El Paso Baby Shower -- August 15, 2009

I had such a wonderful time in El Paso for my baby shower that I wanted to make sure it had its own post. I enjoyed spending time with the girls and with family, and I can't thank Leslie and Libby enough for hosting the shower for me. It was above and beyond and makes me truly thankful for having such wonderful women in my life.

We received many wonderful gifts for Xander. Lots of clothes, blankets, Swaddlemes, toys, books....more than we could ask for. So to everyone...thank you!

Just a few pics from the festivities:

Me, Libby and Leslie (wonderful friends and hostesses)

Yummy favors!

Me and Momma

Me, Libby, Leslie and Christian

30 Week Fun Facts...

How far along? 30 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: 40lb. So I tried not to pay attention to the scale at the doc appt on MOnday, but then I got reprimanded for gaining too much weight so I had to know the specifics. Blah! They asked about portion control, exercise, foods, etc, and I have no explanations. Portions are smaller than usual, I'm exercising daily and, while I am eating the occasional milkshake, I'm not eating that bad. Oh well!
Stretch marks? None yet. Fingers crossed.
Sleep: I have been sleeping through the night. It's awesome. That being said, I'm still exhausted. I can only imagine it will get worse when Xander actually arrives. Eek!
Best moment this week: My baby shower in El Paso was so much fun. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.
Movement: All the time. Love it. :)
Food cravings: Fruit.
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not for another 7+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Still in.
What I miss: Not being tired.
What I am looking forward to: So much is happening in the next several weeks, and each thing we do just brings us one step closer to his arrival. I'm enjoying prenatal pilates so much and I can't wait for prenatal yoga tomorrow. We also finally paid for all the non-Bradley classes: baby care, breastfeeding and Infanct CPR/First Aid. Should be fun!
Weekly Wisdom: Communication is key. So much is going on right now that it's key to have good communication.
Milestone: The baby shower and the wonderful gifts brought us one step closer to being ready for Xander. We're going to do some more shopping this weekend.

30 Weeks ...

"Big news for baby's brain this week: It's starting to wrinkle and fold and looks like something that grew in the back of your fridge. This is due to the rapid growth of your little genius's brain cells. Other highlights this week:

Fingernails and toenails are finally finished—causing his or her parents great fear and anguish the first time they try to cut those little daggers (it gets easier, we promise)! Plus, the bone marrow is completely in charge of red-blood-cell production now. Trust us, this is a good thing.

Baby is starting to shed his lanugo—the downy hair that was covering his skin. Now that he's chubbier and better able to regulate his body temp, he doesn't need to sport a fur coat 24/7.

"I spy an umbilical cord and the inside of my mom's uterus!" When your baby is awake, his eyes are now wide open and he's whittling away the hours looking around, checking out his rather dark, limited environs.

Your baby hasn't gained much weight or height this week, as most of his energy's been channeled to the brain. He weighs about 3 pounds and is approximately 15.5 inches long, about the size of London, not the city, Britney Spears' Yorkie terrier. Of course your baby is less hairy and way cuter!"

*3D Pregnancy

29 Week Fun Facts...

How far along? 29 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 36lb. I am officially done keeping track.
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? None on the belly yet.
Sleep: Not horrible. I can even make it through some nights without waking up to use the restroom.
Best moment this week:
Movement: His twists and turns are amazing. I'll admit that it freaks me out sometimes, but I love it!
Food cravings: Fruit.
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not for another 8+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Still in. Mike is convinced it's like a turket thermometer that will pop out when he's ready. Um, okay. ;)
What I miss: Not being swollen. My rings are officially off as of this past week (I'm wearing my mom's old ring (a blue heart stone) instead of my wedding rings), and I miss them. Boo!
What I am looking forward to: I leave Thursday for El Paso (and my baby shower) and I can't wait to see everyone. I wish Mike was coming with me though.
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy every moment -- even if it's not exactly how you would have expected it.
Milestone: I passed my 1 hour Gestational Diabetes test. That's a good thing. :)

29 Weeks...

"Having a baby prematurely is frightening, no doubt. But here's a reason to relax: Due to the impressive advancements of medical technology, if your baby is born this week, he'd have a 9 out of 10 chance of survival, which is seriously great news. Other awesome developments:

Baby's brain can now control his breathing and body temperature. He can also cough, and his sucking abilities have been perfected. Look out, boobs!

Your Mini's skin is looking less wrinkled as he packs on the pounds. He's starting to look more like a Pampers model and less like a Depends model. He's now beefing up on the energizing and insulating white fat he'll be born with (unfortunately, white fat is not energizing and insulating for adults!).

And speaking of energy, your little Energizer Bunny is on fire these days. You're sure to feel your share of kicks, punches and elbows, especially when you're lying down. You might want to start keeping a kick chart to monitor your baby's movements, and also to later show your 13-year-old child what you endured for him or her. Ask your doctor how to count kicks and how often you should do it.

This week your baby is a little over 15 inches long—about the length of a loaf of bread—and weighs about 3 pounds, as much as a Macbook Air laptop."

*3D Pregnancy

27 Week Fun Facts...

So Alaska caused me to be a bit behind in my posts, but I plan on keeping up to date starting now. This pic is 27 weeks, 3 days. What do you think!?! I think I'm definitely showing. :)



I also had a doc appt on Friday and all seems to be going well still. I'm measuring right on track and am feeling Xander on a very regular basis now. You can even see my stomach move when he tosses and turns. It's sort of funny.

How far along? 27 weeks, 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: 32lb. Yikes. My doc insists this is fine. Um, okay.
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? Nope. Well, does stretch marks in my cleavage count because, if so, then the answer is "yes". Sort of. :(
Sleep: Not too shabby now that I'm reacquainted with my snoogle. That was the most brutal part of Alaska.
Best moment this week: Getting home from Alaska and having the construction finished. :)
Movement: Wow!
Food cravings: Fruit.
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not for another 10+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Can still just see the back of it. It's odd looking though.
What I miss: Still non-achy hands and feet. This is by far my worst pregnancy symptom.
What I am looking forward to: My first prenatal pilates class tomorrow. Our first Bradley class on Wed. And El Paso in 2 weeks. I was pleasantly greeted by an invite to my El Paso baby shower when we got home from Alaska. Pic below...isn't it beautiful!?! Libby and Leslie did a great job picking them out!
Weekly Wisdom: .
Milestone: This is more of a very nice experience than a milestone, but I wanted to share it because I think it says a lot about how kind people can be if they take the time and want to be. Mike and I were buying the crib mattress yesterday and as we were leaving and getting in the car an older woman came running up to the car and knocked on the window. She started to explain that she was driving past us as we were crossing tha parking lot (so I'm thinking "great, what does she think I did wrong?")and then she said the nicest thing. She just wanted to run over and tell me how beautiful I looked and that I should cherish every moment of this because time flies by very quickly. Mike and I both just had to smile and I said "thank you". A totally unnecessary and unsolicited compliment from a stranger is so rare and so very, very appreciated when you're tired and feeling a bit frumpy! :)

The construction is done!

As most of you know, we almost never used the den (which has our fireplace). Even when we had parties, no one seemed to want to stay in there, so we'd been talking for awhile about tearing down the wall between the dining room and the den. With Xander on the way (and all the "stuff" that comes with having a baby), we decided now was a great time to make better use of that room. So, while we were in Alaska, we decided to have the wall torn down. The contractors were awesome. Turns out that the wall was a load bearing wall but they were still able to finish in a week and a half. And we LOVE the finished product. We are buying new furniture for the room (and are already awaiting the new sofa bed), but for now...here's what it looks like with the old stuff still in it. You may also notice that we painted the den a sage green. Also, all of the trim on the doors downstairs now matches the thick molding on the top of the opening. It looks great!