Ready for Baby’s Arrival

The closer we get to having the baby, the less I tend to call our baby-to-be Peapod, our cute nickname for baby when it was wee little and barely noticeable in my tummy. I’m more likely to say “Baby” with a capital B now, in preparation for the real name. We are at 38 weeks and 2 days today, and we are ready for it’s imminent arrival.

We have selected 2 boy first names and one middle name; we have also selected one girl name with 2 possible middle names. When baby arrives, we will make our decision after seeing him or her! We are so close now that I hesitate to reveal the names, and also because I have a preference on the boy name πŸ˜‰

This week, we thought we would be seeing Baby sooner rather than later. On Wednesday when I went in for my weekly appointment, we also got an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed fluid levels to be low. However they measure “fluid”, I was at a 7 when I should be at at least 10 (my co-worked, due the same day as me, said her’s have been above average at 17 recently, for a frame a reference).

This situation was serious enough to suggest that I stay home from work and rest until my next appointment which was scheduled two days later, for Friday morning. The doctor also made it sound like if fluid levels dropped more, we might be induced early.

However, on Friday we happily (and a little disappointedly, because we wanted to have Baby!) found my fluid levels up to 8.25. Apparently, fluid level can flucuate and drinking lots of water can help! So I am now going back to work, and on the same schedule as before unless my fluid levels dip below 5, which is to continue to wait until I hit 39 weeks and then schedule induction. (Between the diabetes, and the low fluid levels, at this point it is highly unlikely that they would allow me to continue to my due date or beyond) This means Baby will arrive close to Christmas, but before it.

On Tuesday I have another appointment which will include yet another ultrasound (don’t worry, Baby is too big at this point to tell boy or girl so Brian and I are still in the dark on Baby’s gender!) to check fluid levels and an NST. I am getting anxious now, especially because for a couple days we thought we’d be meeting Baby early! We have everything ready to go, and I have all gifts purchased (though some of them won’t arrive til next week) and most gifts wrapped. I am ready for both Christmas and the Baby any time now!

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Thanksgiving

This year was our first Thanksgiving in the new house. Brian and I were pretty excited to be hosting it as well! We used our dining room for the first time and had Brian’s family over. Brian made most of the meal and it turned out just perfect with no hiccups. It was our first time using the turkey oven bag, and it was great. We also made sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping, green bean casserole, stuffing with apples, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, and the cranberry sauce staple.

The day before, we took the day off and visited 5 daycares. We were finally able to decide on one, based primarily on gut feel and location and teacher to child ratio. All of them were around the same price, even with a corporate discount I received from a lot of them in the area. Then I got my hair cut, and spent the rest of the afternoon looking for a table runner and place mats. (That was all me — Brian worked on the shed)

The shed is getting it’s finishing touches over the next couple weekends as Brian has friends coming to help put in the siding. Then all it needs is a proper ramp, which is planned for spring! I can’t believe it actually is getting done, and just in time as the snow is starting to come down here and it’s staying cold.

I spent Thanksgiving day cleaning downstairs and putting finishing touches on Christmas decorations. We didn’t have our Christmas tree yet but all other decorations were out and inviting. This year, I got some inspiration from work where the corporate headquarters entryway had some big bulb ornaments hanging from ribbon down the glass panes. I did something similar, purchasing the bulbs of course during double discount, and hanging them from the railings on the second floor so they hang down into the entry way. They look great, I am very happy with how they turned out!

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Nursery and Baby Shower

This past weekend was my baby shower, and we go lots of great gifts. I feel almost prepared now! Just a couple more classes (like the Baby Care class this evening) and a few more items (like the baby monitor) and we will be set!

Here’s a few pictures of our Peapod’s nursery:

The baby shower was great; Brian’s mom did such a great job. It was catered by the same company that did our wedding food, so everything was excellent (I’m still eating the leftovers!). We had crescent sandwiches, vegetarian wraps, cheese and crackers, fruit, pasta salad, swedish meatballs and of course punch, cookies and a cake! I had a lot more people come than I expected. A good friend who I haven’t seen in over two years, Sasha, came to visit. Also some of my old Centerville friends and a lot of new friends! Most of Brian’s family came as well, and my aunt Carol and cousin Stacey.Β  Sadly my mom couldn’t make it, but she did give me a gift to make me cry in front of everyone (a bonnet made from a handkerchief when I was baptized). See some pictures from the baby shower.

Yesterday I had my first Non-Stress Test (NST) and an ultrasound. I am now going to the doctor once every week and getting a NST each week because of the gestational diabetes. Luckily I am managing just fine with diet and so I am type A1 diabetes and only need to go in once a week instead of twice! The diabetes is a pain, but I have only broken the diet a couple times. I haven’t gained any weight the past two weeks since my last appointment, but the doctor says that is good and okay that I have some fat stores that are probably being burned up.

The NST is the same type of monitor they will use when I deliver. It measures baby’s heart rate and contractions. I got to watch the graph change when baby moved — the heart rate would go up. I also had a mild contraction while I was there and baby’s heart rate goes up then too. It takes 20 minutes so that is kind of a pain, and I had to wait to get the monitor since they only had a couple. But otherwise it’s painless and relatively easy!

The ultrasound was great! Fluid around the baby is normal, and Peapod is head down! The tech was nice and told us again when to look away when she was looking at the pelvis area so we still have no idea what the baby is. Brian needs to get working on some baby name ideas!

In other news, recently I got a new china cabinet which I am displaying my grandma’s glassware in! I spent about 5 hours cleaning all the crystal and it just looks fantastic. Grandma would be happy to see her glasses all clean and shining in the beautiful china cabinet, I just wish she was still around to see it.

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Baby is no longer see through

My baby book says that this week, week 32 (I am 31 weeks and 4 days), my baby is no longer see through. I think Brian might’ve been a little disappointed πŸ˜‰

We recently purchased a china cabinet; it was on our list of long term items we wanted, but with my grandma’s passing I have taken her glass dishes and silverware, and some other cut glass items. I really wanted to display these and even use them this Thanksgiving which we are having at our house with Brian’s family. China cabinets are expensive! But I think we got a great deal and it will nearly match our table and chairs we have right now. It gets delivered next week, in plenty of time to wash and put away the nice dishes for Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I will have to be careful about what I eat πŸ™ At least pumpkin pie is on the list of things I can eat! Even better if I don’t have the crust!

Life with gestational diabetes is okay. It’s not particularly fun, but I have managed to eat out a few times with no problems. I just have to be careful about what I eat and eliminate a lot of carbs. So no pasta when I eat out. The dietitian taught me carb counting in units of 15g each, and protein counting. At its fundamental, I need a lot more protein and less carbs.

I went back for a follow up on Friday to the dietitian who told me I was a doctor’s dream (because my blood sugar levels never went too far over or under). So when I visit the doctor today, hopefully they’ll say the same thing and I will not need to take medication. I’m excited to find out when I get my next ultrasound, which will hopefully be next time. We haven’t seen the baby for months! Though for sure I can feel it all the time. I also read in the book that the amniotic fluid has about reached its peak, and so there is less cushioning in there, I will feel the kicks more. The baby is very active in the mornings and evenings.

Brian and I looked at mattresses last night, so we’ll be purchasing that soon. The baby shower is the weekend of Nov. 7, so that is coming up very soon! I am so excited to get more baby things and start to really set up for Peapod’s arrival, which is only two short months away.

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A Rough Couple Weeks

It’s been a rough couple weeks for us. The week before last, my Grandma passed away relatively suddenly. I had only just gone to see her the weekend before, which was both good and upsetting that life can change so quickly. She was hospitalized after becoming ill the following evening. Grandma aspirated into her lungs during a procedure and developed pneumonia which ended up being too much for her. We took her off the ventilator and she passed peacefully. I spent most of my weekend then at her house with family, going through pictures, and making the memorial boards for her.

I am disappointed and sad that she will not be around to meet our baby. The weekend prior, we had just been talking about how she needed to be patient with her wrist which she had broken recently and let it heal so that she could hold the baby. She didn’t tell me, but told my aunt and uncle that after she saw me and the way I was carrying, she thought it is a girl. It was hard seeing her the previous weekend, fairly helpless without the use of her wrist, but harder and still somewhat weird to think that she will never be in that house again.

The same week, I took a gestational diabetes test. I had failed the hour long screening test at the doctor’s office, and had to go to the hospital to take the three hour test. Brian decided to spend the entire time with me which was very nice to have company. They take your blood after fasting, and then every hour for three hours after drinking the glucose solution. It came out that I do have gestational diabetes. My fasting numbers were normal, the first hour was barely normal, but the following two were undoubtedly abnormal.

So far, this hasn’t affected my diet too much, simply because I haven’t been able to meet with the diabetes counselor yet. They weren’t able to schedule me until nearly two weeks after diagnosis. I am seeing the counselor and taking a class tomorrow morning. The doctor told me that I will be given a meter which I will use to take my blood sugar levels two hours after every meal. At my next appointment two weeks from now, we will look at my levels and determine whether the diabetes can be controlled with diet alone or if medication is needed.

The diabetes is disappointing, because I very much like my carbs and sugar! So hopefully things will be back to normal shortly after baby Peapod is born.

This past weekend I spent at my parents’ and helped my sister get ready for Homecoming dance for her Senior year. Holly had a lovely dress and I straightened her hair and did her make up! It was a lot of fun and she had a blast for her first dance. On Sunday, I went to an old friend’s new house, Katie, who is also pregnant and due two weeks after me. We had a get together with a bunch of us old high school friends, which was great. Katie’s nursery is an antique and monkey theme (Monkeys were her husband’s choice!)

My nursery is just about finished; we have hung up all our photos upstairs finally and included the baby room pictures. So soon we should be able to take photos! All I need is a mattress, so that I can properly show off the bedding.

Recently I have been getting a lot of questions about names! So far, Brian has been willing to tell me what he really doesn’t like, but has not shared his favorite names. So the names I have picked so far haven’t been officially approved. However, we have decided on middle names. If it’s a boy, the middle name will be Charles after his grandfather; if it’s a girl the middle name with either be Rose (my own middle name) or Eleanor (after my grandma on my mom’s side). I did debate briefly about using my recently passed Grandma’s name which is Genevieve, but right now I am leaning away from it, for a couple reasons. 1) She hated her name and always said that and 2) I am not sure I could hear the name without feeling sad about it right now.

That’s all for now! As soon as I hook up my camera I’ll have a few more pictures of Grandma’s memorial boards and her house; I’m also waiting on some nice photos of my sister in her Homecoming dress!

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Weekend

This weekend has been lonelier for me because Brian is mini-vacationing with his friends. This Thursday-Sunday, he has spent touring distilleries of whiskey in Tennessee and Kentucky. Meanwhile, I have been working and visiting my grandma.

I kept myself busy in Thursday and had dinner with a friend, Teresa, who I haven’t seen in a long time. On Friday, I RedBoxed a couple movies that were on my list (but not Brian’s, haha!). I saw Prince of Persia, and The Backup Plan. I thought both were pretty good, and entertaining. Sasha has been very good with Brian away, though I am sure she misses having him home too!

The weather was hot enough to turn the air on those two days, I was happy to see it cool off today. I went to visit grandma today and was telling her about it, she didn’t realize it was close to 90 on Thursday and Friday because she hasn’t been out of the house since her surgery on her broken wrist from the last fall. The pins in her arm don’t look as bad as expected, because the arm was bandaged up. She certainly isn’t young anymore, but she has two very nice almost-nurse ladies taking good care of her.

Brian should be back tomorrow evening which is good. He will be coming with me to my glucose test Tuesday morning for part of the time. This past Tuesday, I took a glucose level (and anemia) screening test which was to test for gestational diabetes. I failed the screening, so I now I have to take the 3 hours test at the hospital. Doctor said that about 10% of women fail the screening test, and only 10% of that 10% actually have a problem. So odds are in my favor! I read up on the test, and it sounds like they will be drawing my blood four times. I also have to fast for 12 hours in advance, so I will undoubtedly be starving by the time it’s over! Hopefully, there will be no passing out. I’ve taken the morning off work entirely, so since it’s at 7 am I should have some time afterwards to walk around the mall before going to work the afternoon.

Baby is moving a lot more noticeably now, and occasionally uncomfortable. At my last appointment, the doctor said I had only gained 2 pounds, which seems really low! I swear I have grown twice the size I was in the past month! I finally put up my tree wall decal, which is super cute. Next doctor’s appointment is in three weeks, then I will be on the two week appointment schedule!

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Room Layouts and Colds

Last week was a bit hectic and not so much fun; I worked late on Wednesday night, until almost 8:30, which is quite a bit more than my usual 7:30-4:30 days. I think also consequently my little cold developed into a bigger cold, and I was pretty miserable by Friday/Saturday.

Brian and Melissa and the my in-laws went to see his grandma (and some extended family) on Saturday without me. His grandma is doing very well, which is nice to hear after the ups and downs this year! Becky made a fantastic lasagna, which they were nice enough to give me leftovers πŸ™‚

While he was gone, I attempted to put up my yellow & green owl & bird decal, which is pretty much the reason why I didn’t feel like we have to paint, and which was the base around the entire nursery theme (it was the very first thing I purchased, during a big sale). Of course, nothing goes quite as planned. I purchased it in June and so when the edges kept unpeeling and not sticking correctly, I got upset since we’re well past the return policy time period! However, on Sunday they emailed me back and since June, they have switched their decal material; they believe the new material will stick to my walls no problem. They have a long shipping period, so it will be a while before I get it. In another 2-3 weeks I will be able to try the new decal. They are allowing me to keep the old one though, so I am thinking of things we could do with it. Brian suggested we could spray on a better adhesive, so I might fill a couple picture frames with some pieces of it. As a last resort, if the new one doesn’t work, I’ll be using it to trace and paint a similar picture instead.

Sunday I started to feel better, and I’m pretty much good to go now, except for the awful sounding cough I have, which is pretty much snot drainage in my lungs. And if that’s TMI then you’ve never had a proper cold!

We did end up keeping the changing table which pretty closely matches the crib! It is made out of real wood (except for the shelves) and even has the nice curves that make it look as if it were made to go with our crib! So recently I spent some time on layouts in the room. I went back and forth, we tried a couple different ones.

Baby Room Layouts First Time

Baby Room Layouts Second Time

Last nice, I decided to try one of Brian’s original suggestions (hopefully he won’t rub it in too much), to put the crib along the wall near the closet. Initially I was against this, because the crib sticks out pretty far and will partially block one of the closet doors. However when we actually did it, I found that I wasn’t that bothered by it at all, the closet is still very easily accessible. The room is much more opened up by this move, so I think this is how it will stay!

Baby Room Layout Final

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Chicago and Peapod

A couple weekends ago, Brian and I went on our “baby moon” to Chicago. The idea is you go on one last fling to relax and spend time together before baby gets here. I particularly wanted to go before walking around gets to be no fun! As it was, I still was far more tired than I would’ve been without the extra baby weight. The walking took it’s toll, but it was well worth it!

We spent Friday at the Aquarium, had lunch at the Goose Island bar/micro brew/pub and went to dinner at a nice Italian family style restaurant. Saturday we spent at the Field Museum most of the day and ate real Chicago deep dish pizza for lunch and a tasty French dinner. Sunday we went to the Planetarium, which I of course promptly fell asleep in. In between we walked the Navy Pier, saw fireworks, walked the Magnificent Mile and putzed around Millennium Park. We had a great time!

Us in Chicago 2010

See more pictures of our Chicago trip >

The baby is moving all the time now, poking around and making flips in my belly. Brian felt the baby move for the first time a couple weeks ago, and since then has felt it a couple more times. For some reason, Peapod is sleeping when Brian is around! But it moves all day long at the office, which is pretty distracting.

We recently purchased our crib and glider. The glider my parents are graciously gifting us. The baby better be a rocker like me! Brian teased me recently that we would probably have a baby that doesn’t want to be rocked. Sitting still would be impossibly hard for me! The crib is lighter than we originally wanted to go, it is a honey natural color. The glider is an ebony with light olive fabric. Combined, I have a non-matching room! This was a little difficult to move past for me, since I am big on matching. However, the quality of both pieces more than makes up for the color difficulties.

Currently, we’re trying to find a matching honey colored changing table. If we cannot find one that matches, we’ll probably switch to dark wood in the hopes that it looks like we mismatched on purpose, the glider and changing table would be dark! The oak dresser that was Brian’s as a child we are going to refinish in the lighter honey color, and change out the handles and hopefully the drawer tracks as well. However, Brian is working hard on his shed, so until the weather turns the baby dresser is taking a back seat!

The baby’s room is coming along nicely; we have curtains, the crib and a glider, which must be the most important pieces, right!? Meanwhile, Brian’s mom is planning the baby shower for November 7. We are having it nearby; the previous owners of our house moved to a complex down the road and their HOA includes a very nice party room which we will be using. I’m very excited. The time is just flying by! It won’t be long before we are having the shower and putting finishing touches on Peapod’s room. Maybe somewhere in this time I can get Brian to look at a few baby names πŸ˜‰

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Baby and Sasha Updates

Sasha is doing well! She got her cone off and the toe is finally looking healed or nearly so. We had a small scare because we had to get the bandage off early, her toe was staying too moist which was concerning obviously if it had continued so. So the first time we saw the toe it was not has healed as I would’ve liked it to be and looked very raw. Sasha did not like her cone either. It took her a day or so to get used to lying down in it and not running into things as much. Brian bought car door protector things which we put on the raw plastic on the outside of the cone as a bumper because she was scratching things up!

It was very nice visiting with Tyler, he stayed an extra day so I took that day off and we watched movies. I had a lot of fun, it was nice to take a day off for once. I don’t have a lot of spare days now at this point, I am trying to save them for maternity leave. I can use 5 PTO days on maternity leave, which I intend on trying to do so that is one less week I have to take unpaid.

Tuesday we had our ultrasound, which would’ve been the gender one had we decided to find out. But we didn’t! The technician even made us look away when she examined the legs, so we never got a hint. It’ll be a big suprise! It may have been our last ultrasound, I don’t know if they’ll do another one. Everything is good with Peapod, it has a four chamber heart that is functioning properly, and kidneys and bladder that look good. 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 hands and 2 feet! I have a really cute picture of a foot. We got to see the spine and other bones, and the head of course. I have a creeper photo of the face looking at us, but it looks like an alien. I told Brian it looked like him hahahaha. We had the ultrasound at 18 weeks and 5 days, and I measured exactly 18 weeks and 5 days, so the due date will remain at Dec. 23, which is mildly disappointing for my anti-Christmas complaints.

Brian likes the fact that I have a little belly now and he rubs it, but no kicking yet! There have been a couple times where I thought maybe I felt something, but it did not repeat often enough for me to be confident that that was it. The doctors said by next appointment I should be feeling it, but even then it won’t be all the time because it’s still really small. I am almost to the halfway point though, which is bizarre! Really just bizarre all the way around that by December we will have a little family.

We toured the two options we had for hospitals last week. The practice said I can go with either Akron General or Akron City; both take the same amount of time to get to (about 40-45 minutes). We chose Akron City because they had bathrooms in every post partum room. Akron General had different post partum rooms (we only saw one of them, but the ladies description said that some had bathrooms in the hall!). Otherwise the hospitals were about the same. Akron General is supposed to be getting new rooms soon, but can’t guarantee when or even if I would get a new room when I deliver, so Akron City it is! I think the buildings are around the same age, but City looks newer also.

The way it works is that I will go into a labor/delivery/recovery room and then to a post partum room after I’ve recovered initially from the birth. As far as care goes, they seem to offer the same level of care. Akron General is directly connected to Akron Children’s for any serious issues, but Akron City takes care of everything except a couple long term care type of things, and then they send them to Akron Children’s too. So that’s not an issue either.

I, like usual, am impatient to be planning and doing things. I am trying not to buy much. I bought my bedding set, because it was not something I could register for, but I keep second guessing myself cause bedding is so expensive. Brian’s mom is looking at planning a baby shower in October, I am shooting for later October so my mom and Holly can spendΒ  more time here. Holly runs until later in October. That’s all for now… cheerio.

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Baby Updates etc

Today, the baby must be growing exponentially. I have been crampy for most of the day. Yesterday, I went to my 16 week doctor’s appointment. They’ve been once a month – I had one at 8 weeks (Ultrasound), 12 weeks (heartbeat) and yesterday I only got to hear the heartbeat again. It’s been the most uneventful appointment so far. But Brian got to hear the heartbeat for the first time, and he was grinning, so it wasn’t a complete waste!

Next one is at 19 weeks on July 27, and is an ultrasound. This is also the appointment where, if we want to, we can find out the gender. We are officially leaning toward not finding out. Mainly Brian has been talking to people who are recommending we leave it a surprise. It’s really okay though, I think it would be helpful in keeping me from buying too many clothing items ahead of time. Newborns live in onesies and pajamas and stuff like that anyway.

Tyler is coming to visit this weekend which will be really nice. He hasn’t see the house yet and I’m sure Sasha will be excited to see him (well she gets excited for everyone). Brian and I spent last weekend nice and leisurely, since we had to keep Sasha calmer. We had to get her toe amputated on Friday. She had ripped a toenail out a few weeks ago when my parents came to visit and it never grew back or healed over properly. So when we went in for a check up on Tuesday, they told us the toe needed to come off so it could heal. The toe is on her back leg, like a pinky toe. At least it is not a weight-bearing toe, and she has already recovered quite a bit since Friday! She scratched at her ear last night with her bandaged foot like she didn’t even notice, it was funny. The foot will stay bandaged for another 5 days or so, unless it’s looking really good and then they’ll take it off early. We get it changed every 3 days or so.

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