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!)

Second Trimester Recap

I’m in my third trimester?

I’m in my third trimester.

I’m in my third trimester!!

We’re looking at only about 12 weeks until we hit Blake’s due date.  We also know it’s true that anytime after 36 weeks (only 8 weeks from now) Blake could come join us. 

Wow.  That hits like a ton of bricks.  We can’t wait.

So what about the second trimester?  Here’s my recap:

Weeks: As of tomorrow, I’m 28 weeks along and officially 7 months prego!  Where does the time go….

Weight Gain: Yes.  The end, no more to say ;)  I’ve gained weight, more than I wanted to, but it seems to pile on no matter what I do.  So, I’m embracing it.  The scale is now living in the closet and I don’t look at the doctor’s office scale anymore.  I don’t want to obsess over the number; I want to marvel in the miraculous journey that is pregnancy. My body is doing what it was designed by God to do; grow a human life.  I’m trusting that my body knows what kind of ‘reserves’ it needs to do that, so whatever is left over once Blake makes his grand appearance, I’ll just lose. 

Cravings: Cereal!  I love love love my cereal.  In fact, I eat it for dinner almost every night.  That also means I’m loving milk.  We buy nonfat milk from Costco because you can get it in bulk.  I go through a package all by myself in under two weeks.  I am also loving fruit: watermelon, grapes, and strawberries are my current favorites.  I usually pick up a prepared fruit dish from Fred Meyer on my way to work in the morning…unless, we have some handy at our house (but we usually don’t, because I’m always munching on whatever we’ve got after work).  Other than that?  Pickles.  Just by themselves, not with anything weird. 

Clothes:  Still wearing a size 2 maternity pant, and XS/S maternity tops…although most of the shirts I wear are from my regular wardrobe.  I find I can pair a maternity tank with almost any shirt and that makes it long enough to cover my belly completely

Movement: This little guy is a mover and a shaker!  It’s been SO fun to see him move so much over the past month.  I feel when he moves, when he rolls around, when he pushes his foot against my belly…..everything.  My whole belly does the wave as he moves around at night.  It’s absolutely amazing and my favorite part of pregnancy.  If I push gently on my belly, he’ll push back.  Sometimes, he’ll stick a foot (or an arm, head, or butt) against my belly and hold it there, and I love to gently stroke it knowing that I am separated from my baby by literally inches.  Love, love it.   He also responds to both my voice and Adam’s voice, which thrills his daddy to no end, and he loves it when we read to him at night.  He’s pretty active all day long, and all night long, as he wakes me up at least once a night by doing a little river dancing inside my belly.  Hey, whatever you want to do, buddy. 

Doctor’s Appointments:  We just had one today, which went great!  Blake is measuring at 29 weeks, which is about a week ahead of schedule.  He’s been measuring a week ahead for the past couple months, which is no concern at all, just might mean we get to meet him a little earlier than expected!  His heart rate is great and he is healthy and growing right on schedule.  For the 7-month checkup (today), I had the gestational diabetes test.  Basically, all I had to do was drink a sugary/watery concoction an hour before my appointment and then they took my blood to make sure my body is breaking down the sugars correctly.  My doctor isn’t worried, it’s just routine.  We’ll have the results in a week or so.  Also, as of now, I am officially on the 3-week appointment schedule!   I’m far enough along that it’s time to start ramping up the doctor’s visits.

Symptoms: Nothing to complain about.  I’m still feeling great!  The only thing of note is how low I’m carrying Blake.  He’s all out in front, but down low.  It feels like he’s sitting on top of my bladder most of the time, which, of course, causes me to have to use the bathroom at very frequent intervals.  It also makes walking uncomfortable, because I find myself pretty sore down there in the nether regions.  Sleep has been a bit of a challenge, too, but I’m just cocooning myself with a ton of pillows and powering through it.  And ladies, my husband is the sweetest man alive.  He wakes up when I do and helps me reposition myself all throughout the night.  He pulls up my covers when I can’t reach them and even tucks me in at night so all I have to do is find a comfortable position to sleep.  He’s a gem.

What else?  This week is a week of firsts.  I have my first baby shower at school, Adam and I are going to our first birthing class (on Thursday night, for three hours) and we just had our 7 month doctor’s appointment!  We have also finished the nursery (pics soon, I promise) and got a great start on the playroom!

It would be an understatement to say that we are feeling mighty blessed.