Mark's 31st birthday

Last Friday (10/9) my super wonderful husband celebrated his 31st birthday. Well, he worked that day, but we celebrated a little in the morning and evening.

Here is Mark enjoying his birthday breakfast. I made it nearly the way he wanted. But he was gracious about my minor mistake and we had a fun slow morning anyway.

We spent our evening in the usual way, dinner and a little tv. I made a special dinner that we ate at the table instead of in front of the tv (we realize this habit will change soon). Here he is opening up his card and gifts. It was a modest year in the gift department.

On Saturday we had a yummy breakfast at Elmer's and then headed to the beach to use up a free hotel night we won from a friend. Thanks again Sara! Our hotel was at Lincoln City and we got there in time to wander around town a bit before we checked in. We first killed time at the Outlet malls, but didn't hardly buy anything. And then grabbed food at a little hut and took in a bit of the kite festival. This is me, 34 weeks. I bought this non-maternity white fleece at Old Navy not long ago. It's currently my only coat that fits!

Mark's coat was one of his birthday presents. He really liked it, which I was thrilled about!

We opted for a fish dinner since we were at the beach and ended up at a pretty cool place.

All in all, it was a really fun weekend! We didn't do too much but enjoyed our last little solo get away for a while. Will be fun see how we celebrate Mark's birthday next year. Life will sure be different!!

Advice and Random thoughts/feelings

First, I have to say THANK YOU to everyone who offered great preparation advice for our coming baby birth!! I plan to consult back to the notes in a few weeks when I'm putting all the final touches and pieces into place.

So far (although I know that posting this is just asking for feedback, but please be gentle) my biggest concerns are breastfeeding. We do plan to breastfeed our child but have heard stories of easy to nearly impossible and everything in between, I just have no idea what to expect or think of this element of parenting. But I guess there isn't much I can do except see how our little one does.

I'm excited to be uncomfortable enough that I'm wanting our kid out (no matter what that means) instead of in for too much longer. Up until a couple weeks ago labor/delivery freaked me out so badly that I figured she'd be okay staying in place for as long as possible. However, now that I can't sleep for very long between waking and peeing, can't sit in my desk chair comfortably, sit anywhere else comfortably for that matter, walk without getting winded, have more than an hour between itchy sessions (I was unofficially diagnosed with PUPPPs), or fit into more than a half dozen clothes in my closet, I'm ready to get this birthing show on the road! However, I have one question... did any of you "practice" breathing or other birthing techniques before the arrival of your little ones? Our birthing class made that suggestion and I have yet to do it. Although I wouldn't approach a marathon without training so I can see how it might be beneficial, I just keep forgetting!

I've started working through one of the books suggested to me (although to keep from any hard feelings or further suggestions, I'll refrain from mentioning which book that is) but so far I've really appreciated the content of the first 2 chapters! And since you aren't sure if it's your book or not, THANK YOU for the suggestion!!

I'm SUPER excited that my mom is coming out next week for my last baby shower!! She has work stuff for a couple days and then I'm dragging her along to help me do any final shopping and setting up of the nursery so that when the baby arrives, everything will be ready. It's been a bummer to live at a distance from your mom during this stage of life, but we're working things out and I'm excited she'll be here to help with the final touches, since she's been-there-done-that and I obviously haven't. She'll be out one more time before the baby comes so we're praying for an early arrival so she can justify staying instead of going home after her last work trip. It would only be one week away from our due date so seems possible ;) And we found out that mom has to make another trip out for work in December so she'll get more face time with the baby.

I'll try and post more pictures soon. But you aren't missing much. I feel huge. Sometimes I pass a mirror and while approaching it, think I'm looking pretty good today and then my huge belly enters the shot and I'm nearly overwhelmed with how huge I am!! Although it's partly perception. I'm sure I'm not as big as some women are at this stage, but I feel huge! And feelings frequently trump reality.

Last little update, I've started attending MOMs group at church. It meets every other Thursday morning. So far I've gone to 2 meetings and will miss tomorrow's but am really enjoying it!! I feel like it's a great way to re-center on God, which I appreciate. This is another discussion for another day but I feel like I was so close to God when single and miss that desperate longing that I just don't have (as much of) with a happy marriage and anticipation of a baby on the way. But I kind of enjoy the challenge of learning where God is in my new phase of life and what that looks like for our relationship. Life is just so different from that singleness I knew so well.

The Tension

It seems that every stage of life has a bit of tension. When I was single there was the constant tension of "when will it happen?" Of wanting to learn to be content in the moment while being open to the future. After Mark and I started dating there was a tension about whether or not we'd get married. Then the tension of what would married life be like. Next was the tension about when do we have kids. Then, when will we actually get pregnant. And now, the tension of living in the soon-but-not-yet world. It definitely reminds me of being engaged and wondering how I'd feel on our wedding day and how our first few days, weeks, months and years of being married would be like. Easy? Hard?

I'm not sure if other people feel the tension so much. I always struggle with wanting to move on to the next thing. I know it's going to happen, so lets just get there and get it started! Of course, life generally doesn't function on my ideal (a bit too fast) time frame.

In some ways, the tension is always the same and is always present. It's not between me and other people. It's between 'now' and 'tomorrow'. My desire to move on to 'tomorrow' when I need to learn the be content and enjoy 'now'. How long did I desire to be in this stage and tension of life when we weren't getting pregnant all those months? Now I'm here and nearly wishing it all away. Even in the early stages of pregnancy when I wanted so badly to be showing and for the world to be able to tell we're expecting a little bundle of joy and now it's obvious and I'm wishing it to be gone as soon as is safely possible.

So right now we're (mostly me) in the middle of the tension between enjoying the way things have been for the past 2 years, but excited for what the next phase of our life with a baby will hold. When will she come? How will I feel on that day? What will the first few days, weeks, months, and years be like? Will it be easy or hard?

Baby preparations - advice!

I'm trying not to feel guilty about the fact that my blog/life revolves around baby related things these days. It's just where my life is at and I'm not sure why I think you might anticipate reading something else.

We are 33.5 weeks into the 40 of our pregnancy and as a planner, I'm starting to think through the final preparations I need to be making. Our last birthing class is this week and my last baby shower is in 2.5 weeks and I'd like to be making my final purchases pretty quickly after that time.

With that in mind, can all you experienced mothers (or those who have been close to an experienced mother) share the top 5 baby and mommy things I should have on-hand for the first few weeks/months? You can only anticipate so much when you've never done this before.

You can either include your responses as a comment or email me markcarrie.peeples at gmail.com. Please don't be shy or try and make it short. The MORE THE BETTER! And feel free to pass this on to friends who might have some good suggestions.

Thanks!!

Baby Shower!

My good friend Trisha threw me a baby shower last night! We invited mostly my family and close friends. It was really fun!!

By the way, Barb is throwing me another shower for my Sunset family, so if you are part of that group, you'll be getting an evite in the coming weeks ;)

Trisha did an amazing job on food and decorations!! Barb and I went out with Jenna to get birthday (our gift to Jenna from back in May) celebration pedicures and by the time I got home my place had been transformed into baby shower land!

Everyone was SO generous and I couldn't believe all the wonderful gifts we received!! It's a relief to be getting some of the baby accessories we've been needing.

Mark's Mom (who wasn't able to make it) knit this BEAUTIFUL white baby sweater! It's SUPER cute!! When I started opening the gifts I almost wanted to cry because of how real it was all feeling. I've wanted this for so long and can't believe it's happening!!

Me with my cake. Trisha made the invitations and the cake, which looked like each other.

Some of my aunts and cousins who came up from Dallas and Salem. They were a little late due to traffic, but managed to stay for a bit. My cousin Margaret (on my left) is due 3 to 4 weeks before me and is looking great!

My good friend Stacey MADE me and the baby quilts!! I LOVE them!!

Barb, me (31 weeks) and Trisha at the end of the night. It was a really fun night!!

The Nursery

It's finished!! Well, mostly ;) But other than moving in all the accessories we have yet to acquire and the baby, it's pretty much ready to go.

Here's the view from the doorway, which is also the first thing you see when you go up the stairs. We have the baby's name on the wall but aren't trying to broadcast that quite yet ;)

We "splurged" on the crib and changing table. I shopped around online a TON and debated on going cheaper or not. I couldn't find anything on craigslist and found a few good deals online but by the time I was ready to buy them, they weren't on sale any more. Since we had been putting some money aside we decided that we could get what we really wanted. Although I shopped for the best deal and feel like I got one! As well as 10% off and free shipping and handling. They are both an espresso colored wood. They aren't a matching set because I didn't like the crib that matched the changing table and the changing table that matched the crib, so got the 2 that I liked ;)

The bed is on the opposite wall as the crib. It's Mark's old college bed. I originally wanted to store it but decided to keep it and got a cheap duvet cover and pillow cases from Ikea.

The picture right above the bed (I don't have a full shot) is a fabric-covered bulletin board with a spray painted Goodwill frame I made for our guest room but it fit well in here. It has little pregnancy momentos pinned on it. We figure the bed will come in handy for naps, guests, and late night feedings ;)

A view of the window. The valance came with the bedding set and Mom made the curtains when she was here. We got the super cute lamp from Ikea, as well as the simple curtain rod.

We set out a few things on the changing table to display for now. Super cute!!

The bedding set we got for about $60 (+shipping) off ebay. I decided that we had registered for enough items that I really didn't want to have to worry about completing a bedding set. I think it's a knock off for a more expensive design. But it was a great deal! Came with the sheet, quilt, bumper, 2 pillows, a toy holder, 3 padded wall hangings, 2 valances, and the diaper holder. I shopped around a while for this before finalizing a decision and am really happy with it!!

We love our little nursery! It's pink, brown and lime green, and simple yet pretty. We didn't want to do any "permanent" pink to the walls or anything since we might try and squeeze another kid into the room eventually and you never know what the next one will be ;) But we can't wait to bring our little home to this little space!

Pregnant pictures and current thoughts

It helps me that my mom doesn't live close by because I'm more motivated to take pictures ;)

29 weeks and 2 days.

I can't believe I keep flashing my belly to the world!

30 weeks exactly. I liked this outfit so wanted to take advantage of the moment and get pictures.

Close up.

Mark wanted a picture from my angle. So this is what I see when I look down. The brown dot on my tummy is a freckle. I can no longer see the tie on my pants and my belly button is on the verge of poking out, but not quite there.

So far pregnancy has been pretty easy for me. I know I'm fortunate! Other than the usual nausea, sensitive smell, and a few other things that ended around 14 weeks, it's been mostly smooth sailing.

I am at the point where I can't sleep on my back because it hurts and realized last night how I woke up probably 10-15 times to roll over to my other side (which isn't an easy thing any more), pee, or just move into a different position. I think that's probably the most difficult thing so far is that I wake up all the time and can't sleep very comfortably. I sleep well when I'm asleep (other than the crazy pregnant dreams), I just wake up a ton. I think some of these things are just preparation for after the baby comes ;) My only other minor complaint, other than how difficult its getting to move around (and I have 10 weeks to go!) and how sleepy I get, is the acid reflux I've been enjoying. But my Dr gave me permission the other day to take something stronger than Tums which has been working beautifully!

A few minutes ago I was looking through my scrapbook from 2007 and was envious of my former body. Although 2007 was the best shape my body has ever been in, thanks to marathon training and watching what I ate for our wedding, so it's not the best reflection of where I might be able to get back to after the baby comes. But I'm getting pretty excited about working on getting back into shape. I just hope I stay remotely motivated! I've been putting on a decent amount of weight so far. But some of the pregnant clothes I bought from July still fit the same except in the belly so I'm hoping that the weight gain isn't as much in the areas it's not supposed to be in. But I have stopped being surprised by the scale when I weigh in at the Dr office. And I still work out 1 to 2 days a week but am down to an easy 20 minute workout on the stair climber followed by a little weight training. And I do mean little! I don't think my workouts do much for me but it makes me feel like I'm lightly maintaining. I have aspirations of doing (doing = walking/running) a half marathon in late March of next year so will have to get right back to it after the baby comes!

Have I mentioned how I can't wear my wedding ring any more? My finger has been mildly irritated by my ring since I've been pregnant and by early July it was so bad I had to stop wearing it. So I took the opportunity to get it cleaned and buffed and now just wear it a couple days a week. The rest of the time I wear a small band. I really miss my ring!

On another note... oh man, I seriously forgot what I was going to say!!

Up until a couple weeks ago I was getting pretty anxious about the birthing process. However over the past few weeks it's turned more into excitement (not about the actual birth but having the baby out). I think I'm willing to go through this scary unknown process to welcome our child into the world and to get her out of my body ;)

I still like to enjoy moments of basking in the joy of actually being pregnant and about to have a child, which we've always wanted. We're certain we have no concept of how life will change after she comes, but are excited to adjust as needed. I know that some people never get to go through this process so I want to not take it for granted and be grateful for the opportunity to be pregnant, no matter what challenges come along with the process.