Week The 38th

Well, this is Week 38. We have an ultrasound today to determine what position our little guy is in- the doctor wants to confirm whether he is head down or if we may need to try and move him at next week's appointment. I love seeing our baby on ultrasound, but the process is a bit uncomfortable. The technician has you lay on your back (a nice relief for back pain for about 5 seconds until the extra weight starts pushing down on you), and then starts moving the wand around your midsection to determine what's going on inside.

There is a lot of fat, muscle and tissue to get through, so the wand is pressed down fairly hard. And, on top of this, one must have a full bladder. I'm hoping that our baby is at least starting to show an interest in changing position because if not, the next step is for the doctor to try and move him and that process is just as uncomfortable.

I'll keep you all posted. We have been blessed with more clothes for Michael so those are all tucked away in a big plastic tote waiting for our growing baby to fit into them. It's amazing to me how much stuff we accquire for these little people we bring into our lives and how much space it takes up...I'm still nesting, but not to the extent where I'm cleaning everything (it's hard enough to stay on top of the normal housework, adding extra tasks like scrubbing the baseboards and steam cleaning the kitchen floor just isn't going to happen). Nope, my nesting involves organizing (and reorganizing) the clothes and other baby goodies we have. I think I'lve probably gone through his dresser at least 5 times to get everything just so.

I was going to post a photo here, but I forgot to grab my camera so I will post one later today for you all to see.

37 Weeks

I have started week number 37! Now we are in the home stretch (literally, I don't know how much more stretching my middle section can handle...) and getting the last few things together before our bundle of joy arrives.

I forgot to get a picture of my growing self for this week, so I'll make sure to post one later. In the meantime, here is what things look like right now.

This is the changing station/dresser. The bottom three drawers are keeping Michael's clothes- newborn-3 month sizes with sleep sacks, jammies, and extra changing pad covers.

In the top drawer are diapers, plain white onesies, extra diaper cream, nursing supplies, and pacifiers.

In the closet, I bought a rather nifty organizer from Amazon.com and will be using it to store extra goodies like receiving blankets, burp cloths, diapering supplies, and other items that otherwise didn't find a home in our tiny apartment and need organizing....

Above the nifty organizer in our closet are extra clothes organized according to size. I thought about doing a tote for each size, season, and type of clothing, and then remembered that we only have so much room to work with, and my husband only has so much patience with my slightly compulsive organizing (and re-organizing) activities...

We are getting there and soon, oh so soon, we will have a small human sleeping in the cradle in our bedroom, keeping us awake, and growing into (and out of) all those sweet clothes that we have ready for him. I can hardly wait :)

P.S.- I finally finished his blanket. I will post photos after it has been washed.

35 Weeks!

Okay everyone! We have started Week 35! That means (in theory) that Michael will make his appearance between now and sometime in early November.....Babies come when they are ready, and since no doctor in his right mind would let a woman carry past 42 weeks, I feel that this is a pretty safe time frame....

Alex and I have been working on getting everything ready for the little guy. We have the stroller and carseat in the car and ready to go, the diaper bag packed, the clothes organized, and more! Now, we just have a few last minute things to do and only a few items left to purchase while we wait. And wait...

Here are a few photos to catch you up.

My sweet Alex really wanted to have the stuffed animals in the car to greet our son when we bring him home....

To go in each car, there is an emergency diaper box. Each one has a change of clothes, wipes, diapers, garbage bags, and a receiving blanket that can be used as a changing pad, burp cloth, blankie, etc...

These are the toiletries that are in our hospital bag. I've heard stories of birth. I'm taking a shower afterward....

Alex and I each have a change of clothes. The socks have grippies on the bottoms- great for a klutz like me, and also good protection against icky hospital floors...

This is Mama's going home dress and Michael's going home outfit.

This little critter was given to Alex when he was a wee babe. He has held on to it all these years in hopes of passing him on to his child. "Musical Bear" is the name and he is packed in the hospital bag and ready to go. The hat he is wearing is one that Alex picked out. He's so proud of that hat...

That's all I have for now. I will post more photos of the other projects later.

32 Weeks

It is almost the end of 32 weeks and we are almost ready to bring the little pumpkin home. Almost. What a funny word. Really, this means that we have some clothes, around 300 diapers, a couple of thousand wipes and a playpen that Dorito has been very much enjoying. But! There are showers coming up, and that will be fun and there is a wee sweater on the needles for our little guy.

We are very excited and can hardly wait to meet Michael Jefferson!

Still Alive. Still Knitting.

Hello Everyone. I'm sorry that I have been away for so long. We went on vacation recently and were gone for two weeks. Before that, life just wasn't very interesting. I suppose I should blog anyway, even when it isn't interesting.

Vacation was great. We spent two weeks on the road travelling through several national parks/monuments/forests and having a wonderful time together. Everything was lovely. The only drawback was in Yellowstone and Grand Teton where it rained the entire time we were there. Our trip was right about the time that the big motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota was going on. We had to spend only one night in the car and if you ever need to do this, there is a nice little pullout across from the airport just outsde of Grand Teton National Park.

There is a story behind that, but I think I'll wait to share it....

Michael is still growing inside of his mama. I just started my 31st week of pregnancy, and must say that when I looked at my calendar, and looked at what still needs to be done/purchased, I had a mild panic attack. I was thinking, couldn't he just sleep in a drawer? Is a crib really neccassary? And what about those diapers- one box is enough to get started, right?

Any other mothers out there that have had these same thoughts?

I'll try to be more vigilant about my postings. For now, I'm going to peruse the Interwebs and research the essentials of diaper-bag packing...

Nesting

I've been reading What To Expect When You're Expecting and there's a little section in there about "Nesting Syndrome". In short, "nesting" is the act of readying the home and life for a baby. It can be as simple as rearranging the nursery furniture to as extreme as scrubbing the floors with a toothbrush. Each woman deals differently.

Lately, I've been finding myself wandering about our little abode doing the normal housework and thinking about what a change (a good change) this little child will bring to our life and we are so excited. The blanket is coming along quite nicely. I'll post photos later.

And the Color Is....

We are having a boy! His name will be Michael Jefferson and as the wool is my witness, he will learn to knit. Last night when I came home, Alex had this surprise waiting for me:

You may note the wee trains on his socks- the child will have an abundance of trains in his life (his father is a big fan...)

There is a some green and purple wool in y stash that needs some attention so I must bid you all adieu and as always, happy knitting.