Your turn: guess the date, weight and length

Aunt Pam suggested we take bets on Sprout's timing and dimensions . . . if you're game, please add your guess as a comment to this post.  We'll come up with some good prize for the winners. 

Pam's guess:  7lbs.8oz.  20in. 11-19-09

Links to full progression of belly pictures

For those of you tuning in now, Steve has been taking belly pictures of me from front and side every Sunday night since we first starting noticing a bump.  It's funny now to look back and remember how significant it felt.  Little did we realize how big the belly would become!

Anyhoo, here are the links to the full series:

Front progression belly pix

Side progression belly pix

And after this, I promise, you won't be seeing pictures of my bare belly for awhile!

39.5 week belly pix

Here are the latest and greatest installments to our series of belly pictures . . .

. . . and the question is, are these the last?  Stay tuned!

Juscha has started having irregular contractions. However, all the literature says that kind of thing can go on for days, or even weeks. The countdown has been begun, but we don't know quite where it stands.

Meanwhile, our friends and neighbors Mike and Eva had their baby night before last, and we're looking forward to meeting little Max Emiliano.

39 week OB appointment and office shower

I met with Dr. Rebecca Bull today; she's the other half to my OB team (Dr. Monica Vohmann is the other, and our main care provider and Sprout's to-be pediatrician.  They're both family practitioners).  They job share, it seems like, so depending on what day of the week I go into labor, one or the other is on call.  Anyhow, Steve and I are very pleased with both of them and I will not be trying for any particular day of the week. 

Dr Bull confirmed that I'm carrying Sprout very low, but that everything else (i.e. cervix) is still very high, so I've got a ways to go yet.  I have been having contractions in front and low, and some discomfort from ligaments stretching, but nothing too exciting.  It all just shows that, as Dr. Bull put it, I will have a baby out of this at some point.  Surprise!  I'm pregnant. 

In other news, my firm threw me a very sweet baby shower last night after work.  The staff, the people from the title company that shares our office, and all the partners were there, plus Steve.   They fed us spicy chili and carrot cake (trying to get things moving, no doubt), and plied us with very thoughtful gifts.  Special thanks to Jade, Thuy and Eric.  It was a good reminder of how lucky I am to work with you all and what a special community we have in our little office family.  

38.5 week belly pix

Well, Sprout dropped Tuesday night to Wednesday.  I can now feel the lower ribs (lost them weeks and weeks ago) and generally have more room to breath.  Fortunately, my bladder hasn't taken the brunt of the shift like I had anticipated.   She's still moving lots, and making me look even more lopsided than usual.

Steve and I spent a pleasant weekend cleaning up outside for winter and putting together minor projects on the Sprout list.  Almost done!