Week 36

This was a week that I dubbed "getting shit done" week.  My parents came back on Thursday to give us a helping hand with my laundry list of house projects.  We got the transition between the kitchen and living room finished, floor tile grouted, wall textured & painted, and outlets put back on.  We got the nursery painted, trim painted, carpets cleaned, and crib put together.  We got the upstairs bathroom painted and more organized than it was prior.  We got the hallway walls painted and a first coat on the trim of the floorboards and doorways.  And we got the trim finished in my master closet and door frames.  The house is STILL far from being finished, but I feel a LOT better now that some of the bigger things have been tackled and we have the semblance of a nursery for baby Callie to come home to. 

Wine & Dine went very smoothly on Saturday.  It's always fun to have people over, and even though the house wasn't in perfect form, I was able to forget about it for an evening and just enjoy time with friends.  We did a DIY kabob station and the wine theme was "blends", played some ladder golf in the yard, and hung out on the lower deck.  The evening cooled off enough to enjoy time outside in the summer breeze.  The next Wine & Dine is the day after my due date, so I'm planning to go into labor that night and keep with the tradition of having W&D babies!  I just have to make sure Callie is on board with my plan.  I keep reminding her not to come any earlier or any later, and we're developing a signal for when it's ok to start making her way into the world.  :-P

Bryann and I are also continuing birthing classes for the next two weeks.  We had our second class on Friday and learned about some of the different birth scenarios and pain management options, and had to watch a few videos of actual births.  Again, Bryann giggled through all the videos.  I hope he can hold it together while I'M giving birth! 

What Baby T has been up to this week:

• Callie is weighing in at about 6 lbs and measuring 18.5 inches long - the size of a head of a cantalope.
• She's changing out her hairstyle for the new fad, and shedding the waxy layer of skin -her vernix caseosa.
• She's swallowing all of this sludge she's shedding off her body and producing her first big poo - the tar-like meconium.
• Callie is also in a head-down position - as confirmed by my OB, and is ready to make her big debut in a few weeks

Pregnancy symptoms include:

• Apparently I've been experiencing contractions for the last few weeks and I didn't even know it!  I keep joking that if THIS is what contractions feel like, then I can handle this labor thing, no problem!  I've likened the feeling to when you pull a jacket real tight around your back to sheild yourself from the wind - contractions (so far) have felt like she's just pulling my uterus tightly around her shoulders to keep herself warm. 
• The other usual symptoms persist - heartburn, copious burping, flailing around in bed like a whale

What I miss/What I'm looking forward to:

• I miss wine again.  As nice as it was to be able to sip all the wines at Wine & Dine, I wish I could have had a full glass of a tasty one. 
• I miss the other "normal" abilities of a typical human - being able to sit up and stand up easily, putting on socks and shoes, being able to roll over in bed without a huge production, cuddling with my husband without a body pillow between us supporting my stomach and legs.
• Looking forward to getting the nursury finished!  We just got the tree decal in, but we have to wait 2 weeks for the new paint to cure.  I'm super excited to finish this room that I've been dreaming about for the last 7 months!

36 weeks

We finished grouting the master bath sink and Bryann put the mirror up

The nursery walls are all primed and ready for paint

Dad is finishing the texturing on the transition wall between the kitchen and the living room

Finished tile, floor transition, and textured wall

Reezy is getting the crib put together

Finished living room/dining room wall!  With decorations even!

Belly shot - in case anyone wanted to see!  Sorry if this is TMI.  :-P

Week 35

This has been a week of slowly-but-surely.  We were able to get our master bedroom walls painted, trim painted, and BBQ put together (with the help of Kimber and Nate).  Rian came over during the week and helped Bryann move a bunch of very heavy boxes out of the den and into a less-visible, less-used room, and also helped him get some light fixtures replaced.  Things are progressing, and I'm starting to see the light.  Although I have made a *very* long laundry list of things we have left to accomplish (see below), I still feel like these are all tasks we can get done before baby comes. 

I spent a Monday-Wednesday in Seaside for work, which wasn't exactly a vacation, but wasn't the worst way to spend a few days.  I do NOT recommend the Oceanfront Shilo Inn.  My room was a hole, no A/C, and the walls are paper thin, so I heard doors closing, people talking, and TVs blaring during my entire stay.  I am SO grateful we have Pacific Blue to go to when we need some beach time.  Seaside was also completely overrun with families and kids and teenagers walking around in gaggles.  On weekday nights, too!  I shudder to think what weekends are like in that town!  I have to go back out for a few days here and there at the beginning of August, and am hoping I can change my hotel reservations and find somewhere a little more quiet. 

In baby news, Bryann and I started birth classes.  Well, I should say RACHEL and I started birth classes, THEN Bryann and I started birth classes.  Rachel came with me to the first class because Bryann underestimated the amount of time he'd need to spend on homework before his class Saturday night.  So Rachel and I looked like a lesbian couple for the first half of class until we did introductions and explained that she was my husband's substitute.  Nothing against lesbian couples, plus it was pretty humorous.  The classes are informative though.  For example, I had no idea that laying on my back in a bed with my feet in stirrups is actually the worst birthing position because the force of gravity pulls the baby's weight to have her face forward instead of facing backward.  All you see in movies and TV is women laying on their backs in bed screaming, so I thought that's how it was done.  Apparently I could give birth all kinds of different ways, and even if I need an epidural, can get into a somewhat vertical position, leaning backwards over the raised head of the bed to let gravity work it's magic, so baby can rotate and come out easier.  Who knew!  I was also somewhat expecting a lamaze class or some type of breathing training where they do the "hee hee hooooo" breaths, but apparently just breathing deeply in through the nose and out through the mouth does the trick.  :-) 

What Baby T has been up to this week:

• Callie is weighing in somwhere around 5 1/4 lbs, and is 18-20 inches long - about the size of a honeydew melon.
• Things are getting snug in there, so she's not doing sommersaults anymore, but continues to kick, jab, stretch, and get hiccups.
• Her kidneys are now fully developed and her liver can manage processing waste
• The next few weeks will be about packing on the lbs.  Her weight is about 15% fat right now, and she'll be about 30% fat at term. 

Pregnancy symptoms include:

• Heartburn.  Oh woe is me, the heartburn.  I read somewhere that no one does heartburn like a third trimester prregnant lady.  Ain't that the truth!  Antacids never leave my side...
• Feeling full and huge.  I felt the same way in the mid-20's weeks, so I suspect it's gas and constipation building up, but I feel enourmous and full of baby, and like there's no room for any of my own organs in there. 
• Fatigue
• Beached-whale syndrome.  I have a hard time sitting up on my own.  Bryann is kind enough to help push me up in the mornings, or help push me out of the car if we're parked on an incline
• Shark-fin stomach muscles.  When I sit up, my abdomen forms a shark-fin V-shape.  Very weird
• Near absence of belly button

What I miss/What I'm looking forward to:

• Looking forward to hosting Wine & Dine this weekend.  Not looking forward to cleaning up for Wine & Dine this Saturday.  :-P
• Looking forward to Annie having her baby!  Any day now... 
• I'm going to miss being able to drink at Wine & Dine this weekend, but Bryann said I could have tiny sips of everything, which is the most generous he's been about me drinking anything to date! 

35 weeks!



Samson taking a break from all the hard work painting



Painted bedroom, painted trim



To-Do list

The Baby Shower

My "Story Book" themed baby shower was a few weekends ago, and I stole all these pictures from Rachel's FB.   

Documented in all it's glory!! Rachel did an absolutely incredible job putting this together by herself - with a few ideas thrown back and forth and an inspiration Pinterest board. I'm so thankful for her and so grateful for all the wonderful, strong, supportive women in my life! The pictures speak for themselves!

My good friend Rian made the cake - Elephant themed to match baby Callie's nursery!

Green Eggs and Ham to go with spinach quiche

Blueberries for Sal to go with the blueberry punch

Amazing spread of themed food!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to go with... Meatballs

Shot glasses full of candy, because I can't actually have shots of alcohol, this is the next best thing!

Eating the Alphebet to go with all the veggies

Diaper cake from my MIL, Cherie and SIL, Whitley

Celebratory cider bottles

"Pop this open to celebrate when Kristi POPS!"

Living room set up

Notes to Callie station

My guests, dutifully writing notes!

Awesome banner Rachel made on VistaPrint

Pink & white Cow blankie from Mary!





Rachel demonstrating how the Bobby is actually a giant neck pillow and NOT, in fact, a nursing pillow

Reading inscriptions on the book Annie brought in place of a card

AMAZING knitted, stuffed Elephant from Annie!

Adorable anchor outfit from Elizabeth.  Obviously the DGs in the room LOVED this.

Belinda sewed a gorgeous quilt in the nursery colors - grey, aqua, and red

Mary was able to bring her brand new baby, Abigale

A very helpful book from Annie that is teaching me how to be a good parent!

All the ladies at the party

Me and the hostess

Reezy, Mom, and me

Book Club ladies!

Cutting the awesome cake

Kimber is taking a long time trying to decide which date to claim for the due-date pool

Due-date pool!  Strangely, most people are betting on me delivering LATE!  Grrr....

Week 34

Ahh... finally caught up on blogging!  Hopefully now that things have settled down a wee bit and the MAJOR projects are done at our house, I will be slightly less overwhelmed and will blog weekly for the next 6 (?!?!?!) weeks.  Oh perfect world...

Mom and Dad ended up staying about a week longer than they intended.  Since the bathroom remodel project took at least a week longer than anyone expected (due in parts to 3 full days of shopping for supplies + 2 full days of wandering around inspecting piping and attic tresses) they were kind enough to stick around long enough to finish the things Bryann couldn't do himself - like electrical work and lifting heavy bits.  But we have walls up, ceilings repaired, tile down in the kitchen/living room, tile half-way up on the shower, tile on the bathroom vanity, sinks plumbed, lights in, switches working, and walls textured, primed, and ready to paint. 

We had a very last fruitful weekend on Craigslist, too.  We bought carseats and bases, a pack n' play, couches for the living room, and a new car!  We also had the crib delivered this week, and from my haul at the baby shower, I feel like we have the stuff we need to welcome baby into the world.  It may not be set up and ready to go, but at least we have it in our posession and I don't need to stress about being able to take the baby home if she comes SUPER early. 

We also started birth preparation classes this week.  We went to "Breastfeeding Basics" on Wednesday night, although I'm not sure Bryann was mature enough to handle that class.  I think he giggled at every single photo and video of women breastfeeding.  :-P  We learned a lot though, saw a lot of examples, practiced some positioning, and I think we're much better prepared than without the class.  There are lactation consultants at all of the hospitals, too, so we'll be able to get advice down the road, should we need it. 


What Baby T has been up to this week:

• Calista could be as long as 20 inches and about 5 lbs - the size of a pineapple.
• Her fingernails and toenails are full length and may even curl around the tips of her phlanges.
• Fat layers are filling out and her skin is getting ever smoother.
• Her central nervous system is maturing, and her lungs are continuing to mature. 
• If she were born after this week, barring any unforseen health problems, she would generall do fine with a short Neo-natal stay. 

Pregnancy symptoms this week include:

• Well, I thought morning sickness was a thing of the past, but apparently it can rear its ugly head back up at any time.  I was sick Thursday morning and spent several minutes over the kitchen sink until I threw up the bile that was sitting in my stomach.  Oh joy...
• I'm starting to bump into things because I forget how big my belly is.  I've actually surprised myself in the mirror because I forgot how big my belly was.  I've been caught doing the "pregnant lady" pose with my hands inverted on my hips (fingers facing down towards my back, thumbs resting on my hip bones facing forward) and I think my feet are definitely starting to swell. 
• Heartburn resumed early last week.  I've finished off my jumbo bottle of Tums that I picked up in May, and need to go to the store to replenish the supply today lest I be caught without any trying to get to sleep tonight. 
• Baby continues to swirl around throughout the day.  She gets in these really uncomfortable positions and pushes herself outward, so my stomach is bulging out on the right side.  When I'm sitting she also presses up against my ribcage, so sitting really tall, standing, or lying down are the only comfortable positions. 
• Luckily I can still sleep through the night.  I haven't been woken by her movements, so I'm hoping it's because she's sleeping while I'm sleeping, and she's awake during the day while I'm awake.  Here's hoping to an easy sleep schedule when she comes! 

What I miss/What I'm looking forward to:

• I miss being able to put my pants, socks, and shoes on like a normal person.  Anything that requires bending over just doesn't work very well. 
• I miss feeling like I had all the freedom in the world to do whatever I want, and like I had all the time to play and be young and irresponsible.  I've been told that I'm going to be a great mom, a fun mom, and I really hope that's true.  Honestly, I don't feel very "mom" like - like I've always thought of my mom as the ultimate mom, and I've never really felt like her, but I guess I'll be my own type of mom instead of my mom.  I know that doesn't make much sense all typed out.  :-P 

34 weeks along!

Bryann laying out the tile pattern for the shower

Starting to tile the shower walls!

One wall mostly completed

Dad patching up the ceiling where the wall was knocked down and mom cleaning up the insulation ceiling bits

Kitchen nearly finished!!  A few more doors to paint, and knobs and pulls to put on.

Dad cutting tile for the bathroom countertop

Laying tile on the vanity countertop

Finished product!  Still needs grout though.

New car!  2004 Ford Focus Wagon.  Should get us through the next 10 years.  :-)