Tea Party Luncheon

As a thank you to the hostesses of my baby shower, I put together a tea party luncheon for us to spend time being girly together before I am too occupied to do such fun little things. I used my china for the first time in 7 1/2 years! The menu included fruit salad, spinach salad with cranberries and candied walnuts, little chicken salad sandwiches and a ham and broccoli quiche. Dessert was a simple sorbet. It took a little work, but I wanted my "thank you" to be more than some little hostess trinket. At 9 months pregnant, I have decided this is the last big hurrah I can handle! I had to rest all afternoon to recuperate, but it was worth it!

This last pic I threw in just to prove that, yes, I do have a belly! It might have taken 9 months to get one, but it 's there and I definitely have all the discomforts of that last month!

Just think -- our next post could possibly be a birth announcement! Actually, I doubt it, it will probably be my latest list of discomfort complaints considering I technically have another 4 weeks. No one tells you before you get pregnant that it actually lasts 10 months....

My Church Baby Shower
1.18.09

A couple weeks ago I had my church shower. It was BEAUTIFUL and I was overwhelmed by the number of guests and gifts! My sweet hostesses included Katie, Amber, Annie, Kari and Kellie. They put so much work and love into this shower; it was so special! Here are a few pics from the event:

I also had an office shower a couple Fridays back. It was just as sweet and I was blessed with another fun baby celebration and more nice things for our little one! Allen and I have been so overwhelmed by the love and support of our friends and family. We pray that God continues to provide us with such a wonderful support system as we journey through parenthood!

We still have a boy!

We had our third trimester scan today to check baby's position and make sure we still have a boy. Definitely still a boy!! NO question about it. I wasn't really too worried because the ultrasound tech at our second trimester scan was so sure. But I have grown so attached to my baby boy that I could not imagine my child no longer being a boy at this point and was relieved to hear that nothing has changed!

He has been growing like crazy. My coworker thought that I even looked bigger since last week. Though I am now 33 weeks per my due date, in the ultrasound his head measured at 36 weeks and his stomach measured at 35 weeks. In fact, one due date showed February 14th! Hello?! What? The doctor then measured his femur (the largest bone in his body) which was 33 weeks. I asked if we should expect a much sooner birth than planned and my doctor still thought we should anticipate end of February/early March. Obvious next question, then -- does my child have a huge head? That could be bad on so many levels..... I guess we'll post more when we know more!

56 Days to Go!

Today is officially 32 weeks, or 8 months. Where has the time gone? Actually, I do feel like I have been pregnant for quite some time, only now I am starting to finally realize it. I have been blessed with such a smooth pregnancy overall that the new found discomforts make being pregnant much more of a reality. Good thing, I guess, because a real, live baby will be here before we know it!

Thought I would take this opportunity to share the latest with those I don't see on a regular basis:

• I still have no stretch marks, though am not holding my breath on that one. There is plenty of growing left to happen in the next couple months. My favorite belly creme is Mama Mio http://www.mamamio.com/us/finals/trbutter.html and I slather it on every day. Found it at a spa in Palm Desert. Love their products!
  
• I find it hard to breathe most of the time these days. It's like that feeling when you have absolutely eaten beyond your threshold, but I am not full.
  
• Despite that, I continue to work out fairly regularly. I had to stop all my weight training with my neck injury, but I still enjoy the cardio.
• No real swelling of of hands or feet yet, another blessing.
  
• Sometimes need help putting on my socks and shoes, especially if I have recently eaten and am even somewhat full. My belly is not that big, but it is not pliable, so bending over is tough.
• My baby is about 3 pounds at this point and my tum is heavy! Allen bought me a pregnancy wedge pillow about a month ago that I wasn't sure I would need, but has turned out to be quite helpful. There is no more back sleeping at this point and side sleeping can be tough with that heavy tum. I just tuck my little wedge under it to take off some of the pressure and it helps immensely!
• Let's see, # of bathroom trips per night are up to about 4. Every 2-3 hours or so. Some say this prepares you to get up with baby. That may be, but I currently fall right back to sleep. Not so when baby is crying and needs attention. So even with the getting up, I will enjoy it while it lasts.
• Nesting. Well, if you know me, I cannot stand clutter and love to clean and organize. Imagine that x3. I freaked out this weekend about closet clutter and not having storage bins/baskets for the closet shelves. I had to go right out and get what I needed and spent most of Saturday afternoon organizing and cleaning out. I completely wore myself out, but could go to bed satisfied (at least with that job). Next weekend I will be going through the kitchen cabinets....
• Our next ultrasound is January 13th to check baby's position and also confirm we are still having a boy! Once that is done, we can paint the room and wash all his little clothes collected thus far.
  

We start childbirth classes this week so I'll post an update on that shortly. Also need to begin interviewing pediatricians. Our hospital tour is January 17th and my church shower is January 18th. In February we will take our Infant/Child CPR class, an infant care class (more for Allen since I have lots of newborn experience) and a feeding class. So it looks like a busy next couple of months for the Gillespies! As we have more news/updates, we'll be sure to post them!

A friend of ours, Dave Christy, is a photographer and has taken some maternity photos for us. Click on the link below or paste it into your browser and enjoy!


http://www.davechristy.smugmug.com/galleries


These were taken at about 6 months and a lot has changed since then (we are 8 months today!) so we'll do a few more again soon. Pregnancy is such a blessing!