Preparations and pictures

Pictures from the shower last weekend...

Cool diaper cake from Debbie! So many goodies mixed in there - socks, toys, travel shampoo, etc.!!!

The nursery is coming together. I have lined the drawers and put away most of the newborn/ 3 month clothes. I counted - we have 35 newborn/ 3 month onesies! The no leg, short sleeve version... The sizes are quite variable, so I know that little "Mandrew" will be able to wear them over a longer period of time than I think, but holy cow - 35! We are so fortunate to have gotten so many incredible gifts and hand-me-downs. I feel spoiled! I have also washed the swing/ bouncey chair/ car seat/ etc. cushions and they are hanging to dry. The bedding for the crib should be good to go, soon - we bought a matress pad at Target, so we can put it all together now! I also lined a basket for diapers that looks really cute! I'll take some more pics soon and post later this week... Next appointment, this Wednesday, for the strep B test and routine check up.

Feeling Better

I had my 35 week check up appointment today, and there wasn't any protein in my urine this time - Yeah! Blood pressure was OK - swelling of the legs/ feet still there - Not horrible.

On Sunday, Andy's family threw me a fabulous shower. His mom made cute little paninis on the spot, we played a bunch of games and I got a bunch of really nice things. I would now like some time to get things together in the nursery! It's still a work in progress - I may have some time this weekend to work on getting things together. Andy's brother, Adam, is moving back up from Eugene to the Beaverton area (just outside Portland) on Saturday and we (or just Andy) will be helping him move. I can't be much help, but I could pack stuff into boxes or unpack kitchen-type stuff... We'll see if I end up going. It will be nice having him so close again!

We also got my bathroom painted (finally - it took 2 coats) and have installed a new light fixture. We will hang the towel bar/ toiler paper holder tonight with just the final touch of window treatments and a few chotchkies before we can check that one off of "The List".

School is going OK - The kids are getting excited. I really need to start looking at getting things together for the long term sub... (Seems like I've said this before)

We'll see what I get done this weekend on the nursery - I'll post pics soon. I think I'll pack "the bag" this weekend, too, while I'm at it - Any insight from moms out there as to what I should bring with me? The hospital list says things like "2-3 nightgowns" - I don't even own one... do people still wear these?

34 weeks

My doctors appointment on Wed. went OK. The baby's heartbeat sounded good, my blood pressure was good, but my urine was very concentrated and had some protein in it. My legs were also the most swollen they've been. The nurse practitioner (love her) was a bit concerned - told me to put my feet up and drink lots of fluids and return in a week to re-test the urine. I think the issue here is pre-eclampsia, but since my blood pressure is fine - I don't think there's too much to worry about. I felt pretty tuckered out yesterday, but feel much better today (after drinking lots of fluids and resting a bit last night).

Still working on pulling the nursery together. Hope to get some work done on it Saturday, as Andy's family is throwing me a baby shower on Sunday. I still need to line the dresser drawers, wash clothes, put up wallpaper and other decorations, and I'd like to find some large (2 1/2" or larger) wooden blocks to mount on the ends of the curtain rods as cute little accents. Not sure where to find these - I've found an on-line place that you order them individually - we'll see.

We are still in the hunt for a pediatrician and a day care facility. Did some leg-work on both fronts today. Just waiting for numerous call backs for appointments... We also have some big decisions to make about me returning to work for next year. I'm leaning towards 2/3 (0.67) time - I would be able to leave (hopefully) around 1:00 or so. The other option I'm considering is 0.83 time, where I would leave about 2:30. The difference in salary/ benefits is $10K... Seems crazy for an extra 1.5 hrs of work/day. Wish us luck in our decision making - you know how we are in that department! (Slowly, but surely.)

The Furniture is Here!

The dresser combo (A bit blury - no flash) and wicker hamper.

The crib - and chair (the room looks a bit tight - we'll see if we can rearrange at all... not many options with a room that small).

The valance and old school roller shade with fabric lining (a la Jan).The hamper (with really cute removable polka dot fabric laundry bag that perfectly matches the bedding!)
The baby armoire that we put together a while back and have since loaded full of stuff for now. It will eventually look a lot neater.

It feels a bit more real now that we have all of the furniture in. Can't wait to see what the bedding/ wallpaper trim/ wall hangings will look like once they are all in! I will have to bring pics of the nursery to share at Andy's family's baby shower that they are throwing for me next weekend!

Here is a picture of us in front of Andy's dad's beach house in Seaside. We had a nice overnight with him and Andy's step-mom, Barbara, on Saturday with gorgeous weather. It was 76 degrees and sunshine all around! We had a nice walk on the Promenade, some conversation and some Mexican Train Dominoes.

Hope everyone has a great week!

33 weeks

Needless to say, since my folks left, there hasn't been a whole lot more crossed off of "The List". We did get a second coat of paint on the bathroom ceiling, but we still need to wash/ paint the walls - I'll post a pic of the whole thing, once it's done. I'm hoping we can get away with 1 coat.

We also hung up the nursery window shades that my mom made before she left. We decided to do some old school vinyl roller shades and spray adhesive some coordinating fabric to the front of them, since the windows are super tiny. I still wanted to be able to block out the light completely, so roller shades were the best cheap alternative to any custom window treatments. They turned out pretty well. She also made a simple valance (but high quality - this is Jan we're talking about) for across the top of the window. We got some nice fabric from this quilt shop in McMinnville. I'll wait until we get the last of the furniture in (this coming Monday - crib and dresser delivery) before I post a pic of the nursery. I still need to line 2 wicker baskets that I purchased to hold diapers and toys with some other neat matching fabrics. My mom already lined the wicker hamper that I got with some cute polka-dot fabric so I can take the clothes out and carry them downstairs easily. I didn't think I'd get so into this decorating the nursery thing, but it sure it fun - can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done!

My parents got like 15-20 inches of heavy wet snow the other night - Crazy winter weather! Welcome back to MN...

I have 2 full days with kids on Wed/ Thurs, followed by 4 hours of conferences each night. I have been dreading this week for a while now. With no caffeine, and barely any time for a dinner, I'm not sure how I'll make it... At least it's only a 1/2 day with no kids on Friday. I need some time to start getting my long-term sub plans together for late May/ June.

BTW - my blood stuff came back as normal for the last few weeks - hemoglobin and hematacrit levels were fine. They actually didn't even test for the antibodies again after they were non-measurable on the initial repeat of blood tests. Doctor doesn't seem too concerned - They'll just make sure to type and cross my blood when I come in for delivery to be sure they have something on hand - just in case. My next appointment is not until the 16th. The baby has been pretty active lately - Nothing too painful yet - just wiggling around, with several bouts of hiccups (which are so neat to feel!). I'm hoping he didn't inherit Andy's perpetual motion leg machine.