38 Weeks

Today at work I dealt with a lot of 5th grade weirdness. First I happened to somehow find myself teaching social studies on a whim. While passing out papers I was asked, "Ms. Flaherty, how is your baby doing? How old is it? I forget." Then on the other side of the room as I near a student, "So does that like hurt?" I mean if nothing else I guess they feel comfortable with me. Then as I'm walking through the front office helping another student, there's some kind of 5th grade luncheon going on (another weird situation), and I can hear them start to discuss my pregnancy, but I'm not really paying attention to them until I hear, "Yeah, she must be having twins." I think my head turned a full circle as I said "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!!?" Then all I could do is laugh. At least the other kids were like, "ummmmm don't you know that was offensive..."

In other news, I have one pair of shoes (flip-flops) that fit. They match almost nothing I wear, are not exactly work appropriate, and are soon to be very out of season. I also don't really care about any of those things. Then there's the fact that I can't comfortably paint my toes and my only shoes are flip-flops. I will be getting a pedicure this weekend. I am excited about that. Alright, now for the stats, and Matt forced me to take a picture...according to him the kid is going to be dying to know what I looked like pregnant. I have never asked to see a picture of my mother pregnant. 

How far along? 38 weeks!

How big is the baby? One website says a leek, another says a pumpkin. It sounds like the baby is between six and seven pounds and about 19-20 inches. Also...pumpkin vs. leek? I'd rather push out a leek...

Maternity clothes? Still in the same rotation of dresses. I can still do some non-maternity wear such as the tops pictured below. I did try on my real jeans...I could do it, but it would have made for a very uncomfortable day.

Sleep? Waking up frequently during the night to use the bathroom, but sleeping pretty well in between. I have been waking up early in the mornings, though.

Symptoms? My main symptoms this week include the horrible swelling below my knees, mainly my feet and ankles, and a very tired back in the evenings. The swelling really doesn't go down anymore. I'm so crossing my fingers that all my old shoes will fit again one day.

Best moment this week? I've had a better appetite! Matt and I packed hospital bags and we've been trying to go on lots of dates while we still can.

Food cravings? Nothing major.

Food aversions? Nothing really. I still have to be careful not to eat too much as not to feel sick.

Gender? It's a surprise! I shared our Baby Hunch pool and we LOVE seeing your guesses! Submit one if you would like, just follow this link: http://www.babyhunch.com/poolpage.php?poolid=afff7a33bcd4c7d922db1523e31ba3e3

What I miss? Sleeping on my stomach, easier movement, having more than one pair of shoes.

What I'm looking forward to? My doctor appointment tomorrow morning and finding out if Baby K. is a boy or girl. TOMORROW IS OCTOBER!

Full Term

Full term is exciting! I guess that means it could be any day now, but really I don't believe that. This baby is still invading my lungs and rib cage, and not allowing me to eat like I would like to, so I think we still have at least a couple weeks to wait. I'm absolutely fine with waiting. I'm still very much enjoying our freedom to do whatever we want, when we want to do it, and easily leaving my house to go to work every morning. That being said, I feel like we are as ready as we are going to be (except maybe I should really get to packing that hospital bag this weekend), and we are excited to meet the baby and find out if it's a boy or girl!

How far along? 37 weeks!

How big is the baby? One website says a bunch of swiss chard, another says a winter melon. It sounds like the baby is a little over 6 pounds and about 19 inches.

Maternity clothes? Today and Monday I wore non maternity dresses, but I think if I were to try some non maternity pants it wouldn't be in my favor. I am tempted just to see, but right now it's hard enough to pick out an outfit every weekday morning.

Sleep? Waking up frequently during the night to use the bathroom, but sleeping pretty well in between. I have been waking up early in the mornings, though.

Symptoms? Still pretty much the same issues...bad swelling in both legs below the knees, especially my ankles and feet. I also wake up with swollen hands and I've had some swelling in my face. My back is tired at the end of the day, and the tailbone and hip pain that comes and goes.

Best moment this week? Finishing up our baby prep, picking out some books for the baby, just enjoying the last few weeks of being pregnant.

Food cravings? Nothing major. Sometimes chips and other salty food, but I haven't caved on the chips yet!

Food aversions? Nothing really. I still have to be careful not to eat too much as not to feel sick.

Gender? It's a surprise! I shared our Baby Hunch pool and we LOVE seeing your guesses! Submit one if you would like, just follow this link: http://www.babyhunch.com/poolpage.php?poolid=afff7a33bcd4c7d922db1523e31ba3e3

What I miss? Sleeping on my stomach, easier movement, my formerly too skinny feet - I couldn't even get shoes on tonight to go for a walk.

What I'm looking forward to? My doctor appointment on Friday morning. Being full term also makes meeting the baby seem much closer and more of a reality!

Recipe of the Week!

Peanut Butter Banana Popsicles

I'm obviously a little behind in my recipe posting. We've been preoccupied I suppose! This is one of my popsicle creations from the summer. It was probably my favorite one. I do love the combination of banana and peanut butter and this was no disappointment. If only there was room in my freezer for more popsicles, but space in there is at a premium these days! Hurry up and make these before popsicle season is behind us!

Ingredients:
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk (any kind of milk would work)
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 bananas
handful of chocolate chips

Directions: 
Combine yogurt, milk, bananas, and peanut butter in a blender until thoroughly combined. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Pour yogurt mixture into popsicle molds. Freeze for 8 hours. 

36 Weeks

Diaper Cake

It's been an exciting week! The main event being Baby K's BES shower yesterday. My fabulous team put together a lovely party in the library after school. We had lots of good food, a delicious cake, good company, and of course Baby K really made out with lots of cute and useful gifts. I'm so lucky to have wonderful coworkers. You can see some more pictures below.

Cupcake centerpieces made from onesies and socks

Over the weekend, Matt and I went to a childbirth class. I was a little bit dreading it. It ended up being a great class. Our instructor was so great, she really made the class. I would recommend it to anyone having a baby in our area. Afterwards, we tried putting the car seat in my car, and then got it checked at the fire station down the street. Thank goodness for the firefighter who checked it over. She really got that thing in there a lot better than we did. 

How far along? 36 weeks!

How big is the baby? One website says a head of romaine lettuce, another says a honeydew. The weight estimation is just under six pounds and the length is about 18.5 inches.

Maternity clothes? I think my non maternity clothes days are over. I haven't tried pants in awhile, other than running tights/other exercise type clothing, which I can still manage. I'm still in a rotation of dresses and skirts which is working out fine, but sometimes I really would just love to put on some pants.

Sleep? Waking up frequently during the night to use the bathroom, but sleeping pretty well in between.

Symptoms? My swelling issues have reached an all time high the past few days. I've decided to spare you a picture, but really my ankles and feet are fat. Normally, I can't even find shoes that fit right because my feet are so narrow. My feel swell so much I can feel them jiggle when I walk and it's hard to bend my toes. I also have a very tired back at the end of the day along with some tailbone and hip pain. I just made my life sound a little miserable, but it's all manageable symptoms.

Best moment this week? Baby K's BES Shower! And a healthy doctor appointment this morning.

Food cravings? Not craving much right now, except Katerina's. I'm always craving Katerina's though. We plan to go this weekend!

Food aversions? Nothing really. I still have to be careful not to eat too much as not to feel sick.

Gender? It's a surprise! I shared our Baby Hunch pool and we LOVE seeing your guesses! Submit one if you would like, just follow this link: http://www.babyhunch.com/poolpage.php?poolid=afff7a33bcd4c7d922db1523e31ba3e3

What I miss? Sleeping on my stomach, easier movement, my formerly too skinny feet.

What I'm looking forward to? Matt and I plan to do a little 'last minute' shopping this weekend so that will be fun!

35 Weeks

Thirty five weeks! I feel like that's serious. I also think my travel ban starts today. Good thing we have no plans to go anywhere. We had an eventful baby prep weekend with prepping freezer meals and finishing up the room. Pretty soon our checklist for 'before baby' will be done and we will just be anxiously awaiting his/her arrival. This weekend we are signed up for a childbirth class. I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to it or dreading it. I'm hoping the teacher is normal.

I must be looking pretty pregnant these days because today I had four students inquire about my pregnancy:

The first a 4th grade boy who about spilled his lunch tray in the cafeteria as we walked past each other saying, "Mrs. Flaherty! You're pregnant!" My response, "Yep." Him, "Woah."

A second later, I turned around to help a Kindergarten friend who really just wanted to ask me..."is there a baby in your tummy?" Me: "There is." Him: "Well what's their name?" Me: "I don't know because I don't know if it's a boy or girl." Him: confused.

Third Student (5th grade girl): "So, you're pregnant...is it a boy or girl." Me: "It's going to be a surprise. I won't know until it's born." Her: "Well I think it's a girl, and not just because girls are better but because I really think it's a girl."

Fourth student (another 5th grade girl): "Mrs. Flaherty I heard you are pregnant." Me: "It's true." Her: "I also heard you don't want to know what it is until it's born." Me: "That's also true." Her: "It's a boy because you haven't been eating sugary foods. If you want to eat sugary foods then it's a girl. Wait, what have you been eating?"

How far along? 35 weeks!

How big is the baby? One website says a honeydew, another says coconut. In my opinion those are two different sizes. The baby is estimated to be about 5 and 1/4 pounds and about 18 inches long.

Maternity clothes? I only wear dresses and skirts. Some are maternity, some are not. Virginia, PLEASE stop with this 98 degrees. EVERY.DAY. Please.

Sleep? Waking up frequently during the night to use the bathroom. Even with the waking up, I did get some really good sleep over the holiday weekend! If only every day was the weekend!

Symptoms? At the end of last week and over the weekend I was getting terrible swelling in my right ankle and foot. Things are going better since Monday. Other than that the normal being pregnant stuff.

Best moment this week? Finishing the baby's room and getting all those freezer meals done!

Food cravings? Not craving much right now.

Food aversions? Nothing really. I still have to be careful not to eat too much.

Gender? It's a surprise! I shared our Baby Hunch pool and we LOVE seeing your guesses! Submit one if you would like, just follow this link: http://www.babyhunch.com/poolpage.php?poolid=afff7a33bcd4c7d922db1523e31ba3e3

What I miss? Sleeping on my stomach, easier movement...movement is getting much harder! I feel ridiculous trying to put on tennis shoes and trying to get up from the couch.

What I'm looking forward to? Celebrating Baby K with my team and coworkers next week!

Baby K's Room!

We are excited to share before and after photos of Baby K's room today! Of all the funny comments I have heard during my pregnancy, comments regarding what the room will be like probably come in in the top 5. First, when you tell people you aren't going to find out the sex of the baby that's just mind blowing enough for them. They can't get over how you will ever prepare, then they want to know what color you will paint the room and how you will choose a theme if you don't know if it's a boy or girl. When you tell people the room has no theme, they just can't handle it. I don't get it. First of all, a baby is a baby. What do you have to have for a girl that a boy doesn't need, and vice versa. Second, does your bedroom have a theme? Third, and this is my problem, I do not like baby things. Cute little animals, pastels, they just are not for me. I'm still trying to figure out how to blend a chair that looks like a monkey into my house.

Before

Before

If I had to fit Baby K's room into a theme category, for those theme lovers out there, I'm calling it travel and leisure. We started with the canvas of the United States map, and then added the three pictures of Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, and Boston (where we live, where I grew up, and where Matt grew up). Matt and I also love books so we wanted those to be a main part of the room. The wall shelving is one of my favorite parts, but not one of Matt's. There was much debate over those shelves! I think it adds some color to the walls and kind of doubles as art. So the travel part...the map and places important to us. The leisure...reading and hopefully a lot of sleeping. 

Our crib is from Target. This was one of Matt's big jobs. He did a lot of research about safety and standards and other things I just could not get into reading about. The bookshelf is a Kallax unit from Ikea turned on its side so that the baby (eventually) can reach everything. The shelves affixed to the wall are also from Ikea. The Ribba wall shelves are supposed to display pictures or art, but obviously we are using them for books. 

The striped storage bins came from Land of Nod. We will use them to hide what I call 'clutter' aka toys and other random things. The ABC carpet was mine when I was little, and made by my Grandpa. My cousins will also appreciate the most coveted toy from my grandparents house - the Chatter Telephone - pictured above. No iPhone for Baby K! 

Our dresser and side table also came from Ikea. We went with adult sized things for more storage space and also so they will last longer. We found our Thomasville glider on Wayfair after searching high and low, and waiting very patiently for the right color to be in stock. The United States canvas was a Home Goods find and I ordered the three prints from an artist I found on Etsy called Loose Petals. 

While it might have taken awhile for everything to come together, Matt and I are happy with how it turned out. We hope the baby will love it too, but I'm pretty sure they will just care if we feed them and change their diapers!

Labor Day Weekend

What a weekend! Matt and I had a good mix of productivity and relaxation. In effort to cross things off the 'to do before baby arrives list' we decided to make this the weekend of freezer meals. That was the main objective anyway. Friday night we went on a date to Wegmans. Meaning we ate dinner there and patiently (for the most part) grocery shopped with each other.

Saturday morning I started in on making the first of the freezer meals. Let me tell you that dealing with chicken guts at 9 am is not appetizing. The fact that College Gameday is finally back on did make it more bearable. Matt mostly helped by cleaning the majority of the house, another chore that needed taken care of this weekend. He also made the marinade for the Teryaki Chicken, and helped me with getting things into storage and washing some dishes. That afternoon we watched the trainwreck that was the Penn State game and waited for things to cool. We went out for dinner because there was just no way I was cooking another meal. Then we went over to Target to get out last item for the baby's room and a few other little things. We came home to get the last of the meals into the freezer, and assess how much space was left before we made anything else.

You can see all the recipes in the list below, and obviously in the freezer picture above. It's hard to tell how many meals it will actually turn out to be. I made various quantities of the recipes. They are also in various stages. Some things just need thawed and then reheated, some are just in marinade, some need ingredients added to them in the crock pot, etc. I also don't think we will necessarily just be eating this. I like salads too much, and of course things like salmon and fresh veggies will still be making an appearance I hope.

Sunday morning we went for a walk, I finished cleaning, and then we spent a few hours at the pool. I made three more recipes after we decided there was more space available in the freezer. We had a quick dinner then went for some frozen yogurt. We also watched Skeleton Twins on Netflix. Not the best movie, but not terrible either.

Today we got some more miles in and have been doing more chores around the house. It has been nice to have this three day weekend after the first full week of school instead of anticipating jumping in to the first day after a holiday weekend. I'm so excited to have the meal prep checked off the list. It was really the most daunting of all the things still left on it. Hopefully they turn out well. It's definitely something I would do again if it all works out.

Recipes we used:
Chicken, Black Bean, and Cheese Enchiladas - apparently I've never made these before, or I've never blogged about it. All I did was roll those three things up in some flour tortillas and put them in a freezer bag. I do not claim to be a good enchilada maker, but I'm sure these will be edible.
Matt's Chicken Teryaki
Lasagna Soup
Chili
Chicken Tikka Masala
Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers
Greek Yogurt Oat Banana Muffins
Lasagna
Sausage and Tortellini Soup
Calzones

34 Weeks

Interesting story...I went to the doctor this morning for a regular check up. I had a doctor that I met once in May. She obviously didn't remember me. I knew because she introduced herself to me like it was the first time we ever met. I get annoyed when people do this...I think they should at least pretend to know you since they can see on my chart that they have seen me. She started asking me questions that I thought were a little weird for the third trimester, but I went with it...I've never had a baby before. Then she asked if I had questions, so I asked a couple. Then she says to me, "OK, so today you are 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant..." At first I thought she misspoke and would catch herself, but she never did. So finally I interrupted whatever she was talking about to say that today I was 34 weeks pregnant. I have never seen someone's head snap so quickly and stare so blatantly at my stomach. (I should also mention that I wore a form fitting dress today, probably the tightest thing I have worn during my entire pregnancy.) She was shocked. She then apologized because she thought I was someone else and she had the wrong chart. Now I do keep hearing that I look smaller than 34 weeks, but really, 12 weeks! I do not look 12 week pregnant. I'm not sure how you make that mistake. I'm seeing the same doctor in two weeks. Let's hope she remembers me. 

How far along? 34 weeks!

How big is the baby? One website says a butternut squash (which I swear it's been three times now), another says a cantaloupe. The baby is estimated to be about 4 and 3/4 pounds and about 18 inches long.

Maternity clothes? This week I have worn only dresses or skirts to work and pajamas when I'm not at work. I'm starting to doubt I could fit into non-maternity wear, or it would definitely be a squeeze. I'll test it out Friday when it's jeans day at work :)

Sleep? Waking up frequently during the night to use the bathroom. I also had crazy dreams, that I think were related to serious baby movement, the other night. I thought the baby's arm came through my stomach. It didn't.

Symptoms? Most of my symptoms this week are just related to the first crazy weeks of school, not to mention the intense heat and humidity this week. My back gets tired and sometimes I have one fat ankle by the end of the day.

Best moment this week? After this morning's confusion...hearing a healthy heartbeat. It's also been fun to return to school and see kid's reactions, or hear their questions (most did not know I was pregnant at the end of last school year). I've been asked if I'm having a puppy or a baby. And the parents at open house could not fathom how I don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl. I heard from multiple people about how brave I am. I haven't taught any classes yet, so I'm sure I will get lots of funny questions and comments next week when my classes start.

Food cravings? Not craving much right now.

Food aversions? Food and I have a love/hate relationship right now. I want to eat, but I get uncomfortable when I do.

Gender? It's a surprise! I shared our Baby Hunch pool and we LOVE seeing your guesses! Submit one if you would like, just follow this link: http://www.babyhunch.com/poolpage.php?poolid=afff7a33bcd4c7d922db1523e31ba3e3

What I miss? Sleeping on my stomach, easier movement, energy.

What I'm looking forward to? Actually meeting the baby! Matt and I also made a little list of things we need to do in the next few weeks to feel more ready. I'm looking forward to checking items off the list.