Matt's Mumblings: It's Time!

Well we are on our way to the hospital for a 5pm Cesarean birth. It is crazy to think that in about 4 hours that I am going to be a dad! Keep checking for updates and pictures!

baby shower madness ;)

Nicole (due Nov 11) Kathleen (due Jan 14th) Me (due Sep 30 - what the heck?) and Brittany (due Oc 14th)
Okay, so none of it was madness- but going to two back to back was pretty funny :) I have to say, it is nice to be pregnant at the same time as some of your friends! Its a really joyful yet tough time in life and sometimes it's nice to have gals that are right there with ya. Oh my- how many bellies there were at Nicole's shower! Kathleen's was after hers. Both were a good time and I wish you ladies the BEST for the last part of your pregnancies!

9 months and counting!

Well- here we are, hours away from entering our 10th month. We made it! I'm feeling really good- so happy and so blessed that this pregnancy has gone as well as it has and we've got a healthy little stinker in there. In two weeks or less, we'll be holding him in our arms! So exciting! God has been so faithful- I know He's taking care of us and that His plans for us are perfect- so I'm completely content and at peace with His design for Rowen's birth, whatever and whenever it may be. Glad to be still hanging in there. I wish everyone else were as easy going- the comments from friends and strangers alike are still ridiculous ;)
And here's the 9 month shot:the progress:
pre-pregnancy: 102# 24"
one month :100# 24"
two months :101# 29"
three months :104# 32"
four months: 108# 32.5"
five months: 114# 35.5"
six months: 118# 37"
seven months: 120# 37.5"
eight months: 124# 40"
nine months: 124# 40.75"

At my ultrasound on Friday they estimated him to be 8 lbs (give or take a pound) and he's measuring perfectly. That puts him in the 65th percentile - just barely bigger than average. I'm so excited to see him!! He still hasn't dropped, but sometimes they don't. I've been hearing from more and more moms who's babies never dropped before going into labor. So I'm just not worried about it. My doctor has been so encouraging too- which is great. She's definitely keeping us prepared for labor and delivery to not go as planned, but is hoping with us that it will. She's still supporting our desire to wait it out, and is having me go in later this week for another non-stress-test to keep an eye on everything, to make sure it all stays perfect.

So it's just the waiting game!

2nd annual progressive dinner

My family is so fun. A little wacky- but they're the best. Last year, we decided it would be fun to do a progressive dinner since we all live fairly close. So we put one on for my mom's birthday (Sep 20th) and had a theme of "around the world!" We started out at my folk's house for European appetizers then went to my sister's for salad in Mexico, then our condo for main course in Japan, and finally to my little brother's for an Italian dessert. So this year my mom decided that's what she wanted to do for her birthday again- and perhaps every year after! The theme was hard to top, and she thought long and hard about what it should be. First, it was "exceptional sauces" and then she thought no, that's too easy. Let's do "mystery ingredient!" and then thinking about it some more, she decided that since we're all just sitting around waiting for me to go into labor (...yeah) that the theme should be "bring on the baby!"
I tried not to roll my eyes too much. ;)
So- we started out at my folks again with appetizers, and of course, my mother did not disappoint! There were baby dills, baby corn, baby bell cheeses, baby carrots, a ranch dip with pineapple since pineapple supposedly has some cervical ripening properties... baby avocados, baby red twice-baked potatoes, baby yorkies (including spicy horseradish to get things going,) baby BLT's (stuffed Roma tomatoes,) and a baby blue punch complete with little floating plastic bottles and safety pins. Too funny! After we were all totally stuffed from the first course, we stopped at Brit & Laurel's for a soup and salad course. Laurel made a fantastic baby carrot soup, and a salad of baby field greens. yum! We all sat around and chatted, quite stuffed, for about an hour before deciding we really did have to move on and continue eating. The main course awaited!
So off to Trevor & Lindsi's we went for baby back ribs. (of course!) They were delicious- and they did a little research on how to induce labor with a side dish. Here's what they found:
Thankfully, they didn't make me eat it. hahaha.
And of course, no progressive dinner would be complete without a round of "shotski" or this year's version: "three strikes you're out."
oh, man. That's all I have to say. Oh, man.
Feeling so full we could all explode, we rolled down the road to our little apartment for dessert.
Now, I struggled with what to serve for a week and a half. I was not feeling creative, and didn't want to cook anything. (Let alone clean anything up.) So Tuesday night as I was lying awake with insomnia once again, it hit me.
"I'm 9 months pregnant- make your own dang dessert" Sundaes. The ideas started flowing... including "Insomniac's Ice cream," "Braxton-Hicks Brownie Bits Ice Cream," "Backache Bananas," "Swollen Ankle Strawberries," "Colostrum Caramel," "Hershey Squirts," "Heart Burn Heath-Bar," "Whipped Hemorrhoid Cream," "Mood Swing Marshmallows," "I Have to Pee-nuts," "Call Me Butterfingers," and "Sciatica Sprinkles."
I'm such a dork- but I was totally loving it. Of course, I used paper bowls (ooooh- wasteful!) because for one, we don't have enough bowls to serve everyone and ice cream on a plate is just wrong. And for two: so easy to clean up... never a good excuse for me, but hey. I AM 9 months pregnant, after all! When I was at the store yesterday morning I couldn't remember if we had any (paper bowls) in the camping stuff so I called Matt at work to ask him. I don't call him at work very often, so he almost had a heart attack thinking I was calling to tell him I was in labor. Sorry honey. :) These days if I call anyone it seems they're always expecting me to say "we're going to the hospital!" or something, and then I don't so they're disappointed. hehehe. Oh, what power I have over everyone these days! ;o)
Anywho-
it was a great night and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year! Hope you all are jealous of my super fun family. ;)

on Deciding to Breastfeed

As many people have told me they love hearing the crazy things I've learned through this pregnancy, I feel it's almost a duty to write a little something about breast milk vs. formula. Only because this time last year I had no clue, really. And being a part of the child care industry, fairly well informed about things that matter most to young children, I find myself now rather shocked at the lack of information I had. Seriously.
Let me first tell you that formula is a God-send for many women and babies, and it's a solution when breastfeeding becomes impossible for whatever reason. I think every mommy out there wants the absolute best for her babies and would do the best thing if she was able, or aware of it. I'm not out to make anyone feel guilty, and I know this can be a very touchy subject. If your baby is a formula baby, for whatever reason, I'm not talking to you. Er- I'm not aiming any of my words at you. I'll still talk to you :) haha. I know so many moms who use formula and they are GREAT mothers. Don't misread my heart, here. This is for those of my readers who have yet to make this decision, and like me, don't know any better. I'm not citing any sources either, so take what I have to say for what it is: just advice from a friend. Do your own research. This is a BIG topic and I think every mom should be as informed as she can to make the right decision. Currently, only 54% of U.S. babies are breast-fed; the rest are fed infant formulas. That tells me that there is a serious lack of information out there.
My first thought about feeding when becoming pregnant was of course to breastfeed- since I'm a bit of an under-cover hippie and just like things the natural way. Also because it's free- and formula is so expensive. A year of formula and bottles can cost somewhere around $1000 & $1500, and that's not including the extra cost of more doctor visits. It's also time consuming- working with babies, I've made a LOT of bottles. And washed a lot of bottles. And sanitized a lot of bottles. Oiy. And..... not that this really matters much.... it's stinky. Formula is way stinkier than breast milk. And not just when it goes in, either. Phew!
So then, being the information junkie that I can be, I started doing some research a while back and reading things in baby books here and there. Much of it, I'm surprised to say, was new information. I read an article early on that really threw me for a loop about the marketing and language of formula. First of all, we are a way-over-marketed-to society. Formula is part of some BIG companies, with lots of advertising dollars. No one is marketing breast milk. So take that into consideration for the lack of real information out there. Then consider the language. We've all heard that "breast milk is best" and "breastfed babies have lower risk of illness and infection" and "breastfed babies have higher IQ" and it all sounds nice and idealistic. But what happens when you turn those sentences around? "Artificially fed babies have increased risk for illness and infection," "artificially fed babies have lower IQ" etc. It sits with us differently. Not many of us feel we need perfection; second best if perfectly acceptable. But when we hear it the other way around, it's hard to think of it as "second best." Here are some more:
Artificially fed babies have an increase in hospital admissions, allergies, asthma, rashes, and ear infections, etc.
Artificially fed babies have increased occurrences of diarrhea, constipation, and other digestive problems
Artificially fed babies, as adults, have higher incidences of obesity, illness, and depression.
And the scariest one that I can't believe I'd never read before: Artificially fed babies in the US have a death rate 21% higher than breastfed babies.
That last one I read just last weekend, and it's why I decided I should write a blog on it. That's huge. 21%? Obviously, there's got to be more to it than the formula alone, considering education levels and socioeconomic status can reflect use of formula, but seriously. That's a high number.
I'm feeling really negative- let's turn this back around for a bit.
Breastfed babies are smarter! The components found in human milk are not found in any other mammals' milk and can't be artificially reproduced yet. And it's cumulative. So the longer your breastfeed, the smarter and healthier the kid.
Breast milk finishes the development of the digestive tract, which isn't adequate to handle any foreign food until 6 months. (formula, cereal, etc.)
Breast milk is so cool. God knew what He was doing, and it's amazing to me! Breast milk's composition changes with the age & nutritional needs of your child. And not just from colostrum (the first milk that's not really "milk" yet- but a high protein substance that's full of antibodies and things they need to get life started on the right track for the first few days) to "milk." 3 month breast milk is different from 6 month breast milk is different from 12 month breast milk. I don't know why, but that is so incredible to me! Just another reason to be in awe of our Creator.
Breast milk contains at least 100 ingredients that aren't found in formula. It's composition is still unknown to scientists, and therefore unable to duplicate. It's also living- that sounds kinda gross- but it's important in the way the baby gets the nutrients and fights germs. It's incredible, really.
Oh, there is so much more, but this is getting beyond long. Let me also mention quickly that it's great for mom too- women who breastfed have lower risk for breast cancer, loose weight quickly, and baby and mom produce happy hormones that they pass to each other through breastfeeding.
Crazy!
So again, I hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings- I just felt that I needed to share a little about what I've found in the past nine months. Best of everything to all you mommies and perspective mommies out there!

38 weeks, 1 day

I can't believe I've gotten to this point in my pregnancy already. We're so close to meeting our little boy- it's unreal!
Thought I'd do a little update- though nothing exciting, I know there's lots of readers out there wondering. First of all, thank you to those of you who've been praying for us. It's definitely a big help, emotionally if nothing else! I'm feeling really good about going 42 weeks if we have to, and just waiting this little guy out. I want him to come when he's ready, and I'm really enjoying the quiet time Matt and I have left together.
Monday I had another prenatal appointment. Our vitals are all lookin' good, but there's still no progress down south. He's also still floating high, and my uterus is measuring a whopping 39 cm, just a tad bigger than average.
Tuesday I went in for a non-stress-test to make sure everything is still looking fantastic on the inside. I had a quick ultrasound where he flashed us his boy parts (the tech covered the screen and said "do you know what you're having??") 'cause it would have been hard to miss. hahaha. She said there was tons of amniotic fluid still and he was practicing his breathing movements right from the start. Good boy :) Then I got hooked up to the monitor via a couple belly straps, and got to listen to his heart beating for around a half hour. They want to see it go up (meaning, he's movin') twice in a twenty minute time period, and we got that in no time, of course. It also recorded a couple of contractions. Cool.
Today I went to St. Vincent for an anesthesia consult, just to make sure my spine would be okay for an epidural if a C-section became necessary. If you don't know, I have a slipped vertebrae and spinal curvature (lordosis- not scoliosis.) So I had a little exam and the anesthesiologist seemed to think they could make it work if it came down to it. He said it would definitely be more difficult, and there would be some other challenges with my size, but that they're all very capable and have run into more difficult situations before. He also was very reassuring that if anything bad happened they're good at quickly switching to general anesthesia (yikes,) but they'd try to avoid that as much as possible. I was surprised at how encouraging he was for natural labor, actually. He wanted to make sure I knew that if I did need anesthesia I wasn't a failure- and that they would try to come up with the best "cocktail" for me that they could. So- that was good.
And now you're up to date!

37 Weeks

Well, we've arrived, we're officially full term! I'm so excited to meet my little pumpkin, I can hardly stand it. Don't get me wrong, pregnancy has been pretty good to me and I'm enjoying the few weeks I have left with him inside of me! There's just something so amazing about it... But when I think about holding him in my arms- wrapping him up and putting him to sleep in his cradle- seeing Matt with him- I'm like a little kid the few weeks before Christmas, bouncing up and down asking; "Is Santa coming TONIGHT???"
I want him to hang out in there and do all the developing he needs to do but at the same time- I just want him to get here!! They say the only thing that babies are really doing inside the womb after week 37 is just packin' on the fat and that they're ready to go- so so are we!! (ready to go, not the fat part- hahaha) We've got our bags mostly packed, meals frozen, nursery ready, clothes and diapers washed, all we need is a little red wrinkly bundle of joy.
We had another prenatal appointment yesterday evening- baby looks great. He's practicing his breathing, amniotic fluid looks great, his heart rate is strong and beautiful as usual- but he's still floating way above my pelvis. (And he's a little off to the side, or "oblique," but this shouldn't be a problem.) The floating thing could be. He should "drop" or "engage" this week since he hasn't already. My doctor seemed to be concerned that he hasn't dropped because he might not be able to- there might not be enough room for him even in the top of my pelvis. (Let alone the bottom.) She really stressed that we need to be prepared for a Cesarean, though my desire for a trial labor is not "unreasonable." She said she's been proven wrong before, and you never know. :0/ She even drew us a picture of the boney structures she was feeling in my pelvis with a serious look in her eyes. *sigh* She asked us how late we'd be willing to wait to go into labor naturally. I told her 42 weeks (that's the maximum for anyone.) It's like she was passing a verdict that he was never going to drop and my body was never going to go into labor on it's own.
I held it together as long as I could, but when we got home I burst into tears. It's a good thing I have Matt or I'd be a complete mess. He's been so supportive of my hopes and and so reassuring through my fears... I can't tell you how much I want a natural birth. I wont go into all my reasons because I'm sure I have plenty of readers who don't feel the same way and I don't want to cause any hard feelings- but for me- it feels like something I have to do. That I was born to do. That I should have been designed to do- was I not? Did God give me a burning desire to be a mom and not give me the proper equipment to bring a baby into the world?? I guess that's the point where most people are thankful for modern medicine and move on. But not me, oh no, I obsess. I obsessed about it all night, trying to be reasonable and then falling apart in tears again. Through dinner, after dinner, even at 4am. Poor Matt... (I love you, honey!) it's gotta be tough being an expectant father!
If you don't know, I've had four surgeries in the past. I hate surgery. I hate recovery. I hate the drugs they give you for recovery. Mostly, I hate feeling useless or helpless and having to rely on others for even basic needs. I've struggled emotionally with being "abnormal" (though it's been a long time) and with people always telling me that I can't because I'm different, or because I'm too little. I hate it. I felt a little bit like Jon Locke last night: "Don't tell me what I can't do!!!" I'm terrified of an epidural. I'm even more terrified of not being able to have an epidural because of my spinal abnormalities and having to undergo general anesthesia for a Cesarean and missing the birth of my son. I feel terrible for him- what if he's crammed into my pelvis for hours, and then gets doped up with drugs, and suddenly ripped out of his environment into a cold and bright one, and whisked away for testing without the comfort of his knocked out mother. It kills me.
But there I go overreacting again.... forgive me. It really is still too early to be jumping to conclusions. Matt told me last night that he doesn't want me to give up hope- and he's right. Being negative and fearful will not allow my body to do what it was meant to do, anyway. I take one doubting look from my doctor and run away with it. And I can't keep this up for five weeks. So in my vulnerability, I request your prayers. My doctor may not see how it's possible, but with God all things are- and He can open up my pelvis for any size baby He wants to. So please pray for labor to start on it's own, and for the baby to fit. And for my sanity in the meantime... It doesn't matter so much if it's next week or the middle of October, I'm not praying for an early labor just to "get it done with." I just want to bring him into the world safe and sound and have a feeling that the earlier it is, the smaller he'll be, and therefore the better my chances are. Also, people's comments are making me a bit hostile and I imagine they're just going to get worse as the weeks go on! "Wow, you're about ready to pop!" "Are you completely miserable yet?" "You're getting an epidural, aren't you?" "When are you due, tomorrow? Really? Not until then?" And my new personal favorite: "Don't have that baby right here!"
Oh man. And the "sympathy" comments and looks are starting to hit- which for me is going to be worse than the bad humor. Especially if we pass 40 weeks. Please don't pity me!!

Soooooo- yeah. That's the story for now. I'll update again after next week's appointment if anything has changed. And with all you prayer warriors, it might! Even if the only thing that changes is my heart with a sense of peace about it all. Thanks for listening to my giant vent. Love you all :)

sneak peaks!

At our our pregnancy portraits!

Baby Shower #2

I had my second (of two) Baby Shower last Sunday. I would have posted about it earlier, but I don't have any pictures and I was *hoping* some people would send me some... (hint, hint) but haven't gotten any yet! So I figured I'd at least document that it did in fact happen, indeed, and was a blast! My little sister came up with a super creative idea to have a bunch of scrapbooking supplies out and to have every guest create a page of Rowen's baby book. So cute. So now I have a scrapbook that's nearly complete, except for pictures (of course!) and a few pages of special things that might happen that I didn't get pages of. How nice will it be to plug in pictures and have a beautiful baby book with such little effort? I love it!
Of course there was lots of yummy food, and SO many wonderful presents!! Baby Rowen is a spoiled, spoiled little guy already.Thank you everyone!!
My college roommates, Sarah, Lindsey, and Tia came into town from Medford and Corvallis and we got to spend some time together Saturday night (at Insomnia) and Sunday morning (at Athey), which was such a blessing. The last time all four of us were together was Tia's wedding nearly two years ago. Too long! (I love you girls and miss you so much!!)

Well that's enough dilly dallying- I've got some more freezer meals to make today and I'd better get busy! If I get any pictures I'll add them later. :) Toodaloo!

8 Month Belly

No way- Am I really in my last month? Holy cow!!
I can't believe it. Here it is, September already, and we've got about 4 weeks to go. Just a week and we'll be full term. We are so excited!! Saturday afternoon we got some pregnancy portraits taken and I can't wait to see them- and then afterward we spent about 4 hours SHOPPING for all of the little things we still "needed," spending gift cards we got or exchanging a couple items. There wasn't all that much left to get- we've been sooo blessed- but we went to Mother Nature's, Baby's R Us, Segals, and Target- because we had a couple things to get/exchange/spend at each place, so it was quite the day! We were tired and sore by the time it was over, haha. But we're glad we got it all "done" in one afternoon/evening so there will be no more last minute trips for this or that. We're all stocked up! I got my baby laundry soap (not specifically "baby"- it's Charley's Soap- natural and gentle- should be safe for his skin (and sensitive Matt's, for that matter!) and good for his diapers.) So all last night and today I've been doing load after load of laundry! All his bedding, diapers one more time (making it the magic "three" washings you're supposed to do to prepare unbleached material), blankies, clothes, etc. There's quite a lot!! Piles and piles! And he's not even here yet! Of course, there probably wont be a day when I have to wash every single thing he has. ;) (at least there better not- that would be one heck of a day!)
We picked up the New Native carrier Matt wanted, he decided on a black one, (ooh look, it's even the same one Brad Pitt has, lol) a couple of bottles for Rowen to try, one glass and one adiri nurser,
which I think are the neatest things as far as bottles go, but who knows what baby Ro will think, eh? :o) And a whole bunch of other things: cozy flannel crib sheets, a mattress & sheets for the cradle, a baby gate, a couple little sleep sacks, a diaper pail, two fancy pocket diapers to take him out in public in (easy to change for nursery volunteers, grandparents, etc,) a night time CD, some toys, a boppy cover, a little bathtub recliner, etc. He's one well stocked little bundle of joy. Now if we could only get rid of the desk and office chair, we'd have room for all of it! hahaha.
Well, without further ado- here's the 8 month shot:
wowza!
the progress:
pre-pregnancy: 102# 24"
one month :100# 24"
two months :101# 29"
three months :104# 32"
four months: 108# 32.5"
five months: 114# 35.5"
six months: 118# 37"
seven months: 120# 37.5"
eight months: 124# and a whopin' 40"! Grow baby, grow!

At our last prenatal appointment (last Tuesday) my belly was measuring just a little bit big, and we've been right on track all along, so he's had himself a little growth spurt in the last month! Which is great- all we want is a healthy little guy! No other progress as of yet, which is also great, because we don't want him too early either. Next Tuesday we'll be "full term" at 37 weeks so as far as I'm concerned he can come at any point once we reach that mark! I'm not too miserable yet, it's been nice that the weather has cooled down a bit, but I wouldn't mind a couple more hot days so we could hang out in the pool some more. :) My back is starting to feel the weight, and my feet as well, but I'm still not having any swelling and NO BED REST so I couldn't be happier! I finally caved and asked for some (safe) prescription heart burn medication, and that has REALLY helped on the bad days. It was non-stop on Tuesday. From when I went to bed Monday night until my doctor's appointment at 4:45- so at that point I was like - please, prescribe me something! But I'm still looking forward to when he'll "drop" and I'll have some more room in my stomach! Of course the trade off is less room in the bladder, which I don't see how that's physically possible, but whatever :) It's 1-5 weeks left at this point so I'm going to try and enjoy every last bit of it that I can!
Wow, this is becoming a novel. Ramble ramble- I'd better stop now :) I'll keep you all posted with any changes! Enjoy your Labor Day!

Preparing the Phone Tree

People are starting to mention that they'd like a phone call when Rowen is born. I want to make a call plan so that Matt doesn't have to do all the work and can enjoy his new son! (you know, Matt calls parents, parents call siblings, siblings call all sorts of random people, and so on!) So- if you're one of those people who would like to be on the list (and willing to call someone else you may or may not know), let me know so I can start putting it together. Keep in mind this could happen at any hour of the day- so I think we'll also send out an email as soon as possible for those who'd like to know but would rather not be woken up at 3am, haha, and of course it'll end up on the blog fairly quickly! So leave a comment if you want on the phone list or the email list! Can't believe how close it's getting :) :) :) :)

Baby Shower!

It was so nice to get together with a bunch of gals and celebrate our coming little bundle of joy! We were SO blessed with gifts- holy cow :) Thank you thank you to everyone again!! Look at all this loot! He's going to be a spoiled little man!We got blankets, towels, fun toys & practical necessities, all the diapers & covers we'll need in the smallest size (which I promptly washed, re-washed, and folded the next morning with glee!) My mom made a baby book of ME (since I didn't have one, which was so sweet and I cant imagine where she got the time,) a rocking chair (to be delivered) and the pack-and-play; which of course Matt had to set up and take down as soon as we got home.
yay!
Of course I forgot that I had my camera during the shower, so I failed to get any pictures DURING the party- hopefully I'll see some that other people got! But here are a couple afterwards.

Four little friends-to-be: Baby Bustamante, Rowen, JJ, and Riley!

Matt (Craig) saved the day when Jen's tire went flat! Oh no!
All in all it was a very fun time with yummy treats and great fellowship! I'm so blessed by everyone that came- and thanks again Tracy for hosting! What great friends I have :)

Thanks, Marilyn, for sending me this photo of my mom and sister and me!

Birthday Poll!

When will Rowen's birthday be? Vote in the poll!
I can't believe there's only 49 days until our due date. Crazy thought. Sometimes I feel like I've been pregnant a year already, but most of the time I just don't feel that close! Apparently I look it, however; on Sunday Matt and I were out walking and this guy walks past the other direction saying, "shouldn't you be somewhere having a baby right now?"






nice.

"Hooter Hider"

Yay for craftiness! Sold in baby & maternity boutiques all around, this is my attempt at a knock off of the "hooter hider" or "bebe au lait" nursing cover. (Grandma Norma suggested I call mine the "Boob Blanket" haha) They hang around your neck so you don't have to hope it stays draped over your shoulder, and the neck pouches out so you can see your little one nurse. :) These babies are so nifty- I mean, I have yet to use one because obviously I've never nursed before- but they seem like such a great idea! So I have to give credit where credit is due. However worthy of credit, I simply cannot give them the CASH for such a simple piece! These cost around $35 - and I spent - well, way less than that. It was fabric I already had, so go figure. Maybe 10 bucks if I had bought the fabric for it? Maybe? The only things I had to buy were some boning, and a couple D rings which was like 2 or 3 dollars. (and of course I bought twice what I needed, so I can easily make a second one later!) I didn't have the camera when I whipped it up, so no tutorial today, but let me know if you're interested and I can tell you my secrets! ;) Or if you want me to make one for you, I'll do it on the cheap!

Another Diaper Post :)

Not interested? Read no further ;)




I finished my cloth wipes!! I've been making a few here and there- I now have three dozen which should be beyond enough- so I've decided I'm done! I still have so much left over fabric all cut out- but I can always make more later on if I decide I need them. I've read I'll only need 1-2 doz so I'm sure I'm good to go. Thanks to advice from Jamie, I just cut up an old flannel sheet. The measurements I found online were 4"x8" so I just went to town and cut up the whole thing in nice long strips, and then into rectangles. Easy peasy!
To make them extra absorbent, I decided a double layer would be nice. So I just put them back to back and zig-zag stitched around all the edges so they wont fray (using up random spools of thread! bonus!) and then threw them in the wash so they're all ready to go! Exciting, huh?
I've heard that all you need is water to make them moist, but I found a whole bunch of yummy wipe solution "recipes" that I'm just going to have to try. Here are some of them:

Castile Solution
Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap comes in several yummy scents!
1 tablespoon almond, apricot, or other oil
1 tablespoon Dr Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap
2 drops tea tree oil
1 drop lavender oil
1 cup water

Chamomile 'n' Honey
Brew the tea, add the honey, and drink any leftovers!
1 chamomile tea bag
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup boiling water

Fruit 'n' Veggie
1 teaspoon fruit or vegetable-based oil (apricot, olive, grapeseed, etc)
1 tablespoon vegetable-based soap (like Dr. Bronner's liquid castile)
1 teaspoon 100% aloe vera gel
1 cup water

Just One
1 chamomile tea bag
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon baby bath or shampoo
1 drop lavender oil
1 cup hot water

Lotion Potion
Baby lotion adds more softening power to this solution.
1 tablespoon baby oil
1 tablespoon baby soap
1 tablespoon baby lotion
1 cup water

Zany Apricot Solution
1 tablespoon apricot oil
1 tablespoon unscented baby wash
3 cups water

Zany Lavender Solution
1 tablespoon baby oil
1 tablespoon lavender scented baby wash
2-3 drops lavender oil
3 cups water

And a side note- I found these fabric bins at Target and I'm so excited about them because they fit PERFECTLY under the changing table like they were MEANT to go there! Even with the little laundry basket that I already had (from college!) Isn't that the coolest? Okay, okay, I know I'm a nerd... (come on- they're PERFECT!!) I can't wait to fill them with cloth diapers, covers, pins & snappies, lotion, powder, wipes, liners, doublers, onsies.... :)

32 weeks!!

baby boy at 32 weeks gestation:

Gee- and I thought I was getting uncomfortable!! hahaha
8 weeks to go! (5 until full term!) ;) He should be about 4 lbs today. At the ultrasound last week (sorry I still haven't gotten pictures up- I need to borrow a scanner) he was approximately 3# 9oz - which is right on track. He's "supposed" to gain a half pound a week now until D day. And I'm supposed to gain a pound a week- I've got to eat more. My weight hasn't budged since June, darn it.
He's so wiggly and squirmy!! I read this morning that he's sleeping 90-95% of the time. I...... don't think so. I guess he's pretty quiet most of the day, but it seems like he's a busy little guy much more often than 5-10% of the day!! Let's see... with 24 hours.... that's.... 21.6-22.8 hours of sleeping, leaving 1.2-2.4 hours of awake time. Hm..... well if that's average, I think I'm going to have a busy little beaver on my hands in a couple months!
Of course, movements are supposed to slow down starting this week as he gets more and more out of room. Poor little guy, that does look mighty cramped in there!!

Pregnany Moment #982

You know you're pregnant when:

Feeling the desire for a little bowl of ice cream in the afternoon, you indulge yourself. A couple hours later, hungry again, you open the refrigerator door- and what do you find?



The ice cream.

7 month belly!

Wow- can't believe we're in our 8th month of pregnancy now! It's gone by so quickly- and yet so slowly at the same time. I feel like I've been pregnant forever. Yet in a blink of an eye, we're going to have a wrinkly, wriggly baby in our arms! Crazy thought!
This month has been filled with lots of baby movement (loving it!), crazy hormones, and nesting madness. I feel I must clean, organize, and purchase everything I "need" for this little bundle of joy before he makes his grand entrance! Hopefully it wont be for another eight and a half weeks, but we'll be "full term" in just over five weeks! So there's a lot still on my "baby to do list" that needs checking off :) Hopefully before I go completely insane.
We've been going to our "preparing for childbirth" classes for four weeks, and have two weeks left. They've been pretty enjoyable- the instructor is a hoot. Sometimes I wonder if she might be on something. She's so wide-eyed and enthusiastic. But it's good information that hopefully I'll be able to use when the time comes!
We had another ultrasound this week that went well- I was a bit disappointed because it was short and we didn't get to see much of him, but I guess the other times we've been have been so awesome that it's time we had a lame one. And unfortunately, both our moms came to watch this time! Well, they got to see a lot of indiscernible organ and bone shots, and then a few quick profile glances at the end. We didn't get to watch him move at all. BUT- the important part is that he's looking great, measuring well (as far as the bone disorder goes) his fluid levels all look wonderful, and the tech said he has a "beautiful" heart. :) She couldn't get over how great it looked. He's estimated 3#9oz - and average for this week in gestation is 3.5# so he's perfect, even though his long bones are a bit small. Way to go- baby Ro! We could tell that he's definitely put on a bit more fat in the past two months. He had some chubby little cheeks :)
And I'm still doing well too, which I'm thankful for every day! I've had some pretty fabulous bouts of insomnia (haha) and the indigestion continues full force, but considering my body is being taken over by another human, I'm doing great! I'm still getting around fairly well, exercising, and wearing the same shoes. I'm certainly retaining water, but not enough to make my feet swell up all huge. And hopefully that will stay the same for the next week and a half because I just bought some cute shoes to wear to Evan & Jackie's wedding NEXT weekend!!

the progress:
pre-pregnancy: 102# 24"
one month :100# 24"
two months :101# 29"
three months :104# 32"
four months: 108# 32.5"
five months: 114# 35.5"
six months: 118# 37"
seven months: 120# 37.5" - wow, cant believe I've gained 18lbs and 19"! I should have another 8 lbs to go, but the inches will remain a mystery.

6 month belly!

Here it is! Holy crap. I'm sad to say the stretch marks are peeking out- pretty pale and tiny so far (and you can't see them in the photo so don't try and find them!) but I'm afraid I'll be a road map soon! Good thing I decided to do these photos in black and white. ;) Matt and I were walking on the beach on Saturday and it was pretty tough with the soft sand and all- we turned around after about 10 minutes and I had to chuckle at our footprints. Matt's were so straight and mine were all heel-in, toe-out. I wondered out-loud why our patterns were so different and he reminded me that my feet are probably compensating for all the weight out front! Yeah folks, I'm waddling. HELLO! I feel like there was another story that I wanted to share but I can't think of it. Baby brain strikes again! :) Oh well, it's late.... maybe i'll remember it later. For now, I'm off to bed!

the progress:
pre-pregnancy: 102# 24"
one month :100# 24"
two months :101# 29"
three months :104# 32"
four months: 108# 32.5"
five months: 114# 35.5"
six months: 118# 37"

"Babymoon"

Matt and I spent the weekend at the coast as our "last hurrah" as a childless couple. I'm glad we did it now at 6 months and not later this summer as I could still get around a little bit and we enjoyed ourselves very much! We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Depot Bay, which is near Lincoln City, called "Pana~Sea~Ah." It was so beautiful and relaxing- aahhhhh.
We left Friday afternoon and were stuck in traffic of course- Praise the Lord for air conditioning in the car! It was soooo hot here.As we got to the coast the temp dropped fro, 90-something to 60-something, and the sky was clear blue and the ocean phenomenal as usual. :) As usual, we really didn't get any pictures of ourselves, but tried to take a few along the way to share.


Our room was fantastic- we left the window open the whole weekend and listened to the ocean crashing - we had a great view from the bedroom and bathroom above the jacuzzi tub. Of course, we could only take a warm soak and not hot so we didn't cook the baby- it was still really relaxing :)
Saturday morning we had breakfast with the other guests and it was sooo yummy :) The really cool thing though was before breakfast, one of the men asked if anyone minded if he prayed for breakfast! We thought that was pretty neat! Turns out the other three couples were Christians and we talked all about raising children for about two hours over breakfast. One couple had young kids and the other two had grown kids and it was just really enjoyable. :) After breakfast we went for a walk on the beach- which turned into a "sit" on the beach as I decided it's pretty challenging to walk on sand with a gigantic belly sticking out! We later went into town for lunch and just to walk around and enjoy each other. On the way back we stopped at Yaquina Head because Matt's always wanted to and never has- there's a big lighthouse (the tallest in Oregon!) that we took a tour of.
We climbed all the way to the top (about 7 stories) and got to look out the glass- the view was incredible!

We didn't get a great shot of it through the glass- but you can get the idea :)
We went out for dinner Saturday night at a great restaurant called "Tidal Raves"- we split a seafood pasta that had clams, shrimp, crab, and halibut in a creamy pesto sauce- it was very delicious. Mmm..... we ordered the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake to go so we could have it later- we were stuffed. (We had a late lunch and our dinner reservation was for 5:30!) We of course brought the camera and took no pictures! And I looked pretty cute too- hahaha. While we were waiting for our table some ladies were sitting down and offered me their seats- very sweet- but I was fine standing for five minutes. Then they wanted to know all about everything as is becoming quite a trend I'm noticing- "when are you due?" "is it a boy or a girl?" "have you got a name picked out?" always the first three questions. ;) It's pretty funny when I tell people I"m due September 30th- their eyes always get big and they kind of stutter "oh...." like I'm a honkin' cow or something and should "pop any minute" (I hear that one a lot too!) So anyway.... dinner was great! When we left Matt said "everyone was staring at you." Yeah- he hasn't been out in public with me that much lately. hahahaha. Apparently I'm quite the sight to see! Well, we had a really nice evening and slept again to the sound & smell of the ocean and woke up Sunday well rested for another fantastic breakfast. The main course was a mango baked french toast- holy cow. mmmmmm.......
After packing up and checking out, we stopped at the Trager outet stores on our way home to see if there was a maternity store. I need to find a cute dress for Evan and Jackie's wedding August 9th! (Matt's brother.) There wasn't one... but I did get a new bible, which I'm really excited about, because it's a slimline NASB so I don't have to carry around my 100lb bible when I've got the baby in one arm and the diaper bag in the other- :) I love my NASB and didn't want to get a different version just to get a thin one- and I hadn't seen any online that looked good so I was excited to find this one. And fairly cheap too! Yay :) Then we stopped at another beach (I don't remember which one...) because they were having a kite festival- it was pretty neat to watch all the big kites for a little bit!
So- there's our romantic weekend in a nut shell :) If we ever can, we'd love to go back and we highly recommend it to any B&B'ers out there!