Crib!

We got our crib. Early! They said it would take 12 weeks but we got it well before the baby is due. It is gorgeous. Now we just need to get a mattress, bedding and a baby!

8 months!!

8 months down. 2 to go. Or at least one more to go for the baby to be safe and born healthy. This morning I woke up and she was positioned way up at the top of my belly. It is fun now that she is getting bigger (about 4 pounds big!) that she can move around and we can feel different parts. It's one of our favorite games to guess which part is sticking out. Is it a butt, or a head, or an elbow?
I had my 30th bday party on Friday. It was so much fun to have my friends over. We haven't had people over to our house since we moved in! I can't believe that almost 20 people fit in here. Laura brought a beautiful cake and we sang happy bday. Justin's daughter, Sophie, followed me around the whole time and was the best little hostess. She showed everyone the new nursery and helped me open my gift! We also did karaoke and played my favorite game, Catch Phrase.

Yesterday we had our first parenting class on breastfeeding. It was fun to be in a room with 10 other couples in our same situation. We learned all about the different ways to hold her and how much to feed her (10-12 times a day!) It sounds like it will take some hard work and practice at the beginning but I hope so much that breastfeeding works out for us! The teacher's main point was "Trust your body; trust your baby!" She will tell me when she wants to eat.

Braxton Hicks

I had contractions today. Basically it felt like my entire belly getting really tight for 5-10 seconds. It was painless but still a little weird feeling. So I made an appointment with my OB. She said it sounded like Braxton Hicks contractions and as long as I wasn't bleeding, they didn't hurt or they weren't happening more than every 10 minutes in an hour that I was fine. She did check my cervix which was not dilated but was "soft." I guess this is one finding seen early in labor but all of the other things (anterior cervix, dilation and effacement) were not present. So that is re-assuring. She also didn't give me any restrictions in terms of work. I did ask to leave a little early today (a whole 45 minutes!) My chief resident, Adam, asked why he couldn't leave early. I said "YOU DIDN'T HAVE CONTRACTIONS TODAY!!"
She also told me that she thinks I will deliver early. Of course because she said that I will probably deliver late! She thinks that because I'm on my feet a lot that the baby will come early. She said anytime after 34 weeks is fine. 34 weeks! That is three weeks from now!! I better start packing my hospital bag! But seriously... next month I am definitely planning on buying diapers and starting to wash all of these new baby clothes. I can't believe how fast it is coming up!
My parents are coming out next month too which will be good. My dad is going to be running the Boston marathon. This sort of happened at the last minute but I am so excited to see them! And my dad is looking foward to seeing my super pregnant. (Or with a baby if things go the way my OB is predicting!)
Also, today is the last day of my life in my 20s. It was a good decade. I graduated from Gustavus and medical school. I got married and got pregnant. I learned a lot but still feel young and excited for what lies ahead!! I actually am really looking forward to my 30s. I hope it will be as much fun and that I will learn as much as I did in my 20s!

'Cuse baby

Laura and Jon were back at their alma mater, Syracuse University, last month and brought the baby a little gift. Thanks you guys! Super sweet!! But just so you know she is going to Gustavus!

29 weeks and lots of kicks!

Baby Stapleton does not like it when her mommy doesn't eat well and stands up too long! She lets me know with kicks in the ribs. She also loves her daddy. Whenever I come home from work and Mark starts talking to her she starts her kicking and rolling. I'm supposed to be counting kicks everday but I don't feel the need to....she is always moving and kicking!

Mark helped me buy my first pair of maternity jeans this weekend. We also found some cute onesies for the baby. If you can't read them they say "Mommy's Little Sweetie" and "Daddy's Little Sweetie."

It's already 10 days into March. This month we will have a birthday party for me (30!) and our first baby preparation class. I love March. The days are longer and the weather is getting nicer. I am so glad that the baby will be here in the spring. We can go for walks and be outside!!

7 months!

28 weeks in...2/3 way there. My book tells me that this month the baby will start blinking . Along with all the other tricks she can do...flip, kick, hiccup. My book also tells me it is time to start thinking about a birth plan. My plan is this simple at the moment...have a healthy baby in the most comfortable way possible. Not that I'm in denial about there being pain but I'm not resistent to pain relief strategies. We have our labor and delivery prep class at the end of this month so we'll learn more then.

Tonight we had a date night. My cousin Erica told me to enjoy going to movies, etc as much as possible before the baby is born so we took her advice. We went to a muscial and then to dinner. It was fun but at the end of the night I found myself getting very anxious. The hormones are playing with me. Or it could be that it's the end of night float so my body is trying to adjust to the new schedule.

Tomorrow we are planning a little day trip to New Hampshire. And then it will be March. The month of my 30th birthday!

Baby crib

Here is the crib we ordered. The color of wood we selected is called amber and is a little more red and darker than in this picture.

"Inspired by the 19th century French sleigh bed style, the elegant Serenity convertible crib is constructed with solid wood for durability. This timeless beauty allows the flexibility to mix and match with cases from other Baby's Dream collections."

New baby nursery!!

My mom was here over the weekend and we had a wonderful time! Mark and I met her in Portsmouth on Friday night and we had a wonderful seafood meal. Then Saturday morning Laura, Mom and I went to a bridal shop and found a beautiful MOB (mother of the bride) dress for her. She looks sassy (thanks to Marcia)! After that we drove back to Portland and started SHOPPING! We went to Tiny Totland and ordered our crib!!! It takes 12 weeks to get in unfortunately. But at least it's ordered. Of course that's not all we bought there. A new pink, french toile lamp, a baby book and some pink and green crates. Then on to Sherman Williams to pick out the paint color (light, mint green.) Next to Target for the new dresser, Babies R Us and last to Bed Bath and Beyond! We were wiped out! So we ended the night over a Mexican Fiesta. I slept great that night needless to say!
The next day while I was at work the three busy bees went to work. For a lunch break they came to visit me at the hospital. I showed my mom the new baby boutique. More shopping!!
The next day I came home at 6:30am after a very busy 24 hour shift. I opened the door to the nursery and felt like I was on a HGTV episode. The room had been completely transformed! I was overwhelmed. THANK YOU SO MUCH MARK, LAURA and MOM!!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!!

Ultrasound

I don't know how to burn DVDs on my computer so I tried to take a flip video of the best parts of the ultrasound. There are four videos. One of the baby, spine and heart. One of the arms. One of the legs. And the last of the "girl parts." They are not top quality but at least you can get an idea of some of the anatomy.

The nesting has begun!

According to Pregnancy Weekly, nesting, "is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world." And so it has begun. Partially brought on by my night float insomnia, I awoke at 12:30pm today (I should be sleeping until 3pm) and decided to start moving things around the future nursery. I went through all my old papers and books and packed things into boxes and shoved them in the closet. I was half tempted to start moving around Mark's things but thought he might not appreciate my nesting as much if I did that. So things are a little more prepared for my mother's arrival. Which I think is also driving some of the nesting instinct. She is coming next weekend to paint and help to decorate the nursery. Grandmother/mother nesting!

I am now in my sixth month. The baby could technically survive without me in the world at this point. I guess that makes me feel better and also makes me freak out a little bit. I just read an article in General Surgery News about how female urologists have a higher rate of complications during pregnancy secondary to their lifestyle. Higher even than mothers in poor regions of the country rated to have the highest complication rate in 2004. But I try not to think about this. My program has been very supportive. Last night around 1am Dr. Radke told me that the "mother" needs to go to bed. Usually sleeping at work is not encouraged but everyone has been taking it easy on me. My surgical personality has a little bit of trouble with this concept.

Below are pics of my six month belly. I am definitely growing and so is the little baby girl. She is also kicking up a storm. Yesterday during a conference I thought she was going to kick right out of me! Also, is a picture of some of her new clothes hanging in the closet.