almost 35 weeks

Hello!

All the little feet and big paws around here are doing great.  Working hard and getting ready for Mr. E. Except for Mika.  She just plays hard, whines when we aren't playing, and barks at the UPS man.  She never helps around the house.  Unless I drop food on the floor of course.  Then she happily helps clean that up.  I'll call about our camera on Monday.  If the police say it might be awhile before we get it back, I'll start getting pics of my belly on my phone.  If they say its only a week wait, I'll probably wait to get our camera back.

On to the fruit comparisons!  I'm just a day shy of 35 weeks so that's what I'm posting about:

Mr. Eli:

• is getting a bit cramped.  Don't worry, he still tries to move around and thumps and kicks and such.  
• is about 18 inches
• weighs about 5 1/4 lbs (think of a honeydew melon is what the site says, but that seems heavy for a honeydew melon.  Or maybe I'm just that strong!)
• has fully developed kidneys
• has a liver that can process some waste products.  
• is developing his brain and getting all smart and stuff.  He'll be a genius I'm sure.

Ms. Mommy: 

• my uterus is up under my rib cage by now (I think it has been for a few weeks now.  Mr. E has gotten between my ribs a few times).  
• pees a lot
• has pelvic/hip ache-i-ness
• hates trying to roll over in bed.  Owieowieowie.  I just sit up, it's easier and less discomfort
• is still dealing with heartburn
• made her first sweet potato pie.  It was yummy. 

Mr. Daddy: 

• got accepted to an astronautical (think space and satellites, not airplanes) engineering program.  I think he is going to choose this over fire protection engineering.  We should know soon as this program he will start in January instead of next fall.  
• Got his hair and beard trimmed.  A bit more than he wanted I think, but he looks good.  He just looks a little less like a hermit mountain man
• got his Christmas present this week.  We got a lenovo yoga 13.  It's a pretty cool convertible laptop / tablet.  Windows 8 has a learning curve to it.  
• is a great man who gives me back/hip rubs, makes me ovaltines and pbj sandwiches, and keeps things easy going even when I'm bitchy and grumpy with him.  I love you dear.  

Ms. BigPaws: 

• has taken to rearranging the living room to her comfort.  She has currently moved a couch cushion and couch pillow to her "bed" (behind our couch where her crate use to be) and has been seen propped up on top of all these pillows.  She is quite the princess.  
• Chased after deer twice today.  I'm sure she just wanted to ensure that we had a thanksgiving feast and was a bit worried about not smelling any turkey yet.  She did not catch either deer.  Not even close.   

I had a great week this week.  Last Sunday I got a pedicure with a friend who is also pregnant.  I got cute little dots on my toes.  She got me an awesome gift of a bottle drying rack and a bottle parts dishwasher container thing (pregnancy makes my english real good like).  See, she is smart and got me something functional that I actually still need.  We had a whole conversation about how people tell you to make a good baby registry, and then no one buys you anything off the registry if it is functional (it has to be cute).  I was not smart and got her the cutesy stuff.  Ooops.  

I had a busy busy week and worked a lot of hours, but it was really good.  I solved a 3 year old problem at work by using copy and paste and hitting a "submit" button.  I did it on a whim.  It worked.  It probably never should have been a problem if it was that simple to fix, but I felt like a rock star.  Then when my boss took his new rock star and her team out to lunch, she promptly tripped over a curb and tumbled to the ground making a fool out of herself.  Anyone who knows me well will know that I'm a very clumsy person.  I was not hurt and neither was baby.  My pride felt a little bruised though.  

Then I spent Thanksgiving with one of my chosen families.  Brian and I had delicious food and great company.  I had been hesitant to make plans because I get randomly tired and grumpy, but I'm so glad we went.  It was fun and relaxing and yummy.  It also meant we didn't have leftover pizza or cereal for Thanksgiving.  I got to talk to a lot of my family over the phone.  Not everyone though, I'll probably call around some more this weekend.  

People keep asking about the nursery.  We aren't doing anything fancy with it, but things are cleaned and prepared.  There is still some office stuff in the closet and behind the door (and books and travel souvenirs on the shelves), but I'm sure baby won't mind for awhile.  I also got an amazing painting of the Cat in the Hat from a great friend, but I haven't hung it yet.  That will probably happen this weekend and maybe I will take more pictures.  Below are some pictures of the nursery.  

Hanging on the wall is Brian's baby blanket.  The crib is mostly empty now.  All that stuff is cleaned out.  I'll put the sheet on this weekend.  

3-6 month clothes.  The drawer is full.  This doesn't include sleepers.  

0-3 month clothes all washed and ready to be worn.  The drawer is full.  

Mr. E's dresser with decorations and toys.  The bear was Brian's when he was a boy.  The bear's ear was cold.  He needed a hat. 

We packed our hospital bag mostly.  I still need to add some stuff.  You can see heat and cold packs, clothes for me to come home in, hair ties to keep my hair out of my face, a Pilates ball (for massaging my back without killing Brian's muscles, something we learned at our comfort measures class),  a pashmina for relaxation learned in our class (don't worry, it is a stained one),  Mr. E's going home clothes, and deodorant for Brian because I'm going to make him work hard!  The other side of the suitcase has Brian's stuff. We also have tennis balls now.  We'll pack toiletries when the time comes.  I'm sure you all want me to shower and brush my teeth between now and then :)

33 weeks

I am 33 weeks yesterday!  We had a very eventful week this past week.  There will be two posts.

Here are the fruit comparisons:

Eli

• weighs a little over 4 lbs (~ the weight of a pineapple or an adult duck (I wonder if he's a witch))
• is ~ 17in long (ladies, think of the length of your favorite collarbone length necklace)
• has hardening bones and he is gaining more fat and looking less wrinkly 
• has an almost mature respiratory system
• can tell the difference between light and dark/night and day (I'm sure he'll forget this knowledge as soon as he arrives and sleep all day and fuss all night)
• kicks and punches with more force now.  

Mom: 

• has to pee all the time.  Frequently rushes to go and then the bladder only releases about 3 drops.  It is obnoxious.  
• has started waddling a bit.  My hips and pelvic bones are sore, especially going from laying/sitting to standing.  
• has been reading a ton about labor and delivery, so I'm starting to feel much less nervous about it.  I'm trying to go into it with an open mind about what I want since things will happen how they happen and I will just adjust accordingly.  Although an epidural scares the bejeezus out of me.  
• Heartburn...yay
• My fingers have been swelling a bit.  I wear my wedding rings on a chain as a necklace.  
• I'm tired.  Naps are frequent and frequently unintended!  

Dad: 

• is doing well in school and has been looking into an alternative to the UMD fire protection degree.  This other option is Capitol College and is a degree in Astronautical Engineering.  Either one would be pretty awesome.  
• has been taking over a bunch of chores for me (vacuuming the stairs, taking the dog out, carrying the laundry up and down the stairs, etc)
• has been procrastinating on learning about labor :)  I think he thinks 7 weeks max is a long way away.

Mika: 

• pees, poops, eats, and demands attention.  What good practice!  
• got many many treats this week

So I started washing baby clothes and prepping the hospital bag this weekend.  I have all the 0-3 month clothes washed and sorted.  I might do the 3-6 months in a week or two.  We are also going to give the cloth diaper thing a try and we have a good starter stash built and prepped.  We have pockets (bumgenius and fuzzibunz) and prefolds with covers (thirsties, flips and 1 econobum).  I got almost all of them used and almost all of them will last through potty training, so if we keep up with it and don't switch back to disposables, we'll be spending a max of around $300 for diapers.  If we don't, they have a great resale value, so I'll just sell them for about what I paid for them.  Not much risk there.  We plan on using up the disposables we have received first while we get settled with Mr. E and find a general routine.  

I had an appointment on Friday and everything was great.  Heartbeat was 143.  Fundal height (my belly) measured right at 32 weeks and the doc told me to keep up the walking and my eating habits.  My pelvic bone hurting is normal.  That was really it.  I go back the first week of December (36 weeks), then again two weeks later (38 weeks), and then every week (39, 40 weeks...they won't let me go past 41 weeks).

We took an infant care class and learned a bit about diapering, bathing, things that happen at the hospital, skin care, sleeping, swaddling, dressing, nails, etc.  

People have been asking us what we need so I'll list it here.  This isn't a request for items, I just can't think of things on the spot when asked because we really are good to go for the first few weeks.  I've been trying to think about it, but we really do have the basics to get us going.  We could probably use a few more bottles for when I start pumping.  We have a few Avent bottles and some babies r us brand drop ins (like the Playtex nursers), but a few more probably wouldn't hurt.  I know many people swear by the Dr. Browns, but we would prefer not to have bottles with a ton of parts to clean and worry about.  (I've heard the Dr. Browns leak if they aren't put together just right).  We could also use a bottle drying rack and dishwasher container.  We don't have many socks or mitten things.  We could probably use more crib sheets.  

Things we have a ton of: heavy blankets, 0-3 and 3-6 months clothes, bath time stuff (shampoo, soap, lotion, towels), teether toys.  

Larger items we have: car seat, play pen, swing, bouncer seat, boppy pillow, bumpo seat, crib, dresser, stroller, bassinet, diaper caddy, backpack (diaper bag)

Here is our registry again in case anyone wants to look.  Again, this isn't a request for items.  People just keep asking.   http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/3C6NTSMZVLTNU

Scary Happenings: It was a dark and quiet night after the election

So we had quite the excitement this week.  At least one guy came into our house while we were home sleeping and attempted to steal things.  We are all safe and well.  All of our stuff was recovered and one guy was caught.  We think the front door wasn't locked after Mika went out for the last time.  Lock your doors.  Apparently many thieves just walk around checking for unlocked doors.  Here are the details from my point of view.  

We went to bed and watched the election results for awhile on Tuesday night.  I fell asleep early, but Brian didn't go to sleep until about 1/1:30am.
At a bit after 2:30am, I woke up to Mika barking and coming into our room.  She does this sometimes, so I didn't think much of it at first.  She'll do this when she sees a raccoon or a cat outside.  She is barking while sitting on the cot we have for her in our bedroom.  I wake up B and tell him to just go downstairs and look outside because that usually calms her down.  Then I realize that she isn't barking at the window, she is barking while intently staring at our bedroom door.  We get quiet and B tells Mika to "go to your house" which is her command to go down to her bed where her crate use to be.  She refuses, which is strange and never happens.  That is one command that she always follows in the house, even if you can tell she doesn't want to.  B gets up and goes to the open bedroom door and we listen.  We hear creaking downstairs.  Anyone who has been in our house much knows that we have creaky floors. I hear crickets, which is odd.  Our windows provide great sound proofing.  Brian closes the bedroom door while I call 911.  I'm hiding, crouched down, on the side of the bed away from the door and B and Mika are at the foot of the bed away from the door.  We hear creaking around.  

The 911 guy was super calm.  I know they are trained, but his confidence was very calming.  I tell him we think there is someone in our house.  He asks some questions: 2 of us live here, we have a dog, yes the dog is with us, we hear creaking, yes we still hear someone/thing moving around downstairs, no we don't have weapons.  He lets us know that the police officers are on the way and that we should stay on the line with him.  I'm shaking and feel completely terrified but stay calm enough to talk quietly.  I'm thinking about how I can't hide under the bed...I don't fit...and there is no where else for me to go without crossing the path of the door.  B tells me afterwards that he was trying to think of something to use as a weapon, but we didn't really have anything.  

It only takes a few minutes.  It felt like a long time, but it wasn't really.  We see lights near the walking paths behind the house (the officers looking for people) and hear a dog (the canine unit).  The 911 guy keeps us on the line and tells us that other units will be there shortly and to stay in our room until they announce their presence (and to keep hold of the dog).  A couple minutes later, a cop announces he is an officer and B goes down.  I keep a hold of Mika and stay in the room a bit longer.  After getting better dressed and going downstairs, we answer a bunch of questions about what happened.  We are asked not to touch anything if at all possible and to start looking for things that are missing.  They won't let me do anything because I'm pregnant and they have called the EMTs to check up on me.  The guy took a computer monitor, my purse, B's keys, our digital SLR camera, the camera bag, our PS3, and laptop.  The police found things ditched throughout his path of escape up to a few blocks away.  My purse was on a neighbors car with nothing missing from it.  B's keys were found under my car the next day when I left for work, other stuff was found in bushes and under cars.  All of it was found.

After awhile, the EMTs showed up and took my vitals (big surprise, my blood pressure was a bit high).  I haven't felt any movement from Mr. E at this point and I'm worried, but at this point I remember that I have a home doppler thing and grab it and find his heartbeat before the EMTs leave.  His heart rate was also a bit high, but within the normal range of 130-170 that I'm always told at the doctor's office.  Poor little dude probably got a ton of the adrenaline and other hormones/whatever that were running rampant through my system at that point.  EMTs couldn't do anything else for me.  So they left.  

A detective comes and asks us again about what happened, what was missing, did we know anyone by the name of the guy they caught and had out in their police car.  We write formal statements.  We get some of our stuff back.  A crime lab lady came and took fingerprints off all the stuff he stole and certain places around our house (door knob of the front door and lock of the sliding door (it was open and most likely the door he left through) and a clear fingerprint on a speaker that was otherwise covered in dust).  We answer some more questions and provide our contact information.  

At some point, probably around 430ish, an officer comes in and says that someone should probably take the suspect down to the station because he was in the back of the squad car crying about the cuffs being too tight and having carpal tunnel syndrome.  The thought makes me smile.  That sounds mean, but it's his own damn fault.  Also he was apparently intoxicated.  

The officers finally leave around 5am.  I call into work and take the day off.  Brian emails his professors to get excused absences so he doesn't lose points.  Mika receives a bunch of treats and peanut butter.  She did a good job.  Some people have mentioned that she should have attacked, but I don't think that is really her personality.  She came to us and alerted us, and she probably couldn't have done anything better.  We still don't know what she would have done if he would have come into our room or come after us.  I have a feeling she may have attacked then.   We would have slept right through it if it wasn't for her.  We sleep with our bedroom door open.  The thought gives me chills.  I've decided Mr. E may be sleeping in our room until he is old enough to wield his own baseball bat.  I'm only half joking.  I can't imagine what I would have done if he was already born and in a different room. The rest of this crazy story isn't scary for me to tell anymore...that thought is still heart-pounding terrifying to me.  

We slept until noonish and called our families and insurance and all that and just tried to relax all day.  I cleaned house to get out some energy.  We walked Mika to get some of her energy out, you could tell she was still on alert.  I've checked the locks a billion times since then.  We had already planned to get a new front door and floors put in soon.  I was thinking before about how I wanted to get rid of the creaky floors.  Now I'm not so sure.  We probably wouldn't have heard anyone moving around after Mika woke us up if it wasn't for the floors creaking.  

I was extremely impressed with the Howard County Police (we don't have city police, just county police).  They got here so fast.  The officer that stayed with us and asked us questions was very good at keeping us relaxed.  They caught the guy and found our stuff in the dark hidden in bushes and under cars.  You could tell they were pumped up by actually catching someone.  I'm not saying they were happy it happened, but breaking and entering isn't usually noticed while its happening so they rarely catch people.  I felt kinda bad for the detective and crime lab lady, you could tell they had to get out of bed for us.  The other officers were already on shift. I still feel very grateful for how fast they got here, how they kept us calm and relaxed, and that they got the guy and all of our stuff.  We received a letter in the mail today about victim assistance.  It provided phone numbers to call for different things, our detective's info and case number, and information about how the judicial process works.  I'm sure it's an automatic thing to send to people, but I feel like we were completely taken care of.  Seriously impressed with our police here.  

Because I'm an internet stalker: 

We saw the court case in the Maryland court system online system already.  His preliminary hearing will be later this month.  I told someone that he was about 28, but he is 23ish.  He is being charged with Burglary-First Degree, Burglary-Third Degree, Burglary-Fourth Degree-Dwell, and Theft: $1000 to under $10,000.  I know it is the weekend, and this may only be due to a backup in data entry, but his bail was set on Thursday and it still doesn't say he was released.  

This isn't this guy's first run in with the law.  He has had multiple instances of driving on a suspended license, a second degree assault charge, public intox/reckless endangerment, theft of under $100 (found guilty), a few other charges that I would consider minor, and one of the officers recognized him from some vandalism at a convenience store.  A few of these cases were closed out due to the prosecution choosing not to pursue, probation, or a suspension of the prosecution (they could reopen it for a repeat offense in a reasonable amount of time).  

That's all I can think of for now.  It was scary.  It a way, it feels like it didn't really happen even though I know it did.  We still haven't gotten all our stuff back, so we don't know what condition it is in.  I did get to keep my purse though.  

The moral of the story is: Lock your doors.  

32 weeks

I'm 32 weeks (and a day).  Here are the fruit comparison details:

Mr. Eli:

• is ~3.75 lbs (weight of a large jicama...what's a jicama you say? Babycenter says it is this. 
• is ~16.7 in long
• gains about a half pound a week from now on
• is plumping up in preparation for birth so his skin is smoothing out more.  
• kicks a lot still and mostly aims for my ribs.  He can get up behind them now and can reach further than the bottom one.  I try to remind him that when he puts his feet there it doesn't tickle it hurts.  He doesn't listen often.  
• was tapping back when Daddy was tapping my stomach today, but we were in Lowe's and Daddy could only put his hand on my stomach to feel.  Just like in the past, Daddy's hand must be soothing because he immediately stops kicking.  Poor Daddy rarely gets to feel kicks.  

I: 

• fall asleep at the drop of a hat.  Ask B.  I will be talking to him and asleep before he responds.  He told me that if I'm quiet for more than 4 seconds he expects me to be asleep.  This is anywhere.  Home, the car, Lowe's.  Although I seem to be able to keep my lids open at work.  
• have started feeling breathless a lot.  Mr. E. or at least my uterus has met my diaphragm for sure.  It is annoying.  It doesn't hurt though.
• am feeling more strain in my lower back and joints thanks to all the hormones loosening up my ligaments and tendons and such.  
• My pelvic bone hurts.  Mostly when I go from lying down to anything (rolling over, sitting, standing).  Hopefully that's normal.  I'm going to ask at my doctor's appointment this week.  
• have been reading up on labor, delivery, and coping mechanisms (breathing, positions, massage, focus tricks, etc).  

Not a whole lot happened over the last two weeks other than me falling asleep a bunch.  

Mika is being Mika.  We gave her a pig ear the other day and it took her forever to realize she was suppose to chew on it.  She just sniffed it and looked at it for awhile.  It was funny. 

Brian is looking at another option for school. Still engineering, but this time Astronautical (sort of electrical engineering specifically for spaceships and satellites and such).  So we'll see what happens there.  Thankfully he isn't set into one degree path yet.  Both schools (for Astronautical and for Fire protection engineering) have great programs, are covered by the GI bill (or yellow ribbon program), and have outstanding placement rates at graduation.  

Ok, I'll wrap up with some pictures so Brian can do his calculus homework!

OMG I look huge!  I feel kinda big too, but everyone says I look small and all belly.  This picture makes me look HUGE (to me)

You can't see my bump much here, but have at it.  I miss my waist.  Even when I'm overweight I have a waist.

"No, Brian, this is not a mug shot!"