38 Week Update

I know, I know. I'm a little late in my updating. Just now getting around to editing my pictures. I'm 38 weeks and feeling ... well ... feeling like the end is near. After work, I'm just done. My back pain is still no fun, though I have learned to cope better with it. My feet and legs are rediculously swollen by the end of the day, and all I want to do when I get home is nap. Baby has dropped as low as it's going to drop and is engaged. The OB doesn't think I'll make it to my due date. We shall see. I'm getting more and more crampy and other pre-labour signs are definately here (I won't go into too many details because, well, it's just gross).

I thought I had finished all my growing, but apparently I was wrong. Here is my 38 week bump pic. Not sure if will be my last one, at least judging by the general consensus. I'm still betting on Baby Kurz being fashionably late.

Maternity Photo Shoot!

We finally got our photos back from our maternity photo shoot. My photographer commented at how small and cute I was. These were taken at 34 weeks and surprisingly enough, I think my belly has only grown another inch since then. There were so many to choose from, but I managed to narrow it down to my favourites. I plan on printing one or two of them to put up in the nursery, but I'm not sure which ones yet. Anyone want to help me decide?

NURSERY IS DONE! Warning, LOTS of Pictures Ahead!

It's done, it's done, it's done! The nursery is DONE!!!!! I'm so pleased with how it worked out. There are still a few minor details to take care of, like painting the ceiling, washing the stuffed animals, putting the rest of the books and toys in a basket, but these things can wait. Let me remind you of what the nursery looked like before.

The Guest Room "Before"

The Nursery "After"

My height chart is in place!

My hand-painted murals

(OK, so the flash makes this look beige, but I swear it's yellow)

My Book Collection on my new IKEA book ledge.

Some Classics, including my favourite book that I got when I was born "Mr. Gumpy's Outing"


I used the bumper as my valance on my window. I love that I can reverse it or change it up for the other bumper with the cute owl on it.


My "Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" and some shower gifts: A silver spoon and a crystal pacifier from Egypt. Thanks Auntie Jan!

I couldn't resist painting some cute bees around the light switch.

My beautiful Classic Winnie quilt.

I love my nursery. Now all I need is a baby to put in it! I hope Baby Kurz grows up to love Winnie the Pooh just like I always have!

36 Weeks Down, 4 To Go?

I just had my 36 week appointment and all is well. My blood pressure was 140/90, which is "borderline", but has become "normal" for me. The doctor isn't too worried as long as it doesn't spike, but in her words "it depends on how long you go". So here's hoping it doesn't spike, or I "go" early! The baby's heartbeat looks good at 151 bpm and my belly is measuring right on track at 36 cm. I had the courage today to ask the doctor if she had any predictions on how big this baby was going to be. She said because I was still "so small", that it would probably be an average sized baby of about 7 pounds. Then when I told her how much I weighed at birth (8 lbs, 14 oz), she revised her estimate and said, "maybe this baby will be a bit bigger since you were a big baby". So we will see. She also said the head was really low, yet the bum and feet are still way up in my ribs. I'm not a short woman, so the doctor predicts a TALL baby! This ought to be fun.

I'm guessing the doctor doesn't think I'll be going into labour any time soon because she gave me the go ahead to drive up North for May 24 weekend (as long as I'm not the one driving). So don't worry Mom, I'm not going to "pop" on the drive up. I'll ask again at my appointment next week just to be sure, but it looks like travel is still an option at this point (as long as my back holds out).

So here's my "small" bump. Apparently I still "don't look pregnant from behind" and am "soooo small". Well co-workers, friends and family, I certainly "feel" pregnant and definately don't "feel" small. If anyone knows some voodoo or has friends in high places, I'd appreciate you putting in a good word for my little one to get OFF MY NERVE! Owie kid, owie!

The funniest part of my appointment today was the doctor's comment as she was leaving. I guess she saw a peak of my sandaled feet and commented "your feet are puffy". No Shit Sherlock! I've had swelling on and off since 22 weeks, but now it's getting quite rediculous! If you don't believe me, have a look at my morning photo and my afternoon photo of my feet and legs. I feel like I'm smuggling softballs in my ankles! Ha ha ha. Not so funny when your legs feel like they're about to explode! This is one of many reasons why my new routine involves coming home from work to have a nap. 4 more weeks you say! This is going to be the longest month of my life!

"Before"

"After" Ha ha ha!

35/35!!!

Well, I'm 35 weeks and have less than 35 days to go! Holy cow! How did I get here? I feel like this pregnancy has been the strangest rollercoaster ride ever. They say that you feel like crap in the first trimester, feel great and have loads of energy during the "honeymoon phase" of second trimester, then it all starts to go downhill in third trimester. Well, it's sort of like that, only you have ups and downs and bumps along the way. I don't think I ever had that "honeymoon phase", but I certainly felt better than I did, or do now. Now, it seems like every time a new symptom or complaint crops up, something worse is yet to come. I thought my aching lower back was bad, then I got back spasms. Just when I thought the back spasms couldn't get worse, Baby K decided to sit on a nerve and now I can't remove the knife from my back. I have managed to find something to relieve the pain, at least temporarily. I will show you my magic formula for relieving back pain when you sit. Ready? Here it is:

That's right folks, a tennis ball. I keep this puppy in my purse so I can stick it behind my back when I drive. I pull it out to use at my chair at work. I bring this with me everywhere! It's surprising to me that as uncomfortable as leaning on a tennis ball is, it feels sooooooo much better than the stabbing, radiating, burning nerve pain my little one is causing me. This miracle cure will be with me in labour and delivery as well, you can rest assured.

In honour of my 35/35 milestone, here is my weekly bump picture. I took this last night on our way to our breastfeeding class. Boy I wish I had worn this dress all day. Had I known it was going to be 28 C and HUMID, I wouldn't have worn pants to work. Live and learn I suppose!

I have also started to work on some more baby shower thank you cards. I'm feeling the pressure to get them done, so instead of scrapbooking on Friday like I usually do, I'll be card making! Hey, paper crafting is paper crafting right? I love these ones I made using the stamps I bought on sale. I made 10 of them and still have another 15 or so to go. I have to mix up my cards, or I'll get bored. I don't know quite what my 3rd set of cards will look like, but I'll be sure to post them here!

Baby Shower

My SIL threw me a wonderful baby shower last week and I finally wrangled some pictures out of her to post on my blog. There were lots of friends and family and everyone was so very thoughtful and generous. We played a few games and ate and socialized and everyone had a fabulous time. This is me with my tiny bump that looks even smaller when I am sitting down.

Everyone had fun playing the "guess the size game". Most of the ladies guessed much too large. My mom made her guess based on the size of her own hips. Too big! My SILs BF won the booby prize because her guess was litterally TWO times too big! Two ladies came close, but there could be only one winner. My friend L was only 1 inch too small. She made her guess by going around her own belly and adding a little bit. It turned out to be a pretty good guess.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of my "baby gift train". My neice and nephew decided to help me with the gift opening by lining all the presents up in a big long line. Then they would move it all closer with each gift I opened. My neice was particularly efficient in helping me find the cards and tear appart the wrapping before I even had a chance to read who the gift was from. 4 year olds get really excited about opening gifts, even if they aren't their own.

My SIL made sure there were plenty of cakes and desserts for everyone. My MIL made her famous "cheese torte", and there was a whipped cream caked from her favourite bakery, and then there was the chocolate fudge cake from the grocery store by special request. Baby loves chocolate!