Week 40: Due Date

Dear Baby,

Happy Due Date!  While I can’t say with certainty that you will or won’t arrive today, I’m going to guess you’re holding out a little longer.  I woke up today feeling the same.  Dad was scheduled to work, so he went.  Grandma Liz and Aunt Katie are visiting.  They were hoping to be present for your arrival.  Guess we’ll all have to be patient.

Life carries on pretty normally as we wait for your big debut.  Both Dad and Mom are still working.  The Wisconsin winter is still COLD!  Because of this, I can’t really blame you for not wanting to come out yet.  Although, Mother Nature did give us a little break this past week.  We took it as an opportunity to spend some time outdoors.  Mom went snowshoeing with her friend Megan, who is also a soon-to-be new mommy.  Dad and Mom took advantage of a 40 degree day and took our first walk around our new neighborhood.  It’s fun to imagine pushing you in a stroller in spring.

Now that we’ve officially hit your due date, the element of surprise seems more real.  One day, very soon, life will change in a big way!  We can’t wait to meet you!

Week 38 (Technically 39): Happy Belated Valentine’s Day

Dear Baby,

With only one week to go until your “guess date,” Dad and I were unsure if we’d be sharing this year’s cliché romantic holiday of Valentine’s Day with a new little cupid.  Nope, not this year.  You were in our thoughts, though.  I’ve always been a believer that Valentine’s Day isn’t just about couples and romance.  It’s also about sharing feelings with special people in our lives. It’s important to tell family and friends, both girls and boys, that we love them.  Baby D, you are special to us.  We care about you and love you very much!

Of course, you’ll experience Valentine’s Days where you feel obligated to do something special for someone.  Perhaps, you’ll live through a few February 14^ths where you’ll question why you’re the only one who has no one to spend the holiday with.  Believe me when I say you’re not the only one!  And if you ever do feel this way, just know it is days like these that build character.  And days like this are opportunities to make the best of every situation.  Find people who can surround you, laugh with you, cry with you, and still celebrate with you.  Some of my most favorite Valentine’s Day memories are not extravagant, romantic dates.  Rather, they are watching sappy movies with girlfriends, writing love poems to best friends, or delivering candy to co-workers.

All this said it is fun to make the holiday special, too.  This year Dad and I (and you) attended the Valentine Ball.  It’s an annual fundraiser for the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra.  It was a night to feel fancy, eat delicious food, and enjoy fun company!  We had a good time.

I forgot to mention in a previous post that I finally used Dad’s Valentine’s Day gift from last year.  He gifted me with a certificate to a store where I can paint my own pottery.  I chose to paint a dinner plate that says: “You are Special Today!”  I made this in hopes of starting a tradition in our family.  Anytime a member of our family has an important event, whether it be a unique privilege, big accomplishment, birthday celebration, or anything we deem worthy, that person gets to use the special plate for their meal.  I look forward to this tradition and hope it teaches us to celebrate both big and small accomplishments.

In preparation for your arrival I completed a few more projects.  Your car seat base is now installed in Mom’s car.  Much easier than I anticipated!  Although we did have to remove it briefly to haul a few more belongings that were being stored at Grandma and Grandpa Duchrow’s house during our move.  Our hospital bag is slowly becoming more full – a true reminder that you’re coming soon.  I’ve created a short list of family and close friends that we’d like to notify when the time for your birthday finally arrives.  Dad will probably be in charge of this.

Pregnancy is still going well.  At this week’s check-up nurses were a bit surprised to see us still.  The progress you made had some thinking you could be an early baby.  I get the impression that you’re pretty comfy in Mom’s belly.  That said, I have started to feel some irregular tightening in my stomach.  It doesn’t hurt and nurses say it’s a positive sign that my mind and body will know what to do when the time comes.  It’s clear you’re putting on weight and becoming stronger.  Mom’s belly has grown a lot in the past few weeks and when you move you pack a bit more punch.

At 39 weeks my week-by-week baby app estimates that you weigh the same as a mini watermelon – about 7 pounds. I remember reading ahead in early pregnancy thinking how awful this might feel.  I likened it to picking out a juicy watermelon in the produce section upon first entering the grocery store and hauling it around while finishing the rest of shopping.  It’s really not that bad.

I guess we’ll see if we make it to another week of writing to you.  Can’t wait to meet our little valentine!

Mom & Dad at Valentine Ball

For those who want a belly pic, here is week 38 (almost 39)

Feeling the Valentine's Day love from family and friends!

Car seat base installed.  Check.

A ladder to showcase all the lovely blankets that people have made you!

The "You Are Special Today!" plate.  Our tradition begins.

Just for fun, Mom took this silly quiz and got 4+.  Dad took the same quiz and got 1.  We figure that averages to  2.5.
 In math don't you round up for this?
P.S. While I rarely get sick, I DO sleep and anyone who knows us well will testify that having our house be a disaster would drive us to the funny farm.  I promise I did answer honestly.  Still, I say bring on the kiddos!

Week 37: Dad Says, “Stay Put!”

Dear Baby,

Your birthday is getting so close!  It’s fun to think about all the excitement that will surround us on the day we meet you.  It’s also fun to imagine how we’ll celebrate you for all the years to come.  Right now a date on the calendar exists that holds little meaning to us.  But, once you arrive it will forever be your birthday!

At our prenatal appointment this week Dad was extra curious about when you will be born.  That’s because he has a snowmobile trip planned with some friends.  But, like we imagined, the answer we received from nurses was inconclusive.  It’s anyone’s guess when you’ll make an appearance.  Dad did to go on his 2-day snowmobile trip.  You and I stayed cuddled up at home. We’re exited to hear about his adventures when he returns home.  Don’t get any ideas about coming out until he returns!

While we’re hanging out at home I’ve taken some time to think about becoming a mom.  It’s rewarding to know all the ways I will be able to provide and care for you.  Exciting as it to imagine everything you’ll learn on your own, it’s also a scary feeling to know I won’t be able to protect you from everything as you grow.  It makes me understand and appreciate all the rules that were set for me as a child and teenager.

My favorite part of having you in my belly is feeling and watching you move.  It’s a bond that I will miss once you’re born.  Every so often, what I imagine is your foot or knee will protrude from the side of my stomach.  It’s not painful.  Sometimes I’ll watch it until is slips back into place.  Other times I’ll press on it to see how you react.

As long as you’re still comfortably hanging out in Mom’s belly, we’ll travel home to Maplewood this weekend to celebrate your uncle Mike.  He leaves for his basic training to join the U.S. Navy next week!  That means you probably won’t be able to meet him until he graduates from his basic training.  We’re already planning to a trip to Naval Station Great Lakes in April to attend his graduation, offer congratulations, remind him how much we love him, and to introduce you two.  We’re all very proud of him already!

As pregnancy continues, Mom still enjoys prenatal yoga class at Rootdown Yoga Studio.  The class offers stretches, relaxation, and time to connect with other mamas.  All this is reassuring.  I’m happy to report that discomforts of pregnancy haven’t set in too harshly.  Together, you and I are still sleeping well at night.  I am able to find comfortable positions and you don’t move too much during the night.  Maybe that means you already understand what “bedtime” means?  Fingers crossed! Dad continues to work to finish some projects around home.  He has done a fantastic job at making our new house a home.  Looking forward to showing off his hard work to everyone who comes to visit you!

Stay warm, little one.  We’re up to a total of 33 days below zero so far this winter.  Yuck!

Thanks to Mom's friends Kassidy and  Mandy for helping to capture some belly photos and pregnancy memories!