Double Gifts from DoubleClick!

One of our favorite partners sent not one, but TWO awesome gifts for Baby K!

First he got the cutest gift set from Baby Gap...
This weekend I found out that the bear giggles when you squeeze it. Too cute!!

Last Friday a DoubleClick onesie came in the mail...All the kids at day care are going to be SO jealous!

Well Stocked!

Can you guess what's behind these curtains?
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1,718 diapers and 993 wipes!!!

I never realized we had so many! His bottom should be covered for the first few months!

School Supply List!

I toured the day care on Thursday. I came home with Baby Kiefer's first school supply list! I can't wait to write "****** Kiefer" on all of his stuff! Here's what he needs...

• Diapers
• Wipes
• Ointment or Powder
• Formula
• Bottles 3 - 4 Daily
• Baby Food
• 1 Box of Kleenex
• 2 Changes of Clothes

How exciting! You know how I LOVE school supplies!!

Here's the 38 week belly shot...

Boring 38 Week Appointment

I found out that "not much has changed" since last week. I'm still a fingertip dilated and something is still "really far back there." I'm pretty sure she was talking about my tonsils -- at least it felt like that's what she was reaching that for!

She said anything could happen, but she's pretty sure I'll be seeing her next week.

I guess a boring appointment is better then a bad one! Stay tuned!

What Happened?

I swear this shirt fit the last time I wore it!! I think our little bundle of joy is starting to head south!

Another Shower!

The nice people at work had a surprise shower for me last Friday! Cake, Balloons, and gifts! Too sweet!

Full Term!

Little Baby K. is full term today! Here's the 37 week belly shot...

Congratulations! Your baby is full-term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.

Daddy passed his final engineer test this morning! He makes us so proud!

37 Week Appointment

This week I waited 45 minutes before seeing the doctor. I'm hoping this isn't a trend!

I'm "definitely a fingertip" dilated and 50 - 60% effaced.

A fingertip dilated which is 1 centimeter will have a completely different meaning between someone with a small hand and someone with a larger hand.

Effacement is the process by which the cervix prepares for delivery. After the baby has engaged in the pelvis, it gradually drops closer to the cervix; the cervix gradually softens, shortens and becomes thinner. Effacement is measured in percentages. For example, your health care provider may tell you that you are effaced 50%, which means you are half way to being completely effaced. When you are 100% effaced or completely effaced, your cervix is paper-thin and labor is right around the corner.

I haven't gained any weight since my 30 week appointment. He reassured me that it's totally normal as long as your belly is measuring right.

I was told that things should start "happening" in the next few weeks! Stay tuned!

Another Ballgame!

I think he might come out asking for peanuts and crackerjacks!

Ballgame at 25 weeks...
Ballgame at 30 weeks
And again today at 36 weeks and 4 days...

36 Weeks!

Only 4 weeks to go! Our doctor's appointment went really well this morning. (The only bad thing was that I didn't see the doctor until about an hour after my scheduled appointment! I thought Aunt B. was going to fall asleep in the waiting room!)

As of this morning, his head is down and I'm "almost a fingertip" dilated! The nurse told me she wouldn't think labor would start anytime soon, but that you just never know! I go back next Thursday for my 37 week appointment.

Here's my belly at 36 weeks...
WARNING....Naked belly coming up......

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Lots of veins...but no stretchmarks!! (Knock on wood!!)

I graduated!

I graduated from Breastfeeding Basics last night. I even got a diploma! The jury is still out on whether this is going to work for our family, but I'm definitely glad I attended the class. The instructor was very knowledgeable on up-to-date breastfeeding info. She told me that my gallbladder surgery shouldn't cause any problems if I'm still breastfeeding at that time.

The best thing I found out is that the snack stand near the blue elevators sells Ben & Jerry's! I'll be getting some of that after he's born!

36 week appointment tomorrow! We've got a very busy weekend ahead of us!

Married...Again...

My wedding rings became too tight a few weeks ago. I can still get them on, but my finger starts to throb and I start freaking out that they'll never come off. I decided that I needed to have something to make me feel "married." So here it is... My $20 wedding ring from Dillard's! Jay could have saved so much money the first time around!
The night before the ring purchase, I was locked in Famous Footwear during a tornado warning. Here's Grandma S. and Aunt B. waiting out the storm...Going into labor would have made it a total "made for tv movie!"

I think I started feeling Braxton Hicks contractions this weekend. The top of my stomach gets really tight and I feel slight pain in my lower stomach and back. I'm anxious to see what the doctor has to say on Friday!

Preview of me as a pregnant bridesmaid... Keep your fingers crossed that it still fits in three days! (I wonder if I can talk the wedding photographer into cutting my head out of all the pictures!!) I have a Breastfeeding 101 class tonight at the hospital. More on that tomorrow...

35 Weeks 2 Days

Running errands and talking on the phone,
I am pleasantly reminded that I am not alone.
Little tiny hands a precious rounded knee
pushing and twisting that no one can see.
Oh sweet child kicking up your heels,
it is our little secret that only I can feel.
I look forward to your birth,
when I can kiss your skin,
but for now I will just smile,
As I feel you play within.

Should We Name Him Noah?

Rain won't go away anytime soon; May was third wettest for the area.

BY MARIA BARAN
News-Democrat
If you feel like you haven't left the house without an umbrella in forever, you're just about right.

This year has started out as the wettest in recorded history for the area.

While May did not break any records, the recorded 10.84 inches of precipitation was more than twice the average amount of 4.11 inches for the greater St. Louis area. It was the third wettest May recorded, according to the National Weather Service.

"That's something else," meteorologist Ben Miller said. "This is so far the wettest year on record, by over 2 inches. So it's been very wet."

The average amount of precipitation through May is 15.82 inches. This year, we've been drenched by more than 29 inches -- about 9 inches shy of the average total for the entire year of 38.75.

The immediate future certainly doesn't look like a chance to dry out.

There is chance of thunderstorms today with a predicted high of 92 degrees today and a low of 70.

In fact, almost every day this week looks like the rain could roll through along with some thunder and lightning.

A storm system was predicted to roll through early this week and then another stronger system by Thursday that could stick around through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Wednesday is predicted to be partly sunny with a high of 88 and a low of 74 degrees. But the middle of the week could still see rain.

"The way this spring has gone, raining on the drop of hat," Miller said. "Wednesday looks low (for a chance of rain), but we certainly can't rule it out."

The record for the wettest May was set in 1995 at 12.92 inches, just two inches more than what the area was pelted with last month. Last year, May precipitation hovered right around average at 4.26 inches.

Pregnacy Q & A

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.

Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.

Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor?
A: Not unless the word "alimony" means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.

Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.