A Nursery in the Making

Kevin started painting Baby Bun's room today! The first coat went on today and hopefully he'll get the other coat on tomorrow night. Once that's all done then I can go in and sweep and mop the floor and we can get the crib put together and move Zach's dresser/changing table in there. THEN I'll feel much more relaxed and less anxious about us not being ready for the impending birth. This nesting thing is driving me a little crazy. I think it's also that there is so much that I personally can't do -- I'm not allowed to paint, I obviously can't lift anything, and I'm also not very "handy". So I rely on Kevin to do all this for me and of course I want it done like yesterday when he's much more realistic and assures me that we'll be fine. And of course we are. But the nesting thing kicks in and makes me anxious anyway.

I've been cleaning up old Zachary baby toys and other items and still need to rewash baby clothes (which are in the basement -- again, I can't lift the boxes), but will get to that this week or weekend, after the dresser is moved. Zach is getting a new dresser and nightstand for his big boy room so hopefully he doesn't get too upset about his current dresser being relocated to the tiki room (we may call it that forever, despite it being de-tikified). They're arriving on Friday as is Em -- home for spring break! So we have a busy week and weekend ahead of us again, but fortunately for me, this time my busy-ness is baby prep related rather than work related. Things are quieting down for me at work now, which is just in time because I am getting seriously burnt out with the long hours and travel this past month.

A Little Sprinkle

Last weekend my girlfriend Nancy threw me a "baby sprinkle" (aka mini baby shower) in New Jersey! I was initially very hesitant to say yes to this because I just had a baby shower 3 years ago and it's the same sex baby. But she insisted, said it would be small, an opportunity to see friends -- and how could I resist getting together with girlfriends? So of course I said yes. And of course it turned into something bigger than a sprinkle and we got many wonderful gifts!

Since the shower was in NJ, we invited friends from NJ, NY, PA, and one lone friend from MA -- who came! There were 9 of us at the restaurant, we had a private room, and a lot of fun. It was so nice to see my girlfriends, most of whom I've seen at least once in the past year, but never for long enough and certainly never often enough. I think everybody knew at least one other person which was nice, and actually it turned out that a good chunk of the girls were friends of mine from college and on the crew team with me. We got many many cute and wonderful gifts, and a lot of people picked up somehow on our monkey nursery theme and the gifts reflected that. I never thought ahead to how to get the gifts home, but my wonderful Massachusetts friend offered to drive them back with her which was such a lifesaver! Plus it's a wonderful reason for us to get together again for lunch.

Baby Bun at 33 weeks

This has been one busy week! I started the week in New York, was home for 3 days and then ended the week in New York again -- in a blizzard. In between I managed to have an ultrasound on Tuesday and a regular doctor's check up on Thursday. At the ultrasound the very wonderful ultrasound lady (I don't know what their official title is) turned on the 3D scan thing again and took lots of photos of Baby Bun for us! I'll spare you the photos of the random hands and legs (which Kevin and I think are really cool, but because of the way the technology works, at times it looks like a disembodied hand or chopped off leg), and will just include this one of Mr.Handsome. He's got his right hand up near his forehead and the umbilical cord just below his lips (I think it looks like he's playing the flute). It is amazing how we can see what our baby looks like now! She also said when she was looking at the top of his head that he has hair, which I am super excited about. I knew he would -- the question is, what color is it? I have two blondies -- will this one have dark hair? For some reason, I think no.

Baby Bun is still measuring about 2 weeks ahead of schedule and now weighs in at 5 pounds, 10 ounces. Big boy! He is still giving me super strong kicks and I half joke that I expect him to kick through the uterine wall and emerge like the alien in "Alien" (through my stomach, for those of you who don't know the scene). The doctor did say that I shouldn't expect him to be bigger than 9 pounds at birth though, which does sound very large to me, but not so large considering other friends (and my sister) who have given birth to large babies and didn't have gestational diabetes. I haven't gained a ton of weight (17 pounds as of Thursday) so even if I gain a pound a week going forward, I'll still end at a good place. But the doctor did again emphasize the importance of the diabetes diet to me so that the baby doesn't come out hypoglycemic or have other problems.

On Thursday I saw my regular obstetrician and we are now doing more than just the weight, blood pressure, belly measurement and heartbeat check that we've been doing for months. She tested me for the strep b culture (guess I'll find out results next week?) and we had a non-stress test. I'll now go back every week to see her and will have non-stress tests each time. They basically just strap on a fetal heart monitor and a contraction monitor to my belly and give me a button to push every time the baby moves. We leave it on for 20 minutes and they just want to see consistency and no contractions. Baby Bun did lots of kicking during this time. My little show off. Oh, and another good thing is that I'm not dilated at all so hopefully that means Bun will stay inside to develop for a bit longer -- like 7 more weeks. Dr. L said that she wants me to go to term, but will schedule an inducement for right around my due date if he doesn't come early. She doesn't want to do it a week earlier like the doctor in the hospital suggested.

So that's it for our 33 week check up! Hope you like the photo -- not sure how great the quality of this is, but once he comes out we will send much better quality photos, or you can come visit to see him in person!

Random Babblings From a Pregnant Woman

Lots of news! But most of it just day to day tidbits that I think are interesting but maybe you don't. But isn't the point of a blog to be able to just blather on and chat about my funny little things that amuse me in life? That's how I'm going to think of this. I don't always have big ticket items to report. :)

Anyway, those of you who know me and what I do for work know that this is a busy time of year for me. It's the fall and the spring (I know, it's winter, but in the recruiting world, we call this the spring) when I work long hours and do a bit of travel. It's funny because I work with consultants who work insane hours -- like 90 hours a week can be normal for them, yet when I hit 60 a few times a year I get all pitiful, cranky and tired. I really can't imagine that life though. What is the point? Work hard to make money to not enjoy yourself because all you do is work? Ugh. I'd rather be penniless and joyful. Well, I'd rather be rich and joyful but not for that price. Anyway, my travel is also not bad especially since it's for a limited timeframe. I've been traveling to NYC every week for the past few weeks which is not bad -- and I love New York! You can tell I'm getting old and my lifestyle has changed because just a few years ago I wold always have dinner with girlfriends and go out and sometimes spend the whole weekend when I was here for work. Now I work late in the office, go to my hotel room and order room service. And work some more. But really I'd rather just get stuff done now while I can so my days in the office don't continue to be crazy. Fortunately, the end of this craziness is in sight -- one more week and then things will calm down dramatically for me! And no more trips after next Friday. Yay!

So also very recently, and I do have photographic evidence although it's still on my camera and not downloaded (uploaded? I can't seem to remember which it is), my fabulous mother-in-law came to visit for the weekend! I say fabulous because she really is. If I had met her without even knowing Kevin I would want to be her friend. She's just cool and fun and amazing. I'm very lucky and blessed to actually now be related to her! Anyway, enough gushing. So Sandy came to visit and of course doesn't come empty handed. She brought Valentine's gifts for Zachary and an absolutely stunning quilt for his bedroom. This will have to be a new post with photos because the quilt is amazing! It's blue and it has a pirate ship on it and the quilting has stars and waves. It's based on a Pottery Barn quilt, but Sandy did the work all herself. I feel so guilty -- she surely put more time, energy, and money into making this quilt herself than if I had just gone to the store and bought the one there. But the quilt is filled with love and we will treasure it. I wish I had an ounce of the creativity that Sandy has. She is very gifted! She also made Zach a brand new blankie, this one more mature with a pirate theme and a red backing, and it's bigger, because Z is bigger. Zach does sleep with it, but he's a one-man blankie man. He won't relinquish that baby blue blankie that Grammy made for him before he was born. He loves that thing as if it was his best friend so that is the one he still drags around the house, to daycare, to the store, and everywhere. I secretly like that he loves his blankie and really have no desire to push him to stop loving it and sleeping with it. I think there are worse vices in the world than having a blankie.

So I did have some drama last week on the way home from one of my business trips. I'll spare you the details as those of you who talk to me regularly know what happened, but essentially I slipped in the airport (Boston) and fell on my belly. This would be funny except that I'm 8 months pregnant. I mostly took the fall in my arm and knee but I called the doctor anyway to be safe and of course she made me go to the hospital to be checked out. I was admitted and observed for about 3 hours with a fetal heart monitor and external baby monitor that checked for contractions and baby kicking. Everything was fine and Baby Bun provided lots of kicks, my bloodwork came back fine, and I didn't go into labor or lose any fluids. They sent me home and I've been fine ever since. My arm is still hurting, but much much better now. I have an ultrasound (pre-scheduled) on Tuesday (at the same hospital) so I'll mention this fall to them so they do an extra good look at Baby Bun and make sure nothing got squished. Seriously though, I think I was on my tummy for a second and that was after I fell hard on my arm. It was scary though to think that I could have hurt my little baby bun! I'm so incredibly relieved that he's okay.

Right now I'm in New York again, and had my usual boring evening of work and room service. I did decide to take a bath to relax (it actually rejuvenated me which is why I decided to write) which was a nice change. I haven't had a bath in ages! Things I learned: 1) no matter how full I make the tub, the water will not cover my belly, 2) I really like baths, 3) baths get cold too quickly. Does an electric tub exist? You know, where the tub itself stays warm, like a heated pool or a .....hot tub? But without the super hot potentially germ-ridden water. I would just like to stay in the tub for more than 10 minutes without the water getting chilly. My water was plenty hot but then I worried about cooking the baby so I added a bunch of cold water. He was cute -- I would lay perfectly still and he would kick and the water would vibrate, like when a rain drop falls into a puddle. I was pretty amused. He's quite the entertainment for me these days though. I can literally sit and not move for 5 minutes and I'll see him kick and jump around right through my clothes. I really think he is going to be a super active kid. I'm hoping he does actually do some sleeping and that he just kicks in his sleep too. Em and Zach certainly were not this active, not to mention starting so early! I think this might be half of my sleep problems -- he kicks me awake!

This weekend I'm spending at my friend Nancy's in New Jersey. She has insisted on throwing me a "sprinkle" for Baby Bun. This is a mini-baby shower. At first I was like no way, I just had a shower 3 years ago, it's the same sex, etc. But she insisted and I liked the idea of getting together with my girlfriends, and I have several friends in the NY/NJ/PA area that could come. So we're doing it! We're having brunch on Saturday and I'm so excited to see my friends! This will be the longest I've been away from Zach though which will be hard. I left Wednesday night to come to New York and have to work on Monday in the NYC office so won't be home until Monday night. Fortunately Zach has the best daddy in the world and they will have fun and play all weekend. I know he's in good hands, but I will still miss them like crazy.

I'm 32 weeks pregnant today. Have I mentioned that? My belly is ridiculously big. I'll have to post another picture soon. It's kind of ridiculously funny looking. Ridiculous is a funny word.

Playdate

Aunt Liz and Nicholas came over for a playdate and dinner on Sunday! It was so good to see them and to get the boys together to play. These times are few and far between, but very precious. The boys are finally, at 1 1/2 and 2 1/2, old enough to actually play together. We did a lot of Chase, choo choos, and playing with basketballs (basically any ball that will fit through the hoop). It took Nicholas and Zachary a little while to warm up to each other, but then they started having a great time. At one point I said to Liz that this is what I've been waiting for since we first became friends -- for us to have kids the same age and to play together. I feel so blessed to have such a good friend who is not only my son's godmother, but who has a son who is becoming my son's friend as well.

Baby Bun at 29.5 weeks

Today was another ultrasound, and yet another look at our Baby Bun. I was anxious to see how big he has gotten since a month ago he was measuring about a week bigger than he should be. Given that my sugar levels are not so great these days (and gestational diabetes has a tendency to make bigger babies) I was not overly surprised to find out that Baby Bun is still measuring big. He's now 2 weeks bigger (or earlier) than I should be! While I'm 29 weeks, 4 days pregnant (they get very techie here), I'm measuring 31 weeks, 6 days. They haven't officially told me this yet, but the adjusted estimated due date is now March 30th. I saw this on the ultrasound screen.

Things look good otherwise and he's proportional -- so not a fat baby, but one with big bones. Hmm, yes, that means a big head too and NOT something I'm looking forward to. Baby Bun is measuring at 4 pounds, 4 ounces right now and I still have 10 weeks to go?! Yikes, I'm going to have to have that epidural plugged in as soon as I get to the hospital, I think. They did ask if I'd had a caesarean before this to which I told them no, and I got the "ahh, you might need one this time" kind of look. Ugh. I really hope it doesn't come to that. Let's hope that the glyburide slows down this rapid growth.

The only picture they gave us was of Bun's cute little hand. I think it kind of looks like a foot, but Kevin said it's just that he has his fist clenched. Maybe he's ready to do fist bumps with Zach already.

Baby Bun is also still breech, but they said that's okay up until the 38th week -- and then he'll either flip on his own or they might have to help him. Apparently I have plenty of amniotic fluid (another side effect of GD), so that is good and helpful in getting him to do his somersault.

My next regular doctor's appointment is on Friday morning and then I go every 2 weeks after that. My next ultrasound is in 3 weeks to keep updated on growth, so we're in the home stretch. Now we just need to get the baby's room primed, painted, decorated, and all his clothes washed and we'll be okay. I'm a little stressed -- definitely nesting! But I think we might not have to worry too much about the newborn sizes this time around!