Pumpkin Carving

We carved a pumpkin this afternoon. Kevin hadn't done it in who knows how many years. After he got the top cut off, he said, "this is why I don't deer hunt." He hates the cleaning/gutting part. Even with pumpkins, apparently.

This part wasn't too thrilling for Colin, but he was patient enough for a 2 and a half year old.
Colin drew a face on the pumpkin and Kevin cut it out.
Inspecting the cut out piece
The finished result. Yes, the smile is off to the side. That's how he drew it.And one with Daddy in it...
Now we're all ready to go for tomorrow's first Trick or Treating experience :)

34 weeks

34 weeks, 3 days Snowflake vs. 34 weeks Colin
How far along? 34 weeks 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: +28 lbs.
Size: Cantaloupe, or almost 18 inches and 4.75 lbs.

Baby Development: "Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies." (From babycenter.com)

Best moment this week: My midwife appointment and the reassurance I got during it. I also got to hang out with my mom, Stephie, Brooke, Laura, and baby Mason. We went to the cloth diaper store. It was fun to touch all sorts of different cloth diapers :)
Movement: Lots and lots of movement these days. This week I also felt hiccups for the first time.
Food cravings: None really.
Food aversions: Nothing anymore.
What I miss: Not having round ligament pain, not snissing, alcohol, a more flexible wardrobe, deli meat.
Stretch marks?: None. I do believe my linea nigra has appeared, but it's pretty light.
Maternity clothes?: I wear maternity pants and a mix of maternity/non-maternity shirts.
Sleep?: Better than last week, thank goodness.
Belly button?: More flat than out.
What are you looking forward to this week?: Uh...not much going on this week..

Midwife appointment = Reassurance about the past

At my midwife appointment today, everything went swimmingly. BP, heart rate, belly measurement were all good. I lost a few pounds from last time, but baby is measuring beautifully. Midwife thinks the baby is head down with his/her legs splayed on either side of my belly. I'm not sure what's going on in there, but this kid is so active. I think there may be some Tai Chi sessions going on in my belly. Next appointment I get my cervix checked and that darn GBS test done.

I handed Midwife my water birth consent form and my "birth plan" (which wasn't very detailed at all!). She asked me if I had any questions, and I asked her the question I have been dying to ask her for the past 2.5 years: Why didn't Kevin get to cut Colin's umbilical cord? It was in our plan and it didn't happen. Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether he did or not, but because he didn't, it made me think something was wrong with Colin when he was born and nobody told me about it. All I remember is Colin coming out and a flurry of hands, and me seeing him, guessing he was a boy just by what he looked like because I couldn't see between his legs. I remember not hearing him cry, him being gray, and him being taken away. I was lifted out of the tub by Midwife and Kevin and got on the bed to deliver the placenta. First time mom thoughts running through my head, I thought something was wrong with him. I didn't get to hold him for more than 10 seconds after he was born.

Her answer? She seems to truly remember his birth. Which, in my book, adds to her amazingness. She said the nurse that was there that night (and she knew specifically what nurse it was) had never assisted at a water birth before. So when he was born, she kind of panicked because it was unfamiliar to her. So the nurse (?) cut the cord and whisked him away. When the umbilical cord is still attached, babies are still receiving oxygen from their mothers, so they look up at the world and don't necessarily cry.

Midwife told me that in the past 2.5 years, she has changed how she does water births. In speaking with a nurse about how she felt about water births, the nurse shared that water birth moms don't get to hold their babies for very long after they are born. Realizing she was right, Midwife now lets moms hold their baby as they get out of the tub and onto the bed. The cord isn't cut until after mom is on the bed. This sounds so much more comforting and "serene," as Midwife called it, than the whisk-away and the "wait, what just happened?" that I experienced with Colin. I am so excited to be able to hug and smooch on the baby right away for an extended period.

And hopefully this time Kevin will be able to cut the cord. Although he doesn't express any desire either way to cut it or not, I know he'll feel important doing it. And if he doesn't want to, that's okay too. But at least it sounds like he'll be able to do it now.

I seriously can't express how much knowing that absolutely nothing went wrong when Colin was born makes me feel. And the fact that, barring special circumstances, this time will be different. Huge sigh of relief.

Colin's Top 3 Radio Songs

When he hears these songs come on the radio, he gets super excited. He says, "Turn song on, Mama!" And that means "Turn it up and don't you dare change the station because I'm about to get down like Charlie Brown."

1. Dynamite--Taio Cruz
*This one was facilitated by his love for a Jewish a capella group called The Maccabeats on YouTube, who sing a parody called "Candlelight." Which then lead to a series of another a capella singer, Mike Tompkins, who covers a lot of Katy Perry songs...

2. Firework--Katy Perry
*He sings "high, high, high" and "sky, sky, sky"

3. Moves Like Jagger--Maroon 5
*Hilarious. Especially the "moo-oo-oo-oo-ooves like Jagger" part.

33 weeks

Before we start...I feel like I'm writing these weekly updates every other day. I just finished writing the 32 week update, didn't I?

Without further ado...
33 weeks Snowflake vs. 33 weeks Colin
How far along? 33 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +27 lbs.
Size: Pineapple, or 17+ inches and 4+ lbs.

Baby Development: "He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.." (From babycenter.com)

Best moment this week: I told Colin I had a tummy ache and that I was just going to rest on the couch for awhile. He said, "Okay, Mama. I rub your back. I make you feel better." So he did. I lay on the couch and he sat behind me and gave me the cutest little back rub. And you know what? I felt better.
Movement: Snowflake apparently has a bicycle inside there, and s/he pedals it around a lot. I've been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions when I get active.
Food cravings: None really.
Food aversions: Nothing anymore.
What I miss: Not having round ligament pain, not snissing, alcohol, a more flexible wardrobe.
Stretch marks?: None. I do believe my linea nigra has appeared, but it's pretty light.
Maternity clothes?: I wear maternity pants and a mix of maternity/non-maternity shirts.
Sleep?: Between the round ligament pain, tendonitis in my hip flexors, night sweats, stuffy nose, times when Colin wakes up, and when Snowflakes's awake and moving around, I'm not getting enough quality sleep. I'm exhausted. Even if I go to bed an hour early, it doesn't help.
Gender?: We'll let you know in December!
Belly button?: More flat than out.
What are you looking forward to this week?: Midwife appointment next Wednesday (we're at the every other week appointments now!), and the freakin' weekend. It has been a long week with conferences and whatnot.

"Dowin's New Wewm"

(That's Colinese for Colin's new room)

Last weekend we got the essential elements for Colin's room and assembled it all. Here's what we came up with:

Bed (MALM) from IKEA. We used a twin sized mattress and box spring we already owned. Quilt and sheets (which you can't see) from Target.
Bookshelf w/blue doors (STUVA) from IKEA. Toy hanging thing in the corner from IKEA. Striped rug on floor from Target. Paint job done by my co-worker/friend--the art teacher at school. Still need curtains.
We still need some decor for the walls. Paint color: Leapfrog by Sherwin Williams.
And someday we'll replace the trim and door to something less 1960s beech.Closetmaid closet system from Home Depot (super easy to put together). Kevin's last job here is to put a shelf on the top left and right of the center piece. My last job here is to figure out what's going on all those shelves!
The transition from crib to big boy bed has gone pretty smoothly, which really surprises us. I think what helped is making a big deal of it and everything being new. He's pretty proud of his new room, and likes to show it to guests. Once Colin's in bed, he pretty much stays there. He still wants us to keep the light on, even though there are 2 night lights, but he still falls asleep quickly.

The second night he slept in his new room, I asked him if he wanted the light on or off. he said he wanted it on, and then he said, "I not scared." heehee!

There have been 2 nights where he must have had a bad dream or he woke up confused or something. One night he asked me to read him books at 2:45 in the morning. Uh...weird.

Then today I woke up at 5:30 to him saying "Mama." I opened my eyes and saw his silhouette holding a teddy bear. Of course I invited him in to bed to snuggle. How could I resist?

Here's my big boy sleeping in his bed the first night.
He's totally cool with giving up his old room for the baby. Sometimes when we're going to his room to get dressed or whatever, he'll walk to the nursery. We'll ask him where he's going and he'll stop and say "Oh! Das da baby's wewm. Not my wewm. My wewm ova ee-ah."

I have yet to take the vinyl letters that spell Colin's name off the wall in the nursery. I'm not quite ready to do that yet. We haven't moved the baby stuff back into the room yet either. We've got time. And I want Colin to adjust a little longer before I do all of that. And I need some adjustment time too. ;)

Midwife appointment

Short n' sweet appointment.

Baby's heartbeat was 136 bpm.
BP was good
Weight gain was outrageous (must remember...growing. baby.)
Belly measured at 31 weeks

Got my water birth consent and birth plan paperwork.

Midwife commented on how fast this pregnancy is going. I couldn't agree more. In less than 2 months we'll have a newborn. Eep!

32 weeks

32 weeks Snowflake vs. 32 weeks Colin
How far along? 32 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +27 lbs. (Ok, I admit I was lazy and in denial and I hadn't weighed myself for a few weeks)

Size: Jicama, or 16.7 inches and 3.75 lbs.
Baby Development: "You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth." (From babycenter.com)

Best moment this week: Snuggling up with Colin in his big boy bed reading books to him at night. I also scored an awesome cloth diaper deal today. I got 10 diapers for $50! :D

Movement: Snowflake apparently has a bicycle inside there, and s/he pedals it around a lot. I've been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions when I get active.

Food cravings: None really.

Food aversions: Nothing anymore.

What I miss: Not having round ligament pain, alcohol, a more flexible wardrobe.

Stretch marks?: None. But I do believe my linea nigra has appeared, but it's pretty light.
Maternity clothes?: I wear maternity pants and a mix of maternity/non-maternity shirts.
Sleep?: I sleep as well as Colin sleeps. I have to use my body pillow between my legs to get comfortable now.
Gender?: We'll let you know in December!
Belly button?: More flat than out.
What are you looking forward to this week?: Midwife appointment tomorrow, and getting parent teacher conferences over with! It's not that I don't enjoy them, because I don't actually mind them at all. It's just that I don't get home until at least 7:45 that makes it tough.

31 weeks

31 weeks Snowflake vs. 31 weeks ColinSomeday I'll dress cute. Today was Spartan Spirit day, so I wore my red and black (which is soooo messed up if you're from Rochester).
How far along? 31 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +22 lbs.

Size: 4 naval oranges/Cabbage, or 16 inches and 3.3 lbs.
Baby Development: "Your baby is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He'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." (From babycenter.com)

Best moment this week: We went on a family bike ride a few times this week. I pulled the Burley and Kevin actually filled his tires. Good times. I've also taken full advantage of snuggles from Colin this week.

Movement: Snowflake apparently has a bicycle inside there, and s/he pedals it around a lot. I've been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions when I get active.

Food cravings: None really.

Food aversions: Nothing anymore.

What I miss: Not having round ligament pain, alcohol, a more flexible wardrobe.

Stretch marks?: None.
Maternity clothes?: I wear maternity pants and a mix of maternity/non-maternity shirts.
Sleep?: I sleep as well as Colin sleeps. I have to use my body pillow between my legs to get comfortable now.
Gender?: We'll let you know in December!
Belly button?: More flat than out.
What are you looking forward to this week?: Our 5th anniversary is tomorrow :) To celebrate, we're going to IKEA to get Colin's big boy bed and then we're going out to lunch at either the Olive Garden or Chilis (we're spending gift cards from Christmas). Then we're finishing up Colin's big boy room and moving him in it if he's ready. Really romantic, but whatevs.

More pictures

Last weekend was Heritage Weekend. The Heritage Center has a festival every year, where all of their old buildings (school, general store, blacksmith shop, log cabin, church, etc) are open for the public. They have food, a few farm animals, and other events going on for the public to peruse and take part in.

Colin didn't enjoy the tractors as much as he did last year, but he still checked them out.
They had a horse-pulled stagecoach that took us for a quick ride around the neighborhood
And pony rides too.
This is not of Heritage Weekend, but it's kind of funny. I took it this morning while I was making scrambled eggs.

Apple Picking

A couple of weekends ago, we went to a teeny tiny apple orchard in the middle of nowhere to pick some apples. Here's how it all went down.

Kev lifted Colin to pick the apples (Fireside) off the tree.
Colin also found some close to the ground to pick.We quickly filled a whole bag with yummy applesBut then they spilled all over.
After picking them up, Kevin tied the bag so they wouldn't spill out again.
Then we recorded our visit for prosperity.
I love how his hand is on my leg :)And then Colin took my picture (you can see his finger).After we were done, we paid for our apples in the little house/store. Colin found some boxes of big, old, metal trucks and wanted to play with them. We had a hard time getting him to come home with us, and it's a good thing there were only two other customers around who just giggled at our coaxing and Colin's defiance. Whenever we mention the apple orchard, he talks about the trucks. ::sigh:: We try to make memories about picking apples and we get memories about trucks instead.

30 weeks

30 weeks, 2 days Snowflake vs. 30 weeks Colin in words and in belly pictures
How far along? 30 (!) weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: +22 lbs.

Size: Cabbage, or 15.7 inches and almost 3 lbs.
Baby Development: "A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face." (From babycenter.com)

Best moment this week: Laura had her baby boy, which is fun news! Also, Colin slept without a single audible sound for 3 nights in a row. An amazing feat considering his nose gets stuffed up (allergies?) and sometimes he wakes up and can't breathe out of it. I give props to the Vicks vapor plug-in night light for the help.

Movement: Snowflake apparently has a bicycle inside there, and s/he pedals it around a lot.

Food cravings: None really.

Food aversions: Nothing anymore.

What I miss: Not having round ligament pain, alcohol, being able to bend over to pick stuff up off the floor without feeling pain.

Stretch marks?: None.
Maternity clothes?: I wear maternity pants and a mix of maternity/non-maternity shirts.
Sleep?: I sleep as well as Colin sleeps.
Gender?: We'll let you know in December!
Belly button?: Outie-ish, but flattish too.
What are you looking forward to this week?: Seeing Jess and Laura's babies tomorrow :) I can't wait to smell their heads. And my first Simply Music lesson is on Thursday!