July 27, 2009

Week 29












~~Amanda

End of Week 29 Status:

Weight: 170 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Head of Cabbage

It has been week 30 for a few days now, but I wanted to finish my research paper before devoting time to the blog this week. It's finally done! I forgot to mention last week, but we once again got some great news from Josh and Shelly....they're expecting again and their little one is due in March. Yay! I'm glad Sebastian gets to have a cousin the same age as him.

I am finally in the home stretch of this summer semester, which has officially worn me out with the mega research paper in my upper-level Modern Architecture class, and the packing of three months worth of French and the history of Asia into one month. It feels good to make up for some of the credits I will be missing out on to have the baby this fall though.

We started mapping out our mini-vacation for the 14th to the 21st of August. So far we have the possibility of hitting the Outer Banks, Charleston, Savannah and the NC mountains. Not sure what order as of yet though. We also plan on taking my baby belly to the Asheboro Zoo for one of the days on the way back (or there if we got to the mountains first). Seeing as it's hurricane season, weather will have a lot to do with it.

I think the pregnancy heat wave has officially rolled in. Despite the fact that my hair is at this very moment soaking wet, and our house is a comfortable (to Andy anyways) 73 degrees, it feels like a Sauna in here to me. Welcome back the endless water bottles, frequent naps and trips to the head. I still feel very energetic, healthy, and mobile for now though. No swelling or severe back aches. I'm definitely glad I've been putting myself through a prenatal exercise regimen this whole time.

I'm kind of excited because I get to meet a midwife for my next appointment, and hopefully if I like her, I can keep her the rest of the time. I hate having a different doctor everytime I go to the hospital, it's annoying! The last guy I saw didn't speak English well at all, and I had to really try not to laugh at his pronunciation of words like "placenta" and "cervix" which sounded more like pkhlacyentia and syervishka.

Hmm...what else? Oh yea, we finished the last room of the house- the study...crown moulding was not a fun idea, but it looks nice. I'll post a picture below. Well, that's it for now, see y'all next week.

July 19, 2009

Week 28












~~Amanda

End of Week 28 Status:
Weight: 169 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Chinese Cabbage

Well, week 29 has arrived, and 28 was a week filled with work. We finished repainting the living room, steam cleaned the carpets in the whole house, and picked up some furniture from consignment shops so we have a place to relax now. It's sooo nice having a comfy space again. The house will be a work in progress for another year probably, but finishing the living room makes the rest of it seem like less of a chore. The last big project is repainting the study, which we'll probably start sometime this week.

Other than housework, I've been trying to maintain my French homework load and write this 20-page research paper on the Roman Art Museum in Merida, Spain. I am just taking things in stride so I don't freak out. I don't know what I'll do with myself in August when I no longer have all these projects going on. At the moment we have plans to make a trip to the Outer Banks and then to my parents new house in Swannanoa, NC. I have all of my parenting and birthing classes scattered on weekends throughout August so we're only going to have about a week to travel, but I am looking forward to it.

Well, I suppose I'll post some pictures of the living room progress. I don't have very many before pictures, but all you really need to see is the color change and fixed baseboards/door trims to see what we did. I'm so glad I don't have to look at poo brown on my walls anymore, haha.

Before Pictures:

After Pictures - We still have lots of family pictures to hang:

Like the one on top of the TV...it needs to be hung and it needs company:

And the ones on the fireplace...look at our pretty new tablecloth!
Pet picture Coasters! Aerwyn, Harley, Ivan and Tito:

July 11, 2009

Week 27












~~Amanda

End of Week 27 Status:
Weight: 166 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Chinese Cabbage 15.5 inches long, 3 pounds(official hospital measurement)

WOOHOO! It's the THIRD TRIMESTER this week, and week 27 was pretty blah. I've mostly been involved with schoolwork the whole week, and there haven't been many exciting happenings.

We did have an appointment yesterday to see if my marginal previa had improved at all, so we got to see little Sebastian snoozing. Good news is the placenta did move about a centimeter and is now looking as though it will be out of the way by the time for delivery. However, to make sure, we have to go back again on August 14th. The doctor also told us that we were on track to have a 15-pound baby, hahaha...he, of course, was joking. But Sebastian is larger than the average baby boy at this point by about 3/4lbs. This is not all that surprising, since Andy was close to 11 lbs, and I was close to 9. I'd rather not think about it honestly...haha.

Anyhoo, here is the ultrasound photo from yesterday as well as the pictures I promised of the baby things we purchased and the curtains and what not we put up:



July 5, 2009

Week 26











~~Amanda

End of Week 26 Status: Weight: 165 lbs. Estimated Baby Size: A Head of Cauliflower 14.5 inches long, almost 2 pounds.

It's Week 27 and Fourth of July weekend! We acquired many exciting nursery items this week as well as a travel system (stroller, car seat, carrier combo). We now have a crib, a froggie wall organizer, a froggie stuffed animal, a cute fluffy baby book, and a rocker/glider as well. Having all these things will probably make me even more impatient to greet Sebastian, but we were given such great deals on the pieces we bought that we couldn't pass them up. The froggie stuff and cute book were gifts from my parents, but the crib and stroller we purchased from local families off of Craigslist. They are both really nice and I spent a while yesterday scrubbing, disinfecting and machinewashing all of their parts. The glider Andy splurged on a little bit in Fredericksburg on his way home from Quantico; he's the best! I'm sure Sebastian and I will make great use of it during naps and nursing time.

After a hectic Friday of pure research for me and taxiing Marines to Quantico for Andy, we were gifted with the oppurtunity to relax in the sun with our friends. Stacey and Curtis invited us over to grill and swim in their pool for the fourth, and another group of friends had us over for shrimp, crabs, and steak after that. Mmmm, cheeseburgers, watermelon, steak and dessert all day long! I loved the pool, I didn't have to concentrate on keeping my balance at all, and I think Sebastian enjoyed the experience as well. We didn't get a chance to catch fireworks this year, but we saw a few being fired locally when we got home. Apparently our neighbors made a trip to North Carolina in preparation for Independence Day.

Next week is the beginning of the last and final trimester! I'm almost scared at the prospect that Sebastian will be allowed three more months to grow, he seems so huge as it is! If he truly is only two pounds as babycenter.com claims, however, then I suppose it is definitely for the best. I just can't imagine my belly can stretch much further. Sebastian has grown strong enough to kick on all sides of my belly at once...and has grown accustomed to having dance parties when I go to bed at night. He has also developed a special affinity for my rib cage, kidneys, and stamping on my bladder at random. It's a pretty interesting ride, but I love it.

Right-o! I'm off to exercise, and attempt to reassemble the millions of pieces I had to take apart to machine-wash all the parts of the stroller yesterday. I will take more pictures of the new things next week when I have them assembled. See you then!