Christmas Blur

What a whirlwind it has been since I last posted! We have been up to a lot! I think it started with Jack's company holiday party a week before Christmas. My niece Erika graciously tagged along to take care of Evan so he could meet some of the Fingerpaint folks he hadn't met yet.

Immediately following was a visit from the in-laws for the weekend. We were supposed to go down to PA for an overnight to spend some time with Jack's grandparents and uncles and aunt down there and have our Christmas with them. But there was a huge winter storm that begged to differ. We didn't even get a dusting of snow from it here but there was about 18 inches where we were headed by the time we were supposed to be getting there so it's a good thing we called it off. So we just enjoyed all that extra time having everyone here! Evan was spoiled by all the extra attention (as if Jack and I don't give him enough!) as well as spoiled with all his Christmas presents from that part of the family! He got some stylish new clothes, a stuffed penguin and a Baby Einstein jumper seat.





We recouped the Monday before Christmas and on Tuesday we enjoyed a visit from Auntie Tara and Uncle Dan and meeting friend Alex (A-bomb), and of course Lorraine! Evan showed off some smiles and snuggled for a bit. My parents flew in from Florida on Wednesday and we picked them up from the airport. Evan showed off some smiles and coos but by the time we were heading to the car he was DONE with the carrier. He had been strapped in for a few hours now since we had done some errands before the airport. He was also a bit hungry at that point and he just screamed and cried the whole snowy ride home, including the highly needed stop at the gas station (poorly timed!). But once we got him home and fed and changed he was a new man and enjoyed grandparent snuggles.



We also enjoyed a visit from Auntie Leah! And Evan must have some freaky intuition because the two of them matched!



We had a relaxed and laid back Christmas Eve all together and went to the candlelight service that evening, as always. He was quite a dapper gentleman for the occasion (just ignore the clashing socks)





We came home to a delicious ham dinner (thank God for time-bake!). And finished off the evening with the traditional viewing of It's a Wonderful Life. My parents went to bed shortly thereafter and Jack and I stayed up for the McDade tradition of Christmas Eve present time. Didn't take long for the two of us to open each others' presents but it was special. Jack spoiled me and got me Celtic Woman tickets! We'll even be sitting in one of the semi-private boxes up on the side! I'm going to feel so fancy.

Evan missed out on the Christmas Eve opening being that he has fallen into his own little schedule and bedtime is around 9:30! So we did his presents in the morning. Since he has no idea what's going on, Jack and I split his gift budget and shopped for him without telling what each other got so at least someone would be surprised with it! I got Evan some books and the Baby Einstein one immediately drew him in. Jack got him some sweet new clothes: a flaming shirt that says "Turbo", a "My Mom Rocks" shirt and one that has the definition of "awesome" on it - a tribute to our favorite show How I Met Your Mother. My parents enjoyed the spectacle. We did our own stockings (and Santa even brought stuff for Mom and Dad's stockings up here!) and had some giggles about some of the Stannard traditional stuffers.



We cleaned up and headed over to Ginger's house to have Christmas with the rest of the extended Stannard clan. Mom and Dad got Tiffany and Evan some Santa/Mrs Claus outfits and we only got about 100 pictures of it!



We also got the wonderful news that Sabina and Steve are having a baby! This is the first great-grandchild for my parents which also makes Ginger a grandmother! Not to mention me - a great-aunt! Ahhhh! She's due in late June/early July and will hopefully find out soon if it's a boy or girl!



I can't believe Christmas has passed so fast but we're looking forward to vicariously living through Evan with all the anticipation of Christmas as a child in the years to come.

Mom brain

Well pregnancy brain has transformed into Mom brain. I think of all these things to blog about as I'm falling asleep and my brain won't shut off and then Mom brain takes over when I get the chance to blog and I'm a blank slate. Let's see what comes back while I write this.

Evan has been sleeping a good 6-8 hour stretch every night for the last week and half at least. It has been wonderful! If he wakes up to eat before 6:30 he'll likely go back down which is what happened Saturday when he went back down until 9:30!! It was so weird to be up before him!! I knew Santa was going to be coming around the neighborhood on a firetruck that day (I know Mrs Claus) and was worried he was going to sleep right through it! Well he got up before they came and I put his Santa fleece PJs on, but then he fell back asleep in my arms while we were waiting! I heard the truck go through that was announcing they were coming through soon so I put Evan's winter hat on, wrapped him in a fleece blanket, grabbed the camera and waited in the garage for the truck. Evan actually woke back up about 5 minutes before the truck went by our house so perfect timing!



Well Mom brain has taken over and I forget anything else I was planning on writing about. :)

Pathetic

Sometimes when Evan cries it actually comes out "waaaah". Here's a pathetic attempt at it that makes me laugh every time I watch it!

Pathetic from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

Big boy!

Evan had another doctor's appointment on Monday. They like to do their 2 month checkup a little early around 6 weeks (closer to 7 weeks for us though) to get the pertussis vaccine in earlier. Evan is up to 11 lbs/11 oz! That's 4 whole pounds since birth in just under 7 weeks! Then if you consider that he lost some weight after birth, he's gained 4 lbs 6 oz since his first checkup there 6 weeks earlier! I'm just amazed at his growth. This puts him in the 75th percentile for weight. He's also up to 23.5 inches long which bumped him up to the 90th percentile! Tall boy! (definitely gets that from Daddy's side!) They had to give him 2 shots and man did he hate that. He was brave though and calmed down by the time I was putting him back in his carrier.

He's been a very good sleeper these days. He even went straight from 9:30-6 a couple nights ago. That let me sleep from about 11-6 straight which is the first time I've gotten that much solid sleep in about 2 months! Muuuch needed. Other nights he goes anywhere from 4-6 hours straight without waking up to eat. When he does start waking up I usually hear him grunt on the monitor. So cute! This morning I thought I heard him starting to wake up so before Jack went to work we peaked in his room and he was still sound asleep. While we were watching him though he let out 3 annoyed grunts as if he were a grumpy teenager telling us to get out! It was so hard not to laugh right there in his room and wake him up!

He has been cooing and smiling a LOT lately as you can see from the videos! I love "conversing" with him. And it's not strictly in the mornings anymore! As long as he gets some good naps during the day, he's not too grumpy in the evenings anymore.

The cats have been driving us nuts. We have to keep them shut up somewhere for the night (with litterbox access) since they're so loud being shut out of our room. Plus I don't want Bella sneaking into Evan's room since she's able to jump into his crib. Jack finally installed the bi-fold door on the laundry room that we've had for 6 months after he saw the pile of berber carpet that Bella had pulled up while shut in the office for the night. We had to prop it shut with a spring loaded curtain rod. Well they figured out how to push their way out of that one so now we have to keep the bi-fold door propped shut with a baby gate. Ridiculous!

I guess that's about all that's new with us!

Waking up is hard to do from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

Giggle?

Sometimes we feel Evan is on the verge of a giggle. The foyer light fixture seems especially funny to him.

Giggle? from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

Coofest

Evan is in such a happy mood in the mornings. I think it's because he's so well rested and misses Mom and Dad. He's all smiles and coos so I love laying him down and having a "coofest" with him in the mornings. I used to have to prompt him with noises, but it seems he's initiating most of the conversation these days! Here's a small sampling.

Coofest from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving weekend

Well, we had our first road trip with Evan. Uncle Jim drove up from PA and joined us for the drive up to Maine. Evan slept the entire way up aside from 2 stops to eat and slept the whole way back aside from 1 stop to eat. Surprisingly he was able to go to bed shortly after we got home, but of course wasn't that interested in sleeping past 5:30am. Aunt Catherine got to meet him for the first time (finally!).

We had a great Thanksgiving feast which included Uncle Jim and the Ladds this year. (We missed you Strom!) Evan started fussing a little before dinner started but we were able to keep him happy bouncing him in the bouncy seat and taking turns putting the pacifier in. Then as you can see, all 3 of us took a Turkey/Milk nap afterwards.



Evan was very loved on all weekend. We wish the family didn't live so far away so they could see him more.

One month!

Well, technically one month and 3 days now, but Evan had his one month appointment at the doctor today. He is now 10lbs 11oz!! That's 3 whole pounds over his birth weight! That puts him in the 75 percentile for his age. He is also 22.5 inches long, 1.5 inches longer than at birth. Also 75 percentile for his age. He is thriving! He also had his second Hepatitis B shot today. He had been so good up until that point and when the needle went in the leg his face got bright red and he let out a good scream and cry. Tired him right out though, he was asleep by the time we were pulling out of the parking lot.

Evan spent the night in his room for the first time 2 nights ago. He seems to like it or at least we don't hear his disapproval! I have sure slept a lot better without him in the room. He grunts and snorts a lot when he's not quite awake but not all the way asleep yet and that was keeping me up a lot at night. Now I only hear when he cries which is really the only time he needs me. He's also sleeping a lot better during the day. Not quite sure why or how anything is different from last week but he catches cat naps, hour long naps and really long 2-3 hour naps throughout the day. We have had much more pleasant evenings now! One thing that has helped is that Sam and Christie suggested an exercise ball to us. We were over at their house Friday night and we knew they had used it to calm Sammie down when he was a baby and now they're using it with Charlie. It worked like a charm. I just sat on the ball and bounced while holding Evan when he started to fuss and it calmed him right down. We bought one the next day and it has worked to calm him down every time he starts fussing (unless he's hungry of course!). It relaxes him so he can start calming down enough to fall asleep.

As you saw from the previous post, the cats have been driving us somewhat crazy - mostly Bella. Since she can hop a double baby gate we shut her in the office and the other two were contained with just one baby gate. Well she pulled up a ton of carpet while shut in there which of course infuriated us. So almost immediately after Jack saw that he started to install the bi-fold door on the laundry room that he was so hesitant to install for months. It opens pretty easily so we have to "bolt" it each night with a spring loaded curtain rod. What a hassle!

We're embarking on our first road trip with him tomorrow! We're heading up to Maine for Thanksgiving and looking forward to the adventure!

Jealous older siblings

So my cats have had to make some adjustments since Evan came home. They've been shut out of our room almost consistently and have had to deal with a lot less attention. Phantom and Callie are mostly ok with it, just occasionally cozying up a little more than usual. Bella is pining for attention. The more we ignore or try to shoo her away, the harder she comes back to love on us and get some affection herself. We finally started trapping them downstairs with 2 baby gates on top of each other so we could get some peace and quiet at night since Bella wasn't taking the hint with the squirt bottles. Well, that didn't work. Check it out...

Ninja Cat from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

A few videos

This one is from our first week home with Evan. He still has very strong legs and can launch himself with them. He was able to army crawl up Jack twice!

Army Crawl from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

This is from Halloween (obviously). It cracks me up how he's not moving at all and is stricken with the hiccups.

Flying Penguin from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

Towards the end of Evan's cries he usually does the CUTEST pouty face

Pouty Face from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

While trying to calm Evan down Jack decided to multitask and get a workout in

New Daddy Workout from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

Trial & Error

These past few weeks have been a lot of trial and error with Evan as we are learning how to read him and getting to know him. One success we've had is that he sleeps very well at night - at least during the hours of 11pm-6am. He'll get up to eat but usually not less than 3 hours apart and sometimes as much as 6 hours and he'll go right back to sleep after eating. Sometimes he'll go back down for one more stint in the 5am-6am range but that's not always the case.

We're still working on getting some better naps during the day and every day there's a different magical mix that results in a good long nap. He seems to have a different preference every day. He can catnap pretty easily, but he needs at least one solid 2-3 hour nap every day to be reasonably pleasant in the evening. He has both enjoyed and heavily refused a good nap in/on the swing, Mom, Dad, the carrier and the bassinet. We've tried it quiet and with background noise, light and dark, walks in the stroller, rides in the car and it still seems to be a different combination every day. I feel a sense of accomplishment if he gets a good long nap.

We had our first dinner outing and it was a success! We all went to Chili's on Saturday after Evan took a very long nap. We made sure he had a good full belly before we left and were surprised when he started fussing once we got our appetizer. I gave him a pacifier and that did the trick for the rest of our time there. He dozed off a few times but stayed quiet once he had the pacifier.

Overall Evan is still a fairly mellow baby and when he fusses we can usually figure out what he needs. Usually it's sleep, and that's not always the easiest to encourage when there's a different magical combination each day, but we're working on it!

Singing boy

Singing Boy from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.

Growing boy!

We have a healthy eater. We took Evan to the doctor on Monday for another weight check and he gained almost a pound since his appointment a week before! As of Monday he was 8lbs 2oz (7lbs 5oz the week before) and I swear his cheeks are chubbier even since then. He has graduated from most of his newborn clothes to 0-3 month clothes already!

We are blessed with a very mellow baby for the most part. Only twice since we brought him home has he had a fit that we couldn't figure out the reason for. All the rest of the time he's perfectly content with a full belly either awake or asleep being held or in the swing! He's been sleeping pretty well at night and even went a 6 hour stretch a couple nights ago. He just started using pacifiers a couple nights ago too.

We've been skyping with the out of town family which has been great. My parents just got their laptop yesterday so they got to "see" us last night! I'm a computer science major and this technology (which isn't that new) still amazes me!

As for my recovery - it's going very well! I'm down almost 30 pounds and that feels GREAT. It's crazy how normal I feel after being pregnant for so long. I've already forgotten most of the discomfort I was feeling towards the end.

We have been so taken care of - we still haven't cooked a single meal since we've come home and haven't tapped into my frozen meals yet. Leah organized a bunch of meals for us all the way from Virginia. Now we're getting meals through our church. It's been such a huge help so we can spend all that food shopping/prep/cooking time loving on Evan instead.

Well that's about all that's new with us!!

First Halloween

We didn't really celebrate but we had a nice day. It was unseasonably warm out but windy. Still, we took a walk and just in time too. It started raining not too long after we got back in. We didn't buy any candy for the kids this year since we weren't sure if we'd be home or not. So we copped out and put a sign on the door saying that we didn't have candy since we had a sleeping newborn. It worked, and the rain must have deterred a lot of trick or treaters. We weren't bothered at all.

We enjoyed watching the Yankees kick butt! But Evan peed through both of his baseball outfits before the game began. To be fair, he would have been wearing one if the game didn't have a rain delay.

We got a costume from Stacie that her girls didn't use. We put it on Evan just long enough to get some pictures but then took it off since it was such a warm day. He was so cute though! Here is our little penguin!

Our first week

Well, Evan turned a week old yesterday! Never thought we'd be ones to reminisce at every available milestone, but we found ourselves saying "one week ago we were..." all day Tuesday and Wednesday and then we were distracted and missed the big one at 4:30 on Wednesday! Oh well, we don't have to be THOSE parents! It's gone so fast even though we haven't really done a whole lot. We set a goal on Tuesday to unpack our hospital bags and that finally got done today. We went for a walk today too! Something I had been itching to do since Monday, but the time just gets away when you're staring a beautiful newborn. That's pretty much what we've been up to our first week at home. Taking turns snuggling and savoring it all because we know this newborn stage will fly by. It has been so great having Jack home all this week. He's been a huge help while I'm recovering (which is going very well). And I'm trying to get him all the Evan snuggle time he can get while he's home. It breaks my heart, as I know it does his too to know that he has to go back to work next week. But I am so blessed to have him provide for us so that I can stay home with Evan.

I am also blessed to have had Leah Dorr plan out meals for us every other day all this week! Not to mention that she's been sick with the flu and planning all of this long-distance from Virginia for us! You rock! We've had some fill-ins on the alternate days so we haven't cooked a thing since we came home. Thank you to everyone who has been providing for us!

Evan has been sleeping pretty well. Our first night home was experimental as we were all getting used to new sleeping arrangements so none of us got much sleep. For the most part he's only been getting up every few hours throughout the night with the exception of one night - he kept falling asleep while feeding so he wouldn't go back down with a full belly and would wake up after about an hour begging for more only to repeat the cycle! He's getting much better at not fussing during diaper/clothing changes and baths. Speaking of baths - here he is right after one!

Evan Rhys

How did we come up with the name? We get asked that question a lot. We ransacked every list of Irish/Celtic/Gaelic names we could find and came up with a short list. One day I was really feeling Evan, which was on the list and ran it by Jack and he agreed that was the top of the list. Nothing topped it! Rhys was also on the list but as a middle name. We put the two together and there it is! The meanings are great too. Evan has Celtic roots and means "Young Warrior". Rhys has Welsh roots and means "ultimate strength", "passion" and "zeal". So we have a Young Warrior with Ultimate Strength!

Although there are a TON more, here is a small selection of pictures Jack has posted on his Flickr account.

He's here!

He was fashionably 1 week late, but totally worth the wait. Evan Rhys (pronounced Reese) arrived Wednesday October 21 at 4:30pm, 41 hours after the first contractions. It wasn't as bad as it sounds! They were pretty mild the first 24 hours and we headed to the hospital Tuesday night when they were 5-7 minutes apart so I could get some drugged sleep in preparation for it all. I had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep the night before. I was 3cm dilated when we got there so the midwife on call admitted me. I got the shot of sleepy drugs just as soon as the Angels got their 3rd out in the last inning of the 10-1 Yankee win so I could sleep a happy woman! I got about 4 hours of sleep that night, waking up when some contractions were really bad. I tried to bear all I could, anticipating that I still wasn't very far along for a few hours and finally called to the midwife to see how far I was and if I could get an epidural yet. I was 8cm!! Whoa! I was worried I missed the cutoff, but she ordered one up for me and I was in heaven shortly. This was all around 7am. Being 8cm dilated we figured it wouldn't be much longer but Evan was taking his time! We just hung out for the day and I kept getting repositioned to move things along. We were finally alllmost there around 2:30 so they started me on a little pitocin to kick things up a notch. I started pushing about 3:15 which was by far the worst part, even with the epidural. And he finally made his grand arrival at 4:30! He was alert and vocal, beautiful and more than we could have hoped for!

It wasn't long before the family was there to meet Evan. He was so good and slept the whole 2ish hours aside from a few peeps that 20 or so people came to meet him and pass him around.

The hospital stay was incredible. We felt like we were on vacation. When we'd catch a local commercial on TV we'd do a double take and wonder how a local spot came on while we were away. Well duh, we were only in Troy! But everyone at the hospital made us so comfortable and catered to all our needs!

We were sad to check out today but it has been so amazing having Evan at home. We love discovering his quirks. He absolutely loves his hands. It's near impossible to swaddle them in, he'll find a way to get them out. He'll chew on them, suck on them and snort up a storm while he tries to get them in his mouth. He loves his swing. He doesn't mind hanging out awake in it, and fell asleep in it for almost an hour today. We love watching him - he's our new favorite show. There are no reruns so you have to catch it while it's on or you'll miss it forever! We just stared at him in the swing for about 20 minutes before having our sushi dinner that was so lovingly ordered long distance from the Dorrs (THANK YOU!).

I'm so blessed to have Jack at home with us for the next week and a half and he's looking forward to soaking up all the Evan time he can get.

40 weeks!

Well, I was hoping to be able to blog about a baby at this point, but also tried to keep in my mind the very good possibility that I would go past due. We are definitely as ready as we'll ever be at this point. I have cooked and frozen anything I could think of. I have stocked the pantry. I have washed all the clothes, including the fresh batch we got from my boss at my former job (THANK YOU!). I have my bag all packed. The carseat is installed and just waiting for a little baby!

I had a midwife appointment yesterday and she said the baby is very low, and that I'm 80% effaced and 2cm dilated. That doesn't necessarily mean labor is on the way in the next few hours/days so they've scheduled me for a non-stress test on Friday where they'll monitor his heart and any contractions Braxton-Hicks or otherwise for an amount of time and see how he does with it. A routine test for overdue babies. If still nothing by Tuesday they'll schedule an ultrasound to check fluid levels. Another routine test. Of course I'm hoping to be able to cancel both appointments!

My body has felt the need to practice very irregular sleep. I actually slept about 7 straight hours last night, which is a record from the last couple weeks. Usually I wake up in the wee hours and go back to bed sometime between 8 and 9 for a couple hours and occasionally have an afternoon nap. I guess it's good practice. Comfort has gone out the window. I do the best I can which involves 2 body pillows and 3 king size pillows at night.

My baby buddy Christie had her baby last Wednesday! Charles Scott was born at 4:15am, 9lbs 2oz, 21 inches! Sam told us the hospital was great (they delivered where we will be) and the staff was incredible, so we were very glad to hear that. We didn't doubt it would be great. We're looking forward to meeting Charles and introducing our little man!

Gymnastics

Still here...

I have tried so hard not to complain during this pregnancy because it has been relatively easy for the most part. I was certainly blessed with a breeze of a first trimester with fatigue being the major player which was easily remedied since I worked from home and could fit naps around what I do. Second trimester was pretty much the same, but not as much fatigue as the first. Third trimester hit and some joint discomfort set in which was remedied by swimming! Fine by me! But now that we're getting toward the end, it seems like there are as many words being used to describe what I won't miss about being pregnant as there are about being excited to meet the little one! Don't get me wrong... it's been a wonderful pregnancy and I've enjoyed it immensely but I'm finally reaching that "get this kid outta me" point.

What I will miss about being pregnant:

• Eating whatever I want


• Being forbidden to clean the cat litter


• Feeling the little man's acrobatics

What I'm looking forward to after the pregnancy:

• Decreased swelling, having ankles again (as opposed to cankles)


• Returning sensation in the fingertips of my right hand


• Increased mobility


• Rolling over in bed without a production


• Getting up off the couch or out of bed without grunting


• Dropping all this weight


• Being able to run again


• Having the desire and energy to cook again


• Hoping for decreased heartburn... I seem to get it from everything now!


• Bathroom breaks that are more than 30 minutes apart


• Being able to bend over and put socks on


• Having a (relatively) flat stomach again


• Being able to hug without bending over to cushion my bulge

last but not least...

• Showing off my little man!!!

39 weeks!

I feel like I'm being watched like a ticking time bomb! I haven't had any twinges or indications that it will be anytime soon, but I know it can come out of nowhere. We're pretty much as ready as we're going to be, although I think I'll always feel like there are last minute things to wrap up first. I'm hoping to at least make it to Friday so we can celebrate our anniversary tomorrow. In the meantime I'm keeping busy still nesting, picking up last minute necessities and cooking meals to freeze.

We met a pediatrician on Monday and liked her, so looks like we're going with 4 Seasons Pediatrics, which also happens to be the closest practice to us. How convenient! I had another midwife appointment yesterday. No new news from there, so it's still just a waiting game! I also got a flu shot after some internal debate. Now I feel like I got punched in the arm, but hopefully the vaccine does it's job and protects me and the little guy from the flu! I have apparently been pretty stuffy at night lately, and have been keeping Jack up with my snoring! Aside from when I'm sick, I've never had a snoring problem before! So I woke up the other night at about 3am and heard that he had earphones in with something playing on his ipod. Poor guy! My breaths are really shallow since the little guy takes up so much lung space so Jack did an impression of me snoring and it sounded like a hand saw!

My bag is finally packed! So it's all just a waiting game for the next day to possibly few weeks.

38 weeks!

Another busy week, preparing for the little guy's arrival! His room went from an in-use guest room to a fully organized nursery in about 8 days! Danielle helped me paint last Thursday (THANK YOU!), I steamed cleaned on Friday, Jack set up the crib and dresser/changer combo on Saturday while I started organizing. Sunday we hunted for a glider. I really liked this one from Target and we had enough in gift cards to cover it. We went to our local store and went to the checkout with the little tag. They sent us to guest services to make sure they had it in stock. Turned out they didn't have any in stock and didn't have any idea when they'd get a new shipment. It cost $93 in shipping if we bought it online - not really an option. They also looked up the other local stores all the way to about 100 mile radius and said no one else had it either. We left pretty deflated. But I checked when we got home and online it said the Niskayuna store had one so we called and they had 1 in stock!!! They pulled it aside for us and we picked it up later that night. Thank you Jesus!!! On Monday I did all the baby laundry - washed all the clothes, towels and blankets. So the nursery is completely set up, although we'd still like to decorate the walls a bit more. Here are some pictures!














Nesting is in full swing. I have ignored the hairs sticking up on my neck when I pass the dust bunnies on the stairs since I made my focus finishing the baby room before moving on to other things. I am very much looking forward to steam cleaning downstairs!

I had an appointment with the midwife yesterday. I was a little nervous that after all the activity I felt with the little guy in the past week that he may have flipped over. Well he hasn't, phew! He's still head down, but not very low in the pelvis so she said I'll probably see my due date! That's fine with me, we get to celebrate Jack's birthday and our anniversary before then and it's only 2 weeks away!

We had our last childbirth prep class last night - this time it was baby basics. One of the fathers in our class came in late to inform us that his wife gave birth a few hours earlier! She was due this Thursday anyway so we didn't think they'd make it to the last class. He told us about their experience. She had gone to work that morning like any other day and thought she might be having contractions and he picked her up from work late afternoon. By the time they decided to go to the hospital, she was already 8 cm dilated when they got there! She ended up delivering within about an hour of getting there!! He kept telling us how much easier it is than we're all thinking it will be. Of course that's not the case for everyone, but we're happy that they had such a relatively easy birth experience! After he headed back upstairs we each got a somewhat proportionally appropriate doll (would be about a 9 pounder if it were real). We got to practice with our car seats, practice swaddling and changing a diaper. Of course Jack would be the one picking up the doll by the head and unswaddling it by tugging on the corner of the blanket like he were trying to remove a tablecloth without disturbing the place settings on the table. I know he'll be better with our baby though. So next time we head to that building, it'll be the real deal!

37 Weeks!

It's been a busy week! My baby shower was on Sunday as I mentioned in the previous post. I have enjoyed writing the thank you notes on my belly-desk, although it moves sometimes! The furniture arrived so we picked that up on Monday night. And now we're looking at repainting the baby room. The furniture and bedding we picked out goes much better with green than with yellow, so we're going to have a big project weekend between painting and assembling the furniture! I'm so excited for it! It's making everything all that much more real!

I have been loving the hot tub lately (not too hot of course!). The jets in one of the seats perfectly melt away all the back pain of the day, and the weightlessness does wonders for my hips. Nothing new from my appointment yesterday.

We had our last childbirth class last night (next week is infant care). She went over "detours" you can take during labor, including the ultimate detour - c-section. Instead of showing us another gory video, she actually had us do a mock c-section. One of the couples in our class is scheduled for one on Monday because her baby is breech, so she had the husband act as the pregnant woman to give him a taste of what she'll be going through. She picked the wife to be the doctor and had other volunteers for anesthesiologist, pediatrics nurse, and other parts in the play. She had the "patient" lay down on a row of chairs and everyone stand around him with surgical masks on, and walked through all the steps that take place. It was definitely informative and fun at the same time. We're very glad we ended up taking the class. It was so much more than breathing and relaxation exercises. Even the stuff we already knew was good to hear again, and we both learned more. So we'll only be in that building one more time before the big day!

So the little guy is considered full-term as of today. It's so weird to think it could happen any day, but it could also happen 5 more weeks from now!

Baby Shower!

My mom and sisters put on a wonderful baby shower for me yesterday at my sister Ginger's house. It was so great to see so many people there who are so special to me. We were blessed with a lot of great gifts for the little guy... he's so spoiled already! Thank you to everyone for making it such a wonderful day!

Here are a few of the pictures. You can view my public album on facebook.

Baby Toupees

Came across this video and found it pretty funny!

36 weeks!

So if he's on time or early, we have less than a month to go! I'm trying not to think about him coming early in case he ends up being a late one. Also trying not to think of him coming early because then I have less time to prepare than I thought! We ordered our nursery furniture over the weekend, so it should come later this week or next. We of course didn't order from Baby Depot (see a few posts ago). We ordered a beautiful espresso-stain crib and combo dresser/changer from Babies R Us. Still on the hunt for a glider. I'm very much looking forward to having a place to put all the wonderful gifts and helpful hand-me-downs that we have acquired so far.

A friend of ours from the good old days at CPCBC is getting into photography and offered to do a pregnancy photoshoot for us so she can build up her portfolio. We had a great time with that on Sunday and she captured some great pictures. She was able to edit some and post them up on her blog at bekilindseyphotography.blogspot.com already. Looking forward to the finished product! Thanks so much Beki!

After the photoshoot I came home pretty exhausted and took a 3 hour nap, which worked out because Jack had to wrap up a freelance project. When I woke up, things felt a little different. It would seem that the baby has dropped! For those not aware - with your first child, the baby will usually descend lower into the pelvis a few weeks before the big day. So he's sitting even lower now, which makes for frequent trips to the bathroom. But it also makes for decreased heartburn and increased stomach and lung space, so that's been nice!

I had an appointment with my favorite midwife yesterday. She felt around and he's still head down (phew!) and she's guessing he's about 6 pounds already. I'm starting to go weekly now! CRAZY!

We also had another childbirth class last night. We learned about all pain management options. At this point, I'm going into it with the understanding that I'm going to get the epidural when things get really bad. It'll have to be an in the moment decision as to when that is exactly. I'm hoping I'll be able to push it off for a while so I'm not strapped to a bunch of monitors and IVs and all for who knows how long. The instructor told us we'd be watching a video of a woman getting an epidural. I thought it was just a video of the epidural procedure, but it was her whole birth experience and she did not warn the guys this time of the graphic moment(s). Jack was not so thrilled about that. But it was a very informative night and we're very glad we're taking the class. We skipped out before the relaxation exercise so we could join Jack's dad for dinner.

Changes in me - I'm starting to retain more fluids, so it feels like I'm ballooning out a bit. Mostly in my feet and ankles, but starting to feel it in my face a little. I guess I'm lucky I lasted this long without putting anything on in my face! Anyone who knew me in high school knows that I suffered from some edema in my leg in 11th and 12th grade after some soccer injuries. It was pretty cool to me - I called it my playdough leg. All the leftover fluid and dead cells built up in my leg or ankle area and I could squish it around like playdough and it didn't hurt. Sorry if TMI, but I loved grossing people out with it back then too. Well at this point, I have the same thing going on in my feet and ankles. I grossed Jack out with it the other night when I kneaded it all into a bump and then pressed a crater in the middle. Haha.

Conversation Etiquette

It can be shocking what some people will say to a pregnant woman. I haven't gotten incredibly offended at anything, although I really could have from some comments! Based on my own experience, here are some suggestions of what to say and what not to say to a pregnant woman. There is a gray area that some may get away with depending on how well they know you.

What we love to hear:

• You look so cute! (great, amazing, etc. pretty much any nice adjective)


• You're all belly!


• You're glowing!

Gray Area:

• Was it planned or a surprise?


• You know labor lasts about 24 hours with your first kid?


• You know 1 out of 3 women will end up having a c-section?

What you should never say:

• Wow, you got chubby!


• So how is that rapid weight gain going?


• Are you sure there's only one baby in there?


• You got a watermelon under there?


• (If said to someone less than 8 months along) Wow, you look full term!


• I don't think I ever carried that big with any of mine.

Unsolicited Advice:

• Should you be eating that?


• Your life is going to change so much.


• You think it's bad now...


• (when around people with crazy kids) See what you have to look forward to?

Baby Depot - Ghost Town Edition

Special Guest Author: Jack McDade



Ah, Latham Circle Mall. Never heard of it? That's easy to believe. Never been? Even easier to believe. It's reminiscent of cactus kickin', tumbleweed blowin', gold-minin' towns of old after the posse rounded up the cattle and kicked the dirt off their spur-sporting, gold-toed boots and let the wild reclaim the land once more. When we opened the front door, a vulture screeched from the rafters. A lonely bum slept under the pretzel stand. He didn't even look up. Storefront after abandoned storefront stretched as far the eye could see. Off in the distance a small amount of activity could be discerned revolving around an Old Country Buffet and movie theater. But it's arguable that the people were, in fact, ghosts.

In the midst of this ghost town stood our destination: Baby Depot, nestled inconveniently inside Burlington Coat Factory. In case you're wondering, yes, Burlington Coat Factory is still open, and no, it doesn't just sell coats. Apparently.

We're met with Quality Customer Service and Logical Planning Case Number 1: Baby stuff is upstairs, so all the pregnant woman have to travel further than anyone. Case Number 2: the up escalator is broken. We trudge up the narrow and precarious now-stairs, fully expecting to be blind-sided by zombies in this abandoned and disheveled store. The two female clerks at the front stare, apparently unaccustomed to visitors. I think one of them reached for the cash register manual, preparing for the worst.

We finally arrive at the top, our senses on heightened alert. We swear we've seen this exact scene in 28 Days Later.

Baby Depot. Nirvana. Or one would hope. We have a coupon and we're determined to use it. Surpassingly, there is a fair amount of selection. We head towards the first aisle.

"Hello."

A life-form appears from behind the baby registration desk. She's short, old and talks out the side of her mouth like Holly Hunter. Except more annoying.

"Can I help you find something?"

We're just looking. We tell her and make to move past. Mistake number one. Always humor the zombies, they might not attack.

"Well anything you see here we have on the floor but it doesn't mean we have it in stock and if the price tag has a black dot right here it means it's on sale and if the tag is red it means that the accompanying combo piece is half off the normal price but not a discounted price and if you find something you like let me know and I check the price sheet and see if we have any in stock and if we don't have any we can order it for you and it will only take 12 to 14 weeks to get here and if we're out and won't be ordering more we can sell you the floor model but only if it's not on the price sheet ok?"

Reeling from confusion we tried to process the manor in which we now would have to shop.

The only response... "Thanks!"

12 to 14 weeks would imply some poor Malaysian kid would be chewing the trees down to make the necessary lumber before crafting the crib by hand (well, by stub, since his boss chopped his hands off for taking a break to visit his 12 year old mother's grave on the anniversary of her death), by candlelight, and subsequently fashioning a raft made of sticks and lashing them together with his little sister's precious hair and kick-paddling the item across the Pacific Ocean to San Diego where he transfers the crib to a turtle-cart, sending them across the country with a cripple leading the way. Best case scenario.

So we're down to what's in stock. Easy enough right?

We browse the aisles up and down, keeping a wary eye for surprises and trying to ignore the hair on the back of our necks, while we analyze the cribs for color, style and price. Surprisingly we found a set we quite fancied. A quick calculation for our coupon resulted in a potential match. Hearts quickly sunk however once we realized the next step. "Excuse me, miss?"

Pandora's box opened. A mess unlike any seen before exploded before us.

"Oh you like this one? Great ok let me get the price sheet and write this down so I can check if we have any but I'm pretty sure we're out of the combo-dresser but we might have the crib in stock okay I'll be right back don't go anywhere I'm getting the price sheet and then I'll have to go downstairs and check the back to make sure we're actually out because our computer usually is wrong ok price sheet time be back ok don't go anywhere!"

We were pretty sure there was a computer nearby and a barcode on the price tag, but apparently it doesn't work that way. Simplicity is out the window. We're at Baby Depot - Ghost Town Edition.

5 minutes later she arrives with a clipboard the size of Texas and a pen that doesn't work. 4 minutes later she comes back with a pen that does. 3 minutes later she comes back after checking the (apparently) mainframe computer. 2 minutes later we understood what she told us. They were out of stock.

"But let me check downstairs in the back the computer is usually wrong so I'm going to check anyway just in case so I'll put the price sheet back and go check ok?"

We're sure this will end well.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. There must be more than 2 floors to this place. Goblins are probably working some hand-cranked lift-system lowering this woman down a deep, dark shaft of darkness.

Then she was back. Yup, out of stock. We doubted she actually went anywhere.

Perfect opportunity to exercise some Dave Ramsey negotiation techniques. Let's get a deal on floor model. It had a few scratches (hopefully not resulting from zombie-babies and therefore infected with saliva that would spell our inevitable and sudden doom) which meant possible deeper discounts.

"So can you make us a deal on the floor model? Let's get down to brass tax."

I never talk like that. Oh well. Game face is on, no turning back.

"Oh I don't know if we can sell the floor model I'll have to check the price sheet and if it's on there we can't sell it because it's on the price sheet but if it's not on the price sheet we can talk to a manager and see if there's something we can do so I'll go get the price sheet and come back and we'll take a look at the price sheet ok?"

Again with the price sheet. We hoped it wasn't code for "Fresh Meat in Aisle 19." Time passes. We hide from sight just to be safe.

"Okay it's on the price sheet so we can't sell it I'm really sorry." And she's gone again. So much for hardball negotiations. We sincerely doubted the notion of a manager being in this store to make the call anyway. We sincerely doubted the notion of a manager existing at all. In fact, the only real possibility was a rogue vagabond hoarding gasoline in the warehouse and polishing his sawed-off shotgun in preparation for a potential rebel raid, but I digress.

We move on.

It seemed for moment that we were out of luck until we rounded the bend. Another set that struck our fancy. Poking, prodding, drawer-bottom slapping and crib-frame shaking resulted in a potential match. Same price. Here we go again. At this point we weren't sure it was even worth the attempt, but we're here and we're armed with a coupon. Bring it on.

"Oh miss? Miss?" She wasn't nearby this time. We trudge warily back to the baby registration desk. She's training an underling. Our brains exploded at the thought that this woman wasn't at the bottom of the totem-pole. We seriously had to re-evaluate everything we knew about, well, everything. From our 2 minute wait we quickly surmised that we wanted to deal with this new woman even less than the first. Repetition usually has effect on people's cerebral cortexes, but not this woman. Was she a woman? We carefully looked for some red blinking lights in the back of her head.

"Excuse me? We do have one more we like, can you check that, whatchacallit... price sheet?"

When in Rome.

"Okay which one do you want?" She grabbed the price sheet before she left, thus shaving 7 minutes off this next experience. There was hope -- people CAN change.

We stroll back to the new crib/dresser combo, inflated with a sense of hope. If only we knew how misplaced it was.

"Ah you like the Palisades model. It's one of our most popular! I think we're out of stock but let me look here in the price sheet..."

Why are we not surprised?

We watch as she writes the numbers down, consults her price sheet and subsequently heads back to the terminal for some sophisticated number checking. We look at each other and share that look. You know, "the look". That's right, something is happening here isn't it? Something that we're going to tell our children and our children's children. Something epic is right around the corner.

5 minutes go by. We start browsing the shelves. Maybe we can dual-purpose this trip and let it not be in vain. 10 minutes. It was becoming unwise to remain in such an environment for much longer, lest we tempt fate.

We head back towards the desk. Just an aisle or two over we can hear voices. I tense up, preparing for the attack.

"When you stock this area make sure to look at the section you're in and check the price sheet to make sure it goes there..."

There they are. Training is occurring again and it's a sight to behold. The efficiency of this place is bordering on the Six Sigma.

I clear my throat. "Uh, excuse me?"

Our champion of inventory and customer service turns around and takes a few steps in our direction. She opens her mouth to say something we will never forget. A moment so priceless it cannot be described with just words, but I'll try to do it justice.

Wait for it...

"Yes? Can I help you?"

A sunburst so bright we were temporarily blind detonated like the Death Star in the night. Our brains short circuited and reason went out the window. Time stopped. Hummingbirds wings were frozen in time, and somewhere, yes somewhere, a home-owner's insurance commercial had some poor bloke suspended in air with a hot dog in hand and some ethnic minority about to teach us a lesson. Yes, it was the time between times, and she said just what you read. She sincerely and honestly just met us for the first time. Again.

*Cricket*

*Cricket*

"Uh, yes. You can. You were checking on the Palisades crib for us, you know, if there were any in stock?"

Realization hit her face like a freight train. Expletives hit the air like a bucket of cold water on a sleeping drunk. Her hands slapped over her mouth as quick as her eyes had sprung open wide and she fell apart in embarrassment. We looked around to see if anyone else was appreciating this moment as much as us. Nope. This moment was ours to enjoy. Ours to savor for eternity.

"I'm soo sorry! Oh my.. I.. I totally forgot!"

I blinked. No analogy or simile can do an event like this one justice, so I leave magnitude of the situation up to you to determine.

It's at this point in the story where a few of you may start losing focus. You think the best has come and gone and the wrap-up will trail gracefully into a soft ending. Well you're wrong. Wake up and pay attention, because the goomba and her goomblette don't disappoint. Well, by disappointing in new ways do you find a new way for them to NOT disappoint. Victory in failure, one might say.

So back to the scene. Desolate wasteland of a department store manned by a very small handful of automatons (or possibly passive zombies with partial intelligence. The movies could have it wrong you know.) manning the helm. Shock and awe at the caliber of customer service. Awkward and Epic moment in time. And go.

A flurry of activity spewed into existence. Tweedledum initiated what appeared be instructions into the air. We assumed they were meant for Tweedledee, not because she followed them, but because there was no one else there. A few attempts later and Tweedledee looked up, taking her finger out of her nose. It's time for them to show the world why they make the big bucks. It was fumble with the computer time.

"Just right-click there and click on print. No, right-click. The right one. Not the one you're clicking... the OTHER one. No, the other one."

We moseyed over to some nearby gliding chairs and sat down to enjoy the show. What ensued was a complete three-act play of insanity. Act I began with an introduction to their lack of knowledge, communication and computer skills. Act II presented itself in classic Shakespearean fashion: our main characters encountered an obstacle (the computer) that prevented them from achieving their dramatic need (checking inventory). They reached a low point.

Act III was the climax. After much struggle and tribulation, Tweedledum sent her counterpart down to the mysterious and arguably tangible warehouse. We sat and waited. Watched and giggled. We were honestly enjoying ourselves immensely at this point, no longer on edge or looking for attackers. We were fascinated that both people and a store could function like this.

The one problem with Act III was that it didn't appear to have an end. Hours went by and no one came back. We quietly and carefully left. We thought about calling the police and putting in a missing person alert, but ultimately decided against it. There was little to no chance any one in this place was in fact, human.

35 weeks!

Not much has changed in the last week or so. Same symptoms for me, and same active little boy inside! We had our third childbirth prep class last night. We got a thorough tour of the birth center, down to how to operate the hospital beds. We did another relaxation exercise led by the instructor and then afterwards she had the men lead one. She turned up the music so they wouldn't all hear each other. Jack's relaxation exercise took me back to Baby Depot and our adventure furniture shopping. That post will be coming in the near future - it was too funny an experience for me not to have him guest-author the events.

We'd like to shout out a HUGE congratulations to Luke & Ashley who are expecting in February! Woooooo!!! Lots of babies on the way - me & Christie in October, Tina in December, Sara in January, Ashley in February and Frieda in March! Our little ones will have no shortage of friends!

More reflections...

A few more things I remembered that I forgot to include in the previous blog post. At our last childbirth class the instructor asked what we learned in the first class. I learned how a baby fits through the pelvis. Jack learned "why they waddle". Haha :)

Secondly - we burn 30,000 CALORIES in labor!!! That's like 2 weeks worth of an above average daily intake! It'll help burn off some of the extra junk in the trunk though!!

34 weeks!

Wow time has been FLYING. I can't believe it's September already! We get to meet the little guy next month!!!

The past week has brought on or increased some odd symptoms. My fingertips on my right hand, and slightly on my left hand, have been experiencing some numbness. I've read that this is normal and caused by swelling and fluid retention around the nerve in the carpel tunnel. It goes away after the baby is born (thank goodness!). My upper and lower jaws have become slightly out of line so most of the time I can't bite down all the way. (my lower jaw has moved too far forward) This has happened to me before when I've gotten ear infections, but I'm not having any ear symptoms right now. I can line them back up if I sit with my elbow on the table and my chin resting on my hand for a while, but that's not a frequent set-up for me. My stomach is running out of room so I can't eat as much as I think I can anymore. I'm trying to eat smaller portions more frequently throughout the day. Hip pain is pretty much constantly there, and can get pretty excruciating at times. The drive to and from Maine this past weekend was pretty rough, requiring some creative seating in the car and frequent breaks. It was totally worth it though! Sleep patterns are becoming more erratic, which I guess is good practice. Yesterday I woke up at 5:45 and couldn't get back to sleep so I got up around 6:30. I got tired again around 8 and laid back down and fell asleep until 11:30!

The little guy is still very active. He's really enjoyed launching himself off my hips into my ribs. It's starting to get uncomfortable at times, but usually relieved by changing my position. He also had a good number of hiccup fits again this past week! They can really rock the belly, so he takes after Daddy in that regard. Jack gets pretty violent hiccups when he gets them.

We had our second childbirth prep class last night. We learned about the definite signs of labor, the maybe signs of labor, and the not-so-much signs of labor. We also saw a childbirth video. There was only one graphic moment and the instructor warned us of when it was coming. Jack said he was going to close his eyes - he doesn't even want to see that on me! He's going to be a shoulder birth-coach. Fine with me, as long as he's there! We did another relaxation exercise and I warned Jack not to poke me this time so as not to disrupt the others who are actually relaxing. I didn't really get much out of it - too sore laying on the ground. We're developing our own relaxation methods - mainly consisting of quoting our favorite TV shows. We finished off by learning a hand massage that felt WONDERFUL. Jack is a very good learner with these massages! Next week we should be getting an in-depth tour of the birth center provided there's a free room. We got the quick overview tour before when we attended the open house. It's crazy how much prep we go through for a 3-30 hour event! We also learned that's the range that's still considered a "normal" length for labor. Seems like we should get more prep for what happens AFTER. Oh well, I'm told it all comes naturally!


Took a while before a picture was taken that I didn't look like a PLANET in. I guess I've reached that point!

33 weeks!

It's been an eventful week! I went to Cooperstown on Saturday with my parents and sisters. We took Dad to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as our Fathers Day present. It was a great time and we all had a blast. Lots of laughs as Mom posed lovingly with a picture of Derek Jeter. My feet weren't very pleased with me by the end of the day though - cankles and sausage toes! As of today I finally have something resembling ankles again! We had a great family day at Moreau on Sunday celebrating all my nieces/nephews birthdays. The weather really didn't look like it was going to cooperate, but we went forward with it anyway and the rain held off and we even had bits of sun throughout the afternoon! Even though we were missing some members, it was a great time with most of the family there. So nice to get in the water too, and it was actually a nice temperature this time!

The little guy seems to be trying to make his exit through my abdomen wall. He's been pushing outward so much lately, it's so crazy to watch and feel of course! I still can't figure out which limbs are protruding. I thought I might be able to figure it out but when I saw his feet next to his head in the ultrasound last week I gave up trying to figure it out. He's just too much of a contortionist!

I pushed myself a little too hard yesterday but at least my efforts were rewarded. I really wanted an aquatic source of relief without having to mooch off people all the time (and to those I have mooched off of - THANK YOU). So I took it upon myself after completing 3 loads of laundry and cleaning the laundry room to actually clean out our hot tub. We had drained it at the beginning of the summer since I didn't think I was allowed to use it. I asked the midwife at my last appointment and she said as long as the water is under 100 degrees it's fine. It had to be drained anyway, we hadn't used it since the ice storm and it was all gross inside. So I drained it completely, scrubbed it out and refilled it. Made me really sore, but made me enjoy it all that much more when Jack and I soaked in the 96 degree water and caught an episode of the Office on the laptop later that night.

We had our first childbirth prep class at Seton Health last night. Jack was still skeptical about their necessity but I knew it wasn't so much instructional as it was informative - letting you know about all your pain management options, and letting you know all of what you can expect. Our class consists of 12 couples, almost all of which are expecting boys! I was a little nervous about finishing up the class only 2 weeks before I'm due, but there are 2 couples in the class that are due before me! Last night's session included the ladies making a list of physical changes they've noticed and the guys making a list of all the emotional/psychological changes they've noticed in their women. I was proud that Jack's contribution to the guy list was that he noticed that I'm so very happy. The nurse who leads the class then went through the items and explained why we're experiencing them. Not surprising that a lot of them are just caused by hormones. She also covered some anatomy while explaining symptoms, and we both learned some new things. We finished off with a relaxation exercise. I was willing to have an open mind, but Jack knew me and knew I wouldn't really get into it so as the instructor was starting to gently lay the groundwork for a scenario to focus on with the plinky planky music in the background and I closed my eyes, Jack pinched my arm. He started to giggle and made me chuckle, and I closed my eyes again. Then he poked me. So much for having an open mind about it. I lost it. The rest of the class is all relaxed and quiet so I'm trying not to distract them, but holding in the laughter was SO hard. I had tears streaming down my face. But all in all we found the first class beneficial.

32 weeks!

Had an appointment yesterday and got to meet the midwife Kelly. She was able squeeze and squish around and find the baby's head! She gave me some homework... just a few info packs on pain management, and I'm sure we'll learn a lot more when we start our childbirth classes next week.

We had an ultrasound this morning! We got some great peaks of the little guy's face. He's big enough now that he doesn't really fit into a profile picture. Based on the ultrasound measurements he's about 4lbs 6oz already!

It's been a hot week this past week... summer finally hit! I'm so grateful for people with pools - was able to get into one Saturday, Sunday and Monday! Definitely getting good use of the maternity bathing suit! The little guy has been performing some gymnastic feats in the womb. As far as I can tell he's staying head-down, which is good, but somehow he's still rolling all over the place and throwing elbows in the process! He's also had a bunch of hiccups this last week! My navel is starting to protrude, as are little guy's limbs. Cravings? Pop Tarts! I already finished the box and I just bought it 2 days ago :-/ Has to be name brand too, the off brand just doesn't look as good.

31 weeks!

I'm still feeling pretty well, although aches and joint pain are really settling in lately to the point of hindering my activities. Getting in the water helps a lot, so thanks to everyone who has been accommodating me in that regard! Sleeping is getting pretty ridiculous at night too. I bought a new body pillow but it hasn't completely taken the place of the old beaten up one so I've been using both... and occasionally an additional pillow under my feet. Whatever it takes to get to sleep! I'm pretty much surrounded by pillows and Jack is probably dangling over the edge to get away from all the fluff! General tiredness is setting in too. I wear out pretty easily, and it's getting pathetic. On Monday a trip out to Target, Aldi, and Hannaford wiped me out and I had to take a nap when I got home! I'm really looking forward to the nesting stage... for the sake of my house. I'm pretty sure Jack is looking forward to me hitting that stage too. I've gotten way too accustomed to watching dust bunnies float by and dishes pile up in the sink. I've decided as of yesterday though, to tackle one room at a time - top to bottom. That way I don't wear myself out and it doesn't seem as daunting a task. So the bathroom was yesterday, our bedroom was today. Does the kitchen/dining room/living room all count as one since they're all open to each other? Oh man, all this cleaning talk has inspired me to do more. Maybe I have hit nesting!

Nothing really new with the little guy. He's still on the move a lot and it's still fun to watch. Occasionally a little uncomfortable but still fun! We'll get to see him again at what should be our last ultrasound next Wednesday.

In other unrelated news, I would like to shout out a congratulations to my sister-in-law who got engaged last Thursday! We're very excited for Regan and Strom and couldn't be happier for them. We also ask everyone to pray for Strom's safety as he gets deployed to Afghanistan at the end of this month.

30 weeks!

3/4 of the way there! Had an appointment with a different midwife this morning - Linda, and she was so sweet! I still have to meet two of the others since they rotate at this practice and you don't know who will end up on call when you go into labor! The belly measured perfectly today - 30cm at 30 weeks. Good heart rate of 144, good blood pressure on my part. My glucose and iron levels checked out fine from the screening and bloodwork I had done at my last appointment.

As for the little guy - TONS of movement. Not just kicks and punches anymore, but feeling arms move across the entire length of my belly, feeling what must be feet push out under my ribs, feeling limbs cross over each other as he shifts positions. Not just feeling all this, but seeing a lot of it too. Haven't actually seen the outline of a foot or elbow or anything, but I've seen a bump move around, or I'll watch my belly get rocked around. It doesn't get old.

It's crazy how the reality of it all hits you in waves, or at least it's done that to me. First it was seeing 2 lines on that stick after however many times of seeing just 1. That took a whole day to absorb. Then it was the first ultrasound - totally surreal, but there was actual evidence in front of me of this little one. I didn't really suffer from morning sickness or anything in the first trimester so the next wave of reality hit when the bump started to grow. Then feeling little flutters, transitioning into kicks. Then there was registering, and starting to make purchases - this is the actual stuff that baby boy will be using! Now it's beyond the light flutters and kicks, and into movement of arms and legs, stretching, spazzing and soccer punts! I'm thinking next will probably be setting up the nursery, and then finally meeting the little guy! Can't wait!