34 Weeks!

The baby is 34 weeks old today! That's one day longer than Nolan lived so I am counting my blessings. This is the milestone in my pregnancy I've been waiting for. Of course, the first thing I receive at 7:45 this morning is a text from Marshall with a picture of his new nephew, Dylan. So the baby was born sometime this morning via an emergency c-section. It's weird but every major event that Marshall and I have had in our life together has been overshadowed by some drama with his younger brother. Today was the huge milestone in our pregnancy and of course the news of the day is the birth of the baby. At least the text from Marshall was then followed promptly by a text from Tifni saying, "U survived and stayed sane!!!" followed by a chain of emoticons from hearts to hand claps to flowers. Thank you! At least someone gets it.

I then had a doctor's appointment with Dr. McLean this morning. After the BPP ultrasound test that the baby passed, I saw Dr. McLean. The first thing she said when she walked in the door was, "you're 34 weeks now! Do you feel less anxious now?" Okay so two people understand the importance of today for us. Thank you! It is a momentous day. Our baby has survived the 34 week mark, something Nolan was not able to do. I felt all along that if we could make it beyond where Nolan passed away then the same thing was not going to happen to this baby. Sure there is still plenty that could happen, but it won't be the same mysterious way Nolan passed. I told Dr. McLean how hard this past week had been and she said she was expecting it. She asked me if I've become obsessed with feeling fetal movement and I admitted that I had. She just nodded as if she understood and then asked if I was getting out of the house at all. I told her I indeed was and then mentioned I actually even met Tifni for coffee this week. Dr. McLean was glad to hear that and asked if talking with Tifni helped me, which of course it did. The baby's heartbeat was 157 today but Dr. McLean said that was normal. He was awake and pretty active. I saw him tapping his foot against the sac wall during the ultrasound and his breathing was so good I could really see his lungs expanding and contracting. Before I've only really been able to tell by watching his diaphragm move up and down. I am definitely breathing easier today but that doesn't mean I won't stop being obsessed with feeling the baby move all day and night.

After my appointment, I swung my the eye doctor to pick up Marshall's contacts then headed over to my Mom's office. Her work was having a bake sale to raise money for Relay for Life and I was meeting Stacey over there to buy some goodies. In addition to all the sweets they had, they also were selling hotdogs and hamburgers. Since I'm not supposed to eat hotdogs, when Stacey mentioned she was meeting Susan at Indochine for lunch I eagerly invited myself. So I bought a few cupcakes, some lemon pound cake for Marshall and a brownie and chatted with my Mom for a bit before leaving for lunch. We were seated right next to a long table and sitting there were a couple of camera guys that I knew. I chatted with them for a minute and before I knew it, in walked more camera guys. I gave hugs all around and they all asked about the baby and Marshall and told me how excited they all were and how much they've been praying for us. They were all about to start work on the new TV show in town, Under the Dome. I really wish I could work on it too as I think it will be a good show and probably last awhile, but they start filming at the end of February which is obviously really bad timing with the baby. Maybe next season I can jump on it though and work at home and not have to travel any more. That would be great for Marshall and I to only work in Wilmington and not have to travel with the baby anymore. Who knows if that will work out though.

After lunch I went and took my car to have an estimate done on the damages. That took about 15 minutes and then I met Stacey at Mayfair for some shopping. She was on the hunt for some things and so I just tagged along, not really looking for anything. I did, however, find a swinging chair for the front porch that I loved at Pier 1. I've been wanting a chair like that for some time and we've looked several places but haven't found one we liked at a reasonable price. I sent a picture of it to Marshall telling him I would be okay if he wanted to get it for me for Valentine's Day. I was expecting him to just laugh at me, but he said he liked it and asked how much it was so that's promising! Maybe the baby and I will have a new chair to swing in afterall! Apparently Marshall was having a better day at work today with Steve back as he texted me back a picture of their dolly grip "Biggin" all dressed up as a cook. I'm glad to see today isn't as stressful of a day as the last couple have been for Marshall. Without his department head Steve there Marshall has had to run the show and they had a 3rd guy who is still pretty unexperienced working with them. I'm also not sure how the news about his brother's baby is affecting him as we haven't really had an opportunity to talk about it. After we were done shopping, I went home and finished installing handles on the kitchen cabinets while I waited for Marshall to get home from Charleston. It was around midnight before he got home but at least he was home. Now to enjoy the weekend with him!