[caption id="attachment_641" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Independent Emmett"][/caption]

What a little weekend of milestones!� Emmett turned one month old yesterday (can you believe it?) and spent his first night in his very own bedroom (which I think was a lot tougher on mommy than it was on baby).

James and I pretty much spent the whole weekend planning and rearranging the furniture in our apartment with the goal of finally setting up the nursery (for the most part).� To make the transition from our bedroom to the nursery a little easier (again, probably just for me), we've left the crib in our room for the time being and set up the Pack 'N Play in the nursery.� I figured this would make things a lot simpler if I decided I didn't like how things were going after the first couple of nights and wanted Em back in our room again.

I'm happy to report that the night went pretty well (normal behavioral hiccups aside).� It may have taken me a little longer than usual to get to sleep due to worries about possible baby monitor malfunctions or kitty mishaps (thankfully, Oliver kept his distance), but in the end, it seemed to work out pretty well.� I like to think Emmett enjoyed his independence, too.

Maybe I'll still give it a couple more nights before we move the crib into the nursery for good.� You know, just to be sure ...

(Pictures of new apartment setup and nursery to come ...)

Age Timer: 4 weeks, 4 days

Okay, okay, I know I haven't exactly made it to my "due date" yet (Monday), but I'm not going to lie - I'm getting pretty anxious.� After all, your due date is really only the date that falls in the middle of when you're expected to deliver (between 37 and 42 weeks), so technically "any day now" has been going on for 18 days already.� Less than 10 percent of mothers actually deliver on their due dates.� I think I'm allowed to be anxious.� I've been adding the disclaimer "if I haven't had Baby Lump by then" to everything I say for the past two and a half weeks.

Everyone keeps saying I'll go into labor when I least expect it, but honestly, I'm ready and expecting it all the time, so I hope that doesn't mean I won't go into labor on my own.� I even have the Contraction Master bookmarked on my browser just in case James and I are incapable of doing simple calculations in the chaos of the moment.� I've speculated that Baby Lump may just be trying to steal my birthday (next Wednesday, January 14) - what a little thief!

Anyway, if by Monday I haven't had Baby Lump, my doctor wants me to schedule my induction to occur between weeks 41 and 42� (January 19-26), which gives me mixed feelings.� For one thing, labor that is induced is much more intense and difficult to deal with, which doesn't exactly support my plan for an unmedicated birth.� On the other hand, it does mean there is an end in sight - I'll get to choose which day I'll meet Baby Lump, and hey, I won't be pregnant anymore!� (Although it does kind of mess with the unbiased nature of the birth stats guesses, date-wise.)

In any event, James and I are ready and raring to go.� My bags are packed, we're stocked up with supplies (thanks for all the gifts, everyone!) and mentally, we're both prepared to be parents (as much as we're going to be anyway).� We still haven't decided on a boy's name, but we've got a few top ones picked out and pretty much agreed to decide when we meet him, if that's his flavor.

Any day now! (crossing fingers)

Oven Timer: 39 weeks, 3 days

That's right!� My hospital bag is officially packed and ready to go for my mad dash to the hospital when the time comes.� A special thanks to all my Twitter pals and their awesome packing suggestions (see right).

Some other awesome news:� My friend, Justina, whom I graduated high school with and whose baby was supposed to be due two weeks before mine, just gave birth yesterday morning to an adorable little baby boy named CJ (Charles Joseph) - 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 19.25 inches.� Justina's labor was induced, and it sounds like she took the super-fast progression of her labor like a champ.� Congratulations to Justina and Frank on their new baby!� Check out Justina's blog - I'm sure she'll be posting CJ's birth story at some point, and I'm very excited to hear all about it!� It only makes me even more excited to meet my own little Baby Lump soon!

Monday I had my 36 week appointment, and my doctor said everything is going well with Baby Lump.� She also indicated that even if I end up delivering late, she highly doubts that Baby Lump will reach the massive weight James was when he was born.� According to her estimates, Baby Lump will be a maximum of 9 lbs.� Still a big baby, but definitely nowhere near as daunting as 11 lbs! � Unfortunately though, the results from my Group B Strep test came back positive.� My doctor didn't seem too concerned.� Apparently 10 to 20 percent of pregnant women will develop the infection, and they're not really sure of the cause.� Basically, it means I'll need to be injected with penicillin through an IV every four hours during my delivery.� So much for my perfectly normal pregnancy.� Oh well - things could definitely be worse!� Let's just hope for the best and that Baby Lump isn't the one in 4,000 babies that gets infected!

Oven Timer: 36 weeks, 2 days