Updates, updates

Hey folks. Well, here I am, 6 days post due-date and STILL EFFING PREGNANT.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, however, because tomorrow night I check into the hospital to start the induction process. Yayyyyy! It's obvious that this baby is not coming out unless we flush her out like we're on a quail hunt or something. Actually I have known this for a while - I feel validated that the doctors now realize it too...

Sooo anyway, we go in tomorrow night, at which time they'll give me some meds to get my cervix dilating and then the next morning they start the pitocin. It could be a long haul after that, but we'll see... rest assured that as soon as it's all over and I have pictures of the beeeeby I'll post them right away. We're bringing a laptop, so hey, if things are slow enough, we may even update the blog along the way.

Right now I cannot even explain to you how ready I am to get this process going. The baby is more frequently positioning herself riiiight up against my sciatic nerve on the right, which is excruciating, and my back is killing me on the left side too! My top speed is "slow waddle" and I am just so unbelievably ready to get this show on the road. I think this is nature's way of preparing women for the hardship of childbirth. Look at all this wisdom I'm dropping. Actually I'm just delirious.

So that's the update - not much else to report, because this issue has pretty much taken over my life! Hopefully by the next post there will be more Burgii in the house than ever before. Keep us in your prayers!

It's Friday the 13th and my cervix needs a pep talk.

So, first things first, still preg. I went to the doctor this week and my cervix is still pretty much the same as my last appointment - 1 centimeter dilated and about 75-80% effaced, which is better than nothing of course, but not enough action to make induction a possibility before 41 weeks. Grrrrrr.

I shouldn't complain too much. My due date is Sunday, and I'm really ok with waiting the full 40 weeks. But I am starting to get annoyed with my cervix. Really cervix? We can't work together as a team? Not even now, when it's showtime and your big moment to shine? The truth is, I haven't asked much of you up till pregnancy - you've enjoyed an easy ride. Now when I need some cooperation, you decide to clam up. All of my other lady parts have been there for me. Unacceptable.

Anyway, I go back to the doctor on Tuesday for another check-up. Keep your fingers crossed that someone decides to be a team player, ahem.

My birthday was great! We went out with some friends to a very nice dinner, and Gavin got me a kickass spa package. He says I will need it once the baby's born, which at this rate is looking like Christmas, New Years.... at this rate we'll miss the tax deduction cutoff and that will REALLY piss me off! I'm predicting Christmas Eve, 2009, 12 lbs, 3.5 oz. The perfect 3 month old.

Other than that, it is shaping up to be a great weekend, with beautiful weather and entertaining football games. I am going to make the most of it with some quality time with Gavin and the dogs. I'll let you know if anything interesting develops.....

Dirty Thirty

HAHAHA - I'm def not adopted, but it is my birthday and I thought this pic was funny.

Well, folks, here I am - 30 years old and still young and spry as ever. Ok, maybe definitely not so spry at the moment, but I'm hoping to regain my spryness very soon. I thought turning 30 would be a drag, but really, it feels good. It's like ripping off a band-aid and realizing, hey, that wasn't so bad.

One thing that helps is that I can say without reservation that I made the most of my 20s. I really lived it up in my 20s, folks, and Hallelujah for that. My mom always says that time will pass no matter what you do, so you have to make the most of it.

Someone also told me a long time ago to get up and do things when I got the opportunity, even if I felt like staying home and being lazy or taking the more comfortable route, because I'll never regret having the experience. At the time, something inside me perked up and thought, this is great advice, so I took it.

So here are some of the greatest hits of my 20s, in no particular order.

1. Marriage! I married Gavin just 3 months shy of my 25th birthday, and now I look back and think - wow, I was a child bride. But it was the best decision I ever made. It's been such a great ride so far. I love him more and more every day and here we are about to pop out a puppy! I love you heeeeeeny!

2. Trips with friends to fun places! (NYC thrice, Vegas twice, New Orleans twice, Key West twice, San Antonio, Denver, football road trips to Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta, Auburn, Tuscaloosa, Athens, etc.)

There was a time when I felt a tiny bit guilty taking these trips, because I may have had homework (during college or law school) or perhaps the responsible thing would have been to stay home and study or do laundry, but I stuck to my philosophy and went anyway. Sometimes I just packed Maddie up and took her with me. Looking back, those memories are priceless. I took a lot of these trips in law school, so much so that Gavin called me "Miss Goes-out-of-town-a-lot." He has a way with nicknames. We were courting then, so I think he just missed me.

All I can say is that you really are only young (like that) once, with that kind of freedom and energy, and when I look back, I remember the things I did, not the things I perhaps "should have" been doing at home. I guess they all got done somehow.

Props to Gavin for encouraging me to take all the "girl" trips I have taken over the years - he never put up a fuss about the money I spent or the time I spent away from him - thanks Bear!

3. Family trips! My fam knows how to travel - Canada, California, the UK, Utah, NYC, such great times and memories with loved ones. Also, my trip with Gavin to Italy was something I'll never ever forget.

4. Study abroad program! 6 weeks in Oxford England, with backpacking jaunts to various places in Europe on the weekends, including Amsterdam, London, Dublin, Belfast, Paris, always staying in inexpensive and sometimes scary hostels. I was so lucky to be able to do that with a group of pals from law school. I had practically no money, and barely got home by the skin of my dad's Visa card for "emergencies only", but I had the time of my life.

5. Sports car! Glad I rocked the convertible sportscar for a couple years - it was something I always wanted to do and loved every minute of it.

6. Career! I have been really fortunate to have had great and challenging jobs with excellent mentors and fun opportunities. It's been demanding at times, but, to my own shock, being a lawyer has suited me well, and I'm really happy with where I am now.

7. Baby! I have wondered throughout this pregnancy whether my last hurrah as a 20-something would be to have a baby. How very silly of me. Elise loves my uterus - it must be like a 5-star hotel in there or something. It's ok, though - it will be a great way to kick off the thirties.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing, but it's true what they say, that when you look back on your life, you remember the good things, so hang in there. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. I really really really hope to be posting about a birth verrrrrry soon!

Love ya!

Heyyyyyy

I caught Maddie mid-yawn.

Well, I'm still preg, but definitely getting there... as of today I am 38 weeks and it DEF shows. There she blows!

Hmm, what is new that I can tell you... the baby has "dropped" which means that, pelvically speaking, she is positioned appropriately to be born. This is not a reliable indicator that labor is imminent, however, because this can happen weeks in advance. Of course.

Elise is looking good - measuring a little on the petite side, but that's ok. If I have to choose between popping out a 6-7 pounder or a 9-10 pounder, my vagina and I will take the smaller baby, thanks. Heh - I said vagina.

Girlfriend kicks me and stretches out her tiny gams A LOT, which is still neat, even after all this time. Frankly though, I'm really ready for this to be over. Not to be a Negative Nancy, but I can't really do anything comfortably and I am not a person who enjoys being uncomfortable. Which is why I wouldn't have enjoyed Woodstock.

So Gavin is watching this thing about a half-wolf, half-man that supposedly killed lots of people in France in the 1700s. Apparently a cop and a zoologist are trying to "crack the case" in 2009 to determine whether the killer was a person, an animal, or a mythical creature, like a chupacabra or something. It is ridiculous. I haven't seen the ending, but something tells me the results of this investigation 300 years after the fact will be inconclusive. Gavin and I have such different tastes in TV sometimes. Basically, if it features time travel, alternate dimensions, space, volcanoes, wolfpeople, or cavemen, you can find it on my DVR, thanks to Gavin.

In other news, I wanted to blog about the current babies in my life - my doggies. Maddie and Sugarbear have gotten really clingy these past few weeks, which makes me think that they know something is up. Here are some pics of them snuggling up to Gavin... awwww.

I know, they are cute. ell, I will keep you updated on any new developments.... hope to talk to you REAL soon...