38 Weeks

Today is 38 weeks and we are another week closer to meeting Dunebuggy.  I am so anxious to meet our sweet little girl.  This morning we had an appointment with our midwife, and I have made a little progress.  I am still 1 cm dilated but am now 50% effaced and Dunebuggy has moved down to station -1.  Heather went with me to the appointment this time around.  I was excited for her to hear Dunebuggy's heartbeat and to be at what could possibly be my last appointment.

Brandon and I attended our last class with Kaiser last night on newborn care.  We still don't know everything we need to know about taking care of a newborn but we got a brief overview of some important things like: changing a diaper, swaddling a baby, and giving baby a bath.  The instructor was the same woman from our breastfeeding class and she really got on Brandon's nerves this time around.  It's probably a good thing that it was our last class because I am not sure he could handle attending another one of her classes.

It has been a huge help having Heather here this week.  We have really made some progress on the nursery and it is just about complete.  We spent most of the week washing stuff and organizing, something I had put off due to tax season.  The nursery looks great and is just waiting for Dunebuggy now.  During all of our hard work, we did manage to book some much needed pedicures for ourselves.  Hopefully my toes will stay nice and pretty until Dunebuggy arrives which could be any day now!

More classes...

Last night Brandon and I attended a breastfeeding class at Kaiser.  At first Brandon was a little reluctant to attend the class due to the subject matter, but I assured him that spouses were expected to attend.  I think he was a little relieved when we got there to see all the other men in the classroom.  There were 11 women in the class and only two of them did not have their significant other with them.

We started off the class with introductions like all the other classes we have attended.  I was very surprised that over half the class had opted to not know the sex of their baby.  In all the classes we have attended there have only been just a few people that have chosen to take that route.  I was even more surprised of the remaining people in the class we were the only one having a girl, well the only one that knows we are having a girl.

The instructor was a very "happy" individual.  It was nice she was so upbeat but at times Brandon and I were a little annoyed by her enthusiastic attitude.  She was pretty pumped to be talking about breastfeeding!  Despite her annoying ways I thought she did an excellent job covering the material and even made it somewhat fun.  The subject matter can make people a little uncomfortable, but I think she helped make everyone in the class feel at ease.

I however about lost it at one point.  She was discussing how to tell if your baby is getting enough milk based on the number of wet and poopy diapers that you change during the first five days of the babies life.  There was a slide that showed what the poop will look like and let's just say it was not a pretty sight.  Someone then asked if breastfed baby poop always looks like that.  She explained it would possibly have some variations of color but it would always be runny...lovely I know.  Then she proceeded to describe other types of poo that would be of concern.  She said if your baby "lays a log" like an adult then you should call the doctor.  She included hand gestures with the statement as well and everyone in the class lost it...we were all mature adults I assure you. :)  Well for some reason I could not stop laughing about it.  It was one of those moments where you have the giggles and you just can't turn it off.  I finally managed to control myself after a few minutes, but thinking about it now brings a smile to my face again.

The instructor is teaching the Newborn Care class we are attending this Thursday night so we will get to experience her enthusiasm once again.  I am looking forward to the class because it goes over all kinds of information from bathing your baby to changing diapers, both things that Brandon and I have never done before!

Today I get to hang out with my friend Sarah!  She is 35 weeks pregnant and is back home in Sacramento to deliver her baby.  She and her husband are stationed in Germany and we had the wonderful opportunity to visit them over the Christmas holidays.  Sarah and I are on a mission today to find her an outfit for her maternity shoot this Thursday.  She will be using the same photographer that I used and I am so excited for her to get pictures done.  I can't wait to see the look on everyone's face at the mall as the two of us are waddling around together.  I am also very excited about the arrival of my sister Heather.  She flies in tonight and will be here all week.  This is going to be a great week!!

37 Weeks

37 weeks down, 3 more to go!  Baby Stepp is considered full-term today.  That means her lungs are fully developed so if she decides to come now she should be fine.  

She's approximately 6 1/3 pounds and over 19 inches from head to heel.  No wonder my belly is so huge!  It's still blows my mind that she can fit up in there.  It's so cool that I can clearly identify her little butt from her legs and feet now.

The past few mornings I have woken up with an achy and tired belly.  I am having Braxton Hicks contractions while I am sleeping and when I wake it feels like I have been doing sit-ups all night long.  Unfortunately I don't have a six pack to show for it.  

My maternity leave starts today!  We are kicking it off by heading to San Francisco for the evening.  We are going to the Giants game and I am hoping we get to see the Braves put a whooping on them!  Brandon and I were looking at the Braves roster the other night and there are so many new players now.  It's amazing to me that Chipper Jones is still playing.  I remember watching him play way back in the day at Fulton County stadium.  I must have been in 4th or 5th grade at the time.  He was just beginning his baseball career then, now he's a bit past his prime but I am still excited to see him play.  Go Braves!!

Update

Our appointment last Friday went well.  At this point there is no indication Dunebuggy will be here any sooner than her due date.  I am dilated to 1cm and 25% effaced.  Although one would think that might mean Dunebuggy is on her way, it means nothing until I start having regular contractions.  I have continued having sporadic ones here and there, but there is still no pattern to them and they are not close enough together to start timing just yet.

We will not have another visit with the midwife until Friday, April 29th.  After that appointment I will continue to go weekly, alternating between the midwife and the OBGYN.  We're on Dunebuggy's schedule now, so we'll just have to use patience and wait for her arrival.

Last night we attended a class at Kaiser called Safe From Harm/Infant CPR.  I am really glad we signed up for this class because the information we learned seemed relevant to real situations and if used properly could actually save a baby's life.  Brandon has had several CPR classes in the past, so he wasn't exactly taking it as seriously as the expectant moms in the class.  He was irritated to no end when one lady asked the instructor to go over the entire process again from the beginning.

We recently watched a video on infant CPR, but last night we were actually able to practice what we learned (on dummy babies of course).  Practicing what you learn is so much better than just watching.  I actually feel like I know what to do now in an emergency situation.  Of course I hope I never have to use my newly learned skills.

Half of the class was devoted to teaching us how to perform CPR on an infant, how to help a conscious choking infant, and how to help an unconscious choking infant.  CPR has changed over the past few years and the focus has become more on the chest compressions vs. the assisted breaths.  As we were practicing I kept imaging how scary it would be to have to perform what we learned in a real life situation on Dunebuggy.  I certainly hope it never happens but I feel like the class helped better prepare us in the event it does.

The second half of the class was devoted to keeping your child safe at home.  The majority of the information did not pertain to young infants as they discussed childproofing your home.  Although we will not use all of that information right away since she won't be mobile for a while, it was good to prepare ourselves for when that time comes.

As most of you know, I am a very indecisive person.  I have always had a difficult time making decisions so of course the decision of what outfit Dunebuggy will come home in is no exception.  I have it narrowed down to three outfits that I love and they are all washed and packed in our hospital bag.  Here are pictures of them, feel free to vote on which outfit you like the best!

Outfit #1 - Navy blue dress with white embroidered flowers and matching navy blue bloomers.

Outfit #2 - Aqua and white gingham print dress (colors didn't turn out very well in the picture) with eyelet flowers across the bottom and matching bloomers.

Outfit #3 - Aqua and white gingham print onesie with embroidered pink flowers.

I have a white headband with a bow for her to wear also, assuming her head isn't too big for it!  Outfit #1 is newborn size so it may not be an option come D-day if she is a big baby.  The other two outfits are 0-3 months so there shouldn't be a problem with them fitting.  I can't wait to see her and dress her up for her first car ride and entrance to her house!

As this blog post comes to an end, I am happy to announce that I will officially be on maternity leave after this Thursday, April 21st.  I can't wait to have some time off after a busy tax season!

Freezer Meals

For some time now I have been wanting to prepare meals for the week in advance.  It seems even more fitting that we attempt this since our time will soon be consumed with all things baby.  I have been searching around on the internet for websites dedicated to making meals in advance and have found several with promising recipes.  For my first attempt I have found recipes off of a website called Freeze Happy (www.freezehappy.com).  There are a lot of recipes to choose from and they look easy and delicious.  Most of the recipes make large quantities of food so I plan to split the food up into smaller containers so we have several meals out of each recipe.

The first 3 recipes I will be trying are vegetable enchiladas, baked ziti, and manicotti.  Below are links to the recipes.  I will report back once we have tried them to let you know if they were a success.

Vegetable Enchiladas
http://www.freezehappy.com/2009/08/vegetable-enchiladas.html

Baked Ziti
http://www.freezehappy.com/2009/06/pasta-bilities.html

Manicotti
http://www.freezehappy.com/2008/07/manicotti.html

36 Weeks

I've made it to 36 weeks and man am I getting big!  The other day I thought Dunebuggy had "dropped", but after looking at these pictures I don't think it has happened just yet.  My belly is still pretty much sticking straight out and Dunebuggy is still managing to jam her little legs up in my ribs.

A few days ago at work I looked down at my ankles and I was not prepared for what I saw.  The ankle bones that were there that morning were non-existent!  My ankles and feet were so swollen and have been ever since.  I noticed the swelling beginning a few weeks ago, but it is on a whole new level now.  Although I love being pregnant, I will be happy once I get my body back.

We have an appointment today with our midwife.  I am anxious and a little nervous to see what she has to say.  I have been having contractions but they are sporadic and there is definitely no pattern to them.  She may say Dunebuggy looks like she is sticking around for the long haul or she may say she thinks Dunebuggy is getting close to her arrival.  I have been writing down a list of questions for her, something I wish I would have done for every appointment.  It always seems that I forget all the random questions I have in between our visits. 

The clock is ticking....only 4 more weeks to go!!

Maternity Leave

Tax season is almost over and this week will most likely be my last full week of work before maternity leave!  I don't have a set last day, however I am currently shooting for April 20th.  Tax season is always demanding, but has been especially hard this year with the pregnancy.  I am looking forward to the time off to prepare for our life with Dunebuggy as well as spend time with friends and family.

Brandon and I have plans to meet friends in San Francisco Friday, April 22nd to attend the Braves vs. Giants game.  It's not often the Braves and Giants play so we are excited to be able to go see them.  Hopefully we will bring the Braves luck as their season is off to a rocky start.  We got ourselves in the baseball mode this past Saturday night when we went to the Sacramento River Cats game.  The River Cats are our triple-A baseball team and since they came to Sacramento 11 years ago have won two championships.  The game was a lot of fun, but unfortunately they didn't win.  With the very real possibility that the Kings will soon be leaving Sacramento it looks like the River Cats will be the only professional sporting team in town.  I am excited about taking Dunebuggy to baseball games in the near future!

The next visit will be from my sister Heather.  She will be coming out soon after our San Francisco trip.  I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees me in person.  Last time I saw her I barely looked pregnant so I am sure it will be a shock to see me this big.  She has been following the blog and has seen my weekly updates, but pictures just aren't the same as seeing someone in person.  Although, a lot of our time will be spent preparing for Dunebuggy it will be nice to have some fun sister time together as well.

Bring on the maternity leave!  I am ready for some good times and some sleep!

35 Weeks

35 weeks...yeah!!  My due date is getting closer.  I have been so busy with tax season that this pregnancy, already going by fast, is really flying by!  I checked my iPhone app and it said there are 35 days until my due date, that is so soon.

I am very excited, but at the same time I realize there is still so much to do.  Everyone says you can never prepare enough for a baby and you will always think you need more time.  I know if she were to come right this minute everything would be fine, however I am looking forward to the end of tax season when I will have time to do some nesting.  I look forward to my sister Heather coming to assist in that endeavor.  

As you can see Dunebuggy is getting bigger and so am I!

Earlier this week Brandon and I made some baby purchases on Amazon.  One of our purchases was our diaper bag and I love it!  There were several things I was looking for in  a diaper bag: 1) the option to carry the bag as a backpack, 2) easy to clean, and 3) lots of pockets for organization.  This bag does all of the above.

The bag can be carried as a backpack, a shoulder bag, or briefcase style.  The front pocket is a dedicated "mommy pocket."  It helps keep all of my stuff organized and separate from Dunebuggy's.  It has a place for my cell phone, keys, and even sunglasses.  The inside of the bag is lined with bright red antimicrobial material and has six different pockets for organizing all the little things.  There is even a place to put pictures that you might want to share with people when you are out.  There are two insulated pockets on the outside for bottles and sippy cups.

The bag is 100% machine washable.  So if something is spilled in the bag or if it just needs a good cleaning you can easily toss it in the wash.  The bag came with the changing pad below.  I purchased the matching smaller bag with a wrist strap as well.  It will come in handy when we are making a quick trip inside somewhere and don't need to carry the whole bag.  Plus it will also help with organization within the main diaper bag.  

The bag below is another baby purchase from Amazon.  It is a Planet Wise wet bag that will hold wet items such as dirty cloth diapers.  The bag has a pretty fabric on the outside, that I picked to match our diaper bag, and the inside is lined with a waterproof material to keep the wet in.

Our last baby purchase of the Amazon order was our baby monitor.  I originally wanted a different monitor but it just so happened that when we were getting ready for work the other morning they did a consumer reports piece on the morning news about baby monitors.  They reviewed many monitors and it was determined that the Philips Avent was the best.  It had the best range, longest battery life, and best clarity of all the monitors tested.  We opted to get the newest model that also includes a temperature sensor as well as the option to play lullabies to soothe baby back to sleep.  It's as easy as pushing a button on the handheld monitor.

I leave you with a picture of Baylee modeling the Dunebuggy bib I posted about in a blog last week.  We think she sports the bib well but she is clearly no Dunebuggy!

Maternity Photos

Our photographer, Erin, emailed me this morning to let me know that she had our CD of maternity photos ready.  Of course I jumped at the opportunity to meet her as soon as possible.  Luckily she was going to be out running errands near my office today so I met her and her youngest daughter at lunch.

First I must say that her daughter is absolutely adorable!  She is two and has the prettiest blonde ringlets that were pulled into pigtails on top of her head.  She kept asking me if she could see the baby, something I have come to find is a common request among younger children.  I assured her she would see the baby in just over a month when Dunebuggy has her newborn photos done by her mom at their house.

As soon as I got back to the office I put the CD in my computer since I was so anxious to see all the photos.  After seeing the sneak peek on her blog I was so excited to see what other photos she had captured.  However, I was not at all expecting to see what I saw on the CD.  When I had first contacted Erin she told me the CD with the package we purchased would have about 40 edited photos.  The CD she gave me today had over 100 edited images!

There are too many to post them all, but here are some of my favorites.

You can view more pictures on Erin's blog at http://erinnoeldesigns.blogspot.com/2011/03/tracy-maternity-photoshoot.html

Or you can view all of the photos on our Mobile Me site at

http://gallery.me.com/brandonstepp6

I can't wait for her to do Dunebuggy's pictures!

34 Weeks

Today is 34 weeks.  Wow, only 6 weeks left!  I am getting very excited about the arrival of Dunebuggy!  I can't wait to hold her and see the little baby that has been moving around inside my belly for so long now.

I keep thinking about what she will look like.  I wonder if she will have my big head or Brandon's strong jaw.  Or maybe she'll have both!

My feet started swelling today for the first time.  I wore some sandals to work today and kept kicking them off while I was sitting at my desk.  By the end of the day I could barely put them on.  I have heard that swelling can be a problem during the last months of pregnancy, I guess I am starting to experience that.  I think I might have to switch to flip flops from here on out if my work approves.

We got some excellent news in the mail yesterday.  The nurse practitioner we have been seeing at Kaiser sent a letter letting us know that my low lying placenta has resolved itself.  I am relieved that is one thing that we won't have to worry about now.

Brandon surprised me with a purchase he made one night while surfing the internet for Baby Stepp.  He got her some official Dunebuggy gear!  She now has a pink onesie and a bib that both sport pictures of dune buggies.  They are so awesome and I can't wait for her to wear them.

Brandon says he prefers the dune buggy on the onesie over the one on the bib.  I have to agree the one on the onesie looks more like a typical dune buggy, but I like them both!