Quote of the Day

"If you would have known you were going to need to have the birth scheduled, you would have probably built a project plan around it! :-)"

-Client regarding my c-section

Granny panties

I've heard from a couple of different women who have had c-sections that I need to buy "granny panties" so the elastic doesn't touch my incision point. When I was at Target today, I was searching for under-roos that fit the bill and think I've found some when a woman in her 80s walks over to the exact same rack and grabs a pair. Thank you, granny, for confirming I was looking at the right pair!

02.10.2010

Yesterday I went to get my weekly ultrasound and to see my OB. The ultrasound was first and this is what happened in a nutshell:

• First, I should say that when we woke up, Adam said to me "I want Peanut to come on Feb 10." He explains that a birth date of 02/10/2010 would be kind of cool. Ok, I'll see what I can do.
• When I get to the ultrasound office, the tech places the wand on my belly and says "Oh my goodness, that baby has so much hair! Do you get a lot of heartburn?" This is the third ultrasound tech to comment on my very hairy berry.
• She continues to measure Peanut and then says "I'm going to go show these pictures to the doctor and see if she wants to talk to you." Hmmmm.....that's a bit odd, I think. I ask what the baby is estimated to weigh and she says 10 lbs 7 oz and leaves the room. I am indeed ALL baby.
• I spend the next 25 minutes in the room by myself telling myself that the dr is going to come in and tell me I need to have a c-section and that I need to be ok with that.
• The dr comes in and tells me she recommends a c-section because of the Thomas the Tank I have in my belly. She does say that they can be off on the weight by up to 2 lbs, but that it's best to avoid having Peanut's shoulders get stuck. I start to cry, which is precisely what I told myself I would not do - after all, this helps me avoid going through labor!
• I then go to see my OB and she confirms that it is best to have a c-section, especially since this is my first baby. Please, I think, do not say this needs to be done tomorrow. I have company coming into town. She says "Let's do it on Feb. 10." Oh, Adam is going to give her a big hug when he meets her!

Peanut's Playlist

Adam and I have created a playlist especially for Peanut.

• The Best is Yet to Come - Michael Buble
• I Can't Wait to Meetchu - Macy Gray
• Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne
• Can't Take My Eyes Off You - Lauryn Hill
• Brand New Day - Sting
• Knocked Up - Kings of Leon
• Let Go - Frou Frou
• Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
• Yellow - Coldplay
• The Book of Love - Peter Gabriel
• Always Be My Baby - Mariah Carey
• Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
• Falling Slowy - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
• Blessed - Elton John
• The Sweetest Gift - Sade
• At Last - Etta James
• In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
• The Day - Babyface
• Jackson & David - DeYarmond Edison
• Sunshine - Keane
• I Just Can't Stop Loving You - Michael Jackson
• By Your Side - Sade
• To Zion - Lauryn Hill
• Imagine - John Lennon
• Honeymoon Child - Emiliana Torrini
• Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel) - Billy Joel

Peanut's Highchair

I've had my eye on this scandanavian highchair and it went on mamabargains.com today for a great price, so I snatched one up even though we're going to end up keeping it in the box until we move. The great thing is it turns into a chair that even adults can use - check out the demo here! Peanut will one day be able to eat his lefse sitting on this chair.

38 week update, abridged

Not much has changed since I did the 37 week update, other than having my last day of work on Friday. What, you ask, will I be doing will ALL of my free time? This little list should get me started......

-Go to PA to see my friend Diana who just had a baby in Dec. Practice not dropping a new baby.
-Pedicure!
-Taxes. Ick, ick and ick, but they will be more icky if done after Peanut comes. And, wouldn't it be oh so nice if we were actually getting money back?
-Wedding album. No promises, but it's on the list.
-Argentina album - far more likely to happen than the wedding album.
-OB and ultrasound on Thurs, if nothing happens before then.
-Wait patiently for Peanut to venture into this crazy world of ours.

The Peanut Rumble

I grabbed my camera and taped Peanut situating himself.

Saturday afternoons at the Hardt household

Adam reading "The Expectant Father" and listening to his music.

Last day of work

Yesterday was my last day of work for 5 months! It was a bit of a weird feeling but also a huge relief knowing that I can spend the remaining time just focused on getting ready to be a family. For the third time in our relationship, Adam brought me flowers to celebrate! I should have bought him flowers for the level promotion he just received at work!

January showers bring February Peanuts

On Wednesday, 16 ladies at work threw me a surprise baby shower. I thought I was having a final touch base with my manager before going out on leave, only to be taken into a room complete with lots of smiling faces, a bag of goodies and a cake! It's amazing to me how thoughtful and generous everyone is - I truly feel so lucky to have such great people in my life.

In addition to opening presents and eating cake, all the ladies also guessed Peanut's gender, due date and weight. I also put in my own guess - a boy, born on 2/9 and weighing in at 8 lbs 3 oz. Let the games begin!

Oh me, oh my

"So much to do and so little time before mommy kicks me out of my 'house' "

Let's get this party started

Just went to the OB and she said I'm 1 cm dilated. Only 9 to go!

She also felt my belly and said "You're probably having a contraction now." Apparently when my belly is really hard, even if I don't feel anything, that's a contraction!

Peanut is keeping me busy today

8:30 am - Weekly OB visit

1:00 pm - Weekly ultrasound visit

4:00 pm - Visit to lawyer to have wills written

7:00 pm - Hospital tour

That's a lot of check marks on my list!

37 week update

How far along? 37 weeks

Total weight gain? 27.2 lbs. I have actually dropped very slightly, which is common as the due date nears.

Maternity clothes? Yes, still going strong and don't even get me started about how uncomfortable wearing a bra is, even though they are theoretically big enough.

Sleep? No complaints here, other than the weirdo dreams I'm having. The latest one had Adam getting his drivers license taken away for 1.5 years.

Best moment this week? Knowing that if Peanut were born today, he would no longer be considered pre-term.

Movement? The ultrasound last week showed why there is so much action in there. Basically, Peanut his his rump jammed into the right side of my belly, leaving the entire left side for his little legs and feet to kick as much as he wants.

Gender? Hanging tight to the boy theory, so if it's a girl, then it's safe to say I may have no motherly intuition.

Labor signs? Not really! And the ultrasound tech confirmed last week that although Peanut is heads down, he hasn't really decended.

What I miss? The earlier part of the pregnancy when I was blissfully ignorant of the actual "giving birth" details. Good thing they don't make you take birthing classes before you actually get pregnant, or this blog may not exist.

What I am looking forward to? Meeting Peanut, of course! Hard to believe that it could literally be any day (rather than month or week).

Weekly Wisdom? Wanting an epidural does not make you any less of a woman. It may make you a bit of a dirty birdie since you can't shower immediately afterwards, however.

Milestones? Full-term baby at 37 weeks, of course!

Open letter to Peanut

Dear Peanut,

You are officially a full-term watermelon! In addition, your poppy made it through a hellish week at work last week, I only have one planned week left in the office, we went to Target again today and bought 3 more bags of diapers (great sale combined with great coupons) and some gas drops just in case you need some "help". All of this renders us totally prepared for your arrival (minus the whole labor part). We are really looking forward to meeting you!

Besos,
Your mommy and poppy