Week 38 - Ready to Go

Today we are 38 weeks and we are ready to go. We had a doctor's appt this morning and we came home with more good news. Good strong heart beat, I am dilated 1 cm, my cervix has thinned and begun to soften, Baby Gerrans' head is right up against my cervix, and he/she could arrive any day now! Crazy. I have been brainstorming a post reflecting on the last nine months and I think it is appropriate to do now. Robert and I went from newlyweds, to honeymooners, to parents-to-be in a matter of minutes. It seems like ages ago that Robert and I were in France talking about becoming pregnant and when we found out that we were we were so elated! When we first got home I took a pregnancy test and it came out negative, but I knew it was wrong. I can't describe exactly why, but I just knew that I was pregnant, I felt it. A few impatient days later I took another test and low and behold I was correct. Robert was at work so I left him a card that said "Guess What" on the outside and inside said "we're pregnant". It is in the baby book now. He came and woke me up, we were both so excited. After our first appointment and ultra sounds to confirm it we told our parents in a similar fashion. Got them each a card with a sonogram photo attached inside and wrote the words "Hi Grandma & Grandpa, See you on June 19th!" beside it. Carolyn screamed and my mom welled up in tears and hugged Robert immediately, lots of hugs were given. It was so fun to surprise them in this way. We saved the big announcement for our "Wedding Celebration" which many of you were able to attend. There really could have been no better way to share the good news than with a room full of all of our favorite people. Don't know how we'll top that with the next one. We were so nervous and excited to tell everyone even though it was a teensy bit early to share.

I started an email chain with pregnancy updates for my close friends and sisters, but with all the requests to be included in what was going on with me I decided to start this blog at 22 weeks. Robert has been encouraging me to write one since he took me to Napa for my birthday in 2009 and a gentlemen that was staying at the same B & B suggested I start one after loosing my Event Design job. I finally dove into it, and am so glad that I have. What a great way to catalog my pregnancy and as I have said before an amazing creative outlet for me. I like to write and I always feel like I have a narrative in my head so to put it down somewhere has been very fun. I hope to continue it as Baby Gerrans grows (I don't expect you all to continue to read it) as I am sure there will be many challenges and changes that I will face giving me lots of topics to explore :)

Back to my email updates that I sent my close friends they included funny stories and interesting details about what I was experiencing in those early days. They didn't come weekly so there were not too many. To insure that they do not get lost I will be posting them separately for us all to enjoy.

I was fortunate to never have any morning sickness, though I was super sleepy and lazy in the first trimester. I did feel the urge to nest around 20 weeks, but have spent the last few getting rid of things. We went from a small bump at 12 weeks to now a 43 1/2 inch waist, I outgrew mom. I have gained 37 lbs (5 in the last two weeks) and as the days go I feel as if I am swelling like a summer peach. My feet and hands show it the most. Just to give you a perspective my ring size is normally a 4 1/2 but today I am wearing my grandmother's wedding ring which comes in at a size 8, that is some serious swelling. My hair is so thick I will miss it terribly when it all falls out and Robert will not enjoy finding it in the drain again :) I have gotten to the point where bending down to pick something up or weed is nearly impossible, funny how that happened pretty much overnight. Walking has been my only form of exercise these days. Getting in and out of bed is difficult and the last few nights somewhat painful. Sleeping has not been that difficult. I had one week of terrible sleep but for the most part have been very fortunate. I get up frequently but go back to sleep very easily. The last few nights my hands have been falling asleep which wakes me and that is a bit annoying. 

Robert noted as he watched me roll over that me rolling over is like a submarine trying to make a u-turn. I don't know much about submarines but apparently its a lot of work to turn such a large thing around...I don't think I like being compared to a submarine :) I have started to feel Braxton-Hicks contractions which are a result of my uterus practicing for labor and pushing Baby Gerrans down. I also notice that my belly has hardened and it is easier to feel baby. We are both running out of space. My cravings have been rather uneventful but I have had an increase in appetite this last week and have been consuming radishes like they are strawberries. Grandma I tried your radish sandwich and it was very tasty! And yes the furniture finally arrived, not without hiccups but it is finally here. Rocking chair will be finished tomorrow, yay! Mobile is done but needs to be hung, Daddy-to-be will be putting it up this evening, as I have finally determined that leaning over a crib to screw it into the ceiling is not a battle worth fretting for this pregnant lady. When that is done the nursery will be pretty much complete. I am still looking for a small table to hold a beverage and maybe a snack to sit beside the rocking chair so I can have something while I am breastfeeding, but that is not a pressing item.

As we left the doctors office today we both felt a rush of giddiness as it is finally here. We cannot wait to meet our little one and to find out if it will be a William or a Marilyn. I have made some signs to tape up in our labor room with phrases like "boy or girl" "William or Marilyn" hoping that they will give me the extra energy to push when I become exhausted. Not knowing has been so fun, as I have said before I thought it was going to be so much harder, but it really hasn't. I am a planner, but you really can do all the planning prepping you need to not knowing what you are having. What would really be the difference if I knew? I would have probably bought that adorable vintage linen coat if I knew I was having a girl and invested in some pee pee tepees if I was having a boy - both totally unnecessary.

If all goes as planned we will be delivering at Kaiser in San Francisco and this baby will be the 6th generation to be born in the city on Robert's side. I don't know how many people can say that but I think that is rather cool. We will be sending out a mass text (can't figure out how to blog from my phone yet) to announce baby's arrival. I believe I have all the phone numbers I need, but if yours has changed please send it my way so you can be included. They do allow visitors once we get to the postpartum department, so call or text Robert after you get the announcement if you would like to come and see us to get the details. We are toying around with the idea of having a meet the baby potluck on 4th of July, so if you are around then we would love to have you and will send out an invite when we decide what to do. 

Below are lots of pictures for you to enjoy from the start to today. It has been quite a journey and one that will never end for us!

xoxo

PS Please continue to keep Mandi in your thoughts, she could still use your positive energy.

Just Married!

In Paris, this was the day :)

Robert and I with the card we made for Art & Carolyn.

After we announced the pregnancy at our Wedding Celebration.

Me at 12 weeks, the end of the first trimester.

At 24 weeks, the second trimester.

Here I am at 37 weeks.

Not sure if this picture is clear but this is an aerial view of my belly while I am sitting. You can see that my belly is lop-sided as Baby Gerrans in pushed up against my right side, he does this often :)

Here is an overview of the nursery, a little more crowded with all the furniture in there now.

This needle point, which hangs over the changing table, was made for me by my Great Grandma Cecilia Savar, and is something I read all the time especially as I was learning to read.

A close up of the crib with the quilt Cathy Hackett made for Baby Gerrans hanging over it. 

The picture is of my Great Grandma Mae Grey at 18 months of age. I had painted the room before we inherited this picture and her dress happens to be the same color as our walls. This hangs over the bed.

We bought this bookshelf made of recycled barnwood and painted it cream with a sherbet orange background color. It houses all kinds of wonderful books and treasures.

One of the vignettes on the bookshelf includes Robert's childhood bear, my grandma Marilyn's baby cup, and one of  my Great Grandma Edith Ayer's hummel prints. 

Here is a close up of the changing table with the needlepoint above it.

A vintage print of the Wee Willie Winkle poem gifted by Grandma-to-be Carolyn, it is one of her favorites.

Here I am today at 38 weeks at the same restaurant that we had our Wedding Celebration back in November.