More Baby Shower Pictures

Courtesy of my cousin-in-law Amy!

Diaper Cake from Amy - SO CUTE!

Custom Made for Bean!

I'm so proud of the Banner I made ;)

Representing East Bay!

Neighbor Wallace introducing himself to Britt's son Nate

"Oakland Population add 1" :)

Our friend's shop - James & The Giant Cupcake!  I was in heaven.

Practical and wonderful gifts from everyone!

Itty bitty Old Navy Socks and some cute onsies

The Poms were one of my favorite decorations, but WAY prettier in person

Baby Shower!

My favorite outfit!

Me 37 weeks, Abi 35 weeks?

Mom arrived Thursday morning and after having lunch we got straight to work on our daily list of errands and to-do's to get ready for the baby shower on Sunday.  If it weren't for my swelling and achy feet I'm sure it wouldn't have taken every single day to get everything done.  Had she not come in time to help with the errands and some of the crafty, tiny details, I would have been so stressed and would have not had any fun trying to pull off the party.  Beth was a lifesaver as well.  The home projects she got accomplished helped pave the way for moving and organizing stuff around the house and she even sat down with my Mom and I for a few minutes and managed to tie all the thank you cards to my gift jars before going out with friends for the evening!  Poor Josh was a trooper as well, working SO much and during what little free time he had he helped with the things we needed him to, like moving furniture and plants and hanging paper poms from the ceiling, his favorite thing I'm sure.  Josh's Mom made several dishes for the party, came early to helps set up and my good friend and fabulous cook Andrea was in charge of 3 of the 4 mini sandwiches we served, all phenomenally good!  I was so grateful to have such teamwork help pull my baby shower together!  I haven't had a wedding or a bridal shower so this party was a first for me, something I was really looking forward too and I am so happy it came together so nicely!  Like any good event, the only downside was that it went too fast!!   And you would never believe... I forgot to take ANY pictures!!  Thank goodness for my cousin-in-law Amy who snapped a few of the decorations (not before people had dove into the food, but I don't care!) and some of me opening gifts.  She's going to email them to me as soon as she can.   My other cousin-in-law Abi came for the shower and we had a picture of us taken, the last one we took was at Christmas and now we are both getting so close to our due dates!   Here are just a few I got before and after:

Coconut-Lime Sugar Scrub Gifts

My favorite, but all the flowers were so lovely!

Banner I made for gift table

Need a few more special people to fill out!

36 weeks and all is well!

We are in our 36th week of the pregnancy and things are still pretty awesome.  My only complaint is not having enough stamina to get things done and not being able to run very many errands at a time because my feet will start to kill me!  I never thought my feet would bother me more than my back!

I've had to get up at least twice a night to go to the bathroom and then reposition myself, but once I'm back asleep, I've been sleeping fine so that's been nice.  Bean is not hopping and kicking around as much since he/she is running out of room, but he is still pretty active in rolling, stretching and repositioning.   Bean has been head down for weeks now, but hasn't "dropped" yet I guess... as I'm still carrying pretty high and don't feel major pressure yet.  As all this is new and everyone has a somewhat different experience it's a bit hard to know what's normal.  

Good news on the gestational diabetes front!  After meeting with the nutritionist and getting my glucometer, I did my food journal and tracked my glucose levels for 3 weeks and then went in for my check up yesterday.   A nurse took my blood pressure and weight and then a Dr. came in with my food journal commenting on how awesome everything looked and that he didn't see any need for me to come back in.  Then said Dr. asked where I was delivering and I said "home" and he proceeded to throw his opinion in my face that I should have a hospital birth.  I pointed out that we had a midwife, a back up hospital plan and an O.B. if needed so we were all set.  As he checked the size of my funds and Bean's heartbeat he mumbled something about "...higher rate of c-section..." and I had to grit my teeth to stop me from yelling "YOU are NOT my Dr. thank you very much!"  And he had just said I had my diet perfectly under control and I was not measuring too big or too small, but yet he needed to  mention c-section risks in a very unsolicited and very abrupt manner?  The "c-section risk" he unprofessionally referred to is if you do not have control over your gestational diabetes and run the risk of potentially having a larger baby.  All of which I know and have not only discussed with my midwife (whose delivered over 600 babies) in great detail, but again, I also have a very caring and experienced O.B. involved as well.  Ugh.  This Dr. was literally in the room with me for less than 2 minutes.  After he left one of the nutritionists came in to reiterate how well my 3 weeks of tracking had gone and just make sure I didn't have any questions and to remind me of the testing I'll need to do a few weeks after birth to confirm I'm back to normal pre-pregnancy insulin regulating.   I still have to check my blood sugar a few times a day to be aware of any spikes or drastic changes, but I don't have to fill out their food journal paper work (I do my own on my iPhone) and I won't have to go back to check in with them.  Yay!

Bean's First Photo Shoot

Josh's brother Jake recently proposed to Carli and we are so very excited to have her in the family!  I adore her and could not thank her enough for spending one of her afternoons off taking some amazing pregnancy photos of Josh and I.  He and I are both very uncomfortable posing for photos, but she managed to get some great shots despite our awkwardness and in between our giggle fits.  Check out the cute sign she made too!  Here are a few of our favorites (there were so many!):

NESTING!

I have been so thankful how great I've felt this entire pregnancy but I still get a bit run down when my brain has bigger plans than my body can keep up with!  I'll have the idea that I'll get xyz, etc. done in a day and finish x then need to eat and rest.  Seems my time is even more limited now that I have to prepare meal, snack, meal, snack, meal all day long due to gestational diabetes.  My to-do list has gotten longer, not shorter!  
Then yesterday I guess I had my first nesting surge of energy!  Not only did I drive to SF to say hi to my friend Kelly and pick up a few things to borrow for the shower, I got 2 loads of laundry done, scrubbed the windows and window sills in the living room and re-hung all the curtains, vacuumed (even busted out the little attachments on the couches and small spaces) and cleaned the kitchen.  There were moments I would think, "I need to take a break!" and so I would, but then I would no sooner get up to take my plate to the kitchen and get distracted washing dishes.  Or I'd get up to go to the bathroom and remember I was hand washing one of the small window's set of curtains.  I was beat by the end of the night and a bit sore the next day!  It's not just about finally feeling like I have a bit more energy to get things done, it's a rather manic feeling too.  The next day was Thursday and I rested during the day then worked in the evening, worked a full 10 hour day Friday and again Saturday night, so by Sunday I didn't do anything.  As it is the week before my shower and my Mom arrives Thursday, I really need another nesting surge to show up!!  My sister-in-law Beth, between her busy schedule, has been really great about helping with certain projects and being the first one to try and take over any "Josh" chores that he has not had time for.  She did a big organization of our basement to make more room so now a few things can start to flow like getting the coffee table we haven't sold out of our bedroom and down into the basement, which means we will have room for the birthing tub on the big day and then the basinet will have it's place in our room, which is currently one of the many baby related items taking up space in the already snug guest room.  Our house is very much like a constantly revolving game of tetris.  A better description would be that game where you have to strategically slide 15 separate pieces in order to get one piece where you want it and so forth?  Not sure it has a name.
So not only am I getting things ready for the shower (and I have no idea how nearly 30 people are going to fit in our living room, aahh!), but I'm also enlisting Mom's help to run around and check off items we need for our home birth in time for our Tuesday home visit from our midwife, Pearl.  Not only is it daunting to have so much to do, but it also highlights the fact that we have to be prepared the baby could arrive at any point in the next 4+ weeks!!

Bean's Moves!

He/She pretty much sets up camp with his butt center and knees and feet to the right, but that being said he definitely still shifts about a lot!

You Tube - Bean at 33 weeks

Too Good To Be True...

My pregnancy has been quite wonderful, less the one week where my back was tweaked, so I suppose I should continue to be grateful despite getting my blood results back from my 3 hour glucose test.  Sad to report that 2 of my 4 results were slightly over the safe threshold which labels me with gestational diabetes.  I was a bit saddened by this news at first since I am very interested in nutrition and feel I am very thoughtful about what I eat.  I also despise meal planning, but have recently been working on this.  Now things are going to be that much more complicated only because I have to think about meals and snacks a little differently than what I've gotten used to, what I'd begun to see as effortless prep.  I know it will be fine and it's only for another 9 weeks and it is in the best interest for Bean so of course I'm glad to be aware.  My numbers that were over the safe threshold were just slightly over so once I start my food journal and self blood sugar checks I should be able to see when and why my levels spike and make adjustments.  Our cousin Abi was diagnosed as well and she finds that just being aware of pairing her good carbs and fruit with plenty of protein and veggies does the trick as well as walking around after meals.

For those of you who have not had to endure information on Gestational Diabetes before and are curious now, here is a little info:

What is gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes means that the body has a problem with insulin during pregnancy. When women are pregnant, the body needs more insulin to keep blood sugar at the right level. Women’s bodies make more insulin during pregnancy. When the extra insulin is not enough to keep blood sugar normal, women get high blood sugar. This is called gestational diabetes. Blood sugar usually returns to normal after delivery.

Who gets gestational diabetes?  (this part, I find seems to be less accurate these days if 1 out of 4 of my OB's patients are being diagnosed, not to mention the only variable I fit into is being 37, aka: old)

About 7 out of 100 pregnant women get gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is more likely for:

• Women who are overweight.
• Women with family members who have had gestational diabetes.
• Women with family members who have type 2 diabetes.
• African American, American Indian, and Hispanic/Latina American women.

How Can I Treat Gestational Diabetes?

Eating healthy and staying active are two of the most important ways to control blood sugar and treat gestational diabetes. Activities like walking and swimming are helpful. The activity does not have to be hard. The goal is to get up and move. Talk with your doctor or midwife about creating an exercise plan that works for you.
All women with gestational diabetes need to follow a special diabetes meal plan. Your doctor or midwife may ask you to meet with a diabetes educator or dietitian. Diabetes educators or dietitians can help create a plan just for you.
The diabetes meal plan follows simple guidelines like:

• Watching portion size.
• Eating a variety of foods, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• Limiting fat calories to 30 percent or less each day.

Being careful about weight gain during pregnancy is also very important to control gestational diabetes. Ask your doctor or midwife how much weight gain is right for you.