Monday, August 24, 2009

33 week photos



We're actually at 34 weeks even though these photos were taken at 33 weeks. You can see how much the baby is growing as my belly is getting HUGE!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Where'd the time go?

It wasn't till this week that it finally began sinking in how little time we actually have. I hear that as you get closer to your due date that anxiety sets in and the waiting is the hardest. This is partially true for me. Mostly, I've lost track of time till now. My boss brought me back to reality when he asked how much time I had left. I replied with the exact weeks based on my due date..."7 weeks." To which, he replied, "which means you actually have 5 weeks." This completely blind-sided me. I hadn't thought about it before. I've been thinking about the full 40 weeks and he made me consider that might not be the case. I've known from all my reading ( which I've been almost obsessive about) on when the baby would be considered full-term, i.e. 37 weeks. Yet, it never sank in that anytime around that time she could arrive.

So, I FINALLY made myself think about a small packing list and went shopping for a nightgown and slippers. I've even written up a birth plan to give to whoever is our attending physician or nurse that day. It's really helped calm my nerves a bit to have a plan in place, even if things don't go according to plan at least I have some idea of what our wishes are and what we'd like to request happen so our experience can be a good one. The funny thing is I don't think our parents ever had 'birth plans' or doulas (labor coaches) or lactation consultants at your bedside or the myriad of options or information that we have nowadays that both enlightens us and complicates everything we do. Welcome to the 21st Century!

My dreams have also reflected this growing angst as our due date looms on the horizon. Just recently, while actually riding the bus, I had a daydream vivid enough to make me jump when I finally snapped back to reality. Ironically, I was dreaming that I went into labor on the bus. I dreamt that I had been feeling cramps all day and uncomfortable while at work and that as I was riding the bus home while stuck in traffic that my water broke and suddenly I couldn't stop the labor. It was a horrifying and helpless feeling of not being able to get ahold of Chris in time, and having terrified passengers all around me and no one knew what to do. Waking up finally only to realize where I was, was also very unsettling to say the least. Talk about waking up only to think your still dreaming. I know that this is extremely unlikely, especially with this being our first baby. So, I'm not really worried. Other moms have also told me that its pretty common to have such thoughts or worries prior to as this is just one of those life events that you truly have no control over whatsoever (unless your scheduled for a c-section or induction).

On a lighter note, when Chris reads to me at night (which just happens to be 'Tales of the South Pacific', he can't help himself) she wiggles and kicks and rolls to the side of my belly closest to him. And, when he stops reading, she stops moving and settles down. She responds to him, she knows him now, and it just tickles him. Before now, I would ask him if he'd like to read to me so she could listen and Chris seemed reluctant as it was strange to him. He couldn't see her, or feel her regularly and he wasn't quite certain that she could actually hear him either. But now, she's gotten big enough that we can see her roll across my belly and Chris can physically see and feel her respond to him as he talks. And, so he's taken to initiating this little ritual of ours every night and even asking if he can read to us with one hand on my belly.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Office Baby Shower

So, yesterday my wonderful co-workers threw me a baby shower. It was simple and fun. Unfortunately, the photos are too big to post. I'll try to reformat them and post them later. However, just for the record, the men in my office provided the best comedy relief. Every comment that had me rolling, every piece of advice in the card they all gave me that had something hysterical to say, came from the men in my office. Two of the best comments came from my supervisor and my team-member Jarrod.

Jarrod: "Congrats on the kid, Casey. I can't wait to take her to the park so I can pick up chicks. Call me if you ever need a sitter!"

Scott (my supervisor): "Supervise her playing with fire. Just a suggestion."


AND, last but certainly not least, the best comment overall was "Never, never shake a baby" Apparently, the onslaught of 'shaken baby syndrome' advertisements on the Denver radio stations is finally hitting home.