i love this

"If you could hold this baby in your arms today for one hour, get to know him, and then put him back inside, there is nothing you wouldn't do for that baby - no job too hard, no pain too intense. If you knew it was for the good of your baby... you could do anything."

--Jay Hathaway, Co-Executive Director of the American

Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth.

I love this...I think I'll print it on a card and take it to the hospital with me.

To Do:

I was a little worried that I was going to be bored not working before the baby comes, so I made a list a couple of weeks ago of everything I need to do before his arrival, I've been just fine keeping busy, and I still have plenty to do.

The Nursery/Baby stuff
-Stain and hang frames --done
-Stain and hang shelf --done
-Wash, fold and hang all the baby clothes
-Buy mattress --done Thanks mom, Grandma and Aunt Barbara
-Make the bed, or make the crib? --done Thanks mom
-Hang wood cover above swamp cooler
-Decide about curtains. Do I want then? Should I (mom) make them? Buy them? --done Thanks mom, and I finally helped on something fabric related. Miracle.
-Finish making and hang mobile --done
-Finish and hang name frames (They probably wont be hung until after he's born, in case we have visitors who are trying to find out his name...we know you're out there. ;)) --done
-De-junk piles of baby books, hospital packets, birth class paper work, etc. Everything related to the pregnancy gets stacked in the nursery and I need to find new places for all of it. --almost done
-Make burp cloths

Our Room
-Print pictures and hang picture frames that have been sitting on my night stand for weeks
-Make new pillow cases so our room will finally start to match

The Den/Project Room
-Find places for my stacks of clothes that don't fit right now.
-Organize and condense wood stuff
-De-junk and get rid of more stuff
-Sell our electric piano
-The ultimate goal for this room is to be able to comfortably fit 2 or 3 air mattresses on the floor.

Misc. around the house
-Dust, vacuum, deep clean everything
-Clean windows
-Bug spray all the windows outside

Me (us) Stuff
-Make a few freezer meals --started
-Finish writing birth plan --done
-Finish hospital check list
-Write Thank You notes --started
-Go on walks, get massages, go to chiropractor a few more times, go to maternity exercise class a couple times a week. --doing
-Pack for hospital

I have 27 days. Give or take a few...

beer and babies

Yesterday at the grocery store I overheard an awkward debate between two people in line at the register behind me. One was a pregnant women buying a case of beer and the other was someone who didn't agree with mixing alcohol with pregnancy. I think they may have known each other and the one friend was mad at the pregnant friend and the pregnant friend was saying the baby was fine and so on. And her friend was saying she didn't know if the baby was fine or not, etc. My back was to them and I never turned around, but that's what I gathered from what I heard.

I have to say I would have been on the not pregnant ladies side. I have a book of info compiled by different doctors that gives you the basics on just about anything you might wonder about while pregnant.

Here's what it says about alcohol:

"CONCERNS: Alcohol is a known teratogen (cause of birth defects). Consumption of alcohol during pregnancy has been associated with intrauterine growth restriction (low birth weight), mental retardation, abnormal facial defects, and other major and minor fetal malformations. Although it appears that fetal alcohol syndrome is caused by heavy drinking and/or binge drinking, both the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have stated that no level of alcohol consumption, even the most minimal drinking, during pregnancy has been determined to be safe. A new study found that children who were exposed to alcohol during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy were found to have lower IQ scores. Pregnant women are advised not to drink at all.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Although an occasional sip may be okay, there is absolutely no known amount of alcohol that is safe in pregnancy. Most health care providers recommend avoiding all alcohol during pregnancy."

There are so many dos, don'ts, maybes, gray areas, and unsures that come with pregnancy that it seems like the things that are pretty clear would be easy to do, or not do. If one or 2 beers 'hardly effects' you, or you 'barely feel anything' from a glass of wine, what does it do to a little 2 or 3 pound vulnerable baby? Maybe nothing. But whats the point of risking it. I'm the type that if I eat something unhealthy like a giant cheese burger, I picture my tiny baby holding and trying to eat the same cheeseburger. :) Seeing it like that helps me put healthier stuff in my body. Yeah, not how it works, I know, but I guess I would kinda picture the same with alcohol. I really don't know how much gets to the baby and how food and drink effect it, but I try to be careful. That's all. Sorry if I offended anyone who had the occasional drink while pregnant. But it's just one of those things for me I guess.

Look what I just got...

My husband had these delivered to me today. I cried when the delivery man left.

Not our anniversary.

Not my birthday.

Not fighting.

Just because...

The past couple weeks have been a bit emotional for me. I feel like I blame everything on pregnancy these days, but its probably because I know everything I'm going through and feeling is because I'm pregnant. Not a bad thing, just an adjustment.

I've been feeling overwhelmed, scared, excited, unprepared, ready, anxious, happy, sad, impatient, giddy, overjoyed, blessed, inadequate.

I've never been a mom, so how do I just suddenly become a mom and not mess it up. And I haven't been a wife for that long either, and the wife thing also came with no training, so how do I keep trying to get better at being a wife AND learn to be a good mom?

All things that Paul has been helping me through.

Last Monday at our Bradley class we watched videos of vaginal deliveries and c-sections. When we were done I said to the instructor, "K, I don't want to do either of those, so what are my other options?" And on the way home this week I told Paul that for the first time in over seven months I feel like I can't be pregnant anymore and that I can't make it through labor. By yesterday I was ok again, and I knew I could do both, but what about everything after I make it through those things?

I wish I could wrap this post up by telling you that I've figured everything out, and that I have all the answers on becoming the undefeated wife and mother of the year. But I don't.

I have Paul. I have prayer.

I'll be ok.

Parenting Tip #1 (from a non-parent)...but still, I think I'm right.

If you love and are that distracted by the sight of crafts, get a babysitter before you go shopping.

Thursday at work I was standing in the back work shop talking to a co-worker, something caught my eye after talking for a minute. I look over and see a little toddler climbing a ladder in our shop! By the time I saw him he was 3 steps up, I ran over to him and helped him down and told him we needed to go find his mom. He ran out of the work shop area and I followed him to make sure he got to his mom. His next stop was our 'Employees Only' order area, which is under construction. Half built shelves, stacks of wood, extension cords all over, screws, nails, tools, etc. He looked around in there for a minute and I stayed with him. I didn't want to pick him up and scare him or anything so I tried to lead him out, hoping his mom would find us. No such luck. He saw an open door in the order area where a big red truck caught his eye. He ran outside! I of course followed him because he was now in a side alley where big trucks constantly pass through loading and unloading stuff. He was really excited to look at a parked red truck, but I finally decided it had been long enough. I leaned over and asked him if he would come with me to find his mom. Thankfully, a big grin came over his face and he reached out for me to pick him up. (He couldn't have been older than 18 or 20 months.) I scooped him up and walked back to the store area. She was no where in the back part, so we headed to the front. We got to the front part of the store and found 3 women. He started bouncing, giggling and pointing and one of them so I walked over to her.

Me: Is this your son?
Women: Yes. (No reaching for him. No surprised look that a stranger was holding him.)
Me: I found him climbing a ladder in our workshop and then he ran outside to the alley way full of work trucks.
Women: Ooohhhh. (No I'm sorry. No Thank you. Still not reaching for him, so I set him down on the floor and walked away.)

I wish I would have told her what I really thought.

I can understand if you look away for 5 or 10 seconds and your kid runs away. But when you realize that happened, YOU GO FIND THEM. I can understand having more than one kid and realizing they are not all by your side anymore, BUT YOU GO FIND THE ONE THAT'S NOT. But one kid, and TWO adults. This kind of thing should not happen. Yes, after listening to them as they were leaving I learned that one of the other two women in the store was this child's Grandma. My adventure with this child wasn't long, 2 or 3 minutes max, but I think that's way too long.

I would say that maybe I feel stronger about it because of where I work because it's not safe for kids, but I don't think it's that. Because, what public place is safe for a toddler to run off alone?

Am I overreacting?

Is it really that easy to get distracted in public?

So annoying.

(un)productive conversation

I was talking (venting) to Paul a few nights ago about a little situation that is driving me crazy. I talked and talked and he listened and listened.

When I was finished I said, "Ok, now you can respond. But just so you know I don't want you to try and fix anything, and I don't want you to point out any of the things I said that you don't agree with."

I paused.

He looked at me...

Then I said, "So, yeah, just tell me everything I said that you agree with."

He did a pretty good job considering the crazy, unrealistic, unproductive rules.

Ahh, life.

*sigh...*

33 weeks, etc.

Saturday the 24th was 33 weeks.
We went to the farmer's market, shopping, and to the parent's house for a pioneer day bbq. Paul and I made yummy homemade ice cream. And I didn't take any pictures. I got a few too many boob stares, laughs and comments about the shirt... I don't know what we (Paul) was thinking when he bought it...Sunday we had another bbq at our house with friends. Cat's 25th birthday on the 25th!
It was a really fun night with fun people.