Shower

Well, this weekend started off not so great with a blizzard on Saturday but ended with a wonderful day Sunday. Due to inclement weather, it was decided that my shower be postponed until Sunday. Sunday turned out to be a nice day and the shower was just great. Many thanks to Summer and Tracey for putting it all together and to Marilyn for opening her house and making tons of good food. A few pictures:

One of several cute little outfits

720 wipes...seriously!

Wizard of Oz blanket my mom made. This blanket was started 25 years ago for my cousin Andrew. Needless to say...she didn't finish it in time. But now Avery gets it! I'll get a more detailed pic up later.

Jumperoo!

My aunt Jan included these pics she took of me when I was a baby. I hope Avery has better hair than me...I kind of had a mullet.

Musical Play Gym

Delicious cake

Cake table

Eating aforementioned cake

In addition to the items pictured above, we also received many other useful items including diapers, a high chair, feeding/breastfeeding supplies, swaddle blanket, baby wash and lotion, bibs, changing pad cover, and the list goes on!

As I mentioned, my co-workers also had a shower for me on Friday. We received lots of diapers, wipes, onesies, and a jumperoo (we have 2 to return). I don't have any pictures because I forgot my camera!

Rob and I have been overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and desire to help welcome Avery. We really are very, very lucky. Avery has so many nice things waiting on her as well as a lot of people who are excited to meet her!

36 Weeks

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Today

6 weeks ago in the same sweater

Had a doctor appointment yesterday afternoon. Nothing new to report there. Today is my work shower and tomorrow is my family shower! Yay!! I am so excited, despite the forecasted snow. Booooooo!

There's really nothing new going on. Rob and I are just excited to meet this little crenshaw melon! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Monday Show and Tell

So because it's Monday and I have nothing better to do or say, I thought I'd share some pics from last Friday.Apparently it said "Bob and Monique" when they went to pick it up. Bwahahahaha.

Rob had to help open the gifts. Bwahahahaha again.

Diaper Dude

A lady Rob works with made this quilt

Thanks for the pictures Terri!

35/35

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

35 weeks and 35 days to go! Crazy! So doctor's appointment this morning. Everything was fine there. Going back next Thursday afternoon.

Rob's co-workers had a surprise "dad shower" for him this morning. They invited me so I took the morning off. It was so nice of them do this! Lots of cute clothes and other items (gift cards, bath stuff, monitor, small swing, blankets, diapers, baby care cart, etc). Can't wait to put everything away in her room tonight. Rob's parents got him his dad diaper bag.

Hoping to enjoy some nice weather this weekend. Hope everyone has a great one! And....HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYNN AKA SOON-TO-BE MRS. LYNN BRADSHAW!

Inventory, Class, and Other Randoms

So we had our second (out of three) Prepared Childbirth class last night. The class is fine. The first half is "textbook" stuff, the second half is breathing and relaxation techniques. What is NOT fine is this complete and utter idiot husband that is in there. I really cannot explain to you guys what an asshat this guy is, so I will just give you a few examples:
1. The instructor went around the room wanting everyone to say what comes to mind when they hear the word pain. His answer: marriage.
2. He loudly complained about how he was getting no sleep because his wife was waking up in the middle of the night to eat. When the instructor asked if she was nauseated, he shook his head, pulled his nose up like a pig and make an "oinking" sound. Seriously.
3. His poor wife is Thai, and when asked if he spoke the language he said no, that it was the whiniest language he's ever heard, and he tries not to learn it so he doesn't have to talk to his mother-in-law.
These are just a few examples. He also cracks "jokes" throughout the entire class. Oh, and he is a security guard. And he wears his uniform to class.

Last night the partners had to give the moms massages during the breathing and relaxation time. Right about then I really felt like I was getting my money's worth! I did feel bad for Rob, who had to rub my feet after they'd been in sweaty ballet flats all day (sorry honey!).

One of the funniest parts of this whole things is that Rob will eat or drink NOTHING in the hospital. Nothing. Mind you, we're in a classroom on the ground floor of the women's center, not up in a room on the contagious diseases floor or something. He will not even eat or drink anything that he brings in.
He was starving last night because he decided to not eat dinner before we went. He would not eat any of the (wrapped, in packages) crackers or granola bars they have for snacks, nor would he take a drink of my water I brought in. He says when I'm in the hospital he's going to keep some bottled water in the car and go out and get a drink when he gets thirsty.


Ok, I went to Wal-Mart Friday night and was immediately reminded of why I don't go to Wal-Mart. I couldn't find anything I was looking for. Except a rug I wanted for the living room. But nothing for the baby room.

I also took inventory of all her clothes.

Newborn
1 dress
1 sleeper
2 onesies

0-3
7 dresses
9 sleepers/PJs
11 onesies
4 misc. outfits

3-6
2 dresses
6 onesies

6-12
7 sleepers
2 onesies


Gowns-4

Blankets-9


It seems like she has a ton of stuff! Especially 0-3. But what do I know? Is this a lot, moms?

34 Weeks

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Starting next week I will have a doctor appointment every week up to and including April 24th, considering I am still pregnant on that day! The rest of this month will probably be pretty busy for us. We're continuing with our baby and childbirth classes (two next week) and I have a small shower being thrown by my co-workers on the 27th of this month, and my family is having a shower for me on the 28th. I am so excited to see everyone and celebrate with them.
Immediately after that I hope to get everything ready for her arrival should she arrive early. Odds are she won't, but you never know! Tonight I'm going to re-arrange the furniture (and by I, I mean Rob). Also going to organize her clothes, etc. AND I need to find some shelves, curtains, misc. things like that so I might have to make a trip to the dreaded Wal-Mart. *shudder* But onto more pleasant thoughts:
Saturday, Stephen and I will be hanging out with Lynn, watching the bride-to-be try on dresses! Fun!!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

33 Weeks

Week 33
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Month 8
Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.
49 days?! When you put it like that it sounds so close!

Doctor appointment this morning went well. We got to peep in on her as usual, and she had her hand up by her face. It was cute (well, as cute as a grainy, gray image can be). Doctor said everything is looking perfect. I have been so tired lately and my back has good and bad days, both to be expected. Otherwise I am feeling just fine. I am so excited about warmer weather and can't wait to put away the winter clothes, although I'm sure we'll have a few more cold snaps. No big plans for the weekend other than shaving Arthur. That's right, I'm getting the shears after him. Pictures to follow, depending on how "good" of job we do.

Oh, and I am officially starting a stretch mark watch. So far, so good. Seriously, that is one thing that will make me break down.
Have a great weekend!

Best.Thing.EVER

The seasonal aisles are all cleared out at Target, awaiting the arrival of the Easter candy. They are empty...and I would know. I have been to two Targets in the past 24 hours.

I bet they're in the back stock room, next to the Cadbury Eggs, fake grass, and solid chocolate bunnies. Please Target people, please bring them out.

*Drums fingers impatiently*

Pics

So I was going to have some professional maternity pictures done. I had contacted a few photographers, but in the end we decided we'd just take some ourselves. Since we just got a new camera why not save the money, right? So that's what we did on Saturday. I ran some through Photoshop which I know NOTHING about, but was able to figure out the most basic things like cropping and changing effects. I know Photoshop does way cooler stuff than this but, well, I just don't know how to do it. Anyway, here's some of the pics!