3.03.2010

week 36... BIG NEWS

So I am 36 weeks and 3 days, or something like that. I started my weekly doctor's appointments earlier this week (on Monday the 1st). I will see her weekly from here on out - she will check my cervix to see if I've started to dilate. So the BIG NEWS... I've started to dilate! Baby is makin' his/her way into our lives. Oh how sweet it is.

I'm only 1cm, but that's a good start :) I hope to have progressed at least to 2cm by my appt next Monday. But I understand that I can very easily sit at 1cm or even 2 or 3cm's for quite some time. So I am being optimistic and hoping that isn't the case. I hope that baby comes close to his/her due date. Now that I know that the process has officially begun, I am in serious crunch time. Our crib finally came in. Thank the Lord. So yay, the nursery will be complete by the end of this week! Makes me a very happy mama-to-be :)

I just can't believe that this is actually happening. I have been waiting for March to get here since the end of July and now that it is here I don't know what to do with it! I am excited beyond words, but it's a bit bittersweet as well. I have truly had a beautiful pregnancy (lets hope that these last few weeks are no different). I am going to miss having Baby R roll and squirm around in my belly - even at 3am! I'm going to miss Eddie laying on the bed with his hand rested on my stomach watching him in amazement as the baby responds to his touch. I truly am going to miss the pleasure of keeping this baby safe and warm during his/her time of growth. But... soon enough I will have the real thing laying peacefully in my arms or on my chest as I sing my sweet lullabies of Michael Jackson and Madonna :) I am so ready to meet this little angel of ours.

Between now and the end of the month my plan is to just take it easy. Eddie is headed down to visit Ivan this weekend (just for one night). He deserves it! Besides, if he doesn't do it now I don't know when the next opportunity will arise. In 18 years, maybe?! Ha. Only joking! As much as I would love to go and visit with Jamie & Ivan, I just don't think that it's in my best interest to go. Anything can happen at any point and I don't want to take any chances.

I am highly contemplating hiring a house cleaner to come in and really do some cleaning to our home. Eddie says that he'll do it, but really, I just want him to relax a little before things really begin. Hmmm, maybe I'll do that on Saturday morning when he's gone?!

Here is my lovely baby bump:

More to report from the baby belly at 37 weeks...

Peace, Love, and Baby,

Meredith & Eddie

3.02.2010

35 weeks...

I don't think that I ever imagined myself getting to 35 weeks... I mean, I knew that I eventually would, but I just don't think that I really thought about how I would feel 32 days away from my due date. I remember hitting the 12 week mark and thinking that I had hit some ginormous milestone. Well, technically I did because it was during week 12 that I finally started to gain my energy back and feel like a normal human again. Unfortunately, I am back in the pure and utter exhaustion stage and I fear that I may never feel like a normal human being again.Or at least sleep like a normal human being again. I know that I will be up with the baby every couple of hours throughout the night but at least I'll resume my ever-so-missed position of sleeping on my tummy. Oh man, how I've missed it.

Week 35 has been a long week. I think that it's going to sort of drag it's feet from here on out. The anticipation of FINALLY finding out the sex of Baby R is weighing heavily on my mind and I absolutely cannot wait for that moment to arrive. I am also counting down the days until my due date, so I'm sure that isn't helping either. If I could, I would sit and watch the hours and minutes tick by... but it's nice to know that in just a few short days, when people ask "when are you due" I can respond with "at the end of this month" or "just a few short weeks" or "tomorrow".

Eddie and I have signed up for a parenting class and a breastfeeding class at Dublin Methodist Hospital - where I will be delivering sweet Baby R. We're taking a Baby Care Basics class on Tuesday 3/9. That class will give us the vital and pertinent information that we will need for baby once we come home from the hospital. Yes, we will definitely need that. Otherwise, we will sit staring at each other and the baby not knowing what in the hell to do next!! The other class is a Breastfeeding Preparation class on Thursday 3/11, so I will know how to correctly feed my child :) That's pretty essential.

The nursery is almost complete - just missing the all important crib! Hopefully it will be in by the end of this week or next. I'm growing antsy. But the dresser and glider are both in there and I finally finished all of the laundry. I manage to sort through and put things away on a daily basis. Eddie is making the individual shelves for the walls, hopefully this weekend, and we will also put up the bee decals. It's all coming together very nicely.

More to report from the baby belly at 36 weeks...

Peace, Love, and Baby,

Meredith & Eddie

2.18.2010

week 34... running out of room?

I know that I still have 5 weeks (and some days) left in my beautiful pregnancy, but is it too early for me to say that this baby is potentially running out of room in my belly? Either that, or this baby has got some seriously long legs and is just kicking, moving and practicing some killer dance moves in there. There are times when the jabbing and poking really makes me uncomfortable. It's primarily on my lower left side - like near my hip!

I've heard that the bigger the baby gets, the more the movements slow down... um, no. Not in our case. This precious little babe is a full-time mover and shaker! Has been since the very first time we heard the heartbeat. But I'm not complaining. Not one bit. I absolutely love watching my tummy move. It's like seeing it for the first time with every little movement. What's not to love about that incredible bond. It's indescrible. The feeling, the emotion, the excitement, the anticipation.

So I have had both of my baby showers. My second one was on 2/13 hosted by my sister-in-law, Clara. It was perfect. She had a chocolate theme and I was in heaven... go figure. We got a ton of crib sheets, receiving blankets, burp cloths, books, diapers, lots of good essentials! Since all of our furniture has YET to arrive, I have started doing laundry. It needs to be done, so I figured that I might as well get a head start on it. On Tuesday when I was folding the small little onesies, I totally got all emotional and started to tear up. I just can't wait to meet this little baby! Me, getting emotional over laundry. The one 'chore' that I can't stand. It's just really hitting me that the baby will be here so soon. I can already imagine the baby in the itty bitty clothes. They are all just so adorable! I am heading down to IKEA this Saturday to purchase the rug and the dresser/changing table for the room. At least then we will finally have some furniture in the room! The glider/ottoman is in but for some reason, the crib was put on backorder on 2/11. Direct Buy is trying to figure out why and when it will be delivered. It's a bit essential and I am just getting antsy.

I saw my OB earlier this week and all is well! Baby's HR was at 145bpm and my BP and weight still looked great. I will see her again in 2 weeks. I will be 36 weeks at that point and she will continue to see me weekly to check my cervix to see if I have started to dilate. As of this very moment, I have 38 days until due date time. I hope to go not a minute over my due date... but I'm sure that I will. I'm definitely getting to the point of pure and total exhaustion.

More from the baby belly at week 35...

Peace, love, and baby,

Meredith & Eddie

2.11.2010

weeks 31, 32 & 33... I'm a big time slacker!

I am currently in the middle of week 33 and time has just gotten the best of me. I have been on the go, go, go, and here I am three weeks later. I am trying to stay on top of things - really, I am - but I'm starting to feel like I'm in a bit of a time crunch. Overwhelmed, maybe?! Yes, definitely!!

According to my "baby ticker" I have about 45 more days to go. Wowza! That's like, just around the corner.

So over the last 3 weeks, Eddie has been feverishly working on the nursery. The walls are painted, the new hardwood floors have been laid (man, that was a slight catastrophe), and the beautiful curtains that my mother-in-law so graciously made, have been hung. It looks wonderful! The furniture should be in any minute now... so for the time, all of the 'baby stuff' is currently sitting in the furniture-less nursery and in the hallway.

So the BIG arrival of Rachel and Brian has come and gone :( and this time, more than ever, I am so extremely sad. I am always sad when Rach comes and goes or when we visit them and have to leave, or when we spend 7 amazing days in Hawaii with them only to part ways and head home... and unfortunately, I have a feeling that when this baby is born it's going to be harder than it's ever been for them to come and go. So they flew in last Thursday (2/4) morning and we spent every waking minute together from the time that they landed until the time that they left. Eddie and Brian were best buds - so while the girls were preparing for a baby shower, the guys were having their bachelor nights. Too funny, to say the very least!! My shower thrown by Rach and Stacey was nothing short of spectacular!! It was breathtaking. Fresh flowers, homemade food by Rach and Val, beautiful table coverings, it was all so perfect! I am ever so blessed. I had about 43 guests attend! We got so much stuff!! All of our big items from our registry and then some. I am very, very happy about that. My very dear friend Jessica - and the best photographer, might I add - joined in on the festivities and snapped lots and lots of pictures. I'm sure that they will be phenonemal, like always. I can't wait for her to send us the disc. AND... her present to us: when the baby is born she will do the baby's first photo session for free! Is she amazing or what!! Here are so pictures of the shower decor (note: all of the colors are lime green, black & white to go with our room color scheme!!)  


















As you can tell, it was simply gorgeous! A HUGE thank you to the most amazing sissy ever, Rachel, Stacey, Valerie, Janet, and my beautiful mother. This day was so incredible for me. I love you all.

I have yet another baby shower given by my sister-in-law, Clara, this coming Saturday. This shower will be much smaller - it's for Eddie's side of the family (the Reynolds' and the Smith's). I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone... and because it's a chocolate themed party!! And everyone knows that mama and Baby R loves chocolate these days :)

Not too much activity going on to report... other than the fact that my baby belly is getting mighty big!! I had my most recent doctor's appointment on Friday 2/5 and Rach got to come with me. She was so excited to hear the heartbeat :) My total weight gain at nearly 33wks gestation is 25lbs! Baby is already head down - but there could be some wiggle room in there so the baby can turn at any given moment. All I know is that this baby keeps me up at night... I swear to you, he/she is having quite the party in my baby belly :)

Baby's heartbeat has been at a constant 150-155bmp throughout my entire pregnancy. But on Friday, baby's heartbeat was at 137bpm. Dr Summers said that as the baby gets bigger and the central nervous system continues to develop, the heartbeat is more than likely to slow down. She was not in the least bit concerned, so I will take her word for it.

I can't believe that I have just over 6 weeks until my due date. I hope, hope, hope that I don't go too much over my due date. Rachel's bday is on March 21st so she is pushing for that date - Eddie thinks that I will go a few days early - my prediction is March 30th. Just as long as baby gets here safe and sound... that is the most important thing.

I promise that I won't wait another 3 weeks to write my blog! I am beaming with excitement and anticipation to meet this little one. These last 33 weeks have truly flown by. I hope that the next 6 (hopefully not more) fly by just as quickly... but in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my last weeks with just Eddie and I and get as much rest as possible :)

As always, the baby bump:


More to report from the baby belly at week 34...

Peace, love, and baby,

Meredith & Eddie

1.24.2010

week 30... 10 more weeks!!

It sounds absolutely insane to say that Baby R will be here in 10 weeks... I honestly cannot believe it. My life has been in total fast forward mode for the past 26 weeks! All that I can think about is baby. All that I want to talk about is baby. All that I want to shop for is... yep, you guessed it... baby! I've gone baby crazy... I can only imagine what it's going to be like once Baby R is finally here.

I'm feeling much, much better than I was last week. I finally started to feel like myself again by Wednesday and had a wild hair this past weekend to go out with the girls for a night on the town. I just had to get out and be in a social atmosphere... and I'm not talking out to dinner or to a movie. I needed some visual stimulation. So, where better to get visual stimulation than down in the arena district! It hit a *high* of 40 degrees (believe me, after the coldness and the 17 days of snow in a row, 40 degrees did feel like summer) and the hootchies were out and about. I've laughed at them all before, but I guess I just look at things differently being pregnant and all. It was comical to say the least. But then again, it always is. It was low key for sure. Hung out at Bar Louie, sat at a table, drank my water, and people watched. It got crowded pretty quickly and walking through the crowds made me nervous. I just don't want to be jabbed with an elbow or have some drunk person fall into me. Paranoid?! Maybe. It was nice to be out and about in the social scene... but I was over it pretty quickly.

This week has been a good one so far. Nursery is coming along - Eddie plans on finishing up the hardwood floors this weekend. I'm so anxious to see it all done.

Gestation week: 30
Total weight gain: Up 2 lbs in 2 weeks... grand total 21 lbs
Baby size: Baby R is about 15.7 inches long and weighs about 3lbs
Major baby developments: Eyesight is developing
Current issue: Sleep
Current craving: Sushi - of course I crave what I can't have :(
Exercise this week: Treadmill
Hormonal moment of the week: Had a tear stroll down my face during American Idol. And I don't even like that stupid show!!
Stretch marks: None to report
Maternity clothes: Yep!
Most recent baby purchase: Furniture!!
Fluttering/kicking: Moving and hiccuping all day long.
Most memorable moment of the week: Room is completely painted and furniture has been purchased!

So this concludes week 30. I am becoming extremelly anxious to meet this little one! I once thought that I was FOR SURE that this little baby is a girl... now, I'm just not sure. My intuition has left the building and I am clueless! Either way, I can't wait to hear the doctor announce the BIG news!
 
More to report from the baby belly at week 31...
 
Peace, Love, and Baby,
 
Meredith & Eddie

1.18.2010

week 29... sick!

I knew that the inevitable was coming... that I would get sick. It happens every year, so with my immunity being lower than normal (I am caring for two people here instead of just one!!), it was bound to happen. And it did. I am still getting over it. But I actually look human today and not some sickly alien with blood shot, watery eyes and tissues stuffed up my nose. Yeah, I was totally cute.

And as many of you probably know, there isn't much a pregnant gal can take to relieve herself of the stuffed up nose, the coughing, the sneezing, the running nose, the sinus headache, the congestion... ugh, the list goes on and on. I can only take a certain kind of Sudafed (and only 30mg tablets at that... what in the hell is that going to do for anyone?!). So my sweet husband went out and got me some medicine and a vaporizer. It has been my best friend since Sunday. I can't wait to turn that thing on again this evening :) I don't do well with illnesses on a regular day, so dealing with it while I am pregnant was twice the fun! My biggest concern was that this didn't turn into something more serious. I'm hoping that I'm in the clear...

Eddie started on the nursery this past weekend and plans to finish it (and by finish I mean paint) by this weekend. Ideally I would also like for him to take up the carpet and order the unfinished hardwood floors so that way we can get them installed, sanded and stained before the end of the month. We plan to have the floors picked out and purchased by the end of next week! It's all coming together.  

I bought the 4-in-1 crib (goes from a crib, to a toddler bed, to day bed, to full size bed) and the glider/ottoman over the weekend!! I plan to head down to Ikea in Cincinnati sometime in February to purchase the dresser (the changing table will be on top) and the rug for the bedroom. My ever so crafty father-in-law will be making a bookshelf/side table for us! I just can't wait to see it all completed. .

My shower is 3 weeks away which only means one thing... I'm 3 weeks away from having my sissy's hands rubbin' all of this growing baby belly of mine! I cannot wait.

Gestation week: 29
Total weight gain: Probably only a pound or so since last week
Baby size: Baby R is now over 15 inches long and weighs about 2 1/2 lbs
Major baby developments: Muscles and lungs are continuing to mature and his/her head is getting bigger to accommodate his/her growing brain
Current issue: Sinuses
Current craving: Not a damn thing, because i can't taste anything!
Exercise this week: Once on the treadmill.. it was hard with being sick. Haven't have the strength or energy to do much of anything other than blow my nose and lay in bed :(
Hormonal moment of the week: Cried at A Baby Story on Monday and Fresh Price of Bel Air last night.
Stretch marks: I make Eddie check daily... still in the clear!!
Maternity clothes: So not cute.
Most recent baby purchase: Nothing yet this week.
Fluttering/kicking: HICCUPING!!
Most memorable moment of the week: Nothing too memorable about being sick :(

And since I'm a total slacker and didn't post a week 28 picture, here is my baby bump at week 29:


By the way, this picture was taken in the newly painted baby's room!!

More to report from the baby belly at week 30!!!!! 10 more weeks to go... Can you believe it?!?!


Peace, Love, and Baby,


Meredith & Eddie

1.13.2010

week 28... feelin' great!

I sit here in total wonderment questioning how and when the last 28 weeks flew by me so quickly. Eddie and I were just talking about the night that we found out I was pregnant. It literally seems like it was just yesterday... but that was eons ago, way back in July. Time has truly flown by and I am so happy that I have had a pleasant pregnancy so far. I can only hope for the same over the next 11 weeks or so.

Week 28 has been good. I had my 28 week OB check up - up 4 more pounds from week 24 (1 lb per week, which is right on schedule). From here until week 36 I will see Dr. Summers every 2 weeks. Then at 36 weeks I will see her weekly until I deliver. I can't believe it. From this day we have exactly 80 days until my due date.Talk about crazy!

Baby has gotten a lot bigger and so therefore is finding more places to explore in my belly. Like for instance, right now baby is moving up near my ribcage and in my lower belly. I don't know when this child sleeps because I am constantly feeling movement. I hope that this is not a sign of what is to come.... :)

Gestation week: 28
Total weight gain: I have gained a total of 4lbs in 4 wks - grand total: 19lbs
Baby size: Baby R is about 15 inches long and weighs about 2.25lbs (if not more!)
Major baby developments: Open & close eyes, which now also have eyelashed
Current issue: Sleep.
Current craving: I think I'm coming out of my sweet tooth phase.
Exercise this week: Treadmill!!
Hormonal moment of the week: None that I can recollect
Stretch marks: Still doing good in this department :)
Maternity clothes: duh.
Most recent baby purchase: Paint for the nursery
Fluttering/kicking: All day long! :)
Most memorable moment of the week: Starting the transition of the future nursery!!

12 more weeks to go!!

More to report from the baby belly at week 29...

Peace, love, and baby,

Merdith & Eddie