On the Mend and Into Full-Blown Nesting

We are gradually recovering from the flu. Forgive me if I've already posted about this; my brain is slowly being consumed by Baby Brudder, I am sure of it.

We are all still coughing. And tire easily. And I'm still achey, as if I've been coughing. Oh wait, I have. 

But we're getting a bit better every day. This weekend we had enough energy to launch my long-crafted Decluttering Plan. We cleaned out the entire hall closet and got rid of three bags of trash and took two bags of shoes and clothes to Goodwill. We got rid of all kinds of stuff, but mostly it was stuff we had just put off making a decision about or thought we would use but reality was far different. 

We also tried rearranging the living room in various ways to make our space look fresh and well, larger. We flipped the direction of the sofa with the entertainment center and uh, didn't like it. Then we thought about trying the entertainment center further down on the wall (closer to the door) so Pete's desk could fit there, and we hated that even more. So after moving stuff all day (maybe this is why I was sore??) we moved everything back to where it was. 

BUT. The good news is we were able to deep clean as we went, so there was lots of vacuuming and dusting and hey why do we have four extension cords out of this one outlet kind of decluttering. We were able also to put one of the items that were in the office area floor space into the newly cleaned out closet, which means more floor space and a cleaner appearing space. That is not a bad thing, friends. 

I have a Pinterest board created to pinning things we'd like to purchase for reorganizing our space; we're still trying to figure out where we're going to put Baby Brudder's clothes (seriously). One idea is to use our old shoe rack, but the only things that fit in it are baskets, and well, we both are not fans of baskets. I could be talked into it if we sand and repaint the thing, then line the baskets with fabric or felt to prevent clothes from getting stuck in the wicker, but man that sounds like a lot of work. We can't really do tons of shelves in the second bedroom because of earthquake concerns. We're trying to figure it out; we have one minimally used bookcase that I think we might be able to move into the closet for baby stuff. You'll see on that Pinterest board that we're contemplating big girl beds for Lucia, and I think we'll probably go with just this one given 1. the price and 2. our need for additional space 3. it matches the crib. That one isn't as big as a twin, so it'll fit. We're not transitioning yet though; we plan on waiting until around her birthday, when baby boy is around 4 mos and trying to leap out of the bassinet. Lucia was standing at 6 mos, if you recall. So we'll move stuff around at the 4 mo mark and move our sofabed to our friend's house for storage. And voila, we'll have space for the crib. 

Our goals this week are to continue to declutter the bar area, which will become our diaper changing station, take bags of stuff to Office Depot for shredding, take stuff to the post office and continue to work our Freecycle/Craigslist ads to give away/sell old stuff. Making progress! Only 10 weeks until baby is here. GULP. 

Our Last Pregnancy Video

Notes about this:

1. Yes, I am that fat. I really am. Can you believe it? It's almost hilarious. Who knew my body could get this big? Rest assured, I haven't let myself go -- the doc says it's cause of the diabetes and that most of it is water. Thank god! Even my elbows look fat! I'm looking forward to getting back down to a reasonable size.
2. We called at 6 p.m. as instructed, and labor and delivery said they were really busy, so we should call back at 7 p.m. We called at 7 p.m. and they said call back at 8 p.m. We're hoping this doesn't continue for another few hours. Gawd help us. We're packed and ready to go.

The Finishing Touches

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I would have posted earlier today, but it's been super busy, and then I wasn't feeling well tonight. We thought (again) it might be early labor, but alas, we don't think it is/was. I think we're both thankful we only have 45 hours left!

My blood pressure was fine today. I also had a non-stress test for the baby, which is basically a fetal heart rate monitor hooked up to my belly, and a belt across me to look at my uterine contractions (there weren't any). LG was very quiet this morning (after a very busy night), so I was a little worried going in. But as soon as they hooked me up, I could hear her little heart beat thump thump thump thump and felt better. After 20 minutes of monitoring, the nurse said, "she's really active." I said, "No, this is a quiet day." Like I was making it up all this time -- the kid is SPAZZY, ok?

We borrowed a GORGEOUS bassinet from our friend Sara today (see above) so LG can sleep right next to me for the first few months. We hear this is critical to maximizing sleep and success at breastfeeding. Today I also bought some night lights at Ikea so we won't have to turn on the light to see LG in the middle of the night.

Tomorrow's big tasks: laundry and organizing the hospital bags: pre-delivery and post-delivery (great suggestion Kate B!). And cleaning up/organizing the baby room/guest room a bit more. Return blood pressure cuff to Wal-Mart. Make a few phone calls. Try to relax. :)

The Countdown Begins

• Approximately 150 kicks left to count and enjoy the rustling of Little Girl as she continually tries to make more room for herself in my womb. Tonight I had to actually tell her: "It doesn't go that way (sideways)! Try the other way!"
• 69 hours until we arrive at the hospital for the induction
• 12 more times I have to test my blood sugar and stress out over the results
• Nine more times (approximately) I'll have to get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night
• Three more nights we'll sleep in our apartment as just the two of us
• Two bags of cookies we have to bring for the nurses
• One more non-stress test for Baby Hansen at the doctor tomorrow
• One more blood pressure check (also tomorrow)

I still can't believe we're having a baby. You'd think it woulda sunk in by now. But on some level, I still can't believe it. Wow.

Josh is Here!

My brother Josh moved here and arrived late Tuesday. He started his new job Thursday and is liking it so far -- it's with the same company. He found an apartment today and is excited to start his new life in California. It's great to have him close by.

In the meanwhile, Pete and I have been hanging out at home, doing last minute chores/errands and getting rid of this cold. And waiting for baby...

Update

I'm going to be induced Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. This is *awesome* because our friend Essie's birthday AND Mrs. B's birthday on Sept. 25, so it's very likely we'll have our LG on that day. She'll be in great company. I'm really relieved and excited to have an end date and in the meanwhile will try to recover from this cold!

Still Sick

Not much to update over here. Still sick. Pete has it worse than me um, thankfully? We're doing OK otherwise. We go to the doc in the a.m. and will post an update here when we have one.

We Haven't Had the Baby Yet

But promise to update you when we do. Really. We will. Really.

Impossibly Larger

This was going to be a picture, but we didn't realize the camera was on video mode. So here's a video, no extra charge.

False Labor = Annoying, Exciting or Good Practice?

So last night I had "contractions" for about two hours. This is the second time this has happened. We did the same thing as last time; I laid really still and we timed them, and tried to discern a pattern and/or if they were getting stronger or more intense. I tried changing positions; they say that if it's false labor that if you change positions they'll go away. They weren't going away.

The funny thing is I was really tired; it was 1:30 a.m. and I just wanted to stay in bed. I thought that if this was the real thing, could someone just wake me up when it's time to go to the hospital? Cause I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get any sleep there; and apparently labor is very tiring. ;)

They finally decreased in intensity and frequency around 3:30 a.m. I'm not sure if it's exciting or annoying or good practice. Maybe all three.

Let's Hope That...

Aside from hoping the baby comes soon, let's also hope that:

Breastfeeding is NOT like surfing/waterskiing (as some have said) where you can't understand how or "get it" until you're actually doing it. Pete has tried to teach me to wakeboard many times, and I always give up. Giving up on breastfeeding is NOT an option. 

The baby comes soon; I bought and froze two dozen chocolate chip cookies for the nurses and doctors at the hospital and am finding myself sneaking them throughout the day. They are so tasty. I may have to hide these further back in the freezer. 

New Poll on the Right!

Come on, take a guess! 

Tour of the Nursery

Come with me for a lil tour of the nursery!

Video to come. I tried to upload it for 2.5 hours tonight. I'm working on figuring out what's up.

Aha! Moving to sit right next to the wireless router somehow worked!

Blood Pressure Update!

My blood pressure was fine yesterday. Phew and double phew. We go to the doctor tomorrow for a nonstress test (fetal monitoring) and possible doing some things to speed up labor. We'll update you then!

Baby Watch, 24/7

When we're not watching the political coverage of the conventions, we're basically on Baby Hansen Watch 24/7. My blood pressure got really high this week and the doc was concerned it might be preeclampsia, but it looks like it might just have been nerves/emotions. Now every time I have a symptom that MIGHT be a sign of labor, Pete and I are on high-alert that THIS COULD BE IT!

It's a weird place to be -- sorta a holding pattern. It also feels like a roller coaster or soap opera -- we're calling it As the Fetus Turns.

36 weeks, 2 days

But who's counting?

We're One of THOSE households

We're one of those households that does not wear shoes in the house. You take them off upon entering. We've noticed our carpets are much cleaner this way and while it may be a hassle for occasional guests, we are big fans. Pete got me into this; when we were dating I'd put a fair amount of effort in picking out just the right shoe, only to have to take them off when hanging out at his apartment. I recently read a study that says that taking your shoes off prevents all kinds of bacteria and disgusting things from entering your home. Which is good. So I'm on board, and have now even made the maintenance man take off his shoes upon entering our place. No one gets off!

So anyway. The entryway carpets were NASTY. I mean, gray and just felt mangy and gross when you walked on them. So we rented a steam cleaner from the grocery store and Pete went to work. One of Pete's best traits is that he's extremely extremely thorough, so he spent about two hours on the entryway, hallway next to the bathroom, and outside the bathroom (from that unfortunate sewage issue last year on his birthday -- yes, he was standing in sewage in the bathtub and we couldn't get a hold of maintenance for several hours. Happy 35 Pete!).

Here's a little movie of him steam-cleaning away:

Last Hurrah Weekends

With four weeks until my due date, we're trying to schedule little things to do that we probably won't be able to do for a while. Last weekend we went to the car races in Monterey -- Pete will fill you in on that.

This weekend, here's the plan. Let's start with the most fun: dinner at Chez Panisse Cafe. Chez Panisse, in case you don't know, is a highly-renowned restaurant in Berkeley. Read more about the restaurant HERE and the founder HERE. Read the cafe menu HERE. We were lucky to get reservations at short notice. I'm excited.

Before that, we're going on a tour of Scharffenberger's Chocolate Factory. It's also in Berkeley, thankfully, so we won't have to drive very far from A to B. Chocolate, when eaten with protein, doesn't affect my blood sugar. Sweet.

At some point we're also going HERE. I absolutely love this jeweler and her necklaces and she has a bargain bin in the back that I'm going to peruse.

Hooray for last hurrah weekends!

Picking a Pediatrician

This looks fairly straightforward. This lady looks pretty good (she's in the office every day, which is good), but I'm a little concerned she lists Hello Kitty as one of her interests. Gawd. I'm hoping her interests in allergies, eczema, nutrition and obesity balance it out. :)

SOLD

We sold our entertainment center tonight. I'm sad to see it go, but happy that we got some $$ for it.