Just happy and looking forward to what is about to come.
Looking forward to: Another appointment next week to see if things are still changing!! Our lives could be rocked any day now and I'm just trying to prepare myself for what is about to happen - we are SO excited!

Friday was a fun day for this girl! I was really wanting to get Christmas cookies made before Little Miss arrived so my Grandma came down and spent a day baking with me. We got a lot done and as always, I enjoyed spending the day with her. We also had another doctor's appointment. Her heart rate was a nice, healthy 127 beats per minute and I was measuring right on track size-wise. My blood pressure was a little high at first so because of all of the swelling I have had they had me lay on my left side and rechecked it. It was still a little high but better after a little rest so they weren't too worried about it. No protein in my urine though, so that was good. I was getting a little worried there for awhile. I suspected things had been changing because I have been feeling a lot more pressure down low this week and we are 2 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced (!!!!). He could feel her head and said that it was completely engaged and he wasn't able to move it at all. He said a couple times that he was pretty confident that we wouldn't see our due-date and to have things ready any day now (!!!). He also sent my prenatal records with me since I spend so much time in Omaha (which I won't use anyway because I am coming back to Lincoln no matter what). After the appointment I had a date with the girlfriends to go get pedicures and dinner. I have been pretty bummed that my mom isn't around to go do all of the fun things before having a baby - like getting a pedicure together, so instead of feeling sorry for myself that I don't have that, Tiff, Ascha, and Anika and I all went and got our feet done together. We went and ate at Grisanti's afterwards and made a few other stops quick and were home pretty early. It was just the night out that I needed, and certainly did my heart good to not only have some much-needed girl time but to remember yet again why I am so thankful to have such great friends to share these special moments in life with. I could not imagine doing all of this without them. So, from the very bottom of my heart Tiff, Ascha and Anika - thank you. Thank you for the phone calls, texts, cards in the mail, late night talks, words of encouragement and advice and hugs that you have shown me these past 9 months. You mean more to mean that I can ever tell you.

Prior to the ultrasound, Daddy and I made predictions on birth-day and how much little missy was going to weigh...so here they are:

Daddy's Prediction: 6 pounds 6 ounces on 12/3/12, and birth weight of 7 pounds 4 ounces on 12/14/12.

Mommy's Prediction: 7 pounds on 12/3/12 and 7 pounds 11 ounces on 12/11/12.

Now we wait to see who is closest!

We had a very quick ultrasound on Monday (12/3/12) and baby girl weighs about 6 pounds, 12 ounces. Her heart rate was 134. We weren't able to see a whole lot, other than that she is face down (which is good) and that she may possibly have a decent amount of hair. :) We weren't able to get a good look at the top and sides, but there is quite a bit along the back! Makes me so excited!!!!

Sweet Baby Girl ~ I can't believe that we could be meeting you any day now. It seems like just yesterday your delicate little heart was forming or I was just feeling your very first kicks. I am praying hard for you these last few weeks (or days) of this miracle of pregnancy and that you are healthy and have a smooth arrival into this world. While I am probably going to miss this intimate bond that you and I have shared these past 9 months, I am looking forward to meeting you and sharing you with your Daddy. I cannot wait to see your every feature that makes you you and get to know your sweet little personality. You might not get put down for the entire 8 weeks that I'm off and I'm ok with that. The Christmas tree is up, cookies have been baked, presents have been wrapped, the lights have been hung and we are ready to celebrate your birthday this Christmas season! We love you so much, Sweet Girl, and we are ready to meet you!

Love and Prayers in Week 39!