Mommy and Kristen have been keeping me busy playing games during the loooooooong wait for Junior to arrive. Yesterday, I started timing my contractions while playing Uno using a program Jeff installed on his Palm just for the heck of it. They've been unchanged since Thursday night now - a few painless minute-long tummy tightenings every hour.

Meanwhile, Jeff was busy all day playing with our new video camera and producing our Christmas video. Once Junior arrives, he'll be in charge of motion pictures while I'll be head of still photography. I bought myself a new portrait camera lens as an early birthing present today and can't wait to use it to photograph our baby! :)

Baby is still enjoying his warm and cozy home which was really starting to worry me now that I'm 9 days past my due date. So, I went to my usual midwife and office for an impromptu checkup this morning (the Wednesday appointment was at a different office). Baby is still super healthy but we now have an induction date. If he doesn't arrive by Wednesday, we'll head to the hospital at 5:00 PM to start the induction process which would make his birthday the following day - January 3rd.

I've been having painless contractions since last night and my midwife again thinks that I won't last until next Wednesday, but it's very comforting to know that there's a plan so he won't bake too long!

As the midwife I saw today said, Baby Highsmith is just like any other boy. He obviously isn't sure of the way out and won't stop to ask for directions!

This morning, we had an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid level and make sure Baby still has enough to swim around in. I was also hooked up for another non-stress test and had the other usual tests completed. The conclusion is that Baby is very healthy and just hasn't decided it's time to leave his warm home so there isn't any talk of induction yet.

The ultrasound revealed that he may be about 8 pounds, +/- one pound. The midwife seemed to think it's less since I don't look very big. My weight and the baby bulge size are still the same. Neither has changed in the past four weeks. We were given two ultrasound photos to take home but honestly can't make anything out in either of them so we're not bothering to post them :).

So, we continue to wait while Baby keeps us guessing.

We had another checkup today, one I didn't expect to have since I thought he'd be born by now! A non-stress test was performed which measured Baby's heart rate in response to his movements. He's certainly still moving around enough and passed with flying colors so there's no need for any intervention at this point to jump start labor.

Everything is looking very favorable for labor to start at any moment. An ultrasound appointment was made for next Wednesday, but my midwife doesn't think I'll make it that long. He would be exactly one week late by then.

Unfortunately, Baby is getting on my nerves now - literally and not figuratively! He keeps pushing against a nerve that makes a muscle in my thigh want to cramp up. It always coincides with his movement and is quite annoying, though not nearly as bad as a back nerve would be! Mom keeps joking that it's "leg labor."

Baby's Aunt Kristen is here now so it's definitely time for Baby to make his arrival. Everyone who is coming to see him is now here, so it's showtime! It's great because in all my visualizations, some included Mom visiting the hospital but I never pictured Kristen there. I always figured he'd be born by the time she arrived. Now, everyone will be here and we'll have a big party! :)

Well, December 19th came and went without any action. I've been having false labor since Friday night but Baby appears to be comfy inside. On Tuesday morning, I had lots of irregular contractions but when I finally decided to start timing them to see if they were regular, they stopped!

Grandmommy is now here and Auntie Kristen is arriving this evening so maybe he's just waiting for a big audience to make his arrival! Yesterday was my first day of maternity leave from work. It's quite boring to not have anything to do all day so I'm glad I worked as long as I did.

Tomorrow morning we have another appointment and will learn if Baby is safe to stay inside until he's ready to come out. As much as I want to see him and for him to be born before Christmas, I really hope he's doing fine and will just come when he's ready rather than doing an induction or c-section. So, we'll all just have to sit here and try to be patient! 

We had another checkup this morning and everything is looking great! I'll refrain from including the medical details that I'm too shy to post and I'm sure you'd rather not read :), but it's clear that my body is preparing for Baby's departure. He's extremely low which is great news. He knows where the exit door is, that's for sure! So, d-day could be tomorrow or still two weeks away. I'll just have to try to be patient and wait until he decides it's time to join our world :). I'm really hoping that the low pressure system accompanying a cold front arriving on Sunday will help him make up his mind! Today, Renee confirmed that low pressure systems definitely result in an increased number of patients in L&D at the hospital!

Since last week, my weight is the same (surprising with all these Christmas cookies I've been eating!) and the baby bump measured 37cm again. My sugar levels were back to normal this week after being a little high last week.

We scheduled another appointment for next Friday. Baby will be 2 days overdue then if he still hasn't joined us. At that point, an ultrasound will determine if Baby is doing well enough to stay put. If he's still not here by the time I'm 42 weeks (after Christmas), I'll be induced. I certainly hope he doesn't wait that long and have a feeling he won't.

In case anyone was wondering, we still don't have a name picked out. We think we have it narrowed down to two and will wait to decide him after we see him :). We're not telling anyone until he's here, though. The middle name is pretty certain and comes from my family so he'll have "Highsmith" from his dad's family, a middle name from his mom's, and a first name that's all his own!

And, finally, we regret to inform you that Hurricane Krislis has devastated Bricktopia. You can see all of the hurricane preparation and aftermath photos on Flickr. All this really means is that we have company arriving very soon now and needed to dismantle our LEGO town which was kept on the guest bed in the den!

The three of us went for another checkup this morning. Baby is still perfect, although my sugar level was a little high. I suspect that's due to the Christmas cookies and cherry Sprite I've had all week. Baby won't be able to eat Christmas cookies once he's out so I should be letting him enjoy them now, right? ;)

The good news is that Baby may be starting to realize it's almost time to evacuate. My tummy measured only 37cm which is two less than last week (and he's still sticking his bum out front!) and one less than he should be measuring for being 38 weeks old. A decrease like this usually means that the baby is dropping and getting into position to make his grand entrance into the world!

I passed on any other progress checks since they're inaccurate for predicting when labor will start and I didn't want to get my hopes up or dashed. Since everything else is fine, Renee saw no medical reason to check. We'll get a full report next Friday, though. I'm really hoping he's ready by then so he's here around the time his Grandmommy arrives on the 18th!

December has finally arrived! It's so hard to believe that by the end of the month, Baby Highsmith will be here!

At Friday's checkup, we were again given a clean bill of health. The fundal height measured 39 cm this time, two more than perfect for 37 weeks, but this was only because Baby has been sticking his butt out front for the past week now. I'm sure those are actually chuckles instead of hiccups as he humors himself by mooning everyone every day ;). My progress was also checked for the first time and nothing is happening yet, although the checks won't accurately predict when labor will start anyway so I'm not going to get my hopes up if things start to change or bummed if there's still no progress next week.

The new lamp arrived this week and after rearranging the furniture and cleaning up a bit, Baby Highsmith's nursery corner is now complete! I will be adding photos to the picture frames after he is born so they're still empty. The bumper will also be fixed when the sheet is removed to be washed which we're waiting to do since we still occasionally find a naughty kitty in the crib. They're learning, though, and we'll always keep the door shut when Baby is sleeping in his crib so no worries about any kitties cuddling up with their new brother!

As you can see, our hospital bags are packed and ready to go! We're hoping that the magazines and books we picked up at Barnes and Noble this weekend won't be needed because labor is short. :)

The calendar on the wall will allow Baby to keep track of the days. He'll be able to determine, "It's Wednesday. That means Mommy will be home with me all day and I can watch Guy Fieri and Tyler Florence cook on Food Network while she works," or, "Yay, it's Tuesday! Daddy will be home and we can solder metal in the den all day!"

In other news, those who have followed the construction progress at Bricktopia will be interested to know that the Bricktopians are keeping their eyes to the skies as ominous storm clouds have been forming. We will keep you updated with the storm warnings.