Sunburn

I went to the beach yesterday with a girlfriend and you'll never guess the only spot I forgot to lather in sunscreen...

31 Weeks (a little late since we're almost 32 weeks)

This week, your baby measures over 17 inches long. He weighs about 4 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. The heavy news: you can expect your miracle-gro muffin to gain about a half a pound of weight per week from now until about two weeks before birth. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Nap Time

I now have a 3pm wall that I hit everyday. Apparently, I hit it before being able to fold the laundry this time.

Cleo loves nap time too.

Breast Feeding Class 101

I attended my first baby class today and learned so much! It was a breast feeding class and, to be honest, this is the thing that I am most scared about. I'm just scared that I'm not going to be any good at it or I won't be able to do it for some reason. I'd really like to breast feed for at least the first 6 months, if not the entire first year because of the long term benefits for the baby, but like any mother, I'm just nervous because I've heard it's hard. Today's class definitely put some of those worries at ease.

On a side note- I just LOVE Hoag hospital. It's a beautiful/newer hospital (did I mention ocean view rooms for all maternity?) and they are just so great there. They really promote breast feeding and have an entire team dedicated to helping new mothers breast feed properly. The class that I took today, along with the extra support at the hosptial has made me feel a lot better.

On a funny note now- the info said that "BIRTH PARTNERS SHOULD ATTEND ALL CLASSES" (yes, just like that, in CAPS), but I told Ryan that he didn't need to come to this class because I couldn't imagine how much he would get out of a 2 hour breast feeding class, ((plus the surf was really great today so I thought he should go enjoy that- what a good wife I am!)). I am SO glad I didn't drag him along! The class had about 25 couples and I was 1 of about 3 that didn't have my "BIRTH PARTNER". These poor guys were miserable!!! Prior to this class, watching 2hours of videos with huge boobies was something that they could really get into.... not now. Trust me, these poor men are going to need to go home and throw on some Jenna Jameson to get these images of projectile lactating breasts out of their heads. After the class I was in the elevator with one of the couples and the poor guy looked like he had seen a ghost and told his wife he's scarred for life. I know that Ryan will be great when it's me doing this and he will be so helpful, but there is no reason to scar the guy right now!

On a serious note- Ryan WILL be attending our Baby Saver class with me, that's important. Kind of scared for that class, but it's necessary.

And lastly, on a "am I crazy?" note- we are choosing not to take any birthing classes. I figured that women have been doing this for thousands of years, I've seen enough videos, read enough books and we're just going to go into delivery and "wing it". (plus a friend of mine told me that they laughed through the first half of their birthing class, saw a very graphic video and left during the break- that's how I imagine Ryan and I would be, totally not taking it seriously and probably being the annoying ones in class!)

Not your typical nesting....

Fleas.

It's flea season and they are a problem out here. We don't get fleas in CO because of the altitude, so this is something that I've learned to deal with in the past 6 years since I've lived out in CA.

And the fleas LOVE Lady. Lola, not so much (she's got the spicy Mexican blood).

I have been PSYCHOTIC/NEUROTIC about fleas this year. More so than usual and Ryan and I realised last night that it may be attributed to nesting!

I bought a flea spray for the yard. I made Ryan flea bomb the house (when I was away, of course and then he was sure to wash everything). I throw things in the dryer all the time just to fry those suckers. I am crazy about putting flea meds on the dogs and cat. We really don't have many in our house, we've done a pretty good job, but it doesn't mean that I haven't been overly neurotic about it and realised last night that this may be a weird nesting-thing that I'm doing.

Why, you ask???

Well, our poor dog. I literally see 1 flea on her and I give her a flea bath. She has had 4 flea baths this week. That's right-4. She hates me.

You may remember the picture below from a previous post... just one of the MANY, MANY flea baths I have tortured this dog with this season. She looks miserable.

Poor, Poor Lady... the target of my nesting.

30 Week Round Up

Total Weight Gained/Loss? - I'll find out exactly how much at my doctor's appointment tomorrow, but I'm as big as a house... and getting BIGGER!
Sleep? - ugh. Starting to get uncomfortable. Just at night though.
Best Moment of the Week? - We just had a really great weekend filled with lots of beachtime and friends. It was great to see my friend Monika (who I have not seen for a couple of months) and the baby started kicking right when she and her husband joined us at the beach, so she got to see/feel a lot of action!
Food aversions- CHICKEN, BEEF
Food cravings- PBJ, peppercinis, Honey Smacks, cheese, jalapeno/cheese bagel with jalapeno cream cheese, a tortilla with cream cheese and peppercinis, starbucks' old fashioned donuts, fruity pebbles, peaches and plums, street meat from the HB street fair, chocolate milk (with nesquik), In N Out, Cheetos. I've realized that I'm loving anything chocolate-related these days. This includes Tootsie Rolls, Coco Pebbles and Chocolate milk- all of which I have every day.
Gender- unknown to us!
Labor Signs- NOPE
Belly Button- It's officially POPPED! (does that mean I'm done, like a turkey?)
What I miss- Wine. Hot Yoga. Sleeping on my back. Oysters on the half shell, Dancing (kairee confirmed what I had previously thought- pregnant women should definitely NOT hit the dance floor), being able to wear my wedding ring, Soft cheeses, Big Belly Deli House Salads (thanks to the bleu cheese), SLEEP, having just 1 chin, skinny arms. Brie.
What I'm looking forward to- Picking up our crib!
Weekly Wisdom- Never take any day of this amazing experience for granted.
Milestones- This kid is just kicking up a STORM. Seriously. My belly will go every which direction at once... it's so great!

30 Weeks!!!

10 weeks to go!!

Baby's now the size of a squash! Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. 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. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Baby H Update

I went in for my 2nd to last ultrasound today and Baby H would not cooperate! The tech tried and tried to get a shot of Baby H, but he/she was head down, backwards and had it's hands covering it's cute little face, so, no pics this time!

She was able to measure Baby H and he/she is weighing in at 3 lbs 8 ounces. 1 week "ahead of schedule", but she said in the 53% range, so definitely average as to where the weight should be. Not sure how you can be ahead of schedule, but average... but that's what she said!

The baby has plenty of amniotic fluid, is head down and today's heartbeat was 138- the lowest yet- Old wive's tale says below 140 and it's a BOY! We'll see.....!!!

Our Morphed Children

I went to a site today where I could morph our faces to see what our children would look like. I thought it was pretty freakin' hysterical, so wanted to post them. Here are the pictures I used:



And here are our beautiful children:

Shower Games...

My girlfriends and I are pretty much on the same page as far as shower games go, so I was very pleased that we didn't need to guess the chocolate bar in the diaper (YUCK YUCK YUCK) or worse, smell the diaper and guess what's in it (sorry Kim, that ruined me for LIFE smelling gross pickle and garlic diapers when I was 3 months pregnant- talk about nauseating!). My mom was even doing research online on shower games and found the most disgusting game yet- pin the sperm on the vagina! No joke, it's an actual baby shower game! hahaha! I couldn't believe that people actually play that! How gross?!?

Luckily, my mom and Kairee put together a fun game that was rated 0 on the gross-out meter and got Ryan involved. It was a game where we both had to answer questions and then compared our answers. I thought a couple of our answers were quite funny and thought I'd share:

How many diapers does a baby need each day?
Ryan's answer- 6
My answer- 10

How many diapers does Ryan plan on changing each day?
Ryan's answer- 2
My answer- 3

How many hours does a newborn sleep each day?
Ryan's answer- 14 hours
My answer- 14 hours

At what age does a baby start sleeping through the night?
Ryan's answer- 4 months
My answer- 4 months

At what age does a child stop needing naps?
Ryan's answer- 5 years old
My answer- 3 years old

At what age does a baby start eating solid foods?
Ryan's answer- a year and a half
My reply to Ryan's answer- "what?!?!? he expects me to breast feed for a year and a half?!?"
My answer- 6 months

Do you think your baby will be born with a lot of hair?
Ryan's answer- yes
My answer- no

How many kids do you want to have?
Ryan's answer- 2
My answer- 3


Who'll be the firm parent and who'll be a pushover?
We both had a hard time with this one, especially since we don't know what we're having. We both think that if we have a girl, he'll be a pushover and I'll be firm and if we have a boy, the opposite.

Kinda fun, huh? Thank god my guests weren't forced to identify poopy diapers or worse.... participate in x-rated shower games (although, on second thought, that would have been the most memorable game ever!).

Colorado Baby Shower: 8/15/2010

I had the most wonderful weekend thanks to my mom, nana and Kairee. They hosted a beautiful shower and I am just so lucky to have great friends and family! The weekend went way too fast... It's strange to think that the next time we'll be out in Colorado with a baby!!

Here are some fun photos from the Baby Shower (Miss McKenna totally stole the show!):

29 Weeks!

Your baby is growing rapidly now. This week he weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is getting bigger to accommodate his growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

So many pounds ago....

I was just checking out some of the belly pictures we've taken in the past 6 months and had to laugh. This was our first belly picture at 7 weeks:

Let the nesting begin!

I'm leaving for CO tomorrow for my shower and could not be more excited!! Within the past week, we actually started preparing for the baby! My mom and dad got us a beautiful glider. It's the most comfortable thing I've ever sat in and Ryan wants to move it out to the living room as his recliner (I told him that, unfortunately, we would not be doing that). These gliders on not your mama's old rocking chair... they are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The ottoman even "glides". Check it out:

You'll also notice the mattress in the background thanks to my wonderful in-laws! Shelly and I went crib shopping last saturday and I had so much fun introducing her to the "Baby Superstore"... it was just a fun girls day and we picked out this crib (I'm anxiously waiting for them to call and let me know we can pick it up!):

And just for fun... here's Ryan and his "baby", Lady. This poor dog does not even know what is coming her way in 2.5 months from now. She better suck this up now....

Week 28 ------>>> 7 MONTHS!!!

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

The Third Trimester

As most of you know, one of my best girlfriends Kairee is pregnant as well. It's been such an amazing experience sharing this time with her and it's something I will never forget. I'll be heading home next weekend for my shower that my mom, nana and Kairee are hosting. I am so excited. Truly, cannot wait!!!

Anyway, for those of you that don't know Kairee, she has the same crazy sense of humor that I do. All of our girlfriends do. That's why I love them so much. I just keep going back to something she posted on her blog the other day that really made me laugh because I feel the same way right now. Here is Kairee's letter to the 3rd trimester, just thought I'd share...

Dear Third Trimester,

It's nice to meet you. Our names are Kairee and Elvis, and we come in peace. We saw our Dr yesterday and he told us that we're in your world now.

We've heard some rumors about you, that you're uncomfortable, can cause something called kanckles, and can cause babies to be stubborn towards the end of our time together. I'm hoping we can just all get along.

We were sent from our pals, First and Second Trimesters and they were pretty nice to us. They too, caused some tiredness and a few aches, but overall, they were pretty mild and nice.

So, here we go last Trimester. I hope this can be an agreeable time together. Please be nice to us.

Yours Truly,
Kairee and Elvis

27 Week Round-Up

Total Weight Gained/Loss? - ACTUAL: 27 lbs FEELS LIKE: 500lbs
Sleep? - GREAT this week. On the other hand, Ryan is not sleeping good AT ALL. I think it just hit him that he's going to be a daddy pretty soon here and he's having a bit of anxiety!
Best Moment of the Week? - Ryan and I had a really great Saturday. We just ran a bunch of errands and then took a walk on the beach, but really got some alone time and feel like we're getting back to ourselves. We're finally able to laugh and relax (well, now that we're able to relax, like I said, reality is finally hitting ryan!). It was just good to feel normal again!
Food aversions- CHICKEN, BEEF
Food cravings- PBJ, peppercinis, Honey Smacks, cheese, jalapeno/cheese bagel with jalapeno cream cheese, a tortilla with cream cheese and peppercinis, starbucks' old fashioned donuts, fruity pebbles, peaches and plums, street meat from the HB street fair, chocolate milk (with nesquik), In N Out, Cheetos. I've realized that I'm loving anything chocolate-related these days. This includes Tootsie Rolls, Coco Pebbles and Chocolate milk- all of which I have every day.
Gender- unknown to us!
Labor Signs- NOPE
Belly Button- Sticking out a little bit, not much. The color is what's trippping me out.
What I miss- Wine. Hot Yoga. Sleeping on my back. Oysters on the half shell, Dancing (kairee confirmed what I had previously thought- pregnant women should definitely NOT hit the dance floor), being able to wear my wedding ring, Soft cheeses, Big Belly Deli House Salads (thanks to the bleu cheese), SLEEP, having just 1 chin, skinny arms.
What I'm looking forward to- Putting together the nursery!
Weekly Wisdom- Never take any day of this amazing experience for granted.
Milestones- I can now feel where the little butt is and felt a limb protruding the other night and gave it a little pinch. It's crazy that I can now tell where the baby is and what is what in some cases.

27 Weeks

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Baby's lungs are going through some major developments these days, which (combined with the opening of previously plugged nostrils) means he's now able to practice inhaling and exhaling. The lack of air in your womb means every "breath" is filled with amniotic fluid, but hey -- it's progress. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were born now.