December 2010 - pre-Harper

The first 7 days of December were split between wanting baby girl to arrive and wondering if we were ready.  There was so much to do but I was in no shape to do any of it.  I was so large and uncomfortable.  I didn't sleep well due to insomnia and contractions.  I woke for hours every night, ate a bowl of cereal, got caught up with the DVR, and waited to see if contractions continued.  Now I look back on that time fondly...Just me and baby in my belly who was kicking away... it was so quiet.  I'm glad that I had that time.

I just remembered how Ethan said "Boppy, Ow" because I said ow/ouch often.  Baby girl was putting a lot of pressure on me so walking was painful.  I don't want to be in that discomfort again but I wish I had a recording of Ethan saying that.  It was cute and he doesn't call me Boppy anymore.  He stopped calling me Boppy (the way he said Mommy) in December.

I had the most amazing pedicure just a few days before delivering Harper.  My feet were swollen balloons.

 

Ethan thought my toes were pretty, despite the swelling.

We continued preparing for Christmas by taking photos of Ethan in his Christmas outfit for our card:

 Ethan laughing at his silly daddy

 

Matt convinced Ethan to wear his winter hat by telling him it was "awesome".  Then Ethan called every thing awesome.

 

November 2010

 My modified bedrest status continued half way through November.  We were anxious to play in all of the leaves in our new front yard.  I set up a chair and watched Ethan golf through the leaves.

 

Here you are baby girl, right there with us!  Happy 4 month birthday today.  I promise I'll update this blog to include posts about you.

 

Lining up his shot :)

  

A day of raking and playing in the leaves:

 

 

 

He looks so tiny here.

Mid-month I was released from bedrest and the medication to stop contractions.  We didn't know if baby girl would arrive within days or weeks.  We had concerns about having a premature baby and said a lot of prayers.  I continued having random contractions.  Some were consistent for hours then fizzled out.  My hospital bag was packed and we decided that we were  ready whenever she was.

 

We started preparing the nursery.

 

While I grew...

 And grew...

 

And grew...

 

Ethan was very cute about my belly.  I often wonder what he thought about it and how much he grasped when we told him there was a baby in there.

 

We celebrated Thanksgiving but poor Ethan had a fever and didn't eat very much.

 

except a little jello (a new treat for him).

We decorated our house for Christmas.  Ethan was in love with "black trucks" at the time, so the 2010 ornament I ordered him suited this stage.

Despite continued contractions, baby girl wasn't ready so we continued to grow together. 

 

 

I was 39 weeks pregnant in these photos.  Our new house doesn't have a good mirror for self-belly-pics.

 

October 2010

October 2010 was full of fun activities, some difficult times, change, hope, and prayer.

We weren't sure if our move was going to take place but we spent time packing, just in case.

 

I took an online photo course to try and keep my mind off of the stress.   The weekly assignments were fun, I started to explore what my camera has to offer when it is not on AUTO, and I plan to take another in the future.  It probably wasn't the best time to take the course but I needed that distraction.  I'm sure I was quite a site - crouching down to get shots with my big baby belly!

 

This was taken to represent our soon-to-be Family of FOUR!

 

This represented a day in my life - driving to clients and errands, I can't live w/o my chapstick, I'm addicted to my laptop, and spying on Ethan while he naps (look at that bum in the air!  I love it!).

 

This was "shoot where you are".  Obviously we were at the park where the harsh sun was a challenge for me.  It was still SO hot in October and at 30+ weeks pregnant, I was ready for the cool down of Fall.

We signed Ethan up for his first swim class and it took place in October.  He loved it.  We walked into the pool area and Ethan immediately started leaning out of Matt's arms towards the pool.  

 

 He showed little hesitation in Matt's arms while gaining confidence and skills in the water.

 

 

 

Ethan loved the "slide".

 

We did Fall things like visiting the Fun Fort at Paulus's

 

We met friends for an evening out (also documenting my 30th week of pregnancy with baby girl)

We FINALLY settled on both houses and moved!!

 

 Matt was excited to do some yard work while I watched from inside

We visited the pumpkin patch

Less than a week after our move I started having preterm contractions.  After a non-stress test at my doctor's office confirmed that I was continuing to have contractions, I was sent to Labor and Delivery for monitoring.  Matt rarely has out of town trainings anymore but of course he did on this particular day.  I was frantic to get a hold of him but he couldn't answer due to a meeting.  Matt couldn't make it back in time to pick Ethan up from school.  We arranged for Matt's mother to pick Ethan up and keep him until Matt returned home that evening.  I was given two shots of medication to stop my contractions, sent home with the same med in a pill form, and instructions for modified bedrest.  Modified bedrest included time off of work, no unpacking, no unnecessary walking, etc.  The medication made me feel ill so I spent a lot of time on the sofa and in bed.  I needed to get out of the house and since the doctor specifically said "I don't want to see you out walking around Target" I rode in those motorized buggies!

Ethan loved the beeping they made when in reverse.

Finally, (whew, October was a long month and we had a lot going on!), we celebrated Halloween!  Ethan was a sweet, little puppy dog this year.  We met friends for dinner and a little trick-or-treating.  We didn't go far since I couldn't do much walking but it was just enough for Ethan to get some special treats (I ate most of them due to his milk allergy - at least that how I justified it).

 

I loved the way the little tail wiggled when he walked.