Happy Halloween!

Week 36 brings all tricks and no treats. I officially have cankles, my back is sore, and I waddle. At least I have chocolate to satisfy my sweet tooth! Okay, some treats are involved.

We had our 36 week appointment late Friday afternoon, so we scooted from work early and ended up in Williston by 4pm. We're measuring 1 cm less than our last appt so apparently the baby is dropping a bit! She's kicking more and more to make her way down, that's for sure. We also found out I tested positive for Group B Strep, which is nothing serious and just means that I am a carrier of this kind of bacteria. Apparently 20% of women are carriers and it's usually passed on by the Mom. What does this mean? I'll be given antibiotics via IV when labor begins. We also met with only midwife we hadn't met yet. All the woman in the Midwife practice are super nice and I know we'll be in good hands when labor and delivery time comes.

Before the appointment Tim surprised me with a gift certificate to have a prental massage at the Oasis Day Spa. Oh la la, is right! We also treated ourselves to dinner and a movie afterward. I highly recommend "This is It" the Michael Jackson movie. Great dancing and tunes! By the way, I think we were the youngest people in the restaurant at 5pm.

No dress up for me this year, but Tim is heading out dressed as Kool-aid Man. A trip to Salvation Army and a quick art project by me, and he's set. He'll probably be leaving as I head to bed :-) Hmm, what will Miss Proctor be next year? A lady bug? a bee? We've seen some cute costumes this year!

Happy Halloween! I'll post pics of the belly soon. I think this picture is scary enough :-)

Thanksgiving Came Early!

Our Vermont friends treated us to an early Thanksgiving feast yesterday! Hosted at Lauren and Rikker's house, we met up with the crew and had scrumptious turkey and ham with sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, salad, and stuffing. Dessert was pumpkin pie, apple pie, cake and brownies. Yum-mmmy....Seriously, all baby showers should include a dinner this awesome, especially when you're at risk of missing one of the best holidays of the year.

Hot pink and lime green were scattered all over the place - flowers, balloons, and even the paint for the adorable onesies painted by guests. The favors were seeds to be planted in the spring! I think Katie and Lauren really thought of everything!!

One of my favorite touches was that everyone brought their favorite childhood book inscribed in lieu of a greeting card. What a way to be eco-friendly and share our favorite titles! Our peanut will be a reading whiz by 6 months.

The generosity and thoughtfulness exhibited by our friends is truly awesome. We continuously feel blessed and very lucky and we can't wait for everyone to meet Little Miss Proctor. Good thing they're good cooks, too!

35/35

That would mean 35 weeks and 35 days to go! I know, I know....it's crazy. What's crazier? We have two weeks until 37 which is the date where they are usually not too concerned about going into labor.

We had an appointment last night and our midwife confirmed that, after my internal exam, my cervix is thinning and her head is down. Our little peanut is hopefully just as anxious to meet us as we are to meet her! And, hopefully she'll stay put!

Our birth class met at the hospital today and did an abbreviated tour of the hospital. Because of all the flu and H1N1 stuff going off they are not taking any chances. They are not allowing tours, nor more than two visitors per patient. What does this mean? Tim and most likely my Mom (if she can get here on time!) will be our two visitors. No one else is allowed to visit the hospital. at. all. We walked the walk to the seventh floor of Fletcher Allen, peeked into the labor and delivery center, gazed into the window of the NICU, and chatted with the nurse in-charge. The babies in the NICU were so tiny!

So, at least we know where to go when labor starts. We're going to work on our birth plan, or "wishes" as they call them. We'll be prepared as much as we can, but let nature take it's course and expect the unexpected. With all of our education we'll make as many informed decisions as necessary - but hopefully not for another 35 days!

Maternity pictures!

In addition to our fabulous shower this weekend, we had the opportunity to be subjects for two different photographers. On Saturday we met up with Carly, of Carly Murray Photography at Mill Creek Park in South Portland, Maine. The beautiful start to the day led to some gorgeous pictures, if I may say so. While pond was drained and left a muddy mess, she used the other earthy surroundings to her advantage. The gazebo, the bridge, the rose garden - all of these places hold a certain place in my heart as one of the "things-to-look-forward-to" as a youngster is to take prom pictures in the park. The location held to its romantic lure as you look through her sneak peak on her blog. I can't wait to see all the others!

I'll let y'all know when our second photographer has posted a sneak peak. These were taken in a studio and are a bit more skin revealing. We'll see if I'm brave enough to post them here :-)

I feel loved

There are moments in life that truly make you stop and assess your fortunes. Yesterday was certainly one of them. I am always amazed by the love and generosity of our immediate and extended families and friends. We have been so lucky to surround ourselves with such wonderful people that I often think, "do I really deserve this?" When asked how the shower was, I responded such sentiments and my good friend replied, "Good people attract good people." In a nutshell, I'll take that as one the highest compliments because our little peanut could feel the love and she's not even born yet!

After our morning photo session, we headed out to Falmouth where 40 or so of my favorite gals were waiting anxiously to greet Tim and me - and really prime viewing of the baby belly. Tim and his Dad scurried off for their own teaching session while I settled in said hi to everyone. My pink clothespin was quickly taken away to which I don't think I ever got back. The game was whenever someone said "baby", your clothespin was snatched and whomever had the most at the end won a small gift. I believe the winner was my cousin, Ida, who didn't chat too much but had a good ear. She had 11 clothespins!

We had a fabulous lunch of Lobster Rolls, fruit salad served in a stroller shaped watermelon, wraps, biscuits with chicken salad, and so much more. And, of course I stayed away from the mimosa's, but certainly helped myself to cake made by the Eurpean Bakery. All was very, very yummy!

Miss Peanut's gifts were a wide variety of the key registry items (the car seat), very appropriate items from the gift giver (Nike booties from an Athletic Director), very appropriate items for Mom and Dad (a onesie that says, "Green is the new Black"), and very sentimental items. Let me explain the latter.

Gwen, Tim's Dad's fiancee, had wrapped two small boxes and had written notes on both. The first was for the future Red Sox fan and was a cute little Sox beanie cap. (BTW, Red Sox was a popular theme throughout the day - shocking, I know). The second box, to which I suspected incorrectly to be similar, turned out to be mittens and a hat knitted by Tim's Mom, who is no longer with us. After reading the note, I immediately teared up, opened the box and just lost my breath. No one really knew what was going on until Gwen was kind enough to explain. I just couldn't talk. Apparently, Gwen and Tim's Dad found them in a closet to which they have now found a new home. Let's just say the box of tissues made it's way full circle.

As we wrapped up the day, Gwen asked to gather all the Mom's together and recited beautiful words about being a Mom. Again, the tissues made their way around.

Unfortunately, I was not able to take pictures and am waiting for everyone to send me theirs. You'll have to stay tuned!

It was a beautiful day to spend a few hours with awesome ladies. To see friends I hadn't seen in a very long time because of distance; to see a beautiful two-week old little girl - whose Mom looks fabulous; to hear about engagements, newlywed happenings, veteren expectant Moms AND first time expectant Moms; to see my aunts, cousins, sister-in-laws, and of course to see my own Mom get teary eyed about her first granddaughter.

Oh, and thank you all for telling me I look fabulous despite my swollen legs, aching back, and stuffy nose...I truly feel loved.

Zingers...

We had our 33 week and 4 day appointment on Monday. All went well - we measured right on at 34 cm, still gaining an appropriate amount of weight, heard a nice heartbeat, blood pressure was perfect, and has lots of questions answered.

This past week I've felt some significant pressure in the cervix area....when our Mid Wife explained it as a zing, I realized that's exactly what it was! It almost feels like she's going to "fall out" at any time. She assured me it was normal :-) So now, I'm having more frequent zingers! They definitely catch my breath, but thankfully only last a few seconds.

Oh, and I did get my flu shot. The H1N1 is not available yet, but I most likely will get it when it is. So hopefully the baby and I are protected against getting sick this winter.

Stats

Want to know the nitty gritty of how things are going? Here's a snap shot!

How far along? 33 weeks 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: me: 27 pounds, Tim: 8 lbs (he says it's sympathy weight)
Maternity clothes? Oh yes......I need some warm ones!
Stretch marks? No – thank the little baby Jesus. And, Alba lotion....
Sleep: As long as I have three pillows - one for my belly, one for my back, and one in between my knees, I'm only up one or two times to pee, so I'd say I'm doing alright.
Best moment this week: Baby related - figuring out that the baby was hiccuping and not kicking! Non-baby related - when I got the call that an applicant accepted my offer for a supervisor position at work. The pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place!
Movement: like a gymnast and soccer player combined
Food cravings: Ice cream (wait, that's not really a craving, that's a necessity!)
Gender: A Miss Peanut
Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks are not my friend, but no real labor signs
Belly Button in or out? halfway out... :-)
What I miss: Sushi and beer
What I am looking forward to: uh, see above. And, of course meeting our girl. And margarita's - Jen's recipe, please!
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy each moment, because in 48 days, our world will be upside down.
Milestones: I officially can't tie my shoes without help; my HR director told me I waddled - and then I flipper her off (jokingly of course, good thing VTB is a pretty relaxed environment); and three nightly trips to the bathroom instead of one.

It's October....

...which means next month is November....which means our peanut is due next month. Oh. My. Goodness.

We had our first Birthing Class this past Thursday. I think it's going to be a fun group! The group has about 9 couples all first time parents with out a clue. :-) I'm in good company. Some of the information might be redundant from our prenatal classes, and it will be nice to meet some new people and potentially have some future playmates for the little one.

Here's our 32 week, 2 day belly pic!



We're enjoying a fairly low key weekend filled with relaxing, errands, and a friend's wedding. Im sure one of the last not-so-crazy weekends of my life :-)