Week 32

Week 32! We have less than 2 months until Ruthie's due date. How wonderful?!?
Now all we need are some more diapers, a diaper pail, bed skirt, bumper, curtains and rod, a hamper, and maybe a diaper bag.
I have so many bags that I might just use one of the many hanging out in the closet.

The Bump:
Baby's now the size of a squash!
Ready or not, baby's getting ready to emerge. She's probably in the head-down position by now, with her bottom facing up. This is the comfiest way for her body to fit in your increasingly cramped womb and will make her eventual exit (only a few months away now!) much easier. (If she's still head-up, don't panic -- there's still time for a flip before birth.)


Baby Center:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.
Does anyone know what a jicama is? I saw a picture of it, but I have never heard of it until today.

So we are very close to the end. This week we celebrate Thanksgiving and are so happy for our cute little family that will soon grow to 4 in a few short weeks. I think Maggie is going to love her little sister! We will be spending the holidays in KY this year.
If you want to come visit, know you are welcome. Just call first to make sure we are home!

On a side note: I am having very strange dreams. Nothing too crazy, but very vivid about Ruthie coming early and stuff like that. Matt is also having strange dreams occasionally.
Is this normal? If you want to hear any of the dreams give me a call and I'll fill you in, but I will not make everyone read about my strangeness!
Also, the weight is ever fluctuating which is leading me to believe that the scales in the dr.'s office are just completely unreliable. Yep, that is what I am telling myself.
I am also now craving things again. Today, it was Captain D's.

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a late post later this week about my sweet friends at practicum who threw us a "Build Ruthie a Library" shower!

Pictures by Susan My Shower

The scrapbook

Kristen looking through the scrapbook
Nina, who opened her house to us for the shower, making a scrapbook page


Here I am with the hostesses

Here Missy and I are showing off our bellies
I am working on the scrapbook
opening presents

Baby Shower

Yesterday, 3 of my friends (Susan, Amy, and Missy) threw me a shower! It was so much fun and so beautiful! Also, thanks to Nina for opening her home to us to have the shower. It was such a wonderful time and Ruthie is almost completely prepared to be born. Ok, well as ready as she can be, I think we will never really be ready!

Here are some pics that were taken with my camera and I will load some later that were taken with other people's cameras.

Here is the food!
more food


Missy made a cake.
She is talented and the cake is awesome!

Lots of people hanging out


The guests all made a page (or 2 or 3) for a scrapbook.
Now all I have to do is print out pictures and
stick them in the book! how cool is that!


more hanging out and eating the wonderful food!






After the shower, I came home and straightened up
the nursery and put most of the stuff away.
Here is the verse finally hung on the wall as well.
And thanks to Matt it is sturdily hung on the wall!


Here is the beautiful quilt that Susan made Ruthie. It is perfect and I know Ruthie will love it!

close up shot!

lots of lotion, soap, and shampoo for Ruthie
along with bath toys and butt paste

Diapers and wipes

toys and books!

We also finally hung the shelf

a beautiful bow made by my friend Joey that can be hung
on the hospital door and on our front door at home!

clothes, towels, socks, wash cloths, and blankets
all to be washed for little Ruthie to use and wear!

The scrapbook!

Week 31

Today, we are at 31 weeks! Time is flying! I can't even believe that next week is Thanksgiving and then within 4 weeks it will be Christmas! I just can't wait to meet little Ruthie though.

The Bump:
Baby's now the size of a squash!- Again
Baby's going through major brain and nerve development these days. Her irises now react to light, and all five senses are in working order. (She won't pick up anything from her nose until after birth, though -- smell is transferred through air, not amniotic fluid.)
Babycenter:
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.


Ruthie is moving a lot these days. I sit in class and my stomach just jumps up and down a lot. I have had to move out of the desks and into chairs and tables. Luckily, I have a great husband who brings me a chair to my classroom each Tues/Thurs morning since there isn't a chair and table in that room. It is greatly appreciated. Soon I guess we will start to see little feet and hands sticking out of my tummy...

My Birthday, Birthing Class, and 30 Weeks

Where to start?

First, my 29th birthday was this weekend. I spent it in birthing class, but I also got to spend it with my husband, 2 of our closest friends, and learning about giving birth to my favorite little girl!

So here you can see the season seven Everybody Loves Raymond DVDs along with some beautiful earrings! He did such a great job!




Merry Anna sent me some flowers and they are beautiful as well. Also, while talking about her, Merry Anna will be returning to the US after this school year. I'm excited that she will be closer so Ruthie can have some time with her!
My friends, Linn and John, also gave me this picture frame for my birthday. It is beautiful and I'm excited about putting it to use!
Here we are at birthing class. Matt and Jonathon are trying on the backpack that is similar to the amount of weight that Missy and I are carrying around these days!
Here are the men enjoying the exercise/birthing balls. I bet they did not think about the fact that those may have actually of been used for others to give birth on or during their labor!
Here is our bag of information and papers that we received from the birthing class
Here is one of the 2 items we won for the door prize drawing, a fan which will be very helpful when in labor.
a cute little bag filled with formula and formula related things, we don't plan to use formula, but it is the thought that counts.
The second prize we won with formula (again) and some onesies and other fun things for Ruthie
After class, we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner with some of our friends. It was very yummy!
Sunday, we had a baby shower for Missy. Pictures of the shower will be coming soon. Next weekend is my shower and I am so excited!

Well, onto week 30!
The Bump: Baby's now the size of a squash!
As baby's skin smoothes out, her brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. She's also adding some brawn -- her grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.

Babycenter: Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

yay! they were probably wrong.

Today I went back to the dr. and was informed that I was in fact back at the previous weight I was 5 weeks ago. So that would mean that I gained 6 lbs in 3 week and lost the 6 in 2 weeks. I'm going with that didn't happen and the scales are probably messed up, but whatever!

Ruthie's heartbeat is 156 and she is doing great!

That's all for now.

Bows

I got inspired and made some bows for little Ruthie. It is so much fun!