Spoiler alert: The name

Fill in the blanks! The chalkboard is waiting for a name!

Haha! You didn't actually think after all this time I would actually divulge, now, did you? Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I hate surprises, and that I have trouble keeping secrets...this one has been easier because, well---we haven't actually settled on one yet. We do have a middle name, which is no secret, I want my first born son to have his dad's first name as his middle. If I am correct, this is tradition observed by both the older generations of the Zentil and Vendrame famiglias. I am one for sticking with tradition. So, surprise, surprise, the boy's middle name is Nicholas.

A little birdie told me that my grandmother is dying to know what the boy's name is, so that she can stop referring to him as "the boy". Sorry grandma, but this is all the information you're going to get till he makes his arrival.

I'd love to hear the names that you think the Zentils might name a son..We'll see if anyone is right!

THIRTY SIX weeks

How far along? 36 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 34 lbs 

Maternity clothes? As mentioned in last week's post, my choices are pretty much between a navy blue or gray striped shirt. Today happens to be a navy blue day, but may end up with me in a dress since the forecast calls for high 70's... Heck, I might even brave a bikini in the backyard for a half hour or two..okay, probably not, but it's nice enough weather if I decided to!

Stretch marks? Can't tell. 

Sleep: It's a joke this week. The boy gets himself into some pretty interesting positions, and seems to do so mostly in the middle of the night--that's some raging party he is throwing in there before he moves out. I am able to catch naps during the day which helps. I'll sleep when I can get it.

Best moment this week: Apparently he turned head down after 8 weeks of being oblique breech! I had read that women who have uterine anomalies like I do, tend to have more breech babies, especially if the fetus doesn't assume the head down position by 32ish weeks. Granted, my information was internet based, but still..it had me thinking that a c-section was probable. The other "best" moment was having NZ at my non-stress test this week. He had a chance to hear the galloping heartbeat and thrashing child for a good 20 minutes, and even recorded it on his phone.

Miss Anything? Yes. I miss having my hair highlighted. I am trying to hold out until the baby is here to get a cut and color, but I may give in sooner and just have it cut to give me some semblance of a person who actually cares how they look, because I do! Right now I am rocking some serious ombre hair with zero style.

Movement: Holy swear word--yes! It's actually been pretty constant..More of a rolling or shifting, but there are times it looks like he's trying to break free by any means necessary. It actually takes my breath away sometimes.

Food cravings: Ice. Lemonade. Sour patch kids.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Chicken.

Gender: Boy

Labor Signs: Uncomfortable contractions for a good hour late Tuesday night got me thinking--is he coming early? But they subsided before any waking up of the husband sleeping next to me was done.I'll spare the details, but the Ob says I am progressing towards labor, so it could be soon or it could still be a few weeks. Depends on if I take after my mom or not. ( She saw her OB a couple days before I was born and told that it might still be a few weeks--instead she woke up at 2 a.m. two days later and ended up having me in her bathroom!! I came that  fast, without contractions or warning!!!)

Symptoms: The carpal tunnel is getting pretty painful.

Belly Button in or out? sorta outtie

Wedding rings on or off? Off.

Happy or Moody?: Happy.

Looking forward to: Being able to have NZ make the calls to family to announce that he has arrived!

Homemade Holidays: Etched Casserole Dishes

For the ladies in our families, I made etched casserole dishes.

I designed individualized templates with my silhouette SD and let my machine cut them out of contact paper. I then peeled off the template, placed it on the glass, and brushed on etching cream in all the negative spaces.

The directions say to leave it on for 5 minutes, but I learned quickly that 5 minutes wasn't enough---and actually had to re-lay two of the templates ( that's hard to do on a long last name!) and re-etch. Pain in the ass. So, to save yourself the frustration, lay the cream on heavily, and wait 10 minutes before rinsing off the cream. It made a world of difference.

[After 5 minutes, not completely etched]

[After 10 minutes, completely etched]

Easy, and useful..now everyone gets their dishes back after a family get together.

Eviction Notice

It seems that my little tenant is running out of space in the room uterus I had renovated for him. 

In the past week, he has found new nooks and crannies and ohmygawwwwd body parts to move aside to make himself more comfortable. I feel like he is literally trying to break free, like it's a prison or something. Either that or he's throwing a rager and punching holes in the walls.

photo courtesy of: surpriseblessing.blogspot.com

I LOVE being pregnant, and I can't wait to do it again..aside from the anxiety, which I think I have managed pretty dang well, it's been a wonderful experience. I don't take a single day for granted. 

That being said, I am ready to serve eviction papers on my little guy. I think he is ready to get out into the world too. We find out today if he is still lying oblique breech (he's maintained this position for the past 8 weeks), and my honest feeling is that he remains in this position or in a transverse position. If this is the case, i'm ready to talk C-section! After the road we've taken, I just want him out safely. I don't want to have to labor a breech baby and then end up with an emergency C-section if we can avoid it. I'd just assume get it scheduled, get in, have it done, meet him face to face, and then deal with the recovery of a C-section versus the whole emergent thing. Sure my mindset is a bit different than many, but I'm okay with it.

The last few nights, he has gotten himself into a position where I swear he is sideways. Like perpendicular to the position he SHOULD be in.. We're talking head poking out my right side, butt above my belly button, and feet to my back--and it hurts is uncomfortable as all get out. My belly is a lopsided mess. No torpedo, no watermelon, but more like I have a Chevy engine hidden under there. All big and bulky and awkward. He fires up that engine and there's no sitting still or getting comfortable. 

oblique lying fetus

Since I'm measuring full-term, and the Boy's estimated weight is over 6 lbs, I feel confident in serving him an eviction notice, and allowing 2 weeks for him to get his stuff together and vacate the premises. 

Baby boy, I love you. Your dad loves you....and we're really excited to meet you! There's a whole lot more room out here in the outside world!

Homemade Holiday: Quiet Book

A couple years back, I made our first born nephew a quiet book when he turned three. This year, one of our other nephews also turned three, and seems to be drawn to my childhood quiet book every time he comes over to "Uncle Nick's house". So, I decided that I would make him his very own book and give it to him for Christmas. I call this one Quiet book 2.0, since I have made some changes to my original pattern.

The main change I made with this book, was that I opted to use felt for the pages, like my friend Liz , over at A crafty B, did for her daughter's book. The felt just feels sturdier, and is easier to snap, button, and velcro to, than the quilting cotton that I used on my first version.

I like quiet books because they work on a child's fine motor skills, and they can go at their own pace. Some pages are meant to be challenging, with things like lacing, or weaving, and others focus on color recognition, counting, and day to day tasks, such as snapping, buttoning and using velcro.

Upon completion of the pages, I made a canvas cover complete with carrying handles, so our nephew can take his book on-the-go.

I hope it provides hours of entertainment ( & some quiet time for his mama!) for years to come.

The crib: a temporary nursery

At first I thought we'd keep the baby in our room for the first few months, but we both decided that our house is small enough that having the baby in his own room, about 8 feet from us, will be the golden ticket.

The Boy's green, gray & navy room

The Boy will get his very own nursery come March/April, with a real crib . I have my eye on this crib, (Walmart's BabyMod Olivia), toy storage  like this (Ikea Expedit) and all things little boyish..You can bet I am already "pinning" ideas all over pinterest so when the time comes, I have everything all together.

For now though, he's sharing his room with a full-size bed, so the room can still double as a guest room for out of town visitors after his birth. We are using a pack-n-play for his first few months, and it's totally portable, so if people do come visit, we'll roll it into our room or the office so our guests aren't subject to midnight feedings and diaper changes.

DIY Chalkboard

I made a chalkboard and hung it by his bassinet. I used Rustoleum chalkboard paint in black, and it was really easy. It will eventually serve as a "Welcome [insert name]" with his birthdate, time and birth stats. I should start to practice writing some cool fonts like the ones used on Little Baby Garvin's signs.

visit Little Baby Garvin to see her adorable nursery

A couple years back, I made wooden "quote" signs as Christmas gifts for my family. I ended up with one that I had intended to use in our daughter's room, and although she never made it to a nursery of her own, I have kept that sign in the room ever since....and wouldn't you know...it goes perfectly with my make-shift color scheme. The verse is " Sempre Bacilo Buona Notte" which loosely translated from Italian means, "Always Kiss Me Goodnight". I love it. I must have known that it would eventually fit perfectly into a little boy nursery...because most everything else I had for our daughter has been sold or given away..but that sign has stayed. I'm happy about that (=

My DIY changing pad cover & sign

Thank you to my ol man for being a furniture mover, and bassinet assembler on his Saturday morning. 

Dare I say it??

Here it goes.

I feel ready for this baby.

THIRTY FIVE weeks

How far along? 35 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 33 lbs ( although I am disgruntled with the PA at my OB's office...she just so non-chalantly slid the weight past the balancing point, and wrote down a gain of 4 lbs since last week!) Being a tad bit OCD, I had done a pre-emptive weigh in at home prior to the appointment to avoid any surprises because she did the same thing last week..According to my scale, I gained half a pound this week, so I'm going with that (=

Maternity clothes? My day-to-day choices revolve around which of two shirts to wear..Navy blue or Gray and white striped. Yep, down to TWO shirts that cover my belly. Although I have grown all over, I really am pretty much one of those ALL belly girls.

Stretch marks? Not that I can see

Sleep: Decent. 

Best moment this week: Being told that I am measuring 2 weeks ahead, and even though I am 35 weeks, the boy measures full term! If  labor starts, there's no trying to stop it now. My other favorite moment this week was just going to the Apple store at the mall with NZ one night--with him traveling and me being mega pregnant, we really haven't gone out together very much..So yes, the mall date ( and dinner at HotDog on a Stick) was a highlight this week. I love the little things we do together.

Miss Anything? Not this week.

Movement: Again, the anxiety took over for 2 days straight, and although his kick counts always clocked in as directed, his movement throughout the day slowed a lot compared to what I was feeling over the weekend. By Wednesday, he was back to himself, and during the non-stress test on Thursday he had my OB laughing at the magnitude of  his movement.

Food cravings: Ice. (Discovering that an ice craving could be indicative of an iron deficiency , I have made an effort to eat more iron rich foods to see if it helps--so far I still just really really like love ice)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Chicken.

Gender: Boy

Labor Signs: A few contractions in the past few days.

Symptoms: My wrists have been hurting throughout the night. I know from working for a Hand Surgeon that pregnancy can bring on symptoms of carpal tunnel as swelling and water retention can put pressure on the carpal tunnel...so hopefully its short lived and goes away after delivery.

Belly Button in or out? sorta outtie

Wedding rings on or off? Off. Booooooo! I decided it was better to take them off myself instead of having them cut off if I have to have a C-section or anything. I do have a band I am wearing so I don't feel all that naked yet.

Happy or Moody?: Nervous. Anxious. We've gotten this far and I just don't want anything to go wrong between now and delivery! I want to see his face, hear his cry....and just know that we've got a healthy, living baby to bring home. 

Looking forward to: Christmas and a few days with my ol man off of work.