When we pull this up on our TV Maddie goes crazy, Eric gets a good workout, and I have a good laugh.  Enjoy!

Isn't it funny how when you only have one experience with something, you expect the same results the next time around?  All throughout this pregnancy I have assumed that my water would break to signal when I should go to the hospital and that Camden would be born prior to 40 weeks.  After all, that's how things went with my first pregnancy.  So here I am with 11 days to go.  At this point in my last pregnancy my water had broken and I was being admitted to the hospital.

I thought it was funny tonight when Eric asked me to play Mario Kart on the Wii.  I can't even tell you the last time we played, but I can tell you that with 11 days left of my pregnancy with Maddie my water broke while playing Mario Kart.  So Eric and I went ahead and played tonight, not truly expecting anything to happen, but thinking that it would be pretty darn funny if it did.

Wouldn't this be a great point in the post to announce that my water broke and I am currently in labor?

Well, it didn't and I'm not.  Instead I'm thinking about what I'm going to do with my preschoolers tomorrow and remembering all of the little (and big) things that I'd still like to get done around the house before Camden makes his entrance, which technically could be any day. . . but probably not tomorrow.

Several of you asked for me to tell you how Maddie's toddler clock worked out, so here's your update:

When we first got the clock we explained to Maddie that she was supposed to stay in bed until the bunny woke up.  She seemed to understand, and we went to bed feeling pretty hopeful.  Unfortunately, she was up bright and early the next morning. . . and the next morning, and the next.  Nap time seemed to be getting shorter and shorter as well.  Maddie truly did seem to understand the concept, she just didn't care.

After becoming frustrated about spending money on a clock that wasn't giving us the results we wanted and me freaking out about what would happen if Maddie was still doing this when Camden was born, we decided to try something new.  We kept the clock and the concept, but added an incentive.

I recently checked out a Halloween book for Maddie from the library and there's a picture of candy corn at the end.  Every time we'd get to that page Maddie would say, "I want some."  So we bought some candy corn and that night we told her that if she'd stay in bed until bunny woke up, then she could have a piece of candy corn.  Guess what?  It worked the very first night!  We've been using the candy corn incentive for both nighttime and nap time for a little less than a week now and she has gotten a piece of candy corn every single time.

Does this mean she actually sleeps or is quiet until bunny wakes up?  No.  We occasionally hear her cry out, but more often she just talks.  As soon as the bunny wakes up, she starts calling out, "Bunny's awake!"  We then go in her room and tell her what a good job she has done and give her a piece of candy corn, even if it is 6:35 in the morning.

So, would I recommend the clock?  Yes, but be prepared to use some sort of incentive.

I have decided to begin doing weekly updates since we have reached the final countdown.  I like how in my newest picture you can tell that I'm just about over being pregnant.  This pregnancy certainly has not been as kind to me as pregnancy #1.

38 Week Update
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Size of baby:  Camden weighs about 6.8 pounds and is over 19 1/2 inches long, about as long as a leek.  Sorry it's another vegetable.  Lame.

Total weight gain/loss:  +32 lbs.  Hopefully this one pound weight gain will offset the 7 pound weight gain from the previous 2 weeks.  :/

Maternity clothes:  I have nothing to wear!  No really.  I ripped an irreparable hole in one of my two pair of maternity jeans and even my maternity shirts are too short.

Gender:  Still a boy.

Movement:  Slower than before, but I don't suppose he has too much space left.

Sleep:  Horrible!  I cannot get comfortable.  Pretty much everything between my belly and my ankles aches when I lay down.  I am in desperate need of sleep.

What I miss:  Sleep.

Cravings:  Not much.

How I'm feeling:  Achy, swollen, tired, impatient, anxious, excited, not ready, so ready, etc.

Highlight of the week:  Finishing up Camden's room.  It's not completely done, but it's so much closer to being finished than it was this time last week.

38 weeks

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37 Week Update
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Size of baby:  Camden weighs in at 6 1/3 pounds and is a bit over 19 inches long head to heel, about the length of a stalk of Swiss chard, as if everyone knows what that is.

Total weight gain/loss:  +31 lbs

Maternity clothes:  Yes, and even the maternity shirts are getting to be a little too short.

Gender:  Boy!

Movement:  He seems to have been moving a little more this past week than he did the week before.  I only find myself doing kick counts if it seems like he's had a slow day.

Sleep:  Not terrible.  I may get up once to go to the bathroom.

What I miss:  Being able to move around easily.

Cravings:  Still the sweet stuff.

How I'm feeling:  Achy and swollen, like Fred Flintstone feet swollen.  Not pretty.

Highlight of the week:  Taking maternity photos, going to Build-A-Bear so Maddie could make a bear for Camden, and knowing that I am officially full-term!

37 weeks

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35 Week Update
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Size of baby:  Camden is over 18 inches long head to heel and weighs in at 5.25 pounds, about the weight of a honeydew melon.

Total weight gain/loss:  +23.5 pounds

Maternity clothes:  Of course.

Gender:  Boy!

Movement:  I've begun doing kick counts to make sure all is well.  I still feel the occasional squirm or jab, but nothing like the acrobatics of the past several weeks.

Sleep:  Getting worse.

What I miss:  Being able to get out of bed without using a whole lot of effort.

Cravings:  Eric says I'm craving Fanta Orange, maybe he's right.

How I'm feeling:  Achy and swollen, but excited that we're getting closer and closer to meeting Camden.

Highlight of the week:  Camden's baseball themed baby shower was this past weekend.  We received a lot of the things we need to get life started with this little guy.  Now if we can just get his room painted and ready. . . .

35 weeks

We decided to let Maddie pick out some presents to take to baby brother's baby shower on Saturday.  I knew she'd have no interest in actually choosing something off of the registry, since when you're two years old toys are much more interesting than diapers and sheets.  I also knew we had quite a few baby toys packed away and there's no sense in buying more since he's not going to play with them very much.  So, I came up with the idea of letting her shop through her old toys and whatever she "bought" (put in her shopping cart) is what we'd let her take to the shower.  Here's what happened:

She cracks me up.  I guess I'll have to go through her "purchases" and decide what she's actually going to take.  I'm glad we did it this way as opposed to going to a store to pick out a toy.  She had so much fun shopping with her pink cart.  :)