Packing, showers, etc....

Basement






Ofie's room (the color, carpet, and furniture are changing)









Backyard View towards the 3 seasons room.




So much going on and so little time. We are 6 weeks from Ofie's due date, 2 weeks from move day, and 11 days until closing date. In addition to finalizing house details, picking out carpet and paint colors we've also had two baby showers and another doctor's appointment. Ofie is doing very well heartbeat at 141, we're measuring right on track, and Ofie continues to move around a lot. She has had the hiccups lately (a good sign as its her practicing her breathing), but she definitely doesn't like the hiccups because with every bout of hiccups there comes lots of thrashing around inside, it's very funny. After our next appt we start going every week, hard to believe we're that close!

We had one baby shower in Dixon and one in Wheeling, both were great and Ofie was definitely spoiled at both. We are very appreciative to everyone for all of the wonderful things we've gotten for her. Thanks to Joyce, Jenni, Kim, and mom for hosting the showers, it was great to see everyone!

As we continue to pack up our house for the move the only things that are completely packed are Ofie's things, and we can't wait to get them all unpacked in the new place and finally set up the baby's room. Then we'll feel ready for the arrival. We did decide to err on the side of caution and pack the hospital bags prior to the move just in case little Ofie wants to arrive before we can get our house unpacked and locate things.

Here are some pictures from the showers and the house.....free tours of the house anytime after closing as long as you agree to bring a box inside, unpack, or do some other sort of home repair :)

Dixon Shower














Brian and I at the shower in Wheeling, he was there to greet people, get some dessert and help with gifts afterwards.

Ellie and Allison were my helpers during gift opening. They handed me gifts and moved them for me. It was very helpful. Hard to believe that nearly 4 years ago these girls were the flower girls in our wedding and now they're practically towering over me.Here is our living room after we got back from the last shower. We had to sort through everything and pack it into boxes for the move. Gretchen wasn't sure what to do with all the things in her way so she would set her ball on things we were moving so we'd have to throw it for her.

We've been busy and didn't have time to do belly shots, but here's one from 33 weeks. The belly is getting in the way now, I can't reach the faucet doing dishes quite like I used to and there's still more time to grow, yikes!

Simple Rules

Megan had this email forwarded to her, and I (Brian) thought it was appropriate (and funny) for this blog. Since there are multiple pregnancies in the family, these ground rules might help keep everyone safe. I would also like to note number 9, and if anyone would like practice before the baby comes, please let us know...laundry is piling up. :)

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,
I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you should probably read this twice.

1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is ' Congratulations !' with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an ass.

2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase 'my baby'.

3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it. The same goes for the name of the baby.

4) The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5) Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight- ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance, and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is 'You look fabulous!'.

6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes.

7) There is a reason that tickets to L&D are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to 'help out'. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less. I hope this helps- it sure makes us feel better.

Signed,

All Pregnant Women

We're MOVING!

It happened so fast, we can hardly believe it. We went and saw a house on Friday evening, thought about it all weekend, saw it again Tuesday night and put an offer in. After several counteroffers we accepted and we are buying our first house! We're excited but nervous, it's a huge commitment. The house was only on the market for 8 days, and we think it's great. We're going to be even busier now getting ready for baby, packing, moving, changing addresses, etc....oh boy it sounds overwhelming when I really think about it. I have to have a talk with Ofie to let her know that we do not want any early arrivals since we now have to get moved into a new place exactly one month before her due date...yikes!

We'll get pictures up here as soon as possible, we have to schedule our home inspection and assuming that goes well we'll be closing on June 24. Anyone interested in helping us move, that will be the following weekend and we LOVE help! I'm in charge of unpacking, directing traffic and feeding the troops.

We also believe we found a great day care person too, what a huge week it's been. We're very excited after 9 interviews to be able to say we found someone we think will do a wonderful job with our little Ofie. Of course not as good a job as we'll do, but we feel comfortable with her and her family.

We had a doctor's appointment today, Ofie is doing well heart beating away at 143, measuring right on track and no concerns. Unfortunately, due to insurance companies frequently denying to pay for a 32 week ultrasound our Doctor has decided to forgo it so that in case it gets rejected we don't have to pay for it. Since everything looks good and healthy there is no reason to do one, so I guess there will be no more Ofie pictures until D-day. We were disappointed, but what can you do.

Surprise Shower pics

Thanks Lisa for sharing the pictures you took. I figured I would share a couple of them. The shower was Wednesday, May 13, so that means that's my 29 1/2 week belly shot. Thank you everyone who came to the shower and spoiled us, we really appreciate it.

Lisa and Darsha

We'll try and get a new belly picture up soon, because Ofie is definitely growing and my belly is constantly changing shapes. Brian was gone for 5 days for a work conference, came back and noticed the change in shape right away. Last night we could feel a foot (well we think it was a foot, too small to be a butt). It was pretty neat and weird all at the same time. Today marks 31 weeks down, 9 to go (single digits.....wow!)

No new house for Ofie

Ofie is doing well, but sadly it doesn't look like Ofie is getting a new house for her birthday. We put our final offer in 2 1/2 weeks ago, and were supposed to hear the next day, no word. Our realtor contacted us today to let us know that she still has heard nothing from them despite her efforts to contact them, but the house has been relisted as a "new" listing online at $22,000 more than it was orginally listed at. They never notified any of the people who had offers on the house to tell us our offers were rejected, they just relisted at a higher price.

We just hope the bank loses in this deal, because it would serve them right. So after nearly 3 months of waiting we're giving up on this house. We've been looking at other houses the whole time, but nothing compares. Plus, all the houses seem to be short sales, and we're not interested in getting involved with another one of those. I can only be patient so many times and for only so long. At least we didn't wait to get Ofie's room ready.

I guess it just wasn't meant to be and perhaps our dream house is still out there somewhere, we'd love to stay in Cortland, maybe a great house will become available soon.

In other news, my coworkers threw a surprise baby shower last week at work. I was completely surprised and it was so nice to see everyone. Ofie got some great gifts including many great books and her mom got some great scrapbook supplies so she can get right to work on Ofie's scrapbook. I'll put a picture from the shower up once the person who took them (hint, hint Lisa) shares them with me.

Ofie is doing well!

Just back from a 29 week appointment and Ofie is doing great. Heartbeat is 133 and we're measuring right on track for 29 weeks. My blood pressure is great and they are impressed that so far there is no swelling and I'm feeling good. We have another visit in 2 weeks, then the one after that will also include an ultrasound around 33 weeks. It's amazing how fast the time is going.

We continue to wait for news on the house that we put our final offer on last week (we were told it would be the next day, but that was one week ago, so who knows) and we're continuing to see other houses while we wait. Our nursery furniture has been ordered and will hopefully be in our house and set up soon.

Be sure to vote whether you think Ofie is a boy or girl on the right hand side of our blog.

We passed! and fun pictures

First exciting news is I passed the 3 hour glucose tolerance test, which means no restrictions on my diet (hmmm, that could be good or bad). It only took 6 tries to get 4 blood draws, and my bruises don't look too bad, so I consider that a success!

I was offered my job again yesterday, which means no gap in employment and I get to stay right where I'm at, which is super exciting news. It was a long process, but we're happy it's over and that is one less thing to worry about.

We were asked to put our final offer on the house in on Tuesday afternoon (we had 2 hours to decide how high we would go). They said they wanted to make a decision by the close of business Monday. We still have not heard anything so we're kind of annoyed about that, as is our realtor. There are three offers, so the highest, best one will win, but we don't know who that is yet.

I will now just add some fun pictures.


29 weeks, only 11 to go (that is a very scary thought)






We got our second baby gift; the first one was from Marmo . Brian claims he wanted to make sure all the parts were there (we think he was excited to put the pack and play together and is excited about Ofie's arrival) Gretchen could not stop sniffing and investigating it so of course we decided a picture was necessary. She approves, but was looking for the baby that usually comes with these.








I am working on a blanket for Ofie and either Gretchen wanted to help or was jealous, I'm not sure. She does enjoy helping with blankets, or maybe it's the softness of the yarn she enjoys. Either way too cute a picture not to share.