Baby Shower #2!!!

A few weeks ago the ladies from my church threw me a baby shower!  It was great to celebrate the soon to arrive Baby Girl Shack with my friends who have supported, encouraged, and prayed for Dan and I as we have struggled with infertility and pursued embryo adoption.

My lovely shower hostesses: Mindy, Lindsay, Sheryl, and Laura!

The theme of this baby shower was vintage ABCs.  Very cute and very appropriate for a teacher and avid children's book collector like myself. 

The rooms were filled with little vignettes of vintage ABC toys.

More cute vintage girly decorations by my sister in law Lindsay.

Me with my sister in law Lindsay who did all of the decorations.

It was such a fun tablescape full of yummy treats.  I especially enjoyed the cheese platter.

Check out this masterpiece!  It was as delicious as it looks.

Me with my Mom aka Grandma who has played such an important role already in our baby girl's little life.

I had fun making these fun goody bags filled with my Bath and Body Works favorites for my hostesses.

Our Unexpected Tour of Labor and Delivery

I had my 33 week OB appointment yesterday and Dr. B says Baby Girl Shack is doing well.  It has been rough to be back a work.  Today was particularly challenging.  A few weeks ago I blogged that my blood pressure had gone up since I returned to work and the doctor asked me to come in to labor and delivery to be examined since he was on duty at the hospital.  We checked in and they brought me to a delivery room where I put on the gown and got all hooked up to the monitors and blood pressure machine.  They did blood tests, urine analysis, and blood pressure checks every twenty minutes for about three hours.  The hospital is so nice and the nurses were especially kind and helpful.  I was lectured for not being hydrated enough so I have been working on drinking more water.  The tests all came back negative for preclampsia which was great news!  My blood pressure was elevated but not dangerously so.  Dr. B wanted me to cut back on my activity so since he said I could still continue working I have decided to take Mondays off and hire a friend to help me with my grade record keeping for work.  It has helped a ton and last week I had a good work week.  It was neat to get to see where I will be in labor and make my whole pregnancy seem that much more real to me. 

Yesterday at my Dr. appointment though my blood pressure was 140/100 again so they had me lay down for 5 minutes on my side and took my blood pressure again.  This time it read 130/80.  When Dr. B came in he was satisfied that the number had gone down so I should be able to finish out my last two and half work weeks before my leave begins on Oct 28th.  I am slightly concerned that when sitting up/standing up my blood pressure is so much higher than when I am laying down.  I hope Dr. B realizes that I don't lay on my side all day- I actually drive in heavy traffic several hours, stand on my feet most of the day, and deal with teenagers all day.  I don't mind finishing my work weeks.  I just want to make sure the baby is okay.  She certainly moves a ton and that is a good thing.  =)

"The Baby Shack Belly" at 33 weeks!

A Special Chair

When we began our adoption journey a few years ago we came across this wonderfully funky orange rocking chair in Dan's parent's house.  It was the rocking chair that Dan's mom and dad used in the 1970s to rock him in when he was a baby.  As a "first baby" gift my parents traditionally purchase a rocking chair as a gift for the family.  My mom offered instead to help us pay to have our special keepsake rocking chair reupholstered.  We had the chair in storage for two years and this past August it finally came out and I shopped around for the perfect fabric.  Just this week we got it back from the upholstery shop and we were so happy with the results!  It is such a comfy chair and I love how wide it is.  The shop owner's son said it had been sitting in their showroom for the past week and people had been ogling it.  It was so fun to put it in the near finished nursery and picture myself rocking our baby girl to sleep in it.  Thanks Mom and Dad for such a special gift that will always remind us and our kids of both sets of their grandparents! It is a great way to honor Dan's mom and dad who would have loved to meet our little girl if they were still with us. 

This chair has seen a lot of love

A better look at the fabric and the new hammered nail brads.  We also added black pipping for visual interest.

A close up of the fabric we chose:  funky, vintage, whimsical, and timeless.

Concern

Well, the madness has begun.  I hate the beginning of the school year.  I have 160 new faces and names to memorize, new lesson plans to create for a new subject I've never taught on two weeks notice, webpages to set up, gradebooks to set up, routines to teach, and now piles of papers to grade and record.  I just can't wait for September to be OVER!  I am thankful I have a job and generally I enjoy my job but it is so hard to get back into a routine and being pregnant in my third trimester has not made it any easier.   All summer and at my last appointment on August 29th my blood pressure was 122/80.  On September 6th I began my new school year.  On September 12th my blood pressure was 139/93.  Yesterday (Sept. 20th) it was 149/103.  Today it was in the 150s/98 but after resting with my feet up it was back in the 140s/90s.  We called my OB to see what he thinks we should do and we may not hear back from him till tomorrow.  I have never had protein in my urine at any of my appointments so that is good.  I just think I (and my body) am not handling the stress of starting the new school year well and I don't quite know what to do about it. 

"Do I look pregnant to you?"

Dan wants to know when I will stop asking him that question.  I try to restrain myself but I am tired of looking chunky rather than pregnant.  After going back to teaching this week one of my colleagues asked me, "So how was your summer?  Did you have your baby?"  I just looked down at my stomach and patted it then look at her and responded, "Nope.  She is still in there."  She was shocked.  She said that I didn't look pregnant at all but at least she didn't say that I did look fat.  I used to cringe when pregnant women complained that they were "getting fat".  But I catch myself doing the very same thing occasionally.  I always knew I wouldn't be one of those women with the cute baby basketball bellies but I never guessed that at 75% through this pregnancy I still wouldn't look pregnant to the average person on the street.  Even my students who stare at me for 55 minutes straight everyday were surprised that I was pregnant.  I am trying to see the bright side of this phenomenon:  my back doesn't ache yet, strangers don't touch my belly, I don't get asked a million questions, etc.  This week I am wearing my most belly enhancing outfits! Or maybe I just need to get one of these:

28 Weeks down...12 Weeks to go... 8 Weeks left in my career!

28 Week Belly Shot (in my new JCP "tall length" full belly panel maternity jeans)  Can I get an AMEN tall girls out there!?

(I love my baby ticker.)  Today is the first day of my third trimester!  Some of the symptoms from my first trimester have returned.  The heartburn has come back as well as the upset stomach.  I have to eat often again.  Time to go buy another block of cheese!  I wake up with horribly stiff hands but I have my pillow routine down so that I can manage the poor circulation problem enough to sleep well.  I literally have to pee every 45 to 60 minutes.  I am pretty sure Baby Girl is sitting low and right on my bladder.  She is kicking tons and last night I think she was practicing her high kicks because my stomach was bouncing all over the place!  It is pretty fun to watch!  I am getting really excited to meet her in 12 weeks!

Today also starts my countdown till maternity leave.  While no official decision has been made most likely I will not return to my teaching position after Baby Shack is born.  Yes, we will most likely try to take the plunge and become a ONE INCOME family.  In Southern California that is pretty rare and not an easy task.  I have promised myself (and Dan) that I will become a frugal, coupon clipping housewife!  I am already well acquainted with our neighborhood thrift store and have begun baking our own bread (who knew how easy this was!) and cooking more meals at home rather than going out.  I have invested in cloth diapers and begun to acquaint myself with how to make your own baby food.  I am really looking forward to this transition that will happen in just 8 short weeks (October 28th)!  (Any and all advice, tips, and encouragement welcome!)

Halloween is my first day of maternity leave and I am so glad I don't have to teach on that day.  Most teachers HATE teaching on Halloween which is just as bad as teaching on a rainy day in So. Cal- when kids are SOOO distracted because "Oh my gosh, there is like water coming from the sky!!!"  And if there happens to be thunder and lightning, well you just might as well give up!  Halloween is also the date of our next big ultrasound at 36 weeks where the doctor will check to see what position the baby is in.  At my last check up this past Monday Dr. B said everything looks great!  My blood pressure was 122/80, my weight was only up 4 pounds from my visit four weeks ago, the baby's heart was beating strong, and everything was measuring just right.  I am so blessed!  Dan and I have taken advantage of the BabiesRUs Great Trade-in Event that is going on right now.  We have picked up some really cheap (like $3-$4) old baby items from the thrift store and then traded them in for 25% off coupons to purchase a few larger items off our registry.  This travel lite crib by Graco is one of the few items we purchased.  It is hard to believe that in just 12 short weeks Baby Girl Shack will be sleeping next to me in this cute little crib!