Pregnancy and other updates

Okay, I realize that I've been a terrible blogger lately and haven't updated my blog in 6 weeks. For those of you that have been waiting for an update, you have my sincerest apology. A lot has been going on, but it mostly revolves around preparing for Isabella. We're now in countdown mode... 12 days or hopefully less. John and I went through a "Preparing for Parenthood" class and have been officially deemed as ready to be parents. I thought the class was quite informative while John thought he could have learned all of this by reading a book. He was frustrated that the teacher went over the material in three different formats before moving to the next topic which she also covered in the same three formats. It was a bit repetitive, but not all of us pick up on things as quickly as John. The one part that he couldn't get from a book was the experience of wearing the "Empathy Belly." I thought it was very entertaining. I'm sure this picture speaks for itself, but it was funny to watch John sit down in it and immediately move the belly off his bladder, which we pregnant women are unable to do. He claims that the belly wasn't sitting on his bladder as I thought but somewhere else entirely.

We have officially moved to our new residence and have set up a nursery. We're really excited about our new place and can't wait for all our friends to come by and enjoy it with us. I know there are a lot of you that are curious about Isabella's nursery, so here is a picture. As I've stated before, it's blue and she is a girl... but it's a very calming color and my favorite.

John's been very busy interning with a law firm, Sirote & Permutt, this summer and has really enjoyed it. He's working one more week and then we're both hoping to take off for little Isabella's arrival.

My work has been awesome. I've been working my regular schedule, but my boss has blocked my schedule now so I'm not taking any new patients. My load has really lightened up lately and all my co-workers have been so supportive as I get ready for maternity leave. As for pregnancy updates, I've gained 29 pounds and have no real complaints. I have low blood pressure, Isabella's heart rate is perfect (around 130 bpm), and I'm having very little discomfort. I believe my ligaments have started to relax so I'm having a few hip/low back pains when I walk (this is actually a really good sign in my opinion), and the doctor tells me I'm beginning to dilate and efface. This is all excellent news, because I had started to wonder if Isabella was going to come out after all. She's been in there so long that it felt like she might just decide to stay. But I think that she might be getting close to being ready now.

Oh, John and I wanted (let me change that to I) wanted to memorialize this time with my huge belly and I drug John to a professional photo session to capture us at 8 months pregnant.