36 weeks

Here's what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement. At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly. Now that your baby is taking up so much room, you may have trouble eating a normal-size meal. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, you may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when your baby starts to "drop" down into your pelvis. This process — called lightening — often happens a few weeks before labor if this is your first baby. (If you've given birth before, it probably won't happen before labor starts.) If your baby drops, you may also feel increased pressure in your lower abdomen, which may make walking increasingly uncomfortable, and you'll probably find that you have to pee even more frequently. If your baby is very low, you may feel lots of vaginal pressure and discomfort as well. Some women say it feels as though they're carrying a bowling ball between their legs! You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are more frequent now. Be sure to review the signs of labor with your practitioner and find out when she wants to hear from you. As a general rule, if you're full-term, your pregnancy is uncomplicated, and your water hasn't broken, she'll probably have you wait to come in until you've been having contractions that last for about a minute each, coming every five minutes for an hour. Of course, you'll want to call right away if you notice a decrease in your baby's activity or think you're leaking amniotic fluid, or if you have any vaginal bleeding, fever, a severe or persistent headache, constant abdominal pain, or vision changes. Even if you're enjoying an uncomplicated pregnancy, it's best to avoid flying (or any travel far from home) during your final month because you can go into labor at any time. In fact, some airlines won't let women on board who are due to deliver within 30 days of the flight.

As for me, I'm doing good.  It's starting to sink in that we only have one month left until my due date (October 24th), and less than a week until the initial due date they gave us of Oct. 4.  We've been thinking that Noah will probably arrive somewhere between those two dates, but we'll just have to wait and see.  I haven't dropped yet, and am not really experiencing any contractions anymore, so at least as of now there aren't any signs that he'll be here too soon.  We're anxious for him to get here, but I could use an extra week or two to make some final preparations.  Although all of the important stuff is done, so whenever he arrives we'll be okay with it, I'm sure I'll always have a list of more things that I'd like to get done.  My official last day of work will be Oct. 15, unless Noah decides to arrive prior to that.  As of this week I will be going to the doctor weekly for the rest of my pregnancy, and she will be starting examinations to see if I'm dilating and if there are any signs of labor approaching.

All is going well, and I'm still feeling suprisingly good.  I'm still sleeping through the night, with the exception of trips to the restroom.  I'm not quite as comfortable as I was earlier in pregnancy, but there isn't anything specific that is really bothering, I'm just huge, and ready to be a little more mobile and bendable again.  I have perfected the waddle, which Jeremy finds hilarious, but I guess that is to be expected at this point. 

Shannon

bulk cooking

I spent a good portion of my day cooking up some foods to have stocked in our freezer for after Noah's arrival.  I cooked up 3 lbs of sloppy joe's, 1.5 lbss of  taco meat for tacos or taco salads, and marinara sauce with 1.5 lbs of meat in it.  Thank you Sam's Club for big bulk packages of 90% lean ground beef at $2.98/ lb!  Our freezer is also stocked full of turkey burgers, and I know that some friends are planning on coordinating some meals for us directly after Noah's arrival.  So we should be good for a while with minimal trips to the store for produce, milk, and eggs, and with very minimal cooking/ re-heating.

Shannon

nesting

I spent the morning yard saling with Jeremy's Mom and a friend of mine, and collected a few more fun baby items for Noah for $1 each.  Then I did a Target run to return a couple items and use the remaining gift cards that I received from my baby shower.  Then I did a huge Sam's Club trip to stock up on all kinds of food to have on hand for our first month of settling in and adjusting to parenthood.  Now that my due date is a month away I'm in the final nesting stages and trying to put the finishing touches on everything.  I have most of Noah's stuff washed and organized, and just have a little more straightening to do in the nursery, and I still need to sterilize my breast pump parts, and do the initial 4 washes on his cloth diapers.  Here's the nursery in its mostly settled, but still needs a little more organization state.  The animal theme started well before we knew that Noah was a boy, and well before we had the name Noah picked out.  I knew from the beginning that I wanted to go with gender neutral colors and theme so that I can reuse all of this stuff for all of our children.  I started finding fun animal stuff at yard sales, that seemed to perfectly fit my gender neutral desires, and therefore an animal theme was born.

I found this crib on craigslist for $40.  The two blankets thrown over the ended were crocheted by Jeremy's Mom, and a friend of mine.  The monkey mirror was one of my $1 yard sale finds from today.  The sheets and crib bumper were baby shower gifts.  I bought the material for the crib skirt at a yard sale for $1, and then Jeremy's Mom sewed this cute skirt up.  It does a good job of hiding all of the extra toys and baby stuff that I have hidden under the crib.

The animal pictures on the left were made by Jeremy's Mom (aka our decorater).  The glider was a yard sale find for $40.  Ignore the pile of stuff on the chair, that's what still needs to be organized.  The mirror leaning on the back wall is awaiting a trip to the garbage it just hasn't made it out there yet.  The quilt on the chair was made by Jeremy's Grandma, before we even knew that we were pregnant, it just happens to have the same colors that we ended up going with, and an animal theme also.  The shelf was one that Jeremy's parents weren't using so his Mom painted it for us with spare paint from her garage and her and Jeremy hung it.  The shelf is stacked with baskets full of toys... one of the baskets I got at a yard sale today for $0.50, the rest Jeremy's Mom had lying around and decorated them with colored wooden animal cutouts that she found from the Dollar Store.

The dresser/ changing table was Jeremy's sister's old furniture that Jeremy's Mom refinished with paint from their garage (because the initial color was fairly outdated).  The changing pad was bought from a yard sale for $3, the changing pad cover was a baby shower gift.  The baby monitor and lamp were yard sale finds.  The curtain is more of the crib skirt yard sale material that Jeremy's Mom sewed into a curtain.  And the N was found by Jeremy's Mom at Pier One on clearance... I think for $1. 

The house/ hut was Jeremy's sister's that his Mom re-painted for us.  She filled it with tiny little rubber animals that I think she found at yard sales.  The window is covered with another curtain made my Jeremy's Mom.

Hung from the ceiling is a fun zebra print globe that Jeremy's Mom found on clearance somewhere for $1 also.  We are so grateful for all of her help and great finds!  We have a fun, functional nursery for Noah that was set up with hardly any expense.

Shannon

35 weeks

Jeremy played photographer for me today, so we could get a little more of me than normal into the belly shots for this week.

Here's what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.Your uterus — which was entirely tucked away inside your pelvis when you conceived — now reaches up under your rib cage. If you could peek inside your womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. Your ballooning uterus is crowding your other internal organs, too, which is why you probably have to urinate more often and may be dealing with heartburn and other gastrointestinal distress. If you're not grappling with these annoyances, you're one of the lucky few. From here on out, you'll start seeing your practitioner every week.

As for me, I'm doing good, especially considering how pregnant I am.  I have been super fortunate to have an easy pregnancy.  I can hardly remember the nausea from the first 13 weeks anymore, and everything is going so well that I shouldn't be scared to do this all again... assuming that I am able to endure labor and delivery.  I'm still sleeping through the night, just with frequent potty breaks.  I feel good overall and am still exercising well.  The little bit of back pain that I was having a few weeks ago has disappeared, and I've maybe had heartburn a total of 3 or 4 times.  The main downside is that I feel as big as a house, and tend to have trouble heaving myself to roll over in bed, or to get out of bed.  Bending over and doing tasks like securing strappy sandals is getting continually more difficult, but my hubby has been wonderfully helpful.  One night this week I hopped out of bed at 3 am screaming in pain from a calf cramp and I think I startled Jeremy into thinking that labor was starting... I guess pregnant women my size shouldn't suprisingly scream in pain without expecting people around to get nervous!

Now that my baby showers are over we are mostly ready for Noah's arrival.  I still have a little bit of straightening, washing, and purchasing to do, but we are almost there.  By the end of this weekend I'm hoping to have purchased the final necessities, have done the remaining baby linen and clothing laundry, and be pretty much ready.  This past weekend I packed the diaper bag and hospital bag so they are both ready to go.  We still have to figure out some car seat drama with one of our cars (apparently the car is older and isn't set up for car seats the way that newer cars are), but hopefully that will be resolved soon.  This weekend I'm also hoping to get a Sam's Club shopping trip in and do a little freezer cooking to have a few meals stockpiled in our freezer for the post-delivery days.  Everything is coming together nicely.

Shannon

 



baby shower #2

today some ladies from church threw me baby shower #2.  i didn't bring my camera to this one, but a friend took some pictures, so maybe i can "borrow" a few to fill in here.

everything was lovely!  i felt super loved and blessed to be surrounded by friends, enjoy conversation, and be spoiled with some more baby goodies for noah.

i'm super fortunate to have several experienced mothers in our congregation whom i will be able to ask all of my new parenting questions to as they arise.

now i have almost everything that i "need" for noah, and just have a few more things that i'm going to  pick up with some gift cards that we received.  then just a little more nesting and washing and we'll be all set.

my how this 8 months has flown by!  it blows my mind to know that we'll be holding our baby boy within roughly a month!

shannon

Buffalo Joe's

Oh how I love lazy Saturdays!  I got to sleep in today, it was glorious!  That alone makes today a great day!  Jeremy and I enjoyed a trip to the gym together, then I enjoyed a nice walk outside before I decided to whip us up a hearty linner before Saturday evening church (our church just started a Saturday evening service and we've really been enjoying going Saturday evenings and having our Sunday mornings to sleep in and relax rather than rushing out the door).  I made a much more simple version of of Rachael Ray's Buffalo Sloppy Joe's.  I had a bottle of wing sauce on hand that needed to be used up, so I just substituted that for the sauce in her recipe, added some diced green pepper, and doubled the carrots for her recipe.  Served on a whole wheat bun, this tangy, salty, spicy sandwich was dream food for this meat loving pregnant lady!

Shannon

anniversary gift

my hubby made me this awesome gift for our anniversary.  today he finally finished the last few details and even got it hung up on the wall.  i love it!!!!

shannon

34 weeks

(I know... I skipped a 33 week picture last week.  I wasn't in a picture taking mood, but we did have some photos taken by a friend, so I'll have a shot to fill in soon)

Here's what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.  By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.

 

As for me; I'm feeling pretty good overall, just a little more uncomfortable, huge, and tired each week, but nothing bad to speak of.  In all, my pregnancy has been very easy and I am very happy with it.  Now if labor and delivery will just go as smoothly as this 9 months.  I'm still eating most of the same foods, but particularly craving sushi, sausage, fruit, veggies, and anything cheesy.  I'm still exercising by riding a stationary bike or walking a couple days each week, but I tend to get cramps from time to time while doing so.  I've had a few nights where I haven't been able to sleep, but for the most part I tend to sleep well at night, and still be a little extra tired during the day... if I wasn't working I would definitely be taking some naps.  As of now I'm planning on working until mid-October.  My due date is Oct. 24 and from the looks of everything so far the doctor says that I'm measuring on schedule, and that she doesn't think Noah will be too big of a baby... maybe around 7 lbs.

 

Now that my first baby shower is passed I have done some more nesting.  I've got all of Noah's clothes washed and put away in his drawers, his sheets washed and on the crib, and some decorations hung up around his room.  After my shower next week I hope to get quickly organized and maybe post a few pics of his nursery to share.

 

Shannon

Baby Shower #1

Today was my first baby shower.  Jeremy's Mom and a friend of mine, Michelle, co-hosted the event.  It was a great time filled with fellowship with friends, great food, shower games, baby chat, and of course presents for Noah.  Some ladies from church are throwing me another shower next Sunday, then I can finish my nesting and just eagerly await the birth of our baby boy!

Shannon

Curried Veggie Dip

Curried Veggie Dip

Serve this with your favorite assortment of fresh veggies.  I really love the combination of this dip with red bell pepper or cauliflower.

-1 cup light mayo
-1 cup light sour cream
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 tsp salt
-4 tsp tarragon vinegar (or white vinegar if you can't find tarragon)
-4 tsp curry powder
-2 tsp horseradish
-3 tsp sugar
-a few dashes of hot sauce

Whisk together all ingredients.  Chill 2 hours (or overnight) prior to serving.

Shannon

What if?...

Recently my friend Kim linked to a post on Donald Miller's blog encouraging readers to ask them self "What if?..." questions with their lives.  Donald wrote;

What if you asked yourself a series of these questions? What if you got out a yellow pad and wrote down a few story turns that you could engage? What if you ran a marathon? What if you renewed your marriage vows? What if you quit your job? What if you brought home a puppy today? What if you and your family adopted a child?

I really loved this thought process, and have taken some time to reflect, although I don't think that I'm nearly done with that process yet.  Here are my "what if's" so far...

• What if I watched less TV and spent more time in prayer, journaling, listening to God and reading His Word?
• What if I gave more?  More of my time.  More of my resources.
• What if I used all of my words to encourage others (Ephesians 4:29), rather than wasting so many?
• What if I didn't sweat the small stuff?
• What if I really loved my neighbor in action and in truth?
• What if I lived each day like Jesus was coming back tomorrow?
• What if I really took the time to tell others how much I appreciate them?
• What if I slowed down, had less commitments?
• What if I obeyed the Spirit every time He prompted me?
• What if I got rid of all the things that I don't need and really decluttered and lived more simply?
• What if I did at least one act of kindness for someone a day?
• What if I really served others out of love, rather than duty and/ or people pleasing?
• What if I really listened to others?
• What if I saw all people the way that God sees them?

What are some of your "what if" questions?

Shannon