Week 36: Honeydew House

Julia, you're now 36 weeks along on this magical journey they call the road to life, or pregnancy, or whatever. Whatever it is, you've only got about 3 weeks left of it!

You've been doing your job quite well: You're growing, rolling around, kicking and squirming.

Your Mom is as beautiful as always:

It's so interesting to compare the Julia with the Aidan belly at the same week in pregnancy. Here's your Mom about 3 years ago, very pregnant with Aidan:

I think you may be a bigger belly, Miss Julia...but just by a hair! But, there's no real sense in comparing apples to oranges, when you're really the size of a honeydew melon.

News from the womb indicates that your heaing is fully developped, that your liver and kidneys are in working order, that your circulation and immune systems are pretty much good to go and that you're finalizing those steps to be able to breathe on your own. Also, we know that your Mom's cervical lining (that glue which basically keeps the first steps of labor from starting to happen) is all-but gone. It was thinned to 80% two weeks ago, and this week the doctor didn't even bother to check.

Now since you're coming via C-section anyway, we don't really need to worry about dilation and all that, like we did last time. BUT if you decide you're ready to come earlier than October 11, 2012, then we'd better be ready.

Which makes the honeydew even more important. See, we've been scrambling to get everything ready for your arrival. Feels like we've been prepping hard since the beginning of summer, but we really kicked it into high gear recently. We made our "honey-do" lists (you know, like "honey, do this", "honey, do that", we checked them twice, and we started crossing them off our list. Everything's falling into place...

Your Yaya finshed work on your dresser, and we got that put in place of the old changing table.
I painted different walls in different rooms.
We went to Ikea to finish setting up your Mom's new office (so we could move the office stuff from the playroom, so we could get the playroom all set up).
We sold old stuff, and bought new stuff: new swing, new stroller, new bouncy chair.
I cleaned out and organized the shed (yes, that had to be done before you came!)
I scooted over Aidan's seat and installed yours.

Looks Good right? I keep asking Aidan if he knows who's going to be sitting next to him soon. His answer thus far has been, "huh?"

We're prepping Aidan for our stay at the hospital by doing a test run of spending the night at Yaya's house tonight.
We're working extra hard with Aidan on being gentle with the items you will soon frequent.
We got out all the old baby toys and put them away. Aidan keeps taking them out.

All this honey-do-ing can sure make a guy tired...

But, we're getting there baby, and there are only a few more honey-do's to do. But you know what? You have a loving brother waiting for you (occasionally he waits behind trees):

You've got a loving, beautiful Mom who is QUITE ready for you to arrive.

And you've got a devoted Dad who is so excited to meet you and finally get to hold you.

Plus two doggies who you're just going to love, 4 awesome grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends.

So, if you come tomorrow, you'll be all set. It doesn't matter if that picture doesn't get framed and hung, or the ceiling paint touched-up. Those honey-do's can all wait once our perfect honeydew arrives.

Clearly You're Nuts!

We're officially 33 weeks pregnant as of this weekend, and the time is just flying. To celebrate your 33rd week of development, we really kicked the shopping into high gear. This weekend we went to:

• 2 different Babies 'R' Us Locations
• The same Super Target twice (on two separate days (both for baby related returns/purchases))
• A NEW Buy Buy Baby location

I know, I know. It sounds riveting, and all this baby shopping sounds like it would be enough to castrate the most testosterone-filled manly man. You might even think that a man would have to be nuts to withstand this amount of baby shopping and perusing and returning and coupon clipping. But, despite the hives that I still get in Babies R Us (now proven to be hive-worthy in multiple locations!), it's always a great adventure going baby shopping with your mom. And, after all, you're my baby too! So, heck yeah, you'll find me in Buy Buy Baby or the baby aisle in Target without batting an eyelash. But, seriously, Babies R Us- even though I like your coupons (which I then use at Buy Buy Baby) and your clearance items- your stores are probably very close to what H-E-double hockey sticks might be like. So, no, you don't have to be nuts to go baby shopping- in fact, I kind of like it. Plus, then I can talk about the nipples and breast pump adapters we got and freak out our less baby-ready friends and family.

Speaking of going nuts, though, in week 33-34 of your development, your testicles are making their way down from your abdomen to their final destination: your scrotum. I had mine in my abdomen once; but Six Flags closed that roller coaster down after several complaints.

But seriously, though, I think a Mazel Tov is in order! Not only are your testicles descending faster than the ball in Times Square on New Years Eve (yes, I'm questioning if this simile is appropriate for you to read), but you are also growing very quickly too. From here on out, you will be gaining about a half a pound a week! Compared to the fact that your Mom is gaining 1 pound a week, your growth is no small peanuts!

And, considering that your Mimi and Pops are taking your Mother and Me to Texas de Brazil (all you can eat meat!) tonight, I may gain a half a pound or more too! Clearly the nut doesn't fall too far from the tree!

Nesting (and the growing-egg)

"Nesting" is apparently what happens when mamas and dads start to gather and collect a bunch of really cute toys, clothes and furniture to make a nice little nest for their fast-approaching little ones. It's also when they gather sticks, papers and other various garbage to make a little hay bowl in a tree somewhere so that they'll have a place to regurgitate worms into their offspring's mouths.



Much to your benefit, we've opted for the first option for nesting; the human one. The second option was too messy...and it takes forever to get those worms out of your teeth.

But, your nursery is really coming together. And all the speed holes have been patched and repainted. They say that there is no home project that goes smoothly. That's true: in hanging up more curtains this week, I made one extra speed hole when I accidentally hit wood with a molly. But, this mistake was a lot less vexing than last week's. Probably because I've gotten used to seeing what the inside of the walls in your nursery look like. Maybe by the end of this pregnancy, I'll be a handyman pro and not make any mistakes. But that's really not that fun...then I wouldn't learn how to do fun things like "Spackle" and "Cuss under my breath when I hit my thumb with my hammer!"

But let's not focus on the mistakes. Take a look at how this bad boy is shaping up!

Blammo- Look at those curtains and sheer curtain things and animal print top curtains! They almost look like they're professionally hung! And check it out in the foreground: that's your diaper changing table, courtesy of your Uncle Dana and Aunt Mendi via your cousin Kathryn.

Plus, you can't see in these pictures all the awesome clothes that your Aunt April and Uncle Taff and Cousins Keith and Jenny have given us (for your Mom to wear) and that Uncle Keith and Auntie Deborah gave us for YOU to wear (via your cousin Kobi). Everyone is being so nice and helping stock your nursery like crazy!

And check out what Holly's boss, Loretta, made for you:
Finally, the sock monkey your Mom made for you won't be so lonely! He has a little yellow elephant to keep him company! And (despite what it looks like) they're just friends.

And finally, check this stuff out: You'll see some new curtains on those doors (to keep it nice and dark-ish and quiet-ish for you), plus a new rug. The coolest thing, though, is that rocking chair! That rocking chair is Mimi and Pops' and is actually the very same chair that Mimi rocked me and Aunt Rebekka to sleep in night after night! We got new cushions, though, because '70s orange just didn't cut it for us!

Preston and Toby LOVE hanging out in the nursery now. It may be because carpet = soft, but I actually think that they can sense that you will be living there soon and they just can't wait to meet you and be your dogs! (and carpet= soft)

So, the nursery is really shaping up. But, what's the point of looking at the nest if we can't take a peak at the egg!

Here's the bump at week 23!

You're getting bigger and bigger! And your mom reports that your movements are more fluid, less spastic- as if you're becoming a regular person!

And as you continue to grow in your little egg shell there, we'll continue to nest and make sure the room is nice and neat when you come out. But, honestly, the nest is more for us than you. You won't really notice if it were a nice lush nursery or a Motel 6! But trust us, this ain't no Motel 6. This is a high quality, well-thought-out nest.

Now pardon me, I must go gather some more sticks, newspaper and, unfortunately, some worms.