New wall hanging

Christmas gift from Hannah, found here! 

I have been working on getting my house is order just so I don't have to worry about it after the baby comes.  Today I cleaned the bath tub, toilet, sink, counter and all that fun bathroom stuff.  I will most likely have to do it again before the baby comes but I had a strong urge to do it today!  I have been doing laundry like crazy washing everything in sight.  My favorite is washing the baby clothes, they are just so cute and little, I can't wait to put my little baby in them!  Last night I worked on pre-washing all my cloth diapers and stuffing the pocket cloth diapers.  The diapers are ready!  I also bought a teddy bear at the thrift store yesterday and practiced diapering it, ha!  I'll be pro by the time this little one decided to come out.  Last night I was awoken with a pretty intense lower cramp, it lasted a while then went away and I was able to go back to sleep.  Yesterday at my midwife appointment my midwife mentioned the baby felt lower than it has been.  Who know's maybe we'll have this baby sooner than we think! 

week 36 and getting ready

36 weeks and a few days
Its weird to think I could potentially have this baby any day now, although I would like to wait until after January 1st so I can have it at the Birth Center as planned.  I have been having some cramps lower in my pelvic area the past few days, which I read is a sign my body is getting ready.  I have been researching ways to induce labor naturally and plan to use them when the time comes.  I have started taking Evening Primrose, its doesn't induce labor but it helps soften your cervix which I like to sound of.  This past weeks it has become more of a realization what I need to do to get this baby out.  The thought isn't scary yet, I am mostly just curious as to when it'll happen, how it'll feel, how long etc... All the unknown is pretty cool.  I keep dreaming about out first car ride home as a family and it makes me so happy, I CAN NOT WAIT!!!
baby center:

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.

some clothes and blankets

I am sure I have entered full on nesting, the past few days I have gained some energy back and have been busing myself with washing the clothes and blankets that I currently have.  Today I am going to see what I have and don't have regarding the essentials.  Then make a list of what I still need and then obviously go get it.  I installed the car-seat in my car today as well.  I was just going to practice putting the car-seat in the car and taking it out.  Once I got it installed I figured I'd just leave it in there.  It was pretty simple putting it in, I used to latch and anchor system!  I'll have to show Dan how to do it sometime this weekend.  I am just going to have to drive around with a car-seat in my car until this little baby decides to come out.  (crossing my fingers its sooner than later)

the car-seat

Yesterday I went and got Dan a coffee maker.  He has been asking me for one for a long time and I finally gave in and bought him one.  The reason I haven't wanted to get one is because we don't have much counter space and I like Dan to come get coffee from me at work in the morning.  Since I wont be working for much longer I decided it was the time to get him one!  He was pretty happy when he got home yesterday and opened it up!  I told him he isn't allowed to make himself coffee in the morning until I am no longer working.

Merry Chirstmas!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
Isaiah 9

I hope everyone has a beautiful celebration of the birth of our Savior!

Cold winter walks

It has been really clear, beautiful and cold out for that past week.  When I say cold I am meaning single digits.  Too cold for my little doggie's feet outside so to say the least we haven't been going on walks lately.  Today it warmed up to around 20 degrees which compared to the last few days felt somewhat warm.  So, Jack and I went for a walk on the maze called Dredge Lake Trail.  Its just a grouping of trails that all connect to each other and explore to Mendenhall wetlands.  There are various lakes and streams back there, its beautiful.  I brought my camera in hopes of getting some great pictures but we went too late and had some lame light to work with.  Here are the best of what I was able to get.  

I LOVE WINTER!!! 

Can you believe someone would litter this beautiful place with chocolate wrappers...the shame

frozen hair

a little peek...

I thought it would be fun to share some photo's of stuff in the beans room.  It is not even close to being done, I just staged a few things to take photo's today!  Enjoy!

Some thrifted vintage blankets, some of Dan's baby blankets, some new blankets and a small wheelie bug I scored at the consignment shop for $19!  Oh yeah, the dresser is a vintage thrifted find I painted.

 A thrifted vintage baby sleeper, I wish I had two more to hang on the wall with it. 

 A vintage framed embroidery a friend gave me.

 A thrifted vintage framed embroidery.

 An antique baby crib, gift from my pops!  You will all have to wait and see what I do with this, its a surprise!

 Drummer baby blanket

 Leaf canopy

 Thrifted vintage elephant mobile

 Thrifted and gifted vintage toys!

 A little bear of Dan's.


week 35
Oh!  As of this past Saturday I am 35 weeks pregnant! WooHoo.
 I have been having some low cramping, some are a little more intense than others but nothing to be alarmed by.  I think my little bean has dropped or at least has gone lower than before.  It (the baby) is definitely getting ready to come out.  In general I feel pretty good no serious aches or pains, just lack of sleep which I think I am getting used to.
So for the past week or so I have been trying to get a little video of the baby moving to share with you all.  I think the little bean is camera shy because it'll move like crazy then right when I get the camera out it'll stop.  I will keep trying and share once I finally get something.
baby center:
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.

How cute...

This little girl wanted a motorcycle and all the motorcycle's her mom found at the store just weren't right. So she went to Home Depot and bought some scrap wood, wheels, and cardboard and made one herself.  I think the gift was a success.  

Our baby will be totally obsessed with motorcycles too, I just know it.  I bet my husband can't wait for this part of parenting. 

click the banner to go to the blog I got this from

week 34

Six more weeks, give or take a few.  

About three days ago I noticed a shift in the way I feel mentally and physically.  Mentally I have noticed some fears about birth and parenthood coming up, but nothing too serious.  The closer we get the more it is sinking in that we are going to be parents and our lives are NEVER going to be the same.  Physically I feel pretty good, still no back ache (crossing my fingers).  I have noticed I am tiring out much quicker than I usually do and I move a lot slower than I usually do; I shifted back into the need for naps.  Whenever I sit or stand in one spot for a long time my body get's really uncomfortable.  To ward that off I just keep moving and it seems to really help with the overall uncomfortableness of being so pregnant.  Surprisingly I got my first rib kick this morning,  luckily I have a long torso which provides plenty of room for baby to kick around without making it to my ribs.  The only reason I got some kicks this morning was cause of the way I was sitting.  I think our baby might take after Dan and become a drummer.  Every once and a while the baby will do a cluster of really quick thumps right around where it's hand are located.  Sadly it is on my bladder so after the baby is done with it's little drum session I typically have to go pee.  

baby center:

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 aboutpreterm 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.

Merry Christmas!!!

Seriously worth a watch.

week 33

He loves his little baby...

Here we are...week 33.  Before we know it this baby will be here and I feel like I have lots of stuff I would like to get done before the baby is here.  I know more than half of it won't get done but I can always hope!  I am a huge procrastinator.  So, Dan and I have possibly figured out the names we like.  I wont share them because we could always change our minds at the last moment.  When we meet our little one we will know better what he/she should be named.  

I have a lack of energy and motivation lately and I think it's because of the third trimester.  Its getting a little more difficult to do things such as bending over and I just move slower than I use to.  Sadly the weather has been just horrible out so I haven't been going on walks much.  I woke up this morning with a terrible back ache and it hasn't gone away yet.  I am hoping I just slept funny last night and the ache will go away.  Other than that everything is going just great!  I have been working on my birth plan this past week.  I made one for the birth center and one for the hospital, just in case.  In our birthing class on Tuesday we are going to go over them as a group to make sure we got everything on it that we wanted.  That will also be our last birth class.  So weird to think our little baby is going to be here so soon, I can't wait!

hard to believe we took this test over 7 months ago

baby center:

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. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

How far along? 33 weeks

"Waist" measurement: 39 inches

Total weight gain/loss? 15 pounds so far

Stretch marks? absolutely none (yet!).

Sleep? lame 

Movement? all the time

Food cravings/aversions?  Peanuts

Labor signs? I have been having the normal Braxton Hicks contractions, they are interesting.  Here and there I get some lower cramps.

Belly button in/out? out

What I miss the most right now: Fitting into my winter jackets. 

What I am looking forward to right now:  Not being pregnant.

there are a lot of out takes for these, maybe ill share another time.

growing

Christmas wrap!

I LOVE Christmas.  I love the decorations, the smells, the snow, the music, the joy, the meaning, the gift wrapping...I could go on and on and on.

I am proud to say I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done!  I only have three things to buy.  Everything else is in the mail on its way to me.  I did receive two gifts today and promptly wrapped them.  I love wrapping gifts and making them pretty.  This year I decided I would go an eco-friendly route and wrap all my gifts in fabric.  One thing that encouraged me to wrap with fabric is wrapping paper is expensive and typically comes with designs I DON'T fancy.  So, I went through my fabric stash and found some pieces I was willing to sacrifice to gift wrapping.  Above are my first two gifts, wrapped in some old curtains I found at the thrift store a while back.  I think they are great and now my tree doesn't have a bare spot under it.  

week 32

week 32

These last few weeks time has really been flying by for me.  Before I know it I'll have my sweet little baby in my arms.  Actually I am sure once we celebrate Christmas and New Years time will slow down.  I'll get into the waiting mode and January will be the longest month of my life, hopefully not.  People keep asking how close to my due date am I planning to work.  I am for sure going to work full time until January and then see how I feel.  I'll probably work full time for a few weeks into January and then cut back to a few days a week.  January 19th my mom comes in so if I haven't tuckered out from working by then I'll have the 18th be my last day.  

I am still feeling pretty good, no serious back pain or anything.  I feel pretty blessed to have had such an easy pregnancy so far, lets hope it continues. 

baby center:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

the bump:

Was that a contraction? Yup, but it's just for practice. Those strengthening Braxton Hicks contractions are just your body's way of prepping for the real deal. (If you feel more than four in an hour or have discharge, call the doc.) Farther north, your nipples are getting darker and (yes, it's possible) bigger -- all the better for baby to see (and latch onto) in a few short months.  Baby's now the size of a squash!

Ready or not, baby's getting ready to emerge. She's probably in the head-down position by now, with her bottom facing up. This is the comfiest way for her body to fit in your increasingly cramped womb and will make her eventual exit (only a few months away now!) much easier. (If she's still head-up, don't panic -- there's still time for a flip before birth.)

Today I put our Christmas tree up.  The thought of dealing with a real tree while nearly 9 months pregnant wasn't appealing to me at all.  So, this year we have a fake one!

Dan says it is too plain and needs more stuff on it.  I kind of like how simple it is.  We will see what happens as time goes, I might add more stuff.    

We have made some progress on our room swap.  Currently we have our bedroom set up in a corner of the "junk" room.  All the baby room stuff lived in the living room for a few days but is now in the baby room.  These picture's were from our work and progress last weekend.  I'll take more some day when we have gotten a little more done.  

I managed to cram all my stuff into one corner!

ignore gross carpet, maybe one day we will put different flooring in.  The right side of the photo is the corner our bed is currently in.

Dan's side still needs a little work.

The living room with all the baby stuff in it.  Thankfully it doesn't have all this stuff in it anymore. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

photo stolen from Hannah's blog

I worked until 2:00 on Thanksgiving and then headed over to Dan's parents house.  We arrived and started helping prepare stuff.  I cut up some veggies for the salad and helped put all the delicious food on the tables.  Once everything was set we all washed our hands and sat down to eat.  Dan dad, who hasn't been able to join us for Thanksgiving for a while, prayed and then we all dug in.  There was sooo much food we all ate ourselves silly full.  Some of us weighed ourselves before we ate so we could see how much the food we ate weighed in us.  The average weight was 3 pounds, but Dan's cousin Nathaniel's food weighed 7 pounds in his belly can you believe that.  Once we all ate to our maximum capacity we all helped clean up then sat around with food babies and played games and chatted.  Once our good settled we got out the desert.  Dan aunt Lisa always makes the desert and it is always the BEST ever.  This year she made a cheesecake apple crisp hybrid (delicious), a coconut cream pie, a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie.  I had a piece of the cheesecake and the coconut cream pie.  They were both to die for.  I was so full that I sat on the couch and couldn't move.  The baby in my belly was moving a whole lot though, I think it liked the pie.  Everyone put their hands on my belly and felt the little bean going crazy.  Once I was able to move Dan and I left for home.  Sadly we forgot to grab some leftover's, which I am regretting big time right now.  

It was a beautiful day and I hope everyone's was as great as mine.