Crossing Off Stuff on the To-Do List!

Baby Furniture ~ Almost Done

We finally made it to IKEA last week around 6:15pm and they close at 7pm... So it was a little bit of a hectic trip once we got there. I felt like I was in a maze. After finding the dresser and changing table we wanted, we got to the checkout section only to learn the changing table was out of stock! At least we were able to get Lyla a dresser.

We will have to make another trip to get the changing table. But it feels great to be almost done with the furniture shopping. Now once the floors and ceilings are done, we can actually put the dresser and the crib together! Can't wait!


Speaking of Floors and Ceilings ~

We made a decision after months of debating what we were going to do with the floors and actually bought the flooring! Hopefully we can get the floors installed the weekend after next. And when I say we, I mean Tyler :) Its getting more and more difficult to bend over these days.

Baby Classes & Our Little Sqaush's Development

I finally signed Tyler and I up for a baby class! Believe it or not, they are kind of hard to find! It seems like hospitals offer the most options. So it looks like we will be attending "Prepared Childbirth Class" on 9/25 ~ a 6 hour course at Southwest General Hospital. Apparently we will be learning what to expect and what to do while in labor. I'm pretty excited... I hope it provides us with a lot of information since I don't really know what to expect and have no idea what to do while in labor! Eek.

We are also looking into a few classes that are being offered at Methodist Healthcare... Hopefully these will work out with our schedule because they seem interesting!

~ You & Your Baby - Find out how to transition into your new role as a parent, prepare for your baby's homecoming, learn basic infant care and much more.

~ And Away We Grow! - Learn fun ways to enhance your baby's potential. Topics include feeding, tummy time, sensory development, maximizing strength, coordination and flexibility.

~ Boot Camp for New Dads - Veteran dads (with their babies!) show expectant dads what it's all about! In this class you will learn tips on how to support mom and how to handle the new demands of a baby.

Week 31 Developments ~ Lyla is this size of a squash this month! Next month she becomes a honeydew :)

Another day... another ounce - Fetal development in pregnancy week 31: fetus in seventh month Your not-so-little-one is just a bit closer to their birth weight and height at around 4 pounds and 17 inches. With each added layer of baby fat, your baby's skin starts to look more and more like it will when they finally get to see the light of day. The heavy news: you can expect your miracle-gro muffin to gain about a half a pound of weight per week from now until about two weeks before birth. Great. That's just what you needed. Even more weight to carry around!

Your baby's still-developing immune system has gained substantial strength over the past few weeks getting them in full gear to face our disease-ridden world o’ wonders. Obviously, a large majority of your child’s immune strength will be derived from exposure to breast milk as well as the outside elements. Their cute little noggin’ (which could already be covered with luscious locks or just purty peach fuzz), is still soft because the skull bones have not yet fused together. As much as that sounds a little too vulnerable, their “skull softness” allows for a much smoother passage through the birth canal during labor—something both you and your little swimmer will appreciate when it’s finally time to “go!” Also, some babies will have that “soft spot” on their head for up to one year after birth.

Week 30 ~ 3/4 of the way done

As of Sunday, I am 30 weeks along! Only 10 left to go!! I had another dr. appointment today and it went smooth as usual. Our baby's heart beat is a strong 136. The belly is measuring 30 inches and thankfully, everything seems to be right on track. I have 2 more check ups before the "big day". The next one is September 9 and the last one will be 3 weeks after that. It's getting so close!!

New developments this week.......

Week 30: Goodbye monkey baby, hello roly poly! Fetal development in pregnancy week 30: fetus in seventh month The light is visible at the end of the tunnel! Your oversized self and amazing growing baby have finally reached the single digits (in terms of weeks till birth)! The fine lanugo hair that has been growing all over their little monkey-like body is going to start falling off this week in preparation for the big day. But don’t be shocked if they’re hairier than you’d anticipated, some babies keep their lanugo until after birth. Still, it’s not any cause to be concerned as it will fall off eventually. No surprises here: your little porker is getting even cuter with increasingly pudgy arms and legs this week thanks to the ever-growing layers of subcutaneous fat. In terms of numbers, your baby should be weighing in at around 3 pounds 12 ounces (or more!) and be nearly 16 inches long.

No really, poke me AGAIN, it's fun!

As you can probably tell by my unusually high posting frequency, I'm on vacation from work! I saw the article included below and it made me chuckl - I can totally relate. It seems like every time I go to the doctor, they need to steal more blood. And I HATE needles, so that makes each appointment that much more enjoyable. The diabetes test last time was probably the most fun - On top of having to give away my blood again, I had to drink a really disgusting bottle of "fruit punch" and sit in the waiting room for an hour before I could release my blood to them. I wonder what's in store for me at our next appointment on Tuesday :) Lyla ~ I would give them all my blood if it would ensure that you will be born a healthy and happy baby ~ but that doesn't mean I won't complain about it :)

"No really, poke me AGAIN, it's fun!"

When you’re pregnant, you’re getting ready to change all the “labels” in your life. You go from “wife” to “mother.” “Childless” to “Mom.” There’s another label they may forget to tell you about: Human pincushion.

I have never been poked with a needle as many times as I have while I was pregnant. It seemed that every time I turned around, someone was telling me they needed this or that tested and, of course, it always needed to be a blood test.

The most annoying test, to me, was the gestational diabetes test. Not only would you find out if you would have to stop consuming that gallon of ice cream every night, but you’d actually have to drink a sugary syrup before having your blood drawn.

The doctors always scared me with this test. They’d hand me a glass bottle with a bunch of directions typed on it and say “See you next month. Make sure to follow the directions.”

Too bad the directions were written by someone who had never met a pregnant woman that worried too much.

“Do not eat for X hours before test. Do not look North while drinking the orange soda. Do not hold your breath for longer than six seconds and please do not think about peeing in the next five hours.”

After you drink the orange soda, you have to make sure to get to the doctor’s office in a certain amount of time for them to do the blood work. From the minute the bottle touched my lips to my entering the doctor’s office, I would keep worrying that I wouldn’t get there in time and I had drunk the drink for nothing.

“I’m here for the glucose test!” I’d scream as I ran in. “I drank the drink exactly one hour and 55 minutes ago and I need someone to draw my blood now or I JUST MIGHT DIE.”

I never did die, nor did I ever miss the time frame given for me to have my blood drawn. I did, however, annoy plenty of nurses due to repeating “Oh no. I think I’m going to faint. I hate this. I’m going to faint. I have bad veins. HURRY THE HECK UP ALREADY.”

Things I am Thankful for Today

A few things I am thankful for today...

1. The AC Guy ~ It's been pretty miserable at the house lately. Our AC has been running non stop but it just hasn't been getting cool. Considering its a billion degrees outside and I seem to be carrying some extra weight lately :) I have not been a happy camper. Well Tyler finally called the AC guy, who came over today, and who woulda thought that its just the AC filter that needed to be changed! Apparently Tyler changed it about a month ago but with the house remodeling, we should have been changing it once a week... So thank you AC guy - you are my hero today.

2. Starbucks ~ I really do enjoy drinking an extremely overpriced, but extremely tasty, cup of coffee. Since we learned Lyla was on her way, I haven't been drinking much of my beloved starbucks. But today, on my way home from buying air filters at Home Depot, I stopped in and treated myself to a caramel mocha frapp... so tasty... Made my morning that much better.

That's all for now, I'm off to enjoy my day off in my cold house with my yummy starbucks!!

Week 29 Developments

Week 29: To pee or not to pee...Fetal development in pregnancy week 29: fetus in seventh month If you’ve been feeling butterflies moving around in your belly, it’s not just your run-of-the-mill pre-birth performance anxiety. No, it’s your amazing baby with a case of the hiccups: a fairly common occurrence at this point resulting from practicing breathing for their big birthday. In addition, to getting a round of butterfly-like hiccups, your little swimmer has arduously managed to accumulate enough baby fat to account for nearly 3.5% of their overall body weight. Yeah, compared to we adults, it’s not a lot, but when they’re little like that—it’s certainly a healthy (and warming) accomplishment in its way. Another fantastic accomplishment: your baby's spleen is now in charge of hematopoiesis—the 10 dollar name for the process involved in building up certain important blood components. Another fantastic-accomplishment: your little monkey has been peeing into their amniotic sac for a little while now (this is why potty training takes a while) and if you didn’t know, actually swallows it along with the rest of the amniotic fluid. Although the concept is nasty, their urine is sterile and as part of the amniotic fluid base, is replaced several times throughout the day. So if you didn’t know before, now you can tell people, that yes, you drank your own urine—you were still in the womb, but nonetheless, you’ve been there.

It's been a while

It has been a while since our last post... Today I am 29 weeks and 3 days along. Which means we have an estimated 10 weeks and 4 days to go! It seems like time has gone by so fast and so slow at the same time - its really quite strange.

Lyla has been moving more and more these days - she's doing flips galore. The other day Tyler was laying his head on my belly and she kicked him in the face :) She's a rascal already. She especially loves doing flips on my bladder. I can't make it through the night anymore without 3 or 4 trips to the bathroom.

We have another doctor's appointment next Tuesday. The appointments are now about every 3 weeks instead of once a month. I feel like they may start to get closer and closer together pretty quickly. I'm definitely ready to have another sonogram so we can see her precious face and enormous feet again, but I'm not sure when the next one will be. Next Tuesday is just another quick checkup and to get the results of my previous visit's diabetes test.

Big items on our to-do list:

Lyla's Room ~

Lyla's room is still a work in progress. We have to get a drywall guy to come in and finish our ceilings and once that's done, we can replace the flooring. THEN, we can finally finish up Lyla's room! I can't wait to actually get everything put together. I hope we have enough time to get everything done before she arrives. We still need to go buy some baby furniture for our princess. We were going to go to IKEA last weekend, but that didn't work out. Maybe this weekend will work out better...

Find a Pediatrician ~

I don't even really know where to start here. Besides knowing that we want to find someone close to home, we dont really know how to pick out a good pediatrician. I guess we'll have to read up on the baby books and see what advice they have for us...

Lamaze Class ~

We need to find one of these soon! I feel like the big day will be here before we know it and I definitely want to get all the practice in that I can!

Baby Shower ~

Still trying to get all the baby shower details worked out and everything planned. We don't have much planned yet, but we DO have a date - Saturday, September 18. I'm glad my best friend is willing to plan this for me :) Thanks Danielle.

Overall, mom, dad and baby are doing great! I'm ready for our little girl to be here and Tyler can't wait to be a dad!