Almost Due

Here I am at 39.5 weeks. Our little Hessling is due this coming Thursday.

I think I look tired in this picture. That's because I really do need to go and take a nap. I got about 5 hours of sleep last night. I was awake for about 2 hours in the early morning. This seems to be a new habit of my body. I would like to get one more full nights sleep before the baby arrives. But, in the meantime, I will be enjoying my afternoon naps!

Pregnancy Randomness

Today I substituted for the last time this year. I figure since tomorrow is a week until the due date, now is a good time to stop. Subbing has been a good experience for me. (That has been due, in large part, to the two schools I limited myself to.) Today I subbed at the school where I was a long-term Kindergarten sub before Christmas. It was fun to eat lunch with the teachers again and catch up. And you know, I really like the attention that comes with being pregnant. It makes me feel so special.

A sister of one of those Kindergarteners (and a student who was in one of the classes I subbed in) told me she'd be a willing baby-sitter, if ever I need one. And you know what? She's some one I'd thought of already. Aside from being one of the nicest girls, she also lives about 2 blocks from us and has baby-sitting experience. This might work out very nicely!

Yesterday I had 3 fun conversations with 3 different women, and all the conversations began because they commented on or ask about my pregnancy. I love this about being pregnant. I didn't like the random guy who struck up a conversation on the bus the other day, however. That was awkward.

If I was giving a prize to the first stranger who touched my belly it would go to a little boy at the post office. It took me off-guard, but I was okay with it. I can handle children touching my belly.

I can hardly believe there is a little person inside me that would live just fine if he was born now.

We still need to put the car seat base in the car.

Nursery Tour

Welcome to our vintage nursery! Would you like a tour? Here you go...

Closet door and some little shelves. (No, we aren't having a girl, but that little white dress is just too cute to put away.)
And moving on to the right, the view when you first walk in the room.This is the view opposite the window. You can see the shelves Dan hung today. That changing table is the one Dan's diapers were changed on...like father, like son, I suppose. (And just as an interesting side note, the changing table was purchased with green stamps and used for 3 of Dan's cousins and his 3 nieces and nephews, as well!)
And now for a few close-ups...

First we have some pillows made with vintage linens.
A close-up of the book shelf which contains some toys as well.
And I just had to show you my first pair of shoes!
This is a shelf which belonged to my paternal grandmother. Aside from some practical things on it, there are a few vintage decorations.

Some old books I found along with Dan's first pair of baby shoes. Our baby is bound to have blond or red hair, so I thought these were fitting!
A small cup which belonged to my paternal grandfather. It says "baby" on it.
And a knit sweater, cap and bootie set that were Dan's.
Here's that vintage changing table again. Filled with diapers and other necessities. See that pot on the top?

It's an old potty! (I cleaned it out and wiped it with alcohol, so don't be grossed out!)
And we can't forget blankets. The bright one in the front is the Amish-style baby quilt Dan's mom made. I'll have to show it completely in another post - it's beautiful.
And some receiving blankets and burp cloths, all ready for use beside the rocking chair.
Oh, and here are my hospital bags. Kind of looks like I'm going to the beach...

Now all we need is BABY!

Pregnancy

I've been pondering my pregnancy these days. I'm near the end, and I have yet to get to the point where I am sick of being pregnant. It seems to be something most pregnant women experience, and I'm still waiting for it to happen for me. Perhaps that means I have a while to go yet... Either way, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about my pregnancy experience.

I have really enjoyed being pregnant. Physically, I've felt great most of the time. I had about 4 days of nausea early on and a few days when I liked the smell of tomatoes even less than normal (Unfortunately, it happened to be tomato canning season during that time). I was not working full time during the 1st or 3rd trimester, so I've had plenty of time to rest, if needed. I think that made a huge difference.

Towards the end of pregnancy, some of my muscles have been more achy than usual, but I think that's par for the course. When I was newly pregnant I had a conversation with a friend who was also pregnant at the time. Something she said has stuck with me, and I'm keeping it as a motto. She said (and I'm paraphrasing) she likes to savor being pregnant because she doesn't know how much longer she'll be pregnant or if she'll get to be pregnant again. I liked that. Another friend of mine referred to carrying a baby as an honor. That also stuck with me. It really is. So, it's been encouraging for me to think of pregnancy in those ways. Granted, I know I've had a pretty easy time of it overall, and that makes it easier to enjoy.

I've also enjoyed being pregnant from a social point of view. When I'm shopping or running errands, it's fun to have some one strike up a conversation with me because they see I'm pregnant. And surprisingly, I've not had any strangers try to touch my belly or tell me terrible birth stories.

My only real stress has come from my own fears about delivering in a hospital and realizing how much is out of my control. And the high blood pressure that seemed to accompany those fears. I've had some high b.p. when at my prenatal appointments anytime I'm nervous or worried, and it kind of created a vicious cycle of worry and fear. At this point, all is well. (And I don't need to face induction for high blood pressure - my midwife had my b.p. monitored for about 2 hours last week and it was completely normal - so I've been given the "all clear". Whew.)

So I'm thankful for the experience I'm having. It's been teaching me a lot about myself.

But I am ready to meet this little guy. I hope he doesn't wait too long to join us.

Last Year

Capenta (fish) and potatoes - to be eaten with Nsima (corn meal)

I've been reminiscing lately and thinking about our 6 week stay in rural Zambia last year. A friend of ours is currently there doing the same type of medical rotation that Dan did. While Dan worked in the hospital in Macha, Zambia, I volunteered at a local primary school and took care of things around the house. I thought I'd share a few pictures that illustrated some of my experiences (so you won't have to see any gory medical pictures!). Enjoy.

Laundry by hand. This was my first attempt. I later moved to doing any laundry on the back porch. Plus, I received lessons in hand washing techniques from one of my (11 year old) students. I didn't do all our laundry on my own. We had some "house help" who did at least a "load" a week. It was all by hand, so having help was wonderful!


The local library. I had some time to read, so I would bike here and check out one book at a time.


Here's what part of my path to school looked like (the rest was a wider dirt road - this was a little shortcut).
And here's what I looked like. What you can't see is the awesome pink bike I used to travel the 2.5 kilometers each way.

I taught sewing at the primary school, among other things. Here were three of my youngest students. Even the Kindergarten students did their own hand-sewing!
And here are four of the proudest boys - they loved the bags they made. I had a lot of fun teaching such willing, eager students!
After school, it wasn't uncommon to have some visitors.
We had an informal crochet club.
And some kids learned to play "Dutch Blitz."

37 weeks (aka FULL TERM)

Well, the baby can come at any time. He's now considered "full term." Here are a few statistics.

When I measured my "waist" at 30 weeks, it was 40 inches. I measured it today, and it's 42 inches.

I had an ultrasound almost 3 weeks ago, and the sonographer estimated the baby's weight at 5 lbs, 11 oz. So if he's gaining the standard amount (1/2 lb. a week) he's a little over 7 lbs. by now and on track to be over 8 lbs. by my due date.

Eight pound babies are average for my family, so I've been expecting that, but I certainly hope he doesn't get too much bigger than that. However, I also don't think those estimations are something to be scared of. It's an estimation after all. Plus, I'm trusting that my body will not grow a baby bigger than what it can deliver. Additionally, I'm trying to keep tabs on my diet - trying to avoid too many fatty, sugary and refined carbohydrate type foods. Hmm, I was thinking of eating some ice cream tonight. Maybe I'll just have a spoonful...?

Let me tell you why Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) teachers - specifically the ones I worked with up until this year - are the best.

1. They drove at least 1.5 hours to come to my baby shower.
2. They still consider me an honorary member of the department (at least, that's how I feel).
3. We ate lunch together every day and got along better than any other FACS department.
4. We take a day trip to the beach each summer to visit another former department member.
5. When you get gifts from a FACS teacher, there's a good chance one of the gifts will be homemade.

Although I didn't get to spend lots of time talking with you all, it meant a lot that you came to the shower. THANK YOU!

Exchange

We got this:

in exchange for this:

A good trade, wouldn't you say?

A First

So today I did something I've never done before. I entered to win a give-away on another blog called "Cute.... Covered." It's all about dressing modestly and has a lot of great links for modest clothing retailers. This world of give-aways is new to me, but since I love free things (and I like what's being offered on this blog!) I thought I'd take my chances.

This isn't just any random blog I stumbled across; it's kept by a high school classmate of mine (and actually the first and only person I ever skipped class with - do you remember that, Jena??). I found her blog through another classmate's blog. Oh, the world of blogging - it's lots of fun!

Don't forget to check out her site HERE!