Moving On

And daddy blogged all about it here: Micah Andrew's Birth

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And Uncle Nick wrote about Micah here.

And Auntie Kristina wrote about Micah here.

And Auntie Sara wrote about Micah here.

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And Mommy will be writing about Micah as soon as she possibly can. Although I may just summarize the birth experience and move on to the hospital stay and how awesome our baby really is.

D and I went to our latest dr's appt on Tuesday night and while they didn't send me downstairs to have the baby, progress was made:

~ I am now a full 2cm dilated, I guess I was almost 2cm before
~ I am 60-70% effaced, which I was very surprised at
~ and the doctor felt the "presenting part" of the baby's head

The heartbeat was strong in the upper 130s and the dr said that Baby should be here anytime now. Of course, that has been said for the past few weeks (not by the dr, though) and we can see where that has gotten us... an 8-pounder!

I'm excited that the end is in sight, although I'm already thinking about all that won't be the same, pregnancy-wise, and almost missing it. And I'm excited about everyone not having to ask when Baby is coming, although it's really sweet of so many people to care. However, what I'm most excited about is seeing our baby and holding him or her and seeing David hold him or her and finally meeting the little person who has been inside me for all of 2008 and then some!!

Poor baby, he keeps getting harassed about when he's going to make an appearance. And if that's not bad enough, people keep telling him when exactly they'd like him to come. I think he's staying in just because everyone is harassing him!

There are no signs of contractions and definitely no water-breaking incidents to speak of. And the really weird part of it all? I feel wonderful, better than I have in weeks. It's the oddest thing! A few weeks ago I had the "get this baby out of me" sentiment, but now I'm not uncomfortable or hot or peeing all.the.time (although we still make frequent stops to the bathroom). I think that's all due to Baby settling into a nice postition and basically staying there. We saw his big head on the ultrasound and it's right where it's supposed to be and his little bottom is still doing its rolling back and forth thing accompanied by some kicks in the side. Yesterday in church Ryan asked me what would happen if he pushed on the side of my belly. I said Baby would move, then s/he'd kick him, and then move back. So he tried and Baby did exactly that. What a stinker! Oh, and I forgot to mention that Baby's heartbeat was 136 bpm at the ultrasound and the tech measured Baby's feet at 3 inches (and I feel all of that 3 inches in my side at various points throughout the day!).

Anyway, we go for our doctor's appt tomorrow night so we'll see what's up then. But I have to say that I'm getting a lot done while Baby is still on the inside and I'm really happy about that because once Baby's here, he'll take up a lot of our time :). So the waiting continues. I have to preface every phone call I make with, "I'm not in labor, but ..."

Someone in church said this is the most anticipated baby, I'm not sure about that, but I know he's frustrating a lot of people by delaying his entrance into this world!

It was awesome seeing Baby again, except he was so much bigger (duh) that we couldn't see all of him at once anymore. The technician scanned all the essential parts: the head was way down, the bottom was way up, and the legs were to the right. I could have told you all of that, but especially the leg position because attached to those little legs are little (well, 3 inches, the tech said!) feet and those little feet like to move...a lot. Anyway, all looked good. We came away with some pictures, including the cutest profile picture and clear a nose and lip picture that makes me all the more excited to kiss those "chubby cheeks" (the part in quotations was said by the dr) and button nose!

Ready for the stats? Their best guess puts him at 8 pounds, 4 ounces RIGHT NOW. I was all ready to be admitted to the hospital and get a move on with having this baby, but the dr said not yet. He asked if I was dilated and I said 2cm and he was really impressed with that for some reason. He said that if I make it to our next appt on Tuesday night (with him, as it turns out!) that he'll check me again, but he won't let me go past another week. I was really relieved to hear that because I didn't want to not be induced sooner rather than later because of our date discrepancies. It all will work out in the end, whether it's us thinking the baby is a week late or they thinking he's right on time. At 8 pounds 4 ounces, though, it would work out just fine if Baby decided to come now. At one point in the ultrasound, he was 7 pounds 12 ounces, so it's just their best guess because they don't really know for sure, but he won't be underweight when he arrives...that's for sure!

And Mom and Dad did their best to embarass me throughout the whole process. Dad was taking pictures as I was checking in, as we were in the waiting room, as the techinican was doing the ultrasound, and as we were waiting for the dr to come in to do his brief check. I kept reminding him that this was the ultrasound, not the birth, but it didn't seem to do anything. I can't locate the camera right now, but I'll post some of those when I do.

Obviously I would prefer to have Baby now, but I'm enjoying the shopping-for-the-house process and am getting a lot done. Last night D and I went to Bob's Furniture and they have a part of the store called "The Pit" where they discount certain items for whatever reason. We cleaned up! We got a coffee table, two end tables, an area rug for the living room, a beautiful TV bench, and a pull-out sofa all for $600! That's all the furniture we needed to get still, so that's done. Our little three-piece dinette for the kitchen is on its way from Target and we managed to get 15% off of that with free shipping, so the deals are coming at the perfect time :). We set some stuff up in the living room last night and am really pleased with how it's all coming together. I had to sneak a peek at Baby's room again while we were there and it still looks so cute and cozy.

Well, off to eat the waffle breakfast my finally-has-a-day-off husband has made me!

In the interest of positive thinking (Baby's due date is tomorrow!), here are the choices for going-home outfits:

I really liked these outfits because they are onesies with feet and they include a hat and a bib. And they were only $8 each, but I had a coupon, so they were even less :). I'm not thrilled about the boy's outfit...I had picked one with light blue and light gray stripes and the bib said, "Thank Heaven for Little Boys" and brought it home and everything. But even though the hanger said 0-3 months and the tag on the arm said 0-3, the tag on the inside of the outfit said 3-6 months and when you held it up to the girl outfit, it was obvious it was a 3-6 month outfit. So I looked and looked for the right size, but to no avail. It may be a moot point, really, but I liked that outfit better than the little bear outfit. That's not to say that the bear outfit isn't adorable, it's just busy and I don't prefer busy outfits. Oh well, if the baby is a boy, he will look cute in anything and nothing, so I'm not at all concerned...it's just one of those retail shopping "it figures" situtaions.

In other Baby news, the nursery is just about complete. Mom is making some bear decorations for the wall and I'm getting this photo collage frame that matches the wood in the room. I wanted a big portion of the decorations to be family pictures instead of random clutter, so once I get that I can pick out what pictures I want to go in there. We got the rocking chair and it's all set up, we got a light green shag rug yesterday and set it up, and we got a little table for the bear lamp I have that will double as a night light. Everything looks so nice and it's exactly how I pictured it would be.

And yesterday I set up the diaper changing stations at my parents' house: one upstairs in Mom's room and one downstairs in the sun room. I took out all the 0-3 onesies and outfits and have them at the ready. I even set up the little Boppy swing (thanks to D's mom!!) which I'll have him/her sleep in during naptime, if s/he is agreeable to that. It looks about the size of the car seat, and I put it right next to the car seat when I was done with it, so everyone was asking which one was the swing! I'll have a take a picture of it... So now, we are REALLY ready for this baby.

Except for the fact that I don't think Baby knows we're so ready for his appearance. He's just moving around like he had nowhere to go and has all the time in the world. I'll wake up in the middle of the night and I'll feel his little hands doing whatever they're doing in my lower belly. I guess he has his own time frame and doesn't really care that he's supposed to be here tomorrow. Mom and Dad are coming to the ultrasound today, so I'm excited to see him and for them to see him and for the results of the whole procedure. It would have been nice if D could have made it, too, but I was squeezed in last minute, so I was thankful to get any appointment at all this week. Well, that's the latest on Baby. Hopefully I'll have some more exciting news in the very near future!

Not sure if the belly can get any bigger...


...but I guess we'll find out. D and I went to the dr's last night and there's been some progress. I'm 2cm dilated, which is a change from last time, so I was thrilled. Not that it means much, I know, but it's a change in the right direction. Then the dr felt Baby's position (Baby got wiggled and didn't enjoy that as evidenced by the punch I received) and he was straight down, which was great, but then the dr added, "He's a good-sized baby." From what I've heard, they can't really tell the weight, but he guessed between 7.5-8lbs. Which is fine if he believed I was due when we think I'm due--on Saturday.

However, (bit of a story here...) all along the drs have been saying I'm due the 16th of September because they went by the first ultrasound which moved me back 10 days from my LMP. Neither D nor I liked the first ultrasound, how it was done or how it was read (you know, D being a budding radiologist and all), and all my progress has matched up with our original due date of the 6th. So now...when it all comes down to it...we have a "good-sized baby" because they expect me to keep this guy in here for two more weeks (that's not going to happen). But if you go by our due date, the baby is just the right size. Anyway, the dr is sending me for an ultrasound this week to measure the baby's bones and then I guess they'll decide from there what to do...if Baby doesn't come before that! All that to say that Baby won't be in there much longer, yaaay!

In other news, the house is coming along beautifully thanks mostly to my dad and his long hours over there. Everything is painted but the dining area, light fixtures are going up everywhere, blinds are installed, curtains are hanging. Overall it's starting to get that home-y feel to it. On Monday, we had a Labor Day picnic over here with some friends and family and Mom brought everyone to each of our new houses (mine, Ryan's, and Nick's). I think most of them saw our house in the very beginning because we got a lot of, "Wow, big difference!" comments. Poor D has been busy with work, so he can't do a lot, which frustrates him. He's on call again tonight and won't have a day off until Saturday, his first in twelve days. He still departs every morning with, "Call me if you're in labor" and he's even rigged my phone so I only have to press 4 buttons to page him with our special "I'm in labor" code. And that's all besides the fact that he calls a number of times each day to see how I am doing. He's such a good husband!!

Well off to finish writing the last of the few thank you notes that I should have completed a week ago. My dad added up how many thank you notes that I've had to write from all the baby showers I've had: 85. So you can see why I'm stalling on these last few, right?!

Mom was hanging the wash outside the other day and some of Baby's wash was obviously mixed in with this load...

Like all good things, D's vacation has come to an end (more like a screeching halt) and he is back at work and on call tonight. Which means I won't see him until tomorrow afternoon. However, we (and I say "we" very loosely!) got a lot done on the house this past week. It's still not move-inable, but it's going to be sooner rather than later. I think most everything would have gotten done, but Dad and D are updating the electricity which is a) very time-consuming and b) a two-man job. We also had professional electricians come in to update the fuse boxes to a 100 amp service instead of the measly 60 amp that we had. They still have a few more things left to do with the electricity and the problem will be finding time when both are available to do it (D's on call all day Saturday and into Sunday this weekend...). What they did do? The baby's room and the Master bedroom are all painted and cleaned up. They just have to hook up the electricity and all will be done there. D's dad even installed the blinds, which makes it look and feel more homey. I have the curtains, too, they just have to be put up. Saturday night D and I set up the baby's changing table and crib in his/her room and I LOVE how they look. I set up the changing table all by myself while D was doing some electrical work and then we both tackled the crib. Dad, Yana, and Ry stopped by for a minute on their way somewhere and the little room was filled, which means we didn't get a lot accomplished, but it was fun none the less.

What else? The hallway just needs to be painted, the bathroom just needs some decorations (which I'm hot on the trail for), the kitchen ceiling looks horrible (they were yucky smokers) so they're scraping and painting and possibly even spraying the ceiling (you know, with the little bumpy things?). I'm steelwooling the kitchen cabinets so someone can urethane them into looking all shiny. Dad is insisting we add knobs and crown molding to make it look complete. We weren't completely sold on the idea (just another expense), so he went out and got the crown molding himself. I have to admit, the kitchen will look beautiful when it's all done. I'm going for an Italian look, so I've been getting things along that line. The living room just needs to be painted. D installed the ceiling fan on Sunday and it looks so nice. It's matches our furniture nicely. We're thinking of getting a sofa/sleeper sofa for that room since our chaise won't conveniently fit into the space. We went furniture shopping this weekend and got some ideas.

And then the dining area just needs some paint and shades and curtains to complete it. We took out the stained glass door (these homeowners definitely had an 80's theme to their style!) and Mom and Dad bought us a French door (D actually had the idea to put one there!) to go in its place. The dining area has a lot of windows and the French door will let in all that natural light. I'm so happy with how everything is turning out!! The basement and garage (boring!) just need to be painted. Here are some pictures. I forgot to get some of the crib and changing table, but I just might wait until I get the rocking chair in there, too, along with some other decorations. It's a fun and pressure-filled process all at the same time because I'm trying to get most of it done before the baby comes. I won't be doing much regarding the house at that point...for a few weeks at least.

In Baby news, I'm seeing the dr once a week now. Last week I wasn't dilated and this week I didn't bother asking him to check. The baby was squirming all around last week when the dr was checking the heartbeat, which he said he really didn't have to do because it was obviously the baby was doing quite well in there. A little too well, a little too comfy, I fear. Yesterday, he was sleeping, so his heartbeat was slower, but of course when the dr took the heart monitor off, he started his acrobatics again. I should just say he continued with his acrobatics. This child does not stop. This morning somehow D ended up facing me while we were still in bed and decided to try to cuddle with me that way, which meant his knee was at my belly. As soon as he moved into that position, Baby started kicking or punching his knee, quite a few times. D was laughing, I was trying to sleep. That's another thing the dr did yesterday -- check Baby's position. He's head down (yay!) and his bottom is the big thing that sticks out from the middle of my belly and rolls from side to side all the time. The dr said he can do another ultrasound if we have time, but he didn't make it seem like it'd actually happen. I know they do one if you're in labor and they think Baby is breech. We'll see. I'm ready to have this baby. He just seems so uncomfortable in there with all his squirming, so I told him that he could easily fix that by coming out. Nothing yet. Already not listening! I'm definitely feeling more pressure, but I don't think he's dropped. Which doesn't really mean much because they don't necessarily have to drop before labor, but one can hope.

So in the meantime, I'm still enjoying the freedom of not working and being able to relax or shop or visit or anything else. Although the days are always busy and next week is already September and I'm not exactly sure how that all happened. Mom and I went to Babies R Us yesterday and got pretty much everything that remained on my registry, which wasn't a lot at all, with the 10% off coupon they mailed to me. I have another coupon that starts on Friday, so I'll go back then and get the few remaining items. I'll do the same with Target, although I have everything I need at this point, so I'm not in much of a hurry.

Mom and Dad are off in Mystic for the day, D is working all day and on call all night, not sure where Ryan and Yana are, but this is prime shopping time!

Brief aside: I just walked into my parent's room and saw this. The cradle has been there for a week, but I'm seeing all these items being added to the whole setup each day. Yesterday, Mom, Yana, and I went to the Christmas Tree Shoppe (love that store!!) and Baby came away with a "My 1st Thanksgiving" bib and a hand print kit! This baby is so spoiled...


Inside the cradle: a sleep positioner (Mom bought this for Baby because she feels bad that the baby has to sleep on his back...) and bibs that say "I love Grandma/pa". Outside the cradle: the two going-home outfits, one for a boy, one for a girl. Mom's going to wash whichever one we need and bring it to the hospital. And of course there's the changing pad. I have the cover and the little pads to go on the cover, they're just not washed yet.

No, not that kind of shower (although it's been getting progressively harder to take one), I mean I had another shower. The ladies at church wanted to throw me one, even though my mother told them it was highly unnecessary because I have everything we need for the baby from my previous three, but they overruled her and decided to give one anyway.

We arrived at the church around 11am on Saturday and after a few minutes, everything was called to order and Mrs. Boone gave a devotional.


It was very well done and she even used our life verse (Jeremiah 29:11) in her message, even though she didn't know it was our verse. During the devotional, Baby decided to put on a little show and shifted so noticeably that the people sitting in the first two rows oohed and ahhed--interrupting poor Mrs. Boone. I'm telling you, this child's personality is already well-established and shining through. It's going to be so much fun meeting him!

After the devotional, the floor was open to the ladies to share a parenting experience or advice. This was in place of games and since we had already played baby shower games at Rita's house, this was an excellent substitute. Both my mom and D's mom shared something :) After that? LUNCH! Baby sure enjoyed lunch.



I'm glad one of the ladies who organized the shower kept me on track. I was having so much fun talking with people that I didn't know what was going on. At one point, she told me to cut the cake (isn't it gorgeous? and it was the best cake I've ever tasted...as evidenced by the two pieces I had there and the one I had at home!) and another time she told me to start opening the gifts.


The big gift we got for Baby was the money tree to which A LOT of ladies contributed. I have so many thank you notes to write, which I don't mind, I was just surprised by the amount of people I have to write them to! Then there were a few gifts, but really there were more than a few considering all the money people already gave. I finally got the diaper bag (which was all packed and ready to go a few days later!) and D's mom gave us the Pack N Play we wanted. Other people gave diapers and wipes, which is so helpful (my mom originally had said to have a diaper shower, where everyone brings different sized diapers, but I guess once you hit a certain stage they make diapers different for boys and girls...weird). My two-year-old niece Ari was such a big help when we were opening gifts. At first she waited patiently for me to open the cards, but then she got annoyed with the lull they were creating in ripping open the wrapping paper. That's when she started ripping the cards off herself and trying to throw them away! It was quite entertaining, but I easily distracted her by telling her she could open the gift while I read the card. She's so good about stuff like that, she doesn't go wild when you tell her she can't do something, she simply moves on to the next thing. Oh and it was even more fun to watch her "open" the gift bags with the tissue paper. You'd see the paper flying every which way and then Ari standing in the middle when it all settled. I'll have to ask Yana if she got pictures of that.

Speaking of pictures, the few you see here are some that my mom took. Unfortunately she took them without her glasses on, so she was unable to see how blurry they were. So these are the best of the bunch, even though she took a lot more and they were really good ones besides the blurriness factor. But she's cute, so we'll let it slide :)

Yay! 37 weeks!! Also known as FULL TERM :). You can't really tell from this picture, but a number of people have said that I've dropped a bit. I'm really liking those people at this point! We'll see what the doctor says tomorrow. I got my diaper bag(s) this weekend (it's a five-in-one deal), so now all I need to do is put the stuff I got for the hospital in the bags.


Baby continues to move, move, move and he continues to really respond to any stimulus. D had him going this morning, just talking and pushing back. It was cute. D is SO excited about not only seeing the baby, but taking care of him. I don't ever remember hearing of any dad being excited about taking care of an infant, but he can't wait to wake up with him and feed him and everything else. I told him it'd get old fast, but he assures me it won't. He's already an awesome daddy! Just a few short weeks more...

August is half over and summer is almost gone and normally I would be sad about this, but every day that passes brings us that much closer to meeting our baby. The past few times I've had weird muscle spasms or a shooting pain, D automatically asks, "Are you in labor??" The other morning, before he left, he made sure to tell me, "Call me if you're in labor"...as if I'd forget or something! I can tell he's getting really excited about seeing the baby, although I will miss his nightly chats with him or her. They're so sweet and heartfelt, but I guess he'll just talk to the baby that way, although I won't necessarily be there to hear. On Monday this child was in constant motion for a good twenty minutes, and while he's always active, it's never for that long of a duration. Ever since then I've only felt him in the middle of my belly with a few good swats and kicks to the right, but I think (and hope) that was him getting into the head-down position. Last appt, the dr said he'll check the baby's position and if I'm dilated at the next visit (this upcoming Monday), so I guess we'll have an answer then (D is on vacation next week, so he's coming along to the appt)! A few people in church last night commented on how I look thinner and went on to say that I'm the only pregnant woman they've known to look thinner at the end of pregnancy, but I really think that Baby is just hanging out in the middle. Whereas before he'd have oh-so-much fun stretching himself out sideways, which was always (not) a fun feeling. And one last baby thing. My friend recently told me about this really cool bottle for breastfeeding moms who also want to bottle feed from time to time (me!) called Breastflow. See how it has a double nipple so it's not as easy as regular bottle feeding? So cool.

While Baby is very important and all, that's not all we've been focused on (although we did go to an all-day childbirth class on Saturday which was very informative and answered all my questions). We've been going over to the house almost every night and getting little things done here and there. D's dad has been over a few times, which has been a big help. And of course my dad is over there practically every morning for a few hours doing his thing. He has amazing skills and is not only saving us thousands of dollars, but is doing everything so professionally. I do what I can when I'm over there. I've even ventured into painting...just the front door which is very well ventilated. I was going to paint it white again, but realized I didn't have to paint it white just because it was already white, so I put a first coat of black on. It now matches the porch light, the house number, the mailbox, and the screen door handle. I like it much better. D has a friend coming over on Saturday to help with ceiling painting. My mom is plugging away at all the trim work. Yana primed the baby's room earlier in the week and is just waiting for the ceiling to be done so she can paint the room. I guess she's excited about doing that, which is a great help and I will be sure to let Baby know she had a big part in putting his/her room together! We have a few more projects going on, but with all this help we're getting from some family and friends, they'll all get done sooner rather than later.

However, we most likely won't be in there before Baby arrives, but Mom has offered to put the cradle in her room (there's no room in ours!) so she can get up with the baby, change his diaper, and bring him to me to feed during the nights for the first few weeks. I'm not sure if I can pass up a deal like that! And I like the idea of Baby and her bonding since she is SO excited about her first grandchild (and she definitely will be as excited about every grandbaby that follows...which is scary!). D just found out, too, that he only gets 3 days paternity leave while he's on the floors for the next two months after his vacation (back to having call every fourth night) and that's basically all while I'm still in the hospital. Then, after two months of floors, they said he'll get his week of paternity leave (when he's on an elective rotation). So random and so inconvenient, but that's how it's going to work. I feel bad for him because he wants to stay home for longer and when he is home, he'll be getting up early and getting home late and on call every fourth night. All that to say I will definitely be needing the help since he won't be here much, so thankfully my mom is a very ready and willing grandma (along with so many other people I'm not sure if I'll even be seeing my baby for a few weeks). But I digress, the house will look so much better when everyone is done doing their thing. I'm so excited to see the outcome!!

In other happenings, Mom, Yana, D, and I went over to Nick's house on Tuesday night to watch the Olympics. That was a fun night. Tonight we're going over Rita's house for Yana's bday. Tomorrow I'm going curtain shopping with Mom and Yana and I'm hoping to get D to go furniture shopping. Next week our best friends from PA are coming up for a 3-day visit and I am sooo excited to see them!! They really are awesome, they said when we found a house to let them know and they'd come up to help. We've yet to find friends as great as them, they're the best! I'm sure next week will be super busy with all that's going on, but at least D will be on vacation and we'll be doing fun stuff. And maybe, just maybe, Baby will pick one of those days for his birthday. An eight-and-a-half month pregnant mom can hope, can't she?

Mom and I worked on Baby's laundry last week...my goodness what an undertaking! Thinking I'd sort through the clothes later, I did the four loads of laundry in no particular order. However, I came home to this scene in the sunroom on Thursday. Mom had folded and sorted everything! Baby's not even born and he's already taking over. The funny thing about this picture is that I didn't register for a single item of clothing (except for onesies) and look at what we ended up with. People can't resist buying baby clothes, they're just too cute! Baby probably won't get a chance to wear everything because of sizing and because I want to dress him/her in something besides yellow or green all the time, but he has plenty if needed!