Family Shower

The shower was amazing. Being surrounded by such love from our family and friends was wonderful. People were more than generous. We are so blessed. Once I get some pictures uploaded, I will share a few. Some hard work went into this and it truly made us feel special. Of course, I broke down and started crying in front of everyone as I was trying to thank my mom and sister. =/

After the shower, B and I came home and sorted everything. We received some duplicates of things, and some extras of things we already had (really, how many tub thermometers does one family need?) , so we made a "keep" and "return" pile. Then we went through the return pile and separated by store and if we had a gift receipt. Both Target and BabiesRUs will not return items without a gift receipt. Sooooooo...we have some things that will be kept for future gifts or donated. I can understand not taking back items that could have been purchased elsewhere, but if it has your tag (or is your store brand), why wouldn't you take it back?
Anyway, now I know to always get a gift receipt when giving a gift. =)

Last night, we were so tired, we were both asleep by 9ish. I woke up 3 times to go to the bathroom and never fell back asleep after 3. I just kept thinking of all we have to do before she arrives. I figured I'd make a list and then feel better. So here is my list, for our benefit (feel free to skip).

In no particular order:
Finish making/write out/send thank you cards
wash bedding/put on
buy a new vacuum (We bought one, but when we got it home it had already been used. We tried it anyway and it was not good. We need to take it back)
clean out cars
install car seat bases
put together bassinet
laundry...it's already never ending (Getting there, but I'm guessing this will never fully get crossed off the list)
buy cloth diapers (anyone selling any used?)(We bought 4 so far and we bought a couple packages of newborn disposables)
rearrange office
put all the gifts away
return gifts
try to figure out loss of pay for 3 weeks off (if anyone understands this, please message me. Payroll clerk told me what I make per day, but clearly, that is not what I bring home)
pay bills
buy a Boppy cover
investigate buying/renting breast pump
get pumping supplies
buy new checks with our new address (yes, we have been living here for almost a year now)
upload pictures to facebook
update blog with new bellyshot

I'm sure there is more to this list, but that is all I can think of right now. I'll be happy to see some things crossed off that list by this weekend. =) Oh, and it's the end of the trimester-so I have a ton of things to do for school as well! Eek. Deep breath.

Another Milestone

32 weeks.
You know how you have those imaginary dates in your head..."well if I can just make it to x."
Today, X marks the spot. 32 weeks was a big one for me. I think from now until she is born, I will be living my life in 2 week waits. My next imaginary milestone is 34 weeks. Then 36. Then 38. Luckily, I have a lot going on. including a shower this weekend, weekly NSTs, bi-weekly ob-which will soon switch to weekly, and childbirth classes. Not to mention, the end of the card-making is approaching next week, so everything that comes with that at school as well. Oh, and IEPS. 'Tis the Season. Throw in a couple more snow days (and boy am I done with this snow!), and Nuggette will be here before we know it. I have full confidence she will come in perfect time (and without the induction!).

Shower, Hospital Visit, Nursery Pics

My work shower was on Friday and it was absolutely perfect. There were just the right amount of people (around 20) and some pretty awesome food. (including pickles and buckeyes!) Again, people were more than generous and we received our travel system. B and I were worried we were going to have to purchase it ourselves, since it was such a big ticket item, but we got it! BFF said they didn't have it in the color we registered for (green), so she got it in pink. =) If the store by our house doesn't have it in green either, than we will just keep the pink. It's cute! We received an abundance of clothes and blankets, and we actually received some diapers! (Not cloth, but that's ok...we will use the disposable ones too!) Handmade gifts are super special and one of my coworkers made a shelf for the nursery. It is already hanging up and you will be able to see it in the pictures below. I love it. Overall, it was a wonderful party. I am so grateful for my friends.

On Saturday, we took a tour of our hospital. We visited the labor and delivery unit as well as the mother and baby unit. We drove by a different hospital yesterday and I said to B, "Can you imagine delivering THERE?" She replied, "No way. We are delivering at the Ritz Carlton of hospitals." It truly felt that way. Everyone was so nice and everything is up to date. It is a teaching hospital and highly acclaimed in our neck of the woods. People come from all over to deliver here. We are blessed to live less than 2 miles away. At the end of the tour, they even had snacks for us, including sugar free cookies. (Not that I had anything, but I did manage to spill water all over myself.) I spoke with the nurse after the tour about our fear of induction and how to avoid it. She said, just be sure to eat some spice foods, do lots of walking, bounce on the birth ball, etc. She had full confidence that she would see me before the induction at 39w4d. =)

B and I have been trying to stay current on laundry and presents by putting them away when possible. We have been spending some time getting the nursery ready and I am prepared to share some pictures. We live in a bungalow, so as soon as you walk upstairs, you would walk into Nuggette's room. Directly off her room is two doors. One heads to a half bath (that also has a door to our bedroom) and one heads to our bedroom.

Changing table/dresser (Clearly, things will be moved off the top of this and we will get a changing pad to go on top):

Crib with wall art and Nuggette's real name. (The crib has a net over it, so the cats don't jump in it):

Built-in book shelf and other shelves:

Corner next to changing table. This is the shelf my co-worker made. It's hard to see its beauty in this picture, but it's truly precious:

We got pounded with another 10 inches of snow, so B is out there shoveling all by herself. I wish I could help her. I have a Dr. appointment at 2 today, so she needs to clear a path in our driveway. Not fun for her. I am spending the morning inside writing out and making thank you notes. I have finished about 20 of them and have about 20 more to go. Then, I am going to pre-address some cards for our even bigger shower that is happening this Sunday.

31 weeks

I'm starting to get a bit uncomfortable. This belly seems like it weighs a lot more than the weight I have gained. I'm pretty sure it's just the pressure on my insides.
I saw a picture of myself that was taken on Tuesday night. I'm large. We haven't taken a belly shot in a couple of weeks, so we will have to do one this week. She's definitely growing in there!
B is sick with some sort of upper respiratory cold. She can't breathe out of her nose, her body aches, she's tired, and she gets hot flashes. I hope she feels better soon (she's on day 3 or 4 of this), because I hate to see her so miserable. She went to work late yesterday and they sent her home early too.
Saturday is our hospital tour. If she is not better by then, I will reschedule. I don't want her to infect anyone else!
Tomorrow is my work shower. I'm so excited. =) My BFF told me there are close to 30 people coming! Wow. I wasn't expecting that! I'm glad it is at a co-workers house and more laid back. Everyone will be in Friday jeans and relaxed. The weather is supposed to be nice too, over 50 degrees!

Tickers

I updated a couple of the tickers so they reflect the current induction date of April 18th. For those that would change the development, I left with the original due date. Now, when I look over to the right, I see an accurate countdown. =)

65 days

65 days OR LESS! before we meet our sweet baby girl.
I can't believe it.
Nursery is pretty much set up, her clothes and blankets/sheets are washed.
We do not have any bottles or diapers, but I am not too concerned about that, given we have two showers in the next 2 weeks. If we don't get any then, we will go out and buy some.
Our childbirth class starts in 3 weeks. It is 3 weeks long and is in our ob/gyn's office.
We had already picked a pediatrician, based on doctor and friend advice, but now we are rethinking our choice and have placed an inquiry at another practice. The other practice just seems like a better fit for our family. It's a few more miles away, but they seem to have an awesome staff and better hours. (Plus, you can email the doctors!)
We should probably schedule a hospital tour soon. Even though we have been there twice before to see a friend after she delivered her girls, it will still be good to go look around and see the nursery, nicu, etc.
We've had some major bills in the past month....new glasses, car repairs, prescriptions, HEAT (my goodness on that one!), so our flexibility with spending is not quite where we would like it to be. Luckily, it looks like in 2 weeks, we should be in the clear. We just need to make it 2 weeks. (and hope and pray that nothing else major comes up!) I was hoping to get a new outfit for the shower (and I think B should be able to get a new one too), but that would mean dipping a bit into the savings. I'm not sure about that. What do you guys think? It's not like it would be a lot...maybe $60 total? I can be persuaded either way. =)

Heh?

Friends, it's B here. And I have a question for you.

Our due date is supposedly April 21st, right? We have been tracking weeks since practically before Nuggette was conceived, but now I'm thinking that we missed something along the way because yesterday marks 30 weeks. When I pull out my calendar and continue to count weeks, I show our due date as actually being April 7th.

Heh? I know I'm bad at math, but am I missing something here? Is this baby coming even sooner than we thought?

EDIT, 2 seconds later:
Friends, when you are counting weeks on a calendar, please make sure that if they filled in the next month's worth of days in the last week of the current month, you are not doubling up and counting that week twice. *facepalm*

The Magical 30 Week Mark

Something about making it to 30 weeks makes me feel great.
Overall, I have loved every minute of being pregnant. People ask me all the time how I am feeling and the answer is usually an honest "Great!"
The last few days I've been pretty tired, and even took a 2 hour nap yesterday. I'm not sure if that is due to my schedule or this pregnancy, but if that is all I can complain about, I'll take it!
We are in the home stretch now and the websites say I should start to gain about a pound per week. So far, I have gained a total of 9 pounds this pregnancy. If I gain a pound a week until the end, that will put me at 18 pounds-ish. If it's more, no biggie. Whatever she needs to be healthy!
My card club friends threw me a surprise mini-shower. So amazing. We got lots of cute clothes and blankets. And gift cards. We are saving the gift cards until after our other showers to use them to fill in the holes.

Induction

So we have a tentative induction date.
Apparently, at our ob/gyn practice, if you have not delivered by 39 weeks, they induce you (if you have gestational diabetes). The PA told us today that it is in the best interest for mom and baby.
It was still a bit of a shock to us. Luckily, our lovely TTC/mommy community is surrounding us with positive induction stories. The main goal is a healthy baby, by whatever means necessary.
So I will be admitted on Sunday, April 17th in the evening and hopefully have Miss Nuggette the following Monday, April 18th. That is, unless, she chooses to come earlier on her own. On April 18th I will be 39w4d (I get the extra days because I want my last day of work to be Friday, April 15th and they don't do inductions on the weekend). So, it's pretty close to her actual due date, and who knows, she may choose to make an appearance even earlier.
Next regular doctor appointment is in 2 weeks and the appointment after that is our 35 week u/s. We finally get another peek at the little miss.

She's a squash!

Happy 29 weeks to us!
77 days left.

A couple people have commented in the past week saying I "have popped." To me, it's still the same ole big belly. In fact, I had two people today tell me they didn't even know I was expecting. HUH? Just thought I was getting fat?

My work friends are planning a nice low-key work shower and my sister is working on our big shower. I am so blessed.

We have done oodles of itty bitty laundry over the past two days and its all folded and put away. We have folded baby clothes in a nursery with a crib, for OUR BABY. Who would have thought? This journey started in 2007, but in my heart, I have been planning for this moment since I was a wee girl.

I am loving every minute of it. Even the parts when my back hurts or I have to run to the bathroom lest I wet myself, or when I can't put on my socks and shoes without help.

I am blessed.
Thank you God.