Some Unexpected News

Jeff and I went to our 9 month appt on Thursday to find out that Baby Girl BH needs to come early. Although the amount of amnio fluid present is good and her heartbeat is strong, she is very small. We find out on Tuesday afternoon if I'll go to the hospital on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning to get induced. As you can imagine, this came as a pretty significant surprise. At first it was a little scary, but we are confident that our doctor has the best in mind for us and our little girl.

So...we thought we had 4 weeks to prepare. Turns out we have had 5 days to get all of the final prepartions completed. Needless to say, we have been wildly busy! We have...

• Finished hanging things in the baby's room
• Lined up the dog sitter
• Grocery shopped
• Cooked meals to freeze
• Packed for the hospital
• Finished the laundry
• Changed the sheets on all the beds
• Got caught up on bills
• Got Jeff's car cleaned and installed the car seat
• Set up the pack-n-play
• Introduced the dogs to a fake baby, in hopes of getting them a little acclimated

Most of our list is complete. We still have a few things to do, including a little bit of cleaning, but things are looking good. Especially considering the unexpected news and shortened timeline.

We'll do our best to keep everyone posted on Baby Girl BH's arrival.

More Showers

This is my surprise face. This is how I look when my co-workers throw me a surprise baby shower. How nice are they?? And sneaky. :)

My book club also had a shower for Baby Girl BH as did our neighbors, who are affectionately called "The Reservists" (we live in a neighborhood called The Reserve").

Some highlights from the showers:

Work: We had a beautiful cake that was created as a jack-in-the box with a giraffe popping out. We were also given one of the gifts we were most excited to get, which is the space themed play mat.

Book Club: Can you guess the theme? Books! We got loads and loads of beautiful books that we have been reading to Baby Girl BH each night. It's become a nice way to end our day.

The Reservists: Tater tots (my pregnancy craving) and vegan cupcakes. Oh yea, it was good eats! I was also the winner of our baby bottle drinking bracket.

We are so touched by the generosity of our friends. We are lucky that Baby Girl BH will be surrounded by so many people who care about us and who will care about her, too.

The Maternity Ward

This week Jeff and I had the opportunity to tour our hospital's maternity ward. I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised with the set-up.

First of all, single rooms! Yes, I said it. Single rooms. We get to have a room all to ourselves for delivery and then for post-partum. They are very roomy and have a lot of amenities. Each room has a pull out sofa (so Jeff has room to sleep), a tv/dvd set up, a rocking chair, adjustable lighting, a blanket warmer, a bathroom with a small soaking tub, and access to large jacuzzi tubs on the floor. They also have cribs so you can keep the baby in the room with you. You can even get room service! This way Jeff doesn't have to leave me during labor. ;)

Although we don't know exactly how the birth will go, it is comforting to know where it will all happen. Now to create our birth plan.

Family Visit - Part 4

Last weekend Sheldon and Jake, Jeff's father and nephew, came for a visit. When they first arrived, we introduced them to our favorite Mexican Restaurant, Dos Reales, and spent the night visiting. We also did lots of iPad talking, as Jake, Sheldon, and I all have one. :)

Saturday and Sunday were baseball days for the boys. First, was a trip to historic Wrigley Field in Chicago with seats thanks to a Father's Day gift from Cheryl, Jeff's sister. Sheldon and Jake got certificates commemorating their first trip to the field. As Jeff said, it was "offensive explosion" so there was a lot of action to be seen.

Sunday was a Chief's game in Peoria, IL. The Chief's are a Single A farm team of the Cubs. This was a pretty exciting game for the guys. Jeff caught a foul ball and Jake got a game-used bat. After the game, he was able to get it signed by the team's starting line-up. Pretty cool!

After a couple of hot game days, we spent Sunday night in the air conditioning watching "Harry Potter - The Deathly Hallows, Part 2." Of course this was my favorite part of the weekend!

A pretty fun guy's weekend, huh? Three generations of family enjoy ball games.

Childbirth Classes 1-3

Jeff and I have been to 3 of our 4 child birth classes so far. And although we had heard some grumblings from people about the usefulness of the classes, we have gotten some good information by attending them.

Our leader is Paula, and she is a hoot! You can definitely tell she not only enjoys what she does, she is a good fit for it. Jeff and I get a kick out of her teaching style and the cadence she uses when she's talking.

Since it is a child birthing class, we've focused on managing the labor and delivery experience. We've learned (and practiced) breathing techniques and experimented with different laboring positions. Some of this is a little awkward to do in public, admittedly. Well, awkward for me. Paula is a champ at deep breathing, "hee hee" and "choo choo" breaths, and moaning (she really likes the moaning). Even though it's a little uncomfortable, we do think it's good practice. I suppose we'll know for sure once I'm in labor.

We've also gone over the different ways the coach (that's Jeff!) can help the mama-to-be (yours truly) get comfortable, conserve energy, and feel supported. Massage is one of the techniques. I think Jeff should practice this now! :) Then there are the medical interventions, such as pain killers and epidurals. A lot of information there!

And what child birthing class would be complete without actual birthing videos? We've seen both a vaginal and a cesarean birth. These were firsts for Jeff and he really did great with them. Much better than people in my health class when I was in school. Ha!

Next week we tour labor and delivery. I'm eager to see where Baby Girl BH will be born!

Other future classes include a Daddy's only class for Jeff and a newborn care and breastfeeding class we'll both attend. I hope we get straight A's!

Fun Facts

Here are some fun facts about the current state of my pregnancy.

• I now sound like an old person when I bend over. *grunt*
• Bending over is getting to be challenging. I have to squat to pick thing up now.
• The heat is really starting to get to me. Too much time in it takes all the energy right out of me.
• The heat makes me swell. If I'm out in it for too long my feet and hands look like those of a Cabbage Patch doll.
• It feels amazing to get belly rubs. They are great to relax my middle and help me sleep at night. (Thanks, Jeff!)
• Still getting up early to walk in the mornings. These walks make me feel good and I appreciate Jeff getting up to take them with me.
• I still love being pregnant.

Baby Face

On Friday Jeff and I went in for another targeted ultrasound followed by a check up with our nurse practitioner. Baby Girl BH is doing great! Her growth is in the healthy/normal range, which is always so comforting to hear. During the session, the tech was able to capture a picture of our little girl's face straight on. This is a first for us! We saw her yawning, which was absolutely adorable. We recognize that ultrasound pics are a little creepy, but we were still excited to get the one posted here. Can you make out her face?

The tech also told us she has some hair on her little head. She also pointed out which body parts were where, giving me more of an idea of what bits of her I can feel by touching my belly. Right now she is head down. Let's hope that is a position she likes for August!

Our check up went well, too. These appointments have all been good, thanks to a great nurse practitioner (who is hilarious) and a really wonderful and personable doctor. Here are some stats at what was the 32w2d mark...

Pounds gained: 25 pounds

Cravings: still with the potatoes of any kind. I think I have a problem! A tasty, tasty problem.

Movements: I've been getting more action in my side than before. Sometimes it feels like it is a pair of feet pushing out. I do love the movements, no matter what they are.

Symptoms: Heart burn is still present, but I'm just going to go ahead and expect that to be part of life until after the baby.

Sleep: Meh. Sometimes it's ok, sometimes it's interrupted with frequent bathroom trips and adjustments in position. I've also caught myself snoring a couple times (and I'm sure Jeff has, too). I hope *that* goes away after the baby.

Overall feeling: Still feeling very good! Trying to keep active and not let the lazy bone keep me lounging around. The heat is my current nemesis. Too much and I am one wiped out lady!

Family Visit - Part 3

Last weekend Jeff and I packed up the car and headed to Maryland for a baby shower and to visit with Jeff's dad.

If you can believe it, this was my very first baby shower. Although I'm not sure I can capture the entire event, here are some fun tidbits.

Hostesses: My MIL Linda, SIL Cheryl, and bestie Hope

Location: Hope's house

Guests: Family friends, work colleagues, and family

Games: None! Yay! :)

Theme: I'm not a huge theme person, so one wasn't truly incorporated into the day. If you want to press me for one, I'd call it a shower of favorites. The shower had my favorite desserts (rainbow cake and cupcakes from Grauls) and a vegetarian platter from a favorite Mediterranean restaurant, Cafe Isis. There were also orange gerber daisies and purple hydrangeas serving as decorations. I love those flowers and their colors.

Special touch: After each gift was opened, the person who gave the gift shared a piece of advice that she had written on a little card. It was so much fun to hear what everyone had to say. We now have these cards in an album so we can go back and read them as often as wanted (or needed?!?!).

It's clear that Linda, Cheryl, and Hope worked hard to make sure the day was special for me. How lucky am I??

The next day, Jeff and I went to dinner with his dad, Sheldon. Additionally, Cheryl, our nephew and niece Jake and Mckenna, and cousins Linda and Talia were at dinner. We tried a new-to-us restaurant, sat a big table, and pretty much had Sunday dinner. How nice for Sheldon to make it a family affair. It was a great way to end our weekend in Maryland.