38.5 Weeks - Still Pregnant!

38 weeks and 3 days - I bought this cute and super comfy skirt at Target on a Cartwheel deal this week!

I had my 38 week appointment with Dr. C yesterday.  I am doing well! My blood pressure was 130/78 (a little higher than my normal rate) and I lost three pounds this week bringing my total pregnancy weight gain to a nice round 50 pounds (It would be great to hold it right there!), and I haven't had any swelling despite the triple digit heat we've been having.  It was my first cervical check and basically nothing much is happening.  I was 60% effaced and dilated to 1/2 centimeter.  I haven't really felt any different either.  She sounded a little less hopeful about a VBAC when she said, "Well, let's not give up hope yet.  There is still time." So we will see where I am at next Tuesday at my 39 week appointment.

Did I mention we are selling our old house which is now a rental home?  We are trying to get it ready to put on the market right now.  The timing wasn't our choice but an extra week or two would be great for Dan to finish up the work over there before Shack Baby #2 arrives.  And, since I am handling the pregnancy so well and am not very uncomfortable we have decided not to schedule a c-section (unless something major changes) until my 40 week appointment on August 12th.

I've been working on finishing up a few odds and ends and helping Dan purchase necessary things for our old house that is getting ready to go to market.

My friend tipped me off on a great diaper deal at Target this week (10 cents per diaper!) so I've been stocking up!

I ordered our sibling DNA swab test kit and it arrived this week!

My first order of Jamberry Nail Wraps arrived and I now have cute girly nails!

 Since Baby Sister hasn't arrived yet we've also had time for some family fun:

Eating takeout while watching airplanes land and take off at the Long Beach Airport.

Play time with cousins!

Fun outings with Grandpa

Swim time with Grandma

 I also made it to 38 weeks so I could throw my friend a fun baby shower for their new baby girl that will arrive in October!

Cute bunting and name banner

The spread: farmer's casserole, croissants, grapes and strawberries, banana walnut bread, lemon poppy seed bread, apple zucchini bread, drinks, cheese and crackers

Today is my "tidy the house" day.  I want to maintain our clean house so I don't have any major projects or cleaning to do after Baby Sister arrives. We are getting more anxious to meet her but don't mind the extra time to get some things done and spend time together.

37.5 Weeks! Getting Prepared!

The official Shack Family To-Do List!

Our family "pre-baby" to do list is getting done!  I like being prepared for things, planning, getting organized, etc.  I didn't get to do that at all when Lena showed up four weeks early so it is fun to be able to do it with this baby.  I've been doing all sorts of projects: some fun (got my hair done this week, doing my nails, buying new pajamas for the hospital, packing our hospital bags, etc) some necessary (lots of laundry, cleaning, got the van vacuumed and washed, kitchen organized and stocked).  My goal has been to have everything pretty much done by Sunday when I will be 38 weeks.  Then I can just focus on relaxing, resting up, spending quality time with Lena, and maintaining a clean household.

Our hospital packing lists.  Lena added her artistic flare to it.  All the bags are packed and ready to go except for a few last minute things (in yellow highlighter)  that we have to grab before we head out the door.

Today was primarily a food prep day.  I worked mostly on making meals to keep in our freezer for after baby sister arrives. The other day I made two kinds of chili and lemon poppy seed bread.  Today I made a sandwich that is baked in the oven, chicken tortilla soup, creamy chicken tomato basil soup, and zucchini-apple bread. 

The "superbowl" sandwich: par baked bread, herbed butter/cream cheese spread, sausage, ham, and swiss cheese.  Frozen for now but baked to a nice melty toast in the oven later!

chicken tortilla soup and chicken tomato basil soup

zucchini-apple loaves and bags of soup

 I took a few of the zucchini apple loaves to my neighbors who we may call on to watch Lena if we have to leave quickly for the hospital. 

My appointment with Dr. C yesterday was pretty uneventful.  I did find out that I tested positive for "strep" which simply means I have to have antibiotics before I give birth.  I did notice that my legs/feet are finally starting to swell a bit.  Although it is 100 degrees outside and I was on my feet cooking all day.  My blood pressure was 127/80 yesterday so I am not too concerned.  I feel pretty good still.  I may have had a couple Braxton Hicks contractions over the last couple days but they were pretty minor.  I will have my first cervical check on Tuesday at my 38 week appointment.  We will have a better idea then of how things are progressing.  I am not stressed at all about not knowing what is going to happen or when it will happen.  I think it is kind of exciting!  We are really looking forward to meeting this little girl.  It has been extra fun sharing the excitement and preparation with Lena.  She too is super excited to meet "Baby Sister".  It won't be long now!

My view looking down to the floor.  No feet in sight!  This baby is growing!

36 Week Ultrasound and Check Up

I can't believe Baby Sister is 36 weeks already!  On Monday at 36 weeks and 1 day we had our ultrasound to check her size and position.  It was so great to get to see her after so many weeks.  She still has a cute button nose (like Lena) and we got to see lots of great shots of her little body and face.  The pictures however didn't turn out very well at all.  This one of her profile was the best one of the few that she gave us. 

Baby Girl Shack at 36 weeks and 1 day

Baby Girl looks great!  She is still very small measuring in the 24th percentile and projected to be about 5 lbs 11 oz right now.  (They also told us Lena was about 5-6 pounds and she was really 4 lb 3 oz.)  Her cord looks normal and was in a good place.  It was nice for the technician to check that since Lena's chord was short scrawny and wrapped around her.  My placenta was in a nice location so it won't be a problem during delivery.  Baby Girl is head down and facing in just like she is supposed to be.  She is still very high which explains all the movement I've been feeling right under my bra line. My amniotic fluid was on the low side of normal but just fine.  Dr. C said there was no cause for concern.

The Belly!

Dr. C said that everything is looking really good for a VBAC delivery.  My blood pressure was 124/78 so it looks like I will escape having to deal with pre-eclampsia this time!  She said this was an indicator that the baby I was carrying could possibly be Lena's genetic sibling.  Apparently when you have pregnancies with the same genetic make up your risk for pre-eclampsia goes down.  When you have new DNA involved your risk goes up.  Next week we will get the referral to the genetic specialist for DNA testing to confirm if Baby Sister is Lena's genetic sibling or not.   It should be as simple as a swab test on both Lena and the baby.  We are getting super excited to meet our little girl!  I wonder what she will be like, how her personality will be, and how the delivery will turn out.  I am cherishing these last few days/weeks of being pregnant.  I enjoy feeling her move inside and know that this may be the very last time I ever get to experience any of this.  We are having fun preparing for her arrival; getting everything cleaned, organized, and ready for her.  And we are excited to see Lena in her role as big sister and also to introduce little sister to you all BY NAME!!!

Belly Shot Progression!

My baby belly is definitely smaller than other pregnant moms my height.  My friend who is 7 weeks behind me and is pretty much the same height looks way more pregnant than I do!  I finally definitely look pregnant though. I just see it as a blessing that nobody has done the uninvited belly rub or made comments on how maybe there are twins in there, and that I haven't suffered very much discomfort from this pregnancy like back pain, swelling or circulation issues. 

Loving my 36 week pregnant body!  Even if I have gained 48 pounds I finally look pregnant and not just fat!

Lena's Big Girl Room

One of Lena's favorite room features is her art station which includes this chalk easel from Ikea

In January, when Lena was 26 months old, we decided to convert our guest room/office into Lena's Big Girl Bedroom.  She was beginning to climb out of her crib in the nursery and we knew we were going to have to move her eventually when Baby Sister arrived in the summer.  We liked the furniture we had in the guest room and couldn't see the point in buying all new furniture.  Instead I stripped the room of all of the linens, decorations and paintings, office supplies, lamps, etc.  I wish I had a before picture because the furniture arrangement is exactly the same as before but it looks totally different! 

Pottery Barn Kids "Tory" quilt pattern.  The bed rails were purchased from Amazon.

I put some wall decals from Target above Lena's bed.  The "L" wreath was made for Lena by a family friend.

 I started by searching for the right bed linens for Lena's room.  I needed something that was appropriate and fun for a little girl but not overly toddlerish because I wanted it to "grow" with her.  I also knew that we would still be using her room as our guest room and so I wanted something that was somewhat adult friendly and I wanted quality linens.  Since I needed linens for a queen sized bed I eventually turned to Pottery Barn Kids.  They had such great patterns!  I purchased some items on sale directly from PBK and others I bought for much cheaper off of EBAY.  It was definitely an investment but I know those pillows and linens will be used and loved and essentially "make" the room.  (The bed would be/will be cuter when the quilt can drape over the sides of the bed when the safety rails are eventually removed.)  I love the lilac polka dot sheets I got to go with the quilt pattern.

A peek inside Lena's closet space

I love that Martha Stewart's fabric drawers have a place for labels!

We keep her laundry hamper inside the closet along with bins of clothes one size larger and of her current size.  As she gets bigger I put away items in her current size and get out items from her larger size bin.

 It was really important to me that while Lena's room be cute it also be very functional with lots of good storage to keep everything accessible and organized.  I got the Martha Stewart cubical organizer for the closet on a Home Depot daily deal.  I keep Lena's shoes, hats, swimsuits, and few other items in there as well as nice place for her closet light and CD player. 

I didn't want her bedroom to be play space full of tons of toys.  On this shelf though we have some of her books for bed time and quiet time reading as well as her vintage Fisher Price tea set (just like mine!) and a bin of a few stuffed animals.

 One of my favorite organizational finds were these hanging organizers by Simply Stashed.  I got mine on a great discount on Babysteals.  I have one hanging on the back of Lena's door for her hair supplies and one hanging in her closet for odds and ends.

The Variety Stash by Simply Stashed

The Accessory Stash by Simply Stashed

 Lena's favorite part of her room is her art station.  She really loves doing art more than most kids her age so I thought it would be good to have a place to keep all her art supplies organized.  We bought a nice desk lamp at Target she would have good light for doing art and a nice adjustable plastic chair from Ikea that is easy to wipe down and keep clean.  We also got some metal bins to keep her crayons, pencils, brushes, and markers in and a matching trash bin from Ikea.  She really loves her art easel from Ikea that lets her do white board markers, chalk, and large paper art projects.

The art station!  The fun round stool from Target is where Lena sits to do her easel work.

Lena's supply bins from Ikea.  The funky vanity mirror I got on clearance at Target.

We keep Lena's stamp sets in the pull out computer keyboard tray.

Lena likes having photos of Grandma, her cousins, and mom and dad on her art desk.

I also wanted a place where Lena could display some of her art work.  I love these metal panels that we found at Ikea and the magnets I got on clearance at Target.  Lena sometimes uses them to play with her magnetic letters.  When she is older she can use them to post pictures, important papers, etc.

The framed print in the middle was on a different wall in our house but it accents the blue in her linens perfectly so I moved it to Lena's room.

Lena has been favoring watercolors lately!

It is a fun place to easily change out family photos too.

I had a lot of fun finding a few fun accessories to round out Lena's Big Girl Room.  Some things like this butterfly hook from World Market had just been sitting in a storage area.  It is now the perfect place to hang Lena's growth chart.  Most of the other accessories I picked up at Target and Ikea for bargain prices. 

I had the spring green bean bag already and pulled it out of storage for Lena's room.

I LOVE the lavender polka dot lamp with matching shade that I found at Target. (The baby monitor is being installed onto the wall soon to make more room on her dresser.)  The white ceramic turtle and bird (and the snail on the art desk were in the clearance section at Target.  Lena loves animals so it was fun to add them without making the room so animal themed.

The matching nightlight is from Pottery Barn Kids and the step stool was a bargain at Ikea.  I also love the pretty purple flowers and vase we picked up at Ikea.

 We finished putting Lena's room together in January and would just spend time reading books on her bed, doing art at her desk, and hanging out in there a few weeks before she began sleeping in there.  The transition was amazingly smooth!  She loves sleeping in the queen sized bed and only rolled off once in the six months since she has been sleeping in it.  One day she may have to share her space with Baby Sister if we decide to have more kids but for now I am glad she can have a nice functional space to relax, do art, and get good sleep.

Fun with stamps

Having reading time in her big girl bed.

Going to sleep in her big girl bed for the first time!