Due Date

Today is Baby Swan's due date and alas, we have no baby.  I'd say Kevin was way off when he said he'd be born on September 28th.  I had little faith he'd be born early, but I thought maybe, just maybe he'd be here by now.  Oh well, that's life...he'll be here soon enough!  So today I had my 40 week appointment.  Not a whole lot happened, I'm about as far along as I was at my 39 week appointment.  I'm 1-2 cm dialated and about 50% effaced.  I know this has very little to do with when I'll deliver, but it would've been nice to see a little change this week.  I still am not really having any contractions, just a few every so often.  So we continue to sit and wait in the Swan household.  I'm still pretty comfortable and work is being flexible with allowing me to keep coming in and working up until I deliver Baby Swan.  Today at my appointment we talked about what is next.  If I'm still pregnant at 41 weeks I'll have an ultrasound and a non-stress test.  This is normal procedure and is just to make sure the placenta is still providing everything Baby Swan needs.  It is at this appointment that we'll also talk about induction and when we should evict  Baby Swan.  I really want to avoid an induction if at all possible, so I'm doing my best to sweet talk Baby Swan into coming this week.  The weather is beautiful and I think it'd be a lovely week to be born!  My sister is trying to convince him to come so he can watch Twins playoff baseball with him and get a chance to wear his new Twins onesie while the Twins are actually still playing!  We shall see what happens!

In other exciting news our good friends Jess and Aleks just had a baby boy, Kade Aleksandar, on October 3rd!  They didn't know what they were having so I was very excited to hear it was a boy, Baby Swan will have a playmate very close in age!  Aleks and I were roommates in college and it has been fun to share the experience of pregnancy and all the joys that come with it!  I still haven't had a chance to meet Kade, but I can't wait and am excited that Aleks and I will have maternity leave off together.  I also can't wait to talk to Aleks about her labor and birth story, it'll be nice to chat with someone who has gone through it so recently!

So this week brings more waiting, Kevin and I are trying to balance doing things and putting our lives on pause while we await Baby Swan's arrival.  We celebrated Gwen's golden birthday on Sunday and will celebrate Bubba's birthday this coming Sunday!  Hopefully before too long, we'll also be celebrating Baby Swan's birthday!  Until then, more waiting, continuing to work, get the house ready for a baby and just enjoy our last few days as a couple!

Week 38

Not a whole bunch to report, but a few things have been happening this week.  Had an appointment with my midwife on Wednesday, nothing new to report there.  Baby swan is head down, I'm dilated to 1cm and he appears to be pretty comfy in his current home.  I was hoping maybe the full moon would make some changes, but no such luck!

I worked last weekend, so I had Monday and Tuesday off this week.  It was nice to have a couple of days off during the week.  I got some errands run, and then caught up on sleep and relaxing.  Trying to fit more of this in before Baby Swan comes!  I also got a much needed massage on Monday morning, now if only I could get one of those every day-life would be heavenly!

Monday evening we met with the daycare lady to sign paperwork and confirm plans, her name is Debbie.  Debbie has kids our age and has been doing daycare for years.  We really like her fairly laid back attitude and the fact that she keeps the group around 4 or 5 kids.  I however felt like crying through the entire meeting with her.  Kevin confirmed that I did in fact look like I was about to burst into tears the entire time.  It's not that I'm worried about leaving Baby Swan with Debbie, I KNOW she will be great.  I went to daycare too, and I loved my daycare lady, I loved the friends I got to play with there and overall enjoyed the experience.  I however can't imagine someone else getting to spend more time a week with my son than I do.  It's not the way I thought it would go.  I thought I could get the best of both worlds, and maybe I will.  For now though...I had to sign paperwork saying he will be there M-F, 7am-5pm.  I know that most months he will get to spend a day a week with Bubba, I also know that it won't be everyday that he is there the entire time.  Logically I know all this.  Emotionally all I can think about is how someone else gets to spend more time with him being awake than I do.  That SUCKS.  I haven't even met the little guy yet and I can't help from tearing up when I think about having to drop him off at daycare, which by the way, Kevin already informed me I will not be dropping him off for fear of non-stop waterworks from me!  I have no idea if I will even have to go through the whole full-time daycare thing, maybe it'll work out and I'll get to go back to work part-time.  Either way Monday was one of the hardest days I've had in a long time, and also one of the many hard days I'm sure I'll have in Baby Swan's life.  For now, I'm focusing on how I get to be the lucky parent who gets at least 3 months off with him once he's here and that no matter what, I still get to be his mom! 

On to brighter news...yesterday I bought the last things of my "must have" list for Baby Swan.  I think we are officially ready for him to come.  I'm sure there are things that we will realize we need, but for now we're ready!  Well...we need to install the carseat bases in the cars, but other than that, we're done.  Our bags are packed and the waiting game continues! 

So this week brought some relaxtion, a little more preparation, daycare finalization, and more waiting.  We are getting very anxious to meet Baby Swan!

The Nursery!

As promised...a post about the nursery.  As finished as it's going to be before Baby Swan makes his arrival, and finished just one day shy of being full-term.  As most people know I like to search for things for the house, find ways to decorate and just change things up a bit.  Also...most people know that I have trouble making decisions and trusting my gut, which usually means my house doesn't end up decorated the way I envisioned it because I couldn't commit.  The nursery is a different story, I set out to make a gender neutral nursery despite which gender of child we were having, I also set out to finish it until I was happy with how it turned out.  I managed to accomplish both goals.  The nursery definitely has more of a boyish feel, but still is pretty gender neutral.  It all started off with the bedding, which I have grown to love more and more as I decorated around it.  I was going for a more modern feel which is definitely not usually my decorating taste, but I think the way the room ended up was the perfect blend of modern and traditional touches.  I won't bore everyone with details of how I came to decide everything for the nursery that I have, there has been lots of thought and debating but in the end I stuck with what I was originally thinking and love how it turned out.  There will definitely be more personal things added as we share Baby Swan's name, have pictures of our family and acquire more toys and baby gadgets, but for now with the addition of the art...it is finished.  I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. 

Looking into the room from the doorway

Another look into the room from the doorway, and of the fan as well!

The glider corner, night stand and modern animal prints

Green lamp, crib and bedding, and empty paper lanterns in place of the mobile

Bookcase and toy/storage baskets

Baby Swans closet!

So the nursery is finished, I'm now 37 weeks and considered full term and the hospital bag is packed.  Carseat bases will be added to the cars shortly and all we will have to do is sit and wait for Baby Swan to make his arrival.  I have another appointment with the midwife tomorrow and will update if there is any change in what's going on.  Otherwise it's just a waiting game in the Swan household!

36 weeks

It's been awhile since I've written...even longer for Kevin, but I suppose that's how it goes.  All is well in the Swan family.  The nursery is complete, minus art for the walls.  I ordered some modern animal art from an Etsy seller and am anxiously awaiting it's arrival.  Once the art is in the empty frames on the walls...the nursery will be complete, well minus a cute little baby swan!  When the art finally arrives I will take pictures  of the nursery and post them.  I'm loving how it turned out and really loving that this is the first room in the house I've re-decorated and finished completely!  This is no small task since I'm so indecisive I usually just look at options forever and never decide on anything.  It's the perfect balance of modern and traditional and gender neutral, but boy appropriate, just like I was hoping it would be.  It will be nice to know that baby swan's room is completely done until he comes up with his own preference for how his room is decorated.

Also, the painting in our house is complete as well.  My dad finished the living room and kitchen a few weeks ago and it looks great.  It was no small task to paint basically our entire upstairs, and I really appreciate his hard work and willingness to get the job done.  There is still a small area behind the fridge that didn't get painted and I'm okay with that.  You only see the unfinished part if you put your face up against the wall.  Surprisingly...it bugs my dad that it's not finished more than me.  I'm just happy to have the house put back together and to be all done with the painting before baby swan makes his appearance.  I'll work on the decorating part of these rooms later.

We are quickly approaching the full-term mark for baby swan and I am feeling more and more ready each day.  As far as pregnancy goes I'm still pretty comfortable and able to work no problem.  I feel so blessed to have had such an easy pregnancy.  Tying my shoes and bending over to pick things I've dropped up are getting more difficult, but if that's the worse I have to deal with, I'll take it!  We just have a few things to get that are necessities for baby swan and I and we will be all set for his arrival whenever he decides to come.  I can't believe I'm writing that...less than a month until the due date, CRAZY!!  I had a midwife appointment yesterday and everything is looking good.  Baby swan is head down, but still rather high up.  I'm only slightly dilated and it appears that baby swan is pretty comfy in his current home for now.  I'm okay with that, I have a few things I'd like to do before he comes and the longer he stays put the more likely I am to not have to go back to work until the New Year.  My midwife also confirmed my thoughts about having a bigger baby, she told me he doesn't feel like a small baby, but she's only saying that based on how he feels from the outside.  I tried to convince her maybe he's just really tall, but she didn't seem to buy it...I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Life around here is pretty much the same as always.  We are checking things off the ever shortening to-do list, making last trips to cabins before baby swan makes his arrival and continuing to work hard at work.  This weekend should be filled with some relaxing, a little shopping, some cooking of meals for the freezer and completed by another baby shower thrown by Bubba.  I'm looking forward to the shower and spending the weekend with Kevin enjoying one of our few remaining weekends until we are joined by baby swan.  Until then more of the same, with hopefully a little more relaxing and spending time with those we love before we become a family of 4 (we can't forget Kona!)

Our Luck Continues!

Still feeling so blessed to have such wonderful things in my life.  Last weekend I had my first shower and had such a great time!  We had the shower at Kevin's cabin and it was so wonderful, we played a few games, snacked on some good food, and enjoyed the great company...well I enjoyed the company, Kevin played on the boat and in the water with the little kids!  We got lots of great things...and Baby Swan's dresser and closet are slowly filling up.  Kevin has been spending more time in the nursery, well the glider to be exact.  I often find Kevin rocking in the glider, listening to music on our new snazzy CD/Ipod player from Bubba, just relaxing, soaking in the atmosphere...he's just missing baby swan in his arms!

I also was blessed last night with a shower from a few of my closest co-workers.  It was so much fun to get together and enjoy each other's company.  I might not always like my job, but my co-workers are definitely what makes it all worth it.  I truly am so lucky to have some of my greatest friendships come from my job.  They are a group of great ladies.  Baby Swan was spoiled with lots of cute outfits which I can't wait to put him in!

Yesterday I also had my 33 week appointment with my midwife.  Nothing special, things are looking good.  I'm measuring a little ahead at 34.5 weeks, but she said that's still in the normal range so they won't do anything about it.  She thinks that Baby Swan is head down, but we'll confirm that in a few weeks.  My next appointment will be at 36 weeks and then I'll switch to weekly appointments after that.  It's  hard to believe that this pregnancy is coming to an end and soon we'll be meeting Baby Swan.  Sometimes the time feels like it's dragging on and others it feels like it's flying by faster than I can keep up with.  I'm sure before we know it it'll be October.

We've also been working hard on the nursery this week.  We made a trip to Ikea to get some closet organizers and drawers to put all of baby swan's clothes, toys and paraphernalia in.  I've been working on finding a place for everything and having it organized as we go along.  Wednesday night my mom came over and helped me pick out drapes and finalize some other decisions as far as the nursery goes.  Tonight we spent our Friday night, hanging drapes, and paper lanterns over the crib.  It's fun to see my vision for the room come together and transform as I add things in.  Kevin hit the nail on the head tonight when he said..."Move over Baby Swan...Dad's moving in".  The room is getting pretty cozy and definitely feeling more and more like a nursery where a baby will soon reside.  There are still some final touches, but it is getting very close to being done!  

So the week brought lots of fun with friends and family, great showers, organizing and a little bit more settling of the nursery.  Tomorrow Kevin has his fantasy football draft and I'm heading to my parents cabin for a little relaxation on the lake.  I'm hoping to get the nursery done in the next few weeks and when I do, I'll be sure to post some pictures!

A Lot to be Thankful For

Life for the Swan family has been pretty hectic lately.  Nothing in particular stands out, but we've been running left and right, with little time to stop and smell the roses.  Awhile ago I told Kevin I was going to try and do a better job of stopping and enjoying the moment, notice the little things and take stock in all the things I'm lucky to have.  I was doing a good job for awhile, but lately have been slacking big time.  The busyness of everything has been bogging me down and I've forgotten to stop and look around.  I have the to-do list constantly running through my head, whether it be nesting or just my usual need/desire to have things in control, I've lost sight of what is really important and all the things I'm lucky to have...tonight I had an evening at home to really stop and look around at what I've got in my life, and it made me feel pretty darn lucky.

First, I'm so thankful to have a dad who is willing to make time in his work week, and his own to-do list to do things for me.  I'm also so grateful he likes to paint!  My dad has been a painting machine in our house this week.   Kevin has helped out immensely by doing all the prep work, sanding down the walls, taping, moving furniture, getting everything ready.  My dad has spent the past 4 days climbing ladders, squeezing into tight spaces, climbing around on all fours, getting more paint, listening to me pointing out places that need another coat and so on.  Due to all his hard work...our upstairs is almost entirely painted and neither Kevin or I picked up a paint brush.  We (meaning my dad) have one wall left in the living room, and then the kitchen and the entire upstairs living space will be freshly painted!  This is a project we've been talking about since May or June.  It took me forever to find a paint color, and then trying to find time to prep and get things ready and then really start painting took awhile longer.  Now in one of the hottest weeks of the Summer, my dad has been slaving away painting in our house...I can't wait to see the finish product, but so far I absolutely love it!  This painting project has also been helping with nesting, because I've been able to dust all the furniture, wipe down baseboards and just generally do some cleaning I wouldn't normally do without having everything displaced.  However, this displacement of stuff has really made me out of sorts as well!

Second, I'm the luckiest lady on earth to have the most awesome husband.  Kevin has been working long hours at the office, only to come home to have to do more work and try and tackle the to-do list I have running as well.  This week he's taken his very few spare moments to prep for my dad to paint, so it gets done, which he knows is something I've been waiting for.  He's also been spear-heading the daycare search and trying to get those loose ends tied up, so I can yet again cross another thing off my list!  I'm lucky to have someone who will go to the ends of the earth to make me happy and try to appease me, putting himself and his needs behind mine.  I'm also so proud of him for all the hours he puts in at the office and outside of work, to make sure that our family is well taken care of and we have all that we need.  We've  had some crazy busy nights lately and Kevin keeps plowing through them with a smile, something I wish I could say about myself.

I could go on and on about the things that I've reflected on tonight and feel so lucky to have, but the list would be long, and likely boring to others so I'll spare you.  The last thing though, is baby swan.  I'm one lucky soon-to-be mama.  I've had an easy pregnancy, I've so enjoyed feeling small little taps to the bigger more frequent rolls and rib-jabs and just feel blessed to have a little boy that will be coming home with us in just a couple of months.  I can't wait to meet him, see who he looks like, discover his personality and see all the joy he brings to Kevin and I and our friends and families.  I already know he's going to be amazing.  So while I've had to endure nights of restless sleep, swollen ankles in this hot Summer, and feeling like my ribs are being used as guitar strings, I'm also so thankful to have the opportunity to experience all of this.  To know that inside of me is a strong, healthy, growing baby boy.  Someone who I already am head over heels in love with and so anxious to meet.  In the meantime, I'll keep checking things off the to-do list preparing for baby swan's arrival.  When things get crazy and I start feeling overwhelmed with all that still needs to be done, I'll make myself stop, take a deep breath and remember all the things I'm truly thankful for.

The Latest Happenings in the Swan Family

Things have been going along well for us the past few weeks.  As Kevin said my Dad graciously came over and was going to help me paint the nursery, but ended up doing it all himself.  I wasn't planning on painting the whole thing again, but he ended up doing it, and I love that there is a fresh coat of paint.  The nursery is slowly coming together.  We made a trip to Ikea this weekend for a bookcase and a night stand for next to our glider (which hopefully we will get soon), and put the bookcase together.  I also found some curtains and just need to grab a curtain rod, and then we can start putting the nursery together a little more.  The paper lanterns I ordered for above the crib arrived, and are waiting in the crib to be hung.  I'm hoping this weekend we can spend some time adding some of the details to the Nursery and really start to see it come together. 

I celebrated my 27th birthday a few days ago...weird to think that my next birthday will be celebrated with our little boy!  I spent the morning getting a massage and the afternoon with my mom and dad and we all had dinner together that evening.  Kevin spent the evening golfing, but they beat the 1st place team, so it looks like they are making a run at winning their leauge again!  Kevin surprised me for my birthday and bought me a video camera...I'm excited to be able to take videos of baby swan and have those memories documented.  My sisters and I love to watch our old home videos and I'm hoping someday baby swan and his siblings will enjoy the same thing too. 

We also made it through our first weekend of child preparation classes.  We attended the baby basics and breastfeeding class.  The baby basics didn't teach us much we didn't already know, but the breastfeeding class had some good information.  I think we both thought it was going to be worse than it was, and we got out early so we were impressed!  This weekend we have the childbirth class, which since neither one of us have any experience with this I think will be good.  We opted for the full day class so we don't have to miss out on any other weekends at the cabins, so it will likely be a long Saturday, but hopefully informative and get us ready for baby swan when he decides to make his appearance! 

On the job front I had another meeting with my boss yesterday.  She made it seem more promising that I might be able to come back part-time in January after my maternity leave.  She also made it well known that she can't promise anything as of now, so we're still in limbo, wondering what the future will bring but I feel better about it and know that it will all work out like it's supposed to.  I just have to let go of it and see what happens!

It's hard to believe how fast Summer is going, and to think that October will be here before we know it.  We still have some other projects to get done around the house that we've been putting off for awhile, but I know they will get done before baby swan makes his appearance.  And as Kevin said...we do have a lot done, and I fully trust that should something happen sooner than expected we'd be okay.  Although, I'm cherishing the last few months we have just the two of us to finish a few things and get even more organized for baby swan when he gets here.  Nothing too exciting to report, just nursery decorating, home project doing and enjoying our last couple months of Summer.