Awww

Tootsie made us take this picture last weekend. I'm so glad she did!

See BBC? We're excited to meet you! (So excited that we apparently can't even think about finishing the fireplace surround and mantle just now.) :)


(That's a 36 week, 3 day belly, for those following along.)

Yikes - foot swelling

It's true what they say about the last few weeks of pregnancy. Physically, they aren't much fun.

My feet were basically swollen for 3 days after my shower (damn me and my daring to wear cute heels!). It was not pretty. Since it was unusual for me, and there was some pitting, I went to the doc to rule out anything funky. (Note: Funkiness successfully ruled out.)



It finally went down on day 4 after some seriously extended periods of elevating the feet (and a pedicure).

Baby Shower Time!

My fabulous friends (specifically, Mary K., Cindy W., and Danielle L.) threw a baby shower for me (us? BBC?) on Saturday! A great time was had by all.

My mother, aunt, and cousins came into town to surprise me (it worked - big time) and they continued their newfound mission of spoiling BBC like madwomen.

What I expected to be a fun and intimate shower turned out to be an unexpectedly large and amazingly generous one! You'll all be relieved to know that BBC finally has a (very cool) car seat and an extra carseat base (Thanks Tootsie and Pop, Missy, Taylor, and Blair!) .

He also has a slew of clothes, socks, bibs, hats, and blankets (Thanks Ruby, Livia, Gina, Lisa, Mary, Danielle, Cindy, Stealeys, Tootsie and Pop, Missy, Taylor, and Blair!). No smart baby's life is complete without a variety of books (Thanks Blair, Livia, Tootsie and Pop!).

He also has a slew of other essentials like a boppy and cover (Thanks Mary and Bob!), a carrier so we can take him on walks and hikes (Thanks Lois!), a baby swing (Thanks Cindy, Mary, and Danielle!), some Peepee Teepees (Ours have fire trucks on 'em. So cute. Thanks Stealeys!), gas drops and a snack bowl (Thanks Mary and Bob!) and pacifiers with leashes (Thanks Livia!).

I'm sure I neglected to mention a few things. We're lucky we had a minivan to bring it all home. As Blair kept reminding me all weekend, BBC is going to be a very spoiled baby! We're so very lucky to have such fun, generous, all-around wonderful friends.

As usual, I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. Here are a select few (there were 130 on my camera alone). Here's a link to the "full" set (whittled down to 71 for your viewing pleasure).

(Note for those following the belly pic timeline - that's a 36w1d belly.)

The name

Since this seems to be the latest question...

Yes, we're about 90% sure we've chosen a name. (Hey. I'm as surprised as anyone. I figured this would be an "on the way to the hospital" debate.)

No, we're not telling.

Yes, it starts with a D.

No, it doesn't rhyme with Jayden/Brayden/Aaden. Poor kid might even stand out a little in his class. (Besides. "Dayden" sounds stupid.)

Yes, we think/hope it's appropriate for him both as a child and as an adult, whether he chooses to be a doctor or a housepainter or an accountant or a librarian or a blackjack dealer.

No, it doesn't have any superfluous vowels or Ys.


You'll all find out in 29 days or sooner! (And really, it's not worth all of this buildup. It's not that earth-shatteringly wonderful.)

In other BBC-related news... well, there isn't much. I'm still plagued by what I presume are mostly standard third-trimester-type aches and pains, and I am making slow but steady progress with the decorative painting in the nursery. It's a long process.

Being at work right up to the end is no fun, either, but it's the best thing as far as leave goes. I *might* be able to get away with Sept 30 being my last day instead of Oct 6, but that would mean a week's less pay for the year... We shall see.

updated belly picture

Since it's been 2 weeks and BBC seems to be growing like mad (ow!), I figured it was time for an updated photo.

I'm doing my best to refrain from posting the whole series - that really should wait until the end - but, just for fun, here's the first one, from back when I could still walk and sit and stand and squat and pick things up off of the floor like a normal person.

I was 25 pounds overweight then and really never imagined I'd miss that body. Now I'm just hoping beyond hope that I can at *least* get back to that point someday.

Hiccups!

BBC's, not mine.

I'm feeling them just about every day now. Tough to describe, but a little disconcerting and annoying. It's almost like white noise or buzzing in the background that you eventually notice and then can't stop hearing it, except ... white movement in your uterus, I guess. And then you wonder how long it's been going on.

At least I assume it's hiccups. It's higher frequency than I would expect hiccups to be, but definitely quite regular. Then again, what do I know about fetus hiccups?

40 days (or less! Hopefully less.) until BBC gets here! How crazy is that?

Nursery progress

Not much, but every little bit helps. I finally got the valances up today. It's nice to finally have some color in there.

Next up is getting some other stuff on the walls. It's SOP to put the kid's name on the wall these days, but I don't know if I can do it. We are considering numbers and letters (probably vinyl decals using some of the colors from the bedding), and we're still going to copy pieces of the bedding design onto the walls. We're also considering animal shapes (again, vinyl decals) to put around the room.

I've started looking at area rugs. They're expensive. And either too boring or completely clash with the room. I'm still looking.

For some reason (maybe because BBC will be here in 44 days or less), I'm just really ready for this room to be done. Although something needs to be done in every other room (paint touch-ups, hanging things on the wall, etc.) this is the only room I really have any desire to work on. Hopefully I'll make some more progress this week.

No other big news. I can tell BBC is growing like crazy, although he doesn't seem too cramped yet to keep him from moving around quite a bit. That's all right, though. If he's moving, I know he's OK.