Full Term!

I can't believe that as on Monday, baby girl is considered full term. It still would feel so wierd to have her this early, but it's comforting to know that if that happens, her lungs should be good to go. I had my last appointment on Monday. They offered to check me again if I wanted, so I said sure thinking perhaps I'd progressed from 1 cm the week before. Not so much. Still 1 cm & about 25% effaced. It kinda bummed me out, but I know that being dilated or not really means nothing at this point. My belly measured 37 cm at 37 weeks so I'd grown 2 cm in a week. The exam caused my back to hurt for a few hours that day along with 1, yes only 1, strong contraction. I go back for my next visit on Monday. If they offer to check me, I still may say yes. Kinda hoping it may get things moving along. I feel really lucky to not be uncomfortable at this point as opposed to having some seriously achy pelvic, hip & leg issues with Brady from about 8 months on. The only pains I've been happening are actually upper back pain. Strange, I know. It happens throughout the night & I think I'm just sleeping in a not-so-good position or something. It's not unbearable & I'm still sleeping fairly well, just getting up 2-3 times a night to go tinkle. I'm getting really excited to go into labor (wierd but true), experience childbirth again, and meet my daughter. It's neat that her birthdate, weight, length, eye color, hair color, features, everything will be a surprise. I packed up some toiletries for the hospital & have work stuff pretty squared away too (out-of-office written & ready to be activated and out-of-office voice mail ready to be activated too). Last night I sterilized the breast pump parts too. I am really looking forward to nursing again as it's one of the best things I've ever done for Brady. There's not much I can do now to keep him healthy other than regular dr's & dentist check-ups, but I gave him such a great start in life by nursing him for 12.5 months. It was a huge sacrifice, but I started off right (no bottles, no paci, etc) and followed my guy by not supplementing him with formula early on despite his slow weight gain, and I think it all paid off. I've posted pics below of me at 36 weeks 5 days from last Saturday. She's still growing & I'm enjoying the ever-blossoming belly. On a side note, we took Brady for his first dentist's appointment this morning. He definitely was scared since it was much like a doctor's office, but the dentist was great. She managed to brush, clean, and put a flouride treatment on his teeth. What a brave boy! He continues to be such a joy & I have no doubt he will be an exceptional big brother to baby girl. Oh, he's also decided that her name should be Charlotte! We had some families over to our house this past weekend including 5 girls ages 1-7 and one's name was Charlotte. Apparently he loves her name because he patted my tummy Sunday night multiple times & said that baby Charlotte was in there. He'svery insistent that she not be called anything but Charlotte. I think Charlotte Lin Davis has a nice ring to it, but we've decided to still wait and see how we feel about it when she's born.