eavesdroppers laugh the hardest

So, despite the title of this post, I would just like to clarify that I was NOT eavesdropping when I overheard this conversation.

Sure, I wasn't directly involved in the conversation and I might have turned off my radio so I could hear more clearly, but it was held in the open lab with no attempt at privacy.

That makes it ok to repeat here, right??

:o)

The other day I accidentally overheard a really funny conversation between my boss and a co-worker. The beginning was pretty boring, but to give you some context, they were talking about sharing or not sharing certain information with someone on the business side of things (as opposed to the research side, which is where we work).

The conversation went something like this,

Boss: I'm not sure whether to tell Jerry about this or not.

Co-worker: Well it is personal, so I guess it's up to you ultimately.

B: This could effect the lab as a whole at some point -- I'm just not sure if I'm ready to share the news with him yet because he might take it too far.

C-w: Jerry does have a way of doing that.

B: I know. When I was growing up I went to Catholic school and the Jesuits taught me that "if someone isn't worthy of the whole truth, then you don't need to tell them the whole truth."

C-w (who's a Catholic deacon): Really? The Jesuits taught you that?

B: Hmm...

C-w: Because I'm pretty sure they would consider that placing judgement on someone's worth and they don't tend to encourage that.

B: Well, it was definitely either the Jesuits or my Fraternity president.


I swear, you can't make this stuff up.

I often confuse my religious leaders with beer guzzling party planners....don't you?

Happy Friday everyone!

Leggo My Beco - quick poll

Even before I got pregnant I had heard wonderful tales about a certain baby carrier.

Namely, the Beco.

I've heard that it's much more comfortable for petite women to use than other, more popular carriers (not to name names).

As a petite woman this interests me a lot. I want to wear my baby as much possible and having an uncomfortable system just wouldn't work at all.

The Beco has a lot of other great features as well, but this post isn't about selling Becos, so I'm not going to get into all of that.

This post is about buying a Beco.

I would love to have one, but seriously balk at the $140 price tag attached to a new one. I'm willing to use an older (but still new) model on clearance, but the only one I can find is in the "Chloe" pattern.

My question is this...

Can someone who is having a boy knowingly buy pink items? I know he won't care, but I really don't want people wondering if he's a girl.

Also, I don't think Drew would be so excited to use it if the cover is pink dots.

I can't blame him.

How important is it that the Daddy be a carrier too?

I'd love to hear what you think!

If you have a minute, give me some feedback on the poll to the right.

deliver me from...

Remember last week when I told you that our childbirth education class got cancelled because the instructor was sick? Well, last night we were back on track with Class 3, Pushing and Delivery.

So far we've gone over:

1) The Stages of Labor
2) Comfort Options (still love that title)
3) Pushing and Delivery

Next week was suppose to be our last class, but since we're a week behind and they don't want any of our "close-callers" having their babies before the series is through they decided to hold the make-up class on Tuesday night.

Plus, I signed up a long time ago to take a Breastfeeding Class on Thursday night.

That means I have 7.5 hours of baby classes next week!

So if you need me on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday between 7-9:30pm, I'll be at MetroHealth, learning about my newborn, taking a tour of L&D, and learning about all the new and exciting things my "things" will do.

This is a little intense.

I'm glad to be preparing as much as possible, but I do have some constructive criticism for the program in general.

Mostly, please time the sessions better. There hasn't been a single night yet where we've gone over all the material AND finished on time. Normally that's not a big deal, but when you've worked all day and then sat through 1.5hrs of class you just want to finish at 9:30 and go home to bed.

Last night the instructor must have told us 10 times how vitally important the breathing and relaxation techniques we would learn will be during labor.

Then she squeezed it into the last (extra) 1/2 hour of class. We didn't finish until after 10 and I know we missed stuff. Drew and I took as many notes as possible and will practice on our own at home.

Hopefully that will be good enough!

All in all, I'm glad we are taking these classes. Being prepared, even a little, has to be better than going in with no idea what to expect.

If all else fails, there's always the epidural. :o)

faux-nursing tops

I've begun searching high and low for shirts that I'll wear when the baby is born and finally home with us!

Why do I need new shirts? Well, mostly because I need something that will allow me to nurse (frequently) without completely disrobing everytime. I'm going to be in the hospital, then spending a lot of time at home, so I don't want to invest in a lot of nice nursing tops yet. That comes later, assuming everything works out eating-wise between the bean and me.

There are just a few, simple qualifications that I require:

1) comfortable

2) easy hooter access for a hungry bean

3) inexpensive -- I'm envisioning a lot of spit up and/or leaking here

4) nice enough looking for photos, visitors, and/or an emergency trip to the grocery store

Is this really too much to ask??

I thought finding this item sounded like a pretty easy task.

Why am I so darn naive all the time?

Drew and I spent some time on Saturday looking all over the place for something, anything that would fit the bill.

By the time we got to Wal-Mart (home of all things inexpensive, yet practical) I was really tired, but confident what I needed was within the hallowed blue walls.

After scouring the pajama section to no avail I was ready to give up and go home.

Drew offered to run to the back of the store to pick up some cleaning products we needed while I rested on the cart by check-out. 10 minutes later he still wasn't back and I was beginning to get irritated.

How long does it take to find Lysol? Doesn't he know that we're working on hour 8 of shopping and I'm pregnant?!

Then, like a mirage in the desert, came my prince charming -- not on a white horse -- but even better, carrying a shirt (and Lysol).

Not just any shirt, but THE shirt. The perfect top that I'd been searching for. Here it is:

Notice the snaps that go to the navel. That's awesome.

I almost teared up right there next to the giant mechanical Frankenstein calling to me to "scare him if I can."

Drew actually went through the women's department and looked closely at all the shirts hoping to find the one I needed.

He's so wonderful.

And perhaps just a little magical.

32 weeks

Fewer than 8 weeks to go now.

Before American Idol is on the air again, I'll have baby at home.

Wow.

There's really nothing like AI to put things in perspective!

Yesterday was another bi-weekly doctor's visit. The bean and I breezed through like the pros that we now are. Baby W has a very strong heartbeat and is happily growing in there. I'm measuring exactly 32cm, so we're right on track.

I also got the official news that my doctor won't let me go more than 1 week overdue, so one way or another the bean will be born by December 26th. All I've got to say about that is he's got a pretty darn adorable Christmas outfit waiting at home, so he'd better make an appearance before then.

How far along: 32 weeks
Net weight gain: 17 lbs.
Maternity clothes: I've started looking for some nursing tops to add to the mix -- any recommendations?
Stretch marks: not yet
Belly button: gentle outie
Sleep: good for the most part
Baby movement: getting more predictable -- he definitely has a wake/sleep pattern
Food cravings: pumpkin cupcakes with maple frosting AND apple cider!
Food aversions: nothing. I love food.
What I miss: breathing through my nose at night. This congestion has to stop.
Looking forward to: starting the baby quilt (who am I kidding...will that ever get started?)
Best moment this week: getting the H1N1 vaccine. This was a big worry on me, so I'm really grateful that Drew and I were both able to get one.
Milestones: the bean's diaphragm has to be working because he gets the hiccups everyday

i won! i won!

Just when I was ready to give up entering contests altogether because I never win, I won!

Several blogs I read offer giveaways from great companies and most recently I entered one over at The Murray Crew to win a onesie from Faith Baby.

What a wonderful surprise when I came home and found a message from the Quatro Mama congratulating me on getting chosen for the prize!

Now the hard part is picking which onesie will be cutest on the bean.

I'm thinking about this one...

What do you think?

I love it!

I'll definitely post some photos of the lucky bean in it once he arrives!

Thanks Quatro Mama and Faith Baby!

jicama hilarity

My baby is a jicama!

I have no idea what this is!

No clue how heavy it feels or how you cook with one!

(I'm assuming you cook it somehow)

But, nonetheless, the bean is a jicama.

Which means that he is about 3.75 pounds and 16.7 inches long.

Drew and I were both amazed over the weekend at how much he MOVES. His parts are constently pushing my belly in all directions. I don't want to push back too strongly, but I'm astonished by how hard his back (?) head (?) shoulders (?) are. I have no clue what parts are so hard, but it's very impressive.

The bean has fewer than 8 weeks to keep growing inside me. That's unbelievable! I love having him safe in there, but when his time is up there will be a hasty evicition.

Consider this your notice.

At this point he still needs to gain more weight and develop the lungs a bit more, but all other systems are a go. Nice job, bean.

Can't wait to meet you love bug!

favorite thing friday

If there's one thing that disappointed me the most about moving west of Harrisburg, it was losing Turkey Hill ice cream.

They have the best Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup flavor that I've ever had.

Normally I'm not a big ice cream fan. I like it as an occasional treat, but typically prefer getting a cone at the shop, rather than constantly having 1/2 gallons in the freezer.

Not the case with this little tub of delicousness.

I'm lactose intolerant and require Lactaid pills before I can drink milk or eat anything dairy, so the fact that I'm willing to actually take the pills in order to have a snack speaks volumes.

One of the best days of my life (preceded slightly by finding out I was pregnant and seeing the bean on the ultrasound) was when I found this ice cream at our local grocery store.

It's here all the time!!

But I still only buy it on sale because too much of a good thing could definitely go bad.

At least for my hips.

blah...

This has been a really bad week so far.

There, I said it.

My work has been extremely frustrating over the past few days. For those of you who don't know, I work in a biomedical research lab. My job, for the most part, is to run experiments and gather data which my boss then puts into papers for publication and grant proposals.

Normally my job is really enjoyable. I have the satisfaction of finishing work everyday, while still having infinite possiblities on the horizon. Sometimes experiments don't give the results you would expect, but that's ok, because sometimes what you expect isn't reality.

Our goal is to get to the bottom of what's really happening in the body and use that information to help heal people who are sick.

However.

Sometimes you get really exciting data that supports the hypothesis -- yay! This makes for a great day.

But then, you have to repeat the experiment and show that the data is reproducible.

It's not enough to show it once (that could be a fluke) we need to show it several times.

Enter my bad week.

I gathered a lot of great data over the past few weeks. Everyone in the lab was excited over where this project was headed, so I started this week by repeating those experiments.

That's when all hell broke loose.

None of my data came back the same. In fact, most of the experiments simply didn't work at all. As in, I got useless data.

This is so frustrating, but it does happen at times. The problem this week was that it happened over and over again. I'm feeling useless and unproductive. My boss declared me to be "in a slump" which, while true, still hurt my feelings.

I know that I'm a little extra sensitive these days, but I've always been the type of person who wants to please the people in charge. Not being able to do this makes me a lot more sad than angry.

Then, as if day after day of this wasn't enough, our childbirth education class got cancelled last night because the instructor was sick. While I appreciate them not exposing us all to whatever she has, don't they have a sub?? Pregnant women are kind of the definition of "people on a schedule." I can't wait forever to finish this series and really want to keep on track.

As "blah" as my week has been so far, I hate to post just complaints.

Some good things have been happening too.

For one, I was able to figure out the system for getting baby bean a pediatrician. The man who was highly recommended to me is accepting new patients and we're on his list! I have to wait until after the birth to sign up officially, but that should be easy.

That's a big thing off my "to-do" list.

Another great thing is that the camcorder Drew and I ordered finally arrived! We're picking it up this Sunday, so next week I should have some fun videos to post. Baby W has been moving like crazy and I really want to capture some of it before he gets wedged in there too tight.

As frustrated and sad as I may feel this week, I'm trying to keep it all in perspective. I have a healthy baby on the way and family/friends who love me. Things aren't so bad.

31 weeks

As of today the bean and I only have 60 days left!

Wow. In some ways that still sounds like a long time, but in a lot of other ways it doesn't seem like NEARLY enough time to finish everything that's on my to-do list.

Drew and I are trying to enjoy some quiet time together (while we still have some quiet around here), but it's been hard to carve out. I feel like there are so many little (and big) things that need to be done before the bean arrives. I'm at the point now where, after working all day, when I get home the energy just isn't there to tackle a bunch of errands or projects around the house.

That leaves me the weekends.

Of which there are 8 before little bean joins us!

Part of my big speech from last week was about calming down and going with the flow. I'm still working on that. We'll get there. :o)

Remember when I mentioned yesterday that 16 weeks ago (at 15 weeks pregnant) the bean was the size of 1 orange and now he's the size of 4?

Well...what do you think? Am I 3x bigger than I was then?

I think so. Or at least, I feel so.

People have (still) been telling me frequently that I seem really small for how far along the pregnancy is, so Drew and I decided to do a little experiment while taking my photo last night.

Am I pregnant?

Hmm...

Oh, yeah!

I'm not complaining -- hopefully that will make getting back into my pre-pregnancy clothes a little easier after the baby is born!

How far along: 31 weeks
Net weight gain: 16 lbs.
Maternity clothes: yes and I'm still really loving the elastic waist everything. What? Doesn't everyone pull their jeans up without using zippers or buttons?
Stretch marks: not yet
Belly button: outie for sure
Sleep: good for the first few hours, then my left hip gives up

Baby movement: more forceful -- I think he's looking for the exit

Food cravings: chicken wings -- they give the bean hiccups, which is way too cute.
Food aversions: nothing. I love food.
What I miss: being able to button my wool coat
Looking forward to: making a big batch of veggie soup this weekend!
Best moment this week: feeling baby hiccups for the 1st time
Milestones: baby boy's brain is developing so he can regulate his own temperature

orange you glad...remix

Remember 16 weeks ago when the bean was the size of an orange?

Well, at 31 weeks, now he's about the size of 4 oranges!

At 3.3 pounds and 16 inches long the bean is really making some progress. He's definitely getting bigger, but we aren't very close to meeting him just yet. The bean is still riding high and tight (like a good military haircut) and cutting off my breathing quite effectively.

I'm not sure whether I prefer to be breathless (now) or in the bathroom even more (when he drops onto my bladder).

I'll let you know.

Over the weekend Drew attended Daddy Bootcamp at our hospital and met several new dads and their babies. While Drew didn't get a lot of hands on baby care experience (no diaper changes, no feedings) he did a chance to hear about their experiences through the birth and first few weeks at home. I think this advice is the best!

I love hearing from current moms about their birth stories and how they dealt with having a newborn for the first time. It seems like a great idea for dads to have that same opportunity. Hopefully having talked with other first time dads will prove to be helpful!

marathon woman

Did I mention that last Saturday my sister, Erin, ran a marathon?

That's right, the whole 26.2 miles!

She's so amazing. And looks good doing it.

Drew and I weren't able to be there since we live in Cleveland and the race was in Baltimore. The bean and I are done with long distance travels until he can sit in his own seat.

My parents were both there and took some great photos for me.

Erin made it the halfway point and was still looking really strong.



Go Erin Go!

Some miles later she's still running. This impresses me deeply.



Finally, 4 hours and 48 minutes later, she crosses the finish line!!



Woo-hoo!

I can't imagine running for almost 5 hours.

I'm trying to think of other things I've done for 5 hours that seem interminable.

1) driving from Cleveland to Bucknell
2) running 2 batches of PCR
3) watching (most of) 2 football games

These seem long and I'm just sitting on my rear. She was RUNNING the whole time. Oh my.

Erin ran with a group from her church to raise money for World Vision. Everyone else in the group actually ran the 1/2 marathon, but they were able to raise $2000 for World Vision's clean water initiative. That's so awesome!



Check out the video that Erin's husband Ryan made of the event. You might notice a dapper gentleman towards the end in runner's gear wearing a "Go, Erin, Go" sign on his chest -- that's our Dad. He ran 8 miles with her towards the end.

Ryan added music and there's some good dialogue, so turn up your sound!




Love you, Erin! Great job!

a lesson in tolerance

I think it was quite thoughtful of whoever designed our childbirth education classes to entitle the second class "Comfort Options" as opposed to what it truly is, "Pain Endurance."

Last night Drew and I attended our 2nd of 5 classes in preparation for the bean's arrival. We went over a lot of good material including breathing exercises, massage and manipulation that the coach can do, and things the hospital offers to make the mom more comfortable (namely, DRUGS).

I'm really torn on the whole issue of whether to go for the narcotics and/or epidural or not. The thing is, I know that if I go in with the mindset of "I definitely want some" then I probably won't make it as long without any relief.

The more I'm learning about the different drugs, the less I like the idea. Obviously, I've never been in labor before and have no idea what it will be like, so I'm certainly not one to judge anyone else's decision. If you want an epidural or even general anesthesia -- go for it!

The thing that scares me are the side effects. I tend to get drowsy and disoriented from cough syrup, so when the instructor started telling us how Nubain can make you sleepy and "unaware" of how much pain there is I got nervous. The last thing I want is to be completely loopy and miss the miracle of my baby's birth.

Likewise, with an epidural you don't have any pain (yay!) but....you don't have any pain. This could be bad because the pain is what propels you to know when to push and how to push. If you can't feel anything below the chest how in the world are you suppose to push effectively??

On the other hand, I'm really not interested in making this the worst experience of my life. I want to welcome my baby with as much awareness and rest as I can, which an epidural could provide.

I'd love to hear from any Mom's who have been through it! Did you take the drugs or epidural? How did that color your birth experience?

Also, in a very small voice with my head down in shame, I need to make a confession. Remember the woman I mentioned last week who doesn't know the gender of her baby and wants a natural childbirth?

Well, she shared with us last night that she's allergic to all "-caine" drugs. You know, novocaine, benzocaine, etc. Specifically all of the drugs that do into the epidural cocktail. She still wants a drug-free birth, but can't have an epidural because she'll die if they inject all of that into her back.

Oops, sorry.

You can do it, friend! Natural all the way!

I'm not sure what I want to do...but I am definitely glad to have options.

baby boy shower!

Last Saturday, Drew and I were thrown another shower for the bean!




This one was from our friends here in Cleveland. The best part, I think, was that for the first time, Drew was able to be a part of the festivities.

I don't know how many of you have experienced the "Co-ed Baby Shower" but I have to highly recommend it. We had so much fun! The guys really added a special something.

Hi, Karen and (hungry) Carl!



Check out the gorgeous cupcakes that Michelle made for us. She's such a talented baker!



Karen and I enjoying the delicious snacks, yum...





We played a bunch of fantastic baby games. This was the part where having the guys around really made it great.

Throughout the shower we were playing the game where you can't say "baby" or whoever catches you saying it can take your clothes pin (we started with 5 each). I stink at this game and was anxious to be rid of my pins just for the freedom of speech that would allow. Some people, however, (hmph, Amy) were very good at it and amassed quite the collection.



The men were especially adept at coming up with "baby" synonyms. I'm pretty sure I heard something about "Fetus Wilkinson" once or twice. :o)

We also had a diapering relay race. I was the judge. Mostly because I can't get up and down off the floor fast enough. None of the teams wanted my handicap.



As judge, I felt it was my duty to penalize teams that pulled the diaper off in any way that would result in poo on my shoes, had this been a real diapering experience. Some of the guys, especially, weren't interested in undoing the tabs and would simply yank it off past the feet in 1 swift motion.

Poor dolly lost her shoe at one point. But Carl fixed her back up.



Sharon came through as the MVP at the end and brought it home for Team 2.



Way to go.

My favorite game came at the end. We were given diapers full of "surprises" and had to guess what kind of candy it used to be. This was pretty nasty -- especially when Blake couldn't decide whether Diaper #3 had been a Kit Kat or 3 Musketeers and had to go in for the taste test.



Good thing I'm not still nauseous all the time or that one would have pushed me over the edge.

Then, on top of all this, they got us presents! We received a lot of wonderful baby items -- bath toys, a stuffed elephant, a toilet trainer, rattles, and lots of other great stuff.



Drew and I feel so lucky to have such great friends here. Moving as often as we have makes it hard to feel confident that you'll always be able to meet people. I'm so glad that we and the bean have friends here who love us!

Once the guys retreated to the yard for cornhole and beer, the girls were talking about baby names. Since the bean's name is going to be a birth day surprise, everyone was trying to guess what it will be. Drew and I decided that everyone could have 1 guess and if someone got it right then we'd tell them.

None of the official guesses were right, but I will tell you that I heard the name mentioned in a separate conversation! They weren't talking to me, so I kept quiet, but it wasn't easy!

That's all I'll say about it -- come December someone will find out that they guessed right!

Thanks again everyone, we had such a wonderful time! Now we're just waiting to throw a shower for whoever is next... :o)

30 weeks

Our 30th week together is going really well so far. Only 10 weeks to go!

The bean, his daddy, and I had another baby shower on Saturday. Some of our wonderful Cleveland friends threw a party for us! I have lots of fun photos and stories from that afternoon to come soon.

Yesterday I had my first "every 2 weeks" doctor appointment. I didn't have any complaints and the doctor didn't have any concerns, so we breezed through there in 15 minutes! I did specifically ask about bean's size, since so many people (in lots of different circumstances) have commented on how small I look. My OB said that my weight gain is right on track and my belly is measuring perfectly (30cm yesterday), so there's no need to worry.

Baby bean is on track to be born at about 7 pounds! That sounds good to me. Except that we'll have to change his clothes 5 times a day to get use out of all the newborn outfits people have given us! I think they only fit babies up to 8 or 9 pounds, so we won't have long to squeeze them all in.

Overall things are going really well. I've had a lot more energy these past few days -- nesting? Whatever the reason, I'll take it!

How far along: 30 weeks

Net weight gain: up 15 lbs. (I know this gain is for a good cause, but it's bothering me a little. I've never seen these numbers on the scale before! It's like Biggest Loser in reverse)

Maternity clothes: I need more warm weather stuff. It's getting cold here.

Stretch marks: not yet

Belly button: mostly an outie at this point (you can kind of see it in the photo above)

Sleep: not too bad. Now that it's cooler my body pillow doesn't make me roast!

Baby movement: movin' and shakin'

Food cravings: pumpkin anything

Food aversions: nothing. I love food. As witnessed 7 items up.

What I miss: being able to see my toes

Looking forward to: getting the nursery organized

Best moment this week: baby shower!

Milestones: the bean has a 95% chance of survival if he was born now

lighten up, it's Monday

After reading through my last post, I realized that it's a bit of a downer.

It's 100% true, and I'm glad that I posted it, but I also know that Monday is an especially hard day of the week to read something bittersweet.

So I decided to add an additional antecdote from yesterday that really made me smile widely.

I was in the shelter's kitchen yesterday stirring a huge pot of chili when one of the women came in and said something like "you're having a baby?!"

Honestly, I looked down at my belly, then over to her in surprise. I have had a grand total of ONE stranger comment on my pregnancy so far. My first thoughts were (in this order):

1) Is she talking to me?
2) Did my water break and I didn't notice? Am I having the baby NOW?

Turns out, I am pregnant! And it's noticable! She was talking to me!

The poor woman looked a little scared because I hestitated for so long, but then my brain caught up with the conversation and I laughed. I confirmed that, yes, I am pregnant with my first baby.

Then she asked how many months along I was and I replied with the honest truth of 7.

That earned me an appraising look. I think the rest of our conversation went something like this:

me: I am. I'm 30 weeks, in my 7th month.

doubting woman: No, you're not.

M: Um, yes I am.

DW: No way. I looked like that at 4 months. There's just no way.

M: I'm pretty sure it's right. My doctor says that I'm on track for December 19th.

DW: Yeah, well...

Things kind of trailed off after that. We laughed about it, but I really don't think she believed me!

Then, everytime a new person came in to have dinner she would call over and make me stand up, then ask them if they believed I was 7 months.

Without fail they would say something like, "No way" or "I gained 100 lbs during my pregnancy!"

I was trying hard not to apologize for having a body shape that I can't control at all, but it wasn't easy.

I decided to take the whole experience as a huge confidence boost.

{However, I do plan to confirm with my doctor this afternoon that the bean is growing well}

crying in my cole slaw

At 30 weeks, the bean is roughly the size of a cabbage!

Just a regular one, not the Chinese variety this time.

He weighs about 3 pounds and is 15.5 inches long.

I'm assuming that the length growth slows down sooner than the weight gain does since most newborns are only 19-22 inches long. At this rate he'll be bigger than a breadbox in no time!

Baby Center says that I should be getting clumsier than normal soon since my equilibrium will be thrown off by my burgeoning middle.

Clumsier than normal, what??

Does anyone else remember this? If I get any clumsier I'll have to spend the remainder of this pregnancy in a padded room.

It also says that I'll probably be having more mood swings. This one I've definitely noticed (sorry, Drew).

For example, yesterday I spent a good part of the afternoon/evening volunteering with some other girls from my bible study at a shelter for battered women here in Cleveland.

It was both uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time. The women and children who live there have such good attitudes. They were so grateful for the meal and kid activities that we provided.

This one little boy was especially adorable. I was sitting on a bench helping the kids frost cookies and he siddled up to me. He didn't say anything, just kept pressing himself against my side. I put my arm around him and talked a little. He didn't want anything, just a little love and attention.

When I got home I just cried. Drew probably thought I was losing my mind. All weekend I've been working on organizing the nursery (it's looked like a bomb went off in there since our baby showers) and when I walked into the room and saw the piles of clothes, toys, diapers, and other random baby things I felt so sad for the women and children living in that shelter who don't have a lot of the basics (like a home of their own).

They're there because someone hurt them to the point that they had to escape. And here I am stressing over where to put that 2nd crib mattress pad.

Today I'm grateful that I have people in my life who love me and my bean. I'm grateful that Drew doesn't hit me -- in fact, sometimes he spoils me to the point of absurdity. I'm grateful that I was able to go to the shelter and find some perspective.

But with the morning came more perspective. I've stopped crying (for now) and feeling guilty over being in a harmonious relationship. As much as my heart breaks for the women and children I met yesterday, I've also realized that it's ok for me to have clothes and toys for the bean. Along with that, however, I also decided that my stress level will go way down. I get too worked up over the small things and that needs to stop. Things will get done when they get done. The nursery will come together and if it doesn't, the bean won't care.

There are worse things than having a pile in the laundry room and dust on the coffee table.

Right now, my biggest hope is that Drew and I will be able to raise our son to be a loving husband and father someday. And until he's at that stage, that we'll be able to simply love him abundently.

In the meantime, I'm going to hug all the kids I can.

Because even if they're doing ok, I could probably use one.

random friday funny

Who needs the Sunday paper?

I've got your funnies right here.

Actually, I've got your funny here. Only 1 story today, sorry.

Of course, it stems out of our childbirth class. I have a feeling I'll be getting a lot of good blogging material from those classes over the next 5 weeks.

Did you know that my sister, Erin, is running a marathon this weekend?!

I'm so excited for her! She's been training for a really long time and will do amazing at it, I'm sure. Unfortunately, the race is in Baltimore (and we're in Cleveland) so I won't be able to actually be there cheering her on.

However, there are A LOT of people who will be there cheering her and the other runners towards the finish line.

To this goal, the organizers of the Baltimore Marathon posted some recommended "Cheer Words" on their website (in case you need some help figuring out what to yell as 100s of exhausted people run past you).

Some suggestions include:

1) “Way to Run”
2) “Awesome”
3) “Looking Strong”
4) “Looking Good”
5) “Enjoy Baltimore”
6) “You Can Do It”
7) “You’re Flying”
8) “Keep it Up”

At the bottom of the list there was a very specific note that read,

NOTE: Unless you are at the Stadium near the finish line, please DO NOT cheer “Almost there”, “Not far to go” etc. After running 26 miles, “almost there” is a few hundred feet from the finish line.

At this point you might be wondering what in the world this has to do with childbirth classes.

Well, let me tell you.

I received the email from Erin sharing all of this info on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday evening Drew and I attended our first class.

At class, the instructor was giving the coaches some advice and very specifically told them:

Never, ever say to her that she's "almost there" or "so close." When you've been in labor for hours, being "almost there" is when you can see the baby's face and recognize Uncle Harold's ears. No time before.

Obviously this wasn't meant to be funny, but I almost starting laughing out loud. It was so similar to the admonishment the Marathon organizers put out there that I couldn't help but find it funny.

Now that I think about it, childbirth is a bit like a marathon.

Except that you can't really train ahead of time.

And they won't let you drink water or eat snacks while you're in the middle of it.

And you get a baby at the end instead of one of those silver blankets.

whatever happened to the stork?

Drew and I had our first childbirth education class last night!



There are 7 other mothers in the class and one of them is also due on December 19th. What a funny coincidence! It would be great if we end up seeing each other on the Labor and Delivery floor at some point in December.

It turns out that my (subtle) competitive nature came out a little last night.

I know I should just be focused on the bean and myself, but really, listen to this. First of all, this other 12/19 mom-to-be doesn't know the gender of her child. That was my plan originally and I totally gave into my curiosity and found out.

Strike one for Emily.

Then she leads off her introduction by saying that she wants to have a completely natural childbirth.

Dang her. Now I feel compelled even more than I did before class to give that a shot (and not be a wimp like I was in the ultrasound room).

I'm sure she's a perfectly nice person -- hopefully we can be friends. :o)

Ok, onto the good stuff.

Last night we spent the class going over the stages of labor. I thought that this was a really good overview. There are a lot of terms I hear all the time, but didn't really understand. Now Drew and I have a sheet that tells us the signs of early labor and when to pack it up and head to the hospital.

Honestly, that was one of my top concerns. I really don't want to be one of those overreacting people who show up at 1 cm dialated and get sent back home.

With this attitude I'll probably end up giving birth on Interstate 480 because we waited too long.

Oh well.

The other big thing was....the birth movie. Oh my. This is one thing I would have done differently in the class. If you're going to show a graphic (but realistic) film about childbirth to a bunch of pregnant women you really should follow it up with a trip to the nursery.

Can't we have some encouragement that says, "sure, you're going to have that happen to you...but then you get one of these!"

I had actually seen a birth video before, so it wasn't too shocking to me (do you ever really get used to it?), but it was Drew's first time. He seemed a little traumatized and asked if he could just "not look."

That was going to be my exact recommendation.

When we were paying for the class on the way out I tried to add on a little something to reserve a stork for our big day. After seeing that video and hearing about the hours of labor I was all about having an alternative plan.

But it turns out they're all booked up.

I just know that natural birthing blonde with the genderless baby got the last one.

29 weeks

29 weeks has been pretty packed so far.

First the bean and I had our wonderful baby shower with Drew's family over the weekend!

{That was the good part}

Then we ended up sick with a nasty cold and had to miss work yesterday. I think it feels worse to be sick while pregnant for a couple of reasons:

1) you can't take much medicine to numb relieve the congestion
2) you can only drink extra water to help soothe sore throats
3) drinking extra water means that you're up and out of bed even more than usual because a non-sick baby is dancing on your bladder

{That was the bad part}

Now tonight Drew and I go to our first childbirth education class! We're both a little nervous, but really excited. I'm not exactly sure what to expect, but it definitely makes things feel more real. So far I've been able to ignore a lot of the nitty gritty as to how this bean will make his big debut, but I think that blissful time is about to end. I know it's better to be prepared, but there's some stuff I'd just rather not think about!





How far along: 29 weeks
Net weight gain/loss: up 13 lbs.
Maternity clothes: yes and yes
Stretch marks: so far so good
Belly button: I'm going to call it a draw. Innie is an understatement and outie is an overstatement.
Sleep: not too bad. Sleeping on 1 hip all of the time is starting to take its toll
Baby movement: yes!
Food cravings: pumpkin pecan ice cream
Food aversions: not too much these days
What I miss: full strength cold medicine
Looking forward to: our first childbirth class
Best moment this week: baby shower!
Milestones: the bean and I survived 14 hours in the car over the weekend. This was our last long trip before he arrives!

Also, we have more name guesses:

Connor
Hunter
Theodore (Theo)

when it showers, it pours

This weekend Drew and I made the big trek across Pennsylvania to New Jersey to visit with his family and attend my baby shower!

Drew made an appearance at the end to help load up the gifts. Good Daddy-ing so far!



My wonderful mother-in-law threw an amazing shower for the bean and I on Saturday. You are so good to us -- we love you, Mom!





I also want to thank my soon to be sister-in-law, Lisa, for taking all of these photos and helping to plan the shower. We can't wait to introduce the bean to our extended family at your wedding next spring!



The bean would like to say hello to Aunt Raegan and Ali. He'd also like to congratulate Ali on her fabulous 'tude. :o)



How beautiful is the bean's great-grandma Stella? I hope I look this great in my eighties!



My mother-in-law, Linda, put so much effort into every detail. I love the idea of having a onesie clothes line. The bean is all set with onesies now!



Isn't the cake lovely? It matched the invitation design perfectly.



I also really liked the centerpieces and mum-filled tummy tub.





The game we played was based on this blog! Everyone had to fill in the blanks on fruits/veggies that I posted here to represent the bean at different weeks. How fun! Erin has been following the bean on here since the very beginning and totally deserved to win. :o)



One of the best things about the shower was the fact that my mom and sisters were all able to attend! Seeing as how they all live 3+ hours away I was totally surprised (but really excited!) that they could make it.



Ever since my sister, Erin, came back to the brunette camp from being a blonde she and I have really starting looking more alike. We grew up hearing "are you twins?" all the time -- this weekend was quite a flashback to that! My favorite part was when Grandpa Lewentowicz tried to give her a hug. She loves to hug, but was a little surprised! He realized pretty quickly that she wasn't me, but it was still a hoot.

What do you think...do we look alike?



It was also fun to see my girlfriends from Bucknell! Thanks for coming Emily, Jessica, and Betsy! It's been way too long since we were able to get together. The bean is lucky to have such great "aunts" to be!



How adorable are these "Got Milk" booties from Emily O?! Love them!



I was totally overwhelmed by the pile of gifts. There are literally only a handful of items that we need before welcoming baby boy in December. Our friends and family are so generous!



The bean has 3 uncles (Daddy's brothers) and can't wait to wear this bib that they got him!



Check out the amazing diaper cake! Wow, just wow. Drew's cousin, Kim, actually made it for us. If you can believe it, this is the first one she's ever made. I was really, really impressed!! That night we had to take it apart to get everything packed in the car and Drew and Erin ended up unrolling every diaper. There were....216! Thanks, Kim! I think we'll be good on diapers for a little while. :o)





I love this blanket that my Mom crocheted for her grandson. I'm a little afraid to use it -- it's so beautiful! This will be such a wonderful keepsake for the bean.





I feel incredibly blessed to have family and friends who already love the bean and care deeply for him. Thanks to everyone who showered the bean and I with love this weekend. We love you all, too!