34 week belly

Thirty-four weeks and my belly is big! Again as in previous belly blogs, you can see the progression from where I started. Or my skinny days and I call it. :)

34 weeks

30 weeks

26 weeks
22 weeks
18 weeks
14 weeks
11 weeks

34 weeks

Paul and I had another ultrasound today and we have a doctors appointment tomorrow. It's always so much fun getting to see Evan on tv! We had the tech check again to make sure he was still a he, and he is. :) We also asked if we could see hair or determine his size. She replied yes to both. Right now he has peach fuzz. After all the measurements were taken, he weighs about 5 lbs. 4 oz. with six weeks to go and gaining roughly 1/2 a pound a week! He's going to be a big baby!!

Top photo: the arrows point to his peach fuzz; bottom: well, you know...

Our shy baby who would rather hid behind my placenta and umbilical cord then show himself to his parents.

6 WEEKS TO GO EVAN!

Easter

Ok, I know Easter was a bit ago, but I wanted to post this picture of my niece, Mara, and her little brother, Benjamin. Evan is going to have fun with these two!

Surprise Shower

Today I was "surprised" with a baby shower given my some parents and my students. They were so excited to celebrate! With some planning help given by my "next door neighbor" in school, the moms were able to get into my room this afternoon and set everything up. The teacher even let my students drop off their presents in her room this morning so I wouldn't see them. In addition, they made me cards when I was away at my mom's ceremony on last Friday. I am completely surprised and all the stuff Paul and I received. (He was there too!) The moms provided everything: cake, balloons, water, chips, and even a calendar so the guess could guess Evan's birthday!

Thank you to my parents and students!

33 weeks

In an attempt to avoid doing my homework, I'm going to post the latest weekly update. I am now 33 weeks along in my pregnancy (well, tomorrow anyway) and the tiredness has kicked in again. Poor Paul has had to deal with me falling asleep on the couch around 8:30pm or so each night. (I cannot thank him enough for putting up with all the changes that have occurred since I got pregnant...he's incredible.) Sleeping at night has become more difficult and I'm getting up to go to the bathroom more than ever. I wake up covered in sweat at night and am awaiting the day when our pool is warm enough for me to get in. My students have grown accustom to bringing in jackets with them to class because it's "freezing" in there...meanwhile I am fanning myself because it's so hot. The sad part is that I used to be the one that was always freezing!!

I've started playing music for Evan on and off again for the past few months. I downloaded a Baby Einstein album to my iPod and play it near my tummy. The other night I was playing it for Evan again. It was resting on my left thigh close to my belly...shortly after, I looked down and Evan had shifted over to the left side! I moved my iPod to on top of my belly and this is what happened...




And finally...here is the weekly picture of what's going on in my tummy.

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

7 weeks to go!

Childbirth Class

Paul and I attended our childbirth class today. I have to say that I though I was pretty well informed from reading and watching lots of baby shows on t.v. I was wrong. There is so much more to know! We also were lucky enough to have a mini car seat class given to us by a professional car seat installer lady. After the class, the nurse who was teaching offered to give us a tour of the labor & delivery floor and the recovery/couplet floor. Such as...

#1. When you have an epidural, they also insert a catheter into your bladder since your lower body is numb and you can't get up to use the bathroom.

#2. If your water breaks and it's green it means the baby has pooped.

#3. You shouldn't really have anything in the car seat (like cushions/comfy head things) that do not come with the car seat because they haven't been crash tested with the car seat.

#4. The safest place for the car seat is in the middle of the rear seat.

#5. I need to eat before I get to the hospital because I won't have food till the baby comes out.

#6. Hospital rooms aren't all that great looking. (So I already knew that, but it was a reminder!)

#7. What exactly effacement and station means.

#8. Once I'm at the hospital I need to ask when I can get an epidural and how long it will take to get one!

#9. There is a lactation nurse at St. Joe's!

#10. That Paul is going to be an excellent labor/delivery coach.

Citizenship

My mom moved to the United States shortly after marrying my dad in 1974. After having lived in this country for more than 30 years, my mom has become a naturalized US citizen today! I am so proud of her!! She studied long and hard to pass the civics test, and by looking at what she needed to know, it's not easy. Today was the ceremony and we were there to witness it.

The presiding judge. She told the story of how her Hispanic parents weren't very educated or wealthy, and now 4 of the 7 kids went to law school. Her twin sister worked in the White House for Clinton, and the judge and her brother are the only brother/sister team that are federal judges. Anyhow, her godmother asked her mom if she was proud of her twin daughters. Her mom replied, "I'd be proud of them if they knew how to make corn tortillas." Funny!! Only a Mexican mom would say that!

Each candidate received an American flag.

My momma!Greeting the judge and getting her certificate.

Proud family!

I've attached a video of the oath. I hope you can hear it!

32 weeks

We had our doctor's appointment today and everything looks/sounds great! I was told that I am immune to Fifth Disease and that I most likely came in contact with it previously. Woohoo! I also informed my doctor that I've been having minor cramps within the past week. He told me that it's ok, but if I have more than 6 in an hour to call the office...we want to keep Evan in me as long as possible! Other than that, we have another appointment on April 30th and an ultrasound on April 29th.

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

8 weeks to go!

April 15th

Not many people celebrate April 15th for the obvious reason - Tax Day. There are two people/places that I do know of which celebrate today.

#1: Semple, Marchal, and Cooper - Paul's work. Each year they have an April 15th party to celebrate the end of their "busy season". We'll be heading to Bob's house tonight for the yearly gathering.

#2. Me - it's the day that I get my husband back from long days at work and coming home late! I will celebrate by not doing my homework that is due for class tomorrow. :) As Brighid (my sister-in-law) said, "Oh, to be the wife of an accountant."

Handy Hubby

Paul has an extra bookshelf that we took out of our old "office". We've had it in our living room since we moved our rooms around to make space for Evan. After much thought, we decided to put it into Evan's room for storage and to begin his collection of books.

Problem: It's not the same color as the rest of the furniture.

Solution: Paul decides to sand and re-stain the bookshelf to match!

We went to Home Depot last weekend to buy the materials and it's taking Paul much longer than he thought. (Sorry hun!) He is working hard on it though, and I'm very proud!

I was being a sneak and took this picture while he wasn't looking.

And of course, we don't have true goggles for Paul to wear while he is sanding. So my husband being my husband, decides to wear swim goggles instead.

Slideshow

My maternity photos done! Pam made a slideshow for us to view them and will be giving us a disk tomorrow (hopefully). ENJOY!

Mattie and Paul, baby Evan too!

You can view more of her work here: Family and Boudoir

31 weeks

A lot has happened this week...and not all of it has been good.

First of all, Evan is doing well. I haven't received the results of my blood work for Fifth Disease, so I hope everything comes out ok. Evan has recently decided to lay a certain way that makes my belly lopsided quite often. I like to assume that its his butt sticking out but who knows what it really is. When it happens, I wish I were as rich as Tom Cruise so that I could afford having an ultrasound machine in my home in order to see how he's laying. It still boggles my mind that inside of this belly is a baby that weighs about 3 pounds and roughly 16 inches long. From this point on, he's just going to get more plump and just a little longer.

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

I on the other hand, am not so lucky to be in such a cozy place like Evan. As many of you have heard, the Arizona education system is going through some shocking buget cuts which are resulting in the dimissal of thousands of teachers. I being one of those. Since it is my first year in the district (even though I've been teaching for four years), I'm one of those that is being let go for the upcoming school year. Many other teachers are in the same position I am, which makes it hard to find a job when no one is hiring. I have been and will be searching for something...so if any of you have ideas, PLEASE SHARE!!

But the best thing is that Paul and I have....

9 weeks to go!!

Maternity shoot

As I noted in an earlier post, Paul and I were able to have some maternity photos taken by our friend Pam. She isn't finished with all of them, but here are two samples. I can't wait for the rest!

Fifth Disease

I received a phone call from my school nurse informing me that I have a student who has Fifth Disease. She also said that I could contact my doctor to have some blood work done to see if I have it as well. And of course, it's the student that sits right next to my projector cart where I am 90% of the day. It couldn't be the kid in the back of the room, could it?!

Anyway, I am heading to the doctors tomorrow after work to get tested. Hopefully, Evan and I are alright.

"Getaway" Weekend

There are two things that I love about Paul's job: Lake Day and Getaway Weekend. His firm allows their employees to take a weekend off during "busy season" (tax season) to get away and pays up to $250 of it. Well, instead of going away somewhere and having to spend a ton of money, we decided to make last weekend our "staycation".

Paul and I both took off Friday from work. I started my day by getting a prenatal massage, manicure, and a brow wax. Then we were off to get my oil changed! That afternoon, I went to a bridal shower for a coworker. For dinner, Paul and I went to a new place called Amano Pizza. It's on 16th st. and Baseline...we pass it all the time and always say we should try it. It's super small and quaint, but we prefer Cibo downtown.

Saturday began with maternity shoot done by our friend Pam. She is FANTASTIC and I'm so excited to see how they turn out. We then went to have lunch at Einstein's and visit Paul's grandmother. After letting Layne out, we packed and checked in to the Pointe Tapatio Cliffs Resort. The first thing we did was go to the pool!

This is how I lay out by the pool...with my virgin Pina Colada. (I forgot my sunglasses.)

This is how Paul lays out by the pool. (He forgot his hat.)

Paul has learned rather quickly that pool water must be rather warm for me before I get in. It was rather warm out on Saturday and the pool wasn't too bad, so we were able to go in for a short swim before the sun set.

It also seems that every time we go somewhere on vacation we see a wedding, in this case there were two. Or as Paul says, "Didn't you think there would be one since we are at a resort on a Saturday." Guess I forgot about that.

After relaxing at the pool, Paul and I showered up and got ready for dinner at A Different Pointe of View. It's the "fancy" restaurant at the Pointe and overlooks the city. It was absolutely beautiful! We had a delicious dinner as well: I had halibut, Paul had filet mignon. He asked for it well done, but when it came out it was rare. The server said the chef had sent the wrong steaks to the wrong tables. In return, Paul received a new steak and we both were able to get free desserts! YUMMY!

Sunday morning was spent packing up, heading home, going to Maricopa to get a sander that doesn't work from my brother-in-law, visiting my mom who has Virtigo, and then going to Home Depot to purchase wood stain and a new sander.

Even with all the errands, I must admit that Paul and I were able to spend our first FULL weekend TOGETHER since Christmas time. We were able to have some much deserved quality time with each other...it doesn't get any better than that!

April Fools!

After AIMS testing yesterday, which was WAY fun, I had to wait around at school until 4:30 for a short IEP meeting. (Mind you, school dismisses at 2:45.) So at around 4:00, I decided to get some coffee at the nearby Starbucks - sorry, Paul. Here's how the order went:

Starbucks: Hi. Welcome to Starbucks, may I take your order?
Me: Yeah, hi. I'd like white mocha Frappucino.
S: Oh, I'm sorry. We discontinued Frappucinos starting today.
M: OHhhhhhhhhhh Noooooooo!
S: Just kidding, April Fools!
M: !?!?!?!?
S: Can we get you anything else?
M: No, just the Frappucino.
S: Good thing, we're out of everything else.

Is it just me or was that NOT FUNNY!?!??

30 weeks!!

I cannot believe that 30 weeks have passed and we have so few to go! We're 3/4 of the way there! At times it feels like the 40 week mark will never arrive and yet when looking back it seems to have gone so quickly. I have this feeling that Evan will arrive earlier than 40 weeks. I was correct in guessing his gender and I hope am with this one too. After Paul took this picture I told him, "Wow. My belly isn't as big as I thought it was!"

To which he replies, "Let me take one to show you how it really looks." And VOILA! It looks much bigger now! (You can even see my belly button coming out!)

Our friend, Pam, is taking maternity photos for us this weekend. Hopefully, I will be able to post some of those soon afterwords.

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

10 WEEKS TO GO! Single digits...here we come!

Belly Shakin'!

This might seem strange to some people, but I find it rather entertaining and frightening at the same time. For a while now, people have been able to see my belly move when Evan is tumbling around in there. Paul and I have tried to capture this on video several times with no results. The other night, I think it finally worked!

For this first one, look immediately to the upper right side of my belly. It started recording in the middle of some huge movement.



Yes, this is my bare belly...but watch it shake!