It feels like fall!

Okay, so not quite as much today as it has this past week, but the cooler temperatures have been really amazing for this prego lady. :)  Knowing that my due date is in the fall; seeing the arrival of orange leaves, apples at the farmer's market, and even Halloween costumes and decorations in the stores have really boosted my spirits that it is almost time!  We also saw our first high school football game of the season last night, and are looking forward to the first ISU football game this week.  I LOVE this time of year ;)


Riley, who is 6 years old, and the adorable little girl that I nanny for, had a cute conversation with me the other day that I thought I would share with you.  She has, of course, known that I am pregnant for a very long time and has been patiently awaiting Hendrix's arrival along with me.  After she got home from school one day this week, she said, 


"Jenn, remember how you told me that Hendrix is going to be born after I start school but before Halloween?"  


I answered her with "Yes, that is right".  


And she replied, with her hands on her hips "Well, I started school and it is before Halloween - so where is he?"  :)


We have reached the 34 week milestone, so I guess it is possible that he could be here soon, though I am not holding my breath yet! 

According to my research Hendrix is:

• About the size of a honeydew melon, weighing in the size range of 4.2 to 5.8 pounds.  That is getting pretty large!
• Capable of recognizing and reacting to simple songs, so we better start making sure the music we are listening to is wholesome!  lol  And I might have to make Bud brush up on his lullabies :)
• losing the lanugo (soft, downy hair that was previously covering his body for warmth and insulation). 
• replacing it with vernix (a waxy substance that covers his whole body to protect it until his birth)
• and lastly, his fingernails have now reached the top of his fingers!

In Mom news, this past week I discovered my first real stretch marks (super sad face).  Bud had thought that he noticed them a little bit a few weeks back, but they were low enough that I couldn't really see them, and they were very faint.  Well now, they are on both sides of my belly button, high enough for me to see, and both bright red and purple.  I really hope they go away after he is born.  :)  I have been religious about applying the lotions and vitamin E. 

My checklist of things to do this week from "the bump" said that I should go in and get a low maintenance haircut to be ready for mommyhood and I am proud to say that I already did that a couple weeks ago. ;)  The things that we did do this week however include:

Receiving the baby bjorn that some family members had ordered as a shower gift, and getting it upacked and figured out.  My hubby was really excited about it, and after he read all the directions he gave me a tutorial about how to use is properly even demonstrating it with a sock monkey.  :)  I thought that was adorable!

We also got the second car seat base that I had ordered online this week, and my hubby figured out how to install it in his car today.  It was alot trickier than he had thought it would be because his car is old enough to not have the "Latch" hooks.  But now he is ready to pick us up from the hospital.......in like.......6 weeks or so!  ;)

Our new comfy rocker got delivered from Redekers today, and we found the perfect corner for it in our living room.  It is honestly the most comfortable chair I have ever sat in.......can't wait for some serious snuggletime with Hendrix in it.

And one last note, I went shopping for a few new Iowa State shirts so that I have something to wear tailgating that actually covers my tummy!

I love being pregnant, and I really do love my basketball-sized tummy, BUT I am looking very much forward to holding Hendrix in my arms and being able to breath better, pee less often, walk without waddling, and shave my legs without having to do crazy acrobatics in the shower. :)

It has been a busy week!

We are now 33 weeks along, and I guess that means that we are in the eighth month!  We only have 48 days until Hendrix's due date, and I am sure that they will fly by!

This week to prepare for his arrival; 

• We got all his clothes sorted and into drawers and the closet.  He is going to be well-dressed!
• I figured out storage solutions for the changing table and closet and have things all sorted into their proper bins (hopefully they will stay sorted nicely!)
• We bought the upholstered glider that I really wanted for the living room.  We still haven't figured out a rocker for the nursery yet, but I am really particular about what I want in there, so I feel confident that at least we will have someplace to rock him if he gets here early, and I can keep looking for what I really want in the nursery.
• We made an appointment to get professional maternity photos taken (they will be Friday, Sept 3)......I am super excited!
• I bought new tubing for my breastpump (that I purchased secondhand), and am confident that I know how to use it now!
• We wrote up our birth plan, discussing it with our doctor at our appointment yesterday and ensuring that we have only realistic expectations of labor and delivery.
• We preregistered with the hospital and ensured that the paperwork is in place to add Hendrix to our insurance when he gets here.
• And most importantly, we heard his strong and clear heartbeat again yesterday and were reminded of how miraculous and amazing it is that this little person is growing inside my tummy!

In the midst of all those projects, we made time to spend the day at the State Fair to enjoy lots of yummy food and see lots of cute and huge animals, and my hubby got our garage door opener fixed. :)  I would say we have had a VERY productive week!

Now, we are off to a send-off party for my little sister who is leaving for a semester abroad in London this fall.  I am sad but happy to see her go!

Happy Weekend!

We've got diapers!

I got my order of small sized fuzzi bunz pocket diapers in the mail this week and can't wait to show off how cute they are!

This size is supposed to be fit babies who weigh between 5 and 20 pounds, so I am hopeful that our little guy will fit in them right away, and that they will last us for the first 9 months or so.  Then we will have to purchase a lager size, which will be fine because then it will keep these ones in nice shape to use with baby #2 (which probably won't be right away, in case anyone is wondering!)  lol

My hubby and I had lots of fun unloading the box, practicing stuffing the diapers with the inserts, and playing with the various snap sizes.  I am glad that he is excited about this adventure along with me :)

Look at this rainbow box of cute diapers!

Here are the other accessories that we also purchased with our order - the diaper pail liner, and a smaller one to keep in the diaper bag.  Some extra inserts so we can double up on the night-time diapers, cloth wipes (which I need to do some more research about the homemade wipe solution.....I have heard that there are some great recipes out there that are easy to make, and can be placed in a spray bottle to apply to the wipes as needed), and some of the "special" laundry detergent that is recommended to keep the diapers in good shape (I am not sure that this is necessary, but it wasn't real expensive so I thought I would give it a try).

Thanks for humoring me and sharing in my enthusiasm!  I am new to cloth diapering however, and would still welcome advice or tips from anyone who has tried it before :)

Catching up

Well let's see, I am not really sure where to begin.  Alot has happened in the past couple weeks.  I guess I will start with my excuse for my absence....I was sick.  Yuck!  I had some sort of viral infection that had me in bed for nearly a week with a temperature, sore throat, and aching muscles.  I am kind of a baby when it comes to being sick anyways, simply because I am not sick very often (like once every couple years); but I have found that being sick while you are pregnant is just plain torture!  Luckily, the family that I nanny for had planned a vacation for the same week, so I had the week off work, which gave me time to rest and re-cooperate.  I would have rather spent my vacation time doing other things, but I guess I should just count my blessings and be glad that I had the time to kick up my feet.  I am feeling great now!

Over the past weekend my sisters hosted a baby shower for me at my house.  It was really fun to invite friends and family who had never been to our new house yet to come and see it and all the progress we have made on the nursery.  It felt good to share in our hard work!  :)

My adorable sisters!

It was a beautiful shower with lots of yummy treats to eat and tons of presents to open up!  :) I felt so blessed to be surrounded by so many encouraging friends!

We played some fun games...

And saw some really cute clothes and gear for Hendrix!

Among other things, I got the changing table that I wanted, the pack-n-play, bathing accessories, books, toys, and lots of clothes and shoes.  He is going to be a spoiled little guy!  

I am now at 32 weeks, and I am going to start having doctor's appointments every two weeks until he is born!  I got my hair chopped shorter this last week to prepare for having less time to spend on myself in the mornings.......I am trying to mentally prepare for him to get here anytime, but also not get too excited about him coming before he is due.  Obviously, the longer I can keep him in my tummy the better.......BUT if for some reason he comes early, I want to be prepared.  We just ordered a rocker online today, and I am waiting on my first batch of cloth diapers to get here sometime this next week.  :)  Everything is so exciting!

      

Here are my 31 week and 32 week bump pictures for you to compare.  I honestly think that I look larger in the earlier one (on the left), but I think it has to do with how he is situated.  It looks and feels to me like he is dropping.

Hendrix now weighs approximately 4 pounds, and his skin is turning more and more pink everyday.  His skeleton is rapidly changing from cartilage to solid bone which make his kicks more and more pronounced.  At this point in time, he has blue eyes!  This could change between now and delivery, or shortly after birth even, but for now they are blue!  (like his momma!)  He is also developing a sensitivity for temperature and can tell the difference between being in heat and being in cold.  Wonder if he can tell that we have had heat indexes over 100 degrees in Iowa this week?!?!

This week has been a particularly trying week in our town as we have had record flood waters.  There were many roads shut down and lots of people lost belongings and basements to the flood waters.  We have been really lucky as our basement is mostly unfinished and the tiled floor slopes to a drain so the water that did come in was easily urged right back out.  The flood caused some water main breaks however, so our city water has been compromised and we are on a water boil currently.  Until this gets repaired (which won't be until sometime next week), we have to boil all water before use, and are supposed to be trying to conserve water to help the situation be rectified sooner.  

This is the intersection just a block and a half south of us......thankfully in that block and half, the street slopes drastically, and we didn't see that water climb any closer to us.  We feel truly blessed to be so close to the disaster, and yet to have remain safe and unharmed.  

I am hoping for some fun at the State Fair this weekend!  Wishing everyone a happy Friday! :)

Head down, and ready to go!

We reached the 30 week milestone, and at my appointment on Friday the doctor was able to determine little Hendrix's position.  He is head down (hooray!), and his little bottom is laying right under my belly button, while his feet are kind of wrapped all the way around on my right side.  Because of this position, my perfectly round baby belly is starting to look a lot more lumpy and asymmetrical.   She said that he is still small enough and there is still enough excess fluid that he can do lots of twisting and turning - his legs may end up on the other side, or somewhere in the middle under my ribs; but most likely he will stay head down until the big delivery day :)  

• He has been having the hiccups alot more often in the last few weeks, and sometimes they last for a good 15 minutes.  That is such a funny sensation!
• He is now about 17 inches long and could be as big as 3.5 pounds.  He should be gaining about a half a pound a week until he is born.
• He is getting stronger, in fact he is now capable of gripping with his little fist!
• His brain is now capable of regulating his body temperature, so he is starting to lose the lanugo (fine hair that had previously covered his whole body) that was meant to keep him warm.

We got our new camera in the mail the other day (we had been having lots of problems with our old one), and I am very excited to have time to figure out all the features on it before our little guy gets here and I want to document his every stage of development!

I am also looking forward to using it to capture memories at my baby shower this weekend.  My sisters are throwing me a shower at my house, and I am looking forward to showing off the nursery to my family and friends!