WEEK 38:

Our follow up appointment with our daycare provider went great last week.  We found out that our baby will be the only baby at the daycare this fall so he should get plenty of attention.  All of the other kids there will be 2 or older.

Friday night I had a much needed girls night with my friends Julie and Sarah.  We got pedicures and went out for dinner.  It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend.

Sunday we celebrated our nephew Kieran's Birthday.  Happy 4th Birthday Kieran!

Today we had our 38 week appointment.  No changes/progress since last week but everything looks great.  I'm measuring at exactly 38 weeks, my BP was 102/64, and the heart rate of the baby was 145 bpm.  I asked my doctor if she had any predictions about whether or not I would go early or late (knowing that there was no way to tell for sure).  She said she doesn't think I'll go past my due date but she thinks I'll be close to my due date.  Seemed like a safe answer:).  I really don't mind if he cooks for another two weeks as long as I stay comfortable and keep getting sleep.

                                                  38 WEEKS PREGNANT

FULL TERM:

This last weekend we did lots of celebrating.  On Friday night my family came to Lincoln to take me out for a late 30^th B-day celebration.  We had dinner on the patio at Wilderness Ridge and listened to some live music.  It was a fun night.  Sunday we celebrated Father’s Day.  Since I already know that Jake is going to be a great dad, I made him breakfast in bed (ok…so I poured him a bowl of cereal and cut up some fruit but he still appreciated it).  He also got his first Father’s Day present (Yonanas).  If you haven’t heard of it, Yonanas is a kitchen appliance that turns frozen bananas and other frozen fruits into what looks and tastes like soft serve ice cream (I sound like a commercial but it is that good).  We spent the rest of the day on Sunday visiting both of our families.  Happy Father’s Day to all the dads in our life!

I’ve been feeling great this week. It feels good to know that I'm officially full term and if I were to go into labor, they wouldn't try to stop it.  At my appointment today my doctor said that I was 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced.  My blood pressure was 114/68 and the heart rate of the baby was 145 bpm.  The doctor predicted that our baby would be somewhere between 6 1/2 and 7 lbs when he is born but of course that is just an estimate.  


Tonight we are meeting with our future daycare provider for the 2nd time.  We want to get together to discuss our schedule a little more in detail and hopefully meet the rest of the family.  It seems like such a long time since we first met with her so it will be good to get together one more time before the baby arrives.

                                                37 WEEKS PREGNANT

ONE MONTH TILL DUE DATE:

Our due date is quickly approaching.  I had my 36 week appointment today.  The doctor said that the baby has dropped as much as he's going to before I'm actually in labor.  That might explain the cramping I've been feeling on my walks lately.  I am not dilated at all yet.  My blood pressure was 112/70 and the heart rate of the baby was 148 bpm.   The doctor asked if we were ready and said that if we weren't, we should get ready.  But she also commented on how most first time moms do not go early.  It's such a mystery how it's going to go down!  
I have been feeling good and sleeping well.  My pregnancy symptoms are pretty much the same as they have been for a while (frequent urination and a little uncomfortable at night).  I'm not as short of breath anymore now that the baby has dropped.  Our baby could be up to 6 lbs now which is hard to imagine.

                                                  36 WEEKS PREGNANT

BIG 3-0

It's been a busy week to say the least.  Jake and I celebrated my 30th B-day on Wednesday afternoon by both taking some time off work.  We went to lunch, got a mani/pedi (guys need pampering too), did a little shopping, came home for a nap, and then had dinner on the patio at Lazlo's.  It was fun to spend the day just the two of us without doing anything productive!  I'd say the first 30 years of my life have treated me well which made it a little easier to officially turn the big 3-0.

Just in case anyone was unable to watch the video of the nursery, here are a few pictures of the room now that it's complete:

Our 36 week appointment is on Tuesday so I will update with all of that info soon!

NURSERY REVEAL:

Jake injured himself twice during the week we were supposed to finish the nursery.  First there was the food processor incident (see previous blog post) and then this past weekend he hurt his neck.  We have no idea what happened but he seriously couldn't turn his head without really sharp pain.  But I was totally onto him.  You see, I used to walk beans in the summer.  I remember one particular day when it was really hot and the bean field had a ton of weeds.  All I wanted was a break so I took matters into my own hands.  I took my hoe and sliced my toe just enough to make it bleed a little.  When my mom saw that I had "accidentally cut my toe" she let me sit in the pickup the rest of the morning while her and my sisters finished up. Because of this past experience, when Jake had his second injury I really had to wonder if he was having a classic case of "needing a break" like I did in the bean field that day.  I'm obviously kidding.  I know he didn't hurt himself on purpose.  After resting up on Saturday and Sunday he was in good enough shape for us to put the finishing touches on the nursery.  

It all took a little longer than originally anticipated but we did a lot of DIY projects and added a lot of our own personal touches which makes it more special.  It all started with our friend Sarah's vision (a grey and white nursery with touches of expresso).  She also gave us the idea for the light fixture that we made (love it).  We took it from there and went with an elephant theme and we also added some pops of yellow.  Jake refinished a rocking elephant that my grandma had in her garage and he also did two paintings.  It's safe to say that our blood, sweat, and tears went into the room (ok the tears were all mine when the nursery wasn't done quite as early as I wanted it to be).  I hope you enjoy the video we made to document our experience.  And as it says in the song, "We're gonna make this place your home."

Watch video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPiwwewf1ec

FAMILY BABY SHOWER:

When I found out that my cousin Andrew and his wife Libby were expecting I was almost more excited than when I first found out I was pregnant.  Everything is more fun when you get to experience it with good friends!  Andrew and Libby recently moved to Lincoln and we are due 7 weeks apart.  It will be fun to try to figure out this whole parenting thing together.  Yesterday my sisters and my cousin Lisa (Andrew's sister) hosted a joint baby shower for Libby and I.

The theme was "Once Upon A Time."  Every detail was very thought out to go along with the storybook theme from the invitations to the food:

Thanks to everyone who came to the shower and helped with the shower.  I had a great time and we have one very spoiled little boy already!  

Finally I need to show off this awesome quilt that my aunt Marlene made for the baby:

In the words of our nephew Hayden, how will we ever thank you all?