2 Weeks Left...

I've always heard that pregnancy goes by SO fast...until you hit the last month or so.  This rings true for me as well.  I'm willing to bet that the reason for this (other than really feeling pregnant towards the end and wanting to physically feel normal again), is that once everything has been checked off the seemingly never ending to do list, it's just a waiting game.  I thought I would give a quick run down of all that we have accomplished as of late to prepare for Ben's debut:

• Car seat has been installed and checked for safety
• We have toured the hospital
• Our freezer has been cleaned out and stocked full of pre-made or easy to prepare (on 2 hours of sleep) meals
• Baby monitor camera has been set up and tested
• All baby gear has been assembled and have working batteries
• All newborn and 0-3 sized clothing have been washed and are hanging in Ben's closet
• Bedding = washed
• A cleaning service is scheduled to come out next week (thanks, Groupon)!
• Hospital bag has been packed and I'm pre-registered
• Newborn diapers have been stocked in the changing table
• All newborn baby necessities (that we "need" from our understanding) have been purchased
• A Maxwell-sitter (feeder/petter) has been lined up
• Books have been read, information has been processed

I think that about does it!  I'm getting a haircut this weekend (as it was suggested I might want to take care of that while it's still easy for me to get away).  I am wrapping up the things I need to at work and working with IT to get my work-from-home set up ready to go.  Greg has been putting in a lot of time at work so that he is able to take a week or so off with me when the time comes.  I have been spending almost all of my free time reading, relaxing, and napping - totally soaking up these last days and gearing up for the main event.

I would say we are totally ready now!  The days seem to go by slower and slower and I'm constantly on watch for any labor signs.  As of today, it doesn't seem like anything is moving in that direction, but you never know!  It can happen when you least expect it :)

Work Baby Shower!

I mentioned in my last post about the work shower that my coworkers threw for me, but I wanted to add a few more details and some pictures!  I really work with a great group of people.  I've been with my company for almost 7 years now, and I consider my coworkers to be great friends of mine - particularly the office gals, Shauntel and Linda, who organized the shower portion of the day :)

I had a feeling that they were up to something, but I really felt SO special last night.  After a 1/2 day meeting, our group first headed down to BYOB Vintners for a fun, team building event.  While I couldn't partake in the drinking aspect (although I did taste each wine) our group got to mingle, taste wine, snack, get a tour of the warehouse, and eventually create our own custom red wine blends!  We each left with a bottle of our own creation with a company logo!  If you are looking for a fun corporate event, or even a fun thing to do with friends, I highly recommend looking into this place!

After BYOB, we headed to dinner at the Ponti Seafood Grill.  We were led back into a private room, where Shauntel had set up for the shower!  I was given a sash and everything :)

After a DELICIOUS dinner of king crab legs (OMG YUM), they brought out the cake and their gift. 

I am still blown away by the generosity that has been shown to me and Greg.  The whole team came together to get us one, very large, gift card to Babies 'R Us.  I don't think we could possibly be more prepared for baby Ben than we are now!

37 Weeks

How far along: 37 weeks
Weight gain: 29 lbs ---> growth spurt this week?
How big is baby: 6 and 1/3 pounds and around 19 inches long. 
Maternity clothes: Stretchy pants are my new BFF's. 
Stretch marks: None yet.
Sleep: Sleep is the same.
Best moment this week: This has been a pretty great week:  We had another great baby shower thrown for us, my work threw me a "shower" at our company staff meeting/dinner this week, and my friend Shauna had her baby boy, Bronson!  After 24 hours of labor (OMG!), Bronson entered the world on August 23rd at 11:04 am, weighing in at 9 lbs, 10 oz!  I look forward to meeting the little big guy sometime this weekend!

Movement: Still a lot, but luckily his moving hasn't caused me as much discomfort this week as it has in the past.  Apparently he is running out of room...
Food Cravings: I haven't had any specific cravings this week.  I have been living on PB&J's, fruit, minute maid light, and beet/spinach salads for the most part. 
Labor Signs: I've experienced some cramping this week - and being that I have never been pregnant before, I had no idea if they were contractions or not?  I checked with my doctor and she said that things sound like they are progressing.  The other news is that this week I was measuring 38 weeks (wow)!  Such a change from last week.  I will be getting weekly ultrasounds and non stress tests (heart rate monitoring for Ben) to make sure that my fluid levels stay in the "safe zone". 
Belly button in or out: Out. 

What I miss: I am feeling ready (for the most part) for my pregnancy to be over and for parenthood to begin.  I have to admit, I'm feeling a little tired of constantly having people tell me how hard caring for a newborn will be on us.  I believe I have a healthy expectation set for the amount of work the first few weeks and months will be like, but I also believe that it will be a special and rewarding time for us as a family.  I have discussed this with Shauna a lot over the last few months.  She and I are both used to doing SO much (and all at once) over the past few years between going to school full time, working full time, having fairly full social calendars, keeping up with house work, teaching yoga (me), cooking dinners (her), etc.  I really do believe that after cutting out ALL of that and adding in "taking care of the baby", that we will each be in pretty good shape.  Sure, there are things that will be unexpected and hard, but that is life.  I am looking forward to the change and the challenge!
What I'm looking forward to: Meeting my baby :)

Baby Shower #2

Last Saturday, our friends Dan and Jeannette threw us a baby shower at their home.  These two really know how to organize an event:  Jeannette is an amazing cook - we keep telling her it's time for her to start her own catering business.  Dan is the man when it comes to grilling - he made delicious salmon (fresh from their recent fishing trip in Alaska) and flank steak.  The two of them together are such a great team, and we have spent countless nights and holidays with them over the years celebrating all kinds of milestones! 

Everything was so beautiful and special down to the smallest detail:  The food, the games, the cake, the tent set up outside for our dinner - Dan even spent the past few weekends installing a fire pit outside so that it would be done in time for the shower!  SO AWESOME!

Below are some pictures from the day. 

* More pictures to come...waiting on uploads from others *

Eye Color

In a discussion with Rachel and Lisa tonight, we got to talking about what color eyes Ben will have.  I already knew the "odds" of each color based on a website I found earlier this year.  (That's a lie - I knew the eye color of our future child(ren) 3 years ago...)

Anyway...

I thought it would be fun to share the website so any pregos and future pregos can check to see what their kids will have :)

Ben has a 37.5% chance of blue eyes, 12.5% chance of green eyes, and a 50% chance of brown eyes.

36 Week Appointment....and ANOTHER ultrasound

36 weeks.  Wow.  I still cannot believe how close we are to the end we are.  I still have not experienced contractions (other than Braxton Hicks) or any other labor signs.  Today was the start of my weekly doctor appointments and it was the first time I got "checked".  Apparently Ben's head is "very far down", but my cervix is still closed.  (I had no idea what any of this meant until about 2 weeks ago).

At my appointment, I asked my doctor what my chances of having her at the delivery were, and she said about 75%.  Good odds, or so I thought!  Then she checked my due date and saw that I'm due on her and her husband's 10 year anniversary, for which they planned a 4 day trip - September 16th - 19th. 

When it came time to measure, I, once again, was measuring small.  She measured me around 33 weeks instead of 36 weeks.  This time I was not concerned much, as she said that plenty of women measure small and end up doing several "size less than date" ultrasounds throughout their pregnancies.  Just another opportunity to see Ben!

This time, Greg was able to join me at the ultrasound!  The good news is that the results show that Ben is growing exactly as he should be.  In fact, at 32 weeks he was in the 25th percentile for size, and now he is in the 37th percentile :)  The not as good news is that my amniotic fluid levels are on the low end.  At 32 weeks I was at 11.7 cm (25th percentile) and now I am at 8.7 cm (10th percentile, but still okay).  We then strapped a fetal heartbeat monitor on and confirmed that Ben's heartbeat is super strong :)

Monitoring

I have been instructed to "lay low" this weekend and drink lots and lots of fluids, which I absolutely plan on doing.  I will go in on Monday for ANOTHER ultrasound to make sure my fluid levels aren't dropping further.  I guess if it were to ever get down to a 5-6 cm level, they would bring me in and take Ben out!

I will report back next week!  I hope this info isn't going to influence the pool votes ;)  No cheating, you guys.

Baby Pool!

With approximately 4 weeks left, I thought it would be fun to set up a baby pool!  If you want to play, enter your guess HERE!

36 Weeks - 9 Months Pregnant!

How far along: 36 weeks
Weight gain: 26 lbs
How big is baby: Almost 6 pounds and more than 18/5 inches long.  Apparently he is putting on about 1 ounce a day at this point.

Maternity clothes: Same. 
Stretch marks: No
Sleep: Sleep is still good, once I'm asleep.  Ben has been beating me up most nights as I am trying to get to sleep, so that has been fun.  This week he had been most violent active when I'm at my desk at work and then right before bed.
Best moment this week: We had such a great time in Victoria.  I loved the fact that our cell phones were off the entire time.  We probably talked more on this trip than we have in the past couple weeks combined.  Might need to enforce a "no technology" rule at home once in awhile.  We also did our hospital tour and got our car seat installed/checked, leaving me feeling much more prepared than I was last week.
Movement: Too much.
Food Cravings: Beets and sweet breads/cookies (not at the same time).  We brought home a box of maple cream cookies from Canada that were absolutely delicious. 
Labor Signs: No.  I've felt less exhaustion this week as I was experiencing last week, but still not even close to the energy levels I'm used to.
Belly button in or out: Out. 

What I miss: I miss the feeling of not having a human being inside me.  I can't wait to carry him around on the outside.  I've been daydreaming about what my first yoga practice will be like post-pregnancy.  Greg bought a Groupon to one of my studios, so it will be fun to take some classes together.  Friends - counting on you to step in and watch Ben for 2 hours :)
What I'm looking forward to: Our amazing friends Dan and Jeannette are throwing us a baby shower this weekend, and I'm REALLY looking forward to it! 

Inappropriate?

Is it time to retire my favorite/most comfortable T-shirt?  :(

More maternity yoga photos

Okay, I promise that these will be the LAST batch of photos starring yours truly.  (I'm feeling a little vain).  Future photo shoots will involve baby Ben :)  I received the rest of my yoga photos today though, and had to share them:

More maternity photos

I received a disk of photos from my amazing friend Kate!  It was so fun to look through some of the pictures from our day down in Seattle.  Thank you, Kate, for capturing such a special time in our lives :)

Craving of the week: Beets

Is it just me, or are beets making a comeback lately?  I have been into beets for the past two years or so.  It all started when our friends Charisse and Brad had us over for a gourmet dinner (cooked by Brad) with a beet salad as one of the courses.  Ever since then, I have ordered them every chance I get when dining out.  

Yesterday, I FINALLY took the time to figure out how to cook them myself!  Below is a recipe for the super simple, yet delicious (IMHO) salad I threw together.

Spinach, Goat Cheese and Beet Salad

1.  Wash and peel (like a potato) your desired number of beets. 

2.  Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and then wrap them individually and tightly in foil.

3.  Bake them for 50-60 minutes at 375 degrees.

4.  Slice the beets into bite sized pieces

5.  Toss with baby spinach leaves, crumbled goat cheese, and potentially crushed and/or toasted almonds or walnuts.

6.  Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Voila!

Victoria

This past weekend, Greg and I took a 2 day trip to Victoria.  It was exactly what we needed before entering the last month of pregnancy, (aka "crunch time").

We got up bright and early on Saturday morning and caught the 7:30 am Victoria Clipper down in Seattle.  We were a few of the last people to board, and the boat was sold out.  After roaming around looking for seats, we found 2 empty ones which ended up being next to one of the nicest families ever!  It was a mom, 2 sisters (our age) and one of their daughters heading up to Victoria to for a girls weekend.  As we got to talking we learned that we are practically neighbors, even having a few mutual acquaintances.  Such a small world! 

Once arriving in Victoria, Greg and I checked into our hotel, dropped off our bags and headed out for a walk and some lunch.  Lunch was followed by a nap, then more walking, window shopping, dinner, dessert, and then finally returning to our room.  I think I got more "exercise" on this trip than I have in weeks! 

A dragonboat festival was going on the entire weekend we were there in the inner harbor, which made for a fun event to watch while taking breaks between all of the other activities we did.

On Sunday, we ventured out for more window shopping, a pub crawl (for Greg), checked out a movie at the Imax and then returned to the boat for our trip home.  Our new friends saved us a seat, and even brought us a little baby gift for Ben!  How sweet is that? 

Throughout the weekend, I kept thinking about how different our trips like this will be in the future.  Will we be able to enjoy ourselves as much knowing that our little guy is waiting for us at home?  Or will we enjoy them even more than we do now, realizing that one-on-one time is going to be harder to come by?

Either way, I think we are ready for what happens next.  The final countdown is on. 

1. More. Month.

Below are a few pictures I remembered to take throughout the weekend:

Gift from the hotel - so nice!

View from our hotel room

The babymooners

This band was playing "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga.  Awesome.

View of the harbor - Dragonboat races!

(Our favorite team name of them all - the Thunder Strokers).