OMG there is a car seat in my car!

And baby Weeks is scheduled to make his arrival in 3.5 weeks! Last Saturday, J's parents through us a slightly less than traditional, but fun nonetheless baby shower. The non-traditional aspects are slightly overwhelming to type out, but make for a good story :)

Everyone was full of love for our soon to arrive bundle of joy and really made the day enjoyable! We were blessed with even more gifts for baby Weeks, including his crib (thanks to my in-laws), swing and high chair (thanks mom and dad, you rock!), and his stroller system (big thanks to my brother and soon to be sister in law, speaking of whom were the best ever all day, I don't know what I'd do without them!). We were also lucky enough to receive a lot more baby clothes, diapers and accessories, making our shopping nearly complete. I have to do a small run to BRU tomorrow, but it should wrap it up!

Speaking of nearly wrapped up, with the crib in the room and most of our wall hangings up, the nursery is just about done! I'm waiting on one more decal to get here (http://worddecor-n-more.com/item_331/KING-OF-THE-JUNGLE-Kids-Wall-Art.htm) to complete the room, then there will be pictures galore!

We were able to build the swing, stroller, snap and go stroller - and put away our loot today as well. Most importantly, we installed baby's car seat! I'm getting it inspected by the State Police on Thursday to ensure we did a good job, but OMG I HAVE A CAR SEAT IN MY CAR. It's funny what little things can make everything seem so real. Just looking behind me and seeing the seat ready to go makes me nearly burst in anticipation! Soon enough I'll be holding my miracle in my arms. I just can not wait!

Mythbusters: Breastfeeding 101

With under 5 weeks to go, I thought I was on auto-pilot, smooth sailing if you would. The birthing class was a smashing success, the CPR class lovely, Baby Weeks' room is pretty much set up, clothes are washed, we are ready to go. I've even been looking forward to breastfeeding - selfishly, it will help me lose weight faster and maybe even prevent certain cancers, and it couldn't be a better choice for baby. Breast is best for a reason, breast fed babies really get a head start on life and I've been determined to do a good job feeding my little one. Now, I'm scared shitless. This is going to be a challenge.

Personal Myth #1: Breastfeeding is quick and easy. I've seen babies drink out of bottles, it takes like 5 minutes, breastfeeding will be the same.
Busted: Breastfeeding takes between 10-20 min per breast, with a grand total of up to 40 minutes every time you do it. Babies eat at least every 3 hours, that means I could be at this almost 6 hours a day. HOW DO YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE? HOW DO PEOPLE WORK? On average, he'll need to eat twice during the night and I'll have to be up for 40 minutes doing it, when do you sleep??
I also have crazy obligations in the month of October - the first weekend I have my SIL's baby shower, then the next my soon to be SIL bridal shower, the next a wedding we wanted to go to, the one after my soon to be SIL's bachelorette, and finally my mom's bridal shower for my soon to be SIL. In my head I though I'd be cool going to all of these events, now I can't wrap my head around any of them. Am I going to have to trek my little guy around at 2, 3, 4 weeks old so I can feed him on the hour? And with it taking so long to do, how do you "excuse" yourself from a shower for 40 minutes? All of these things are so important to me and I already feel like I'm letting people down.

Personal Myth #2: I'll start pumping ASAP so Jesse can do night feedings and I can sleep.
Busted: First, you have to wait 3-4 weeks (at least) to introduce a bottle. Fine. But, the way the whole science of this works is that your breasts produce milk when baby takes milk. So if Jesse does the night feedings and I sleep, that means my production will slow way down because I'm going 8 hours between feedings. I'll have to either pump during the night when he bottle feeds or suck it up and keep it up all night.

Personal Myth #3: I'll feel attractive again once I lose the weight after baby arrives.
Busted: It's been hard being surrounded by my very pretty and very skinny friends all summer. I've gained over 30 pounds and feel like a huge blob every day. My maternity clothes are starting not to fit and I'm starting to worry what I'll do about work - I certainly don't want to spend money on something I'll wear for 3-5 weeks, but what else can I do? Thus, I've been looking forward to my post baby body with vigor. I've kept up my exercise routine (2 mile walk/runs 3-4 days a week and yoga weekly) and don't have any stretch marks to date so have been hopeful. However, after watching the videos at the breastfeeding class, my hope sank. How can anyone feel sexy leaking milk out of their boobs all the time? How can my husband and I reinvigorate a sexual relationship when if he touches my breasts they will most likely start spurting milk?

Personal Myth #4: Once baby comes, the responsibility will be more even for his care.
Busted: How could it be more even with the responsibility, time, and care it takes to breastfeed? Again, I feel like this entire process is on the mother's shoulders. I don't want to fail, I don't want to do bad job, I want to be a good mom. Despite all of this, I am still determined to make breastfeeding work. It's worked for thousands of years for women who's circumstances far exceeded my own, I can make it work for me. But like everything that comes with the joy of motherhood, it is that - work. At least I am better informed now so none of this will come as a shock once my little guy gets here. I've got 5 weeks left to let it all sink in, prepare, and think of all of the joy being so close with him will bring!

Pediatrics

A couple months back, we checked with our primary care doctor about recommendations for a pediatrician for baby Weeks. It is super important to set this up in advance since you never know a) If the pediatrician you chose is actually taking on new patients and b) If you'll like them. Luckily, the doctor our doctor recommended was taking on new patients and suggested meeting us early in August to answer any questions we may have. We met up with him this morning and were quite impressed. He's in practice by himself, located about 20 minutes from our house, and has a clean and kid-friendly office. We spent almost a half hour with him without feeling rushed as he talked us through baby's first few visits. I was hoping he'd have quick fixes for some of the burning questions I had (when to introduce a bf baby to a bottle 3 weeks? 4? 6?, when should we start letting him sleep in his crib?). Despite my need for answers, he kept asserting that those type of choice are up to us and our baby. We have to decide what kind of parents we want to be and be able to notice what our baby needs and wants. Although this did not soothe the super-planner inside of me, it made me feel good about him. I feel like he doesn't subscribe to a one-size fits all babies philosophy and will always take my child's personal needs in mind.
Another milestone down with 5.5 weeks left until we meet our little angel!

Laundry time

Even though I knew it was coming, I had no idea it would be this epic. Laundry. 5 loads. How can anything so small fill up my machine so fast? What really added up weren't his actual outfits, (I washed all newborn, 0-3, and 3 month sizes, anything bigger will get dusty before he wears it) but all of the linens. Everything that touches baby has to be washed (in free and clear or baby detergent) before baby arrived - this means every blanket, sheet, waterproof pad, washcloth, towel, hat, moby wrap, everything. I'm also a stickler for hanging clothes outdoors (I literally save $15/month doing this) so this became an all day project. I'm done now and got to put his coming home outfit in my hospital bag, that alone made it all worthwhile!

Coming Home

As the days pass by, the arrival of baby Weeks becomes more and more imminent. The moment has been made all the more real with the arrival of a good friend's little one. I got to meet him this past week and he is simply precious - I am just over the moon that my little guy already has a good friend himself :) We also got to take a CPR/Infant Care class this week thanks to a generous gift from another good friend. Both J and I feel more confident in preventing SIDS and and ensuring we could help our little one if he ever did get into medical trouble. Additionally, we had a quick check up where we got to meet another doctor in the practice - we liked her as much we like our regular doctor, and she liked everything about baby Weeks, even declaring him head down!

Most exciting for me was finally getting J to Carter's to pick out a couple outfits for baby's homecoming. I've been taking care of their coupons (20% off your total order) for months now stocking up, but with law school insanity J hasn't had time. He has a great eye for baby clothes, and once he shook off his nerves really dug right in. We chose a newborn outfit and a 3 month outfit in case he's really big. And for your viewing pleasure:

Showered!

Wow! I'm still basking in the joy that was my baby shower yesterday. My mom went crazy out of her way to ensure that everything was exactly the way I'd want it. She booked a classy joint, filled it with amazing food and even more amazing people. Everyone was in good spirits, and seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. It was great to be able to share the experience with old friends, new friends, and family from all corners of the area. Both my sister in law and sister in law to be were stars of the show, helping my mom and myself out whenever possible. Bottom line, I am a blessed person. Although all of the gifts (so many we had to use Jesse's Dad's work van - think Econoline massive van) are appreciated and loved (and of course already put away - I did move an entire house in a day) what I take away from the day is the love of everyone around. I love you all so much and I can't wait for baby Weeks to meet you all! I'd post pictures of all the goodies, but they have made their way to every nook and corner of the nursery and the house!

Admitted

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been feeling increasing pelvic pressure. The pressure is centrally located, pretty much at my cervix and feels like I'm getting a pap smear from the inside. Mostly this happened after my runs so I've cut back and am mostly speed walking at this point.
Friday, it was back in full force, even without the exercise, so Jesse and I decided to phone it in to the doctor. Since I'm so far along, they wanted me to go straight to L&D at St. V's, so that's what I did.
I wasn't really worried until I got there and somewhere between being admitted to the hospital, stripped to a johnny, and having fetal monitors attached to me, the worried picked up. Ironically, my room was the same on we saw on our tour last week and was ready and equipped for whatever happened. We waited patiently for the doctor who did a full cervical exam (no dilation or effacement), a urine test for a UTI (negative), and then a FFN (more info here: http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/pretermlabor_fetalfibronectin.html). I then had to wait an hour for the results to come back.
Thankfully, everything was ok and we were soon discharged, but needless to say I don't want to be back there until the big day. Baby Weeks's vitals were really strong (the nurse actually called them "beautiful") and my pain was simply diagnosed as aggravated muscles stretching to make more room for baby or simply my baby kicking my cervix.
I'm now pumped for a super fun weekend and relieved that with 8 weeks left, everything looks great!