A new year!

So here we are in 2008. My how time flies. While I am tempted to wax poetic on all things past, I'll avoid it for the reader's sake.

Here at the Barrett household we are in the "final countdown". Both Steve and I are getting really excited for this baby boy to get here (I know, we have been excited since day 1, but it's definitely ramped up now!).

I went to the doctor on Thursday morning really hoping she would say, "Wow, you are really dilated. I think we should just send you down to the labor and delivery unit now." Instead, she said, "You are measuring perfect for your time. Do you have any questions?"

So, instead of heading off to have a baby, I went home to take a nap.

As of yesterday, we are at 37 weeks. That's pretty exciting because our doctor's office considers the baby full term now. That means if I do go into labor, there are no worries about premature issues. Yea for us!

Why are we so excited now then, you ask? Well, I get Braxton-Hicks contractions all the time. We tried timing them last night. The closest we got was 28 minutes. Luckily, the B-H aren't too painful. They do make finding a comfortable sleeping position a challenge. As my sister says, I feel like a rotisserie when I get into bed.

The contractions themselves last anywhere from a minute to 6 minutes in length. That's pretty much why I am happy that they aren't too painful. Basically, my stomach tightens and sometimes gets a funny shape. If it hurt too for 6 minutes, there might be some serious calls to doctors. For now, we just wait.

Another sign of impending labor is serious nesting. Well, Cathy and I finished up the pre-baby shopping for necessities. These were all of the things I "had to have" before the baby gets here. We had a pretty good time doing that (although don't ask Cathy to pack up the Pack and Play; she's done her time).

The next thing on my nesting urge list is grading. I actually graded 25 research papers in the last 3 days. I don't think I've every graded that many research papers in such a short time. I still have a stack of grading to get done (and I'm definitely feeling the urge to get it done), but those essays were weighing pretty heavily on my pre-baby to-do list.

Well, that's the most current update from here. I have some wonderful photos from our "My wife's too big to leave the house New Year's Eve Party" that I will share tomorrow. I think I feel a B-H contraction coming on, so it's off to bed I go!