Now we wait....

    We are 38 weeks and everything seems ready for Baby Taylor to come.  Hospital registration has been sent, nursery is finished, essentials are bought, bags are packed, food is made and frozen, house is clean....now we wait.  I bet, because I have all that stuff done, that we will wait for another 3 weeks :-)  I am now going to make a fun to-do list with all kinds of books I want to read (not baby-related) and things I want to do to keep me busy and my mind off of having this baby.

  Last Thursday after our ultrasound I wasn't feeling great and since then developed a severe ear and sinus infection.  I tried fighting it as best as I could, but getting only about an hour of sleep for a few nights in a row wore me down even more and I wasn't able to get over it.  I went to the doctor and they were able to give me some meds to help.  I feel better; still not 100% but I definitely have more energy.  The thought of going into labor while feeling so sick was scary!

     We have had a busy week with the holidays!  We had a great time with family this past week and are so excited about next year and having an "almost-one-year-old" to share the holiday with :-)  It will be so different than this year!

   I have been trying to schedule in as much time with family and friends this week before Baby Taylor comes. I had breakfast with my cousin Chelsea at my grandma's yesterday, where Grandma made us some yummy pancakes! I then met Shelby for lunch, and it is always so much fun catching up with her! We always seem to pick up right where we left off!  Today I am headed up to Ames to meet Lizz and hopefully see her baby bump!  Kevin and Greta are back in town so we will plan to meet up with them later today!  I still have so many of you that I want to sit down and catch up with before Baby Taylor comes :-)

   Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!


How far along: 38 weeks
Sleep: Well with my sinus/ear infection I didn't really sleep at all!
Best Moment this week: Christmas!
Miss Anything: Nothing that I can think of this week!
Movement: Like crazy!
Food Cravings: Nope-Christmas dinner was satisfying :-)
Gender:  I'm hanging out in the boy camp now :-)  Doug has had two dreams that it is a boy -I haven't had any!
Labor Signs: Just some Braxton-hicks here and there.  Nothing to get concerned about!
Symptoms: All kinds of them ....
Wedding Rind on or off?:  Off
Belly Button in or out: Well it isn't out, but it isn't really in either
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Baby Taylor coming!

38 weeks

Belly on Christmas

Carly Moe (38 weeks)

Carly Moe loves hanging out with Mama over Christmas break

Last Christmas as a family of three  (yes Carly Moe counts as a member of the family)

One of our awesome Christmas presents!

Full Term & Another Ultrasound

         Thirty-seven weeks, full-term, could-go-any-day; where did the time go??  I swear I was just typing about being tired (well I'm still tired) and morning sickness (or all-day sickness).  At my 36-week appointment our midwife said that I/baby continued measuring big and so she ordered an ultrasound to just check on baby and fluid levels.  I was at 36 weeks and was measuring 38 weeks.

        We had our ultrasound yesterday and got to see a very plump, filled-out baby, much different than the tiny, skinny, skeleton-looking baby at week 20.  We saw Baby sucking, holding on to his/her feet, and moving all around.  The ultrasound tech said our baby has an average sized head and legs, but has a big belly :-)  She also said she could see a double chin.  Guess Baby Taylor will look more like Doug did when he was a baby.  

       We got some cute pictures of Baby Taylor's face, but it put tears in my eyes, because now all I want to do is see his/her face for real! I can't stop picturing it and wanting to see it more clearly!  Everything else looks good from the ultrasound and by ultrasound Baby is only measuring about a week big. She estimated he/she was about 7 pounds.  

      Now we wait:  it could be tomorrow it could be a month from now.  Only Baby gets to decide (which is really hard for this mama).  

      We have hired a Doula Collective: they have 3 doulas that work together on an on-call basis so that way someone is always available. You meet with each one so that you are familiar with them all. We met with our third doula this week.  She was great and offered some great suggestions for laboring at home for a while to decrease our time at the hospital (where interventions would be offered).  One of the nice things about these doulas is that they will come to your house and help you labor at home. It will be a nice reassurance to know we are doing things correctly :-)  

   I have an amazing class of students this year.  They planned a surprise baby shower for me yesterday where they gave me the stroller we had registered for.  I was shocked: first about the surprise, because I literally had no idea, and second about the gift! Wow!  Earlier in the week my Dad, De, and the girls gave us our Christmas presents a little early which included an extra car seat base and stroller.  We will have to return one of the strollers, but will definitely use the money for all the baby essentials that we need (or don't even know we need yet).  

     I think that I would really like to wait until January to have this baby, for lots of reasons, but I also just can't wait to meet him/her.  I want to see who he/she looks like and if he/she really does have a double chin :-)  Over Winter Break I plan to finish up my Baby-To-Do list and sit and wait for Baby to come.  Updates to come......

    We were able to celebrate on Christmas so far with my step-mom's side of the family! We will do a small Christmas brunch with my Dad, De, and my sisters this weekend and then next week fill in all the rest :-)  Doug scored another goal in hockey last week and made a few great plays; he is getting too good :-)

Merry Christmas everyone-we hope that you can spend your holiday with all those that you love!

How far along: 37 weeks
Sleep: I haven't been feeling great the last couple of days (I'm starting to get a cold) so that makes sleep, which didn't come easy before, even more difficult.
Best Moment this week: Seeing our baby's face on an ultrasound picture and knowing everything is going just fine in there!
Miss Anything: Being able to move, especially at night.  I am so exhausted by the time I get home, just getting up is hard to do :-)  Not sure how anyone has a second kid because being this exhausted and having to chase a toddler around sounds impossible!
Movement: Yes even though he/she is running out of room!
Food Cravings: Nothing this week!
Gender:  I have switched to boy now.  I thought the ultrasound picture of Baby's face looked like a boy :-) Who knows?!
Labor Signs: I'm pretty sure I have been having a few Braxton-Hicks contractions, but since I haven't ever done this before I am not really sure.
Symptoms: Oh there are too many to list ...
Wedding Rind on or off?:  Off
Belly Button in or out: In -but I don't have much time left before I get an "outie"
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and so anxious!
Looking forward to: Christmas!

This is a picture of Baby Taylor's face! Isn't it just the cutest thing ever!

This one is hard to see, but Baby Taylor's hand is holding onto one of his/her feet!

Nursery is Done...all except for the baby!

    We have put all the finishing touches on the nursery and it is finally completed! All we need now, is the baby.  We certainly don't want to meet our little one yet, but we are getting closer and closer to that time.  I knew before even getting pregnant that I wanted to do a Dr. Seuss theme for the nursery, but didn't want the traditional red, white, and blue Cat in the Hat decor.

    After finding the furniture we liked I enlisted help from Casady (Doug's Cousin-she is awesome) to help me find some fabrics that would look good.  She is amazing and really helped steer my visions into reality!  I ended up ordering the fabrics online and making the bedding, curtains, and pillows myself, because I couldn't find anything in stores that I liked.  It took many hours of thinking, visualizing, cutting, ironing, and sewing, but it all came together and I couldn't be happier with it.

    We then had to find the final decorations and again Casady came through for me by printing the Dr. Seuss sayings and putting them in frames for me!  Doug had the last saying printed by Kness Signs and we hung it up this week.

    Everything really fell into place with the nursery and we just love it.  Sometimes I will just stand in the doorway, stare at the room, and try to picture what our lives are going to be like in just a few short weeks.  I can't ever seem to picture it :-)

    I am sure in a few years our new little one will want something completely different for his/ her room, maybe Dora, Thomas the Train, or the next latest Disney character, but for now the thought of having Dr. Seuss surrounding our little one is perfect! It takes me back to my childhood when my mom and dad would read to me each night before bed and Dr. Seuss was always a favorite (even though his books are really long and I think both my mom and dad skipped pages).

    It is crazy to think that we are at week 36 this week.  Only a few more to go. I have had people tell me that I look like I have "dropped," that I look "done," and that I could have this baby "today."  Everyone has an opinion I guess :-)  I am still feeling really good, although a few more "third trimester symptoms" have blessed me with their presence.  I am more tired and having trouble sleeping much more than a few hours at a time, which is all just cruel practice to get me ready for a newborn, I am sure!  I have experienced some heartburn lately (can you overdose on Tums?!), but other than that I really feel great.

   I will have to say that this baby is going to run out of room very soon. There are times he/she will kick and it feels like it's in my back, throat, or ribs.  Supposedly (according to BabyCenter.com) he/she is over 18 1/2 inches long and weighs close to 6 pounds.  I have my next appointment on Tuesday, where I will do my Group B strep test and make sure everything looks/sounds good for the coming weeks.

    I am always so busy writing about myself and the new baby that I forget to update you on anything else.  Not that much is new besides getting ready for the new baby :-)  Holidays are just around the corner, we have our first of many Christmases tomorrow with my step-mom's side of the family.  We are excited to spend Christmas Eve with Doug's side and then Christmas day with my mom's side. Doug has been busy with working, helping me run errands and get ready for the baby, and his weekly hockey game.  He scored his first goal two weeks ago and it was pretty cool!  He was really excited and I was glad I was there to see it!  He has team pictures and a game tomorrow afternoon as well.



How far along: 36 weeks
Sleep: I sleep for a few hours and then wake up to go to the bathroom. I lay awake for 1/2 hour-hour at a few different points during the night.  Again just cruel practice for the newborn coming!
Best Moment this week: My mom had her 6 month check up and remains cancer free.  With Christmas coming up, what better gift could I ask for!?  Now she is down to yearly check-ups! Way to go Mom (Grandma).
Miss Anything: Anything that involves bending over-it is really hard to pick things up and I swear I drop things more often now than ever before!
Movement: It's coming from every direction now!
Food Cravings: Woody's Smoke Shack (craving satisfied-it was yummy) and some hot chocolate (I plan on getting some tonight while we drive around to look at Christmas lights)
Gender:  It's funny because this week alone I had 4 people tell me they think it's a boy.  Doug has now confidently switched to the "girl" camp, but I am still sitting in no-man's-land right in the middle going back and forth depending on the day.
Labor Signs: nothing so far
Symptoms: heartburn, not sleeping, a giant belly, it's pretty hard to miss the fact that I am pregnant :-)
Wedding Rind on or off?:  Off for now.  I can still slip on my ring if I have to, but I would say from here on out I will probably just wear my cheap Pandora ring :-)
Belly Button in or out: In -but I don't have much time left before I get an "outie"
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy- I am so excited for what's coming and really trying to enjoy every minute of this pregnancy. I have a feeling I am going to miss being pregnant and feeling the baby move inside of me!
Looking forward to: Christmas!

This is the bassinet the baby will sleep in for a while in our room .

This is the nursery (it's a little dark sorry

Our glider with the home-made pillows and baby's new stuffed elephant

The little bench seat with some of baby's soon-to-be favorite books.

Crib with saying and elephant above it

Look at all that amazing bedding :-)

Saying and Elephant above the crib.  A person's a person no matter how small. -Dr. Seuss

Dresser with sayings above it (the "S" in the orange picture frame stands for "skeeterbug" which is Aunt Sherrie's nickname for the new baby.  It has nothing to do with the baby's real name, girl or boy)

Perfect gray and white lamp

Sayings above the dresser (thanks Casady).  "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is youer than you."  "You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose." -Dr. Seuss

35 weeks

36 weeks