My baby shower

Last weekend was so wonderful! My parents were here from MN and my sister threw me a shower. It took place at The Good Egg and the theme was ladybugs! We had brunch followed by an activity and then opened gifts. For the activity we each got a onesie and decorated them with markers. Laura also made the most incredible ladybug cupcakes! It was so special to have my mom and dad there. Mark also joined in and made a onsie that said "My daddy is the best!" Other guests included some of my fellow residents, spouses of the male residents and some nurses. There was also a baby, a toddler and a little girl!

The rest of the day Saturday we worked on the nursery. Barb, Mark's mom, made some artwork for the nursery that we hung up. That night we went to dinner...the whole family including Jon.

The following Monday my dad ran the Boston marathon. He had a good time although he says it was the toughest marathon he has run. I am so proud of him!!

9 months!! But more important...one week left of nights!!!

People always say a human gestational time period is 9 months. It's not...it's 10 months. So one more month to go theoretically. I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday. I am 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced. I guess that's because I stand up a lot.
Which brings me to night float, standing and working. Whoever thought that working 80 hours a week, at night, 9 months pregnant would be reasonable is probably a little bit crazy. At least I'm starting to realize this now. Mark tells me how crazy it is everyday but I don't listen. I can't. At the beginning of the month I thought it would be fine. Then the second week into nights I got sick and had to take home call one night. The third week is starting to wear on me. I am writing this at 4:20 am as I wait for a little baby to get here from another hospital so I might be slightly biased in this entry about how tired I am. Nevertheless, I am starting to get really tired. And emotional. But ONE MORE WEEK of nights left in my entire surgical residency career. Thank goodness that at least I can look forward to it being over.

Baby names

Mark's office has a pool going to guess the baby name and weight. In one of the pictures from the shower you can see the pink piggie bank with money in it.
I was surprised how close they are with some of the names! Some of the names on the list were Olivia, Bridget, Isabelle, Elizabeth, Nora, Coleen, Molly, Rachel. Dr. Mills even took a stab at it...his guess was Prarie Dawn!
What we've actually done over the last eight months is come up with a master list of about three or four names which are our favorites. I have one in mind which is my personal favorite but we are going to wait until we see our little sweetie before we pick the final name. Then we'll know that the name suites her. Hopefully, that process won't take more than a day! Actually, Mark picked out most of the names on the list. He has done a very good job I think. The easy part is the middle name which is Marie. Marie is a Krabbenhoft middle name tradition. Both my mother and I have the middle name Marie.

Mark's baby shower

Mark's office surprised him with a baby shower on Thursday and I was invited as a surprise guest! They had a three tier diaper cake decorated with blankets, bibs, rattles and a rubber duckie on top. The first gift Mark opened was from Dottie, his assistant. It was a tool belt labeled, "Daddy's Diaper Service"! In the pockets were tongs, rubber gloves, ear plugs and protective eye gear! We were both overwhelmed with the gifts we received. Dottie had also hand-made a pink and green blanket. Lila had hand-crocheted a beautiful white dress with matching hat! We also got our snap-n-go stroller, hamper, boppy pillow, and swing from our registry. It was a great time and fun to see the soon-to-be Dad as the center of attention!

Virtual baby shower

I had my first baby shower tonight and it was all over the phone! The GAC girls did something similar for Jessica when she was pregnant with Sacha. So Amanda, Jessica, Laura, Stef, Mel and Sara all called in for a shower conference call! You would think having seven girls on the phone would be difficult but it actually works very well.

The girls who have children already gave me lots of advice and explained how those kids continue to get cuter each and every day. I opened my gifts which included a pack and play, clothes, books and a painting to match the nursery.

I feel very blessed in my life right now. I have amazing friends. Thanks so much you guys!!!

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!!