April Showers

Things have been moving along nicely during the past month. Work is keeping both Craig and me busy, but it's really making the time fly by. Just over seven more weeks until Booger's due date! The downside right now is that Craig's shift changed at the prison. He's working two P.M. to ten P.M. That means we really don't see each other...at all. I wake up while he's still in bed, and he comes home after I'm already in bed. This past week was his "long" week, and we both had colds, which made our situation extra miserable. Oh well. He has tomorrow off, which, coincidentally, is my birthday. Then he'll have two other days off, plus the weekend. We just have to get through these long stretches. I just have four weeks of school left, and after that, I can just adapt to Craig's schedule.

28 weeks

As far as school goes, I've continued to help a bit with the school musical, which opens in two weekends. On top of that, I tentatively accepted a position as the assistant speech coach for next year. I'm a bit concerned that I'm biting off more than I can chew, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Speech starts in January and goes through March. By that time, I'll have an entire semester as a working mom under my belt. Also, we found a daycare that we feel really good about if Craig isn't able to be home with Booger while I'm at speech practice. Right now, at school, I'm trying to limit the time I spend on my feet. I'm so thankful there are only four weeks left--after that, I can sit on the couch and put up my feet until Booger makes his grand entrance!

29 weeks

One of the biggest things that happened in the past month was my baby shower! I had it early because of Geoff and Sarah's baby. I was worried that if I had it in April, they would be at the hospital having their baby. Likewise, if I waited until May, I was worried that our little guy would make his appearance early. Also, it's nice to know what we still need at this point, so we can buy and prepare. Anyway, the shower was a ton of fun! If you're reading this, a huge thank you again to the lovely ladies who put it on! There were fun games, but nothing gross like the candy bar in the diaper. The food was great--the cake was so cute and delicious! We got a lot of fun gifts. Booger is completely outfitted for at least the first three months of his life. Also, he has more tennis shoes than one baby could ever need--I can't wait to see how they look on him! On top of that, Craig and I received little words of wisdom from all the women there. We were given a little album in which to place these messages, so we can look back at them. All in all, the party was a huge success.

Guitar beanie, a necessity for any newborn.

Like I said, the shower gave us a chance to see what we still need, and the biggest ticket item was a stroller-car seat combo. We decided to go ahead and get it now just in case Booger comes early. Anyway, it arrived in the mail last week, and Craig and I were more excited than two adults should ever be about a stroller and car seat. I love the fact that there are cup holders for both us and the baby. We're gonna be the cool family strolling around town, that's for sure.

Setting up the stroller

The final product

During our last centering class, Craig and I got a tour of the birthing center (finally!). I'm a very visual person, so it definitely helps me to picture where I'll be when I'm in labor. Also, our hospital recently started offering water births as an option--it's the first hospital in the state of South Dakota to do so! It was great getting to see a tub and to get an explanation about the water birth process. At our class this week, we'll learn a bit more about water births, and if it's something we're interested in, we can sign a waiver. At this point, I'd at least like to have a water birth as an option, so I'll definitely sign the waiver.

Amazing diaper cake made by my friend Ramsey

Yesterday, my mom and I attended a class called Hypnobirthing. Craig had to work, so he couldn't be there. In fact, with his new schedule, he won't be at our next few appointments either. It's a very long trip to make by oneself. Anyway, Hypnobirthing was another one of the reasons I chose our hospital. It's a relatively new birthing class, but from what I can tell, it really does work. It's all about preparing oneself for labor and accepting the discomfort that goes along with it rather than being afraid of any type of pain.  My midwife was the instructor, and it was nice seeing her since she's not the person leading our centering class. During the class, which was a full day, we did different hypnosis exercises, we watched a number of hypnobirthing videos, and we discussed labor and delivery. Everyone received handouts, a textbook, and a CD, and we're advised to listen to the CD every night before bed. The goal is to be able to reach the totally relaxed state quite easily so that by the time labor comes, the woman can simply feel relaxed and work through any sort of pressure or discomfort. I listened to the CD last night, and it really is relaxing. With a class like this, I believe that it will work that much better if you truly believe it will work. If there's any skepticism or doubt then it will be that much more difficult. The whole point is that your mind should be stronger than your body, but if you're experiencing doubt then your mind has already decided that it won't work--and then, of course, it won't. I'm very open to this working, but only time will tell how successful I'll be. At this point, I'll listen to my CD and continue to stay relaxed and focused!

Posing with the delicious baby shower cake

The fun part of the class yesterday was that nearly every time we did a hypnosis exercise, I'd become very relaxed, but Booger would move around like crazy. Apparently he's not as easily susceptible to hypnosis as I am.

Baby Girl Gray-Lobe and Baby Boy Powell

Every day Craig and I get more and more excited about meeting our son. His behavior yesterday was nothing out of the ordinary. He's a very active little baby, but it's clear that he's running out of room. Rather than kicking as much as he used to, he'll now just stick a foot out and hold it there. Unfortunately, it's normally right under my ribs. It's not super comfortable, but usually a firm poke from me will make him pull it back in. Of course, then he just stretches out in a different spot. It's fun to think that he and I are already playing little games together in a way.

31 weeks

Oh, one thing that I almost forgot! Craig and I are currently working on preparing Booger's room. It had really terrible 1980s Disney wallpaper before, so now we're stripping it. We're still not done, but it shouldn't be too much longer. It's just hard with our schedules. Once that's done, we'll sand, paint, and start decorating. I can't wait!

The "Before" shot...hopefully "After" will be in the next post

Craig scraping away (Darla's helping)

Well, it's Sunday night, and I still have some grading to do. Tomorrow I'll be twenty-five--a quarter of a century! I guess I won't be able to call Craig an old man anymore.

Our rapidly expanding family