39 weeks and holding!

This baby is just taking his sweet time joining us!

This past Tuesday we went to see the Dosh-Master again. And again we were told "No dialation. Cervix is closed." HOWEVER - this time it is "soft".......so that was one good sign that maybe he's not going to stay in there forever as I previously thought. Ha! Ha! He wanted to do a sonogram to make sure Bugs head was in the right position. So I got the jelly off my belly from the doppler and went back to the sonogram room. It's funny seeing him in there now compared to when we was just little...not that he's not little but when we saw him at 6 months it was clear what was what. Now that he's a bit bigger he's all smooshed in there and it makes it difficult to see his profile and such. D-Master showed us his little heart - it was beating beautifully! And then he showed us his little bladder - it was full, just like his mama's! LOL. And then we saw his head...his huge gigantic head that will work it's way out of a small small small area! I'm kidding - his head is normal size but comparing it to the - well, you know...it looks huge! He's in position but he's just not "there" yet so again we wait. We've heard lots of old wives tales about how to progress his birth and we talked to our doctor about them. He said "No. The baby will tell you when he is ready. Nothing will make him fall into that area." So....we just wait.

This week I've felt things I've not felt before - his movement is in a different area (lower) and he is pushing his little foot out much further than before. Last night while I was resting (or trying to anyway) he made this movement that made me jump! Well, I jumped about as fast and as far as my preggo butt could anyway. The vision I had was when the alien reaches out of Sigourney Weaver's tummy in that movie Alien but what really happened - I'm not sure. He just had a fast movement that was bigger than usual and I think it may have scared both of us! I could see his whole little bottom sticking out! He must have been stretching. Oh I just know I will miss those moments! But I am sure they will be filled by even better moments.

The past weeks we've been focused on "our plan" and what we will do to "pass the down time" while we are at the hospital before Bug visits. Cole came up with a great idea that I should find some pieces of scripture for him to read to me and for us to focus on while I am in labor. When I am having a hard moment I tend to go to my Bible as reciting scripture helps me calm down and brings my focus where it needs to be. So we were looking some up and Cole found something very interesting that I want to share:

"Octavian, later known as Caesar Augustus, is only mentioned once in The Bible, when he ordered that a census be taken of the Roman world (see Ancient Empires - Rome). That census caused the birth of Jesus Christ to occur in Bethlehem, exactly as prophesied (e.g. Micah 5:2), rather than in Nazareth where Joseph and Mary were then living.

"In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David [see also The Chosen People and Ruth], to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." (Luke 2:1-7 RSV)

From Cole: Just a little tidbit about Augustus' name where its mentioned in The Bible, but what is interesting is that his due date 4-1-10 is also the date of the current census! The one we are undergoing right now! AND our baby's namesake in The Bible is the person that ordered the first census ever!!! AND the census only occurs once every 10 years now!

So there you have it people. Just a little fun fact about our little Bug!

Long time ~ no blog.

So I haven't updated this in a while...been kind of busy, kind of tired and kind of lazy about it. My energy hasn't been super awesome lately.

Over the last month I've had two baby showers and both rocked!
One was here in Dayton. My friends Brittany & Cathy had it for me. It was very cute! Brit made a cake to match Bugs bedding! We had yummy food too: couscous salad, veggies & dip, a nice bread assortment from Panera (with my favorites - asiago, 2 cheeses, honey wheat), potato soup, roasted red pepper & tomato soup and of course, my craving - fresh fruit!

And my friends totally played to my addiction: Tim Hortons coffee!! It was awesome!!

We played some great games too! One was all about names over the centuries - very cool. The second game was a memory game using baby items that we got to keep! Everytime Brit left the room, she'd remove one item and you had to remember what was in there so you could right down what was missing! Then it was gift time! We received so many great gifts for Bug. Thanks again to everyone who came or sent gifts. :)

(Cathy & Brittany)

Thanks again Cathy & Brittany! We know how hard they worked and made it a very special day for us both. I should mention that the boys went for beers & food while the women were at the shower.

My second shower was in Walbridge (my hometown). My mom and my Aunts had this one. And my sister Leslie flew in from Connecticut to celebrate with us. It was Rubber Ducky Themed.

(Aunt Jenny, Aunt Shawn, Me, Aunt Debi, & Aunt Ferol)

(Mom, Me, Leslie)

We had homemade chicken salad & ham salad on croissants, veggies & dip, fruit, a pickle & olive tray and chips. My aunt had the same woman (whom I adore, Miss JoAnn) who made our bridal shower & wedding cake make our cake for my baby shower! We also had a ducky bath tub that was filled with ice and my AJ made my Grans famous punch. I don't have all the pictures back yet so I cannot post those. But everything tasted great!

(Aunt Lisa made these centerpieces. The duck suckers were made of chocolate!)

We played a "getting to know you" game and a baby alphabet game. You have to come up with a baby related item for each lettter of the alphabet. Some of the answers were so funny. We then went onto gifts. We were so blessed again by so many great gifts! Bug is one spoiled little boy already!!

                                        

(These were given to each person as a little extra Thank You before they left.)

Thank you again to Mom, Leslie & "The Aunts" (as Cole calls them) for such a great day! We sent the boys to the local tavern along with food to have a diaper party. They lucked out as it was the same day as the big Chili Cook-Off so they had lots of food to chose from! I made Cole's favorite snacks - chips & salsa and a cheese, sausage & cracker tray and ordered big sub sandwiches!

After coming home and getting all the gifts unpacked and put away we decided to finish his room. We received his bedding as a gift and got it all washed up. This is what it looks like in his room.

                                

So now his room is ready! We also have our bassinet made and ready in our bedroom. Our bassinet was an antique we bought from JoAnn - she is my seamstress and our cake baker! She said it went through her children and all of her grandbabies. It's a pretty special little place for our Bug. It will keep him close to us at night time. She also made the bedding and as a shower gift made him a beautiful blanket.

We also took our Lamaze classes. Although they have changed the name of those (at least at our hospital) to "Childbirthing Classes". They changed it because they realized most of that breathing stuff doesn't really work. Uhm...lol, sorry previous moms! Now the big focus is relaxation skills, help from your "birthing partner" (so PC), aromatheraphy and good ol' education of the birthing process! That 4 week class was good times!! We learned sooo much and I would highly recommend them to anyone who is going to have a baby! Not just for the moms but for the "birthing partner" too. We gained so much knowledge and were given alot of handouts and a book to help us. It was really a great class. Some of it though was absolutely hilarious! Cole had me laughing, I had him laughing and the girl who sat in front of me - well, she had all of us laughing!! Some of the videos are funny for reasons I won't mention on here and it's just such a stressful situation that you can either laugh or cry - so we laughed!

This past week I took a breastfeeding class and Kelie (my SIL) came with me because Cole had to work and lets be honest here people - guys do not want to sit through something like that! She and I learned ALOT too! Again, lots of handouts and a good book. No need for details about this class.

The hospital we will be at is really pretty awesome. They have such a great focus on Mom/Baby closeness. They really push the idea of keeping the baby in your room, breastfeeding, skin to skin contact with mom & baby, allowing daddy to be there for everything and providing a secure, relaxing environment for all. All of which were very important to Cole and I. They offer "Quiet Time" everyday where they prefer no visitors (but you can if you want to) and they want the moms & the babies to spend that time together bonding. I think it's so neat they do this. The staff that we've met thus far has been amazing too. All very kind and willing to take the time to answer our questions. The hospital tour was cool too. We went to the "Family Beginnings" area - this is the section where they do water births and go a  more natural way of birth. I was really interested in the water births since I love to take baths and I heard it helps with pain. Then I was told you couldn't have any pain meds except Nubain and if you did want the epidural you were moved to a new room - so I decided that wasn't the route for us! They showed us the c-section area and the birthing and post-partum rooms. Both rooms are kind of small but it's not like we'll be there long anyway!

We went for our 37 week visit to see the Dosh-Master this past week. He said Bug is doing well! His heartbeat was perfect and he's a "strong healthy baby" according to the Dosh. He also settled a dispute for Cole and I.....I think Bug will be between 7 & 7.5 lbs. Cole thinks Bug will be 8+ lbs. Doshi said I was right! THANK GOD! LOL. Although his weight definately does matter when he decideds to grace us with his presence. Which may be a few weeks still. I'm not dialated at all. But that's ok. Cole and I feel like he needs to stay in there as long as he needs to to be a healthy boy. We do not want him to come too early.

One amazing thing that happened in the time away from the blogosphere is Augustus' new little cousin was born! Here he is with Cole. Gaven is my cousin Steven & Michelle's (his girlfriend) little boy. Gus & Gaven will be great buds! I already know it!

(Gaven Jayce Lacourse)

Cole was really excited to meet Gaven. He said it made him even more excited for Gus to come! He doesn't believe me when I tell him Gus will be small like Gaven. He wont be as small as Gaven was born a little early but he will be little. Cole loves his little tiny hands and long skinny fingers! Cole will be such a great daddy.

(He's such a little peanut!)

So for now, we just wait. We go weekly to the Dosh-Master for check ups and wait for our little Bug to arrive. Cole gets more excited each time we visit Doshi and we both are just waiting...it's like waiting for Christmas morning when you are a little one. I've been taking (or trying to) it easy lately. I'm having some swelling in my ankles and feet and they hurt! I now know what "cankles" are...not pretty. I'm having some Braxton Hicks contractions more frequently now and am trying to prepare!

We've packed up Augustus' bag and our bags for the hospital. We worked off a list provided by my awesome friend Samantha and also one from the hospital. Now we just wait!