Lianne Elisabeth Kater Born 2/3/12

Just waiting for the baby to come.. Yup.. just waiting.

I’m so impatient right now and it’s probably because of how incredibly uncomfortable I’m feeling. I’ve got a LOT of pelvic pressure, which is giving me a good waddle. I’m going to the bathroom a little bit more now, especially at night. I’m having difficulty finding a good position to sit in and walking long distances tires me out faster.

We had a doctor’s appointment yesterday. She said that I was still closed up, but the baby has definitely dropped. I was hoping for some news that I have dilated a little bit. Instead, she talked about making an appointment for next week and then the possibility of inducing if I make it to week 41. I was so depressed. I started crying after the appointment, because even though I know that this baby will arrive soon, it feels like it’s taking forever. Plus, I don’t want to be induced by my doctor if possible. If I have to, fine, but I really want it to be done naturally.

Mark and I have been talking about what we’re going to do when people want to visit us when the baby is born. We’ve decided that while we’re at the hospital, people can drop by briefly to say hello. We hope that everyone understands if the visit has to be short, since I’ll be in the process of learning to breastfeed and a bit exhausted.

However, when we’re at home, I think that we would like a couple of weeks to bond with our little one and adjust to our new lives. After a couple weeks, please contact one of us and we’ll let you know what day is best to come by to greet the little one. I would definitely love to see some people after a couple of weeks. Hopefully, it’ll help with any postpartum depression.

I can’t wait to meet her. I just wish it was soon.

Just another month to go! No, we aren’t prepared. How prepared can someone really be? Books and internet articles can only take you so far. When she arrives, we’ll be learning on the way and we’ll make mistakes, just like any adventure in life. Right now, all I want is for her to be healthy and happy.

On December 10th, we had our baby shower. It was a lot of fun! We’re very thankful that a lot of our family and friends came. We hope that they all enjoyed the food, the cookie bar, and the games! Here are pictures from the shower:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/thekaters/sets/72157628657790409/

Once we hit 37 weeks, the baby is considered full term. So, that means that anytime between 37 weeks to 40 weeks, the baby could come. Yup. I’ve had some contractions already, which feel like cramping. Cooper always seems concerned when it happens though and then he’ll look at Mark and it’s like he’s saying “hey you.. help her.” What a sweet pup.

Alright, so one of the things I’m looking forward to after giving birth is eating foods I didn’t get to eat. It’s funny because during pregnancy, people say “yeah eat as much as you want, you’re eating for two.” The problem with that is you can’t eat what you REALLY want to eat. Here is my list of foods that I can’t wait to eat as soon as I give birth:

• Sushi. Sushi. Sushi. Sara has been awesome and said that she’d bring me some when I’m in the hospital. Yay! I miss it so much.
• A sandwich from Little Lucca’s. I pass this place every time I go to the dog park with Cooper. It’s depressing. Plus there are so many times where all I want is just a nice sandwich with deli meat. It’s also hard to be married to a guy that loves to just have a sandwich when he’s not sure what to eat. I usually just glare at him when he has a ham sandwich.
• Brie. So, Brickhouse has this chicken apple brie sandwich that I loved. Thankfully, I don’t work near there anymore, so the temptation isn’t there, but still.. there are times I just think about it. I miss brie in general though. Brie with crackers sounds yummy.
• Smoked Salmon. A lot of things have smoked salmon. I never realized it. Of course, when I notice that, I want it more.
• Stuff that has raw eggs, which is like custards, things that have hollandaise sauces (like eggs benedict.. mmm..), salads with caesar dressing. Yup, I miss all that stuff.

Two months to go. Wow. I can’t believe it. Okay, I won’t panic. Yet. So much to do still and so little time!

A few weeks ago (or something, I don’t keep track of time very well these days), we had a maternity photo shoot with a couple of friends of ours, Cyrus and Bekki. We went to Fort Funston, so that Cooper could run around too. It was a lot of fun! I, obviously, felt huge on the day(but really.. when do I not feel that way), but the pictures came out so beautifully that I actually liked how I look. Here’s a few of them, followed by a  link to the pictures, enjoy!

Link to photos: http://flickr.com/gp/cyrusjam/UVM75B/ Please also check out Cyrus’ photography at his site: http://www.cyrusjam.com/ He’s an amazing photographer and we’re very lucky to have him as a close friend. We truly appreciate him taking our photos and being a part of a special time in our lives.

On other news, we took our Labor Prep class a couple of weeks ago. It was a one day class, which seems intense, but I think it was perfect. We got all the necessary information we needed and I came out of the class feeling more confident about giving birth to our little girl. Of course, knowing me, I will freak out a little bit when it comes time, but that’s okay. At least Mark will be there to try to calm me down. He better. He did learn how to give me a good massage while the labor was going on.

We also took a Newborn Care class this past weekend. It was a short class, but we learned a lot. We learned about all the tests, what not to freak out about, how to change a diaper, and how to give a baby a bath. I felt a little overloaded with information, which is good, but I had some questions which I obviously didn’t think of until we came home. Way to go Michelle. I’ll have to do some more research I guess and learn along the way.

We also got some great news recently. Jessica and Michael will be expecting their own bundle of joy in May! I’m so excited about it. They are two of my closest friends and knowing that our kids might be growing up together is really exciting! I can’t wait to find out what the gender of their baby is.

I can’t believe that I’m already at 28 weeks. The last few months of the pregnancy. Wow. There are days where I still think, “Oh my god, I have a baby growing inside me.” Sometimes at night, I forget that I’m pregnant, until I try to get out of bed and it requires some sort of rolling off.

My pregnancy so far has consisted of a constant lack of energy, lots of worry (because that’s how I am), and excitement whenever I feel a kick. I’m getting more nervous about the baby coming. The whole labor and delivery part freaks me out, I just don’t know if I have the strength to do it. However, I think that once I take the class, I should be fine. I hope. Dear God I hope so.. This is just all new territory I guess, so it’s normal to be nervous.

During the pregnancy, I’ve noticed a few things that might help the next pregnant lady and her significant other:

- Don’t ever comment on how big a pregnant woman looks. Don’t say that she looks smaller than you think she is, because she’ll worry that something is wrong. Don’t tell her that she looks bigger than she should really be. She knows that she is big and she is already dwelling on her weight. You don’t need to remind her that she’s big. Just say that she looks great and leave it at that. So far I’ve only had strangers tell me that I look bigger than I should be, which is good (yes it’s good, because I can just be bitter for a second and forget about it). Thankfully, my friends and family know better and haven’t made that comment to me!

- Don’t ever tell your mom that you are craving something, because she’ll make/buy a lot of it. I know I was craving mangoes, Mom, but I didn’t need eight of them.

- Just like when you’re not pregnant, eat something before grocery shopping. When you aren’t pregnant and you go grocery shopping while hungry, you want to buy more than you need. When you ARE pregnant and go grocery shopping, it’s even worse. Thankfully, I have eventually eaten everything that I bought.. it just took a few weeks. It helps to eat before you go too, because you can actually concentrate on what is good for you and not what you are feeling like at that moment. Oh and have a list.. it’ll be good practice for the future.

- There are days when you’re going to be cranky and emotional. Of course, because your hormones are out of control. It’s okay, really. Just don’t take it out on your significant other. If you need to cry, go ahead. And husbands/boyfriends/SOs, just let her go ahead. Don’t try to make it better, because she’ll say you don’t understand. Just sit with her, shut up, and give her a hug. That’s all she wants.. for now.

-  Pregnant women will worry a lot about the baby, especially if something happens (like a dog jumps on them or the car door hits them). Husbands/boyfriends/SOs, don’t just say “I’m sure you’re fine,” because honestly, that will not make her feel better. If she is worried and wants to call the doctor, let her. It’ll make her feel better and you’ll hear less of her complaining. So, it’s not just for her.. it’s also for you.

-Everyone will have their opinion on baby furniture, strollers, diapers, etc etc. Listen to their opinion, that never hurt, but do your own research too and go with what you think is best. Sure, people might think you’re crazy for the decisions you make concerning that stuff, but no one knows your lifestyle better than you and your family. Plus, you can always change your mind later.

I’ve gone through everything that I’ve listed. It has been very interesting adventure so far! That’s all I could really think of now..because I’m hungry.

I’m 24weeks along now. I haven’t had that extra 2nd trimester energy that I hear so much about. I guess I’ll be missing out on that. I’m still tired all the time and I still need a nap in the day, but hey maybe it’s just prep for when the baby is here. I know I’ll be exhausted then.

Mark put together the crib and the glider chair. The glider is awesome and very comfy. It’s so comfy, that Mark is sitting in it right now while using his laptop.  We’re going to start to try to figure out how to decorate the room. Thankfully, the baby won’t care what the room looks like, but I will be spending a lot of time in there too. All I know is that I want it to be colorful and not just all pink. I like pink, but I’ve never been partial to baby rooms that were completely pink. I don’t think you really need to scream out “IT’S A GIRL!” with a pink room.

The hardest part of preparing for the baby is trying to figure out what to register for. It feels like it should be easy, but when you step foot into Babies R Us, it’s incredibly overwhelming. Which brand of bottles should I get? What’s the difference between that stroller and this stroller? What is this for? Mark and I had to leave the store after an hour, because it was just too much to handle. I still haven’t finished my registry. I should.. before any baby shower invitations go out. It’s just such a hassle.

I feel a little bit better now about picking a stroller, after talking to many people, but there are still a lot of things that I’m clueless on. I guess it just requires research. When I look at what I’ve registered for so far, I feel like I forgot something. Then again, I don’t think it really matters if I get it now cause I can always get it later. It’s not like the baby is going to hate me if I don’t have it when it arrives to the home.

Cooper met his first baby yesterday. It was a relief that he didn’t bite the kid. We were outside of Park Chow and a father and his baby came up to Cooper. He asked if Cooper was friendly and then went ahead to pet him. I was extremely worried, because Cooper has been around toddlers but never babies. Cooper, again, proved me wrong. He greeted the father and then licked the baby’s hand. The baby did grab onto the fur, but Cooper didn’t get angry, he just looked to see what was pulling him and then licked the hand. I think he’ll be fine when his little sister is in the world.

Everyone is asking about where my baby bump pictures are. I’ll post it soon. Just know, I’m huge. I’ve gained 20 pounds now. I know it’s all baby weight and will hopefully come off after, but since I lost 20 pounds last year.. it’s not a pleasure to have it back.

Today, I’m 18 weeks and 4 days. It’s been about a month since my last post. All apologies, but not much has really happened the past month, except I’ve gotten bigger. If you are wondering, I am taking belly pictures, but I’m not posting them yet. Maybe when I have better self-esteem, but right now,  I just feel huge.

The baby is doing fine, I think. From time to time I’ll feel a small kick, but it’s not consistent. I wish it was, because it’s nice having a small sign that it’s still doing fine.

I wonder if Cooper is starting to be protective of me when we’re in public. I’ve noticed that when other dogs that seem energetic approach me, he’ll come in between us. I don’t know if he’s protecting me from jumpy dogs, but I like to think he is.

On other news, today was the last day of our Junior Giants practice. I know it has nothing to do with the baby, but I’m going to miss the kids and the parents. Hopefully, I’ll see them next season.. at least I know some of the moms are willing to watch the baby while I help out.

September 1st is the big day, by the way. It’s when we find out the gender! Not sure how to reveal it to everyone, but we obviously want to tell our family first. I’d like to do some big gender reveal, but it’s so much easier to just call and say “hey, we’re having a ______!”

Anyway, keep an eye out here on September 1st!