Friday, January 31, 2014

37 weeks

How your baby's growing:  Your due date is very close now, but doctors don't consider your baby "full term" until 39 weeks. Spending the next two weeks in the womb allows your baby's brain and lungs to fully mature.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (about the size of a bunch of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

How mom is changing:  Braxton Hicks contractions may be coming more frequently now and may last longer and be more uncomfortable.  It may be harder than ever to get comfortable enough to sleep well at night. If you can, take it easy through the day — this may be your last chance to do so for quite a while. Keep monitoring your baby's movements, too, and let your caregiver know immediately if you notice a decrease. Though her quarters are getting cozy, she should still be as active as before.

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Most recent doctor’s appointment: The McHusband and I braved the bad road conditions  (see Instagram pic on the right) to make it to my appointment on Wednesday.  My weight was down about a pound and a half, which may have more to do with my choice of footwear this week.  I wore flats compared to last week’s black knee-high, heeled boots.  So if anything, I’d guess maybe my weight just stayed the same.  Otherwise, no change from last week.  Still a little dilated but no other signs of labor (thank goodness!).

How I’m feeling: Pretty good considering I’m at the end and it seems like most women are begging their babies to make their debuts.  I, on the other hand, am pleading with the McBaby to stay in a little while longer.  I need every day I can get to finish his room and just generally prepare myself for having a baby, by which I mean actually giving birth and then taking him home.

Workouts: Still exercising as much as I can, but that plan was thwarted by the weather this week.

Food cravings/aversions: I wish I were craving fruits and veggies, but I really just want chips, cookies, and candy.

Sleep: Better. I’m falling asleep more easily and not waking up as much.  The difference this past week, though, is that I’m waking up for a good reason: I have to go to the bathroom.  I guess the baby being bigger is affecting my bladder.

Movement: The McBaby’s still moving around a lot.  I can count on him having a dance party pretty much every morning between 9 and 10 or so, and he also tends to get the hiccups then.

Belly button in or out: Still just a half-outie with the top sticking out a little.

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Rings on or off: On and fitting fine.

Recent fun or interesting things: I don’t know if it was fun exactly, but I washed baby clothes this weekend so I’ve got at least one drawerful of outfits for the McBaby.  I’m trying not to have a ton of newborn clothes as I know he’ll just outgrow them in the blink of an eye so I guess I’ll just be doing lots of laundry the first few weeks.

New baby items: Some necessities like a thermometer and a carseat cover to keep the McBaby warm during outings.  We also got our second carseat base so the McHusband and I will each have one in our car.  I hope to have those installed this weekend.

Miss anything?: Same stuff plus easily reaching my feet to put my shoes on.  This belly gets in the way!

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TGIF!!!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Snow much fun!

We had a snow day here in NC on Wednesday.  The timing could’ve been better as I had a doctor’s appointment and my doctor is within walking distance of my office.  Luckily, the McHusband was home as well so he went with me and by “went with me,” I mean he drove us into Raleigh and took me to lunch.

But before all that fun, we spent some time playing with the dogs in the backyard before going next door and visiting with the neighbors who were sledding with the kids.

Morgan and Monte in the snow

I know this picture’s out of focus, but I love the crazy look on Monte’s face.

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I took a work phone call while we were outside and I can prove it.

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Pretty puppy.  Morgan’s going to be 10 this year.

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I may have thrown snow at Monte’s face and the McHusband got photographic proof of that, too.

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Checking out what the neighbors are up to.

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They were nice enough to share there saucers and sleds with us.

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Surely the McHusband will go around the fire pit.

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Or not.

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He had better luck on the saucer and looks happy after that ride down the hill.

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Trying the sled again.  The good news is he doesn’t run into the fire pit.

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The bad news is he doesn’t stay on the sled.

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My turn!

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Last picture of the morning.  Ready or not, Monte’s coming for you!

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Hope you guys had as good a Wednesday as we had!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Birthday Boy

Monte is a year old today.

Here he is the weekend we brought him home in April when he was eight weeks old.

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And here he is Monday night.

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What a handsome boy!

Monte now outweighs Morgan by at least 25 pounds, maybe closer to 30.

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Guess what?  Monte’s not the only birthday boy today.  It’s Kevin’s birthday, too.  Happy birthday, Kevin!

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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

My Baby Shower: Food and Decor

I know some of you out there think that you had the best baby shower, but I have some bad news for you.  I actually had the best baby shower.  (Kim – her food here – and Vickie, your showers tie for second-best.)

My hostess team consisted of my mom, my sister Bri, and my two friends, Heather and Vanessa.

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Here is what greeted my guests as they arrived at the house.

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Once inside, my guests looked right and saw the favor table and wish tree, and to their left was the food in the dining room.

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Guests were asked to fill out a wish tag for the baby and hang it on the tree.  Unfortunately, I neglected to take a picture of the branches loaded down with well wishes.

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We’ll take the long way to the dining room.  From the foyer to the den…

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Guests were asked to bring an unwrapped book for the McBaby’s bookshelf.  Everyone signed a label that went in their book.  You probably recognize this table from my cake post.  My blog/guest-of honor fail moment was that I didn’t snap a picture of the shelf (which my mom made) loaded with books.

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Okay, time to eat!  Let’s go see what’s happening in the dining room.

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I’ll zoom in and you guys should be able to figure out the theme.

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Do you get it?  The general shower theme was kids’ books, and my hostesses chose several books to help set the menu.  Neat, right?

Over on the buffet, Bri had a hot cocoa station set up.  I know they used packets of hot chocolate to make the cocoa, but something they did with it made it especially tasty. 

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The toppings and mix-ins for the hot cocoa.

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My mom made the license plates.  My birthday on the left, the McHusband’s on the right, and the due date below.  I’ll be adding them to a wall in the baby’s room.

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One more table of goodies to go! 

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See, I told you: Best. Baby. Shower. Ever. Smile