Lauren's Gifts from Abroad

Our best friends, Justin and Kim who live in Spain while Kim in stationed there, went on a Mediterranean cruise in early July. This past week, we received a package for Lauren from them. It contained a bib from Italy (the tag is written in Italian). There was a man who embroidered names on the items, by hand, while you waited, so Justin and Kim had him embroider Lauren's name!



Here is the man who embroidered the bib.


They have also been on a quest since March to find some sort of clothing with Spanish on it to help teach Lauren Spanish early. They found Johnson's baby lotion, bath, and shampoo in Spanish, but no clothes. They started noticing that the children in their town wore clothes written in English or French but not Spanish. (Very odd, considering that the people in their tiny town only speak Spanish!!) However, they finally found some onesies with animal names written in Spanish, but it turned out to be Italian! We have onesies sporting un gatto (cat), un leone (lion), una giraffa (giraffe), un coniglio (bunny or rabbit), una tigre (tiger), and una pecoia. We aren't sure about the last one (the spelling or the picture). The picture looks like a bear with a Ronald McDonald Afro!



Thanks for thinking of Lauren, you two! She'll look adorable in these next summer!!

38 Weeks

Not much has been going on. A friend of ours from birthing class had her baby this morning around 1:30. We were up to visit yesterday and all of the birthing rooms were full. (I believe that there are 8.) I had a dream last night that as we were leaving, they had women lined up like they were in a grocery store check out, delivering babies on conveyer belts! Yikes! When we went to see them and the baby this evening, all of the birthing rooms, again, were full. There is a full moon on July 30, so I'm praying that we don't get caught up in that frenzy which the nurses say begins two days before and lasts two days after the full moon. As long as we make it to August 1st...however, my doctor is on vacation until August 4th.

Lauren's puts on about 1/2 ounce of fat daily to get ready for her arrival. Adding the fat helps with regulating her body temperature once she's here as well as keeps her blood sugar levels stable. Her brain continues to develop. She is about 6-7 1/2 pounds right now and approximately 20 inches long. All of her organs have matured. She can grasp things firmly now.

Doctor's Appointment 07-25-07

No change! I'm still dilated 1.5 cm. My belly still measures 32. I actually did not gain any weight between last week and this week, so I'm still at 150. My doctor is going on vacation this week, so I'm seeing another doctor next week. Just pray that the full moon on July 30 doesn't inspire Lauren to want to make an early appearance!

Lauren's Nursery

Here are the major pictures of Lauren's nursery. There seems to be a pink tint in the pictures, even though her room is lavendar. (I have no idea why.) We have 3 pieces of wall decor (2 purple butterflies and 1 white flower) and a mirror to hang and we will be completely finished with her room. We spent Friday night putting together her bouncer seat and swing. Paul and I put her car seat and stroller into the Durango to get used to having them which made it a little strange after grocery shopping tonight...we had no space in the back of the Durango to put the bags!

The far right wall, when you walk in the door, contains Lauren's closet which takes up the entire wall, so I didn't take a picture of it.



Dresser/changing table (I put her diapers in a drawer to cut down on clutter.) This is what you see as you walk in the door.



Chest of drawers and bookshelf. These are in the far left corner of her room, looking in from the door. You can also see her hamper and swing between the dressers. The rocking chair Grandma Wade gave us for her (used by Lauren's Grandpa Wade when he was little!) is tucked in the corner between her chest of drawers and bookshelf. You can also see the corner of the crib.



Lauren's crib with bedding. Even the sheet saver and baby chucks are in place, just waiting for her!

37 Weeks

As of today, Lauren is considered full term and could come with no expected problems! (However, Lauren and I have discussed this at length that she is not to put me in labor until at least August 1 at 2:30 pm, the end of my final graduate class.) She's still been moving around quite a bit, but I don't believe she has dropped further.

The baby book said Lauren weighs about 6.5 to 8 pounds and is about 21 inches long. I've been trying to guestimate how long she is by feeling where her head to tush is, then the tush to her toes. I think she'll have a short torso and longer legs, but I don't think she'll be super long based on feeling my belly. Who knows? My stomach has been super hard lately, as well as itchy.

We still have a few odds and ends to do in Lauren's room (hanging things). I have her diaper bag all ready to go. My bags are packed and ready to go when it's time, as well. The carseat inspector was on vacation this week, but I left a message (and hope he'll return my call) to set up a time for car seat installation. The countdown has begun!

Doctor's Appt. 07-18-07

I've gained 4 more pounds (it should only be 1-2!), so I'm at exactly 150 pounds. YIKES! I never thought that I'd see that number! However, it's all belly. My doctor isn't worried because my belly measure is 32 at 36 weeks. My blood pressure is normal (104/64). Lauren's heartbeat is still nice and strong. I'm still dilated at 1.5 cm, so I haven't had any changes in that area, which is good. I only have 2 more weeks of graduate school (27 hours and counting), so as long as I can make it to August 1st at 2:30 pm before going into labor, we're good to go!

36 Weeks

A full-frontal belly shot!! You can even see (a little bit) of my remaining waist!

Lauren has dropped more between last night and this morning! I have about an inch and half to a two inch drop total by my estimate. My belly is more tear shaped than round, too. I've decided that it's probably time to hang up the leash to sit back and relax. Having Lauren early wouldn't be bad, but at the same time, I still need to mentally prepare myself to give birth. This is the last thing on my to-do list and I'm finding that I'm having a really difficult time wrapping my head around it. I know she has to come one way or another (and it looks like I know how Lauren wants to come!), but it's the final step...adding Lauren to our family in body, mind, and personality!

She weighs between 5.5 and 6 pounds and is about the size of a baseball hat (according to one website). She's around 19 inches long. Her kidneys have fully developed and are working now completely. Lauren puts on about an ounce a day.

I've gained 25 pounds and the suggested weight gain for me now is between 25-30 pounds. I will be considered full-term as of next week, so Lauren is safe to come after that.

Classes

Paul and I have been quite busy preparing for Lauren's arrival. We attended the hospital tour on Monday and got the nitty-gritty. Our hospital offers in-home care 2-5 days after I'm discharged from the hospital to make sure that both Lauren and I are doing fine. Isn't this neat? I'm going to sign up for that. We know where to enter the hospital, where to park, and where we'll start in the birthing rooms. It was reassuring to see all of this ahead of time and have questions answered.

Then on Tuesday, we attended an infant/child CPR class through the Red Cross. My parents contributed to this class as part of our baby shower gift. We are better prepared what to do should we need to.

Next week starts my breastfeeding classes. Paul doesn't want to go, but the lactation consultants encourage spouses to attened for support. We'll see what happens!

Doctor's Appointment 07-11-07

I had an appointment with my doctor today. I had my iron checked (13.1) and was told that I was in a good range, keep up what I've been doing (which has been to take a low dose iron supplement each day in addition to my prenatal vitamin). I gained about 3.5 pounds, about a pound and a half too much, but it totals about 25 pounds, but my doctor isn't worried about the extra weight.

I had asked Dr. Faruque if I had dropped because I've noticed an extra inch of space below the elastic band on my bra in the past week. It isn't anything huge that anyone would notice normally, but I've felt a little different lately (less pressure higher up and more pressure in my lower pelvic region). I actually asked two girlfriends this morning before my graduate class if they thought I had dropped and they weren't sure. Then, and this is the bizarre part, two other girls in my class, about 3 hours later, asked if I had dropped because they said my belly looked different!

So, during my pelvic check today, Dr. Faruque said that yes, I had in fact dropped some! I am 1.5 cm dilated already! She seemed surprised. I also got the talk on when to go to the hospital when in labor and the such. She said, too, that she believes my labor will be less than 24 hours and thinks that it will actually be more around 12 hours. (I was also reminded that it wouldn't be pain-free.)

Everything is on the up and up and moving along smoothly! I've been getting up at 6 am to walk the neighbor's dog each morning. Our walks vary between 1 and 2 miles, depending on how I'm feeling. Thursday is my last class for my clinical in Davie Co. (about an hour away from my home). I start my LAST graduate class on Monday and will be completely done on August 1st! I'm so excited!! Just say some prayers that Lauren comes Aug. 1 or later!

35 Weeks

I think that I experienced my first contraction last Saturday. I was on the phone with the neighbor and tried to sit up to roll (yes, roll!) out of the chair to get a glass of water. As I did, I had a sharp pain on my right side that took my breath away. It went away after about 20-30 seconds, but nothing else happened. Other than that, Lauren has been really active this week. She's moved positions again and it feels as though her feet are directly under my heart. My belly looks more full in the direct middle, too. As of this morning, though, it looks like she's curled up on my right side.

She weighs over 5 pounds now. The really scary thing is that she can arrive in 2 weeks and be full term! I don't know if I'm ready for that or not! (Besides, I have 4 weeks left of classes until I finish my master's program!!!) Paul has bet that she'll come on Aug. 8, but my friends Justin and Kim are getting married on Aug. 9, so Paul's new prediction is that I'll go into labor on the 8th and have her on the 9th. Only time will tell!

I've been in pretty good spirits. I'm getting up 2-3 times a night to use the restroom, so my sleep has been interrupted more, but I'm not in the mood to nap (even though I do have time). I cannot stand for long periods of time, so I'm sitting more, but this makes me feel like I'm not doing enough. Paul keeps telling me to relax and rest. I'm still walking Buster (the neighbor's dog) just about every day, but instead of our 2 mile walks, I've had to cut it back to about a mile, maybe a little less.

My plans for this week include getting our hospital bags packed, getting Lauren's car seat installed in the car (and having it checked at our fire department--there is a certified car seat checker there), and washing all of her bedding and clothes that I think she'll need for the first few weeks. Paul and I are also planning on attending the hospital tour this Monday to see where we need to go and investigate the goings on of the labor and delivery wing. On Tuesday, we're going to take an infant CPR course, courtesy of my parents, to make sure we have training in case something happens.

The crib is in!!

I went yard sale-ing Saturday morning (and I bought nothing!). When I returned, I had a call from Babies R Us that our crib was in! It is the Mon Cheri crib from Issi (in case you want to search the internet for a better picture, but my picture has Lauren's bedding!). We are not completely done with Lauren's nursery. We need to get some baskets to help organize her closet space as well as some for her dressers. Once I have those things organized and some things hung on the wall (her mirror, name letters, and pictures), I will post more pictures. Here is a teaser!



Here is also what my belly button looks like. It's a little strange. I've always had an inny, but this looks like it wants to be an outie, it just doesn't know how! To me, it looks like my belly button is growing down, filling in the inny portion. It grosses me out! Paul just laughs!