33-Week Check-up

Again, everything is looking good. The doctor says I am measuring exactly right for 33 weeks. She mentioned that it looked like I was going to have an average-sized baby. So, I think when people think I look big in the photos it really is a case of the camera angles playing tricks. I actually lost half a pound in this last two weeks, which is good because somehow I gained 6 pounds in the two-week period before!

The baby has been in the head down position for several weeks now. The doctor could immediately identify the little feeties under the right side of my ribs. So that's what all the poking has been about!

33-Week Photo

Here is my 33-week belly from Saturday. My skin is getting tight and I bet stretch marks are not too far away.

It's hard to believe that as uncomfortable as I am with the breathlessness, heartburn, sleeplessness and aches that I still have 7 more weeks to go. But that's fine with me. It's a special time, one that might not come again, and I don't want it to be over too soon.

The baby is moving a lot, especially in the evenings between 7 and 9. Matt and I sit on the couch and marvel, as first-time parents do, at the way my belly bulges, vibrates and squirms.

I completed my leave forms for work this week. Under the Family Medical Leave Act I get the standard 12 weeks off. I plan to take from March 14 to June 11. I really want to work up until the very last day. No sitting around the house for me! I'd just be bored and obsess about whether I was going into labor. Besides, I really want to maximize my time off for after the baby is born.

32-Week Photo

Here's my 32-week belly from Sunday. How much bigger do I look than in my 31-week photo below? This baby is growing fast!

The Nursery: Part 2

Progress on the nursery is good. This week we:

• Had the new ceiling fan installed.
  
• Had a guy come out to give us a quote on sanding and finishing the floor.
  
• Ordered the mouldings we need to trim out the room plus all the kitchen doorways. (Thanks Brother Matt!)

I definitely have the nesting instinct kicking in full force. Even though I know the baby will probably not sleep in the nursery for the first couple of months, I just want it done. I try to make Matt understand the urgency of this but I don't think he gets it. I think he just thinks I'm crazy on the pregnancy hormones. Oh well, we know better, don't we ladies. :)

Here is the photo from Overstock.com of the crib and changing table that we got (Thanks Mom!):

I already put the changing table together and it looks really nice. And below is the picture from the Pottery Barn Kids website of the crib bedding we got (Thank you again Mom!):

I know the controversy around crib bumpers, but really when the crib bumper is this cute how can you resist.

31-Week Check-up

Yesterday we had our 31-week check up and I'm happy to report that there's nothing to report and everything is looking good. I did gain a bit more weight than I thought I had, but I have to get over that.

We also met with the pediatrician for the first time for a get-to-know-you session. We really liked him and it' s nice to have that decision out of the way.

Then we went to our second childbirth education class. We learned about the first stage of labor and pain management options. I actually felt more sorry for Matt coming out of that class than for myself! The instructor keeps stressing how the "coach's" job through all this is to basically do anything I want and to remain calm and positive. This should be an interesting time.

Below is my 31-week belly from this Sunday. To see the transformation since week 5, view the Flickr slideshow I put together by clicking the link over on the left.

The Nursery

To make room for baby we did some room shuffling. We moved the computer room to the basement, Matt and I moved our bedroom to the computer room, and now we are in the process of fixing up our old bedroom for the baby. Below is a picture of what we had to work with to start. The former owners left us a horrible legacy of cheapness and bad taste:

First thing we did was strip down the wallpaper. Well, the top, vinyl layer anyway. The paper backing would not come off since they laid the wallpaper right on the drywall. Then we took up the carpet and gave it away on Craig's list. Here is what the room looked like stripped down:

I wanted a yellow room, but after a lot of paint samples and one expensive mistake, realized that yellow is a really tricky color to do right. So we ended up going with a neutral color called "Custard" from the Devine paint line. It actually looks a lot like the color of the paper backing from the wall paper! Oh well. It'll be a nice back drop for the greens and yellows I want to introduce in the window treatments and crib bedding.

For the floor we bought old growth Doug Fir flooring recycled from a gymnasium floor in Aberdeen, Washington. This is the type of flooring that would have been in the house originally, part of our effort to restore some historical flavor back to the house. Here is a picture of Matt laying the floor last weekend:

And below is a picture of the room with the floor all laid. Now we need to arrange to have it sanded and finished. It's going to look great!

Countdown: 9 weeks

What do you do when you're 31 weeks pregnant and you wake up in the middle of the night with heartburn, sore hips and a restless brain and you can't fall back asleep. You create a blog! So . . . .

Welcome to the Matt and Daniela Siorek blog! Since Baby Siorek is coming soon and we live half a country away from family, I (Daniela) decided to start this blog to post pictures and updates about the baby.