The days keep passing and there is still no baby, which I suppose is okay because we still don’t have a name! Nesting is in full effect, and you can see the results in our (nearly) finished nursery!

Becky tries out the nursery

This is Todd right after we first put the crib together. He (and I) are very proud!

My most recent doctor’s appointment was six days ago and went well. There is progress being made, but only until I can hold Her, will I feel like progress has been made! I have another appointment for May 28th, unless she shows up before then.

I’ve been talking walks daily and am continuing to go to yoga. I’ve been on a cleaning/laundry kick and every couple of days, I start all over again. Todd thinks I’m crazy. I still feel pretty good. I’m starting to get a little bit more tired than I have been. I am starting to feel the baby getting lower and lower which is NOT so comfortable, but I just try to keep myself busy so the days pass more quickly. We are both so excited to meet this little girl! I have been having contractions off and on. Some not so painful, some kinda hurty- so hopefully this means we are getting close.

ps. The bathroom is still not completely complete and so- this is why we have not posted pictures of this, but this will also come with time.

posing with the poses

We are almost there!

T oday we had the last baby class before our big day, this one specific to childbirth. Our teacher would say that we are all “ready”, but if you ask me, there’s still a lot to get ready for! After seeing some of the videos, it looks like a whole bunch of crazy! To lighten the mood, Todd and I went out to dinner, and afterwards saw Baby Mama, yet another pregger movie. That makes three that we’ve seen during my pregnancy. (also Knocked Up, Juno).

Tomorrow, I have a doctor’s appointment to see if we’re any closer to her arrival. I’ve been feeling a little cramping and notice mild contractions – hopefully that means some progress!

On the homefront

We’ve gotten the nursery pretty well put together. The molding is up, the crib assembled, linens looking cozy, and the 0-3 month clothes washed and waiting. New blinds should arrive next week, and then the nursery should be done. Well, we will have some decorating to do, but she won’t notice that! We are keeping the house nice, neat and vacuumed – just in case we have a surprise baby arrival!

where does the baby go in this boppy?

This is a picture of Todd being silly, and trying on the very complicated Moby wrap . Believe it or not, it’s a giant piece of fabric that is sold to hold a baby. Needless to say, we did not end up buying it!

The bathroom project is still pretty much where it was. The vanity is finished and the toilet is working. We still need to get a bathroom mirror, vanity light, paint the door, get a door knob and paint the door jams. We also have a cabinet/closet specialist coming next week to help us with the storage creation next to the laundry.

That’s all for now!! Hope you are all well. Hugs- Becky, Todd and baby

M y bay area shower was April 26th thrown by my good friend Angie. Thank you, Angie! The shower was wonderful- with all of the personal touches brought to it. Many friends and family from far away were able to attend. Angie threw a “green” shower, so all of the take aways, juice pitchers- almost everything including the gift wrapping was all able to be re-used or recycled. It was a very cool concept and even more cool to pull it off! We played a fun game where you hold a card above your head (so you can’t see what you are drawing) and then you draw what you think the future baby Matthews will look like. This is the winning drawing by my friend Andrea. The love and kindness of all was definitely felt that day- Thank you to everyone who was able to participate!

We’ve also been busy with the home remodel project. In retrospect, perhaps it wasn’t the best time to decide to tear up our house! Todd’s dad was here to help us with the project. They gutted the bathroom, laundry room and water heater room down to the studs and rebuilt it again. Originally Joel was only going to stay a week, but thank goodness he extended his stay- because we weren’t close to done after a week! So we had Joel with us for two weeks. They accomplished so much in a very short amount of time. We could not have done it without Joel’s help and guidance. Thank you so much! It was really cool to see the father and son team in action :-)

Here are a few shots from the progress. Hopefully the next post will show a completed bathroom. We are actually really close. The walls are up and painted, the floor is installed and the fixtures are back in place. The washer is now fully functioning- Yay! We still need to affix the toilet, put the finishing touches on the vanity, install and find the vanity light and mirror. After that we need to get the custom cabinets made for the laundry area. Then we’ll be done!

We still have some other projects going on as well. The nursery is still not together. Todd has to measure, cut and install the moulding. I still need to paint the moulding. I’ve started washing all her clothes and getting all of the wonderful shower gifts put away. It’s all happening- slowly but surely.

Todd and I feel like we’ve been at Kaiser constantly! They have so many classes… last Thursday we took our first installment of the newborn care class, then Friday morning we had the meet and greet the labor and delivery staff, that was a very informative session where you got to ask all sorts of questions. That was definitely helpful. Then Sunday we had our labor and delivery class- which we got stood up on! I hope they come through better when it’s show time. So we rescheduled for the 18th- let’s hope little miss decides to stay put that long. Last night we had our hospital tour- which was kind of a weird experience. It’s odd to think that the next time you are in this room or on this floor- you are going to be having A BABY! It was good to see though and also very helpful. Today we have our last ultrasound to make sure the baby is in the correct position (which I’m pretty sure she is) and to do my Group B Strep test. After this appointment, I’ll start going weekly. Time has flown. Tonight we have our second installment of the newborn care class.

My last day at work was Friday, May 2nd. I’m very fortunate that my work has such a great policy. All were very sweet and we went to lunch to celebrate. I’m very happy to not be working and in the 3 days I’ve had off so far, I haven’t been bored once and I’m really shocked at how fast the days go by. There is so much to get done at home- I can’t believe I used to go to work and take care of things at home. It is a relief to not have to wake up and get to work everyday and then sit all day long. It was getting quite uncomfortable. The baby has now decided to move down to my lower areas and I can’t say it’s my favorite position for her.

Well I think that’s plenty of update this time- sorry it’s so long- but lots has happened. Take care- hugs, Todd, Becky and baby

H ere I am at 18.5 weeks pregnant. I still feel like I just look “fat”, but I’ve had at least 3 comments from strangers wishing me congratulations, so that makes me feel better. Since it’s winter time and I’m a wimp when it comes to being cold, I can’t wear a lot of my stretchy skirts and flowy-type shorts, so I’ve now resorted to wearing all maternity pants. They are very comfortable, but still not as tight as I would like them to be- they tend to sag, so I still use the Motherhood Maternity’s Tummy Tube to keep them nice and tight. Old Navy has been very kind with their maternity sales- so it hasn’t broken the bank either!

I’ve felt the baby move since about 15.5 weeks . At first it just felt like twitches or quick popcorn kernals popping. It has gotten stronger and more frequent each day. Todd keeps trying to feel her kicking around, but no luck yet. Todd leans his head down to have chats and listen to her. He says she’s a very good listener. He also swears he can hear her in there. He says it sounds like “swimming”. I’ll have to ask my doctor about that one!

We had to switch insurance companies this year, so I had my first appointment at my new doctor’s office last Friday. Everything is still going just as it should be. It’s always a treat to get to hear the sweet sound of her heartbeat on the doppler. This new system seems to have a lot of classes and support for families, so that should be a big plus. They actually took the time to talk to me and answer all my questions without making me feel like I was wasting their time. My next check up appointment is Feb. 1.

We purchased our crib bedding just this weekend. We found it at the most unlikely place for the most affordable price- YAY! Walmart, if you believe it- I think I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been there, but hey, if they got what you need… take advantage! We both adore this bedding. The baby’s crib is a pretty light green color and this mod-nature theme will go perfectly with the nursery decor we have planned. As you can imagine, we are not into the typical frilly and charactery baby stuff- plain, simple and natural is our theme.