Mojo, The Little Stinker

Our kid is already being difficult...we found out at a growth ultrasound on Monday that Mojo is breech! The purpose of the ultrasound was to make sure he / she isn't too big due to my gestational diabetes - and Mojo was measuring just fine at 6 pounds 3 ounces - but to everyone's surprise, Mojo's head is where his / her bottom should be!

For weeks, my doctor and I both thought that it was Mojo's little bottom that frequently sticks out from the upper right side of my belly, but we were wrong - it's Mojo's little head. I've been doing all sorts of exercises and following the advice of old wives' tales this week in an effort to get Mojo to turn, but so far, no luck. At this point (37 weeks 6 days), there is little chance that the kid is going to turn, so the doctor has scheduled a c-section for next Friday, July 3 at 7:30 AM...and just like that, Mojo has a birthday! Crazy! July 3 is also my cousin Drew's birthday (hope you don't mind, Drew!), which I am proud to have our little one share because Drew is a cool guy - he has the same travel bug instilled in him that I do and has no fears when it comes to exploring our big, beautiful world - and I would love for Mojo to inherit the same passion for travel Drew and I share.

So, at this time next week, Dave and I will be parents…what a strange thing to say! Obviously, we’ve known Mojo was coming for quite a while now, but to actually know when this huge change is going to happen is surreal.

We’re planning to spend our last weekend sans child sleeping in, cleaning the house and going out for a couple of nice dinners. Hopefully, I’ll make one more post before our big day next Friday, but if I don’t, stay tuned for the birth announcement!

How Nina has been spending her time anticipating Mojo's arrival

37 Weeks - Full Term!

I cannot believe we're at 37 weeks...as of today, I'm considered "full term", meaning that if I went into labor at this point, my doctor would go ahead and deliver Mojo (and not try to stop labor). We have an ultrasound on Monday to see how big Mojo is (apparently, I measured a bit small at the last appointment). In any event, the reality is that Mojo could be here any day! We're ready for you!

Dave and I went downtown this afternoon to walk across the pedestrian bridge, get ice cream at Ted & Wally's and walk through a couple of condo models in Omaha's "Little Italy" neighborhood (just for the fun of it - we were curious). It was a really nice afternoon...it's strange to think it may have been the last leisurely afternoon we'll share together as just the two of us.

Gil's Gang and the Search for My Ankles

I can't seem to find my ankles. Has anyone seen them? They were last seen on Saturday morning sometime...perhaps Nina took them while I was sleeping - that little cat is so mischevious!

Seriously, though - my feet look like big fat sausages. They are so bad I won't even post a picture of them here. Suffice it to say that it hurts to walk down stairs because that causes my cankles to bend over onto themselves.

In happier news, Dave and I participated in the Relay for Life this past Saturday evening at Millard West High School. It was so much fun! My Uncle George put together a family team in memory of my Grandpa Gil that passed away from cancer last June. Here's a picture of our team, Gil's Gang:

The Relay technically went from 5:00 PM on Saturday until 6:00 AM on Sunday morning, but we only stayed until about 9:00 PM. Maybe next year we'll do it right and pitch tents to stay for the long haul!

We all wore duct tape hats because Grandpa Gil was famous for his ability to "fix" anything with duct tape. George and I got purple shirts instead of the white because we are both cancer survivors - woot, woot!

29 Days to Go...

Yep, it's been quite a while since our last post...to be honest, Dave and I feel like we're kind of in this "waiting" mode, and as such, we just haven't been doing too much of anything worth writing about.

Two things we did do over this past month:

• Finished our child birth / baby care class at UNMC (during which I found out, to my surprise, that my husband has never changed a baby's diaper before...I guess I had assumed since he has two nieces and two nephews that he had changed at least one diaper...boy, is he in for some surprises once Mojo gets here...)
  
• Completed new member orientation at Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church in Omaha
  

We had been "church shopping" for some time, and after attending several services at Kountze, we decided we felt at home there and enrolled in the new member orientation program. Here's a picture of our beautiful church:

I am Catholic, and Dave is Lutheran. We had been attending services at various churches around Omaha since we got married, but we really wanted to find one where we both felt "at home". Kountze fit the bill, so although I will always remain Catholic, this is where we've decided to attend church as a family. Mojo will be baptized here later this year.

I don't feel like my belly has gotten much bigger since the last picture was taken at 31 weeks, but now that I see it, I guess maybe it has:

36 weeks

I promise I do own maternity shirts other than the above green one I've sported in countless other belly pictures - I just happen to wear this one the most frequently. :)

And a shot of my feet at 36 weeks:

There's definitely some swelling going on - and I've got the sandal indentation lines to prove it. Here's to hoping the next four weeks go by quickly!