Monthly Update/ Freakout

I think about writing all the time, I just never get around to doing so!
Lessee... where to begin...

Convention was lovely- two out of the three clinics I attended were fabulous. I actually walked out of the third one early (along with a girl with whom I was sharing a table- we figured there would be safety in numbers!). Got to see friends and hang out in C-bus, which is always a treat. The extra day we stayed was well worth it- I was exhausted! We didn't do a whole lot, but we had a great time. We stumbled on this public market and had fabulous coffee after the conference wrapped up on Saturday, then went to dinner and a movie after taking a loooong nap. (Gran Torino- SEE IT.) On Sunday, we went to brunch at Union Cafe in Short North- I found out that it was the first time that Scottie had ever been in an openly gay establishment. He was loving every minute of it... especially the Village People and Judy Garland music videos playing. Mind you, this was no Hamburger Mary's- it was more Neil Patrick Harris gay than Carson Kressly gay. Naturally, being pregnant and hungry all the time, the brunch buffet was my favorite part- I could have cared less about the establishment's orientation. After we ate way too much, we packed up and headed home to get our puppy from my mom's- all in all a great weekend.

My fantastic friends planned and hosted a FABULOUS baby shower for me toward the beginning of this month. The company was great, the food was perfect, and we received a TON of great baby stuff- a lot of things that we didn't even think about! Our little guy should be set in the clothing area for quite a while. One of my favorite gifts was a blanket buddy that my cousin-by-marriage Melanie MADE for our little guy. It's a blue fleece elephant that is oh-so-cuddly, and his trunk even has a pipe cleaner in it so it moves around and stays in place! How cute is that?! It came packaged on top of a diaper cake (that again, she made...) one of TWO that we received. I feel truly blessed that so many people love us- and our little one, too! The amount of support that we've received already is fantastic.

That being said, we're in baby freak-out-go-time mode. I'm finishing up a few blankets for him, and I have a small art project to work on for his nursery. We're still waiting on our changing table, but all of his clothes and bedding have been washed and put away the best we can. I set up his (AWESOME) pack-and-play in our dining room, complete with diapers, wipes, powder, desitin, crib sheet and pad. My mom gifted us a glider and footstool a few days ago- that's in the living room for now, but I imagine it will make it's way to the nursery when the baby does later this spring. Baby is sleeping in our room (NOT in our bed) for the first few weeks because it's pretty cold in his nursery, we still need window coverings (special order for that weird window we have= $$$$) and I don't want to go up and downstairs twice a night to nurse him. Our cradle will make it easier for everyone. We attended childbirth class last weekend, and I have to say that Scottie has already exceeded my expectations as far as a labor coach goes. I was expecting him to be somewhat attentive, but spacey about details- as it turns out, he paid attention better than I did!! He was very receptive to advice from the nurses, and has been working on massage techniques since we got home on Sunday (w00t to me for extra massage!!!). I'm way impressed- not that I didn't think he was capable of it, I just didn't expect him to be so actively involved. Don't tell anyone, but he got a little teary eyed when we took our tour of the birthing center- he's so excited to meet our baby for the first time!

My occasional visits to Doctor Marshall have turned into weekly checkups- usually on Monday afternoons. This last Monday, he checked to see if he "had to start sleeping with his shoes on", and so far everything is on track. No effacing, no dilation, nothing, which is what we wanted to hear at 36 weeks. As miserable as I've been progressively getting, I don't want a too-tiny baby- the difference in size between a 37 week old and a 40 week old is HUGE! Even though 37 weeks is full-term, the 40 week-er's footprint is about another 40% bigger. I think I'll pack our bag(s) at the end of next week, just in case. We're delivering at Upper Valley Medical Center in Troy Ohio- exit 78 from I-75. We'll be accepting visitors, of course, but if possible we'd rather see you at our home after the baby has been around for a week or so- just so we can get a routine established. I'm all kinds of excited and nervous about this!

More later- hopefully with photos of a nearly-complete nursery. Oh, and cross your fingers that we get our changing table within the next week. It's been on backorder and the shipment has been delayed TWICE since November. (Ugh!)