37 and 38 weeks

whoops, thought this posted automatically already.  this was as far as i got with photos!  i ended up having the babe when i was still 38 weeks (he was only 8 days early though). i'll be posting all about the birth eventually!

one of the things i've been thankful for in this pregnancy is that i haven't had any carpal tunnel syndrome!  pregnancy carpal tunnel pain is caused by the extra fluids produced during pregnancy, along with general swelling/retention, placing too much pressure on the carpal tunnel and therefore the nerves inside.  i had it with piper and it didn't go away right after she was born like i had hoped.  i thought it would go away when i wasn't pregnant any more!  but it continued for weeks, and was so painful after waking up in the a.m., that even with TWO wrist braces on, some mornings i couldn't even lift piper out of her bassinet. patrick would have to help me.  it was awful.  so i'm really hoping i don't get it again!

while this time around my wrists and fingers have felt great, i've been having pretty unbelievable back pain. it's very low, kind of sharp, and hurts really bad with the first steps in the morning and with first steps after sitting for awhile (e.g., getting up from my desk at work).  after a few minutes of walking, it gets better, but it's like a never ending cycle.  and those first steps are the absolute worst!

also at night when i turn over, something in my hip/pelvic region does not agree, and it makes a low popping noise. it only hurts a little bit. i asked patrick if he can hear it, because it seems so loud to me, but he says he can't. that seems impossible to me.  he must be hearing this!

at work i've told my manager that we really need to have my pre-maternity leave transition meeting, because i've felt like this little guy could come a little early.

at my 36 week appointment, i was 1cm dilated.
at my 37 week appointment, i was 2cm dilated.
at my 38 week appointment, i was 3cm dilated and 50% effaced.  the doctor estimated 7lbs for the babe.

and everything else is good!

didn't feel like picking piper up for photos this week, but she still wanted to join.  thank you, chair/stool.  what sweet kisses from the big sister!

a first birthday party

little man henry's first birthday party was a lot of fun.  it was held at a local playroom; i actually know the girl who runs the business. i met her when we were on maternity leave.  she was an attorney, but has since quit practicing law and opened up her own [brand spanking new] business.  my hero!

anyway,who's henry?  henry is my former co-worker's little boy.  his mom is the one who put this little shindig together last fall.  she knows how to throw a party!  here's little man henry and piper:

 it was so fun to watch miss piper just pull up a chair and join the other kids having a snack.

kinda scary there, patrick

still learning the difference between a mustache and a bow tie

birthday boy!

i'm not even a close friend, but wound up with front row seats when piper RAN up to the cake and nearly dove in with both hands!

yay! it was a jam packed hour and a half! phew!!

this was four or five weeks til my due date and we were all three ready to head home!

holly's chicago weekend part 2

...continued...

downtown:
as we got closer to downtown, the fog grew thicker, and it got colder.  we weren't properly prepared for the drop in temperature.  we dropped my car off and decided we should have a light lunch, so walked down michigan avenue to a place called the gage.

on the way, we cut through the chicago cultural center, originally built as a library. i'm obsessed with the stairs at the southern entrance.

we walked another block or two, landing us in the south loop for some irish fare at the gage. it was crowded, but we snagged two seats at the bar and immediately put in orders for champagne/sparkling wine.

the restaurant has a 1930s feel to it, and is set at the base of a louis sullivan building

"... a gorgeous restaurant/pub with gleaming green subway tiles and dazzling dark wood, could pass for an Irish pub. Co-owners Billy Lawless Sr. and his son, also Billy Lawless, hail from Galway, Ireland. The chef, Dirk Flanigan, is an Irish-American who comes from Florida, but has lived in Chicago for most of his culinary life..."

we had a beet salad with a sesame dressing and citrus, and then couldn't resist sharing an order of chips and curry gravy.  perhaps not the best pairing, but absolutely perfect.  this is when we discovered that lara missed her flight. we caught up on lots of mommy gab and eventually picked up to make our way over to sarah lyman's hotel. we worked it out so that anthropologie was en route. 


i forgot to tell holly that once getting on the blue line by my house, you can get to the anthropologie without going outside again; the train station below the anthropologie has opened since she was last in chicago.


over at the monaco hotel, we got situated in the lobby and waited for sarah.  as sarah approached us, she was wondering if lara had dyed her hair dark brown when she realized it wasn't lara with me, it was holly!  "what are you doing here??" she asked.  we explained to her our grand surprise attempts, then headed out to the peninsula.

Indulge in a formal afternoon tea in the elegant setting of The Lobby restaurant in one of the Windy City's top hotels. The afternoon tea service at the Peninsula Hotel is one of the best–and priciest–in the Chicago. It’s become one of the “must-do” activities locals feel they should experience at least once in their lifetime.

Hong Kong Origins:The practice of serving high tea at the Peninsula originated at its flagship Hong Kong property and has become a popular dining experience at nine Peninsula hotels around the world.

Read more at Suite101: Experience High Tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, Illinois | Suite101.com http://katherine-rodeghier.suite101.com/experience-high-tea-at-the-peninsula-hotel-in-chicago-illinois-a222304#ixzz1ucVauXhN

holly has actually been to the hong kong peninsula, where the famed peninsula high tea began!!  so she was ready to compare the two peninsula experiences.

i loved the tea room, and the huge windows.  it had turned into a stormy day, but didn't feel gloomy with all the light.  the music definitely made me feel classy, and the service was lovely.  however, the experience was dragged down by the quality of the tea sandwiches and pastries.  i'd say the scones were delicious, but the rest left plenty to be desired.  the FRUIT FLIES that joined us were not only a distraction, but quite disgusting.  good thing i had such amazing company.  we sat for hours talking over our tea, which is perhaps one of my most favorite things to do in the world. 


we'd all considered going to the museum of contemporary art for 'first fridays' following tea, but once the time came, we were all pretty tuckered out.  sarah headed to her friend's house, and holly and i headed back home.


instead of dinner plans for five, we just needed dinner plans for two. we decided to head to the girl and the goat to try our luck at getting a table.


... to be continued ...

holly's chicago weekend part 1

thursday night: arrival
holly arrived to chicago around midnight.  it was a warm evening and i picked her up at the airport.  we got some chatting in, but the preggy lady definitely had to go to sleep not long after we got home.

friday
piper drop off: first thing in the morning, piper and holly got to meet! holly brought piper crayons, a coloring book, a glittery filled wand and fairy stickers!  someone sure knows how to win over  a little girl.  you might even go so far as to think she has a little girl of her own at home! we took piper to 'school' and piper even gave holly a big ol' hug goodbye.  it was so sweet!

breakfast: we went to milk+honey in the wicker park neighborhood.  the temperature started cooling off outside and so we sat indoors at the last table open.  who are all these people who stop in for breakfast on a work day at almost 10am??? no fair!

 milk+honey cafe patio on division street

these pictures are stolen from the internet, but that looks pretty close to the breakfast holly had

intermission: we stopped back at home to take showers and decided we'd head downtown since we'd be meeting up with sarah in the afternoon.  we saw fog setting in over downtown and the weather kept getting cooler.  since i had to drop a check off at miss amanda's on the way, we decided to drive as opposed to public transit. 

downtown: after i passed my usual gas station, we drove in a couple circles trying to find another place to fill up.  holly therefore got to see a lovely industrial corridor as well as the grounds where cabrini-greens once stood. 

"For decades, the red and white tenements near downtown Chicago have been a blot on the skyline – the nation’s most infamous public housing project, synonymous with gangs, drugs, misery and murder." - CBS News

"Over the years, gang violence and neglect created terrible conditions for the residents, and the name "Cabrini–Green" became synonymous with the problems associated with public housing in the United States. The last of the buildings in Cabrini–Green was demolished in March 2011" - Wikipedia 

i'm a great tour guide.  only the best! 

... to be continued ...

a scripps-filled chicago weekend

remember how i said i cried about a week ago because i wasn't ready to have the baby?  well part of it was because i was so looking forward to an upcoming scripps-filled weekend and didn't want to miss a second of it!!

back quite a while ago, i received word that sarah lyman was going to be coming to chicago for a training at work in may, and then would stay through the weekend. (fun fact: sarah and i both work for the same company, but she works for the l.a. office). 

around the same time, i got a text message from lara saying that she was going to be in town for a wedding in the suburbs during the exact same weekend sarah would be here.

and they were both in contact with katherine here in chicago, and potentially staying with her for parts of their weekend.

wow, potential for four 2001 scrippsies to all get together at the same time in chicago!?

well, knowing that katherine could probably use the scrippsie bonding time, i decided that four scrippsies just wasn't enough and decided to invite one more scrippsie to the party ... miss holly.  but of course, we planned on not telling anyone else.   the next potential opportunity for a "sarah, katherine, lara, devon and holly all in the same place at the same time" moment isn't really until at least 2016, for what would be our 15 year reunion in claremont.  and who knows if we'll all be able to attend anyway.

so after i got over my initial shock that holly agreed to come out and was actually able to book a ticket and take a mommy getaway weekend (super impressive! and thank you scott!), we started mocking up our plan.

holly would be getting in late thursday night and stay with me; i'd take friday off work; we would all five get together on friday around lunchtime and holly would be a surprise guest; and then holly could stay at katherine's for the slumber party that would be sure to follow ...

we actually envisioned several reveals, but nothing quite went according to plan.

first of all, katherine needed to be home in houston with her dad during this time.  no one could have anticipated this timing.  we were so bummed to miss her, and our hearts swelled.

and then sarah's training was going to last later into friday that we originally thought. 

and lara's flight wasn't going to land in the a.m. as we had banked. 

so nix on the lunch idea.

no problem!
instead of lunch, we'd all meet for the acclaimed afternoon tea at the peninsula hotel.
so very scrippsie of us!



and then, as it turned out, lara ended up missing her flight.

and it was a horribly chilly day.

and the peninsula was super disappointing.

yet the afternoon was still awesome, we got to see sarah on friday, lara on saturday, , and the weekend was still amazing.
and so i'm glad i didn't miss a moment of it!

jen's baby hugo

patrick's cousin jen (kiira's sister) had baby hugo at the end of march.  he came a week early!  baby "gogo," as he's been dubbed, is livin' it up in utah.  we can't wait to meet him.  he's so adorable.

little newborn hugo

and a few weeks later:
 this photo kills me

such a boy!

we're so excited for jen and derek!

unn's baby ola

tove's daughter, unn had her baby last week!!

we're very excited for mama unn, daddy ole morten, and brand spankin' new baby ola!

baby ola

he's very søt!!

(cute!)

that's unn in the blue and ole morten in the blue tie

i think she was pregnant here, but we didn't know it!

a brunch club baby shower

i think i've mentioned that in my brunch club, we're experiencing a little baby boom. i'm due in may, we've got another second time mama due in june, and a first time mom due in july! 

our most recent brunch was dedicated to celebrating tara and her first baby!

we received invitations from our host colleen, who selected an appropriate city theme and did not disappoint with baked oatmeal and a croque madame type sandwich platter.  natalie brought pear muffins, tina made the placecards and arranged the group gift, ami photographed everything, and i did the favors. 

have i ever mentioned how amazing this group is???

 tara

colleen

i wrapped up some herbs for the favors

and for kicks, here's the brunch that tara hosted for colleen before colleen's baby boy was born:
http://www.inthisinstance.com/blog/brunch-club-almost-a-mom-celebration.html

and here was the awesome tea before miss piper was born:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=10683690#editor/target=post;postID=1572528389481675893

36 and 37 weeks

how is it possible that this baby is due in about 2 and a half weeks?

in a world where i'm lucky to get home from work before 8pm to see piper, where i'm making an effort to not turn the work laptop back on after piper goes to sleep (i mean, i never want to, but that's not really the option), where weekends are spent making time for family and then trying to catch up rather than get ahead, the weeks sure do whizz by. so quickly. 

we've barely done anything to prepare for our little boy's arrival.
actually, i think we've really done nothing!

but truly we have every thing we need, thanks to everyone who helped us prepare for piper!
this has allowed us to squeeze in lots of good ol' family time these past few weeks.  strange to think these are our last weeks with piper as our main squeeze!

i think i'm a little bit in denial about our family growing!!

36 weeks

it was no surprise to me that at my 36 week appointment, i was slightly dilated.  just a centimeter, but i knew those contractions i'd been having must have done something.  even though i could very well stay at 1cm well past my due date, this was sooner than i started progressing with piper.  i didn't start to progress until my 39 week appointment last time around.

also i asked the doctor to look up my weight at this same point during my last pregnancy, because i've been feeling extra hefty.  to my surprise, it was the same (1 lb difference). 

the clicking of the camera was spooking piper!  also, by the way, that is me bending over.  only nothing really happens when i try to bend down because that baby is in the way.  i have to sit staight up most the time, because there is no room to slouch.  and that's what you get with a short torso. 

oh and wait til you see what piper is wearing.
a jacket, a diaper, and shoes. awesome.
she loves that jacket (which is from kitty in norway from easter) and has been really into putting her shoes on lately.

reluctantly pointing to the baby

 piper, do scared face!

piper, do surprise face!

hers was delayed, so we didn't quite sync

how i freaked myself out this week:  so just when i was feeling great, thursday ended up being a loooooooooong night at work (gulp, almost til 2am).  it wasn't for a deadline, and was instead mostly brought on by an adrenaline kick that had me trying to put things in order as i had my approaching maternity leave on my mind and a lengthy list of things to do.  friday, after so many hours in a chair the day before (even with walk breaks), my back returned to killing me.  darn!!  and on saturday, i was the most uncomfortable i've been yet, with bad back pain, TONS of pressure in my pelvis, and i was having some irregular contractions throughout the day. some braxton hicks, no biggie, but my body was just hurting and generally feeling way ouchy from the pressure and the tightening and the tenderness.  i never felt like that with with the first pregnancy. 

then after dinner that night, a short, but strong contraction ripped through my abdomen, back and inner right thigh.  it took my breath away, i actually let out a yelp, i looked at patrick, and then ... i started crying.   i was so scared that contractions were going to start coming on regularly after how painful that one was. i didn't want to have a baby that night.  i was too tired to start going into labor!  i curled up next to patrick on the couch and accidentally spilled my glass of water on him because i was really shaken up, and i thought i was waiting for another contraction.

well, obviously i did not have a baby that night, and might have over-reacted due to being scared by that contraction, but it DID hurt a lot!  luckily there was nothing else like that the rest of the night. phew! but it reminded me to take it easy! and the next day, at 37 weeks, everything was feeling back to 'normal' again. and i felt so relieved!

37 weeks

i was 'senior mommy' in yoga this week.  which just means i was the 'oldest.'  usually there's someone in there at 38 or 39 weeks, and i was definitely sitting in there on my due date last time! i don't know where the more senior moms were this week, but it definitely drove it home that i'm getting up there.

i'll post a picture from this week soon!