Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Small sample of awesome shower gifts

Hi everyone! I just thought I'd post a very small sample of some of the fabulous gift we received at our shower! I just couldn't help but try a few of them out while writing thank you notes (my poor right hand just needed a little break from writing...). As you can see, Pop (of "Hop on Pop" fame) was kind enough to assist with the car seat, high chair, and swaddle blanket. The last picture is of the amazing piece of art my friend Elana gave to us, created by artist Dylan Edwards. Totally blows me away every time I look at it! In case the picture is hard to see, it's 26 different little alien/monsters, one for every letter of the alphabet. Love it!!



Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Fun game!

Hi everyone! I started a game through ExpectNet that will allow people to guess the baby's birth weight, length, date and time of birth, etc. Got the idea from my cousin who, if I'm not mistaken, did this with all three of her kids. It was fun to see who's guess was the closest! Please join in the fun--the link to the game is http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyAquaman

Good luck!

-Suzi

Thursday, February 21, 2008

I'd give my right arm for some Nyquil...

Ugh. If there's one reason for me to think that this will be our only child it's the fact that getting sick while being pregnant is the worst thing ever. I came down with the cold from hell on Monday afternoon, and since then have slept maybe a total of 8 hours (5 of them last night) because I'm so freakin' uncomfortable and I just can't breathe. And there's very little I can do about it now. I can take sudafed, which takes over an hour to kick in and only lasts a few hours anyway, and I can take robitussen which does nearly nothing. Otherwise it's saline nasal spray and breathe right strips, which aren't powerful enough to help with this particular cold. Ugh. I saw my regular dr. yesterday, who assured me that it's just a cold (as opposed to the flu or bronchitis), and had an OB appointment today in which she told me to stay home from work for the rest of the week. She's a very cautious doctor, which I appreciate, but at the same time I was kind of looking forward to getting out of the house. I'm starting to feel like I might fuse to the couch.

While at the OB she did check a few things out and told me that the baby is really low right now (which I already guessed but it was nice to get confirmation). But that didn't seem to make her think that I'd be having him any earlier than scheduled, since she pushed back the ultrasound that I was supposed to have during week 37 to week 38 instead, and told me I could cancel next week's appointment with her and come in the week after instead.

And on a completely unrelated note, Rick's been going crazy on the nursery lately. On Tuesday he primed the walls and trim, and today he'll be painting the walls! Painting! Woo-hoo! The trim painting should be done this weekend. He's also going to get someone in to refinish the floors in that room (I'm hoping he'll be able to come in next week or at the latest the week after). I'd be concerned about the polyurethane smell but the little guy won't be sleeping in that room for a few months anyway, so it should be fine. It finally seems like it's all starting to come together! And all of this thanks to Rick--it should be noted that I've done little to no work on this project (though I should be able to help paint the trim). My husband is the best!

Hope this post finds all of you healthy and happy--

-Suzi

Monday, February 18, 2008

When it showers it pours

Our baby shower was this weekend, and it was so much fun! Tons of people showed up and squeezed into Sue and Tony's house (Rick's aunt and uncle). It was so good to see everyone! Many of my friends who I haven't seen in months were there, plus all of Rick's relatives and a ton of Jeanne's (Rick's mom and the fabulous host of the shower) friends. One of the best parts was that Elizabeth (Rick's sister) was there from California and surprised me at the door! I was so excited to see her, and of course I got a little teary. I'd blame it on the hormones but I've always been quick to tears. ;-) The attached picture is of Elizabeth and I right before the gift opening.

Everyone was so generous, it really amazed me. I think the only things we have left to get are some small essentials (sheets, sleepsacks, a few more onesies, etc). Since we're still working on the nursery, we have everything piled in our living room--we look like a Graco warehouse! We were able to compact everything into a pretty small space but still, I'll be happy when I have someplace to unpack everything.

I'll try to post more pictures soon, assuming I get copies of them from other people who were taking pictures--I was a little too busy to take very many pictures. (I really hope someone got a picture of the cake--it was so cute!).

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The coolest pictures EVER


Hi everyone! You may remember a few posts ago that I said we had a professional belly picture taken by Rick's brother--he just sent me the files for the two he thought were best and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out! These were taken at right around 32 weeks. And he did no retouching! It's amazing how forgiving black and white photography is... ;-)

Photo credit: David Winthrop Photography, Boston, MA (http://www.davidwinthrop.com/).

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Reasons I'll be happy to when I'm no longer pregnant...

Ok, besides the obvious (I'll get to finally meet this little guy!), there are so many reasons that I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore. First, sleeping. I realize that having a newborn brings about its own set of sleep troubles, but it will be so lovely to sleep without my hips hurting, and I can't wait to sleep on my stomach and back again, and as comfortable as my gigantic body pillow is it's a big pain to move it whenever I want to switch sides, and after a while the baby will sleep more than 2 hours at a time, which would be a big improvement over my waking up every 2 hours to go the the bathroom, and poor Rick has to put up with me taking up two-thirds of the bed (not to mention the "bedquake" that happens every time I move).

Second, general body aches and overall tiredness throughout the day. It's not just my belly that's feeling the strain of pregnancy, it seems to be every muscle in my body. Every morning it feels a little like I have the flu, and that just wears me out!

Third, it would be nice to be able to breathe normally again. My lungs just can't compete with the baby pressing his little legs into my diaphram, plus I've been congested throughout this whole pregnancy. I'm so glad that we're supposed to use "audible breathing" in yoga class, because it makes my heavy, belabored breathing stand out less. I think a big part of my body aches and tiredness stem from the lack of oxygen entering my body.

Fourth, I'm sick of wearing maternity clothes. I was so excited to wear them at the beginning, now I can't stand them. It doesn't help that I've gotten big enough that I've needed to replace a lot of them--it drives me crazy to spend money on clothes that I know I'll only wear for another 6 weeks. Sure I might be able to use them again with baby #2, but since it took so long for baby #1 to happen who knows how long the wait between them will be?

Fifth, somewhat related to the fourth, there seems to be so many cute clothes out there for non-pregnant people and I can't buy any of them! Or even try them on! I know it's silly and a very minor complaint, but every time I walk into a department store past the clothing section I long to try things on...

Sixth, I'd really like a beer. And sushi. And deli meat. And all those forbidden cheeses...

All that being said, I know there are things I'll miss (all the movement, trying to figure out what body part is jutting out and making my stomach look lopsided, Rick reading Dr. Seuss to my belly) and I'd hate for anyone to think I'm not grateful for this experience and for this baby--after all, this was definitely a planned for pregnancy, and in fact February marks the 3 year anniversary of us trying to have a child. But dang, nine months is an awfully long time!