Ultrasound #3 ...

Yesterday was ultrasound number three of this pregnancy and most likely my very last baby ultrasound ever. Everything looks good! They confirmed for me that he is definitely head down, which is a huge relief for me. We also got to check on his weight and growth, the main reason for the third ultrasound. This happened when I was pregnant with Zach too; at 36 weeks and 4 days they estimated his weight to be an even 5 pounds. Yesterday I was 36 weeks and 3 days pregnant, and they estimated Baby #2's weight to be 5 pounds 4 ounces. Just a tiny bit bigger than his brother :) My doctor said this put him in the 20th percentile for weight, which is still considered big enough for them not to be worried. Good deal! Having been through this with Zach I wasn't too worried about what yesterday's ultrasound would find, but there was still that tiny thought going through my mind saying "What if something's wrong? What if they tell me they need to induce me today? I'm not ready yet!" Thankfully that wasn't the case and baby is still nice and cozy. It is getting down to crunch time though; I should probably pack a hospital bag and find the car seat bases one of these afternoons ...

I finally figured out how to work the scanner function on our printer, so I'll leave you all with a few ultrasound shots. Okay, or maybe it's more like ultrasound picture overload! Picture #1 - First ultrasound at 11 weeks and 3 days. Pictures #2 and #3 - Second ultrasound at 21 weeks and 2 days. Baby's profile and Baby's feet. Picture #4 - Third ultrasound at 36 weeks and 3 days. Profile pic of baby's squished face - can see lips, nose, forehead across the top.

Back From "Vacation"

We came back today from "vacation" - a weekend in Duluth. It was a much more relaxing trip than I'd expected, despite having two teenagers (K and her friend) and a three year old with us, which was a pleasant surprise. We got up there around 10pm on Friday night and got settled in. Jerome took Zach swimming Saturday morning while the rest of us slept in - so nice! Once we were all up and dressed we took advantage of the mini-golf at our hotel ... we did not do well! It was the course's fault, really ;-) But it was fun, though I think Zach may be better suited for hockey than golf.

After mini-golf we grabbed some lunch, took a nap, and then hit the waterpark at our hotel for a bit. It's been a while since we've taken Zach swimming - the last time I remember taking him was to the beach the middle of last summer - so we were a little surprised to find that he has no fear of water. None at all, not even after getting a few mouthfuls of the stuff ... or after emerging from the kiddie version of the tube/water slide on his back, headfirst, and partially submerged. (Don't worry; he was only like that for a few seconds!) That would have done it for me! I've been talking about swimming lessons for him for a while, but I think it's time to stop talking and sign him up already.

Saturday night we went to Grandma's Saloon and Grill for dinner. It was pretty much how I remembered - overrated. Not bad, but this is the third time in a row I have left there wondering what the big deal is. I think I would have been happier eating at Applebee's. Hopefully next time I'm in Duluth I'll remember that and try something different. Like this place.

This morning we did a bit more swimming before checking out, then we drove down to the lake to see the seagulls and look for boats. Gorgeous day, but chilly! We walked around for a bit, threw some rocks, and grabbed lunch and ice cream at DQ before piling back in the car and heading for home. Overall, it was a great trip and, as Jerome said tonight, probably the easiest one we'll take for another three years or so seeing as how it was the last trip we'll be taking before the baby arrives.

Speaking of baby, only 4 more weeks until my due date and one more week until I'm considered "full-term" (meaning if I go into labor they won't try to stop it and they won't consider the baby premature). Zach arrived 11 days before his due date; we'll see if his brother decides to follow suit. This coming Wednesday we get to have another peek at the little guy to check on both his position (he was breech for a while ...) and his size/growth, since I'm measuring small. Hopefully after the ultrasound on Wednesday I'll finally figure out how to work our scanner and can share some pictures!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Zach!

This past Saturday we celebrated Zach's 3rd birthday at our house - what a fun day! Amazingly it didn't rain and was sunny and beautiful all day ... I say amazingly because no matter the forecast, every time we planned something at our house in 2009, it rained. And I do mean every time, no exaggeration :) Hopefully that curse is broken now! Anyway, we had a good time seeing all of our family, eating yummy cake, and I know Zach enjoyed opening his presents. Thanks to everyone who came! Here's a couple of pictures from the day.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes ... and Updates

After nearly two months of putting it off, I finally did it - imported my Wordpress blog into Blogger! Unfortunately, I didn't keep up with posting in the Wordpress blog and I now have two months of events to catch up on! Here we go:

Zach's Room:

The painting part of Zach's room is pretty much done. I still need to paint Zach's name on the banner behind the plane, but that's pretty minor. We inherited a fabric covered headboard from my sister, which we recovered to match his room. We also caved and bought some pretty cute bedding. I do need to get going on his curtains. The material for those has been bought and prewashed. The part I'm putting off is the cutting and pinning ... eventually ;) I would also like to make a bed skirt for his bed, but that's pretty far down on my list.

I have a picture ... but like most of my pictures, it's on a memory card somewhere. I'll work on finding it!

Baby's Room and Stuff:

Um ... yea. Baby's room has pretty much been taken over by sewing things. But, all the baby clothes have been washed and put away! Still a couple of things I need to get in that department; hopefully I'll be able to find some good deals at garage sales this spring. As far as baby's actual room though ... nothing has been done! Yikes. The crib is almost set up, I guess, but we're missing a screw so one side is still detached. I need to get going on the painting. Fortunately the existing paint matches the bedding set I picked out, so I'll be able to get away with just touching up. I should probably get on that! As well as the washing of the car seat, bouncer, and some other baby paraphernalia.

Pregnancy:

As of today I am 34 weeks and 1 day pregnant: 5 weeks and 6 days until my due date. 4 weeks and 2 days until the point in my pregnancy when I had Zach. The big day is coming up fast :)

I made the mistake of asking at my 30 week doctor appointment how baby was positioned - I was worried about having another sunny-side up baby. Imagine my surprise when I was told baby was breech! After that appointment I tried all sorts of funky yoga-esque positions to try to get him to flip. Played music for him. Did some other crazy things :) I didn't think it worked. But this past Friday when I went back to the doctor she said it felt like he was indeed head-down. We'll get to triple-check in about two weeks when I go back for another ultrasound: just like Zach, this baby is measuring small and they want to check his size. I'm excited to see my little boy again before he's born, and it will be nice peace of mind to get a visual of his position! (Sorry if that's too much information ...)

Life:

Easter was yesterday and was a good time. Zach woke up and found his Easter basket waiting for him on the table. After a nutritious breakfast of jelly beans, he and his dad dyed a couple of Easter eggs while I got the egg bakes made for brunch at my sister's house that morning. We stuffed ourselves on yummy food there, and then the kids hunted for Easter eggs outside. 12 kids x 10 eggs per kid = a LOT of Easter eggs! But a good time :)

 

This Saturday is Zach's 3rd birthday party, so that is what all my energy is going to for the time being. Well, the birthday party itself isn't so much work, but cleaning the house before people come over sure is! I'm excited to give the house a good cleaning before baby comes though, and the birthday party is good motivation for getting it done!