37 weeks!

On Saturday, September 23rd we were officially considered full-term at 37 weeks! It was quite exciting because on the unit I work and want to deliver we only take people who are 37 weeks and beyond. Now I can deliver with my co-workers, yay! I feel like my belly (aka baby) has gone through quite a growth spurt. It feels like my belly is getting tighter every day. I'm not sure how much more it can stretch. I'm feeling good though and all the doctor appointments have gone well.

Last week at 36 weeks my cervix was just barely open - what we call fingertip, 70% effaced and at a -1 station, which was actually pretty good. I was just happy it wasn't closed and really thick. This week I was dilated to 1 1/2 centimeters, 80% effaced, and at a 0 station, so the baby has moved down and the contractions I have had over the last week have been doing something. I know it's just a lot of jibber jabber to most of you, but those who have had babies know what I'm talking about.

Well, the car seat is officially installed in my brand new Toyota Prius - I just picked it up tonight and it's just supergreat! It's so spacious and environmentally friendly - great combo.

We also put together the stroller, which didn't take too much. The pack 'n' play is all put together too. It's going to be our bassinet in our bedroom for a while until we want to put the baby in the crib.

All-in-all, things are coming together and I think we're pretty ready for this baby to come out whenever it's ready. WE CAN'T WAIT!

35 weeks!

Here's a shot of all my girlfriends from high school getting together for another wedding. It was Ria Lindor & Rob Hedeen's wedding (Ria is 27 weeks pregnant!). It was a blast. I think I might wear out this dress soon though since I wore it two weeks ago for another friend's wedding and I'm wearing it for Mindi & Taylor's wedding this coming weekend. Oh well, it's better than buying something new, right.

Only 5 weeks to go until the due date and I'm pretty sure I'm driving Corey crazy. He hasn't said anything yet, but I even made him pull out the washer & dryer the other day so I could clean out under them. He looked at me like I had two heads since we've never exactly cleaned under there in the last three years.

We also washed all the windows and frames the other night. I even had out Q-tips to get in all the little corners. It's obviously very important when I go on my little rampages of cleaning.

This baby is definitely getting bigger though. I had a check-up last Thursday and everything is measuring great. The next few weeks will be fun because I have three showers. Corey and I have the crib and rocking chair all put together, but they are in definite need of company. Oh, it's just so soon. Where did the last 8 months go? So much to do, so little time!

32 weeks!

On August 19th, Corey & I hit the 32 week mark. We were up at the cabin for the week, but still had to take tummy pictures. My belly button is still trying to hold on strong, but I don't know if it's going to last until the end or not. This baby is growing a ton right now. It's moving a lot and shaking up my belly. Everyone had a blast watching it roll, punch, and kick around in there. You can even see it's butt potrude on the left side. It seems like it favors that side the most.

Birth classes are still going well. We have our last class this coming Thursday. We're looking forward to all of the upcoming showers. We have three in September along with two weddings. It's going to be quite a busy month. All we have left to do to the house is shampoo the carpets and we should be all set.

Needing Storage!

Hi folks, Corey here. Here's a little preview of me at my finest! With the baby on the way we've been achin' to get some more storage, and for some reason they don't build these new townhomes with much of that in mind. So Heidi and I have been bugging Rob to come help us out with a little bit of construction.

Of course you all know Rob and he doesn't take any job lightly, I had in mind maybe a few shelves here, a few shelves there, and that would be it. Well, not Rob. He brought table saws, tools, Scott, and of course we bought enough lumber to add about a 1000 foot addition to our house. Our neighbors kept coming over and enviously checking up on our progress, and to tell us not to be running those saws after 10:30pm...Oops.


Here's Heidi helpin' out even against the strict advice of her father. But, like Rob says about Michelle, you can't keep a good woman down, I would tend to agree. Like mother, like daughter.

So here's the final result. Not to shabby if I do say so myself. We're happy to say with all the new storage in the garage, we are all the more closer to finally calling our old "storage" room a "baby" room. Thanks for all the hard work Rob and Scott.

30 weeks!

Corey and I hit the 30 week mark on August 5th! We started our birth classes last Thursday night, which was exciting and scary all at the same time. I think it's just making me realize how close this is. We talked about things to bring to the hospital for the labor & delivery, which I haven't even thought about yet. A lot of the class is review for me (it's taught by one of my old co-workers), but Corey was quite interested, so that was fun. I forget that he doesn't really know about what to expect.

I had my first shower on Sunday given by all of my co-workers, which was a blast. It's so fun to get all the baby stuff. This picture was taken just before I left. I decided that I'm going to need to get a few new shirts soon cause the baby is filling out the ones I have pretty substantially.

It's starting to get harder to balance with my center of gravity thrown off more and more. I've almost fallen over in the shower a few times.

I love just holding the baby and feeling it move around in there. I can't wait until I can see what it looks like!

I had a doctors appointment and I'm measuring exactly 30 weeks, the baby's heart rate is in the 140's and it's moving around like crazy. Every night Corey and I "watch the show!" That's just watching the baby roll around in my belly, but it's quite entertaining to us (well, Corey sometimes falls asleep before the show starts).

Painting the Nursery

Well, it has finally begun. We are getting ready for this baby to come since we're less than 10 weeks away! Katie & Angie came over last Thursday, August 3rd and started painting while I got the fun of hanging out with little Rowan. It was quite hot out that day, so there were many cold Izze's had by all. My parents even got to join the fun because they stopped by to visit.

Dad got stuck with painting the closet and clean-up duty (sorry dad).

Mom got to hang out with Rowan.

It looks great! We painted it 'Crisp Kacki', which matches both the boy and girl bedding that we have picked out. We got our cherry gliding rocking chair from the ladies at work, so when it arrives in the mail it will be the first piece of furniture we put in there, exciting! My dad is also coming up this week to put closetmaid in the closet. Then I can start to organize! Yay!

Tummy Rub!?!

Well, I received my first tummy rub from a stranger today. I don't know if he was actually rubbing, but there was a little 3 or 4 year old at the pool at the Savage Lifetime today and when Corey and I sat in the pool this cute little boy sat right next to me. He was staring at my belly. Then he looked up at me and said, "there's another one over there". I looked over and there was another pregnant woman sitting in the water. He was quite observant for a little kid. He preceded to come over every couple of minutes, tap my belly, and dive in the water. It was super cute!

Hiccups!?!

Well, I'm pretty sure this little baby likes to have the hiccups now and I can actually feel it. It's so wierd cause I think it's a little kick and then all of a sudden it keeps going in a rhythmic fashion. I put my hand on my belly and you can actually feel the little jerks the baby makes with each hiccup. It's super cute. Last Monday I called Corey to tell him. We were both pretty excited.

I'm 28 weeks now, which means if my baby were born now it would do pretty good and the survival rates are high. It's a nice milestone to hit. I bought a dress today for all of the upcoming weddings. I'm hoping it will last until I'm 36 weeks for Mindi's wedding, but we'll have to see. I don't know how big I'm going to get, so here's to hoping.

We're hoping to paint this week or next, so Katie, I may need to call you. I'm excited to get going on that and get the rest of the shelving in the closet (Dad, you're ready, right?). Then, we're pretty much ready. I do want to shampoo the carpets too. Anyone have any great ideas for cleaners to use?

It's soon time to kick Molly & Cooper (our cats) out of our bedroom. We've made August 1st the first move. We're going to put their cat beds in the loft, but leave the door open. Then September 1st, we're going to start shutting the door. It's going to be so hard cause we're so use to having them in there and I think they're going to be sad, like we're kicking them out. We want to do it now though, so they don't feel like the baby comes home and they're second best. Wish us luck!

3rd Trimester - 27 Weeks!

I've officially moved into the 3rd trimester of the pregnancy. I can't believe there are only 13 weeks left! I could deliver anywhere between 10 & 15 weeks from now. CRAZY! Well, we're working on getting everything ready for the new baby. The baby's room has been emptied of all the storage now and we're getting ready to paint it. We still need to start thinking a little more seriously about names (we're both procrastinators, which isn't exactly a good thing). The baby is really packin' on the pounds because it has to put on 5 lbs. or so from now until delivery.

Baby's First Vacation

We took the little squirt on his/her first vacation in sunny Fort Myers, Florida with Mandi & Ryan. We stayed with Mandi's grandpa, Don. It was filled with a lot of eating, lounging in the sun, and relaxing in the pool & Gulf of Mexico.

Of course, I needed to get an umbrella for the weekend in order to prevent any burning. I don't exactly get a golden tan.

Corey had quite a spendy mishap. He decided he would wear his wedding ring in the Gulf while playing football. Needless to say, the ring disappeared. He still has the tan line to prove he is married, but now we have to replace it.
It was a fun trip. We can't wait to take the baby on an actual vacation outside of the womb. Only 3 1/2 months or less!

On the last night we went to Shoeless Joe's to play trivia with Grandpa Don. He plays every week, so every time we come down we do one night of trivia with him. It's a blast!

I actually took first place in one of the games. I had to take a picture because I even suprised myself. We all took the top five spots.

Here's Grandpa Don, Mandi & Ryan at Shoeless Joe's

We also ate at a fabulous restaurant called Bonefish and yes, there were other things besides fish on the menu for poor little Corey. He did try the crab cakes, so I was quite proud of him. It was fun to get cleaned up and eat somewhere fancy.

24 weeks!

Well, my uterus is now the size of a soccer ball and the little baby is over a pound & about a foot long! I can't believe I have a soccer ball inside me (of course, there's a cute little baby inside of that). My baby is now to the viability stage where it could technically survive outside of me. Not with quite a bit of potential complications, so it needs to just stay put, but for a Labor & Delivery nurse that's a fun milestone to hit. I spent the last seven days at the cabin and Corey joined me for the weekend. It was a blast! Quite relaxing to say the least with a little shopping, swimming, fishing, and walking with the neighbor girls. Katie, Casey, ValRae, and Bekki accompanied me walking and I actually kept up pretty well. So far, the baby hasn't slowed me down too much.

I'm still playing volleyball every week with no problems yet. I figure it's good intimidation for the other teams, right? I did order my bridesmaid dress for Jenna's wedding. It's amazing how big you have to get it to fit over an ever-growing belly. I'm going to have to get it taken in quite a bit everywhere else. Oh well, if it looks like I'm wearing a tent, so be it.

Anyhoo, I plan to add some pictures from the cabin when I have time at home to download them. Maybe tomorrow night. 16 weeks until the due date! Wow, this is flying by!

Heidi Sue