Update & Pictures

I'm still pregnant...

I'm getting terribly uncomfortable at this point and very much looking forward to the end. However, I'm feeling much less anxious about it for the last few days. I'm not sure why, but last week I was feeling stressed about how this was going to all time out... and now I'm just going with the flow. It's a waiting game... and if you sit around thinking about it, it will make you crazy. So I'm just going about my life as normally as possible.

We've had a gorgeous few days of weather haven't we? (Followed by an icky day today... but that just makes us appreciate the pretty ones, right?) Will and Craig and I got outside quite a bit to walk, play and enjoy the sunshine. And I'm glad now that I wasn't stuck in the hospital to miss them since we're heading into a cooler, rainy streak through the middle of this week.

Here's some catch-up with pictures.

Last weekend we took Will to Bass Pro Shop to see the "E-Bunny" (from a distance - Will doesn't care to be up close and personal with the giant rabbit and the line was way too long anyway). He also loved walking around the store to see all the "wildlife".


He's saying "Cheese!"


Craig washed and waxed my Jeep on Friday and took lots of pictures. So here's my new wheels:

And here's me after work on Friday - 39 weeks!


I lost another pound this week. And I'm feeling nauseous on occasion now. I think my body is just "clearing out" and there seems to be no room for anything else but baby.

On Saturday, we played outside quite a bit. It got up to 70 or so in the middle of the day, but all these pictures were either in the morning or early evening, so it was cool enough for a light fleece. We played with the football, drew with his new sidewalk chalk, and Will got to ride on the lawn mower with Craig for awhile. Later, Craig went to the Pistons/Cavs game in Cleveland and Will and I did a little shopping with Casey. We also met my mom for ice cream and a short play in the park before heading home for the night.




This is going to be rained out before it's time. :(


Will LOVES the slide!






So, that's it for now. Just patiently awaiting Sophia's arrival...

Holy Pink Pagoda

That's the name of the OPI color on my toes right now. :)

My mom took me to get a pedicure (and some ice cream) last night so that I can have pretty toes in the delivery room. Good woman. We did this before Will was born too and I delivered 2 days later...

Mom also came over last week and cleaned all my woodwork and got cobwebs out of the ceilings while I was at work because she knew it would bug me and would be difficult for me to do right now. And this weekend, she's insisting on ironing all my laundry. She just always KNOWS what I need and selflessly gives. She is the most considerate woman on the planet.

38 Weeks & An Icky Appointment

Good Friday was my 38 week mark and I can feel myself starting to enter a sort of "laborland zone". My mind seems to be in a sort of daze where I'm focusing on my body and how I'm feeling - more of the intuitive, natural-minded, right brain - instead of the logical thinking left brain, if that makes sense. It's a good thing for labor, actually - you want to be focused internally and listening to your body and trusting it to do what it's supposed to. But in the meantime, I feel like I can't focus at work or on complicated subjects.

As I've mentioned before, it is my goal to have a completely natural birth. The whole thing is an other-worldly experience and something so much bigger than myself. Certainly it's not easy, and it IS hard work (hence the name labor), but it is the biggest, most amazing thing my body will ever do and I want to experience it completely. I realize it happens every day, all over the world. But it is still a miracle and something we should be grateful to be a part of. When you push your child into the world, you get the biggest high of your life. You feel on top of the world and like you can do anything. I wouldn't trade that (or mask it with medication) for anything.

In saying that, I also acknowledge that the most any woman can do is give it her all, moment-to-moment, and then resolve to accept whatever happens. There is so little control involved in the whole process of childbirth and it can be very easy to slip into a mindset of fear. But allowing those thoughts to control you and fighting the "pain" will only make the process longer and harder. You just have to focus, trust your body, and give into every wave. After that, it's up to God.

Okay, I'll step off my soapbox now. :)

Here is my 38 week belly.





Yikes! In the natural light (we took these on Sunday, during the day, instead of our usual evening shots), my skin looks albino! I need some sunshine!

I lost a pound and a half in the last week. My appetite is FINALLY diminishing and baby is still rapidly growing, so it's not unusual to plateau at the end. I didn't think that was going to happen for me - I was still so hungry all the time until just recently.

Physically, I'm feeling crampy and huge and slow and awkward... Braxton Hicks are very frequent and I'm gearing up for the real thing.

Yesterday, Craig and I went to another appointment. It didn't go so well, unfortunately. The appointment was scheduled for noon and Craig met me there. When I arrived, I was starting to feel light-headed and dizzy for some reason. Then we ended up waiting one and a half hours to see the doctor. By that time I was starting to feel very warm and nauseous. When they checked my blood pressure, it was a little low. They also make you lie flat on your back (the most uncomfortable position possible) to do the internal exam, measure the belly, and check the baby's position and heartbeat. I hate that. The doctor said I am now 80% effaced, still 1cm, and my belly is measuring 39 weeks. Everything looks good. But then she didn't offer to help me sit up, which is really hard on those little exam tables when your stomach muscles are stretched to the max and you can't very well roll to your side first. So Craig helped me up... sort of... and I got an extremely sharp and painful cramping in my lower abdomen that didn't go away for awhile. After the doctor left the room, I told Craig I needed a minute and that I wasn't feeling well. And suddenly, I got sick, right there in the exam room! I don't where this all came from, but afterward I felt better and we got something to eat. What a weird day.

My goals this week are to get as much sleep as I can by going to bed early, and to spend quality time with Will as a family.

On a side note, I would love to be done working! I'm so tired of trying to make myself look presentable every day when I'd rather just be home in sweats and a ponytail. It's a long day and I'm so tired by the end of it. But I'm going to tough it out and save my paid time off for my maternity leave. I'm also feeling anti-social lately and just want to be at home where I'm most comfortable.

Okay, enough complaining. Thank goodness the end is in sight!

Happy Easter!

Easter morning at home.




Easter at the Konesky's.




A funny step back in time to Easter 2008 (Will and my cousin's son Brendan).


And now Easter 2009.




Easter at the Riedeman's.








Happy Easter everyone!!!

Easter Egg Hunt

We took Will to a kiddie Easter Party on Sunday complete with games, egg hunt and a visit from the "E-Bunny" himself (as Will calls him). Will had a great time coloring pictures, running around, and playing games with Grandma Riedeman. He also surprised us by being a natural at the egg hunt! Craig and I weren't sure he'd really get it, but as soon we got outside, he got right to work gathering the colorful, plastic eggs into his basket. He also got super excited when the "E-Bunny" arrived (running over, jumping up and down, clapping his hands), but then quickly changed his tune when Mr. Bunny started paying attention to him and we wanted to take a picture. :)

And BIG NEWS:

Over the weekend, Will began sleeping in his big boy bed! We started with a nap on Saturday and that was disastrous. I went about it all wrong, I think, in an effort to gently transition him. So each time he got up, I was putting him back in bed saying "Will, it's nap time. You have to lay down." etc. etc. He'd whine and throw a fit each time and it went on and on. We ended up giving up and putting him back in the crib for nap and he still slept poorly after the whole debacle. But I decided to be persistent that night and take a different angle to go about it. Per the Super Nanny, we did his normal bedtime routine and then once he was down, we did not say another word to him when we had to go back in the room. We just walked in, picked him up with a firm facial expression and NO TALKING, lay him back down, and walked out! The difference was amazing! We only went in twice and then he was out. Hooray - SUCCESS!!! Naps are a little tougher but we still made it through for Sundays nap. It took 4 walk-ins (same method) and 45 minutes, but he DID go to sleep. And each time I went in, he got an "uh-oh" look on his face and didn't fight me at all. By Sunday night, we didn't have to go back in the room at all and last night was his 3rd night in a row in the big boy bed. I am just beyond excited about the whole thing.

Here's a picture (not the most flattering) of him asleep on Sunday night:



We now have 2 bed rails up and last night Craig created a sort of fort with pillows at the head and foot of the bed. He's a little protective... :)

What else? Over the weekend, I added 4 loaves of zucchini bread, 8 dozen cookies, 2 zucchini quiches and 6 individual portions of spinach lasagna to my freezer stash of food for maternity leave. So I'm feeling pretty good and stocked now.

And yesterday I had another doctors appointment - typical check up but she didn't do an internal exam so I don't have any progress updates. Maybe next week...

Full Term Today!

Hooray! Sophia & I have reached the 37 week mark and are officially "full term". This is considered a safe zone and she will no longer be defined as premature if she were born now. We're not expecting any activity for a couple more weeks, but it's still reassuring to know she would survive just fine if born today. And I think we've established that she's certainly not going to be defined low birth weight, which is anything under 5.5#

I had a rough night of sleep last night and today I have been feeling very crampy again with lots of braxton hicks contractions. I anticipate we'll see more progress at our next doctors appointment on Monday.

This week, I put all the freshly washed cloth liners back on all the baby gear like the swing and bouncer and infant car seat. We adjusted the straps on the car seat to the lowest infant slots and put the head support back in. I set up the pack 'n play with the bassinet and changing station in our bedroom and even opened a package of newborn diapers and stuck some in the pack 'n play diaper holder. Seriously, did my little boy really fit into those at one time? I know that he wore them for several weeks but they're so stinkin' tiny!!! It just reinforces that Will is going to seem so huge to me pretty soon. My hospital bag is packed except for the stuff I use on a daily basis, and the car seat and hospital bag are ready and waiting in my closet. So we are ready to go whenever Sophia is!

O Happy Day!

On Tuesday evening this week I was playing with Will after work and just adoring his cuteness. Well I leaned in close to his face and asked "Can I tell you something?" And I guess I must have done this before because, before I could say it first, Will said "I love you."

Can you see why I have been so emotional lately? I am putty in that boy's hands...