It's starting to look like Gusmas!

This last weekend we spent a night digging out the xmas decs and putting up just a few things.  We have an artificial tree and I was worried it was going to look dwarfed in our family room that is 2 stories tall....however, it looks just fine.  Don't get me wrong, I could get a bigger one, but considering how expensive they are this will do just fine for a while!  As usual, it was fun hanging the ornaments and reminiscing about so many memories with each of them and telling stories.

I went shopping on Black Friday with my main goal to get some things for the mantle.  It still could use some work, but I'm hoping to get some cheap stuff after xmas that I can then add next year.  The candles and vases were all items I had leftover from the wedding, so I just spent about $5 at Michaels to get the sticks/berries (which I didn't do a very good job of photographing).  And then I bought fresh garland to lay up there...however, it just made a giant mess and I can't even smell the fresh pine/fir....so kind of a bummer.

I really wanted some coordinating stockings to hang and searched many stores before finding these simple ones at Target.  They also had initial pins, so I picked up those for just $3/piece.

And here's the look all together-- I think it looks much better in person than how it photographed here:

That's really about it for decorations this year though, but at least feels festive to me while sitting in the family room.  We really need to hit the sales after xmas to pick up some more stuff for next year!

38 weeks and 1 last shower!

I will now finally be caught up on my weekly posts!  This should have been posted on Tuesday, so just a few days late...

What's new?  Mainly the only thing going on is Dustin listening to me complain nonstop about feeling uncomfortable.  The rib pain is just horrible at times on my right side....then to top it off, my left ribs periodically feel awful due to self-diagnosed Texidor's Twinge which I've had for years.  I don't think our family room furniture is very comfortable and supportive, so I just can't sit/lay down and watch tv for long periods.  At least it has forced me to stay a little active around the house though!  I tried taking 2 of my pills and it still wasn't like any miracle drug...it maybe made the pain a little better, but that's it.

I've had 2 days of heartburn, which I've never had in my life before...so kinda caught me offguard that it creeped up right at the end of the pregnancy cause this is such a common symptom for people.  I'm really not sure what caused it but think it could have been 1 buffalo wing I ate, so think I'll just avoid stuff like that for the next few weeks.
We got the last piece for the dresser, so now that is done!  We then hung up the prints I had made above it- so not that little area actually looks complete.

This week we did more with the house-- I bought a ton more disposable shades and put in the windows downstairs and some upstairs.  We got some of our bedroom furniture delivered....so FINALLY sleeping in a bed vs. just a mattress on the floor!  Dustin installed a garage keypad and hooked up the waterline to the refridgerator.  We bought a xmas wreath for the front door, which will probably be our only holiday contribution to the outside of the house this year.  And I baked a ton of monster cookies I made from scratch...froze a chunk of them to have later too.

Dustin's work group was also super generous and threw him a shower-- he was so surprised and caught off-guard!  We got a really nice-sized gift card to Target, so that will be awesome to spend down the road when we need baby stuff.

Dr. Appt
Date: 11/21 (had to switch to a Monday)
Weight: 157 lbs (YIKES)
BP: 110/62
Baby's Heartbeat: 140
Internal Exam: 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced
Notes:  Today's exam was routine and quick- Dustin was luckily able to join me.  She again was pleased with the progress I'm making and said I will appreciate this later because my body has already done some of the prep work to dilate now.  She also explained that I could just stall and stay at 2cm for weeks, but they will definitely set an appt. to induce at 41 weeks if I haven't gone into labor by then....but chances are extremely good that she expects me to go into labor naturally before that.  Which is good cause 3 more weeks seems like too much longer to deal with this baby inside me!!! 
Picture:

37 weeks

What's new?  Well our good friends that were due only 5 days before me had their baby this last weekend....so that has made us kick into gear a little more!  My main issue is still that my ribs are killing me, so just makes it really hard to relax and get comfortable.  A hot shower is really the only thing that feels great-- consequently I'm going to hate to see our water bill this month!  I'm also just moving a lot slower, which I didn't think was possible...but it's just hard to walk at a decent speed and am feeling more pressure down in my pelvic area.

We got the car seat installed and inspected by the fire department, so that is set now!  We didn't think our car had a latch in the right spot, so poor Dustin spent forever using a seatbelt to try and install the seat base.  Ultimately we just gave up cause the seat wasn't getting tight enough with the seatbelt...so luckily the fire dept showed us the latches and in less than a minute put the base in all snug and secure!

We also got our hospital bags packed as much as possible at this point.  Although I've gone through so many lists and recommendations from people, but still doesn't seem like there is much we are bringing.  I've stashed some towels in the car and at work in case my water would break at either of those places since I spend a lot of time there....but let's hope not!

We worked some more in the nursery.  I made some cute prints/signs to frame for the wall above the dresser/changing area.  We worked some more on the dresser, but unfortunately still waiting for 1 replacement piece to arrive-- due to Dustin scratching the front of one of the drawers.

One big item this week was that we had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor and was getting very frustrating for me cause was hard to get up/down from...and if we suddenly had the baby, wasn't really ideal for me to be camped out almost on the floor.  So we decided we just have to go buy a bedroom set and new mattress, cause wanted to upgrade to King bed.  So after many stores, we finally just picked something and got it all ordered.  We were able to get the mattress, bed, and dresser in the next week...but the mirror and nightstands will take 4-6 weeks.  Since all I really cared about was the bed/mattress, then that was good with me!

Dr. Appt
Date: 11/15/11
Weight: 154 lbs (no change- up 23 from start)
Blood Pressure:
Fundal Height: 34.5 cm
Internal Exam: 1.5 cm dilated; 70% effaced
Appointment:  Dustin was unable to go to the appt with me, so we were both bummed about that.  My doctor said that everything looked good and was pleased with the rate at which I was moving along.  I brought up how I still have a lot of pain on my right side with my ribs and it's just brutal at times.  The prescription from last week didn't seem to do anything.  She said I could try taking 2 pills instead of just 1 and see if that helps, but only do in the evenings or when have no plans cause will probably knock me out.  She also said it could be several things that are causing the pain, but if it is bruised then this pain will probably continue for a couple months after I deliver....not what I wanted to hear!

Picture: (feeling oh so large....ugh)

Just Because...

Dustin just grabbed the camera and took this pic of our nephew and thought it turned out so cute!  Since I don't have time for lengthy posts these days, at least this is something to share!  He is nearing 2.5 and at that fun age where almost everything out of their mouth is hilarious.

36 Weeks and another Shower!

About 2 weeks behind in my postings...so here are brief Week 36 updates, when I am actually at 38 weeks!

What's new this week?  It is really nice being in the house and having the move behind us.  However, there is just so much to deal with on the house that it is keeping us swamped!  Still just feeling somewhat uncomfortable at times and the rib pain is the major nuisance.

Major accomplishment this week was my mom painted the baby's room- we went with what we thought was a medium gray color, but it ended up a little darker than planned...but I LOVE it!  It looks really great with the white trim in the room and white furniture.  Here you can see the transformation in progress:

I had some co-workers in town this week from out of state, so the week was also busy with trying to spend some time with them in the evenings since we only see them a couple times each year.  And my work group threw me the most awesome shower that week on Wednesday at lunch as a surprise!  It was absolutely amazing at the number of people that showed up for it cause hardly anyone comes into the office anymore and is so dead most days.  Then there were a number of people who have retired or work in other groups and many of them were there.  It was just very nice and we were so appreciative of seeing everyone and the nice gifts.  So many of them also are very talented and made gifts for the baby which were just amazing!  Here's a pic of my sister and I sorting through clothes and getting the tags off for washing:

Baby Name:  I know I gave a teaser a while ago of the name we picked out with the letters scrambled, but I don't think I ever revealed it.....so here goes!  We decided on the name Lachlan, which is pronounced like lock-lin.  The more I say it and get used to it, the more I like it.  I had found it in a baby book and brought it to Dustin with a list of like 20 others and Dustin just immediately loved it and settled on it.  I really liked it, but was still a little unsure...but now I'm glad we've settled on it.

Dr. Appt
Date: 11/8/11
Weight: 154 lbs (up 13 from start)
Internal: 1 cm dilated
Notes:  I was glad to get back to seeing my regular doctor.  She told me to stop taking the medication the other doctor had prescribed because it wasn't doing anything for the rib pain- and the doctor had prescribed thinking maybe I was having contractions, but I'm not. She said the other doctor was just being precautious.

Picture:

35 Weeks & Shower

Waaaaaaay behind in posting, but will hopefully get caught up in the next few days.  I had delayed posting this cause had wanted to add more pictures, but my small camera is temporarily lost, so no more pics to add from the other events!  I should have posted this on 11/1 at 35 weeks.

How I'm feeling?  This week was just crazy busy, so I almost just didn't have time to feel lousy!  Overall I felt fairly good and think your body just can kick into gear when it needs to.  So here is how my busy 35th week went, which is way more exciting than me whining about pregnancy for this weekly post....

We spent Wednesday night packing up at the loft since moving day was fast approaching!  Thursday we were off work to do the final home inspection and then close on the house!!  Closing was a little stressful, but it all came through okay in the end.  That night Dustin had bowling league, so we were up at the alley watching the Cards win game 6 of the world series.  Only the game was the most stressful game ever cause was do or die for the Cards and the score kept going back and forth.  I finally caved and went home to watch the rest in bed cause it went to extra innings....only I fell asleep at a commercial break and the next batter was David Freese who hit a homer to win the game!  I woke up and the game was over, but I got to see the replay.  My mom also got into town this day and luckily was able to stay for the next 10 days to help out, which I seriously don't know how I would have got through all we did without her.  It was a really busy time for Dustin at work.  Friday my mom and sister both came over and we spent the day packing up the loft, then we headed over to our friends annual halloween party and to watch the Cards win game 7!  We then went out on the streets and to Busch Stadium to celebrate....it was the longest I'd been out in a while....I think was about 1am when we made it home.  Then Saturday was moving day and exhausting, even though I didn't do much.  Then Sunday was a family shower at the London Tea Room, which was a great time and actually was a nice end to a busy few days!  Monday I was off work and my mom and sister came over to help unpack some more and we started preparing the nursery.  Missy (sister) did a great job of assembling the crib!  Then it was time to answer the door for all the trick-or-treaters and meet some of our neighbors.  Then I crashed on the bed and put this hectic week behind me!
Dr. Appt. Date: 10/31/2011
Weight: 153 (up 22 lbs from start)
Dr. Appt Description:  I had a follow-up appt. with the other physician.  She said I was still at 1 cm, so that was good news and agreed everything looked great from the ultrasound.  So was a fast and good appointment!

Shower Pictures:
So many cute things and much needed clothing!

 Duck cupcakes for desert:

Name settings for the table made by my aunt all with different cute embellishments:

And my sister has rocked with putting together cute favors for both showers!  There were little packets of tea wrapped up in the felt that looked like a diaper. It was perfect since we had the shower at a tea room!