Rest and relax- oh no!

Well, my midwife has placed me on "modified bed rest" for blood pressures that continue to be high (but nicely responsive to laying down and resting- that always seems to help). That means no strenuous activities, and no out of the house activities that last more than an hour or so, and a minimum of 3 hour long lay downs per day.
Gaack! The prospect makes me cringe because the weather is so beautiful and I have such a strong impulse to keep everything ship shape around the house, I know I am going to go a little crazy. But, really I shouldn't complain, it's going to be so short and at least I can be up a little bit! The half a day I have already spent like this makes me appreciate my lovely Aunt Lucy and other women who have had to do REAL bedrest for EXTENDED periods of time- you ladies are so amazing.
Anyway, here's to healthy babies! If you want to come visit me or watch a movie with me or something, I am FREE ANYTIME! Hopefully this little bean will be born soon...

Midwife appt.

Well, it appears I have puffed up a bit more than is really good for me in the last couple weeks. I have had a lot of water weight gain in the last weeks and my face and hands are puffy, which can be associated with pregnancy induced hypertension. So far my blood pressure is a still a bit below the threshold where it becomes a real problem, and we're hoping a little rest, relaxation and baby coming out soon will solve it with no further intervention. I will be checking my blood pressure at home and having weekly appointments now. And no more working for me, which is honestly a wonderful blessing because my poor feet barely fit my flip flops after a day on my feet at work- painful!
So, my plan is to enjoy the weather with some leisurely walks, prepare some foods to freeze for when the baby comes, take naps and rest. I am rather enjoying the idea of every day being Saturday for a while, and hopefully that calm attitude will be just what my body needs.

Baby room

Sorry to those who have asked to see our new baby room via webcam, now that the computer is in the living room the cord won't stretch that far! So we made a mini tour video so you can kind of see it. THANKS to the Yost grandparents and everyone who gave us lovely gifts to get ready for her!

New photos

Here are a few more lovely pregnancy photos... we got the "real" ones today.
Tomorrow... crib delivery, and baby is officially FULL TERM!

36 weeks

Hey all! Officially less than a month to go until the due date, and only a week to go until baby is full term and really could be born anytime! I'm trying not to get too attached to that idea... probably she'll be on time or late, I'm guessing. We'll see.
This weekend we got the baby room all painted a beautiful fresh spring green, and once it stops smelling like paint we'll move everything back in there are be ready to go! The crib will come next week, and then it will really look like "the nursery". I'll post pictures once it's set up, it's very cute. So that leaves just ONE item on the baby to do list, which is to have our car seat safety checked, and that's ALL! Yippee!
We had some pregnancy photos taken this weekend, too... which was really fun. One of my nurse/mom friends Christina introduced me to a guy who is trying to start a photo business, so we got a great deal. He sent us a little sampler of the photos so that I wouldn't die waiting to see them, the final ones will come in a week or two, but I'll share the draft versions with you, I think they're pretty cute.

Centering

Today we went and saw the midwives at centering, had our "belly check" and some teaching with the group. It was good- it's fun to see everyone's bellies really getting big. I have been obsessed trying to figure out which way our baby is positioned in there... today we got reassurance that she is head down. It's just hard to believe because I feel lumps all over, and a lot of nudges in my side, only a few up high under my ribs. I guess she is pretty crunched over!
Other than that nothing new to report. I'll post pictures after this weekend of nursery set up with the Yosts.
Attached is a cute snuggly picture of me and Milo just for fun (how many more snuggly days does the poor kitty boy have until he is replaced? Not many...)

35 week update

Well, now I can officially say that I am due "next month". Maybe even sooner! Or later, who knows... (well, not later than next month hopefully :-) But it is really crazy that we are approaching the due time.
Last week we had a bit of a scare with a few too many contractions and had to spend an evening in the hospital, but everything turned out fine after a few hours in bed and lots of fluids. So now I am cutting back to 8 hour shifts at work and trying to create a rest time for myself each day. It's not all bad... I feel better working less. Ah well. So it goes.
Next weekend the Yosts will be here to paint the baby room, the crib will be delivered, and after that we will be officially ready to go. We are having some professional pregnancy pictures taken next weekend, too. That will be fun!
Thanks for checking in on us!