The Nursery

Snuggie's nursery is now set up and ready for action. Although his room is small, it is quite cozy :)--and right across the hall from our room, so I think it will be very convenient. Following doctor's orders, I am back on partial bed rest and at home full time now, so I have all the time I need to do his laundry, organize his room (and our house), and fulfill my other "nesting" tasks. A quick tour of the nursery is below.

Snuggie's crib:

His stuffed animals are waiting patiently for his arrival...

Snuggie's safari friends above his crib...

Snuggie's dresser, changing table, and wall of books and toys:

For some reason, I love Chinese lanterns...

Another view of the "Charlie" wall:

My awesome glider, Snuggie's bookshelf, and his blackboard (with painfully hideous artwork by yours truly).

Another view of said glider, shelf, and painfully hideous artwork...

His little clothes--washed and ready to go!

Hope you enjoyed the tour! :)

Doctors Appointments, Weekend Fun, and Musings about Milk...

What a nice weekend we had! On Friday night, we went out to dinner with some of our best friends, and the parents of Snuggie's future friend George. On Saturday, we had a full-day childbirthing class. It was fairly helpful (Clint thinks about 10% of it was useful), but a bit of a marathon. There was a lot of information (some of it fairly graphic), and one of our classmates (a dad, not a preggers mom!) almost fainted during our hospital tour. As those of you who know me know, I don't handle hospitals or blood very well and had been feeling a bit queasy during the day, so I was very glad that I was not the fainter! Most of the class focused on natural birthing techniques, but they did touch on c-sections a bit and that was helpful. But I don't know whose idea it was to actually show a video of a c-section--there is a reason that they put a screen in front of the mother during the surgery people! I think Clint was the only person in the room who actually enjoyed the video--I kept my eyes covered the entire time. :) On Sunday, I ventured ever so slightly into frantic nesting mode. I think I freaked Clint out a bit--he seemed very worried that I was about to go into labor. But now Snuggie has clean sheets and clothes, my closet and drawers are cleaned out and organized (not sure why that seemed to matter so much to me), Clint's drawers are organized (again, not entirely clear on why that had to be done), and Snuggie's car seat is securely installed in the car.

I think part of the impetus for the frantic nesting came from my grocery trip earlier that morning, when I purchased milk and cottage cheese that expire after my due date! Notwithstanding the fact that it's a little weird that these dairy products don't expire for over 4 weeks, it is so strange to be purchasing things that won't expire until after Snuggie has arrived. I shared this with Clint and I don't think he really understood the significance--he said "I'll be sure to throw the milk and cottage cheese away before we come home from the hospital." :)

We also got a visit from some of our favorite people on Sunday--my cousin Amy, her husband Jack, and their adorable kids Samuel and Jane Ann (and a future baby girl cousin for Snuggie, due in August!). We had so much fun visiting with Amy and Jack and playing with the kids--they are the cutest things!

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Samuel & Jane Ann loved our red couch...

And Jane Ann was very excited to play in Snuggie's crib:

Amy and I compared bellies--I think I'm beating you Ames! :)

Clint's fun idea of a "game"--throwing a huge exercise ball down the stairs for the kids to catch. They loved it, but I don't think poor little Jane Ann knew that she barely avoided being knocked over. :)




Because pictures are always more fun when you're upside down...

My final news to report is that I had a doctor's appointment yesterday that went very well. My fluid levels were still normal, and Snuggie is continuing to grow perfectly. He is still breech and seems very content staying that way, so we went ahead and scheduled a c-section for Tuesday, May 11. I cannot believe that we have a date on the calendar (and that it's only 3 weeks away!). I am so excited for the little man to get here!!

35 Weeks!

It is hard to believe that we are 35 weeks along already, with only 5 weeks left to go (and only 4 weeks until our tentative c-section date!). When we took these pictures last night, I told Clint that I didn't think I'd grown too much since we took the last ones. He kind of snickered and said that he really thought I might be mistaken. When I compared these photos to my 30-week pics, I was shocked at the difference--I can't believe how much Snuggie and I have grown in the past 5 weeks! I am getting so excited to meet this little (big?) guy. :)

Prayers for Dad

My sweet Dad is in the hospital again as a result of his ulcerative colitis, so please be thinking about him and praying for his swift recovery. If all goes well with his procedure tomorrow, he could be out of the hospital by Friday morning. We want him to be in tip-top shape before Snuggie arrives! I guess our California trip was just too exciting for him...it's hard getting old, isn't it Dad?? :)

Amniotic Fluid, Take 2

My modified bed rest/hydration regime over the weekend worked like a charm, and my amniotic fluid levels were back up to a normal level today. I will go back in next Monday to have my levels re-checked, but until then, I have been cleared for my normal activities (so back at work!). The sonogram was fun today as well--we could see Snuggie's little peach-fuzz hair and eyelashes on the sonogram, and he was sucking his little thumb. So cute!

34 Weeks

Snuggie and I went to my OB for our 34-week appointment on Friday. We got to have a sonogram, which showed that stubborn little Snugs is still happily in a breech position, so unless he figures out a way to turn himself around, it looks like we are looking at a c-section around May 12 (slightly over 4 weeks away!!). And Snuggie is also growing like a weed--the sonogram technician estimated his weight at almost 6 pounds! The sonogram also showed that my amniotic fluid was a bit on the low side. I think it's probably a result of all of my activity on the trip and at work this week, but my doctor put me on "modified" bed rest for the weekend, and we're going to check my fluid levels again on Monday. We then spent 30 minutes on a fetal monitor to check on Mr. Snugs. His heart rate couldn't have looked better, but I found out that I had 5 (irregular) contractions during that 30-minute time period! I had no idea I was having any at all, so I was very surprised to hear that I was having so many. Apparently many women have contractions during their third trimester that they can't feel--you just don't find out about it unless you are monitored. Who knew?

Last Baby-Free Vacay!

This past week, my entire family (Clint, my parents, my sister Meg, my brother-in-law Graeme, my brother Sam, and I) spent the week in and around Jenner, California, a small town in the Russian River Valley. My dad rented an incredible house for us that overlooked the point at which the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean. The views from the house were incredible and the trip was so much fun. We spent the week hiking through redwood forests and on the beaches, wine tasting in Sonoma (except for me :), shopping in the cute small towns in the area, eating wonderful food, touring San Francisco, and--primarily--laughing. We had a wonderful week, and it was so nice to have a long relaxing get-away before Mr. Snugs arrives. I can't imagine a better trip!

Here is the front door to our house:

And here is a picture of one of the many the beautiful porches around the house:

Our favorite activity was sitting on the back porch, looking out over the river, and telling stories.



One of the many incredible views from the house.

The flowers outside of the house:

And the fog rolling in over the river...

We spent one day in Point Reyes, California, a beautiful national park that also happens to be the home of some wonderful blue cheese... (I am assuming that is what these cows are for :)

The start of a hike through the redwoods...

Me and Graeme (he's also due in May :)

I just love this llama we spotted on one of our many drives through the countryside.

Here is a picture at one of the wineries we visited. Our tours were booked by one of my Dad's friends who buys all the liquor for H-E-B. When the winery tour guides assumed that we were part of a "liquor family" and gave us special treatment, we did not disabuse them of that notion... :)

Me and Clint at another winery.

Shopping in Sonoma...

Mom was not excited to go onto the "most dangerous beach in California."

She was picturing lots of rogue waves:

But we just got harbor seals!

Here I am with Meg at dinner on our last night in Cali.

Graeme looking furtive in the background...

Sam had never been to San Francisco, so we did a quick tour of the city before we flew out on Saturday.

The boys:

Sam in his new SF hat (showcasing Alcatraz).

Our only "group" picture:

What a wonderful week!