We're in Trouble!!

The pictures below say it all! This past weekend we caught our adorable little Sadie walking around the house with baby boy's paci's in her mouth...oh no! We should have been good parents and immediately take it away from her but it was soooo funny we just let her run around sucking it for a bit. I know, not the smartest thing to do but you had to be there to see this ;-) Not only did she walk around with it in her mouth, the correct way she was actually sucking it...so unlike our destructive little Sadie. We took it away from her and then a few hours later she had another one and had chewed open the package and was laying on the floor sucking it...Oh boy, we're going to have our hands full!!

37 Weeks & FULL TERM!!

FULL TERM!

I can’t believe it but we are now full term! Where did the time go?!?! I am feeling very full term now as I have dropped completely so baby boy is sitting very low; which makes it impossible to tie my shoes and bend over. Thank goodness yoga has kept me slightly flexible and stretched so I am able to squat for long periods of time i.e. when playing with Sadie or picking anything up. I’m still the same size and haven’t gained any more weight but I can tell that the baby has grown because there is simply NO MORE ROOM! I am stretched to the max and even though the baby has gained weight, I have stayed the same mainly because I don’t have much of an appetite and did I mention, there’s no more room!!

This past weekend was very successful and we got everything done off our check list…hard to believe since there were at least 20+ things that we had to do. My mom was in town Saturday – Monday so the 3 of us went out both Saturday and Sunday to get everything done…and we did it! But I feel like I didn’t sit down for 2 days straight and was so exhausted on Monday that I could hardly stay awake at work. Went to yoga after work and that made me feel so much better but I was still pretty pooped. The nursery is pretty much done! Custom art came in and we put everything up over the weekend. We are going to hang shelves this week but other than that, we’re ready to go!

We celebrated Chris’ first Father’s Day and it was so much fun! I took Sadie out all weekend so he could sleep in...she’s an early riser and gets us up at 6:30am every morning. On Sunday Sadie and I went and got bagels for breakfast, everything bagels which are Chris’ favorite, to surprise him. Then he opened his gifts, sunglasses from me and a cute little outfit from baby boy! Of course it was for the baby but said I love Daddy. Mom took us to his favorite place, Monterey Bay Fish Grotto and we had an amazing dinner. I think he had a great first father’s day!

One of our tasks was to take inventory on everything we needed before the baby comes and exchange things that we had too many of. Baby boy will sure have his pick of bottles and paci’s! We also purchased our Medela breast pump and got all the accessories that we need and also made sure we had all the correct size diapers. We found that we have a ton (almost #400) newborn diapers but since we don’t know where they all came from, we can’t exchange them. We also have lots of swaddlers for newborns and for 8lb+ babies. So I think we’re all set for a while.

I ordered #2 Miracle blankets after searching 4 stores for them and no luck. Apparently the knock-off brands do not even compare to the real thing so we just decided to order them online from the company to make sure we were getting the real deal. We also ordered a CD that is supposed to help the baby sleep better. It has sounds that mimic the womb, so hopefully that will help too.

We also bought baby boy several outfits for the hospital and to come home in…I couldn’t decide what I liked best so why not get them all. And of course, my mom is getting them monogrammed this week…you all know me and my love for monograms! My mom also got baby boy 2 blankets monogrammed, one for him to come home with and another for his Christening. They are both too cute and match so well with our little color plan.

We also got a new camera, thank goodness right? But unfortunately it's not really good and we are so disappointed in the picture quality so we're going to return it this weekend. We tried to get a cheaper one but looks like we're going to have to pay a little more to get good pictures. So we got one pic of me today and will add pictures of the nursery over the weekend.

Last on the list was to swing by Pottery Barn Kids to pick up our lamps and a few other things on our registry. We got the lamps, love them and were surprised that several of the other items had been purchased. So maybe we have a few more surprises coming for baby boy!

This weekend we have no plans, you heard me right! Jon and Lauren are coming over Friday and we’re going out for pizza and then Saturday I have a prenatal massage scheduled…my poor back and hip are killing me! But no other tasks for the baby other than washing his clothes, towels and sheets. We’re so excited for a weekend without a “to-do” list...it’s about time we get to rest a bit! Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can go to the pool on Sunday.

Oh and BAG IS PACKED! Baby boy, did you hear that?!?! Feel free to come any time now, we’re all excited to meet you!

Less than 28 Days to go!

Less than 28 Days to go!!

Belly Update:

Since not much has changed from last week so I will keep this short and sweet. I gained another pound and a half this week, up to 18.5 total…with 4 weeks or less to go I am hoping to keep it at a pound a week and under 25, which was my goal. I haven’t really grown much more so the belly shot looks about the same but I can tell that he is running out of room as his movements are becoming less and less each week and more like shifts from one position to another. Had my weekly doctor’s appt yesterday and he’s still head down so let’s hope he stays that way. He’s also measuring perfect with 36 weeks, which is around 5.5-6 pounds. I have dropped a bit so my doctor thinks that’s another sign that he may come a bit sooner than our due date…we shall see. Just stay in there for at least another week and we’ll be FULL TERM! But now that I have dropped, I am breathing so much better. He still kicks me in the ribs and lungs all the time but at least there’s a little more room for me!

Swelling – It’s finally happening to me. I thought this whole pregnancy I was doing so great with watching sodium and nothing had started to swell yet. But this weekend I got a taste of what the next few summer weeks were going to be like. Rings are still on but my ankles, not a pretty sight! I keep my feet elevated as much as possible but I have a feeling they are going to be “puffy” for the next few weeks…oh joy! I have always had swelling problems, thanks mom for those genes but I had done so good…we’ll see. Going to buy some comfy closed shoes to keep the swelling down so that should do the trick. I have been wearing my converses on days that are low-key at the office but they are not really appropriate for work…ha!

Bring on the baby showers!

My best girls threw me a shower at Mel’s house on Saturday. It was so great to see everyone and we got a ton of adorable clothes and lots of great gifts. My friend Crystal Keen came up for the weekend and it was so great to see her! Alicia and Neal and Anna and Justin also made the hike up from NC to host the shower with Mel and Andrea…I am so thankful to have such amazing friends! They boys golfed while we were at the shower and then we all grilled out after. I miss these girls and it was great to spend some time with them this weekend. Also, Stella (my flower girl) and Lydia came with Isabelle, I can’t believe how much they have grown up! Now we are making our lists to decide what’s left that we need to get before the baby comes.

We hope to post pictures of the completed nursery next week. Still waiting on some custom art to be framed, putting up shelves and some other little things. After that, I will be sure to post pictures! I have had so many people ask to see the completed nursery…wish it was completed :)

We hope to get a new camera in the next week or so (if the budget allows for it) so I should be able to post more pics soon!

Anxiety – for all that know me well know I have horrible anxiety and I thought that I had done well this entire pregnancy without one little freak out. That was until my friend Renee had her baby boy last week and Marybeth had her little girl this past weekend. Talk about freaking out…I AM NEXT!! Not only have I been a basket case thinking about these two women that were just “pregnant” with me for the past 9 month or so, but now they are moms! It seems so unreal that in a few hours their whole world has been changed and did I mention, I AM NEXT! Renee and I have kept up with most details of our pregnancies through email and it seems so unreal that she now has baby Asher home with her…every time I think about her and baby Asher, I get teary-eyed! I am having feelings from excitement; that I can’t wait to meet him to feelings of sheer panic; where I don’t have everything ready for him to come. I guess this is all normal but as I have less than 4 weeks to go, I can’t help but to freak out! Chris has been so great and has taken on the list-maker task…again one of my OCD’s. We have a bunch to get done but hopefully we can take care of it this weekend.

First list item – PACK MY BAG! So many people tell me that after 36-37 weeks anything can happen…that’s this week! So mark this off my list, bag will be packed this weekend (provided that I have time to buy hospital pj’s, outfit for baby to come home in, etc...haha) it will get done!

My mom is coming this weekend so hopefully she can help me mark off a few more items off my list. I am determined to get as much done this weekend as possible so I can rest and enjoy these last few weeks before I become a mom. I already have a list of to-do’s for her, sorry mom, it just comes with the title.

35 Weeks and 35 Days to Go!

I have been very slack on the updates but promise to update the blog better for the next few weeks! We have been very busy with getting things ready for the baby, such a busy and exciting time!

Belly Update:

Here's an updated picture at 35 weeks and 1 day. Not much change but I am sure the baby is growing by the day.

Weight Gain: 17 pounds...creeping up on me :)

Contractions: None so far and not sure if I have had BH contractions or not...everything has been pretty normal so far.

Labor signs: Nope and hope it stays that way for at least 2 more weeks when I will be considered Full Term.

Cravings: Still eating a ton of avocado and have been eating fish like crazy but no "real-gotta have it" cravings. Space is getting very limited in there so I can't eat very much at a time. I have had ice cream, well frozen yogurt for dinner several nights...so guess I am craving ice cream a little more than usual.

Best/Worst Moment: Baby Showers!! I had one in PA last weekend that was wonderful and my bestest girls are throwing me a shower this weekend in MD. Love these girls! The only thing I would consider my worst moment is the hip pain and pain from the baby kicking me in the ribs constantly! He does love my right side and as much as I try and push him over to the left, he kicks me and moves back under my right rib. Painful but funny :)

Movement: Constant rolling and sudden kicks. I feel his hiccups every night before I go to bed and can tell that he's still head down. I think he's ready to come...but little one, stay in for a few more weeks!

Sleep: Still getting up 4-5 times a night...this baby boy must sleep on my bladder. Which makes it hard to get to get back to sleep after I get up. Oh well, guess he's preparing me. I am trying to stay hydrated like crazy b/c my doctor says that dehydration can bring on contractions and labor signs early so I am drinking water like crazy. I try to stop drinking around 9-9:30pm each night but that hasn't helped...still up at least 4 times.

Other updates:

Stroller Drama!!! Mom A bought us a stroller for our shower last weekend...did it come on time, NO! Did they bother to call us to tell us that there was a problem, NO! So, you all know me I jumped on the phone and very nicely, let them have it. Not only b/c we had ordered it 3 weeks ago and it was coming from NY to PA but b/c no one had bothered to follow-up to see if it had shipped. I think I mentioned last blog that we went with a Peg Perego Pilko which we liked a lot but a part of me really wanted another stroller. Of course more expensive and had to be special ordered and we would not get it for 6 weeks. So, to make this a short story since Buy Buy Baby had screwed up our order, they offered us 20% off the stroller we really wanted, which brought the price down to just a little over what we paid for the Peg. This made me very excited! I ordered the new stroller on Monday and although it will not be here for 6 weeks, we are so excited to have the stroller we really wanted and got a nice discount on it! The manager at Buy Buy Baby said that they NEVER, EVER under any circumstances discount this brand but since they made such a big mistake, she would do it for us. Great store to deal with and I am so happy we bought our stroller from them. Even if we had some drama.

New Stroller - 2009 BumbleRide Indie with optional foot muff (we were advised to get it, so we did...at 20% off, of course)!

Nursery Update:

We had a monogram made for over the crib and it looks great! My idea to monogram scrap pieces of material and frame them and hang over the crib with ribbon and cute gingham hangers turned out not to be a good idea after all. I read another mom's blog and she had wood letters hanging over the crib and one night during a bad storm, the vibration knocked one off the wall and it really hurt the baby...so much for my attempt to be crafty :) So we ended up hanging them by the changing table and they look really cute. The monogram is his initials and is oval, I will post pictures when the nursery is complete.

We haven't done too much more as we have a lot of custom items on order. We had a hard time finding art since everything seems to be done in primary colors and that just doesn't work with our blue and tan theme :) So we had custom art done and can't wait to see it! We found a lady on Etsy...if you have never been to the site, you must go! It's where people sell arts and craft items and you can find ANYTHING http://www.etsy.com/ We found a seller that paints children's art and she we fell in love with "Louie the Bear and Leon the Lion." She was great and asked us to mail her samples of the wall colors and she would paint Louie and Leon to match our colors. Also, she had a little puppy painted and we asked if she would attempt to paint a Sadie...yes you heard me correct. We had her paint a pic of Sadie for the nursery :) Sadie is such a huge part of our lives and the baby has to have a pic of her...ha! I think she looks very serious but Chris just loves it. Louie is being touched up a bit to add a little more tan and texture and Leon will be finished tonight. We had custom frames made at Michael's and they are cottage white with a beaded trim. We hope to have the canvas pictures framed and ready in the next few weeks. Pics of the completed nursery to come.

Sadie the Doggie and Louie the Bear below...how funny!

The bathroom is almost done, waiting on Leon the Lion to be hung and it will be complete! We found the perfect size shelves for the bathroom at Ikea. Which by the way is the WORST store ever! They have great things but I do not like to be told which way to walk through the store when I am shopping. Chris and I went there with a plan, get the shelves and get out. Yeah right! We called before we went, got the isle number, shelf number and everything we could to be prepared to get in and get out. Mel had warned me how it's like a maze and you have to walk through the entire store when you go. Just as we thought we had out smarted their system, we discovered that yes, we had found a shortcut to get the items but that we had to walk all the way backwards on the maze to check out. Whoever designed that store had too much time on his hands! I was so grumpy and hungry that I had to stop and get a cinnamon bun to get me through...luckily they had a snack bar right in the middle of the store. This made me super excited and I walked the rest of the store enjoying my bun! Guess it was worth it b/c the shelves look great and they were super cheap. But I have to say that I don't think I will go to that store ever again unless it's absolutely necessary!

Mom A finished up on our drapes for the nursery, custom white and gingham shower curtain and she also made us place mats to match our new decor on the main level. They look amazing and are just what we wanted.

Mom S got us a NICE Sony Camcorder for our Anniversary and for the baby's birth...Don't worry we're not filming the birth...no way Jose! But we do want to capture a few moments after he is born to share with family and friends. She also got us a nice case and extra memory stick should we want to record something and then immediately pop into the laptop to show people. We can't wait to get it!




Chris put together the pack-n-play that my work gave us and it matches so well downstairs. Took him forever b/c the directions were useless. But here's a pic of it all set up.

I think this blog is long enough so I will wait to update more in the next few days.