tick tock

I'm 38 weeks and 3 days today. I had my 38 week appointment yesterday and no sign of labor. So, I guess we're just waiting now. I think I'm actually a little relieved though. I kind of feel like I could stand being pregnant a bit longer even though I'm so uncomfortable right now. It's not that I'm not excited to meet our little girl. It's just really hard for me to believe or imagine me in labor, holding my own baby, breastfeeding her and just being a mom. And, with no sign of labor, it only makes it harder for me to imagine what we all know is imminent.

myMonkeymoo

Since I found out I was pregnant, I've been obsessed with finding the best possible gear. For each essential item, I consulted various resources from the Consumer Reports Baby Products book to reading every user review I could online and then checking out or test driving them in person. I was determined to get the best of what I needed at the best possible price. I think I've achieved this goal and I think I've only gotten products that most mothers say they couldn't live without. Toot, toot! (That's me tooting my own horn.) Whatever. It was all very time consuming and I'm proud of myself.

However, when I went to Style Child in Hillcrest to test drive the glider, I discovered this oh-so-soft stroller seat pad and blanket set that I just couldn't stop thinking about. The patterns on the fabric were so lovely and it was so soft. Even though it wasn't an essential item, I just had to have it. But, I decided to go home and do some research - of course. I read some reviews and ordered it direct from myMonkeymoo, which saved me tax and shipping. I have to say, I am so very pleased with this company. I received it within a week and they included one of their monkey buckets in the matching pattern for free with a sweet hand written little note. I highly recommend this company and one of these sets would make an amazing gift for any new mother. I think it's well worth the money.

my bump, my bump, my lovely lady lump

Today, I am 36 weeks and 1 day. We have just a few more weeks until we get to meet Paige! It still feels so weird that we're having a baby. I'm going to give birth to a baby and they're going to let us take her home with us and take care of her, for like, ever. It's so unreal. We're going to be parents!

At 34 weeks, we saw the doctor and he estimated that she was about 4.5 pounds and that she'll be about 7.5 pounds at birth. Everything is measuring on schedule, except her legs, which are one week ahead - so she'll be tall like Bob I guess. In the last few days, she's been stretching out these legs so that we can see a little bump moving across my big bump. It's pretty cool.

In other news, Mama came for a visit this weekend and helped me get the nursery in order and I think we are nearly finished. The room is neat and orderly, the laundry is done and the curtains are up. Now, all I need to do is go through my closet and all my shoes and downsize. It feels really good to go in that room and feel at peace now. The rest of the house is looking pretty clean and neat, too - and this makes me so happy. We're pretty much just waiting on her arrival now that all the essentials are taken care of. I wonder when her birthday will be...

Thanksgiving

Well, we've just had our last Thanksgiving before we're officially parents. It's crazy to think that this time next year, Paige will be celebrating this holiday with us. In fact, it's crazy to think that I'll be 34 weeks tomorrow and that she might be here in a month! Yikes! I feel like we have all the stuff we need so we're ready, but not as ready as I'd like to be. I'm still frustrated that the tape is still not sticking to the wall so we can get that decal up and that the nursery is still incomplete. I'd love to just see it all clean, neat and organized just in case she makes an early appearance. I guess I'll just have to take it easy and not worry too much about it all.

On a positive note, and pardon the cheesiness here, but I am so very thankful for my loving and supportive family and friends, and very grateful that I get to create a new life with my best friend. I don't think everyone gets to do that.

It's too big to fit in here...

So, apparently when taking measurements for a glider in the nursery, I didn't consider the size of the doorway. It turns out the glider will not be living in the nursery after all. I guess that leaves room in the nursery for the shelf I wanted and all that storage space I need. Yup. That's me. Glass half full.

Perks

This may seem silly to some people, but I have been hawking these pink parking spots at Mission Valley for some time now. When I first found out I was pregnant, I was so excited that I could finally park here. However, Bob said that I wasn't even showing yet and that it was meant for women who were much further along. I'm sure he was right, but I parked there anyway. I just made sure that I was armed with my photos from below should someone approach me about parking there. No one ever asked for proof though. Now that the proof is in my belly, I can enjoy my parking all I want.

Space Invader

http://www.youtube.com/user/ladymisszar

Even though my pregnancy has been an easy one with very mild morning sickness and none of the "usual" symptoms, it's still not that fun to constantly worry about what I'm eating and drinking, remembering to take my giant vitamins and with all these studies coming out about how the mother's stress can affect the fetus, trying not to stress about things. The one thing that has been the most fun is feeling her move around in my belly. It started off at exactly 16 weeks with a little poke. At 30 weeks, I felt this rhythmic pulse in there, which I Googled and found out were little hiccups. And now at 32 weeks, her head is down and her back is on my left, which explains all the movement on the right side of my waist where her legs are. They are not necessarily kicks, but more like rolling movements and I feel them the most in the mornings when I wake up and change positions or after a meal.

Some of the lovely vegan food I've been inhaling...

Mixed green salad with homemade tahini garlic dressing by Chef Bob.

Homemade tofu cutlets.

Raw pizza from the Greenery Raw Cafe.

Rosemary and garlic bread with avocado, fresh basil and Roma tomatoes.

BBQ seitan pizza by Chef Bob.

Progress

Here's my belly at 21 weeks, taken on September 1st.

And here it is at 29 weeks, taken on October 27th.

3D/4D

At 27 weeks, we went to an elective 3D/4D ultrasound. We were just dying to see what she looked like in there and how much she had grown since the last ultrasound. I highly recommend it. It was really fun! 27 weeks is slightly early for one I think, but I wanted to plan it around my mother's visit so she could share it with us. The first thing we did was to double check to see if it was really a girl and she is so all the pink things we got are good to go. It was difficult to get a full image of her because her legs were stretched out in front of her so that her feet were in her face, but we were able to see enough of her face. We even got to see her yawn and drink the amniotic fluid! Of course a discussion followed about whom she looked like, but I really can't say for sure until she's actually here. What we did notice however, was how fully formed her foot was. You can see it at the end of the video clip.

It's a...

My mother came down for a visit just so she could come with us to our 19 week ultrasound. At this stage, we can find out the sex of the baby and we were ready! It's a nice idea to be surprised, but I was never patient enough for surprises. It was a very exciting morning for all of us, although I was quite uncomfortable what with drinking all kinds of water and not being able to pee as per the directions for the ultrasound. The tech was very quiet while she checked for abnormalities and measured everything. I think this would have made me more nervous if the nurse practitioner hadn't warned us it would be like that. Then, she told us that everything looked good and showed us the little bootie area. She was pretty sure it was a...girl! And, boy was I pleased! Girls rule!

Jelly Bean

Here's our little bean at 8 weeks. I know it doesn't look like much here, but when we heard a heart beat, I may have teared up a bit. The little nub of a hand even waved at us. But, let me tell you, I was certainly not expecting that type of ultrasound. This one wasn't like in the movies. I'll leave it at that.

OMG

So, this is how it started. I felt like crap. I actually thought I had the flu, but I was also a week late so I decided to test. I waited to test until the next morning. As you can see, it wasn't the flu. Clearly, I didn't believe the first one, because I took a second. The twin pack was a good idea. I still couldn't believe it, so just to make things official, I made an appointment to test at the doctor's office. It was Mother's Day weekend and my sweet Bob took me out for my first, but unofficial, Mother's Day brunch. On Monday morning, we went to the doctor's together and the nurse confirmed it. I was already five weeks.