Our first trip to Labor and Delivery

Well, I am only 32 weeks, but Seth decided to give us a little scare. On Saturday, I was picking up the house and had a few Braxton Hicks contractions. I have been feeling BH contractions since 27 weeks or so, so I wasn't too concerned. At our birthing class we were told that more than 4 in an hour is something to be concerned about. I had 3 in a span of 20 minutes so I drank a big bottle of water and sat down for a little bit.
Stephen and I needed to run a few errands. I noticed that the contractions were coming every 4-5 minutes. This had me a little worried because Braxton Hicks shouldn't be timeable. I timed them for a half hour and they were very consistent so I called Labor and Delivery. The nurse was very nice and told me to monitor them at home, drink tons of water, and call back in an hour if they hadn't slowed down.Between 12:15 and 1:45 I had 20 contractions. I called Labor and Delivery again and they recommended that I come in for observation and a few tests.
Stephen was such a trouper, I could tell he was nervous and scared, but he stayed positive and kept telling me everything would be fine. I got all checked in and changed into my gown. The nurse I talked to on the phone was the nurse that took care of me. She hooked me up some monitors and did a few tests and sent them to the lab.
She came back every 20 minutes to check on me and Seth. Seth looked great, his heartbeat was strong and he was moving a lot. Everything was good with me, except for the contractions.I was not dialted and all of the tests that they ran came back good. They gave me a shot of Tributaline to stop te contractions and watched me for another hour. Things slowed down so they let me go home to rest. I have been doing just that, and I have an appointment with my regular OB tomorrow. We will have to wait and see what he has to say about all of this.I will definitely keep you posted!

The World's Best Baby Shower

This Saturday I was the guest of honor at the World's Best Baby Shower. My Sister-in-law Stacey and friend Amber (along with their army) planned and executed the perfect shower. We met once a few weeks ago and they asked me if there was anything particular that I did or did not want at the shower. I only had a few minor requests, and they made sure that those requests were fulfilled. They would not share any details with me, so I was very anxious and excited.
When I arrived, a lot of guests were already there because it had been raining so I am sure a lot of them left early to allow time for traffic. I even had an extra special guest: My grandma from Oregon drove down to surprise me. I couldn't believe my eyes! I was in absolute shock at how much work they put into this. The decorations were beautiful and the food was to die for. They were even up until 2:30am the previous morning finishing the cake.
My friends and family were so generous with their gifts. I could not believe how many presents baby Seth received. I tried to open them quickly, but it still took almost 2 hours. We got a lot of clothes, hand made blankets/quilts, and our pack 'n play, carseat, stroller, and exersaucer.
The shower definitely ended with a bang when my Grandma started a small fire on one of the tables. It was an accident and we were able to get it out quickly, but it was still a big ending to an even bigger celebration. Thank you to Stacey and Amber for an amazing day!

The table centerpieces and favors:

The beautiful cake:

More presents than I could have ever imagined:

My hostesses Stacey and Amber

The Grandma's to be and I:

This weekend we got another chance to see sweet baby Seth. We had our 3D/4D ultrasound done. I have been looking forward to this for weeks! I was a little worried at first, because Stephen is not a big fan of the 3D pictures. They always freak him out. He knew how important it was to me though so he agreed to get them done. Our appointment was at 9am so we went to the donut shop first and had some sugar to get Seth moving. As soon as the ultrasound tech turned on the machine, it was amazing. It so neat to be able to see what your baby looks like well before he is born.We spent at least 30 minutes watching Seth move around. He was very shy and didn;t want to show off his boy parts, and he had his hand in his face the whole time, but as far as I am concerned, he is the cutest baby EVER!!! He has a perfect little nose and the cutest chubbiest little cheeks. I think he is going to look a lot like Stephen, but we will see. We are so in love already and can't wait to meet Seth in 10 short weeks.Here are a few of our favorite pictures
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30 weeks

* How far along?: 30 weeks 3 days.

* Total weight gain: +20

* How big is baby?: 3-3.5 pounds and 18 inches long

* Maternity clothes?: Everything. I also enjoy sweat pants and pajamas after work.

* Stretch marks?: I think a few have started to show their ugly faces right under my belly button. They are still very light, but they are there (unfortunately)

* Sleep?: Less and less. If I can get comfortable, I sleep really well, but I have been getting up at least 3 times per night.

* Best moment this week?:My wonderful baby shower and seeing Seth at our 3D ultrasound.

* Movement?: All the time now. He is quite the night owl and likes to jump around when I am trying to sleep. He doesn't like to move when people want to feel him though.

* Food cravings?: I have been craving cereal still and turkey sandwiches.

* Labor signs?: Just a few Braxton Hicks.

* Belly button in or out?: Still in, but I am not sure how long that will last.

*Sex? It's a Boy!!! ***Seth Allen***

* What I miss: Sitting down comfortably and getting a good nights sleep.

* What I'm looking forward to: Going through all of my baby shower gifts (tons of clothes) and getting them organized and put away. We also have out tour of Labor and Delivery tomorrow.

* Milestone: Every week seems like a milestone.

Nursery Progress

Well, our nursery is far from complete, but I still wanted to AW the progress that we have made. Of course I forgot to take pictures before we started, but the room was a guest bedroom with a full size bed, TV stand, and dresser. Since we have started Operation Nursery, we have replaced the carpet and baseboards, painted, and assembled the crib, glider, and changing table/dresser. There is still a lot of decorating to be done, but I love the way things are coming along.