Babies first outfit

While going over our list of things to have ready for the birth I saw that they recommended having baby's first outfit all ready. I then realized that we have a LOT of baby clothes already, but I had no idea what that very first outfit should be. This made me think that I wanted something special. I know that is funny.... but I think it's an important outfit so I wanted to find something good. I went to the baby store called Mother Natures to get some unbleached cloth diapers and found the outfit as well. I guess it's basically a nightgown, but it's all organic cotton and so tiny and cute. I can't believe it will fit our baby, but it says up to 10 pounds, so I guess it should. While I was there I locked my keys in my car, so spent about two hours getting them out with a coat hanger. There were so many people who stopped to try and help me, but in the end I was able to do it myself. Here is what I picked out for baby to wear.





And here is what Myles and the cats were doing while I was gone =)

6 hour days

Today I started to only work 6 hour days thank you so much to my midwife Nora. She felt I was suffering from "pregnancy fatigue" and wrote a letter to my work. Before I was working from 9:30 - 6 and was tired all of the time. Now I have to come in at 8, which is a bit early for me =)...however I get to leave at 2:30 which really helps. I come home and rest on the couch and try to take a nap everyday. It's hard to sleep because I found this show called "bringing baby home" that's about the first 36 hours with a new baby at home. I can't belive that will be our life here soon! The fall weather has begun and the trees are starting to change. We have had a little bit of rain and it's cooling off. It's going to be a cozy winter and I think we are all hoping for lots of snow this year.

Baby Shower number 2

Today my friends from Avanti got together with my friends from Kaiser and put together a really fun day! We had a baby shower at Lauries beautiful house in SE Portland, put on by my friends Rebecca and Tammy. It was a really fun group of people, everyone got along really well and I got lots of goodies!! Here are some highlights.



Me and the cake!


Yummy food


Beautiful Laurie and Mandy and I


Tammy with Corey and Tiffannee Bean!!


Me and Keishia with her daughter Romani



Our old neighbors that we miss!

First home visit

Today our midwife Nora made her first visit to our home for a prenatal visit. It was fun yet a bit akward to have her at our house. We did all of the same things, she brought a scale and a cup for me to pee in =) The baby is still head down which is really good. I'm going to make another try at prenatal vitamins, even though they all make me so sick!! I am growing at the right rate. When I asked her how big she thinks our baby will be she said "somewhere between seven and eight and a half pounds". Is it just me, or is 8 and a half pounds giant? I can't wait to see this lil person!! I'm starting to get really excited.

"Birth Kit"

This weekend we went shopping and got things all together for our "birth kit". I thought it would be fun to list the items out here. Including what we actually bought as well. In addition to all of this, the midwifes also sold us a kit for about $38 that includes things like rubber gloves, giant pads, a snot sucker, and other medical supplies that they will neeed. We got a big plastic tub to put everything in, so it's all ready to go now.
1 shower curtain liner (we bought two)
1 box of large sanitary napkins (I bought a few boxes of different sizes)
1 digital thermometer with covers
1 roll of paper towels
1 box of tissue
4-6 pillows (we didn't buy any but can use the ones we have)
4 large towles (we got some cheap ones that can get gross stuff on them)
6 washclothes
6 washed cotton receiving blankets (we still need to get a few more of these!)
1 large cardboard box for garbage
2 large garbage bags, one for garbage, one for laundry
1 quart plastic container with lid for the placenta (myles made sure it's air proof)
Clean sheets and pillow cases
Cloth or disposable diapers and pins (we need to order the service still. We got a pack of disposables because it sounds like they are better with the first poops)
Cotton baby clothes (lay out whatever you wish to dress teh baby in after birth)

And for the birth pool/tub:
A fish net to scoop out gross stuff - use your imagination here.
A lead free hose
Faucet addaptor (which I got the wrong size and need to exchange)
Simple siphon to use to drain the pool.

I love to knit baby stuff!

These are little wolly diaper soakers, to be worn over cloth diapers!


Booties!!

My first birth...almost

Today I got to see an amazing woman in labor. She so gracefully agreed to allow me there to do my best attempt at supporting her. I think it changed my life. It was her third baby, born without an epidural. She endured contractions strenghtened by Pitocin, which I'm sure were far stronger than anything natural. Unfortunately I stepped out to get food really quick, and missed the actual birth in the 40 minutes or so that I was gone. I returned to find a momma nursing her new baby. A baby so very alert and aware of the outside world, getting the chance to see it without a drug altered beginning. It was absolutely Beautiful!!! She gave me strength, and I thank her for that.

Wiggle worm

Last week was suposably the peak of the baby's movment in my belly. I would have to say that is correct. The baby was moving so much, and at the midwife appointment there was an entire foot or something that stuck out. It was amazing. This week the movments seem more like a rolling feeling, less like a poking. I've noticed hicupps a few times every day and that is really cute. One morning when I was still in bed I could feel the back right on the edge and it was hiccuping and I started to try to rub it's back and it stopped! I'm so excited to see what the baby is going to look like. I can't believe it's really real!

33 weeks - Myles calls this my langerie shirt

My dear dear friend Leah gave me this shirt.

My list of names

These are the names that I like. Myles doesn't like my favorites, but I think one of these might just be the winner.

GIRLS

Noami - this is the name I would have if Myles would let me. It's my favorite.
Adelaide
Beatrix
Clementine
Elodie
Delilah
Talulla
Agata
Paisley
Aislinn
Oslo

Boys

Kilian - This is my favorite. I wish we could use it, but Myles says no.
Kieran
Kellan
Camden
Oslo
Gideon
Oliver
Micah

And I like Cielo for a middle name. I think it's Spanish for Sky. Pronounced
See yellow

60 Jelly beans and I'm good!

For the prenatal visit before last I had to eat 60 jellybeans that my midwife gave me, all in a 10 minute time period, excactly one half hour before my appointment. When I got there they had to draw my blood to check for gestational diabetes. I just found out at our last appointment that I am healthy and don't have to worry about that one!! Whheewwww, one more thing less to worry about =) They also checked my iron and it was good, which is also lucky considering that I was anemic before I got pregnant, and I HATE my iron pills so don't really take them very often. So far I have gained 23 pounds and have been growing like I'm supposed to. They tell me I can only eat ice cream once a week (I want it 7 days a week) so now I'm on a big hot chocolate kick instead =)

I just ordered the birth pool from waterbirth.org. It cost a whoppin $185, so I hope I use it. I can't believe I have less than two months to go, and could actually have my baby at home anytime after about 3 weeks from now. I don't feel ready yet, although I'm feeling more prepared for labor itself. I'm hoping to stop working by Oct. 31st, so hopefully this little person doesn't come too early and I have time to rest a little first. I know things never go as planned though so am trying to prepare for anything. My pelvis and hips have been extreamly sore, so I hope it doesn't continue to get too bad before the birth.

The baby has been moving a LOT and I can really feel it now (and see it too!!) It's head has been down the whole time, and is still down which is really good. I hope it's comfy in there, although I expect some extra long arms and legs might be squished in there as well judging by both Myles and I.

Today we are off to Travis and Kerry's house for a bbq baby party. It's really cute and fun to see our friends be excited for us, especially the guys. Our baby will be one of the first for any of us, so I think there might be a lot of "uncles" and "aunties" around. I can't wait to see what life will be like, and who this person will be.

Baby Shower party at Trav and Kerry's

32 weeks

This evening we went and saw Austin Lucas play on his back porch. It was amazing. More amazing than anything I have seen in a while. That guy is a freaking genius

30 weeks prego

Inez

This is Inez. She was in town to visit her daughter. She's 91, and my fathers, fathers, mothers sister, so my great-grandmothers sister. She's so amazing and I'm so glad to still have her in my life. She used to help my great-grandma Alice take care of my sister and I when we were little. She's still the same. An amazing quilter and she remembers so many things...like the day my grandpa was born on the farm. She is 100% German and says the German food is her secret to being so healthy and living so long. I really hope she comes up again soon. With my baby in my belly we had a 5 generation picture with the other ladies. It was Leslie, Inez, myself and baby, and Gretchen. Leslie is my grandfathers generation, and Gretchen is my fathers. We met at Apple bees...it was a lot of fun. I ran into some lady's car with my car after and now my insurance is probably going up =( That's another story for another day. We also went and saw Hot Water Music play this same night. What an amazing show, and the baby's first real concert.

OMSI with the Girls

Rolling Thunder

Yesterday we woke to roaring thunder and crashing lightniing outside of the windows and right above our roof. Then the gentle patter or rain on the skylight in our room. It was the best sound ever considering how hot it's been! It's amazing how it can be over 100 degrees one day, and then pouring rain the next. Today it rained all day again. It's much cooler and almost feels like fall already. It's supposed to continue until the weekend and then be 80 degrees and sunny on Saturday. I can't wait and I hope it's nice because Callie and my favorite girls will be here to hang out with me!! yay!

Timothy Lake and a brand new Camera!

This heat is now getting to me and making me grumpy! Yesterday we went up to the lake again and I think it was my favorite day this summer so far. This time Travis picked us up in his new boat and took us all the way across the lake where we've never been willing to paddle to before in the canoe. It was so beautiful over there and there was nobody other than a few kayakers every now and then. Then we went to this beautiful spot with rocks built up where Myles and Kerrie were doing cannon balls into the lake. The water was perfect! A little chillie for a second, but then nice and cool to hang out in on the raft. I love that lake. It's the perfect place, and having access to boat around it was even better.

Today is still hot. We bought a brand new little Sony point and shoot digi camera and I LOVE it!!! Our other one was so great, and lasted about 5 years, but the batterie finally stopped working a few months ago, so we wanted to be sure to replace it and have time to get to know the new one before the baby gets here. I have my amazing Nikon SLR, but sometimes it's just too big and expensive to be lugging around everywhere.

Callie and the girls are planning on coming down to visit next weekend and I'm really excited. There is a seamonster movie playing at the IMAX at Omsi that I have been wanting to see for over a year now, so I think we might do that. I've only seen one IMAX movie and it was so much fun. I also want to go into the museum because they have fetus' in jars for every month of pregnancy, and eventhough it seems a little morbid, I really want to go see what my baby is looking like these days =)

Hot hot HoT

Yesterday it was 100 degrees in Portland!!! Everyone was walking around miserable and whining about it. I didn't think it was too bad. Today it's supposed to be just as hot out. I have been in the office all day in the A/C so I'm not sure what the reality is out there. I know it's a lot hotter in Chico...so I don't mind the heat so much. Being pregnant does make everything seem hotter though! Tomorrow morning we are going back up to Timothy Lake to meet up with Trav and Kerry and their boat. I love it up there and can't wait to jump in the lake again. I think it's usually a LOT cooler up there on the mountain so it should be perfect! Plus it's our first time to get to check out their boat. I can't wait!!

Yesterday was the longest day ever. I got to work by 8 am sharp. Worked for 8 hours - and then went straight to the midwife's house for our appointment, and then straight down to the hospital to observe the childbirth education classes. I didn't get home until after 10:30 pm and never had a real break all day. It was nice to be busy though and I know I can handle it for now. I'm really enjoying learning so much about childbirth in general, as well as the education side of things. I hope my goals of becoming an educator are reachable after the baby is born. I know it's such a passion of mine and it's nice to know I'm finally moving in the right direction.

Indigestion is the pits!!

I have been having "digestion" issues for a few days now, and last night was an all new experience. I woke up around 1 am with the WORST indigestion I have ever felt =(
I rarely have heart burn or acid reflux etc.. but this was like really thick acid coming right up my throat. It felt like my esophagus was going to melt in half or something. I got up and ate about 5 of my papaya enzyme pills, and even those didn't help. Thankfully Myles and I just bought brand new fancy big pillows, so I was able to prop myself up into a somewhat sitting position and eventually fall back to sleep.

Sleeping seems to be getting harder. I guess it's my body preparing me for being up all night! My hips and pelvis get extremely sore, as well as my shoulders. My new King size pillow is helping a lot however, and once I fall asleep I am out like a rock!