1 cm closer!

Had an OB appointment this morning and I have to say I went in feeling rather optimistic for some news that things were happening. If what I'm experiencing physically is any indication, and if you throw in my intuitive belief that Stella isn't planning to wait until her due date, I just knew there would be some sign of progression. I tried to prepare myself for zero progress at the same time, just so I wouldn't be obviously disappointed when she told me Stella was renewing her lease.

The report is that my blood pressure is excellent, my physical miseries are normal for second and subsequent pregnancies, and it doesn't look like her arrival is super imminent. I'm dilated to somewhere between a fingertip and 1cm with no notable effacement. On the one hand, it's a real bummer. On the other hand, I know 36wks is still really too soon, and no matter how miserable I am, I don't want her to come until she's really done baking. 37wks is when most of the medical community agrees a baby is full term, so if we can make it just one more week, then I'll be drawing up the eviction notice to vacate the premises effective immediately.

With such good blood pressure, it's looking an awful lot like I'm not going to be induced. We're still going to consider her size at the sonogram scheduled for next Friday, but even today she measured at more like one week ahead instead of two - maybe because she isn't so big after all. This all leads to the realization and excitement that this labor and delivery might be a lot different than my last. With Henry, the induction was planned, and since my body wasn't really ready, it was a long, hard labor. It appears Stella's arrival is a secret known only to God right now. The day, the time, how it feels to actually go into labor on my own, and the anticipation of waiting for it... all makes for some real excitement. I'm actually kind of looking forward to it, I think. Labor won't be fun, but I think, now that I've been there and done that, I'm at least more prepared for it. I can better appreciate what a miracle it really is, and that at the end of something difficult, there is a true gift from God to hold in my arms. What a blessing.

My next appointment will be Tuesday. Anything could happen between now and then, so stand by!

Nine Months

Henry is nine months old today. He's been here longer now than he was in my womb. That is astounding and yet sobering for me because it means he is growing just so much faster than I can stand. We have a well-baby visit coming up next week where we'll get weight and length stats, but we did make a doctor's visit early this week for an ear infection, and he weighed in at 24.5lbs. He has almost tripled his birth weight. I am anxious to know his length (or can we call it height yet?) too, but not so much that I'm going to try to figure it out on my own before his appointment. I'm going to guess as much as 30 inches - he was almost 28 at six months.

My blog is young - I so wish I had started the first time I thought about doing this - so it hasn't recorded each of his milestones as he's hit them over the past nine months, so I'll do my best to list the big ones.

*He blessed us with first smiles at around 6 weeks.
*He started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks, then regressed at 11 weeks and hasn't consistently done it since. YAWN.....
*He could hold up his head for periods of time without support at around 8 weeks.
*He started to imitate some letter sounds at 3 months.
*He stopped night feedings between 3 and 4 months.
*He could roll from back to belly at 3.5 months.
*He could bear weight on his legs at 4 months.
*He could sit assisted at about 4 months.
*He started rice cereal at 4 months.
*He could roll both ways by 4 months, but only did so rarely.
*He could sit unassisted at 5 months for periods of time - unlimited by 6 months.
*He weaned from the swaddle at 6 months.
*He found his feet at 6 months. :)
*He was a babbler by 6 months.
*He was eating pureed veggies and fruits by 6 months.
*He started saying "mama" and "dada" at around 7 months.
*He started finger foods at 7.5 months, but is still very picky about them.
*He could put in his paci at 7 .5 months.
*He cut his first two teeth at 7.5 months.
*He started rolling for fun and mobility just before 8 months.
*He started showing readiness to start crawling at 8.5 months - pushing up on hands, scooting back end, pushing up on toes, and occasionally getting both front and rear ends off the ground at the same time...
*He could hold his own bottle at 8.5 months.
*He could sit up from a laying position just before 9 months.

I take pictures of him each month on his "month-day", and they're posted over in the sidebar - be sure to check them out and see how he's grown. Here's a few more I took this morning: