One size fits all?

As I've been working on getting the nursery ready I've found that the most difficult thing has been sizing clothes!  Baby clothes seem to be worse than women's jeans!  One size can range anywhere from tiny to huge!  Here are some examples:

Both of these onesies are labeled "0-3 months"

In this case the onesie on top (same as the one above) is of course "0-3 months" but the one on the bottom is labeled "Newborn" (technically a "smaller" size)

Here, the pants on the left are "6 months" and the pants on the right are "0-3 months"

How are you supposed to organize anything?  I fear putting something in the "wrong category"... not because I'm obsessive like that (or maybe I should say not just because I'm obsessive like that) but because if I put something kind of small with bigger sizes then it may end up being too small by the time I get to that stack...

You'd think it would be easy enough to determine a basic "newborn" "0-3 month" and "3-6 month" then compare everything else to the "standard" but you run into issues like this:

Both are labeled "3-6 months" but one is long and thin, the other short and wide.... 

What do you do what that??  Do I organize by length or width??  If I put the wide one with the smaller sizes (because of it's length) then it ends up being wide and stupid looking, right? But if I put it with the bigger sizes then it may be too short....

All I do know for sure is that Floodling has plenty of clothes to get him through the first three months and beyond!

 

 His drawers are already packed full!!

And just a side note.... can you believe this?  First time through the wash and there's already a "lonesome" sock!

 UPDATE: I found the missing sock!  It turned up THREE loads later in the washer with a load of black and red clothes!  Floodling now has one pink sock (unless I can "shout it out").

She's gonna blow!

I'm a ticking time bomb... that's how I feel people view me these days at least.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this past week I agreed to work on mapping/designing/cleaning up the new Elementary Foreign Language curriculum with a group of other elementary language teachers and the county World Language coordinator.  I had initially planned on simply enjoying my summer after my last day Monday (as you know I've been looking forward to the time off!) but with things the way they are I figured it wouldn't hurt to "suck up" a little to the Language coordinator (unfortunately she has no control over the reassignments, but I still figured some brownie points wouldn't hurt).

Well, apparently the Language coordinator seemed to think I looked about ready to burst.  She kept telling me I was making her nervous even though I wasn't doing anything.  But if I moved, went to the bathroom, or coughed she would worriedly exclaim "are you all right??". At one point I had turned in my chair to prop my legs up on another chair (to help prevent my feet from swelling so much from all the sitting) and she said "you're not delivering, are you!?"  On the last day of our meeting she showed up with a sticky note... apparently the number for the security guy of the building "just in case!".  (If it's not obvious she has no children of her own and didn't realize that even if I were to go into labor I would likely have several hours before anything got serious).  She did tell me I was a "trooper" though and that is more or less what I was after (for her to see that I was so dedicated that I would come even on the verge of "popping").

Yesterday I was at Publix picking up some diapers and wipes (they were having a sale and I had some great coupons!).  I made my purchases, returned to my car, stuck the keys in the engine and turned...... and absolutely nothing happened.  Not even a noise.  I tried several times before I officially decided my battery was dead (and no, I had not left lights on, my battery just died- Jason told me later that when he got my oil changed last week they told him the battery needed to be replaced).  A guy happened to wander over and started checking out the battery while I explained I was calling my husband to see if he could come help.  I sat in the driver's seat to make the call and a Publix employee walked up and said "what!? Is she having the baby!?"  Haha!  I had to laugh....

It seems that these days instead of getting comments along the lines of "aww.... how far along are you?" I now get eyed and told "you look about ready to pop!" or "how can your husband make you grocery shop when you're about to burst!?".  People seem almost scared of me now as if having a baby means I'm literally going to "burst" and they may get maimed in the explosion.  I have to admit that I myself worry that my water may break when I'm out and about but the likelihood of that happening is very slim (most women's water doesn't break until far into labor, not as a sign that labor is beginning as on TV and in the movies). Maybe I just need to carry around flashing lights and an alarm that makes a big "awooga!" sound and see how people react then!

I can only imagine what people at the gym think when they see me climbing the stairs up to the treadmills.... RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!

The bun is officially done

But that doesn't mean he's arriving any time soon!  It just means that at 37 weeks I am officially at "full term" meaning that if labor were to start now they wouldn't do anything to stop it.  It also means that Floodling is more or less fully developed at this point and likely wouldn't have any lung problems if he were to come now. From here on out he's just happily putting on weight (ummm.... hopefully not too much!) and hanging out until he feels ready.

This is not to say that I am ready!  We are much farther along in being prepared, and to be honest if he were to come today we have all the necessities (crib, car seat, some diapers, and loving arms) but there are just so many things I want to get done!  The nursery is by no means finished.  I'm waiting on the quilt that my mom is working on, but I haven't even hung the wall art or figured out any other kind of decor.  I've washed a ton of clothes, but not all of them, and I'm still working on washing sheets and all sorts of "covers" (swing covers, bouncy seat covers, etc.) I've "sanitized" a lot things in the room, though still haven't washed any bottles or pacifiers.....

Thankfully it seems I still have some time.  I made it past the "deadline" that the parent at school had given me!  Two weeks ago Thursday she told me I had a week and a half "maybe two"... well, I've beat that by 2 days so far and no sign that he may be coming soon!  I have to say I was relieved to wake up Friday morning and not have gone into labor Thursday night!  There was something about the way she said it... she just seemed to know... but now that I've passed that day the "magic" of her words seems to have worn off.

I still have a feeling he'll be a little early.  I myself was born 10 days early... that would put him at June 7th.  I've had several people predict he'll arrive around the 5th-7th and that would be okay because it would meet my "stipulations".... my good friend Cassie is getting married on June 12th, and I'm determined I'm going to make it to her wedding (Cassie is the one who did my maternity photos!) whether it's with baby in tow, or looking like I'm going to explode!  My sister is also arriving on June 17th and staying for a week, so he will hopefully be here sometime before she leaves.... As much as I can state my time schedule though, I know Floodling will arrive when he's good and ready....

I have accomplished one other thing in my preparations for Floodling's arrival.  We hired a doula! Yay!  I'm excited to have someone who will help support our plans on having an unmedicated birth.  I completely trust Jason and know he will do a great job, but it will be nice to have someone who has a lot of knowledge of how the birthing process works, and even how hospital systems work to ensure we get the best birth for us (even if that does mean turning to medical interventions).  She goes "on call" for me starting on Thursday next week!  Big thank you goes out to my Bad Awnt Sue!


So, at 37 weeks I finally have one last "fruit" picture.... such a lovely visual!

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). 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.

Ding!

As has been typical lately my 36 week belly pic is late!  But despair no more because it has finally arrived... ;)

Again, check out the belly pic page (link in the right-hand column) to see the progression.  You'll have to compare to 32 weeks and see if you think he's "dropped"...  I don't really think I look any different.

And what do you think about this belly-button?  Am I done?

Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away!

So after several complaining posts (my bad day yesterday, the rude lady at Kohl's, and my no-fun news at school) I figured it's about time to talk about the good things going on right now!

1. As bittersweet as it is, school's out!  I have to return Monday for post-planning but am completely finished after that.  I am looking forward to having lots of free time to finally finish up the nursery and get other things ready for baby's arrival. I'm also happy that I will have plenty of time to just rest and get some good sleep before the arrival because I know things will be very different once he's here!  I'll at least have a little while where I can return to thinking 4:30 is actually night time, not morning.
2. I have my third (yes, I said third) baby shower tomorrow.  I had my friends and family shower in late April, then my work shower (which I completely forgot to post about!) early in May and now the ladies at my church are throwing me a shower.  I am so thankful to have so many amazing people in my life, and so excited that so many of them will be an amazing part of Floodling's life too!
3. Minus this minor cold I've come down with, I'm still feeling pretty great!  Heck, I walked 3 miles last weekend!  
4. And even with still feeling pretty miserable from this cold I slept through the night pretty well last night.  I am so thankful for my ability to sleep!
5. I am still really enjoying the feelings of Floodling moving around.  It never seems to get old.  Lately I've been able to feel his little elbows sticking out on my right side as he presses his butt out on my left.  It's fun to poke back at him.  I think he gets hiccups sometimes too and I enjoy lightly rocking my belly until they go away.
6. I got another piece of awesome, necessary furniture from our friend Jessica (and her daughter Lilly!).  Thanks for the dresser! She is the one who gave us our crib.  She has also offered up anything else we need (as have another set of friends), so if we don't get some of the last baby-gear items from our registry we can use some of their stuff.  
7. I finally have a car seat!  I can't believe it took this long to get one.. I just kept putting it off, but with people telling me baby might be here in a week and a half I started freaking out and decided I needed to get it NOW!  Thanks to the gift cards from my work shower I was able to get the car seat.  Now we just have to install the base....
8. And last but not least, I am so excited that Floodling's arrival is getting closer and closer! We're down to 4 weeks now!  Here's what he looks like and might be up to these days at 36 weeks:
   
   
   
   
   

   Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. 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 her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, that 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.) Most likely he's in a head-down position. But if he isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of your belly.

9.  Okay, so that gives me one more thing to be glad about-  that he's in the right position already!

Hello pregnancy, where have you been?

So it seems like all at once all the pregnancy complaints I have yet to complain about came crashing down on me today.  I attribute it to a mix of things really more pregnancy-unrelated, but today was the first time I really felt like a pregnant woman and wondered if I can handle this...

It started yesterday really when I came down with a cold.... or finally succumbed to Spring allergies... or got a sinus infections... or whatever it is.  My throat was burning so bad and I had so much mucus I could hardly breathe or swallow.  The most miserable thing was not being able to take anything to make me feel better!  Jason was at work so I couldn't even get ginger ale which is my "mental medicine" when I get head colds.

I hardly slept last night... I've actually slept really well throughout the pregnancy only waking up once or twice to use the bathroom then going right back to sleep.  Last night I woke up almost every hour nearly choking.  I would cough and hack, drink some water, go to the bathroom, cough and hack some more, then go back to sleep.  I repeated this at least 6 times.

Needless to say I was not in the best of moods this morning when it was time to get up to go to school.  I still wasn't feeling good and totally would have stayed home if it weren't the last day of school with the prospect of not returning next year.  I wanted one last day with the kids.

To add on top of feeling miserable, my back decided to join the game this morning.  Amidst running late and trying to make parfaits for my News Team (as a farewell "thank you") my back decided to seize up.  I got a sudden sharp pain on the right side and simply could not move.  It eased up a little, so I continued my running around only to have it seize up again.  I was limping around trying to get myself out the door on time wondering why it decided to start doing this now.  I've complained about the occasional back pain, but this was like nothing I've felt before.  I think it probably has more to do with coughing and sleeping uncomfortably last night than with pregnancy, but it definitely didn't make my morning easy.

Because of all my running around I managed to more or less skip breakfast (not something I do these days!).  I got a few bites here and there and intended to eat with the News Team kids, but it just didn't happen.  I always get "emotional" when I'm hungry.... but that mixed with little sleep, uncertainty about next year, and of course pregnancy hormones made for a very explosive situation.  I cried in front of the entire first grade when the music teacher told me I should go home because I didn't look well.  I cried to the principal for half an hour as I tried to get questions answered about the upcoming school year.  I cried to teachers walking down the hallway who offered to help pack up my room.  I would never try to claim I'm not an emotional person, but I have honestly only cried at school twice in my three years there.... to people's knowledge at least.  On top of that I've been really happy throughout this pregnancy, seeming to have avoided the raging hormonal mess I expected to suffer.

Coming home and taking a nap helped me feel a little better, but I think the hunger monster struck again without me realizing.  I was in the middle of making dinner and grabbed a pot off the stove that needed to be cleaned.  The handle had been resting up against another pot that was boiling water... I knew it would be hot so I used a glove.  I set the pot on the counter, walked away, did a few things, came back to the pot and grabbed the handle full on (having forgotten by now that it was hot) and burnt three of my fingers.  I immediately went into hysterics, crying like a toddler having a temper-tantrum!  Jason had to finish cooking dinner...

Sigh... what a day.  I'm hoping the sleepless night, the back pain and the hormonal roller coaster of today will be just that... simply the events of one "bad day".  These typical pregnancy complaints really only came about by being fueled by other factors, but I still thought to myself, "wow, this is how it feels to be 8 1/2 months pregnant! No wonder people complain so much!".

I'm believing that once this cold is over though I shall hopefully return to my happy, relatively comfortable, pregnant-self!



Added later: Wow... not even joking.... no less than 2 minutes after publishing this post I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed and discovered....a tick! On my back! How did that get there!?  We all know how much I love bugs... (I'm paralyzingly afraid of them in fact).  So.... that led to another break down as I freaked out while Jason tried to get it off, which led to uncontrollable coughing thanks to this cold, which led to me throwing up.  Woo hoo!  What a day!  I really should have titled this post "My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day".  Has anyone read that book?  Maybe I should add it to my list of books for Floodling...

Maternity Clothes

Today I was at Kohl's picking up just a few pieces of clothing to help me make it to the end of this pregnancy.  I got a lot of winter clothes (thanks to my mom!), but I never really got around to shopping for Spring/Summer stuff.  I managed to pull off a lot of shirts I already owned, and Stacey's sister-in-law passed on a few items to me (though, unfortunately, they were size "Large" and only a few fit well enough to not look too ridiculous).  At this point it seems silly to invest in a lot of pieces but I wanted a pair of shorts, a pair of capris and a tank top or two.

While I was in line checking out a woman girl  in line behind me proclaimed "I refuse to wear maternity clothes."  She then proceeded to repeat herself loudly two more times until the cashier finally acknowledged her and said "oh look! You have a tiny tummy there!".  I was personally kind of insulted but just said to the girl "it gets kind of hard....".  What I really wish I would have said was "well, I refuse to let the bottom of my belly hang out of my clothing", as hers was getting mighty close to doing.

BTW, it was amazingly hard to find a pic of a belly hanging out even though I see it ALL the time!

She said she had three more months to go, and to be honest, maybe she can make it because she really did have a "tiny tummy".  All the more power to her I guess.  This is what I looked like with three months to go:

 I personally kind of looked forward to maternity clothes.  It was fun to shop for a new wardrobe and find cute ways to show off my tummy.  I also find maternity clothes rather comfortable.  My hips have definitely expanded so even with the various tricks to keep on using your old pants, I can hardly pull mine up let alone wear them comfortably.

I can honestly say though that I think my best friend for a lot of my remaining few weeks will be dresses!  I am getting kind of tired of the elastic waistbands and I'm truly fed up with trying to match my measly few pieces that fit.  Not to mention dresses are awesomely cool for the "Hot-lanta" summer!

Patience and Trust, part 2

In an early post I talked about how I had developed a mantra, "patience and trust" that helped me get through the first few weeks of uncertainty with this pregnancy.  I talked about how I had to resort to simply letting go and trusting God's plan as I waited various test results and time between doctor's appointments.  Patience does not come easy to me, and trusting God was something somewhat new to me as well.  But repeating this to myself got me through, and I am happily here only 5 weeks away from meeting my son!

In my birthing class we were told to pick one or two mantras (from a list) to help us get through our birth- affirmations that would help keep us positive and focused.  I liked a few from the list but ultimately decided on "patience and trust" because I know it worked for me before.  I know I will have to let go of my time schedule... I know will exhaust myself and ultimately put myself in a place where I'm unable to continue if I'm counting down hours of labor and exactly how long each contraction is, and how long I stay in each phase, and how long it takes to dilate... I also know I'm going to have to trust that my body knows what to do and is capable of bringing baby into the world safely.  And again, I will have to trust God's plan.

It seems before I even get to that point though I am turning to this mantra yet again, though in a completely different realm.... I got news from my principal today that I am to be "reassigned".  That means I will likely be at a different school next year, though I don't yet know exactly where (or what even) I'll be teaching.  My principal had no information regarding where I'll be going, or even when I will know (that's where patience comes in!).

I love my school.  From the very beginning I felt like I was part of a family.  The teachers are so positive and caring for not only their students but each other as well.  I never knew adults could work so well together!  After my student teaching experience and my first year teaching at a high school, I didn't know that teaching could make me so happy!

Even more than that I love my team.  I work very closely with the PE teacher and the music teacher.  They have been great mentors to me as I've grown in my teaching career.   They've taught me how to be compassionate and how to use my class as a tool to nurture and grow students.  They have always been supportive of me, and especially right now they've gone out of their way to make sure I make it through the end of this year with as little stress as possible.

And as much as I complain about the little rascals, I love my students.  I teach a very diverse population, but that's what I love!  I love being forced to re-think myself and to having to understand where they are coming from.  I know they have taught me as much, if not more, than I have taught them.

As I think about being reassigned my biggest worry is that my reassignment will put me back in a high school.  I am certified to teach K-12, but I truly don't want to go back to that.  It was one of the most miserable time periods of my life.   I'm even nervous about possibly being put in a middle school.

On top of that I simply don't feel mentally prepared to go through the work involved with a reassignment.  Having to pack up my classroom is a task I don't want to undertake right now (I can hardly move the stuff around enough to simply store it in my closets right now!).  And I am not excited about having to set up in yet another classroom next year.  Nor am I happy about having to readjust yet again to a new principal (we had a new principal this year at our school), or having to learn to fit in with a new staff, or having to design my curriculum yet again.  I tend to be bad about approaching the new school year with dread, even where I'm happy.  I already knew next year would be tougher than normal returning to work since I know I'm not going to want to leave baby.  I fear I will have a horribly hard time doing it now with the extra work that I have to face.

But I am (actually WE are- my fellow teachers are included in this) giving it up to God.  They believe He will keep me at my school, but that if not, that His plan is greater than that. I know my principal has advocated to keep me- she wrote to the county justifying why I am needed at the school.  She even offered up two paraprofessional positions in order to try and keep me.  She told me her biggest hope right now is that they can't find anywhere else to put me so I get to stay.  But if I don't get to stay, maybe it's for the best.  Maybe I'll be closer to home so I can spend more time with baby.  Maybe I will have a great team at the new school too....

So all I can do right now is be patient as I await more news, and trust that God won't give me more than I can handle.  When I start to worry about what next year will bring I just keep telling myself "patience and trust".

"Dropping" hints

In the last week or so I've had a lot of comments from people that Flooding must be dropping.  I have to say I haven't personally noticed myself... and am somewhat confused as earlier comments were that I'm carrying very low and therefore must be having a boy.  Now, though, it means he's dropped?

32 weeks                                                                    35  weeks

Does it look like he's "dropped"?

One parent at school (who is from somewhere in the Carribean and says she knows all about birthing babies and that the doctor's don't know as much as she knows) asked me how much longer I have.  I told her about 5 weeks.  She said "no! That's a lie!" then proceeded to tell me I have about a week and a half left, maybe two based on his "position".  Several other people have made comments along these lines too.... one teacher predicted June 6th (I think mostly because she liked 06-06).

I know baby will come when he's ready, and I'm trying not to listen to people too much (a. I'm not nearly ready for him to arrive and b. I don't want to get my hopes up then be devastated when he comes a week late!) but I just had to ask at my appointment yesterday.  The doctor was actually checking his position this time and told me "not only is he in the right position, but he's 'well' in position.  And your cervix is softening too!".  So I asked her if that meant he's likely to be early.  She said "I'm not as good as predicting baby's arrival as your neighbor is" and left it at that.  She said that he IS dropping, but I know that can happen up to 4 weeks before the birth.  She said mostly it means that he mostly likely won't flip and be breech.

So, in any case, with all these hints being "dropped" that he might be early I'm trying to make sure I get the last finishing touches done.  I was counting on a week or two of summer vacation before his arrival, but now I'm starting to worry!  I think I have the necessary basics, I just don't have things the way I want them yet.  Only 4 more school days.....

The Simpson's Striders do it again!

Late, again... I know, but another good excuse.  Yesterday was our CF walk. I had a great time and our team raised... ready for it??  $8,467!!!  Woo hoo!!  We beat our $8,000 goal!

Now, normally we do a lot of fundraisers throughout the year for this walk... last year we submitted Wal-Mart grants (and got $1,000!!), we had a Pampered Chef party, we did a "Dining to Donate" at Applebees... this year I was a little lazy.  I claim to have an excuse but still feel bad that I didn't do as much as I normally do as Team Captain.

In spite of that, however, we are $75 from beating last year's total.  In our 7 years of doing the walk we have ALWAYS beat our previous year's fundraising.  I was resigned to accept that we probably wouldn't this year, but with $75 to go I'm really hoping we can do it!

So, with that being said, we are still accepting donations (the walk is NOT the deadline)!!  Please see the link in the right-hand column of this page!!

This is our team at the walk!  Last year and this year we had a big Homer balloon to go with our team theme (though I am not a Simpson anymore, I am still a Simpson at heart).  Not only did he go with our team theme, but he had a bouquet of roses behind his back.... what do roses have to do with CF?  Well there is a story that a mom was calling her family to let them know she had found out her son had cystic fibrosis.  When she got off the phone her son asked "what is sixty-five roses?"... so roses have become a trademark symbol for CF.  Well.... we lost our balloon.  He was tied to my camera but the knot came undone and he slipped away.  I was sooooo sad! (It's amazing the silly things that seem to devastate me these days).  But I decided I made a good enough team balloon! What do you think?

This is Homer and my dad and sis at last year's walk.... RIP Homer!

And to be honest, I can't believe I made it 3 miles!  Stacey's husband said we should always take a pregnant lady on our walk because he liked our pace this year... we definitely took it very slow.  But I made it, and am proud of myself!  We didn't stick around for the after-activities as we usually do though because the set-up was a little different this year and there were no tables and chairs!  And I don't know but after a 3 mile walk this pregnant lady was NOT going to be sitting on the ground!  So we went out as a team for pizza and had a good time.

So this lady finished a 3 mile walk at 35 weeks! Woo hoo!  And what is Floodling up to at 35 weeks??

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 (pick up a honeydew melon). 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.

My backyard haven

I'm really loving my backyard this Spring!  Why?

1. My beautiful roses are in FULL bloom this year!

2. I am looking forward to fresh tomatoes, green peppers, basil and parsley!

3.  I can enjoy nice evenings outside with my husband, dog, AND my kitties thanks to the nifty "cat fence" my husband and his dad installed! (A netting that juts out horizontally from the top of the fence)

On the prowl

4.  A family of bluebirds moved in!

Can you see mama bird feeding her babies?

5.  A lot of other birds also show off in my backyard...

I know it's blurry, but can you see the male and female cardinals?

The only problem with my backyard? It's not big enough for one of these...

In fact, it's hardly big enough to do this...

Or this...

Though it does seem to be big enough for this!

I think he'll make a great Daddy!

 P.S.  I'm still trying to reach my *new* Great Strides goal!  Please help!  Check out the box in the right-hand column!

Happy Mother's Day!

Wow, almost two days late with my weekly Saturday "growth" update! Why so late?  Well, my Saturday was spent looking after this beautiful girl:

And Sunday was spent shopping for and buying this number:

Haley was a ton of fun on Saturday, though exhausting too.  I'm wondering how I'm going to do it when we get ready for Floodling #2!  Pregnant with a toddler (and a potty-trained one at that!) is tough!

The babymobile calls for a huge thank you to my parents, who helped us to be able to purchase it as their gift for baby.  I don't think neither Jason nor I were ready for a mini-van, but the practicality of it (plus all of it's awesome features like power doors, remote start, memory seating, dual climate control, DVD player, etc., etc., etc.) made us go ahead and take the leap. Thank you "Grandma" and "Grandpa" Simpson!!

On top of the full weekend, this altogether was one full week!  Besides numerous all day and afternoon meetings this week, we've had plenty of events and activities going on like Career Day, 5th Grade Day, and Teacher's Appreciation.... On top of that I had 3 doctor's appointments this week!  I've mentioned the three different doctors I've been seeing- my OB, my CF doctor, and my High Risk OB.  Well, initially my appointments were scheduled so that I more or less had one appointment per week, usually with a week or two off in between.  Well, thanks to rescheduled appointments, and various other factors, I ended up with all three appointments this week!  On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday!

Everything is looking good.  There actually isn't a lot of exciting news to report...  my regular OB didn't have a lot to say- though that's pretty normal.  They do the regular blood pressure, weight, urine test (for protein and sugar), measure my uterus, listen to the baby's heartbeat, etc.  If everything looks good, they ask me if I have any questions, then send me on my way.

My CF appointment went well too.  My lung function is a little bit down, but she says that's to be expected with less space for my lungs these days.  She isn't concerned about me getting back to my baseline.  We talked a little bit about returning to work (she wants me to take 6 months off, but those 6 months would be unpaid!), breastfeeding (and thus not being able to start back immediately on my antibiotic regimens) and daycare (she recommends that CF patients don't put their children in public day cares due to the risk of diseases that are often brought home).  We didn't come to a lot of conclusions... a lot of what we decided was basically "wait and see".

My high risk OB appointment went well too.  Floodling is approximately 5 and a half pounds or so these days.  He's measuing at about 66th percentile.  I started really asking what that means and if it's likely he'll be a "bigger" baby, or even be early.  They said 66th percentile is pretty close to average so I shouldn't worry too much, but it's hard when I see stats like below saying approximate weight should be 4 3/4 lbs.  Unfortunately he was turned towards my back so we didn't get any good pics... but I have to say that's actually a "fortunately" because it means he's really getting in position for birth.  You want baby to be facing your back otherwise you can have bad "back labor" (cramps and pains in your back) and you end up birthing a wider section of their head.  So I'm thankful that we weren't able to get good pics! 

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling himout, 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. 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. 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.

Before I go I would like to say "Happy Mother's Day" to all you moms out there, including moms-to-be!  Even though we're not "officially" mothers yet, our hearts and brains say we are!  We already love our children and have a huge place for them in our hearts.  And we've already done an awful lot of work growing them and caring for them too!  I did have a nice Mother's Day... I got a card from my mom, flowers and a gift at church, and Jason promises an extra-special birthday gift as a combined Mother's Day/Birthday gift.   But thank you to all you other moms who I know have done the much harder work of raising your children!  I look at you in awe and only hope I will do as good of a job when Floodling arrives in only 5 short weeks!

Shameless plug

The video is pictures of my sister and I growing up.  You wouldn't know that we have a degenerative genetic disease.  But we do. And we're looking for a cure!

Many of you know the deal with Great Strides.  It's a walk my sister and I do every year to raise money for cystic fibrosis research.  I've been a little slack this year in my fundraising, what with all the changes going on in my household, but it's not going to stop me from raising money, and it's not going to stop me from walking (even at 8 1/2 months pregnant!).

If you don't know about Great Strides or cystic fibrosis, here's some information:

GREAT STRIDES is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest and most successful national fund-raising event. This year, I'm walking in the Atlanta - Georgia Tech walk on May 14th. Please help me meet my fund-raising goal of $2,000 by donating. Your generous gift will be used efficiently and effectively, as nearly 90 cents of every dollar of revenue raised is available for investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, we continue to lose precious lives to CF every day. That's why your help is needed now more than ever to ensure that a cure is found sooner - rather than later. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

Please consider making a donation! It is easy and secure, just click here!

This little piggy...

I just had to share my cute find.... Jason and I have been avoiding making spontaneous "oh this is cute!" purchases in order to try and budget our money a little better, but I just couldn't pass this up!

A blue and green argyle piggy bank. So cute!

I also want to say thank you to my friend Lauren- she sent me some burping cloths and bath toys!  It was so sweet!  And I absolutely love this one burping cloth...

Super hero dinosaurs!

Torture Device

I apologize ahead of time to any male readers I have (including my dad) as I will be complaining about bras today.

I have to say I've had relatively few complaints througout this pregnancy.  Even as I approach the last 7 weeks I'm still feeling really good.  Minus some back pain and heart burn that come and go in intensity I've had few of the other problems women complain about (knock on wood...).  I evaded the initial morning sickness common for a lot of women, I have avoided swelling, itchy skin, headaches, round ligament pains, painful rib kicks.... and I'm still sleeping pretty well!  Overall I feel more or less normal, just big!

But one thing that has really been getting to me, that I haven't heard a lot of pregnant women complain about, is my bra!  My bras have turned into torture devices it seems!  No matter what I do I just want to rip it off immediately after putting one on.

I have tried getting a larger size.... it's not the cup size that's irritating me, it's the band.  Even on the loosest setting though (and feeling like it's going to fly off) my skin underneath still gets irritated.  I've tried sports bras, bras with no underwire, loose bras, tight bras, cotton bras, even just tank tops with built-in bras...they all hurt!  It almost feels like the skin underneath is sunburnt... not bruised, or chaffed, but sunburnt.  In fact, even a shirt just rubbing on the skin hurts. And yes, I've been using tons of lotion on that area too!

All I want to do is go braless for a day or two.... maybe to let my skin recover from whatever happened, but they say one of the best ways to prevent "them" from sagging later on is to wear a good supportive bra  throughout pregnancy (even to bed!).  I don't know that I really want to go unsupported for a few days...

I have to admit that if this is my biggest complaint then things are going pretty well! :)  I know that these last few weeks are supposed to be the hardest, so I am cautiously approaching them being thankful for things being easy so far.... we're at 33 weeks, only 7 weeks left!

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.