75% complete - 30 weeks

How far along? 30 weeks.  
• Total weight gain: +9 lbs.

• Maternity clothes? All pants and most shirts, this belly is getting HUGE.

• Stretch marks? Boo.  This is a yes.  I found a teeny, tiny little one in the most random spot.  The little piece of skin between my old belly button piercing (all of ½ inch) has a small silver-y stretch mark.  I wonder if it’s the scar tissue under the skin?  Either way, I hope I only get that one – it’s so small that only I notice it.

• Sleep: Not great, restless with weird dreams.

• Best moment this week: Spending a few minutes just sitting in the glider in the nursery and looking around.  It’s starting to feel really REAL.J

• Miss Anything?  Having a ton of clothing options, being able to bend over, and a good cold Strongbow (I’m terrible – I know!). 

• Movement: ALL THE TIME.  Makes me a little worried for how over-active this kid could be. 
• Food cravings: Culver’s cheese curds.

• Food aversions: Nothing specific

• Gender: Who knows?

• Labor Signs: Nothing.

• Symptoms: Thankfully the heartburn has subsided.  Other than that, just aches, pains and generally being uncomfortable.

• Belly Button in or out? Totally and completely out. 

• Wedding rings on or off? On, no swelling yet!
• Looking forward to: A weekend at home, and some time spent shopping for decorations for the nursery.

Doctor’s appointment (a week and a half ago – I’m late posting this!) went well.  Heartbeat was good, my weight is still on the light side but baby is still measuring bigger than our due date.  My blood pressure is low.  I was informed that our follow up 32 week ultrasound appointment will be the final deciding factor in whether we’re doing a c-section.  The placenta had moved before, but not enough at that time.  My doctor still seemed pretty concerned about it, so we scheduled my next appointment with her for the day of the ultrasound. (They are done at two different locations).  In just over a week and half, we will know how our baby will be entering this world!  I’m okay with either option, I just really want to know if we have to do the c-section 3-4 weeks earlier than our due date.  Just the planner in me.

Here’s my list from before – with updates on where we are!

1.     Assemble the crib and changing table ~ Check! Looks great too.

2.     Hang the curtains in the nursery and get the closet organizer in – Closet organizer done, looked at curtains, but I have some more work to do on those.

3.     Start decorating the nursery (shelves, bedding, order wall decals) – Started.  Bedding is in the crib and washed – ready to go!

4.     Possibly assemble/take out of the box our car seat, stroller, high chair and bouncy chair – Check on the car seat and stroller.  The other two can wait.

5.     Finish assembling our patio set and finally sell the old one on Craigslist – Yes on the assembling, no on the selling.  Maybe this weekend…

6.     Get Aaron’s financial aid for his last semester taken care of (we’re so behind!) Check. J

7.     Start and finish our registry at Babies R Us – Check. J  And add “order custom nursery glider to that.”

8.     Finally bring all the piles of “stuff” that we’ve accumulated to goodwill – SO glad this is done – and gone!

9.     Start washing and hanging up baby’s clothes and organizing the changing table. – Nope, nothing here yet.  Maybe this weekend.

This weekend will consist of shopping for decorations for the nursery, continuing to assemble it, starting to fill in the baby book we ordered and just got in the mail, and looking for nursing bras (ugh – this last task sounds horrible).  I’m just excited to spend my Saturday shopping for the different items, and spending the rest of our weekend working on miscellaneous littler projects.

Our birthing classes started last week too.  I was REALLY not looking forward to these.  I was scared of learning things that I really didn’t want to know.  For example – what exactly your body actually does/goes through/and seeing examples in a video on labor.  But it actually has been really fun.  The other couples seem easy going and our instructor, Jane is awesome!  We laugh at some parts, but really seem to be learning a lot too.  I actually look forward to our Monday night classes. 

Yesterday we got to do a tour of the birth center at our hospital, and WOW.  What a BEAUTIFUL place.  There were women laboring in the laboring side and patients/newborn babies in the post partum rooms, and it didn’t seem as horrific as I had envisioned it.  (I know I’m dramatic, but I really don’t do well with medical stuff).  And the rooms are huge with state of the art technology for everything!  Makes me feel much better about the short time spent between being a pregnant lady and becoming a mom to a newborn baby!

A few pictures of what we've been up to:

Baby Daddy assembling the crib. 

Vada curled up with my body pillow I threw off the bed.  Couldn't resist getting a couple photos of my un-photogenic 1st baby. :-)

30 Weeks

                                                      30 weeks

I despise this photo - but I want it in here for documentation purposes.  It looks gigantic, but I still think it's smaller than Vanessa's from my prior post.  And she's only two weeks ahead of me for due dates.

IS THIS NORMAL?!

Let me preface this with that I am really happy for Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo, and I think it's fun to stalk watch celebs that are also expecting.

But is it normal that this photo totally FREAKS ME OUT?!

First you have the SHINY skin, and it's HUGE.  This really has me worried.  Maybe I'm naive and think my stomach looks differently, but it's still much smaller.  And I hope my skin never looks like it's covered in plastic.  This seriously has me fretting.... am I the only one that thinks this photo is scary/weird?!

1st Baby Shower

Just a few pictures from the shower last weekend. It was so nice to spend the day with my immediate family, and spoil Baby B rotten!

Baby Cake - how adorable is this?!

My sister, Mom, me, Grandma and Aunt Dawn.

Our Play-Doh babies

Working so intently on the babies.

Gift from my sister - the best Auntie-to-be!

How frick'n cute is this chair?!

29 weeks... really, only 11 to go!?!?!

How far along? 29 weeks.  
• Total weight gain: +9 lbs.

• Maternity clothes? All pants and most shirts, this belly is getting HUGE.

• Stretch marks? Not yet, I pretty much smell like cocoa butter 24/7.
• Sleep: Not great, restless with weird dreams.

• Best moment this week: Having my Mom and Aaron notice my belly moving and grooving on it’s own. J

• Miss Anything?  Having a ton of clothing options, being able to bend over, and a good cold Strongbow. 

• Movement: ALL THE TIME.  Makes me a little worried for how over-active this kid could be. 
• Food cravings: Culver’s cheese curds.

• Food aversions: Nothing specific

• Gender: Who knows?

• Labor Signs: Had another Braxton hicks contraction – but they are extremely infrequent.

• Symptoms: Heartburn has taken control.  But lunch time it’s burning away, and Tums doesn’t help.  My favorite is waking up at night from puking in my mouth because of the heartburn.  Awesome. 

• Belly Button in or out? Totally and completely out. 

• Wedding rings on or off? On, no swelling yet!
• Looking forward to: TONS of progress in the nursery this week.

We have our routine Dr’s appointment tomorrow.  I’ll have to ask about this terrible heartburn. 

We booked our maternity photo session this week and will be taking our pictures at the same park we took our wedding photos at 4 years ago!  They have some cute areas for pictures, and we can do a few more urban looking ones in the historic downtown area too.  We also have a tentative date for our newborn session.  It’s crazy to think that this really is just around the corner.

I’m beyond excited for our weekend.  We have a huge to-do list of things we’ve been meaning to get done.

1.     Assemble the crib and changing table

2.     Hang the curtains in the nursery and get the closet organizer in

3.     Start decorating the nursery (shelves, bedding, order wall decals)

4.     Possibly assemble/take out of the box our car seat, stroller, high chair and bouncy chair

5.     Finish assembling our patio set and finally sell the old one on Craigslist

6.     Get Aaron’s financial aid for his last semester taken care of (we’re so behind!)

7.     Start and finish our registry at Babies R Us

8.     Finally bring all the piles of “stuff” that we’ve accumulated to goodwill

9.     Start washing and hanging up baby’s clothes and organizing the changing table.

And most importantly – find time for a date night!!

Can’t wait to be home this weekend and do everything at our own pace! 

Better late than never... week 28! (At my week 29 mark... ha)

I will add pictures from home tonight - don't have them saved at work.  And I will get going on my week 29 update - how is it so easy to get a week behind?

How far along? 28 weeks.
• Total weight gain: +8 lbs.  

• Maternity clothes? Oh yes, exclusively maternity pants (except sweatpants) and trying to intermix the tops.

• Stretch marks? Not yet and I hope it stays that way!
• Sleep: Getting difficult, some nights I have pain or discomfort with certain positions, but then fine the next night.  Must have to do with where the baby is laying. I’m still up once a night to use the restroom. 

• Best moment this week: My first baby shower!!  My Aunt was in town from Colorado, so we had a very small family get together to celebrate Baby Bethke.  And I can promise you – this babe is loved a ton already and will be spoiled rotten!

• Miss Anything? Being able to see to shave.  I get more cuts on my legs than ever before!
• Movement: So much it gets painful!
• Food cravings: This week it’s been meals – not sweets.  Sandwiches, fruit, substantial food.

• Food aversions: Nothing I don’t normally dislike.

• Gender: Verdict’s still out and it seems to be a split jury.
• Labor Signs: Not really
• Symptoms: HEARTBURN, back pain, tired more often again, and just really starting to feel like I’m dragging and huge.

• Belly Button in or out? Totally out
• Wedding rings on or off? On – no swelling yet!
• Looking forward to: Organizing the nursery this week and starting to put away some of our gifts!

The shower this week was so fun!  Big thanks goes out to my Sister, Mom and aunt for putting it on!  We played a few games, had a delicious lunch and made the guys (Grandpa, Uncle Tom and Ryan) judge our best “play-doh babies.”  My family was beyond generous and we have quite the start to the necessities for baby!  Seeing all the outfits, toys and little baby items really made me more excited and more grounded in realizing that in less than 3 months, our new son or daughter will really be here.  Crazy!

This week we went to visit an in-home daycare.  And I LOVED the place.  I’m praying that she has an opening (she thinks one of her families will be leaving due to the Mom changing jobs).  I didn’t realize until we were interviewing her that she does daycare for a friend of mine that works at the local community center.  I know she loves her daycare provider, and it made me feel even more comfortable with this woman.  But, since she is unsure if she has openings, we did make a deposit to hold our spot at the day care center (just in case!)  We want to know we will have a place to bring our child, even if it’s not this amazing lady.

Another Dr’s appointment this week – just to check the vitals again.  It’s crazy to think we’re already at the point where I have to go every other week to pee in a cup, have my weight, blood pressure and size of my stomach measured!  But at least we get to listen to baby’s heartbeat every time.  It’s really an amazing sound!

Since we’ve had so many ultrasounds (week 5, 9,13,20,26, will get another at 32 weeks), I will need to make a special post of just all the photos.  I think it’s so neat to look at what the baby looked like at each stage and see the progression from blob to baby. 

Also on tap this week – continuing to talk about names!  I also realized we need to start making a plan for how we are going to get to the hospital and contact all our loved ones.  I also need to start planning for what needs to go in the hospital bag (I’m very Type A and need to start this list now!), and shopping for the necessities that we will still need.  (Obviously a cute new PJ set for the hospital and those god awful looking nursing bras). 

So much to do - but so excited to start knocking things off the to-do list!

Week 28 belly and the painted walls of the nursery!

27 weeks

How far along? 27 weeks.  
• Total weight gain: +8 lbs.

• Maternity clothes? Oh yes, it’s hard to find any of my normal shirts that are long enough.

• Stretch marks? Not yet, still slathering up with lotion
• Sleep: Not too bad, usually up once per night for a bathroom run.

• Best moment this week: I have three!  1. Spending time with my family relaxing at the lake.  2. Seeing baby at our ultrasound.  I love seeing the development of the babe and getting 3D pictures!  3. Finishing the painting in the nursery!!

• Miss Anything?  My patience still seems to be in hiding.  I’m thinking it’s because things are so hectic right now, but I hope I don’t stay this way for the next three months.

• Movement: A TON.  All day and night the baby is moving and grooving.  And I’m really surprised by how different the movements feel as baby gets bigger. Some of the jabs and spins are really uncomfortable.
• Food cravings: Nothing specific this week.

• Food aversions: Nothing specific

• Gender: Unknown.  I was originally thinking it was definitely a pink fall – now I’m not so sure. I’m really torn as to my instincts as to the baby’s gender.

• Labor Signs: Nothing new here.

• Symptoms: Back pain, aches and pains through my torso. 

• Belly Button in or out? Out.  Totally and completely out. 

• Wedding rings on or off? On, and hoping to stay that way.
• Looking forward to: Our first baby shower is this week!  And I have family in town from Colorado that I’m excited to see!

Wow, so much has happened!  We had our Dr.’s appointment a week and half ago.  Passed the glucose test (hell yeah – of course my body knows how to break down the sugars).  We had our ultrasound and the baby looked really healthy. The babe is a whopping 2lb2oz and still measuring a week bigger than our due date.  The placenta did move up, so it’s not a “placenta previa” anymore, it’s a “low placenta” now.  So they still have to monitor it, since it didn’t move enough.  This means I will have another ultrasound in about 4 weeks to see the status of the placenta then.  They have every hope that it will completely move and no c-section will be needed.

We did tour the daycare facility and are torn.  Luckily this week we have an interview with an in-home daycare to compare it against.  I’m stressed because we’re struggling to find places that have infant openings.  I feel like it won’t be our option to decide, we’ll have to take what is available.  Time will tell, and I’m interested to see how the interview goes.  Now to do some research about what I should be asking….

We finished the painting yesterday and it looks fantastic!  We should have time in the next week to start assembling the crib and the changing table.  I’m really excited to start seeing it come together!

And update on birthing classes – what a mess.  They canceled the class we were signed up for in Monticello, so I was scrambling to find a class that starts now that has openings.  You wouldn’t believe that most classes are booked solid!  Maple Grove had a last minute cancellation, so we were able to get into a class there.  MG is booked up till September – um hello, not enough time if we started a 5 week class in mid September! 

We finally have our girl names narrowed down too!  We wanted to have two or three names picked out for each sex, and we finally have the girl names picked out!  So nice to know that’s decided.  But we’re still struggling on boy names.

In the last week in a half Aaron was in a wedding (pictures below), I attended a bridal shower, a Twins game with our good friends, spend 4 days relaxing at the lake with the family for the 4^th, and went to the Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney concert!!!  Work has been hectic and busy and barely fit into all the social activities we have going on! 

This weekend I’ve got Friday off from work again for my first baby shower!  My Dad’s side of the family is showering baby B. with a nice intimate get together.  I’m more excited to just spend some time with my family.  Then Saturday is a family reunion and Sunday will probably be spent at our city’s summer festival.  It should be a busy but FUN weekend.  J

A few pictures of what I’ve been up to.

At the Webb wedding.  Isn't my date stunning?!

Large and in charge!  Twins game - front row!

Nice view of warm-ups. :-)

Yummy!

My hunny and I at the concert!

Cyndy and I at the Tim & Kenny concert!

The newlyweds - looking so relieved the hard part is over!

Tim - so sexy!

I have always been in LOVE with Kenny!!!!

Christina posing in front of the world's largest boot. At Red Wing shoes.

My Mom at the Historic St. James hotel in Red Wing