35/35 Milestone!!

This is seemingly our last big milestone before the BIGGEST of milestones. 35 weeks pregnant - 35 days left!

I'm feeling a bit off today, so I will be celebrating in bed, working on Corbin's t-shirt rug. Jay's dad and step mom are throwing a shin dig tonight. Hopefully I will be feeling more social by then.

33/34 Week Appointment

At my last appointment there was protein in my urine, which is an indicator of preeclampsia. The midwife, Michelle, wasn't alarmed. She suspected I cross contaminated the test. So this week I was careful to only get pee on the stick and sure enough only trace amounts of protein now!

Another indicator of pre-e is high blood pressure. I thought for sure I would have high blood pressure today. I was 20 minutes late to my appointment. There was an accident on Mopac 1 and everyone and their mom had to stop and stare, which made the usual 70 mph highway a parking lot. I was so stressed about losing my appointment and having to reschedule after already investing an hour and a half into the drive only to turn around. I called the birth center and the angel, Erin, who answered the phone told me to come on in and they would still see me today! Whew! (Note to self: make Erin cupcakes). But Roswitha took my blood pressure and it was only 112/64!

We gained a pound since last time, up to 168 pounds of fun. Corbin's heart rate is measuring 140 bpm! He's still head down, Roswitha said his head is nice and settled already! According to the October 8th due date, I'm 33 weeks 5 days. According to my guess of October 2nd, I'm 34 weeks 4 days. According to my fundal height, I'm 36 weeks!

I've been told by the midwives if I go into labor in 2 weeks they will not stop it and we can meet our baby! But he's still got some time to cook. Could be two weeks, could be four weeks, probably be six or eight weeks just to spite me.

I got my hospital bag checklist this week and will now go home and start packing "just in case". The hangar is coming along nicely. We have insulation in about half of the downstairs living portion. It will be a race to see if we move into the hangar before Corbin moves to the outside!

DIY Paper Mache Letters

Putting your baby's name in the nursery is a popular trend these days. Most parents buy pre-decorated wooden letters that are hung with pretty bows. I wanted to do something a little different. A little more homemade.

The idea came from an OhdeeOh article. It cost exactly $0.00. I used the cardboard from 2 discarded frozen pizza boxes, a free newspaper I found outside of Subway, and the paste was made from flour, salt, and water.

First, you print a template of what you want to make from your home computer. I selected the size and font I liked, and I made the C much bigger than the rest of the letters. Then you cut out your image and trace it onto the cardboard. Then you use the same image, flipped horizontally, to trace the reverse of the image. Do this for every letter and then cut out your pieces.

Then, you must decide how thick you would like your letters. Cut out even strips of cardboard to become the sides of the letters. Next, you tape your letters together. The forward facing image is the top, the reverse facing image is the bottom, and the even strips around the sides. Trim any excess and be sure the cardboard side is facing out, not the laminated side of the pizza box.

Once you've assembled all your letters, you can begin applying the newspaper. Rip the paper into even strips, dunk them in the flour/salt/water mixture, and wrap them around your cardboard letters. Leave to dry overnight.

The next morning, you can start sanding the rough spots down and begin painting your design! I chose baby blue and then went in with a sharpie to add the plane and loop tracks.

It was alot of fun to make! Super easy- and FREE! Now on to the next project!

Baby Shower!

On Sunday, August 8th, 2010 my best friend in the entire world hosted Corbin's first baby shower!

She had all kinds of goodies but the mashed potato bar (complete with martini glasses) was the best part!

It was so great to see friends I had not seen in a very long time and to celebrate with them. Janice was an amazing host. We played some games and she had everyone in tears from laughing so hard during the "Guess the Poop" game! I wish I would have taken more pictures to remember the party. It was an absolute blast!

I can't wait for Janice to get knocked up so we can throw her an amazing baby shower!!

34 Weeks

How far along? 34 weeks!

Countdown: 42 days to go! I made a countdown calendar out of post-it notes and put it on our bedroom wall. Pretty sure I freaked Jay out with the visual representation of how little time we have left.

Exercise: I bounce on my birth ball in what will be our living room while Jay works on the house. I sweat buckets and eventually waddle back to the AC. Still teaching Couples Massage Workshops so I stay active in this final part of the pregnancy.

Stretch Marks: The silvery ones on my ta ta's disappeared! I haven't noticed any anywhere else *knock on wood*.

Sleep: Sleep is great. Jay has had to wake up at 6:30am everyday this week to work early before it hits 100 outside. I sleep right through his alarm. I sleep right through my first two or three alarms. The only bad night I had was the night I brought that stray dog home and slept on the couch so she wouldn't cry all night. 8.5 month pregnant girl curled up on half a couch was a bad idea, but I have since fully recovered.

Best Moment of the Week: The stray pup I took to the Christ Yoder Animal Shelter on Tuesday was reportedly reunited with his family on Friday!

Worst Moment of the Week: I mistakenly called mg "megagrams" instead of "milligrams" and I'm pretty sure I will never hear the end of it.

Movement: Corbin is getting really good at jostling the laptop when I rest it on my belly. He can also knock over empty water bottles and move the remote. He likes to stop moving as soon as Jay goes to feel.

Food Craving: Yes. All of it. I would like all of it. I would totally drive an hour out of the way for some Arby's right now. Also, milk.

Food Aversions: pears surprisingly enough. Our green thumb neighbor grew some and gave us a bag of my favorite fruit and I haven't had a single one yet.

Gender: We've put our money on blue.

Belly Button: Jay has been trying to pop it like a pimple to pop out. I will tape it down if he succeeds.

What I miss: Being helpful. I really wish I could help Jay with the insullation and the dry wall tonight. Instead I'm inside in the AC blogging.

What I'm looking forward to: Meeting this little guy. We've been dreaming about what he looks like and I'm really curious how much he will resemble his Dad.

31 Weeks

How far along: 31 weeks 1 day (although there still is some confusion about that)

Countdown: 62 days (yikes! 2 months? Really?!)

Exercise: played in the garden for 15 minutes yesterday. It's too damn hot to be messing with dead plants and dirt.

Stretch marks: turning from silver to purplish color. We won't have any problems as long as they don't turn red on me.

Sleep: I was excited to have the bed to myself this weekend, when Jay went out of town. Mugsy had plans to seize the opportunity as well. She knows I don't wake up when she climbs up and I won't notice as she slowly takes over 3/4 of the bed. I woke up with such bad back pain from being contorted around this dog. It'll be nice to have Jay back tonight.

Best Moment of the Week: Took Mugsy swimming in the lake.

Worst Moment of the Week: Everywhere Mugsy clawed me to get out of the water, I had a bruise under each scratch. Turns out I'm anemic and get to take this gross iron supplement called Floradix for the remainder of the pregnancy. It's not cheap either. I got it from the farmers market for $24 for 250mL (each dose is 10mL and I take 3 day. . . so that's $3 a day for this stuff)

Movement: Corbin has found this spot above my hip bone and it tickles so much when he kicks it or jabs at it with his hands.

Food Craving: I drove a half hour to Marble Falls to get some curly fries and a chocolate milk shake. I couldn't think about anything else until I had it.

Food Adversions: peaches. Everyone loves peaches in Texas. There are numerous road side stands along the highways that sell nothing but Fredricksburg peaches. Neighbors leave peaches in bags on our doorstep. I don't like peaches.

Gender: Still a boy from what we can tell

Belly Button: I can feel the back of the knot just slightly higher than my belly. :(

What I miss: my old clothes. I just stored another trash bag full of clothes I don't fit in. I tried to get away with not buttoning the jeans, but even my long shirts aren't long enough to cover the open zipper and no one needs to see that.

What I'm looking forward to: Flying home to VB this Wednesday! Taking my former landlord to court this Thursday! Date with my BFF (shark week) this Friday! Catch a little derby practice on Saturday! Baby shower on Sunday!! Shadow Janice and check out a real college class on Monday! Fly back to TX on Tuesday! And try and see about 100 friends and family in between. Maybe a little karaoke action in there somewhere too.

About the baby: Stretching around 16 inches long, weighing in at a hefty 3.3 lbs, Corbin is now able to turn his head side to side and he continues to wiggle his chubby little arms and legs, although he is beginning to get pretty cramped in there. We're working on developing his brain and other organs, so per the request of Jay and the approval of my MWs I'm now taking Fish Oil pills everyday. (Prenatal vitamins, fish oil pills, and flordix supplements- lucky me)