Week 41

Things I've done this weekend to stay busy...

1. Made handbag.

2. Made handbag.

3. Made Ray a "stocking" for his bass peg. (I may need to re-do this one, folks. Its pretty lame!)

4. Baked a peach, strawberry, and blackberry pie. This is my first pie with a double crust...and it went marvelously!

Still Waiting

...and waiting...and waiting...

Ray is forcing me to write a blog.

The anticipation is driving me crazy. Everyday I wake up feeling like I spent the entire night getting beat up. I am SO ready to have this baby.

Did you hear that Marti? IT'S TIME TO COME OUT!

Week 33

Guess what!?!

Marti's starting to dimple at her elbows and knees and forming creases around her wrists and neck...right now...as we speak/read...in my belly. She is going to come out pudgy and cuddly and cute.

I can't wait!

The Truth.

The truth is that I'm kind of getting the hang of this pregnancy thing. I've been feeling pretty great for the last few days...I mean all things considering. My belly is still hugemongous. My back still aches most days of the week. My feet and fingers still swell. I still get exhausted after a full day of work or even just standing in one place for 5 minutes. And my baby still kicks in some really uncomfortable places. But all of those things are starting to feel normal. In fact, I can't remember what my body felt like before all those wonderful pregnancy symptoms started.

I know I may come across as being completely uncomfortable all the time and I really am uncomfortable all the time. But it isn't such a burden these days. It's just the state of things.

Maybe this new found clarity and lightness is a result from the productive weekend Ray and I had. I now feel really ready for this baby. Everything in our home was just starting to feel so cluttered and my list of to-dos was feeling endless. In truth, neither of those feelings were based in reality, since we were able to tackle my to-do list in one relaxed weekend. Oh well. I'm just so glad we got it all done. And I'm thankful for my marvelous husband who was so helpful and giving. Hopefully I can return his amazingness with excessive love and affection.

In other news, I think I've finally figured out the difference between kicking and hickuping. I know, where have I been? But seriously, sometimes it does matter what exactly you are feeling in there, just that the little baby inside is healthy and happy.

A little bit of Nesting

So I'm finally pulling out of my rut. There is nothing like a HUGE, MINDBLOWING hurdle (like Ray losing his job) to really force change. Well, bring it on change...I'm not scared of you!

Anyways, last night I was able to nest a bit. It was great! It was wonderful! It felt fantastic! I lined the inside of Marti's new/old dresser and put all her things in it. I folded her sweet little clothes for the nineteenth time (which is good. I need to keep practicing. My laundry folding expertise has not yet extended to little, itty bitty onesies. How does one really fold those nicely? I will figure it out eventually). I also seperated them into piles by size. We have the 0-3 months pile, the 3-6 months pile, the 6-9 months pile, and then the 9 months and on pile. Her corner looks much better now with everything tucked away. I'm glad to be making progress. There are only two big projects for her nusery corner left: (1) my little dresser project to make it a bit more fun and (2) redistribute the wall hangings now that we have everything figured out. I guess we also need to come up with some sort of diaper station...so thats makes 3.

But on top of that, I was also able to finally put my bedroom wall project into effect. I wanted to create a corkboard wall for Ray to hang his photos and paintings and other musings. I think my final product came out really well. I was hoping that painting the corkboard would add nice contrast, but it didn't turn out quite as I expected. Oh well. I still really enjoy the end result. And I think Ray does too, which was the point.


Probably should get back to work...

Baby Day

Yesterday was a big baby day.

We had another ultrasound to check out Marti's kidneys. They haven't gotten any better but they haven't gotten any worse either. We have a name for the condition now...she has mild pyelectasis. Its kind of weird to find out this little, beautiful baby that seems so safe inside my stomach isn't completely safe from problems. I know there is a very high chance that this will never amount to anything and it will heal itself. And I know that even if it does amount to something, it is fairly easy to take care of with a surgical procedure. But she is my little, beautiful baby.

We also got confirmation that she is still a girl (that one's for you momma). She weighs about 2 1/2 lbs and is in the 67% sizewise. And in order to ensure that the pyelectasis stays mild, we get to go back in a month for another ultrasound.

We also had a doctor's appointment. It turns out I'm pretty low on iron. So much so, that she threaten iron IVs if I don't start working hard on increasing my iron intake. Bring on the red meat and liver! Otherwise, I'm healthy.

And finally, we had our first childbirth class. The instructor is great; she has a really comforting approach. I know we are going to feel really prepared for labor and childbirth when the class is over. At the end of last night's class, we watched a 12 minute video on a couple's birth experience. Neither Ray or I were prepared for that one. I'm very scared.

My Heart is Full

Ray, the dogs, and I just got back from a weekend away at the ocean. It was magical and amazing...just what I needed! We spent our time either walking to the beach, walking on the beach, or sitting around our rented cottage loft relaxing and enjoying. I love spending time with my family...they are my everything. So this weekend was PERFECTION!

Cohen was a champ. He is officially in off-leash territory, as long as we do a good job of watching our surroundings for people and dogs, of course. I predict he will sleep for the next week in order to recover from the shear joy he experienced this weekend.

Misha was great too. She just isn't really mature enough be off-leash yet. The times she did, she ran and ran (and wouldn't come back). She is, on the other hand, an excellent digger. Man, does she love it!

Ray took pictures...lots of pictures. He loves it. Sometimes he gets frustrated because it isn't the easiest thing to get the light just right. But he is so talented and amazing. I feel so lucky that I get to watch him grow and develop as a photographer. I'm pretty sure this is his THING.

Anyways...its Monday morning. I was supposed to go to work, but my family had different plans. Ray got sick in the middle of the night and needed my love and support. Misha hurt her tail somehow and needed my affection and snuggles all night long. So I got about a total of 4 quality hours of sleep when the alarm went off...just not going to cut it for the big day ahead when I have Marti inside me taking all my energy! One more day off for me!