post #100

I am officially in countdown mode. As much as I do enjoy being pregnant and having this baby all to myself… and as much as labor and delivery still scare the crap out of me… I am at the point where I am counting down the days (32!) until my due date. My back hurts all day every day. I wake up several times during the night either out of discomfort or the constant need to pee. My maternity clothes, which were literally tents when I purchased some of them in March, are starting to feel too small. I was in so much pain on Tuesday that I actually considered that I might have been going into labor – which freaked me out. Due to this minor freak out (oh, and nothing was even wrong!) we decided we need to pack our hospital bag this weekend just in case. We’re also going to the police station so they can install our car seat base and explain the gibberish instructions to us… we’re not stupid, we just prefer to have it done right, the first time, by a professional… and the hospital recommends it.

Speaking of the hospital, we went on our tour of the maternity ward last night after work. First of all, the labor and delivery rooms are much larger than the rooms in the family care center (post-partum)… which was weird because you would think the post-partum rooms would be more accommodating to visitors. On the plus side, the labor and delivery rooms are really nice and large and have windows and are all private. Can you imagine going through labor with another patient sharing your room? Not happening. One of the nurses in the maternity ward ended up being a girl we went to high school (and me, to college) with. Not sure how I feel about that. Steve is comfortable with it and said he actually prefers having a nurse that we know… but he did acknowledge the fact that he isn't the one pushing a watermelon out of his body so he probably doesn’t understand where I’m coming from. Other than that, we learned a good amount of information about what our stay will be like and how to order food and where our family will wait for the news… now baby Ryan just needs to keep cooking a little while longer.

Earlier in my pregnancy I had read about how dogs can sense that you're pregnant and their behavior towards you may start to change (ie. being overprotective, etc)... we laughed that off because there was no way our dogs were sensing anything. Until now. Luke is literally attached to me at the hip (more like my knee or thigh, I guess) and follows me around from room to room every waking moment. He lays his head across my belly when we're on the couch and he snuggles up to me with these eyes that can only read: "please don't forget about me"... it's so sad. I've tried to give him extra cuddles lately because he seems a little distraught.

My dad is coming back October 3rd – I’m hoping she can hold on that long! I think she can do it. I predict an October 6th birthday (one week past my due date).

Watch me be WAY off.

birdie nursery!

With the exception of a few little details here and there... we are finally finished with the baby's nursery (and at exactly 35 weeks)!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kennedyrosey/NurseryPhotos

...beautiful

We have booked an amazing photographer to take portraits of the baby after she is born... we're [tentatively] scheduled for Friday, October 10th. If she decides to make an appearance significantly before her due date (lets hope not!) then we'll reschedule because the photographer prefers to shoot about 10-14 days after the birth. I can't wait - they're going to be adorable! Some of my favorites from her portfolio:

So cute!

my little olympian

I am obsessed with the Olympics. I'm like this every two years and I've been waiting for this all summer - I'll be so sad when it's over on the 24th. We stay up way past our bedtime every night to watch Michael Phelps and cross our fingers that baby Ryan loves something enough to go to the Olympics for it (preferably a winter sport - my vote is for skeleton racing)... or at least get a scholarship for college (for which skeleton racing would be too unique so I vote softball).

“Here's a good trick: Get a job as a judge at the Olympics. Then, if some guy sets a world record, pretend that you didn't see it and go, "Okay, is everybody ready to start now?".”

- Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

two whole years!

Happy second birthday to my little furry boy, Lukey Skywalker! When we adopted Lucas we had no idea what we were in for… we found him through a rescue league’s website when we were searching for boxer mix puppies and fell in love with his cute little face and brindle coloring. Turns out, he’s the most loving, passive, cuddly beast on Earth. With a sincere fondness for birds, bugs, baths, cereal and sleeping between us at night… he has without a doubt been a perfect addition to our little family. He’ll be around for years to come – even throughout Ryan’s childhood. Happy birthday, boy! Sorry you have an ear infection on your birthday – our birthday gift to you is the $123 in medication and ear cleaner that we paid for last night... so hows about a peanut butter-filled Kong?

P.S. My pregnancy brain caused us to miss our deluxe tour at the maternity ward on Sunday evening… stupid me – 6:15 not 6:45… but at least we got to spend a little while at Expo Design Center checking out the tiles for our backsplash. Very exciting – felt like I was on Spice Up My Kitchen.

honeydew!

Holy cow, I’m eight months pregnant. "Thirsty 33! She's guzzling about a pint of amniotic fluid a day… She’s the size of a honeydew! Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month." Cross your fingers that baby Ryan does just that – at my 32 week appointment the other day, the baby was still in a breech position. It’s nothing to worry about just yet, but if she is still breech at my 36 week appointment we’ll schedule another sonogram (to double check) and then an ECV (external cephalic version)… which means they will attempt to manually turn her by basically pushing and prodding her as hard as they can from the outside. Super uncomfortable but it has about a 50% success rate which would therefore (hopefully) eliminate the need for a c-section!

I am sitting out on our balcony and enjoying the beautiful weather right now. We’re waiting for the baby’s glider to be delivered and then we’re heading off to the pool! Later this afternoon, we’re picking up her crib and changing table and we will finally have everything for the nursery… finally. I need to spend some serious time organizing her clothes once I finish writing thank you notes for the shower.

Lockheed held a bizarre job fair at the Hyatt near our office this week – it was obviously specifically held so that people from our project could bring their resumes over there… but when you got there, a number of different contracting companies were conducting the interviews and collecting the resumes for Lockheed and they seemed to know very little about the project or federal HR in general. Every person I talked to walked away with a different experience but at least they have my resume. I would prefer to stay with my current company but we’ll have to see how things pan out after the baby is born. Besides, they still haven’t been able to give us a transition plan or end date yet – we could still be there for awhile.

Did I mention I love watching the Olympics??? Because I do. There’s a 14 year old on Great Britain’s platform diving team! 14! Ridiculous. I plan on catching some diving, swimming, gymnastics and what has been dubbed the ‘fastest man in the world’ in track and field.

work/life balance

The week is halfway over! In the middle of a week full of transition meetings, being swamped with work and working on my resume... we went out for a farewell lunch for Marie, the first of all of us to move on to bigger and much much better things. It makes me sad to think that in the next few months it's certain that we won't all be working together anymore... I don't like it! Not one bit. :(

P.S. Iceberry is my new addiction!
P.P.S. Ryan's glider is being delivered Saturday!

it's raining baby clothes

My shower was on Saturday and it was wonderful! I wasn't expecting it to be as great as it was but it was absolutely perfect - tons of friends and family in one place, tons of delicious food, adorable decorations, perfect weather and our baby girl will have enough clothes to last her for the next few years. People bought the most adorable outfits for her - I can't wait to dress her! I was just so happy that so many people were able to make it during the summer when everyone is on vacation... especially those that drove far (I love you, Taryn and Ashley!!) and all of my relatives and even friends from work. It was awesome. I was too busy to take photos but I am collecting some from my sister and others and will put them in my photo album - link to the right.

Right now, it looks like a bomb went off in the nursery. It's organized chaos - clothing made into piles according to size, a toiletries section, stuffed animals, blankets... I haven't had the energy to start putting things away in her dresser and closet just yet. First, I'll need to get some more hangers and then I'll need some more energy. Then, project organize the nursery can begin.

I am now 32 weeks (!) and my back hurts all the time and my feet hurt if I walk for too long (anything longer than 10 minutes is too long nowadays) and sleeping is a b-i-t-c-h. Once I fall asleep I'm fine (until the urge to pee wakes me up) but falling asleep is a task when there's a giant (I swear, she's huge) creature in your belly rolling around. She'll even wake Luke up if his head is resting near my midsection. Steve has to yank me out of the car and I must move so slowly and look so achy that he feels the need to hold my hand 24/7... which is cute. Still, I have to admit that I'm feeling pretty good this late in the game. Our tri-weekly visits to the pool help, too. It's a scary thought to think that she's due next month but we're getting used to the idea. Steve can't wait to walk her in her stroller (and what an awesome stroller it is) and have Christmas with her and dress her in her new Redskins cheerleader outfit and plop her on the couch next to him on Sunday afternoons... unfortunately, my daughter has already been dubbed a Redskins fan. This certainly wasn't my first choice (although it's hard being a Chiefs fan on the East Coast - hell, it's hard being a Chiefs fan period) but she is being born here... and it could have been worse. What if we lived in Dallas? I shudder at the thought.