Less Than a Month

The ticker finally says 30 days and counting down! Its a very strange feeling to know that "Ringo" will be a real part of our family anytime between now and 5 weeks from now. Doctors wont let me go past the first week in October so at least I know that much! It is starting to feel like I have been pregnant forever and on one hand I am ready to be done but on the other there is a fear of whats to come. As you may or may not know, I have a very low pain tolerance and a general fear of all things doctor/hospital related so the whole labor and delivery process seems very scary. We think we have a handle on the things we will need to bring baby home and the room is set up and stocked for now. I washed and folded all of the onesies, blankets, towels, washcloths, etc.. and am putting them into their place in the dresser and closets. Without knowing the gender of the baby, the entire load of items looked like a giant ball of green and yellow... pretty funny actually. I have my 36 week appointment this Thursday which will be the first of my weekly visits until baby decides its time to get this process started.
This past weekend Karl took a trip to LA for his friends wedding but because of work and my "unsafe condition" I wasn't able to go along. He had a great time at all of the wedding festivities and was able to experience a whole lot of the Indian culture. He didn't take a camera so we don't have any pictures yet but maybe some friends will have some so we can post them. Purdue volleyball opened the season on Friday with a two-day tournament so I had a new crew of interns and staff to train. It's certainly a lot harder to work long days in a hot gym with this extra weight! The weekend actually worked out very well because I was able to visit Katie and the new addition to their family after taking Karl to the airport on Thursday and picking him up last night. Alexis Kate was born early Wednesday morning via c-section and big sister Paige could not be more excited about it. She was sleeping most of the time I spent with her both in the hospital and at their house but she is so cute and I can't wait for our babies to grow up together. Good planning on their part to have the baby in between events for me so thanks Katie and Nick!

This week is busy as usual with the first home football game and Karl's 10 year class reunion. I should have more to post following my visit with the OB on Thursday but I had to make a note of the one month (give or take) to go milestone! I will also add some pictures of this gigantic baby belly at 36 weeks then. Stay tuned....

34 Week Update

Not much new to report other than the fact that I feel as though I am growing by the minute! Baby is still as active as ever and weighs about as much as a cantaloupe. According to babycenter.com he/she should be gaining about a half-pound each week and has almost reached its full length. I've been noticing a lot harder movements now that the baby is so much bigger, I even tend to get little feet stuck under my ribs. Sleeping has become quite the chore but apparently that's called preparation for when he/she actually arrives. Now that events have started for me, I am absolutely exhausted by the time I get home and spend most of my free time on the couch relaxing or napping. Karl had his first flag football practice tonight so his schedule is getting busier as well. We completed our baby class last week at the hospital and a lot of the big things we were worried about doing have been done so let the waiting game continue. We still have some things going on over the next few weeks including a trip to LA for Karl for his friend's wedding, the start of Purdue volleyball and football for me, Karl's 10 year class reunion, and weekly doctor visits to keep little Ringo in check. We are doing our best to enjoy the time we have left until baby makes 3.

Baby Kraebber's Room

We think the room is ready to go! A few things left to do but it's baby ready for the most part. We ordered a rocker and it should be here by the end of the month and we still need a cover for the changing pad but other than that, we think we are in good shape. We both wanted to have this finished before school started and our schedules really got busy so we are happy with the progress we made and how it turned out (with a week to spare). The room is neutral for the most part and really matches the rest of the house too which is kind of nice. We have lots for baby to look at and hope he/she will appreciate all of the jungle animals he/she will get to sleep with every night. We have gotten a lot of great gifts for baby too so we are still in the process of washing, hanging and putting together many things. There is plenty of room for family photos to be added as well as clothes once we know if we are in need of he or she clothes. Enjoy the photos and more to come!

Baby Shower #2

Yesterday Karl's family and friends hosted our second and final baby shower. The girls part of the shower was at Karl's aunts and included lots of delicious food, punch and margaritas for the non-pregnant ones while the guys gathered at Karl's parents for steak, beer and cards. They were both small gatherings but still lots of fun. We now have a room full of great stuff to help us get ready for the baby's arrival: diapers, wipes, books, toys, clothes and more diapers! The room is almost ready and it looks like we might have enough stuff to survive a week with a newborn right now. We still have a few important items that we are missing so this week the project is to put all the gifts in their place and go through our checklist and find out what necessities we need to purchase. I'm sure we will never truly be "prepared" but our goal is to do the best we can before Ringo decides to join our family. Thanks to all of our friends and family for helping us get ready to bring baby home. He/she is certainly loved by many already! Here are a few photos from the shower.

Happy Grandma-to-be!

Katie and baby girl at 35 weeks and Erin and baby ? at 31 weeks

31 Week Update

It's been a few weeks since I posted a true profile shot so here it is (not sure why its fuzzy). I have now met all of the doctors in the new practice we switched to and I am happy with all of them. The last one, Dr. Penman was my favorite and if I got to choose who would be there to deliver it would definitely be him. He was great to meet with and offered up a lot of information without me having to ask a million questions. He gave us a run down of what to expect over the next few weeks and then took all the important measurements. The baby belly has exploded to 31 cm which is exactly on target and the heartbeat sounded great. Based on where I have been getting kicked and jabbed and Dr. Penman's assessment, Ringo is head down with his/her shoulders, elbows and rear end doing most of the damage. He/she moves constantly to the point where I have to stop whatever I am doing and try to talk him/her into settling down so I can get stuff done or try to sleep. Its been especially bad when I am in the car which has made for some long road trips recently. I swear I should be bruised! Ringo is currently weighing in at about 3.5 lbs and should be around 16 inches long so based on that, Dr. said if I go the full 40 weeks we should be looking at a nice healthy 7lb baby. Sorry, no changing your guesses now! We have made a lot of progress on the room and after this weekend, we will have a better idea of what we are missing and what else we need to be ready in terms of supplies. Hard to believe that our little baby will be here in less than 2 months! Since I am going to grow at a crazy fast pace for the next few weeks I will do better at posting photos and details. We will still visit the doctor every 2 weeks in August but after the last week in August we will be going every week until D-Day arrives. And yes... to those of you that said not to worry about gaining weight right away and that it will come eventually- you were right!