33

Only 33 more days, and we will be at Blake's due date. Holy crap, where did time go? It is exciting to get this far. What a blessing to be almost full term. Even though it is hot, and I am really uncomfortable... I am so glad for every day that Blake is able to stay inside. I can thank Ethan and Jacob for my outlook on this. Their early birth taught me never to be the woman begging for an early induction. We are blessed to have made it this far and possibly have a healthy, chubby baby.

This week was my last progesterone injection! That was the highlight of my week. I have been getting them since week 15 (I am now 35 weeks). Before I was getting them, I was getting shots for IVF/FET. I am sick of shots! Those weekly shots did their job though. Here we are, without any preterm labor. I had gotten good at giving them to myself while Joseph was at TBS. I am sure all of my paramedic buddies are shocked at that. I am the biggest baby ever, and here I am giving myself a shot in the bum!

We also did our labor and delivery tour this week. It was pretty short, as all the rooms were full of laboring women. They didn't get to show us any of the rooms. Hopefully, it won't be as busy when Blake comes. We did get a checklist of what to bring and expect. I have started packing our bag. I get non-stress tests twice a week, and the nurse said it was common to be admitted for induction after one. She advised us to have a bag ready for Joseph to grab, just in case that happens to me. We will see. Blake has been doing really well on all of his, so it isn't an issue right now. His room is almost complete. I need to do some more work in his closet, and Joseph has to hang pictures. It will be done soon though.

Our house is still coming together. Our spare room remains a disaster area. My goal is to have it put together before the middle of August. We will see. It could be worse I guess. The rest of the house is in working order, so when we have people over the spare room door will be shut!

All-in-all, we are doing pretty well in Jacksonville. Joseph has to go out in the field for a week in the middle of August, but he will be close... so if anything happens with Blake, he can be home soon. Hopefully, it won't be a problem and Blake will be a good baby until his daddy comes home.

I leave you with pictures of Bailey's first trip to the beach. He was pretty interested in the water.

More House Pictures

Spare bathroom

Master Bath

We are home

We made it! Our new house is getting put together, and we are calling Jacksonville home for the next few years. Everything with the home buying process went really well. We paid for the smoothness of buying our house though, because turning on utilities has been a nightmare. It seems like every single time we went to change something over... there was some sort of problem. Thankfully, it is all set up now.

Blake is doing well. I am being seen on base here, and I really like it so far. I am going 2-3 times a week for appointments, so they are watching us pretty closely. I love that the base is closer than Bethesda was. It is so nice to leave home 20-30 minutes before my appointment, instead of hours before.

Joseph has started working at his new unit. He likes it so far. He did find out that he will be deploying with the MEU next summer. So it looks like another boat ride for Mr. Joseph. He is thrilled (note my sarcasm). The alternative was a year long deployment to Afghanistan though, so we will take the six months. We are also very happy that he will be around for most of Blake's first year.

We are still unpacking our house. It is starting to come together, although our spare room is still a disaster. Overall, I am very happy here... a lot happier than I thought I would be. Hopefully it stays that way!

I leave you with pictures of Blake's room. It still is not completely done, but getting there. I got a new camera for my birthday, and I am still figuring it out. I took pictures of the house, Bailey, and Joseph with it today.

Blake's dresser

His changing table

My grandmother got him this. I think it is just too cute.