37 Weeks and All is Well

So today is the 13th anniversary of Dan and I meeting. Just in case you wanted to know.

Anyway, this has been a busy and good week. On Monday my fourth grade colleagues came to my classroom after school to tell me that I had to change my doctor's appointment that was scheduled for Thursday. Allegedly at lunch that day, when someone was asking me about how things were going, when I was seeing the doctor again, etc., and I mentioned my Thursday afternoon appt., the whole room flipped out, but I missed it. Bottom line: my school shower was planned for Thursday. Thus, I called the doctor's office and rescheduled for Wed.

The doctor's visit was good: My weight is 154.5 lbs. This is less than the weight from Thanksgiving Eve's appointment (when it appeared I had gained A LOT in two weeks), so the nurse, doctor and I all think that was a fluke measurement. My strepB was negative, so I won't need antibiotics during delivery (yea!). I got to hear Baby's heartbeat-- always great! Not much else. I go back on Monday (and the two following Mondays).

The shower on Thursday was really nice. Eric made some very tastey sugar cookies in the shape of little baby feet (although some people thought they were ghosts or angel wings) in pink and blue. There were pink and blue of everything; I took a pink cup, blue plate, pink fork and blue napkin. Anyway, I received many wonderful gifts (lots of clothes!) and am so grateful for all the well wishes and generosity.

In exciting news, my cousin and his wife had their second son yesterday morning. He looks very cute, and it seems that both Baby Lincoln and Momma Anne are doing well. Hooray!

Oh-- in things that annoy me news:

• there are two people at school who are convinced I'm having the baby any day now ("Look at her lips" yeah, whatever, they're chapped, ...)
• A woman at Macy's asked me if I was having twins.
• The custodians are making bets about whether I'll last until Dec. 14th or not (my planned last day)-- I told the guy who sweeps my room to bet on me making it.
• I finally was ready to buy a nursing bra at Macy's today, but they wouldn't accept my 20% off coupon even though it didn't say that it excludes maternity. I refused to buy it after that.
• I saw a rear view of myself in the dressing room at Macy's and I am quite unhappy about the size of my rear end.

Things for Which I'm Thankful

Well, I'm not at the parade, but alas, I am thankful for so many other things:

• My amazing husband who cleans like a banshee, finds the crib I love, and dries my silly tears
• Our wonderful family
• Baby and his/her cute little foot
• A functional (and beautiful) crib
• My superb group of fourth graders
• Good friends both near and far
  
• A good haircut
• The comfort and ease of maternity clothes
• laptop computers
• the pumpkin pie that I made last night
• Danskos
• The internet
• My cellphone and bluetooth which allows me to talk to Mom, Ali & Mag whenever I'm stuck in terrible Paramus traffic
  
• Our nice guest room where I can watch Project Runway whilst Dan watches Southpark
• seasonal weather
• new furniture
• blueberry muffins
• prenatal yoga
• The nice community in which I work

36 Weeks!

So basically, I am hearing all sorts o' things now: "Your face looks different," "I think you've dropped," and my personal favorite, "You're waddling." I pretty much disagree with all of these assessments, especially the last one. I'm still hearing some of "You look great!" "You're all baby!" and I miss those comments when I get the others. Oh well.

Today was my appointment for the week: Baby's heartrate was between 140 and 148 bpm. I appeared to have gained quite a bit o' weight, but I had on my heavy Danskos, so I'm blaming the shoes. Baby is still head-down. By the by, I felt a foot in my hand through my belly tonight, so cool!

I do feel fairly huge, but I swear I'm not waddling. Not today anyway (yesterday I was certainly not walking like normal, but I'd say it was more of a limp than a waddle-- Baby was hanging out on my sciatic nerve again). Even so, I still dont want Baby to come early. I want to stay at school until my planned last day of Dec. 14th!

In crib news, we put the mobile together and onto the crib. It is lovely.

Crib Update...

So after school today I had a voicemail from my dear husband that said he had good news. I immediately called him... he had made some phone calls and found our crib at another BRU nearby. I ditched yoga in order to make the trip with him. The Asst. Manager there gave us a bit of a hard time, but luckily whomever Dan had talked to on the phone had set aside our crib with our name on it, so she gave in to us. We traded the defected item for the new one and headed home where we promptly unpacked it and went to work assembling (which we could do without looking at the directions, though we did, just to be sure).

There were some immediate differences that we noticed in terms of hardware and construction, which had us feeling pretty good. When we finished assembling everything, we felt even more confident. Sure enough, the drop side works like a charm! Hooray!!!

Crib = Tears

So, we went back to BRU tonight to return our defective crib and get a replacement. James wasn't there tonight, so we talked with Chris. Chris, unlike James, was neither friendly nor helpful. He told us about problems he'd seen with the crib due to people putting it together incorrectly, etc. We told him over and over about the situation and the diagnosis (and what James had told us) and what we'd observed as a difference between our pins and the pins in the floor models. He seemed annoyed and tried to order us a new one, but said he couldn't. It seems they are on backorder or something (this did seem so when I got home and looked online, but Chris didn't really explain the situation AT ALL to us). Basically, we still have the disassembled defective crib in the Taurus. I want to be patient and get it replaced, but we did look for other options both at BRU and buybuyBaby. Dan even went to Pottery Barn Kids. Bottom line, nothing is as pretty as ours for the same price. There were a few that were almost as pretty but cost more. There were some that cost less and looked it. I just really like the one we picked out. I'm SO annoyed, not only with the situation but with Chris's unhelpfulness and general apathy to our situation. Boo.

Halloween Costume Photos

Sorry this took almost 3 weeks to post!

News Alert: I'm not nesting

Yeah, yeah, don't get all excited about nesting... this would have happened even if there wasn't a baby coming. Our house was a disaster area. Basically we spend every weekend cleaning. Last weekend it was in preparation for/setting up the furniture, this weekend was dealing with all the crap that got moved into different places last weekend. The end is in sight though!

Also, I felt no urge to do this. I didn't really get into it either.

When I do finally get the nesting instinct, I'm not sure what will be left to clean!

Today we finished dealing with all the remaining stuff in the dining room (it only needs vacuuming now), and Dan cleaned out the linen closet and coat closet. I did laundry (not Baby's yet, but it has moved downstairs) and some kitchen stuff. Dan also cleaned out some kitchen cabinets and drawers.

I think Dan is the one who is nesting. Seriously, he wants to do every job. I'll say, "I'm going to break these boxes down and put them out because tomorrow is corrugated cardboard day." He'll reply, "I can do that." Yes, you can, Dan, but not while you're also making dinner and cleaning drawers!

Crib Update

So we went to Babies R Us last night because even though we took the crib apart and put it back together, and it is improved but not right. While the drop side now raises and lowers, there is a problem. When raised, if you shake the crib at all, the side drops down suddenly and forcefully! We emailed the crib company on Tuesday evening, but haven't heard back yet.

Anyway, we checked out the 3 different BRU floor samples of our crib (3 different colors). It seems ours is, in fact, defected. When we looked at the pins on the floor models, they looked completely different than ours (much longer and thus farther into the drop sides). Aha! The root of our problems!

We talked to the very nice James who was shocked to hear that the floor models (which he said "get abused") worked so much better than our brand new crib. As we looked at the floor models together with him and explained our situation, he assessed that ours has a defect. We now have to disassemble our crib, again, and bring it back. We'll get a new one. Hooray! We should have the new one assembled in no time as we are nows pros.

Can't Sleep

So, I've been awake for around an hour. I got up at first for a drink and a trip to the bathroom-- very normal-- but then I couldn't go back to sleep. I've given up now. I guess my body is used to the early rising and doesn't care that it is the weekend. Oh well. Maybe I can catch a nap this afternoon.

Another Day of Getting Ready

Well, Dan & I started our day with some delicious stove-cooked oatmeal paired with comprehensive list making. We made lists of things to do in each room of the house. I cannot say that we got to many rooms, but we did get a lot done: Dan finished painting the deck (which included an emergency trip to Home Depot because the second can o' paint Ern had left us was not the same as the first that Dan used 2 weeks ago...), and I set up the nursery/emptied the dining room.
Let me begin by saying that the crib is still not quite right. It is better, but not right. We emailed the customer service for the company on Tuesday but haven't heard back from them yet. Anyway, the Pack & Play is currently set up in our bedroom for Baby to sleep in until he/she moves to the crib. (We'll fold up the P&P and use the Freeman family cradle from Scotland when it arrives.)
Anyway, first I cleaned Baby's room. This involved getting out the last remaining non-baby items from the closet and from last weekend's master bedroom update (during which most of our stuff spent some time in Baby's room). Then I dusted and vacuumed and cleaned the insides of the drawers. During this portion of the day, I wore a mask over my face & nose to avoid the dust I hold responsible for my still lingering laryngitis. Now Baby's room was sparkling clean and ready, so I began to move items in from the dining room (where they've been living/lining the walls since the shower 4 weeks ago!). First was the Diaper Chump which now has a bag in place and is ready for action. Then came the diaper basket atop the dresser. It also holds the wipes and three varieties of ointment. We put a few items in boxes in the closet (i.e. the "feeding chair" as Dan calls the high chair, the outlaw Bumbo, the Baby Bjorn, the bath chair). When Baby is ready for those items, we'll take them out. I did assemble the Baby Papasan, then folded it and put it in the closet in the "on-deck" circle along with the mobile (waiting for the crib to be functional) and the Boppy. Baby's bath items are currently in the closet as well. The basket o' toys (mostly teethers) and the basket o' cuddly animals are in the room also. I want to get a bookshelf for the baskets and books, etc. Now we just have to do Baby's laundry and put it away! The carseat is ready to go in the car (that might be a project for tomorrow), and the only other items still in the dining room are the strollers and the bottles (which we're hoping we won't have to use for a while).
In other news, my ankles swelled up quite ridiculously last evening. I had been out at happy hour (enjoying seltzer) with a bunch of people from school, so I wonder if sitting on a barstool for a few hours contributed to the situation. Oh, and after that Dan & I went to the movies, so that was more sitting. Anyway, it was shocking. I had a big bulge over the indentation from my sock elastic then other indentations from sock wrinkles! I immediately elevated my feet and was scared to look at them when I woke up this morning (they were fine).

It is laryngitis Subtitle: I love parenthesis.

Well, Dan called the doctors office last night trying to get me an appointment, so they called first thing this morning. I had to whisper on the phone to the receptionist which was hilarious. She started talking very softly to me. I also wrote up a little summary of the onset of my symptoms and the possible causes I had brainstormed (excess dust exposure from the cleaning last weekend, excess crying Mon. morning). The doctor found this interesting I think. Whatevs. I wasn't a big fan of her, but I'm not a big fan of the practice as a whole (this is NOT my OB), so there you are. Anyway, the strep test was negative (yea!) and there are no signs of infection (yea!), so all I can do is rest & wait (annoying). She did give me a prescription for an antibiotic (of course), which I won't fill, in case things get worse. I came home and took a nap then did a bit o' internet research on WebMD which also said I just have to rest (and cease whispering) and drink fluids. It also recommended using a humidifier... I think I'll go set up the AWESOME penguin humidifier we got as a shower gift.

Rendered Speechless

I have no voice. Dan just called in sick for me for tomorrow, and we'll go to the doctor to make sure it isn't strep or anything that needs medicine. Hopefully I will feel better after resting (although that's all I've been doing for the last 3 hours, and I still cannot talk). I don't really feel bad though. And I am not running a fever (we'd be at the doctor already if I were-- no fevers allowed in pregnancy). My voice was diminishing all day, and my students were very concerned. They are so sweet.

Very Sad News

I received a very sad phone call this morning. One of my colleagues who was expecting a child at the end of the month lost the baby this weekend. She went to the doctor on Thursday and there was no heartbeat. This was her third child, and was an unexpected pregnancy. She has two little girls; this baby was a boy. I am so sad for her, but I have no idea what to do or how she must feel.

Old Photos

Not exactly sure when I took these photos... I'm guessing around 30 or 31 weeks. I need to take some new ones-- I've gotten much bigger!

Furniture Fun!

So today we got our new bedroom furniture from Ethan Allan. It is beautiful (as you can see). I have moved my clothes into my new dresser, but Dan hasn't done his yet. He's been too busy working on the refinishing trial... He is considering refinishing a dresser for Baby. To test his technique, he's doing an end table from the same set of furniture as said dresser. Depending on how it turns out, he'll either move forward with refinishing or not. In the meantime, his dresser is in Baby's room, and as soon as he empties it into his gorgeous new dresser, I'll wash Baby's clothes (with the all free & clear I bought) and start setting up the nursery.
Of course, the nursery is pretty much a disaster area right now. It received much of the stuff from our room so that we could move in the new stuff. (Btw, we TOTALLY cleaned the heck out of our room-- cleaned under the carpet, vacuumed four times, washed the curtains, cleaned the windows, etc. before the furniture arrived.) We've agreed to reassemble Baby's crib also, so it is in a state of un-assembly right now... I'm thinking Baby's room will be looking fabulous by week's end though. I just took a peek at the re-finishing project going on in the basement, and it seems to be going pretty well...

Today is All About Me

So yesterday was spent visiting the doctor, the dentist, the ultrasound tech, the hospital... Today I got my hair cut at a new salon and got a wonderful Spa Mom-to-be pedicure. Nice. The haircut was great-- I finally got rid of the border between the front and back of my hair. My stylist was nice, and the salon is just down the street from our house. She wants me to come in next week for a "check up" (no charge) to be sure that all looks good. Nice! I also received a gift certificate for $35 toward a facial or other spa treatment. Very nice!
My Mom-to-Be Pedicure was very lovely and much more rewarding than the typical nail salon fare (especially the last, lame one Ali & I got when Team Winter visited in October). I had a private room-- very relaxing. I got to soak much more than usual. I also had a mango scrub and then a mask put on my feet which was supposed to help with swelling. After that I got a wonderful massage of my feet & lower legs. The actual grooming and painting of my nails was great too. Oh-- and I had some lemon water and cinnamon muffins. Delightful!
Sidebar: Why is it that I cannot find a diaper bag that I like? Everything in the stores seems to be either a) enormous, b) tacky looking, or c) frumpy looking. Is it too much to ask to have a diaper bag that has some compartments, is lightly colored on the inside (so you can see what you're looking for), and is kind of fun looking? I mean, seriously!

All is Well

So, we went for the ultrasound. Baby doesn't like to show his/her face; he/she kept covering it with some very cute little hands. We got one print-out, but you can hardly see anything in it. Baby is camera-shy (like Daddy). All the measurements were for 34 weeks, so that is good news. Nice job, Baby!
After that we headed to the hospital to complete our pre-registration paperwork. Not too exciting, but still one less thing that has to be done. Our favorite form was the consent form for the baby which said, "I, _________, consent to be treated at Valley Hospital." The staff there had filled in the blank with "Baby," which cracked us up. On the back of that form is a place where you sign, and if the patient cannot sign, a reason/condition has to be filled in. The condition the staff filled in was "newborn" which also amused us greatly.
In other health news, I had a dentist appointment today at which both the hygienist and the dentist were impressed with the fact that my gums weren't all red and puffy like most pregnant women. Go me! I also didn't have much build-up which made me rather proud. The hygienist didn't know whether to give me a pink or blue toothbrush, so I told her to go with green. :-)

True Facts

OK, so when we got home from the city Tuesday night I threw my shoes in the trash. No joke. I had them off most of the time we were in the theater. My feet felt like sausages in them. Plus they were 6 years old, so I think they had a good life. Today I bought new black flats to replace them. Are you ready for this... they are size 9!!! But, my feet aren't sausagy in them, and they're pretty cute (and only $30!). They're dollhouse brand which makes me think of Kara Saun and the great shoe scandal of Project Runway's season 1 finale. (BTW, I am looking forward to the new season next Wednesday!) So, I don't know if my feet will be permanently size 9s, but my 8.5s (and some 8s) still fit. However, the 7.5s (and some 8s) are certainly a thing of the past!
In other news, I had my 34 week appointment today. I don't think I gained any weight in the last 2 weeks. I weighed in at 151 (after removing my comfy but HEAVY danskos-- best shoes ever!). Baby's heart rate was 135, if I recall correctly, and sounded so strong! Go Baby! It is still head down, back on my left, legs on my right (and the feet enjoy kicking over there), which is a good way to be. When he measured, I was only 32 cm, so that means I need an ultrasound to be sure that the baby is growing alright. I'm sure that it is, and the doctor figured that as well-- he said since I'm pretty "slight" (his word) that was probably why the measurement was 2 cm smaller than expected. Anyway, we go for the ultrasound this evening. I'm not expecting any issues and am looking forward to seeing Baby!!!
I went to BRU after my doctors appointment to trade sizes of a few items from the shower (We had WAY too much tiny stuff). I got there at 9:18, but they don't open 'til 9:30. Anyway, there were many others arriving with me, most with small children. We were all waiting by the doors for them to open. I felt like such a dork-- like those people outside of stores when there's a big sale or it's the day after Thanksgiving or something. It was funny. I did meet a nice, young mom of three whose son's birthday is Dec. 15th. She recommended having a birthday party brunch since people are so busy with holiday parties, etc. that time of year. I like it!
Lastly, our crib is having issues. After Dan put it together, we've been having trouble raising and lowering its drop side. Dan is thoroughly frustrated and ready to bolt it and such in the name of Baby's safety. I chatted with the crib department folk at BRU today, and I think I have some useful advice (it's a two-person job, if two particular parts are too tight it won't work, etc.). Fingers crossed that it will work, and we'll have a crib that is not only BEAUTIFUL but also functional (which is really more important isn't it?).

Off to the Theatre

So today Baby is trading athletics for the arts. I slept in because I like sleeping and because it was raining which makes me like it even more. Thus, I didn't work out before school. I didn't work out after school because I thought I didn't have enough time (which was wrong, as it turns out, because Dan didn't get home as quickly from work as he'd hoped) before we head to the city. We're going to see Young Frankenstein-- the new Mel Brooks musical. I'm pretty excited. It is quite possibly our last Broadway musical before Baby comes and crimps our style...
We're hoping to get some yummy dinner at Le Madeleine beforehand... if we can get there in time. If not, we'll have to eat something, because Baby & I are hungry! Oh, and Baby has been on the move today-- fun! I even felt something like a leg dragging across my belly at one point.
Speaking of Baby in the belly, at my appointment two weeks ago, I learned that Baby was head-down. Very good. I learned last night at Lamaze that Baby will most likely stay that way-- even better! I also learned all about interventions-- drugs, tools, c-sections... I got dizzy. No joke. How silly is it that that stuff makes me dizzy but not the description of pain, etc.?!

Marathon Baby

So, yesterday morning (Sat.), I headed in to the city to meet my teammates between 5:00 and 5:30 AM to Adopt-a-Mile of the Mens Olympic Marathon Trials in Central Park. Thanks to the good work of our captain, our mile included the finish line. Nice! We got to see the runners five times including the amazing finish. It was pretty fun, although a bit reminiscent of my other experience volunteering for NYRRC (not much direction, very early morning, hurry up and wait,...). The best thing was that I was with many of my MCNY teammates whom I haven't seen so much now that I'm not racing and training with them every week.
The runners were awesome and completely lived up to the hype of being the best field of American runners in quite some time (perhaps ever). We all made bets as to the winning time and the last place time. This turned out to be pretty entertaining, and three people correctly guessed 2:09 as the winning time (which is an Olympic Trials record). At the finish line I was quite near both Bill Rogers and Rod Stewart. And, of course, the awesome American marathoners! After the race three of us enjoyed a delicious brunch. I loved the company!
Today was Marathon Sunday. I'd planned to go in to watch & cheer, but Dan wanted to paint the deck, and I hadn't made proper plans to meet up with anyone else. Instead I stayed home and enjoyed the local NBC coverage while I did laundry and graded papers. I was screaming for Paula Radcliffe as she won. She just had a baby in January, so I am feeling confident about my hopes for running the NYC Marathon next November! Both the men's and women's races were exciting and close today. Very fun to watch. I also got to see Lance finish in an impressive 2:46 with his non-cycling 175 lb. frame. (Oh, it appears that the rumor I heard about him at yesterday's Trials is true!)
So, Baby got to experience two marathons in two days, though not as a participant. I withdrew my entry on Tuesday to today's race... probably could have done that a lot sooner... Hopefully in 2008 Baby will enjoy cheering for me!

Just in Case

So, our friends Matt & Nancy just had their daughter on Friday night... four weeks early. She is said to be feisty and doing well as is Nancy. Last month our friend Jenn had her daughter 2 weeks early. Dan was born somewhere around 4-6 weeks early. Granted, all of these were second children, but it was enough to scare Dan and I into thinking that Baby could get here a lot sooner than we expect...
With that in mind, I packed my bags last night. We were told to have two separate bags: one for birth and one for afterwards. We even received a packing list for both. My birth bag is done; I just need some snacks for Dan which I need to go to the grocery store to procure. My other bag is mostly done. I just need to pack Baby's going home outfit, which means I need to wash baby clothes, which means I need to get some proper detergent, which again means I must go to the grocery store.
Now I feel a little better, but I still hope Baby waits until close to the due date.
Oh-- Dan set up the crib yesterday also. It is beautiful and makes Baby's arrival more real. And is one more way we've gotten ready!

Best Baby Packaging on Recalled Product

So, at my shower two weeks ago, we had a great time looking at the photos of the babies sitting in Bumbo chairs on the interestingly shaped box of my Bumbo chair. By the by, I immediately knew what was in the box even when I saw it wrapped because of its shape (I recognized it from seeing it in the store). I was excited because I think they're cool. Well, as it turns out, the chairs were recalled less than a week later.
Dan's first reaction was, "Well, if you want to return it, we have to copy the pictures from the box first." I agreed. However, we're not going to return it. Turns out that if you simply follow the directions that come with the chair, you will avoid the accidents that got it recalled. The chair should be on the ground, and Baby should be supervised while sitting in it. Will do!
Hey, and maybe we'll take some funny photos of Baby and his/her friends sitting in their now-unavailable-Bumbos at the beach or at a birthday party. :-)