Week 33

Holy swelling Batman! Yesterday Luke and I went to the ASU football game and tailgated beforehand. I am not sure if its just that time in my pregnancy or all the humidity we been having lately but my feet and ankles blew up. They were so big that one, they hurt and two, they looked gross. So you know if your own feet gross you out, they have to be grossing out the people around you. Luckily I got a pedicure yesterday. This morning the swelling has gone down some, but not all the way. Note to self, I do not like looking like I have cankles.

This past Thursday night we had a breathing and relaxation birthing technique class. It was very informative and I think Luke and I both learned some great things. Hopefully we will remember them all during labor and delivery. I have two more classes that I signed up for. One is newborn care and because Luke already is a pro because of Daddy Boot Camp, I am going to take my Mom with me. They said it especially good for grandparents to take this class. A lot has changed in the 30 years since she has had babies. The nurse in our birthing class was saying the American Academy of Pediatrics is constantly making updates as to what is safe. She said two years ago when her grand-twins were born the AAP was big into sleep positioners being used in the crib. Two years later its a no-no. I am also signed up for a breastfeeding class. I told Luke he could pass on this class too if he wanted to.

My goal this weekend (today and tomorrow) is to finish the nursery. I am about 90% complete. We just have so much stuff for Austin that needs to be put away. Once this is done, there are only a few more things we need to do before Austin's arrival. One, is finish buying the stuff off our registry that we still need and two, is to pack our bags for the hospital. Other than that, it should be smoothing sailing the last few weeks...or at least that is what I am hoping for.

One thing that Luke and I did get to check off our list this week was daycare. My wonderful, beautiful, generous Mother has agreed to watch Austin full time for the lst year! Yay!!! I was having a ton of anxiety after visiting the daycares I visited last week and I think she could tell. I mean she is my Mother, right. Luke and I are so grateful.

Baby Shower Cake

Week 8 vs. Week 32

Week 32

Yesterday Luke and I went to our first prenatal education class. It was an all day class from 9am-4pm and we actually did not get out until 4:30pm. Although it was a very long day, I think that the class was really great and we definitely learned a lot. We have another class this coming Thursday in the evening that just focuses on breathing and relaxation techniques. I know everyone thinks that I am crazy, but I really want to try and do this without an epidural. However, I did learn in our class yesterday that the epidural rate at the hospital we are delivering at is like 96% and if Pitocin (a drug given to induce labor) is given, then the epidural rate is 100%. This information was a little discouraging. I guess most women who want to give natural childbirth probably choose a birthing center instead of a hospital.

Luke and I had a doctor's appointment this week too. Our doctor discussed the results of our last ultrasound. She said because Austin is measuring so big at this point we are going to keep on eye on it. She said that we have to go for another ultrasound it about a month to check the baby's weight. She said that if Austin ends up being a 9-10lb baby she will do a c-section. She also said she was not trying to scare me, but she just wants me to be prepared. She did say too that she has seen where babies have been measuring big at this point and their weight gain tapered off and they only end up being 7 1/2 lbs to 8lbs.

Also this week Luke's work was nice enough to throw us a baby shower. They got us the cutest cake and of course I did not have my camera. One of Luke's co-workers did take a picture and as soon as I get a copy of it, I will post it.

I am still feeling good, but the tiredness I had in my 1st trimester has returned. I am ready to go to bed every night by 7pm. This does not help my heartburn at all. I feel like some nights I get home from work, eat and go to bed right after. I have been waking up and eating tums in the middle of the night every night.

Shower Pictures

Week 31

Wow, what a day yesterday. I cannot believe how wonderful my shower was and how generous people were. I had such a wonderful time and it was nice to get together and visit with everyone. I was so pooped that when I finally got home last night I slept almost straight through the night. This morning Luke and I got up and took my mother-in-law Sandy to the airport, got breakfast and hit up Target to look for shelves. Now that we are back home I do not even know where to begin. We got so many cute clothes I need to go through everything and show Luke.

This coming week Luke and I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and then his work is throwing us a shower on Friday afternoon. Plus on Saturday we have our first prenatal education class. It's called Intensive Birth Basics and it's all day long from 9am-4pm. It is going to be a long day but I wanted to get it out of the way. Most of the classes they offer meet 4-6 times. This way we have it done all in one (long) day.

Week 30 Mid-Week Update

Luke and I had an ultrasound appointment yesterday for our third trimester growth ultrasound. The tech was very nice and turned the 3D/4D on for us, and printed out a couple of the pictures. Austin is currently weighing in at 4lbs 4oz. She is definitely measuring big for her age. We will discuss this more with the doctor at our appointment on Tuesday. Good news is that her head is already down, so lets pray she stays that way. The tech made a comment that she is already smushed in there and does not have much room to move. Everything else looked great and we confirmed that Austin is still very much a little girl.

My shower is tomorrow and I am very excited. I will have lot of pictures to post on Sunday (including one with me wearing maternity clothes).

Week 30

Time is really flying by and I cannot believe we only have 10 weeks left until we finally get to meet Austin. This past week I had jury duty on Monday and thank god I did not get selected. I actually got dismissed at 12:30pm and so I ended up meeting my Mom and Bridget for lunch and then we went and got pedicures.

Yesterday I really feel like Luke and I got a lot accomplished. We got up and went to the movies and lunch and when we came home we (Luke) started working on finishing up the nursery. The nursery is almost complete. There are a few finishing touches we still need to do and a couple more items I need to buy. We also went over to our friends Zach and Jessica's house for dinner last night. So we had quite a full and eventful day.

This coming Thursday is our appointment for another ultrasound. Plus Luke's Mom is coming in to town on Thursday and my shower is on Saturday. Which I am very exited for and cannot wait. I am also going to try and make appointments at two of the in-home daycare providers we are currently looking at. This may or may not happen this week. Luke and I are still trying to figure out what days we are going to need daycare for. I proposed a telecommuting plan (2 days a week) at work this past week and I am hoping to be approved to start by the week of September 8th. I decided to ask to start before the baby comes so that all parties involved will be comfortable with the arrangement after I return from maternity leave. My boss seemed really receptive about the entire idea and was thoroughly impressed with the time, research and effort that I put into my proposal. He did say that something like this needs to be approved by HR, though; so we will see. My Mom has also offered to help with part time daycare too. Most likely I will have her come over on the days that I am working from home. This leaves us with 2-3 days were we will need daycare. All the daycare centers I contacted only offer full time 5 days a week care for infants under 12 months, because of this our options are pretty limited. Okay I feel like I am rambling at this point.

I am still feeling pretty good at this point. I have however gone from working out 3 days a week to working out only 2 days a week. Riding the recumbent bike is getting more difficult so this week I added working out in the pool. I love being in the pool. I do not have to worry about my balance and also it supposedly helps with swelling. My swelling has not been too bad. I have taken my rings off though and I am only wearing flip flops at this point.

Week 29

I am blogging a day earlier than usual because I am going to be gone all day tomorrow visiting my brother in Tucson and will not get a chance to blog. Luke and I got up this morning and went to the movies and then ate lunch and ran some errands. I was pooped when we got home so I just woke from a nice restful nap.

I am not looking forward to Monday of this week. I have jury duty and I have to be downtown by 8am on Monday. I am probably going to leave the house at 6:30am just to make sure I make it there on time. I pray that I do not get selected to serve on a jury.

This past week Luke and I put together the swing and highchair we received from my Chicago shower. Even though we are not going to being using the highchair for a long while we wanted to make sure it works and no parts were missing. The swing is by far the coolest and Luke and I both made comments that we wished they made it in adult size. It just looks so darn comfortable. We also took the stroller out of the box to figure out how to fold and unfold it. Luke seems to think the stroller is a toy and I had to tell him to stop playing with it.

Our rope art we purchased finally came in on Friday. It looks so awesome. I really need to finish up in the nursery and post pictures...maybe next weekend.