Post-Christmas and 33 weeks

We had a great Christmas! I was able to be home with my parents from Thursday evening to Tuesday afternoon, and it was really great to spend extra time with them. Neil had to work on Friday until 2, and since we have workers in the house working on the basement, I thought I’d just get out of there early. He had to be back to work on Monday – so it worked out for me to spend extra time with my fam. When Neil got into town on Friday afternoon we immediately had lots of get-togethers to go to: Neil's grandmothers’ to open gifts with the Millers, back my parents’ house for hors d'oeuvres, then Christmas Eve service and an after-party with the Websters/Youngs and then to Neil’s parents to exchange gifts with them. They are so sweet they got Lila a stocking and had it filled with little goodies for her: pacifiers, socks, a rubber ducky, etc. We had a busy and fun Christmas Eve!


The Youngs and the Millers: Sy, Elizabeth (20 weeks pregnant), me (32 weeks) and Neil

I love this pic. These are two of my favorite people - basically family! Elizabeth is due 3 months after me and I couldn't be more excited. I always hoped we'd have babies close in age, and I'm extremely excited and lucky to be pregnant at the same time as her and have our babies grow up together! They are not finding out the sex, but I think Lila's future husband is on the way! You can kind of, almost, barely make out Elizabeth's baby bump - but I pretty much dwarf her! I joked that Lila's head was in the way. Can't wait to meet baby Young in May!

Christmas Day was fun too! I forgot to take any photos (oops). My parents had a yummy breakfast for us (Neil and I and my brother and his girlfriend) and then we opened stockings and gifts. We had a books only Christmas with them, and it was really fun! I got some books for me and some for Lila! I think everyone really enjoyed the book gifts. It was a really low-key way to do it, and pretty economical too.

We hung out until 4 or so and went over to the Millers for dinner and to watch all the grandkids open their gifts from Neil’s parents. We had a good time and played games and let the kids entertain us. When the masses left, we watched old home movies with his parents and talked and relaxed!

The rest of the weekend was pretty chill. We hung out with our families and Neil left for home on Sunday afternoon. Monday and Tuesday I spent shopping and watching movies with Mom and hanging out with my parents - it was nice and relaxing!

Now I am back home. I have the rest of the week off, and let me tell you it is really weird to see Neil off to work while I stick around in my pjs! I’m trying to be productive cleaning and organizing but I also got out today for some after-Christmas shopping while the basement crew was loudly stomping the ceilings.

I realize this is getting kind of long and detailed which I didn’t intend! So on the pregnancy front, I’m feeling a bit worse to be honest. I am getting up 2-3 times a night, Lila’s movements are painful at times, I’m getting Braxton hicks contractions a lot, and it hurts to pretty much do anything!

The worst is the trifecta of Lila punching/headbutting my cervix (she is really low), Braxton hicks, and little baby feet in my ribs. My whole 2-hour drive home yesterday was pretty much that, and it sucked. I’m not evicting her from the womb yet, but I am starting to get a little done with this pregnancy!

I did have a quick doctor's appointment on Thursday, and I'm happy to know that I was measuring exactly 32 cm which is right on target for 32 weeks. I don't have a giant baby! Yay! BP, weight, etc. was all fine. I go back Jan. 6 for my 34 week appointment. My first one with a male OB! There are like 9 doctors in my OB practice, and like 4 dudes, and somehow I haven't seen any of them yet!

How Far Along:33 weeks and 2 days. 47 days until my due date, 25 days until I'm full term (37 wks)!

Best Moment(s) this past week: Pretty much all of it! Christmas was great!

Current baby/pregnancy worry: I'm not so much worried about my weight right now, I'm just hoping I can get it off relatively quickly after baby! Oh and I've been thinking about breastfeeding a lot! I got to talk to my mom's friend Stacy (who breastfed her 2 1/2 year old and is currently BFing her 8 month old daughter). She had some great advice! I hope it goes well for me.

Movement: Constant, painful, strong movements everywhere!

Labor Signs: Lots of Braxton Hicks. Sometimes she is so low I swear she is kicking her way out.

Food Craving: Nothing specific, just hungry a lot! Oh, I pretty much have to have hot chocolate everyday.

Any new symptoms?: Not anything new, per say, just the ones I already had are worse.

What I miss: Nothing. I'm feel lucky to be pregnant and I'm not missing anything right now!!

What I am looking forward to: New Year's Eve party and 2011! Relaxing with Neil on Sat/Sun and making our New Year's goals!

Weekly update: 32 weeks and Christmas time is here!

Things are really starting to come together as Christmas approaches and 2010 comes to a close. This weekend was a really good mix of fun and productive. I was able to do a bunch of festive Christmas stuff, wrap presents, finish up some shopping and Neil finalized stuff in the basement to prepare for the contractors to come and finish up the job this week. I was actually able to help a little in the basement - even if it was just unscrewing light bulbs and running the ShopVac!

I'm so excited for this basement project to get done. I can't wait to decorate and eventually enjoy the new space. It'll be great for Lila to have a place for larger toys (play kitchen, jumperoo, desk, etc) once she gets to be more mobile. And it will be wonderful for us to pretty much double our livable space! I cannot wait!

Today is also Neil's first day of work. He is in downtown Cincinnati for training but will be back up nearer to home for the rest of the week. I'm so proud of him! I know he is so happy to be working again. These next few weeks will really be an adjustment for the both of us.

I was able to check off a few things off my list this weekend as well. Since Lila could come as early as next month, I thought I should seriously get things ready in her room. Here is what I/we accomplished and what is still to come:

• Finish artwork for nursery, although I will make one like this after she's born
  
• Paint inside of closet
  
• Get baby book!
  
• Re-cover hairbow board with fabric and add ribbons
  
• Wash and rehang/fold newborn and 0-3 clothes
  
• Put aside coming home outfits in newborn and 0-3
  
• Sew bench pad, basket liners and curtain tiebacks
  
• Make fluffy flower poms or crib mobile
  
• Finish baby quilt (this is big wishful thinking!)
  
• Sew one of these cuties
  
• Make more bows, finish appliqued onesies
  

There is a whole bunch of other more general things I'd like to do/need to do before baby:

• Install carseat and get checked at fire station
  
• Pack bag(s) for hospital
  
• Stock and organize changing table
  
• Take infant CPR class
  
• Make/freeze meals
  

There's probably a lot of things I'm forgetting at the moment! There is basically a lot to do and time is starting to run out.

As far as myself and Miss Lila, things are going just fine. She's moving like crazy (as always) and is starting to do a lot more bigger movements (rolls and flips and slow turns). It's cool when I can actually tell what part of her body is doing what. I'm pretty sure I kind of grabbed her little tush the other day when she was turning over. I just love "playing" with her while she's in the womb. I love her so much already!

I'm feeling okay. I'm getting up or at least waking up more at night (2-3 times) and having a little bit more pain here and there. This past week wasn't great on the exercise, so I'm going to try to do better this week and see if that helps. Now that I'm into my 33rd week, a baby averages about 19 inches and 4.5 lbs at this point. Since I think Lila is an overachiever, I think she's even bigger than that already. I'm getting really anxious for the next few weeks until her arrival!



How Far Along: 32 weeks

Best Moment(s) this past week: Going on some dates with Neil and watching White Christmas (my fave!) at the movie theater with Karyn

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Having everything ready in time and not knowing how to change/wash/burp/breastfeed a baby. I hope the nurses are good teachers and I catch on quickly! I'm also concerned about not having Neil around much in Lila's first few weeks/months since he will be working full time and going to school two nights a week!

Movement: Bigger and stronger movements. Also, I don't notice very many quiet times during the day. She's literally constantly moving.

Labor Signs: A couple Braxton Hicks. Nothing too bad though.

Food Craving: Chocolate, french fries, hot chocolate.

Any new symptoms?: Sciatica pain from what I can tell. When I get up, it's like an electric shock down my leg! Not fun. A little more back pain and hip pain and unfortunately I have to pee even more often than I already did!

What I miss: Being able to sit on the floor and wrap presents! This is not a fun task at 8 months pregnant!

What I am looking forward to: My doctor's appointment Thursday, Christmas Eve service, hanging out with family, exchanging gifts and eating yummy food! Oh and a whole week off next week!

31 and almost done?

Well, not really almost done, but getting closer. I can't believe how close I am to full term now. A little over a month and Lila could be here if she decides to arrive early. I'm still thinking she'll come right around her due date, and if that happens we are exactly 2 months away. This pregnancy has gone by so fast! I've been really lucky and it's honestly been pretty easy for the most part. Who knows, I might just do this again sometime!

The last couple of weeks have been good - I don't feel like I've gotten much bigger or more uncomfortable - so that's nice. And I'm still sleeping pretty well! We planned on working in the nursery some more this past weekend but we ended up being busier than we planned and didn't do anything with it. I need to finish the artwork, have Neil paint the closet, clean out any non-baby related stuff that's in there, decide which sheets/clothes/blankets I'm going to wash ahead of time, and do some general organizing.

I've been trying to finish up Christmas shopping, doing things to enjoy the holiday season and I'm also counting down the days until my week off after Christmas! I'm so excited. I'm probably going to tackle a lot of projects that week, like cleaning out the pantry and fridge, doing after-Christmas shopping and finishing up some baby related projects as well.

I'm feeling boring today, so I think I'm going to just do the little survey thing now...

Oh and BELLY:



How Far Along: 31 weeks and 1 day

Best Moment(s) this past week: Getting maternity photos taken, going out on a date with Neil (Love and Other Drugs - it was good!), staying in and watching the rest of Dexter season 5 this weekend, feeling better about my workouts (5 in a week!)

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Just wondering when she will arrive... I wish I knew so I could plan better!

Movement: She's still my dancing queen! She hasn't been hurting me as much this week, so maybe she's starting to run out of room? I don't know when that happens... probably not until later. Maybe she's just taking it easy on me for a little bit.

Labor Signs: Since I've upped my water intake, no more Braxton Hicks that I can tell. No other signs at all!

Food Craving: Sushi, hot chocolate, mac and cheese, and water?!

Any new symptoms?: Uh yeah. How's heat rash for ya? Weirdest symptom yet.

What I miss: Not having a double chin. :) Oh and I miss being tan. All vain things.

What I am looking forward to: Watching White Christmas on the big screen on Saturday and a Christmas concert this weekend. I'm excited to hear some Christmas carols! Maybe when Lila gets older and I have more time I will join a choir again and get back to doing holiday concerts. Oh and this is the last weekend before Neil becomes a working man again. He's off to work Monday at 8am for training downtown. And soon it's Christmas!!!

Maternity photos

So our friend Joe is an awesome (soon-to-be-professional) photographer and was nice enough to come over to our house and set up a little mini studio to take some photos. We weren't planning on getting maternity photos taken, but since Joe is working on his portfolio and wanted to try some maternity shots, we happily obliged! It was so fun. He's going to come back and make some adjustments and take some more soon (I'll have my hair freshly cut and highlighted then, thank goodness!) But he did an awesome job and I think some of them turned out really great!









I love that we have some photos of Neil and I together and also have some good photos of her room - even though it's not completely decorated yet.

Appointment and Life Update

I had my 30 week appointment today and everything is just fine! I'm measuring on schedule (didn't get the exact fundal height - will do that next time), Lila's heart rate was 155, BP was a bit high but not bad, weight gain is okay (though higher than I'd like) and my cervix is still closed up with no signs of anything labor related happening. So everything is going well!

I have my next appointment the morning of Dec 23. I can't believe I'm already on the every 2 week schedule. We are getting so much closer to baby and all the crazy changes that will bring!

Speaking of changes, we've got some big ones happening in the Miller family. Neil got a job! His start date is Dec 20. We've been a one income family for awhile now, and even though Neil is still finishing up his MBA he desperately wanted to get back to the workforce - especially with a baby on the way. I'm really happy for him and proud of him, but it's honestly kind of bittersweet for me. I have loved having him home! He's stayed pretty busy of course, so he wasn't really "home" all the time, but I've gotten spoiled with the flexibility of having a spouse not working full time. I was excited for the possibility of both of us being home with Lila on my maternity leave. Now it's looking like we may be lucky with a week or so of time off for Neil. I'm going to be able to take extra time off now that we have more income coming in, but I'm kind of sad he won't be here to help me as much as I thought. I'm scared of doing it on my own, but I'm hoping I'll have help!

But overall, I'm happy about it. I know he will be happier and more fulfilled being back to work, and that is the most important thing, really. We never expected to have one of us stay home with baby permanently, and we're just super thankful for the "Christmas miracle" of starting a new job right before the holiday and before Lila arrives. Now she might get to go to college!! Har har. I've been joking that she doesn't need a college fund because she is going to trade school to be an electrician and make the big bucks!

So that's the news - Neil's going to work, just in time for me to have 4 months off. We will be making a lot of adjustments in the next few months and I hope Neil is okay working with little sleep!!

Woohoo for 30 weeks!

So the little ticker on my iPod touch (not cool enough for a smart phone) says I am 30 weeks 1 day and have 9 weeks 6 days to go until my due date! That's single digits people! Baby is well over 3 lbs and 18 inches long on average. I'm thrilled to be at 30 weeks, but 10 weeks to go is still a long time. Especially since it could be 11 or 12 weeks until she actually comes if I go overdue. Hopefully she comes a bit early and we'll meet her sooner when she's full term.. in 6-7 weeks!! Can't believe it.

I'm feeling pretty good for 30 weeks (that's almost 8 months pregnant! Eek!). I'm sleeping well and only getting up once or twice a night. We just finished up our childbirth classes last night. They were really great. We learned a lot. I feel so much more prepared and ready for birth now (but of course I'm still scared!!) Oh and only 6 weeks until I need to have my hospital bags packed! We also picked a pediatrician yesterday. We went to her office for a little interview, and I liked her! She seemed really level headed, nice and is a mom too. Her answers to my questions were good and it just felt right. Another thing checked off the list.

My new thing this week is trying to workout everyday. I've been a slacker lately, and just pregnant and tired, but I figured I have no excuse not to at least do a 20-30 min video everyday if I can't get to the gym. So far so good. Here is my rough weekly schedule:

Mon - Weights/Strength
Tues - Yoga/Stretch
Wed - Cardio
Thurs - Weights/Strength
Fri - Cardio
Sat - Yoga/Stretch
Sun - Cardio

I've been doing a mix of DVDs, going to the Y, free online ExerciseTV videos and just whatever I come up with at home (dancing, lifting light weights, etc.) I want to make sure I'm ready to not only push out the baby but carry her when she's here!

I ordered a diaper bag from Etsy. My mom is also making me one, but I've heard from people to have multiple ones, so there you go. I can't wait to get it. It looks like this, but with "Lila" embroidered on it, of course.



Oh and here's what I look like at 30 weeks!



And the little survey...

How Far Along: 30 weeks and 1 day.

Best Moment(s) this past week: Watching Tangled in 3D with my mom. We ate popcorn and candy for lunch at the matinee and it was awesome. She used to take me out for this treat very occasionally as a kid, and it is still GREAT! There were lots of moms and daughters in the audience, but most of the other daughters were like 4! It was a great movie. Lila seemed to like the music! Can't wait to take her to her first real movie someday.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: I've been thinking a lot about the weather in February (ice, snow) and all the mess that can bring. I feel bad for Lila to enter the world at such a gloomy cold time! I just hope she comes on a nice day! Also.. and this is typical for me to think about things far before I really need to worry.. but birth control! I want to go back on it ASAP after birth, but regular pills aren't an option because they can decrease milk supply and hormones can go to the baby. From my limited research it looks like IUDs, the mini-pill and Implanon are the best options. I thought this would be an easy thing... 6 weeks after baby, get back on Ortho Tri Cyclen. Nope!

Movement: She is still beating the crap out of me. I feel bruised from the inside out. She is doing knee lifts and flutter kicks and snow angels and who knows what else in there. I hope she is getting all her energy out now and will not continue this hyperactivity when she is out of the womb!

Labor Signs: I've had the occasional Braxton Hicks contraction (I think) but nothing else. Sometimes she feels really low but I think she just gets into a position where she can punch me in the bladder/crotch area. Ouch.

Food Craving: Hmm.. Nothing specific. Rice Krispie treats sound pretty good. Haven't had any though! Coffee and hot chocolate and anything warm! It's so cold here this week.. like 20 degrees right now.

Any new symptoms?: Crazy dreams are getting crazier, a few bathroom issues (I'm not going to expand on that), getting tired/worn out easier, possibly my taste buds are changing! and I sadly found a couple stretch marks!!! They aren't on my belly though... I guess my boobs really have grown. :(

What I miss: Feeling light on my feet, having a waist, my winter clothes... although I did get some cute maternity clothes this weekend (thanks Mom) to help me get through the next two months. A great pair of black skinny leg pants, a red v-neck sweater, a patterned blue top and a dress to wear to my baby shower. Hopefully that will make me look decent until Lila comes. I've been feeling pretty frumpy lately, especially in this bitter cold.

What I am looking forward to: Date night with Neil tonight! It's cheap movie night and since he's on a break from school we have Tuesday nights free. We are going to see "Love and Other Drugs". I've read mixed reviews, but I'm just excited to go out on a date with my wonderful husband! We are making spaghetti and meatballs beforehand. Now I just need to figure out when to fit in that workout... :)

Things I've learned so far in childbirth class

1. Teenage couples and a pregnant 14-year old and her mom come to childbirth classes too.

2. Pregnant teenagers ask great questions... e.g. "Can I check how dilated I am by myself?"

3. After getting the birthing center tour, I'm not as scared about being in the hospital.

4. If I get one (it's likely), I hope to get an epidural between 4-6 centimeters after a good labor pattern is established. I want to labor as much as I can at home and be able to walk, move and pee on my own for as long as I possibly can!

5. Watching birth videos reminds me of high school health class, I just pay more attention now.

6. Neil knows less about birth than I thought. Baby is removed from your abdomen in a c-section, not cut out from down below! Let's just say we're both learning a lot!

7. To be fair, Neil is going to be an excellent birth coach and partner. I'm so happy to have him with me in the delivery room and I trust him completely to be my advocate, cheerleader and relaxer.

8. Only about 10% of women have their water break at home or prior to onset of labor. If my water does break, I should call the Dr and plan to come in to the hospital within a couple hours.

9. According to my childbirth instructor, who is also a L&D nurse, birth plans are appreciated as long as they are not too rigid.

10. I can't find the exact number, but somewhere between 25-35% of all births are medically induced. I do not want to be induced unless absolutely necessary. I want the baby to come on her own time, even if that means going past my due date. Of course I'm saying this now! I might change my mind at 41 weeks!

I'm in so much trouble...

I realized yesterday that Lila will need an Easter outfit! She'll probably be around 2 1/2 months then, depending on when she is actually born.

I just can't stand the cuteness:





Oh and don't get me started on summer...




or next Christmas!



And somebody needs to have a boy, so I can buy this!



My favorite places to browse cute baby clothes:

Etsy!
Buds and Branches
Southern Tots
Shrimp and Grits