B is for Baby Bisha Belly

30 is going to be a great year. Many special people in my life made my birthday a great day and those same people are already a part of Smidgey's village. This is the first year I can remember that I did not announce my birthday month and countdown every day. This less than 6 pound little bitty girl has already started taking over my life in the best way possible. I will always remember my 30th birthday with Smidge in my belly.

The Hoskers and my parents joined forces to get me the one thing I have been wanting to do for months. On Sunday morning with blue skies, the most wonderful photographer came to our house to do a maternity photo shoot. I had really been wanting to do this and really not wanting to spend an arm and a leg on it. The icing on the cake was having Gram with us for the shoot and we were able to get some shots with the rocker she reupholstered.  Here is a sneak preview of the photos.

                                        

 

The mom update: I am hot, hot, hot. For the first time in almost 6 years, we had to take the down comforter off of our bed, turn the heat down to 66 degress and turn the fan on in order to sleep. We spent yesterday afternoon climbing at the Syracuse rock gym. I got 20 laps in (up and down), which is puny in comparison to a normal climbing day, but it still felt amazing. As of last week I was up 14 pounds total since my first prenatal appointment, but I am pretty sure she/we is/are up another pound this week! I am still sleeping pretty well, but am looking forward to sleeping on my back again. My hospital bag is mostly packed and I am taking the carseat to the fire station this week to learn the proper installation process. Jim told Smidge she was free to come any time after my birthday and which tells me he is ready to go. Now it is just a waiting game. While we are both looking forward to meeting her, she can stay inside as long as she needs. The closer to the due date she gets arrive, the more time she has to grow without doing any work. Once she is here, she will have some responsibilities for growth and body temperature regulation.

Tiny Dresses

36 Weeks

We had our 36 week (9month!) appointment this week. Smidgey Roo is head down, face down and making her mommy and daddy bear feel calm and comfortable with her progress. Her heartbeat kept darting up into the 160's as she squirmed and played. It is fascinating to listen to heart range while she goes from calm and collected to wound up and wiggly, which she tends to do while we are at the doctor's office. Show off.

We are now less than four weeks from the ESTIMATED due date. All of my worries about a premie baby have subsided and the one's I had been so strongly experiencing seem futile. What do you know? Worrying about something I had almost no control over was worthless! The midwife thinks she is going to be a tiny baby even if she sticks around in there for another four or five weeks. My body thinks this is just fine.

Gram came up for a visit and to volunteer with us at Smidgey's first Family Reading Partnership Kids Book Fest this past weekend. She spoiled the pants off of us, like usual, and got Baby Bisha her first two books autographed by an author. This is something I have been doing for my nieces for many years, but hadn't even considered for our own kid. It was so special to have her spend time reading those books to the baby, too. Gram even bought Smidge a brand new little, bitty, teeny, tiny Christmas dress. It is totally impractical and will be up around her little armpits, but it is going to make stinkin' cute Christmas pictures in front of the Christmas tree. She will only be a brand new Christmas baby one time and daddy will just have to start coping with dresses and bows some time soon.

I am still feeling great and enjoying this process. When Smidgey wakes up at 3:00 a.m. with hiccups I remind myself that soon enough I won't feel her from the inside and I lay awake to enjoy her growth and development. Climbing has officially ended for me, mostly due to the compression of the harness on my belly and the fact that I can no longer see my toes :-). Swimming continues to be an important part of movement, as well walking, rowing and lifting weights. Motion is lotion. Sitting, I have found, is the worst possible thing I can to my body. My 8-5 desk job is quickly getting old. I rotate from a chair to a yoga ball to standing with frequent loops around the building, but it is still an all day office job. 

As a quick side note, the Affordable Care Act allowed us to get my top choice breast pump at a very low expense to us. Although we have private health insurance, this act mandates that insurance companies put $178.50 toward a breast pump to own (not rent). The total cost of this top of the line pump was only $210.00 so we are thrilled at this support from the government! 

Nesting Mummy

Mummy and Mummy's Little Helper

35 Weeks...5 more until our due date!

 Who can resist using the bump to build a costume? As a last minute decision we decided not be old, married and expecting and went out for Halloween. Without painting my belly as a pumpkin, I wanted to advantage of a possible one time opportunity to use the 8 and half month belly to build a costume. Here is the outcome...Mummy and Mummy's Little Helper.

26 Homemade Burp Cloths 

Rumor has it that the nesting will gain in momentum as the time to meet this little lady gets closer. It is hard to imagine that! I mad 26 burp cloths out of scrap material last week. I had no idea burp cloths were at the steep price of 3 for $12! I finished up the birth announcement cross stitch I have been working on. After Smidge is born, Gram will stitch in the birth details, including birth date, name, weight and length/height. The silverware drawer is clean and so are the faces of the kitchen cabinets. We rearranged the living room and bought a new area rug. The junk drawer in the kitchen now has organizers in it and looks awesome. I organized my clothing and packed away summer time maternity wear. This is all just in the past week! I am not sure what I will do when there is nothing left. I suppose I can re-re-reorganize one of our closets :-).