More Pictures of Lucia Kate

I will get to writing up the story of Lucia's birth and her first few days in the world but, for now, I will post a few pictures.

Click on the pictures for the full sized image...

Pictures of Lucia

Baby Lucia Kate Murphy

Due date and baby's still kickin it in the belly

Little baby girl Murphy is still hanging out in the womb these days. Today is my due date and no sign of her showing up in the world today. I went to the doctor last Tuesday and I was still not quite 2cm dilated and stayed at about 50% effaced. He said that he predicted no earlier than a Tuesday, 3/10 delivery. So, we are patiently (most of the time) waiting on our little girl's arrival. My contractions have picked up over the past week and they get strong in the afternoon and evenings making evening time activities unpleasant. Pat and I have been enjoying lots of sunny walks outside though. The weather up in Seattle has had an odd number of sunny days for spring, so we are taking advantage of them whenever possible. I love the fresh air and feeling like I am getting some amount of exercise. I also have busied myself with cooking and freezing dinners for the first bit after the baby arrives.

Kaitlyn arrives in town tonight, which I am thrilled about. I get to spend Monday and Tuesday with her as I am taking both days as vacation days from work. If the baby hasn't arrived by Wednesday, I plan to continue working until she does decide to come. My next appointment is on Thursday. The doctor said that if I have not made significant progress, he will set up an appointment to induce labor on Sunday, 3/15. I guess the good news is that we can't be more than one week out! I hope that it all happens naturally as I would love the experience of going into labor at home and driving to the hospital and I know that being induced can be more unpleasant. That said I would be happy with either way. We just want the safe delivery of our girl.

I'll keep you all posted this week. Pray for us that labor comes quickly! :)

More contractions but no baby yet

I made it to week 39! I have been having more and more contractions these days and, in the evening, they have a bit of pain associate with them, which is great news because that has to mean we are getting closer. I'll take all the progress I can get. I have been doing a lot of walking each day to try to ensure that the contractions don't stall out. I don't know if it is doing anything but it is good for my peace of mind if nothing else.

Little baby Murphy is still moving around quite a bit and should be around 7lb by now and ready to enter the world. My favorite part is her little feet sticking out on my right side all the time causing a very strange shaped belly but you can almost pinch her little foot at times. It is great fun and we can't wait to grab her little baby feet for real soon!

The waiting game

Well, I just got back from my 38.5-week doctor's appointment, and baby Murphy is still not quite ready to enter the world. I am 1.5cm dilated now and 50% effaced, which is progress from last week but not huge progress. The doctor said that the average woman goes into labor at about 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. Though I am getting there on the dilation and cervix thinning, the cervix still has not started to move forward. That process starts about 7 days before you go into labor. Optimistically I have another week to go and realistically probably more than one week. Now I am just hoping that she decides to come on time rather than late. I guess the good side of things is that pregnancy doesn't last forever and the due date is only 1.5 weeks away now!

We are so ready to meet our little girl! Our bags are packed and we are ready to run to the hospital at a moments notice! My contractions seem to have slowed down a bit over the last few days, so I am hoping that they will pick up again soon. My next appointment is on Tuesday at 4pm. It would be great to hear that the cervix is at least starting to move forward so that we can get past the "one week out" status.