Baby care books reside on my nightstand in case we need to reference something, and we've put swaddle blankets, floor blankets, and burp cloths in our room and the living room. Friends with babies have advised us to always keep something within arms reach that can be used to wipe spit-up. :-)
We've also put the finishing touches on the bags for the hospital and have a note on top with items we need to add at the last minute (stuff we use everyday like my drivers license, hair brush, etc.), and important information we may need while laboring at home.
With everything on our list pretty much complete I am starting to go a little stir crazy trying to find things to do. I have been going to the grocery store more often "just in case" (you'd think we were never going to be able to buy food again- haha), and find myself doing general cleaning more often (I finished "deep cleaning" last weekend).
This week we were fortunate to have two more baby showers! Lots of people sure are excited about Max. :-) What a lucky boy!
The New Hampshire Heinlein's mailed Max some gifts and we tried to set-up a three way video chat so we could have a long distance shower of sorts. Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties so it ended up as a three way phone call and just two of us on the video chat. Oh, well! It was fun anyway and Max was blessed with more generous gifts from New England.
This week we were fortunate to have two more baby showers! Lots of people sure are excited about Max. :-) What a lucky boy!
The New Hampshire Heinlein's mailed Max some gifts and we tried to set-up a three way video chat so we could have a long distance shower of sorts. Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties so it ended up as a three way phone call and just two of us on the video chat. Oh, well! It was fun anyway and Max was blessed with more generous gifts from New England.
Later in the week, we celebrated with some of the folks at Ben's office. One of his co-workers is due to have a baby in early September and some people in the office hosted a little shower for us and the other mom-to-be. They were very generous and even Ben's co-workers from Seattle sent a card and gift for the shower! I had fun putting faces with names for those I had not met before, and Ben enjoyed a little casual time with his co-workers.
The midwife appointment this week went well, as usual. I didn't gain any weight this week (they didn't seem concerned), my blood pressure and Max's heart rate were normal, and he's still in a great position. I can tell he is getting lower in my belly because I rarely get painful kicks to the ribs these days. He is still making lots of movement, but it seems like he is lower than before. Carrying the extra weight in front is slowing me down more and more. We went to our neighborhood pool one evening and it felt so good to be in the water. At one point I even told Ben that it didn't feel like I was pregnant anymore!
Here is what Max is up to this week:
Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
On a non-baby note, next Wednesday marks five years since Ben and I went on our first date! On that rainy night in 2007 we would have never guessed we'd be married to each other and expecting our first child five years later. It's been an amazing journey so far and we are so excited to become a family of three.
(Photo from New Year's Eve several years ago.)
