38 Weeks and Counting...

As of Friday I am 38 weeks pregnant...I can't believe how close we are to holding the little baby that has been growing inside me!

So, according to Babycenter: Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old.

It will be interesting to see what color baby's eyes and hair are. We expect baby to have brown hair, but Joel actually was born with almost reddish hair, which then turned platinum blond before settling on brown....whereas mine started brown and stayed brown....Joel's eyes are blue and mine are brown so that is much more of a mystery. I know my mom has a recessive gene since both Bern and Annie have light colored eyes, but I don't know about my dad....so remember those Punnett squares from HS Biology....if my dad is completely dominant for brown eyes, then I have a 50%chance of also being completely dominant and if I am completely dominant then all of my children will have brown eyes. However, if my dad is simply dominant, then I have only a 33% chance of being completely dominant (based on the fact that we know that I brown eyes so I can't be recessive). So, that's probably enough genomics for anyone reading this...I suppose we'll find out soon enough! :-)

Tonight, Joel is at the WFU b-ball game (vs. Chapel Hill) He wasn't planning on going, but Greg called him this afternoon and said Janet wasn't up to going and asked if he was interested. Of course, he jumped at the opportunity - one, it's a hard game to get tickets to and second, who knows how many more opportunities he's going to have in the near future (that mom is going to let him take LOL).

I put together the swing (it's so cute!) and cleaned up a little bit but that's about as much energy as I have these days. I have gone into work most of this past week because my computer works markedly better in the office than at home (at least when I'm using Access). I am pretty close to finishing up the project I've been working on and think that I can get everything finished this week and then just respond to ad-hoc needs as they arise...until the baby decides to make his or her appearance.

This weekend was pretty busy. On Saturday, Joel went to "Daddy Boot Camp". He even got a certificate of completion. While he was there, I did another round of shopping at Babies R Us and picked up a frame at Michael's (which I'm going to return....I basically figured that out in the parking lot but was too exhausted to go back into the store...and maybe I'll decide to keep it...) and went to the post office to mail out the last of the Christmas gifts (ok, they are REALLY late, but it's the thought that counts, right? :-) ) Those are the same gifts that I tried to mail the weekend before Christmas (and actually get them out in time) and was foiled not once, not twice, but 3 times that weekend. Then, with the holidays and the family....well, I just have not been able to get to the post office since....

I was a little nervous about how Joel would like "Daddy Boot Camp". I told him about it and he voluntarily decided to go, but then WFU had a need for speakers at their "Student for a Day" and he really wanted to go do that....what a dilemma b/c of course they were for the same time on Sat....I didn't want to "make" him go to "Daddy Boot Camp" but of course I saw that as a kind of "once in a lifetime" opportunity....and he seemed to enjoy it, so I'm glad that I "pushed" him in that direction - there will be plenty more opportunities for us to participate in WFU recruiting events (which I would love to do....every time I volunteer they tell me they have too many people...it figures). Anyway, after I picked up Joel, we had lunch at Wendy's and I dropped Joel off at home and then headed to my pre-natal massage at Oasis Day Spa. I have never gone for a massage and I thought this was a really nice treat for myself and also hoping that it will spur on labor (or at least dilation). It was really nice, but I should've used another cushion for under my back b/c I wound up leaving w/ a tight spot in my lower back....then again at 9 mos pregnant, although the massage felt great, the aches and pains weren't gone for long.

Last night, Joel went to the Panthers game (vs the Cardinals) with people from work. I watched part of the game at home but also watched my saved ER episodes (yay!) and some HGTV...typical man, Joel doesn't care for watching HGTV (or at least won't admit it...) so I use those occasional opportunities when I am home by myself to get in as much HGTV (and TLC) as I can :-)

Well, I have a Dr. appt tomorrow morning at 9am. The good news is that I think my massage did indeed spur on some "action" as I was having particularly strong contractions last night and tonight. They are not regular but Dr. Rouse said that the more contractions, the better (apparently this is what starts the dilation process...). I am at least hoping for progress from last week.....

Maternity Pictures

Last night we went to the Picture People and got Christmas pictures and Maternity pictures taken. Joel was a little reluctant to go have professional pictures done, because he said that w/ his new fancy camera he could take pictures at home. Don't get me wrong, the self-timer is great, but there's just some instances when I would prefer to go to a professional studio w/ lighting and a photographer so we don't have to set the timer and run into the picture :-) The best part is that for all his grumbling, he was the one that wanted to buy all the pictures framed and matted. I am very excited about the pictures. We got one frame for the great room (we're starting a wall of pictures) and one for the nursery and the best part is that since they were all digital, we were able to take everything home last night after our session.

I was very impressed w/ the sales techniques at Picture People. There was no pressure, but what they do is while you're talking to an associate about the packages and looking at your prints, the photographer is in the back printing out some of his favorites and matting and framing them....well, once you actually see them matted and framed, it's a pretty easy sell....even if you don't want exactly the print the photographer picked out, once you see how nice it looks, you know you want to get one framed. I couldn't believe some of the packages - $1000+ - you get a ton of pics and frames for that price, but I just wonder what you do with them all. Even with the baby, I know we'll get pictures done, but we probably won't send everyone new frames everytime....I just wish I had more wall space. :-)

7 Months - Dancing Baby

Today, I had a Dr. appt with Dr. Rouse. Good news is that I passed my glucose screening test and all of my other bloodwork came back normal. The baby's heart rate was 145 and measured just right. Bad news is that I found out that this awful burning sensation on the top of my right rib-cage is the result of inflamed cartilage on my rib-cage and there is really not much I can do about it. Dr. Rouse said it's pretty common and the result of the baby pushing up under my rib-cage. I'm hoping it will go away soon. My next Dr. appt is on Nov 19th (I go every 2 weeks now).

In other news, baby has decided that he or she likes to do the cha-cha in my belly, especially around 5am. I can't believe how much baby is moving - it seems like within the last week, baby has gone from a couple of kicks and a lot of swishes and rolls to almost constant kicking and punching and moving - I wish I could see inside there to see what baby is doing! At about 1:30 this morning, I could've sworn that baby was moving both sets of legs and arms in every direction possible!! I'm getting really excited to meet baby - there are still 3 months, but it seems like it's coming up really quick.

This past weekend, we went to Babies R Us and picked up the valances and crib bedding. I set up the crib skirt and bumpers, but need to wash the sheets. I will post pictures of the nursery as soon as I get it all set up. We only have a couple of things left to do or get before baby is born. After Babies R Us, we went over to Concord Mills and did some shopping. I got a couple of shirts at Old Navy and a sweatsuit. Their maternity section left little to be desired, so I just rummaged among their regular stuff to find what I could to cover my ever-growing belly. It may just be the style of clothes this year, but for shirts, I'm finding that I'm having better luck w/ non-maternity shirts than maternity shirts because the maternity are wide, but not necessarily long, and I have a long torso, which means that even in some of the maternity shirts, my belly is starting to stick out the bottom. Right now, I have almost every size possible, from S to XXL (my new zip-up sweatshirt). It'll be interesting to see what I actually put away with my maternity clothes and what I decide to keep with my regular clothes. The funniest thing is that I've become so used to my big belly now that I can't even remember what it was like to not have this big belly......I am constantly looking at people, especially other women and wondering what my body will look like after baby.....I suppose we'll see soon enough!

We found Joel jeans at the Polo store for $20 - they were just on a random clearance rack - we were really excited b/c the jeans that he had were getting too big and needed to move on to Goodwill. The Polo jeans not only fit well, but they are a much lighter denim and super comfy. I found a maternity pea coat at the Motherhood outlet - a coat was something that I was realizing I was going to have to buy b/c baby is due so late in the winter - I just hope I get to use it w/ the next pregnancy. I didn't find anything for me at the GAP, but I did find 2 pairs of cotton pants for the baby. I had gotten these really cute long sleeve onesies at Walmart, but realized I didn't have any bottoms, so I got a pair in white and navy blue. Slowly but surely I've been picking up baby clothes - I've been buying 0-3 months - may have to get some NB stuff just in case baby is on the 6-7lb side (which is what I'm hoping, but I know if I buy NB stuff, I will wind up with a Christmas Turkey....didn't want to jinx myself!).

Speaking of Christmas, I definitely need to start Christmas shopping. Joel wanted to go to Conocord Mills so he could go to Circuit City and fondle the new Cannon 50D. It is a nice camera, but we have a nice camera. Recently, Joel also started looking at new laptops. Luckily, he discovered that the IRS says the usable life of a laptop is 3 yrs, so now he feels he can't justify buying a new one (at least for another year and a half). Therefore, he has moved on to looking at cameras - I wonder what the IRS says about the usuable life of a digital camera. We have a nice camera.....but both of us do like the digital SLR - we'll see, maybe not for Christmas, but maybe after baby is born.

As of Friday, I am 28 weeks pregnant (7 months). This is also the beginning of the 3rd trimester!! According to Baby Center: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Only 12 weeks to go!

27 weeks - Nesting

As of Friday, I am 27 weeks pregnant. I am in full-blown "Nesting" mode. Joel says that he wonders whether he will come home some days to find feathers and sticks stuck together w/ mud around the house. :-) During the past week, I put together the crib, the dresser and did my first load of baby laundry. I was really excited to get the dresser because I wanted to open all of the little clothes, get them washed and put away - and figure out what we still needed. It's nice to feel like the house is neat and organized and I wanted to get rid of the packaging and boxes and "stuff" that had accumulated in the house over the last week (but of course I missed garbage last week - not a good week to miss it - it's going out Tues night this week!) The nursery is really coming together - I would like everything done before Christmas because then after Christmas I can just worry about putting away Christmas decorations and not have to worry about picking up last minute baby stuff. It seems like it's all right around the corner (doesn't help that the stores put Christmas stuff out right after they finish back to school). It was rough going back to school this past weekend after having the previous week off, but we just keep pushing and reminding ourselves that there are only a couple of weeks left. I can't believe how close we are......we only have to get through a couple of papers, an exam, and a simulation......I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. :-)

So, in baby news: This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle

I definitely think that I have felt the baby hiccuping. At first I thought it was kicks or punches or something but it seemed different - almost too rhythmic to be kicks or punches.....just like they described. It's cute...although all the movement has been giving me pretty bad heartburn the last week or so. I really don't like Tums so I've been trying everything else, but I think Tums is the only answer at this point. Baby has been moving a lot - I can't even imagine how baby is going to triple in size in there - it already feels like baby is stretching from my bladder to my boobs (and then turns and stretches all the way across my belly - it is the strangest sensation!) Today, I think I experienced my first Braxton-Hicks contractions....all of these things are difficult to describe, even for people who have been through them, which also means it's hard to know whether that is what you're experiencing. Today I was trying to stretch out my back and I felt my entire belly cramp up and it felt like the baby was rolling into a really tight ball. You could feel how tight and hard my belly was from the outside. It then happened again about an hour or two later. It was really strange (and uncomfortable!)

Today, I looked into birthing classes. We will be delivering at CMC Main so they have classes just about every week - so far only Oct and Nov dates are posted on their website - I think we will try and go the beginning / middle of Dec. They also have a Daddy Boot Camp and a Labor Support class that I am interested in signing up for. I was reading about midwives on the website - I wish I had a mid-wife, but I think Dr. Rouse will be good - I guess we'll see and then can always change doctors for the next baby.

I am hoping to get the bedding for the nursery next weekend and will then post some pictures. The picture above is from the shower, but I love it because I think it shows our sense of excitement and awe......

Baby Stuff - Updates and Registry

Each day I get an e-mail from whattoexpect.com detailing either something about me or baby that is related to this week in gestation. Some of them are kind of silly (like avoid Botox...) but others are really cute. Yesterday, I got the following e-mail:

Week 22: Hair Ye, Hair Ye
Guess what? Your baby has finally broken the one-pound mark. How heavy is that? Hold a one-pound box of sugar in your hand the next time you're in the grocery story (and expect people to ask you why you're grinning from ear to ear). Is the box eight inches long? That's about the length your baby is too!
This week, your sweetie is making more sense of the world as he or she develops the sense of touch. In fact, your little one's grip is quite developed by now — and since there's nothing else to grab in utero, he or she may sometimes hold on tight to that umbilical cord (don't worry — it's tough enough to handle it). The sense of sight is also getting more developed. Your fetus can now perceive light and dark much better than before (even with those fused eyelids). But remember — unless you're shining a flashlight over your belly (which you can do, by the way), it'll be mostly dark for your baby inside that cozy womb of yours.

Moving up from the eyes, the eyelashes and eyebrows are well formed now — and even more hair is sprouting atop that cute little head. You'd be quite surprised, though, if you could see your little one up close and in color. Hair at this stage has no pigment, so it's bright white.

Awwww, isn't that cute? These e-mails make me feel more connected to the baby, because I can envision him or her grabbing onto the umbilical cord and stretching and having white fuzzy hair. It makes the pregnancy that much more exciting!

In other baby news, Joel and I (mostly I) have been working on the Baby Registry. I started it a couple of months ago and am now in the process of refining it. I worked on it for ahwile the other day because I went through and read probably 50-100 reviews on baby bathtubs - who would've thought there was so much to consider. There was a really fancy "spa" tub that we thought was adorable, but the reviews were terrible - just teaches you that sometimes plain and simple is better :-) I've also been corresponding with Kathy to get her perspective on what's worked and what hasn't, especially since she went through this process not very long ago. Sometimes the reviews are frustrating because you have a bunch of good reviews and then a couple of terrible reviews - you wonder if they're talking about the same product. Then yesterday or the day before, I found out that the nursery set that we want is being discontinued, so we're probably going to go in and see if we can still get it in the store. I really didn't like any of the sets as much as this one - it figures! Although this one doesn't have a drop side (seems most of them don't these days) and so maybe the fact that it's being discontinued is telling me to look for a better alternative. I think we've covered most of the basics, but now it's just deciding on the brand and style of a few pieces and making sure we have all of the little stuff - like bottles, pacifiers, diaper bag, etc. I love the nursery bedding - shown in the second picture (it's organic cotton and super soft!) - I think we're going to leave the nursery painted the color it is because it will go so perfectly (it's a sage green similar to the picture!)

Presents for Baby

I couldn't help it. :-) I have been putting off buying anything for the baby because I have plenty of time (and some lingering anxiety) so I didn't want to go crazy, but my mom sent me a Kohl's gift card for my birthday so I went to Kohl's with my friend Nicole. On the first trip, I noticed that they had a display of Eric Carle books. When I was in high school, I was a teacher's assistant for the preschool program and created a 3-ft version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? so this book is near and dear to my heart (nevermind the million times I re-shelved the book when I worked in the Children's Dept of the Library). I was really excited to find a newer version called Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do you See? It was even more precious because they had the matching stuffed animals....and I can always justify my purchase as helping charity since the profits go to Kohl's Cares for Kids :-)

So, how come there's a polar bear in the picture too??? Well, I went back to Kohl's to exchange a pair of pants I bought on the first visit (their maternity clothes are not cut that great - I wound up finding some "regular" clothes that will work just fine for a while longer) and this Kohl's had a much bigger selection of matching stuffed animals, so for $10, I couldn't help it (again!) and I can't wait to buy more!! he, he

Baby Mickey vs Teddy Bears

The headline refers to the nursery theme. Despite the fact that everyone who knows me knows I love Mickey, Baby Mickey is actually Joel's choice (and a choice that he has expressed for at least the last 8-10 years). However, the Baby Mickey that was around when we were younger (I didn't think I was THAT old!) is no longer available. There are a couple of Mickey patterns, but there is no more Baby Mickey and friends - and the new ones have a lot of denim and blue. I even checked Ebay and the best I could find was a 14 yr old set that someone pulled out of their attic and obviously that was not going to work. We have been collecting teddy bears for some time - most recently we brought home 2 astronaut bears from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and an antique looking bear from the auction. I want to paint the nursery pale yellow (we are in agreement over this) and then get a nursery set that has teddy bears on it (either one of the ones pictured above!) I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed for the Teddy Bears!