No Baby Supple Yet!

Hi Friends and Family,

Chris and I got some good news at our doctor appointment on Friday! We are 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced. This means that my body is making progress toward having our little girl! I have another appointment this morning at 10am so we'll see if I've made any more progress since Friday.

The best news I got at the Friday appointment was when the doctor asked if I was having any braxton hicks (practice) contractions yet and I said, "No." She said, that's fine - not everyone has those. Then during her exam she said, "You are having a contraction right now, does it hurt?" And I said, "Really? I don't feel anything!" I asked the doctor if I might get lucky, and maybe all of my contractions wouldn't hurt! Then she laughed in my face and said, "No! You'll definitely feel the real thing!" (Well, it was worth hoping for, right?! )

Since I've heard varied stories from friends that 1 cm dilated could mean the baby will be here any day or I might have to wait another week or two, I decided not to take any chances and took advantage of our quiet weekend to take down the Christmas decorations and to stock up our freezer with freezer meals. I also sterilized all of the bottles and finished packing our "go bag." Chris worked on putting together the car seat and stroller and did some more work to our downstairs bathroom. Now we have the Cadillac of toilets and a nice new sink! Next on our list is a mirror and light fixture.

I have to admit that although I'm finding bursts of energy to get projects done around the house, overall I'm feeling exhausted. I'm not sleeping very well, and transitioning my work to my replacement co-worker has made me and my bosses realize how much work I do around the office! Luckily they are letting me work from home from here on out so I don't have to worry about going into labor an hour from our home and hospital! I'm really looking forward to working in jeans and a sweater tomorrow. To celebrate, I carelessly tugged and pulled off my pantyhose when I changed out of my work clothes tonight and threw those pesky pantyhose in the trash! Farewell morning yoga!

On Thursday night last week, Chris and I got some VERY EXCITING family news! My sister-in-law Kelli just got engaged to her wonderful boyfriend Kes! Chris and I were both very excited by this news. Kes is going to be a great addition to the family - not only because he is fun, but also because he is a PEDIATRICIAN! Yay! He has already given Chris and I a very useful book on what to expect from your newborn when coming home from the hospital. Welcome to the family Kes!

What a good lookin' couple!

On a serious note, I forgot to mention in my last post some unfortunate local news. On New Year's Eve morning, a beloved local landmark, Old Stein Inn, was badly damaged by a three alarm fire! This is Chris and my favorite German restaurant, and it is only 5 minutes from our house. Many of our friends and family have been there with us to enjoy their biergarten and schnitzel! The building itself is about 100 years old and the investigation is still underway to see what caused the fire. The fire started around 5am, so luckily no one was hurt. It took 89 fire fighters to put out the fire due to cold weather and the need for continual rotations. Chris and I are very sad, and at Church our Priest even called our attention to the incident so we could pray for those who are now out of work.

To celebrate our good times there, and in hopes of more to come, here are a few pictures of fun memories made at Old Stein! Hopefully there will be more to come once rebuilding is complete!

Sylvia on the Accordian plays a mean Chicken dance!

And, much to Chris' enjoyment, the Steelers Polka...

Dad and I can't resist dancing along to the Chicken Dance!

Enjoing some monster sized schnitzel and Oktoberfest beers!

A crowd is always present in the biergarten!

I hope everyone is having a great week! We have snow here, so I'm especially thankful for my telework day! Chris and I will be sure to keep you updated on any baby news that might come up before my blog post next week.

xoxoxo,

Bethie