Wally Dog's Birthday!

For those of you who have met Wally all know how special he is to our family.  On Memorial Day it was his 4th birthday and for us Folgers it was a great reason to throw a party.  This is our third time celebrating Wally's birthday and being pregnant (and according to what Wally we wanted) we had his birthday party at the beach.  The weather was sunny and warm, a great dog beach day.  All of Wally's human and dog friends (minus Coco) came to the beach for a day in the sun and running wild on the beach.

The Wally dog family!

Wally the happy birthday dog!

 Wally's party was on Saturday and on Monday, his actual birthday, we had an impromptu outing to the river.  He is such a happy pup (and he is wearing his new bandana that I made him)!

Relaxing in the sun.

Will playing with Wally.

Such a cute family.

Week 35

May 19-25, 2014

How far along: 35 weeks  

Total weight gain: 4lbs since my last appointment (a 4lb weight gain) and the nurse and midwife are happy with the gain.

Maternity clothes: Maternity clothes all the time (even maternity tops are letting my belly peak out) but once in a while I can squeeze into a sundress or skirt.  It is crazy to me that when I first started wearing maternity clothes for extra comfort and because I wanted to wear them since I was pregnant, the tops were long and loose and now they are form right with my body and look different with the big baby belly.

Stretch marks: Lathering every night with coco nut oil and belly butter (especially since we spent the weekend in the sun).

Sleep: Well my once a week 2 hour wake up is slowly turning into a couple of nights.  At least I have television shows to watch on Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix.  Since I am still struggling to find time to nap, I would really like to sleep throughout the night.

Best moments this week: Hhmmm nothing special or different happened in pregnancy land, but we had a great Memorial weekend especially celebrating our Wally dog’s birthday.

Miss anything: Nothing missed this week.

Food cravings: Fruit!  I have one bite of fruit and I have to have more.

Pregnancy symptoms: This week I have had a hard time remembering that I have a big belly- I keep running my baby belly into corners, chairs, and even my students.  This week I have officially started nesting- I got the urge to vacuum my car (yes in my driveway with my Dyson vacuum cleaner) so I can put our baby’s car seat in the car.

Gender: Boy!

Labor signs:  The normal BH contractions, and especially the contractions that make my belly look lopsided almost alien like.  At my midwife appointment the baby’s head is down, and my cervix is dilated at a 0 or -1 (the midwife was happy with this information).  The baby’s head down but laying on his side so the midwife suggested going on my hands and knees and dancing with my booty to a song (in yoga land this is cat and cow poses).  Lets just say I made will smile and laugh with my pregnant booty dancing.

Belly button in or out: Belly button is out, usually flush with my stomach, but once in a while slightly sticks out.

Wedding rings on or off: Wedding rings on, but still thinking about taking them off in June when the due date is closer.

Happy or moody: I am happy and blessed about being pregnant and helping our baby boy grow.  On the other hand I am very cranky and have almost no patience after lunch at school.  my students have so much energy (yeah for school for being almost over) and forget how to behave that I get frustrate at them-but luckily most of them are trying their best to be helpful to make sure the baby is safe-they are too cute.

Looking forward to: This Saturday is my work baby shower and opening night for Crabs baseball.  After this baby shower I will order our glider for the baby’s room and we will have all of our big pieces of furniture. 

Baby Shower- Ahoy It's A Boy

April 13
29 weeks pregnant (well the next day I will be 30 weeks pregnant)

My dearest friends Amanda and Erin threw me and my baby boy a wonderful shower (and wow we have been friends for about 15 years).  The the theme was "Ahoy It's a Boy!" and the food and decorations were perfect.

Best friends for 21 years! Getting ready for the baby shower.
Yes that is me at almost 30 weeks and Justine at 6 weeks pregnant!

Momma to be and the lovely hostesses.

Me and Amanda (friends for 15 years).

Me and Erin (friends for 15 years).

My loving in laws!

Best friends for 21 years.  Kris was intrigued by my pregnant belly.

My mom and her childhood best friend (I believe they are about a week apart) and their daughters (Angie and I were born 6 months apart).

My sister-in-law and I- she just loved touching her nephew in my belly.

Me with my grandma and mom.

The ladies of the Capriotti/Gatel/Martin family.

Week 34

 

May 12-18, 2014

How far along: 34 weeks  

Total weight gain: Unknown, but I will find out next week at my now weekly doctor appointments (eek!).

Maternity clothes: I have a couple of sundress that are non maternity that I can squeeze into, but other than that all I wear are maternity clothes, and even those clothes are starting to feel more snug (thanks growing belly).

Stretch marks: After my sister-in-law inspected my belly she was able to say n o stretch marks for me!  The coconut oil and belly butter are doing the job.

Sleep: Well I am going to the bathroom 1-2 times a night, and most nights I am able to fall asleep.  And yes I am still lucky to have one night a week were I am up for an hour or two.

Best moments this week: My mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and nephew came to visit for my other sister-in-law’s college graduation this weekend and we had so much fun playing with Finn and getting our baby’s clothes washed and organized. 

Truly best moment is we finally bought a DRESSER for our baby!  I feel relief that we can finally start transforming our guest bedroom into our baby’s bedroom.  The dresser is perfect and we already have way too many clothes for our boy but yet so excited to dress him in all of them.

Miss anything: I miss not getting tired easily.

Food cravings: I love fruit, and this weekend I ate about half of a watermelon.  The sweet and juiciness tasted oh so good!

Pregnancy symptoms: According to my loving husband my belly is starting to get more round around the sides.  I hope this baby is getting comfortable while there is still room in my belly.  I hate to admit it but I am slowing down.  My feet not only are swollen all day everyday but they hurt throughout the day.  Will has been a great help in trying to help out more around the house (yes I am spoiled he make dinner every night so I can just rest on the couch) and tries to force me to slow down and relax- something I am not use to doing.

Gender: Baby boy!

Labor signs: BH especially after a long day and week at work.

Belly button in or out: My belly button is out and stretched that it looks like a scar instead of a belly button.

Wedding rings on or off: Wedding rings are on but I am thinking about taking them off in June in preparation of going into labor (I do not want to be in the position that they might have to get cut off).

Happy or moody: This week so happy and excited to have family visit and beyond excited we found a dresser.

Looking forward to: I am looking forward to my next doctor’s appointment with my favorite midwife.

The long awaited dresser!

The Wally dog family celebrating Keely's graduation.

Week 33

May 5-11, 2014

How far along: 33 weeks

Total weight gain: Not sure, but I can only assume the normal weight gain.

Maternity clothes: Yes and yes. Top, bottoms, is I wear anything non maternity the clothing item is a size larger than I usually wear.

Stretch marks: I am still lathering myself with coconut oil and belly butter.  As my belly is getting larger I am grateful for my family genes, just a few very small spider veins but that is it.

Sleep: As usual one night I am up between 2:30-4:30, this week I was up at 3:00 and stayed up since Will was leaving at 5 to go on a camping/surf trip.  And I have been going to the bathroom 1-2 times during the night.

Best moments this week: At the beginning of this week I was making my lunch, looked down at my feet and realized that I can no longer see my feet.  My belly is officially huge and I love it.

Also this weekend my girlfriend Liz (with the help of other Humboldt friends) threw me a cute story book themed baby shower.  I was so nice to relax with my friends (especially since our husbands were camping for the night) and eat delicious “storybook” food.  Everyone showered me and our baby boys with such wonderful gifts.  My favorite game, guess the circumference of the pregnant belly, made me laugh- everyone guessed I was much bigger.  We also played Baby Feud (a spoof of Family Feud) and I have to say this is another game that I enjoyed.

Miss anything: With the weather trying to get warmer I would have enjoyed a nice glass of white wine in the afternoon, but I did not miss not drinking. 

Food cravings: I am loving fruit.

Pregnancy symptoms: Moving more slowly and having to spend more effort and energy getting up and down from a chair/couch/bed is something that I still find funny I can not do quickly.

Gender: Baby boy!

Labor signs: BH contractions throughout the day, especially if I have a challenging day with my students. 

Belly button in or out: Belly button is out but stretched across my belly.  My belly button is very soft to the touch.

Wedding rings on or off: Wedding rings are on, and lucky I live in a cooler climate and will be able to wear them for majority of my pregnancy.

Happy or moody: Feeling blessed by being able to share this pregnancy with such wonderful friends in Humboldt.

Looking forward to: Next weekend my sister-in-law is graduating from college, and my mother-in-law and other sister-in-law are coming to visit.

Half Marathon- Avenue of the Giants

As we are trying to prepare for the baby and get many chores/items checked off our very long check list, Will decided to take a friend's spot for the half marathon the day before the race.  I prepared my bags (snack, water, towel, rain gear, and chair) to cheer on Will and our friends.

Will putting on his shoes.

The runners getting ready.

Before warming up for the race.

On your mark, get set, go!

The amazing runners!

Will finished the half marathon 1:44 (1hr 44 min).

Week 32

April 28-May4, 2014

How far along: 32 weeks

Total weight gain: I will find out next week my new weight, but I feel I am keeping up with the one pound per week.  Although I do feel that my legs and arms feel bigger but everyone says I just look healthy (including strangers).

Maternity clothes: The usual, all maternity unless it’s a long tank top or super old pajamas- this week I was sporting my brothers old junior high p.e. shorts and the very big medium pageantry corps shirt for Hawaii (such a lovely look).

Stretch marks:  No stretch marks but I did find a small cluster of spider veins on my left outer thigh.  I have been lathering up on the coconut oil and the belly butter.

Sleep: The majority of the week my sleep has been great, with the usual one night of waking up for a couple of hours.  At the end of this week I started going to the bathroom 2-3 times at night.

Best moments this week: Nothing extra exciting happened this week baby related.  Will did run a half marathon this weekend (yes deciding a day in advance to run-a friend got injured and unable to run, thus a free ticket).  I did my fair share of walking with the baby belly and sat for about 1.5 hours cheering on the runners.  I was so proud of Will for finishing his first half marathon at 1:44 (one hour 44 minutes).

Miss anything: I do not miss anything, but amazed how my body has changed and how some things that should be easy are not.  Walking down a hill I had to have two boys help me, just to make sure I did fall.  Also just walking maybe a fourth of a mile left me winded.

Food cravings: No cravings, but at a friend’s birthday party I am sure I ate almost half of a small watermelon all on my own (it was so juicy and sweet I could not stop eating).

Pregnancy symptoms: Leg cramps.  I have a tendency to get leg cramps at night after I exercise.  This week my ankles and feet feel swollen, and my feet are already tired the moment I wake up.

Gender: Boy.

Labor signs: BH contractions-usually daily, but especially if I have been on my feet a lot or sitting on an uncomfortable chair.  Friday after work my whole stomach felt tight of constant BHs.

Belly button in or out: My belly button is out, stretched, and feels super smooth.

Wedding rings on or off: My wedding rings are currently on.  Earlier this week a coworker told me that when giving birth you are not allowed to wear jewelry, including wedding rings, and the hospital makes you take your rings off.  She said if you are unable to take off your rings, due to swelling, they will cut them off.  Since I am feeling swollen perhaps come June I will take off my rings and wear them on a necklace, because I do not want to be in a situation where my wedding rings would have to be cut off.

Happy or moody:  Very happy but come Friday after work and on the weekends I get cranky if I am hungry or really want to take a nap.  I love my weekend naps.

Looking forward to: I am looking forward to my doctor’s appointment next week.  My appointment is with one of my favorite midwives, whom I have not seen since January.  I am also anxious to see if the baby has moved from being traversal to head down.  Next weekend is my Humboldt friends’ baby shower and I am excited to spend an afternoon with my girlfriends (and all of