40 Weeks today and the baby seems pretty comfy where it is for now. Tomorrow is the full moon, so we'll see if that has anything to do with anything. I'm hoping for a clear night so we can take a walk in it. L is pretty keen on the idea of a moon walk.

I have my next prenatal tomorrow. Day to day I feel various bits of progress while at night it is all painless tightening.

This evening I did have a horrible back ache on one side earlier this evening, along with contractions, which made me wonder for a bit. The heated rice sock and relaxing helped and I feel pretty good now.

Week 39 and 3 days. Well, 4 days tomorrow. I'm bouncing from feeling close to feeling so far away. Our prenatal went well on Saturday. All is well. I've gone to feeling very little cervical pressure last week to feeling much more directly after our prenatal.

I am feeling nervous about being too far from home when it is just L and I at this point, so M joined us at the chiropractor this afternoon. I didn't get a chance to hit the grocery store this weekend, so we stopped tonight and I'll be making M's requested meal (Spaghetti & Meatballs) as well as his birthday cake tomorrow. (His birthday was today.

I did finish up some last minute sewing stuff, mainly getting buttons on bibs and drawstrings on soakers, which may or may not fit baby at all, but I know I won't feel like tackling them once baby is here. Other projects previously finished include more wipes and burp cloths. I originally started knitting burp cloths, but the size just isn't right. Instead I have three new, if a bit large, dishcloths. This is good because I didn't knit any for myself at Christmas.

39 Week Shot:


There are shots of the belly without the cutie in the way in May 2009, but I'm actually measuring smaller due to baby getting lower, so it's not much different than it has been.

Our spring flowers are already dropping petals so L picked some to have inside:


Looking back I notice L is in the same shirt for the last three posts. We've purchased 2 shirts that were a bit bigger this year (thinking all of last year's 3Ts would still fit) and found those 3T's are just a bit too snug now. Hence the shirt repeats. I've picked up one more but really, if it's clean, why not wear the hell out of it?

Some cute shots posted in April 2009. These are from the Botanical Gardens.



39 weeks today. I went to sleep early last night and ended up waking at 3:30 AM. I was up until about 6:00AM I took a shower and noticed the slightest tinge of pink on the TP before going to bed.

I got up a couple hours later and had some more light spotting, feeling crampier and my back is a little achy. Still nothing measurable, so I'm trying not to get excited, but am happy things are progressing. L and I went to the grocery store for last minute things and spent some time walking in the rain this afternoon. I have Vegetable Beef soup cooking for dinner and I hope I'll get some rest tonight.

L has been "massaging" my belly with his hammer (very gently), then he lifted my shirt and exclaimed "The baby is coming out of your belly!"

New pictures April 2009

M turned up the water heater tonight. Since Monday or so, in the late afternoon/early evening I've felt some soreness in my lower back and Braxton Hicks that didn't feel so much like Braxton Hicks - more of a crampy and more cervical pressure. I've also felt a "need" to get all the last minute stuff done and out of the way.
I go to bed early, thinking I may need the sleep and perhaps I'll wake up to labor, only to find my contractions feel just like they had before, painless and take my breath a little.

I'm not in a hurry, but I am getting excited and hopeful.

38 Weeks:


Not much of a belly shot, but I'm just as big as usual. The flower bed behind us is where L and I planted bulbs this fall. I forgot there were tulips in there, which L has deemed his favorite flower.

There is a sweet pic of L not feeling so great this week, and Tevye decided to go curl up on his lap to snuggle with him.

A picture of the pool:



We got our adapter and tested it out this past weekend. We ran out of hot water (which will hopefully be remedied by turning up the hot water heater a few weeks before my due date). We did get it filled a bit over half way and L and I had some fun soaking in it for a while. Unfortunately, when it came time for the draining the bathroom sink started flooding at the pipe underneath. So we need a new adapter (apparently we can get into the kitchen faucet, which I did not realize), and just fill and drain from the kitchen. I'm gad we gave it a test go, so we could find this stuff out sooner than later.

We also went to the St. Louis Science Center this weekend and we all had a good time. There were lots of fun things for L to check out and explore and he got to experience his first IMAX movie, which was fun too. He told us he felt like the seats were moving.

Today we stuck around the house, baking bread and making "Wobble Heads" out of eggs for our weekly project (pictures later).

Doing the dishes with a helper:



So, in pregnancy and birth news, I have a meeting with my new attendant coming up on Monday. I'm feeling really good about the whole this.

This past Monday my chiropractor confirmed the baby is head down. Yea!! Now the baby's back is facing my right, and it is my understanding that I really want it up front or facing left. I'm doing some various position to try to help that along, and the baby moves often from one way to the other currently, so we'll see how it goes.

My only step back is that the adapter I ordered for the hose to bathroom faucet hook up to fill the tub is the wrong one. Marc is going to deal with it this weekend. I think we'll be able to get the right adapter, but I do have some worries in the back of my mind about it connecting to the hose.

We had some great weather earlier this week and got to the park a couple days. I've been spending time sorting through clothes and donating what we will not use, trying to lessen how much storage space we're using.

We had a nice St. Patrick's day, I cooked (nitrate free) corned beef & cabbage Sunday and it was really good. L declined trying any, so there were plenty for sandwich leftovers.

On another note, L decided last weekend his name was now L, instead of Baby L, as he always tells anyone who asks. When we were at the store, someone asked his name and he almost said Baby... and then caught himself and said L. It's so cool how he came to this place all by himself, although I'll admit it does make me a little sad to see him growing up. I'm glad to say this change is (so far) in name only and I'm still getting tons of sweet snuggly love.

I know some of you have read this from another place I posted. This is for those that haven't. This is an article about my Doctor, Dr. Fred Duhart, who I have been seeing for prenatal care this pregnancy and did with my first child in 2005.

http://media.www.trumanindex.com/media/storage/paper607/news/2006/02/23/Trulife/Grad-Finds.Dream-1624206.shtml

He passed away this weekend, which I am still shocked to hear. L and I saw him nearly a month ago and, as usual, he looked good and was in good spirits.

He's been very laid back and supportive during my pregnancies, and a very reassuring presence. From the time M and I first met him, we liked and trusted him. Throughout our visits, he has been so supportive of L's desire to be involved in this birth. I've really loved watching him interact with L and answer any questions he has had. It's going to be really hard to tell him.

I know how sad it is for me that he is gone. I can only imagine how much harder it is for those who have had their births with him, who had him there for support in some of the most amazing, powerful moments of their lives.

My thoughts are with his family. I know this effects them even more that we could ever experience.

Rest in peace Dr. Duhart.

A Post about shopping (because I know my family is so very interested in what kind of diapers I'm looking at). We're still planning on ECing, but cloth diaper backup worked well the first time around (and I imagine it'll be even nicer when I consider I'll have a toddler this time around).

I am looking at these:
Cotton Babies Bamboo Fittteds
I'm thinking 6 for night times will work. (6 xs, 6 small, because I believe extra small will be grown out of quickly)

Indian Prefolds
Looking at these for days. (Infant) (24 - 30)

Snappi Cloth Diaper Fastener
Snappi Cloth Diaper Fastener
Secures the Pre-folds (4)

Wool Wash
Wool Wash
For Wool Covers

Wet Bags for Diaper Bag
Still looking for this, as well as a diaper bag.

These are so cute!
Separates Top
Separates Bottom

Now these are what I wish I could sew!

Ok, now looking at my list, this probably isn't very interesting unless you are really into cloth diapers (and if I weren't having another baby, I probably wouldn't be).

A week 31 shot:

Beautiful weather since last Thursday. It's ending soon.. tomorrow I think. Here are some shots from Thursdays trip to the park:

L wowing me with his ability to climb.



He was quite proud of himself getting to the top of the dome.



I got quite a sunburn Friday, in spite of my sunscreen. L only had a touch of sun (I did better on the sunscreen on his face than myself). He also chose to wear his sweatshirt for much longer than I expected.

Last week we finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. L picked if from the book shelf last weekend and wanted me to read chapter after chapter. This is the first chapter book he has been really liked. He'd listen and kinda stare off into space. At the end of each chapter he wanted to know the name of the next and keep going. We finished this past week. I'm now planning on grabbing a used copy of James and The Giant Peach (same author), to see if we can keep it up. I have no plans of showing him the movie, which made me cry way too much at the theater.

I ordered a pool for labor/birth today. I'm glad to get it done. Friday started 31 weeks and the tie just keeps flying by. Once we get everything we'll need to do a test run to make sure we have all the right connectors and see how long it will take to fill. Woo hoo!

I've also bee narrowing down my diaper selection this time around. It's been very difficult, now that I've actually used a bunch of different kinds, but I think I have a solution that will work well. I'm also needing to find appropriate sized/season shirts/bottoms separates. I was lucky I had a whole summer to hit garage sales before L came along! Of course, shopping for baby stuff is really fun and exciting.

Pictures added to Febryary 2009

29 Weeks:



Projects this week included Turtles:


These were made with egg cartons, which were such a hit that the next day L created his own project. He cut off the taller cone sections from the egg carton, painted them inside with red and outside with black and presto, volcanoes.

I'm pretty sure he's used his scissors more than any other toy or tool in the house.


Yesterday I made homemade noodles to serve with my crockpot pot roast:



This was the first time I made noodles that were not going into Turkey or Chicken and Noodles. They were really good and well worth the time they took, which wasn't really that much. I'm still not sure how L liked them. He didn't eat many, but wasn't too hungry for dinner. While I was making them I told him how we were not going to the store for butter noodles because I was making them myself and they'd taste so much better. He informed me he was "going to go crazy, drive the car to the store, go insane and then buy noodles".

Today we received our second piece of baby gear (the first was a wrap). We got the Humanity Bed. Our bed is too low to sidecar a crib (and we didn't use the sidecar enough the first time). This looks like it will be a good solution for safe cosleeping, plus it has the absorbent pad, which will be great for the early milk leaking days and diaper leaks.

My Dr. visit this week went well. My exercising is having a positive effect on my weight gain. Everything looks good, baby sounds good. The Dr. believes the baby was head down! Of course this can change as it is early, but it's nice to hear. We've all been thinking about the baby in head down position around here, as well as saying it out loud.

We have had some fantastic weather for the last few days. Saturday we made it to the playground, all three of us and had a lot of fun. The entire day was fantastic... L laughed and played the entire day.

Tuesday we had another trip to the park to play and we also had our lunch out there. L loved having a picnic. We also went and got our taxes done... nice to have that out of the way.

I'm now in the 3rd trimester, or so my book says. I've started taking Evening Primrose Oil and am drinking Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. I've been reading Hypnobirthing.

I've added some week 27 pictures to February 2009.

I finished up my rice socks today (with removable for washing covers):


I've also baked 2 loaves of bread this week, three if you count the banana bread. L and I have spent time on making valentines, playdough, painting and general cutting and gluing "projects". I also got a few more cloth wipes done.

Shot of the kitties enjoying the sunshine:

The snow melted yesterday and I was able to make it out and up the hill to go to the city for Trivia Night. It was a lot of fun even though I didn't know nearly as much as I had hoped to. L and M had a good time hanging out together eating popcorn and watching movies while I was gone. Included was Bambi, which L liked. Not long after he woke up he decided to play that he was a hunter :)

Many Week 26 photos added to January 2009

Week 18 already? It sure didn't seem to fly this fast the first time around. I feel great. My appointment yesterday was great. L is great. Demanding, wants to play with a *grownup* non stop, climbing the walls with energy, and great. The challenge of 2 3/4s year has transformed to something a bit more fun with 3 years. Well, either that or I've gotten a little better at handling the hard parts.

He has gotten to a place where he's really amazing us with how he expresses himself. His hand gestures are adorable, as are his facial expressions. He's been coming up with these amazing stories and explanations for things... well amazing to us.

Here's the baby and the belly:

We had a great Thanksgiving. L and Papa hung out while I cooked, listening to Turkey Confidential on NPR. The food was good and the weather was nice enough for a trip to the playground after we ate. We have tons of leftovers, but I think we'll make it through the in the next week. I've got stock and Turkey Pot Pie on my mind.

Finally we can listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies! I'm so ready for the season to be here. I've been working madly on our family DVD and need to get the covers made. I'm hoping L and some watercolors will take care of that.

Today we're laying low, hanging out and listening to that already mentioned Christmas music. I won't lie, part of me wants to go to the mall to bask in the crowds and chaos, but it's a small part.

I have 2 pairs of maternity pants, both jeans, and decided I needed a pair of black pants for Christmas. Using this tutorial, I created these out of a pair of old slacks and T-Shirt:



A better view of the belly:


Week 17, btw.

I'm very happy with how these turned out and hope they'll last as I get even bigger... I stretched the band to try to get as much support as possible, so I'll have to see how much stretch it will have.

I added a few pictures to November 2008

I completely forgot to post about our Dr.'s Appt. last Friday. Last Friday I hit 14 weeks and we (L and I) got to hear the babies heartbeat for the first time. It was very cool. While we were there L spotted some pictures of a baby coming out with two hands waiting to catch the baby. L wanted to know who's hands they were. I told him sometimes it was the Dr., a midwife, the Papa or even the Mama herself. L decided he want to catch the baby and we told the Dr. that. The Dr. said he could, so we'll see how he feels closer to the day :)