34 weeks today - not quite done yet!

Well, I started out the day with a pretty good scare. We had a serious bleed this morning and I was convinced that meant that I would be delivered today. As usual, I had no idea what I was talking about and worried all morning for nothing. :) Oh well. We saw the High-Risk Doctor this evening and he did an ultrasound on the baby. She is doing fantastic and is much larger than I expected. She actually weighs about 5 lbs, 10 oz. Incredible. You might think that makes her big enough to go home if we delivered today but it doesn't really work like that. The nurse said she's like a really good chocolate chip cookie in the oven. From the outside it looks big and perfect but on the inside (her lungs) it's not quite done and it needs a little more time to bake. Fair enough. I'll do what I can to stay as sane as possible (no promises) and try not to get kicked out of this place for being too ornery. Ha! I am on the "schedule" to have the Amnio on May 6th - forget about any other date I've said before - to test her lung maturity. If they are okay, we will deliver the next day. If not, we will wait one week and deliver then, provided there are no other complications between now and then.

Yesterday, I had a great day. Aunt Phyllis (Shane's aunt) came by and took me for a ride in a wheelchair in the hospital. We went up to visit the newborn nursery and saw the beautiful babies. We marveled at the different sizes and shades of red and really enjoyed pointing out our "favorites." Then, we went to the gift shop. I have not been in a shop since January and I love to shop. Good thing we didn't take any money. We had so much fun setting off all of the musical stuffed animals - yes, we totally annoyed the gift shop staff! And we picked up just about every knick-knack and purse in the place. We still couldn't find a "I'm the Big Brother" shirt small enough for Ryan. I guess normal people have babies a little further apart! :) Ryan will be 1 year old on Tuesday! Yay! I hope this baby girl waits long enough for her brother to turn 1!

Thanks to all my visitors today, Tia and Becky from The Container Store, Grandma Ruth and Aunt Marianne, Phyllis and my new parrot friend that sings "Don't Worry, Be Happy," Shane's coworker Flavia and her mom, and my friend Monica. Flavia's Mom is visiting from Venezuela, and made a beautiful little outfit for our baby girl with a matching hat and bloomers. How sweet! She and Flavia were able to stay for the ultrasound to see our little one - it was very special. I'm quite sure I would not have made it through the day without my new favorite nurse, Paula. Everybody should stop and give Paula a mental hug - she deserves it for putting up with me today. :)

About my Dad, he has completed 4 weeks of radiation and has 2 more to go then one week of recovery. Boy, time flies! Physically he's feeling okay, just tired. They have had many visitors this week, I'm sure that helps the time pass. Thanks to everyone that has asked about them... it means a lot to all of us.

Here is a picture of Ryan playing with his Easter Basket from Uncle Scott and soon-to-be Aunt Sarah. He particularly liked all of the snacks! (Wonder where he gets that from!)


Here is Ryan after a nap - Uncle Scott calls that "weekend hair!"


And here's Ryan with one of his favorite toys - anything he can find in the recycle bin! In this case, it's a water jug! You can see he's walking in this picture! He's doing so great!