MY PREGGY UPDATE

Well... today I am 35 weeks and 6 days... so only 4 weeks tomorrow until D-Day... I just can't wait.
I had ANOTHER prenatal appointment today, and things are moving along nicely.

I will be 36 weeks tomorrow, and I am already 1.5cm dilated, 50% effaced and baby is in the -1 pelvic station, so he is doing well. Let's hope that all this 'action' so early, means he is heading for an earlier than 40 weeks arrival. I would love to have baby in my arms by 38 weeks and be on the road to having my body back... I feel like I am housing an alien in my body these days, and I am SOOO OVER IT!!! :D

Well, here are some pics Jake took this afternoon.

BEANS NURSERY

So, we have finally moved (I will put pics of the apartment up soon) and that means that I was finally able to ease my itching fingers, and get busy setting up the nursery.

For a few months, we had boxes and boxes of baby stuff just stacked up in our bedroom in the old apartment, and eventually I thought I would lose my mind because of the clutter and because I so badly wanted to get busy with the nursery, which in my opinion, is the best part of being pregnant. LOL

Assembling the furniture was interesting. We bought both the crib (cot) and the dresser/change table from Storkcraft, and needless to say, they do not give very specific instructions. You get a box of pieces, with about a million nuts, bolts, pegs and skrews, and you then have to try to figure out the partial assembly instructions. There was more than one occasion when Jake and I realised that something was put on the wrong way, or that we had missed a part. BUT, eventually we got it done.

Then the fun stuff began... I got to pack all the drawers, put up the decor bits and pieces and get all the final things in their place. So, Mister Bean can now officially arrive and we will be ready for him. Speaking of his arrival, I have just less than 5 weeks to go now. SOOO EXCITING.

We chose to go with very neutral colours, hence the cream, yellow and green. This way we can use the same things for future babies (Once I get hit nice and hard by that 'stupid gene' that will cause me to want to do this all again. lol)
The crib, dresser and bookshelf are all in a cherry finish. The pictures however made the furniture look a little more ebony. The glider and ottoman are walnut.

Here are some pictures of how things turned out.

PROJECT NURSERY ~ ASSEMBLING THE FURNITURE


THE COMPLETED LOOK


SOME VERY CUTE PICTURES GIVEN TO 'BEAN' BY HIS AUNTY JESS

MY BIRTHDAY BABY SHOWER!!!

Yesterday was my baby shower... and what fun it was. Michelle and Shellie were fantastic hosts and planners, and I am so lucky to have had a lovely baby shower thrown for me.

The turn out of people was great, and I got a wonderful variety of different gifts for our little Mister Bean.
Today is also my birthday, so I was treated at my baby shower, to a HUGE birthday cake, which just made the day that much better.
Here are some pictures of my happy day

SOME OF THE MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE


THE 2 HOSTS & PLANNERS, MICHELLE AND SHELLIE


MY BIRTHDAY CAKE

SOME OF THE MANY CUTE OUTFITS I RECEIVED

SOME BRIGHT BIBS, BOWLS & SPOONS


A GIANT BOX OF 704 BABY WIPES


CHANDRA'S HANDIWORK ~ A LARGE HOODED TOWEL


MOST OF THE GIFTS I RECEIVED


THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED OR WAS INVOLVED. IT WAS A WONDERFUL DAY FOR ME

A SPRING DAY PICNIC

The last few days here in Michigan, have been GORGEOUS. We have had a light touch of spring come our way with sunny, calm, warm days to enjoy.

Yesterday Jake and I decided to take advantage of this brief weather (today it's gone) and we went down to Heritage Park and had a dinner picnic. We haven't been particularly good at keeping up a routine date night, so this was a lot of fun for us to get out together for a bit.

I made a chicken pasta salad, which if I may say so myself, came out pretty darn good, especially considering I had never made it before.

So, Jake and I sat on a blanket, and enjoyed a nice dinner together. Then we got a few pictures of the 2 of us, and of Mister Bean, though I can't say any of the pictures are 'frame worthy'... but they'll do for my blog. I am looking noticeably chubbier these days... my face makes me look like a little porker.

Heritage Park has some nice walking trails, which although they are still a bit muddy from the recent rain, are great to walk along, so we took a nice walk down the trails, with Jake insisting that I stop once in a while and take a drink of water, so that my heart which is giving some trouble again doesn't beat right out of my chest. I have a wonderfully caring husband :D

It was such a great evening, and the recent days of sunshine have been such a mood lifter for me. After having a double winter this past year (South Africa and Michigan), I have been in need of a sunny 'pick-me-up' and since Sunday, I have just been bouncing around, feeling great because of the spring days we have had to enjoy.

MY NEW 'CHUBBY CHEEKS' LOOK

THE BEAN BELLY @ 31 WEEKS 5 DAYS

A brief update on Mister Bean:

I am on to 2 weekly prenatal appointments now, instead of just once a month, so the time is passing quickly. Soon I will be on to weekly visits and then our little boy will be in our arms.
He is doing very well. 'Mommy' has gained a ton of weight, as you can clearly see in my face in the above pictures, but I have given up trying to keep that under control, because nothing seems to help slow down the weight gain, so it will just have to keep coming until he is born.

He has turned head down already, which has resulted in a bony little bum sticking into my right rib cage 24/7. Sometimes he pushes so hard, that I think he might crack a rib with that little tush of his. It's not my favourite thing, cos the pressure on my ribs gets pretty uncomfortable.
His movements in the last few days seem to have slowed down quite a bit. I guess our little man is running out of room now. Last night, Jake had a 'concerned daddy' moment ~ it was after midnight already, but because our little man has been so still lately, his daddy lay with his hand on my belly, not going to sleep until he had felt sufficient movements to put his mind at ease knowing that our little guy was still ok in his snug home. Finally, little Bean gave in and gave his daddy a few gentle nudges to let him know that he was ok.

So we are all doing well, and getting excited about our little arrival in a few more weeks

27 Weeks and 5 Days... and counting

Only 87 more days to go until Mister Beans due date... lets hope he decides to arrive on time and not a week or 2 later.

2 more days until I enter the 3rd trimester... but of course, WHO is counting??? lol :D

I am thoroughly enjoying being entertained by my little squirmer, although, today, despite my prodding protests, my little stinker has decided to celebrate, "Bounce on Mommy's Bladder" day... I don't approve of such days...

My hippopotamus belly is growing at a steady rate, and I am anticipating the day I climb out of bed and topple over, flat onto my face because of the weight imbalance between my only slightly larger 'tush', and my disproportionally larger belly... my counter weight is slowly failing to keep my upright.

Jake admitted the other day, that I have begun 'The Waddle"... it's rather hard to walk the catwalk style, swaying your hips and turning heads, when you have to haul a watermelon everywhere you go.

Anyway, here are today's pictures... it's been 4 weeks since my last 'photo shoot'

KICKS, PUNCHES & WRIGGLING SQUIRMS

Well, who can believe it, but today (Thursday) I am 26 weeks, so only 14 weeks or 98 days left to go until little Mister Beans due date.

Our little stinker is doing extremely well. Today, was one of my many prenatal appointments, and as predicted, everything went boringly well... Our little man has a strong, steady heart beat, and a strong, steady foot - He popped a nice kick at the doppler, so Dr Gove had to find the heart beat again, after the doppler did a little bounce off my belly. That's my boy for you!!! :D

Today was the first time I was measured, and I measured at between 25 & 26cm, so I am perfectly on par for 26 weeks (You are suppose to measure approximately the same cm as the number of weeks you are), so despite my ever expanding hippopotamus sized belly, I am actually just average for 26 weeks.

I have gained a whopping 19 lbs (8.6 kgs) already though, and although Dr Gove said he isn't too worried about it yet, he advised that I try to be a little more careful and try keeping my weight gain to no more than 1 lb per week from now on... which is surprisingly difficult, because although I am eating pretty well, my problem is that I am CONSTANTLY hungry, and it's rather hard to ignore the growling hunger pangs in my big tummy.
Mister Bean it seems has his dads hearty appetite, because undoubtedly 30 minutes after I eat a nice big meal, I am hungry again, so I think he is stealing all my portions and I have to go back and refill...

Kicks, punches and wriggling squirms have become much stronger over the last few weeks. My little stinker often keeps me entertained with forceful kicks that make my belly bounce. I have been loving that. I do however NOT LOVE his new ability to aim straight for my bladder, which in the last 2 weeks he seems to enjoy doing on a frequent basis. Still will come the day when in a mad rush to try and get to a toilet before my already full bladder bursts, mischievous Mister Bean will entertain himself by packing a punch just before I get there, and I will be left with wet pants and a red face... while undoubtedly, he will be sitting in my belly having a lovely little giggle at his achievement.

So, all in all, both mommy hippo and her little stinker are doing great. He is healthy as can be, and we are so excited for his arrival.