Baby Shower for Miss Olivia Marie Copeland

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010. 

My baby shower was so much fun.  My mother and sister hosted, and it turned out really nice.  I love getting together with the ladies of our family and our friends, whether if be for baby showers, weddings, bridal showers, etc.  Everyone was so generous to Dave, Oliva and I.  Our daughter is definitely going to be the best dressed little girl at daycare! 

Gift table

Some of the ladies from the Jimenez side of the family. 

(From L to R: Aunt Gloria, Pamela, Kathleen, Katherine, Lindsey, Me,

Jacqueline, Aunt Cristina, Sarah, and Aunt Lupe.)

Grandma Copeland

Grandma Jimenez

Aunt Sarah

Pamela, Great-grandma Garza, and Aunt Lupe.

Mom playing teacher and leading us in some fun baby games!

More baby shower games.

Grandma Copeland made Olivia an adorablely warm snuggie.

Swivel highchair from Aunt Suki

Claudia's gift to Olivia. Love the bag & goodies!

Great-grandma Contreras and I passing out cake. 

I really cannot get over how much fun it was, and how excited I am to bring our daughter into this family.  She will definitely be here for Christmas and get to meet everyone who is around the San Antonio area.

Since the baby shower has taken place my nesting instincts have been at an all time high.  The last couple of nights I have stayed up way past my bed time, organizing, re-arranging, hanging up clothing, and making a ton of lists. 

She will be here before we know it!

My boys

Sometimes, just sometimes, Thor is nice and relaxed at home...

He knows it's time for bed and will lay down at our feet and settle in for the night.

Then when Dave and I are  both in bed, ready to go to sleep he will snuggle in between us and want to play!

I love my guys!

31 weeks 3 days

How far along? 31w3d

Weight gain?  Huh?...oh that.....31 glorious pounds.  I've actually thought about skipping this information, I mean no one really needs to know, or may even care how much weight I'm gaining...but I like to keep it real.  I truly thought, rather naively, that I would not see that number at all over my entire pregnancy.  I still have 9 more weeks to go (give or take a week or two), and likely 9 more or so pounds to go.  I guess it appears as though I have gained a pound a week from the start, however that is so not the case.  I was doing so well until about week 20, and then the weight gain started to really kick into gear.  My doctor has not been concerned with the weight gain, and actually reassures me I'm right on track. 

Stretch marks? Still no stretch marks...I'm hiding from them.  Luckily the weight gain and the belly stretching has been so consistent and gradual, no funky stretch marks!

Sleep:  The pulled muscles in my back have completely healed!  Sleeping has been much better since then.  I can pretty much get comfortable and fall asleep on either side.  I usually have 1-2 bathroom breaks in the middle of the night, followed by one Thor break where I will just throw him in the backyard around 4:00-4:30 am until it's time for our walk at 5:00am.  The weather has recently cooled down and we can sleep with the windows open.  That makes a very big and warm pregnant lady happy, while her poor husband has to bundle up in tons of blankets.    

Best moment this week:  My 32 week doctor's appointment was today!  Got to hear Miss O's heartbeat at a nice healthy 140 bpm.  The doctor was also able to tell how she was positioned.  She is head down with her booty over to the right side of my belly.  It makes me happy knowing she is head down, even though I know at this stage she still has plenty of room to flip and move should she choose to.  I'm measuring a tad big, by about a week, which is how she has been measuring since her anatomy ultrasound at 18 weeks.  I hope this means that she will come a week early, and not that she is just an oversized baby! 

Movement: All of the time.  She really responds to being poked and pushed around too.  She will poke us right back.  Dave thinks I mess with her too much and try and get her to move, but you should of seen how the doctor pushed on my belly trying to find the position she was in!    Olivia has also been getting the hiccups very regularly lately.  She will have at least 2 bouts of them a day. 

Food commentary: I have been craving anything pumpkin!  The change of weather makes me a sucker for eating something fall and festive...I am really craving a good pumpkin pie.  I also have been craving pizza.  I have yet to satisfy either one of these cravings, but I intend to this weekend!

Labor Signs: Zero.  I still do not think I've even had a real Braxton-Hicks contraction yet.  My belly will tighten up a little, but it's usually just from baby rolling around and repositioning herself. 

Belly Button in or out? Out. Still.  And it's starting to really irritate me.  It's so ugly when you can see it through multiple layers of clothing. 

What I miss:  I miss sleeping on my back.  I also miss sushi and oysters, but I've missed both of those from the beginning. 

What I am looking forward to: My baby shower is this Sunday!  I can't wait to see everyone.  I have not been to San Antonio in awhile so lots of my family has not seen me this pregnant.  Should be fun!  Dave and I are also trying to make plans for a day date on Saturday around downtown and the Riverwalk.  We are going to a cousin's football game first, and then going from there. 

Weekly Wisdom: "It does not matter how much weight you gain, so long as you are eating the right foods."  - Christina Barkley, Bradley Method teacher.  Gawd, let's hope this is true!!!

Weekly WTF: We need to find a pediatrician!  It's one of those things that really freak me out.  I've always just had military doctors, so this whole business of actually picking someone to go to is foreign to me!  I also realized that we need to somehow get our baby a social security number.  How the heck does that work?!

Nesting madness:  Heck, yes! So much has been done with so much still to do.  The furniture is in place for the most part, but both the crib and the bed need dressing.  The changing table needs a changing pad and I need to finish painting it.  We are getting a bassinet to borrow from my aunt that we need to transport to the house from San Antonio....the ceiling fans all need to be cleaned, I want to go through and organize all of our closets (who knows the next time I will get the chance to do that), we need to schedule the exterminator for a treatment (we have a lot of baby scorpions in Leander, gross, I know), the dresser for the nursery needs to be bought, Thor's annual vet visit needs to take place, we are getting a dining table from my parents and I need to get the dining ready for it, etc. etc. etc.     

Milestones: Yesterday was the 2 month away date from my official EDD.

Wonderful Weekend

This past weekend was a weekend I could get used to! 

On Friday, Dave and I had a nice relaxing evening in.  I read and watched some T.V. while Dave put together the crib.

Thor's never very much help!

We then watched a movie and called it an early night.  

On Saturday, my sister, my mom and I had a ladies day out and it was so much fun.  Mom and Sarah wined and dined Olivia and I.  We hit up all of our favorite places at the Round Rock Outlets, Target, Ross, Ikea, and Toys 'R Us.  Olivia got about 6 new outfits from Grandma.  At every store we went to my mom would say, "okay, no more clothing for Olivia", and sure enough she would find something Olivia just couldn't live without!  Very lucky little girl.  We also had lunch at one of my favorite places, Mighty Fine Burgers!

Olivia the Pig and Olivia the baby.

Sarah and I in the children's section at Ikea.  Safe toys, they can obviously hold a lot of weight!

Saturday night, after an all day shopping excursion, I came home to an awesome barbeque dinner.  Pulled pork sandwhiches and beef ribs.  We didn't even bother with any side items or veggies!  Dinner, a movie, and Saturday Night Live, and then Dave and I called it a night.   We are really enjoying what I like to think of as the "calm before the storm."  A good, welcomed storm, of course!

Sunday, after my walk with Thor, there were household chores to do and football games to be watched!  The Titans won.  I was also able to get in a very nice afternoon nap, an hour long bath,  and tons of reading in.  And this morning, Monday, when we woke up for work it actually felt like fall!!!  It was only 55 degrees and dry.  Thor and I went for an extra long walk and we even left him outside when we left for work to enjoy the first fall day.  The high is only supposed to be 79 here, and for us Texans that means coats & gloves! :)

I also wanted to include a cute picture of Ava.  Ava is in Chicago right now with her mommy and other grandparents while Jae is away at basic.  My mom had bought Ava a little doll that Ava calls Daddy and she takes him with her lots of places.  Here "Daddy" is watching Ava play :).   





Bradley Method Birthing Class: #3

Three classes down, seven more to go.  The work weeks are flying by right now!  After each class I feel like we have marked a check off of another "baby to-do" item. 

This week's class we focused on nutrition, again.  Christina, the teacher, has let us know that she will not let up about how important eating well is, so she will continue to talk about nutrition a little bit each week to help keep us on track.  We also discussed the anatomy of the womb and all of the important components that are keeping baby and mommy safe right now.  Sure you can totally go through a successful labor and delivery without ever knowing these things, but it's really interesting to learn exactly what all is going on in there.

We also touched on breastfeeding a little bit.  The benefits and some things to expect concerning nursing. 

Another focus in this class was geared towards the husbands/coaches and what their roles will be during L&D.  Christina told the dads to start envisioning the actual day, and start thinking about what sort of things may arise that they need to take care of.   I've, of course, envisioned "game day" for quite sometime and therefore have already constructed a mental to-do list of things for Dave:

1) Make sure Thor gets looked after occassionally for the 24 hours we have to be in the hospital.
2) Contact our family members and let them know we are in labor, and also keeping everyone up to speed.
3) Being my main emotional & physical support system.
4) Take care of the logistical side of stuff such as the drive to the hospital, getting admitted into the hospital and having the overnight bag.
5) Advocating our birth plan to our hospital team for Olivia and I when I can no longer do it for myself. 

Anyone who knows knows me, knows how much I love lists!  I also have a list brewing for our overnight hospital bag, our birth plan, and things we still need to accomplish before O's arrival.  Yes, I'm well aware that not everything can always go as planned, but preparation is definitely key to success.  Plus it gives me a sense of control over the birth of our baby, when in reality baby is the one in total control of the situation.  I can only prepare for potential scenerios.   

We ended class by being assigned a research topic that we will have to present on in a couple of classes.  Dave and I are responsible for researching and presenting on prenatal vaginal exams.  Yipee! Haha.  Dave is thrilled, I'm sure!  Luckily, I already have an idea of what most hospitals do concerning these exams towards the end of pregnancy, the pros & cons of them and several options mom's have regarding these exams.   Our hospital only "requires" one internal exam at about 36 weeks of pregnancy and then they aren't concerned with doing another one until the 40th week or so, if you make it that far.      

Now on to the weekend :).

Work in progress...

My husband is becoming a very handy man around our house!  I swear his nesting instinct can be much stronger than mine at times, but mine is really starting to kick into gear.  Dave is much better at building and creating  things, and I'm much more focused on maintaining, up keeping, and organizing.  So far this has been working out great in preparation for baby. 

Our nursery is REALLY coming along.  I'm in love with little Olivia's room.  At first I was not a huge fan of the color that we picked out for the walls once they were painted, it just seemed so bright!  After Dave added new base boards and crown molding it looked better.  Then we put the curtains back up and it slowly started to come around.  Now that we have added even more pieces to her room, I love love love it.  Which is a good thing, because Dave informed me it wasn't getting re-painted! For this baby at least.

Last week the glidder and ottoman that Reese and Annette bought for Olivia arrived on our front porch!  This past weekend Dave put it together and I have really enjoyed sitting in it in her room.    It's going to be absolutley perfect to rock our baby back to sleep at 2am.   

 This weekend we also got the crib!  My parents came down to Leander and took us out to lunch and then we went to Burlington Baby Depot and bought the crib I had been eyeing.  It has not been put together yet, but I'm dying to get it into the nursery.  (I figured I would give Dave Monday off since football was on last night!)  Hopefully we will have it put together soon.  I still need to get the mattress and the bedding before it's complete.  I'm almost positive I know what bedding we are getting, but it doesn't hurt to shop around a little bit more. 

Another one of Dave's completed house projects was the installation of our microwave above the oven.  Reese and Dave worked on this about a month ago, and I do not know how we lived without a microwave for that long! 

This is the best "before" picture I have.  Oven sans microwave on the left. (And the most handsomest dog, ever, on the right.) Before:

During:





After:



And, lastly, this weekend Dave mounted his precious baby to the wall. 

Before:

After:

The family room has really become a family room.  All in all the house is really coming together and feels like our home.  We are working hard to get as much together as we can before baby comes so that we can focus 100% on her. Always lots more work to do, but it's been a lot of fun so far.  I hope to have the nursery completely completed by mid to late October so that all we will need is our baby! 

Bradley Method Birthing Class: #2

Like our entire lives, my blog has been completely taken over by this pregnancy and the highly anticipated arrival of our daughter.   I would apologize, but I'm not sorry, and I really cannot think of anything else more exciting than preparing for this baby girl.  I know a lot of people feel that it's necessary to maintain some semblance of their individuality as an independent adult when they are entering parenthood.  I do not feel that need at all.  I look forward to being known as Olivia's mommy, and I do not in anyway feel like that will be "stealing" my identity.  That being said, this blog will more than likely become WAY more dedicated to our daughter (and our eldest, Thor) as time passes.  Of course, I will also continue to update about Dave and I and the house and our families, etc. etc.

(My guys on the drive up to Harker Heights last weekend)

Speaking of which something I never mentioned in this blog is that Jay, my brother, is currently at Army Basic training in Georgia!  He decided about 5-6 months ago that he wanted to join the reservist and he was able to get an officer slot rather quickly.  I'm not quite sure his entire schedule, but I believe he finishes his first round of training in November, and then the second one ends in February.  Go Jay!  His ladies are spending this time with Claudia's family in Chicago and then Florida.  They are hoping to be able to travel to San Antonio for Christmas, so that will be an exciting family filled holiday if it all works out.

On to our 2nd birthing class.   It was just as good as our first one, if not a tad bit better because it was less awkward.  It's kinda funny to be in a room full of pregnant women and their husbands.  We are slowly learning everyone elses names and I was a little bit more comfortable asking and answering questions.

This class focused on pregnancy nutrition & relaxation techniques.  The Bradley Method pregnancy diet really focuses on getting in a ton of protein, as well as eating as fresh and nutrient rich as possble.   I had already taylored my diet to a lot of the recommendations, but I realized that I was not focusing on proteins as much as I should.  The recommendation is for 80-100 grams of protein per day.  On a good day I'm probably getting closer to 60-65 grams of protein, so some adjustments need to be made there.  Also, Dave and I both realized that we probably aren't eating as many leafy greens as we should, so we will start incorporating more of those into our dinners.  Other than that just keep doing what we are doing as far as diet goes. 

The main thing is to be prepared when it comes to eating well.  Plan the weekly menus out on the weekend.  Load up on veggies, fruits, lean proteins, and complete protein snacks like yogurt & cheeses and  other healthy snacks at the grocery store on Sunday.  Never leave the house  for work without a packed lunch, plenty of good snacks, and water.  One thing I like to do to prepare for lunches for the week is to buy all of our produce on Sunday and then clean, cut everything up, and portion it out for the week.  It makes packing lunches for Dave and I each morning much quicker, and we choose all the fruits and veggies first because all of the work has already been done.  I've realized that if I do not prepare my lunch and snacks ahead of time, and I'm caught away from home and get hungry I tend to make unhealthy food choices. 

I will mention that even after yesterday's class & being drilled about the importantance of a healthy diet, today has probably been the worst I've eaten in awhile!  My co-workers are trying to fatten me up :).  Oh, and I made this delicious cake on Sunday in honor of football and my inlaws coming over for lunch.  Oh, the shame because I had log in my piece(s) of cake into my food journal, but it was well worth it.   Hey, there was fruit on the cake....coated in butter and sugar, of course. 

Other than that this week has flown by.  On Tuesday, I had my 30 week doctor's appointment and it went well and rather uneventfully.  I got to hear baby, which is always fun.  I'm measuring a couple of days ahead, which is normal. And my weight gain and blood pressure are right on track.  I will have another doctor's appointment a week from Tuesday. 

And just because I love putting pictures in my blog & I take a million....

Thor was a cuddle bug with me on the floor while we were watching the Titans.

Thor napping on our bed.  I love those pillowcases behind him!  My cousin Krystal got those for us at my bridal shower.  I have loaded our bed with every single pillow that we own.  To get a good night's sleep and to find a comfortable sleeping position I literally have to stick a pillow under almost every limb, behind my back, and one under my belly.  I woke up and looked at Dave the other night and poor guy had only one pillow, and it was our flattest one!