34 weeks!

Today marks the middle of 8 months! I'm a little late in getting this picture up, but this is where we're at - a honeydew! Only one more month to go and we all know what that fruit is... a watermelon!!!! Yikes! The baby's senses are continuing to improve and when light peeks in through my belly, the baby's tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. Shmu can now recognize simple songs and lullabies... time to really start singing.

Lately, Ru and I have tried to film Shmu's acrobatics and because we know that an active baby is a healthy baby, we are thankful for all the movements! The latest "movement" towards our future labor and deliver started two days ago. I've noticed consistent off and on again cramping, like menstrual cramps. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was due to start my period any second during one of those episodes. We're a ways off, but it's nice to know that my body is starting to get ready for its big task. A doula friend of mine just told me that I could be a few weeks late as most first timers tend to be late. While I know that could be true, I kind of have a hard time believing Shmu will be content to sit and bake for longer than necessary. I'm thinking this kid is going to quickly tire of its restrictive space, and that would be just fine with momma!

Here's a 8 month (34 week) belly shot. Holy cow, she's big!! :)

Trip to Minnesota

I just got back from visiting my best friend from college and her new identical twin daughters. It was really fun to see her again (they moved from California a year ago), see a piece of her life, and of course, the miraculous addition to her family! :) It was really something to see her as a mother and to see and hold those girls. They are beautiful, so tiny and easy to soothe. What is there not to love? :) I was so glad for even just the small chance to get to know them and feel more connected to them in person rather than through a photograph. Speaking of pictures, in everything I've seen they look so much bigger than they really are. They were born in the 2lb. range and after 7 weeks they are now approaching 5lbs. Tiny little peanuts! Holding them felt like holding a feather and it's unbelievable to think that a fully functioning human can be so small. Here are a few pictures of the girls.

Liana Sophia and Amaya Noel

Amaya

Liana

We're getting new carpet!!

A random post, I know, but noteworthy in my opinion! :) We've been in our apartment for 5.5 years and the carpet has seen better days. Sure, it's held up fine enough for us, but with the thought of our little Shmu crawling around on it, we decided it was worth asking for. I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised we got the green light from our apartment owner. We were told we'd just need to say when and the installers would come. Great news!! We also found out that we'd need to move all our furniture out of the apartment for the installment. Not so great news!!! I've just loaded my entire classroom into our one car garage and there just isn't any space for our furniture! We have no idea how we're going to make this all work, but we'll find a way and I'm excited to see it done!

So while we thought we'd spend Father's Day moving some furniture around and putting up the crib, I guess we'll have to wait until our carpet is done. Hopefully we'll get that done sometime after next week. Although it will be a pain at first, I'm so thankful for yet another small provision from God!

Another good check-up!

We had another great doctor's appointment today. It was great because there was nothing to talk about! :) Shmu is positioned head down, facing me with its back sticking out on the right and was acting up for the midwife quite a bit. Lot's of twists and jabs for her. We did manage to get a solid reading on his/her heartbeat in the 140 bpm range. It was fun to hear such a strong heartbeat again!

We had a couple of calm, dare I say quiet days and then, BAM!! The baby didn't stop moving for more than a few minutes for what has been about 40 hours now. I wake up all night to the movements and am constantly feeling my tummy where Shmu says hi throughout the day, ALL DAY LONG. It's been fun but a little overactive, wouldn't you say? Besides moving, baby's having hiccups 3 to 4 times a day pretty much every single day. Those are fun for about a few seconds and then get kind of annoying! :) Silly kid!

Baby's 2nd Shower!

During the second to last week of school my colleagues threw a surprise shower for me and another colleague who is pregnant just 5 days ahead of me. It was a lot of fun being pregnant with someone at work. We often had things to talk about and enjoyed swapping stories.

I just got these pictures sent to me, so thought I'd post a few. We were blessed with some great items both on and off our registry. One of my favorites was a gift certificate to Barnes N' Nobles from the kindergarten team. I love working with teachers who know just how much other teachers appreciate such a gift! :) Between my mother and I, and the local library, I don't think Shmu will be deprived of books!

Just like in the first shower, getting gifts for my baby is just a whole new and exciting experience. I can't count the number of baby showers I've attended and I've cared very much for the babies being born, but this is just completely different and a bit surreal. Each new item we get only increases our excitement and the reality of it all! :)

Shmu's first doctor's appointment!

Ru and I got to take a trip to the pediatrics department today!! We were looking forward to it, but it wasn't a huge deal to me until I saw the sign that read, "Pediatrics" and then I was hit with the wonder of it all! We're having a baby, folks!! :) We have a little "pediatric" inside! 

Another new experience for me was feeling ultra protective of who this doctor would be. (If we didn't feel comfortable with this one, we could always opt to see another pediatrician.) It's funny because I'm a Kaiser baby and have been raised my whole life with Kaiser. I've never once thought about who my doctor was (I've seen a different one almost every visit of my life) or cared if I liked him or her. Why? Because I never saw him/her again! Today, however, was a different story. Mother instinct kicked in big time and I was surprised how much this visit meant to me. This doctor had better be good and if not, we were going to keep looking until we found one more than acceptable enough for our precious baby.  Ha! I was beginning to wonder if I'd think any doctor was good enough to be treating our child. 

Good news is, we LOVED her! She was just perfect and I'd feel comfortable calling her any time and for any reason. She'll be Shmu's doctor for as long as she works there and as long as Shmu is a child, so I'm glad the baby will get consistency with his/her doctor. After she answered all our questions and left, Ru and I just smiled at each other. We both knew how much we liked her just by the looks on our faces. You know its right when dad and mom both have zero doubts! Yeah, that was easy! Thanks God! Speaking of dad and mom, Rudy noticed she talked about what the "parents" decide, or how the "parents" feel about something or other. He was blown away by that word, now associated with us. It is so awesome and yet such a responsibility. Wow! That's us... parents!!! We can't wait! 

Yesterday was hard.

Last days are supposed to be fun. This one wasn't quite as fun as I remember them being.  It was a good day with the kids. We had a lot of fun and they always LOVE when Rudy comes! Actually saying good-bye to them was another story. I spent a full hour hugging and taking pictures with students and their parents and former students as well. It was really nice to have visitors from last year and to feel appreciated. Parents were still just as shocked that this was really happening, that I was losing my job. After all the good-byes, Ru, my mom and I went to lunch and got some yummy frozen yogurt. Later in the day we got back to work, packing up the last of my things and going through all the final check out procedures. There were a lot of loose ends to tie up and it was no surprise that after a week of hard, 12 hour workdays and little sleep at night, I was exhausted and getting pretty sick! I held it together pretty well until I locked and closed my classroom door. That room had been where I spent my own 5th grade year and it held a ton of great memories from the past two years. I left knowing that there is going to be a whole new chapter for us, but totally oblivious as to what that will look like yet. 

After the long drive home, we finished piling all the boxes (from a total of 4 truck loads) into our tiny, one-car garage. After that, we opened presents from students with a little more enthusiasm and were pleasantly surprised and appreciative of their generosity. Shmu got many things, including a good amount of onsies and pj's for 0-3 months! Yeah, for clothes to wear! We also got many gift cards that we will definitely need and use! Date nights here we come! 

We've been amazed by this year's students and their gifts. I'm thinking all the efforts I've made to establish good relationships with my students' parents and keep in constant communication (phone calls, weekly progress reports, monthly newsletters, notes home) have really paid off. Many said they felt we were family to them and that made me happy to hear. I mention all this because were were so blessed by not only their gifts, but by their appreciation and love. Several parents said their families were going to be anxiously waiting for Shmu's arrival and want to see him/her asap. There was talk of reunions and babysitting, etc. Too bad, the school and neighborhood are a little far away for babysitting! :) 

Today is recovery day and from the looks of it, I'm going to need the weekend. I've got a terrible head cold, cough and head ache and have zero energy for anything. Fun way to spend my first day of vacation! :) I think Shmu could sense how stressful things were this past week and enjoyed having mom rest most of the morning. During the week, I was rocking the baby to sleep most of the day with all the moving I was doing. Now, laying down, Shmu has taken up his/her regular play routine. I feel a strange sense of comfort from the constant movements though, like I'm not alone. Thanks, Shmu.

30 weeks!

Shmu's getting quite big now, weighing 3 pounds and measuring 17 inches. I'll post a picture from our 2nd baby shower as soon as I get the pictures. I'm definitely feeling it and wondering just how big I'll be by the time I deliver. I think I'll be more than ready when the time comes! 

It's hard to believe we have only 10 weeks left before we meet our little one. On the other hand, mom is more and more ready to have her own body back to herself! :) This visitor I have inside me is making his/her presence quite well known with movements, kicks and jabs. Also, starting with the beginning of my 3rd trimester, I have been feeling yucky most mornings and evenings. I've only had to run to the kitchen sink once, and usually if I make a bee line for the kitchen and put something in my mouth right when I get up, I can curb the worst of it. It's definitely different and not as bad as in the beginning 4 months of my pregnancy, but it's still discouraging. I want to be able to enjoy every moment of this because soon I will be saying, "When I was pregnant ..." or telling Shmu, "When you were in my tummy, you ..." 

The excitement is definitely catching both of us. We were just at a 1st birthday party for a little boy who was the first of all our friends' children to be born. Since then, 8 of our friends have delivered babies and 4 more are expecting. We had to chuckle at the sea of strollers and diaper bags that were parked along side us. What a different world we are entering! It's nice to know we've got a lot of friends who are also entering that world with us and it was so fun to be able to hold all the new babies and play with them. Shmu got a party favor that said, "Baby Martin" and it made us smile to think of Shmu soon joining his/her friends. We're so thankful for this group of friends we love and would trust with our child. God is really good to us and His timing was perfect! 

If you think of it, please pray for us this week, as it will be my last week teaching for quite a while and we will be packing up the room and moving out on Thursday, the last day of school. I'm so glad Ru will be able to join me and help me pack and load. I will take comfort in driving home with my family (Ru, Shmu and me) and relaxing from a long, stressful year in school. However, it will be hard both physically and emotionally. As I close my door, new feelings of stress and anxiety will no doubt enter as we try not to worry about our income next year. Pray that we'd feel a calm about this new transition and that God would open some doors soon. Thanks! :) 

Happy Memorial Day!

And happy 29 weeks to our baby! Each new week is such a milestone for Shmu's health and we've been so grateful, especially when we passed the viability week (24 weeks). Since entering the 3rd trimester, I've been flooded with literature and information on premature and preterm labor and we continue to be thankful for each passing week of health. So, yeah for 29 weeks free of complications! That doesn't seem to be normal for this Martin family, and we're a little surprised and VERY grateful! 

A little update on the kid: Shmu's weighing about 2.75 lbs and is about 16.75 inches long. Wow, you've grown little one!! As proof, check out our new food item, a squash...

The web says that baby's energy is surging due to the formation of white fat deposits underneath the baby's skin. The skin shouldn't be as wrinkled now! Also, this new layer of fat means stronger kicks and jabs! Well noted already! The baby is also settling into very distinct sleep and wake cycles. (It's been fun to tell Rudy when Shmu wakes up each day and night!) Also, the 5 senses are fully functional and baby is now sensitive to light, sounds, foods I eat, etc. One super cute thing Rudy and I really enjoy is finding where Shmu is at the moment (very easy to do) and pressing our hands or fingers on it. Within seconds, Shmu will jab at us as if to tell us either, "I'm here mom and dad!" or "Get off me!" Either way, it's been one of Rudy's favorite things to get to feel Shmu respond to him. 

Today, we're working on a number of projects that have to do with getting ready for Shmu. Coming up in early June, we have some friends who are going to be borrowing our piano and we'll start moving furniture then. This will be quite the process as we're needing to have a lot of garage space for boxes and boxes from my classroom at the same time we have strollers, bassinets, car seats, etc. inhabiting our garage with some of it waiting to be placed in the house. Who knows how its all going to fit, but our first load from the classroom will come tomorrow, on Memorial Day. The rest, will be brought home within the next two weeks. So, lots of sorting and prioritizing on multiple ends. Glad that's one of my favorite things to do! Also, glad we already organized the garage and inside our house for the gagillionth time during spring break! :)  Still... I can always find something to get rid of! Ooh, I'm starting to get excited! Hold me back, we've still got to go to church before all this and Monday is a whole day away! 

Decisions, decisions...

Two posts in one day... what's going on here?! Just wanted to update on our doula situation. We've had both our interviews and although there were many good things about both, there were also various things that make me hesitant to agree to using their services. The first offered a zero cost birth and the second, a free/low cost birth according to whatever we'd decide. When all is said and done though, I have to feel comfortable and confident with whomever I choose to participate with us in this intimate experience. Sadly, I don't think it's going to work out for us to use either. I've been pretty bummed it didn't work out (especially for the price) but at the same time, I've got to follow my gut.

I'm still feeling confident about doing hypnobirthing or hypnobabies with Rudy but I just really wanted some extra support. As I was interviewing these doulas, I kept thinking about a good friend of mine and what a perfect fit she would be for us. She's calm, reassuring, supportive and knows the lingo from experience. She's done hypnobirthing herself two times and loves the birthing process. Turns out, she's totally willing to come! So at this point, Rudy and I are going to educate ourselves as much as possible and see if there are any more doula interviews to be had. If not, I'm looking forward to having my friend, whom I love and feel comfortable with, be there with us. Thank you, friend!! :)