33 weeks "Overdue?"

A story from my 33rd week of being pregnant:

I stopped at the grocery store in DeForest after work to pick up a couple things I needed for dinner.  As I'm checking out, the check out lady looks at my belly and says, "Ohhh, overdue?"  I shake my head, "Nope."  She replies, "Oh, well when are you due?"  "I have about 6 weeks left."  She kind of laughs, "Ohh, well good luck."  Gotta love DeForest townie observations.

This week sleeping hit an all time struggle level.  Both dogs seem to have to be glued to my side during the night, so I'm not only already uncomfortable from my giant belly, but now I have to constantly worry about rolling over on top of and crushing my puppies in the middle of the night.  In fact, Saturday night Ty Cobb rolled off of the bed because he didn't have enough room.  Even moving from my left side to my right is an ordeal that I contemplate over how uncomfortable I really am and if it's even worth it to roll over.  And the middle of the night bathroom breaks are getting a little ridiculous too....some nights I'm up three times now, but I try to keep it to two if I can help it.  I think Baby K has dropped a bit because the pressure on my bladder has definitely gotten more intense over the past few weeks.  It honestly feels like I have to pee almost every second of the day, so I'm constantly trying to think back to when I last went, to see if the feeling is real or not. (sorry, TMI)

One thing we did this week was we installed the car seat in the car!  Since we only have one car seat base right now, our original plan was to install it in the Infiniti car, since it has 4 wheel drive, but when we went to actually put it in, we couldn't figure out how to do it.  For some reason the big car doesn't have any car seat latches in it, but the Vibe (our other car) did.  So after struggling with the seat belt way in the big car for 15 minutes, we tried the latch installation in the Vibe and had it done in about 2 seconds.  I made an appointment with the Children's Hospital in Madison to have a professional install the base in the Infiniti in a couple weeks (their soonest appointment....thanks goodness I didn't wait any longer to call them).  Hopefully they can figure it out.  The main reason we were fretting over getting it into one of the cars now is because I'm making a trip to Minneapolis this coming weekend and we wanted to make sure that the car seat was good to go, just in case.  Oh, and once we had it actually in the car, we couldn't figure out how to get the seat out of the base.  Yeah, for some reason Matt and I are baby item installation challenged.  After pulling and shaking and pushing every button combination we could think of, we realized that there is latch/handle on the backside of the seat that you just have to pull....and it pops right out.  Yup, just like that.  At least we know it's sturdy once it's latched in.

We also had our first baby class this weekend.  Normally people sign up for a six week course, which meets one night a week, for 2 hours, for six weeks.  But since Matt has been working nights, we signed up for the Weekender Class, which only met once for 4 hours on a Saturday morning.  The Weekender Class teaches you about preparing for and being in labor, and being at the hospital until the baby is born.  We also signed up for a one time, 3 hour class called Baby's First Weeks (which is this coming week) where they teach you how to care for your new baby.  The Weekender Class was informative to an extent, but honestly, they pretty much just reviewed everything we had already read in the baby books.  We got to the watch some 1980's birthing videos ( I think the movie makers picked the least attractive people possible).  We also had to hold ice cubes in our hands for different amounts of time to practice breathing techniques/focusing on breathing....And Matt dumped the entire cup of ice out all over our table while trying to give me a few cubes...which actually was a great distraction since I was laughing at him the whole time.  We were definitely the rowdy kids in class that giggled at all the videos and weird stuff they talked about.

Baby K Stats:
Weight: About 4 to 4 1/2 lbs
Length: Just over 17 inches long
***Baby K loves to lay sideways in my belly.  We keep feeling his little head bulging out the side of my belly....which makes him feel kind of like a Conehead baby these days. :)  Hopefully he figures out he needs to be chillin' upside down at some point.

33 weeks along

And I thought this was a funny pose idea...and luckily (for you guys) Matt happened to snap a photo at the right moment.

Pssst...check back later this week for the full Baby K room makeover reveal....and Baby K's name reveal!

~Matt, Steph, and Baby K~

***Weekly words of wisdom: Accept the fact that your breathing (while seated or up and walking around) makes you sound like a creepy snot nosed pervy old man.  And people will probably make fun of you for it.***

32 weeks "This is about to get real"

Hello 8 months! :)  Holy cannoli only 8 weeks or less left until Baby K is here. Craaaaazy.

Anyway.  My muddled brain forgot to share some things that happened during week 31.  First and foremost....Baby Daddy Matt's 30th birthday!  He had to work a 10 day, but got a 3 hour break in the afternoon before going back in for a couple hours at night (story of our lives the past  few months) so he got to enjoy the birthday cake I ordered for him.  There's a baker in town Karen the Cake Lady who makes aaaamzing cinnamon rolls, but we had never had a cake from her.  So I stopped in and ordered a Vanilla Turtle cake for the big 3-0.

Mr. Birthday Pants also surprised me with an early "push present" that I had mentioned to him a couple months ago....a Coach diaper bag! :)  We had almost bought one during our Chicago weekend, (where I was checking the bags out at the Michigan Ave. Coach store and then Matt says, "Get one.  Which one do you like best?" Which freaked me out because he is always the rational one who talks me out of buying expensive things I don't really need.) but I panicked and didn't get one because it seemed too easy (for some reason...).  And then my amazing man shows up with one for me after work last week. :)  He picked out the exact one I would have picked for myself too, which doesn't happen very often.  I love it too because I'll be able to use if as an overnight bag once Baby K is done using it.  You like? :)

On to current events. We had our 32 week/8 month doctor appointment last Friday.  All is looking good on the home front.  My belly is measuring a week ahead right now, so Baby K could possibly show up a little early, but nothing is for sure yet of course.  I got the ok from my doctor to travel to Minneapolis for a friend's baby shower in a couple weeks;  she told me to go prepared (aka baby bag, car seat etc...) just in case, but since my pregnancy has been so low risk, she didn't foresee any issues arising.  And speaking of baby bag, I definitely have that beauty all packed up for the big day already. :)

I also decided that the baby room needed to be rearranged one night after work, mainly because the chair was looking quite awkward in the corner I had saved for it.  I don't have the new art work up on the walls yet, so you don't get to see much, but here's a shot of the new chair with some practice cuddle time:

Here's some more baby practicing we did....

*That creepy little clown on the left was my favorite toy as a baby.

...and Ty Cobb is in love with Baby K's green frog on the left.*

Don't judge....you have to find something to amuse yourself when you're 8 months pregnant.

Sunday night Matt and I had signed up for a tour of the birthing unit of the hospital we'll be going to. (It's a different one form where I work.  My hospital doesn't have an OB/Maternity unit-It's contracted out through the two other hospitals in Madison.  And which one you go to just depends on what type of health insurance you have).  We were in a group of about 7 other couples and we all got to see the process from we'll go through from checking in while in labor to checking out to go home with Baby K.  The entire unit was completely remodeled last year, so everything is brand new and super nice.  The labor/delivery rooms are bigger than our family room and they all have Jacuzzi tubs. :)

Baby K Stats:
Weight: About 3.75-4 lbs
Length: About 16.7-17 inches long (head to heel)
**Our little soccer star's kicks have become quite painful lately.  Since he's running out of room and the kicks have less amniotic fluid to cushion all the blows he sends my way, quite a few of them make me jump or gasp out loud.  He also seems to insist I only sleep on my right side, otherwise my ribs ache something fierce when I try the left side.

32 weeks along

~Matt, Steph, and Baby K~

***Weekly words of wisdom: Puppies don't seem to understand that a mega pregnant belly is not a mountain to climb and play on.  Some little puppies seem to think it's a game to stand next to you (while you're laying down) and then catapult themselves into the air and land on your belly.  Maybe also ask them to stop trying to fall asleep on top of you when you're sleeping on your side.***

31 weeks "I don't want to give him A.D.D."

Not much to share this week....I was on call for work over the weekend, so it was a quiet one for us.  We went to see a movie Sunday morning, where I told Matt Baby K wasn't allowed to have Mountain Dew because it would give him A.D.D....or possibly seizures because of all the sugar and caffeine....Momma got an almost as delicious Sierra Mist instead.  Normally we share a mega sized pop, so I ended up getting my own....and some Sour Patch Kids, 'cause you know, there isn't any sugar at all in those.  Oh, and we saw "Here Comes the Boom" with Kevin James (guess whose pick it was) and it actually was really funny and a lot better than I thought it would be.

On Monday our chair for the baby room came in!  I went to pick it up (free shipping to the store vs our house saved us at least $100).  And when the service guy briought it out for me, it was in a box about 3 1/2 'x 3 1/2 ' x 3 1/2' which weighed 100 lbs.  And he just said "Here you go" and then went to help someone else.  Now, I am normally a very self sufficient person (and girl) and probably would have tried to do it on my own...but my giant almost 8 months pregnant belly/body was just not going to allow it. (And um, HELLO??!?!  I'm an almost 8 months pregnant person dude!  Help a waddler out!)  So I asked him for some help (which seemed to surprise him) and he was nice enough to bring it out to the car for me.  The box was about 1 inch too big to fit, so we pulled the chair out and just shoved it in without the box.  And can I just say....I FRICKIN' LOVE IT! :)  It fits the room perfectly in size, color, and design. :)  I fell asleep this afternoon after work, so I'll have photos to share next week....but I think you'll love it too.  :) :)  :)

31 weeks along

This is how the puppies like to nap on the weekend...as close to on top of me as they can.  And I didn't mean to pose sexy-like...this is how I woke up from my nap and Matt grabbed his phone.  I have a problem with falling asleep with my arms over my head...and then they hurt from lack of blood flow. : /  And notice I'm on my back again. (That's what she said)  I just can't escape the back nap.

~M, S, and Baby K~

***Weekly words of wisdom: If you have done any of the following, you may want to question your ability to be a good (future) parent: 

1. Decide to try out your Baby Bjorn with one of your dogs in the baby's place. 

2. Struggle to figure out how to work the Bjorn. 

3. Capture the most "willing" dog by cornering him. 

4. Not stop the struggle with the squirming dog as your husband yells, "Careful!  Careful!!! CAREFUL!!!" 

5. Stand underneath a running ceiling fan as you do this....and almost chop your dog's head off.

(Side note...no Ty Cobbs ended up harmed in any way in the Bjorn trial)***

30 weeks "Baby wants some pizza"

Holy crap we're at 7 1/2 months.  Only 10 weeks left.  Or less.  Hopefully not more....

First off......We found and ordered a chair for Baby K's room!  It's been shipped and should get to Madison later this week! :)  Soooo excited!

We had our maternity photos scheduled for Saturday morning and I was freaking out all week about what to wear and needing to find accessories (like jewelry) to wear with the new outfits.  And as most of you know, I don't really wear jewelry.  I wear my wedding ring/band and the same earrings everyday.  Even when I'm getting dressed up, so why I thought I needed something extra is beyond me.  I went to Target and the mall 3 different times this week after work trying to find the perfect outfit.  And after all that running around, I ended up buying a new cardigan (which I wore with a dress I already had) and a bigger size of a shirt I already owned (which I did not wear).  But more on that later.

We also had our 30 week doctor appointment this week, which was the first of our every two week appointments.  (We had been going once a month, but once you hit 30 weeks, my doctor starts the bi-monthly appointments.) They tested me for preeclampsia, which checks for protein in your urine.  If there would be too much protein (along with significant water retention) I could possibly have to be induced.  Thankfully, everything checked out fine.  I also talked to the doctor about Baby K and my's newish unwelcome best friend, Braxton Hicks.  I forgot to mention this earlier, but the weekend of my friend baby shower/28 weeks, I felt like I may have been experiencing some Braxton Hicks contractions (essentially they are practice contractions), but thought I was imagining things.  Then on Monday after the shower weekend, I was positive I was having them on and off all day at work, and then at the grocery store I started having about 1 per minute for the 30 minutes I was in the store.  Then I started to panic a bit, thinking I could be in labor.  I called the doctor, and the nurse advised me to go home, drink a lot of water (because I was most likely dehydrated from being sick and then rest for an hour or so while doing my kick counts. I should be feeling Baby K kick at least 10 times in 1-2 hours each day.)  So I went home, chugged about 4 glasses of water, laid down, and started to count.  It took less than 2 minutes to reach 10 kicks. :)  Which calmed me down a lot, knowing he wasn't in distress of anything.  It also helped me realize that I really need to drink more water.  And to take time to relax when I've had a busy day.  Since that day, I only have Braxton Hicks sparingly each day, though I do get them more when I've had a really busy day at work.

Saturday morning we had our maternity photos done!  I am lucky enough to have an amazing friend who is not only awesome, but also a very talented photographer. :)  Matt and I met Heather at Wingra Park in downtown Madison at 6:45am Saturday morning, hoping to get some sunrise pictures in .  Unfortunately, it was a cloudy morning, but the few photos we've seen so far have an amazing backdrop of the park and water.  We also went to the Memorial Union (where we did our gender announcement pictures) on UW Madison's campus for some photos too.  I like to think my face doesn't look so weird in real life (I'm probably the most awkward person ever in photos...ok and in real life most of the time), and my serious face needs some work, but I'm loving the few pictures we've seen. :)   Here's a little sneak peak of the photo session:

Matt had just made me laugh in the last one...jerk.  Being all funny and stuff.  But seriously, check out Heather's website for all her wonderful and amazing work: Heather Tyler Photography.  And just to prove to you all how dedicated she is to her work...she fell in the lake about 10 minutes into our shoot (Sorry, Heather! I had to share :)  ) and didn't complain once about being wet from mid-thigh down in 40 degree weather for the next few hours.  A true friend and professional. :)

Saturday night our friends Judd and Allison (and Baby E in the belly) visited us for Matt's birthday celebration and we went out for the best pizza in town, Rossi's, after the Badger football game.

Yup, that's a 30" pizza.  The picture honestly does not do its largeness justice either.  And the four of us ate about 3/5 of it in that sitting...and the rest for breakfast the next morning.  And maybe almost this entire bowl of dirt cake after the pizza...

30 weeks along

~Matt, Steph, and Baby K~

***Weekly words of wisdom: When you're tried, just take a nap.  It may be the last one you get in a loooong time.  Not because you're going to die, but because you never know when the baby could decide to  come early.  Just take a nap.  I know I'm going to.***

29 weeks "You're all belly"

29 weeks marked our family baby shower up in my hometown of Bloomington, MN.  My grandma and mom were amazing enough to plan everything and it turned out to be a great day. :)  We decided to do it as a couples' shower, so that Matt and I would be able to see all my uncles and boy cousins (along with all the ladies) over the weekend we were visiting.  We don't get up to the Twin Cities as often as we would like to, so it was so wonderful to be able to see my entire family in one trip.  Matt's mom, dad, brother, and aunt were also in attendance. :)  I realize that moms and dads-to-be expect to receive gifts from family and friends at a baby shower, but Matt and I are so extremely humbled by the generosity of everyone in our lives.  We honestly could not ask for more amazing friends and families and the support they have given us as we begin our lives as a family of three.  Honestly, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you thank you thank you so so so so so so so much for everything. :)

Once we were home (after an extra long drive....we got stuck in a 90 minute traffic jam....40 minutes from DeForest of course) I was able to do my favorite thing....organize all the awesome gifts we received.  I washed all the baby clothes, burp clothes, and blankets and added them to their respective size dresser drawers.  I also took inventory of the few items we still need to purchase before Baby K's arrival (in 11 weeks or less!).  The main "must haves" are few: breast pump, a couple more bottles, bottle warmer, and changing pad.  There are a few more "eventual haves" too (like a pack-n-play and diaper pail) that we're not in as much of a rush to get.  We plan on being hermits even more once Baby K shows up, so we won't need the pack-n-play right away, and we have other garbage cans to tide us over.  And are totally set on clothes until Baby K is at least 6 months old, maybe older. :)

The chair debacle is still on-going.  I have not heard a word from Babies R Us on the chair transfer and after talking to few people and hearing from every single one of them that Babies R Us' customer service is horrendous, I think we're going to by pass the glider I had found there in favor of one from somewhere else.  Where?  Note quite sure yet.  I've been scouring the internet and am trying to narrow it down to a few.

Baby K stats (according to the internet/books):
Weight: About 2 3/4 to 3 lbs or so
Length: About 16 inches (head to heel)
Favorite thing (aka cravings): Cranberry grapefruit juice.  He goes craaaazy whenever I have a glass. :)

Momma stats:
Belly: 39 1/2 inches around
Belly Button: Popped on the top
Stretch Marks: None that I can find or see so far (unless I'm in denial...)
Grievances: The only comfortable position for sleeping is on my back...which is not good for me or Baby K.  Sleeping on either side hurts my back, so then I roll onto my back, which feels so much better, but then I can't breath as easily.  Not to mention it restricts blood flow to my heart... No win situation.

29 weeks along

~Matt, Steph, and Baby K~

***Weekly words of wisdom: Probably the nicest thing a 7 1/2 months pregnant person can hear: "You're all belly."  Trust me folks, even if the prego in your life has gained weight in every other body part, "You're all belly" will earn you major brownie points.  I've been feeling quite large and charge lately and hearing these wonderful words (And I know they're not true...trust me, my thighs touch a lot more than they used to) totally made me feel more all belly and much less bigger arms and thighs. :) ***