34...almost 35 week checkup

Today I met the last doctor in the 'team'...yay! Out of all the male doctors, I like him the best. So I have a favorite male and female. As time gets closer, I will inquire about the hospital rotation schedule and tell Logan to arrive on a day when either of these two are there...yeah...like Logan will listen!

So at this appt. I didn't gain any weight for the first time. I attribute some of that to the 5K I did this past weekend and the other walks I've done with Buddy.

Logan's heartbeat was perfect! And my belly measured perfectly for the first time...I think his measurer was a bit off...but who knows! :)

My next appt. is in 2 weeks and a business day...Monday, October 13th (week 37)....then I will see my fav. doctor. :) They will do a Non-Stress Test...they said it is an extra precaution since I went through IVF...hey I'll take all the extra precautions I can! Plus I get to hear Logan's heart beat for a half hour...yay!

Holy smokers...it's getting so close! I'm so excited! (Have I mentioned that ever??)

My Favorite Kick

I love all of Logan's kicks, but the coolest one for me that has become my favorite is when he pushes, what I believe to be a foot, hard against my left side. I feel it the most out of anything. When I push back on his foot, then he pushes back...it's like a fun game we play. I also believe that he's using that time to stretch my stomach out even more because he's a growing boy (leaving more stretch marks...oh yes, those appeared about 2-3 weeks ago).

Keep on stretching and kicking Logan....I love it!!!

Nausea...making a nasty comeback?

A couple of weeks ago I got a little nauseous when brushing me teeth.

Then it happened again (a little worse) this past weekend.

Then on my way home today, I was stuck in some traffic and the sun was beating down....and I got pretty nauseous.

None of these times has ever brought anything to fruition, however I'm starting to wonder if nausea is making a comeback for the last few weeks.....

Hmmmm.......

O'Hare 5K

So in the 34th week of pregnancy, who wouldn't do a 5K???

This week we found out that the new runway that O'Hare Airport built, was hosting a 5K.  The actual runway doesn't open until, I believe, November 20th....but we got to walk on it today.  

It was very cool.  As we walked along, with one of John's co-workers and his wife, their daughter and a pilot-friend of theirs from United....planes were taking off right above us (although the picture below doesn't do it justice at just how close we were...).  Several thousand people showed up...some serious runners who finished in under 20 minutes (wow)...and then lots of walkers (like us) who finished in just over an hour...of course, we, like many others, stopped along the way to take pictures.  How many chances do you have to walk on a new runway?

It was a very sunny, warm day and my hands did their fair share of swelling...but it was a nice time...and good exercise.  Here are a few pics:

Week 34

34 weeks down...whew!  And time is still flying by...this is great!

I still feel great and enjoy every movement Logan makes.  Sometimes though, when I walk, he does a move that hits some nerve...or a bladder...something that feels goofy, but eh...I still love it.

I got my haircut right before our shower last weekend.  John wanted it long...I wanted it short, I so I told the hairdresser to do something.  So she gave me some layers, which look nice.  I can still put it in a ponytail (a John-thing), but I do have a hairstyle (a me-thing).

I am reading more and more about 'labor and delivery'...and the days 'after'.  It is just getting so close, it is so very exciting!  

People ask 'are you ready?'  Well...as ready as we're going to be.  We get snipets of advice or stories from many friends or family....and we continue to welcome any words of wisdom anybody has to offer.  We will have our own experience and look forward to sharing our wisdom someday.  :)  We are just ready to finally experience 'parenthood'.

We have one more shower hosted by John's family in a few weeks...so I keep saying as long as Logan can stay put until then, he's welcome to come into the world anytime after that.  :)

Great Expectations and a Tour

Our weekend was not over after the amazing shower last weekend.

On Sunday from 9-4 we attended a one-day 'Great Expectations' course....it is labor/delivery education and a little lamaze breathing techniques all mixed in.  The course was held at the hospital.  While we left in plenty of time, we ended up getting there 5 minutes late as 2 out of 3 routes to the hospital were flooded routes and we had to turn around and go all the way around...which took an extra 20 minutes.  But we finally arrived and hunkered down for a long day.

We saw some videos...yes, 'those videos' of births....we discussed pain medications...we learned a few ways to breathe....we bounced on 'exercise/birthing' balls.....we 'slow danced' as one of the 'breathing techniques'...John gave me a hand massage as a 'relaxing technique', which I will definitely ask for in the hospital...it was good times.  Also, I believe we did determine that it is a good thing that I am the one that is pregnant and John is the 'coach'.

We did an exercise where I had to hold a plastic baggie of ice in my hand for one minute - it was to 'act' like a contraction - and John was to give words of encouragement and practice some of the 'Hah-Hee' breathing exercises.  Well the ice got pretty cold pretty fast and he did a good job of keeping my mind off of it.  I told him not to really say things like 'Good job Honey, you're so strong, you can do it'...as this is not 'us'...we are more of a sarcastic/goofy couple than a sincere 'feel good' couple.  Now who knows...perhaps in the heat of the contraction (a serious time) I will want sincere words, so he should be ready for anything.  :)  Anyway...I digress.  He did a great job of keeping my mind off things and the minute was over.

Then it was John's turn.  After about 6 seconds he said 'This is really cold.....it kind of hurts...' and he kept that up.  I tried to say some encouraging words, but I couldn't stop laughing as he couldn't take the 'sting' so well.  Sure it had been a long day and sure if he really was in pain, no, I would not laugh at him.  But for the exercise knowing that I had just gone through the exercise without much complaining, it was funny that he now realized how much it 'stung'....if only guys could feel a 'real' contraction....hm...

So we came home with a lot of information.  Then we turned around and went back to the hospital for a 6:00 appt. for a hospital tour.  It was great....we saw the Labor & Delivery rooms....the Mother/Baby room...and it really got us in the mood (the whole weekend) to have this baby!

It was a crazy-busy weekend....but it was all filled with preparation for Logan, so it was a busy weekend well spent!  We are so excited.  After our shower in WI in another few weeks, Logan is free to come out to the world!!!

Shower

This past weekend on Saturday the 13th we had our first baby shower for Logan at my Mom's house...hosted by my Mom, sister, Dawn and sister-in-law, Melissa. Boy, did they do a phenomenal job. They planned...probably since as soon as they knew I was pregnant...and then went into full-plan mode after they found out I was having a boy. It was killing me because they kept a lot a secret and they seemed to always be getting together to discuss something or 'make' something for the shower. Oh and not to mention that in the meantime my Dad re-did part of the basement...including painting one wall 3 times until the color was just right. :) They all really knocked themselves out for us....we feel the love and are SUPER appreciative to them all...

The theme was 'all about boys'. The food table (which was a bunch of little 'grab foods') carried out the theme as well:

'Lily Pads' were cucumber sandwiches...'Logan's Lincoln Logs' were taquitos...'Slingshot Rocks' were Chicken Salad Puffs-coming out of a toy dump truck...'Chicken Little' were mini chicken panini sandwiches...'Fishing Pond' was a clear glass bowl filled with goldfish crackers...'Lightning Bug Punch' was a lemonade-ginger ale punch - served in little canning jars...'Digging in the Garden' was a spinach salad...served in a kids bucket with shovel utensils that you use at the beach...'Mud Pies' were little chocolate cups with chocolate pudding...And the list goes on....they had a lot of food....and each of them had a boy theme....so cute!

After we ate, the guests decorated some items for Logan while John & I opened gifts.  Items they decorated: Onesies or burpcloths or bibs or pants...for Logan. :)  Oh they all turned out so cute. Each item had an idea or timeframe on it...for example, if it was a 0-3 month onesie, they had options of Fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas, winter. Some had specific ideas: Cubs, Sox, Bears...and yes, even Packers (since John's family is from WI they didn't want to neglect the 'other' football team). Some said 'Your Choice'.

My niece and nephews really took advantage of 'Your Choice'....and they did a great job! It is funny as Alexis really didn't think that the onesie should have any white space left on it...so she colored almost the entire thing! So cute!   The picture below is a ladybug-with blue sky & red arms.

TJ did quite an amazing painting on a burpcloth....a little boy looking down at some bugs. 

Michael wanted to be educational with some out of the ordinary animals...but did an awesome job at painting them....He did a Yeti -picture below - (on the onesie it says "Logan's Yedi") and wanted to introduce some Greek Methodology....so he painted a Basilisk. Where does he get this stuff? :) His imagination goes way beyond your typical dog or cat.

We received many, many wonderful gifts...some off the registry and some hand-knitted, some customized, some toys. We are so thankful to have so many people that love & care about us. 

My Aunt Wendy knitted Logan a beautiful blanket (hanging over the crib):

My best friend Abbey's Grandma knitted Logan this really cool snake:

Amongst the many incredibly awesome gifts we received, we also received some special gifts from my family:

From my parents...a picture to hang in Logan's room (they've done this for each of their grandchildren)....Logan's picture is of a little boy - with some toys scattered around him - sleeping on his large dog - the picture is of a shaggy dog - it is soooo cute. The picture is entitled the 'Guardian' and it is very much how I picture the relationship of Logan & Buddy.  My Mom was bummed because it was supposed to be delivered the day before the shower, but it is stuck in the mail somewhere and should arrive soon...I will post a picture as soon it arrives.

From my sister, Steven, TJ and Michael....we received Logan's Library...Dawn & Steve painted an open-top box with handles....brown, then put white polka dots all around, then in her pretty handwriting, wrote 'Logan's Library' in blue. SO CUTE! Then they filled it with all 'hard books' of their favorites. She also took paper mache block letters and painted them brown and decoupaged different things on each....and then stuck a little wooden item on each.... SO CUTE!  We will hang these letters above his crib.

From my sister-in-law and her fam....a stepping stone (we have done all the grandkids feet or hands in a stepping stone and they are proudly displayed in my parents' yard). She also made an incredibly awesome DVD. I had sent her all my pregnancy pictures...anything from the day we found out I was pregnant, all belly shots, painting Logan's room, assembling furniture and so on. She put all these pictures together and set it to music (Valentine by Martina McBride - this song was chosen as Logan was 'implanted' on Valentine's Day, so that day is extra special to us now). Well it was so thoughtful and amazing and many people ended the shower on a teary-eyed note, but in a sweet way. :) John and I will have this as a memory forever. Melissa has offered to add to it as the pregnancy continues (not too much longer)...and then to make another DVD of Logan's arrival (she did this for her kids and it is just such a perfect way to make the memory last forever).

So many thoughtful gifts that we will treasure forever. I can't wait for Logan to arrive so he can see just how blessed he is. :)

Guests 'swam home' (due to the storms Ike pushed up our direction) shortly after the decorating and gift opening.

My parents, Dawn and TJ & Michael came up to our house afterwards and helped put things away in the nursery...it was so much fun to do!

Dawn hung out in the closet...haha....

My Mom tested out some of Logan's new toys...

John put our Jeep stroller together and wheeled it around...

All in all....a FANTASTIC day and I thank my whole family for all the time and effort they put forth!

33 Weeks...and Ike

Yay...we're in our 33rd week!

Logan has been very wiggly in the last few days...I love it.  He's about 4 pounds and 17 inches long...keep growing Logan!  He still does some amazing kicks and rolls and I continue to love it all.

I got my haircut this weekend.  John wanted me to keep it long....I wanted it short again....so I got some layers and it is angled towards my face...it looks nice.  (I'll post a picture when I post shower pictures).

This weekend we experienced a bit of Ike....roads were closed all over the place....record high rainfall for the Chicagoland area...about 10 inches in one day...eeks!  And naturally it was on the day of my shower....the rain stopped for about a half hour in order for all the guests to arrive to my Mom's house without getting wet (or the gifts wet either).  :)

Here is a picture (not super clear) of a guy going through one of the many, many road closures.  

We were very thankful NOT to have a basement anymore....we can pretty much guarantee that if we were in our old house, the power would've been out and the basement flooded.  Whew....

We thought we were completely out of the clear until I came home from work today and visited Logan's room (like I do everytime I go upstairs).....on the newly painted ceiling I saw a leak about 5 feet by 2 inches (picture below).....and then right near the doorway a circle about 6 inches in diameter of water.  

So I called John and he came home from work.  He changed clothes and headed up into the insulation-filled attic (which is not so condusive for a 6 foot 4 inch guy....but he managed).  So I tapped (with a hanger) where the leak was in Logan's room....and John, at first didn't find anything.  Then after he lifted up a piece of insulation....yep, there it is a puddle of water.  I could hear it sloshing around....eeks.  I threw a towel and a garbage bag into the attic and John was able to sop up the water....and he had to throw away a piece of insulation that was completely saturated with water.  

So we are going to let the ceiling dry then see how much of it needs re-painting. Seriously....the ONE room that we've fixed up in this whole house...and just 2 weeks ago...is the part that leaks...  So John will need to re-insulate that area....I suggest that it's around the same time that he installs the ceiling fan in Logan's room.  :)  He'll also check out the shingles on the roof to keep them from leaking in the future....oy.

So that's our small 'Ike' experience.....and we pray for those families truly affected by Ike's path.

32....almost 33 week checkup

So today I had a doctor appointment since I'm going every two weeks now.

I met with the 2nd to last doctor....a male doctor and he was very nice. He seems to have a good sense of humor, likes to talk and is overall very friendly.

Logan's heartbeat is at 157....which is higher than 2 weeks ago...I think he's just excited for the baby shower tomorrow at my Mom's. :)

When he measured my belly, he said that I was +2 and that they need to keep an eye out because if I go any bigger they need to do an ultrasound to check his growth. But then I mentioned that I will be 33 weeks tomorrow....he said 'oh, well then you're fine'. I am measuring 34 weeks, so it is still only +1, which is okay. :)

My next appointment is in two weeks from today and I will meet the last doctor...yay!

Laundry....fun for once!

So I decided to wash all of Logan's clothes in Dreft (a sensitive baby detergent) and get them ready. After my shower on Saturday I will start organizing what goes into drawers and what gets hung in the closet as such...and I just wanted everything washed and ready to go.

It was the most exciting laundry to do. And I must say I was surprised as I already had 2 FULL loads to do! Logan already has so many clothes...I love it!

His socks are soooo tiny, I think I need to get a mesh bag or something to put them in...I can see how easy it would be for the washer or dry to 'eat' a sock.

Sunday

Today we attended my friend, Liliana's daughter, Ariana's 1st birthday. I just had to post a picture, because she looked absolutely adorable in her fun dress:

Week 32

Okay, supposedly 'it's all pretty good' if he arrives from here on out...however I think he'll go pretty close to term. :) It is an exciting landmark to hit though!

It was fantastic to celebrate 32 weeks by decorating Logan's room with furniture!!!

Here is a belly pictures at 32 weeks:

My belly is sticking out a bit more each week. :) In fact, you can 'kind of' see that the bottom of my tank top is not exactly covering the bottom of my belly....I've found that to be true with a few of my 'evening/weekend' tops...luckily all of my work tops still fit and fully cover my growing belly. :)

My next doctor appointment is this Friday at Noon...then my first shower (thrown by my Mom, sister and sister-in-law - whom all have been putting pretty much all their free time in 'projects' for my shower....they've really done a lot...can't wait to see it all) is on Saturday....I'm sooooo excited! Then on Sunday, John and I have 'lamaze' classes from 9-4......then a hospital tour at 6pm. Oh my gosh....what an exhausting, but truly exciting weekend!!!!!!

It is off to bed we go! :)

The furniture has arrived!

You would swear today was Christmas.  I had trouble sleeping....I was so excited that Logan's furniture was being delivered.  While the alarm was set early, we both woke up even earlier and got ready....and sat on the couch in the living room....and waited.  It sounds silly, but every time we heard a car turn the corner, we got excited thinking it was the delivery truck.  The delivery timeframe was 9-11 and they arrived at 9:30, so we really didn't have to wait too long.  :)

Everything came in boxes and we had them deliver them in the upstairs hallway (since we had steam cleaned Logan's floor last night).  Here are some pictures of putting together Logan's room and the final product, which we think looks fantastic!!!!

This is the 'before'.  It is right after we finished steam cleaning the carpets last night...

Here are the movers taking the 1st box upstairs...

Putting the crib together...

The crib...all put together... (I forgot that I gave the dust ruffle to my Mom to color match)

Here is the 5-drawer chest and dresser/changer/hutch (we already put all the items that have been hanging out in his closet on the shelves).

We LOVE his room and it has just made everything so much more real.  :)  Tonight we are going to get the blinds.

YAY!!!!!!!!

Furniture

Today I received one of the most exciting voicemails.....it was the 'Trucking Company from JCPenny'. They wanted to schedule a date for delivery.

I was expecting that it wouldn't be for another week and it would be during the weekday where I'd have to arrange to work from home.

He said 'we have this Saturday open or Tuesday through Saturday of next week'. I was so excited to hear that we could have the furniture delivered this Saturday....so we scheduled it! We actually have nothing going on this Saturday so we are ready to get the furniture and assemble it. I'll post pictures as soon as it is all set up!

Week 31

Yay...31 weeks down....9 to go (give or take a couple...hopefully not more than a couple either way).

Logan is approximately 16 inches long and weighs 3.3 pounds (about the weight of 4 navel oranges). :) And he's ready to hit a growth spurt! Ah, crazy!

I've read that really after you hit Week 32 the only main growth development is of the lungs...so really you're fairly safe to deliver anytime afterwards (as they can give him shots to quickly ripen his lungs).

Logan has kept up with kicking me bunches and I still love every kick. I read that after Week 32 he may run out of room and not kick as hard or as much...talking with different people, some agree, some don't. I hope to still feel him move a lot....

This week I felt his first round of hiccups!!!! On Friday I felt a rhythmic 'tap' for a bit of time. Then I have felt them about once a day since then...it's cool. I feel bad cuz for him as hiccups aren't always an amazing feeling, but I've read he feels just fine.

My sister-in-law Sandy (John's sister) gave us some hand-me-down books...so I've been reading different ones to Logan most nights...he seems to enjoy storytime. I look forward to building his book collection as I plan on reading to him often. :)

John finished painting Logan's room....the ceiling and the closet...so everything is so fresh and clean looking. He hung the valance and took all the other 'stuff' we had in his room out. I put the sheet of Logan's bedset on the mattress (we don't have the mattress pad yet) and I put the comforter on the bed....it is just sitting on the floor next to the hamper. And that's what is in his room right now. It's cute though. :)

As I was emptying Logan's closet so John could paint, I found yet another bag of 0-3 month clothes from my nephew, Jakob....so Logan is definitely set for his first couple months! Thanks Jakob!

The furniture has been shipped and a trucking company will call me in 10-14 days to schedule a delivery date...I will say 'when is the soonest you can come?' We are very excited to get furniture in here!

Our first shower is in one and a half weeks....we are soooooo excited!

Time for bed....I had a mini-migraine today so I need to go sleep it off.