Get low, get low....

I had my 32 week appointment scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 22nd, but when we scheduled my flight back to Cincinnati I was going to have to miss my appointment.  I called my doctor first thing in the morning on Monday and explained the situation and she squeeze me in later that hour. With all the travel I was going to be doing she wanted to see me before I left town. What a sweetheart and this certainely helped ease minds amongst my family since you always hear no travel in the 3rd trimester.

She checked the baby's position, size, etc. He is currently measuring a week ahead at 33 weeks, and she said that is likely because of his length (and me being tall). She wasn't concerned about it because my weight is right on track.  Whew, I REALLY don't want to birth a 10lb baby.  Without getting graphic she did a full exam to make sure there weren't any concerns before I hopped on the plane (all good)... She was like "Wow, he's sitting really low! Like really low and has already moved into a head down position." (fingers crossed he will stay in this position because then there isn't concern of him being breech, but you never know, he could still flip). He hasn't "dropped" or anything  like that he just has taken home pretty low which again is nothing to be concerned about it was more of an observation on the doctor's behalf.  I wasn't surprised when she told me this because lately I have been feeling like I'm going to pee my pants about 10x a day and then I go and it's barely a squirt - makes sense since he has his big ol' head right ON my bladder.  Thanks buddy. The plus side is that I haven't felt him up in my ribs like lots of mom's complain about. Baby McG is getting down low with his bad self... told you he is going to be a party animal.

Anyway point being, I was cleared for travel, and I had A LOT of stops in just a week span...I went from Denver to Dayton (Thank you Krystal for the early morning DIA drop off) and John picked me up and we drove back down to Cincinnati. After a few days in Cincy, we drove to Louisville, KY to fly to Omaha (oh yeah, and we had a layover at Midway in Chicago)... then it was onto Omaha. After celebrating Thanksgiving in Omaha we hopped in car on Saturday and headed the 7 hours back to Denver.  After 3+ weeks of John being away it is nice for us to all be back at home sweet home! It's been a whirlwind few weeks, but thankfully things with the baby seem to be moving right along. Thanks again to all the family and friends who have helped support us along the way! And circumstances aside it was great to be able to see so much of our family in the past week. Hope everyone had nice thanksgiving!

Breast is best

Last Tuesday night while John was in Cincinnati I attended a class at the hospital on "breastfeeding basics." Enlightening to say the least. I was surprised that I was only one of 3 ladies in the class who didn't have their significant other attending the class with them... honestly I'm not sure if John was in town I would have made him attend. I mean, pretty sure he isn't going to be doing the breast feeding, as awesome as that would be.  Why these gals feel the need to drag their husbands to a 3 hour clinic on breastfeeding I don't get it. Whatever, to each their own.

I learned a lot of crazy things at this class, for example your rib cage will increase an average of 1-2" during pregancy and decrease by an average of 1-2" after giving birth... well no wonder my bras are strangling me by the end of the day.  Another interesting thing I learned is that the first 4 days of breast milk after giving birth is called the "colostrum" otherwise known as "liquid gold"  - such gold in fact that the class instructor pumped some of hers when she gave birth to her oldest and saved it to give to her over cereal when she came down with a cold years later. WHAA??? Not a lie, that's what she told the class. She also breast fed this particular daughter till she was 3. Huh, last I checked 3 year old's have teeth. This. Is. Not. Alright.

Crazy extremest instructor aside, I did get a much better understanding of what's to come from this class and learned a lot. I feel like I now know the different positions to get the baby to latch and techniques to get the job done... I'm sure it is so much easier said than done, but I feel a lot more comfortable now.

One other fun fact I thought was crazy was that if you were to formula feed a baby for the first year the average cost is a whopping  $4000.... while breastfeeding is $0. In a world where everyone is concerned about money and the economy you'd have to be pretty stupid to not breastfeed (aside from a laundry list of other benefits). Bottom line, boobs are recession proof.

Rest in Peace

I need to take a moment to diverge from my typical banter to share some less fortunate news. Sadly on Sunday, November 19, 2011 John's dad passed away. A life that surely seems cut too short at just 60 years old. It devastates me to think that he will never meet or hold his first grandson in just a few months or walk Molly, his only daughter, down the aisle on the day when she says "I do." It hardly seems like he was finished with his work here on earth, but I suppose sometimes God has plans that are not our own. Now we have to remember the good times and many memories we have of him, and rest assured knowing that he will be looking down on us...

John Patrick McGarry

January 5, 1951 - November 19, 2011

To back up for just a minute....John and I quickly headed to Cincinnati on Nov 9th (the day before John's b'day) when we got a call that his dad was in the hospital and there might not be much more time. After being there for several days we decided I'd come back to Denver for this past week (I'm trying to save my PTO days for when the baby arrives) when we knew things were going to take a bit more time.  John has spent nearly 2 weeks in Cincinnati waiting by his dad's side in the hospital. It has not been easy to be apart from him this past week, especially with knowing all that has been weighing on his shoulders. I feel terrible that I wasn't there when his dad actually passed, but I suppose this is one of those situations you just have to accept, and I'm heading back this week for the visitation and funeral.  While this has been a most difficult time for us the outpouring of love and support from all of our friends and other family members has really helped. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for the text's, calls, emails, etc from so many of you offering to help, checking to see how things are going, and sending many kind words. I feel so blessed that John and I have such wonderful friends and families. Thank you all for your love and support, and please continue to keep us in your thoughts this coming week as the next few days will continue to be difficult. Remember to give your families that extra hug at Thanksgiving this year because life truly is too short. 

I'm going to be a barn animal...

As I mentioned my girlfriend's from high school came to visit this weekend. Robin and Kathryn both had baby boys almost 2 years ago... so they are filled with tons of good advice, stories, etc. On Sunday night after going to dinner we sat around chatting about things like finding day care and questions to ask a pediatrician when interviewing them, etc. Somehow Kat and I got on the topic of breastfeeding.... Don't get me wrong I plan on doing it, but being that I didn't grow up in a family of breast feeders (stop judging) I feel really ignorant to this topic, and frankly it sort of makes me uncomfortable...Let's put it this way, I'm that person that cannot understand why someone would sit in the MIDDLE of the mall breast feeding. I mean, I get it, the kid has to eat and sometimes you're at the mall. But really is it necessary to sit right in the middle of the mall with your boob out?? How is this appropriate? And don't act like that blanket you have draped over you makes me not know what it going on under there. People excuse it because it's "natural"... well it's also natural for me to be half dressed and in a robe but you don't see me in public like that (despite the fact that I'd love it). So I vow to never have my nipple, boob, or anything that should be hidden under a bra AND a shirt out in public for feeding purposes - Nordstrom has very lovely restrooms for these moments. But I digress, because I really am down for the breastfeeding challenge; lezzdoit!

So Kathryn, was giving me all the insider girlfriend deets on breastfeeding and pumping. Up until this point I hadn't registered for a pump, it just seemed like an item that maybe you shouldn't register for. I guess I equated it with registering for your lingerie for the night of your wedding. Well, Kathryn convinced me otherwise and had me back on amazon adding her beloved "milker" to my list. Her advice was to get the one that does both you know what's at once so it doesn't take forever when you're at work. Yep, just like a barn animal [insert sucking noise]. She also suggested getting the bra that goes with the pump so that I can keep working while I pump. WHAT?!?! I'm sorry this concept put me over the edge.

Better yet, the company that makes these bras has images on their site showing you just how easy it is too keep on working (wink, wink). Please tell me how did they did this photo shoot without totally losing it?!? It's like they strapped Bessie up to the pump and she is supposed to just keep on working? Um, no. This will not happen. I'll be quietly alone in my office's nursing mother's room with a locked door. There is no way the model in this picture could possibly take herself seriously....

Nothing says sexy like a couple of pumps hanging from your ta-ta's.... moo!

You are welcome for the laugh. I know this made my day, and I really needed a good laugh. 

Girls just wanna have fun

This past weekend my 2 girlfriends from high school came to visit me and Val, another high school friend who lives here in Denver. It was go-go-go for Baby "Wendall" me but we had a total blast.... We crammed a lot into just a few days... Red Rocks, Evengreen, Manis/Pedis, the Denver Art Museum, Brewery Tour, lots of good meals, drinks (not for me of course) and girl time! It was great to have them visit, and here's a few pics from their visit...

Yep, we also celebrated "Movember"

Scoring some points...

A friend of my mother-in-law's had sent on a website site Zulily.com.... basically it's like Gilt Groupe but for baby gear. Anyway, she sent it onto me because they had the stroller I wanted on there for $300 off (just like Gilt Groupe the sales last for a limited time and quantities are also limited).... I know, you're thinking shouldn't the stroller itself be $300 or less... believe me, the sticker shock with some of this stuff is unreal. But there it was in all it's glory... the exact model and color at a "steal" of a price.

So, on Thursday the sale went live and I had through the weekend until Monday to pull the trigger... Or so I thought...Thursday evening John and I had a brief conversation about it.... as in he was walking out the door and I was walking in the door, and he asked "did you look the stroller?" And I had yet to check it out. So, after looking at it online that night I decided this deal was probably too good to pass up,  although, I felt like I needed to get the "green light" from John beforehand, so I held off assuming John and I would chat about it over the weekend.

Fast forward to the following morning at work. John sent me a message on gchat....
John: "So did you order the stroller?"
Me: "No, I was waiting for you to give me the ok."
John: "Well it now says the silver mica color is sold out."
Me: "WHAT?! Are you kidding me, it said we had until Monday, I never thought it would run out!! Oh I'm so pissed, I am seriously going to cry."
John: "Let's just get the red one then."
Me: "No, I don't want the red! I want the silver! I am so mad...Why didn't you just tell me to buy it last night?!" (Hey, my nickname as a kid wasn't Varouca for nothing, and I have the excuse that my hormones are raging).

At this point I frantically started emailing the customer service on the website and trying to figure out how I was going to get my hands on the silver stroller. An hour or so passed without any word from the Zulily site.  Clearly they do not care about me and my raging hormones. I had all but given up hope as I sat at my desk pouting.  With that John forwarded me an order confirmation email from zulily.com for the silver stroller! I have no idea how he did it, and he isn't sharing his secret, but that's alright because I GOT IT... I guess all that practice from buying stuff on sites like Steep & Cheap paid off.  At the risk of sounding slighly schmoopy (gag)... He completely made my day! He for sure got some points for this one.
Then the following day the bed and dresser arrived! Thanks to the help of John, my sister, and Todd it made it up the 2 flights of stairs and John put the crib together before I even had to ask! Apparently he's more handy than I thought... add another point to the John McGarry tally for the week.

And now the nursery is well underway!  The walls were painted last week (see below) and the crib and dresser are put in place.

I included a few close-up shots of the dresser and crib... I have to admit I was REALLY impressed with the quality of the furniture (check out that dovetailing on the drawers, boyah!). And yes, as you can see Boomer is waiting for the baby to arrive.