PROGRESS

Yesterday turned out to be a good day-
We went in for a root canal, but upon careful evaluation and tests, Doc determined that it was not imperative that I have the root canal immediately. Maybe even not at all. During pregnancy weird things happen to your teeth, your eyes, your feet... the list goes on and on.
Can I just tell you how wonderful this dentist was? He took his time and discovered that this (incredibly expensive and nerve wracking) procedure was unnecessary. I think its rare to find a doctor or dentist these days that is so thorough.
Bottom line: Derek White in Madison is very highly recommended by the Ratliff's :)

So, we had some time to kill so we shopped for little Jackson and we ate lunch and then we were off to our weekly appointment!
Stats from Yesterday:
How far along? 37 weeks, 5 days

Baby's size? She said I was measuring "on target"

Weight gain? 29 lbs

Sleep? not much. Hard to even roll over!

Foods I am loving? Ice Water with tons of lemon has been really good lately. The chicken spaghetti that I made the other night! YUM

Foods I am hating? nothing!

Symptoms? The usual... I can wait to wear my wedding ring again- I think it will be like getting it for the first time all over again!

Gender? boy.

Name? Jackson Sharpe Ratliff

What I miss? I can no longer cross my legs.

What I'm looking forward to? normal sized feet, fingers and ankles. A healthy baby boy and relatively easy birth.

Emotions? Emotional... highly.

Accomplishments? I am really glad we decided to take some classes. We have one more night of Child Birth Class- if you are thinking of taking it, we both would recommend it. I think it has eased both of our anxieties about what is to come. Now, we understand what is going on and will happen. We know what we can do and ask for to make labor easier and more enjoyable for us and our baby. I think it has really built our confidence. Even Dan will say that he is surprised at how much he has gotten out of it.

Last night I took Breastfeeding 101 while Dan took Fatherwise. I think this was Dans favorite. It was taught by a young-ish father of 3, and it was mostly Q & A. He said a lot of it was stuff he had not even thought of. My class was also really good- So informative. I actually feel like despite all of the negativity that I hear about it, I may be able to do it!! The first thing she told us is that the biggest myth is that breastfeeding hurts. She says that is not true- If it hurts, you are doing something WRONG and we can fix it.
So basically its easy, free, perfect, and specific to Jackson and exactly what he needs, will help me loose baby weight AND it doesn't hurt???!!!! ummm SOLD!

Progress: WE ARE DILATED 1CM YALL! Also, 50% thinned! Yippee!!!

No need to point out that some people can walk around for a month at 1 centimeter. We are happy with small victories. Also- know that I will not walk around at 1 for a month because I only have TWO WEEKS LEFT! (I am starting to think this Doctor knew exactly what she was doing by not checking me until I reached this point)

Have a good weekend!

From good day to Bad day... just like THAT.

Emergency root canal scheduled for Thursday (almost 38 weeks). I am absolutely panicking. I have never had one of those. I swear, the whole time I have been pregnant, my teeth seem to be freaking out. The dentist says it's just one of those fluke things- and after googling it on BabyCenter.com, turns out its really common. Still, any words of encouragement are greatly appreciated. Anyone heard of Dr. Derek White in Madison? Is he good? Is he nice? Words of wisdom?
There is soooo much that goes along with pregnancy that has nothing to do with folding little sweet onesies, walking in the park with your hubby- smiling at all the little babies, eating ice cream and getting foot rubs... Damn lifetime movies.

At least I will get a prize at the end. I know he will be worth it.

Nursery Pictures!

The long awaited nursery is DONE! Ok, I am still looking for a rug, but its basically DONE! Clothes and linens are washed and ready for Jackson to lay his sweet self in.
The crib looks really dark in the pictures for some reason. It's Pewter in real life. The last two pics are a close up of the primary fabric (Reesa Horizon) that I used in the room. I am really happy with the way it turned out! YAY! Now its just a waiting game Folks!

35 weeks and a (mini) meltdown

SOOO...
All this time Daniel and I have been going by our first sonogram, which predicted our due date to be October 4th. Well, Dr. Fulton (who is wonderful and awesome) is going by another calendar and says our due date is October 8th. So what, big deal.. 4 days is not a huge deal right? WRONG. 4 days is a looooonnnnngggg time to a preggo. So if you notice, I have changed my ticker to reflect the doc's date- since she IS the one that went to school and everything....

Our last appointment was Wednesday and I may have let my hormones get the best of me. I had decided that she was going to check me and that was going to be it. I was going to be dilated, and this show would get on the road. Well, Dr. Fulton sees things a little differently (perhaps clearer) than a big hormonal, emotional pregnant woman. She informed me that she would not, will not check me until I reach 38 weeks. That's 3 weeks folks! I fully intended to have him sleeping thru the night at that point!!! Doc also refuses to give me a "guess" of when she thinks the baby is coming. All she would tell me is that I would not be pregnant at Halloween. You can imagine my face- and delight.
After my many pleas, the appointment ended. My wonderful husband suggested we go up to the 5th floor to look at all the sweet babies, it may cheer me up. So we headed down the long hallway, past the pope, to the elevators. We encountered a very peppy nurse who took one look at us and said "Are you headed up? I am an L&D nurse, but I am going home for the night. I will see YOU in the morning!!! GOOD LUCK!!!" As I realized she thought I was in labor, it occurred to me that everyone in the universe thinks I am ready except Dr. Fulton. So here come the waterworks. (mini) meltdown. Daniel decides that going to the L&D floor is probably a bad idea and takes me to Newks (and Dairy Queen) instead.

How far along? 35 and 3/4 Weeks

Baby's size? Honey Dew Melon... yea right. He is a full grown toddler.

Weight gain? 25 lobs

Sleep? not much. Hard to even roll over!

Foods I am loving? Ice Water with tons of lemon has been really good lately

Foods I am hating? nothing!

Symptoms? swollen feet, swollen fingers. I HATE not wearing my wedding ring, but I swear I am scared it is gonna get stuck. The bottoms of my feet feel like I just gone for a nice run- on gravel- barefooted.

Gender? boy. sweet little bunny.

What I miss? Being able to hold it together a little better. I think every single emotion is amplified.

What I'm looking forward to? The next phase. My mother asked me if I remembered all of those big ideas I told Dr. Fulton about not intervening medically, that I wanted to go into labor on my own... I did not want to choose his birthday. I wanted him to pick it. Well sometimes you get what you ask for. She is making me stick to my plan because in my heart of hearts, it really is what Daniel and I want. We want him to come when he sees fit. Not when we decide we want him out. I guess it's the first of those things you have to as a parent and choose what is best for your child, not just what would be easier for you. I just need to trust in the Lord, and know that he will take care of us.

We are also very excited to see Daniels mom and grandmother this weekend. We haven't seen his grandmother since our wedding!!!

Emotions? Some days are a little rocky :). Daniel is being incredibly supportive. I know that it must be tough- I think it would be so aggravating for someone to constantly try to explain something to you, and there was no way in the world you could possibly understand.

Accomplishments? We got the rocker!! literally almost done with Nursery!!