someone is obsessed with coloring
Originally uploaded by telfandrea.

Gearing up for tomorrow. C-section is scheduled for 10:15 AM. Telfer flies into JFK on the red-eye about 6:00 AM. Pray for a smooth delivery.

I have been cranky and unable to concentrate (great combination) the last couple of days but finally, today I am able to relax and enjoy this last bit of time before Jane makes her arrival.

Going to watch a little Project Runway on my iPAD. Maybe rewatch Sunday's Mad Men episode (it was THAT good). Read a little New Yorker. Convince Eleanor to pick me up some chicken strips for dinner tonight. Yes, they are fried and yes, I am on bedrest which makes the idea of fried food even more gross. But it's my last night of pregnancy (and I mean the LAST NIGHT) so if I want fried chicken strips…

Cate update: check out the lower lip in this picture. It's like whole-body coloring. Elizabeth, the coloring queen (I think she won every coloring contest she ever entered – bikes, easter baskets, barbies, etc.), has been teaching her well.

finally
Originally uploaded by telfandrea.

And we finally have Washington plates back on our car.

Looks (feels) so good.

bubbles!
Originally uploaded by telfandrea.

Scheduling a c-section has been a little complicated but as of today it looks even more likely we will welcome Jane next Friday, September 10. Other days have been floated around, but for various reasons it seems like the 10th is the best option for everyone.

But a big part of me is laughingly conceding the point that nothing else has gone according to plan this summer so why should this? Telfer is on call this weekend and won't be able to get away. Eleanor will be at a wedding on Long Island. Molly is in the Tri-Cities for two weddings. So naturally, I am thinking an emergency c-section in the next few days is probably in my future!

Oh well. It's been another good week. On Sunday, Molly and Ryan and Siva (friends from high school) brought me brunch, beautiful yellow roses and I got out of my room for the first time in two weeks. Eleanor brought me this amazing mango-on-a-stick carved like a flower. Chris and Mendy are flying into New York tonight on their way to a needed vacation and are coming to the hospital tonight for dinner with me and Eleanor. I am hoping my doctor will come by to meet them — we are ordering from her favorite Indian restaurant in the neighborhood as an enticement… 

Also eagerly anticipating the arrival of Jonathan Franzen's new novel in the mail today. The media blitzkrieg makes me wonder a bit but I really want to finish it before baby J makes her arrival.

fruit from my doctor
Originally uploaded by telfandrea.

As of tomorrow, I have been in the hospital for two months. What sounds more impressive: two months or 1/6 of a year? I can't decide.

And since we are speaking of important dates, I will be 35 weeks on Saturday. Here's the current plan: c-section at 37 weeks, hopefully on Friday, September 10. Telfer arrives that morning and we are hoping to have the c-section closely following his arrival. We shall see…

Feeling good – I am bleeding more often but not impressively so far. My doctor told me this morning to just expect bleeding off and on between now and delivery. Hydration is important to ward off contractions and so I am drinking an otherworldly amount of water (at least it feels that way).

Another piece of good news: as of Monday, baby J already weighs almost five pounds. I think she would have been a chunk if I could carry her to term!

My doctor went to the farmer's market yesterday expressly to buy me fruit. Plums and figs. I told her we should make this a tradition. She promised to bring me another fig at some point today.

On the homefront, Telfer is busy with work and is now scraping wallpaper off the wall in the landing upstairs as well as our bedroom in preparation to paint. Cate continues to charm and is now saying so many words. I love hearing the new words that she says.

One Cate anecdote: On her recent visit, Eleanor taught Cate to call her owies "battle scars." A couple nights ago Telfer was trying to get her to say "battle scar" out loud. He said it enthusiastically and loudly, in a boy voice, probably accompanied by helicopter and bombing noises. Cate paused and thought of the only word she could muster that much enthusiasm for – and yes, that word was "cookies!"

after nap
Originally uploaded by telfandrea.

I don’t really have anything else to say but thought this picture of Cate should be at the top of the blog for awhile. She looks adorable and so color-coordinated!