34w0d - We Have Furniture!!!

Finally. After 13+ weeks, we have furniture. So glad we ordered them "early" back when I was 20wks. That was January 25th. Now the fun of finishing it begins!

These aren't the greatest pictures. It's hard to take pictures in a garage with limited space and lighting. The pieces are all a really light Maple. We'll call these the before photos.

The lingerie tower.

We'll use this one as the changing table.

And a corner bookcase for lots of storage.

It's been a pretty quiet week. I picked up some flannel material and made some burp cloths. One yard of each color and I got 8 burp cloths. I wasn't expecting to get that many, so that was a pretty good deal. And the fabric was only about $7.00.

I'm thinking it's about time to start washing some of baby's stuff. Of course we're still limited on storage space until the dressers get done, but I could at least stack things in the closet as they get washed. Besides, it'll be fun to go through the clothes that she has again and get them organized into sizes and see what kind of stuff she still needs right away. We did really good on not buying many clothes as we expected we'd get quite a few as gifts. Now I feel like I could go pick out a couple of things out for her.

Next week I'll have another OB appointment and update to follow. Hopefully there is something to update on! I don't see my regular doctor next week, I had to schedule with someone I haven't seen before. Hope I like her as much as my regular doctor!

33w2d - Generosity

Last weekend was my baby shower. It's just amazing to see the generosity of family and friends when it comes to a new baby. We got so many wonderful gifts. The time that had to go into each of the handmade gifts that we received really shows how much people love us and our baby girl. Included in the handmade gifts were several blankets, quilts, burp cloths and baby booties.

The shower was a great way to see so many friends and family that we don't get to see all that often. Here are a few pictures from the day:



We made these awesome cookies.



Lite Lunch, Minnesota style - Look at all the food! Plus two crock pots on the back counter top with the meat for hot sandwiches.



'Lil pup even got to be part of the festivities. He did pretty well with so many people and a lot of commotion going on.



Playing Baby Shower themed BINGO.



Dad was even thought about while picking out gifts.





Super cute cake copied to match the invites.



Me with my wonderful hostesses. Thanks again girls!

This week I had my 33wk OB appointment. Everything is still moving along nicely. The doctor thinks that little girl is in a head down position despite what I feel really high in my belly which feels really hard and round like it could be a head. If there is any question at the next appointment, they may send me for an ultrasound just to make sure we know what we are dealing with. Obviously a breech baby would bring a lot of different decisions. Next appointment in two weeks, then we move on to weekly appointments from there! It's so crazy to think that we could have a baby in about 6 weeks! (I'm hoping to go a little early...a girl can dream, right?)

What's happening with baby: Weeks 33-36 (Month 8): Honeydew 17.2-18.7in, 4.2-5.8lbs

Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.

32w0d - Spare Some Change?

Baby girl already has her first piggy bank. This was a fun project that I did a couple of weekends ago. There's a paint your own pottery place here in town and I was able to customize the finish to match the room and decor. The base color is the palest yellow which matches the crib blanket (you can see it sitting on the blanket in the pictures) and the polka dots also pull the rest of the colors from the bedding. It's fun having a few of these projects to help personalize her space.

Just for reference, here's the bedding:

Believe it or not, we are still waiting on the nursery furniture. When we ordered it, we were told 6-8 weeks. This Sunday will be 12 weeks. Turns out the people who are making it are just a small 2 person company and they found themselves swamped with orders and have gotten way behind. Unfortunately, at this point, we can't even get an estimated arrival date. Now that we're down to 8 weeks! and the weather is nice, we're itching to get the furniture so we can get it finished. Oh yeah, it's coming unfinished, so even after it comes, it isn't going straight to the room. At least baby girl has a crib to sleep in. We might just have to make due without the dressers and book shelf for a while.

Next week it's back to the doctor. Hopefully it'll be another quick appointment with nothing but good news. For the most part, I'm still feeling fantastic. Every now and then baby girl stretches out and uses up every bit of space she has, and that hurts a bit, but other than that, still no real complaints. I just can't believe I'm down to about 8 weeks left.

31w0d - Window treatment is DONE!

That wasn't so bad. A couple of weekends worth of time spent and we have a pretty decent looking Roman Shade for baby's room. Not bad for our first attempt, huh? We used a heavy outdoor canvasy material that had our bedding colors (almost perfect!) in it and then a white flannel type of thermal lining for the shade. These are a few pictures taken early this morning. While it isn't room darkening, it really blocks out a lot of light and there is never direct sunlight coming in as it's a northern exposure window.




Here's another little project that we worked on. I may have mentioned this a while ago when we were working on the wall letters. This is a replica of a wall plaque that my aunt had made for me for my baptism. It's a verse that I have had memorized for years and years. I thought it would be appropriate to recreate it for my own daughter's room.

I know it's hard to read, so here is the text:

A daughter's a blessing from heaven above
First sent as a precious small bundle of love...

A blessing that grows in both sweetness and size
Through years that so soon are a memory to prize...

A blessing of happiness when she is grown
And proving her worth in a life of her own...

A blessing that always can brighten the day
Regardless of whether she's close or away!

As a baby, a tot, a teenager, a wife,
A daughter's a dear - She's a BLESSING FOR LIFE!

This was week 4 of 6 in our child birth classes. We went on a tour of the hospital and got a good feel for where everything happens. Hopefully we won't have any false alarm trips before the big day!

As for me, no appointments this week or next. I've been sleeping pretty well again lately. Being awake for 2 hours after getting up to go to the bathroom seems to have stopped...at least for now. Sometimes breathing becomes a challenge as baby is definitely using all the room she has in there. For the most part I'm still pretty comfortable, but every now and then she gets into a position that nearly takes my breath away. Unfortunately, both driving and riding in the car is getting less and less comfortable. Not to mention when we are out running a bunch of errands and I have to get in and out of the car multiple times. Oh well, still not complaining, just giving some facts!

Next weekend is my shower. A shower? For me? Wow! I'm really excited and so thankful for my friends that are hosting it. I can't wait to see everyone. We're having it at our house, but unfortunately the nursery furniture still hasn't come in, so we don't have a cute finished room to show off. Oh well, what can you do?

30w1d - Alien belly

This week is marked with another first. Alien belly started a few days ago. It's so weird to look down and see my belly moving. She must wake up from a nap around 1pm and shortly after is moving all about. This has been the case for the last 3 or 4 days now. Today I was at my parents when it happened. Boy did they think that was the coolest thing. They both put their hand on my belly and felt some good movements. Wasn't it nice that she cooperated for them!

I had an OB appointment this morning. Unfortunately I couldn't get in to see my regular doctor and ended up scheduling with someone different. This doctor definitely lacks in the personality department...I hope she isn't the OB on duty when it comes time to deliver. She wasn't running late by any means, but didn't really make any time for anything outside the scheduled visit either. Short, sweet and to the point. Blood pressure, good. Weight, good. Urine, good. Measurements, good. Baby's heart rate, good. Any questions?

Being that I didn't see the doctor after the results of the Glucose test last time but the nurse told me my Hemoglobin was a little low and I should take iron, I did ask about that. My number was just over 10, which falls into that borderline category. She said I could probably get by with taking the Iron supplement once every three days, but definitely don't need to take it daily. That's a relief that I'm not in a dangerous category.

My next appointment is in 3 weeks, then we are looking at weekly appointments from there out.

Next week as part of our child birth classes we'll take a tour of the hospital. If how close we are doesn't feel more real after that, I don't know what it'll take!

There is still so much to do over the next 10 or so weeks. Crazy how fast the time has gone so far and I'm sure that will continue right up to the end.

29w0d

Not much new to report this week after I snuck in a quick post on Monday. We had child birth class #2, but that's about it. Things just keep chuggin' along.

Baby is definitely moving around so that I feel her a lot more lately. My OB doesn't teach "kick counts" but says to pay attention to when you feel baby and if you know they are usually more active after meal time, be aware of their movements at that time. A lot of people say cold water or sweets will get the little one moving, but for me it seems to be warm stuff. She sure likes hot tea and hot soup. Those are for sure to get her going. I'm starting to notice that she's often awake when I get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I'll come back to bed and feel her moving around. This could be contributing to the hard time I've been having getting back to sleep, but it's fun to be able to feel those movements too.

I feel like I'm overdue for an updated belly pic. It's been 5 weeks already. Here's a new one taken just today. This sweater was one of the first maternity purchases I made, so I'm glad to see that it still fits. It's getting shorter and tighter, but I think it's still cute.

We're into a new month now, so finally an update on baby's status.
What's happening with baby: Weeks 29-32 (month 7): Squash 15.2 - 16.7in, 2.5-3.8lbs

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

28w4d - It's Here!

And as Gretchen said about her new laptop, "It's Pink!!!!".

It's the new Bella pattern from Chicco. We were able to pre-order from an online sales company in California. I had called to check on the status of our order and found out that these are so new that the store hadn't even seen one yet. Apparently lots of people were doing the same thing. We were the 7th order in their original order of 8, and they were getting in another shipment of 28 that were also nearly all spoken for already.

Most importantly, this travel system came very well packed, with no broken parts or pieces laying at the bottom of the box.

Mr. Brown, as I like to call our UPS man, is so nice. I had a little warning from our dog that he was coming so I met him at the door and he brought it in and set it in our entry way. He's nice that way if we get a real heavy or large package delivered.

Assembly was nice and easy, maybe took me about 20 minutes total. Our little lady has a pretty awesome looking ride waiting for her, don't you think?

So, if you spot a cute little pink and gray stroller out and about this summer, it just might be us. I am so excited for the time of year that our little girl is expected. Hopefully we'll be able to get out and take some nice walks before it gets too hot for her.