36 Week Appointment

I had a great 36 week appointment today.  The Group B Strep test that was done last week came back negative, which means that I don't have to get intravenous antibiotics prior to delivery.  That is good news in itself, but the added bonus is that it means I can labor at home longer before going to the hospital, which will hopefully increase the likelihood of an unmedicated birth. I got another internal exam, and was really happy to hear that I am at exactly the same point as I was last week.  When I was excited about this, saying that I was hoping that the baby would cook for a few more weeks, the midwife told me that most of the women she sees at this point feel exactly the opposite! :)  I am measuring at exactly 36 weeks, my blood pressure is great, weight gain is good (18 lbs total) and Pepper's heart rate was 135 BPM.

I'm still feeling good for the most part.  I've started to get really, really exhausted in the mid-afternoon/early evening, which is a little challenging since that's the time that I have to spend with Nathan and Todd, as well as the daily grind of dinner, dishes, and other miscellaneous daily demands.

Since Nathan came at 36 weeks, I was determined to get as much pre-baby stuff done as possible by the 36 week mark of this pregnancy, so that any time I had after that would be bonus time to relax and enjoy my  time with just my boys.  So Sunday was a frenzy of activity, and now the pack and play is set up in our room, items are gathered for the hospital, the infant car seat base is installed, all the essential Nathan details have been typed up and distributed to the grandparents, and numerous other odds and ends have been crossed off the list.  I still have loose ends at work that I'd like to tie up, and I would really love to clean the house from top to bottom before the baby arrives, but the essentials are in place!

My 36 week belly. 

My 36 week belly with Nathan--the last belly photo we took with him; he was born a few days later!  As you can see, I was smaller with him, and carrying him a lot higher.

Metro Cruise and Ice Cream

On Saturday we headed up to Grand Rapids for some fun with my parents at the Grand Rapids Metro Cruise.  Nathan was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of spending the day with his grandparents while looking at cool cars--that's pretty much heaven in his book!  The weather was absolutely perfect, and we enjoyed spending the morning watching the cars cruising down 28th street and checked out two small car shows. 

Sitting on Daddy's shoulders for a good view of the action (he liked talking about the regular cars just as much as the classics and hot rods).

Pepper and I checking out the action.

The guys checking out the car show.

Nathan was all excited about this funny little car since it reminded him of Luigi from the Cars movies, and because the owner was nice enough to let him sit in it "as long as he didn't touch anything."

"Whoa! Wook at dat monster truck Jeep!"

Nathan was really good about remembering that you don't touch show cars.

After Nathan took a nap and we had dinner, we capped off the day with a trip to the ice cream place that's close to Mom and Dad's house.

Nathan's Big Boy Room!

At long last, Nathan's big boy room is complete!  Most of it was done the last week in June, and Nathan's been sleeping there since the first night his bed was set up (he was so excited!), but I finally put the finishing touches on the wall art this weekend, so it's now blog-worthy. :)

Here's the blank canvas that I started with.  Luckily for me, Nathan requested a yellow big boy room, and this room (my former sewing room) was already yellow, so no painting was required.

Nathan's first encounter with his big boy bed!  I hadn't yet finished the curtains for his room, so I moved over the ones from his nursery while I was sewing away.  The first night in his bed went well except for the fact that he fell out many times--I ended up spending most of the night in there with him--so we quickly invested in a bed rail, and he's done fantastic ever since!

The completed room!  Here's a shot of the bed with the wall-hanging that all of my dear friends made for him at his baby shower, and the curtains that I made for the room.

Reading chair, with the quilt that Grandma Gail made for him, artwork above the chair from Aunt Joanna, and a series of transportation pictures from the website Children Inspire Design.

The blue bookshelf was a Craigslist find, the photos are pics of Nathan's extended family (Emhofs, Fowles, and Lewises), the big red magnet board is from Ikea.

I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

Fish Fry

Last Sunday was our annual fish fry, when all the guys who go on the annual fishing trip in Canada gather with their wives and children to enjoy some of the bounty that returned with them from the North.  This year Ben and Jessie were our hosts at their beautiful house, complete with a gorgeous pool!  The weather was absolutely perfect, and all of the kids and some of the dads enjoyed a swim.  We all enjoyed the company and the food.  I didn't take many pictures, but I did manage to snap a few, especially of my handsome boys!

Nathan and his "cheese" face, swimming with Daddy

Ben, Marvin and Fred at the fish frying station.

The delicious and beautiful pies that Lynne made from scratch.  Yes, I took a picture of the dessert, but did not capture any pictures of the majority of the people at the party.  I guess that's what happens when you put a pregnant woman in charge of the camera!

The guys relaxing poolside.

Nathan's Tree, Year 3

It's hard to believe that this is Nathan's third summer already!  Time is seriously flying.  Both Nathan and his tree have had a big growth spurt this year.  I'm loving this tradition!

Year 1, Nathan couldn't sit up by himself reliably!

Year 2--Constant motion!

Year 3--Talking up a storm, and understands the concept of holding still long enough to pose for a picture! 

35 Week Appointment

This afternoon I had my 35 week appointment.  It's hard to believe that this starts my weekly appointments with the midwife!  She took the culture for my Group B Strep test.  If I test positive, it means that I'll have to be on IV antibiotics during labor and delivery, as GBS can be harmful to the baby, even though it is harmless in adults.  The fact that I had the test today is making me a little superstitious, as my water broke the day after I had that test with Nathan!  Eek!  That is part of the reason that they did the test on me today at 35 weeks--they did it with N at 36 weeks, and the results hadn't come back by the time I went into labor with him, and ended up being on penicillin for 48 hours straight as a precaution--turns out I didn't have it!  Oh well.  Fingers crossed that history doesn't repeat itself this time around!  Doing the test a week early this time means that even if I do go into labor at 36 weeks, we'll know the test results then, and can proceed accordingly.  I am hoping to labor at home as long as possible before going to the hospital, so hopefully the test will be negative.

Everything else from the appointment is looking great--I'm still measuring right on track at 35 weeks, and my weight gain is fine.  I had my first physical exam, and the midwife confirmed that Pepper is head-down, and then told me that I'm about 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated, and the baby's at -2 station.  Yikes!  Of course, that doesn't really mean that active labor is imminent, I could still go to term, but it's hard not to feel a little anxious twinge about the fact that things are happening down there!  The midwife doesn't think that I'll make it to my due date.  Hmm...  Keep cooking in there, Pepper!

Physically I've been feeling really good still, although starting to feel a little clumsier and awkward.  I definitely noticed that in yoga tonight--moving from one position to another has become steadily less graceful!  I'm waking up multiple times during the night to use the bathroom--on that every two hour schedule that will become so familiar in a few weeks when there's a tiny, hungry baby to feed!

35 Weeks pregnant with Pepper

35 weeks pregnant with Nathan

Happy Birthday Dan

There was excellent news from the Rockies this week--Jordan got a job cooking at Whole Foods!  We are all thrilled for him, especially since he has been hoping to work for this company for a long time.  When he discovered that his new employee orientation wouldn't start for another week, he decided on the spur of the moment to come spend some time with family in Michigan. 

Conveniently enough, the timing of his visit coincided with Dan's birthday and an already-planned visit from Stu and Erin.  Todd, Nathan and I drove straight from Northport to Dan and Nancy's for a yummy birthday dinner and some family time.

I coerced everyone into posing for a family picture since it's so rare that everyone's in the same place!

Brothers

Sisters

Horsing around with Uncle Jord

Playing catch with Uncle Stu and Aunt Erin

Helping Papa blow out his candles