Big Day!

Today was a very busy day for us! We started out with the first half of our Childbirth Class at Northside Hospital (it's a two-part class, so we'll finish it up next Saturday). In the other classes, I felt like we were a little early, since all the other couples were farther along in their pregnancies than us, but today it was just the opposite. I was closer to my delivery date than anyone else in the class!

After that was over, we had lunch and spent the rest of the day checking off our list of essentials for Emily. The weather was perfect and spring-like, so it was nice to be out of the house and not have to deal with rain and cold, which has been almost every weekend lately. There were a few things we wanted to make sure we had before she's born, so we went shopping and bought things like the monitor, diaper genie, changing pad, wipes warmer and diaper bag. It was a fun afternoon, and we felt much better prepared when we were all done!

36 Weeks: What's Happening

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her 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 her 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)!

Checkup with Dr. Graham

Almost, but not quite 36 weeks, and I had a visit with Dr. Graham today. He did the Group B Strep test, which I'll have results for at the next visit. Emily's heartbeat was in the 140s, and my blood pressure is still good. I'm embarrassed to say I gained 3 pounds in less than two weeks (two on top of the one I had lost on my last visit--must have been all the baby shower food!).

Dr. Graham said my cervix is about 50% effaced, which is good, but doesn't necessarily mean she'll be coming soon. Still, he said we need to get ready, and make sure our hospital bags are packed. Emily is positioned head down, and has already begun to descend into my pelvis (the reason I'm so sore when I get up to walk).

We reviewed my birth plan, and Dr. Graham said everything was realistic and my preferences are completely reasonable, which made me feel good. No more travel outside of Atlanta for me now either, so I'll be sticking close to home!

More Baby Shower Pics!

My pictures are all completely out of order, so we'll start with the end. We received so many nice gifts for little Emily--here are just a few!
My sister, brother and sister-in-law gave us the stroller and infant car seat (very important, since we have to have the car seat installed in order to bring Emily home from the hospital!

This was toward the end of the shower, when my nephew Cody came in to help open gifts. I think he was a little disappointed to only find girly stuff!

My brother and sister-in-law gave us this adorable "baby things" basket, filled with cute toys, clothes, and even a handmade lavender and white afghan from Jenn's mom, which is just beautiful in the nursery.

My sister gave us a bag of goodies, including some very sweet clothes for Emily that will remind her how much she loves her Auntie :).

This pretty handmade afghan is from Lala, Mick's grandma (and Emily's great-grandma).

My mom made this sweet little outfit and hat with white rosebuds on it.

Emily was given more clothes than she'll ever be able to wear! She will be a very well-dressed little girl!

Tennille, Jenn, Julie and me. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures during the shower and have none of any of the guests! Hopefully someone else did and will send them my way.

My Favorite Baby Shower Decorations

You can't quite tell how cute this was from the picture, but there was a clothesline hung on the staircase with sweet little baby clothes all the way down.

The favor bags and flowers on the entry table. I didn't realize our clock wasn't hanging straight until seeing this picture!

Jenn made this awesome diaper wreath, which we hung on the back door during the shower. I appreciate it even more after hearing from Jason how hard she worked on it!

My mom made this beautiful diaper cake. As much as I love the fact that everything in it is useful and handy for Emily, I really hate to take it apart!

The Best Sisters EVER!

I've known my entire life how lucky I am to have a sister who is almost like an extension of myself. I realize more every day that I'm equally as lucky to have such a wonderful brother too--only partially because he did such a great job choosing the woman he married (who is now my sister too). I'm not even sure when my sisters began planning my baby shower, but this weekend is when it all happened! I've been so excited about February 27 for months, most of all because I knew I'd get to spend some time with my family and closest friends.

Saturday night turned out to be all I had imagined and more. Julie and Jenn worked so hard, thought of everything, and planned each tiny detail so that nothing was overlooked. The decorations were simple and beautiful, the food was delicious, and the flow of the night was perfect--not too many games, but enough so people were entertained. There are no words to express how much I appreciate all they put into this shower.

I truly do have the best sisters EVER! If Emily is an only child, my only regret is that she won't know how awesome it is to have siblings.

35 Weeks: What's Happening

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

This was a busy weekend with lots of people in town, and we're exhausted. I'll have lots of pictures to share from the baby shower in the next couple of days!

34 Week Checkup

I had an appointment with Dr. Graham today, and everything is going well! I've somehow managed to lose one pound since I went two weeks ago--he said that was pretty normal, and he's not worried. Still, I'm convinced that the scale there is broken--according to their records, I'm at 18 pounds total so far. It feels more like 40.

My blood pressure was still good, and Emily's little heart was beating in the 150s! The nurse told me anything between 130 and 160 is normal--it varies each time, but is always very cool to hear. Dr. Graham said I'm no longer measuring a week ahead--I'm right on track at 34 cm/34 weeks.

I have another appointment in a week and a half when I'll have the Group B Strep test. He also said we'll make sure she's positioned correctly between 35-37 weeks.

34 Weeks: What's Happening

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her arms and legs are continuing to fill out from fat accumulation. She's dimpling at her elbows and knees and forming creases around her wrists and neck. The percentage of fat on her body is 8%, compared with only 1% of her body weight at 20 weeks. At birth, her body fat will be about 15%, helping her to keep warm. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine.

It's hard to believe there's only 6 more short weeks until Emily Claire makes her big debut!

A Dumbo Seat?

I had to work out of town a couple of days this week, and on my way home last night, Mick told me Emily had gotten a package from Tennille, my college roommate. I told him to open it and see what it was, so he opened it and told me it was a Dumbo seat. I laughed at him first, and then told him it was a Bumbo seat...in his defense though, there is a picture of an elephant under the name :).

This very cool seat is made to help support a baby before she can actually sit up by herself--I've heard great things about them, and
the reason I added it to our registry is that Tennille said her son loved his. I can't wait until Emily can sit up and use this! The white tray attaches to the top so she can eat in it and all kinds of other stuff.

I was hoping that Tennille's gift was just the fact that she was coming down next weekend, so this was a surprise bonus. We love it--thank you Ta-Dow :)!

Surprise Gifts for Emily

It's always a nice surprise to come home and see a big box on the front porch, especially when you open it up and find gifts! Alesia, a friend from work, will unfortunately be out of town the weekend of the baby shower. She decided to surprise us with early baby gifts--a really cute bouncer seat, a big box of diapers (sure to come in very handy), a pink octopus towel/washcloth bath set and a "quick change" kit for diapers and wipes. What terrific gifts--thank you Alesia!

Snow Day

Yesterday, all the local weather forecasts were predicting 1-3 inches of snow, and for once, they got it right! It started snowing on Friday around 1:00 in the afternoon and kept going until about 10:00 last night. We ended up with about 4 inches of snow at our house, which is more than we've ever had since we moved to Atlanta. Here are a few pictures of our winter wonderland!

A view of our house as you pull into the driveway

Bella wonders why I'm taking pictures instead of throwing the ball to her

Gracie wonders why Bella is such a ball-playing clown

Gracie and Bella, all tuckered out after playing their hearts out. They LOVED the snow!

33 Weeks: What's Happening

This week your baby is rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. She is beginning to run out of space to move in the uterus and is tucked into the fetal position. Her movements in the womb may be less frequent as a result of cramped space, but she is growing and delivering stronger punches and kicks. She will have periods of deep sleep and periods of being actively awake, much like a newborn baby.

Shower Gifts

Here are just a few of the nice gifts from Wednesday's shower that Emily will be using in no time!

Everyone says these umbrella strollers are essential since they're so lightweight and easy to fold up and transport.
Check out this sweet piggy bank, which will replace the pickle jar full of change that Mick has already started for her.

This adorable photo album says Our Little Princess on the front, and the little boot is also a bank!

The only reason we haven't taken this out of the package yet is because I don't think Gracie and Bella could resist it. It's called an Ocean Adventure Gym, and Emily will be able to use it even when she's really little--there are all kinds of ocean creatures that hang down for her to play with, and a piece that has lights and music that will also attach to her crib.

The Surprise Shower (that wasn't a surprise)

I had a trip planned to Charlotte this week to help with some training we're doing at work, and toward the end of last week, had some stuff come up in Atlanta that meant I needed to be in the office here. Laurie, my boss, told me I still needed to go to Charlotte but I couldn't understand why. She finally broke down and told me there was a surprise shower planned for me on Wednesday night, so I had to be there. After I had practiced my fake reaction, she told me on Monday that the secret was out, and everyone knew the surprise was spoiled.

So Wednesday night, a group of us got together at Devlin's house for a nice not-so-surprise shower! It was a lot of fun (except for the "tell the worst birth story you've ever heard" game!), and Emily Claire received some very sweet gifts! Here are a few pictures from the shower, and I'll post some of the gifts this weekend.

The very pretty, very delicious monogrammed cake.

Jeanie and Theresa

Almost the whole group (Devlin, Julie, Theresa, Laurie, Larissa and me)

This One's a Keeper

We both had been thinking the same thing, but neither of us wanted to admit it. We hated the bassinet we had found on craigslist, but we each thought the other really liked it! We just felt like the quality wasn't what we wanted, and the mattress didn't fit well, which made us even less crazy about it.

Babies 'R Us is having a "Great Trade-In Event" where you can bring in a used piece of baby furniture and get a coupon for 25% off a replacement, so that's what we did. We actually ended up saving more on this bassinet than we originally spent on the first one, so we felt the switch was totally justified!

This one is just adorable, and feels more well-made. It has sweet little safari animals on it, which Gracie and Bella seemed to like.

32 Weeks: What's Happening

By now, your baby weighs 4 to 5 pounds and is between 16 and 18 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She is beginning to develop her own immunity to mild infections. If she were born now, she could survive outside the womb and resist some disease. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth. She may also be positioning for birth with her head turned down toward the pelvis.

Infant CPR Class

We went back to Northside today for an Infant CPR and Safety class. It was good information, all of which we hope to never need! Here's a picture of our strange looking practice doll and our diploma for finishing the class.

This was our last class except for the Childbirth classes, which will be next month. We're getting close!

Checkup

I had a 32-week checkup today with Dr. Graham. It's been almost 6 weeks this time because I had to move my appointment from last week, so needless to say, I was very concerned about getting another comment about too much weight gain. Surprisingly, I had only gained 3 pounds since my last visit, so he was happy with that (I was too!). I'm still measuring about a week ahead, which he said was no big deal.

I got to hear Wiggles' heartbeat (138, which they said was perfect), and my blood pressure is still good. We're getting close to the end, and things are going really well! I'll go back in 2 weeks, on February 19.

Gift for Wiggles

One of my close friends from college surprised us by ordering and shipping the Pack 'n Play we had on our registry. I could hardly wait until Mick got home so we could take it out and put it together!

It's awesome--it has a changing space and a separate bassinet on top, which are both removable. We're planning to keep this downstairs since we won't have a separate bassinet from the one in our room. Right now, it's in the dining room (but obviously won't stay there). Thanks Neely and Matt--we love it!