Here's a picture. . . actually this was at 35 weeks. I'll post another after tomorrow of 37 weeks. But you get the idea. H-U-G-E.
Tomorrow morning, I get the cerclage removed. This is the stitch that has been holding my cervix closed for the last 18 weeks. The midwife thinks that I will go into labor very quickly afterwards. The doctor said it could be a week of more. We're going to the appointment with a packed suitcase just in case! At my appointment last week, the doctor gave me my freedom back. My mother and I basically ran out of the office screaming with joy. We headed straight to the mall and shopped. Now granted this was Lakeshore Mall in Gainesville so there wasn't much to look at but we shopped for make-up, pajamas, baby clothes, lotion, shoes. Whatever. Then we went out to lunch at Red Lobster. We were going to a movie but they didn't start until later on that afternoon. What a day.
This freedom also meant that I could keep Rhiannon! I haven't been able to spend the day alone with my daughter since September. I was pretty excited. So what did we do with our first day of freedom? We painted, we played outside, we made rice krispie treats for Daddy, we played in the floor. We had a blast.
Painting using brushes. . .
Then we moved onto just using the hands. . .
What else have we done?We visited INK, a children's museum in Gainesville with my best friend Jessica and her son Hudson, also known as Rhiannon's future husband.
We have also been potty training. Again. Rhiannon was at the point in August where she was only wearing a pull up at night and panties all day. Around the time I was put on bedrest we had a bit of regression. Thankfully we are now taking outings again with panties and have been successful. Last night she even made it through the night without wetting her pull up. I am expecting some regression once the baby arrives but think we've made some big steps in the right direction these last few weeks.
Baby "Beth" has been potty training too. I walked into Rhiannon's bathroom one afternoon and found this. . .
Oh and one more funny picture. This girl can eat! She now eats an entire sandwich. Here she ate her peanut butter sandwich (minus the crusts), one whole apple and then while I was away from my seat, she ate the rest of my apple! What a cute little piggy!
Thank you all for your prayers. It's been a very long 18 weeks but we now have a full term baby. Rhiannon had 45 days of training from the wonderful NICU nurses so she came home to a rested Mommy and on a perfect schedule. This baby will be a completely different experience and we couldn't be more thrilled.We'll keep you updated. . .
