36 weeks!

Yup, still growing. You can see my top is no longer doing a good job at covering my belly:


Eileen, you were right. He's dropping! (See how the belly looks lower?)

(This is weeks 30, 33 and 36)

It's been an exciting week, actually. We did pretty much all of Lovebug's laundry last week. We only have a couple of outfits that need washing (including cute things we bought yesterday), and our diapers (but we're waiting to get our second batch before washing those). So, the nursery is pretty much ready!

Also last week, we went to the chiropractor. We both needed a neck cracking, and it was sooo good! We get a massage prior to the adjustment and I, for obvious reasons, was laying on my back for it. Well, Lovebug was giving quite a show! Everyone could see him move, and everyone got a crack out of it. One guy said "he's breakdancing!". So true, he's a little dancer...

And yesterday we had our regular OBGYN appointment. We're finally in the home stretch and we get to see him weekly (yay!). Yesterday was the first day we got to find out if any progress is being made. So far, no progress. My dilation is less than a centimeter, and he wrote it down as "fingertip". We'll see if there's any progress next Tuesday; by then, Lovebug will be considered a full term baby, so he could really make his appearance anytime after that and be ok.

But let me tell you about the cool part! The doctor had Josh feel around my belly for a couple of things. The least exciting, the top of my uterus. It's actually pretty easy to feel and we've been feeling for it for weeks, but still. And the best, he showed Josh where the head was, and Josh felt it! So we know he's head down (which is good!), though he's not in a hurry to get out yet. That's ok, we still have 3.5 weeks (which we need, cause we still think it's crazy we get to bring a baby home in 3.5 weeks!!)

I've been waking up a lot at night, and I've been getting hot flashes (so fun...), and sometimes I wake up and feel wide awake, so it takes me a while to go back to sleep. I could get up and watch TV or something, but I rather wait it out in bed, and eventually I fall asleep again. But I get a few nights like that, followed by a few very good nights, so the good nights should be back any day now. Also, my feet have been very swollen, so by doctor's orders I am to spend more time laying down with my feet up. Fine by me!

Merry Christmas!!

We hope you all had a great Christmas!! We had a low key night, had dinner, gave the puppies their gifts and went to bed early. Not really surprising, considering Josh worked 7 days in a row before Christmas, and I can't drink (how else would I stay awake?)

On Christmas Day, we decided to take advantage of the park being closed to get some family pictures taken with the help of our camera timer. It was a bit challenging to get the pups to cooperate:



But we still managed to get one or two good pics -- this is probably the best with all of us:

(Though Neela was still a little unfocused on the task at hand...)

Finally, we decided to get pics of us without the pups. We managed to get a couple good ones:


Wow, what a belly!

We hope you had a laugh looking at these pictures, we sure had a few while taking them! And best wishes from The Boles Clan!

Wanna guess??

A friend of mine did this, and I thought it was a great idea!

For those of you that enjoy a little competition, are into gambling, or just want to have some fun, here's the perfect Lovebug-related game for you!

Enter your guess as to when will Lovebug be born, and what he will weight/measure!

Follow this LINK to enter your guess!

35 and 35

35 weeks, 35 days to go. Wow, it's crazy to think we've made it this far.

That's me, 3 weeks pregnant (still unaware of it)


And this is 32 weeks after that.


Not too bad for 8 months pregnant! What can I say, being tall with a large torso helps!

Oh, how I miss those jeans...

34 weeks!

I'm late posting this again, I'm sorry! It's been a crazy week.

Anyways, here's the pic of the week:

Yup, still growing. Three more pounds in the past two weeks. Fun times...

We have been getting lots of generous gifts (thank you, everyone!), and we've been buying the things that we're still missing, to the point where we're almost ready for Lovebug. One more trip to Babies R Us and we'll be ready to welcome him!

We had our OBGYN appointment yesterday, and things are looking good. We have out next one in 10 days, and after that we'll be going every week until Lovebug is born. It's crazy to think we're so close now. I kind of want more time to get ready, but I also kind of want these days to go by fast, just so the uncomfortable stage ends as well. But I can wait until Lovebug is ready, it'll be just a few weeks now. Plus, I want to take this time to be lazy, cause I won't be able to do that for a LONG while...

A preview of the Nursery

We're still not done with the nursery, but it looks very much so like one! My sister-in-law, Sharon, gave us the bedding set and corresponding decorations as a combined Christmas gift (for the three of us), and we love it! (Thank you, Sharon!!!) We got it last Thursday, and Josh couldn't wait to see it all set up. We finally put the crib together with the mattress and bedding Friday night, and yesterday we added the wall decorations.

Here are a few preview pics:
The changing table. We still need to get the changing pad, but you get the idea. We love the little hamper and wall decals!


The crib and dresser. Pardon the bad light, we took the pics last night and the lighting wasn't the best.


Detail of the bedding. It's so cute! (Azania by Cocalo) The beautiful giraffe Grandma Debbie got for Lovebug is in the crib too.


And last but not least: our girls behaving. They're not allowed in the nursery, and though they don't particularly like it, they're pretty good about it (though they tend to do the "just the paws" trick often).


We have the pack n play in there as well for now, but we'll move it into our bedroom in a couple of weeks so the pups can get used to it. And we also have a glider and a TV in there. No, the TV won't be there forever. That room used to be our guest bedroom, so we have an extra TV there with DirecTV, and it'll my entertainment while nursing on the glider. We'll probably move it out once Lovebug moves into the nursery permanently (he'll be spending the nights in our bedroom for a few months at first).

We're going to get anything else we still need next week, and next weekend will be all about laundry. I'm so glad we decided to do things this way, so we can relax the last month. The way my discomfort levels are rising, I believe this is the best way to do it!

Speaking of Diapers

We've made a crucial decision: we're using cloth diapers. Oh!

I can see the shock on your face, you're thinking of pins and ugly looking plastic covers, and probably all that washing. Eww! Well, allow me to introduce you to the modern cloth diapers.

No pins, snappis:


Cute waterproof fabric covers:



Fitted:

And very similar looking to disposables, but cuter!


And to make it all better, not only cheaper in the long run, but more environmentally friendly than disposables will ever be. Also reusable, so we'll be able to use them again when we decide to have another child, and they only represent 2 more loads of laundry per week, really.

I can give you more details on this if you're interested. We're very excited to do this. We already purchased our first stash of diapers, which should be enough for about 6 months or so. And Lovebug's butt will look way cuter!

33 weeks

Only 7 weeks left. And I'm starting to sense that they'll be loooong! I'm *just* starting to reach the uncomfortable stage. Don't get me wrong, this is still good and fun, I'm enjoying my pregnancy and watching Lovebug kick around in my belly. But it's definitely not getting any easier...

For starters, the swelling. Hands, especially in the morning after sleeping on my side all night, and feet, especially at night after all day sitting/standing. And I'm waddling. My hips are sore all the time, and every time I stand up the extra pressure makes them extra sore, so I walk like a freaking duck already, at least the first few steps until I conquer the pain. The most uncomfortable thing though, is Lovebug's discovery of my ribs. My ribs and sides, to be honest. He seems to think he still has room to stretch around, when he really doesn't. He particularly enjoys stretching if I've been sitting for a while, and while I'm trying to go to sleep. Oh, yeah, nothing like a nice nudge on the side of my ribcage to keep mommy awake!

Also, my belly button is days away from popping out, I know it. All it needs is a good, centered kick, and it'll be gone. Darn...

Seven more weeks... let the fun part begin!

I'm having a baby...

(Not right now, don't worry!)

These past couple of days it has hit me. I'm having a baby. I mean, physically pushing a baby out of my body. I'm pushing a 7-8 lb baby through a 10 cm conduct, out of my body... Holy ****.

I feel kind of like I did before my master's thesis defense. I know it's coming, I know I have to do it no matter what, it's going to happen, and I know I'll see the other side and I'll be glad it's done and over, but I'm getting nervous about it and I kinda wish I had more time. Time for what? No idea. It seems to be one of those things you can't never truly be ready for, in my case at least.

(I should add this is worse, because with my thesis, nobody knew that study better than I did)

It's a mixed bag of emotions. I do feel that I can do it. It'll be a tough couple of days, but in the grand scheme of things, it'll be a piece of cake. I know how things are supposed to happen, I know what I'm supposed to do, and I even think I *might* be good at it. But I still have no clue, and it still means I have to push a 7-8 lb baby out of my body, and that is not a pretty picture...

Hospital tour and Doctor's appt

Last Wednesday we went to the hospital to get pre-admitted and see the rooms. It is great! The rooms are very spacious, there's a tub and a birthing ball in every room, monitoring equipment, TV, even a reclinable chair for Josh. Every room has its own thermostat, which I think is awesome. And a couple of hours after Lovebug is born, they will move us to another room, almost as big but with an area for the doctors to check Lovebug without taking him away. Basically, Lovebug does not have to leave our side at all during our stay, which I again think it's awesome. We're happy with our hospital choice.

Yerterday morning we had our regular OBGYN appointment. Things are looking good, I gained 3 more pounds (not surprising if you look at the weekly pic), blood pressure is normal and Lovebug's heartbeat is strong and loud. We have another appointment in 2 more weeks, and in 4 weeks we start going every week until Lovebug decides he's ready to meet the world.

And now I have 2 husband-less nights ahead of me. Josh went to Vegas for Mark's bachelor party. Which means I have a date with a pizza and a pumpkin pie, on the couch... Good times...

32 weeks!

Apparently Thanksgiving is the time to grow... Did I really eat that much food, or is it just baby growth?

I mean, really, that looks like a big difference for one week! Eeeek!

I can't lie, I can tell I'm growing. How, you ask? My belly button. My belly button is struggling. It's still holding on, there's still plenty of skin in there to stretch, but I can tell that little by little, the edges start to turn into more of an outtie shape. I love my innie, I don't like outties! Oh well, que será, será...

Preparing for the big day

December is finally here, and with it come some big preparations for Lovebug. In the next week we have 4 classes to attend, newborn care, parenting 101, breastfeeding (for me) and camp for dads (for Josh).

Tomorrow is the first one, newborn care. We assume it's about diapers, care of belly button, the right temperature and sleeping positions, and so on, and though *we think* we know most of it, we think it'll be useful nonetheless. Also tomorrow, we have the hospital tour, to get pre-admitted and check out the facilities. It should be really interesting. We've seen a few pictures of the delivery rooms, but we can't wait to see it in person. Personally, I can't wait to get in that tub! Every room has a tub, I just hope I get to use it (they won't let you get in the tub once your bag of waters is broken, to minimize risk of infection).

This is tomorrow afternoon, so I'll update on this Thursday, after our OBGYN appt. We'll see how much weight I gained this time around... as I plan on baking a pumpkin pie today...