Ducks in a Row

Baby Costello has been officially showered. We had our third, and final, baby shower here in Pittsburgh 2 weekends ago. Baby now has more than enough goods to be well fed, diapered, cleaned, clothed and cared for. It really is amazing how much stuff one wee babe can have. After some hard work this past weekend, the baby/guest room in our house is finally more in order. The guest bed, crib and cradle had previously been piled high with all of the shower presents and hand-me-downs we had received. Every time I went to put it all away- I'd just stare at the mounds, feel completely overwhelmed, and end up closing the door to pretend it wasn't all there. But... thanks to Craigslist, we bought some under-bed storage boxes which helped free up some much needed space for baby's things. So- I'm proud to report that I can now see the guest bed and crib-- a vast improvement.

We had our final lamaze class last night-- and while I don't think it will make a huge difference on the kind of labor and delivery that I'll have, I'm glad that we took the course. If nothing else, it was a good place to air our questions and concerns, and I especially enjoyed the part where Tommy had to massage my back and arms. However, as wonderful and informative as the class was, I'll be glad to have my Monday nights back!

So- all of our ducks are getting in row. Baby's room ready? Check. Childbirth classes? Check. Pediatrician chosen? Check. Baby? Well.... that's the one thing we can't quite schedule in. Who knows when baby will decide to come? My coworkers have started a pool, and the dates range from April 23 to Cinco de Mayo.... Any guesses?

Catch up time

We had our 34 week appointment a few days ago- and the good news is that all of my worrying about the baby's position was for naught. Baby is head-down-- although the midwife had to do an ultrasound to confirm. She thought she felt a head down low-- but when she listened for the heartbeat- she didn't find it where she expected to. But then again, the little rascal was moving around quite a bit during the whole procedure. So yes- baby is right where he/she should be at this stage in the game-- and we're cleared for take-off (regardless of my increasingly swollen ankles/feet).

It's been a busy week! We had a baby shower back in Neversink last weekend and came home with lots of good and useful stuff for baby. There's no way I could list it all-- but I can say that there's not that much left on our registries! We also got an assortment of fun handmade baby blankets, including a quilt made by Grandma Phillips. We're slowly trying to organize and put away all the goods we've received- but it's still a work in progress!

In addition to the shower- we had our Lamaze class as usual, our 34 week checkup, and we just got back from taking a baby CPR/first aid class. This coming week- we're meeting with two different pediatricians to decide on a doctor for the wee one. Then... maybe things will slow down a little. It's getting harder and harder for me to keep up my normal pace. One thing is for sure- this whole third trimester thing has taught me to live with a little more dust and clutter around the house. Somehow, I think it's a sign of times to come.

Making room for one more...

As you can see, we're working on baby-dog bonding already. Judging from prior experiences with nieces and nephews, we're pretty sure that Rocco will be a-ok with a baby in the house. In fact, I'm sure he'll even love the baby once the wee one starts dropping food around the house.

As you can also see- my belly continues to grow. I'm almost at 32 weeks now- well past the 7 month mark. My newest obsession is worrying about the baby's position. At our checkup last week, he/she was still positioned head-up. We were told that the baby has a few more weeks to move around before it gets too crowded in there- but I still worry that baby won't get the memo to move head down in time. Ah well- I guess we'll just wait and see.

In other news, I feel like I've been pregnant so long now that I can't remember what it feels like NOT to be pregnant. I've even gotten to the point where it seems strange that everyone else isn't pregnant. I'm even pregnant in my dreams. Is parenthood like this too?

With that said- this preggo lady is going to indulge in some ice-cream and bed. G'night!