38 weeks, 1 day

 Let's Tidy Up The Nursery!

The nursery has been complete for a while now, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to share how it all turned out.  Especially since I have nothing new to report.  At my checkup last week Muppet still hadn't dropped, and my cervix was long and closed.  According to my doc, my cervix is "trying to soften" making it medium - not hard, but not soft. 

So instead of boring you with the fact that this pregnancy is at a standstill, I'll take you on a nursery tour.  It started with this:

 

A painting I had picked up about 2 years ago at an Art Festival.  I love this picture, from a series entitled "Little Buddies."  It used to hang in our living room, but it just seems so perfect for a baby's room.  Especially a first baby's room since it has a mommy bird, daddy bird, and baby bird.  Once we knew we were expecting, we went back to the artist and purchased a couple more prints from the series to hang on the wall.  

From there, the plan was to use the colors in the painting for the rest of the room.  Red/Blue/Orange and Green sheets and accessories.  But then I found this bedding:

 

And it seemed so perfect.  It used a lot of the colors from the painting - subbing in yellow for the red, but still keeping neutral.  The bumper and crib will, of course, be removed leaving a sheet covered in orange, green, yellow and blue leaves.  Finding the sheet set led us to our next nursery inspiration:

 

A tree wall decal!  We had to compromise a bit on this.  J wanted something really realistic, and I wanted something rounder/more cartoony.  This fell a little in the middle and we got to pick all the colors.  So we used the three main colors in the sheets - blue, orange, and green, and used them to match green leaves and blue and orange birds.  (There are some blue and orange squirrels at the base of the tree too that didn't get captured in this photo)

By this point, we had officially embraced the "bird" theme.  And my similarly themed shower had different birdhouses as centerpieces.  I was urged to take them home with me and we decided to add them to the room as decor.

And for the remainder of the tour......

There's my "nursing corner."

 

We both love this glider and spend lots of time hanging out in it.  Already.  And the baby isn't even here!  I've got a table beside for burp cloths, water, and underneath is a bin filled with nursing pads, extra boppy covers, cream, everything you could need for nursing within arms reach of the chair.

And the "changing station."

 

The top drawer of the dresser holds diapers, wipes, extra burp cloths, diaper cream, an extra changing pad cover and refills for the diaper genie.  The middle drawer has bibs, socks, caps, and some gorgeous sweaters made for this baby.  The bottom drawer holds sheets and sleep sacks - bedtime stuff.

And for all those who didn't think you could buy clothes without knowing the sex of the baby?

This is most of it, but not all.  I'm missing a yellow, but I've got red, orange, green, blue, brown, black, white, and grey all represented!

Total weight gain/loss: +20
Next Appointment: Friday, September 23. 
Maternity clothes? yes
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: I've actually been sleeping this week up until about 5am.  Then I wake up and I'm up, no getting back to sleep.
Best moment this week: Baby shopping.  I love shopping period.  Doesn't matter who it's for!
Movement: Not slowing down at all.  Still all the time.  The latest favorite is Muppet pushing his/her butt as hard as humanly possibly out my stomach.  It hurts!
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in.  I'm tempted to think it may stay this way.
What I miss:  Not feeling bruised from the inside. 
What I am looking forward to:  Pumpkin Ale.  And I'm really hoping that there will be SOMETHING going on at my next appointment. 
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
Dem bones, dem bones are starting to harden.
Baby Names: Let's take names we know and add random letters!
Boy: Dagvid
Girl: Shennifer

37 weeks, 2 days

Raising Trouble

This week's class?  "Baby Care Basics."  Which is important because we've never raised a baby before.  A lot of people are concerned they're not going to be good parents.  One of J's coworkers gave us a very helpful piece of advice:  Babies are very hard to break.  Which is good to keep in mind given that my number 1 parenting concern is breaking the baby.  They just seem so fragile!  Little bodies, little bones, and a skull that hasn't quite hardened yet. 

Other concerns include how to get the baby to calm - especially since I had colic as a baby.  Which apparently was traumatizing for my parents.  It got so bad the doctors gave them a mild sedative to give me, so they could get a few hours of peace.  They spent the entire time sitting beside my crib, watching to make sure I was breathing because they weren't use to me not screaming.  It was the last time they used it.

 

The class spent time teaching us about how to diaper and dress a baby, how to bathe a baby, and importantly, how to calm a baby.

We were shown the cult favorite "The Happiest Baby on the Block" video.  Now we're debating about whether we should get a copy or whether seeing it in class was enough.  I have friends that have been extolling its virtues and the elements make sense.  We practiced the 5 S's:

 

Swaddle - keeping the baby wrapped up in a blanket, simulating the womb.  We practiced a couple of swaddling techniques and we're all stocked up on swaddling blankets at home.

Side - lying the baby on their side and finding the sweet spot angle.  I don't recommend the rationale behind this one, but whatever, it's easy to try.

Shush - Shushing as loudly as you can in the baby's ear.  Like white noise, or the wind, or the ocean.  We'll probably try a modified version of this because I'm worried about blowing or moisture in the ear.  (Modified meaning beside the baby's ear instead of directly into)

Swing - This one is a misnomer.  J remembers it as "shimmy" which is probably a better description of jiggling or bouncing the baby.  Because really, you're not swinging as much as shimmying.  

Suck - Use of a pacifier.  Which I'm a fan of anyway because both J and I were thumb suckers waaaaaaay past the point it was cool to be a thumb sucker.  We're hoping the whole theory that it's easier to wean from a pacifier than a thumb holds true for Muppet.

 

If we can get through the baby stage, I think raising Muppet is going to be cake.  I'm not concerned about our ability to parent mostly because J and I are on the same page about just about everything.  Which I think is the most important part of parenting.  No mixed signals and solidarity.   A united front against what will surely be a child who is determined to give us trouble.  After all, both J and I were quite a handful as kids.  We can expect nothing less of our progeny.

Total weight gain/loss: +16
Next Appointment: Friday, September 16  
Maternity clothes? yes
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: Still not getting it - but J isn't either.  Luckily we take turns not sleeping.  Which is probably good practice.
Best moment this week: Hitting full term.  Is there a better feeling?
Movement: lots and lots and lots of it - hiccups 3 times a day, pushes, kicks, thumps, the works.
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in.  I'm tempted to think it may stay this way.
What I miss:  Not going to the bathroom 3 times in an hour.
What I am looking forward to:  only a couple more weeks.  I'm looking forward to meeting Muppet.
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
Full term baby!  At 37 weeks the important stuff is developed.  Now it's just a matter of Muppet putting on some weight and getting a little more brain wrinkles.
Baby Names: Bad Biblical Folk!
Boy: Lucifer
Girl: Delilah

36 weeks, 4 days

Mammary Mama

This week we attended our breast feeding course.  I knew I was going to try breastfeeding from the moment I found out I was pregnant. Not for any "breast is best" reason, but because I've been lugging around D-cups for too many years.  Finally I felt like these babies might serve a rational purpose other than making it difficult to fit into button up shirts.

Breast feeding was pretty much the norm in my family anyway.  After all, before emigrating to this country, my maternal great great grandmother was a wet nurse.  And probably came from a line of wet nurses.  We produce milk in my family.  

However, one of the things that always bugs me about breast feeding is the constant derogation of women who don't breastfeed.  I think this goes along with my whole "my body, my choice" philosophy of life.  But I hate when women are made to feel bad or inferior for formula feeding.  After all - no one wants a sick baby, every mother is doing what they think is best for their child.  

My other important "breastfeeding philosophy" is set yourself up for success.  Which is why we were taking the class.  I'd heard breastfeeding isn't always easy.  And I have a low pain tolerance, so I want to make sure I know everything about it and am doing it right.  The class was filled with information - almost too much.  I think it might have been a bit more effective as a two-day class because of all the information.  But we practiced positions, talked about how to make sure the baby is getting enough, got to look at various pumps and bras, and even how to deal with problems as they arose.

So am I now an expert in breastfeeding?  Not really.  Am I certain I'm going to be a success?  Also not really.  But I do feel more confident in my decision and I know I have a great arsenal behind me in both knowledge and support (and of course those D cups which have already showed they're ready by expanding a cup size).

Total weight gain/loss: +16
Next Appointment: Friday, September 16  
Maternity clothes? yes
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: I've given up - especially with this heat!
Best moment this week: Nothing really baby related. We had an excellent date night last night.  We're trying to fit those in a bit more because we know it'll be a bit before we can enjoy nights with just the two of us once Muppet gets here.
Movement: lots and lots and lots of it.
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in.  I'm tempted to think it may stay this way.
What I miss: Wine again.  (whine again?)  I keep thinking how much I'd just love a nice glass of red.
What I am looking forward to:  Being full term!
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
1 month left!
Baby Names: Disease Names!
Boy: Becker
Girl: Addison