Well, here we are on the home stretch and time for a final pregnancy update. My due date is less than a month away, and I've gotten the all clear for labor to proceed whenever it should begin. I'm hoping he'll hold off for another week and a half or two, but we'll see.
How are you feeling?
It depends on the day and sometimes the moment. Earlier this week, I was a real bundle of joy as I was fighting a cold, exhaustion, and lack of space. I feel like my internal real estate is fully occupied, and that can sometimes be pretty uncomfortable. Generally, I'm feeling pretty good with a little more tiredness each day and a 4pm heartburn alarm clock, but I'm grateful for the occasional bursts of energy when they come. While I am uncomfortable a little earlier than I recall being with Madeleine, I still feel incredibly grateful to not experience really nasty pregnancy symptoms like back pain and swelling.
How are you sleeping?
I've been sleeping pretty well, especially considering the crazy insomnia I experienced during my pregnancy with Madeleine. I find myself making more than one bathroom break more and more nights, but I'm usually too tired to do anything other than pass out again. I find that I get some benefit from napping, even when my mind is going too much to actually let me fall asleep, and I definitely miss naps when I'm working.
Are you still doing yoga?
Yes, I try to catch both classes each week for about four hours of weekly yoga total. To be honest, yoga is pretty much my only activity, though I did rock an hour aerobics class at 33 weeks. I credit yoga with keeping me feeling strong and limber even this late in the game.
How's your appetite? Cravings?
I go back and forth between having light nausea/lack of interest in food and wanting to eat everything in sight. George may disagree, but I haven't really had any strong cravings this pregnancy.
Are you seeing the same doctor you did with your pregnancy with Madeleine?
No, for better and for worse. I loved the OB who followed my pregnancy with Madeleine, but I knew I needed to give birth (and attend the 83 prenatal appointments) a little closer to home now that we live farther from the freeway and have a Madeleine on the scene. For the first half of the pregnancy, I saw an OB about half as close to home, but I chose to leave her after it became clear that we had different ideas of how the birth would ideally go. I'm now happily established with a midwifery practice that delivers at the hospital 10 minutes from our house. I'm definitely in the right place now, though I admit to missing my OB who was one of a kind!
Have you had contractions?
Oh yeah. I had my first bout of contractions at 19 weeks. Fortunately, they didn't really come back until little over a month ago. At this point, I'm having contractions on and off almost constantly. They could get stronger, closer, longer and turn into labor at any point...or continue to be sporadic for the next month or more. In other words, the fact that I'm having contractions isn't necessarily a sign that labor is near.
How are you handling the heat?
I'll admit it: the heat has been harder than I expected. I do think that being pregnant in the heat is slightly more comfortable than having a newborn sticking to you in the heat, but being pregnant in the heat requires careful management to not put the baby at risk. During the few weeks of heat we've experienced this summer, I have struggled to stay fully hydrated and have ended up spending a lot of time enjoying the cool comfort afforded by our heat pump and the shade in our backyard. I feel incredibly fortunate to have a toddler who follows directions and plays independently so that she doesn't have to sacrifice too much when I don't want to be very active.
Are you nesting?
Ha! Have you seen the blog lately? I've spent most of my nesting energy in the nursery, which is very nearly ready for its occupant to arrive. George and I have been working through a huge laundry list of house projects - everything from inventorying our wine to organizing our paperwork to cooking food for the freezer to changing out some hardware - and we're making progress but not quite done. Surprisingly, my nesting is much less cleaning-related this time around. I must be getting used to having a toddler!
Does the baby have a name?
I believe so. Now let's just hope that he looks like his name when he is born!
At this point, we're on full baby alert with our bags packed and friends keeping their phones on for the call to come and get Madeleine. In the mean time, we keep plugging away at our to-do list and enjoying every moment with our first born.
What is your must-do to prepare for baby's arrival?
And, in case any readers are also preparing for the arrival of a second child, check out this humorous look at the "adventure" that's about to ensue.
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
31 July 2014
09 July 2014
DIY Crib Skirt and Crib Sheets
George's mum has been visiting for the last couple of weeks, and all of the Madeleine-Grandma reading time has given me time to sew. It's good timing, too, because a) I'm nesting like crazy, b) I've returned to my earlier prediction of baby boy arriving early, and c) I expect to be busy at work through baby boy's arrival (ie I'll be losing the occasional days of being home without Madeleine).
Let me start by showing you the crib skirt. Each one is a unique engineering challenge, and this one was no different. I think I'll be happy that I've used velcro in a couple places to hold the skirt's top to the crib frame so that sheet changes don't require crib skirt adjustments.
The fabric is by Moda, and the houndstooth pattern matches the quilt that I made for baby boy. I went back and forth on fabric for the skirt, seriously considering at least a half a dozen different prints. Although I wanted to keep this room a little more subdued than Madeleine's super bright nursery, I ultimately felt drawn to this print and hope that the heavy white crib covers the skirt enough to achieve a bright but subdued look once the room is done. Speaking of the crib, this is also a preview of the crib, which is both as sturdy as we'd hoped but also more awkward* than we'd anticipated.
As I've previously hinted, I love pleats in crib skirts. So, of course, I sewed pleats into all three sides of this crib skirt. Beautiful, perfectly matched, carefully calculated to hide a seam, classy pleats. Guess where they fall? Yep - behind the bars of the crib. DOH!
The project that really made this (crazy) nesting mama happy was making the crib sheets. I made sheets for Madeleine and have been very pleased with how they have held up, so I definitely wanted to make them for baby boy. Sheets are easy to make, even easier when making them in bulk. This is my go-to tutorial, which I only modify by using about ~75 inches of non-roll elastic per sheet to achieve a tight-fitting sheet.
Once I'd finished the sheets, I felt the relief of a lifetime knowing that baby has a place to sleep should he decide to come earlier than anticipated. My hormones have definitely been a tad out of control lately.
It feels terrific to finish things on my to-do list and to watch the nursery slowly come together. Unlike Madeleine's nursery, I don't have a great image of how this room will ultimately turn out, so I'll be just as surprised as you!
*Unexpectedly, the short ends of the crib don't have the same finishing trim as the long sides and, instead, both carry these lovely warning stickers. Any ideas on how we can cover these ones in a way that won't involve removing the warning stickers or drawing more attention to them? Leave 'em in the comments, please!
Let me start by showing you the crib skirt. Each one is a unique engineering challenge, and this one was no different. I think I'll be happy that I've used velcro in a couple places to hold the skirt's top to the crib frame so that sheet changes don't require crib skirt adjustments.
The fabric is by Moda, and the houndstooth pattern matches the quilt that I made for baby boy. I went back and forth on fabric for the skirt, seriously considering at least a half a dozen different prints. Although I wanted to keep this room a little more subdued than Madeleine's super bright nursery, I ultimately felt drawn to this print and hope that the heavy white crib covers the skirt enough to achieve a bright but subdued look once the room is done. Speaking of the crib, this is also a preview of the crib, which is both as sturdy as we'd hoped but also more awkward* than we'd anticipated.
As I've previously hinted, I love pleats in crib skirts. So, of course, I sewed pleats into all three sides of this crib skirt. Beautiful, perfectly matched, carefully calculated to hide a seam, classy pleats. Guess where they fall? Yep - behind the bars of the crib. DOH!
The project that really made this (crazy) nesting mama happy was making the crib sheets. I made sheets for Madeleine and have been very pleased with how they have held up, so I definitely wanted to make them for baby boy. Sheets are easy to make, even easier when making them in bulk. This is my go-to tutorial, which I only modify by using about ~75 inches of non-roll elastic per sheet to achieve a tight-fitting sheet.
Once I'd finished the sheets, I felt the relief of a lifetime knowing that baby has a place to sleep should he decide to come earlier than anticipated. My hormones have definitely been a tad out of control lately.
It feels terrific to finish things on my to-do list and to watch the nursery slowly come together. Unlike Madeleine's nursery, I don't have a great image of how this room will ultimately turn out, so I'll be just as surprised as you!
*Unexpectedly, the short ends of the crib don't have the same finishing trim as the long sides and, instead, both carry these lovely warning stickers. Any ideas on how we can cover these ones in a way that won't involve removing the warning stickers or drawing more attention to them? Leave 'em in the comments, please!
03 July 2014
Baby Boy's Houndstooth Quilt
I've (finally) gotten started on some crafting for Baby Boy's nursery, and I have the first final product to show you. Just the day after mentioning to a friend that I hadn't seen any quilts that were inspiring me, I ran across this houndstooth one. It caught my eye, and I ended up making my very first quilt according to a pattern.
We're slowly making progress through the nursery to-do list, so keep an eye out for more nursery projects coming soon!
We're slowly making progress through the nursery to-do list, so keep an eye out for more nursery projects coming soon!
03 March 2014
24 June 2012
Weekend in Photos
It was another low-key weekend filled with waiting (and a lot of naps for this tired pregnant lady).
 |
| 39.5 weeks |
 |
| You'll never leave Brown Bag hungry. |
 |
| Mending. Check. |
 |
| My rings look so nice after their "spa" treatment. Too bad my hands are too swollen to wear them comfortably for more than a couple of hours at a time. |
 |
| I spent Saturday night making labor-inducing eggplant parm. So far, no cigar. |
 |
| I love fresh fruit season. Peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, pineapple. Yum. |
 |
| The Subaru crossed over 10k while we were out and about this afternoon. |
How was your weekend?
17 June 2012
Weekend in Photos
We had a relatively low-key weekend as we continue to wait for our daughter to indicate that she wants to join us.
 |
| George hung our Bob Steiner ceramics using ultra earthquake-proof techniques. |
 |
| Every card I make carries this stamp (my name in Mandarin characters...or so the nice man in Beijing told me). |
 |
| Well timed, junk mail gods. |
 |
| 38.5 weeks (aka very pregnant) |
 |
| George's first Father's Day |
 |
| I want to kiss the designer of this dress. It was a favorite travel dress before pregnancy and has carried me all the way through the pregnancy, too. |
 |
| We attended our fifth and final baby class (infant CPR) and our third Swedish location. I think we're ready. |
 |
| So true. |
It'll be a week of waiting and trying to enjoy pre-baby peace without getting too anxious. How was your weekend? What's on tap for your week?
02 June 2012
Maternity Photos
Even as we mourn the loss of my grandpa, we are busy preparing for a new addition to our family. I suppose it's all part of the circle of life.
I want to share with you a few of the maternity photos we had taken a few weeks ago. The photos were taken by Aaron and Meg Nelson of Evantide Photography at Discovery Park (formerly Fort Lawton), where my paternal grandfather was stationed during WWII.
 |
| Credit: Evantide Photography |
 |
| Credit: Evantide Photography |
 |
| Credit: Evantide Photography |
 |
| Credit: Evantide Photography |
 |
| Credit: Evantide Photography |
 |
| Credit: Evantide Photography |
 |
| Credit: Evantide Photography |
**UPDATE: Aaron and Meg posted some more over on their blog.
28 May 2012
Weekend in Photos
It was a holiday weekend (Memorial Day) so with the long weekend comes a long photo recap of our 3-day weekend.
 |
| Every Saturday morning needs fresh snickerdoodles with white chocolate chips. |
 |
| When the recipe calls for one red Thai chili, you probably shouldn't double it. (Thai Pineapple Fried Rice) |
 |
| It's good to know that we can get a little piece of Hong Kong in Bellevue at Din Tai Fung. |
 |
| We met up with friends and their two little boys at Chateau Ste. Michelle's Stay Cation car show. |
 |
| Our 2011 Christmas tree is finally going to meet its maker next weekend. I can't believe how just moving it from one place to another in the garage stirred up such awesome sappy scents. |
 |
| Baby girl can measure her growth against a kiwi, a pukeko, and various moa. However, she's never really going to grow up, right? |
 |
| This paper is not going to be used for wrapping or scrapbooking. Any guesses? |
 |
| Most organized girl on the block... |
 |
| George made banana, mango, serrano chili sorbet. Yum! |
 |
| Looks like the baby webcam works on our TV. |
 |
| Baby girl has been blessed with so many books that her daddy had to install four more shelves. |
 |
| George (successfully) tried his hand at drywalling this weekend. |
 |
| Tomorrow morning's projects are all ready for me and my machine. |
I must share with you two real conversations from our house this weekend:
Him: What are you doing?
Me: Contemplating.
Him: Contemplating what?
Me: How frighteningly close to completion this nursery is.
Him: Uh oh.
Me: What?
Him (surveying the crib, carseat, and stroller): It looks like we're going to have a baby soon.
Are we soon-to-be first time parents or what? We're both so excited to meet our little girl, yet not entirely sure we're prepared for parenthood and the major life alterations that are just around the corner. Can one ever truly be ready?
08 May 2012
Babymoon: Part 3
Part 1
Part 2
When we left off, George and I had taken a Sunday afternoon detour along the Washington-100 loop. From there, we picked up the 101 again and continued north. This was, by far, the most boring part of the roadtrip because the drive takes you through sadly dilapidated towns, such as Aberdeen, and logging forests.
Eventually, we made it to our destination: Kalaloch Lodge. We visited Kalaloch (pronounced Clay-Lock) in the winter of 2009 and seriously considered having our wedding on Kalaloch's cliff overlooking the Pacific. During that visit, we told ourselves that we'd have to come back and stay at the lodge, so this return to Kalaloch was making good on a promise to ourselves. We had fair weather while we were there (overcast, dry skies on Sunday night and a downpour on Monday morning) and spotted a couple of bald eagles and several hummingbirds amongst robins and ravens.
On Monday morning, we set off again, continuing north on US-101. First, we stopped at Beach 4.
Then, we stopped at the Big Cedar Tree.
Then, we stopped at Ruby Beach.
The 101 cuts through the heart of Forks, Washington, made (annoyingly) famous by the Twilight series. I could go on about how Forks has capitalized on its new-found fame by naming everything in town Twilight-this and Bella-that and Jacob-this, but instead I'll show you one of the more clever Twilight references we saw:
Just past Forks, we took a minor detour to Rialto Beach, the beach opposite the Quillayute River from La Push, also made famous by Twilight.
From there, we continued north and eventually left the 101 to head for Monday night's destination: Neah Bay. We rented a little cabin right on the water at the Hobuck Beach Resort. The weather had turned foul, so we hunkered down for the evening beside the electric fireplace while the wind and waves crashed outside.
On Monday morning, we checked out Hobuck Beach a bit.
Then, we drove out to Cape Flattery to check out the northwesternmost point in the lower 48.* It was pretty neat to see the rugged beauty of nature rage all around. The trail ends at the lookout, and it truly feels like you're right at the end of the earth. It was really neat.
With the weather turning ugly again, George and I decided to pack up and head home on Tuesday afternoon rather than waiting until Wednesday as originally planned. We agreed that we'd continue to be "on vacation" and lay low on Wednesday, and that's exactly what we did. I don't think we even opened our curtains.
It was a good babymoon, quite different from what we originally planned (Barcelona), and exactly what we needed. You know you've picked the right partner when, after a week of focusing only on each other and having constant conversations, you just want more of the same. Hopefully this will keep us refreshed when we're soon up at all hours of the day and night with our (screaming) little one.
*Curiously enough, we went to Key West, the southernmost point in the lower 48 on our honeymoon.
Part 2
When we left off, George and I had taken a Sunday afternoon detour along the Washington-100 loop. From there, we picked up the 101 again and continued north. This was, by far, the most boring part of the roadtrip because the drive takes you through sadly dilapidated towns, such as Aberdeen, and logging forests.
Eventually, we made it to our destination: Kalaloch Lodge. We visited Kalaloch (pronounced Clay-Lock) in the winter of 2009 and seriously considered having our wedding on Kalaloch's cliff overlooking the Pacific. During that visit, we told ourselves that we'd have to come back and stay at the lodge, so this return to Kalaloch was making good on a promise to ourselves. We had fair weather while we were there (overcast, dry skies on Sunday night and a downpour on Monday morning) and spotted a couple of bald eagles and several hummingbirds amongst robins and ravens.
 |
| View from the honeymoon suite (our splurge) |
 |
| Kalaloch's Beach |
 |
| Kalaloch's Beach |
On Monday morning, we set off again, continuing north on US-101. First, we stopped at Beach 4.
 |
| Nurse log |
 |
| Fern! |
 |
| Just a bridge to the beach... |
 |
| Beach 4 |
Then, we stopped at the Big Cedar Tree.
Then, we stopped at Ruby Beach.
 |
| Ruby Beach |
 |
| Ruby Beach |
The 101 cuts through the heart of Forks, Washington, made (annoyingly) famous by the Twilight series. I could go on about how Forks has capitalized on its new-found fame by naming everything in town Twilight-this and Bella-that and Jacob-this, but instead I'll show you one of the more clever Twilight references we saw:
Just past Forks, we took a minor detour to Rialto Beach, the beach opposite the Quillayute River from La Push, also made famous by Twilight.
 |
| Rialto Beach to the north |
 |
| Rialto Beach |
From there, we continued north and eventually left the 101 to head for Monday night's destination: Neah Bay. We rented a little cabin right on the water at the Hobuck Beach Resort. The weather had turned foul, so we hunkered down for the evening beside the electric fireplace while the wind and waves crashed outside.
On Monday morning, we checked out Hobuck Beach a bit.
 |
| Hobuck Beach to the south |
 |
| Hobuck Beach to the north |
Then, we drove out to Cape Flattery to check out the northwesternmost point in the lower 48.* It was pretty neat to see the rugged beauty of nature rage all around. The trail ends at the lookout, and it truly feels like you're right at the end of the earth. It was really neat.
 |
| Cape Flattery |
 |
| Cape Flattery |
 |
| Cape Flattery |
 |
| Cape Flattery |
 |
| THE Cape |
 |
| At Cape Flattery (32 weeks) |
 |
| Cape Flattery |
With the weather turning ugly again, George and I decided to pack up and head home on Tuesday afternoon rather than waiting until Wednesday as originally planned. We agreed that we'd continue to be "on vacation" and lay low on Wednesday, and that's exactly what we did. I don't think we even opened our curtains.
It was a good babymoon, quite different from what we originally planned (Barcelona), and exactly what we needed. You know you've picked the right partner when, after a week of focusing only on each other and having constant conversations, you just want more of the same. Hopefully this will keep us refreshed when we're soon up at all hours of the day and night with our (screaming) little one.
*Curiously enough, we went to Key West, the southernmost point in the lower 48 on our honeymoon.
 |
| Darn it, foggy lens... |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)