Baby C.'s Nursery

I know a few of you have not gotten to see how we have set up Baby C.'s Nursery. It is not 100% done, but close enough for me to share with all of you what it looks like now. We just need a few more decor items for the walls, and I got some wood letters that spell out his name that will go over the changing table after he is here (still trying to keep his name a surprise). I am working on some cross-stitch needlework that will go up once it is done, but since it will also have his name, and birthday on it, it won't be ready to be hung up till he arrives either. The glider rocker is also still in the living room since we both love sitting in it so much, so that will also move into his room once he gets here. A lot of work when into transforming this room, and we are so happy with the results! Below I am going to post the evolution of this room since we have moved in, and then two videos, the before (empty room), and after (what is looks like today).

Here we are standing in the kitchen looking at the landing to the 3rd floor (door and stairs leading up are on the left), and you will note there is no door to the guest room/Jill's office, that is why there is a curtain there, so when guest came they could close it for some privacy. It was painted yellow when we moved in.

This is looking in the room from the entryway, the closet is on the left, as is the nice built in book shelf, and my old small desk.

The guest bed is in the only corner of the room that does not have door, etc.

In February 2008 I had enough of the yellow, it was too bright, so I painted the room blue, changed the position of the bed, and got a new and bigger desk. I put an Ikea dresser that was in the attic in the room for storage of craft type things.

Now to see the room cleaned out an empty! I had a lot of stuff in the large closet, it took a lot of work to clean out this room and find a new home for everything. The bed went to my parents house, the rest went up to the now shared office space on the 3rd floor, that also went though a lot of redecorating. I did a post a while back when the new carpet went in, I will have to do a tour of that space as soon at it is finished, which it almost is, just a few more details and it will be wrapped up.

Now finally what you have been waiting for the video tour of the room as it is today! I forgot to point out in my video the great carpet squares we bought, it looks almost like wall to wall carpet, but you can just pick up the 20"x 20" carpet square if something gets spilled on them and bring it right to the sink to clean, then let it dry and use a few new sticker dots to put it back in place! We ordered them from Flor, we picked out "sweet dreams" in carmel.

37 Weeks - Full Term!

Baby Boy is fully cooked! I can't believe that after counting down his arrival in months, we now are counting weeks! He could decided to make his appearance any day in the next 3-4 weeks! Greg is of the opinion he will come early now, I am still planning in my head for him being over due. I admit I am getting frustrated that the simplest of thing have become so difficult. I can't do much, and I hate seeing things around the house that I should be able to clean, but just can't reach. Greg does so much already I am not going to make him scrub some spot on the carpet just because it is driving me nuts. As I type Greg is working hard on some house projects, mostly working on trim work on the 3rd floor window, and in the new hallway between the baby's room and our bed room. We got a lot of work done a few months ago, then we got busy and some finishing projects got put on the back burner. Good thing we (aka Greg) got so much of the hard work done long ago before it got so darn HOT, he is not enjoying working so hard this weekend with the heat and humidity.

On Friday work had a baby shower for me and another woman who is about a month behind me. I knew it was coming, and was glad that I had someone to share the spotlight with. Greg came in with me, the whole company got hot breakfast served, and they presented us with big baskets full of clothes, blankets, stuffed animals and more. I am so lucky to work at such a great company! After I emptied out the basket to wash all the clothes, etc I put it on top of the changing table. We had the door open and were letting the cats explore the room a bit, when I came in later in the day to find that Maverick found the basket, and decided it was a great place for a cat nap!

The Mosses Basket

A few of the things that came in the basket

Maverick likes the basket

37 Weeks! Getting big!

As promised later today I will do a post of the baby's room, with video!

36 Weeks!

Or if you want to get real technical today is 36 weeks, and 5 days. We had our weekly apt yesterday afternoon, this week I saw the midwife, same one we saw our very first apt back in February, since my OB is on vacation this week. Nancy is great, and it now I know for sure that next baby we are going to see one of the midwifes vs. the OB for our check-ups. My OB is great, but I think I bore her with my average, normal pregnancy, and I feel a bit rushed each appointment, and really with such a great pregnancy I would like to work with someone who is a little more on the warm and fuzzy side, and all the midwifes I have talked to/worked with at the practice give me that warm and fuzzy feeling. Nancy was happy with my "sample", as she could plainly see I have been keeping myself well hydrated in all this heat. I have gained 1 pound since last week (right on target), she did not say out loud my BP only that it was good. Baby's heat beat sound nice and strong at ~155 bpm. She tested me for Group B Strep, which if I test positive for means I will need to have antibiotics (via IV) when I do go into labor. So let’s hope that comes back negative! She said the baby's head is down nice a low too. I think he has been for some time as whenever he gets the hic-ups I feel them down low.

Come this Friday when we hit 37 weeks Baby Boy C. is considered FULL TERM! Yes after Friday he is welcome to make his entrance any day now! I won’t get my hopes up for an early baby. I am going to go with the mindset that he won’t come till he is overdue at 41 weeks and that way if he does come early it will be a pleasant surprise. We have everything we need for his arrival, except we have not packed bags to be ready to go to the hospital yet. Greg seams more concerned about this than I, as I figure we live only a few miles from the hospital, he or anyone else in my family can gather up anything we forgot or find we need and bring it over to us.

This weekend I promise we will have photos up of the nursery, maybe even a before and after video tour. Here is the latest belly shot for your enjoyment. Oh and one of Greg and I at a wedding that we attended in CT this past weekend. I am not sure when we will have the photos from our photo shot at Lynch Park, but when they come in we will be sure to post our favorites.

Baby C.'s Coming Home Outfit

At our baby shower my Mom presented me with the knitted sweater, booties, and hat that my Grandmother (Mimi) had knitted for me. It was the outfit I wore home from the hospital on May 7, 1978. Since in 1978 ultrasounds were not commonly used, it was unknown if I was to be a boy or a girl, so my Mimi used yellow and white yarn to knit my outfit. Now Baby Boy C. will wear the same outfit home from the hospital that I did! Yes he will look a little gender neutral, but we don't care, I am excited to have something so special for him to wear.

Here is the sweater set today:

And here is what I looked like wearing it back in 1978! Not the clearest photos, they are Polaroids and 31 years old: click on the photos to make it bigger and easier to see.

35 Weeks!

We made it to 35 weeks! Only 5-6 more weeks (or less) to go! We are now going to the OB every week until D-Day! Yesterday's appointment was still a whole lot more of the same: blood pressure was 124/76, sugar and protein levels are fine, and I have now gained 23 pounds.

So let’s talk about what I don't like about being 35 weeks pregnant in August: SWELLING! My feet have been swollen for some time now, and it is rather painful to stand for long periods of time or sit in a chair to too long as well. I almost lost it during a breastfeeding class we took at the hospital last week, it stated at 6:30 and ran till 8:30, my feet were killing me so bad I wanted to just get up and walk out of the room, but rather than be rude, and in the hopes of learning something we stuck it out. However my 2 cents, that class could have been an hour long and gotten all that info to us in half the time. Then just late last week the swelling moved to my hands in a big way, they were swollen enough already that I had to take my rings off a few weeks ago, but now carpel tunnel has set in on my left hand with a vengeance. I wake up and it takes me a few tries to be able to make a fist. I knew I needed to get a brace, but waited till after my check-up yesterday to do so. OB agreed, and told me to head over to CVS and pick one up. I will say that after just one night of sleeping with the brace I do see some improvement.
So here are some photos of my ugly swollen feet (complete with flip flop marks, they hardly fit) do note that at least my toes look nice (pedicures are a must for me in the summer), and my lovely over night wrist brace:

Sorry for all the complaining, when it does come right down to it, I would put up with all this and so much more for our little guy. I can't believe we are finally in the home stretch and will get to meet him soon! His nursery (photo to come soon) is just about done (just decorating to finish), and we have everything we need for when he gets here. Greg and I talk about it a lot the excitement of getting to meet him, and how we wish it was sooner. I think once we hit that 38 week mark I am going to do all the things they say can get labor started: lots of walks, spicy food, etc. Strange thing is I am not worried/scared about labor, see I know it is going to hurt, so what is the use of worrying about it now? Greg is ready to help me the best he can, and I will do what I can to manage the pain, its not going to be fun, but we get a BABY when it is all over!

Here are the latest belly photos:

34 Weeks

35 Weeks

On Friday afternoon Greg and I are meeting with a photographer to take some photos of the two of us and the belly! He is a friend of Tom's from college and just getting started out, so he gave us a great price! We are going to have them done at Lynch Park just like we did with our engagement photos. I can't wait to share them with you all.

Week 33 Check Up & Belly Casting

We had our bi-weekly check up today, and as always everything is great. I only gained 1 lb these past two weeks, blood pressure is good (120/47 I think), baby's heart beat was around 123-130 bpm. We had a few questions to ask this visit: I have concert tickets and Greg wanted me to check that it was OK to go, OB say yes. I asked her how long she would let me go before she would want to induce labor if all signs are still showing healthy baby and Mom, she said 1-1.5 weeks (I sure hope we can get things stated naturally and won't need any medical intervention). We also heard that the hospital is now letting patients have a self-medicating epidurals (meaning I would have a push button to up the baseline level of medication when I see fit, you can't over medicate the machine won't let you), and the answer was yes again. We were told studies find that when woman can self medicate, they tend to use less medication than if just given the highest dosage possible, and Greg and I agree the more control we have, the better. Then my last question was when for baby boys they preform a circumcision, she said they do this the day after the baby is born, and neither Mom or Dad are present for the quick procedure. Poor little dude, as if being born was not traumatic enough for him we are going to send him off the next day alone with the nurse, to well... I don't need to spell this out for you.

Anywho on to a more fun topic. Last night I had my belly casted in plaster! Our friend Carla is a newly trained Doula (don't know what a Doula is - click here), and she was looking for someone to try this out on, so it can be something she can offer future clients on top of her superior services and a birth Doula. Greg and I made the decision after much discussion to give this birth thing a shot on our own, but if you are someone who may be interested in having a Doula help you though the process of giving birth (especially if you hope to go completely natural - aka no pain medication) we both highly recommend her! She is very knowledgeable, open minded, and enthusiastic about all things related to the birth of babies. Greg and were picking her brain the whole time she was with us, she is going to have to start charging to visit pregnant friends, rather than bringing them ice cream :-) I look forward to seeing the final product, but we though it best to let Carla keep the cast so she has a visual to show new clients. Here is a funny photo of me mid-cast for your enjoyment.

And what would be a post without belly photos from the last few weeks:

32 Weeks

33 Weeks

My Super Talented Mom!

I knew that as soon as my Mom found she was going to be a grandmother back in January she got right down to knitting some special things for baby boy C. My Dad and brothers were all sworn under the punishment of the wrath of Mom to not to let Greg or I know what she was working on until the baby shower. Just as I expected the last gift we opened at the shower was a basket of homemade goodies by Mom. Well I hope everyone else in the room was just as amazed by the results! On top of two blankets, and three very cute sweater sets, there was a knitted hat and booties that will be his first Halloween costume to make him look like a pumpkin, and a huge assortment of stuffed animals that will be his first toys! I think my brother put the work that went into all these gifts in his description of a typical night at home with Mom best: "Every night Mom would sit down, listen to the Red Sox game on the TV, and would knit with the speed, and efficiency of a Chinese sweat shop worker!"

Then there was one last very special gift, my Mom presented me with the yellow sweater, hat, and booties that my Mimi had made for me (her 1st grandchild) and I had worn home from the hospital. Now my Mom's first grandchild will also wear it home from the hospital! I will scan the photos for this post that my Mom gave me of myself in the outfit getting ready to head home as soon as Greg reconnects the printer/scanner.

Here are the close up photos of Mom's hard work (not sure why some photos are not turned right, I fixed them before I upload them):

Big Blanket

smaller cotton blanket

Santa hat for ChristmasPumpkin Halloween costumeSweater set oneSweater set twoSweater set 3The Fish
The OctopusThe DuckThe Black CatThe Siamese CatThe Bunny BlanketThe MouseThe BunnyThe SheepThe CaterpillarThe Puppy

Baby Shower!

I don't even know where to start with this post, it is hard to say in words how thankful Greg and I are for the extreme generosity we were shown last weekend at the baby shower my Mom put together for us! Our family and friends came from both near and far to celebrate Baby C, and shower us with so many gifts to be ready for his arrival it was overwhelming! We are so blessed to have so many people in our life who care about us and already love and care for our little guy! Our registry was cleared out and we have a very few essentials we need to pick up ourselves in order to be totally ready for Baby C's arrival.

I have a few people I would like to thank publicly. First and foremost my Mom! I offered little help or direction and let her run with all the planning, and she did the most amazing job! It is no small feat to plan a party and host it at your home for 50 people! To my Dad and brothers Andy, AJ, and Tom, for stepping up and helping Mom get everything put together the day of, and for sticking around a huge group of woman all with a smile on your faces charming them all as usual. To my favorite girlfriends Nicole, Sabrina, & Holly who went the extra mile and helped my Mom with food, favors, and decorations! Auntie Moe for helping with all the gifts during the opening of them all. To our friends and family who drove 1-2+ hours each way to be with us: Brooke, Sarah, Elliot, Marci (and Shadow), Melissa, Sabrina, AJ, Brenna, Nikki S., and Nicki P. I would be remiss not to mention it was great to have Auntie Gail and cousin Lily in attendance who were in town for there annual visit all the way from Vancouver Canada.

Here are a few photos from the special day:

Dipper Cake - made by Nicole

Cake! - The puppies match our bedding for the crib.

Shadow gave us this great bib with her photo on it.Uncle AJ picked this bib out for his new nephew

31 Weeks!

Today was the first of the now bi-weekly OB appointments. As usual all checked out great, wight, BP, heartbeat, etc. I was in and out as of the office as usual (well except we had to wait 20 minutes to be called in, it was kind of unusual that they were already running late at 9:30 am). Due to the kind of activity I have been feeling I did not think he had flipped to the head down position as of yet, and my OB agreed with me and we both think he still has plenty of time to make the move, so it is not a concern right now.

We have a busy baby weekend coming up! Saturday we have our first Prenatal Prep Class at the hospital, and Sunday is our Baby Shower! I know our families have been working hard to put this shower together and we are already so thankful for amount of support and love that has been shown to us and baby boy C. For example just this past Sunday night, some very kind people gave us a boat loads of hand-me-downs! Including a very nice crib, mattress, toddler bed, extra crib sheets, 2 car seats, a bassinet, high chair, a basket of toys, and even one of those great Little Tikes Car & lawn mower for when he gets older (and for our friend's kids to play with in the mean time when they visit)! Our generous benefactors are not even family, they are family of family (my Aunt's SIL & BIL)! We are lucky people I have to tell you.

Here is the 31 Week belly shot:

30 Weeks Pregnant today!

I can’t believe we only have ~10 more weeks before we get to meet our baby! We continue to do a lot of things around the house to get ready for his arrival, I am so glad we got to work so early on these projects and won’t be stressed and worried about them come late August/early September.

We had a prenatal checkup on Tuesday, our last monthly visit, we go every two weeks now. As usual we were in and out of there in about 20 minutes. Blood pressure was 120/74, nothing bad was detected in my urine, and my weight gain is in the right range. I am up ~17 lbs, right on target to gain about 25-30 lbs overall, which is the average, perfect!

The nursery is coming along, we bought a crib and changing table from friends and they are all set up. The rug is down and came out great! I love those carpet tiles! The only bad news is we have to keep the doors shut all the time to keep the cats out. I found that one of the cats (Trot I think) got into the crib and peed all over the mattress! I don’t think he was acting out or marking, he has a top entry litter box, and I think he thinks that anything box shaped that you can jump into is a litter box! He has been known to pee in empty laundry baskets, cardboard boxes, etc. He has never peed on the floor or on our bed, or even a laundry basket that is full of cloths. So we are trying to decide the best way to teach them to keep out of that crib. Two things I am thinking about are either a crib tent, or a scat mat. Which way to go remains to be seen, they both have pros and cons. Once the nursery is totally decorated and complete I will post before and after shots. Right now it is still to empty to be impressive at all.

Here are the most up-to-date belly shots for your viewing pleasure.

28 Weeks 29 Weeks

30 Weeks

And just because I want to here are some silly photos of the kitties.

Here is Trot liking his new cat carrier - well he will like it until his first trip to the vet inside it.

Here is Maverick doing what he does best, flashing his belly for all to rub.

Subway riders in Boston are RUDE!

I have to take the subway 5 stops to get from North Station to Arlington on the Green Line each day, and I have to tell the world FEW people offer me a seat when they are all taken. Example one, two weeks ago I was on a very crowed train in the afternoon when I was standing in front of a man, so close due to the crowd, my belly was about a foot from the front of his face, did he offer me his seat, NO what he did instead was pick at a wart on his hand instead! Gross! That leads us to tonight, example number two. A crowed train pulls into Arlington, I get on an see a man (in his 20s I would guess) sitting on the end of two seats, taking up both seats. He has a backpack on as well as a duffel bag on his back. I politely ask if he will move so I can take the seat by the window, when he POINTS to his backpack and duffel bag as to say "Sorry my bags are taking up that seat, no room for you." So I point at my belly as to say "Um jerk face my pregnant self has more right to that seat than your BAGS!" So jerk face gets up reluctantly so I can slid in, but does not take his bags off his back and put the on the floor, so for the next two stops his bags are jamming up against me. I was so pissed off at the rudeness of this dude, I decided I would take a photo with my phone so you can all see what I was putting up with!

I do hope Greg and I do a better job at raising a nice young man, this dude's parents failed at that task big time!

I would like to note a nice Hispanic man (I note this because they do seam to me to be the most polite T riders) gave me his seat the second I stepped on a full green line train this morning. That is however I am sad to report not what usually happens, young woman, and professional men are the worst offends.

Mourning the loss of my ankles!

My legs now seam to turn right into my feet, the swelling has begun. I was so sure this would not start until it got hot outside since I drink my weight in water every day, and spend my workweek sitting at desk. No such luck, we have had the coldest, sunless June in a century and the swollen ankles are here, and most likely hear to stay. I just hope at this point that my hands won’t follow suite anytime soon, I would hate to have to have take my rings off!

3-hour glucose tolerance test - Results!

Whooo hoooo I passed! No special diet for me, thank goodness! I have come to realize that no news from my Dr.'s office usually means good news, as when I failed the 1-hour test they called me the same day, but I had to call them to find out the results of the 3-hour test, and have had to ask my Dr. during my appointments if other blood tests they took came back with good/negative results. My arms are still bruised from all that pocking me with needles (although at this point only I would notice). I am so glad that is over with.

27 Weeks! Epic Fail on the 1-hour glucose test.

27 Weeks already – are we really almost done with the 2nd trimester already! How did that happen?

Just as I feared I failed the 1 hour glucose test on Wednesday, and was told I would need to take the 3 hour test. They wanted to see a glucose level of no more than 130, and mine was 181! So here I am very early on a Saturday morning spending 3 hours at the Beverly Hospital Laboratory. The reason, for those of you who don’t know, I have to take these tests is to make sure I am not developing gestational diabetes while I am pregnant. Since diabetes runs in my family, it is probably for the best that I am taking the more comprehensive test.

I got here right at 7:00 am, they took a blood sample, and I then I had 5 minutes to drink the very orange glucose drink. They then took my blood again at 8:00 am, and I have to give another blood sample at 9:00 am, and 10:00 am before they will release me. Greg very kindly dropped me off, and will be coming back to pick me up at 10. I have not been able to eat anything since last night, so the nurse told me when I was scheduling the 3 hour test that I should eat something before I drive because I would be light headed. So far I am doing alright, but I do have a slight headache. I took the nurse seriously since when I don’t eat regularly I get very cranky and lethargic, and I would not want to be driving in that condition. Greg has promised to bring me a sausage, egg, and cheese on a bagel when he comes back to get me! Ummmmm sausage, egg , and cheese! I am one of 7 other pregnant ladies hanging out in the lab this morning. One of which really should invest in some maternity clothes that actually fit her, so I don’t have to see her outie belly button staring at me every time I look up from this laptop (yuck).

We finally picked out the carpet tiles for the nursery, and I ordered them earlier this week. I was shocked when the shipping was going to cost $82! So off to the Google I went and after some searching I found a coupon code that was supposed to have expired, but I tried it anyway, and guess what – FREE Shipping! They shipped fast, arriving yesterday! We hope to continue to work on the nursery this weekend, get some light blocking shades for the windows, and some hardware so the valances can go up. If we can move the guest bed to my parents house as well then we can start putting the carpet tiles down. Then we will be ready for the crib!

And just for fun here is the 27 week belly shot (not one of my better photos, I usually take them first thing in the morning, this was taken in the evening after a long week):