38 Week Update!

How far along? 38 weeks - I'm pretty sure we'll be holding out to at least 40.

How big is baby?  6.8 pounds/19.5 inches!  About the length of a leek.

Weight gain? 41lbs I've gained quite a bit in the last few weeks, the Dr. says it's all water weight given the 90+ degree temperatures we're having.

Symptoms? Exhaustion, swelling, heartburn, a few Braxton Hicks.

Sleep?  Ok.  Definitely getting worse.  Up to use the bathroom at least 2x/night.

Food cravings? Basically anything cold, lots of popsicles and ice. 

Movement? Still lots, I took a movie the other day and it's rather amusing to watch.

Gender?  It's a boy! 

Clothes?  Maternity Pants and maternity tops and regular cardigans. 

What I am looking forward to? All done with work, now to relax and get some things done.

 

What am I missing? Somedays, just the sense of feeling 'normal'.

Milestones?  He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old.

Other?  Finally hung up the pictures in the nursery and took some photos to share.  I also have my bag packed.

Baby announcement options!

So technically baby c isn't here yet but I have been looking for some announcements to use so that I have a bit of an idea what I would like when he does finally arrive. Callie Nicole blogged about this great deal at Shutterfly and I couldn't agree more, what a great option considering we have about 60 announcements to send!

Here are some of my favorites so far:

1 Picture



Announcing Baby Boy



Safari Friends Cocoa



It's a Boy!



Baby Giraffe

2+ Pictures



Hello Baby Boy



Zoo Who Blue



Boy Oh Boy

So hard to decide! Maybe we'll have to pick after we have a picture to use, they're all so cute!

Have you found any other place to get them for a better price? Which one do you like?

Wishing For on a Wednesday

I've been lusting after a few things lately. Since I don't want to buy anymore maternity clothes and I'm not sure how to yet supplement my wardrobe for the summer, most of my 'wants' have been focused elsewhere. There are a few things that I've been lusting after lately. I'm not one who usually puts together a 'birthday' list but maybe this year I will have one.

Vera Bradley E-Reader Sleeve
It's no lie, I love my Kindle! I'm not a big fan of the holder that I have right now, but I definitely would love to have one of these E-Reader Sleeves. I wish it would fit the iPad too, though I'm thinking I could sew one too if I tried for both!


Sperry Top-Sider, Angelfish
I posted about these before but I've definitely decided that I want a pair of Sperry Top-Sider Angelfish shoes. I love them.

Zappos

Mom Agenda
I've been wanting one of these for a while and now they've come out with next year's, I'm ready to purchase!

I think I want the desktop version.

Oh did I mention that a baby would be nice too?!?! :-). Though I'm thinking that I don't want to be in labor on my actual birthday so a day or so before or after would be fine!

My husband already got me my 2 top items on my list with my iPad and weekender bag! He is on a roll!

37 Week Update!

How far along? 37 weeks - Full Term!

How big is baby?  6 1/3 pounds/19+ inches!  About the length of Swiss Chard.

 Weight gain? 37?lbs I'm not sure that this is right . . . . . 

Symptoms? Exhaustion!  Still some swelling.  Holy heartburn, really really bad regardless of what I eat!

Sleep?  Ok.  Definitely getting worse.  Up to use the bathroom at least 2x/night.

Food cravings? Still love ice (so weird) and popsicles/freeze-pops.  Has anyone tried the Strawberry Lemonade from McDonald's?!?!  Yum!

Movement? Still lots.

Gender?  It's a boy! 

Clothes?  Maternity Pants and maternity tops and regular cardigans. 

What I am looking forward to? Friday is my last day of work!

 

What am I missing? Somedays, just the sense of feeling 'normal'.

Milestones?  Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Other?  We made about 9 different meals for the freezer, plus some meatballs this weekend!  We are stocked up for when baby arrives!

Miscellany Monday

 

1.  happy anniversary, happy birthday, happy baby!
My amazing husband gave me my anniversary/birthday/baby present last week!  An iPad.  I'm so excited!  I've been wanting one for a while but we had decided we were going to wait until the next generation.  Now does anyone have any good apps to recommend?  What about an app to use for blogging since blogger only works in HTML mode so far? (Really desperate for this right about now)

2.  last week of work!
I'm off today because M is leaving today, I will be working the rest of the week, though the outlook is that Thursday and Friday will be half days.  Friday is my last day of work until about October depending on when baby Chapman decides to arrive.

3.  cooking up a storm
M and I spent most of Sunday cooking to put in the freezer.  We cooked about 8 or so different meals for easy cooking after the baby arrives!

4.  making a list
I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed with the things that I need to/want to get done before baby arrives, including a list of blogposts, things to do around the house, things to buy etc. 


5.  full term
Made it to 37 weeks this weekend.  Technically full term, I wonder when baby Chapman will decide to make his appearance!


Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! :-)  Have a great week.  Happy Monday!

Gmail as a baby book!

Oh my goodness, this is so cute I had to share. I haven't gotten an email address for baby c yet but I was thinking about it the other day!!

36 Week Update!

How far along? 36 weeks

How big is baby?  6 pounds/18.5 inches!  About the weight of a crenshaw melon.

Weight gain? 37?lbs I'm not sure that this is right . . . . . 

Symptoms? The swelling has started.  My feet and calves a little, definitely my fingers.  If I don't put my feet up at all, then my ankles are not pretty at night. 

Sleep?  Ok.  Nothing special

Food cravings? Still love ice (so weird) and popsicles/freeze-pops.  Now, I like to make 'slushies' and put some juice in the fridge for a few hours!  Yum!

Movement? All over.  He is definitely rolling around in there a ton.

Gender?  It's a boy! 

Clothes?  Maternity Pants and maternity tops and regular cardigans. 

What I am looking forward to? Marcy will be in town on Thursday!  Yeah!  We're going to make some meals to freeze I think and not sure what else.

What am I missing? Somedays, just the sense of feeling 'normal'.

Milestones?  He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.)

After this week's appointment, he said that baby is heads-down.  Though my bp was a little high so they'll keep monitoring that.

Other?  We finished our registry this week and bought the rest of the items that we wanted/needed.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Happy 2nd Anniversary to my . . . . . . 

good-looking

big-smiling

 hard-working

fun-finding

chore-helping

sweet-kissing

lovably real,

dream-sharing,

hand-holding,

heart-warming

husband!

**Verse from Carlton Cards - anniversary card I purchased, but loved too much not to share!**

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Linking up with Jamie again today! 

I'm loving that I only have 11 more days left of work.   Lots to do to get people up to speed, but I'm looking forward to a break before baby c makes his arrival.

I'm loving that best friend M will be here in a week!  So excited to see her!

I'm loving this article on BabyCenter about rude comments during pregnancy.  It happens way more often than I thought it would!

I'm loving our pictures that we got back, but it's really hard to show you, I only have the whole gallery to share and that's 150+ pictures!  Now comes the hard part of picking!  Here's one of my favorites (though there are many more!)!

Presented By www.f8photostudios.com

I'm loving my hubby, especially after a mothers-to-be day gift and being a good sport and par-taking in pictures (above)!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Miscellany Monday

 

1.  new blog design!
Thanks to Jessica at diamond doll design, I have a new blog design that I won and love!

2.  congrats to the happy couple!
We went to a wedding this weekend where KC was the best man and we're so happy for our friends!

3.  'Happy Mothers-to-Be Day'
My husband is awesome and got me a 'Happy Mothers-to-Be Day' gift yesterday.  Now it's time to start packing for the hospital.  Yikes!

4.  no photos yet!
Still waiting for photos from our photographer, she said 2 weeks (it was 2 weeks on Tuesday), but KC said I had to wait until today to send her an email.  I needed to have some patience!


5.  belly sign!
At the wedding this weekend, I was tempted to put a sign on my belly that said "It's a Boy, 35 Weeks, Not sharing the name, June 11th".  I was asked so many times, crazy!


Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! :-)  Have a great week.  Happy Monday!

35 Week Update!

Lookin' a lil tired and rundown after a day of wedding festivities and driving the drunk ppl home!

 
How far along? 35 weeks - 35 Days to go!!! (Though I'm more counting the 14 more days of work!)

How big is baby?  5.25 pounds/18 inches!  About the weight of a honeydew melon.

Weight gain? ??lbs I ate a lot at the wedding this weekend, I have no idea!

Symptoms? Hip pain/discomfort towards the end of the day.  Tiredness and some finger swelling.  Other than that feeling pretty good.

Sleep?  Ok this week.  More (more) pillows!

Food cravings? Still love ice (so weird) and popsicles/freeze-pops.  Now, I like to make 'slushies' and put some juice in the fridge for a few hours!  Yum!

Movement? All over.  He is definitely rolling around in there a ton.

Gender?  It's a boy! 

Clothes?  Maternity Pants and maternity tops and some regular cardigans. 

What I am looking forward to? Still no pictures, looking forward to taking a look at those. 

What am I missing? Somedays, just the sense of feeling 'normal'.

Milestones? Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Other? Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and MIL!  My husband was sweet enough to get me a Happy Mother-to-Be's Day gift to help pack for the hospital!

Vera Bradley Weekender bag

Diaper Debate

After reading several different diapering posts way before baby c was even a glimmer in my mind, I had it in my mind that I wanted to do cloth diapering.  

Now, when I told my family I was planning to do cloth diapers, they looked at me like I had 6-heads.  I tried explaining that they're not like they used to be, you don't have to pin them and there are lots of different options, but they still didn't understand.  I decided that the blog-world would be my cloth diaper supporters.

There are several posts that I relied upon as I was doing my research.

• Julia at My Life in Transition
• John and Sherry at Young House Love
• Katie at Bower Power

And those are just a few of the blog posts out there.  Then I found some of these great resources to help answer some questions, etc.

• The ABC's of going cloth by Dr. Momma
• Basics of Cloth Diapers and Comparisons by PinStripes and Polka Dots
• Cloth Diaper FAQ by Zoolikins
• Detergents by PinStripes and Polka Dots
• Washing Instructions by Niki's Diapers
• Where to buy:  Cotton Babies, Amazon, Target, Babies R Us to name a few

Then there was the cost comparison that I found at DiaperDecisions.com:


Where the grand total for disposables came out to be:  $2577.35
One-Size Pockets (based on a 12-pack of BumGenius at Cotton Babies):  $203.40 * 3 = $610.20
All-In-One One-Size (based on a 12-pack of BumGenius at Cotton Babies):  $264.95 * 3 = $794.85
**Based on the fact that we would be going to daycare and wouldn't have time to wash every day, we figured that 36 diapers would be a good number.  We also determined that All-In-Ones were the only way we would be able do it, vs. getting different sizes.** 


So we started with the one-size pockets from BumGenius.  After hubs took a look at them, he decided that he wasn't a fan of the whole pocket thing.  If he was going to be on board with the whole cloth diapering, then they needed to be the All-In-Ones.  

So we decided that it was worth it to suck-up the extra $185 or so and go with the All-In-One, One-Sizes. I spent a lot of time looking for one-size, all-in-ones and they were definitely hard to find without pockets.

cottonbabies.com

We got a variety of each of the colors.  Here they are all pre-washed (5-times!!) and snapped and ready to go packed away in a dresser drawer below the changing pad, as well as a few others I have to find room for in there afterwards.  We ended up with 36 diapers total.  We did this based on the assumption that he would wear about 12 diapers a day and we would want to leave a few at daycare, plus we'd need some for him to wear while we washed the dirty ones.  It is probably waaaay more than we need but to us it seemed about right.  (By the way we got some totally cute free Baby Legs because we spent more than $100 - we ordered them in 3 different batches so as to spread out the cost)

We knew we'd need some wetbags, so we went with a big 'pail-size' one and a smaller travel-size one (Medium bag)  (Btw, that is not the pattern I intended to get I must have clicked the wrong one, but oh well, I'm over it and think this one is fine).  I think we'll need a bigger travel one.  We also still need to get a 'pail' for the bigger one to stay in his room.  (It's on the registry, just need that registry completion coupon!)

cottonbabies.com 

Cleaning the diapers, while I know it won't be the most desirable work, it is what it is and I think we can handle it.  We also are going to get the diaper sprayer (registry coupon!) that you can easily install on the toilet.  (Check out the Young House Love post above).  We also got some of the bumGenius detergent as well (thanks to the bulk pricing at cottonbabies) just because it's what we felt the most comfortable with for now.

cottonbabies.com 

 As you can see, Cotton Babies was our store of choice for most things.  They had the lowest prices that I could find and offered 12-packs of diapers which made for a price discount on the diapers.

We do have some disposables for the first few weeks of his life and/or until he fits into the cloth diapers.  We also are going to use disposable wipes too I think.  I am hoping that we are up to the task (otherwise we just spent a lot of money).  I am worried that we are missing something or may be over-looking something but I guess we'll figure that out as time goes on.

Anyone else doing cloth diapers?  What have you gotten so far?  Anything I'm forgetting?  Did your family look at you like you had 6 heads too?!?!?!

34 Week Update!

How far along? 34 weeks

How big is baby?  4.75 pounds/18 inches!  About the weight of a cantaloupe.

Weight gain? 32lbs

Symptoms? Exhaustion.  I cannot keep my eyes open!  Still some rib pain. Indigestion and heart burn this week.  Finger swelling.  My fingers are looking a little chubby and I cannot wear my rings depending on the time of day and what I've been doing.

Sleep?  Ok this week.  More pillows!

Food cravings? Love ice (so weird) and popsicles/freeze-pops

Movement? All over.  He is definitely rolling around in there a ton.

Gender?  It's a boy! 

Clothes?  Maternity Pants and maternity tops and some regular cardigans. 

What I am looking forward to? We should be getting our pictures back in the next day or so.  Really looking forward to seeing them.

What am I missing? We are going to a wedding this weekend and I think that might make me miss a glass of wine or 2 again.

Milestones? His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well.  Happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Other? Burp clothes and blankets were a bit too much for me all at once.  I will work on them a bit more gradually.  Also, here's a few shots of the play quilt I finished (added bonus of a few glimpses of the nursery).