Tag Archives: family

38 Weeks

How far along: 38 weeks, completed 09/25/2012.

Weight gain: 1 pound! Up to 151 lbs, for a total pregnancy gain of 18 lbs.

In terms of little Alice, I had that ultrasound to check her growth on Tuesday, and she’s weighing 6 lbs 5oz and looking great! Though her head isn’t engaged yet, she’s “way down there” (according to the tech) and has hair. I saw the fuzz. And I got to see her little face, with her precious mouth opening and closing, which made me burst into tears. She looks so different than the last ultrasound (when she was slightly frightening-looking and skeletal). I’m happy to say that she’s much fatter and baby-like. Her fingers look pudgy, and her face is the most precious thing I’ve ever seen.

Clothes: Though I love the cooler weather, it’s made me realize I don’t really have that many warm maternity clothing options. I have one pair of jeans that fits comfortably at this point, and then it’s mostly tank tops and summer dresses. Ah well. Two or so more weeks of more boring outfit combinations won’t kill me . . . I guess.

Purchases: We have mostly packed the hospital bag, and bought some snacks like beef jerky, Fig Newtons, and trail mix which are in there and ready to go. Gotta keep that husband energized so that he can stick with me however long it takes! I’ve also warned him not to breathe on me with beef jerky breath–that stuff smells nasty.

Body: Nothing terribly new to say here–still feeling good.

Sleep: Great!! I feel like this always happens when the weather turns–I start sleeping even better. There’s something about feeling slightly chilly and then snuggling down under blankets that just makes entering dreamland all the sweeter.

Best moment(s) of the week: Over the weekend, my husband and I worked on a playlist and burned two CDs to bring with us to the hospital. I wanted something rhythmic and meditative, kind of like what my yoga teacher used to play, and I think we have it. Now, I’m practicing relaxation while listening to those tracks so that when the music starts playing my body will recognize the signs “it’s time to let go.” Practicing relaxation has been really enjoyable. I dim the lights, settle back on the bed, press ‘play’ and take myself somewhere else in my mind. I’ve started associating different songs with different mental landscapes–a windy beach. A walk along a rocky coast. A walk along a curving beach with a white town in the distance. There’s a scene I’ve been working on in my mind which involves climbing up a diving board and then jumping into the cool water. I’ve worked out all kinds of textural and sensory details–the feeling of the rough diving board under my feet. Curling my toes around the edge. The feeling of the sun on my shoulders. The smell of the warm breeze (orange groves!). The welcoming glare in my eyes, and that orange warmth on the eyelids when you close your eyes and turn your head towards the sun. I can take myself there easily in this painless state, and I hope that practice will help me go there even when there is pain. I had forgotten how powerful the mind can be, and I’m enjoying exercising my imagination and going to these beautiful, calming places that I can construct into whatever I want.

Movement: Same as usual–stretches and squirms. She still hasn’t dropped, and I’m eagerly awaiting that moment as the next milestone.

Food cravings/aversions: Green bananas–all the time. Sometimes with peanut butter. Around dinner time, I go wild for a banana and a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Wild, I tell you!!

I’ve also been trying to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Especially in preparation for the ultrasound (I didn’t want to risk having low amniotic fluid and having someone suggest induction), I drank so much water it was unbelievable. And good hydration is important for good laboring, so I shouldn’t stop now.

Symptoms: If I have a big lunch, I’m usually not in the mood for much dinner. Quarters seem to be getting a little more cramped, which cuts off the feeling of hunger.

Emotions: So! My youngest sister Heidi had her second baby boy, Liam Peter, one week ago! I’m purloining these pictures of the happy family from facebook, as I don’t think I’d be allowed to pop on a plane to Alaska at this point to photograph them myself . . .

(though with my patented belly disappearing act, maybe I could sneak through security after all?)

I can’t believe James is now an older brother. His expression here could say any number of things . . .

. . . but at least it’s not the outright grimace I had in reaction to my sister Erica’s appearance on the scene.

Heidi was able to have an awesome, drug-free water birth and loved the experience. She called me only an hour or two after delivering and, to my amazement, sounded exactly like herself. Isn’t she supposed to be, you know, all weird and out of it? I wondered. Is it possible to sound so normal and energetic right after giving birth?

Well, apparently that’s the magic of the drug-free shebang. Which I hope I can do . . . but we’ll see.

We skyped with them the next day and “met” the little guy. He has the cutest, scruntchiest little face! And the cutest, scruntchiest little limbs!

I think I want one.

Hopes and dreams: I really hope I’ll be able to get into the mental zone necessary to deal with birth pains. I heard that it helps to think of the contractions as your body tightening into an embrace around your baby. As something good, and not just a trial to get through as quickly as possible. I’m trying to think this way every time I get an uncomfortable or painful Braxton-Hicks contraction, even though I know these are nothing compared to what’s to come.

What I miss: Brie! I could really go for some nice, ripe cheese right now. And don’t even talk to me about baked brie, encased in puff pastry, with some jam . . . But I won’t dwell on it. I must forge ahead, be a good girl, and stick to goat cheese for the time being.

And this is totally not pregnancy related, but I’ve actually been missing our old neighborhood a bit. Okay, not the loiterers and drug deals and gunshots–but the nearness of the lake. Popping downstairs for a spontaneous walk on the beach was wonderful, and now even the 5-7 bus ride it would take to get there makes it feel oh-so-distant.

Husband update: In terms of his impending fatherhood, he seems as even keel as ever. Over the weekend we had a great conversation about what kind of things from our years growing up were important, and which of those lessons we particularly want to make sure Alice learns. It’s been delightful just . . . talking. Our new favorite place for these long and lovely heart-to-hearts is our bedroom, after it gets dark, with the light on the dimmer. We can just lie there in the peaceful, beautiful space and dream out loud for as long as we want. This is exactly what I hoped our bedroom would become before having children: a haven for us, for our marriage, and for our intimate conversations.

Have a great weekend, everyone!


Our new apartment: we are settled at last!

As you know, we moved on August 17th, and I’m happy to say that we’ve been 100% settled since Friday September 14th (just 4 days after the goal I had set). And even more–I finally have pictures to share!

Let’s start in the front of the house. We occupy the second floor of a 3-unit building, and after unlocking the door the first thing you do is come up a big set up steps under a skylight. As soon as I had my camera out and ready to take pictures, I heard a key in the door and . . .

. . . welcome home, baby!

Just in time for a little photo shoot. Because what everyone wants when they first walk in the door after a long day at work isn’t a hug and kiss as you may expect, but a camera in their face!

. . . right?

Anyway. The first stop for incoming people is the shoe bench (actually two of them side by side, courtesy of Ikea).

The front of the house is basically a big kitchen/living room/dining room area, which I tried to photograph from a number of angles to give you a sense of the space.

The dining room area is a nice size for our little round table (inherited during our undergrad days from a certain Darius Fong), but I wonder how a larger table would make it feel–cramped? We want a table that can seat more than 4 people, but we’re a little afraid that if we upsize, our guests will end up being packed into their dining situations like sardines.

Oh, and that door against the wall leads to a little balcony which my husband loves to sit out on. I’m still a little leery of spiders and getting debris and leaves on my bottom from those plastic chairs. But I’m working on my phobias as we speak.

We turned this rolling cart thingy from a coffee station (in our previous apartment) to a wine station.

And above it hangs one of my favorite paintings, from the walls of Mama Kitty and Big Jake’s house.

It reminds me of my Wisconsin roots and makes me feel . . . I don’t know. Good. Nostalgic. Peaceful.

In the dining area we put our big ole shelf:

Not a perfect fit for that wall, but close enough.

It houses things that delight me: my cookbooks!

Glasses and pictures!

And a bin at the bottom for Alice’s bibs and little utensils and such.

After a month of packing and a month of unpacking, having everything in its place and not a single box remaining anywhere to be seen feels glorious.

My husband and I are matched in this sense–we are creatures of order. We love harmony, routine, and our spirits have a much easier time being peaceful when our surroundings are peaceful.

So I feel like I’m breathing easier than I have for the past couple months. And being done with everything move-related is probably why I’ve been able to go from losing pregnancy weight to finally gaining some.

More shots of the livingroom area:

In these pictures, the fireplace/mantel area looks a little cluttered to me. In our defense, we had to use decor and furniture to cover a series of hefty cables coming out of the wall above the mantelpiece (originally there to connect a TV) and to the right of the mantelpiece (surround sound), as well an unsightly pipe coming out of the “fireplace.”

And in real life I don’t think it looks as busy as it does in these still shots, for whatever reason.

I have presented my defense, and I rest my case.

I’m so glad to finally have this painting out, since it represents Spain to me (the artist was a friend of my mom’s from her painting circle in Madrid).

And the framed cross stitch from our friend Kathy brings our church in Delaware (EP) to mind–and into my prayers.

This is my new morning devotional area:

It’s such a peaceful, wonderful spot for early morning meditation and prayer.

I love it.

As for the kitchen, I didn’t take that many pictures . . . maybe because we didn’t really do anything to make it look so nice. It was already nice. Which is an apartment first for us!

I guess in the above shot we were in the middle of dinner preparations, hence the slight disarray on the counters (i.e., the rice cooker). Please pretend in your mind that it’s all picked up before we move on. Thank you.

One of my favorite things is that the three hanging lamps above the bar-height kitchen counter are on a dimmer, so late at night we can have a nice, quiet glow coming from the kitchen area.

Alright! So if you can stand to see more, let’s move down the hall. Our first stop is what we call the 3rd bedroom/computer room/library/{insert name of guest staying with us}’s room. So far it has been John’s room, my mom’s room, Jon’s room, Ben’s room, and Julia’s room. Maybe we should simplify and just give it its own proper name. Like Harvenschtein. Or Hepselforthgard. Something with an H, definitely.

As you can see, we own a lot of books.

Which is why I love the wall shelving we got at Ikea–our tomes have outgrown our bookshelves, and used to be sitting in piles on top of them. No longer! Now they all have a proper place to sit.

I should also point out that those frames will not hang empty forever–I’m ordering prints from photos I’ve taken of Chicago, which should arrive semi-soon.

Rotating clockwise, we have the dual desk action area, with a writing desk for my husband . . .

. . . and, next to it, the smallest computer desk we could find for our desktop.

Next to which is a closet.

I’ll show you what’s in it!

All our instruments (acoustic, classical and electric guitars, djembe, violin), sewing stuff, games, our filing cabinet etc, all organized by my amazing husband. And apparently, a rotary phone on top of it all.

So that you can take a call in total privacy.

And if you visit, there are even hangers, and some space for you to hang your clothes! So c’mon by. Or something. You’ll feel right at home in Hepselforthgard!

As long as your spine doesn’t object to our bony futon.

Next up is the guest bathroom, which I found an awesome shower curtain for at Target.

My husband made sure to equip the bathroom with a clock, in case you get distracted by your intense grooming rituals and need to know exactly how much time you’ve spent plucking your left eyebrow.

Next up in our trek down the hallway comes Alice’s room on the right, but you’ll get pictures of that tomorrow–that room deserves its own post.

I didn’t photograph the laundry area (I figured you guys had seen it before), but there are a series of bookcases we moved into the widest section of the hallway because, let’s face it, they just weren’t going to fit into the 3rd bedroom.

Believe me, we tried.

Hence, our ‘media’ bookcase with DVD’s and some CD’s:

(from Ikea! And the laundry area is behind the doors to the left)

(and in case you’re disoriented, I turned around to snap this picture, so we’re facing towards the front of the house, and the door you see on the right goes into the bathroom we just visited) (metaphorically speaking)

And, turning around again to face the back of the house, here are the bookshelves (the door at the end of the hall is our back door) . . .

. . . that precede the final door into our bedroom.

Yes, our books have yet to be organized and alphabetized and such, but don’t worry! With my husband in charge, it’s bound to happen. It’s only a matter of time.

Finally, we have our bedroom! It gets so much lovely morning light.

Which makes getting up so much easier . . .

. . . though not easy, mind you. Nope, not at this stage of pregnancy.

And if you like the bedding, you must know that it all came from Rummage. I love, love, love shopping for bedding at Rummage.

And at risk of being repetitive, we LOVE that the big light hanging from the ceiling (which came with the place) is on a dimmer. It makes night time reading extra fun and cozy.

We’re loving our bedroom set from Ikea, and I think my husband made a great choice with the bedside tables and lamps.

As you can see, my night time reading appears to be all about . . . well, food.

We’ve decorated our bedroom pretty minimally, and for the time being we’re really enjoying that. There’s a lot of empty wall space, but I don’t feel moved to fill it up. For now, we’re keeping it simple with a few pictures of us.

I love this open space.

And the dressers were 100% necessary to house my clothes . . .

. . . which, at our old apartment, used to live in a closet in our 2nd bedroom.

No more! I love having my clothes in my actual bedroom. No more naked dashes across the hall . . . at least none out of strict necessity.

Sorry–was that way too shocking? I can’t quite tell. Hunh. I’ll have to remember to turn on my self-censorship/propriety gauge system tomorrow, because obviously I failed to do so when I got up this morning.

We even have a built-in hidden shelving area in a nook by the window, mostly used by my husband. Since it’s invisible from most areas of the room, it doesn’t necessarily have to look matchy matchy . . . but if it ever starts to get under my skin, I reserve the right to go hog wild and purchase 20 matching bins.

May I highlight the current bin action happening?

Thank you.

I neglected to photograph the master bathroom connected to our bedroom, so I’ll just refer you to this post to refresh your memory. But having a bathroom right there is so awesome–I can’t even believe it.

Thus endeth our tour. Tomorrow it’s all about Alice’s room!