When is the baby coming?

Today I had my appointment with the doctor. I'm 5 days away from my due date but this little guy is not ready to come out, or so my body has decided that he is not ready to come out. I am effaced 80% but not dilated at all. My doctor is going out of town the day after my due date. He has to go to London to testify for the BBC and will be gone for 4 days. We were trying to decide whether or not to induce me before he left but since I'm not progressing it is too dangerous to start me early. So we are waiting. He said I very well could still be pregnant for the next 7 to 10 days. Basically I will see his nurse midwife next week and if things arent' progressing I will be set to be induced at 41 weeks. Now knowing that I'm going to be going over my due date isn't the most exciting thing in the world. However, after watching everything that my sister and her children have gone through with coming so early I just have to remind myself how lucky I am to be having a full term baby. I will most likely get to leave the hospital with my baby a few days after he is born. I can handle 12 more days of pregnancy. My life will change drastically after he gets here so I just figure I'll do a few things I won't be able to do as easily after he arrives. The hardest part for me is how big he may be. If the ultrasounds are correct then he will weigh almost 9 pounds if I deliver at 41 weeks. I'm really hoping they aren't correct because I don't know if I can handle a baby that big. But no thanks to Jeff, he was a mighty large baby. So if anyone has some good ideas on things to do to pass the time let me know.

Mom Must Haves and Advice

Since I have 3 weeks until my due date I've been making sure I have everything I need for the baby to arrive. I was thinking about it and really I'm not sure exactly what I need. So basically I'm asking for advice from moms. What are some things you can't live without when you have a baby or seem to make things easier, things for me or baby? Also any advice is also welcome. This is obviously all new to me so please leave a comment, I can use the help.

Belly update

Okay so I guess it is time to put some updated pictures of my belly. I have been putting this off but I'm supposed to be getting big, right? This first picture is from a couple of weeks ago.

Sadly this past week I started to swell. Things were going so good. I figured that since I was going to be pregnant all summer I would basically be swollen my entire pregnancy so I am very lucky that I will only be swollen for the last 4 weeks. I had Jeff take this picture on Sunday after church and I was definitely swollen after sitting for 3 hours. Not a pretty picture. Things are going well with the pregnancy other than that. Just trying to get everything ready for the boy to arrive. Can't believe how soon he'll be here.

I thought I'd just throw this in here too. Miss Cede hasn't been mentioned much lately so I'll talk a little about her. The other day the neighbors had set up a bunch of water toys and they invited some of the kids from the neighborhood over to play. My mom took Cede on a walk down to the mailbox and back. When they returned my mom told me that Cede was so sad, she wanted to play with the kids. Cede does really like kids but after being mauled for about 5 minutes she is usually done. So I said, it isn't the kids really, it is the water. Cede does not enjoy taking a bath but she loves to attack the water coming from the hose in the backyard. So to make her feel better I took her out back for some fun in the water. She loved every second. She will bark at it in this funny high pitched bark and then try to bite the water. As you can tell from the pictures she definitely is due for a cut, which will be happening on Thursday. I just thought it was so funny how her fur would cover her eyes so she couldn't see. Love this silly dog!