Week 33

Hi Baby ~ Well.......this week was the last week of summer vacation :((((( Your pops and I always have lots and lots and lots of meetings this week to get ready for the new year. Some are informative, some are horribly boring. But - all in all - I do enjoy the fresh start to our jobs every year. And believe me, YOU are getting a lot of attention this week. Everybody at school is pretty excited for us and about meeting you. Teaching is like having whole other family in our lives. They are people that we actually spend more time around than our own families. We are both lucky to be working at schools that are filled with a lot of generous and caring people.

Here is one 'fun' thing that happened this week - You Auntie Allison and Dad build your dresser /  changing table. Your room is finally coming together...there is still a lot to be done, but I am feeling slightly more organized by the week.

We also went swimming over at Steve and Cindy's. It felt AMAZING to float around. I thought it would just be a quick little dip, but of course it turned into a full evening of eating and laughing and hearing all about Your Grandpa Joe's rafting adventure on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Your Dad even got in a few daddy 'reps' holding Jackson, Josh and Sam's new baby boy. He's going to be such a great Dad!





Here's a little more about our GROWTH this week -

Your baby is pretty close to being finished growing lengthwise, but it will do some serious beefing up over the next seven weeks. Many sites compare your baby to a pineapple now, which sounds like the most uncomfortable thing to be carrying in your body aside from maybe a ball of barbed wire and broken glass. Your soft, beautiful baby is around 17 inches long and about 4.5 lbs.

I also wanted to talk a bit about feeding your baby. Many people feel very strongly about bottle feeding and breastfeeding, but I wanted to write a quick top 5 list about the benefits of both options. Here goes:

Formula Feeding:
Anybody can feed your baby and at 3am that's really awesome
You always know how much your baby is eating
You can drink tequila to your heart's content
Formula is harder to digest than breastmilk so your baby stays fuller (aka asleep) longer
You can wear anything because you don't have to worry about boob access

Breast Feeding
Technically speaking, it's the way we're designed to feed babies
Nothing gets much cheaper than free
Convenient and fast – you can never forget it at home and nothing silences a crying baby like an instant boob
It's easier to digest (aka less crying) than formula
Your antibodies pass to the baby so it boosts their immune system

(We'll be giving breast feeding a try baby) 

• You are one hot mama -- literally. A 20 percent metabolic rate increase throughout pregnancy can leave you begging for a cool breeze no matter what the weather is like. 

• The heartburn is still ripping pretty good these days too.... 

BUT ~ we are getting more and more excited to meet you baby!!!

Love ya, Mom

Week 32

Good morning Baby!

This past week was a bit unusual....My Mom - Your Grandma Martha - came to Idaho for a quick visit. She needed to spend some last minute time with her friend Carol.....The really great part of her visit is that she was able to make it to a doctor apt with me! She was able to meet Dr. J, see you wiggle all around, see your HAIR and brain and special parts! It was pretty neat to get to be able to share that with her. I know she was super excited. She also helped me with running a bunch of errands, picking out some nice clothes for work/school, and even helped wash and fold EVERYTHING that we have been given (blankies, clothes, etc.) for you. That was a big job.

Grandma Martha, MOM and Grandma Mary. You lucky kid!

This week was also your parents 5th Wedding Anniversary! We have done quite a lot in the last five years and I am really proud of our accomplishments, but the best of all is creating YOU of course. We both told each other that we love each other more than ever - sweet :)

On our Honeymoon in Stanley - 2008.

Yesterday was our Idaho Family Baby Shower. Hosted by your Auntie Allison, Grandma Mary and Cindy Tyree. It was a lovely party - they did such a nice job - everything was so pretty and purple and perfect! I felt very loved.

Look at that spread!

A diaper cake?!?

mmmm - all homemade.

Star of Mommy's BLOG!! Hahahaha - I can't beleive she found this!

So soft blankie.

BACK: Allison, Sam, Carolyn    FRONT: Grandma, Pam, MOM, Janel, Cindy

The Gordon women!

Here are some updates about your growth this week:

BTW - I am getting SO BIG, you are kicking super hard these days, I still have raging heartburn almost daily and I can't sleep well at all, I think I have restless leg syndrome, my belly button is sticking OUT and my feet are so swollen that most of my shoes don't fit  - but I suppose you're worth it.

Baby's now the size of a squash!
Ready or not, baby's getting ready to emerge. She's probably in the head-down position by now, with her bottom facing up. This is the comfiest way for her body to fit in your increasingly cramped womb and will make her eventual exit (only a few months away now!) much easier.


Love you baby - mOmZ

Week 31

Hi Baby!

This was a buuuuusy week - sort of - Your Dad threw me in the camper and we headed for the hills - technically deep into the mountains. It was probably our last camping trip of the year and before we have a little nugget running around. We went up to Deadwood Reservoir and met our friends Shane and Kara. Josh and Cole joined us for a night as well. The weather was just perfect, we shacked up in our favorite spot, the fishing was so-so but good enough, your Dad hiked into a lake and caught some really nice fish, I hunted for huckleberries but only found teeny tiny ones, Kara cooked amazing meals, we played lots of games like cribbage and dominoes, we had a camp fire every night, I swam in the lake, and of course napped a lot too. It was pretty lovely.

morning coffee and fish

Shane's big one. Grip it like a baseball bat!

Kara's daily cinnamon rolls.

 

Dad's hashbrown casserole.

Pearl kisses.

Dad and Shane giggling.

tough guy dad

awwww - Shane and Kara

Who is that cool guy?!

Tubby Mom and handsome Dad.

THEN when we got home we had to CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN the house and get ready for the Idaho Girls bebe shower!! Your Dad and I worked our tails off getting the house and yard ready - but everything looked so beautiful. Dad was really sweet and wanted everything to be just perfect. Your Auntie Katie hosted and made the day really special. I was really happy to have so many of my lovely lady friends in one room! 

Cutie pie cake.

Auntie Sara and Ang.

LINDSEY!! She traveled all the way down from Coeur d'alene just to celebrate YOU!!

Party favors - lavender sachets and almond oatmeal soaps. ;)

PRESENTS!!

Onsie craft project!

Thanks Aunt Kara for the owl towel!

My bestie and one of your #1 fans!

Would you believe we had ANOTHER baby shower the next day in MICHIGAN! I know, I know we are super spoiled. I like to just call it really really loved and lucky. So your Grandma Martha, Great Aunts Kim and Cindy and GREAT Grammy Cudnohufsky hosted another beautiful party on the lake. Many good friends and family members came and you and I Skyped in to join the party. It was riot and I think worked out technology-wise really well.

Michigan LOOT!

I Skyped in from your room ;)

The Michigan Crew.

Dad and the AWESOME stroller from Aunt Bonnie.

Mom and the awesome stroller + car seat - which is technically on backwards in this picture - heehee!

Backpack from Grandpa John - your Dad is SOOO stoked.

That's probably enough fun time for this post! But just in case you're curious:

Your Pregnancy: Week 31

Out of breath? Your still-growing uterus is squeezing your lungs, making it impossible for them to fully expand like they used to. Things will improve once baby drops, probably in the next few weeks. Until then, sit up straight with your shoulders back to get a little relief. 

Baby's now the size of a pineapple! 

Baby's going through major brain and nerve development these days. His irises now react to light, and all five senses are in working order. (He won't pick up anything from his nose until after birth, though -- smell is transferred through air, not amniotic fluid.)

 

 

 

Love you baby ~ me

Week 30

HEEEYYYYY Baby!

Well this week was quite a trip - I smuggled you across state lines....... :) We went through Oregon to Nevada and into California - Tahoe to be exact. It was an awesome trip with some of my best-est girlfriends. I was really nervous about going and just being uncomfortable traveling, but they made sure that I had everything I needed and took very good care of me. You and I are lucky buggers. Rather than list all the fun things we did, I'll just post a few pictures and let them tell the story........although there is always more to the story isn't there? ........   ;)

Our condo was at 7,000+ ft.

Auntie Katie, your Momz, Auntie Lindsey

The crew of goofies.

Geeze - we look pretty snuggled up!

Emerald Bay

A strange bus filled with even stranger people - ask your Aunt Katie about this one day.

Ok - so I got a little fresh......don't judge.

Chillin on the beach.

Katie and Jana paddleboarding.

Stir crazy in the car.......9 hours.....or maybe Katie was cold because I had the A/C at 'vortex' levels.

Here's a little bit about our preggo progress:

Your massive belly and nighttime heartburn might be making sleep difficult to come by. If you are able to drift off, you're probably having some strange and vivid dreams -- your subconscious is no less anxious than your waking mind.

  Baby's now the size of a cucumber! As baby's skin smoothes out, her brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. She's also adding some brawn -- her grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.

Love ya, Mom