"The Talk"

Mr. Midwife had "The Talk" with me. The one that you hope never to hear...going post 40 weeks. I know it's possible to be pregnant for 42 weeks but I'm not sure anyone really wants to go over 40 weeks. I've been patient the entire pregnancy but the last few weeks once you hit full term are hard. Although I'm aware of the possiblity, I kind of live in denial and hope and to believe that SugarPlum will come on time. However, this morning, Mr. Midwife said that if he doesn't come next week we'll go in to a deeper discussion about being induced. I asked him when that would happen, thinking he would say we would consider it week 40, but he said week 42! Sigh.

Baby Shower #2

My co-workers threw a shower for me which was hosted by my coworker friend, Rachel. She did a great job and brought her cute little 4 year old boy with her. There was lots of great food, especially the cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory (lemon raspberry-yum). I got lots of cool gifts which is always nice. One of my favorite things about receiving gifts from both this shower and my other shower is that a lot of people didn't shop from my registry so there were lots of cool surprises. It's nice to know that people took time to think about something they thought we'd like. I know some people get really pissed off if their guests don't shop from their registry but I don't. Either way is fine with me. Who am I to be ungrateful? Anyway, I got another carrier which Danielle has already claimed, receiving blankets which we needed, Sophie the teething Giraffe which I hear is a hot item, a Pirates outfit (so Pittsburgh but I love it), toys, diapers in two different stages, wipes, clothes, a photo album, books, halosac, and a $50 gift card to Babies R Us. Our little guy is so lucky.

BTW- Danielle and I decided on godparents. Yay! I'm pretty happy about our decision. I can't wait to ask them. For us, we'd like our son's godparents to be support people, role models and aunt/uncle figures. We don't expect them to raise our child should we die. We just want them to be involved. Even though they are not in the same state as us, I think they'll do well with the role we're asking them. I'll reveal their identity once they accept. We decided we'll ask them once the baby is born.

Nursery

Here are some pics of our nursery. There's no real color or theme to it once we changed the color from blue to latte. It's just a collection of things I thought he'd like. Please excuse the mess. We still have pictures to add around the dresser area, the strollers need to go in the back of our cars, and I need to add hooks on the back of the door to hang his slings/carriers.

nursery

37 Weeks

• I'm officially full term. Yay!!!
• I'm not sick of being pregnant but I'm ready to give birth. I'm excited to meet SugarPlum and live motherhood.
• Selfishly, I'm definitely ready for maternity leave. Finding something that fits for work on a daily basis is becoming a challenge. I've also developed "the mask of pregnancy" and can't wait to get rid of it, I can't wait to shed this weight, and have control over my bladder.
• I must be going through some kind of hormonal change because my mood has plummeted. I'm incredibly quiet and irritable.
• Danielle has been wonderful. I love her so much. She's been so nurturing and understanding that it's made these last few weeks easier.
• This is the last week of lamaze. Thank god. I feel like it was a waste of money. I don't think we learned anything that amazing. I've been doing a lot of reading and I'm sure I could have gotten the same info from a book or a good DVD. No one is particularly close in our group so I can't even say that we may get a friend out of the deal. I'm just glad it will be over and we can get our Wednesday nights back to relax after work.

Who wants ice-cream????

Mmmmmmmeeeeee!!!!!! My favorite ice-cream shop is opened for the season. I love this place. They use local products such as homemade cookies from a local bakery for their ice cream sandwiches. Their milkshakes are so yummy and they have really fun


artic swirls. I love coming here in the summer. This year we are starting a little earlier. Yum!

Godparents

Danielle and I recently had a discussion about godparents. I'm really trying to understand their purpose in order for us to choose the right people. I've heard so many things such as they are to provide religious guidance, be the person who cares for your child should the parents die, someone who is a support for the child, as well as other things. My godmother is my mother's cousin and my godfather is my dad's best friend. They both still live in England but as a small child I remember my godfather coming over to visit and bringing both my brother and I treats. My brothers have different godparents from myself and each other. Neither of theirs were really all that involved.

I suppose for me, I see their role as being a support "aunt/uncle" like figure in the child's life. If Danielle and I should die, the child would live with a family member as a first option, not them. And as far as religion, I have no problem with them doing that but I'm not sure all of my friends would be able to fulfill that task.

I know some people choose family members. Danielle's sister was very hurt that she was not in the running to be the godmother. I think she had just assumed she would get the role but personally, I'd like to choose someone who isn't a family member as family members already have a role/title in our child's life. Growing up I always thought it would be my best friend Dina. Our friendship had drifted at one point but seems to pretty strong again as of late. My friend Erica seems to be the person who comes to mind. Danielle is in agreement but struggles with the fact that she already has several godchildren. However, they are all girls. For us, having a male role model in our child's life is important. My brother lives 3 hours away, my dad is a 2 hour flight, and Danielle's brother doesn't like me (long very dramatic stereotypical gay boy story), my good male friend doesn't seem to have any interest in children, and we lack male friends that live geographically close that would serve good role models. Erica's brother was once our donor. I thought about him but he too lives in LA with his sister. Now, when we move to LA, geography won't be an issue but until then?

So here are my questions:
- who are your child(ren) godparents?
- how did you choose them?
- what purpose do godparents serve in your mind?
- have they lived up to that role so far?
- when did you appoint them that role? (christening/baptism/dedication, etc)

Diaper Mail

Sugarplum got some diapers





in the mail from nana.



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Our Baby Shower

Our baby shower was simply amazing. It was touching to see how much attention to detail Erica (hostess) put in, to incorporate both Danielle and I in a way that I think and hope Danielle felt this shower was as much for her as it was for me.

The shower was High Tea held at "the oldest dining room in Pittsburgh" at the Terrace Room in the Omni Hotel. The room looked beautiful with the linen cloaked tables, table settings, and chandeliers. It reminded Danielle and I of the dining rooms on our cruise ship. Erica set each place setting with favors that matched the theme of our invitations. They included a bookmark, chocolate lollipop with our names and date on it, and a tea bag in the most beautiful themed packet. She also made homemade red velvet cupcakes for people to take home with them and put them in their own individual boxes. I think our guests felt just as well thought of as Danielle and I did.

With the exception of one, everyone showed up. Games included naming the children of the listed tv parents and their show. Erica is a HUGE tv/movie fan so this was so her and a lot of fun. Another game included trying to guess the most items in my diaper bag. My niece Logan, was given the job of walking around with a baby bottle of jellybeans and allowed each person to guess how many were in it. Logan (age 5) and my 1 year old niece were the only children there so it was nice to give her a job to do. And then the last game was while I opened my presents. Everyone was given a bingo board with common baby items and as I opened my gifts they were able to use their marker (spring colored M&M's) to mark it off. We ended up with a few bingos. This was my favorite game because it kept people interested as we opened up gifts. In between games and as we were having tea, Erica did a "P3 challenge." If some of you remember the ongoing joke/nickname for Danielle is P3 (professional poker player- long story). Anyway, on the cupcake boxes and under the tea cup saucers, Erica randomly placed poker stickers. Whoever, had the sticker she called out won the prize. And talking about prizes, she picked out some really nice prizes. I could see that the guests were impressed and really enjoyed them.

Um, what else? Oh, yeah gifts. We got TONS of gifts. Once again, I have amazing friends who are incredibly generous. Our little guy is going to be so decked out in all of his cute clothes. My friends have great taste in baby clothing!!! Someone commented towards the end that we didn't receive any blankets, bottles, or receiving blankets and they were right. We have enough at home but usually people receive tons of them. I think it just means that my friends think outside the box!!! Other gifts included super cute bibs, an Ergo carrier, exersaucer, pj's and shower gel/lotion for me to take to the hospital, toys, diapers/wipes, tons of books with beautiful greetings written from the gift giver, monitor, money, gift cards, etc. Truly, our little guy was lavished with lots of wonderful gifts.

Anyway, all in all, I had a great time. It was truly everything I hoped and wished it to be. My friends have been so incredibly supportive along my journey and it was nice to have them all there with us to celebrate the pending arrival of our little guy.

Hospital Tour

This morning Mr. Midwife took Danielle and I, along with another couple on a tour of the hospital. He told us where to sign in, showed us triage, L&D, and recovery. The triage area has a really nice jacuzzi that seems to be limited to patients using midwives. I guess the nurses are way too busy to monitor OB patients in there so it's not offered to them. The tub is a nice size with lots of jets. We are allowed to labor in there as long as possible. For those who used a tub or shower of some sort during your labor, what did you wear? I'm trying to figure out what would be the most appropriate/comfortable.

I'm really impressed with the labor and delivery area. It's quite large and cozy. I just assumed it would have a sterile feel to it but quite the contrary. Mr. Midwife showed us how the bed breaks down into a birthing chair and how there's a steel bar that can go across it if you want to brace yourself and squat during delivery. I just love that I'm not just limited to laying on my back and pushing. He's a big fan of moving around and trying different positions. He's also a big fan of kangaroo care and said the nurses have no problem accommodating us by holding off on weighing, feet stamping, etc of the baby for an hour or so.

The post partum rooms aren't as large or cozy but they will accommodate what we need for our 2 night stay. Visiting is 24 hours a day and Danielle can stay with me the entire time. The babies have a special device on their bracelets that literally shuts down the entire hospital (doors, elevators, etc) if someone goes beyond a certain point with them. I'm truly impressed with this security measure. Breastfeeding is encouraged as well as rooming in. He also gave us the tip of making a sign to bring with us that says "sleeping." He said you won't get much rest at the hospital but if you put the sign up, it can reduce some traffic in and out of your room with people like the water fillers, tray takers, etc.

So all in all, we enjoyed the tour. It definitely raised our level of excitement about the baby's arrival and made the idea that he'll be arriving soon all seem a little more real.