baby update

I'll have a lot of posts with this title as we count down the days. Last night I had a lot of painful contractions, but I learned with Rebekah that that doesn't necessarily mean that the baby is coming. I'm a lot more patient this time because I learned that labor symptoms can go on for weeks, and it's terrible frustrating to keep thinking the baby could arrive "any minute now." For those who weren't keeping up back then, even my doctor thought Rebekah was coming several weeks early and gave me medication to stop contractions. But she hung on and was only one week early. So here we are again, but much more realistic this time. I think I brought the contractions on myself last night because I overdid it yesterday, running around all over the place working and buying groceries and playing in the flowers and probably not drinking enough water. I'm going to have to take it easier the next couple of weeks, which I realized when I tried to paint the crib this weekend. Guess what--there is no way I can get on my hands and knees and paint a crib with this giant belly! I should have done that task at least three months ago. Our next doctor's appt is on Tuesday, and we'll probably schedule an induction. We are not planning to induce early, but if Annabelle makes it to her due date, we'll induce then.

Last month at my doctor's appt, a medical student working with my OB told me that a recent study showed that expectant mothers can predict the weight of their baby more accurately than doctors. My doc hasn't predicted Annabelle's size, but I will. She's big. My belly is pretty full now and she doesn't have much room to move around. I think that at this point she's about seven pounds. Next week, she'll be up to eight pounds. And if she is born on or after her due date, she will be close to nine pounds. We'll see if I'm right. Anyone else want to make a prediction?