Love, Life and Appreciation

Just finished my 38 week check up. I had my first weekly check up at 36 weeks and not much has changed from then.  I'm not dilated though I am becoming more effaced, which the doctor said is good. This Saturday will mark 39 weeks. She's due the following Saturday. Hopefully changes start occurring next week.

I'm making good process though.  My sugar levels are normal as well as my blood pressure and May's heart rate is good. I know it's getting tighter in there for her and she has definitely dropped. I feel so much pressure on my pelvis and now I know what it feels like to go to the bathroom like every 30 minutes. She wants to keep cooking though and that's good. I just hope she comes by her due date. I want to hold her in my arms and see her.

We are as ready as we can be for her. Finally packed that hospital bag. We'll have to see what this next week brings...

We just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! Don't forget what you are thankful for :-) This is our first thanksgiving as a married couple. The first of many for sure. We cooked together and the result was wonderful tasting food. I also made my family's macaroni and cheese, that's been passed down through many generations. May I'll one day pass the recipe down to you :-)

May is officially  full term. Yay for 37 weeks! That means she could be coming any day now. There's still 3 more weeks until her due date. We got much of her nursery ready for her. Her crib and bedding are so cute. We did a jungle animal theme.

I'm going to pack my hospital bag this week and I already put in my pre registration with the hospital. It's been such an amazing journey, full of so many feelings. I had my first of my weekly visits to the doctor last week. I wasn't dilated then. I've also gained 29 pounds now. I have my next appointment Wednesday. We'll have to see how that appointment turns out. It won't be too long now, until I'll be writing she's here. Wow. We love you May!!!

Yesterday was my baby shower. It was hosted by my mom and grandmother and held at my grandmother's house in NJ. I took the greyhound back to NJ. I met so many cool people along the way (I had to make two transfers). They were asking me when I was due, and what the sex of the baby was. I also heard many stories about children in general as well.

I knew about the shower behind and didn't know if we'd still have it because of Hurricane Sandy. There is so much devastation in many parts of NJ and NY, thankfully around were my grandparents live and around where my guests we coming from, wasn't hit too bad. I invited some of my friends from NJ to the shower. I was going to have another shower in Maryland hosted by Rex's family, this coming Saturday but my father-in-law was seriously injured recently and we decided not to have the shower. He is doing better. It's a long road to recovery though :-(

The shower went very well and the turn out was good considering the recent storm. There were a few guests that couldn't make it. I am so thankful to my parents and my grandparents and everyone who came out to the shower, as well as those who couldn't make it and still thought about May and I. We all had a good time and I was very overwhelmed with all the gifts. Reality is really starting to set in and come Nov 8, it'll be a month before her due date. Rex and I are really getting things ready for May, as best we can :-)

I have my next doctor's appointment on the 7th. After that it's every week. In two weeks I'll be full term. It's very exciting, and I'm a bit nervous, but with the help of so many and my husband by my side, I know we'll be great parents and May is so surrounded by love <3.

We just wanted to wish a very happy Thanksgiving Day to Liberia! Enjoy!!!!

Rex and I voted today for the 2012 Presidential Election. We opted for early voting. We voted two days after Hurricane Sandy devastated much of the East Coast, with NJ and NY being the hardest hit. I called my family in NJ and they told me they lost power the day the storm hit, but got their electricity back Tuesday.

We got strong winds and heavy rain, where we are in Maryland. The lights flicker on and off about 5 times during the storm and I was sure we were going to lose it by the following morning. To our surprise we still had electricity and there was minimal damage outside. We did notice part of the roof on the ground though. The storm has a major potential to affect the election. Many parts of the area hit are still without power and reports are saying they may be out of power for a week or so. The election is November 6. In those areas, I'm sure the people are more concerned about their homes that they lost and the rebuilding. Our thoughts are with them.

For the past two days early voting in Maryland was cancelled due to Sandy and when we went today the line was long. It took about an hour and thirty minutes to get inside to vote. It was unseasonably cold too. The cold air also brought high amounts of snow to places like West Virginia and Maryland during Sandy's wrath. While we waited we spoke to a nice couple. They were so nice. It's amazing some of the people you meet randomly. (Sometimes I can't believe how my husband and I met randomly and think about our lives now and I couldn't have imagined it, any other way.)

When we finally got inside we voted and we got a sticker. I'm so proud of Rex. To become a US citizen this July and vote in election, that's wonderful! There's so many people born in the US that don't vote and complain about who is president or other issues and forget that people had to fight for their right to vote. As an African American and a woman, voting did not come easy and I will vote in every election I am able to. Now I can get to legally changing my name over :-)

Yay we've been married for one month. Our marriage is still wonderful and this is one of many yet to come. Through thick and thin, Rex is my rock. We had our last ultrasound this morning. May is looking wonderful. She weighs 5.5 pounds already! She is measuring in the 60th percentile. The doctor said that she might be around 8 pounds when she is born. I was 10 pounds when I was born. I filled up on cheeseburgers in my mother's womb. Hehe.

Rex and I got to see May through 3D imaging too. She was sleeping and had her face pressed closely against the placenta. I guess that's her pillow. The space is getting smaller for her too and she is head down, which is good. Gosh she's getting more and more ready to be born and we are getting more and more ready for her arrival. I say that in every post now, but it's true :-)

It was nice to see the 3D image. May's nose is so small and so cute. Her heartrate was very fast today. In the past few visits her heartrates were in the 140s. The last visit her heartrate was 131. Today it was 151. She must have had an exciting dream. We can't wait until she is here. It's so wonderful!

We also celebrated our one month anniversary too. Here's to many more! We had dinner as the local Applebee's in the area. It was nice. It's so great being married to my best friend!