38 weeks, two days

I finally pegged someone down at the OB office that my date to go to the hospital is indeed Sunday, the 17th. FIVE DAYS! WHOOOO-HOOOO! I'm not anxious or anything. At all. Nope.

The plan is to go in, get an IV and epidural in place, have the doctor turn the baby's head in the proper direction for birth and have the baby! If there are any complications, the staff is on stand-by for a c-section.

I've been experiencing some swelling in my legs and feet in the last 24 hours, so I'm trying to take it easy. This is hard because I'm trying to tidy things up for when I'm gone to the hospital. Still, the kids are available to order around, and that's exactly what I've been doing. Keith just told Kristofer and Kathleen that they need to do dishes every night for a while, including the never-ending pots and pans that need to be hand washed.

Last night, I wrote up a list of people to call before and after birth. I still haven't packed my bag yet. Need to do that, considering Keegan might foil all the plans and come on his own earlier. I've been experiencing mild contractions for a couple of days now. Saturday night was the longest stint, with contractions every 10 minutes for about six hours. I knew from experience, though, that it was nothing to call the doctor about. I have particularly poky labor until I finally reach active labor, then things tend to move along quickly.

Keri Lynn went back to school on Sunday. She is enjoying seeing all of her friends and is excited to be back in a routine, especially since she doesn't have any early morning classes. (She is her mother's daughter, after all.)

Kristofer skated through his first semester of his junior year with fairly easy classes. This semester is a whole different ballgame with physics and geometry as the two big classes on his plate. He's going to have to really study on a regular basis!

My friend Ginny from Florida is coming up on the 16th to help with the home front for a whole week. And since this weekend is also a holiday weekend, Keri Lynn will probably come home to see the baby then, too, since she doesn't have to go back until Monday night. She'll be only sibling old enough to come and see the baby and actually hold him. The rest will have to be happy with looking at the baby through the nursery windows. Kathleen is unhappy about this, but the rest of the kids really don't care!

I was really pleased with the change in hospitals after Keith and I talked it over with the perinatologist. The second hospital is a lot closer and able to deal with my various issues with ease. If for some reason I do end up having complications because of my blood pressure, then I'll go to the first hospital further away. However, I feel good and all of my levels (sugar, blood pressure, weight are all under control).