32 weeks 1 day

Hi, all! Well, I’m going to start naming my progress based upon my due date, as it still hasn’t changed. I was originally going off of my fertility software’s gauge, but there’s a day difference (not that it really matters at this stage), and I want to stay accurate to my due date.

Anyway, here I am today, 32 weeks 1 day. The hubby was nice enough to take a pic of me, and though I think the ones I take myself are better, I know how much you all love to see my face (which I still turned away because all of the face-forward photos looked really dumb–seriously, bad).

32 weeks, 1 day

We had a baby appointment this morning, and she’s growing like a bean sprout. She’s actually measuring bigger than 32 weeks 1 day–more like 33 weeks. The midwife said it’s totally normal, and a good thing! She’s head down already, and though she could still turn again, the midwife said that it’s really rare for them to make that change back. They’ll check at each appointment, just in case. Her heartbeat is still hanging out at around 140. Today was closer to 135. Again, really great and consistent. My blood pressure is awesome, as always (thank goodness for such good genes!), and my weight gain is steady as well. Overall, a clean bill of health for both Baby Girl and me! Couldn’t be happier.

We start our childbirth classes on Wednesday night, and both hubby and I are excited for them. There will be four sessions, and I’m sure we’ll come out with plenty of questions and answers. Good thing I will see another midwife in two weeks exactly, and then once per week after then. Lots of appointments in which to ask all those burning questions. We’re getting down to the wire!

Diploma, where are you?

As you all know, I graduated with my MA in Written Communication from EMU last winter semester (spring semester most everywhere else). And I’ve been waiting for my diploma ever since. That little piece of paper really means nothing–but it’s something to me. I’ve worked hard to get to where I am, and darn it, I want to hang it on my wall! I called last week because I still hadn’t received it, and though universities are notorious for being slow, this was getting a little ridiculous. They said 6 to 8 weeks, and I graduated in April. Yeah, that’s a lot longer than 6 to 8 weeks. The nice man I spoke with in Records and Registration informed me that mine had gotten damaged in shipping to the university from the printer and that he had had to order a new one. And then the new president of EMU recalled all the diplomas from this year because of a revamp in the appearance (or something like that–I know they were talking about starting a new color scheme last year). So mine was doubly behind. But I received a phone call from UPS yesterday saying that a shipment from R&R was due to arrive today between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. (how nice of them to narrow it down for us) and that someone was going to have to sign for it.

So that little diploma might be there when I get home from work. And then I’m going to frame it and lovingly stare at it for all of five seconds before getting back to my day. But at least it will be there. And it’s mine.

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

I picked up this book (and then the remaining books in the series) on a recommendation from a good friend of mine whose taste in literature is similar to my own. I was between Sookie Stackhouse books (which are way better than the show, by the way), waiting for the most recent book to arrive from Amazon.com, so I started on Dead Witch Walking.

It is, to say the least, great.

Kim Harrison has created a world that is chock full of possibilities. Vampires, witches, demons, pixies, trolls, leprechauns, and all other supernatural creatures of lore are commonplace, and this helps to make the world very dense. There’s a lot going on in the first book. We’re not only introduced to this world and the main characters that inhabit it, but there are complexities Harrison only touches on–like the ley line witches who tap into some sort of portal to the ever-after, which is very dangerous and deadly if used incorrectly. Also, there are two kind of vampires–day vampires and dead vampires–and we only receive a short explanation of each. A lot of the world we find out along the way–almost in a stumbling manner. That can be frustrating at times, but the characters are fun enough to make it worth the ride. The storyline is pretty solid, though I felt like we got a little lost at times (again with the stumbling). When the main character, Rachel, decides to turn into a mink to break into the bad guy’s office and then gets caught and then gets put in the underground, black market rat fight rings, I thought we might be getting a little off topic. I know she was using it as a means for Rachel to escape the bad guy, but really, she could have done it in a less confusing manner.

Nonetheless, the story and the characters are captivating, and she has a lot to work with for future texts. My only big complaint–and it has nothing to do with the story–is that this was the worst proofread book I’ve read in a long time. We’re talking spelling errors, inconsistent name spellings (it will be Francis and then Frances–on the same page!), punctuation errors, grammar issues, etc. And there were even copyediting problems–sentences would just stop making sense. This only happened a few times, but it was enough to make me take notice. It’s bad. And it’s not like it’s only in the last quarter of the book, which is common because the editor pushes the proofreader to finish the job right away, or they pull the book from the proofreader in order to meet a deadline, and the last part of the book gets neglected. This happens all the time, and though it’s frustrating as hell still, it’s almost to be expected if there is going to be any proofreading issue. No, the proofreading problems are throughout the text, almost from the beginning, and that leads me to believe either the editor didn’t have it proofread professionally (by someone other than the author) or they had a really bad proofreader on the job. Or maybe they didn’t have enough funding to hire a proofreader. That happens, too. When I see something like this, I feel bad for the author. It reflects poorly on them, though those of us in publishing realizes that it’s really the publisher’s fault. Well, that’s not entirely true. The author shares a large part of the responsibility of how the final product turns out. They do see proofs (at least they do at our house). Hmmm…. I could go on and on, but you get the point.

Obviously, the few issues I had with the story and the major problem of the proofreading aren’t going to keep me from reading the rest of the series. I have all of them on my bookshelf, and I’m going to be starting The Good, the Bad, and the Undead tonight, just as soon as I’m done writing this post. I really do recommend Dead Witch Walking to those of you who enjoy a good urban/modern fantasy; just don’t pay attention to the proofreading. Otherwise, you’ll get the twitches.

Camcorder Hunting

There’s something to be said for living so far away from family and starting a little family of your own–we need to update our technology. That said, I have a new iMac computer, so we have very easy-to-use chat capabilities, but I think we’re going to have to learn how to use Skype. That one will be new to me. Way back in college, the hubby (who was “the boyfriend” and then “the fiance”) and I used MSN Messenger to chat, but boy howdy, was the quality low and there were no voice capabilities, despite our both having microphones.

We have a relatively new digital camera that we’re pretty happy with, but I’m still bugging my dear friend, J, who may be selling his old Canon 5D sometime in the near future. I’m pretty sure we’re at the top of the bidding list. It would be nice to consistently take high quality pictures.

All that said, we’re in the market for a camcorder. I really feel to need to capture moments in our baby’s life for us and her, but also for my family who is so far away. I love the Internet and all it has to offer these long distance relationships. We have never owned a camcorder in our life (my parents have always had one, but as an adult, I’ve never owned one); I mean, our phones have recording capabilities, but they’re pretty terrible, if we’re being completely honest. Anyway, we’re looking for something compact and easy to use and decently priced. I was looking at the Flip Ultra Series Camcorder. I’ve heard good things about it, and it seems to have the highest rating on Amazon.com for its price range. But the hubby was looking at other ones (he’s a big research fiend). Not sure which one he is leaning towards, but I like the Flip. I think we’ll have to look at Consumer Reports to see what they have to say. Any recommendations?

Art has arrived!

Baby Girl’s art arrived yesterday (so fast). It’s gorgeous! And huge! I often forget how large 8 x 10 really is for an image. We’re going to mat and frame these, so they’re going to be much larger when it’s all said and done. I’ll post pictures once we have them ready and hung up in her room. Yay for progress!

Baby Carriers 4 Us

I received a ton of recommendations on baby carriers, but I’m still trying to figure out what might be best for us. Of course, we can’t really know what will be best until she gets here and we try them out on her. I’ve looked at several different kinds of carriers–pouches/slings, wraps, and baby carriers. I know we’re probably going to purchase an Ergo Baby Carrier because I know it’s something we’ll use for a long time, and it’s something the hubby will be able to use easily when he’s by himself with her once she’s older. But I’m a bit uncomfortable with the way they set up their carrier for infants. I just don’t think it will be ideal for use around the house. I plan on using it for longer periods of time.

That’s when I started looking more seriously at pouches and wraps. Wraps unnerve me a bit–I feel like I need another college degree to be able to use them. You wrap the fabric around yourself in just the right way to create a holder for your baby. I think they’re darn nifty and am impressed with anyone who can use them without looking at the instructions online over and over again. Then again, if you do look at the instructions online over and over again, I’m still impressed because you’re figuring out how to use this complicated piece of material. So I was looking at pouches/slings for Baby Girl, especially for use when she’s little still. I looked at the Maya Wrap, and though it’s beautiful, I don’t think it’s right for me. I don’t like how the baby is positioned in it when they’re tiny. And that huge flap of unused material seems cumbersome. And I’ll be honest–I don’t think the hubby would be into it. It just wasn’t working for me. So I looked at the Sprout Pouch, which I found through la stella blu (a really great website and resource for those of us who are new to babywearing). I am digging how it’s set up and the materials they use, but there are no retailers in the area that carry the Sprout Pouch, so I can’t try it out without first purchasing it. I could return it within 60 days for a full refund, but gosh darn it, that’s a lot of work just to try it on. I also don’t like the fact that pouches/slings have to be sized specifically to you–meaning the hubby, who is 6′ to my 5′5″ and who is thin and muscular to my busty and curvy, probably won’t be able to use the same pouch/sling as me. Not cool at all. The Ergo is pretty universal, which is a plus.

So, after checking out what my cousin, Jennifer, used for her kids, I decided to give the Moby Wrap (one of those amazing feats of material craziness) another look-see. They have a great website with lots of detailed instructions on how to wrap yourself and how to carry the baby in different ways. I guess I had never really thought about the fact that I would wrap myself first and then put the baby in. Yeah, I’m a total babywearing noob, so please bear with me. So that took care of the whole “how the hell do I wrap myself with this crazy contraption while holding a tiny, possibly squirming baby?” thing. And then I saw that you can face your baby out once it gets bigger in the Lotus Hold. Of course, you have to hold the squirming baby and wrap her in it while preparing this hold, but the ones where they’re tiny, you wrap yourself first (or at least most of the way, allowing for modification after you get them in place). Why is the facing out so important? Well, the Ergo doesn’t allow for facing out. It’s a part of their philosophy, and while I totally respect that, I know my baby, if she’s anything like her cousins, her mommy, or her aunties, she will want to see the world around her ASAP. So I really like the idea of having a carrier that will allow for that–or not. It’s up to us, and we can change her around if we feel she’s getting over-stimulated.

Now all of these ideas are assumptions, really, as we haven’t gone to try out any of the carriers. Women all over this country and all over the world have used pouches/slings, wraps, and baby carriers with great results, even if I don’t think they’re right for me. (Had to put that in there since I feel like I’m talking a little smack.) We will be heading to Ann Arbor in a few weeks, and The Little Seedling in A2 carries a wide variety of baby carriers, including the Ergo and the Moby Wrap. I think that will be a great time to find out if I’m totally crazy in said assumptions and to find the right carrier(s) for us. I’ll keep you posted, and I’ll even take pictures because the hubby trying on the Moby Wrap for the first time will be a priceless Hallmark moment! Ah, I love that he is completely into this daddy thing–right down to trying on wraps.

Baby Blog

I was determined to not let this blog become a baby blog. And I know I didn’t try that hard. But honestly? The only interesting thing about me right now is that I’m gestating a human being. And it’s really what everyone wants to hear about anyway. So this blog has evolved rapidly into all-baby, all the time. And I’m OK with that. I know my family and close friends are too. I’m sure I’ll have things to talk about once in a while that aren’t baby related. I could tell you about work and the fact that I’m researching epublishing initiatives, but that would put most of you to sleep (I love it and am excited about it, but most people would snore after about five minutes of my explaining what we’re considering–plus, if you’re not in my field, it might not make sense). I will probably write about the books I’m reading–I’m almost done with Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison. It’s the first book in the The Hollows series. Very good book but incredibly poorly proofread. Seriously, seriously bad proofreading all the way through. And it’s printed by HarperCollins, so I’m not sure what the excuse is. I’ll get into that more in a later post.

Anyway, I thought I would let you all know that I’m fully aware of the baby-ness that is this blog. And that I’m cool with it. So that’s that.

Baby’s First Artwork

After much debate and searching and pondering, the hubby and I finally picked out the two pieces of art we’re going to hang in baby’s room. Why two? Because there are two screws already in the walls, and because we’re renting, I’m not willing to put more up. Plus, we ordered the 8 x 10 versions, so they’re going to be plenty big once we mat and frame them.

The artist, Rebecca of Barking Bird Art, said she’s going to ship them on Monday via USPS Priority Mail, so they should be here by Wednesday, or Thursday at the latest. I can’t wait to see them! We’ll probably just pick up a couple of frames from Target, Kohl’s, or JoAnn Fabrics, depending upon what color frame we decide to go with. It’s going to have to be a simple frame because the art is gorgeous, and we don’t want to detract from the main event, so to speak.

What did we pick for our nursery art? Here you are:

Bird on a Starry Night

Mice in a Small Canoe

Assembling Baby Furniture

The hubby and I took a few minutes the other night to make some progress on getting Baby Girl’s bedroom ready. The first step was cleaning it out and vacuuming the really nice carpeting in there (it’s super soft and the only room in the house with carpeting–much needed for a baby room!). We had accomplished that the day before, so we were ready to start assembling a piece of her baby furniture. We picked this up at IKEA. This is the Trofast frame plus various-sized Trofast boxes. It didn’t take us long to put it together, thanks to IKEA’s quality instructions, and now it’s ready for us to fill with various baby things, like her book collection (which is fast growing, if you must know), baby toys, and other fun things. I’m really excited to get her crib put together now! A project for another day.

The hubby, working hard on getting those screws in tight. Can't have it wobbly!

Making progress!

I couldn't let him have all the fun! Actually, this was very much a team effort, as are most projects in the house. (I'm 28 weeks today. 7 months!)

All finished! I couldn't help myself. It was begging to have some stuff put on it, though I know I will be changing it around a million times before she arrives.

One last finished photo, this one from the front. We are very happy with how sturdy it is. It's a great addition to her room and will get plenty of use.

27 weeks, 1 day (July 28, 2009)

Here’s my baby belly at 27 weeks, 1 day (taken on July 28th). We’re so excited to finally be in our third trimester. The second trimester flew by! I think it helps that I’m working pretty much full-time, and I’m busy with projects here at home too. We’re almost there! The hubby keeps talking about how she’s going to be here in less than three months. Eek! So exciting!

27 weeks, 1 day

27 weeks, 1 day; this is a stern reminder that I really need to clean the front entryway mirror!