New Baby Gear

We finally decided on our stroller and car seat!
After many months of long deliberation and discussion, we finally went with the Baby Jogger City Mini and the Graco Snugride. Hopefully our little guy will enjoy everything as much as we do. We are pretty jealous of how comfortable these items seem to be (just ask Bear - he loves them) .

Susan's Last Day at Work

Today was my last day at work for a while! I will be working from home until the baby arrives. I'm so looking forward to some extra sleep and avoiding the subway although I will say that most New Yorkers have donated their seats when they see me .

My co-workers were great and threw me a surprise baby shower with delicious food, beautiful flowers and a generous gift card to BuyBuyBaby (our new favorite store).

Here is a picture of me at home with my beautiful flowers which I will get to enjoy.

Final Sonogram

Today, we had our final sonogram to help determine the baby's weight! Unfortunately, the images that we received from it weren't very flattering. There is hardly any room in there and we mostly saw the baby's smooshed face .
We did see and learn some very important things though:

1. The baby is a boy for sure.
2. The baby has hair on his head. We don't know the color yet but he will not need a baby toupee.
3. The baby was opening and closing his eyes
4. The baby now weighs 6 pounds 7 ounces (give or take a pound). I am hoping his growth slows to less than 1/2 pound per week otherwise it will be like delivering a turkey for Thanksgiving.

We can't wait to meet our little butterball - just over 3 weeks until my due date!

One More Month

What a difference a month makes!

Today, I am now one month away from my due date! As you can see, the baby has grown quite a bit in the past month since my "two more months picture."

I am now in the "Home Stretch" as they call it. I believe this means that I'm being stretched into the size of a house . I am staying active by walking a lot with our visitors from Holland. But eating, breathing, and sleeping are becoming a bit more difficult.

The fun part has been really feeling the baby move and wiggle around and trying to imagine what he's doing in there. And wondering what he'll be like when he emerges. We can't wait to meet him!

Baby Shower

On Saturday, Oma Angie and Auntie Dana threw Mark and me a wonderful baby shower! It was a "Jack and Jill" shower so instead of it just being women, we got the guys involved too. It was a blast with great food, fun games, and a wonderful group of people!

As you can see, Mark really got into it . To see more pictures, click here.

Thank you to everyone that could join us for this special occasion! And a special thanks to Oma Angie, Auntie Dana, Sheri and Monica who were fantastic hosts and helpers! Thank you so much. It was a truly memorable evening!

Graduation Day

Tonight we graduated from our prepared childbirth class! Our instructor was great and we learned all sorts of interesting things in the class, such as:

• When to go to the hospital,
• What floor we should go to when we get to the hospital,
• Breathing Techniques,
• Basic childcare (ie. diapering, swaddling, breast feeding techniques),
• and most importantly, when to ask for the epidural

While I wouldn't say were feel completely ready for what is to come, we feel a bit more prepared as some of our basic questions were answered.

Two More Months

Today is September 15th and that means just 2 more months until my due date! These last few weeks have really flown by. I'm feeling pretty good but it is definitely getting more difficult to do things like walking and sleeping :) All in all though, I'm having fun and Mark and I are enjoying this time. Here is my 7 months picture, enjoy!