37 weeks - I am beginning to feel ready!

This past weekend was a busy one! Adrian and I finally had our "preparing for birth" class, and my grad school friends hosted a wonderful baby shower for me. By the end of the weekend I was exhausted, but closer to being ready for the arrival of our baby!

The birth class was a great chance for Adrian and I to spend time together thinking about what it will be like to be new parents, and also gave us useful information about what each of us can do during labor to make the experience more comfortable for me. It is hard to believe that it is just around the corner!

The School Psychology baby shower was a lot of fun, and a great chance to see some of my classmates that I haven't spent time with for a while. The menu included adorable owl cupcakes (I love owls!), and mini-quiches (they know what I like!). I am so appreciative that Zoila, Monica and Jenny took the time to host a shower for me!

Unfortunately, this week also saw the emergence of some new pregnancy related symptoms. Last week, my legs started swelling even more, so my nurse midwife prescribed some thigh-high support hose for me (sexy!). For some reason, my right arm has also had some internal swelling (due to the baby always being on the right side of my belly), so the fingers of my right hand feel like they are asleep most of the time. Then, on Sunday night, I stood up from dinner and my right hip joint hurt so much that I couldn't walk! This is apparently because my joints are loosening up as the baby descends. Luckily the hip problem seems to be improving, but I am finding that I am largely uncomfortable much of the time now (large being the operative word!). Nature is quite smart that way. By the end of pregnancy, it seems that women have become so uncomfortable that labor and delivery are a welcome relief!

It could be any day now...

Great friends = great baby shower!

Yesterday was my first baby shower, and I was so impressed with all of the work that my wonderful friends (Julie, Faith, and Emily) put into it! It was so great to celebrate the upcoming birth of our new baby with good friends. I loved the activity of decorating onesies. Now I not only have a keepsake to remember each person who was at the party, but I have a lot of cute clothes for the little guy to wear!

I feel lucky to have such a wonderful group of friends who are so thoughtful and generous, and who took the time to celebrate with me and my family!

34 weeks - Baby room has finally been painted!

We are really getting down to the wire now! I can't believe that there is only 6 weeks left! Although I am finding myself to be uncomfortable much of the time, I am still enjoying being pregnant, and am definitely not wishing that time would speed up. We still have a lot to do before the baby arrives, and I want to try and enjoy our last few precious weeks when it will be just me and Adrian.

I had really been stressing about getting a room ready for the baby, and it has been really great to have help from friends and family. A couple of weeks ago, my friend Jenny came over and helped me clear all the clutter out of the room that was formerly the computer room. Last weekend my mom and Sheryl came over and helped us paint, and we were actually able to finish the entire room in one afternoon! Although it is not baby-ready yet, I feel so much better. The room looks bright and cheery with its new light yellow color, and I love the cute animal curtains. It is starting to look ready for a baby!