Week 29 photos

Week 29 ... almost over

Although week 30 will commence tomorrow, I figured I need a Week 29 update. It was so so nice having Javier home last week. He only leaves one more time (I think) before the baby's arrival and I think it's only for a couple of days in early October. I hope so anyway. It was really rough for me this last time he was gone and I think that was difficult for him to understand.

Thankfully, last week, we started our "Birth Circle" with our midwives and some of the other couples due around the same time as us. Since me telling Javier that I need him around didn't seem to be enough, the reiteration by the midwives about this physical need was super great! I was not too sure what to expect from the Birth Circle and had therefore held off from registering for a childbirth education class. But after our first meeting, I have promptly enrolled us for a childbirth education class. The midwives are really wonderful and for them it's very important that we feel a sense of community with other new families, which I totally appreciate, BUT I still feel like I need some more hardcore information. The first Birth Circle was more like a potluck with a light discussion. Maybe this week will be more information intensive ... I hope!

No progress on our "nursery" yet, but it's at least an empty room with new windows, newly cleaned carpet and a fine color paint :)! My mom offered to buy us a glider and my dad offered to buy the crib - WONDERFUL! It truly does take a village ... Anyway, I'm excited to see things coming together, at least in my head and dont feel the amount of worry that I did in the previous weeks.

I've got new photos, but need to upload them to the computer. They are a reminder to even me of my size. I forget how big I am until I see the photos or pass a mirror from the side! ;-)

Week 28

I'm feeling much better this week. I finally got some registries together, Devon got the shower invites out the door and my mom and Vicki got their airplane tickets to come out for the shower. Also, I ordered some crib bedding. It's probably the least useful thing I could have ordered, but it's crib bedding I've been eyeing for some time and it's currently out of stock and therefore back-ordered and for whatever reason it just made me feel better to hit the "order now" button on something. I feel like I've done so much research online for all sorts of products, but haven't made any purchases yet.

Javier is once again out of town and this is a struggle. Not only do all the responsibilities of our home and the dog fall on my shoulders, but I don't have him around to talk through my concerns,worries, stresses, etc. I really need him around. I wish he felt this were as important as I do.

I was supposed to meet with my midwife today, but she is at a labor so we'll be meeting tomorrow. I always love to hear the baby's heartbeat and I look forward to it so much ... TOMORROW! He's been moving around a lot for sure so that's always reassuring.

I'm reading my friend Mandy's "Bradley Method" (a style of natural birthing) book and last night I got to the page that showed what the actual size of 10cm looks like (this is how far your cervix needs to be dilated in order to begin pushing the baby out). For the first time, I got pretty freaked out about birth. 10cm is HUGE!!!!!!!!

At this point I've gained about 20 pounds and according to my iPregnancy iPhone application, 11 weeks and 5 days remain until my due date, but the baby will be "full tern" on November 3rd (coming right up!). He probably weighs between 2 lbs 9ozs and 3lbs 11ozs. The surface of his brain is beginning to show the twists and grooves seen in older children (it was all smooth before). Also, it is thought that babies begin to dream during the 3rd trimester. How cool - Baby Mus is dreaming!! DREAM BIG, Little One!

Some photos

I tried to send Javier's mother an email with these photos, but it got rejected. I can never send her photos so I'm posting them here:

Wyoming - Week 25






Javier and I at the famed Lotus Land of Montecito - Week 26



Week 28

Week 27

So over the past week I've been pretty emotional. Javier left on Sunday for Denmark and I felt like I slid into a slight nervous breakdown. I had been to a baby shower on Saturday for a girl who is due one day after me. This was her third baby shower (her family is all in town) and she is "all set". Uh, if you walked into our home you would find VERY little evidence that we are due to have a baby in 13 weeks! You'd see some books and that's about it. No nursery, no baby gear, nothing. On Sunday I was simply feeling so unprepared! And it's also overwhelming. I know I know everyone says, "don't worry, you don't need much," but the reality is I DO NEED stuff. Such as a car seat, a stroller, a place for the baby to sleep, blankets, clothes ... just STUFF that will make me feel more READY. It's important. When one begins to look at the cost of all these items things get overwhelming again. Everything is outrageously expensive and you know it will only be used for a short period of time. Shop used, you might say ... well turns out that takes a lot more time and energy for an already super busy person than just buying new ;-).

Thank goodness for my good friend, Devon! She is the mother of a 20-month old and an infinite source of resources and wisdom for me. She has passed down so many maternity clothes to me for which I am immensely grateful. I have purchased near nothing. She is throwing me a baby shower on Oct 11th. AND on Tuesday night she helped me create a baby registry (and made me a birthday dinner).

Even though I have a lot of fabulous friends here, I still feel a little lonely. This is really a time when you need your family around I think. I'm realizing how BIG this really is, having a baby, that is.

I remember feeling so accomplished once I decided on the midwives and on having a home birth ... but now there are MILLIONS of other things to do and to buy.

Stay tuned!

Week 26 - I've entered the 3rd trimester!!

Time is flying by! We had new windows installed and the work was complete today - YEAH! It went pretty smoothly, but since we had a couple of windows resized we now have a little trim and paint work to do ourselves along with getting new window coverings. I'm super happy with the windows though. They really look great and should provide us with much better insulation. This was kind of the first step to getting Baby Muslera's room together as well. Now we'll repaint and move forward with baby room prep.

Our trip to Wyoming/Yellowstone was fabulous. We both really enjoyed the location of the wedding, which was about 1.5 hours outside of Yellowstone. And we also really enjoyed Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton National Park as well. Yellowstone is pretty, but it's much too touristy. But we did have a nice opportunity to relax and enjoy nature for a week. It was great.
Javier turned 35 on Saturday! Unfortunately we didnt get to celebrate like I'm sure he would have liked, but our house was a construction zone from the window guys and we had just returned from Wyoming so we couldnt plan too much. We had dinner out and were joined by several friends later at Blue Agave. It was fun!

Here are some photos from the night of his bday. I'll get all the Wyoming photos together soon. Lots of belly shots!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAVIER!

Off to Yellowstone

I'm 24 weeks pregnant, it's 1am and I'm almost fully packed for our Wyoming/Yellowstone/Mandy & Jeff wedding adventure. I'm so horrible at packing that I cannot even imagine getting myself and a little one together for a trip. And it's always like this ... I'm never fully packed and ready to go, rather it drags on and on into the night.

I've gained a solid 20 pounds at this point and I have to go to the bathroom about every 30 minutes so this trip could be interesting ;-). I'm also in this nesting phase where all I want to do is be home getting ready for the baby so this big logistical adventure has seemed somewhat overwhelming. I'm sure it's going to be fun, but for me prepping for a trip can just bring so much stress. I'll turn 25 weeks this Sunday and by the time I get back and post again I'll be 26 weeks ... into the 7th month! I feel like we still have so much to do in regards to the preparation. Of course, I want everthing to be perfect for his arrival.

Off to bed. Tomorrow we fly SBA --> San Jose --> Denver --> Jackson Hole. It will be an all day thing. We'll spend the night in Jackson Hole and Liz and Brent will pick us up on Friday in their rented Mustang Convertible heehee for our drive through Yellowstone and to Hunter Peak Ranch, about an hour outside Cody, Wyoming. We'll be there and around there for the weekend of festivities and then hope to enjoy the area before returning home on Thursday.