36 weeks!....but who's counting?

We are on the homestretch now! 36 weeks down, 4 more to go! Dave & I are in baby-mode, baby-prep, baby-showers, baby-central and we are having a blast getting ready for our little boy to arrive. Cami is doing great, though I feel bad that Jude is apparently kicking her quite a bit! From now on, we have weekly Doctor Wingo visits, and he is always a riot and makes us laugh. As far as obstetricians go, he has our highest praise. He has literally been with me through over a decade of drama, surgeries & miscarriages alike. He has also been with Cami through Eli and Ruby's deliveries, and now Jude's. You get the feeling that he really cares, and I can't think of a better trait for a physician to have.
Cami & I did a live interview for Conceive Magazine this week. While I feel like it went very well, I did forget quite a bit of specifics from our infertility process. Cami was her calm, cool, and collected self...I was concerned I sounded too country! We go Feb. 4 to Metro Juvenile Court to officially adopt Jude! I cannot wait until he's older and we can tell him all of the things that had to happen to get him here. I'm posting a couple of pics of his nursery, which has been so fun to prepare!

Cami is 34 weeks pregnant! We are 34 weeks pregnant! Jude is approximately 4 pounds now, and moving around a lot. When Dr. Wingo listened to his heartbeat yesterday, he said he could also hear him in motion. Cami looks beautiful and has a cute little basketball bump! It is hard to believe Jude will be here in only 6 weeks. We are ready to meet this new little guy. I can't wait to see what he looks like, what his personality is like. I just can't wait to hold him. His room is ready though we are still waiting on his window shades. In every corner of our house, there is baby gear, whether a stroller, swing, car seat, bouncy seat. Cami is still debating whether or not to be induced. She had Eli & Ruby naturally, and prefers to do that with Jude since her body knows that routine. Some say induction increases a chance of C-section, and that is not a route she wants to go, understandably. This baby has acquired so many gifts, clothes, and we are blessed with four more showers before his birth! Jude is very wanted, very anticipated, and very loved.

Suffice it to say Cami has had her share of comments from well-meaning folks inquiring about her pregnancy. But this week takes the cake as Eli was asked "Are you having a baby brother or baby sister?"!! To which, clearly, the answer is "neither." Cami interjected that "It's complicated." Surrogacy certainly has its moments of hilarity. Our ob said something along the lines of "Tell people you are having your brothers baby" as in no one in the South will be surprised. I have heard a lot recently on tv about surrogacy. I am so thankful, beyond thankful, that modern medicine provides these much-wanted babies like Jude to be born. It is still hard to believe that it worked! I know by now I should be "getting" that part since I can physically see Cami's belly, but it is so surreal, awesome, unimaginably great! I don't know why my dumb body refuses to "grow" babies, but I am ecstatic that an answer came thru Cami's love for us.
p.s. 8 months today!

I felt baby Jude kicking tonight! Cami & I were sitting side by side, & I held my hands on her belly for a few minutes. I felt 3 little thumps, & she said, "Did you feel that?" She says he's very active...It is so hard to believe that our baby boy will be here in only 2 months!!! It's like a miracle that just keeps getting better; it doesn't stop. And I feel certain every tear we've shed, every ache, will be completely healed the instant Jude is in our arms.

Six Months and Counting!...

So Cami is officially 6 months pregnant! She is doing great! Jude seems to be smaller than her babies; she has gained 6 lbs. less at this point than she did with her last baby. We are preparing his nursery, and realizing how little we actually know about newborns! We are going to take an Infant Care class at the hospital to learn all we can. The time is flying by; it is hard to believe he will be in here in 3 months or so!

My baby got rhythm! Cami, John, & Eli went to a festival this weekend in N.C. & she said Jude was moving the whole time the bongo drums were playing!