July Catch-All

Tomorrow is officially August (holy crap), which means that I will soon be changing my voicemail greeting to baby updates. 'Hi, you've reached Baby Momma - no baby yet.' Now when people ask when Baby Hunt is due, I say 'Friday' and it almost doesn't seem real that it is so soon. Our to-do list is done, even with the additions I threw on it in the past few weeks (mine never really end). Call it pregnancy-amnesia, or momnesia, but I forgot a lot from July that I'm here to catch you all up on. (If you are opposed to rambling, I suggest you skip this post).

1. Grandpa W's family will especially appreciate these . . .

Great Grandpa W has been wearing overalls since before I was born, so I was on the look-out for these for a few weeks before visiting the Osh Kosh store. Now we just need a pair for Grandpa W, right Grandpa??

(Side note: I do not decorate with leopard print. I swear - those pillows came with our furniture in January and they just happen to be great, supportive pillows. I have tried to find cases for them that are more my style, but nothing seems to fit)

2. Izzers - oh Izzers. We've read a lot about preparing a dog for a new baby and it can be quite the adjustment for the dog, especially when they are used to receiving all of the attention. Yes, this includes Isabelle. We have taken her with us when visiting Annabanana and she does very well with her - she really just wants to lick her. She does get a little too licky once in awhile, but she does not bark or growl, or try to sleep right next to her. When Annabanana fusses in the pack 'n play, Izzers will often circle around it until someone picks her up. Since Baby Daddy plans to spend a lot of time in the hospital with us, Izzers will be going on a vacation to the grandparents (yes, we call them her grandparents - but really, if you are surprised by that you do not know us well) after Baby Hunt arrives. To make the transition easier on Izzers, we have taken a few hints from others - we have a blanket packed that can gather Baby Hunt's scent to bring home for Izzers so that she may get used to his smell in our home. We have a new toy and a few treats to give her when she comes home so that she associated his being here with good things, and not just less attention. Lastly, we have taken the advice to not increase the attention given to her in the weeks before his arrival as this can make the dog associate the new baby with a distinct decrease in attention.

3. Nesting? I've heard of this nesting phenomenon, but I think it is hooey. Sure, I've been cleaning, but not more than normal. I like to organize, and we have spent a lot of time throwing things away to make room for the new items we have gathered (seriously, how does something so small need sooo much stuff?). However, we are very limited when it comes to storage, and space in general, and since I refuse to leave boxes of diapers out in the open, that means I clean. Also, I don't want to think about bringing home a newborn to a dirty home. I always clean before a vacation for the same reason - I just don't want to have to deal with it later.

Impatience

My Godfather once remarked to me that 'patience is a virtue'. After hearing this, I snapped back, 'patience is a virtue I do not have'. And oh boy is it apparent right now.

My 38 week appointment was yesterday afternoon and I have progressed nada. zilch. zero. null. Still at 1 cm, baby still down. I know, I know - he's healthy (heart rate 124 bpm), I'm healthy (bp 110/76, measuring right on), and I really am happy for all of that, but I am getting impatient. I just want to meet our son, and the more time that goes by the more I am convinced, in my typical pessimistic way, that he's going to be late, and be a sumo baby. I have this horrible thought that he is going to be late and I will need to be induced (I really, really do not want pitocin - it's supposed to increase pain and nearly fifty percent of first-time mothers who are induced with pitocin end up having a c-section). I know that he will come when he is ready, I just hope he's ready soon :)

So, in the meantime, I am trying to stay patient and enjoy the time I have left with just Baby Daddy. But, I do get a little excited when I look at this:

Who wouldn't be a little excited and impatient to see this everyday? I am a lucky woman :)

Holy Baby Batman

38 Weeks

I wasn't kidding when I said I live in this dress.

We've reached week 38 and I feel large. I completely sympathize with Juno when she says 'I'm a planet'. Both Baby Hunt and I are still doing well. At my appointment last Wednesday, I measured right at 38 weeks, my bloodpressure was 110/76, Baby Hunt's heart sounded lovely at 128 bpm, and I've dilated to 1 cm. Don't get the champagne out yet - many women walk around for weeks at 1cm. Still no swelling :)

Our Baby Hunt to-do list is officially blank, with the exception of picking up the glider rocker when it comes in. We're packed, everything is set up, we've stocked up on essentials for the first few weeks, we're done with classes (much to Baby Daddy's relief) - we really just need our son to arrive :) Not that we're getting anxious or anything . . . no, not us . . .

Ain't My Baby Name Update #5. . .

And probably the last baby name update before the arrival of Baby Hunt.

The last name to reveal is (drum roll please. . . ahem, drum roll please) Brian!

Brian has no historical significance from either family's side (Bonnie has a cousin named Brian, but that wasn't a deciding factor either way). We have no issues with the name, but we just like the other names we have left. It gets a nice 5th place ribbon, and is sent on its way.

That leaves us with four names on our list. We'd love to hear/see what your guesses are, so please put them in the comments below. One hint, it is not any of these names (aka, boy's top 10 list as of May 2010, with links to the name's meaning):

• 1. Jacob
• 2. Michael
• 3. Ethan
• 4. Joshua
• 5. Daniel
• 6. Alexander
• 7. Anthony
• 8. William
• 9. Christopher
• 10. Matthew

I lied . . .

but I didn't know it. I was actually born a week early. Baby Daddy says it was probably the last time I was early for anything.

All our bags are packed . . .

we're ready to go.

And Baby Hunt may be as well. Or not. I had my 36 week appointment today and we are still doing fabulously. Baby Hunt's heartbeat was 132 bpm, my blood pressure was 110/70, I'm measuring right at 37 weeks, and still no signs of swelling. I have said before that we have felt blessed throughout this pregnancy - we had no miscarriage scares, no morning sickness to contend with, not a single day of bedrest, not even any heartburn or swelling. Baby Hunt has been wonderful to us - here's hoping that continues for the next three weeks.

I did get to second base with my OB today - I started getting checked for signs of labor. It was kind of abrupt - I'd have preferred to talk awhile first, or at least eat some ice cream, but these doctors are all business. Wham Bam. While I'm not dilated at all, I have started to efface, and Baby Hunt 'is way down there', leading her to comment that he may come a little early.

Our plans this week have revolved around knocking things off our (and by 'our', I mean 'my') Baby Hunt prep list - we've installed the carseat, packed the bags, picked up the last few items, set up the rest of his equipment, attended class, tested the monitors, and are working on a few more items. People now ask when I'm due and I respond, 'in three weeks'. Or, maybe less . . . we'll see. So if you haven't given us your prediction, see the below post :), we'd love to hear it!

Your predictions . . .

We gave ours, now we want to hear yours! Please leave a comment with your guess of Baby Hunt's birthdate and weight.

For your information, both Baby Daddy and I arrived about a week past our due dates. I weighed in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce, while Baby Daddy was slightly heavier at 8 pounds, 5 ounces. Baby Hunt's due date is August 6, and though I have no recent information on his weight as we only had one ultrasound, I can tell you that he weighed 11 ounces on March 22. Take that for what it is worth.

Some More Izzer Predictions

As you, dear reader, know, Baby Mama and I feature our white fluff ball of doom, aka Izzers, in this blog on an almost unhealthy level. Back in February, we had Isabelle give us her 'prediction' on the gender of Baby Hunt. We found out later that Izzers (and I) were wrong,* so we decided to give The Poodlum a chance to try again.

This time, we decided on a slightly different set up. Last time, we did carved milk bones, this time, we decided to show off Baby Mama's ability to make note-cards.

Thank you Simpson College, and your private college tuition, for making this possible.

First up was guessing Baby Hunt's weight. As shown in the photo above, we used Ritzes to help Isabelle with her 'prognosticating.' The cards were set up as shown, and then Pups was let loose.


The Blur Of Izzers doesn't mess around when it comes to Ritzes. You can tell that she believes that Baby Hunt will be a lightweight, weighing between 6 and 7 lbs.

Much to Baby Mama's relief, this card was not chosen.

Next, Date of Birth was predicted. Again, same setup:


And again, The Blur of Izzers wastes no time:

While you can't tell from the photo, Isabelle believes that Baby Hunt will take after Baby Mama, and be fashionably late ( between 1 and 2 weeks).

While discussing educated (aka complete and total) guesses, we'll reveal our (Baby Mama and my) predictions as well. We were asked to do this during one of the Lamaze Classes we went to:

Baby Mama:
Date of Birth: 8-10-10
Weight: 8 lbs. 3 oz.
Length: 21 inches

Baby Daddy:
Date of Birth 8-9-10
Weight: 7 lbs, 11 oz.
Length: 20 inches

Finally, we conclude this post with Izzers after the gorging on crackers.

Izzers is no longer a blur when full of Ritzes

*Yes, that means Baby Mama was right. Thank you. Like I haven't heard THAT before ;).

35 Weeks

We are happy to report that we've made it to week 35 and both Baby Hunt and I continue to do very well! At my last appointment on Tuesday, Baby Hunt's heart was beating 136 bpm, he was measuring right at 34 weeks, my bloodpressure was 120/60, and that weight loss issue is of the past. I also have no signs of swelling and despite waking up a few times in the middle of the night, I have no complaints. Next week is my last week without an appointment - starting the next week I go once a week and get felt up by my OB. Baby Hunt is as active as ever, and I often wonder what exactly he is doing in there. Baby Daddy can see my tummy (I don't like the word belly) move from across the room now and it feels (and looks, from the outside) like he is doing 'the wave'. He is in the correct position, head down and all, but must be curled up because I have yet to get kicked in the ribs, or really anywhere above my bellybutton.

One of our latest projects has been preparing Baby Hunt's Baby Book. I wasn't even sure I was going to do a baby book - I do not scrapbook and figured I wouldn't want to devote much time to it after he is born - until I saw this at Barnes and Noble.

It has spots for all of the typical baby information, and all I have to do is fill it in, add the pictures, and personalize it to Baby Hunt. We've been filling out the sections that we can and are waiting for him to arrive to fill in the rest.

'Our Hopes for Baby Hunt in the Future'

* We hope you will be a healthy, happy little boy.

* We hope you like to sleep like your mom.

* We hope you have more hair than your father.

* We hope you have your mother's temper.

* We hope you are social like your father.

* We hope you love Isabelle like we do.

but who wouldn't?