39 weeks

Well, I have made it to 39 weeks. Julie, my doula is finally here and the countdown has begun. I think that he is slowly dropping...I have been feeling it a little bit for the last couple of days... Maybe he is starting to get ready to go. Doctor's appt today so maybe I will know for sure later. It is really hard for me to tell. He is feeling super heavy and strong now.
His daddy will be here soon and I know he is just waiting. Once doula and daddy are here..then we will be ready for real. I've become pretty slow and tired. Little bits of work punctuated by little bits on the couch is about all I can handle. Of course I'm trying to relax while I can because I know it is gonna get crazy. A baby, friends, relatives, and 2 more dogs are all coming soon into my life and I am very used to it just being me and Elijah. This quiet house will be quiet no more!

38 weeks belly photo

38 weeks

Wow, two weeks have passed since I have blogged and I was doing so good before! Oh well, here I am at 38 weeks and Tired. I have been doing so good this entire time but I am feeling it now. Time to just hang out on the couch and wait it out. Yeah right, I wish. I would love to feel ready but really are you ever ready? Thankfully Julian does not seem to be in a hurry. He has not dropped at all and I am not dilating. I do think however that I have started feeling some little contractions in the last couple of days and my legs got swollen for the first time (and I thought it wasn't gonna happen to me :) Sleep is sporadic, I mean I sleep, between 12 and 4 anyway, and sometimes between 6 and 9....

Julie, my doula, gets here in 3 days! yay! I am going to feel so much better about things once she is here. I will have help around the house and know that at least half of my birth team will absolutely for sure be here with me when it is labor time. I'm getting pretty excited. Julian feels so big now, he moves around and I can feel his feet and knees. Sometimes it hurts he presses so hard. I will take official 38 week photos soon but for now, here is a day at the beach a week ago...

36 weeks

I can't believe that I am at 36 weeks already! Only 4 more weeks to go.. I've been nesting away and his nursery is finally almost done. I need to finish with the wall decorations and I still need to complete his bedding and I would love some more accessories but it is already pretty functional. I know he will not even be sleeping in there at first anyway but I would like it to be more or less done. My list is getting shorter. I think he still needs a few things but it is not overwhelming anymore.

I am so excited that daddy is coming to help out with some stuff tomorrow. We need a little daddy time, it has been a while. It will also be great to do something about the tree that fell during the windstorm. I am afraid the fence is gonna fall down. I'm bummed that I am losing one of my trees but it is pretty much dead already :( so sad.

Doctors visit went well today. I have to go every week from now on. He is about six pounds now, right on schedule but hasn't dropped at all. The doc said to expect him to within the next couple of weeks. Great, then I will have to pee even more often! Mom said I didn't drop until late so maybe I will be the same way. Who knows. I'm not in any hurry to have this baby. I really am looking forward to meeting him but I hope he knows we need to wait for our doula and daddy to be up here before he makes an appearance.

Hospital Bag

Well, seeing as how I have 5 more weeks to go, I figured I should at least start packing my hospital bag. This seems to be a very popular subject in the world of baby blogs. First time mamas apparently always pack too much but oh well. I will try to reach some sort of in between.

My bag so far:

- coconut water 

- toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash

- body wash and shampoo

- lip balm

- maxi pads

- nipple pads and cream

- cheap underwear

- extra contacts, solution and case

- Boppy pillow

Things I plan on adding to my bag

- robe

- socks

- slippers

- going home outfit for me

- going home outfit for Julian

- music

- magazines

- baby book page for footprint

- snacks

- pillow

What am I forgetting? 

The nursery is finally painted!

Well those of you who helped or heard about my nursery painting know that it has taken a long time but the nursery paint job is finally finished! Thank you so much to the 4 people who spent multiple days helping me make this room perfect. Of course I had to go all complicated with 3 colors and stripes and we had to cover up the dark turquoise that was in there but the end result is totally worth it. Now that the paint job is done, I have been able to start bringing baby stuff out of the cluttered living room too. yay!

I have been in total baby world lately as the due date is getting closer and closer. I've been putting together baby toys, washing clothes, taking inventory and making lists. I'm getting so excited to meet my sweet baby Julian!

A little preview...more pix to come soon

34 weeks

Baby Shower

The baby shower was on 4/10 and was great! Dawn and her daughter Trinity flew in from Ojai to throw the shower for me and went above and beyond to make it special. We decorated with the colors of Julian's room, orange, blue and brown. The cake was amazing, it was the official announcement of Julian as the name. It was a small shower with 6 close girlfriends and it was exactly how I hoped it to be. We played a few games, drank mimosas and wine (well everyone else did) opened presents and ate cake. The generosity of my friends was overwhelming. Everyone brought a few presents and I can't wait to get them all put away and ready for the baby. Thanks everyone for coming and thanks Dawn for a fabulous shower!

 Check out the pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/49377035@N06/sets/72157623867339746

29 weeks

Third Trimester

Well, today I have officially entered the third trimester! I am 28 weeks today. I can't believe how big I am getting and how big the boy is getting. I can feel him all the way from my ribs to my public bone. All day today he has been super active. Showing off his skills I guess. I only wish we could decide on a name so I could stop calling him baby boy. Time is really flying by all of the sudden and I guess it may be time to start thinking about labor. I've been thinking about how I want to go about it but not really thinking about the actual process and pain so much. I really hope that I am able to accomplish it naturally and not turn into a raving lunatic demanding drugs. Please let me om my way thru this :) I've really been obsessing over names and nursery ideas today and here is what I have come up with. Julian Cruz and this...

I worked on this all day, switched the colors around a million times and did drawings off the other walls as well. I almost thought I had forgotten how to use CAD for a minute there. I'm planning on making the bedding myself. The circles will be decals so I can stick them on but I am really in need of someone to paint for me. Looking at the room today I realized the walls are pretty rough too...I wonder if sanding is safe?