Prayers or good vibes, please

My grandma is in the hospital having a heart attack. She never went into cardiac arrest (thank goodness), but she was having a very hard time breathing so she went to the doctor. They're not sure if it's congestive heart failure or an acute attack yet. She had pneumonia a few weeks ago, and perhaps her heart was working overtime helping her lungs breathe and that's what's causing the heart stuff. If her oxygen is high enough today, the good docs at Mayo will do an angiogram. She'll be there for at least 3 more days. She's a super strong-willed, independent gal. She probably wants nothing more than to be out of the bed, off oxygen, and out volunteering and having coffee. I'd love to go visit her today, but I know that what she needs most right now is rest, and the doctors and nurses need to run their tests. We will see what tomorrow brings. Any positive thoughts of any form sent to her would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Checkity check

Midwife appointment stats:

Weight: up 4 lbs from last appointment 2 weeks ago. Lay off the sweets, girl!! Total: 20 lbs. All along, I had been calculating with my starting weight as 2 lbs lighter than what my midwife was using. So...now we're on track :)

BP: good

Baby measuring: perfectly

Heartbeat: 140ish

Baby's position: head down (I assume. She asked me where I felt kicks, I showed her, she didn't say anything about those not being kicks)

I told my midwife that everyone says I'm so tiny. She said that I'm right where I need to be. America is a fat nation who expects her pregnant women to be huge. The baby's growing just fine, and everything is wonderful. She said labor is easier without the baby having to maneuver through all the "fluff" (yes, that was her word) of extra weight. Thank you, marvelous woman, for telling me this.

She asked me if the kicks I was feeling were boy kicks or girl kicks. I told her my dreams said boy, but I say girl. I asked her what they were telling her. She said she goes by the dad's personality, and what she thinks he will be cute with (this makes me chuckle). So...she predicts boy. We didn't elaborate any more than that, but I'm very curious about her methods. Calm & patient dad = boy? High-strung & worried dad = girl? Hmmm...

Now...how'd my checklist go for the day?

#1. Transcripts: Done by 8:15 a.m. and in the mail

#2: Closet: I tried to get into it, but I got overwhelmed. I decided I didn't just want to pile things around the room. I'd rather have them stay in the closet. I may still work on getting non-baby things out of there this weekend, though. Instead, I folded up gift bags and tissue paper from the work shower I had on Monday that I hadn't put away yet. I also put together the bouncer seat I received at the shower, and hung itty bitty baby clothes without hangers on the side of the crib.

#3: Cake: ordered. I hope they get it right, or it'll end up on cakewrecks for sure (see blog list to the right).

#4: Midwife appointment. Obviously done.

Extra Credit: none. Maybe later this weekend.

Total score: 3 out of 4.

I did also go to Target today to exchange a fabric organizer box thing that I got at one of my showers. The stitching was loose on it. No receipt = I had to do the 3-exchanges-in-1-year-with-my-drivers-license hooha. Target, I love you, but you stink. It's an EXCHANGE! While there, I expanded my maternity wardrobe with a much-needed long-sleeved grey t-shirt to wear under shirts that are just too dang short.

Snow day #4

With all of the "thunder snow" we got yesterday, I had a feeling we'd have a snow day today. I hadn't gotten a call yet at 6:10 this morning, so I made my way to the computer. I moved the mouse, and with my eyes only open a small slit to hide my poor pupils from the light of the screen, I typed in my school district's website and saw the little announcement box confirming what I had expected. I crawled back into bed with my cell phone, and whispered to Kev, "no school." His reply? "You're kidding." No, no I am not. 5 minutes later, the calling tree made its way to me. This is always reassuring, because you just don't believe it until you hear or see it twice.

Sucky thing is, we're missing a field trip to the science museum today. We'll hopefully be able to find a day to reschedule it.

The last 3 "Snow days"--which were actually "cold" and "ice" days, I admittedly wasn't very productive. I mostly used those days to browse and buy diapers and covers on the internet. These were needed items, so I guess my whole day didn't go to waste. But today is different. Today I have 4 goals:

1. Fill out and send transcript requests to the 3 schools I've taken graduate classes from. My teaching license expires this summer, and I need the proof that I've taken 6 credits since graduation. I plan on spending a bit of time over spring break applying for my license renewal.

2. Clean out the closets in the baby's room. At least the stuff I have a place for. Even if that place is in a pile elsewhere in the room. For instance, the itty bitty baby clothes pile.

3. Order a cake (details in a future post)

4. Make my way to my midwife this afternoon for my 32 week appointment :)

Extra credit: Make some homemade cinnamon swirl bread

Happy Friday!

32 weeks: Jicama

No, not this (Jamaica):

We will discuss this topic in a few more weeks.

This:

I know, much less beautiful. I'm *sure* it tastes delicious though. From the looks of it, I imagine somewhere between a potato, a rutabaga, and an Asian pear. Anyway, Raina weighs about 3.75 pounds and is 16.7 inches long. I should be gaining about 1 pound a week, and about half of that goes right to her. She'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival in this cold world. She now has cute little toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or maybe some peach fuzz if she's going to be a baldie). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up.

She certainly is growing, because I'm feeling her all up in my ribs. I'm ready to start the rapid outward expansion at this point so she doesn't end up in my throat someday soon.

Go here to see an interesting visual on how, as the baby grows, organs are moved out of the way: Penn Health Slide the sliders to watch the growth. Wowzers, right?

FYI, I hate these pants. The belly band part just drives me nuts. Unless I'm wearing a shirt that goes way past my butt, you can see it in front. The fact that I've outgrown this maternity shirt also doesn't help.

And my tailbone hurts. Storytime:

Presidents Day, 1999. I was a senior in high school. Due to the holiday, I didn't have school so I headed up to the Mall of America with a friend for the day. I walked out of my parents' house and down the sloped sidewalk they used to have connecting the house to the driveway. Of course it's February, so it's icy. I found a nice little patch of ice, and did one of those banana-peel falls, where my legs shot in the air and I landed square on my derriere. Ouch. The tailbone was injured, but I knew there was nothing any M.D. could do for me, so I bucked up and lived with the pain for pretty much a full year after that. The end.

Fastforward to 2009. That same pain is back. My chiropractor told me yesterday that when tailbones heal, they never heal correctly, and they create a "false joint." So now that there's pressure (baby) pushing down on it, it's like it's broken again. Fabulous. My friend/co-worker told me that she had injured her tailbone prior to being pregnant, and it started hurting during pregnancy, and that it still hurt every once in awhile. She had her baby LAST MAY. Yeah...9 months after giving birth, it still hurts. Awesome.

I'm telling you people, if there is one thing you can avoid breaking, try to make it your tailbone. You won't be sorry.

Kev and I went to a breastfeeding class last night. That was interesting. I learned a lot, but was sort of uncomfortable at first seeing the instructor squish her boobs (while fully clothed, of course). Granted, without the visual, things would have been much harder to understand, so I thank her for that. And I know boob-squishing is part of her daily job as an OB RN, but still. In just about 8 weeks, I'll be squishing the boob, and I'm sure I'll be manhandled by someone else too. There's always something to look forward to!

Weekend nursery progress

We got 3 of the 4 jobs we planned on doing this weekend done.

#1: Install new extension jams. This didn't happen because we're having a stain issue. The maple of the door is different than the maple of the extension jams. Thus, even if we use the same stain that the door was stained with, it looks different. Not only does it look different, but it also looks...interesting. So Kev and his mom, the professional stainer, are working on that.

#2: Install new door. Check! Love it.


#3: Assemble crib. Check! Love it. FYI, in case you care, the brand is Babi Italia, and the model is Classic Eastside Single. The side doesn't drop down, but the springs can move lower as the baby gets bigger. It can also be converted to a toddler bed by taking one of the siderails off. We don't have the mattress yet (see next numbered list below), but I did put the crib skirt on, and the deer and squirrels on it are now locked up behind bars.


#4: Prep diapers. Check! Here they are after 4 wash/dry cycles with some ALL Free and Clear. Notice the difference between non-prepped and prepped!


We also went to Babies R Us and discovered a few things:
#1. We're pretty sure our car seat is being discontinued, and will have to choose another one. Not a big deal, but still...ARGH.
#2. Same goes for the crib mattress.
#3. Nothing we've looked at beats the Dutailier glider.

And...since I had my camera out, I took a picture of the Spring Chicken onesie I got at the GAP a few weekends ago. It's just way too cute not to share:

In other news...

I know I just posted below, but I have so much to say today, that I need a separate post for it all. Just know I survived the day, even if my fuse was a little short at times with the kids. Eh, what can I say. I didn't need anyone slouching in their chair today. Sit up and listen to me, student! What I have to say is very important. Oh, and would you just do your homework for once? No more excuses! And you, stop with the monkey noises and grow the heck up. K thanks.

First off, I got my newborn-sized prefold diapers from Green Mountain Diapers today! Squueeeee!!! These should last until Rain is about 6 weeks old, but then they can be used for various other uses like spit up rags, doublers, etc. The 3 dozen I ordered should give me plenty to be able to do diaper laundry every other day. They need to be prepped now, meaning I need to wash them 4-5 times to shrink them and make them all soft, fluffy, and absorbent. I think that sounds like a lovely project for the weekend :) I also got my Snappi, which works kind of like one of those Ace bandage claw hook things and "pins" the diaper without pins. It's the green thing in the picture.


And if you think we're crazy for trying cloth, here's a little math for ya, if you're interested:
The 3 dozen GMD prefolds cost about $70, including shipping, and fit the newborn until he/she is about 6 weeks. After that, they serve other handy purposes and aren't just thrown away and forgotten about.

Pampers Swaddlers, size 1, 216 count costs $41.99 at Target. This supply will last a newborn about 18 days (2.5 weeks), if he/she goes through 12 diapers a day. I'd have to get 2+ boxes to last 6 weeks, so I'd be spending over $82 on something I'm just going to throw away.

Grand total savings in just the first 6 weeks: $12.
Granted, I didn't include the diaper covers I've bought (which total about $30), nor the Snappi ($2.50). Those all should last past that 6 week mark, though.

After the first few weeks, we'll decide if we like prefolds or if we'd like to invest in some fitteds (read: no prefolds involved) All-in-ones (read: no covers involved) or some one size diapers (read: one size diapers cost a bit more, but last until the kid's potty trained!).


This weekend, my hope and dream is that more baby room projects will get done. The extension jams for the windows and the bedroom door (which is GORGEOUS, by the way) have arrived. If Kev can get some help installing those (at least the door), we (ok, he) can put the trim around the windows, caulk and fill holes on the trim, and maybe...maybe even put the crib together!! Another SQUUUUEEEEEE!!!

Tonight, I will veg on the couch. I can't WAIT! I'm going to watch LOST, some AI, knit my newest project, and undoubtedly, an orange will be consumed. Tomorrow is another hectic parent-teacher conference night. On Friday we don't have students. Or Monday for that matter. YAY!!

31 weeks: 4...count 'em...4 navel oranges

This week, Raina measures over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 lbs, which is the equivalent of about 4 navel oranges. Oranges seem to be a running theme here. First of all, 16 short weeks ago, back in week 15, Raina was the size of a navel orange. She was only 4 inches long and 2.5 oz at the time. Oh how she has grown! Back then, she was moving, but I couldn't feel it yet. Let me tell you, it sure felt like 4 oranges were tumbling around in my belly last night. After a long night at school due to having conferences (all the while, Raina was perfectly quiet), I got home at 7:45. I watched a little Biggest Loser, and I went to bed shortly after 10:00. I had to get up to go to the bathroom at 3:18, and didn't *really* fall back asleep after that. SOMEONE decided it was a perfect time for some acrobatics. For 3 hours. I usually get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Today I'm running on 5. ::sigh:: It's going to be a long day. And yes, I know it's just a warm-up of what's to come. Back to oranges...last of all, I love them. They are undoubtedly my craving. I eat one at least every other day, if not every day. They serve as dessert many nights. Yum yum yum.

This week, Raina is supposedly heading into a growth spurt. I suppose that means I'm going to be eating like a horse this week. Bring it on! She can turn her head from side to side, and she's plumping out as fat accumulates. Oh...and the website says this, and I quote: "[She's] probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy." My respective comments: "You don't say?" and "Oh good! At least the loss of sleep is worth it to know this."

Belly pictures:

Let there be light! and other fun stuff

We've had quite the productive, baby-filled weekend!

On Saturday, my parents came up here. My mom and I split off to do our thing, and my dad and Kev stayed here and did theirs.

The boys stayed busy crawling in the insulation-filled, sloped attic all in the quest to install the wiring for a ceiling light in the baby's room. See, none of the bedrooms or the living room in our house have overhead lights. They were just never installed. Hence, everything is light by lamp. It drives us batty. Today Kev and I went out in search of a light and found 2 of them for $20 at Lowe's. We put it up, and now the baby's room has some decent lighting. 1 room down, 4 more to go (eventually...)! And whenever the time may be to install some more wiring, we already have a light ready to go! The boys also ripped the shelves out of one of the closets and the trim off the window in the baby's room. A little deconstruction for some future reconstruction.

Meanwhile, my mom and I ventured across the border to pick up the crib at Babies R Us. After spending quite a bit of time there, we headed to Jessica's house to see Nolan. We had fun holding the sleepy little guy, and it was fun to see Jessica, too of course! The knitted afghan that is pictured in last Thursday's post is one I knitted for Jess and Nolan. My mom quilted a, hmm...let's call it a "floor quilt" for Nolan. It's just the right size to put on the floor for him to play on and roll around on some day. It was fun to hand over our handiwork :) My mom also had her first time experiencing using a Boppy. The next time I will hopefully see Nolan is in mid-March when he's 5 or 6 weeks old. I'm sure he'll look different even in that short amount of time!

After my mom and I got back, we all stuffed ourselves silly at Famous Dave's. The baby really wanted barbecue. It was delicious and hit the spot.

Oh! And one of my co-workers owns a doppler machine, and she lent it to me to use. I whipped it out yesterday so my parents could hear the baby's heartbeat. I think they thought it was pretty sweet.

This morning, Kevin and I went on a mission to look for a glider/rocker for the baby's room. We hit up 5 different furniture stores, hoping to find something that was a little less expensive than the Dutailier I had previously scoped out:

(Ok, not sure if this is THE model, but it's the colors I want it in). It has a multi-position locking lever, which I think is fabulous.

We were hoping to find something that we could use in the future that didn't look so baby nursery-ish. Two places had La-Z-Boy press-back rocker-recliners, so you could rock with the back reclined and your feet on the floor instead of up on the footrest. And, of course, you could pull the lever and recline with your feet up. I'm not sure how much I'd use that feature anyway. However, they weren't any less expensive than the Dutailier. The advantage to buying a La-Z-Boy is that it doesn't look baby nursery-ish when it moves to the family room (which, in reality, doesn't exist yet) someday. So, we're undecided about what we want to do, and we're back to the drawing board to do some weighing of options. Needless to say, our time is running out before baby comes, so we must think rather quickly, especially if the chair needs to be specially ordered.

Anyway, we got a lot done and I'm happy to be home lounging after walking around all day yesterday and today. Getting in and out of recliners today trying them out surely didn't help matters.

Midwife appointment

I re-scheduled my appointment to be today instead of tomorrow. So...here's the stats:

My weight: up 1.5 lbs since 2 weeks ago. This is "perfect" and puts me at a total weight gain of 18-19ish lbs
BP: good
Glucose results: 114 (140 is where we worry, so no worries there!)
Hemoglobin: good
Baby's HB: 140 bpm
Belly measurement: On track
Baby's position at time of appointment: Head down. Feet are on my right side, where all the big movements are. I still feel fluttering in the upper middle and lower left though. My midwife said that if the baby is head down at 30 weeks, he/she will usually stay that way. Let's hope so, shall we?

I also turned in my pre-admission form and officially signed up for childbirth education classes, which will be held the evening of March 13 & all day March 14.

I was given my next piece of homework: Birth plan. It's not due until after we finish up class. I think I know at least half of my preferences on the sheet right now though. However, I will hold off until I learn more.

30w1d Belly pics

I don't have to go to work/school today due to icy roads. It's always fun to have a "surprise" day off, but it's not fun today because I was going to give 2 tests today, 1 test tomorrow, and I had a principal observation scheduled for today. Now I have to reschedule my observation (and keep the same lesson because I've already over-planned it out, and I'm not going to do that again). I also have to give 3 tests tomorrow (spelling, math, and reading) which is NO fun on Friday the 13th/Valentine's Day party day. It also is so not cool because snow days are racking up...so far we've had 3. This means that the likelihood of having to make up at least 1 at the end of the year is a definite possibility, and that means one less day that I get paid since I won't be there.

But these are small consequences that I can live with if I'm safe and sound in my home, along with all of the students, my co-workers, etc.

How will I spend the day? I might see if I can go see my midwife today instead of at tomorrow's appointment. I'm pretty sure she's in on Thursdays. I might do some laundry. I wish I could do something fun and baby-related. I think the closest I'll come to that is maybe figuring out what to do with all of my Jafra crap. Do I take it work and see if anybody wants it? Craigslist it? Throw it away? Makeup and beauty products don't last forever. I've already thrown the stuff I know isn't good anymore away. Hmmm....thoughts?

And the title of this post is called belly pics. I suppose I should get to those :) Here I am in my snow day clothes this morning! I had already showered when I got the call. Bummer.



And here's where I show off. This is a blanket I finished knitting last week. Kevin can attest that a few times there were curse words thrown at it, and by the time I was finished I had knitted, taken out, and re-knitted about 10 rows of it. But it was all worth it in the end.

30 weeks: Squash/Cabbage

75% done baking, Raina is the size of a squash or a head of cabbage. She's about 15.7 inches and weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that will decrease as she gets bigger. White fat deposits under her skin are forming, giving her a surge of energy. During this month, all five of her senses become fully functional.

I will post belly pics here this afternoon.

I notice that my balance has been off recently. Especially when it's dark, like when I get out of bed and can't walk in a straight line right away. Call me a drunken sailor! And my energy *may* be decreasing. We'll have to see what the following week or so brings and see if it increases again.

On Friday, we "celebrated" Rocket's 2nd birthday. My poochie pie is growing up :( Here are some pictures.
A mandatory party hat picture:

Birthday treat--Frosty Paws!


This past weekend, I spent the weekend in EC with four of my bestest friends: Brooke, Kristin, Laura, and Steph. It was very fun. I bought a onesie I couldn't resist from Baby GAP. It's light blue-green and it has a picture of a chicken on it. And what does it say? "Spring Chicken" !! Way too cute to not buy. No picture to be found on gap.com though...sorry. :( The girls and I went to the mall, made upside down pizza, and just hung out and relaxed. I let them feel and see Raina moving around. That's something I always wanted to feel/see before I was pregnant, and never got a chance to. Can't wait for next year when we get together again!

Psudo Nephew is here!

Jess' baby, Nolan David P., was born today, weighing just over 5 lbs. I can't wait to meet and hug the little peanut man!

Glucose Test

Apparently I passed since I didn't receive a phone call on Tuesday morning. My next appointment is next Friday, so we'll see if I was close to the cut-off, or if I passed with flying colors.

29 weeks: Butternut Squash

Baby Rain now weighs about 2.5 pounds and is a bit over 15 inches long. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature and his head is growing bigger to make room for his smartypants brain. I've got to make sure I get all my essential vitamins and minerals because his nutritional demands are increasing. I might also have to regularly partake in drinking milk during snack time at school because his bones are soaking up calcium like a sponge.



On Monday while I was watching The Bachelor online (I'm a week behind because Kevin gets the TV on Monday nights to watch 24), I hooked up my iPod and put the headphones on my belly for a little brain stimulation for baby. I tried to stay from crappy music (that I enjoy and hence is on my iPod, but Rain shouldn't be influenced by it at this early of an age) and stick to the classics like Bruce Springsteen and John Mellancamp. Rain's favorites (determined by the amount of movement going on) were songs and artists like "Minnesota Boy" by Jake Donze, "Santeria" by Sublime, and sadly, "What a Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera. I wanted to change the song when I saw Christina had popped up, but there must be some good bass in it because Rain liked it. Oh well. I'd really like to get a classical baby music CD or something so he'll arrive in this world ready to play, at the very least, Chopsticks on the piano. ;)

Jess update: Here we are on Saturday at her shower. This is the last picture of the two of us together pregnant, because she might be getting induced right now! Keep her and Tony and Baby P. in your thoughts. I am so excited for them!