Myrtle Beach

Well, somehow my family is terrible at taking pictures when we are together so I do not have any to share...but I had a great time visiting with them when they were vacationing in Myrtle Beach last week. Ross and I drove down for the day on Sunday and the girls hung out at the pool while the guys went golfing. And I was not the only pregnant lady at the pool...I had three friends but I had the best bathing suit. And Keisuke made the most amazing teriyaki chicken and broccoli for dinner. Seriously, if we all knew how to make broccoli like this - everyone would be much healthier and asking for their little trees. My mom was able to come to our house for a quick visit at the beginning of the week and we went shopping for my hospital bag goodies (robe, nursing tops, nursing bras, ice cream - oh wait, I already ate that). And finally the family wrapped up the week at our house :) Too much fun!

I was so happy Leanna was able to come on vacation and she brought her friend Allie, who was hilarious. Leanna actually got to help me out a little with my schoolwork while she was here...it was hard not laughing during our mock "counseling sessions". She played the part of a troubled teenager who recently started dating a boy and now doesn't participate in Key club or band and her grades are dropping....and I was the school counselor, of course. The best part of this whole thing was when my mom burst into the room and said "I'm taking orders for bagel bakery, what do you want? Oh no! Don't transcribe this into your paper!" Sometimes I wonder what it is going to be like when I counsel a child who actually is having a legitimate issue - not just pretending. I guess time will tell! Probably less giggling when I ask, "how does that make you feel?"

I have learned that my body is not so happy about walking out in the heat and humidity anymore because my ankles swelled and turned a lovely shade of black, blue, and purple. Must love being in the final stretch of pregnancy during the hottest time of the year...in the south. Woohoo!

On a side note...we have finally zeroed in on both our girl and boy names and now I wish we were having one of each so we could secure both of them ;) Sorry...not sharing until baby Gille arrives! I'm so excited!

Gender Prediction

Please ignore the circles under my eyes... Bump at 31 weeks

Well....I have gotten a lot of flack for not finding out the gender of the baby (or sharing the name options). So, thanks to the wonder of the internet, we can now have a theoretical answer to this question (www.childbirth.org/articles/boyorgirl.html). I completed a survey to determine the gender! Please keep in mind that the majority of my answers are based on what someone has told me during pregnancy or how I am feeling currently, so you might disagree. In addition, a few questions did not provide my true answer as an option so I went with the closest possible answer. I am going to add a poll to the side of the blog for you to vote on your choice :)

You have a 33% chance of having a boy

You have a 66% chance of having a girl

And Here's Why...

You are carrying the extra weight out front - so it's a boy

The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your pregnancy - so it's a girl

Girls are carried high - You are going to have a girl

Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the North indicates that you will be having a boy

Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy - you are having a girl

You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread - you are having a girl

Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with mom-to-be - so it will be a girl

The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural) -so a girl will be born

You didn't have morning sickness early in pregnancy - so it will be a boy

You are looking particularly good during pregnancy - therefore it must be a boy because girls steal their mother's looks

Your chest development has been quite dramatic during pregnancy - you should expect a girl

The sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of month of conception is even - it will be a boy

A needle on a thread held over your belly moves in circles - so it will be a boy

Your urine is a dull yellow color - so you will have a girl

You are craving sweets - which means that it is a girl

Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy - which indicates a girl

You have been craving fruits - so it is a girl

Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute - so it's a girl

Hospital

Hello everyone!! Ross and I have officially completed our prepared childbirth class series and I can honestly say I feel maybe 10% more prepared...hehe. I figure by the time the baby is ready to come I won't remember a lot of what we discussed in class. I think this is why Ross had to go with me :) For the grand finale last night we were able to tour the hospital in a walk through the birthing process sort of way. The hospital has a brand new women's and children's wing called the Betty H. Cameron and it is very nice (and not too hospital smelly). Although I guess the "bed" that is available for dads is not too comfortable - our nurse told us that her husband kept complaining about how his back hurt after sleeping there and she was like "oh really? because my _ hurts!" I'm thinking maybe we should bring in one of those egg crate things for Ross to make it better since he already has back issues.

So this brings me to a question for all you mothers out there...what would you recommend I/we pack for the stay at the hospital? Is there anything you remember being thankful for bringing or that you wished you had? I'm thinking clothes (what did you wear? just pj's or loungewear or a complete outfit?), toiletries, slippers, and a robe at this point.

You can go here to do a virtual tour of the birthplace if you would like...

www.nhrmc.org/body.cfm?id=90

Nursery

We (ok, mostly Ross) have been working diligently on the nursery recently. I had originally wanted a chair rail with vertical stripes on the bottom to create a classic look. However, we did not have the correct saw and it was looking like too much work for such a limited time of enjoyment. While I was visiting Ohio for the baby showers I saw an episode of Color Splash on HGTV that inspired me. Why not do horizontal stripes - they are more modern and sophisticated?! All we would need is some paint and tape, right? Erroneous! We had to get a laser level and decide on colors and a pattern, which took a lot of time surprisingly. We chose the lightest shade of green in the bedding as the base and then used leftover paint from other areas of the house to use as accents. The results are...Ross is now a pro with the laser level and the room is amazing! Now we only have a few decorations and lamps to hang and then it will be done!

Step 1: lots of taping!

Skipped the documenting of a few steps - this is after we moved the furniture into place

The finished product - Love the glider...thanks Nonni and Bompa!

This one shows the colors better

Random thoughts

Soooo....we have been really bad about remembering to take belly pictures. We will even say at the beginning of the day "We need to remember to take a picture today" and then completely forget! I might blame this on pregnancy brain. One thing I can tell you about my belly is that my belly button is halfway out!! I just can't believe it. I hope it doesn't stay out forever because I actually kinda liked it the way it was. Ross thinks it looks like a backwards Cincinnati Reds "C", which tells you where his brain is - Baseball. Not that I have anything against baseball. It actually is one of the best things to fall asleep while watching on the tv (up there with Golf). Maybe the Reds are doing so great right now because my belly button has brought them luck!


We also recently began our prepared childbirth classes. The nurse who is teaching the class is really funny and the hospital is new and beautiful. An all around good experience thus far. Of course we were the only ones in the class who do not know the gender of our baby and we are not sharing names. Which honestly is ok with me considering one couple in the class is naming their baby boy Kloud. We were told we had to be respectful of what people had decided and Ross and I did not laugh or smirk in class...but I can't help but think about it every now and then and smile.


The third trimester is here and that apparently means I cannot stand mexican food again. Boooo..... This baby likes sweet and savory dishes. One other funny story - Lizzie was sleeping with her head on my belly the other day and the baby decided to kick pretty hard. Lizzie jerked her head up and looked around trying to find the source of the noise, finally gave up and put her head back, repeat 3 more times. Classic.

Happy 4th of July

We had a fabulous 4th of July weekend! Our friends, Brent and Ashley came to visit and we spent the days at the beach. The weather was perfect - upper 80's with a breeze, warm water temperature, not a cloud in the sky! OH, and the water was a clear blue/green (Ashley and I found a baby stingray).

Sand sculptures by Brent and Ashley

Furniture for the Nursery

We officially got the furniture for the nursery! Ross picked up the crib while I was touring Ohio and had it almost complete before I got home (he had to call and get a replacement bolt or something). Then the dresser came in while we were both in Ohio. It looks so amazing! I am so happy we decided to go with the Baby Cache line - the craftmanship is great, the bed sturdy, and the finish bright and happy. I had been really worried that we wouldn't be able to get the one we wanted because it is a newer line and all the reviews online talked about how difficult it was to find in a store. But we got lucky with a store in Raliegh that happened to get both pieces within a few weeks of the other. Yay! Now we need to figure out what to do with the walls and finish it up! Oh, and maybe get a mattress too :)