She's here!!

Cecilia Kathleen Clarke has finally arrived in the world!

In this post I'm going to share the story of Cecilia's birth.  I'll spare you the entire play-by-play and try to keep it to just the highlights but as this is also serving as my own little journal so I don't forget the details there may be a few over-shares - you've been warned!

39 Weeks

We have (hopefully) reached the home stretch - my due date is in 4 days!  I'm still cautiously optimistic that I'll go into labor early or at least only a day or two late, but so far nothing's been happening.  I had an appointment with the midwife yesterday and everything still looks great - baby girl is still in a good position and seems happy.  She's also still moving a ton...sometimes I swear she's trying to find another way out! The midwife unfortunately couldn't shed any light on when our little girl is likely to make her appearance, though; it's apparently just as likely to be today as next week.  I'm scheduled to see the midwife again on Monday but she said hopefully it won't be necessary - fingers crossed!

38 Weeks

Today marks 10 days until my due date.  Time is flying by and yet seems like it's at a stand still...I'm getting so impatient!  Hopefully this little girl will come soon because if my due date comes and goes I may go crazy, haha.

Baby Update: Weeks 34-37

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since my last update! As promised, this post is packed full of baby updates and pictures!

I'm officially in my 37th week which means I'm technically "full term" - our little girl is welcome anytime!  With only 19 days until my due date I am happy to report that I am ready for her to get here - her room is complete and I'm more or less packed for the hospital!  Now I'm just getting impatient :)

Taking it Easy

Well yesterday marks one month until my due date.  Crazy, right?  I can't believe how fast time is flying by.  As I enter into my 8th month of pregnancy I've started to notice all the common pregnancy complaints I've always heard - exhaustion, sore back, heartburn, a hard time finding a comfortable position, constantly peeing (most annoyingly all through the night).  As such, the past couple of weeks I have been doing my best to take it easy.   (I honestly don't know how people work right up to the very end - there have been days when getting off the couch seems impossible!).

Belly Movement!

So this little girl moves a whole lot.  This morning while I was eating breakfast she decided to have herself a little dance party.  It was going on for so long I thought I'd try to catch some of it on video (she's usually awful at performing on demand and will stop as soon as I pull out my phone - I don't know how she knows!).  I wasn't able to catch any of the really big movements she does occasionally, but did capture a few decent size ones.  And yes, my belly button has nearly popped out - thankfully it turns out it's quite small so it hasn't grossed me out like I thought it would!

Update: A few of you have been having trouble with the videos below, so I also put them on YouTube to make it easier.  You can access them at http://youtu.be/vpUhRPh7h2o and http://youtu.be/Q7a5VmIDBRk.

Out and About in Gibraltar

We've taken a couple mini-excursions around Gibraltar.

On my first afternoon here Jay and I walked down to the little cafe at Europa Point for some lunch.  Jay made friends with one of the locals: