Baby Shower

Last week my co-workers at Americo threw me a Baby Shower. It was really nice, they brought in food and decorated the aisle we work on with everything pink and ordered a delicious cake.

We got lots of wonderful gifts for our little girl and I've been working this week to find the perfect place in her room for each gift. She has gotten some of the cutest clothes and I can't wait to dress her in each outfit as she grows. She's going to be one well dressed woman!

Here are a couple of my favorite things we got that day. Could it be because they're sparkly and pink?!?

We are so lucky to have co-workers, friends and family who have given us such great gifts for our little girl!

3D Sonogram

Last Saturday we went for a 3D Sonogram. Even before we got pregnant, we had decided that we didn't want to have a 3D scan, but I had a change of heart and decided that I REALLY wanted to have it done. After looking up prices and information, I talked Tyler into agreeing to have it done. He thought it was kind of silly, but he said we could do it, so I called to get it scheduled.
Both of our moms and my sister came down to go to the appointment with us. It was at a house that the owners have turned into a Maternity dream. There is a little baby boutique with the cutest clothes, a second hand maternity clothing store, a maternity spa and the room for the 3D Ultrasounds. It was a great place to go because it was so cozy and we were welcome to bring our families with us.
We hadn't had an ultrasound since week 20 when we found out that Baby Sidwell is a girl, so we were excited to see her and even more excited to see her sweet little face in 3D!
The experience was so neat! She was kicking and Tyler had put his hand on my stomach and was poking her back after each kick. We could see her smile on the screen when he would poke back, which was about the neatest thing yet! Of course, both Grandmas were shrieking with happiness to see her face and each time they would make noise, our baby would smile and react.
The scan was about 30 minutes and it was the greatest time to interact with her and to see her face. They reconfirmed that she's a girl (which was something in the back of my mind that has been a worry. Everything we have is pink and I keep hearing stories about how a baby is born opposite of the gender that the parents were told).
We have a DVD with the scan that we can watch again and again and a CD with 70 images of her that we were able to print off. I've got a framed picture of her smiling on my desk at work and it's just so sweet to look at and imagine how much cuter she will be in person in just a couple more months.

Baby Class

For the past two Monday evenings, we have gone to the hospital for a few hours for our "Childbirth Prep Class." I like to call it Baby Class, but the name doesn't matter. So far, so good. It's a little hard to come straight home from work and head there until 9, but we only have one more session and we'll be done.
The first class was a little boring. There was lots of lecture and videos about the stages of labor and how the whole process works. The second part of the class was about massage and ways that Tyler can help me through labor by using massage. That was the best part of the night for me! I got to be the recipient of several different types of massage while Tyler practiced the techniques, which was WONDERFUL!
Our second class, we learned about the different labor positions and got to walk through the labor stations while I practiced my breathing and Tyler helped with massage. It was actually pretty fun. Even though it was a quiet time with theraputic harp music playing, Tyler and I were the only couple that was laughing during a few stations. It was just funny to look at ourselves and we couldn't stay serious... oh well!
The last part of the class was about the interventions of labor. We started our list of many questions for when we have our consultation with Anesthesia. Because of my history with back injury and surgeries, we have MANY MANY questions about having an epidural and what our options and risks are. We will meet with the doctors for that in late December and we'll know more about what our plan will be once we have a chance to meet with them.
So, we've got one more class. The teacher told us that we'll talk about C-Sections and then take a tour of the Maternity Ward. I'm really looking forward to getting to see the unit and more of the hospital. We've only got 10 weeks left until our sweet baby girl is here!

It's Baby Season!

Lately, it seems like it's Baby Season for all of our friends and many of our co-workers. We found out a few weeks ago that another couple in our friends circle is expecting a baby and are due in April! At Bre's workplace, there are 8 babies who will be born between February and April. Tyler has a few co-workers who are expecting about the same time. In our friends' group, there was a baby girl born in July. We have friends who are expecting a boy just a few days after our daughter is born, Bre's cousin had a baby boy about a month ago AND now there will be another baby born in April.
It's just so exciting that so many people we know are having children around the same time. That means that our daughter will have playmates her age wherever we go! It's exciting to talk to our friends about how our children will play together and graduate the same year and all of the fun things that go along with growing up together!
It's amazing to think how our lives will look in the next year. When we hang out with friends, it will mostly be at someone's house with our kids playing together. So much different than when we used to gather for dinner and go out to a bar for the night. We are excited about how life is changing and how our next adventure will look with our daughter in our lives. And to think we'll have many friends along the same path with us makes it even more exciting!

The Nursery

A few weekends ago some of our family came down to help us work on things for the house and get the nursery painted and furniture built.
I should have taken a before picture, but the room was completely white. It was one of the only ones that we hadn't changed since we moved in. We painted it two soft shades of pink with a cute black and white border in the middle.

We got the room done a little early, but with the holidays coming up, we wanted it done so that we had a place to put her things as we are getting them and that it would be done if she decides to come a little early.

We love how it turned out. It's a room she can grow in and it doesn't scream "baby". (Well expept for the crib and changing table, but you know what I meant). I like to go in there and sit and imagine what it will be like when she's here. Tyler says that I'm like a kid who lays under the Christmas tree and can't wait for the presents... and he's right.

The other day I was doing laundry and couldn't find Ryder (our dog). I went in the nursery and he was under her crib playing with one of his toys. It just made me smile because he's spending time in there too and I hope that once she's here they'll be best friends and they'll play in her room together.

We still have things to add, like a rocker and a book shelf, but it's perfect for now and I can't wait to see it grow as we get more of her things.