The Grays

I’m still putting on a little bit of fat every day but am done growing for the most part and am about the size of a mini-watermelon (un sandía).

Mom can’t believe how good she is feeling.  Her energy is good and she is sleeping really well.  She has made a point of going to the gym every day and tries to get an afternoon nap in as well.  This next week she is going to spend more time at home relaxing with Bill – today she treated herself to a haircut and pedicure, which was nice.  Any day now!

We just couldn’t resist making a 4th of July video in the baby’s room. Partly because we have a new video camera.

Not too much news here.  I’m getting a little bigger every day (this week I am the length of a stalk of leeks – un puerro) but for the most part I’m ready to make my appearance!

Mom is still feeling good and energized.  Some days she is more tired than others, but she is sleeping well and continues to exercise 4-5 days a week.  She isn’t seeing any obvious signs of labor but feels more and more ready each day for things to get started!

For the past two weeks Bill and I have read ‘Goodnight Moon’ to the baby every night.  We heard that if you read the same book  repeatedly during the last trimester she will recognize it later and this will have a calming effect.  We chose ‘Goodnight Moon’ because it is a classic that we enjoy and is the right length.

We have also played classical music almost nightly since the start of the second trimester.  Most nights we listen to ‘Bach for the Brain’.  My favorite part of the each day is when Cannon in D comes on (the 11th song) because this is the song that played as I was walking down the aisle.  Lately we have been mixing it up and listening to other classical music.  While I could listen to the same music each night indefinitely, Bill prefers variety.  He doesn’t thrive on routine like I do.  🙂

Getting Ready for Baby

With the due date in just accouple of weeks we have been brushing up on ‘what to expect’ during labor & delivery, breastfeeding, and the initial weeks with a newborn.  Here I am in the middle of a study session – surrounded by our Martha Jefferson class materials and books that I read recently.  We finished the last of the classes – child and infant CPR (30 compressions to 2 breaths!) – last week.  Now that the house and the nursery are done it has been nice to spend time relaxing together and preparing for the baby.  Bill has also been really involved in this process and is currently reading ‘Heading Home With Your Newborn’.

Most of the couples in our labor & delivery class, as well as our friends Dean & Melissa and Todd’s friend Erin,  have had their babies recently.  We have enjoyed hearing their stories – one woman delivered in 4 hours and, most recently, a friend who planned for a natural birth at home had a 47 hour labor with two surgeries that ended in a C-section.  We are prepared (well, sort of…) for anything!