35 Weeks and 3 days....

I write today 35 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I sound like a broken record but I'm so grateful to be here.  I feel like we've officially hit the "Okay baby come anytime" part of this pregnancy I was so worried I never thought I'd get to.

On Sunday when the calendar turned over to another milestone, I sat in church and reminisced about many Sunday's prior when I begged God to let us get to another week.  Sunday I sat there and prayed, "Thank you God for letting me get to a point where I believe we will be able to bring Sweetie Pie home."

Yesterday we went in for our weekly ultrasound and was so happy to hear that baby is doing well.  She's officially running out of room but she's still finding a way to maneuver, stretch and practice breathing.  She's been very active despite the continuous contractions and I'm so thankful for that.

Friday I'll meet with Dr. A and if all goes as we have planned right now, I will be released from taking the loads of Nifedipine I've been consuming every 4 hours for the last several weeks.  I look forward to the relief of feeling like I'm finally over the flu, even if it means the contractions will become stronger and more frequent.  Maybe I'll be eating my words next week, but as of today... I pray I feel even a little relief from the flu-like symptoms that medicine give me.

Yesterday at the ultrasound we learned the amniotic fluid level went back down from 27 to 22.5.  While still high it isn't moving any higher so we were happy to hear that.  We also learned that baby is head down with her face toward my spine... I guess that's the ideal birthing position, so glad to know she's getting ready too.

I tell myself these days to cherish each and every movement baby girl makes inside of me as I know I'll come to miss those jabs and swipes of her hand.  I can tell she's running out of room as some days it feels like her feet and arms are literally reaching around to my back, one on each side.  And some days, I can literally see her hand or foot swipe the side of my body.  Such a cool feeling inside, but just as awesome to watch on the outside.

As much as I cherish these moments, I eagerly look forward to meeting her in person.  I wonder so much if she'll look exactly like the weekly ultrasound pictures we get to see of her, or if her features will be different in person than what can be seen on a screen.  Either way, we are completely smitten with her and all of us are so excited to meet her.

As I conclude for tonight, (sorry I'm so tired I haven't slept well lately), I just want to voice how grateful we are for the community of love and support that has carried us through the last many months.  There have been so many of you who have followed along with us on this journey, have prayed for us daily, cheered with us as each week passed and who have given us strength to keep going amidst the fear.  For that we are so grateful and want you to know we will never forget what you've done, what you've given to us.

This past week we were reminded again about just how much our little Sweetie Pie is loved.  Jarrett's colleagues and my new colleagues showered us wonderful celebrations to rejoice with us.

How lucky we have been to receive such kindness, love and support.  This baby has received so much love and she hasn't even officially made her first appearance.

We will be sure to keep the blog updated in the coming days and weeks.  I hope to be able to share the news of her arrival on her as soon as we can.  Thanks for following along with us.

We look forward to sharing her arrival with all of you, very soon!

Until next time,
Angie