37-Week Appointment

We had our 37-week appointment yesterday. Everything is looking good. My blood pressure and the baby's heartbeat are measuring just right and I gained a pound and a half. The baby is still head down and has shifted his/her backside from my left side to my right. The baby still moves a LOT! The doctor says I am not dilated yet, but am soft. She also said I was carrying lower. Looks like things are progressing as they should!

37-Week Photo

The Nursery: Part 3

Matt has been working very hard to finish the nursery. Here's what the room looks like at the moment.


The floor has been finished and looks great, but we've covered it so we can work in there without worrying about scratching it. Matt has framed out all the windows and doors and installed the baseboard mouldings. And look at the new ceiling fan! Loads better than the old one.

Below is a different view from the opposite corner. Roosevelt has been very impressed with the work we've done so far:

You can see in the closet the original yellow color we bought for the whole room. It looks nice in small doses but just did not work for the whole room. We plan on using the closet as an extension of the room by putting the changing table in there. I have a small armoire I bought on Craig's List a couple years ago that will be perfect for the baby's clothes and things.

What is left to do:

• Paint and install crown moulding.
• Caulk, sand, prime and paint the door and window mouldings and baseboards.
• Install the shoe moulding.
• Paint and install the door.
  

Then comes the fun part-- decorating! I can't wait to move in all the furniture and beautiful presents we've gotten and organize the room. For example, here's a picture of a little cat lamp I saw on a nursery design blog and ordered from a Web site called Uncommon Goods:

It's made of paper and lights up with a little candle light bulb. Very cute! Check out the link above. They have other little animal lamps, too.

36-Week Photo

I turned 36 weeks on Saturday. Here's the evidence:


The pregnancy Web site I go to has this to say about the baby this week: "Your baby is now considered full term. He weighs approximately 6.5 lbs and his total length is about 21 inches. Your baby's crown to rump measurement is about 14 inches." This is for an average baby. I've had two separate doctors say it looks like our baby is measuring average.


I have my weekly appointment later today. I'll post about it later.

UPDATE: The appointment went well. I'm measuring just right and the baby's heartbeat was good.

Welcome Lucy Meejie Kim!

My good friend in Chicago, Injung, gave birth to her daughter last week. She's so sweet and adorable!


Injung and I have been going through the whole pregnancy thing together, with Injung always 5 weeks ahead to warn me about what was coming. I've been pretty patient about waiting, but seeing Injung's sweet little girl really makes me excited and anxious to hold my own baby!

Portland Baby Shower

My friends, Ann and Alla, co-hosted a baby shower for me in Portland on Sunday. Here are some pictures from the shower.

Alla, Sung Hee, Oksana, Ann and Allison guessing how many M&Ms are in the jar. Ann won!

Opening presents in the round. From left to right: Angela, Sara, Shannon, Alla, Julie and Dillon, Seniye and Carli.

A cute onesie from Matt and Zoe's dog, Olive. It says, "Puppy Love."

Oh, good! A Diaper Genie from Alla and Daniel.

Thank you to everyone who came. It really meant a lot to me!

35-Week Photo

Time is going by fast! Only 5 more weeks to go, assuming Baby Siorek chooses to hang out in my belly for the full 40 weeks. Here are selections from the 35-week photo shoot from yesterday. I realized I didn't have any photos that didn't show belly skin, so here is a rare full-frontal, fully clothed shot.

See, I'm really not that big. It's just a nice little ball all up front.

And now here's the belly close-up. I've got crease lines on my skin from lying down in my robe. No stretch marks yet!


To see the 34-week photo and the full progression to date, you can click on the Flickr Slideshow link over on the left.

Matt was the guest of honor at a baby shower held in St. Louis last Saturday. Thank you to everyone who came and for all the great presents! I wish I could have been there. If anyone has pictures from the shower, please send them. I'd love to see a picture of Matt opening baby presents.

Today is a baby shower here in Portland being given for me by my friends Ann and Alla. I'll post some pictures later.

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!