Thirty-seven weeks

Nine Months!!! I am now considered to be full term and if Oliver were born today he would be ready for life outside of the womb. As for right now he is still head up and I have been laying on my back with my hips elevated to try to turn him, but it doesn't seem to be working. I will keep trying though...I guess I should pack my hospital bag soon incase he decides to make an appearance extra early. But if he doesn't turn, I will have a baby in 15 days!!!!!!

We have almost everything prepared. We still need to get a video camera and that should be our last big purchase before the birth. We had our carseat inspected yesterday to make sure it was installed correctly. This is highly recommended since 80% of carseats are installed incorrectly and are basically useless in a crash. We attempted to install it on our own and did a pretty good job, but decided to move it to the middle seat so the inspector had to re-install it for us. Reading carseat instructions is the equivalent to trying to read sanscript! You'd think they would make it a little easier.

We have also decided to bank our baby's cord blood (stem cells). We decided to do this in the case that Oliver might develop an illness that could be cured via use of stem cells. It is also beneficial for Eric and I in the case that we develop an illness because his stem cells would be a match for us. The procedure is actually quite simple. I bring the kit to the hospital when I deliver (I received it in the mail a couple of days ago). Once the baby is born and the cord is cut, the doctor uses a syringe to extract blood from the cord. Then Eric calls up a courier service that comes right to our hospital room and collects the sample and sends it off to the bank. They cryogenically freeze the stem cells and as long as we keep paying our yearly storage fee, they will be there for our use.

I am feeling VERY large! After I eat a big meal I feel as though I could potentially pop. I try to stick to smaller meals to avoid the "bursting" feeling and acid reflux. I have been very lucky through out my pregnancy and have only had heartburn a couple of times. But when I do get it I go straight for the big bottle of Tums that I keep next to the bed. I have been craving a lot of dairy lately and have had four milkshakes in the past week. I have always liked milkshakes but would usually only crave one once in a while. Now I can't get enough of them. In fact, I think I may get one later tonight. I have started to "nest". I get these big bursts of energy where all I want to do is organize and make sure everything is in place for Oliver. Unfortunately these bursts of energy are usually followed by extreme fatigue. But even when my body has had enough, my mind is still on high energy and wants to keep going. I have learned to listen to my body instead of my mind because otherwise I get too drained and feel like I am coming down with the flu. I have been getting a lot of Braxton hicks contractions. They are progressively getting stronger and more frequent. And occasionally I feel like I am having light mestural cramps. I guess this is my body's way of preparing for labor. I also have to pee a lot more so I don't know if this is because he has dropped or just getting heavier (I can't tell by looking at my stomach).