Week 35

Here's a list of random things that are going on in my head today.

• I had an appointment with my doctor yesterday. Now I will be going to see him every week. It was a pretty short visit and everything looked good. He did not check much but said the baby could really come any time now. He asked if I was ready, and I said I would be ok if she stayed in there for a while. He just laughed at me.
• Do you have any more bits of advice for me as I am in the last month, weeks, and days of the pregnancy?
• So far, my belly button has not popped out. I keep wondering if this will happen to me. It has definitely gotten more shallow but is still an in-y.
• For Christmas, Matthew gave me a gift card to a spa in town that can be used for all kinds of things. I was planning to use it on a pregnancy massage when I started to get uncomfortable during the pregnancy. Now I think I will save it until after the baby comes and go for a massage and maybe something fun like a manicure and pedicure. Let me know if you think I should use it before or after Baby Girl is born.
• If you have ever been in the hospital for surgery, did you think about creating a living will? The hospital casually mentioned it when I went for my preadmission appointment earlier this month. I think it’s a good idea, but I do not have anything in writing at this point. I would hate for Matthew to have to make that kind of decision on his own without knowing my wishes and having them down on paper.
• Baby Girl is still without a name. We are working on it, but nothing has just jumped out at the two of us as the perfect name. I hope we will have one picked before she makes her arrival. It’s such a big decision! If you have any suggestions, I am open to at least reading/listening to them.
• We had our very last class on Tuesday. We took an infant and child CPR class. We were not certified in CPR, but we did learn the techniques for giving CPR to an infant and child. I hope I never have to use that information, but I am certainly glad that I went to the class. Matthew is so thankful the classes are now over (and so am I). They took up a good bit of our time in the evenings after work.
• The only appointment I have left (other than the weekly appointments with my ob/gyn) is with a pediatrician. I met one a couple of weeks ago that is super close to the house. He made me feel like he was in a hurry so I decided to meet with one more just to compare. That appointment is next Tuesday. I hope that I can then make a decision and have that out of the way.
• Things have slowed down quite a bit at work. I have slowly been transitioning some of my duties on to other people on my team so they can have some practice while I am still around for help/questions. I have become the project girl for my supervisor. This isn’t all bad, but it makes some of the days go by rather slowly. At this point, I plan to work until the baby comes. I am not sure what will happen and hope that I will not go into labor or have my water break at work. That happened to a girl at this store about a year and a half ago. I was the first person to see her in the bathroom and she told me her water had broken. I felt so bad for her that she had to deal with that at work. But she did great!
• I forgot to mention something humorous in my post about last weekend. My mom, sister-in-law, and I were about to go to the grocery store Friday evening, so I took one last bathroom break. I ended up getting locked in my bathroom. Thankfully, it was a bathroom that had a window to the backyard. Matthew was able to hand me some tools through the window so I could let myself out of the bathroom. It was comical, but it would not have been comical under several other circumstances, mainly (1) if I had been in labor or my water had broken or (2) if I had been home alone. Thankfully, I wasn’t stuck in there too long.
• For sweet baby girls, where do you find hair bows/headbands? I have looked around a bit and haven’t found many…not nearly as many as I would have expected. I am not sure that I will use them often, but I would like to have a couple just in case.
• I have a LOT of blankets. I have received hand-me-downs, some new ones, and my mom brought up some from when I was a baby. How many blankets are enough? I am wondering if I have too many and should return some to get something else that I need.
• Also, what have you found to be the best way to store blankets? I feel like I am already running out of room for everything. I'll have to post pictures of the nursery soon so you can see what it looks like (without anything on the walls so far).

Tex-Mex Recipes?

This weekend we have a dinner group meeting at our house for dinner (shocking, isn't it?). I thought it would be fun to celebrate Cinco de Mayo since we desperately miss Tex-Mex.

Does anyone have a good fajita marinade recipe? The last stuff I purchased from the store was not very good.

What about any other Tex-Mex recipes that would be good?

Thank you! I'll let you know how things turn out.

Weekend Extravaganza

This past weekend was a lot of fun.

• My mom and Matthew's sister and niece came into town for my baby shower. I knew my mom and sister-in-law were coming, but I did not know my 18 month old niece was coming. It was really great to see all of them.
• I had to go to a work event after picking my mom up from the airport on Friday morning. I wasn't looking forward to the team event but was convinced to go by my supervisor. Boy am I glad I went. We first went on a tour of one of our stores that will be opening in the middle of June. I got really lost getting to this store so we were about 30 minutes late. We joined the tour once we arrived and then went to another of our stores for lunch. My team had planned a baby shower for me where we ate lunch and cake and I opened a very generous present from them. It was really fun and it was fun for my mom to be there as well.
• Saturday was my birthday and baby shower. The last time I had so many people around on my birthday was at my rehearsal dinner 6 years ago. I really enjoy birthdays so it was fun to have so much family and friends around. I had a really good time at the shower. There were people there from my Sunday school class, Matthew's previous job, my job, and some of Matthew's family from other places in Colorado. The family then came over to our house for dinner which one of them had prepared beforehand.

• My mom made my favorite birthday cake. When I was a kid, one of her friends made this delicious chocolate sheet cake. I liked it so much that I think I embarrassed my mom by asking this friend to make the cake for my birthday. She did so and then when I turned 16 she and her husband showed up at our house with a cake straight out of the oven. It is truly delicious!
• Sunday was mine and Matthew's 6th wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe we have been married six years. Time sure does go by quickly. My sister-in-law and niece had to leave Sunday morning. While Matthew took them to the airport, my mom and I did a bit of shopping. Later in the day, we helped Matthew hang the Roman shade my mom had made for the nursery. I still need to take a picture of that to put on here. I'll do that on another post.
• My mom fixed 8 to 10 meals that are currently in the freezer for us to use between now and when the baby makes her arrival. Isn't that great? She knew that days are coming when I will get home from work and not have a desire or the energy to fix dinner. While she is here after the baby comes, she is going to fix us some more meals to put in the freezer. She was in the kitchen most of the weekend doing this. (By the way...while checking out at the grocery store when my mom bought groceries for these meals, the checkout lady said something about me looking 22. I lost 10 years this weekend! It was an awesome compliment even though I know she wasn't being truthful.)
• After some BEAUTIFUL weather last week, it snowed Sunday night/Monday morning. We ended up leaving at 5:45 yesterday morning to take my mom to the airport. It took us about 2 hours to get there in the traffic and snowy conditions, but about half that amount of time to get back because the snow had already stopped. It was crazy weather. I really hope that was the last snow of the season. I think out of 4 anniversaries spent in Colorado, it has snowed around 3 of them. This is not a very good picture because I took it before we went to the airport, but you can somewhat see all the snow that is on and around our tree.

• One thing that has become very apparent is that we are going to have to work on teaching Max the difference between his toys and Baby Girl's toys. Does anyone have any advice for this? He pretty much thinks any toy on the floor (or anywhere else for that matter) belongs to him. He wanted to play with all our niece's toys as well as anything that I was messing with in the baby's room.

Week 34

Here are photos from week 34. One of the many perks of my job is that I can wear jeans to work (or even shorts) regularly. I have never worn shorts to work as I am not a shorts kind of girl, but I wear jeans frequently. Last week was team member appreciation week at my company where all kinds of fun things happen like free lunches, the team leaders washing team members' cars, wear your favorite jersey to work, etc. So I wore my favorite jersey to work even though it currently does not fit. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity (Go Texas Rangers!! - in case there was any question as to which team I am supporting). The office also went to see the movie Earth last Wednesday. It was wonderful to sit in the movie theater during the middle of the work day and see a movie about God's magnificent creation...even if He wasn't mentioned in the movie.

Not much new was going on during week 34...just trying to get ready for a busy weekend ahead. I am beginning to feel really large and uncomfortable a bit in bed. It takes a lot of work to change positions in bed and to get out of the bed. I started waking up more frequently. I don't necessarily have to use the restroom each time I wake up, but there were several nights during the week where I woke up once each hour. I was able to go back to sleep rather quickly, but it was still a little frustrating. I guess my body is getting prepared a tiny bit for Baby Girl to arrive.

Week 33

We have almost completed all our classes. The only one we have left is a CPR class this weekend. We are both going to be so happy to have our evenings back. It has been exhausting to work all day, go to class for 2 1/2 hours, and then come home to go to bed. Aren't I supposed to be storing up sleep right now? I would say the classes were well worth our time, but Matthew was definitely worn out by the end of them.

Today I had a doctor's appointment. These have been very routine and not much exciting happens at them. We do get to hear the baby's heart beat each time (137 beats per minute today) which is always fun and reassuring. Other than that, I ask questions and the doctor measures my stomach and all. He is pretty sure that Baby Girl is head down now. I hope she will stay that way. My blood pressure was 92 over 60. I think I've gained about 30 pounds so far (or maybe a little bit more).

Not much has changed in the last couple of weeks. I'm still really nervous about giving birth. I try not to think about it much (which is hard because my due date is approaching ever so quickly). When I do think about it, I pray a lot and try to remember that whatever labor is like, it will eventually be over and I will then have a beautiful little person as a result. That has got to be one INCREDIBLE reward!

I mentioned that Baby Girl is moving around quite a bit. What I failed to mention (I think) is how shocking it is for her to kick (or do whatever it is that she does to) my bladder. Wow! When that happens, I have to go to the bathroom right away. And sometimes it is rather alarming to wonder if I'm going to make it there in time. For the record, I have always made it in time. But I guess one day that could change.

My memory is definitely fading. I used to remember all kinds of things, and in recent years that has changed. However, now if I think of something I need to do or something to add to the grocery list, if I don't write it down right away there is a good chance that it won't get done or be purchased. I will remember it later, but I can't count on remembering it when it would do me any good.

I've heard other women say that they have weird dreams during pregnancy. I have ALWAYS had weird dreams so I'm not sure that anything has changed for me. I did recently have a dream about Baby Girl. I haven't had many dreams about her. I dreamt that I was feeding her at some point within the first week of her birth. Afterwards, I set her down and all of a sudden she was a toddler. She looked just like Matthew's sister and had both nostrils of her nose pierced. Matthew was also holding a baby boy that someone had given us. In my dream, being given a baby was apparently normal and no big deal.

White Easter

We had a nice, low-key weekend. We attended the Good Friday service at our church. A couple that Matthew used to work with went with us and even took us to dinner.

Then Sunday's service was a beautiful celebration that Christ is risen. I did not plan anything special for lunch or supper or even think about having people over for either. I would like to blame it on pregnancy brain or being tired, but really I'm not sure I would have thought about it anyway. I hope next year we can spend Easter celebrating with friends or family.



We had a white Easter this year. We had a white Easter last year as well. I cannot recall the other Easters we have been here, but 2 out of 4 is quite a few. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the snow as we left church Sunday morning. We had the biggest snow flakes I have ever seen. They were the size of golf balls (I'm not even kidding here) and were as wet as could be. As soon as they landed on you, it was like someone had spilled water on you. My hair was almost completely soaked by the time I walked from the sanctuary to the car. It was really pretty and didn't stay around for long. By mid-Monday, there was not a sign that it had snowed the day before.

Week 32

The past couple of weeks have seemed really busy with the classes we've been taking to prepare for Baby Girl.

**This week we had our 3rd of 4 prepared childbirth classes. We watched a video of a C-section. I completely had tears running down my face when the mom and dad got to see their baby for the first time. It was really sweet. We also talked about pain management and took a tour of the hospital. The hospital has been open less than a year and is really nice. The rooms are huge! My favorite quote of the evening came from one of the videos we watched. "Making noise while pushing is normal." Thank goodness they told us that!

**Wednesday night we had our last baby care class. I thought this class was pretty helpful, but I know that everything we practiced on the plastic babies will be much different with a moving baby. I also know that learning textbook stuff about how to deal with a sick baby will not seem very practical when we have to deal with it in real life, but you really can't be prepared for that kind of thing until the situation presents itself. We received a safety checklist of things to consider for different areas of the home. My favorite question on the list was #56 which asks, "Are discarded freezers and refrigerators hauled away from yard, or are doors of old freezers and refrigerators removed?" I understand what is being asked, but all I can picture is a front yard full of old freezers and refrigerators.

**This afternoon I had my preadmission appointment at the hospital. I was able to fill out all the forms and list my preferences (which is really hard to do your first time around) so that when labor begins we can just get checked into the hospital.

**We only have a couple more classes to attend and then we'll just have to learn from hands-on experience. I think the classes we have taken have been helpful and would definitely recommend that you take the classes you can when you're expecting a baby. If for no other reason, it's good to get an idea of the things that are going to happen both during labor and once you get home.

**The baby has been moving a lot more lately. It started out as a very small feeling that something was moving around in my belly. Now there are times when I can see my whole middle section move. She seems most active when I lay in bed each night. Sometimes it takes me a while to get comfortable because she is so active. It is a weird feeling but also a very neat experience. I really enjoy it!

**Last week we had our 31 week doctor's appointment. Everything still looked good. Baby Girl's heart rate was 140. My blood pressure was still normal at 100/60. We go back next week for our 33 week appointment.

**Yesterday I experienced swelling in my ankles for the first time. It could have been because I wore some socks that were too tight. And again today my sock and shoe choices were poor so I have a tiny bit of swelling right now. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Week 31

Here are some recent highlights.

~My mom and dad came into town last Thursday about half an hour before the "Blizzard of 2009" began. We didn't get nearly as much snow as the weather folks were predicting, but the conditions were not nice for driving and getting out for about a day. The wind was blowing like mad and made visibility less than ideal. I have no idea how much snow we actually got, but we did have a drift in our backyard that was about 5 or 6 feet tall. Other than that drift, the snow is pretty much gone. However, we're supposed to get snow a couple of days this week. (Side note - while my parents were here, they supposedly got 13 inches or so of snow at their place. That's definitely more than we had here.)

~While my mom and dad were here...Matthew finished painting the nursery. My mom bought our travel system for us (car seat/carrier/stroller) which Matthew and I put together Tuesday night. She also purchased some fabric to make a Roman shade for the nursery and a couple of blankets. While we were shopping, Matthew and my dad put together the crib. They opened the box to put together the dresser, and after seeing all the parts, Matthew decided he was done with that for the day. Mom and I went through the boxes of clothes we have received and organized clothes by size. We have a lot of clothes for 0 to 3 months which we will definitely get to enjoy right away. My dad asked why we wanted to have a baby since we have Max. I believe he thinks we spoil are dog. Who would have thought?





~Matthew and I had our second prepared childbirth class. We learned about breathing techniques as well as standard happenings during labor and interventions that could become necessary. While there was less than last week, I am thankful for the comic relief provided by my husband and the couples around us.

~Matthew put the dresser together on Monday and carried the glider and footstool into the nursery from the basement. It doesn't match the other furniture, but I have had it since I was living in my own apartment in Dallas. I know it will come in so handy in the nursery.





Questions for those of you with babies...
~What did you pack in your hospital bag?
~What kind of clothes and comfort items did you take to the hospital?
~How long were you in the hospital?
~Did you wonder if you were going to be capable of going through labor? I have concerns about my own strength and stamina.
~Did you take anything special/creative to the hospital to get your baby's footprints stamped on?