37 week appointment

I had my 36 week appointment this morning before school.  My blood pressure and weight are good, Jackson's heart sounds great, and I am about one centimeter dialated.  When she felt Jackson, she thought he seemed small so she wants to do an ultrasound next week to see how big he is.  Of course we don't expect him to be a basketball player; neither Mommy nor Papi are over 5'6".  I'm actually really excited about having the ultrasound.  We haven't seen him since our 18 week appointment.  I hope to find that he is growing just as he should be and will be a happy, healthy baby boy!

Tomorrow morning, Mom and I are going to the Labor & Delivery class at the hospital.  Unfortunately, Jose can't go with us because he has to work.  Here's to hoping the class will ease my mind...

25 days!

I didn't intend to post anything this evening when I stopped by the blog to show Jose the picture I posted of him. When the page loaded, I saw the pregnancy tracker on the left and saw the number 25!  Jackson is due to be here in 25 days.  Oh my goodness... it is crunch time.  We have three final things on our to-do list for this week:

• Find a pediatrician (have any recommendations?)
• Clean out my car and install the carseat (this will be easier if the snow melts and it warms up outside), and;
• Pack the bag for the hospital (again... what do I need and what should I leave at home?)

At my check-up last week, I was not dialated.  The doctor simply said, "His heart sounds great.  He's not doing anything."  I take that as a good thing.  We go back to the doctor this Friday for another check-up.  I will let you all know how we are doing!  

He thinks he is funny

Dear Jackson,

I want to warn you about your papi.  He really thinks he is funny.  He thought it would be funny to put a small watermelon in his shirt to mock us.  Here is a picture for proof -

Yes, you have made my belly grow.  And yes, my back does hurt after a long day.  But I do NOT walk around looking as terrible as he portrays.  Honestly, I think I look pretty good for being 36 weeks.

Really, your father is a funny guy.  He makes me laugh a lot, which you must like because you always start moving when I have a good laugh.  One day, you will appreciate his humor just like I do.  I can already picture you and your papi playing and laughing together!  :)

I love you forever,

Mommy

Catching Up, Part 2 - Decorating

I have been excited about decorating a nursery for our baby boy for quite some time now.  Since we are locked into this one bedroom apartment for two more months, we have to share our bedroom space with Jackson.  As told in the previous post, we made him a nursery area in our large bedroom.  

Kelly and I spent a few hours putting the bedding and decor together.  We spent a lot of time gluing the pieces of his name together (Jose had previously painted them) and planning what to do with it.  I have some small animal cutouts I want to add to his name, but I want to wait until there is more space so it doesn't look too cluttered.

I'm sure Jackson will be just fine without a nursery of his own.  Most parent's have their newborns in their bedroom for the first month of life anyway.  It will make the middle of the night feedings and changings a little easier for mommy and papi!  That being said, I will be able to make the nursery I envision when we move at the end of February.  Here are some pictures of what we have for now:

Thanks for all of your help, Kelly!  You are already an awesome aunt!

Catching Up, Part 1

After a short hiatus and much harassment from my sister, I am ready to catch up the blog!  There are a few things that have happened since the last update.  I'm not sure my attention span is long enough to write about them all in one sitting, so expect a few updates today. 

First things first... making room for Jackson:

Now space is an issue in a one bedroom apartment... but we make it work until we can move into a two bedroom.  Over Christmas break, I spent a few days cleaning out my huge walk-in closet.  I donated 7 bags of clothes to the Goodwill, cleaned out two huge double crates of binders and folders from my undergraduate years at EKU, and Jose rearranged my totes and other stored things.  We were able to squeeze my chest of drawers into the closet and move the bed to a different wall to make more floor space in the bedroom. 

Mom and Kelly bought Jackson's bed and dresser a few months back.  It has been stored at Mom and Dad's house since they purchased it.  Jose and I decided to go pick it up last week and work on getting it all put together.  He and I took my aunt's truck to my parent's house.  Mom and Jose worked hard to haul the heavy boxes up from the basement and into the truck.  Mom followed us home and I watched as they carried the dresser and bed up the stairs again and into the apartment.  I know it was no easy task as the dresser alone weighed more than 130 pounds.  Thank you, Mom.  I wish I had thought to grab my camera to capture a few shots of their teamwork.

As soon as Mom left, we started unpacking the bed box.  I pulled every piece out to make sure everything was there before we got started.  Per my count and quick glance at each piece, we were ready to put it together.  I read the instructions as Jose worked on getting the first pieces together.  Assembly was smooth sailing...

Smooth sailing until we went to put on the front.  It was the last major part of the crib.  Jose went to pick up the front rail and when he did, the leg fell off!  It didn't fall off in a way that it could be put back together, either.  It was a solid piece of wood that was BROKE.  I checked the other side and it was cracked in the smae place.  It wasn't a load bearing leg, but there was no way to fix it.

I called Mom while Jose worked on taking the bed apart.  She found the receipt and I called Target to see if they had another so we could exchange it.  After talking with two people, I was told to bring the bed back in and they would hold the last one they had in stock.  Jose had it all packed back in the box and he hauled it to the truck himself.  We stopped by Mom's to get the receipt and headed to Target.  Once there, they did not want to take it back.  They said the receipt was expired by 9 days and there was nothing she could do about it.  I told her, "Well, I'm not keeping a $300 baby bed that is broken."  She said, "Well, wait.  Let me call my manager, he might be able to do this one thing to let the computer accept the exchange."

The manager lacked customer service skills.  He walked up and the woman in guest services explained to him what the problem was.  He looked at me and said, "Sorry, there is nothing I can do."  I said to him, "I'm NOT keeping a broken bed!"  (Keep in mind that a guy that worked in the stock room already had the baby bed loaded to a flat and at the front door, ready to load it in the truck.)  He told me, "Well, the only thing you can do is call Guest Relations and if they say it's okay, I can exchange it for you."  My response, "Well, call them."  I thought to myself, how rude.  Is it the customer's job to call a corporate office to approve a transaction?  Well, I made a bit of a scene.  Being 8 months pregnant, I was heated (literally and figuratively).  I took off my coat and threw it at Jose as the manager handed me the phone and walked away from the service desk.  I never had the chance to talk to anyone before the manager returned and said, "Hang up the phone."  He looked at his associate and said, "Just put it in as a defect and let her have the one he already brought up."

THANK YOU!  Was it really that difficult?  Clearly, the bed was defective (as was the management staff).  The stock guy took it out to the truck and said, "He wasn't going to give you a break was he?  I think it helped that I already had the bed ready for you"  I thanked him for his help and took off towards home, praying that this bed was in better condition.   

Jose lugged the second bed upstairs and we DOUBLE checked all of the parts this time before we tightened the first screw.  Everything looked good so we started assembling the parts.  Assembly went smooth. 

Here are a few pictures of building the bed:

And the finished product...

 

The bed is gorgeous!  We love it!

The dresser was tough to put together.  It was in about a million pieces, but we managed to figure it all out.  We only put one drawer together incorrectly.  It was a quick fix.  Here is a picture of it upside down as Jose finishes up the last few parts:

Despite the drama and hassle of taking the first bed back, we were able to get the furniture together.  It is all very sturdy and will last for years to come.  Thanks again Mom and Kelly for getting this great gift for Jackson.  He will enjoy sleeping in it (I hope he sleeps well!).

Coming up in Part 2... decorating Jackson's half of the room!