….

Don’t get me wrong, the class was great and super useful and we really loved our instructor. But the first part of the class went over all the things that can go wrong. All the things they can put in their mouths and choke on, etc. Now I’ve always known these things, having been around babies before and known a lot of parents. “It only takes a second!” they say. But there’s a whole new meaning now when it’s YOUR kid ….that YOU’RE responsible for….every day. Ivor and I probably looked so terrified sitting there lol. “Ahh newbies”, the rest of the class probably thought (there was only 1 other couple there who were expecting…everyone else already has a kid(s)). One story in particular though was just kind of funny- a toddler took daddy’s new iPhone and put it in the microwave while daddy took a quick bathroom break. By the time he got out of the bathroom, the phone was on fire. Baby was fine,  but the phone…not so much. Good lesson for my techy husband with all his gadgets (we have LOTS of baby-proofing to do).

Anyway- it was a great class and I’m glad we went. I do feel better now knowing what to do…just in case. I highly recommend it. We took ours at Tiny Tots in Campbell.

In other news, also at Tiny Tots, we bought our entire cloth diaper stash (minus 3 that were given to us as gifts)!  24 total adorable cloth diapers that will last Gwen from now until she’s potty trained. And we spent even less money on them than I was planning to. Win! We still need a few “accessories”, but still, overall- big savings. The bigger savings will come when we re-use them for baby #2 (should we be so blessed again). That being said, we got mostly all gender neutral colors, except 1 purple diaper that I insisted on buying. I couldn’t help myself. If we have a boy next, he’ll deal. He won’t care what color his poop catcher is

So we went with the BumGenius 4.0 pocket diapers. After lots of research and talking to other CD parents, they seemed like the best option for us and the easiest to use. I will check in again once we start using them to let everyone know how it’s going, once we have our “system” down. I still need to figure out what detergent I’m going to use, or if I’m going to try making my own, etc. I’m considering cloth wipes now too to save even more money, and to make the whole system/routine a little easier (since you just throw them in the diaper pail with the diapers and in the same wash load), as opposed to throwing the diaper in one pail and the wipes in another. Anyway- we’ll see how it goes. I do like disposable wipes cause I think they’ll be really handy for lots of different things.

Here’s the stash:

They’re just so adorable:

I can’t wait to put them on Gwen’s little bum

We got the crib and the glider assembled. I had a wonderful pre-natal massage (more on that below). We had a lovely baby celebration at church for all the mamas-to-be (3 of us still waiting, 1 just delivered 2 weeks ago!) And I’m halfway through writing out Thank You cards for everyone who got us anything baby related so far (more on that right now): my hand hurts and I wish it was socially acceptable to send email Thank You’s …maybe it is for some people, but not in my family (I’d never hear the end of it lol)

I could just post this picture on facebook:

and then tag everyone who got us a gift

But I won’t do that. Don’t get me wrong, we are so VERY thankful to everyone who got us a gift, and you all will get an actual card. I promise. Hopefully I’ll get them in the mail before Gwen is born though. Because after…I make no guarantees.

Now about that pre-natal massage. I am a fan. And I could get use to it It was soooo relaxing and wonderful. I also decided it’s worth it to pamper yourself every once in awhile. I’ve never been a “spa” person (mostly because I can’t justify spending the money on it). BUT, as I was laying there having my feet rubbed, while listening to calming music, on a heated massage table, I had an epiphany. I don’t think people realize how messed up their bodies really are until someone starts massaging you. And since our bodies are temples, we should take care of them. Therefore, worth it. Take time to pamper your poor, beat- up body every now and then (note: every now and then). Your body will thank you.

That is all.

We got to see her on the ultrasound which was fun- but not nearly as fun as when we first saw her at 18 weeks- because she’s so big now we could only see parts of her at one time, and she kept moving around making it difficult to get any good pictures lol. We saw her little heart beating, her bladder, her tailbone, her lady parts (as best we could anyway), and finally- this little face:

It’s kinda fuzzy and ghostly and the one looks like she has eye shadow and lipstick on lol. At this point, I am no longer satisfied with ultrasound images, I want to see that face in person!

As mentioned earlier, she’s still pretty active- squirming, elbowing, kicking, sticking her butt out, etc. She gets the hiccups about once a day, sometimes twice a day. I’m told that’s a good, healthy sign but for some reason it kind of annoys me (the feeling, that is). It’s like a steady tapping pulse- not like her usual movements/kicks. It’s more subtle but more annoying for some reason lol. Anyway- it’s still better than a kick in the ribs so I shouldn’t complain. It’s just a really weird feeling.

So here’s to month 9 of being with child!

Oh, and I turned 28 today. It was a good day

It was a long day, filled with lots of information- but overall very useful and helpful! We watched videos, practiced different breathing techniques and patterns and also learned/practiced a few different laboring positions. Our instructor was great- emphasizing that labor and delivery is a positive experience. You’re not going into the hospital because you’re sick. You’re going to have a baby! The pain of labor is not a negative, lasting, unnatural pain, it’s a “positive pain”. It’s productive. It’s temporary, normal and natural. I can’t tell you how much hearing that helped with my fear and anxiety! I’m not sure how “positive” it will feel when the time comes, but at least going into it with that attitude gives me more confidence and I’m not as anxious as I was before the class.

Ivor and I both feel more prepared now, with many different things in mind to try when the time comes. Going into the class I planned on definitely getting an epidural (I’m a big pansy when it comes to pain)- and while I’m still keeping it in the back of my mind, and certainly won’t be disappointed in myself if I end up with one, I do kinda think I might be able to handle the majority of labor without any pain medication. Which is something I’ve never thought possible. Even Ivor, who prior to the class thought I would need an epidural as soon as humanly possible, told me that he thinks I can do it without an epidural (and he’s actually serious) lol. We’ll see. I’m keeping an open mind. Like I said, I am not anti-epidural. But as of right now, I plan to see how much I can handle on my own (with my amazing coach and husband by my side!….and lots of prayer), but if I can’t take it any longer, bring on the big needle, I say!

Update on nesting progress:

They finally finished the renovations in our apartment. We now have a washer and dryer in unit (with a load of Gwen’s clothes in there as I type). We also made a lot of progress cleaning out her room and now have space to actually set up a crib! Ivor assembled her swing and bouncy seat, and I recently put in her closet organizer.

We’re getting there.

7 weeks to go!

Here’s another fun handout we received at class (I love handouts!):

On the way to work this morning the song “California Girls” by Katy Perry came on the radio. It then dawned on me that my daughter is going to be born in California. You’d think I would’ve realized this by now. I have of course….but it really sunk in this time. Someday when someone asks “Hey Gwen Griffiths, where are you from?” “California!”, she’ll answer. WHAT. She’s from California?? Yes. I’ll have to stop myself from saying “No, silly girl…you’re from Pennsylvania”. Ivor and and I were born and raised in the middle of nowhere PA. Who would’ve thought our kid would be born 3000 miles away in the sunny, palm tree land of CA?! Not me. She’s going to be a California Girl. Not like the one Katy Perry describes in her song though. There will be no daisy dukes with bikinis on top. Ivor will not allow it. She can love the beach though. That’s okay. The nice thing about our location is that we also have mountains. Mountains on one side, ocean on the other. This girl better love the outdoors. I’m not sure I could handle a super girly girl that wants to stay inside and play with dolls all day. She will be introduced to the great outdoors as early as possible Anyway…I digress.

In other news- renovations have officially started inside our apartment. They started Monday morning. They didn’t tell us they were starting (it kept getting pushed back every week), so we didn’t have anything prepared (we’re losing a bunch of closet space for the washer/dryer unit). So when we walked into our apartment on Monday after work, guess where all the contents of our closets were? Thrown all over the apartment. The place is a disaster area. They also took stuff off our walls and put that wherever they felt like. It’s taken everything inside of me to hold myself together and not release my pregnancy rage. Yesterday when I got home the couch was in the middle of the living room (they had to remove the base board heater that was behind the couch b/c the AC unit they’re installing will also be a heater). I forgot how much I hate living in chaos and construction. One week. That’s what they told us. “They’ll be finished on Friday” they say. *Deep breath* I can make it. I’m just not looking forward to having to deal with the mess this weekend. Good thing we have our childbirth preparation class on Saturday. I can immediately practice breathing and relaxation techniques when we get home before we tackle the mess.

It will be worth it, right?

I gained 7 lbs since my last appointment 4 weeks ago- just a tad more than the average 1lb per week that I’m supposed to be gaining…but whatever. My baby is well-fed Vitals looked good, belly measured right on target for 32 weeks and her heartbeat was about 150bpm. Also, apparently I’ve been having Braxton Hicks contractions (practice contractions) and not realizing it. I had one during the appointment when I first laid down on the table. I figured it was just me tensing up for the belly measurement/freezing cold jelly (I am probably the most ticklish patient my doctor has ever had). But my belly was super hard then after about a minute or so it was soft. Again, I would’ve had no idea if my doctor didn’t point it out. #newbie

Anyway- good news is that at my next appointment (36 weeks) we WILL get another ultrasound to see what position she’s in. Hooray! She’ll look a lot different than she did at 18 weeks…I’m sure she’s chubbier and more adorable than ever. She’ll be running out of room in there so it will probably be difficult to see more than one part of her little body at a time. But that’s okay- I’ll take it!

Hopefully she’s good and gets in position by the time she’s ready to pop out. I’ve heard it can be quite painful/uncomfortable to have the docs try to turn her manually- yikes! Makes me cringe just thinking about it.

Anyway, this afternoon I had a chance to visit the hospital for the first time (Kaiser Santa Clara, where Gwen will be born!). It was kind of exciting…made me giddy almost. It was just a “late pregnancy class”- a 2-hour general information session on late pregnancy, labor and delivery, etc. We’ll find out a lot more next week at the all-day Childbirth Prep Class- which will of course be more hands-on and fun (Ivor gets to practice back massages on me- woohoo!!)

As I was leaving the hospital I saw a new mom being wheeled out, baby in arms with the dad waiting by the car to go home….it was adorable. As I congratulated them I nearly burst into tears (darn hormones!).

In other semi-related news, I’ve created a new mommy blog which I’ll start using soon, to keep it separate from my photography blog. I’ll either debut it next month or sometime after she’s born. Stay tuned!

So here’s to month 8!  And here is one of the handouts from today’s class- I thought the illustration of the mom’s face at each stage was amusing

This is the idea I’m going for (found this on Pinterest):

I’m kind of tired of all the self-focused stuff out there…I’m so happy someone made this lol. Instead of teaching my daughter to follow her heart, I’d rather teach her to follow God…because the heart is deceptive and wicked, etc. You get the picture.

So, to be continued….

Ta-da!

It didn’t take him very long and he never looked or said anything to express his frustration during the process. But apparently he would’ve finished it faster without the “worst instructions ever.” Perhaps. I think it was the reversible napper/changer thingy that was the trickiest. In any case- progress! My dresser is moved into her room (which still has a long way to go), but now our bedroom is at least ready for Gwen to invade (for about the first month or so of her life).

It’s also no surprise at all that Milton, our cat, already took it upon himself to test the safety of the pack-n-play. We caught him in there twice now. Somewhere deep inside him he knows he’s not supposed to be in there. Because he only did it when we weren’t paying any attention. I have a feeling we’re going to get a lot of use out of our water spray bottle trying to keep him off/out of Gwen’s things….the swing, the bouncer, the high chair. I guarantee he’ll want to “test” them all. *sigh*

Anyway- the teddy bear you see in the picture belonged to Ivor when he was little. I think it’s adorable that he’s now passing it on to his daughter

That’s all for now- I think I need a snack.

In other news, Ivor and I got some cleaning done this weekend – to be continued tomorrow on our day off. Renovations in our apartment got pushed back another week. Meh. Not happy about that. I just want it done so I can really start getting this place ready for a baby. My goal is to have her room ready by the beginning of March. a) just in case she comes early and b) because I need it done for my own sanity. I don’t want to be stressing over that stuff at the last minute. No one wants to be around “Pregor” (as I’ve been nicknamed by my husband) if stuff isn’t done in those last few weeks lol. Little things are fine…but the bulk of it must be done!

Other things that happened recently: Gwen’s future husband was born! Wyatt Hagerty arrived on Friday! First date arrangements are already in the works We’re so excited to meet him someday- but for now, video chats will have to suffice. Congrats Dan and Becky!!

Also, this happened:

What cat do you know would sit like this willingly for longer than 3 seconds? Sure, he looks annoyed…but it’s only because I made fun of him and took his picture. He was quite comfortable. Stuff like this happens all the time. I just thought I’d share it with everyone. He’s not normal.

That’s all for now. Tomorrow’s project: clean out my closet/donate a bunch of clothes and make room for the pack-n-play/bassinet next to our bed!

In any case, I think “nesting”, as it’s commonly referred to as, has already started for both me and Ivor. I started feeling it after Gwen’s baby shower in PA. All those adorable clothes…I have a burning desire to wash them in Dreft, smell them, sort them, hang them up or fold them, smell them again. It’s strange, but it feels like something I have to do. I’m anxious to get her room cleared out and start setting it up. I have visions of how I’ll organize her closet and the top drawer of her dresser (with adorable cloth diapers, wipes, creams, etc.) We’ve started rearranging furniture in the apartment, putting stuff up on craigslist that we want to get rid of. Milton, our cat, is all beside himself. He knows something is up. He is unbelievably needy and affectionate- trying to get as much attention now as he can. I hope he doesn’t have a freak-out when Gwen arrives and is no longer the center of attention.

And now for a bit of pregnancy humor:

I can relate to this idea lol. Pregnancy isn’t always as glamorous as they make it out to be. There are some uncomfortable and downright gross symptoms that never make the pregnancy highlights list. I was looking forward to glowy skin (instead I broke out), shiny and fuller hair (no, mine is pretty lackluster in my opinion), bigger boobs (nope, not here…at least not yet). But despite all the uncomfortable and gross things that do occur or the glamorous things that may NOT occur for all women, the fact that life was created inside of me and a tiny human is growing and moving around in there is pretty awesome and beautiful. Freaky at times, yes, but beautiful nonetheless.

Anyway, 80-ish more days left until Gwen is due and we get to see her beautiful face