The Final Countdown

We are getting closer to meeting Baby Hoffmann! We had our last ultrasound on Monday to see how big Baby is getting. We didn't get any pictures because the printer wasn't working, but we saw so much. We saw so much more than 2 weeks ago- we did see his face VERY clearly. This time I could tell what features were without having it explained to me. He has chubby cheeks, which tells me he could look like a Jarolimek! We also saw his foot (yes, there were 5 toes- we counted them!) and we were able to confirm that he is a BOY! It was quite obvious on the screen, actually!
Tuesday we had our doctor appointment, and I haven't made any real progress since last week. We did talk about induction though. If I don't go naturally on my own by next week, the tentative plan is to go in possibly Wednesday night where they would get the ball rolling by giving me some gel or a pill to start the process, and then start Pitocin to start my contractions Thursday morning. So Thursday the 30th could be Baby's birthday. The ultrasound estimated Baby to be at about 7 lbs. 3 oz. right now. It's hard to know how accurate that is, but they feel pretty confidant that he won't grow that much more. My hope is that he isn't an 8 1/2 lb. baby, and I am hoping that a C-section is not in my future. But if it means a healthy baby, I'm going to have to suck it up and do that. I'm just hoping that if that's the case, I don't have to go through hours of labor and then have to have a last minute C-section after all of that. We'll see.

We are so excited!!! The Final Countdown is really on in our house. We have finished unpacking the last of our gifts and equipment, washing everything and getting our house prepared for our new arrival. The amount of phone calls have picked up with friends and family wondering if there is any news yet. I'm now done with work too. I thought I might go in this week, but it turns out that I'm too tired to do really much of anything and to be productive there. So I'm getting things ready at home and taking lots of naps. Andy is working all this week. He was hearing from his boss that he might be either completely or partially laid off this winter if a house deal didn't go through, but yesterday he found out that even if this house doesn't go through that he will more than likely be able to work through the winter! That is great news since I am about to have several weeks of unpaid leave that will not be good for us as it is.

Andy is also suffering the effects of his "traumatic" flu shot experience. When we were in the doctor's office on Monday, both Doctor H. and I convinced him that since Baby was on the way, he had to get the flu shot this year. I wasn't sure if it was a fear thing or just stubborn guy thing that has prevented him from getting one in the past, but he was all of the sudden was adamant- he DID-NOT-WANT-A-SHOT. The same guy who put a rusty nail through his wrist and missed his eyeball my millimeters with a screwdriver last year and didn't go to the ER did not want a shot! We told him it was for the good of the baby, and that if I could endure childbirth in a few short days, he could certainly handle a little poke. I took my shot in front of him with a smile and gave him lots of encouragement. So he did it and belly-ached the entire night about how much pain he was in and how now he was going to get the flu.... I told him he was crazy and rolled my eyes at him. But then Wednesday night he came home and laid down on the couch and didn't look so good. I felt him and- he was warm! He had a fever! Now, fevers have been making the rounds at my work for the last month, but of course Andy's convinced there's a direct correlation. To make him feel better I looked up flu shots on the CDC's website and low-grade fevers are a side effect of the shot. Oops!! I'm sure he probably won't be listening to me again when I tell him that things are a good idea.

We are counting down the days until Baby is here. Only a few days to go!! We are anxiously awaiting news from our brother and sister-in-law to see if there baby boy is going to arrive close to ours. With the way things are going, we could have 2 Hoffmann boy cousins born on the same day!!! Keep your fingers crossed!!!