Baby Shower

My sister and my cousin hosted an amazing baby shower for me today. It was possibly one of the most enjoyable days of my life, and I feel SO fortunate to have such amazing people in my life. We had 25 people at my mom's house, and thankfully, the weather cooperated. It was warm, but we were able to stay cool, and had plenty of room for activities, eating and gift opening.

I am finally feeling like I can actually go have this baby now... he has a place to sleep, a car seat, bath products, lots of receiving blankets, tons of clothes, and plenty of activities (including a swing and jumperoo!). Aside from bringing him home, we can also go out and about thanks to the diaper bag and several offers to babysit :)

Jenny took lots of fabulous pictures, and even managed to get a couple of relatively cute ones of me. Below are a few of my favorites. Make sure to click on it to see the larger version...

Nursery Furniture

The furniture for the nursery was delivered today. It's more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. When the guys were done building the crib and getting everything in place, I went in to look. The combination of pregnancy hormones, the reality that my son could arrive anytime in the next 4-5 weeks, and just the fact that we have been given this amazing gift (both the furniture and the opportunity to be parents) was too much for me to handle. I started sobbing. The poor delivery guys thought they screwed something up, but then they realized they were (mostly) tears of joy. They were the nicest guys and were super impressed with my scale visio diagram of where everything was to be placed in the nursery. They weren't here more than an hour, and everything was ready to go.

All we need now is the mattress to go in the crib and some clothes to fill up the drawers... I'm pretty sure most of that stuff will magically appear in the next few weeks after the shower my sister and cousin are hosting. Reality is definitely setting in that we are indeed having a baby, and I am getting anxious and ridiculously excited!

Follow Up

I had my follow up ultrasound this morning. It confirmed that the little man is indeed very small. He's about 5 pounds, which is a full pound lighter than expected at his gestational age. While my fluid levels are also low, they are congruous with his small size. I'm waiting to hear back from my doctor, but it likely means that I'll have weekly ultrasounds to check for continued growth and be monitored closely for the next few weeks. It could potentially mean an early delivery, but we'll cross that bridge when and if we get there.

A cute foot during a kick to the ribs, and his adorable little face

Everything looked good, so I'm trying to stay positive and stay calm about the fact that I'm 4 weeks away from having a baby!!!!

Head Down and Tightly Packed

The little man finally got himself into the right position. He's head down which is great news... kind of. His current size and position are causing me a decent amount of discomfort, and I definitely have developed a nice waddle to combat the pain. I'm more than willing to endure it, and I'm not really complaining about it as much as simply acknowledging its presence. During my appointment today, my doctor commented that "he seems really crammed in there." Which can be attributed to many things, but perhaps is to to my shape and size and the potential for the little man to take after his Papa Jerry and be a tall boy. My amniotic fluid level was "bordeline" so I have to go for a fluid and growth check on Friday. My doctor promised me he wasn't worried, he was just trying to be safe. I must say, I'm pretty glad to know that I'm not the only one who feels like he's quite well packed in. Everything else looked good... heart rate was strong and I measured pretty right one.

38 days to go!

Still Kicking... Literally

We had our regular check up today and while it wasn't quite the in-and-out that it normally is, everything was perfect. Even though I have been paranoid about gaining too much weight, the doctor assured me I was right on track. She also put my fears of delivering a giant baby to rest by confirming that he is measured exactly where he should be for his gestational age. His heart rate was strong, and minus being short of breath these days, everything is peachy keen!

We've got 66 days to go and I'm fighting the urge to panic and freak out. I know everything will be fine, and one way or another, this place will be ready for the little man's arrival.

Allergies

For the last few years I've suffered from terrible allergies. I never had them growing up, and they haven't really been consistant in my adult life. However, this year, like so many others, they have hit me hard. It's especially unpleasant, because my normal remedies (Dayquil, Sudafed, Benadryl, etc) are no-nos during pregnancy. My doctor oked me to take Claritin, but being the nervous nelly that I am, I would rather not take anything. There has been some evidence, albeit inconclusive, linking Claritin to birth defects. While the FDA seems to have deemed it safe during pregnancy, I would rather just avoid it if possible. I don't feel any need to open the door for any risk of harm to the little man if there is an alternative.

Well, yesterday at lunch one of my friends mentioned this product called the Neti Pot. I've heard it mentioned several times throughout the last few years by various people here and there. It always seemed really bizarre to me, but people swear by it. Its an all natural sinus cleanser and, like I said, it gets consistently great rating. I asked Paul to pick one up for me last night on his way home, and being the gem that he is, of course he did.

I knew it was going to be a little awkward, since it is basically sticking a mini tea pot up one nostril and letting the saline solution drain out the other nostril. Nevertheless, I was nervous that I wasn't going to do it right, so Paul came into the bathroom and "spotted" me. Sure enough, it started working. It was a little odd having water flowing from one nostril to the other, but dammned if I couldn't breathe when I was done!

Obviously, it doesn't have the lasting effect of the afore mentioned medications, but its all natural and super easy to do. The directions say you can do it as many times as you want, though I don't see myself in the bathroom at work flushing my sinuses. That may be a little too odd... even for me!

If you suffer from allergies, I highly encourage you to check out the Neti Pot. Even if you are taking cold medicine, this will supplement you routine, and after you get over the slight grossness and feakiness of it, you will be glad you did!

28 Weeks

Today was my 28 week appointment. I always get a little freaked out before appointments and my mind wanders to dark places of the "what ifs." Thankfully, everything is perfect with my and the little man. His heart rate was strong and even, my blood pressure is great, measuring exactly 28 weeks. The highlight of the appointment was the glucola drink. It tastes like what I'd imagine the syrup that goes into a soda fountain is like. It's thick, sweet and pretty foul all around. They did a blood draw to test for gestational diabetes and iron deficiancy, and the results should be in later this week.

Because I'm a paranoid freak, they hooked me up to the fetal monitor for 20 minutes to do a non-stress test. The little guy was very active, and hasd a steady heart rate. I know I've said it before, but I'm starting to relax a little more - especially now that I'm officially in my third trimester and I'll now see my doctor every two weeks instead of every four.

In case you are interested, baby boy Kleinstein looks something like this at this stage:

28 Weeks Pregnant

UPDATE: All my lab tests came in and I do NOT have gestational diabetes, nor am I amemic. Woo hoo!