Week 36: Ain't no stoppin us now...

Happy 36 weeks! Our title this week refers to our 35.5/36 midwife appointment we had on Wednesday. Basically, they said if she comes from here on out, they're not stopping it! Kind of crazy to think that we're at this point already!

We are at weekly midwife appointments, and have one this Wednesday as well. We were told last week that she is head down (hoping she stays that way!), her heart beat was strong (~145bpm), and my blood pressure is still really good (110/62). I've been trying to eat well, drink lots of water, and keep walking or doing weights as much as possible to keep my blood pressure in check, since I've known a lot of people who have had issues with it. We also got to ask some more questions about the birth, which led to her asking Bryan if he wants to help "catch". Bryan is just getting comfortable with cutting the cord, so we shall see what happens in the heat of the moment and what his decision is. :) We have our next appointment Wednesday, and the Group B strep test then. Requesting prayers for a negative result, so I don't have to take antibiotics during labor! I will post again this week if anything exciting happens at that appointment that I can't wait to tell.

Other than that, we had our last Bradley class Wednesday as well, and it was a bit sad. We loved the class so much and learned so much from it. We are thankful for finding it and having such a great teacher. I have typed up our birth plan and she is going to look it over, and I also made a "cheat sheet" for Bryan as the coach of things to remember, and it references which page number things are on in our workbook. Our hospital bags are all packed, except for last minute items! We also started fulfilling some of our registry items that we still needed, leaving some for after she comes. We are both ready to be done buying stuff for a while, and can't wait to get our shipments in these next 2 weeks! The BOB stroller has the infant car seat adapter all set up on it, and we purchased our car seat and bases this weekend too. Getting excited! I keep telling my elementary kids at school that her "birthday" might be February 26th, unless she decides to come early or late. Hopefully right on time, I like that option :) We keep thinking about different scenarios of what she'll be like, and what we'll share with her once she gets here. For instance, this morning I was already getting excited about dressing her for her first March Madness tournament with her KU (and MU) gear. Important life moments!!!

Trying to stay warm here as I gear up for a "cold" day tomorrow, no school!
Love,
The Fingland's

Week 35: Nursery Reveal!

Sorry this is late! It has been a busy week already around here, and our weekend was even busier. We celebrated Bryan's birthday Saturday by going out to dinner and buying him a suit! Sunday some wonderful teacher friends threw us a shower. It was fun to get to celebrate with friends and get some cute baby gear :). We are starting to use all our gift cards to finish up some necessities on our registry, and I can't wait to have it all ready for her! Bryan put together her pack n play tonight, her bouncy seat, and started charging our baby monitors. Checking it all out and getting it ready is exciting! I've also started packing my hospital bag, and have a checklist made so I know what to pack last minute.

Speaking of getting ready, her room is finally ready for her to come home to! We have a few things here and there (like hang the mobile from a hook, not painter's tape), but overall it is ready for her. We really like it and it's so fun to see it all put together finally. I put all the pictures in the album with our belly pics, so you can click the photo link in the top right corner, or click here to see belly pics AND the final nursery.(belly pics are in order, and the nursery pics are all the way at the bottom after the ultrasound pics and hospital tour pics) Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/kfingland/201009BabyAndBellyPics#

Other than that, just starting to feel a little slower these days. Flipping over is a chore in itself. I've been trying to walk or do some weights/squat exercises as much as I can, but since I walk around so much at work, it is usually nap time first when I get home! The elementary kids have been super fun and funny to be around, and their comments are too hilarious! I'm lucky that this next 6 weeks at school I have an EA (Educational Assistant), because she is great and having extra hands and legs is so nice right now! Not to mention that I have to leave the room more often now to take lots of potty breaks! We have our midwife appointment tomorrow and I will write about that this weekend. Hope you all are enjoying your week.

Love,
The Fingland's

Week 34: Getting closer...

First, I wish every weekend was 3 days long. Just think of how much more we'd be able to do and get done and rest...one can dream.

This week I came down with my first sickness since being pregnant, a wonderful winter cold. Bleh. Thankfully it came towards the end of the week so I've been taking lots of naps, using lots of kleenex, and have finally mastered the neti pot since it relieves my stuffy head headache without having to put any meds through to Baby Fingland. I am hoping to knock this out soon and be able to talk normally and breath easy again.

Better news this week, our friends James and Kelly had their baby girl, Annabelle on Monday! We dog sat their lab while they were at the hospital, and Bryan luckily got to go see them and hold her on Thursday (I was under the covers trying to not be sick anymore--boo). I can't wait to meet her and am excited for baby Fingland to already have friends around :).

Other than that we have been diligently working on the nursery and house. I am going to go out on a limb and say that by the time I post next week, the nursery will be DONE. Finito! Terminado! I was organizing it tonight and am in love with it. It came together so well and the finishing touches will be easy to put on these next few days. Big big props to the daddy to be, he has worked his butt of getting everything ready for his little girl. Between refinishing the dresser, putting together the crib, hanging the curtains, putting together the shelf organizer, painting the storage cube, hanging the artwork, hanging the mobile, painting and putting up the chair rail, and of course, installing new tamper proof outlets and a better light switch, he has been amazing! Wow, writing it all out just wears me out, we are lucky to have him around! We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday next Saturday, and I have already told him it is going to be a "baby free" day.

I am also looking forward to our baby shower next Sunday, with some great Colorado friends. It is going to be at our house, so I'm really excited about not having to pack a car full of baby stuff again :). After that we just are going to pick up any items on our registry still, and then RELAX and enjoy some (hopefully) down time before the little one arrives. Who knows though, if she comes early that "RELAX" statement might become completely irrelevant! My next midwife appointment is at 35 weeks, January 26th, so I will keep you updated on any news or progress.

Just getting excited that we see the light at the end of the nursery tunnel, and a day or two of relaxing is in the forecast. It's been a little harder to sleep as I feel like a rotisserie chicken at times flip flopping so much. A good night's sleep these days means 1 trip to the bathroom and only 4 times flipping! How things have changed...

Hope you all are well.
Love,
The Fingland's

Week 33: It's beginning to look a lot like a Nursery...

...or it's also beginning to look a lot like "there must be a baby coming soon" around our house. Thankfully, we have a door on our nursery so I can just close it after putting all the piles of stuff in there to control my nervous organization tick for the time being. This weekend was a nesting extravaganza, as we finally had time to catch up on all the stuff looming over last week.

Let's see we now have: pulls on the dresser, a brand new chair rail around the nursery courtesy of my handyman Bryan, curtain rods and hung blackout curtains courtesy of Grandma Fingland, a laundry basket full of clothes to be washed with tags/etc. removed, an 18x18in finalized canvas with that quote I posted a few weeks back, a cleaned out/organized bathroom closet with 2 open shelves and under the sink storage space ready for baby stuff, our birth wishes/plan written for the hospital and midwife, and baby shower thank yous done and ready to send! WHOOSH, and that was just baby stuff! I can't tell you how good it feels to have the Christmas decos down and the place vacuumed too!

I had a midwife appointment this Friday, and it went wonderfully. We brought in 2 pages of questions and asked her some (figured since we're going so often now we didn't want to jeopardize ALL her time). We felt so reassured with all of her answers, and feel really blessed to have this team of certified midwives, and the hospital, to help us with our wish to have a natural birth. After talking with them, and taking our hospital tour on Saturday to pre-register, our philosophies and priorities seem to align really well with both the midwives and hospital. It kind of all fell into place, and we couldn't be more excited now! Also, she showed us where our baby girl is located (back, feet, head, etc.) and as of now she is head down. Her heartbeat was strong, and when she moved her heartbeat increased--a good sign and something they look for! I am measuring at 32cm for 33 weeks, so about a week "behind". She said it has been consistently that way though, so no worries about growth. My favorite part was when she asked if I had any swelling, and lifted my pant leg and was like "oh look, you still have ankles!" Haha, I check for them every day just to make sure too! :)

After such a great appointment, I am really looking forward to the whole birthing experience, while still being nervous too. It's so much better though because before, I was just nervous! Also, after cutting tags and prepping laundry for all her adorable clothes, I've decided that one of my favorite things will most likely be picking out what Baby Fingland gets to wear each day. I can't wait!

We will post a finalized nursery pic (crossed fingers) in a couple weeks! Here are some close up of finished details though, and our sweet stroller!
Mattress!
Chair Rail and Curtains!

Dresser with Pulls!

Bryan taking the BOB for test drives in the basement.

Lots of love from snowy Colorado,
Bryan, Katie, and the Honeydew (love this one!) Oh, and lots of scrunches from the big sis to be--Bailey. She's been so good and is keeping Daddy to be company in the nursery, and naps with Mommy to be on the couch!

Week 32: New Year, New Life!

Happy New Year! 2011 is gearing up to be a a "game changer" as we prepare for baby Fingland to get here SOON! In fact, the past 2 weeks, I've had some slight freak out moments thinking about all the things that are upcoming: finishing all the preparations in the nursery and house, going to the hospital, giving birth, if I will know what to do with the baby once we get her home, what if they are wrong and she's a boy, not a girl...you know, really rational things, well most of them! It helped that on the long drive back to Colorado, Bryan scribed an excel to do list while I drove.

I am feeling pretty good, excited to get back into a routine this week. As the belly is getting bigger, my back has been hurting a bit, and by the night time it is uncomfortable to sit up and find a comfy position anymore. But so far so good.

We are going to start creating our birth plan this week in Bradley class, and are still on track to try our darndest to have a natural birth. Regardless, we've really enjoyed our classes so far, and feel like we know so much more than we ever thought possible about the whole process! We've gone over so far: at least 7 different relaxation techniques, numerous positions to alleviate pain during contractions and to give birth in, the details--pros and cons--of all medical and hospital interventions (my favorite and most interesting class!), and the various stages of labor and how I will be feeling and acting during them. We have also started saying our due date is March 8th, a week from our given due date, since we learned that the average gestational period is actually 41 weeks, not 40. That way, if she's early, it will be a pleasant surprise! Overall, I think each Wednesday it brings Bryan and I closer together, and reinforces that we are a team and can do this. I just have to remind myself of that every other day after Wednesday! :)

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's, and got to see our family and friends. It was weird saying goodbye knowing that the next time we see them, I won't be pregnant anymore! Looking forward to the weekend so we can organize...the nesting has kicked in FULL swing and I don't even want to be at school during the day; just at home organizing! New belly pics this week, and next week we will post some pics of our new baby gear we've been testing out. Our BOB stroller is already getting tested in the basement!

Lots of love,
The Fingland's