Enjoying the Last Little Bit

I dropped by Em's house yesterday and she insisted on taking some pregnancy pictures.

Only a sister can make you think you look cute after working a full day at 38 weeks pregnant and feeling completely swollen and sweaty. Thank you Em - you are the best and I will treasure the documentation of George's gestation :)

Now that I'm over 38 weeks, I KNOW it won't be that long. So, I've sort of relaxed and stopped worrying so much about exactly when George arrive. As much as possible, I'm trying to enjoy these last days of Baby G's kicks and snuggles on the inside.

This pregnancy has been really wonderful from a mental/emotional and spiritual perspective. Jonathan and I have grown closer and the anticipation of expecting and planning for George has been wonderful.

HOWEVER......the physical aspect of the pregnancy has ranged from mildly to extremely uncomfortable. YUCK! The only part of the physical aspect of pregnancy that has been fun is feeling George kicking around (such a wonderful feeling) and having a totally legit reason for a chubby tummy :) The last few days, despite the discomfort, I've been trying to savor the good parts and I know I'll miss it when it's gone.

 Today has been wonderful. Jonathan was able to come home after morning clinic and I am off today. We have had such a fun time just hanging out together (especially since we both have to work this weekend).

Small disaster struck when I noticed a FLEA on PA!! Yikes!!! NOT acceptable.

Both pups got flea dipped and new flea medicine, plus complete bedding washing/spraying, etc. No fleas when Baby G comes! 

We are so enjoying these last few days as a family of 2 (4), but cannot WAIT to have our George here safely and officially be a family of 3 (5) :)

My Sweet Baboo's Birthday :)

Happy 33rd birthday Jonathan!!! I feel so incredibly lucky to have spent 11 of those 33 years with you :)

You are cute, and you are awesome, and I love you the most. 

Enough mushy stuff. Lets discuss Jonathan's awesome presents:

Believe it or not, Jonathan has never had his OWN laptop!!!! We have always shared one. It is time. Enjoy your new Dell sweets....I still think you would have liked an Mac better :)

Baby G got his dad a new backpack which has a built in laptop carrier and it's super comfortable. Way to go Baby G....awesome gift!

This awesome water bottle is from PA and E. They are so grateful for their dad. He gets them out of bed and feeds and waters them every morning. Without him....who knows how they would survive! They wanted to return the favor and make sure he stays properly hydrated through the day.

We had a wonderful, delicious German dinner cooked by the most wonderful German mother (Marion) after work on the 11th. Thank you again for such a fun celebration Marion! Birthday cake was a la Fresh Market - Jonathan's favorite Strawberry Chantilly Cake...YUM!

Baby G Update: He is not here. There are no signs of him coming soon....sigh....I have my next appointment on Tuesdsay so we will see objectively if there is any progress. I'm doing everything I can find on Google to bring on labor (that seems safe at least). Oh well, I do really enjoy having him snuggle with me all day :) Although not super physically comfortable, it's so sweet to feel him enjoying the last little bit of his cozy gestation. No wonder he doesn't want to come...he's too comfortable!

Animal Testing

Esteban is going to be the best big brother. We put the Snugabunny bouncy seat on the floor last night and Esteban immediately questioned its safety and comfort.....and volunteered to try it out before Baby George uses it. "Never fear Mom, I'll put this thing through its paces!"

Per Esteban's review: Soft, bouncy, entertaining mobile, good vibration and music features, and cute bunny/shih tzu ear design.

The only problem now is that he wants one of his own to put in his room. We told him maybe for his birthday. If he's good.

Tomorrow is Jonathan's BIRTHDAY!!! I have today off so I'm going to try to buy him a few little surprises :) Marion is super sweet and is cooking his birthday dinner of Rouladen (per Jonathan's request). Thank you Marion!!! I don't know if I would have had it in me to do that, especially after working tomorrow!

Today I'm having my hair and my nails done in preparation for baby G. (Please don't say that I will need nails done again before he comes, because even though that may be true, I'm pretending it's  not :). I figure that George's first visual impression of me will be my toe nails so they need to look nice.

I'm having a Keratin treatment done which is the best thing on the planet and (at least for thick, frizzy hair like mine) saves hours and hours of straightening and fighting for smooth, silky hair. My hair stylist wouldn't do the treatment (she is very awesome and safe) after I became pregnant, but I convinced her that baby G is full term now and won't have any more exposure the product at this point than if I had it done after he is born...maybe less even!

I think you know when you're ready to deliver when you are willing to buy $25 worth of tea and herbal supplements to "encourage" things along...which I did yesterday. Apparently Golden Seal and Red Raspbery Leaf Tea plus lots of Evening Primrose Oil can be helpful. So far nothing, but I remain optimistic. The pair of (self-proclaimed) Druids behind me in the checkout line at the Natural Foods store seemed to think I have a good chance of delivering on Saturday based on the moon. Nice :)

Twiddling Thumbs and Weekend Update

So, basically everything's done and we're just WAITING! The last 3 days my lower back has been quite painful....I had been resisting "pregnancy waddle" up to now but that's no longer an option :). At least Jonathan has been around to pry me off the sofa and occasionally walk me to the bathroom in the middle of the night when it's particularly sore. (How in the world do people do this without a husband???)

I'm working ER shifts until the 21st (39 weeks) and although it takes every ounce will power I posess to pry myself out of bed, but at least it gives me something to do besides sit home and be anxious. Today is the first day of school in Columbia and Richmond Counties so the ER is awesomely quiet (child-wise) which suits me perfectly. Usually after the kids have been together for about 2 weeks, enough to innoculate each other with all their germs, things pick up rapidly and continue on through the fall/winter.

This weekend was lots of fun and flew by! Saturday morning Jonathan woke me up before work with a gorgeous brunch of challa bread french toast topped with sliced strawberries, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream accompanied by the most delicious homemade iced mocha. YUM! After I got home from work he had made delicious dinner and we had Emily, Nick, and James over. So much fun visiting with them and showing off the nursery and cute baby stuff  :) After dinner we went to the Greenjackets (minor league) baseball game. It was actually quite fun and thankfully not that hot! The baseball game was entertaining but by far the best part was getting to see the fireworks from the nearby Kroc Center grand opening! What a beautiful show! It was especially fun because Jonathan and I missed July 4th fireworks this year since we were working and I LOVE fireworks!!!

Sunday I could literally not walk, so after another delicious Jonathan-cooked breakfast, we watched our wonderful church on TV. I LOVE Trinity!!! I missed being there so much for the Camp Meeting and Love Unlimited Choir performances in person. They do SUCH a good job and it's such a sweet, sweet thing to see so many older teens so enjoying being in a church choir. The rest of Sunday was spent in a reclining position (at least on my part) watching movies and relaxing. Jonathan did laundry, grocery shopped, and again stuffed me with a delicious home-made dinner with dessert of icecream and a nice foot/leg rub :) Is he perfect? Maybe :)

We have so much fun discussing George and what he will be like. We can't wait for him to be in our arms but we are really enjoying our last little bit of time just the two of us until he is born!

On a baby-gift related side note, my friend Alisa (who is one of the best gift-givers ever!) sent me this awesome baby's first year calendar with such cute stickers! It is a fabulous alternative/supplement to a baby book, and Jonathan has already claimed it to keep for George :)

http://orangecirclestudio.com/2010/product-giveaway-your-first-year-baby-calendar

Last Sneak Peek

We had the last ultrasound today!

I remember the first one so vividly and it's amazing that it was 9 months ago (although in some ways if feels like it's been 9 years!!)

He is a BIG boy, estimated to be about 7 lbs at this point. He will probably gain about 1/2 lb per week until he's born. Yikes!

The most important things though are that he is head down (yay!) and looks nice and healthy.

I love him and (not biased at all of course) think he's super cute :) LOVE LOVE LOVE fat baby cheeks and can't wait to kiss them and squish them!!!!!

Jonathan and I have ordered a few last little things that we didn't have yet - including the Moby Wrap :)

We felt it was necessary to practice. The sleep sheep played the role of Baby George.

Or.....is it a ninja suit?

Sleep sheep was a little small, so we decided to try someone the same size (7-8 lbs-ish). Pippi Amanda LOVED it and wants one of her own :)

Preparations

Jonathan and I have been married now for over 8 and 1/2 years and been together for almost 10! Such an incredible 10 years it's been :) Things in our lives have been so "stable" for the last few years (if you can ever call residency life stable) so adding in George has been something so new to figure out.

I THINK that physically we are prepared. In the past months we have not only prepared the nursery, but remodeled a bathroom, put down hardwoods in our carpeted room, and (are in the process) of having living room furniture slipcovered (in anticipation of the many varieties of bodily fluids and sticky foods common to infants and toddlers).

We took a relaxing baby-moon as instructed.

We made sure our highlights are fresh.

We are expecting and trying to prepare for residency-like fatigue and sleeplessness (maybe worse?).

We have been instructing E and PA on proper baby etiquette (like no licking his face or barking during his naps). Per pet expert instructions, they also have a special blanket that George will sleep on in the hospital and will then go into their room so they can smell his sweetness in advance of meeting him.

BUT!!!! What about the MOST important part of preparing for George? (I've seen the "Babies" documentary and have worked with indigent children long enough to know that babies don't even need diapers to survive and thrive, much less all this other stuff!) What about the emotional and the spiritual preparation for being parents and welcoming a new person into our family?

Over the past months, I have listened to many, many parents (old and new) try to describe this transition and asked for advice on making it ourselves. However, so many times I've heard "there is really no way to prepare for it." Although probably this is true, it is still incredibly frustrating for a "planner" such as yours truly!!!

God loves me. (And probably tired of my rambling prayers on the subject.) So he sent me such a sweet answer this morning via email :) Thank you Alisa (fellow over-planner) for this amazing article.

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2011/07/preparing-my-heart-for-motherhood.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PassionateHomemaking+%28Passionate+Homemaking%29

I know I won't be totally ready for Baby G no matter what I do, but this is such an encouragement and these seem to be some wonderful guidelines for preparing our hearts and spirits for our little blessing!

George's Nursery

I think it's (mostly) DONE! Just for perspective, here is how it was before as the guest room:

Here it is after painting and crown moulding before putting anything back in:

Here it is with rug, furniture, and all his stuff :)

I've packed his bag with some clothes, sleepers, mittens, socks, receiving blankets, and hats. I think they should probably have everything else we need at the hospital....did I miss anything obvious? Several minor things are still coming in the mail, but otherwise (baby-wise) I think we're ready :) We are SO EXCITED to meet our little George!

A New Day

So, let's try this again :) George is due to arrive soon so I want to be able to post pics and little tidbits for those non-facebook savvy, but still very important people in our lives!