34 Weeks

Well, my baby shower is this Sunday! Here is a picture of the invitation...

Isn't it cute? I'm really excited. I keep seeing things in stores that I want to get for the baby, and have to make myself wait to see what Baby Dolton receives at the shower first! I've already gotten a few things in the mail... A card and check from my wonderful Aunt Sandy and Uncle Greg, a Target Baby gift certificate from my cousin Todd and his wife Amy, and this cute suitcase from Mike and Melody Gevaza...

It even comes with it's own matching blanket! I think it's adorable. Thanks to all, and expect your thank-you notes soon!!!

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Hopefully I'll post pictures from the shower next week... Depends on how long it takes me to get them downloaded.

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Adam and Ryan left yesterday for Disneyworld - I so wish I could have gone!!! Oh well. They're driving out there with Adam's folks, Donna and Randy; along with his sisters Aubrey and Angelique, and his nephew Britian - all in a Ford Expedition. Maybe I'm glad I'm not going... Ha ha! I did request Mickey Mouse ears for the baby, though.

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I passed the non-stress test with flying colors... It took a long time to do since Baby Dolton was so active. They had a hard time getting his resting heart rate! He moves all the time now. They say to make sure the baby moves at least 10 times a day - I don't think 10 minutes go by without him kicking me!!!

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Well, I've finished the cat I was making in the last post... I don't have any beads for the eyes, though - I'll have get some later this week. I guess being an eyeless cat isn't as bad as being an earless cat! Poor Smokey. Anyway, here are some pics of the toy...

I took them on my couch, if you're wondering about the weird paisley background. He's not exactly appropriate for a child's toy, since the arms and legs are just sewn on with yarn, but I still think he's cute. I've also made a crocheted jellyfish to hang in the baby's room out of that same yarn. Once I get it hung, I'll post pictures of that as well. It didn't photograph too well laying on it's side!

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With all the boy stuff floating around here, I decided to get something girly for myself. I ordered a Little Dead Ragdolly from Pandora's Button Box. Her name is Lucinda LaGrippe, and she is beautiful! I love the fact that she's dead, since I was never that into dolls growing up. It just seemed to fit!

Note to self... Make Ryan tell all his friends that he will be gone the next time he goes out of town - I just answered the door for the sixth time today for a kid wanting him to come out and play!

The Baby Center website has this to say about the 34th week: "Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is probably almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which he'll need to regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His central nervous system is still maturing and his lungs are well developed by now. If you've been nervous about going into preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that 99 percent of babies this age can survive outside the womb — and most have no major long-term problems related to prematurity.

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"You may be feeling a little fatigued lately, and that's perfectly understandable. Let yourself slow down and save some energy for labor day. If you have to spend a lot of time on your feet, try wearing a maternity belt that supports your abdomen and helps redistribute some of the weight. And if you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, which may cause a temporary (but rapid) drop in your blood pressure and make you feel dizzy when you get up.

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"You may notice itchy red bumps or welts on your belly (they might even spread to your thighs and buttocks). This is usually a harmless condition called pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP for short), but let your practitioner make a diagnosis to be sure. Also be sure to call him if you feel itchy all over your body, even if you don't have a rash. It could signal a liver problem."

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I came to a sad realization today... I am too big to do laundry. I can put clothes into the washer and get it started, and I can put clothes in and take clothes out of the dryer, but I can no longer get the clothes out of the washer. My belly is too big for me to get close enough to reach the bottom! Either that or my arms are too short... Ah, the joys of pregnancy!

33 Weeks

Currently there are 48 days left until I meet my son! Hip hip hooray! Have I mentioned that I'm ready to be done with this whole pregnancy thing? My ankles are so swollen it looks like I have elephantiasis. Well, maybe not that bad, but pretty darn close!
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I'm beginning to dread going to bed. It takes forever to get comfortable, and it seems like as soon as I do, I have to get up and pee. Getting up is a chore in and of itself! I now have 6 pillows on the bed that I use to prop myself up and keep me on my left side. I toss and turn in my sleep on a regular basis, so staying in one position has taken some creativity! Too bad Sinaka isn't still around - when he slept in the bed with me, he'd get mad if I moved! Who am I to argue with a Great Dane? Poor Thunder and Sabrina have been banished - they both kick in their sleep, and I'm afraid they'll kick me in the belly. Or off the bed entirely, which has happened in the past! Sinaka was a good sleeper, though - he would stay in one place all night (head on the pillow next to mine, of course), and he always wanted me to keep my arm over him. He'd actually wake me up if I rolled over and wasn't holding him! He was a strange one, but then again, he never ate a towel. Not that Thunder is retarded or anything - oh, wait a sec here...

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I had another O.B. appointment today... My blood pressure was a little bit high - 140/82. Not nearly as high as it has been, but since my feet are so swollen they want me to go in tomorrow and get a non-stress test. Yay for me. Could you tell that was sarcastic? I also have to collect my urine for 24 hours. Again. Yay for me. Again. Ugh.

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I did get to have another ultrasound today! My insurance only covers two, but mom said she'd pay for it so we can see the baby again. My O.B.'s office just got a 4-D machine, so we didn't have to go all the way to the northside this time. Of course, since I'm past 28 weeks, the pictures weren't just crystal clear. Most of the time he had his face turned into the placenta! Not a bunch of room in there anymore, I guess. Mom, Dad, Kelly, and Emily all came with me to see Baby Dolton. Here are a few of the pictures they took...


The first two are in 3-D, the last two are 2-D. The third picture shows his boy parts - click on the image to zoom in if you're really interested. Baby Dolton is looking directly at us in the fourth picture, but the image kind of reminds me of the movie poster from The Frighteners!

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One of my current WIP's is this cute cat! I hope it turns out as well as the picture does... I'm using RHSS/WW instead of #10 crochet thread so it will be larger and softer. At the rate I'm going, Baby Dolton will have so many softies I won't have to buy him any toys for years!

I found the cutest shirt to wear to the baby shower!!! It's too perfect - of course, I've felt this way since I hit 6 months...

Time for another look from www.babycenter.com:

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"This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and measures 17.2 inches from the top of his head to his heels. His skin is becoming less red and wrinkled, and while most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. This will help him ease out of your relatively narrow birth canal.

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"You may be feeling some aches and even numbness in your fingers, wrists, and hands. Like many other tissues in your body, those in your wrist can swell, which can increase pressure in the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in your wrist. Nerves that run through this "tunnel" end up pinched, creating numbness, tingling, shooting or burning pain, or a dull ache. Try wearing a brace or propping your arm up with a pillow when you sleep. If your work requires repetitive hand movements (at a keyboard or assembly line, for example), remember to stretch your hands when you take breaks.

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"If you're having trouble sleeping at night, try wedging a pillow between your legs and behind your back. If that doesn't help, try sleeping in a semi-upright position, with several pillows behind your head (or sleep in a recliner!). If frequent trips to the bathroom are robbing you of your zzz's, cut back on fluids by late afternoon or evening."

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I sure hope Baby Dolton appreciates all of this!!! Ha ha, not a chance, right Mom?