Monday, July 27, 2009

The Bean's Room

Here are a few photos of the Bean's room. I think Kris wanted to shoot a little video of the room as well, so expect that in the next week or so (we need to practice our video editing skills).

Photobucket

Photobucket

B & the Bean at 37 Weeks

Well, today I am full term with the Bean... 37 weeks... so we could go anytime between now and the next month. I'm thinking, however, it's going to be closer to my due date (if not after) as oppose to this week. But, you never do know.

Everything checked up fine at the doctor today. The Bean measured a little small at my last ultrasound appointment, but nothing to worry about. My placenta also moved another centimeter, so we are still on course for natural delivery, though I'm still considered a little high risk and a C-section is not out of the realm of possibilities.

Kris and I are getting really excited for the Bean's arrival. I'm trying really, really hard not to get too anxious, although every day it gets more and more difficult.

Photobucket

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Pauline & the Bean's sling

Speaking of cats, Pauline was our practice baby today when we tested out the new sling that came in the mail. We bought it from the Raspberry Baby store on etsy.com. I love the sling... and hope it works just as good for the baby as it did for our cat.

Photobucket

Oh, and believe it or not, Pauline was actually purring when we put her in the sling. Although, it could have something to do with Kris, as she has a major crush on him.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The Kitten/Cat Caucus

We love our cats and often are reminded that they are not just eating/peeing/sleeping machines that purr. They are also members of the family. We respect their wishes, within reason, and do our best by them. We view them, in a sense, as a voting bloc. A caucus. A Kitten/Cat Caucus.

In order to give them a fair shake in our family's political system, I opened the floor to the Kitten/Cat Caucus in order to let them air their grievances. It was an eye-opening interview until Pauline walked over to eat before falling asleep.

Trygkerz Chronicles: Thank you for joining us.

Pauline: You're welcome. Will we have time to discuss Ceiling Cat?

TC: Um, maybe. So, you're both aware that there will be a new human in the house, right?

Onslow: I heard something about it between naps. You're having a litter of kittens?

TC: Just one kitten ... human. Just one human.

O: Whatever. Say, can I go outside?

TC: Not today. Pauline, care to comment?

P: I don't care for your small humans. They frighten me. I intend to shed all over and for my hair to be in the small human's mouth. You will curse me and my fur while I hide in random boxes and pray to Ceiling Cat.

TC: We already do. And besides, we plan on brushing you more so that you don't shed all over.

P: More brushing? I'd like that. Will the small human interrupt our food supply?

TC: No, of course not. You'll be fed as normal.

O: Hm. I guess that's ok. Will our box be kept clean?

TC: Of course.

P: Will there be any shortage of warm laps to knead with our claws?

TC: Yeah. Um, well, maybe. We'll be a lot busier, of course, so...

O: Puny human! Stop spouting your petty lies with your loud, low voices! (Emits yowl.) That is my new name for you. In your human language, it means "furless liar who refuses to open the door and has poor hearing." It is the worst name I can give you and a terrible insult, although something is lost in the translation.

P: Frankly, I'm disappointed.

TC: Well, I'm sorry. We really do plan to pay as much attention to you as possible. We love you guys. You're part of the family.

P: (Looks at the ceiling and meows softly.) Ceiling Cat! Deliver us from our horrible oppressors! Save us! (Walks over to the food bowl and starts eating.)

O: Doesn't she just suck? She's just a big fail. Sorta like you, in a way.

TC: You know, that's it. I'm so tired of you cats just walking around this house like you...

O: Whoa there, pal. (Jumps up on my lap, kneads for a bit, then lays down and rolls over onto his back in the 'happy cat' pose.) You just relax. Pet me there - not there - and maybe I'll purr for you.

TC: ... Really? Thank you! Thank you so much!

P: (Purring.) You're welcome.

The Bean at 36 weeks

Well, I guess the benefit of getting 7 ultrasounds to check the location of the placenta is that we get to keep on seeing the baby. We had, yet again, another awesome ultrasound tech who let us see the Bean in 3D.

The Bean is getting chubby... and, apparently, has lots of hair (which makes the heartburn and sleepless nights so much more worth it!). My uterus was measuring a bit smaller during my doctor check up yesterday, so she had the U/S tech check the size of the baby. According to the U/S, which can be entirely inaccurate, the Bean is 5 lb 11ish oz.

Not sure what the Bean is hugging in the picture... I'm assuming it's the umbilical cord. Ignore the Estimated Due Date of August 9th... my due date remains August 17.

Photobucket

Sorry for those sick of seeing the baby in utero. Just think, pretty soon you'll be sick of seeing pictures of the baby out of the womb. Yeah!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Congratulations Jacqueline & Håvard!

Our friends Jacqueline & Håvard were hitched yesterday in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and we were lucky enough to be part of the festivities.

Congrats you guys! We love you and promise to visit you and Armas (Håvard's adorable 7-year-old son) in Norway in the near future.

Photobucket

Thursday, July 16, 2009

B & the Bean at 35 Weeks

Here's a bit of an abstract photo for you. I did take this photo, but it was during a photo shoot with Ann Arbor Miller. Expect those photos very soon.

Photobucket

I feel like my belly is slowly dropping... it doesn't seem outrageously out front and a little more elongated. Although, I've been staring at this thing for so long, who knows any more.

We also have news on the Placenta Previa front. It looks like it moved! We have another ultrasound next week to double check to see if it's safe to try natural delivery, but my doctor seems positive. So, I may be able to avoid c-section after all. Read Kris' post about it over on his writing blog by clicking here.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Ann's Totally '80s Bachelorette Party

My great friend Ann is getting married on August 8th... and, it was about time we had a bachelorette party for her. So, why not have it '80s themed? It was a total blast!

I took some photos of us getting ready, plus set up a photo booth.

Photobucket

My sister-in-law Karmen, an '80s child, was our official hair dresser. We had some big hair by the end of the night.
Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Alicia Joy's Bridal Shower

Our niece Alicia is getting married on September 26th (also Kris' birthday, by the way) to a wonderful fella named Matthew. Matthew's aunt and grandmother hosted a bridal shower for Alicia at Matthew's grandmother's home in north Fargo. It was a lovely garden affair... and a great opportunity to meet Matthew's family.

Sami chillin' out
Photobucket

Patricia, Matthew's aunt, was a fabulous hostess
Photobucket

Matthew's mum
Photobucket

...and his grandmum...
Photobucket

Alicia and Matt's mum played an interesting game where we found out the Matt thinks Heather Graham is hot and he thinks his arms are his best body part... interesting...
Photobucket

Photobucket

Wasn't Laura's (Matt sister) gift adorable? ;)
Photobucket

The beautiful Engelhard girls, Dana, Kim (my sister-in-law), Alicia & Chelsey
Photobucket

Photobucket

Matthew's sisters, mum and grandmum
Photobucket

Matthew's sister Kathryn and Alicia
Photobucket

Laura, Alicia, Kathryn
Photobucket

...and Chelsey with her faux-mum Karen...
Photobucket

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Bean at 34 weeks

Today, I had the 6th ultrasound of this pregnancy to check, once again, if my placenta has moved. For those out the loop, I have placenta previa which basically means that my placenta has been covering, or partially covering my cervix. Of course, with the placenta covering the exit there is no way for the baby to get out. In addition, I also have a high risk of bleeding. Luckily, I found out today that the I do not have a complete placenta previa, but it's still pretty low lying or maybe even still partial. No word yet if I'll need a C-section, but I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

For the most part, we've had some really good ultrasound techs. However, I had an awful experince last time which made me leave the hospital bawling because I was told by the tech that I WAS going to have a C-section and that I shouldn't get my hopes up. Today the ultrasound tech at the downtown clinic made up for the bad one at Southpoint... ten fold. She was super awesome and gave us an updated glimpse of the Bean in 3D.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Brooklyn Adri'

On the 4th of July, I finally had the opportunity to meet my cousin Shawn's little girl Brooklyn and his lovely girlfriend Britt. Brooklyn was born in January, and is one of many babies the Bean will get to chill with! Of course, I can't resist photographing babies, so here you go...

Wearing Grandpa Danny's hat (my uncle)
Photobucket

And with Grandma Karen (my aunt)
Photobucket

...and with mum, Britt..
Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Diving into Cloth Diapering

The last few months have been a whirlwind of preparing for the Bean. Aside from the obvious mental preparation, we've painted and set up the nursery, gathered some of the essential baby supplies, read every pregnancy and child rearing book we can get our hands on, and have been stocking up on a variety of fuzzy, snugly, and sometimes expensive cloth diapers.

The decision to cloth diaper the Bean was made early. One day at work, my coworker Penny (who is also expecting) asked me what I thought about cloth diapers. I wasn't sure what to say. To be honest, I had never even thought much about diapers, much less the cloth variety. After becoming pregnant, I had stumbled across a few newspaper articles on the renewed phenomenon but never thought twice about it. So, I did my research, asked a few friends about their experience with cloth diapers, and was quickly convinced it was something I would like to do. It didn't take too much to influence Kris to climb on board.

Photobucket

So, here are the top 5 reasons we plan to cloth diaper the Bean.

1. It better for the pocketbook. Face it people, Kris and I are cheap... and it's much less expensive to reuse a diaper than to buy new diapers weekly. Sure, they cost more money to begin with, but I've been assured, and reassured, that it's the frugal way to go. Plus, we can reuse the diapers with the next baby or resell them for a good price.

2. It's better for the environment. Every time I imagine how many disposable diapers we would use and that would later sit in a landfill I get sick to my stomach. We've weighed the impact of the amount of water we would use laundering diapers and the environmental impact, at least for us, is far less than the garbage route.

3. It's better for the Bean's bottom. Who knew there were all sorts of chemicals in diapers? I guess it makes sense... I mean, they are made of plastic and they do soak up crazy amounts of liquid. Frankly, I'm not interested in putting that close to the Bean's little tush. As an adult, would you want to wear plastic underwear? Cloth diapers are made are generally made of cotton or hemp, sometimes wool or microfiber, which soak of liquid just fine and dandy. Sure, you have to change the diaper more often (like, after every time they pee or poop), but shouldn't you be doing that anyway? Moreover, if using the right detergent, cloth diapers cause diaper rash way less frequently than disposables. That's pretty cool.

4. It's better for toilet training. Apparently, disposable diapers work so well soaking up pee that the baby doesn't even know it has wet it's diaper. Because cloth diapers are usually made from natural materials, the baby knows when it has gone to the bathroom and thus, at least from what I've been told, will lead a toddler to learn to use the can a lot sooner.

5. It's better aesthetically. Have you seen these things? They are absolutely adorable. The days of diaper pins and plastic pants are over. Cloth diapers come in a wide variety of super easy options... and boy are they cute.

Photobucket

Sure, there is definitely some drawbacks to cloth diapering. For one, you have to actually wash the diapers instead of simply tossing them in the trash. It's also difficult to convince others, including daycare providers, that cloth diapering is super easy. But, with all the cloth diapering options these days, including some diapers that you treat similar to a disposable (except the whole trash thing), I think convincing friends and family that it's a good thing won't be too hard.

We are super excited for the Bean's arrival... and, to cover it's bottom with soft, reusable cloth.

Photobucket

For those interested in our cloth diapering stash so far, here you go....

36 Newborn Prefolds
12 Infant Prefolds
3 xs Thirsies Covers
1 newborn Bummies cover
2 snappis

2 xs Thirsties fitted diapers
3 s Thristies fitted diapers
(will use covers with these)

2 Grobaby diapers (One size) with 2 inserts each (also will work as a cover)
2 small Fuzzibunz pocket diapers with 2 inserts each
2 One Size BumJoy pocket diapers with 1 insert each (found on etsy.com)
1 All-in-One Thirsties diaper

So, there you go. There are plenty of diapers in our future. We plan to start out with prefolds and covers for the Bean's newborn weeks/months than hopefully move on to pocket diapers. But, we have or toe in a few other options as well.