Neeva, our Alaskan Malamute loves the snow in Nevada ~ can you tell ? Pictures taken by Patrick’s co-worker who’s watching her for us.
Oh, the breed that one the ACK National Championship a week or so ago was an Alaskan Malamute!!! After Pug watching the past week while his parents are in Hawaii, i’m very happy to have her instead of tiny doggy. Boy, what was I thinking in wanting a small dog over her!! I’m including a picture of “Pinot” the pug ~ yes they are wine lovers and named their dog after it. Lastly, i’m including pics of the kitten I am in love with that already has a home but hey I can still ooo and awww over

Neeva

Pinot

Cassie

this one is adorable also ~patrick calls it “devil head” and it’s definitely unique with the orange head vs. the usual black

We had our childbirth classes over the weekend and Patrick’s comment was “i’m going to have to stab my eyes with a hot poker to get the images out of them from the videos”. We are convinced they put the um nastiest women in those videos possible. My theory is that it makes the men look at their wives and go “wow, she doesn’t look near as bad as those women we saw in the video.” haha We had a good instructor and walked away with some good info

The light bulb of the class was that i’m not getting an Epidural. You may ask “WTF ARE YOU THINKING?”. Well honestly, I don’t want to be stuck in bed, not able to walk/move around, not able to go to the bathroom myself etc etc…basically being immobile, especially since 1st time moms “usually” labor for an insane amount of hours that I don’t want to be stuck in bed for!! Instead we are doing something VERY similar to an epidural. It’s called an “interthecal” and is still a spinal administered pain killer BUT they can give it to me as late as 8-9cm. If need be they can stack another dose if it starts to wear also but shrug against doing it too many times because it will cause nausea. I’m hoping ~ although I may chicken shit out ~ that I can tolerate the pain up until that point w/o an epidural and then get the interthecal just for the last dilation / pushing parts. Basically, i’ll handle things au natural until the last dilation and push when i’ll be yelling “GIVE ME THE DAMN PAIN KILLER NOW”. Ok ok maybe not but I don’t think I can do the whole natural, i’m not kidding myself on that part..I know i’ll need some pain relief!

Anyhow, there’s a bit of an update but I so can’t sit up long at this darn computer so back to the couch with a magazine!!!
~heather

I had another doctor’s appointment today and all is measuring a-ok for
29 1/2 weeks!  Heartbeat in the 140’s (same as the last few appts.
and normal).  Looks like my weight gain total will probably be
around 25 pounds but that could all change in the next 10 weeks if my
appetite keeps like it is!! No stretch marks on my stomach YET and
Patrick keeps checking my belly button out expecting it to pop out any
second.  The midwife said “you have such a cute belly” today and
made me laugh.  I guess I’m not seeing the thing as “cute” but hey it was nice of her.  He’s head down at the moment and seems to
enjoy being that way since I feel him constantly kicking my ribs and
hiccuping at say 5:30am on my bladder!!  I did have a little scare
this morning so they checked me out at today’s appt. and no dilation
etc.  WHEW!  The little guy needs to keep cooking, no premie
no premie stop…err I was thinking of whamies from that old game show.
hehe  Time seems to fly by so fast now!  I pre-registered for
the hospital at my doctor’s request today so that’s all taken care of
and now I just need to schedule my appt. to meet with the pediatrician
I selected.  They gave me the “birth plan” to fill out and bring
in at my next appt. along with information on child vaccinations and
bringing the baby home/what to expect etc.  I’m on 2 week appts.
now so i’ll be going back in Jan. 31st.   We have our
Childbirth class this Friday and Saturday then i’ll schedule the
seperate Newborn Care & Breastfeeding classes for beginning of Feb.
most likely. 

We are slowly acquiring things we need for baby but it seems so damn
overwhelming in how much we have yet to buy!!! It’s like you need an
endless amount of $$ and there’s no end in sight.   I bought
my 1st package of diapers over this last weekend because I had a coupon
for 15% off at Babies R Us and we are going to start buying a few
things like diapers / wipes etc. when we get the coupons or if they are
on sale.   My mom got some hot deals today at Target on
clearance that I had on my list to buy so I ran amuck to Target today
here but their selection wasn’t as great.  Tomorrow i’ll go meet
up with Patrick for lunch and hit up the other Target by him to see if
the selection is better. 

Patrick got another “Peer Award” for $25 …his 4th since starting his
new job!! You can apply them to almost anywhere but we’ve been choosing
to apply them to amazon.com because I can use those on the
babiesrus.com site.  Although, tonight I realized something way
cool about us getting amazon.com gift cards!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They
have my diaper bag I want available through amazon and also the nursing
bra’s i’ve seen at Motherhood, Mimi Maternity etc. for sale also on
amazon!!!  I’m convinced amazon gift certs. are the bestest and we
can get almost everything we need just from that site! I didn’t realize
that stores like Motherhood and some of these other baby stores I like
online have their stuff available to be purchased through them.  I
was happy enough about Babies R Us but I like that i’m not limited to
just buying off my registry. 

Lately, i’ve been a bit bummed out that I can’t work on decorating a
nursery because well, we don’t have our house built up here yet and
most likely it won’t be ready until after the baby is born.  In
the meantime, all my baby stuff is neatly organized in different
storage containers based on categories like: Toys, Clothing,
Bathing/Diapering/Feeding etc. I just wish I could hang up his clothes
in a closet and put away his stuff in little dresser drawers etc. 
Also, I’m kind of bummed because I don’t think i’ll be happy a baby
shower and feel like i’m missing out.  I have a couple aunts up
here and my mom said she’d come if there was one, plus my best friend
had asked me if I knew if I was going to be thrown one but well no one
is really here to throw me one.    I know I shouldn’t
expect one but it’d be fun to have friends/family all get
together.  *sighs*   In the end i’m happy to be healthy
and carrying a healthy active little boy. 

here’s some random pics from a trip over to the Oregon Coast with Patrick’s dad (it’s only about 40 mins. away) 
(I always have to post pics ~ come on now!)

It’s been a lil while since i’ve updated so finally a quiet moment to do so. Imagine this will be somewhat long so i’ll cut stuff out as I go

The move up to Oregon went well and the past few weeks have moved by really fast it seems. We spent the holidays celebrating with Patrick’s family which is always nice. His brother& sister in-law came into town from Madison, Wisconsin, where he is working on his Doctorate, so it was good to see them again. We won’t be seeing them until probably Xmas of next year because they are heading off to Europe in the summer months where James will be teaching German in a village in Austria. Patrick took a little extra time off during the holidays but not much. It was nice to relax around with him after being apart for way too long!!

This year Xmas was all about baby when it came to gifts. Patrick and I said we were doing small things for each other but Patrick did get me the softest robe ever because I had hinted to wanting a robe for when baby came. I got him the next series of Stargate-SG1 because he wanted that and we watch it together usually before going to bed. Our parents were overly nice and helped get some of baby needs out of the way although our list is still forever long of stuff to buy!

The rest of this is probably going to be xmas gifts/baby related so i’ll try to keep images thumnbnailed and stuff cut for those that don’t want to read!

We picked out our crib/changing table a few weeks back but are waiting to order it since it’s only a 6 week delivery time and we want to know our closing date for the new house for it to be delivered there instead of stored up at my in-laws. We also picked out the chair i’m getting but the pic i’m including is not the color and it’s in a microfiber fabric.

Crib & Changing Table will be in “Amber” which is a bit lighter then Cherry but darker then the color shown in Pics~ Baby’s Dream~ Converts to Full Size Bed

Chair from Best Chairs

We got our stroller the Inglesina “Zippy” from my dad/step-mom for Xmas which was MORE then nice. They gave us some other things off our registry like a swaddle blanket and kick chimes. Anyhow, this stroller is so darn cool and yes, I got excited about a stroller! I’ve played with it a lot since i’ve gotten it! The thing opens and collapses with one hand which I loved. It’s rated really well by my Baby Bargains book and despite being pricey I wanted something a bit more sturdy then the travel systems that will last through Braysen and another child. The carseat will fit on it just fine also. It came with a full rain cover, which is a necessity i’m finding out, here in Oregon. (didn’t have a smaller size pic and Patrick’s computer has crap for editing pics on it)

The bouncer seat we wanted was a gift from Patrick’s parents for Xmas but they are also buying our crib for us - which is the best present! His mom has been buying us a ton of clothes also. My mom has spoiled us rotten with clothes, blankets, towels and then sent us a nice gift card for Babies R Us, which we are going to use for our Pack N Play and some other items. She also sent me a gift card for Victoria Secret so I can get some cute pj’s since Patrick usually buys me the pj sets to lounge around the house and mine are wearing down.

The carseat is next big thing on my list to buy but I have that picked out and it’s at the same place our crib is at. They install your carseat in your car for you also and have excellent service ..not to mention way cool things like oh, the wee wee blocker!
Behold the wee blocker! Yes, I know it’s a bit wierd but helpful..I mean I don’t “need” it to keep from being peed on but i’m getting it regardless! I saw it on a website and thought i’d have to order it for Patrick for giggles but now I can just pick it up at the store when I get the carseat/diaper bag etc. They also have the extenders to attach to onesie at their crotch snaps so they can last a little longer.

Lastly for pictures~i’ve switched my diaper bag choice again! This is the one I have finally decided on because it looks not to babyish or girly for Patrick to carry, it has TONS of storage, cleans easy and looks pretty snazzy to boot. It’s at the same store as the crib/chair/carseat etc. It’s called the Fleurville Sling Tote. Here’s the pic of the outside and the inside diagram for storage.

My biggest challenge at the moment is finding a new swimsuit to do laps in!!! I’ve tried on Speedo suits a bit bigger then I wear to see if I can just grow into them but they don’t like my tummy! I hate that I can’t get a maternity speedo - they honestly should make those types! I’m going to head to the Motherhood store at the Lincoln City outlets to try on some tankini’s since I saw them there last time and if not i’ll head to the store in the mall. We have a Mimi Maternity close to Patrick’s work but they are a bit pricey so we’ll see if I have to resort to that. I just want to get back swimming and neeeeeed to find a swimsuit asap!

We did sign up for Childbirth Classes and are doing a weekend type of course instead of the 8 week series. We go on a Friday nite from 7-9:30 then spend a whole day Saturday 9-5 in class. It’s more then just breathing techniques but a tour of the birthing center, infant cpr and misc. other stuff. I’m attending a breastfeeding class seperate and we’ll both attend the newborn care class together (both 1 1/2 hour evening classes) but those are part of the course fee for the weekend session.

28 weeks down!!!!!

Will update again in the next day or so since we drove out to see the house today and I took a few pics.

~heather