Changes...

Well, here we are, the home stretch...7 weeks, 3 days and counting.  Some interesting changes have happened over the course of the last few weeks.  Here they are in no particular order...

1. I am sleeping great. I am comfortable, fall asleep quickly and basically sleep walk to the bathroom 4ish times a night.  The problem? I have become a super snorer and Daniel is about to smother me with his pillow every night.   Here's what "they" say causes snoring:

Swollen nasal passages may be at least partly to blame for your midnight melodies. Higher levels of estrogen during pregnancy contribute to swelling in the mucous membranes lining the nose and can even cause you to make more mucus.

The amount of blood in your body increases when you're pregnant and your blood vessels expand, which can lead to swollen nasal membranes.

Regardless the reason, I am now a walking ad for Breath Right Strips.  Daniel basically insisted that I try them and he thinks that maybe they are working.  Glasses and snore strips, I'm one hot bed time mama!

2. A few weeks ago I started having trouble taking my rings off.  I figured that I'd just suffer though them being a little tight for the next 8 weeks.  It's wasn't until I went to book club last week and someone told me that her friend had to get both her rings cut off because she couldn't get them off anymore, that I changed my mind.  I made Daniel re-propose in Target with this fancy fancy CZ that's one size bigger.  Oooh baby, so romantic. 

3. Ok, I know, I have to gain weight.  It's good for the baby, yadda yadda.  The baby weighs 4 lbs 12 oz today (and is in the 75-90% for size!), the amniotic fluid, blood, boobs etc. all add to weight gain yadda yadda but I now officially weigh more than my husband.  Gross. Me. Out. The. Door. Fortunately, I have the best husband on the planet and he's so supportive of the weight gain.  He reminds me that I'm growing a perfect baby and that I'm beautiful every day.  This is a bit of an over exaggeration, but on a bad day, this is how I feel. Hahaha!

While we're talking about changes....the house is FINISHED!!!  It is amazing how cozy and perfect it feels now that it has a flow that works for us.  It looks so wonderful and I love every single part of it.  I'll post pictures after we get home from Houston of the finale.  This huge bag of old house is out on the lawn tonight.  Let the nesting begin!

I also had Baby Shower #1 last weekend hosted by Meg, Audrey and Jules.  It was great to be with good girl friends and come home with some goodies for Bubba.  Next weekend the nursery will be painted, furniture will be bought and we can start putting all his gifts away.  I can't wait!

Welcome to my life...

It has started!  Construction a la Hillman is underway.  So much for nesting for a few more weeks...

Here is the back room that used to have two entrances: one through the baby's room (directly to the left, the framed will be walled in in a few days) and the other through our bedroom (upper left of the picture).  Today, there is only one entrance to this room and it's through a hallway! Woo hoo!  

This is taken from the back room looking into our room.  The right side (of the left picture) is our room that will soon be a wall.  The left side is the new hallway that will lead out into the house. (There used to be a sliding glass door here that we had disguised with curtains for the past two years.) The two will be joined by a pocket door that can shut off the back room when we have guests but will be open 99% of the time. The door at the end of this hall is my closet Yes, my closet will be in the hall but it's worth the payoff of having a door to shut at night and guests who don't have to walk through our room anymore.  I'm a happy girl! PLUS, they are putting a light just over the closet doors so I can actually see my clothes! Woo hoo!

The best part of this picture!? That ugly, disgusting light fixture that some people call a "chandelier" is gone!!  Ok, ok, the wall is down and that's pretty exciting too!  I always felt like I was in a shoe box when in the kitchen.  There was maybe enough room for two people but never a good space for Daniel to hang out with me while I got dinner ready.  Soon, we'll have a bar top with stools where anyone can hang out.  Most importantly, next summer I can see a baby crawling around the dining room and even feed a baby in a highchair while being in the kitchen cooking dinner.  So excited about this! Unfortunately, the pink is still there.  This is a job for the next remodel.  Until then, the pink pink pink has to stay!

And finally, the piece de resistance!

Ug, not this...

This!!!

No more weeds, no more thorns, no more dirt, no more wiping dogs paws, no more embarrassing backyard Bar-B-Ques, no more feeling badly for the neighbors who have to look at our ugly lawn anymore! We also had two trees cut down and are making a dog run along the side of the house--no more dog poop zone in the back of the yard! To top it off, this is the very same sod that was laid at Coors Field this week--so, not only do we have grass, we have baseball grass!  Cannot wait for next summer!

The baby this week is the size of a cucumber.  Yes.  I had the same thought.  How the heck do you hold a cucumber and equate that to a baby? I'm not sure,  but I thought I'd pass the info along anyway!

30 weeks, 3 days

Birthing Classes

Having a natural birth is something that I started thinking seriously about a few years ago.  Being an inquisitive person, especially when it comes to pregnancy/babies, I have never been afraid to ask my friends questions about their pregnancy and birth experiences.  It was in some of these conversations that I decided that when I got pregnant, a natural birth was something that I was going to look into doing.  Fast forward to now, Daniel and I are deep into 12 weeks of natural birth, birthing classes.  There are several different methods that one can chose from to prepare: Lamaze, hypno-birthing, the Bradley method, etc.  We opted for the latter because of their emphasis on the role of the coach (Daniel) and because I had a friend who is a trained doula and was offering a course starting in early September.  We signed up and just finished our 5th class last week.

Daniel was none too thrilled when he learned that we would be spending the next 12 Tuesday evenings learning about birth and all the things associated with it.  However, I have been pleasantly surprised at the level of commitment he has put into his coaching job: he does all his readings, is very active during class and has recently been very concerned that I do all my practice exercises each day.  It's great having him as "into" this a I am.  I think he finally sees his job as something that is necessary in order for us to do this.  I need his support and that's the bottom line.

When we tell people we're preparing for a natural childbirth, people (usually the ones who have given birth before) look at us like we're moving to another planet.  I get it, I know this is going to be tough, but we'll be prepared and I'm filled with determination and know this is what's best for our family.  The classes have been great at preparing my mind and my body for what will be happening in 10ish or so weeks.  We will be delivering in a hospital so if any complications should arise, we will be prepared.  We have also hired our doula coach and friend Carla to be with us in the birthing room as a support for Daniel and another coach for me.  We are very happy with the decision and are looking forward to welcoming our little bundle of joy, drug free.

On an entirely other note, a miracle happened this week and I have found myself walking, sitting and sleeping pain free once again!  Monday afternoon I was walking in the hallway at school and stopped dead in my tracks when I realized I was walking-walking, not waddling-limping-gimping-walking but really walking! I'm not sure if it was the massage, the chiropractor, the acupressure, the resting, the magnesium vitamins or the pregnancy belt that did it, but I am one happy lady!  My spirits have lifted as well, simply because I am feeling so much better. Oh happy day!

And for more happy news, construction at Casa de Hillman is officially under way!  We currently have workers in our backyard tilling up all the weeds (I won't even try to call what we had grass) and will be laying new pipes for a working sprinkler system, putting in a boarder for flowerbeds, laying a few walkways and putting in mulch around the perimeter of the yard.  I can just picture playing in the grass with Bubba next summer, I am so excited!  Next week work inside the house will officially start with the building of a hallway to our back room (no more walking through the bedrooms!), taking out a half wall and creating a bar top in our kitchen, putting in new windows (no more cold single pane for us!) and walling in one of the two doors in the baby's room.  After that's completed we'll get some paint on the walls, order a crib and it'll officially be time to bring home a baby! Woo hoo!

Third trimester has started with a bang! Bubba is a big as a butternut squash--76 days to go!

~Mama Jess