Getting There

It is the beginning of a long holiday weekend. Monday will be my last vacation day until the baby arrives! I am trying to save up my paid vacation time so that I can use it while on maternity leave and am hoping that I am able to work until the very end of my pregnancy. Right now Keith is golfing and I am about to get ready to go see Megan.

Megan is my dear friend from college who grew up in Milwaukee. She coincidentally ended up marrying Tony, who grew up in Oak Brook, just miles away from my hometown! Lucky for me, they ended up living in Downers Grove and we now live just a couple of miles away from eachother. Who would have ever thought?! Tragically, Megan was diagnosed with leukemia at the end of June, when her newborn son was only about 7 weeks old. She has gone through 2 rounds of chemo and is coming through it like a champ. Although she is constantly tired, she was able to get through the treatments without any nausea and the doctors are speaking very positively about her being in remission and don't think she will need a bone marrow transplant. Currently her white blood cell count is low which landed her in the hospital last week and she is due home tomorrow. So I am going to visit her this morning. Her spirits sound pretty good and she is really being a hero right now considering what she is going through. She has 2 little boys at home; Mason is 2 and Michael is now almost 4 months. She is exhausted from treatment and very susceptible to any and all illnesses. Can you imagine, with 2 little ones at home?? Her chemo is over for now but she will be monitored very closely for the next several months. She and her husband Tony's lives have been turned upside down and they can still maintain positive attitudes and keep their priceless sense of humor intact. Please keep them in your prayers!

That certainly does put things into perspective for the rest of us. Jumping into a topic like the crib seems trite. But let me try. We got the crib on Thursday and it looks great in the nursery. I will let Keith share the story and the photos on his next blog installment, because he did all of the work and there is a cute little story to accompany it.

Although there is still of a bit of waiting to do, I think the time will fly until October. I have my work shower next weekend and our family/friends shower the following weekend. I am really looking forward to them! Surprisingly, I am not nervous about labor and delivery. Maybe it doesn't seem close enough yet? I just keep thinking that it is a means to an end and we cannot wait to meet our boy! I hope I can keep that perspective while I am going through labor. The only real pain I have to compare it with is getting my wisdom teeth pulled and having ACL reconstruction on my knee. Both were painful; both were treated with painkillers (and still painful at times)! 90% of people I talk to tell me to take the epidural. Considering how I have dealt with pain in the past, I have a feeling I will. BUT I am trying to keep an open mind about it and see how it goes. My only problem with epidurals is that it can slow down labor. So many people that I know have progressed nicely with labor until they get the epidural. Then it slows down, they are in labor for 20 hours, and end up with a C-section anyway. That is a complete generalization but it seems more and more common now. They say labor never goes the way you plan it, so just try to relax and go with the flow which I will try to do. Thank goodness Keith will be there to remind me since he is the calm one!!!!!!!!!!!

An Update

Time is ticking by and it still feels like there is so much to do! I can't believe how quickly the weeks pass. The summer is winding down and it is almost Labor Day! (in more than one sense!)

I still have a lot of questions, like when I should pack my hospital bag to have ready for when the time comes? Everyone says that with your first baby you typically go past your due date. In that case, I have plenty of time. But what if I go early???! I want to be ready! In 3 weeks I will be considered full term and if I should go into labor, the doctors won't try to stop it. Three weeks!!!!

Things that are still on my to do list include: finding a pediatrician (I am pretty sure I know who it will be though), continuing on the nursery, making a mix for my Ipod with songs for the hospital- both before and after baby (totally stole that idea from a friend), packing the hospital bag, starting the baby book, and getting the house ready for bringing the baby home (organized and clean!). Even the tasks that would normally seem tedious are extremely exciting when we think about how drastically our lives are about to change. Who would have thought that ordering diapers and wipes online would be such a thrill???? I also bought some comfy and cute pajamas/lounge wear over the weekend to wear around the house when we are first home with the baby. That was pretty fun as well, and I think Keith even got a little jolt from it too.

The nursery is still a work in progress but is completely exceeding our expectations of how it would turn out. We will include photos soon...the crib is supposed to be ready shortly! I know that the dogs are completely clueless as to what is about to happen, but they do like to go in there and sniff around. When Keith and I are in there, they are right by our sides and seem very curious! Scout has been through the whole baby thing before with the Schallmosers, but Charlie is not going to know what hit him!

As for the Ipod mix, I stole the idea from a friend as I said before. I want to have music playing in the delivery room (I know, I know, I probably won't even notice it). But I am thinking that when I am at the hospital in the earlier stages of labor when there is a lot of waiting going on, it would be nice to have some soothing music to help me relax. If I don't get to listen to it there, then it will still be nice to have it playing at home when we are trying to get little James Brown to relax! (Does that sound like an oxymoron or what?!) It is never to early to introduce him to good rock n' roll. Some of the artists that will be featured include: Van Morrison, Neil Young, the Grateful Dead (of course), Crosby Stills and Nash and John Hiatt. Such a fun project so far!

Everyone is asking what we are doing for daycare. We have a few irons in the fire and a lot of ideas being thrown around. My mom has been gracious enough to offer her services one day per week. Keith is off every other Monday or Friday as well. I am fairly certain that I will be returning to work, although I am still trying to work out an alternative schedule or possibly working at Oak Brook for a shorter commute (less than 10 minutes compared to my usual 45-60 minutes!) We did have a bit of a reality check last weekend when we were looking online at daycare facilities in the neighborhood. One of them had a video of the infant room where they showed the daycare providers interacting with the babies, feeding them, reading to them, etc. Not surprisingly, it was a little emotional for me seeing these strangers who might someday be caring for our child. Keith said, "Are you crying??? Don't cry, it's okay.....come on, it will be alright....okay, well.......let's turn this off for a while and look at it later..." He is so cute and handled it perfectly! (we actually had a good chuckle over it today). I knew it would be difficult to think about childcare after the baby was born, but I had no idea it would difficult before hand as well! I know that plenty of parents leave their children every day and that it is not easy for them either, but my reaction over the weekend certainly is food for thought and will hopefully help me get ready for the future, whatever we decide.

A Small Price To Pay

Children cost money. It is a fact that nobody would deny. But what I am finding out is how much they cost before they are even born!! Registering at Babies R Us was the first clue. Sarah and Madeline went with us to register, thank goodness, because otherwise Keith and I would have been so clueless as to what we were going to need. After 3 kids, Sarah had great advice and so did Madeline, who is a mini-me of Sarah and great with the registering scanner, I might add. But who knew that we would have any need for 2 strollers (one that is close to $300 and doesn't even come close to high-end), not to mention a third if we ever wanted a jogging stroller? (Not a bad idea for me post partum :) ) All of the safety devices, health care items, things to keep your baby busy and stimulated, feeding supplies, nursery items....etc. Thank goodness for grandparents, baby showers and hand me downs! We did buy our changing table at Target and on clearance at that. However, yesterday when I went to Pottery Barn Kids and purchased the cute white baskets with green gingham liners to go on the changing table shelves, they cost as much as the changing table itself! I experienced a bit of sticker shock at the point of sale, but what the hell??? Nothing is too good for my boy. Oh, and I did have to buy another cute little basket (with liner-extra, of course) to put downstairs in our family room for convenience sake when baby's diaper needs to be changed downstairs. I told myself that no other basket would have worked...it had to be the one from Pottery Barn Kids!! And I really couldn't pass up the little mesh basketball hoop that you suction to the bathtub wall for bathtime fun. It is so cute and I can already see Keith and James Brown gleefully playing hoops in the water. See, not only is Pottery Barn Kids selling me "necessary" things for the baby's room, they are also selling future memories. I am completely wrapped up in the madness. Just another thing to blame on the hormones (and my Mom, who was with me and can justify buying most anything and also believes that nothing is too good for this boy).

Keith doesn't yet know how much I spent on baskets and I am a little embarrassed to admit it anyway, but it is just a fraction of what he is spending on his Big Fun weekend on golf and beer. Wait, do 2 wrongs make a right??????????!!

Today I am on the hunt for a cute and complementary window treatment for the nursery. Do we stick with the old white blinds that are already in there or splurge on a custom roman shade that will cost more than the changing table WITH the baskets?? Only time will tell............

A Tear Jerker

So everybody knows that a pregnant woman might tend to be a little emotional at times. I never fully believed it until I started experiencing it. I am not a cryer, at least I really don't like to cry in front of others. I would never be caught crying at work. There are few people that I will let see me cry and those people know who they are!!! But now I truly know the meaning of "crying for no reason". It must be a surge of those third trimester pregnancy hormones because it hit me last weekend. Friday night I came home and after confusing Keith as to whether he should run fast or try to console me, I found myself "crying for no reason". The episodes certainly come and go and are generally brief, but I think they are here to stay!

Nobody is more confused than I because I promised myself that I wouldn't complain this entire pregnancy. It took us more than 4 years to get here and I could not be happier. I remind myself of that every day. We are so lucky to be where we are and could want for absolutely nothing. But still, the tears for no reason! I guess it is just a phenomenon and proof of how powerful hormones are. Let's not get crazy and think that I have started crying at work or anything, but if you are lucky enough to catch me at one of those moments, you might be able to add yourself to the handful of people that I have cried in front of.

And perhaps the tears have pushed me a bit to the overly sensitive side. Keith leaves tomorrow for his annual "Big Fun" weekend. I have found myself hugging him several times since i got home from work. I am sure he is scratching his head in confusion or at least trying to get some alone time because he just left to take the dogs to the park!!!!! But truly, he has been so supportive all along, doing a majority of the household chores (anyone who has lived with Keith knows what a big deal that is) and giving tons of emotional support when needed. He is so patient with my ever changing moods and never ever loses his temper....well, ever. I hope our son gets all of these great qualities along with the hundreds of others that Keith posesses.

Well, Keith is home from the park. He is begging me for more hugs and quality time. I will probably be logging on again soon because my breast feeding class is tomorrow night. There is sure to be some good material to write about after that!!

The Countdown

Keith did a great job starting this blog and here I am to put my two cents in. He continues to work on the nursery and it is looking great. He is meticulously painting the wainscoting and made the comment, "If this were just for me, I wouldn't be spending so much time making it look perfect, but since it is for the baby I just have to." That pretty much sums up the way we feel about everything, as all parents do, I'm sure. It seems like each decision we make regarding the baby...the nursery, what to register for, what to do for childcare, etc. is that much more important than any decision we would make for ourselves.

I am almost 31 weeks along and feeling great. I have lots of energy, thank goodness, since there is still much to be done around here! It is a busy time at work and I am on my feet most of the day which I welcome because when I sit too much the swelling takes over!! We had our childbirth class last weekend, which Keith and I actually both enjoyed. It is so exciting to think about the day your baby will come into the world. Of course it is overwhelming to think about all that labor entails, but I say bring it on! (when the baby is fully cooked, of course)

We still have many names in mind for this little man. We each have our favorite ones, which naturally aren't the same! It will be interesting to see what we agree on, and I am hoping that when we see him for the first time it will be a no brainer.

Time to go and continue my cleaning. I have this urge to get the house in order. I guess this is what they call nesting! I am also washing all of James Brown's little blankets and clothes and putting them away which I could do all day long! It makes me feel like such a mom! I know, once the baby is here the laundry won't seem so exciting, but until then.....

oh yeah, one more thing I wanted to include was this photo of Keith and Charlie. On weekdays I am out of bed before Keith, and Charlie loves to jump in once I am up and about.

Do you think this dog will have just a tiny bit of trouble adjusting to a new little thing around the house that is getting ALL of the attention????!!!!

Anticipation: Awaiting the Arrival of Baby Brown

This is the first installment of the Baby Brown blog. It is our goal to share our adventures with parenting and with our newest family member. Amy is currently 30 weeks, and we have begun construction of our new nursery, painting and adding wainscoting to give it a unique and comfortable feel. We found out that we are blessed with a baby boy, and have decided to call him "James" for now, since we know that we won't actually be calling him James Brown after he is born. It is also fun to imitate the godfather of soul when discussing his movements and actions. "Yea.. Hot tub, get all wet".

We have pictures of Amy at 27 weeks and again at 30 weeks. You can see that she is getting bigger, so that is very exciting. Isn't she cute?

We have been working on the nursery for about a week, and we have repainted it, added wainscoting and are doing all the adventurous details associated with designing a new nursery. Our good family friend Joe Schallmoser has been helping out, and it's been a good time, even though we have had to improvise with our limited quality of tools. A great example is using a circular saw when we both were wishing we had a table saw. Thank god for caulk...

Chicago has been great for new and tasty food, but combine a desk job with a bum knee, and that is a recipe for gaining weight. I tell everyone that it's sympathy weight for Amy and that I want to experience the feeling of weight gain. I hope the kid doesn't try to latch on to one of my growing breasts. I can tell you that an incident that like will be a great catalyst for a new diet plan.

Here I am working on the nursery, and it's a cool feeling to be working on a room that will house your baby boy in three months. Like I said before, sympathy weight.

Well, the theme for our room is playful puppies and it was inspired by our two dogs, Scout and Charlie. We picked out some crib sheets that match our love for our two dogs, and can't wait to see how they respond to the newest member of the family and the source of 100% of our attention for the next 18 years...

Here is the room in progress and you can see the playful puppy quilt draped over the crib mattress. Can't wait to get the room completed and all of the furniture in it. Crib shopping was a fiasco, and no one ever told us that it takes 20 weeks for delivery. I don't know about you, but I don't like to be crib shopping when the kid is still under 20 weeks. Call me superstitious, or humble, but what's the deal with that? Oh, I'm already behind in registering my child for pre kindergarten and some exclusive summer camps...

Looking forward to updating the blog and seeing your comments. Until next time.