"Did I really want to know that?" - Peter

Friday Peter came with me to my doctor appointment. Peter had the day off of work and I had told him that they are doing different things now. I guess I got him excited so he really wanted to come with me. We went into the ultrasound room where the doctor checked the fluid levels around the baby. She made the comment that there was a lot of fluid around the baby which was part amniotic and part baby pee. She went on to say that when I'm well hydrated, the baby is well hydrated and pees a lot. This got Peter's curiosity going. He asks, "Where does the pee go?" At this point I'm like, "You don't want to know the answer to that question." The doctor then says, "Well the baby eats it." This is followed by Peter pulling a sour face. The doctor then goes on to explain the whole process, meanwhile Peter is beside himself totally grossing out. I then had to add my two cents, "Well you know the baby poops too don't you?" I was trying hard not to laugh. My doctor sure did get a good laugh though. Then Peter says, "It's okay to tell me lies, I really don't need to know the truth." I explain to the doctor that my hubby is just a tad squeamish.

From here we went into the next room. I got to relax in a lazy boy with monitors strapped to my belly for a good 20-30 minutes. Every time I go in now I get to relax with monitors strapped to me. Basically the monitors check the baby's heart rate as well as contractions. I have a little button I push whenever I feel any movement.

This Friday I have an appointment at the hospital for the last detailed ultrasound to determine the weight and such. From there I expect they'll set up a date to induce if I don't go into labor on my own....I'm 37 weeks now...our little squirt is almost here.

Surprise Baby Shower!

Today my co-workers threw me a surprise baby shower and boy it sure was a surprise to me! My boss nearly ruined it earlier in the day, but luckily I was so oblivious that I didn’t notice a thing. All morning long everyone did their best to hide presents in the little office. They got to work before me and conveniently took their gifts to the office and I never saw a thing. Then people went out and got a cake and balloons and again I didn’t see a thing. Then I had a meeting with my boss today at 12:30. There was someone in her office so she took me to the little office and was surprised that the door was locked. She unlocked the door and told me to go in. It was dark in there so I didn’t see anything. She told me to take a seat and then turned on the light. At that moment she saw all the gifts behind me (which I of course didn’t notice) and told me “oh shoot there’s financial stuff all out, we have to go somewhere else.” I get up and walk out and was completely oblivious to the whole thing. We had our meeting in her office and then I went back to class. After school on Wednesdays we always have staff meetings, so I went and got my snack from my classroom and was the last one into the meeting. When I got to the door it was shut, which was weird because the last person always shuts the door and I guess I was the last one today. I opened the door and they all shout “SURPRISE!!!!” I was shocked! There were blue and green balloons everywhere. All of the white boards said, “Congrats Mandy, or It’s a Boy!” Hanging from the ceiling on yarn were several diapers held up with clothespins. It was super cute. There was food on the table and a large stack of presents in a corner next to a special comfy chair with a ribbon and balloons on it for me. It was pretty awesome! I’ve never been surprised like that before!

We ate turkey roll things from Costco, veggies and dip. Then I opened presents and then we had this super yummy cake. I was just a tad naughty and had a really tiny piece of the cake, but I didn’t eat the marzipan on top, since that is basically pure sugar. It was really good.

The running theme was Winnie the Pooh (my co-workers know me well). One girl gave me this giant pooh trick or treat bag with a pooh plush and a bunch of clothes inside it. Everyone said I’ll have to take a picture of the baby inside the pooh bag propped up so he sticks out. When he’s older he’ll have the biggest trick or treat bag ever.

One of the funniest gifts I received is called “Pee-pee Teepee for the sprinkling wee-wee.” I had never heard of these before but seriously is probably a super smart invention for baby boys.

Some books

And here's a bump picture for those that really wanted to see it.

Baby shower/Nesting

Last Saturday Ellen, Gretchen and Mary threw me a baby shower. Here are some of the cute gifts I received...can you tell who this stroller is? Notice the ears on top :)

Some really cute toys

Diapers and books

Some cute clothes and blankets

I got these from a couple parents at work. The little bear at the bottom was made by one parent and the outfits and blankets came from another parent.

My mom made this for us-it's yellow gingham with bumble bees in the middle to go with the crib bedding.

My mom also made this nursing shawl, and I have been working on crocheting a blanket for some time now. I originally made it for my first nephew who is now in fourth grade, when I didn't finish it in time I decided to make it for my second nephew who is in kindergarten now...again I didn't finish it on time...so now it belongs to Squirt. I think I'm almost done.
Now Peter is enjoying the little things that I keep doing to prepare for the arrival of our little one. Yesterday he told me that I was definitely nesting....I was doing an inventory of our clothes to see how much of each size we have, to determine if we had enough. I have also gone shopping a few times and spent....well I had fun shopping :) I bought some necessities as well as some fun things that I just HAD to have. I got three cases of newborn diapers (the kind with the bellybutton part cut out) Now with babies needing to be changed 8-10 times a day I figured three cases was a good start. Plus they are good for babies up to 10 pounds, so hopefully this moose is smaller than that. (Oh yes I got all the diapers with coupons, so I saved money too.) Then I needed a diaper bag, so I picked up the one I liked the most. All nurseries need a diaper genie too, so I ordered one online and got a great deal. We picked up some cute bibs and some diapering/bathing lotion/powder etc. All with coupons or on sale. I also convinced Peter that we needed the pack and play that has the bassinet in the top for when the baby is really young and I don't want to get out of bed to go get him (I told Peter he could go to the nursery and get him numerous times during the night if he wanted....he decided buying the pack and play was a good idea.) And while we were there they had one swing left, so we got it.
I have also done a bit of online shopping. I'm still expecting a few packages in the mail, but these arrived last week and I have had a great time reading them.
So there you have it....apparently I am nesting...though I like to say I'm getting ready, and I can't help it if I really enjoy buying baby things. Anyone who has had a baby and knows me well has benefited from my enjoyment to buying baby things....things jump into my cart.

I would've included a baby bump picture, but the pictures we took yesterday looked pretty awful....I have also tried many times to video tape the party that takes place in my belly several times every day. When I push record the party seems to end and the second I push stop, the party begins again. I think he is camera shy. So instead I leave you a picture of the crib all set up. Today I'm 35 weeks!
I leave you with one more thing...a link to Ellen's blog to see more stuff from the baby shower. It was a ton of fun. I lost terribly on one of the games too, and well the other game involved guessing how big my belly was using ribbon, so I of course couldn't play that. My mother-in-law was within an inch of the correct length it was fun. Most people were way off...I didn't realize how small I was.

A first for us

Last night we went out and bought these at Costco....a first of many.

More cute pictures to come...baby shower, belly bump, etc.

Nearly 5 pounds

What can you think of that weighs nearly 5 pounds? Here’s a few Peter came up with:

20 quarter pounders

5-1 pound steaks

a small bag of sugar

a little less than half of a 12 pound bag of chicken

a small piglet

a large cantaloupe

a small watermelon

a 5 pound bag of potatoes

Our little squirt measures in at 4 pounds and 13 ounces…nearly 5 pounds at 32 weeks.
We had another ultrasound at the hospital today. Squirt is above average (the 79th percentile) for length and weight. They showed us the average and we were just above average in everything, but not off the charts, so they said our baby was looking really good.

While looking at the pictures on the screen it was much more difficult to identify what parts we were looking at this time. I thought I was looking at the head and then something kept moving...it was the heart. Apparently I wasn't looking at the head. Later on I could see a bone, it ended up being one of the arms. The spine was easy to identify. His face was down for the most part. At one point they made me lay on my side so they could get a better image. Here are the two face shots we got. I think they are still hard to identify, but you can see one eye and the nose in the first one better than the second one.
In both scans the baby is facing you. They're both tricky to see the face. I think his hand is curled up under his chin...but then again I thought the heart was the head. :)

You've got to be kidding me

Okay I just have to gripe here

On Thursday August 26th I had the 1 hour glucose test. It wasn’t all that bad. I drank a super sugary liquid that was refrigerated (I’ve been told that I’m lucky I got mine cold), and then waited an hour and had a blood test. By Thursday afternoon I got a phone call saying that my numbers were too high and I needed to come in and do a three hour test. So Friday morning I went in fasting and got my blood taken then drank the super sugary liquid again. I sat in the chair until I could see straight and then went to the waiting room and spent the first hour wondering if I was going to pass out or throw up or a little of both. Throwing up was not allowed as I needed to keep this sugary stuff in my system, so I kept my mouth shut and prayed that I would be okay. At the end of the first hour I was called back in for another blood test, then sent back out to wait. By then I was feeling basically normal. I sat and worked on my sudoku book. When the second hour was up I went back in for a third blood test and then sat again, and this was repeated until the third hour and the fourth test and then I was told I could leave and eat. I waited for the results and was told that no news was good news. So Friday afternoon came and went and there was no phone call. Monday came and went and still no phone call so I thought I was fine. Monday night we went grocery shopping and got all kinds of goodies. Tuesday morning rolls around and I got the dreaded phone call. My numbers were too high…I have gestational diabetes! Instant reaction was “you’ve got to be kidding me.” I am told I have to meet with a diabetes/dietitian Wednesday morning. In the meantime I look up gestational diabetes and find the risk factors: Overweight, over the age of 30, high blood pressure and a family history of diabetes. Guess how many categories I fall in to? Yeah that’s right NONE!!!! I go on to read that some people with no risk factors get this when they’re pregnant and there’s nothing we can do about it. Oh gee lucky me. I had to be one of the few exceptions. So I went to see the dietitian on Wednesday morning and was given a diet plan. Can you believe it they put me on a diet!!!! Yes I’m still floored by the whole thing. I heard a lot of NO you can’t eat that and No you can’t have that either. No cereal in the morning, no fruit or dairy before noon. I can have only one small fruit at lunch and dinner. Eat three small meals and three snacks every day and don’t skip any. And just in case you don’t feel sorry for me yet, I have to prick my fingers four times a day to test my blood. WAAAAAAAA! Oh yes and the reason why I got so lucky to have this is because the hormones my body produces are extremely strong and therefore my body can’t use up the sugar as fast as it normally does, again, lucky me. The only nice thing about this is I only have to live with it for two months, as soon as I give birth my sugar levels will go back to normal. And then I can look forward to having this with all pregnancies and being tested earlier on for it…for if you get it with one you’ll get it with all.

So you want to know what I have to eat? All bread needs to be whole wheat. I can have any non-starchy veggies I want, meat or protein, and fats. I have to limit the number of bread/starches, fruits, and dairy. I must avoid all sugary items such as cookies, cake, fruit juices, basically if it tastes good I probably can’t have it. We went grocery shopping and bought whole wheat flour, sugar substitute, sugar free jam, sugar free jell-o and pudding, whole grain crackers and a few other things. So far the meals haven’t been so bad. I’m not fond of a piece of toast with peanut butter on it for breakfast, but I’ll manage. Again, it’s only 2 months, at least I don’t have to live with this for life.

My dear sweet hubby who feels terribly for me is going along with the diet plan with me. He’s avoiding the sweets and such too. Well at least he doesn’t eat them in front of me, he takes them to work and enjoys them there or eats his breakfast cereal while I’m in the shower. I got a good guy.

This concludes my griping session….stay tuned for more pictures, and perhaps even something a bit cooler coming soon.

30 Weeks

Well here's a picture we took today...30 weeks

So a couple little funny stories:
1-Home Depot-A few weeks ago when we were buying stuff to put together the closets a random lady came up to me and started telling me that her momma told her how to determine if someone was carrying a girl or a boy. She asked me if I knew the gender, I said yes, then the conversation got weird. This lady stood there and began to tell me the gender of my baby based off of what her momma told her. She said "my momma said" like 20 times, it was kind of funny, and strange at the same time. She talked to us for a good 15 minutes. At the end of all of her rambling she finally said, "you're carrying a boy." I told her she was right and then she said, "My momma told me that when you're pregnant with a girl you get fat and ugly and girl, you're not fat or ugly." I said thank you very much and then she went on her way. I got a good laugh out of it.

2-Thursday I had a doctor's appointment. I had to take the 1 hour glucose test down at the lab. While walking back to get my blood drawn the guy following me into the room stops and I can tell he's staring at me. I asked if there was anything wrong and he said, "you really don't look pregnant at all from behind." I asked what he meant by that, was I supposed to have a big butt or something? He said, "Well my wife sure did when she was pregnant." I got a good laugh again, then told him my husband said I didn't look pregnant from behind either. I told him I've been skinny my whole life. He said, "you're a skinny sexy pregnant woman." I thanked him and went on my way.

Well the furniture we ordered on Saturday and Tuesday arrived on Friday. Peter couldn't wait to put together the crib and glider. Here he is reading the instructions like a real man.
And here's the glider all done....it rocks, reclines and rocks, and you can lock it in place and then just recline or lock it in a reclined position. I love it!
Here's part of the crib...for part of it he read the directions, then one part he decided to put together out of order. When he tried to put the springs in place they didn't fit quite right.
Mandy-"Guess you should followed the directions."
Peter- "My way still works, I just need to take one screw out on each side, place this in and then put the screw back...my way is still better."

TADA a finished crib, now we just need to get a mattress.

So there you have it, the nursery is coming together.

Shopping

On Saturday morning Peter announced that we needed to go shopping. At first I was like, "What have you done with my husband" (he hates shopping), then I asked what he wanted to go shopping for. He said a rocking chair, so we headed to Babies R Us. I had picked out a reasonably cheap glider online, but am glad I didn't order it. Inside the store, sitting in the 20 some gliders really made a difference as to which one I wanted to buy. The salesperson helping us suggested that we try this one chair that cost $450. We both made a big deal about the price, so the sales person says, "Well since I like you guys so much, you can have this." He gave us a 20% off any one item coupon. We both thought it was funny that he liked us so much...he was with us for all of maybe 5 minutes and liked us so much. Anyway we picked out a glider that was $330, still a large chunk of change, but it's a really nice glider (it also reclines and rocks while it is reclined and has a locking mechanism so you can lock it into position so it won't rock). Well while picking out the glider we found out we could only pick out the same one as was on display, if we wanted different colors we would have to wait 10-12 weeks for the special order and then we wouldn't be able to use our 20% off coupon. So with that said, we decided we liked the one on display and could wait 1-2 weeks. This changed our color scheme a little bit. I had imagined a natural color crib, changing table and glider...well the glider was cherry colored, so we found a crib and changing table to match.

Picking out the crib was a bit different. We also found ones that we liked online, but again it's so much easier to pick out one that you can really see. We walked around the store a couple times and kept coming back to the same crib. There were several that were an almost maybe, but then Peter would give it the shaking test and they failed. The one we picked out not only passed the shaking test (it is super sturdy) but it also passed the weight test (he put all of his weight onto the side and determined it was good quality). We went back today and ordered the crib with another 20% off coupon that I had at home. We saved $68 on the glider and $56 on the crib (my parents are paying for the crib).

Other stuff- Last week my dad called around 7:30 and said he was coming over so stay home. He had a box to deliver. He knocks on our door and says the box is really heavy so Peter goes out to help him bring it in. It was the car seat and stroller set that we wanted. My sister bought it and had it delivered to my parents house. It was pretty darn cool to see it. So Abbie in case you haven't listened to your message machine, or even if you have...THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

Oh yes and I've had requests for more belly bump pictures. Well my aunt and uncle were down this weekend and they took a cute one of Peter and I...they haven't sent it to me yet, but I'll post it when I get it. Or else I'll just pose by myself again....my belly is getting bigger and bigger. So pictures to come on the next post. :)

High School Reunion

Last weekend was my 10 year high school reunion and I dragged Peter along with me. We missed his reunion because we were getting married. So we didn't know what to expect. I had fun, though Peter was clearly bored out of his mind. I'm sure it would've been the same if the roles were reversed. I was surprised that the people that I mainly hung out with didn't show up. Kira was my only buddy, but there were several other people there that I was friends with, so it was really fun to play catch up. We took a camera, but the pictures were super dark for some reason. Looks like we will be getting a new camera soon. We thought Peter's name badge was hilarious. It said, "Stop staring I was not in your class! I'm here with Mandy." It was pretty funny.

I went up to one person and she clearly didn't recognize me. So I tried my best to exit as gracefully as I could. Someone came up to me and I didn't recognize her, but I at least pretended that I did. I wonder how the 20 year reunion will be? We left early as I'm not much of a party person anymore...I was tired at 10:00, stayed for the group photo and left shortly after. I think I fell asleep on the way home.

PHD room/Nursery and Our Anniversary

I am convinced that everyone has a PHD room/closet/garage/car you name it everyone has one of these somewhere. PHD is the piled higher and deeper space. For the past three years this has been ours. Note this picture looks better than what the room originally looked like. I tried cleaning it as often as I could and then would get overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we had and I would give up. So this is what our PHD room looked like awhile ago. I know we took more pictures than this one, but I can't find them anywhere on our computers, so this will just have to do. So basically we have this spare bedroom and when we first got married we moved all of my stuff into this room and slowly went through it and put stuff away. Whenever we had guests coming over on short notice all of our junk that was downstairs would get thrown into this room and then the door would be closed, so our downstairs generally looked pretty good. This also made cleaning this room that much harder as we were always piling more junk into it. Well the time has come and it's amazing how fast I got it clean when I was motivated to turn it into a nursery.

Look at all that floor space! An empty wall!

The longer it took me to clean the more willing I was to put stuff in a DI (goodwill) box. We made several trips to the DI trailer near our church. I filled a ton of trash bags, took a lot of stuff to work, gave stuff to friends and family and in the end I'm so glad it's all gone! So with the room finally clean it was time to paint and make it look more like a nursery...the more like a nursery is still a work in progress...but the painting is done. I painted the cubby holes of my shelves. My mom took Friday off of work and painted all the walls and then Peter painted the hallway and the closets on Saturday. I helped a tiny bit with one of the closets...then I got tired. Then last night I unpacked all of my bears (7 trash bags full) and placed them back on their shelves. There's a few pictures missing from the bottom two cubbies and then this will be complete.

We love the color. It's called Mother Nature from Behr.

Along the empty wall will be a crib, changing table and a rocking chair. The bedding set is Winnie the Pooh (yeah I know a real shocker). My mom is sewing a valance for the window. The fabric I found so far is yellow with bees on it. Peter wants to paint the bathroom too. He opted for a Sponge Bob theme, I suggested Winnie the Pooh so the whole room would flow. The next morning I found him online looking at different Pooh bathroom essentials. Gosh I love my man! So more posts to follow as the room nears completion....we have 3 months left.

Which brings me to today...August 3, 2010 we celebrate our 3rd anniversary! It's crazy how time flies. I remember the day well. I woke up (after not sleeping much the night before) ran to get my hair done and nearly passed out as my hairdresser made me beautiful. I drove home ate breakfast and flopped down on my mom's bed convinced that I was going to hurl. Kira walks in and sees me flopped on the bed and starts laughing....she had been with me the previous days watching me get all the butterflies and such so she was expecting this. She did my makeup because I hardly ever wear makeup so I really don't know how to do it myself. Plus it was nice having my best friend with me. Then Peter picked us up and drove us to the temple. Where Kira helped me with everything that I could possibly need help with. From there things were a bit of a blur until we came outside and saw all our friends and family waiting for us. Tons of pictures were taken. Here are a few. For even more wedding photos, click on Our Wedding Photos under Other fun links on the right side of our blog.

Girls just wanna have fun!

Kira, Laurel, Me and AbbieChris, Scott, Peter and Sean

As tradition we will be enjoying some Bavarian Cream and Raspberry cake tonight.