August

Well, it's August.  And you know what that means.....


.....BLAKE IS ALMOST HERE!!!!

I can barely contain my excitement.   I can't wait to kiss this those soft little cheeks and look into the precious little baby eyes that are half of me and half of the man I love.   I can't wait to tell him how much I love him, or witness those first few moments when the doctor hands our little man to his daddy and says here's your son.  I can't wait to see the way Adam will look at him, and I can't wait for Adam to bring him over to me and for us to experience those first few moments as a family of three.  I just can't wait.

Adam woke me up this morning with a kiss, a smile, and a "Happy August, baby....did you know that we're having our baby this month?"  

I love that man.

We have our next doctor's appointment tomorrow, and we'll hear the game plan.  A lot depends on whether Blake Louis has decided to flip, stay, and engage.  If not, we need to talk about our options.  As much as I want him to just flip already, I also feel very at peace about the whole thing.  God has protected this little boy from the moment of his conception, before that really, and I have confidence in placing this situation in His able hands.  We'll get him out safely, one way or the other, and that's all that matters.

While we wait for Blake's birthday to arrive, we'll be keeping ourselves plenty busy.  August is jam-packed.  Here's our rundown:

1.  Blake hits full term this Wednesday, the 3rd, and Adam and I are celebrating with a date night.  We're pretty well aware that our just the two of us nights will be quickly coming to a close, and while we're thrilled for the implications of that, we're also committed to savoring these last few weeks where we have the freedom to do as we please and enjoy each other.

2. This weekend (the 6th) Adam and I are throwing a shower for his brother and fiance, who are getting married on the 19th.  It should be lots of fun!  I love throwing parties, and this one should be beautiful.  I'm going with a bright, summery color palette and doing a dessert bar.   I think the shower will be pretty well-attended, so I'm just planning a couple games and keeping the whole thing low key.  I've been inspired by Pinterest...surprise, surprise. 

3. We have about a billion birthdays to celebrate in the month of August.  Several of our good friends have birthdays at the beginning of August, and then we have my grandpa turning 92 on the 16th and my brother turning 28 on the 19th.  This means lots of cake, which equals one happy pregnant lady.

4.  As I mentioned before, Adam's younger brother is getting married on the 19th.  Adam is the best man.  That's literally days away from Blake's due date, and if he's not already here, we'll be just about as close as we can get.  We've been giving Blake some pep talks to make sure he knows the 19th isn't a good choice for a birthday (it's already his Uncle Tony's bday, and his other Uncle will be busy getting married...)

In addition to all that, we've still got our Baby To-Do list that keeps getting things added to it.  I think I'll post it sometime this week to help keep us accountable, ha! :)

Tomorrow, I'll be checking a big item off the list when I make and freeze 13 dinners for after Blake gets here.  Freezer meals are my new obsession.   I'm so curious to see how they'll work, and if they'll be convenient for a busy family.  Stay tuned!

This, that, and everything else

I should apologize for being such a bad blogger. 

There’s really no excuse, especially since it’s summer and I’m just sitting at home.  Well, let me back up.  I haven't exactly been sitting at home; I’ve been busy…but more on that later.   

Anyway, the real reason for the lack of posts is because it’s gotten a bit awkward to type on my laptop.  I usually sit on the couch with my laptop on my legs and type away, but as my belly gets bigger it becomes more of a balancing act to get both hands on the keyboard while still keeping the laptop secured on my legs. 

Tricky. 

Anyway, here's my attempt at a quick catch up:

My biggest piece of news is a huge answer to prayer: I got a job!  Tuesday morning I applied  for a position with the educational foundation associated with the district where I preciously taught, Tuesday afternoon I got a call for an interview, Thursday I had a phone interview, and then today I met the woman hiring and she offered me the position on the spot!  God is so good.  

I will be working as an after-school instructor in the district for the foundation’s at-risk youth program.  It’s four days a week, 3 hours a day with an optional fourth hour (not sure if we’ll go for that or not) working in the schools with groups of 6-12 students.  As a teacher, I was a salaried employee, but this position pays close to what my per diem rate would have been in my salaried position.  It’s an absolute answer to prayer.  We knew that I wasn't looking for a 20-hour-a-week part time job, simply because we are embracing the opportunity God has gifted us with for me to be at home with our baby.  This, however, works out to just about 12 hours a week and is in the late afternoon when Blake can be taken care of by his daddy, my mom, or my dad (in fact, his grandparents are in negotiations over who gets to adjust their work schedule in order to be the lucky caregiver for their grandbaby).   And for me, I only have to be away from my baby for 3 hours.  AND…the position doesn’t start until October.  Perfect. 

We are just so in awe of how God has, once again, provided.  We’ll still be pretty tight monetarily, but this extra income gives us just enough to make us feel more comfortable, and it uses my skill set and keeps my resume current.  We are so thankful. 

Now, onto the fun stuff!

First of all, I have some shower photos to share. 

The first was a few weeks ago, thrown by my mom for some of my girlfriends.  She went all out.  It was absolutely amazing.  Check out this food spread:

Are those not the cutest things?!  She made these from scratch.  My mom is amazing!  The shower had a jungle theme, and all of the food had an appropriately-themed name.  Can anyone tell my mom's a teacher???  So creative :)

Next was my fourth and last shower, which was two weekends ago.  Blake was spoiled once again! 

"Pee Pee Tee Pees" from my Aunt...hilarious

My Grandma embroidered the edges of these receiving blankets!  So precious!!

The BEAUTIFUL, handmade quilt my mom sewed for Blake.  What a precious gift!!!

My Grandma and I!

Adam and I feel so fortunate to have the amazing friends and family that we do.  Prepping for a baby is expensive, and overwhelming, and it is only by the grace of God that we have found ourselves surrounded by such generous people who are willing and wanting to support us and Blake through this season.  We have felt SO loved, and just hope that these precious people know how much we love them, too!! 

Lastly, I wanted to share some more maternity photos.  As I blogged before, we had some professional photos taken by KC Photography, and we got our prints back last week!  We LOVE them!  I love how they capture this special time in our lives.  This set of maternity pictures was taken around 30 weeks:

We were ALSO blessed to have some additional maternity photos taken by a dear friend of my mom’s, who is an extremely talented photographer and offered to take the photos for free.  Have I mentioned how abundantly blessed we are?!  Shelly was so easy to work with, and the pictures turned out absolutely breathtaking.  We are so grateful for these pictures to look back on to remember our miracle baby and pregnancy.  This set of pictures was taken around 34 weeks. 

Today, I'm 36.5 weeks along and anxiously awaiting our 37 week (FULL TERM) appointment on Tuesday!  Blake is literally days away from being able to come anytime he pleases.  Bags will be packed by Tuesday and carseats will be installed!  It's officially time for baby watch!!

35 week update

We just got back from the doctor for our 35 week checkup.  Here's the news:

1. Most important of all, Blake is doing great :)  His heart rate is strong and right-on track for 35 weeks, and he's moving and active and doing all the things he should be doing inside my belly. We are so grateful that God has protected our little boy.  He'll be in our arms before we know it!!
2. Blake is a big boy.  Adam asked our doctor what she estimated his weight would be at delivery, and she looked at us and said: "Well, you're definitely growing a big one in there.  I'd say he'll be 9 pounds or more at delivery."  While we know these estimates are often wrong, we also know that big babies run on both sides of the family.  I was over 8 pounds, my brother was 10, and Adam was over 9.  So, we'll see :)
3. He's still breech.  At 35 weeks, we were really hoping he would have turned.  Our doctor is out of town next week, so we won't see her again until August 2nd.  She said that if he hasn't turned by that appointment, then we'll talk about our options.  If he's still breech, we'll talk about the possibility of turning him in utero with an ECV (external cephalic version) which is done in a hospital and can cause stress to the baby and/or complications that would result in an emergency c-section.  Not to mention it's supposedly painful to the momma.  Although I don't care one tiny bit about any discomfort to me, Adam and I feel very uncomfortable with anything that would cause any risk to him in utero.   Please pray with us that he'll turn on his own before then!  If we do end up needing a c-section, I thought I would mention that would likely be scheduled between weeks 38 and 39...so, that's like 3-4 weeks away.  Wow.  Honestly, we'll do whatever is best for Blake.  We've done so much and God has brought us so far to even get to this point, and we know that his plan for Blake's birth is perfect!  Thank you for praying with us :) 

I'll be back later this week with shower pictures and updates on the nursery and house!

Just another night with the Breitensteins...

A couple of nights ago, I told Adam that we were going to have a photo shoot.  I had an idea for some wall art that involved taking some film strip-esque photos.  So, I grabbed our Canon Rebel, set up the tripod, and put it on continuous shooting in the hallway.

At first, Adam moaned and groaned about it.  Clearly, he wasn't feeling the photo session. 

But then, the camera starting flashing.

And this is what I got:

Then things started getting a little goofy:

And then all heck broke loose.  Check out these facial expressions: 

....and then he grabbed the dogs.  Poor Emma and Toby were desperately trying to escape. 

My husband is such a nut.  And these weren't even the outtakes.  I am so blessed to be married to a man who can be silly with me.  Can't wait until he gets to show this silly side to his baby boy!!!

8 Months

Today I hit 32 weeks, or eight months, with our little guy.  That means we’re 8 weeks away from his due date, and just five weeks away from when he’ll be considered full term.  Holy cow.

Here we are at about 31 weeks:

So what’s new in the pregnancy?

• We had maternity photos taken a few weeks ago, and we love LOVE what we’ve seen so far.  We can’t wait to see the rest!

 

• Blake’s still a big mover.  At our last checkup, he was facing mostly downward, but not yet engaged.  I’m pretty sure this is because he is constantly flipping and turning in my belly!  When I feel him hiccup (usually in the morning) I can tell that his little head is down in the direction it needs to be….so we’ll see what our doctor says next week when we go back.

• I’m pretty sure I doubled in size between months 7 and 8.  Every time I go anywhere, I have people ask if I’m about to pop.  When I respond with no, I have two more months I get a variety of shocked responses.  My favorite was the lady who exclaimed, oh Lord have mercy! and then proceeded to ask me if I was carrying twins, or if not twins, just a moose.  Nope, there’s just one in there.  But thanks for that.

• I’ve been working out 6 days a week for 40 minutes.  I can’t do the treadmill anymore because it’s uncomfortable to walk that long, but something about the motion of the elliptical is just perfect and I could do it forever.  I’m trying to log between 12-15 miles per week, which has been pretty doable.   

• We’re going to the doctor every two weeks at this point, and I think once I hit 35 weeks we’ll switch to every week.  Crazy that we’re already at that point.  Blake is still measuring about a week ahead.

•  So far, we’ve had three beautiful showers for our baby.  His room is stocked with a lot of what he’ll need, but it’s amazing how much more there still is to get.  I guess babies really do need a lot of stuff, huh? We have one more shower in July, and then after that, we’ll hit the stores and pick up whatever we still need.  It’s such a huge blessing to have so many wonderful friends and family who have been so generous in gifting us what we’ll need for our little man.

• Adam is still reading to Blake a lot, and when he’s not reading to him he’s singing him songs or talking to him with his lips really close to my belly.  Adorable.  Watching your husband become a dad is an incredibly tender and romantic experience.  As a woman, I’ve often dreamt of the things my husband would do with our future babies, but seeing it actually come true, and realizing what an incredible dad my kids will have….it melts my heart.  It’s such a special time in our marriage.  I love Adam more today than I’ve ever loved him before…and I didn’t even know that was possible. 

• Nesting is hitting in full force.  Since being off work, I’ve washed every single piece of clothing we own, rearranged our walk-in master bedroom closet, had Adam rearrange our room so our bed faces the hallway (so I can see Blake’s room), been incredibly consistent about not having dishes pile up in the sink, and redone the guest bath.  Still on the agenda?  We’re painting the master bath, redoing a couple pieces of furniture in the living room, and I’m making a bed skirt for our bed.  Phew.  We’ll get there.

• I’m starting to waddle.  Blake sits so low that it’s hard not to.  I don’t do it all the time, but I know as soon as I start, because Adam will laugh at me. 

• I still have no idea how much weight I’ve gained, because I’m still not looking.  I have decided that I’ll weigh myself right as we leave for the hospital.  That way, I’ll know how much I gained in total, but won’t worry about it because I’ll be too busy giving birth!

• We celebrated Adam’s first Father’s Day with a trip to Astoria to visit The Columbia River Maritime Museum.  Adam’s choice, and he loved it!  Here’s a couple pictures:

My parent's bought Adam this for Father's Day!  We are going to have him wear it home from the hospital with Blake :)

And then...before I end this, I want to add in some pregnancy milestones so I don't forget :)

Pregnancy Milestones

• Gender Reveal: 18.5 weeks
• First Kick: I started feeling Blake kick at about 16 weeks
• First time daddy felt him kick: The night we revealed the gender to our families….so at about 19 weeks 
• First Hiccup: 22 weeks

HE'S ALMOST HERE!   

We're so excited :):)

 

A letter to my daddy (Love, Blake)

Dear Daddy,

Mommy tells me that there was a pretty special day recently; a day that’s all about celebrating dads.  Well, I thought that was pretty neat, especially since I have the best daddy of all, and so I asked mom to help me write you this little note (and don’t worry, I’m sure she translated everything correctly, because I was keeping close tabs on her via a few swift kicks to the abdomen…..)

It didn’t take me long to realize that God gave me a pretty special gift in a daddy like you.  I just love your silly giggle (don’t tell, but I inherited that from you…just wait until you hear it, it's pretty cute!) and get so excited when you get down low, really close to mommy’s belly, and talk to me.  Your laugh makes me so happy, and I get so excited at the sound of your voice that I can’t help but wiggle all over!  I’m counting down the days until I can look up at you and share my very best smile…the one I’m reserving just for you, just for my daddy.

I also love what good care you take of my mommy.  She told me how you have to put her shoes on now, and how you wake up with her in the middle of the night to help her find a comfortable place to sleep.  I’m trying to find a comfortable spot too, which is why I get so squirmy in there!  Mommy says you have a heart of gold, and that you are the kindest and gentlest man she has ever met.  She says you’re a man of integrity.  I think that means you’re someone I can look up to.  And that’s a good thing, because you’re already my hero, daddy, just like you’ve always been mommy’s.

I know it took a long time for you and mommy to have me, but I’m glad God had you wait, because if He hadn’t I would never have gotten to have you as my daddy.   God picked the perfect man to watch over me on this earth, and He gave me the greatest blessing in getting to be the only person on earth that will get to call you daddy.  That makes me feel pretty special; pretty loved. 

It won't be long now until I'm ready to have my very first birthday celebration.  I'm getting ready to make my grand entrance as we speak.  I just can't wait to meet you.  I've been waiting so long to see your face, and I know you've been waiting for me, too.  

I already love you so, so much daddy.

Until then, Happy First Father’s Day!  I'm sending you a giant, wet baby kiss that you'll have to wait about 9 weeks to get.  

Oh, and next year? Let’s go fishing.

Love forever and ever,

Your little buddy, Blake 

Daddy Adam

Here's a video of Adam reading to Blake.  This is just a snapshot of an everyday thing at our house....yes, we have a lot of fun :) This man is an absolute goof and I love it.  He's already such an amazing daddy. 



(sorry it's sideways--I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to rotate the video!)