36 week ultrasound + Nursery + Daycare

We went for our last ultrasound this morning and were relieved to once again hear all is well. Baby Girl is only measuring slightly ahead--an estimated 6 pounds 6 ounces--which will put her at about 8 pounds at term.  The best news is that she's low and head-down, and shouldn't be able to sneak her way into a breech position between now and whenever.

We have also been setting up some of our gear. This week, in the mail, we received two gifts from our registries: a bouncer and a travel system. I figure this has two benefits: 1) our dog Alden can get used to a new family member crowding into our space and start learning what he's not allowed to chew on; and 2) that stuff will be together and usable when we have better things to worry about.

A dresser (which will double as a changing table) is on its way, and I've decided we should get a rug and some sort of book shelf too. With that, the nursery will be nearly complete. I've been getting frustrated as people have asked increasingly if we're done with the nursery. They ask it almost rhetorically, expecting my answer to be an exasperated "Yessss! Months ago!" and give me a disgusted look when I huff out a "Nope." Plus, all the pregnant women C works with are proud to announce the completion of the nurseries in month 3. Well Eff that.

Oh yeah, and I've started into searching for infant daycare, and that sucks. Lots of responses, which is encouraging. I just wish it was more straightforward. And cheaper. I wish we could figure out some sort of trade-off system with three of four other people, to rotate stay-home days. Probably not going to happen. I never thought it would be so smart to live nearby our parents for this reason.

Week 28? Fast Forward?

I've got a sneaking suspicion that we are actually at least one week ahead of where we think we are in the line of pregnancy. After our last big ultrasound the doctor said Miss Baby was a little bigger than she is supposed to be; and at the last check-up, when measuring C's belly, she again said we seemed to be "ahead."

So, this morning, when checking "my stories" (i.e. blogs), I find that this one woman jumped from 19 weeks--where she thought she should be--to 21 weeks after their ultrasound. Hmm...

I'm not trying to get ahead of myself, but I'm putting together a timeline of when stuff needs to get done around the house, and I think to be safe I need to count on Miss Baby arriving around April 1st--or, dare I say, the end of March. Crap.

Not "Crap". I mean, we have a house--so we aren't that bad off. A 3 bedroom house at that. The only problem is, while trying to finish half of our basement, the other 2 bedrooms are staging areas for loads of junk. We could move it all downstairs but we're supposedly getting work done down there... If worse comes to "Crap" (for real) then we'll move everything downstairs or in the garage. We'll make it work. My one goal is to have a pristine and magnificent baby room finished before the baby needs it.

We have another ultrasound scheduled for Week 36--that's 2 months away, and could potentially be the day our baby is born! Yowza.

proof

everything is good in the hood

Updates: belly, food, doctor

I'm bummed I haven't been updating much. Time is flying almost as fast as C's belly is growing. She looks great, like, absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately she doesn't see it that way. It doesn't help that her boobs are apparently still growing. And she doesn't feel awesome all the time--sleeping is more often than not pretty uncomfortable on her spine and hips--but just yesterday she was saying she feels so much better than she did in the first trimester. Her "taste" has not only returned to normal, she is actually craving healthy foods. Last night was the second time she made these really awesome meatballs in kale and pasta. Freaking amazing. And she's craving kale! This particular meal might be my favorite meal she's ever cooked and it's out of her "Feed Your Belly" pregnancy book. She's been working out more, especially at the gym. It's good because it compels me to go too and I need to exercise just as much as she does.

Anyway, things are going swimmingly. They baby gets roudy at least once almost every night, kicking like a riotous mosher in the pit. Monday is our big, important ultrasound where we will hopefully learn the sex of our little buddy. Unfortunately it is across the city, unlike our doctor who is about a mile away, and, as far as I understand, this technician won't even be able to tell us anything substantial about the baby's health/condition--we'll have to wait until we see our doctor next, the following week.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. I really need to start getting some stuff done in the basement... Crap.

First doctor visit!

Today I was supposed to travel to Cincinnati for work with Mark and two colleagues from the company that contracted us. Last Friday was the day I realized that this work trip and C's first big appointment with the doctor were going to conflict. My stomach hit the floor at that staff meeting. Not knowing how to broach the subject--as we've decided to keep the news a secret--I kept my mouth shut. As the weekend went on I started questioning whether I should mention everything to Mark in an effort to stay in town and go to the appointment. Sunday night I decided I would approach Mark and try to avoid Cincy. Yesterday afternoon, when I got back to the office from the field, I went into Mark's office and asked if he had a moment to talk as I shut the door behind me. I could tell he was instantly panicked as I never appear so serious. I knew he thought I was preparing to tell him I was quitting. I teared up as I started with "I didn't want to tell you like this..." and broke the news that C was pregnant. What I meant was that I wanted to tell him later on down the road, when the pregnancy was more certain, and we could be enjoying a beer at the bar. I was really emotional--which made me quite embarrassed--but to let the flood of excitement about the baby and stress about work pour out got to me. Long story short, Mark was super supportive and at one point said, "There are definitely things more important than work." I could barely believe how supportive he was--but then again, I know Mark is a big family man and while he appears to be a workaholic, he definitely does everything he can for his family and so would understand why this first visit to the doctor would be so important.

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So, today we were able to wake up slower than usual to prepare for our first exam. The doctor seems really cool and I was thrilled to witness the first ultrasound that showed a little bean with a heartbeat. C seemed pretty annoyed that I made such a deal about being there, but hopefully, deep down, she was relieved that I was nearby and so excited. Everything is still so early, but today's visit calmed the biggest fears we've faced so far, to let room for a whole new round of concerns to settle in.

We left the office with a couple photos of our blueberry sized embryo and treated ourselves to second-breakfast at Panera. Awesome.

Good life go!