Down to the Wire - 5 Weeks to Go!

We toured the U of M Hospital yesterday - was very informative, though I was a bit surprised at the lack of waiting room space for the family. The rooms are pretty nice, most are singles and encourage you to have the baby housed in the room with you, which is really nice and answers many questions on my list (you KNOW I had a list!!).

It is a big hospital, but the Labor and Delivery floor is all together, whether you're having a C-Section (not planning on it!) or a 'regular' birth. Many of the rooms have big bathtubs, too... oh yeah! I've also heard rumors that the cafeteria is pretty good and cheap.

Meanwhile, At home: the baby room (aka Bachelor Pad) is going well. I do need to figure out how to make the words go onto the wall - Aunt Becky made me the words "Now I lay me down to sleep" in vinyl for his wall.... mommy's dream! Havent' really focused on that yet=) It's on my list for this week, along with 20 million other things!

and here's the body update - got my first stretch mark yesterday. It's HUGE! It runs from my belly button down (pretty far) and is about 1 1/2 inches across - and it kinda hurts! Any suggestions on how to control this or make it better are definitely appreciated and needed.

Baby is good - he continues to breakdance - he is head down, which is good. And he likes to spin on his head every half hour or so. It's a strange sensation, you can see his little buns move from one side of my belly to the other... it's amazing. I love it, but it's still weird. His little foot also found my ribs yesterday. Must be a sign that he's getting just big enough to start running out of room.

Ok - all for now - I'll try to be better about posting next week while I'm on vacation.
Love to you all -
Sauds

He's BIG!

Had a dr appointment this week, and will be going in for (another!) ultrasound in a week or so... you know what that means - yep, MORE PICS!!
Normally, you would measure (pubic bone to top of uterus) the number of weeks you are. So, I'm 33 weeks, I should measure around 33cm. Well, at the last appointment, I was 31 weeks and measured 33, this week I'm 33 and am measuring at 36. So we're going to have another ultrasound just to measure the amount of amniotic fluid and see how big he really is... she doesn't think he's a gigantor, but we'll see. He is a Kneffel. =)

Other than that, things are good. I have some unusual aches and pains, which I will not get into for fear of TMI online... suffice it to say things are strange!

Baby boy seems to be doing great - he is practicing and I'm sure will make first string for the soccer team pretty much as soon as he comes out. For those who haven't seen, my belly becomes a moving mass, I assume much like a volcano right before eruption. It's kinda freaky, but I love it!! He's such an active little guy - can't WAIT to meet him. Though, you all know how I feel about that whole "make like a baby and HEAD OUT" part. Ugh. Hands are sweaty just typing about it!!

Just a quick update today - Love to you all -
Saud and Baby Sherm

It's Raining!

Ha - the showers have started, and not just the gift-parties... I'm sitting at home working today, and reading the "you're 32 weeks pregnant" emails I get every week, weeping because it's talking about all the things moms wish they knew when they got pregnant.... awful!! They should know better than to publish this crap to gestational women!!

Anyway, I'll try to hold myself together long enough to put some words on a page for you all=)
Had a great couple of showers - The Alpha E's threw me a secret-not secret shower on Oct 23 at the Treehouse in Chelsea. It's kinda like an indoor playground. Had a top 3 best cake ever, made by my sorority sister Marija. It was amazing! Cool room, tons of little kids running around, it was great!

This past weekend, had our family shower, at our house. Andy decided he wanted to have the "man shower" in the garage during the "girl shower", so they grilled steaks and watched football in the garage (his new hangout) ... which really worked out for us!
Best gift of the day - Andy's mom brought an envelope filled with baby pics of Andy - it was awful! I couldn't help it and started sobbing - seriously... sobbing in front of everybody. I'm normally pretty emotional, but this was crazy! I look up, and my mom, my sisters, my grandma, my friend Leslie, Andy's mom, and various others are all either crying or misty-eyed too. Sorry, guys! Can't help myself!!
Andy says to me after the shower - I don't understand why she would give my baby pictures to you as a shower gift. I just started crying (again) and said "Because you're a guy. You don't understand because you're a guy. That was the best gift" He just rolled his eyes and hugged me a little. ...probably thinking "whatever! you guys are so weird!"

So anyway, we are doing great. The baby is measuring 35cm, which is a little long/ big. Dr Strzoda thinks it's because he's finally head-down and he's still stretched out. So we're going to wait until the next appointment (week 35, Nov 8) and see how he's doing then. She watched him kick my belly all over the place, and then when we got on the table to check his heartbeat, he calms right down and sits still for Dr Strzoda.... he knows who's the boss!! His heartbeat is good - still in 140-150 range, and he's kicking a ton!

The baby room is almost done - I got the lettering I hoped for from my aunt Becky as a shower gift. It says "Now I lay me down to sleep" so I/ we need to put that on the walls. She also found a template for a guitar and some stars, so those may be needed as well=) The Rockstar theme is coming together nicely- who woulda thought my husband would have a good idea?!

Anyway, we are doing great - and if I havent' seen you yet, I miss you. If I've seen you lately, you know my belly is getting big=)

Take care, love - Saudia