Monthly Archives: July 2012 - Page 2

25

Posted by on July 19, 2012 No comments

Another big day for Dubs today! In a fortuitous turn of events, we both leased a new car and sold an old car all in the same day! I’ll start with the new lease – we have known for a while that we needed a bigger car. My Corolla and Jeff’s Audi just aren’t equipped for the myriad of accessories babies require. Granted it’s doable – but it’s certainly not as comfortable. A few weeks ago we went car shopping and settled between the Toyota Highlander and the Honda Pilot…either one would have been perfect. It turns out that a friend of ours is a professional “car leaser” (I didn’t know this type of job even existed!) but it has certainly worked in our favor. We reached out to him and immediately he responded with some  of the great deals available within our budget. 24 hours later, he delivered a beautiful new Honda Pilot right to our doorstep. It will definitely take me some time to get used to driving a mid-sized SUV – but I am really happy to have a few weeks of practice before the baby comes…the thought of driving a brand new baby in a brand new car is pretty scary to me!

While we were gearing up to get the new car, Jeff decided it was time to say goodbye to the Audi. This car has been very good to him for the past 13 years…but the time had come to part ways. He took the car to CarMax to see what they would offer him – and the amount was insultingly low. Jeff decided to test his luck on Craigs List – and within 15 minutes, he had 5 offers with the LOWEST being 3 times the amount that the CarMax folks had offered. He selected an offer and met up with the buyer tonight to seal the deal. I know it was hard to let that car go, but hopefully having the new car will ease that sting a bit :-)

In other news, I can’t believe I have only one more week left at the office before my maternity leave officially begins! With the way things are going right now…this leave can’t come soon enough! It’s getting very difficult to focus on anything but this growing, kicking, hiccuping life inside of me :-)

26

Posted by on July 18, 2012 No comments

Lil Dubs had a big day today! This morning we had our 36 week appointment with Dr. McCallister (our regular OB is on vacation for a few weeks). During the ultrasound, she started taking the typical measurements and we sensed that she seemed perplexed – our charts say that Lil Dubs is 36 weeks, and yet everything was measuring at 38 weeks. We explained that Dubs has been about 2 weeks larger than average since the beginning – given our respective heights – this seemed to make total sense to her. The baby hasn’t officially “dropped” yet – but Dubs is definitely starting to get into the right position. I am starting to feel a ton of pressure around my ribs, which is probably because his or her feet are jammed up there at the moment – the joys of the 9th month. I’ve also started to feel Braxton-Hicks contractions (or at least what I think are Braxton Hicks!) I’ve also started to feel a lot of pressure in my mid to lower back – especially when I sit for long periods of time. I would say the past 2 weeks are the first time during this pregnancy that I’ve actually felt uncomfortable (other than when I was sick, of course!) I figure if it took this long to get uncomfortable, that’s not too bed. The Dr. confirmed that my fluid levels are great – so we are still on track for an on-time delivery (so if you put down that this baby is coming super early on our pool – you might want to reconsider!) Dr. Serden gets back into town in just over a week, so we’ll have one more appointment with Dr. McCallister. It’s nice to know that if I did go into labor before our regular OB gets back into town, there is another Dr. that can step in that I’ve at least met and feel comfortable with.

This evening, we returned to the hospital for our Infant Care Class. The teacher was great and I felt like we really learned alot about how to care for an actual newborn. She covered everything from sponge baths, to caring for the umbilical cord to swaddling – things that I’m sure Jeff and I will become experts at within a few weeks. While the rubber dolls they give you to practice on are pretty awesome, I still find it hard to imagine transferring the skills we practiced onto an actual baby. Jeff seems to be completely at ease – the teacher even commented on how cute he was handling the doll! He is really turning out to be the star pupil at these classes- hopefully I’ll catch up when it comes to the real thing :-) The only class that we have left to take is the infant CPR class – it’s a skill set I hope I never have to use!

27

Posted by on July 17, 2012 No comments

We had our work baby shower today.
Everyone was so nice and it was very sweet.
We also got a LOT of things!
Biggest on that list was our awesome new carseat!
Ashley and I (and Dubs) are EXTREMELY excited about this carseat and extremely grateful to all the people who got it for us.
Dubs also got some cute bibs, stuffed animals, blankets, onesies…a whole bunch of things.
This kid is already spoiled!
:-)

28 – And then there were 4…

Posted by on July 17, 2012 No comments

…weeks, that is.
Four weeks from today until Dubs due date.

One more week and Dubs will technically be full term.
I am not yet on high alert (even though it could happen anytime).
Ash hasn’t had any contractions yet so I feel pretty safe.

29

Posted by on July 15, 2012 No comments

Over three hours spent driving around the neighborhood today to look for a new apartment and what do I have to show for it?
No apartment. (But I do have a nice tan on my left side.)
Seriously…..how is this so hard?
You’d think for $2000 we’d be able to find SOMETHING that matched what we are looking for.

PLUS, the car guy won’t call me back.
I was hoping to check off one thing today. New apartment or new car.

At least Ash and I (and Dubs) spent the whole day together. I love that.
People ask me “How do you work with your wife?” “Don’t you get sick of each other?”
Actually, I feel I don’t get to see her enough or spend enough time with her.

If it were up to me (and I’m sure Ash is glad it isn’t), we would never leave each other’s side.
She’s my best friend and I love every single second with her.
Gross, I know….but I don’t care.
:-)

30

Posted by on July 14, 2012 No comments

Spent Shabbat in the valley with the in-laws.
Lauren and Daniel came up too.
(You were missed Jonny.)
It was very nice and relaxing.
Ash got some exercise and also some much needed rest.
We have an apartment viewing tomorrow.
Keep your fingers crossed.

31 – One month to go…..maybe

Posted by on July 13, 2012 No comments

One month to go!!!
(plus or minus a few days…..hopefully plus)
:-)
Cannot believe how close we are to meeting Dubs!
Ash is doing really well as she starts her last month.
Let’s hope this continues.
We go to the doctor next week. Let’s see if Dubs cooperates and gives us a good pic.

32

Posted by on July 12, 2012 No comments

Ash hasn’t been feeling well.
Stuffed up, sore throat.
Doc said it was ok to take Sudafed, but Ash is trying some natural remedies before she tries the drugs.
Hope she can get some good sleep tonight; she barely slept at all last night.

I’m fine, by the way.
:-)

33

Posted by on July 11, 2012 No comments

Hi Everyone – Ashley here. I am letting Jeff take a break from posting and am here to fill you in on our latest adventure in pre-parenthood. Tonight we took a class on breastfeeding. Yes, I did say “class” and more importantly – I did say “we”. As I learned this evening, it is extremely important for the husband to not only be supportive of breastfeeding – but knowledgeable as well. The instructor strongly encourages husbands to attend the class with their wives – so much so that she offers beer and cookies to keep the men happy! Okay, maybe the cookies were for for the pregnant women…

In any case I was skeptical that the teacher would have enough to say to fill a 3-hour class, but there was so much information – I think she could have easily gone on for longer. I don’t think I will ever look at boobs in the same way again. It’s amazing that something so “natural” can be so difficult for women to master. I tried all the various “baby holding positions” – but it was a little tough trying to maneuver a rubber doll. The “football hold” seems like a god one…but who knows! I am hoping that when it comes to a real life baby, I’ll have an easier time figuring out what to do.

Luckily – if you are one of the many women who doesn’t immediately figure out how to breastfeed perfectly, help is not far away. There are scores of women in Los Angeles who make their entire living as lactation consultants. Our insurance covers up to a certain number of visits, so I hope to take advantage of these services. While I can’t predict how easy/difficult breastfeeding will be for me, it’s comforting to know that I have Jeff with me. He is an excellent coach. It’s a shame that men can’t breastfeed…because I think Jeff would be a natural!

34

Posted by on July 10, 2012 No comments

No luck on the two places we saw tonight.
Each of them were so close, though.
I feel like we are just a few days away from finding our next place.
Dubs feels it, too.
The baby is moving a lot now (or just getting bigger and the movements are easier to feel).
I can’t imagine how cramp it’s getting in there.
Just hang on for 4-5 more weeks, Dubs!