Week 40

Major events:  Welcoming Heidi to her new home and adjusting to our new life!

Size of baby: Size of a pumpkin - here she is around 7 lbs. and a few ounces (several ounces less than her birth weight)

We are so blessed to have a tiny angel living in our house.  Baby girl is doing great and we just can't get enough of her!  

Heidi Rose

Introducing...

Heidi Rose!  She arrived into this world at 11:52 p.m. on May 20, 2014.  She weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 inches long.

Week 39

This picture was taken between contractions - about 10 minutes apart here!

Major events:  Last Rice game of the season, GOING INTO LABOR!!

Size of baby:  Personal sized watermelon

Sleep:  Baaaaad; so uncomfortable...

Cravings:  None

Movement:  Yes lots!  Love being able to feel BOTH of her feet poking out...

Belly button in or out?  IN!!!!  We made it!

Hardest part of this week:  Being so uncomfortable!!

Emotions:  Excitement!

Signs of labor:  YEP! Early labor has begun at 39 weeks and 4 days - 3 days before our due date.  

Last Rice baseball game!

Yikes! 2 nights before labor.

FAT feet!!

Bellybutton Update

Well, I think I made it.  39.5 weeks and my bellybutton is still in!  As I mentioned in my previous post I was so scared of my belly button popping out because it's very sensitive!  I have been documenting the progression not only of the growth of my stomach, but also the way my bellybutton has changed as well!  So for those wondering what visual changes these last several months have brought... here's the progress!

9 weeks

25 weeks

39 weeks - no stretch marks YAY!

39 weeks CLOSE up!

It's definitely strange looking... and so flat and squished!  I wonder what if it will go back to normal, or if it will always be a little different.  We'll see!

Week 38

    

Major events:  Mother's day; completing final preparations for Heidi!

Size of baby: Length of a leek

Sleep:  Bad as usual.  Constantly getting up to pee, tossing and turning, I always wake up feeling like I never really was in a deep sleep

Cravings:  None.

Movement:  Yup.  No longer sweet little kicks though... she is trying to BUST OUT!!

Belly button in or out?  In!!

Missing:  Beer and wine. 

Best part of this week:  THINGS are now ready for baby.  That feels good.  I had a fabulous day with a fellow pregnant friend, lunch and mani/pedis included!

Hardest part of this week:  This past week I feel like this belly has gotten too heavy.  It is starting to take a serious toll on my body.  Each night I get into bed, I feel like I did an intense leg workout at the gym that day.

Looking forward to:  Oh my gosh I can't wait to stand up and bend over to touch my toes again.  It's going to feel SO good to be squishy in the middle again!!!

Emotions:  Excited, anxious...trying so hard not to be impatient!

Signs of labor:  TMI heads up big time:  I think, I THINK, I lost the mucus plug (is there seriously not a better name for it??) over the course of a 24-48 hour period.  Maybe.  For some women, this occurrence is extremely obvious.  For others, it's not quite so evident.  (If you want to read more about this I found this website to be helpful: https://www.huggies.co.za/pregnancy/pregnancy-care/mucous-plug/)  But just like EVERY single other thing with pregnancy... this happens at different times for each woman and does not necessarily mean labor is imminent.  For some women, this happens a couple of weeks before labor, some women a couple of hours, some women during labor and some women never even know.  With the exception of your water breaking or consistent contractions, all signs of labor (in my opinion) are pretty "pointless" - meaning there really is no specific timeline, or even order of events that will tell us when we will go into labor!  It's a mystery!  Which sucks (especially for those of us who are planners!) but I know that God specifically designed it to be that way.  :)  He has to remind us silly humans that we aren't the ones in control somehow, right??

Here are some pictures of events from this past week!

Debated on whether I would post this or not... but it's pretty freaky!!

Installing the car seat!!  (And this involved only one meltdown by Ryan.  Just kidding.  Ryan never has meltdowns.  Surprise it was me.)

HOSPITAL BAGS ARE PACKED!!!!  AAAHH!!

Post lunch ice cream at my grandmas!  This is a silly sibling shot of my mom and uncle!

Pre-baby mani/pedi:  CHECK!

Nursery Update!

So now that the nursery is 90% complete, I figured I would show you what it looks like as well as share/explain a few of the products that we chose to go with!  (You can see all of our progress and before pictures here!)

Dresser/changing table.  I haven't quite worked out how to organize the top of this yet... I'm trying to avoid having to add another table or cart next to it, but there isn't much room left on top after the changing pad!  I found the baby animal watercolors on Etsy here.  They are perfect!  Exactly what I had pictured.  The streamers are a leftover decoration from the baby shower.  I really just put it up there for fun but I kind of like it now.  I haven't decided if it will remain a permanent fixture yet or not.

Here you can see the diaper pail with liner for cloth diapers, cloth wipes and inserts.  The rocking chair will be replaced by a glider in the next day or so (whenever it arrives).  However, the rocking chair will remain in the room though so that more than one person can sit down at a time.  It was used by my mom when I was a baby, so it's pretty special.  :)  

Here is the top drawer of the dresser, with all of our diapering supplies!  (I will post more details about our diaper decisions later.)  The little organizer baskets are from Ikea... and I LOVE them!!!  ($7.99 for a set of 6!!!  Found here.)

Drawer number 2:  ONESIES GALORE!  I will probably regret taking the tags off and washing every. single. onesie that we received but I don't even care!  For someone who is an organizer and planner like me... seeing everything all cleaned and ready to go and organized is kind of a turn on, not gonna lie (and yes it does bother me that the stacks aren't perfect in this picture!)  So even if she has to bypass that whole first newborn stack or if there are other things that don't fit her... worth it for my own piece of mind. I also wish that I could fit all of these items into those neat little Ikea organizers too...

And the bottom drawer.  This drawer bothers me.  This is what makes me think I need a little cart or something separate... perhaps one of those hanging closet shelf things...  Anyway.  We have burp cloths, swaddles, extra diaper pail liners, extra diaper things... I don't like keeping things that I will use frequently in the bottom drawer however, I do have to remind myself that I WILL be able to bend over again one day to actually reach these things.   Hah.

Heidi's clothes have all been washed and her dresses have been hung up in the closet.  I found the dividers on Etsy here! 

Love these little lavender-y drawer pulls from Hobby Lobby!  We are using them on the closet doors. 

The most PERFECT clock from Decoylab!!  Probably one of my favorite decorative items in the nursery and the inspiration for the whole feel of the room.  Thanks to a good friend for getting it for us :)

Now for the crib!  I had plans to put a collection of mirrors over the crib, but we haven't quite gotten around to hanging them up yet... and the mobile that we want won't be arriving until late June... I have a feeling that Heidi won't care... not to mention babies can't even see that far sooo she won't even know.  The crib is a Nursery 101 Sidney Convertible Crib found on Amazon.  I would also like to eventualy get a better/longer/cuter bed skirt, (right now its just a short white one, barely visible in this picture) but I ran outta steam trying to find one.

Some of Heidi's cute toys.  (I have plans to put some of these on a shelf, but it isn't hung yet.)

And finally the bedding!  I am pumped about our sheet situation and so excited to share about it!  I realize that most women out there like to go SUPER crazy with the bedding, get really fru-fru flowery ruffley with all 600 pieces (sheets, bumpers, quilts, dust ruffles... the list goes on...)  However, I am not that kind of girl.  In case you haven't noticed yet, I like very simple, clean looking things.  So, yes I DO realize that this crib set up looks extremely basic.  But I'm okay with that.  I prefer that.  ANYWAY, the sheets we picked are called QuickZip by Clouds and Stars (found here and on Amazon for $32.99!)  Here's why these are SO great (or so I'm told)...  Essentially the "top rectangle" of the sheet just zips right off.  This way, if you find yourself changing baby-poop-covered sheets in the middle of the night, you don't have to pull out the whole dang mattress at 3:00 a.m.  Here's a closer look:

The zipper (obviously) starts and ends at the same spot, and it tucks in nicely underneath its self.

Here you can see just one corner partially unzipped. 

Here is the base of the sheet set.  It covers the entire mattress.  You can also purchase additional "top sheets" separately without the base, so you have an extra few on hand.  As for the mattress protector/pad... I was initially concerned because the only mattress pads I have seen are like what we use on our adult mattresses - you know the fitted kind that stretches over the corners.  Well, having that would completely defeat the purpose of having the QuickZip sheets if anything at all soaked through - we would still be stuck ripping that whole dang mattress out to change the sheets!  After a simple google search...enter the full length waterproof crib pad (we went with Summer Infant).  Perfect!  (You can see the pad in the picture of the unzipped sheet above.)

So there you have it.  We still have a couple more finishing touches, (hanging some items, getting a little end table for a cute lamp that we have...) but if Baby Heidi comes today... we're ready for you...or I guess I should say your THINGS are ready for you.  We've been ready for you, thinking about you and praying for you for a lot longer :)

***Update: Here is a picture of the final product.  Completed just in the nick of time with only a few days to spare!

Week 37

Major events:  RAN A 10K! and had a super cute baby shower at Ryan's work

Size of baby:  Stalk of swiss chard

Sleep: Slept for 4 hours straight last night.  4 WHOLE HOURS!!  It was amazing. 

Belly button in or out?  STILL IN!!!

Best part of this week:  Successfully running a 10K.  While it was the slowest pace I have ever run, I did it.  I can't tell you how great that felt, how grateful that I am to still be able to run and how proud of myself I am.  

Hardest part of this week:  Absolutely NOTHING fits me.  It's insane.  And I'm not going to go buy new stuff so I can wear it for  2 - 4 more weeks.  I'm not super stressed over this or anything, but it's a bit of a pain.  I have gone out in public with this huge gut hanging out.  Sorry people, but I just don't really care any more.  

Looking forward to:  Meeting our baby girl SO soon!!

Emotions:  Trying to enjoy these last few weeks of pregnancy, happy that I feel so great!

Signs of labor:  None yet!  However, my mom never had any signs until she actually went into labor.  I really think that this thing is gonna go down the same way as her l&d... but we'll see!

Week 36

Major events:  A wedding, a cooking class and baby shower #2!

Size of baby:  Head of Romaine lettuce

Missing:  Hugging my husband without a basketball between us!

Signs of labor:  No signs of labor yet.  I have noticed that over the course of the last couple of weeks that I will feel very cramp-y (it feels very similar to menstrual cramps).  However, it is definitely not to the point where I would even consider calling these contractions or Braxton Hicks.  The cramps are limited to my lower lower abdomen (not even where my uterus IS but rather where it used to be...), my stomach does not tense up at all and there is no real start or stop.  (Braxton Hicks are also 'supposed to be' relatively painless allegedly.)  I think this is just pain from all of the downwards pressure, as I can often feel her head squirming around on my bladder during these times of discomfort. 

So April was a crazy crazy month, filled with SO many things.  Fun and exciting things.  But I'm glad that it's over.  May is finally here and Ryan and I can finally shift our attention 100% to each other, our family and our new little addition.  I really did not have many opportunities in April to post updates, other than just the usual weekly recaps, but I am hoping that over the next couple of weeks I will have some more time to post before Baby Heidi arrives!  Nothing much has changed between last week and this week, so I have limited this weeks post to just a picture and the facts.  I have added a "signs of labor" section as well, to document if/when I notice things starting to warm up!  Check back soon for more on how this last month of pregnancy is going for us.