Full Term Baby

On Tuesday we hit the ever exciting 37 week mark. At 37 weeks, the baby is considered full term and would mean that if the baby arrived now she would have her lungs fully developed and would be able to survive outside of the womb. The actual due date is still 2 1/2 weeks away, but we could have her any time. Only she knows her birthday. Will we have a Halloween baby? Halloween is my very favorite holiday, and she would share the birthday with my Grandma, too! No I won't be drinking any castor oil, but I'll keep eating spicy food and have Luke rub my ankles to see if that sets anything into motion. Maybe eating a bag of Halloween candy and a soak in a warm bath could do it.... We'll see, I guess we just have to wait until she's ready!

On Second Thought...

Dear Grace,

I'm not ready. 

After giving it some more thought, I'm going to need some more time. You are really easy to look after right now and I like this "hands-free" situation. Your Dad and I need to line up a few more details before your birthday. So, please... if possible we'd appreciate if you'd hang out a few more weeks. 

Thanks! Love,

Mom

Any Time Now...

      We're at 36 1/2 weeks! My due date is just within sight now at 3 1/2 weeks away. A baby is considered "full-term" when they reach 37 weeks, so therefore, this baby will be done building at any point from here on out. WOW! When will she make her grand appearance? I could have this baby early due to family history, but my wise cousin Shiloh warned me of this. She was also expecting an earlier due date for the same reason but her son wasn't ready to come out until just three days before the due date. She told me it makes for an even longer wait if you're expecting sooner. 

    I CAN'T HELP IT! Luke and I still think she'll be a little early. We have both had so many weird dreams of me delivering (or in some case just taking the baby out) too soon. In several dreams, the baby comes out and is bouncing and dancing around and we have to chase her to put her back so we don't get in trouble. It's pretty funny to discuss the next day. 

    We still haven't decided on a middle name, in fact we haven't really talked much about it. We also still need to complete is hanging decorations in her room, writing some more Thank You Cards (SORRY if you haven't got one yet!!!!), and making curtains (almost done). I wonder what zombie-like nesting activity I will do, if any. I've heard some pretty crazy stories of women about to start labor who are cleaning out gutters, organizing closets, dusting the back of light switch plates and laying kitchen tile. Maybe I'll try to be more productive and make Grace a birthday cake or something. We'll see.

    This waiting game is crazy, I hate not knowing! I have my doctors appointments every week now, and time is going by quickly. Sleeping has become more challenging and my heartburn rarely quits. I'm holding up fine, but I can see that everything will just become more uncomfortable with each passing week as she continues to grow. I now weigh over 200 pounds, which I find hilarious! Is it possible to have a 30 pound baby in there? I doubt it.   :)

   A message to Grace... we're ready when ever you are! 

Grace Throws Mom a Birthday Party

     For my birthday, Luke, Robby and I went to a concert at the Bluebird Theater in Denver. Luke and I came down a little before the show and had dinner with Mom, Brent and Grandma then went to pick up Robby. When we got to the venue, the show was running about an hour behind so we went to the pub across the street to enjoy some cheap beers (or in my case, a German N.A. and water). Sitting in our booth I keep feeling this odd tightening of my abdomen. It would get hard as a rock, then within the minute loosen up again. Must be the baby moving around.... let's go to the concert. During the show I notice the tightening has become more frequent, almost rhythmic. About every 5 to 10 minutes I get the sensation, but without any discomfort. THIS can't be labor contractions?! It doesn't even hurt. Luke bets that I'm having those Braxton Hicks contractions we've read about. We enjoyed the show and went back to Robby's house to spend the night. 

    As I lay down to try and sleep, I grew increasingly concerned about this whole contraction business. My mind is playing through all types of scenarios. What if I'm actually in early labor? Here I am in Aurora, an hour away from my doctor and hospital of choice. Luke and Robby have both had too many beers to drive us back to Fort Collins. I seriously considered grabbing Luke and just driving us back to our home base. Or, maybe a better idea would be to call Mom and have her drive us back. I know she'd choke me if she found out I drove in labor when she was able to take us.  It's Sunday night at 2:30 a.m. It's now officially my birthday and I'm going into freakin' labor at my friends house! This is NOT how I imagined it. I don't want to spend my birthday in the hospital; this baby isn't finished being built yet!! But, this all seems too easy though. Maybe I'm wonder-woman. These contractions are super easy. SO, this CAN'T be true labor. 

    I went downstairs to find Luke who hadn't come to bed yet. Sure enough he had fallen asleep on the couch (no surprise since he'd gotten up for work at 4:30 that morning). I went and found Robby and we looked up online the symptoms I was having to try to answer my questions. I read more about Braxton Hicks, false labor and true labor. I fit into some of each category,  so my Midwife (Robby) suggested I call my doctor (DUH!). 

    I called the maternity nurse hotline my insurance company provides and spoke with a nurse who asked lots of questions. How long had these contractions been going along? How long were they lasting? How far apart were they? When was the last time I had any water to drink? She suggested chugging several glasses of water and laying down. Also, she told me to call my doctors' office to speak to the doctor on-call. If I didn't hear back in 20 minutes, call again and go to the hospital. Go to the hospital?! Oh *&#%! I want MY HOSPITAL in safe and lovely Fort Collins. The on-call doc called me right back and was pretty certain I wasn't in labor and to lay down for some rest. If I couldn't sleep, or the feelings became more intense, then I was to go into the hospital. 

     How could I sleep now? Well, with the help of a backrub and calming voice of my husband (plus the fact that it was 3:30 a.m) I managed to doze off. 

     We woke with the sunrise. No baby and no more contractions. Luke took me to my favorite place for breakfast and we headed back home for a lazy day in bed. We put on our sweatpants and watched a movie, took a four hour nap and laughed about how Grace was just having a party in my belly for my birthday. *Sigh*.... maybe next time she won't be crying wolf. 

Testing..1,2,3...testing

 

Luke just has to try out everything before the baby arrives. Poor Emo is his test baby. The diaper changing is a riot!

Well, it's October now and we're into the home stretch (stretch marks everywhere....).  We're at 33 1/2 weeks. We wonder when the baby will come. Will she make it to 40 weeks? Mom delivered me a month earlier than expected and Brent was two weeks early. Is this an indicator that she might be here sooner? Luke and I are guessing the beginning of November, but I'm not going to make any real "plans" after the middle of this month to be on the safe side. My belly is getting bigger all the time and the movements I feel are even stronger then I imagined they'd be. I'm supposed to gain about a pound per week from here on out, but I wonder where all that weight will go. Let's cross our fingers it doesn't end up in my face! 

Luke and I have been taking a childbirth prep class these last few weeks and loving every minute of it. We realized that we've never taken a class together besides a weight lifting class in college. We're like two middle school kids giggling and making inappropriate comments to each other during the class. I'm surprised the instructor hasn't had to separate us for disrupting the class! You can imagine the chuckles that come from us when we watch the labor and delivery videos. This Tuesday is the breast-feeding class.....oh nelly! (On that note, we got an electric breast pump the other day. I told Luke that "No, you cannot test that item out before the baby comes! Don't even think about it!")

"I wanna Rock....ROCK!"

I totally washed all of the 0-6 month clothes today!  Also washed the blankets, puke clothes, bedding, burp clothes, and anything else that will be pooped on.  Daddy loves gettin' ready for his Grace.  Brenna rearranged the living room and I messed around in the baby room.  She rearranged the baby room last night and it looks really jammin'.  We are ready for that bouncy little girl. She will be here in 4-6 weeks. She is going to rock AND look super cute doing it. Daddy can't wait.  

Baby Grace Fights Foo

The last two nights were incredible! I was able to go to both Foo Fighters shows at beautiful Red Rocks and wow!! I've seen them several times, but I have to say that these were the best shows yet. I am 7 1/2 months pregnant with little baby Grace, so we checked with our doctor to make sure that this level of rockin' out was safe. We got the OK. Oh, but she heard every drum beat and shout! During the shows she was certainly aware and keeping great rhythm!

After the show I was able to go backstage (Thanks to Chip, Christie and Stacie!) and talked to Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl. They were incredibly nice and also let me take a couple pictures with them. Those are goin' in the nursery! Taylor showed me a picture of his newborn baby. I felt so honored. Dave asked me about the pregnancy and at the end of the conversation wished Luke and I luck with the baby. AHHHHHHHH! I can’t wait to tell my daughter someday! I am a VERY happy woman. If you see me " glowing" the next time you see me, chances are it's not just because I'm pregnant. I got to meet two of our favorite rock heroes. I am giddy!!!

You gave me what?!?!?

I can not get over how awesome our friends and family are.  We received so many cool things at our baby shower.  Thank all of you so much.  Not to mention, thanks for the fun time.

Special thanks to Mom and Dawn for the awesome planning, great food and drinks, and the time they put in to the shower.  And SPECIAL thanks to Kelly for all of the above AND having the event at her house.  Great job K-Diz. I liked being a guy at the shower so much, maybe we should have a few of these baby things!!!! Also, went to the doctor today and my little Grace is as healthy as could be, Daddy can't wait!

Fort Collins Baby Shower

28 Weeks Later...

We're at the 7 month mark! Grace is active and you can actually see my belly jiggle when she shifts around. I'm surprised how quickly the pregnancy has gone by, I thought it would feel like forever. I remember worrying that the heat of the summer would just be overwhelming, but it turned out alright since I mostly surrounded myself in air conditioning. Being pregnant is like having a super power...I'm building a human! No wonder I sleep so much lately!  

Currently Luke and I are busy working on the nursery. I am reupholstering a glider chair and ottoman I found on Craigslist for a steal. Next I'll tackle the curtains. Luke's just about done refinishing a changing table I found at a thrift store. He did a fabulous job painting our dresser white. His "honey-do list" is growing each week.

These days are filled with daydreams of playing with our new daughter. What will she look like? When will her birthday come? Our expected due date is November 18th, but I have a feeling she'll be a bit earlier than that.  Our doctor advised us to take child-birthing classes and tour the hospital so we hope to schedule that soon. The hospital is only about 10 minutes from our home and is an amazing facility. The doctor we chose has also been lovely! She's very down to earth and easy to talk to. Luke has been with me for each and every appointment. At each visit we get to hear the baby's heartbeat. I wish we could listen to it for hours. Our next appointment will be September 3.