Almost there...

Yes, I’ve been bad. Over a month with no update. But it has been a productive month – just take a look at my latest belly shots! Hmm, let’s see, what have we done the past few weeks…

** We finished the nursery, at long last. Last night Melanie helped me decide where to put our artwork, which looks adorable. I also finished sewing the cover for my Boppy, and we got our Planetwise wetbags and washable pail liner for the diaper bin to go with our cloth diapers, which are pre-washed and ready to go. Now all that is missing is the baby!

** Jeremy installed the car seat – quite an adventure! Jeremy’s father Randy bought us the awesome Graco Snugride 32, which is a fabulously safe, and also large, car seat. You would have thought Jeremy and I were trying to figure out how to launch a space shuttle watching us try to figure out how to put it in the car. But it is adorable, and again, all that is missing now is our Little One.

**My parents gave us the beautiful bassinet that April and I slept in. Amazingly it is in wonderful shape, and with a good cleaning and a new mattress it is set up and ready in our bedroom. Our dog Maggie is scared of it for some reason, which is probably a good thing. I was a bit worried she might try to jump in with the baby, but no worries there.

** All the baby’s clothes are washed and ready – so many tiny little items! My favorite part was watching Jeremy trying to fold little teensy socks and onesies. Adorable!

** Our hospital bag is packed – this we procrastinated on that until yesterday, but now it is one more item off our to-do list. It felt a little weird to be packing clothes into the suitcase and thinking that the next time we wore them we’d be bringing home our Little One. It’s going to be real any day now!

Other updates – I’ve finally hit a “speed bump” on this fast, easy pregnancy. About 2 weeks ago I started having terrible lower back (SI) pain, to the point where I could barely walk. My OB referred me to Dr. Loehr at Meek Chiropractic, who I’ve been seeing ever since. Appears I’ve had a longstanding issue with my SI joints in my hips (I had trouble with these back in college) and the baby has aggravated the issue. With Dr. Loehr’s help I’m marginally better, but it probably won’t be “fixed” until baby comes. So for now I’m hobbled and can’t really walk much, do my water aerobics or yoga, or really be active. That stinks, but Jeremy had been patient and is taking wonderful care of me. And I’ve thankfully found a creative way to “use” my nesting instincts that doesn’t aggravate my back – sewing!

For last year’s birthday my parents and Jeremy bought me an awesome sewing machine (my first), and I’ve been going to town sewing projects for the baby. It’s honestly probably less that I’m sewing things that I “need,” but it at least keeps me busy (and sitting” while I’m incapacitated by my back. A short list of the projects I’ve completed so far: 12 burp cloths, 2 bibs, 2 flannel swaddling blankets, 2 embroidered muslin swaddling blankets, a breastfeeding cover, a breast pad purse (matches breastfeeding cover), a Scottie dog plushie, a duck-billed platypus plushie, a Boppie pillow cover, and a rocking-chair seat pad.

I’m still hoping to make a diaper bag and wall hanging before baby arrives – I’ve been told the best way to encourage baby to come is to start a big project, so we’ll see how that works out.

More to come soon! I'm hoping to post pics of the nursery and some of my sewing projects for baby this week. I start my maternity leave on Wednesday, so I should have plenty of time - unless of course baby decides to make his/her big appearance.

A Wonderful Baby Shower

We had a wonderful baby shower this past Sunday, hosted by our fabulous Aunt Debbie! Tons of friends and family attended, and Baby Blades received lots of wonderful gifts! We also all did a wonderfully fun activity - Debbie had birthday cards numbered 1-21, one for Baby Blades' birthdays up until the 21st. Guests drew cards at random and wrote messages to Baby Blades in their card, to be opened on the appropriate birthday. I know I heard a few sniffles around the room as folks imagined our little one growing up! Now every year we get to remember the shower as Baby Blades opens up a new birthday card each year!

It was so amazing to see everyone and Jeremy and I both felt so supported and loved. We've been putting together baby gear ever since and the baby's room is looking more and more like it is ready its new occupant :-)

Speaking of Baby Blades, our little one is growing fast! He/she is almost 4 lbs now as we enter week 33. I suspected baby was already head-down based on where I felt the stinker's hiccups, and our doc confirmed that! I'm still studying my Hypnobabies materials to prepare for Baby Blades big arrival, and Jeremy and I are planning out maternity/paternity leave as well as childcare. Just 50 days left now to our doctor's "guess date" for the big day!

Getting Ready for Baby Blades

We've had a wonderful couple of weeks. Jeremy's family helped Jeremy a TON to take down the wallpaper in our living room (4 layers!) and repaint, and they also painted the nursery. Thanks to all their hard work we have a beautiful new paint job in both rooms, and now the house looks amazing!

Jeremy and I cleaned for ages to get all the junk out of the baby's room so we could set up the crib and other baby necessities, and my father helped us haul everything away. During all this our dryer also died, and so we got a new front loading washer (which I had been lusting after) and a new dryer, and my parents got a new stove and gave us their nice old one, so all-in-all it is like we have a whole new house! Now I'm having fun with the little stuff, making art for the nursery, etc., and we got the crib put together this weekend. Whenever we look at it we just imagine the little person who'll be sleeping there in just a couple short months (or sooner!).

Baby Blades has been super active lately! Whenever I am using the laptop or reading a book our little one seems dead-set and determined to knock it off my belly :-)

We've also noticed that Baby B seems calm in loud situations (for example, she/he was peaceful at the 311 concert we attended and also at the new Star Trek and Terminator movies) but gets to jumping around when things are quiet. It is interesting - we may have to play rock music constantly to get our little one to sleep once he/she arrives!

This week I'll be 31 weeks - just 9 weeks to go! The pregnancy is still going well - I'm feeling good although even I have to admit that I'm starting to feel pretty big (shocking, I know). However, I started water aerobics this month - which I just LOVE - and I'm still doing power yoga at Body of Work studio, so all-in-all I can't complain. With the end in sight Jeremy and I are both getting excited - this baby is really going to be here before we know it!

Suprise Baby Book Shower!

Last night I had the joy of attending a surprise baby "book" shower, thrown by my amazing boss and friend Char Berquist. Jeremy and I had planned (or so I thought) a date night downtown. It just so happens my office is also downtown. On our way to dinner Jeremy begged to stop at my office building so he could run in to use the restroom - but when we got us there Char had everything decorated and set up for the shower - it was a huge surprise! There were beautiful decorations, lots of yummy treats and drinks, and a huge teddy bear! Tons of my work colleagues and friends came, as did Jeremy's, and the whole night was just incredibly fun. Char had asked people to bring books for the new parents and baby, and people were incredibly generous. Altogether we received over 60 books! And, the best part was that most of these were people's favorite or beloved children's books, or they were books they had read to their children. So everyone was telling us stories about why they chose the books they did, and it made the gifts that much more personal and beautiful. Jeremy and I offer a huge "thank you" to everyone who attended and helped organize the event, and especially to Char!

Photo Catch-up

I've been lax about posting belly shots lately, so I just wanted to catch up on the progression of the bump! Baby B has been super active lately and seems to be growing by leaps and bounds!

Third Trimester

Well, we've finally reached the third trimester! Time is flying by :-) This week Baby B is over 2 lbs and is 9.5 inches from crown to rump. Baby B has hair, is sucking his/her thumb, and is regularly waking, sleeping, and even dreaming! Jeremy and I have been reading baby stories at night, and she/he just goes crazy moving around and just loves it! Baby especially likes the silly voices Jeremy does reading Dr. Seuss.

My parents also gave us the gift of our crib for baby, which should be here any day. Somehow having the bed on its way makes the baby feel even more real than my belly does! And, Jeremy surprised me last weekend by pulling up our smelly gross old carpet in our living room to reveal beautiful hardwood floors underneath. Isn't he just the best! And, Karen (his mom) has volunteered to help me do repairs to the floor to make it perfectly smooth for Baby B to crawl on one day.

We are hoping to get the nursery painted in the next couple weeks (thank you everyone who has offered to help paint)! And we are going to take down the wallpaper in our living room and paint those walls. Of course, I saw "we" - I can't actually do the painting because of the fumes. I'm sure I can find another way to keep myself busy though :-) I am so incredibly grateful for all the help that has been offered to prepare our house for Baby B!

Finally, I just received my first shipment of cloth diapers for our newborn. They are Kissaluvs and are just too cute! They are sized to fit a newborn, and once baby outgrows them we'll switch to BumGenius one-size diapers that will fit until the baby is out of diapers.

This feels like such a busy time and we are now counting down the weeks until our little one arrives. There is still so much to do - hopefully we can fit it all in!

Week 23

Yes, I know. I've been bad. Two weeks with no post! I've been busying editing a textbook with a fast-approaching deadline, and the downside of that has been very little free time. The upside though is that the job should be paying for most of the nursery (hooray!).

To make up for my absence I have multiple pics to share. The first is of me at week 22 - I think you'll agree that the bump has grown noticeably since the last pic. I've also posted the promised pictures of Maggie in my new baby sling. She is actually surprisingly calm in there, although I wouldn't say she looks exactly "happy" :-) What do you think?

This is week 23, and for the entirety of month 5 baby is the size of a papaya. This week baby now weighs 1 pound and is 8 inches from crown to rump (or bigger than a sub sandwich, as Jeremy likes to point out). Jeremy and I also got some interesting news this week. Apparently the baby's kidneys could not be seen clearly enough on the last ultrasound so we have a second one scheduled for this Tuesday. We'd both agreed to not find out if Baby B was a boy or girl, but now we maaaaaay be changing our minds. I guess you'll have to wait and see if we want Baby B to be a secret or not! Stay tuned!

Week 21

Now that it has finally settled in that we won't be finding out if Baby B is a boy or girl until his/her b-day, the countdown is on to the big day! You can vote in our new poll (on the left) if you think baby will be early, late, or right on time. Jeremy and I also took a tour of Labor and Delivery at St. Johns last week too, which has really made things feel real! (That and my growing belly, that is.)

This week (week 21) baby is about 10.5 inches and 12.7 ounces. Baby's digestive system is already working, and baby is regularly "drinking" amniotic fluid and passing it through his/her system. No worries though, apparently all the fluid is replaced every 3-4 hours.

Our big event this week - I received the baby sling I ordered online. It is a Peanut Shell sling that was recommended to me, and for now our dog Maggie is my guinea pig as I learn to use it (we'll have to post pics of that later). I'm hunting on ebay for a Baby Bjorn for Jeremy so he can also "wear" the baby while playing video games :-)

And we are having a...

Yes, today was the "big" ultrasound -our shot to find out if Baby B is a he or a she. And so, for those waiting anxiously with baited breath - Baby B is a...baby!

Yes, that's right. Baby B hid the goods. The ultrasound technician did his best, but could not give us a definitive answer as to if we are having a boy or girl. He kept saying "I don't see any boy parts." and told us that he "thinks" it is "probably" a girl, but that was about as far as he was willing to go. Sooooo frustrating! I even drank 15 ounces of OJ prior to the ultrasound based on other women's advice that it would help baby be active. Well, baby was active, but did still would not give us really good look a the "key" parts.

On a bright note, Baby B looked perfect - they measured all the parts of the brain, looked at the heart, measured the stomach, saw working kidneys, measured the arms and legs, checked the umbilical cord - it all looked just perfect. Baby is weighing in at a hearty10 ounces and looks fabulous.

So, for now, we will be calling Baby B a "she," although it is rather tentative. As the ultrasound technician suggested, we can buy girl's baby clothes but should keep the receipts :-)

The baby's the size of a WHAT?!?

Week 20, and I read that this week the baby is the size of a cantaloupe! Say what!?! OK, technically the baby is as long as a cantaloupe - 6.5-7 inches from head to rump and 10.6 ounces. This week is also when they stop measuring the baby head to rump and start including the legs in the measurement, which means baby is actually closer to 10 inches long. Hearing that makes me look a little differently at my growing bump :-)

Baby is now listening to everything going on around me and will recognize voices when he or she is born. I learned in a Child Development text I'm reading that baby will not only recognize my voice when he/she is born, but the baby will also show a preference for looking at photographs of me (as opposed to photos of other female faces). This preference is apparently only present among infants who experience their mother's voices, suggesting the baby's ability to recognize my face is rooted in his/her familiarity with my voice before birth!

Jeremy also felt the baby move for the first time this past week - just once, but it was still so neat! He's still talking to the baby and says he can definitely feel the little guy or gal moving around in there. Judging by the voices he uses to talk to the baby, I think he's going to be a champion story-reader someday soon!

This Friday we will get to see the baby again on an ultrasound and will (hopefully) find out if it is a boy or a girl. Keep watching the Bladeshome Blog for the latest news and updates!

Goodbye week 18

Well, we are now looking at less than 150 days until Baby B makes his/her big arrival! This was also the first week people seemed to start reacting noticeably to my bump :-) Do you think it looks bigger?

This week is also the first full week that I've felt Baby B moving and shaking consistently! What started as a few little nudges that seemed like popcorn popping in my belly has turned into a regular ruckus! It seems Baby likes to rock out right after I've eaten, and Baby also seems to love the organ music at church or music in movies - apparently he/she is either a big fan of the Lord of the Rings movie- or the baby is terrified by the sounds, as Aunt Debbie suggested!. Hopefully the latter is not the case, and this baby is going to watching a lot of sci-fi and fantasy in the Blades house! We already have the Star Trek and astronaut teddy bears ready for the kid.

Next week, week 19, Baby B will be the size of a mango - about 6 inches long and 8.5 ounces. Baby is also yawning, stretching, kicking, and even hiccuping in there. No wonder it feels like a party in my belly! Baby B had just better enjoy it now, because I have a feeling its going be getting a bit more cramped in there as time goes on...

Is it wrong to love a diaper?

I have a newfound fascination with BumGenius cloth diapers! Now, before you say "OMG, what is that woman thinking?", cloth diapers have come a loooong way! There are no pins, they are easily washable, they are super cute, and BumGenius makes them easily adjustable so you only have to buy one size (fits newborn to 35 lbs)! They are also easy to put on (see the video below and imagine Jeremy diapering this wiggling baby - makes me smile!)

What are the benfits of cloth diapering? (Or, in other words, why is it worth washing a diaper instead of pitching it?)

• Babies in cloth diapers have less, if any, diaper rash and allergic reactions
• Babies in cloth diapers aren't exposed to the chemicals and petrolum byproducts present in the disposables.
• Babies using cloth diapers potty train on avg. 6 months sooner.
• Coth diapers save the avg. family $1000 or more.
• Cloth diapering elmimates literally tons of waste. Those using disposables throw away 7000-9000 diapers, plus a LOT of fecal matter - the diapers take an estimated 500 years to break down in landfills (quite a legacy to leave for future generations). Plus one must consider the pollution produced in the manfacturing and trasport of those thousands of diapers.

So, that's the story on cloth diapers. Now I just have to convince Jeremy...

Bump timeline

I think it's getting bigger - what do you think?

Week 17

Here is a late post for week 17, although late is better than never! I worked a ton last week, and learned, not to surprisingly, that baby doesn't like mama working too much! I'm still catching up on sleep - sheesh. Maybe this should be considered training for when Baby B makes his/her big apperance.

Later this week I'll post a new 17 week belly pic - I think baby B is definitely growing! Jeremy told me I actually looked pregnant this week. I think that is a good thing...

My weight gain (I can't believe I'm blogging about this) has finally started, and it's a bit freaky! After months of no gains I think I'm making up for lost time. I also have to admit that I've let some of my healthy habits slip a bit. However, Lent could not be coming at a better time! I'm going to be giving up some of my unhealthy food habits. We'll see how that goes!

This week baby is the size of an onion, measuring 5.1 inches and 5.9 ounces. Baby B has distinct fingerprints now and, along with his/her mama, is putting on fat. Next week's vegetable comparison promises to be sweeter, so keep watching for an update!

Somebody's in There!

NEWS FLASH: "The Blades' bump watch 2009 is finally showing some results! Yes, Baby B is making room and getting bigger, rendering Heather's pre-pregnancy pants virtually useless. Keep watching for updates on the bump and baby!"

Week 16 is going well. The doc today said everything looked great - baby's heartrate was 144 - "slow like a boy's" as the doc said :-) Hmmm, wonder if he knows something we don't?

Well, we should find out for sure if Baby B will be wearing pink or blue in just 4 more weeks. On Friday, March 13 we'll see Baby B again and hopefully he/she will be feeling photogenic and let us get a peek at the "goods."

I'm still feeling great, and hearing the baby's heartbeat at the doc's office today put me at ease. By the next appointment I should be feeling baby move - definitely something to look forward too! Once again the wait at the doc's office was loooong, but worth it. That description will be fitting to describe the next 4 weeks as well as we wait to see our little bean again!!!

Oh, and for those enjoying the fruit/baby comparison, Baby B is the size of an avocado this week, about 4.6 inches and 3.5 ounces. Baby B can hear now, and is growing hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. What will next week's fruit comparison be? Stay tuned!

Week 15

Has it really been 15 weeks? Hard to believe. Not much new to report this week - we are still waiting to feel Baby B moving around. Jeremy has been listening closely to my belly and thinks he may have heard someone flipping around in there, but I've yet to feel a thing.

This week baby is the size of an orange and is moving and shaking, working his/her well-formed limbs. My belly is also growing, and I've outgrown my first pair of maternity jeans (the horror!). I've also noticed folks who don't yet know we are expecting staring at my bump. I'm sure they are wondering if I've eaten a few too many cookies!

Hopefully we'll have more to report next week!

Week 14

Today is the start of week 14 for little Baby B, who is getting bigger by the day. This week our comparison-fruit-of-choice is a lemon! Fun facts about Baby B this week: baby can now wiggle her/his toes, suck her/his thumb, smile and grimace, and even pee (not so cute, but still pretty cool in a weird sort of way).

Jeremy and I are doing well as we finish the second snow day off of work. The unexpected time off has given us both time to catch up on some reading, and as I perused me aforementioned Bonding Before Birth book I uncovered some pretty heavy information about why this week is significant.

Apparently, “A baby’s tastebuds are quite well developed by 14 weeks, and after that you can ‘train’ your baby to acquire a taste for healthy foods by eating them yourself.” Now, this normally would not be such a shock – most of your probably know I’m a pretty healthy eater. However, after my bouts with morning sickness and now the strange cravings of pregnancy, I’ve given in to some “less healthy” indulgences. After all, if a girl can’t have a beer or a cup of coffee at least she can eat Pringles or mac n’ cheese, right? Apparently not! My pregnancy-induced junk food weakness may be shaping my baby’s palate and influencing his/her later food preferences! How can I later complain that my kid won't eat his/her veggies if its my fault?!? Looks like its Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and carrot sticks from here on out. Hope Baby B isn’t grimacing in there :-) Oh well, I’m sure they will learn to love it! At least I am still craving watermelon…

Listening for Baby

Ah, another week down. This week has been a good one. I'm feeling much better (just a few sniffles left) and I picked up a copy of Bonding before Birth at Barnes and Noble and have been reading all about how we can start forming a relationship with baby right now! It is exciting to think that we can already start to "communicate" with the baby - it can tell when I'm happy, sad, angry, or stressed; it can hear the voices around me; and soon it will even be able to develop a taste for the foods I eat!

Jeremy kindly listened to me share every interesting tidbit from my new book, which talked a lot about how a baby's father can and should also start bonding with the baby in the womb. Last night, after a fabulous sushi dinner (nothing raw for me, though) he massaged my belly and talked to the baby. He also did his best to listen for movement - so cute! I've been trying my best to feel the baby move, even though it probably won't happen for a few more weeks, and Jeremy wanted to see if he could talk to the baby and hear it move. He did think he heard a swooshing sound, maybe like the baby swimming around in there, but it could have been the sushi too :-) Guess we'll have to be patient for a little while longer.

In the meantime I'm starting my reading into how to best care for and raise little Baby B. Now, I have been attentively watching "Nanny 911" and "John and Kate Plus 8" for quite some time, but I'm thinking I might need to branch out a little more in my research. The good news is, there is a lot of good stuff out there on the internet! Check out the great slideshow I've already found!

Now, I think this might cover most of the important points, but I'm building a reading list too just to be safe. If you have any key parenting advice to get Jeremy and I started, please feel free to share here!

Week 13

Well, week 13 is off to a rough start. After bragging about how good I've been feeling with no nausea and the fading tiredness of the first trimester, I've now come down with yet another cold. Ah, the wonder of a pregnant woman's depressed immune system. And I can't partake in my beloved NyQuil - it's only Tylenol for me. Thankfully my amazing and wonderful boss understands and also fears contracting my illness herself, and thus I am able to take it easy at home and hope that rest helps resolve some of my symptoms (which include a slight fever, sore throat, and stuffy head - yes, a lot of fun).

Baby is getting bigger this week, which feels like a real milestone since I'm officially leaving the first trimester behind this week. I'm told he/she is the size of a peach! This is a good thing since peaches are out of season and I won't be eating any this week. It's been 5 weeks since baby was the size of a green olive and I still feel a bit like a cannibal whenever I eat one of those!

Seeing the baby!

We had our first doctor visit this past Friday and got to see our little bean for the first time. It was just amazing - hard to believe there is really a tiny baby in there! Good news was that the baby look "perfect" and was moving around - so cute!

We went today for the first half of the screening test for down syndrome and neural tube defects. They did another ultrasound and again moved my due date (which started at July 25 and is now Aug. 2). The baby was moving a ton! When the ultrasound first started we saw the baby, not moving but rocking back and forth. The technican then showed us that the baby was laying on my artery! The blood pumping was rocking the baby while it slept. Once baby woke up though it was moving all around and was QUITE photogenic.

We still have to wait 2 more months to find out if baby is a boy or girl. Jeremy thought he saw the business end during today's ultrasound and thought it looked like a boy, but when we looked up ultrasounds online we couldn't tell either way, so that is still up in the air.

You can still vote on if you think baby B is a boy or girl (see the poll to the left). We'll keep praying that baby stays healthy!