39 weeks

This was my last week in the office.  And my last week of commuting and being a loop worker.  I have been working downtown for ages, it was really weird on Friday to have that part of my life ending. I had a phenominal (if I do say so myself) performance review this week so I guess at least I am ending it on such a positive note... but we will see how things go in September.

Almost every day this week a stranger told me I look like I am going to pop.  Gee, thanks! But honestly, I don't see how there can be any more room for the little one.  My belly button cannot stretch even the tiniest bit more at this point.

So that is about all I have to say about this week.  39 weeks and pretty much ready to be done with pregnancy.  Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed this experience but right now I feel more like I am just waiting than anything.  Waiting isn't necessarily something I do well... I like to keep moving, get to the next point.  So, I am trying to keep positive that this might be the week.

38 weeks

Still preggo.  Getting more comments from strangers every week - usually middle aged men, always pretty nice.  No random strangers have touched my belly and I am glad. 

I have been busier than ever at work with people trying to squeeze business cases and community launches and whatever they can get out of me before my leave starts.  The fact that little is transitioned because I am busy trying to finish up these items causes more work related stress than I was expecting to have at this point.

Sweet tooth is out of control (old fashioned glazed donuts, brownies, ice cream, berries are my favorite selections this week).  Have been nesting (folding diapers at 11pm counts as nesting I assume).  The famous Braxton Hicks appeared at the end of week 37 - Thursday evening they started and have been going ever since. My belly is so big and low that it is hard to sit very lady like or comfortably... And it is increasingly hard to get dressed causing at least one break down about wanting to wear normal clothes again.  At least it seems as though my growth has slowed down, my weight has gone up and down with the same 2 lbs in the past three weeks.

The thought of still being pregnant July 18th (the date my OB would induce if still preggo at that point) makes me a very pessimistic one with thoughts about how those practice contractions mean nothing and can go on for weeks at this point.  But that negative attitude certainly wasn't helped with the heat last week- holy grossness, it was 95-98 degrees the day we snapped this photo.  

So... any time you are ready, baby. 

At least we got to spend the weekend with Dan... that was a nice last minute visit.  The whole family missed him and was in need of the visit.  Granted, the visit was filled with packing and getting ready for the move but that makes for quality time.

37 weeks

And the baby is officially full term.  Let the waiting game begin!  They say the baby can hear you, so I might start telling it every so often that it is time to join the world and time to learn google calendar so we can find a date that works for all three of us.

Still feeling good overall but I am definitely hitting limits that I would have found comical in the past - I can't believe how a long walk can completely wear me out.  Mentally checked out of work but hanging in there for two more weeks and I will then work from home... which might be more trying than being in the office. 

Oh and my clothes have hit limits too... it is the most frustrating thing to have to keep pulling your shorts up and your shirt down so that you aren't exposing your enormous baby-house-belly (Ray, is that a better fit than bump!?)!  If they put pockets in dresses I would be set (need pockets for keys and bags on dog walks- come on clothing designers, think usability!).

I am getting asked a bazillion times a day (slight exaggeration) when my due date is... one middle aged guy told me he didn't think I would make it that long.  At this point I am game for a June arrival so I let that one slide.  Dan asks me everyday if I am having contractions.

This weekend I packed a couple of boxes and chuckled when I remembered that back when we moved into this place I was in the first part of the second trimester and commented on how glad I was that we moved before it got any later in the pregnancy... and here we are, packing with a much bigger belly.  But I am okay with that.  In fact I am completely ready to get to the point where the truck is being loaded as I am ready to start our northeast adventures.

It has felt like this pregnancy has completely flown by.  But when looking back to when we first found out and various milestones like the 20 week ultrasound - we have come a long ways.  While I know I very likely have at least several weeks left it seems appropriate due to the full term milestone to talk about it now,  this pregnancy has truly been a great experience.  It has been very positive and healthy- I couldn't ask for a better first pregnancy.  I am happy that Dan and I waited until we were ready to have a family and that we have had so many great experiences together as just a couple with dogs.  Our life is already forever changed but I think we are ready for what is next.  It will be fun... there will be trying times and mistakes for sure but I believe there will be a whole lot of good times in this parenting adventure we are about to embark on.  Once we get past this final waiting period.

A Belize Vacation Story...

Last December we decided that we should do a last vacation just the two of us.  We have gone on a lot of trips together and are excited to take the kid, but one last travel adventure as just the two of us seemed appropriate.  We settled on Belize, because it is a relatively short fight, March is a good time to go somewhere warm, and I love Central America.  France is neat, but Central America is far more relaxing. Its one of those countries that would be really easy to bring kids and we said that quite often during our trip. 

When we planned our trip we decided to include an overnight layover in Miami.  We have never been there except to go through the airport and it ended up being a fun way to get a glimpse of another place.  We stayed on Ocean Drive in South Beach, walked off the main drag into the neighborhood to find a more local type of spot for my birthday dinner, and the next morning strolled along the beach.

After our morning at South Beach, we flew in to Belize City and, as usual Dan & Tara trips, rented a little SUV.  I was prepared this time, I purchased a Garmin eTrex with the map of Belize.  This new Garmin used both GPS and GLONASS satellites, for a far more accurate signal than just the basic GPS.

Our first stop was an Eco-Resort deep in the forest.  Getting there involved driving on a road made up of boulders....for 6 miles....doing between 2 and 20 mph...mostly 5mph.  We thought the little SUV was going to fall apart with all the rattling, but she held together...even getting me in trouble for going too fast and passing a resort van.  Tara never complained so obviously they were going too slow.

The best part of this lodge was the dining....or the location...or the serenity.  The dinners were done communal table style, where they would assign seats and rotate everyone around.  We met people from all over the place and actually talked to them!  That's very un-Dan&Tara-like.  One of my favorite times was Tara and I reading our Kindles (both reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) sitting on the Yoga studio overlooking the water.  Her drinking her Orange Fanta and me drinking Belikin, the local beer.  The lodge was one of our favorite places we have stayed to date.

One of the benefits to having our own SUV was the ability to leave the resort on our own and explore the country on our own terms.  One of our favorites was visiting the ruins.  We were in complete awe of them.  They towered over the landscape and after hiking all the way up we found them truly remarkable that without the construction tools of today they were able to construct something that beautiful that remains even today from these ancient civilization.

After a few days of exploring the area and the lodge we headed back to Belize City.  Unfortunately there wasn't a Hertz drop off location where we needed to go, so we headed back to the airport and jumped on a local puddle jumper plane to take us across the country to a small town.  Our next stop was a private island 9 miles off the coast near the second largest barrier reef in the world.  In order to get there, we had to take a boat which was relaxing, even at 40 miles an hour.

Having your own island resort only shared with the staff and a few other visitors was something we can get used to.  We spent hours each day sitting on the hammock and beach chairs reading our kindles, and taking pictures of the hermit crabs.  The island was filled with them and little Geckos. 

The package we went with included two guided snorkel tours.  These were amazing!  Tara and I jumped in and were all over the reef.  The guide would point out different fish and I would dive down and take lots of pictures with my fancy new waterproof camera.  Of course a pregnant woman snorkeling is a sight on its own. :)  This was the best snorkeling we have done to date- we saw so many different species, including three different kinds of rays.

Our nights were filled with relaxing on our private cabana deck sitting in hammocks.  We parted from the island on the boat and picked up the puddle jumper to the airport then our main flight back to the states.  Another nice thing about Central America....no 8 hour time difference. 

We felt truly at peace the whole time we were in Belize.  It was an amazing experience and we intend to go back to this beautiful country.

36 weeks

This week we installed the car seat and went to the labor and delivery class at the hospital.  That class and my 36 week doctor appointment confirmed that it was an excellent decision to stay put for delivery and that I ended up finding an awesome doctor.  The class was pretty good and informative... it definitely helped make all of this real for Daniel.  It might have freaked him out a little bit but I appreciated that he now was ready to talk about some of the decisions that I needed to talk through with him for the big day.  The video of them putting in an epidural did nothing to make me more comfortable with it... I think I am more freaked out by the epidural than the actual delivery aspect.  Anyways.

The dogs and I have been on a steady walk routine.  20+ minute walks three times a day and I also have my commute and lunch time walks.  The walking feels good and hopefully baby is getting the hint that eviction notice time is going to be coming soon.  I am still walking at near my usual pace - had a couple of comments this week from coworkers on how fast I am walking around the office... what they don't see is how hard it is getting to focus on work while at my desk.  Oy.

I have moved on from the "but you don't even look pregnant yet" and "you are so tiny" comments to the "due any day now I see" and "how are the twins".  Great.   At least my doctor was nice to me this week by saying that it is all baby.  And I hadn't gained any weight since my 34 week appt.  Dr also is guessing that the kid will be in the low 7 lb range.  That works for me.

The kid is still very active and definitely has some patterns.  I am still sleeping pretty good.  I do wake up more often, probably between 2-4 times, but I almost immediately fall back asleep... I think the nightlight in the bathroom helps as I don't turn on any lights so basically am sleep walking.  My biggest complaints these days center around not know when this kid will arrive (drives me nuts), that my face spots instead of tanning, and that my lower back gets tired.

After hearing about the nesting thing at the class, Dan decided that I have started nesting.  I still will leave the sink full of dishes and clothes to be folded can sit forever (especially with Dan not here to be the cleaning boss...).  But I have gotten pretty preoccupied with making sure we have everything we need.  A final order of the basics has been placed and I spent way to much time thinking through what we have and what we need for baby's first weeks before placing that order.  Knowing that we are moving and thus I can't set up a nursery or stock the freezer with meals has me redirecting that to the things that I can do... like order more diapers.

We are getting there... bit by bit. 

She & Him ~ Midwest & Northeast via Text

What is a couple that is accostomed to spending time together every day to do when in different regions of the country?  Text message of course. 

The first was the dogs after I came home with no Daniel that first night...

Then we continued to texted photos of our day...

These are all from the first week Dan was out there.  Smartphones are fun.

East Coast Boy....MidWest Girl

When an offer came in for me to work in the New York area for a large consulting company at their client, a large regulated electric utility, we knew it was going to be a huge step for my career but with it comes a lot of stress.  We have always had an understanding that if either of us gets a great job out of state we would go.  Instantly Tara was excited and anxious to move, but with a kid on the way the timing would have to be thought out more.  We decided to send me out there and get an apartment for 6 months.  When the kid is on its way, I’d jump on a plane and get to the hospital, which there are plenty of flights.  Deciding on a temporary apartment was a smart idea, as apartment searching in Manhattan is a challenge and even more so from Chicago. 

As it was the 29th of May, the odds of finding an apartment for June was slim.  By some miracle Tara found a place online that seemed like it might work for stepping stone apartment and I contacted them immediately.  They had one unit left, a one bedroom on the top floor.  Figuring the building was just over a year old, I sent in the application and once approved I paid the deposit and first months rent without even seeing the unit.  After work I checked out of the hotel, rented a car, headed down to the new apartment and was pleasantly surprised.  It is really nice. 

Next stop was to raid Target for everything from an air mattress to sleep on to laundry detergent to a plastic plate and cheap silverware I was set.  Living apart has its challenges, like making sure you call your wife enough and not having her keen sense of direction you find yourself relying on GPS more.  The apartment I call home is right near a train station in a cute small town in New Jersey with plenty of bars and decent restaurants.  The apartment is about a year old, it has a gym and indoor parking, and is across the street from a running path that hugs a stream and takes you to a large park.  It takes me 30 min to get to my office in Newark and it’s about 45 minutes from NYC.  With my Kindle, I have plenty of time in the day to read during my commute and I even find myself reading at restaurants while I drink a bourbon or two and eat dinner.  Currently, I am keeping my cell phone on me all the time in anticipation of the call to get on the plane. 

Overall we are really excited to see how we adjust to the life out here.  While living in Chicago was great, we were ready for a change, but not ready for a suburb yet.  Our plan is to move to Manhattan at the end of the 6 months and see what adventures await us.  Stay tuned for even bigger news…