Saturday, July 25, 2009

A Few More Shower Pics

I don't want to go into all the detail of everything gotten and such but I thought I would add a few pictures from the showers:

River shower. Susan threw this shower on July 3rd with all the Mann Clan women and a few others from the neighborhood.This shower was at Deb's house hosted by Deb, Melody and Libby. It was mostly for the Langdon side of the family and some of my in town friends. This was a cute shirt Melody got us with a Godzilla on it. It also came with matching plaid boardshorts. He is already so trendy :)


My work shower at La Shish! They made hand painted onesies and played plenty of games! We got a swing and an assortment of other things from the registry.Yummy shower cake from Sara at work. She copied the nursery theme...and it was DELICIOUS...I love working with creative people :)

Movin on down....

Well we had our 37 week appointment Friday. It was short and sweet. I took Dr. Seidel a picture of my belly from the 4th of July. I think I made his day :). Anyway, he felt around on my belly and said he has definitely dropped. He was feeling really low under my bulge and said he could feel his little neck right above my pelvis...so his head fits! YAY! He said that just saved me a few hours of labor :). He also seems face down...but technically all this could change...but it would hurt if that happened. I also am measuring back down to 36 weeks...so he definitely has gone down :). I can't tell much of a difference really. My belly button has gone back in now and if I have to sit up for long, I can feel little hands or elbows in my upper thighs. He is still really active and sometimes it takes my breath away. We determined that sometimes he streches out his legs and his butt goes down one side....and I feel like my ribs are going to snap. I think it just scares me more than anything.

The one down is that I officially have a consistent prego pain. The top of my belly hurts like a really bad bruise and then when I touch the skin, it feels numb. I asked the Dr. about it and apparently it is just the muscles have been pulling down and then it is pulling nerves as well. So they are stretched and hurting and then the numbness is because the skin level has redistributed in a sense. It sucks and nothing seems to help. I keep thinking it is my bra digging in but removing that does nothing. I think it is just plain ole gravity irritating it...but no. I go home and lay down and still nothing. O well. I am in the short rows...and it should all be over soon. I get "checked" starting next week to see if anything is going on down there.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Dear Thumper: Week 37

Dear Thumper,

You are all grown up now! Now you are just packin on the pounds...welcome to mommy's world :). You really are so big. My belly is like a rock...until you start your evening aerobics and try to fight your way out Alien style. I know it is cramped in there, but it will be over soon I promise. Tomorrow we go to see the Dr. Last week you were head down and growing like a big boy. He guessed you were around 6 lbs so far. I know you have gained this week too.

We have now finished our marathon of showers. You have all kinds of stuff. The girls at work made you personalized onesies! They are so cute and you will be adorable in them. You room is all done and all your clothes put away. Your seat is in the car, our bags are packed and now we are just waiting on you.

Daddy is giddy to meet you and I am ready to see my little prize fighter :)

We love you!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Monday, July 20, 2009

Reality Check!

The milk in the fridge will expire AFTER the baby is here...weird....

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Art Projects!

Well the 2 main art projects are done! Hooray! Here ya go:

Project 1: Picture frame wall to learn friends and family faces. It was tough picking pictures. We have a lot of family and friends...but I had to make some decisions. I obviously was going to do parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. Past that point, I tried to pick people he will most likely see a lot of. Also since Kevin and I are only children, he will have no aunts or uncles...so we have honorary ones. Michele is basically like my sister...so she got the one non family placement. Sarah and Rebecca grew up like sisters to Kevin...so they are Aunts. Aly is the "junior godmother"/Aunt along with her sister Rachel. Brooke and Blaire are the other cousins in town, so they got on the list. Then Kevin's uncles and aunts are always at the river and around town...so they got the last places. It also was determined if I had or could get a nice picture of the people/person :) Also Jack and Scout are always important! Now who will get peed on first :)


To recreate this, I bought craft frames at Michael's for $1 a piece. Then I painted them and hung them...voila!
Project 2: Now I mentioned this one before. I started with the idea for a mural...but quite a few things threw that out. A) I didn't have a projector to make it big enough on the wall because the room isn't very long. B) I can't paint and would have to get someone to do it for me. C) If we move, I would have lost it all. D) Laziness. Anyway, talking with my designer friends at work, I decided to do large prints. I could take them with me, I could do all the work myself, and then have pictures frames to refill later when we change his room. So I decided to mimic the pattern on the bedding with making his initials. Now we aren't letting you see the first one :) So I photoshopped it out for now! I also learned a lot about letter placement and photoshop on my journey!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Dear Thumper: Week 36

Dear Thumper,
Hi! Mommy again. I realized I haven’t explained one of your nick names. Your Uncle Walter has dubbed you MOTF or Mann of the Future. The family is very excited to see you! Well I just wanted to get that out so you know…I have a feeling it will stick around for a little while. You even have an insurance policy in that name for now. So there ya go…MOTF…get used to it.

So people are always asking me if you are moving and some ask if they can feel you especially when I touch my belly in public. People like feeling you move and watching you move. Daddy still gets big eyes and super excited when you react to him fluttering his fingers. But I get to feel you all the time…inside and out like no one else. There is something very private about this part of pregnancy and by far my favorite part. No amount of heartburn or general hugeness can take that away. We play tag and sometimes you punch me in the ribs..but it is our special time. I am a little sad to know that I have less than 4 weeks left like this before I have to share you with everyone. I can’t tell you how much I love you…even though I have never seen you.

Ok now mommy made herself cry at work…not a wise option. See you soon!

Love,
Mommy

Friday, July 10, 2009

Gettin bigger...

Yeah so I am plumpin up. Poor kid has no room to move. It is quite pitiful. When I awoke on Wednesday morning, I noticed I had an innie and my belly was more down and toward the middle. Not a HUGE difference but I can tell. As the day went on, the belly button went back out but he definitely feels lower. If I move a lot, I get an uncomfortable sensation in the netherregions. So I assume it is him moving his head around. I had my 35 weeks appointment Thursday and all is well. I had the Group B Strep test. Took 3 seconds...so no real excitement there. I will start weekly appointments now. So far it looks like I have been gaining barely a pound every 2 weeks...which seems odd but I figure my body knows what it is doing.

On another note, the Mann clan had a shower for me at the River over vacation. I racked up some sweet swag including our stroller and 2 trash cans! Niral sent us our other pack and play in the main, and Richard and Cathy sent the bouncy seat you can hook your ipod into! Ha...gotta love technology. It was a low key shower and very nice...I loved all the registry buys! I have another shower this coming Sunday with the Langdons and some other family friend's from Kevin's side. Mom is coming into town for it as well and we are going to Mommy/Daughter spaing tomorrow. I am getting a prenatal massage! YAY!

Well that is about it. I am finishing up the nursery and will take a video tour of it when complete(btw...we got a new video camera!).

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Breastfeeding: A Journey into the Unknown

So here is my obligatory post of the fears of breastfeeding. Ok maybe not “fears” but “concerns”. This may be kinda scattered brained but stick with me.

First I will answer the question of why I am choosing to breastfeed. No one has actually asked me this but I figured it would be a good place to start. Besides all the health benefits, I feel as though your boobs make this junk for a reason right? So why not use it! Also I can make it part of my lifestyle. I am not a shy person or super modest person, so whipping out a boob in public doesn’t really concern me. Plus they make tons of gear to combat that problem. I work in a place who supports it for me to feed at lunch times and be flexible about my hours to work around it. I also feel the bonding of breastfeeding is great….or at least from what I read. Something about the natural process and snuggling seems to be beneficial.

Now, with a new challenge come new concerns. I have now read and listened to enough podcasts that I know it ain’t easy. The resounding comment I hear is “I thought it would just come naturally”. Then these women go on to explain the extreme pain and frustration they had with it. Also you need to start off with a positive mind set. If you say “I will do it unless it hurts”, you are setting yourself up for failure. Not all babies come out knowing EXACTLY what to do…you learn together. So I am trying to load my mind with as many tips and tricks as I can so I can maybe lessen the frustrations on me, the baby, and Kevin for that matter. I have already found out about the lactation consultations at work and our insurance will pay for 1 in-home consult from a professional. I have found the local Le Leche League group and they have seminars on Fridays in Cary for free. I have enlisted a “breastfeeding partner” through a system at work (Hi Jen!). All of this, and I still know I will be a goofy mess trying to figure this out. But I am stating here, that I am in this for the long haul. I know there are humps to get over and I am prepared for them! But for the record, I am a little scared ☺

Dear Thumper: Week 34

Dear Thumper,

Hey little fella. Guess what? We are on VACATION! I am up watching the doggies and thought I would write you a little note. This week has been another for firsts. We went on 2 boat rides! Daddy was worried about you getting too bumped around…I call it “conditioning”. We went out with the family to take the kids tubing. We rode up front and just watched of course. You seemed to like it because you were moving around. We also have been floating in the water. We figured you would like that. It was really wavy, so it probably put you to sleep. It felt really nice on a 97 degree day. Daddy tied us to the back of the sailboat so we wouldn’t float away…he is really nice like that. He is very excited to see you soon. We washed a lot of your clothes last week and I think he got even more excited when he helped fold them. We seem to have the essentials for you, so it would be ok if you came a little early. I want you to grow some more though. Dr. Seidel is guessing you will be 8 lbs! A good healthy baby. Next week we will get back to the pool. I know you like that. Mommy starts underwater kickboxing next week! Well see you soon little guy!

Love, Mommy

P.S. We think you have a name…but we aren’t telling just yet :)