33 Weeks!

OH MY GOSH! Time is FLYING!!

Today D is 33 weeks and she is 28 days away from officially being full term!!!

She called me yesterday and needed to vent. G's grandmother has been sending her a ton of emails about "baby stuff". I'm not sure exactly what the "baby stuff" entails, but some of it is making D uncomfortable for whatever reason. Maybe some of it is anti-adoption. D mentioned that "granny" was putting in a lot of religious comments, like the adoption plan that D and G have put together is a sin. D is just not sure what to do. This is not her grandmother, so she is trying very hard to be polite with the unsolicited advice. She hoped it would eventually taper off, but it hasn't. D's not sure how to tell her to "back off". I really didn't have any good advice for her, I could tell that she just needed to talk about it.

D said that everyone has been very supportive with their decision so she was very surprised by "granny" and her emails. They are still very commited to following through with the adoption. Then she wanted to change the subject and talk about more important things - Little Roo! She asked how my mom was doing on the crib bedding. She said she hoped Little Roo would have a big doll house to play with. D is absolutely giddy knowing how spoiled this little princess is going to be!

D and G are still with family up in the north part of the state. The place that they are going to buy when they come back here still has a person living in it. They have to wait for him to move out first and he is trying to find another house. I'm preparing myself that she might deliver Little Roo up there instead of the hospital here down the street. It's not a big deal for us at all, just a few hours drive. Bill's parents already said they will take Biscuit for us if the situation comes up. I told D that we want her to be where she is most comfortable and we will be wherever she is. This is one of those things that we are going to have to play by ear.

She has another doctor's appointment today and she was going to ask when to schedule the c-section. Just for the record, Bill predicted July 27th as Little Roo's birthday way back when. We'll have to see if that's close! D has been having a lot of Braxton Hicks "practice" contractions. She is still enjoying her daily floatings in the pool to stay comfortable. She has not gotten the newest card that I put in the mail last week. I'll have to get with her social worker to make sure she sent it out!

We had the big V install the fiber optic network at our house this week so I was off the computer for a while. Since I couldn't work, I got more sewing done! I finished another Mei Tai for a momma that wanted a certain fabric for her little one. I'm getting paid for that so that is really fun for me! I'm wanting to do more sewing this weekend. Oh yeah and take more pictures of Little Roo's room to put in her journal!

D's Bag

I can't believe that I've neglected my blog for so long! It's not like there isn't stuff going on - it's just been a little mad around here! Work has been kicking my butt this week and I've been working 16-18 hour days. Not cool! Summer is a busy time for us since our applications are rolling out so much new functionality after the budgets pay out the money.

Our Amby bed came today! I am so excited... I will have to take pictures once it is all set up. We ended up getting the blue one and I really like the color!

Over the weekend I finished the tote bag for D that we will give her in the hospital. I found a bunch of "sheer freesia" items at BB&W that I hope she likes. It is not too overpowering and very pretty. I also have picked up a pair of fuzzy slippers. I'll be sticking a bunch of other stuff in there as well, but I really wanted to make her something. This is how it turned out:

It's pretty good sized.... a tote for sure with a matching zippered case!



I even lined the inside of the zippered case... I was so darn proud of myself!



Here's a peak at the inside... I put 6 pockets in the inside for all her goodies and there are 2 pockets on the exterior. It has a hard covered bottom too.



And here's the bottom with the "feet" I put on the bottom, but that really covers up with I had to attach the straps.



I think it's quite fun for the summer and I really hope D likes it! I'm going to make a smaller version for her social worker since she has been so helpful and supportive for both of us! I think she would be very surprised!

D called me this afternoon. She sounds in very good spirits and she was just about to take a dip in the pool for her daily "floating". She said she is getting very very big! I can only imagine... She said she was thinking about me and I said, "Well, I've been thinking about you! I'm heading over to the post office right now to send you something in the mail!" Too funny! She said again how excited they were for us and it makes her so happy to know that we are going to be Little Roo's parents.

I can't believe how amazing D is. I am so grateful every day for this experience.

Little Roo Update at 31 weeks!

D's level II ultrasound this week went very well! Little Roo is as healthy as modern science can tell us she is. He looked at all her organs and joints and she is normal and growing in every way. He didn't confirm the GIRL part so we are going to go with the initial gender scan! The doctor estimates that Little Roo weighs around 3.5 pounds at this point.

D asked the doctor what the dark spots around her head were. He responded with "That's all her hair!". LOL - No bald baby here! Both D and G have lots of dark curly hair and hopefully Little Roo will be just as blessed as they are!

From the pregnancy calendar:

Week Thirty-One

• The rate of physical growth slows down just a bit, but even though she doesn't get much longer, she will gain a lot of weight the rest of the pregnancy.
• Fat continues accumulating. This layer of fat turns her skin from red to the rosy pink she will have as a newborn.
• Calcium, phosphorus and iron are being stored and his bones are growing and hardening.
• Your baby is 16.2 inches (41.1cm) long and weighs 3.3 pounds (1502gm)
• His brain enters another period of rapid growth, producing hundreds of billions of new nerve cells! Amazing!
• She may move to the rhythm of music. Studies with heart rates show that she also prefers some types of music to others -- already!
• Lungs are the only major organ left to complete development. Remember, that while you may be anxious to meet your little one that these last few weeks can be vital - with each day increasing your baby's ability to breathe on her own.
  

Quiet Times

I know... I haven't posted much lately. I've been trying to keep myself busy with a million sewing projects of my own. Most are gifts that I want to get done before Little Roo gets here. On the other hand, I am realising how many weekends we have left child-free and there is so much left to do!

D and G both have new jobs, so I haven't talked to them in a few days. Things are busy for them and I'm happy they are doing well. They did check in with their social worker yesterday and had some really nice things to say. D thanked the social worker for presenting us to her and G. Apparently D is so thrilled that they found us and even G, who was somewhat pessimistic about the whole adoption process at the beginning, couldn't be happier! D and G had a conversation about if they should buy us a baby gift or not and D said "Don't you think the baby is a pretty good present already?"

They think they are lucky to have found us. We think we are the lucky ones! All around, this was God's plan. We both happened to be at the right place at the right time. We found each other because it was the right plan. If any little thing would have gone differently, we would not be at this moment today, dreaming about a sweet baby girl that we can't wait to meet.

Crib Fabric

Bill and Jon went to Indiana for the Indianapolis 500. They had a great time and we have requested tickets for next year already. They had some rain but the weather was very nice. I had a great time at my parent's house! Biscuit was invited to come with me and she was on her very best behavior the whole time. My dad played with her constantly over the weekend and she thought the grapefruit on the ground in the backyard were all balls to play with! She'd pick them up and get a big mouthful of surprise but she loved it.

My mom and I picked out all the fabric for the crib bedding and she gave me a few peices to put in the journal that I am keeping for Little Roo. I think it is going to look great! We also picked out some polka dots fabric to make the diaper stacker and a organizer from but she hadn't cut that out before I left so I don't have that material.



I picked up some pink paisley fabric to make my own mei tai with. I haven't gotten started on it yet, but I think it will turn out great. I'm completely in love with the fabric and it's perfectly girly! I'm also going to make some portable changing pads for the diaper bag and I found some decorator remnants to make some more bags out of. I need something to keep me busy for the next 7 weeks or so!

D called me yesterday to tell me how her last doctor's appointment went. She said she is getting huge and is enjoying just floating around in the pool every night after work. It helps take the weight off because she feels so awkward. The baby is gaining weight. I'm also starting to realize how much stuff we still need to get done!

D said "This may sound like the weirdest thing ever to someone that doesn't understand this, but I am so excited for you that you are finally getting a baby! I can't wait!" I understand it perfectly but I guess it does seem very strange from the outside. D sees herself in a surrogate role. She feels she is giving us this very important gift. I am so blessed to know this amazing couple. I make it a point to tell them all the time how grateful we are. I am trying to enjoy every minute of this journey, with all the ups and downs. Adoption is so much harder than I thought it would be but it is so worth it. It has made me a stronger person, it has made Bill and I a stronger couple. It will make me a better mom!

Names

Well D did call! She's getting to be very predictable!! I love being able to talk to her a few times a week and sometimes we don't talk about the baby at all. We're just two girls who have a lot of things to talk about! I'm sure that she is concerned that our conversations will end after the baby is born but I hope they don't. I never want her to feel like I want her to go away after we take the baby home. That is not fair. I can imagine that she might need some space after the birth and I will understand and respect her feelings. I have told her that we will always be connected and she will always have us to call. I will let her know that her and G are important to us but we will let them decide how much phone contact they want with us. We don't want to make anything more difficult for them and they may choose less contact. We will have to be OK with that.

D wanted to know if we had picked a name for the baby. She told me that her and G do not want to name her. I think they are trying hard to not form too many emotional attachments to the child. I told her what we were planning on naming Little Roo and I think she liked it. I would have liked to see the expression on her face, just as I'm sure she would have liked to have seen my face when she said "You are having a little girl!" but that's not always possible. I explained that Little Roo will have two birth certificates. The first will have D and G's name on it and their name for the baby, if they choose one. The second one will be issued after finalization and will have my and Bill's name on it and Little Roo's name. I assured her that they wouldn't be erased from the birth certificate and I think she needed to know that. So perhaps they will choose to use our name that we picked for Little Roo to save confusion down the road. If they decide to choose a special name for her, that will be great too. We will have to wait and see.

D is going to have a c-section. We've known that, we've talked about it a few times. That is why I hope they are moved back here again (which they are still planning) because I know she will have good care. She asked me what I wanted to do at the hospital. Me??? My dear, you are the one having a baby! I told her that we can make a plan together of what she wants and we will go with that. I also said if she decides now that she wants us there at the hospital a lot, spending time with them and the baby together but then changes her mind when it is actually happening, that is OK. We will not be upset or angry and that we will understand that emotions are running high and we will give her the space that she needs. I said she will only be able to take one person with her to hold her hand and talk to her while the c-section is being done. She said "I'm not going to be awake!!" So maybe no one will be there with her if she is completely knocked out!

Technically there are 80 days left until D's due date. I can only assume that they are going to schedule her earlier than that. How much earlier, I don't know? She has a doctor's appointment this Friday and promised to let me know how it goes. I did tell D that if she went into labor anytime between now and whenever, we'd be on our way to her in a hurry. She liked that. I don't think she realized that we would drop everything to come be with her. Speaking of which... must talk to grandparents-to-be about taking Biscuit if the situation arises.

D and G are out on second interviews for jobs this afternoon. D is working part-time because one, she said she is getting huge, and two, G won't let her work full-time! I talked to G today too and he assured me he is taking very good care of her. He's not letting her lift anything or do anything remotely strenuous. He cooks for her and makes sure her diet is healthy. He is very sweet - they are so good together!

Happy Birthday to D!!

We are thinking of you and we hope you are having a wonderful day! Please call soon!!