It Worked

As we get ready for baby Stybs' arrival (in just over 3 weeks! eek!) I've been washing clothes and sheets,  scoping out my registry, and trying not to buy too much baby stuff.

The nursery has been pretty much set up since my shower and Grover has been checking it out and marking his territory ever since. I was pretty surprised that he hadn't been in the pack-n-play- no sign of cat hair or disturbed blanket- and thought he would leave it alone. Until a couple weeks ago. I was asking Adam if he had seen Grover in it and just as he said 'no' I noticed the blanket was askew. Then I looked in and saw the little orange hairs on the bassinet.

So obviously Grover has been smart enough to only go in the pack-n-play when we aren't home. But I didn't really know what to do.

Last weekend my friend Jen suggested putting foil in it. I thought Grover would like the crinkly sound and it would encourage him to play in there, but she said cat's don't like the feel of the foil. What the heck, why not? I lined the pack-n-play with foil that weekend.

I haven't noticed anything since then - no hairs, no paw prints- and thought maybe Grover was over it and wouldn't try to sleep in it again (I mean he has other beds, couches, and chairs to sleep in all over the house).
Then this morning as I'm lying in bed I hear the foil crinkle and then see (and hear) Grover sprint out of the nursery. The foil worked!

Grover flipped out when he jumped in the pack-n-play. Hopefully he won't be back.Thanks for the suggestion Jen!

Baby Shower

I had my baby shower this past Sunday at my mom's house. My sister threw the shower with help from my mom and Adam's mom. It was great, I couldn't have asked for anything more. The food was good, people had a good time, the kids were adorable (Kaelyn thought I was "taking a shower at Grandma's") and everyone was beyond generous with their gifts for the baby. I have a million thank you notes to write and send off.

We had a rubber ducky theme. It all started with my mom's idea to make this ducky cake she saw online. From there we had duck pond punch, duck cupcakes, and duck favors.

It was cute, and thankfully not too overboard.

The most emotional part of the day happened before the shower even started. Adam's mom brought down a special present- a blanket, bonnet, bootie, and sweater set his grandmother knitted.

She passed away last year before we were even thinking of getting pregnant.
Adam cried, his mom cried, I cried.
Some people think we should save it for the baby, for when it grows up, as a memento of his/her great grandmother. Adam says we should use it now. That's what it was made for. What use is it going to have if it is just boxed away? It is a very special gift and we will remember her every time we use it.

But on a lighter note...

There were a lot of presents, and thankfully I had some helpers to open them for me. I didn't realize how tired I would get from sitting and opening presents, but it was exhausting.

It was great seeing friends and family. My friend Annie is due two weeks before me with her third baby. She says she feels huge, but I think she looks great!

And at the end of the day, we finally got everything home and loaded into the nursery. I, of course, had to immediately sort through everything and organize the  clothes and assemble the baby gear.
After about 2 hours, the nursery went from this :

To this:

Adam asked if doing that helped my nesting. My answer: not really. I still have the itch to wash all the clothes and blankets, get more clothes and diapers, get the crib from my sister, install the car seat into the car, and about a million other things. But I am feeling a little more prepared to bring this baby home. Even if  I do have 7 more weeks.

32 weeks

Holy Cow... only 8 weeks to go. The time has flown by.

baby Stybs is actually 4 1/2 lbs!

I went in for my check up yesterday and got a growth sonogram- and a surprise 4D too. I am so thankful my doctor's office is high tech- I lay on the table, with a big 40" tv monitor to watch the ultrasound as the tech does her thing at the computer by the table.  She was able to switch back and forth between the regular sonogram and the 4D. The funniest part was when we were looking at the face on the regular 3D, I saw what looked like a tongue sticking out of baby's mouth a couple times, and switching to 4D we caught it. It is not a pretty picture of the baby but it is so amazing to see the baby acting out and having a little personality in there.

In other news- I was a little worried about my weight this time. Since the check up was only 2 weeks after the last time I was weighed I was scared to see what effect all the ice cream had on me. Last time I gained 2 lbs in 4 weeks, this time it was 2 lbs in 2 weeks. I'm measuring on track and the doctor's haven't said anything, and my mom assures me that  I will gain about a pound a week from here out, so I guess I'm doing alright.

Another reason for excitement- my baby shower is today! I'm excited to see family and friends, and finally feel ready for baby's arrival. I'll definitely post pics later (as long as I can remember to have someone take pics).

And for the updates:
Cravings/Aversions: craving fried food, not liking tomatoes again
Weight: +22 overall
Morning Sickness: all good
Energy: feeling pretty normal, but adding a nap to my daily schedule isn't hurting. Now if only I could get this back pain to stop...

30 Weeks

When did this happen?!

Only 10 more weeks to go, I can't believe it. Time really has flown by. Now my appointments are every 2 weeks, and the best part is that I get another sonogram at my next appointment! I can't wait to see baby Stybs (or as my 3 year old nice calls it "Stubs") again.

My belly is getting bigger daily, and I can tell that I've started waddling. I noticed today that my weight shifts from one side to the other as I take each step.


This month's updates:

Cravings/Aversions: none
Weight: +2 (+20 overall) I was very happy and surprised by this, so I didn't feel guilty at all about drinking a cookies-n-cream milkshake from Chick-fil-a (and it was delicious!)
Morning Sickness: all good
Energy: feeling pretty normal, but adding a nap to my daily schedule isn't hurting.

27 Weeks

I'm in the third trimester... I can't believe it!

On Friday (at 26 1/2 weeks) I had my glucose test. Everyone said it wasn't as bad as it was made out to be, but that orange flavored sugar water was NASTY! I felt so nauseous afterward. I was told I would only hear about the test if I failed it. It has been a week and I haven't heard anything so I guess I passed!

In other baby news, we (I think) have settled on some names. It's hard not knowing the sex, because we have to come up with a boy's and a girl's name. And since we were having the most difficulty agreeing on a girl's name, we're pretty sure that means baby Stybs is a girl. We have decided on Alec William and are testing out Kate Alexandra (to see if we like it).

And now for the gratuitous bump shots:

I can't believe how much it has grown in just 2 weeks!


This month's updates:

Cravings: still hooked on salty and fried foods.
Aversions: The smell of coffee will still get to me, but I have been able to have (most of) a cup of vanilla coffee with vanilla creamer and of course decaf peppermint mocha from Starbucks
Weight: +18 overall. I swear the bump grows overnight sometimes
Morning Sickness: all good
Energy: Good, but I've been getting back aches if I stand or walk too long.

The Big Reveal

So today was the day! I told my students that I'm having a baby.
I first started by asking them to predict what my surprise is- I got a bunch of responses that it would be about my cat (or a car or a puppy) and none of them said baby! The aid that works in my room came by to see their reaction, so she graphed their predictions.

Of course she didn't  write "It's a baby!!!" until after I read that part in my book. But the kids still yelled "I knew it!" and I showed them that- no, they didn't, they thought my surprise was my cat.
Anyway, they were really excited and asked a bunch of questions like I thought they would. There was no questions of "how do you get pregnant" or how do you have a baby" which I was very thankful for. But they did talk about how it would come out, and that it hurts, and having to go to the hospital.
One of my boys kept saying "I'm glad I'm not a girl"
Then that asked how i knew it would be born in April, and if it was a boy or a girl. So I explained that it takes 40 weeks for the baby to grow and the baby has been growing for 25 weeks already. Then we charted if we think the baby will be a boy or a girl.

Apparently baby Stybs is a boy because it kicks me- as one girl said "when my mom had me I didn't move, but with my little brother he moved and kicked a lot"

But the funniest comment by far was when they talked about the heartbeat. I said that the doctor had a machine that could let us hear the heartbeat, and they started asking about what would happen if the heart beats so fast... and then the baby comes out running... and then what if it comes out so fast it starts flying around the room like Superman...
I couldn't tell if the kids was serious or joking, but when he drew the picture I burst out laughing.

The best part of the day was at dismissal and all the girls were saying by to the baby and rubbing my belly, then as one girl left she yelled back to me "Take care of the baby!"

I love these kids. They are so funny sometimes.

22 Weeks

It feels like forever since I've posted. I can't believe I'm over half way through this pregnancy! I've been going to the Dr every 4 weeks. And was just told that after next month I'll start going every3 or 2 weeks. Because I'll be in the Third Trimester! What?! I feel like this whole pregnancy I've been trying to keep it secret and it has taken forever. Now that I'm half way, it's like hyper speed. I'm excited to have my baby, but it seems to be getting close to the due date at a much more rapid speed.

Baby Stybs is the size of a papaya

This month's updates:

Cravings: still hooked on salty and fried foods.
Aversions: no coffee still, but seems like I can manage everything else!
Weight: +14 overall. Holy Cow where did that come from?!
Morning Sickness: all good, just fighting a cold
Energy: same-old-same-old

(ugh, horrible pic- i was using the self timer since adam's not here)

Yup- that's a bump! It poked it's way out before Thanksgiving and I feel like there are days when I wake up and go 'Whoa! It grew overnight!' I want to wait until Christmas to tell my students, but I don't know if I can keep it a secret 3 more weeks.