So close

Only 2 more weeks (give or take). We are feeling prepared around the house but don't know how mentally prepared we are. Sleeping has become incredibly difficult these days. I have to move from side to side often to prevent the circulation being cut off in my arms and hands.. but to roll over takes a lot of work. No surprise that Greg spends some nights on the couch so he can get better sleep. Still doing my water aerobics as of last week, still feeling pretty good in the water any way.

I attached a couple pictures. Nursery isn't quite ready for a full photo shoot but I do have one of the crib with the bedding my mom bought us and the painting we bought by Charles Houska. We don't have all our decorations for the room yet but that is ok because we don't want to just fill it with anything. We would rather look out for special animal items when we are out and about. The other picture is of Greg installing the car seat base in my car. He made me laugh.

And it starts

And it starts…… So I have been hearing all these stories about the trials and tribulations of pregnancy and I figured it would come in time… well it has arrived. My feet have been slowly getting a little bigger on busy days but last Friday they were almost unrecognizable. Yuck. When we’ve been out, Greg has been offering to drop me off and pick me up at the front doors and that was the first day I took him up on the offer. I had been hoping to last longer on the door service but with only 5 more weeks left, I might as well just give in. I have also had to stop wearing my wedding ring most days. Traded it out for a ring from my trip to Ireland.

The Braxton Hicks (pre-labor) contractions have been increasing. This week, I have had to teach two full, back-to-back days of classes. I got hooked up with good chairs so I was able to sit the majority of the time but it still wore me out. The second day included sharp back pain that has now turned to stiffness. Feels like Kiwi is growing every day and running out of room.

Tums have also become my friend. Need about 3 times a week. Cravings have started too. Really didn’t have much early on with the exception of baked potatoes (weird) but now I am craving sweets, any kind: chocolate, sugary, ice cream, cookies. You name it, I want it. I have slowed down quite a bit but I am still doing water aerobics and just finished up my pre-natal yoga class. Activity has really helped me keep stress down and hopefully manage my weight.

31+/- more days!

April Showers

April brought lots of rain in St. Louis and two baby showers. My coworkers threw a surprise shower for me at a local restaurant on Tuesday, April 14 and the planned shower with friends and family was on Sunday, April 19 at Dave and Deborah O'Brien's house. Both were wonderful.



Many coworkers chipped in and together they gave us our car seat and stroller combo along with other goodies including a Cardinal's onesie. It was a great surprise and a huge load off of us. The Sunday shower was really nice as well and brought lots of goodies. Greg and I are feeling much more prepared for baby. Stay tuned for pictures of the nursery. It is almost ready.


Picture from the work shower:



















Picture of the baby room as I go through all the good stuff:

Home Stretch

Only 9 more weeks - more or less. Starting to get a bit nervous as the due date looms closer. I attached a picture of my favorite muppet Beaker. He symbolizes how I feel some days with my pregnancy brain, crazy work situation, and getting ready for baby. I would rather add an ultrasound picture but the ones we have been getting lately from the doctor's visits aren't too clear especially after scanning.



Since my last post Kiwi has been moving a bunch on a regular basis. We can't see hands or feet yet but baby isn't shy to explore his or her world. I am looking forward to the day that one of the cats is laying close and the baby gives a swift kick.

In late March we attended a childbirth class at Missouri Baptist Hospital. After all of our reading, about 50% or less was new information for us but I am glad we did it. Felt like a "rite of passage." We watched plenty of video of woman going through the pains of labor and trying to cope naturally. Greg couldn't help but laugh (a little too hard at times) as he imagined facing that with me. I haven't decided on the naturally part yet but I am sure that his coaching skills (and patience) will be put to the test. I think he will be a great coach. Next round of classes are in May. We are doing both a Breastfeeding class and Infant CPR. I think the more we both educate ourselves, the better we are with the unknown.

I am already looking forward to my time off of work. I am taking 12 weeks so I will end up returning some time close to Labor Day. I plan to take it easy in July but then go visiting family in August. I just know the time is going to fly.

Baby Bump in London

We safely made our way to London and back in early March despite a broken foot and baby on board. My coworker calls it a "baby-moon", the last trip together before the baby is born. I am really glad we did it. London really isn't our ideal vacation as we usually like to be a bit more adventurous but it was perfect for us considering the timing.

Flying pregnant was a little bit different. The flight from STL to Chicago was smooth and no problems but Chicago to London was a bit tough. I can't sleep on a plane usually anyway, but this time was especially tough because I wanted rest so bad. Greg can sleep anywhere I think. I also got sick on the descent. My insides felt squished together and bloated and I couldn't help but "toss my cookies." No problems on the flight back though.

My foot slowed us down much more than being pregnant did. We did more than I thought we would though. I totally wore myself out on our first full day spending over 5 hours in the National Art Gallery. We couldn't help ourselves, there was so much good stuff: Gaugin, Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat, and a special exhibit of Picasso. There was a bunch of pre-impressionism as well.

Food was nothing to get too excited about. Of course there was the pub food but we tried other things like Taiwanese, Thai, and Indian. I am not a fan of Indian food so we found a great Tapas Indian place that was perfect for me. That night I saved room for dessert at a Belgium waffle bar.

Our trip coincided with Six Nations Rubgy Championship. England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and France compete for the Grand Slam. We watched Ireland beat Wales on tv on Saturday then watched England embarrass France in a pub on Sunday. Neither of us really know how the game works but it was still fun.

Some of the other sites we saw included the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, the British Museum, Harrod's Department Store, Camden Locks Market, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London. No late nights or crazy drinking in the pubs like on some of our other trips. We were in London during their St. Patrick's Day Parade and it was a beautiful day. The parade itself wasn't anything more than the Dogtown Parade in St. Louis but they did have a big concert in Trafalgar Square all afternoon.

Friday the 13th!

Friday the 13th (of February) brought us quite a scare. Getting ready to leave in the morning for both work and a trip to Pennsylvania to visit the Plank Family, I picked up Rigby from the landing on the stairs so she wouldn't sneak out and then I headed down the remaining stairs to grab something. Not able to see, my left foot stepped on my right pant leg and I took a fast trip down the remaining 3 stairs. Rigby went flying and my legs came underneath me taking most of the fall. Based on the pain I was feeling, I thought my feet were severed at the ankles but in about 5 to 10 minutes I was up and walking with what felt like a sprain in my right foot.





We headed to work. I checked in with my OB office and all seemed fine. Baby was alive and kickin' and I showed no signs of distress. I had to teach a class that day so I walked around with an awkward limp for about 5 hours not thinking too much more about it. Finally, at about 2:00, it became impossible to walk on and swelled up to almost twice its size. I turned my class over to a coworker and headed to urgent care where I learned I had sprained it on both sides of the ankle and suffered an avulsion fracture. This was described to me as the ligament acting like a piece of tape holding bones together. On one side it tore a small piece of bone off, hence my earlier pain. The urgent care clinic was great in trying to get me out of there in time to head to the airport for our 7:00 flight. They rushed me through, taught me how to walk on crutches quickly and offered lots of good advice including not to put ANY weight on it until I saw an Orthopedic Surgeon. Walking out to the car on the crutches I decided it was best I not make the trip to PA with Greg. I was super sad about this but very scared I might fall again and hurt myself or the baby worse.





So I spent the weekend watching movies recovering at home and moving as little as possible. Lots of friends stopped by to bring treats or movies and keep me company. I saw a specialist on Monday afternoon who gave me the good news -
no surgery necessary. The sprains will heal with the help of an air cast (big ugly gray boot) and the little bone that came off will just stay there. I will be in the cast for a few weeks which is a pain but the way I see it, could have been a lot worse. I attached a picture of my ugly feet to compare size. This is before the bruising has started setting in. Very ugly.

20 Weeks

We had our comprehensive ultrasound today where they do measurements and look for major organs. The Tech pointed out the arms, legs, face, kidneys, and bladder. We also got to see the heart beating and saw all 4 chambers doing what they should. Both the Tech and Doctor said everything looks good. She had us look away just in case we could spot the sex, but legs were closed so no big deal. I also felt the first kicking on the outside for the first time today. Just once though.

Baby Room

Slowly starting to collect items for the baby's room. Since we only have two bedrooms, it will be the other one - also known as the Freddy Free Room. Walls are already light yellow so that works well. We want to do animals and primary/bright colors. I posted some pictures of a few of the decorations we have so far. The kitty we found on our trip to Costa Rica and we just picked up the sock puppet at the Stockholm Inn restaurant in Rockford. If you see other decorations or bedding that is similar, let us know. I would like to get a painting from a local artist, Charles Houska. Saw his work years ago and decided then I would come back some day for a child's room. I plan to stop by his gallery soon. Check out his style: http://www.houska.com/