39 Weeks and Waiting...

No Lucy yet! Although, (TMI warning here) I do think I may be losing my mucous plug. Yum! Rob and I walked today around the local library grounds, but still no contractions (as far as I know). I basically spent the entire walk talking about every single little thing I am fretting about: how I'm worried the epi won't take, that I'll tear something terrible, that I won't be a good mother, that I'll suck at breastfeeding, that my dogs will feel neglected, that I won't want to return to work in April, that Lucy won't like me when she's 15... I just went on and on. Rob just spent the whole time telling me that everything would be fine, of course! I'm just so nervous not knowing when this is going to happen. This is almost worse than my last two week wait... I said almost because that was absolute torture!

So, here I am in all my completely 39 week pregnant glory (ha, ha...right). This may be the last photo of me pregnant with Lucy! Who knows?

Final pictures of Lucy's room, I finally got the rocking chair from my mom's house, put up some sheer curtains and added a lamp. I really like how it turned out and feel like the pictures just don't do it justice because it looks so much better in real life. I think Lucy will love it!

And, just for fun some pictures of the crazy snow we had over the past couple weeks...or as our newscasters liked to call it "ARTIC BLAST"!

"So we keep waiting

Waiting on the world to change"

-John Mayer

Childbirth Class...

Rob and I finished up our childbirth classes last week and aside from looking absolutely horrified at the first (rather graphic) birth video I thought Rob was being quite the trooper about it all. We had gotten through the classes without him running away screaming, so I had thought we were all good, until the last class in which we went over post-labor issues.

Rob being the studious student that he is, was coloring in the people on the "labor techniques" flier while the teacher happened to be going over what to expect post-birth and pulled out the mesh undies for all to look at. Rob being engrossed in his coloring didn't really pay attention and me, feeling that this was an important part of the class started subtly elbowing him in the side...just in time for the teacher to pull out the (dum dum dum) PAD. Ah the post-birth pad, which bears and amazing resemblance to a king sized down pillow:



Rob happened to look up right at the moment the teacher pulled out the pad and exclaimed:

"Where does THAT go???"

The teacher laughed at him and demonstrated how said "pillow" fit into the mesh undies, and not very well if I might say so myself, the pad dwarfed those poor mesh panties.

Rob: "No really, WHERE DOES THAT GO?"

Everyone laughed but Rob told me when we got into the car that he was totally serious. He cannot imagine how something like that fits into a pair of panties. I think the hardest part about the childbirth classes were not the videos full of full on naked ladies naturally birthing their babies, not the class on placenta or c-sections, but the horrific realization that there will be a necessity for a full on king sized pillow to be shoved into my fancy mesh panties. Poor guy!

Had a doctor's appointment today. I am now 1 1/2 centimeters dilated, 60% effaced and my cervix is midline (whoo hoo)! I suppose all of this means she could come tomorrow or she could come in two weeks. Who knows! I'm hoping before Christmas but not in the middle of the upcoming huge snowstorm (the third one this week, unheard of in Oregon) because I'd like to actually MAKE it to the hospital and not have the baby in the freezing snow on the side of Highway 26, not to mention my doctor, who I LOVE, is OUT OF TOWN the December 26th through January 4th (the nerve of her, going on vacation). My bags are packed and ready to go so come on Miss Lucy, we're ready when you are!

Lucy's Room - complete except for my rocking chair we need to get from my mom's house.

Super cute moses basket for beside our bed/ downstairs:



The crazy SNOW and our Christmas tree!


And, drumroll please, my massive self at 37 weeks knocked up!



"Think of stretch marks as pregnancy service stripes. "

-Joyce Armor

SNOW!

So, as an Oregonian I am used to our newscasters promising snow in the wintertime and always being disappointed. This past week they've been swearing up and down that snow is coming and I've been skeptically watching the sky for the past couple day. Last night they SWORE snow would be here by this morning. Well, when I awoke to pee at about 5:00 I eagerly looked out the window to see...nothing. DIRTY LIARS! I went back to bed, disgruntled, that I had let them get my hopes up once again.

Fast forward to waking up at 8:00 (to pee again...of course) and what do I see when I look out the window. SNOW! And now here at 11:30 it is still snowing like CRAZY. Newscasters are predicting anywhere from 3-6 inches, which honestly is unheard of on the Willamette Valley floor. We had our company Christmas party planned for today and we're obviously giving it a pass as they're shutting down freeways and requiring chains on all major highways (we're in Oregon people, you may laugh but EVERYTHING shuts down for 1 inch, let along 3+!). It is so funny because every time we actually have snow the news programs always give the storm a name "Winter Storm 2007" or "Blizzard of '03", this name for this storm is is "Artic BLAST!", which sounds like a slurpee flavor to me but I'm sure the news stations think it gives the storm a certain je ne sais quoi? Non?

So we're holed up at home, all warm and cosy with a fire. I'm working on washing all of Lucy's 0-3 month clothes and blankets because I may have forgotten to mention this but I am ONE CENTIMETER DILATED! I know I could stay this way for weeks, but I found out at my appointment on Wednesday that I am 1 cm dilated and also some percentage effaced (this is why I shouldn't go to appointments alone, once she started talking about the dilation I totally didn't listen about my percentage of effacement). My doctor definitely thinks if I keep going at this rate Lucy will be here early. I even went as far as to comment, "Wow, I'm so glad I'm done with work on the 19th!" and my doctor laughed and said "I can't guarantee you'll even make it that far. Who knows!" EEK! How freaking exciting!!!! Although on the flip side I totally called Rob from the car on my way home panicking that I haven't packed my bags or washed Lucy's clothes or trained my temp for maternity leave. So much to do!

Armed with this knowledge my mom and I went out on a slight baby shopping spree yesterday (that and a little Christmas shopping too). I had returned the pack n play that I had bought since it ripped when I tried to put it together and I didn't really have any options for her to sleep in our room or downstairs, so yesterday my mom and I found a super deal on a this adorable, plush moses basket and stand at Home Goods (love the bargain shopping!) that will work great, and it totally portable to bring downstairs and into our room (and to Grandma's house when I go back to work). We also hit the mall and Babies R Us. It was crazy but I now have bottles and burp clothes and feel closer to prepared than I did before our "spree". We also finally got around to going to the fabric store so I could buy some super soft minky fabric to line the burp cloths (old school cloth diapers from Babies R Us) with using my new sewing machine I got for my birthday. I'll post pictures when I get them done!

So my next appointment is Wednesday, and we'll see if I've kept up the progress or not. I haven't had any contractions, which my doctor was very impressed with, although I had to remind her I might not even know what they are. Sometimes my stomach hurts but I always pass it off to the extra 35 lbs I'm lugging around!!

I have a funny story about our final birthing class and Rob's reaction to the post-labor discussion we had that I will save for posting tomorrow because according to my boss, we might not even be going into work (did I mention Oregon SHUTS DOWN when it snows? True story!).

Lastly, I will leave you with my most pesky pregnancy side effect right now...presenting my sausage legs/feet:



GROSS!!

"A grand adventure is about to begin."

-Winnie the Pooh

More Bump Pictures...

As promised, more of my photoshoot with Jenn. Enjoy... I know I did!

" A baby is God's opinion that life should go on."
-Carl Sandburg

Quick Preview...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know we did and I ate entirely too much turkey...and mashed potatoes...and sweet potatoes...and well, just about anything that was put in front of my face. Pig! And for all you voters out there...you're all terribly kind but terribly WRONG... I've totally put on 35+ lbs now. Yes, I certainly have. I'm attributing this to the fact that I just had three baby showers (with lots of cake), a birthday (with lots of cake) AND Thanksgiving (with lots of everything), but still...I'm SO going to hit 40 lbs. any day now, like maybe my next doctor's appointment on Wednesday. EEK!

Here are a couple of my favorite maternity shots from my fabulous friend Jenn (jenniferlynnphotography.blogspot.com). More to come in a slideshow format along with pics of Lucy's room!

**Please note, the picture with candy and cheesecake, which have been my #1 cravings as I don't usually like sweet stuff, was an idea shamelessly stolen from the maternity shoot of Jill at babyrabies.com, one of my favorite bloggers. Hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?*

"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything."-Aaron Siskind

Quick Belly Pic...

Long post below and baby shower slideshow to come when I get the higher res. pictures from my best friend. The updated Belly Pic had to be posted because it has been much requested of me lately!

Week 32!

"Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or to hatch."

-E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

Baby Shower #1...

Yesterday I had my first baby shower, thrown by my best friend Lindsay and her mother Linda, who did the most wonderful job! It was absolutely fantastic. I had such a lovely time and it was so nice seeing all my closest girlfriends, many whom I haven't seen in ages due to my insane work schedule. I just had the best time and received the most beautiful gifts. Lucy is going to be one fashionable girl because my friends have fabulous taste!

Here is me and the amazing Lindsay! Thanks Linds, you are the GREATEST! (Please excuse the small pictures, I had to copy them off of Shutterfly until I get the originals downloaded on my computer)

(Slidshow to follow if I can figure out how to embed it in my blog. I've tried two different slideshow websites and put in the code and nothing. ARGH! Can anyone help?)

And now for some miscellaneous odds and ends...I'm still working on getting Lucy's room ready. While I was having a fab time at my shower, Rob was working hard on Lucy's closet. He did such an amazing job and it was all finished as a surprise for me when I got home. I spent the day today organizing all Lucy's things in the closet. Picture to follow soon once I touch up the paint a bit.

I still haven't picked out a crib. I just cannot find one I like. It is impossible. Below are two options. Please help a girl out and vote!

Option #1

Option #2

Please vote on the poll on your right!

Here is the bedding that my mother-in-law has so generously bought us:

I just love it and have decided to purchase this wall stickie from etsy.com to match with the birds on the bedding:

What's kind of funny about the wall stickie is that I was showing a different one to Rob online and he pointed out, "Why didn't you pick this one?" and pointed to one with the bird that were flying out of the cage (the one above) instead of IN the cage, (which is what the first one was), he knows me so well, I hate the idea of birds in cages, so this one is perfect!!

That's about it for now!

"You only meet your once in a lifetime friend... once in a lifetime."

-Little Rascals

The Stroller...

So I picked up the book Baby Bargains at the bookstore this last week and I just cannot say enough good things about it. I carry it around in my purse, which is weird, but turned out to be a very good thing on Thursday night. If you're having a baby, buy it!

Here's a little background on me, I'm an obsessive, compulsive bargain shopper. I scour sale racks and shop at Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack at least once a week...each. Being pregnant has made buying baby things into a whole NEW obsession for me. Yes, I should wait for my showers but honestly, I like buying things for Lucy and get so excited when I find cute stuff for super cheap. So I may have gone a little overboard in the buying stuff department, but I've mainly stuck to clothing so far and my Fleurville Diaper Bag I ordered online for a steal at $70 last week. Below is my stash of baby clothes (from newborn to 12 months, so I feel like it really isn't THAT much) and my new diaper bag. Notice the lack of pink, neither Rob nor I like pink!






But I digress, back to the book and the stroller. Ever since I bought the book I've been pouring over the stroller section. There are just SO many choices! After reading the stroller chapter about a million times, I had narrowed it down to the Urban Single Mountain Buggy or the BOB for joggers and Peg Perego Pliko for a more lightweight option. I had remembered that the BOBs had been on sale at Costco last month online, so I checked there first...damn, of course they're all gone by the time I decide. Well, I still had plenty of time.

So on Thursday I got off work pretty late and decided that I didn't feel like going home just yet, and instead went to my usual I'm-bored-so-I'm-going-to-shop haunt, Marshalls. Of course I make a beeline straight for the baby items where lo and behold, there was the Peg Perego Pliko P3 in this adorable bright, flaming red! There was only one and it was only $159.99! I'm pretty sure it was a 2007 model, but who cares? Not me! What a STEAL! So I bought it, of course.

So that is usually where the story would end, with me triumphantly savoring the victory of yet another bargain found, however, the stroller was fully set up. All the tags were on it but it was open. No biggie, I thought to myself, I'll just take it out to the parking lot and figure it out. It can't be that hard, right? Um... why didn't anyone tell me it takes a freaking master's degree in physics to figure out how a stroller folds up? There I was, struggling with this thing for 30 minutes at dusk in the Marshalls parking lot. When I couldn't figure out how to fold it, I decided I would try and shove the whole thing into the back of my (compact) car. Then, to my dismay, it proceeded to get stuck half in, half out of the car. ARGH!!!! People were walking by me and staring at the crazy pregnant lady wrestling with this fully open stroller stuck in the backseat of her car.

When I finally got it back out again, at this point I was sweating, cursing and panting, I decided that to hell with it, I wasn't even sure I was going to keep the thing, but I was going to open up the sealed baggie with instructions. When I did I saw that there were about 25 diagrams, starting with how to put the damn thing together, and ending with how to attach the car seat. Somewhere in the middle there was a couple diagrams that looked like they might be indicating how to close it, but they weren't exactly crystal clear AND did I mention it was getting dark and I couldn't see a thing! After 5 more minutes of fighting, I finally turned the pages of the book some more to see that they had written out the instructions as well, indicating a diagram number. I read the instructions part and matched it with the picture. I am a genius! Finally, click this, pull that and VOILA!! the stroller is closed. I throw it in the car and get out of there!

So, after our initial misunderstanding, I have decided I really like this stroller. A lot! I think it was fate that brought us together and now that we've been through our rough spot it'll be smooth sailing from now on. Rob loves that it is a sporty red and made in Italy, and my mom offered to buy it for her house if I decide I want something else since she liked it so much. So all in all I'm really satisfied with the purchase. It is so darn cute and lightweight, and after you read the damn directions, it is pretty darn easy to close. I'll probably buy a BOB as well when they go back on sale at Costco, for jogging, but I won't need that for months after Lucy is born, so I can wait for my second deal on a stroller! YAY!

Here's the stroller:



Pretty, right? And it totally matches my new diaper bag. HA!

Also, since it has been so long, here are some belly pics...although forgive me for the poor quality, it was right when I got home from work, on the self-portrait setting, in not my cutest outfit. I'll have to get Rob to get some better ones this weekend.



Lastly, if anyone from Portland reads my blog we're going to the Green Sprouts Fair tomorrow, (Saturday, September 13th) in North Portland. It's a fair with information on how to be organic and eco-friendly during pregnancy and within your family. Here's the link if any of your Oregonians want to take a peek: http://www.redirectguide.com/greensprouts/about.htm.

Fun fun!

"Shopping is a woman thing. It's a contact sport like football. Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds, the danger of being trampled to death, and the ecstasy of the purchase."

-Erma Bombeck

Ultrasound Story...

Well it's about time I posted my BIG ultrasound story... over a month and a half later. Bad me!

Let's go way back to our big US back in the beginning of August, Rob had taken the day off for the occasion and I was only working half day. He picked me up for work in the afternoon, it is lucky I only worked that long that day because I just could NOT concentrate on work!

I had decided I needed to drink three glasses of water, a juice and a Hansen's Strawberry Cream soda to ensure my bladder was full enough, but even by the time we got to the doctor's office, I still didn't have to go. Hmmm... maybe I should drink more water? So there I go, drinking more out of those little cone shaped cups they have in the waiting room. Still no need to pee... drink more.

So finally we get called back. This is IT, the big moment! We were both so excited, and I was so sure it was going to be a Patrick! The ultrasound nurse got us all set up and checked my bladder so she could do the part of the U/S that you need a full bladder for...and now I'm starting to feel the need to go, but she announces, NOPE, you're not full enough. WHA?? Three glasses of water, one glass of juice, a soda AND all those little cups and still not enough? What am I, a camel? So she tells me I'm going to have to do the whole ultrasound (about 45 minutes) and then we'll go back and take a look at the end.

Me:" Um, are you sure it isn't full enough, because I could definitely pee right now?"

Nurse: "Nope"

Me: "But I had so much to drink, I swear!!"

Nurse: "Sorry. Gonna have to wait."

So you all know that when you're told you CAN'T pee and have the slightest inkling that you might WANT to pee, well then you automatically HAVE to pee right that very second. But I was good, I sucked it up, took a deep breath and let her go on.

So right away she asks if we want to know. Of course! So she said, with not much fanfare, it's a girl. Yep, definitely a girl. We are both shocked, we totally were expecting a boy. But a GIRL! A Lucy!! YES! Rob immediately talks about how she's going to be a ju-jitzu champion and I elbow him and tell him she's doing ballet and riding ponies. That's the agreement, girls: I choose the sports, boys: he chooses the sport.

We're so thrilled about the news that I barely notice the nurse pointing out body parts, and is going along her merry way with the rest of the ultrasound. For a minute I look over at the nurse and she is not looking so hot. She's sweating, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand and breathing pretty hard. All of the sudden I think, "OMG. She is going to have a heart attack while doing our ultrasound!" She sees me wide-eyed, staring at her and assures me that she's only having a hot flash. I laugh because it is funny that I know exactly how that feels (see posts in reference to the evil fertility drug Clomid. Clomid = hot flashes way before you're supposed to know what one feels like).

Apparently the hot flashes has made the nurse a little cranky, and also apparently the soda and juice I drank made little Lucy a little hyper, so the nurse is getting so frustrated at Lucy flipping around in there that during the U/S she often grabs my stomach and shakes it. Um, and YES at this point I REALLY need to pee, so the shaking of the tummy and the pressing of the ultrasound machine are getting ridiculous! I have to pee so bad at this point it isn't even funny. I was so distracted by the need to pee that I almost missed this little gem: As the nurse was going over body parts, Rob was learning forward and scrutinizing the screen and nodding.

Nurse: "And here are the lips..."

Rob: :: turns head, frowning, and nods like he knows what she's pointing out:

Nurse: ::continuing: "...of the vagina."

Rob: "Wha?!" :: immediately looks down, up, sideways anywhere but the screen::

I swear she did it on purpose, there was a definite pause. Poor Rob!

So finally she lets me pee, after more no-so-gentle jiggling of my belly. We got some great pictures and were so excited to get out of there and share the news with our friends and family.

Here is Miss Lucy Elizabeth's latest photo shoot:

She's got my nose in that first one. The second she's waving at mom and dad!

Lastly, here's a picture of my new niece, Guiliana Joy M, or Gigi for short, in Connecticut.

"A son is a son till he takes him a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life."

Irish Saying

Week 18...

So I totally slacked on Week 17 pictures. But here are my ("sloppy, going-to-walk-the-dogs-outfit") Week 18 pictures from this weekend and also a a couple silly pictures with my friends from the wedding I went to last weekend that will have to do as my Week 17 picture (although my dress totally hid the fact that I was pregnant)!


Week 18




So as you all know my BIG ultrasound is in two days!! I cannot believe we are here already. This pregnancy is just flying by. It's amazing! I thought I *may* have felt Baby M kick the other night. I had just eat a huge dinner and drank a can of soda and went to lay down and watch a movie with Rob, and I felt two tiny, faint pops on the lower left hand side. I'm not 100% sure it was baby but it would be a strange place to have gas.

Also, here are some of the baby items I'm planning on getting. Just for fun!



Mountain Buggy 2008 Urban in Baroque

Skip Hop Duo Delux in Blosson



Walmart Baby Mod Olivia



Skip Hop Mod Dot Bedding

“You must know that in any moment a decision you make can change the course of your life forever: the very next person stand behind in line or sit next to on an airplane, the very next phone call you make or receive, the very next movie you see or book you read or page you turn could be the one single thing that causes the floodgates to open, and all of the things that you've been waiting for to fall into place.”

-Anthony Robbins

Week 16...

Here I am...Week 16!!! Only two weeks until the big U/S!

Also, some exciting news... I am feeling better. Finally!!! Hallelujah! I can honestly say, this is about the first time since Week 6 since I have felt almost 100% like myself. It is wonderful!



I have a confession post coming up later this week. Don't miss it, it sure is a juicy one. Stay tuned!

“I laugh, I love, I hope, I try, I hurt, I need, I fear, I cry. And I know you do the same things too, So we're really not that different, me and you.”

-Colin Raye