One week later...

Well... I guess Baby Michael had me eating my words about wanting him to come early!  After writing and posting the blog last week I felt just fine. By 5pm, not so much. I'll write a better post about Michael's entrance into the world when I have more time. Basically, we were at the hospital by 8pm, and Michael arrived at 1:39 am. I labored about 9 hours and his actual delivery only took about 7 minutes. Oh, and if you really want to hate me, I've already dropped about 15 pounds (thank God for breastfeeding), and I'm only 10 away from my pre-pregnancy weight. It seems that karma is doing me a solid after my horrible first trimester.

Since Michael was 4 weeks early, they consider him a premie. :( Sad day. However, he is healthy and happy. We just have to keep an eye on his weight and keep him away from the real world for about two weeks. And since he will be a week old tomorrow, he only has one more to go!

Rob and I are totally in love with him, and I am selfishly enjoying keeping him away from people cause I want to be with him all the time! Rob is an amazing dad so far, and has probably changed more diapers than me. I knew I picked a winner in him!

You may have noticed we haven't posted any pictures of the baby on facebook (if you are a facebook user anyway). Rob and I are paranoid new parents, and we aren't sure if we want any pictures of him on fbook. However, we love our family and friends (near and far) and we do want to share pictures (and hopefully videos soon) of our new baby. I created a private online album you can check out: http://threeisntacrowd.shutterfly.com/.  Just shoot me an email or facebook message and I will give you the password. We will continue to add pictures as we take them. I would have more but all I do is feed him, change him, and sleep!

Also, thank you to everyone who has sent well wishes and congratulations our way. We are so happy and thankful to have all of you in our lives!

9 Months!!!!

Here we are at 36 weeks preg- I am officially in my 9th month of pregnancy! It's a bit scary and exciting that my due date is less than a month away at this point!

Rob and I still have a lot to do before Baby Michael gets here! The nursery is mostly finished. We are still waiting on our glider, and the bookcase we got is a bit to small, and I'd like to get a floating shelf for over the dress/changing table- but it's looking good! Once it is more finished and polished looking, I'll post pictures. Besides nursery stuff, we need a few more things, but since I have my Atlanta baby shower this weekend (yay!), I am holding off on buying the last items til next week.

I am really excited for my shower! Even though I've been back since August I haven't had the opportunity to see many of my friends because I moved directly to Athens. This will be the first time I see a lot of them since the last time I was home! My mother, and two friends, Mauri and Allie, have been planning the shower. They have been secretive, so I have no idea what to expect besides a jungle theme!

As for me, I feel ok most of the time. My back hurts a lot, and I've actually been having some minor contractions. Don't worry, that's normal before you go into real labor. Despite my hopes that these might be a sign the baby might come early, my doctor and all the pregnancy books say that real labor could still be weeks away. Even though the contractions are minor, and are more uncomfortable than painful, I would prefer not to be having them for the next four weeks!

I also forgot to share a fun tidbit from my last doctor appointment (what with the possibility of breech baby). Right BEFORE my doc starting feeling for the baby's head, she asked me if Rob and I would be interested in sharing our birth with a reality show crew. I don't think I have ever said no faster in my entire life. Of course, then I felt rude and apologized. Dr. Simone explained it would focus on our relationship (personal and medical) with her during labor and after delivery- nothing "private" would be shown. Yeah, still a big giant NO, sorry. Considering I only want Rob and the medical staff in the room, the idea of sharing our birth with all of America is horribly invasive. I want to enjoy the first moments of my child's life with Rob, not everyone who watches tv. No thank you.

Interestingly, this is the second time this year I was asked to participate in a reality tv show! Earlier this year, our landlord in St. Kitts asked if we wanted to be on house hunters international (cause the Dolphin House freakin' rocks!). We chose not to do that cause it was going to be a huge hassle-we had to pretend we didn't live in the house yet, they do not provide a moving or cleaning service before or after the show, and even though they provide small compensation you are required to fly back to where you came from to film a before scene using that "compensation" money. They only wanted one couple, and since Rob and Kate were in class, it would have been a bit weird for all of our friends back home to see Trevor and me (7 months pregnant) pretending to be a couple. The best part was that right after we turned them down, there were a bunch of news articles announcing house hunters was fake. Oooh, stop the presses- reality tv isn't reality? Shut the front door! Anyway, the point is I don't want our birth on tv. :)

Excuse the lounge-y wear. I was too tired to throw together a real outfit today.

How far along? 36 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  148/149. Same as last week, apparently toward the end of pregnancy your weight kind of stabilizes   
Maternity clothes? Still both. 
Measurements: Waist: 39.5 inches, Hips: 40 inches. 
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: AWFUL! Last night was terrible. I have a feeling that it won't be getting any better.

What is Baby doing? Not too much! All his systems are pretty much in working order, his digestive system isn't up and running, but that's because he hasn't needed it yet. What I hope Baby Michael is doing is getting ready to make his debut. I don't know if I'm ready to be a mom yet, but seriously baby, let's get this show started!

Best moment this week: Knowing we are in the home stretch!
Movement: Yes, he is kicking me in my right ribs, mostly at night, and nearly always in a manner that hurts. Very badly.
Miss Anything? Breathing, sitting, laying down, sleeping, etc...
Food cravings: Nope.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.
Name: Michael!

Labor Signs: Yep- minor contractions. Although, these are prelabor or false labor contractions- it's not show time just yet.
Belly Button in or out? The "button" part is finally starting to poke out, but just a little bit!
Wedding rings on or off? Rocking my engagement only.
Happy or Moody most of the time: I am happy overall, but due to my discomfort I might be a bit moody.

Looking forward to: My doctor's appoint Friday and my shower Saturday!

35 Weeks!

Another week down, another blog post, another week closer to meeting Baby Michael!  The 35th week is the last of month 8, so next week I will officially be in my 9th MONTH! Time could not go by slower in my first trimester, and now it's flying.  Even though my doctor keeps telling me that most first mothers tend to be late, Rob and I both think we're going to have an October baby. If we're right, the baby will be here before the end of the month! Scary! Of course, it's more likely that my doctor, with years and years of experience is right. If I am overdue, she said that she is uncomfortable letting me go longer than one week past due, so the latest the baby would be here is November 14th. That's not too far away either.

I met with my doctor this past Thursday, and it started off like any normal appointment. Weight, blood pressure, measure my tummy, listen to baby's heartbeat (which was strong!). Then Dr. Simone said she was going to press on my stomach to confirm the baby was head down (Rob, as a vet student looked confused when I told him this. I told him she palpated my stomach, and he said OHHH right. Vet nerd).  Well, after a lot of uncomfortable pressing, and a lot of concerned sounding "Hmmms...." Dr Simone asked if I would be willing to do a quick sonogram. Uh, why???? Apparently, she could not feel Baby Michael's head. She was concerned that he might be breech. Crap (that is not the word that went through my head, but I have to keep it PG-13).

Into the sonogram room we go, and after a few minutes of searching near the top of my tummy for his head we found NOTHING. No head! After another concerned, "Hmmm," my doc said quietly to herself, "Maybe he's..." and moved the wand way down to the very bottom of my tummy. Yep, little Michael  has his head nestled WAY down low already. Dr. Simone said it was great, but she was surprised I hadn't been peeing my pants regularly with his head that low. I asked if being that low was a risk factor for preterm labor. Nope- he's just good to go once the show begins.  I asked if he was a big baby, cause despite his head being low his feet were still crushing my lungs. She did not have the machine set up to take measurements, since it was a quick thing, but she said he is actually a little baby. Not dangerous or cause for concern little, he's just a small baby (based on her visual assessment). She also pointed out that he might seem big to me because I am also small. So crisis averted. No breech baby! Yay!

The worst part of my appointment (once I knew everything was ok with the baby anyway) was the realization that the (cheap) scale that I bought is about seven-eight pounds off. I weighed, what? 139 lbs by my scale Tuesday when I posted the blog last week. A mere two days later at the doctor's office I weighed 147 lbs!!!! Since I am pretty sure I didn't gain that much weight over two days, I figured it was my scale. So, I am not sure when those 8 extra lbs caught up with me, but they did.  Now, I know gaining weight is par for the course, but thinking I gained 8 lbs over two days kind of blew my mind.

Oh, and I think Rob would appreciate me sharing this. I am really dumb. Seriously. The baby is literally sucking the brains out of my head. Yesterday (at least I think it was yesterday, it might have been three days ago, Rob says I can't keep track of time anymore either) I picked Rob up from school and drove back home. When we pulled up to the gate, Rob said, "Steph, the gate is closed." I responded, "Yeah, I know! I can see that it's closed Rob." He shook his head, reached over to the keys I had in the ignition and clicked the gate opener. I was just sitting there like an idiot waiting for it to open on it's own AND I was too stupid to even understand what Rob was trying to tell me. Baby Brain is REAL!

I assume they mean an unhusked coconut.

How far along? 35 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  149, +26 lbs. This means I am pretty much on target for weight gain. 
Maternity clothes? Still wearing both. AND my awesome friend Michelle saw me complain about buying maternity jeans last week on the blog, so she lent me her maternity jeans and they fit perfectly! Thanks Michelle!
Measurements: Waist: 39 inches, Hips: 40 inches. 
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Ok I guess. I have been sleeping pretty late in the mornings. I am trying to enjoy that since I won't get to sleep late again for the next 18 years. 

What is Baby doing? Well, he is about as long as he will get, but will probably pack on another pound or so before he's born. His hearing is fully developed now, and he responds best to high pitched noises. That's probably why he moves so much when I am whining to Rob.

Best moment this week: Finding out he is NOT breech! Also, I know it's awful, but hearing he was on the small side gave me a little bit of relief from my delivery anxiety!
Movement: Baby Michael is still going all the time. However, now all his movements tend to be in only two spots, clearly he's running out of room. 
Miss Anything? I miss breathing normally so much.
Food cravings: I wanted cupcakes this week. I was initially torn if it was a preg craving or just a normal human wanting delicious cupcakes. Since I didn't end up making cupcakes til the next day, and I did not cram 40 of them into my mouth at once, I'm going to say it was just regular Stephanie wanting a cupcake.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Just my doctor scaring the crap out of me at my appointment.
Have you started to show yet:  I had three people at the grocery store ask me when I was due. Oh, and I saw a woman with a life-like baby doll in a car seat there too. I followed her out, she strapped the car seat into her car. It was freaking (again not the word that came to mind, PG-13) weird!!!
Name: Michael!

Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? Flat as a pancake.
Wedding rings on or off? My engagement ring fits fine, but my wedding rings do not. So I just wear my engagement ring. I'm tired of people looking at me like I'm an unwed teen mom. Curse my youthful appearance!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Anxious! I am tired of being uncomfortable and I want the baby to be here already!

Looking forward to: Eating another cupcake. Ha! Just kidding. Same as last week- baby's arrival!

34 Weeks!

There are some disadvantages to being back in the USA. For example, after living abroad for two years, life seems kind of boring here in the states. Rob and I are doing our best to save money, so I don't really do anything during the day. The difference between doing nothing in the states (sitting on my bum watching TV in the house) and St. Kitts (sitting and/or swimming on the beach) is actually pretty big. Plus, in St. Kitts I had all my awesome VIPs friends to do nothing with- here, not so much.

Why am I telling you all this? To prepare you for another less then interesting blog post this week! Baby stuff has been going along normally. Like I said, I am uncomfortable a lot. I would just like to lay down or sit down and relax!  Yesterday, I tried laying down on the couch, and baby boy kicked me in the stomach. Kicked me so hard I thought I was going to throw up. Yeah, that's right. I almost puked, that is how hard babies can kick. Usually he kicks my lungs, so I guess it was his way of keeping me surprised.  One of my books, and the website I get the fruits from, said that the baby may "drop" soon. This has not happened to me yet, but allegedly you can breathe easier once this happens. The trade off is that instead of peeing 97 times a day, once the baby drops you start peeing about 546 times a day. At this point I'm not sure if I rather breathe more or pee less. Decisions decisions...       

If you read this blog or my other one (which I promise I will update eventually), I would occasionally have a {Conversations} segment. I stole that idea from my friend Catherine. In an effort to liven up this post, I will share a conversation I had with Rob.

Scene- While watching TV, a Babies R Us ad with Heidi Klum showcasing her baby collection comes on.
Rob: "You didn't put any of her stuff on our baby registry, did you?"
Steph: "No, I didn't even register there. Why?"
Rob: "Because she's a porn star."
Steph: (after a moment of stunned silence) "Uh... She was a Victoria Secret model, not a porn star."
Rob: "Same thing."

Freddy has been trying to get in the picture for weeks now!

How far along? 34 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  139 this week by my scale. I have a dr appointment Thursday, I bet her scale will say I'm heavier.
Maternity clothes? Still wearing both. It's getting a bit chilly (in the morning anyway), and I am trying NOT to buy maternity jeans... I'm really hoping my leggings will get me through the next 6 weeks and post preg til I can get back in my regular clothes.
Measurements: Waist: 39 inches, Hips: 39.5 inches. 
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Not so bad this week. 

What is Baby doing? It's a big week, baby can now recognize songs we sing AND his litle boy parts are now on the outside of his body! (I am sure years from now Baby Michael will kill me for writing that on a public website).

Best moment this week: Hm, nothing super special happened this week. But I guess the worst thing (besides the stomach kicking) was when we went to the vet school tailgate for the football game last Saturday. It was pretty hot, and my fingers swelled up like sausages. It was awful, and it even kind of hurt.
Movement: I would like to know who wrote that babies stop moving or move less in the last weeks. Cause this baby moves ALL the time, and he kicks hard. He best be getting a football or soccer scholarship!
Miss Anything? Eh, not really.
Food cravings: Nope.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. Well, not unless you count baby kicks.
Have you started to show yet:  Yes. I looked up pics of preg ladies at 34 weeks... I'm feeling pretty good. Some people look enormous!
Name: Michael!

Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? Flat as a pancake.
Wedding rings on or off? I haven't bothered to even put them on since the tailgate. I'm afraid Rob will have to cut them off if my fingers swell again.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Uncomfortable, but happy.

Looking forward to: Baby Michael's arrival and my Atlanta shower (but that's still a couple weeks away!)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

33 Weeks!

I'm so on top of my game, that this week I realized that we are in single digits as we count down the weeks til the baby arrives. And yes, I realize there are 7 more weeks, not 9- I blame pregnancy brain. Getting so close means that Rob and I visited Northside Hospital's Women's Center- where we will be delivering.  We toured the maternity wing, which is really nice, and got the lowdown on how things generally go when people have babies. I had a mild panic attack when we saw some of the newborns in the nursery. It was definitely an, "I'm not ready to be in charge of another human, especially not a tiny helpless human," moment. I glanced at Rob- he was cool, calm, collected, and all smiles.

I also had another doctor appointment this past week. I was excited for Rob to finally meet my doctor- but she was "busy" (read- probably delivering a baby) so we met with the midwife she works with. Bummer. However, everything is still looking good with baby, and that is not a bummer!

The only other exciting piece of baby news is that Rob got maybe his favorite baby gift so far. It's a UGA jersey onesie. It is adorable. I think it will probably have to wait until next football season because it's sized for 18 months... unless we have a big chubby baby. That would be equally adorable.

Rob has school spirit.

Fred does NOT have school spirit.
Neither Fred nor I was impressed or pleased with Rob forcing Freddy into the UGA onesie.

How far along? 33 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  140, +17. Oy vey.
Maternity clothes? Rocking normal sized clothes today. Rob would want me to point out they may be normal, but the clothes consist of yoga pants and a tank top.
Measurements: Waist: 38 inches, Hips: 39.5 inches. Same three weeks in a row. Weird.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still not great. The weird thing is I'm restless all night, but after about 6am I completely conk out til around 9:30 or 10am.

What is Baby doing? Baby Boy now keeps his eyes open when he is awake. I can't lie, I hope he has blue eyes like me!

Best moment this week: I guess visiting the hospital. Even though seeing the newborn freaked me out, she was pretty cute.
Movement: Still moving all the time, except now it kind of hurts. Since the baby is getting bigger, there is less amniotic fluid to cushion his blows, so they feel harder.
Miss Anything? Breathing normally, sitting or laying down comfortably, sleeping through the night...
Food cravings: Nope.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. 
Have you started to show yet:  See picture above.
Gender: Little boy named Michael!

Labor Signs: Another Braxton-Hicks contraction, not as bad as the last one.
Belly Button in or out? Flat as a pancake.
Wedding rings on or off? Depends on the day- some days they fit, other days putting them on turns my finger purple.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. 
Looking forward to: The baby getting here! I am ready to not be preg anymore... 7 more weeks!

32 Weeks!

Eight months already! I can't believe that Rob and I only have eight more weeks (give or take) before the baby arrives.  In our childbirth class we learned that a woman's first labor and delivery closely mimics her mother's first labor and delivery. If this is in fact the case the baby might be here sooner than eight weeks, because I was a first baby and I was two weeks early! That would be just peachy with me too cause I'm kind of over being preg- I want the baby to get here!

In reality, we still have a lot to do before the baby gets here. I finally got all my wall art framed, and the giraffe decal and animal heads arrived this week.  He won't say it, but I think Rob hates the animal heads (I think they are hilariously awesome).  Apparently, because they are fake, they creep him out.  This is going to have to be one of those times where Rob and I just don't understand each other. I'm creeped out by the actual dead animal heads and bodies at the farm house and he is not. He is creeped out by white resin animal heads that were never alive and I am not. Hey, no couple is perfect right?! Ha!  We haven't hung any of our decorations yet, the giraffe was rolled up for shipping, so it's laid flat on the floor to... well, get flat, and we still need our glider chair and maybe a small bookcase for the room. The glider is on our registry, so we figured we'll wait til after the next shower before we make any purchases ourselves.  Once we have everything we need, we plan to fill in the gaps and finalize the nursery.

We did get quite a bit of stuff this past Saturday at our first baby shower up in New Jersey. It was a lot of fun, it was the first "Jack and Jill" baby shower I'd been too, and really it was more of a big holiday dinner/party/bbq but I was the only one who got presents. I didn't really open any of my presents though, I have several cousins between the ages of 3-8... they basically tore open all my gifts. Thank God my aunt was writing down who gave me what, because I had no idea. When I packed up the gifts I would say 50% of the stuff I didn't see while gifts were being opened. So, if you were at my shower, and my thank you card left some gift out- I'm sorry!  We did get a lot of fun stuff, and lots of cute clothes! My grandmother even knitted the baby an outfit (pants, hooded sweater, booties, and mittens) and a baby blanket. They are beautiful!

And............. we finally decided on a name! If you are a member of my family, or if you've met my family, you know we can be, what's the right word? Pushy, we can be pushy. On our way to the airport on Friday, Rob said, we need to decide on a name right now, otherwise everyone will be harassing us at the shower. Nothing like family to light a fire under your bum! We decided on two names we had been discussing since the beginning. We had wanted to use family names from the start, and we decided to name Baby Boy after both of our dads. So, Baby Boy's name is Michael Allen Seerley. Michael is my dad's first name, and Allen is Rob's dad's middle name (Allen is Rob's great-grandmother's maiden name; quite a few of his relatives have Allen as middle names).  It's kind of funny that after all our back and forth disagreements about names and not liking what each other liked, we ended up going back to names we discussed really early on in our pregnancy. Clearly we were over-thinking the name thing.  The best news- there was a clear second place name that we both liked. So if our next baby is a boy too, we won't be arguing for eight months over a name!

Oy, my face looks FAT. Not my best angle, gross.

How far along? 32 Weeks- 8 months!

Total weight gain/loss:  138, +15
Maternity clothes? Still wearing a mixture of regular and maternity.
Measurements: Waist: 38 inches, Hips: 39.5 inches. 
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Not great at all. My hips have been getting sore, so I roll over a whole lot, and rolling strains my tummy muscles- let's just say sleeping is unpleasant.

What is Baby doing? He has been practicing sucking, breathing, and swallowing. With all the fat that he has been packing on, his skin is no longer clear- it's baby pink!

Best moment this week: Seeing all our friends and family at our shower this past weekend!
Movement: Lots, my cousins Lia and Michael were really excited to feel the baby move.
Miss Anything? I miss being able to bend over and pick stuff up.
Food cravings: Nope.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. 
Have you started to show yet: Last week I said I had a big ol' baby bump. At the shower Saturday I heard a lot of, "Oh, I thought you'd be bigger," and, "You're EIGHT months pregnant? You look five months." I am going to take these comments as compliments. 
Gender: A baby boy who FINALLY has a name! Yay!

Labor Signs: I had a serious Braxton-Hicks contraction last Thursday night. It was uncomfortable, and lasted quite a while, but with my trusty heating pad, body pillow, and Rob massaging my back, it wasn't too bad.
Belly Button in or out? Flat as a pancake.
Wedding rings on or off? Still on; some days they feel normal and other days they feel tight.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. 
Looking forward to: This weekend I have a doctor's appointment on Friday (it will be the first time in the states Rob gets to go with me!) and Saturday we have our hospital tour. 

31 Weeks!

You will be pleased to hear that after last weeks VERY long post, there isn't much to share this week. Rob's settled into school and I'm settled into not doing all that much! I did put drawer liner in all the dresser drawers in the baby room, but that really isn't all that exciting.

This coming weekend is my first baby shower! It's being hosted by my aunt and grandmother, Thalia and Stella, in New Jersey. I've heard rumors that my cousin Christopher has taken some hosting duties upon himself and has arranged a keg of beer. Yes, a keg of beer. At a baby shower. Doesn't get classier than that, does it? Half of me is laughing and the other half is shaking my head. On the up side, most of my cousins are guys, and all of a sudden they are pumped to be attending my baby shower. This is good since I am dragging Rob to the shower!

All joking aside, I am pretty excited. I haven't seen my family up there since May (and I didn't get to see everyone I would have liked too), and Rob hasn't seen them since last August/December! Sadly, our trip isn't very long, we are flying up Friday evening and flying home Sunday afternoon. Rob and my mom can't miss school Friday or Monday, and my mom is leaving for a 10 day cruise the following Thursday, so it had to be a quick trip. Oh, and doc doesn't want me traveling after this weekend anyway; I guess we are all party poopers.

How far along? 31
Total weight gain/loss:  135... do not be alarmed. I haven't eaten in a couple hours, and I just bought a new scale. Probably just weighed myself at a weird time.
Maternity clothes? Wearing normal clothes today. 
Measurements: Waist: 38 inches, Hips: 39.5 inches. 
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Eh, not great.

What is Baby doing? Baby Boy is probably weighing around 3 lbs now! His eyes can now react to light which means his 5 senses are all systems go!

Best moment this week: Watching Rob try to figure out how the car seat works. It made me feel better about not being able to figure out the stroller.
Movement: Oh yeah, he's still moving all the time. Baby Boy likes to tease Rob though. I'll say he's moving, Rob rushes over, and nothing. As soon as Rob stops touching my belly, Baby Boy is moving again.
Miss Anything? I've really been wanting a rum punch from Elvis' Love Shack. This is doubly sad cause not only can I not have rum, but I'm not even in St. Kitts anymore! No rum punch even after the baby arrives. :(
Food cravings: Nope.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. 
Have you started to show yet: Big ol' baby bump.
Gender: Boy.

Labor Signs: Just some minor contractions every now and then. I think they are called Braxton-Hicks contractions, but they are no big deal.
Belly Button in or out? Rob and my mom have declared my belly button officially flat.
Wedding rings on or off? Still on!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy. 
Looking forward to: Seeing friends and family this weekend at my baby shower (cough cough, registered at amazon.com and buybuybaby, cough cough) - I know, I'm awful! ;)