Week 36

Hi Baby!

Well, its seems like everything kicked up a notch this week as far being PrEgGo. I have very swollen fingers and ankles and toes, my arms fall asleep at nighttime, there is a strong pressing feeling down low, my belly is getting super tight, and you seem to be growing so much that you are running out of room! You are giving me LOTS of strong kicking and rolling. It is increasingly difficult to move around and teaching all day is getting pretty tough. 

Your Grandma Mary came to this weeks doc visit. It was nice to have someone there with me and I think she was glad to be invited along. She was able to see you on the sonogram and you had your eyes open!! You blinked at us - it was really cool. It seems Dr. J thinks all of the above mentioned symptoms are completely normal and that everything is progressing along fine.

Wednesday was your Dad's 33rd birthday. The Gordon's came over with a whole bunch of Chinese food and we had a feast. It was nice to visit with everyone. I gave your Dad a book of the pictures that he took on his Alaska trip this summer. I think he really liked it ;)

Sunrise at Hillside Friday morning.

On Friday was the Hillside Baby Shower for us. Honestly, I was so tired and grumpy by Friday afternoon  that all I wanted to do was go to bed - but once I walked into the library and saw pretty decorations and yummy snacks and nice people and TONS of presents......I had an attitude change. It was a really nice time, we were totally spoiled and I feel so fortunate to work at such an awesome place. I left with a heart full of love.

On Saturday we spent some time with Micah downtown at the 10 Barrel IPA Brew Fest. Your Dad and Micah had a very good time blind taste testing all sorts of different brews from around the Northwest and making observations about them. Eventually voting for their favorite.....

On another note, I just thought this was cute
and I thought of you when I saw it:

 

Here is a little more about you:

Your due date is just four weeks away. Hasn’t time flown? Your once-poppy seed would probably be able to breathe on his own if he was born right now. (If not, he’d probably need some TLC, but he’d likely be okay.) Most of his systems are in working order at 36 weeks. Since baby really could decide to make his arrival any day now, try to put in a little prep work. For example, if you took a child birth class a few months ago, you might want to reread any materials you were given and practice some of the breathing techniques you learned with your partner. Go over your plan for getting to the hospital, and all the what-ifs (like, if you go into labor while you’re at work, will you go home first or straight there?). You might also want to remind your boss and colleagues of the status of all your work projects, so they know exactly where to take over if you’re suddenly out of the office. Week 36 is also a good time to enjoy a date with your partner. We’re guessing you won’t be up for dancing, but a nice dinner might be just what you two could use. Your baby's the size of a honeydew! She's still in the 17.2- to 18.7-inch and 4.2- to 5.8-pound range and continues to beef up.

Love you Baby, Momz

Week 35

Hey Baby~

The best thing about week 2 of back to school?? It was only four days long because of Labor Day! we spent last weekend up at the cabin with Josh and Sam and Cole and Jackson. We all had a nice time. Your Dad and Josh even got a little golfing in.......check out how handsome they are:

This is us watching the first BSU football game of the season.......they lost miserably, but hey, can't win 'em all!

Here's a little more about me and you...yes I have been getting a little panicky about packing our bags and getting the car seat ready....

Growing, growing, growing. Yup, baby and you. You’ve reached 35 weeks, and your uterus has grown about 1,000 times its original size, a number that might sound exaggerated to everyone else -- but to you it probably feels more like a million. You can expect to gain about a half-pound a week before birth, and baby’s beefing up, too. At 35 weeks, some moms-to-be feel like they have a ton of stuff left to do before baby’s arrival. Others can barely wait for baby to make his debut. Either way, try not to stress. Baby will show up when he’s ready, and he won’t care if you haven’t checked every little detail off your list.

This is from our friend over at the pregnant chicken.....probably wise advice given the experience we had last weekend.......

Okay, throughout this whole pregnancy you’ve probably been thinking about how you’re going to raise your child (at least I hope you have). Well, here’s my advice: if you can, try to keep it to yourself.

The reason I say that is two fold:

One, people will disagree with you and the dumber they are, the more you’ll hear from them. The same people that tell you that they don’t like the baby name you’ve chosen are the same people that will tell you that breastfeeding is ridiculous and that “crying it out”  or co-sleeping is child abuse.

Two, and more importantly, you will change your mind. I remember before I had kids I swore that I would and wouldn’t do certain things – some vocally some not – and not only did I not do what I said I would, I did the exact opposite.

What I failed to account for was the constant grey areas that come with parenthood – rarely are things black and white. Sure I said I would never let my baby sleep with us because it’s a bad habit and I love my sleep. What I didn’t account for was how tired I would be, or how much my baby’s crying would break my heart (like really break my heart), or how good it make me feel to know he was right there, or how much easier it would be to breastfeed.

I told everyone that would listen before I had my baby that “the one thing he’s going to do is sleep in his crib, dammit” and he slept in it once. Once. I had to back pedal and I’m sure people thought, “Oh ho, how did that sleeping in your crib work out for you, dummy?” but were too kind to say anything or I was too tired to hear.

Absolutely, try to figure out how you’re going to do things, but be totally prepared to toss them out the window and go with flow and just say, “We’re going to try X but we’ll play it by ear.”

Love you to pieces baby ~ MOM
 

Week 34

Hey Baby ~

This first week back at school was much harder than I imagined.......overall it was nice to back at school, the kids were great, teaching went fine, people were happy to see each other, but holy cow was I tired. The way I teach does NOT work well with being 8 1/2 months preggo. I will have to slow things waaayyy down next week and really start to learn how to teach from a chair. It will be tough for me mentally, but I want to take good care of you and not wear myself out too much......I get a little cranky when I am too tired.......I guess there will be a lot more of that once you arrive anyway. I had better just start working on it now :)

At least your Dad and I looked goooooood on our first day back  ~ check us out!

 Our doc apt this week was cancelled last minute, but I know you are growing like crazy inside ma belleh! (your should be about 5 lbs now - like a bag of sugar!) And all in all things seem to be fine.......We watch you move around and talk to you all the time. Being pregnant really isn't very fun at this point ~ but I am happy to be the container for keeping you safe and happy. We love you baby.

~ MOMMA

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