34 weeks!

I admit, I have been a horrible blogger.  In my defense, we are living between our house and our apartment, and I have hit the fun of the third trimester, which means I am often exhausted, crampy, and just want to sleep. 
But, I figured in honor of my very first day of Maternity Leave - wahoo!- I would do a post.  I am hoping that I'll be able to get Joern to take a bump picture today, and when he does, I swear, I'll update!

How far along?  34 weeks.  Yup, you read that right, only 6 weeks to go before my due date!

Total weight gain?:  Our little guy isn't so little anymore, I'm up about 20 lbs. now.

How big is baby?
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous aboutpreterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

from www.babycenter.com

Maternity clothes?:  Besides the trouble with keeping my maternity pants up now, the rest is okay. I don't have maternity pj's, so I have to wear tanks under my pajama shirts now.

Sleep?  Can't complain.  My crazy nightmares are continuing, now on a nightly basis, and I have to get up 2- 3 times a night to go to the bathroom, but I can fall back asleep okay.  And now that I'm on leave, I can sleep past 6:00 am, and if I need to, I can always take a nap.

Best moment this week?  Sheesh, its been a few weeks.  I had a good doctor's appointment two weeks ago.  She said that my cervix is shortening, but normally, which is all a part of my body preparing for delivery.  Little Erbse's heartbeat was seriously like a galloping horse on the NST as well last Monday- it was so strong, they had to turn down the volume on the monitor.  I had two incredible baby showers last week as well, one at work, and one held by my friend, Mandy.  I'll write a separate post about the showers, but suffice to say, Erbse has a LOT of stuff now!

Movement? Erbse has been really busy lately.  I think he's taking swimming lessons, because his movements are really fluid now, like a swimmer, and the bump is moving in very visible waves. I can always find a spot on my stomach now where I can distinctly feel a part of Erbse- which to me seems to indicate that he's running out of room.  I still can't tell the parts, but you can easily now say "butt or head," or "hand, foot, knee, or elbow."  I'm interested to see how this plays out in the next few weeks.

Food cravings?  Back to salads.  Hooray!

Labor signs?:  I'm having contractions, but think they are Braxton Hicks contractions.  I don't feel them, but they showed up on my last two NSTs.  The doctor said that they aren't causing any dilation, so there is no reason for concern.  I am also having some low back pain and cramping.  The doctor said that the pain and cramping could either be muscular discomfort, or signs that Erbse would soon like to make his arrival.  She did explain that because he is big, and I am not, he is definitely putting quite a bit of strain on my muscles.  

What I miss? These past few weeks, I can't say there is anything that I'm truly missing.  Maybe tuna, but not so badly.

What I'm looking forward to?  Erbse's furniture should be arriving within the next few weeks, and I can't wait to get working on his nursery.  Of course with 6 weeks left, the most exciting prospect though is meeting our little man!

More Erbse related news:  A few weeks ago, we met with one of the teachers at school who agreed to do a maternity photo shoot.  It was so fun, and the photos turned out beautifully.  Now that I have a little time, and internet access, I can do a post about these too!

  

I have started childbirth classes, although I am having a cesarian.  The classes are held weekly, on Tuesday mornings, and there are a total of seven, and even though there is quite a bit that has to do with natural birth, the teacher does a lot with pain management and strengthening after the birth, which will be important for me anyway.  I also am happy to go because the classes are taught by my Hebamme, or midwife.  She will be coming to the house often after Erbse is born, and I would prefer to know her a little bit before she comes into our home.  The nice thing about my midwife is that she is the mom of one of Joern's friends, so she knows him well.  I like this because their knowing each other has kind-of removed some of the formality that is very present here, and I don't really feel comfortable with.

Joern and I also had our first hospital tour last Thursday night.  It was in Reutlingen, a town not too far from here.  One of our friends had her c-section there, and said that she was pleased with the care.  I have to say, the tour left us a bit disconcerted.  When we arrived, the woman at the information desk led us on a wild-goose chase through the hospital, and we ended arriving in the meeting room 20 minutes late because we walked all over the place.  I also thought it was poor that there were no signs for the information night either.  To make matters worse, the nurses were very disorganized, and although very nice, they didn't leave us feeling too confident in the hospital.  Plus, the hospital is in bad need of renovation.  It isn't uncommon to have very old hospitals here, but this one is probably one of the more needy for an update.  Joern commented that the birthing rooms looked like medieval torture chambers!  We have a meeting tomorrow with the Women's Clinic in Stuttgart, which many people have recommended.  We'll see how that goes!

31 weeks

How far along?  31 weeks

Total weight gain: I gained a lot between appointments, now I'm up about 18 lbs from the beginning.
How big is baby?
31 weeks: Baby weighs as much as four orangesYour baby now weighs as much as four navel oranges. (Length: over 16 inches, head to heel.)


This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.
From www.babycenter.com

Maternity clothes:  I had to break down and buy a few more pieces, although buying maternity clothing this far along is painful.  But, I went to H&M and bought a beautiful sweater dress for 30 Euro, and I even bought a sweater for our baby shower!

Sleep:  Pretty good, weird dreams, but overall, I'm sleeping fine.

Best moment this week?:  My doctor's appointment.

Movement?:  Fewer jabbing ninja kicks, and now I think he's either trying to ride a bike or swim, his movements are very fluid from one side to the other. I had to laugh this morning, but they showed a scene from movie where an alien popped out of a man's stomach on CNN.  I had to laugh because I always feel like one of these scenes when Erbse is moving around in there and my stomach is moving all sorts of funny ways.

Food cravings?:  Cake!

Labor signs?:  Fortunately still none.

Belly button in or out?: Still the same, shallow, but there.

What I miss?:  Coffee still!

What I'm looking forward to?: Well, the obvious- we're getting very close to meeting our little Erbse!

Milestone?: Less than 10 weeks to go!

Other Erbse related news:  
We had a great appointment with the OB on Monday!  It started with another NST (Non-stress test) and I figured out that there is something about them that Erbse does not like, because he squirmed and kicked the whole 20 minutes they had me hooked up to the machine.  I love them, because I get a full 20 minutes to listen to Erbse's heartbeat, which sounds much more like a galloping horse than what you would expect a pea's heartbeat to sound like, if a pea had a heartbeat.  Then, I had a growth scan.  Even though I have an ultrasound at every appointment, they do three growth ultrasounds here:  between 9 & 12 weeks, between 19 & 22 weeks, and between 29 & 32 weeks.  I've now had all my growth ultrasounds.   We found out that our little Erbse isn't so little at all.  I noticed during our last growth scan that all of Erbse's measurments were at the 75th percentile and above, but the doctor didn't say anything about it, and I forgot to bring it up at subsequent appointments.  Well, this time, he's measuring at or above the 90th percentile in all areas!  We asked if this was a problem, but the doctor said that if everything is measuring around the same size, there is no cause for concern.  It just happens that we're on our way to having more like the Jolly Green Giant than a little pea.  He's measuring about 2.02 grams, or close to 4.5 lbs.  No wonder I gained 6 pounds in the past month!  But, our little bruiser is doing very well.
We also talked again about delivery.  Joern and I would like to go look at a few hospitals for delivery, which we will do over the next few weeks.  The doctor wants me to make an appointment at the hospital where I will deliver at 35 weeks, I have to say, its really exciting to get to the point where we're talking about delivery!  
Besides the doctor's appointment, we made a little progress in Erbse's nursery.  His furniture was picked up from my stepmother's house last week and should be loaded by now on a ship.  We only had one little blip in the process, part of the crib was left at my stepmother's house.  Fortunately, the shipping company will come and pick up the other part, and has agreed to also ship my rocking chair from Pottery Barn Kids that is arriving way late!  

30 weeks

How far along?  30 weeks

Total weight gain: now around 11 lbs.

How big is baby?
Our "Little Pea" is now the size of a head of cabbage.
30 weeks: Baby weighs as much as a large cabbageYour baby rivals a good-size cabbage in weight, tipping the scales this week at 3 pounds. (Length: about 15 3/4 inches, head to heel.)
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

From www.babycenter.com

Maternity clothes:  My maternity jeans, that I once praised for comfort, are now starting to stretch too much during the day.  I spend my days now running around, pulling up my pants.  I'm looking forward to a week break, during which time I will be sporting only my yoga pants! 
Sleep:  Alright.  I still am having trouble going back to sleep if I wake up during the night, but its okay.  I am having some crazy dreams though!

Best moment this week?:  Reaching 30 weeks!  I can count the number of weeks left until my due date on my fingers!  Oh my gosh!

Movement?:  Erbse has now gotten to punching one side of my stomach and kicking the other side.  That and he has found a new, very comfy to him position, where he stretches out what feels like at a 90° angle to my stomach.  I am assuming he puts his back against my stomach, becasue I have a long hard spot, and presses really hard against my stomach.  It is so cute that he is comfy in there, but it such a horribly uncomfortable position for me!

Food cravings?:  Philly cheesesteak, thanks to my friend, Carol.

Labor signs?:  Fortunately still none.

Belly button in or out?: A shallowie, but it pops out if I press on the sides of my belly button.

What I miss?:  Coffee still and salami.  I blame Joern for the salami, he had some the other night and it really looked yummy!

What I'm looking forward to?: My last monthly doctor's appointment next week.

Milestone?: Reaching the 30 week marker!

Other Erbse related news: 
The nursery continues to evolve.  Joern is working on the baseboard, which look fantastic against the blue walls and wood floors in the room. 

Heavenly Apple Crisp- aka. one of my last baking projects in our apartment

Fall has been my favorite season pretty much all my life.  I have moved to a country where fall is nice, but not quite as lovely as fall in New England.  In an effort to savor some yummy American fall flavor, and to celebrate our upcoming move, I decided to make an apple crisp.
I can't really imagine many smells better than the combined scent of apple, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  It reminds me of home, and it is a scent that puts me in my happy place when I get stressed about packing, moving, and unpacking.  I am already getting a little sentimental about our tiny, but happy, apartment, and am probably trying my hardest to fill it with as many happy memories before we move away.  New England fall memories are among the best, so our apartment needs some fall baking this year.

I found this recipe on a lovely blog recently, Rachel's Nest, which prompted me to bake some delicious apple crisp tonight.  As I'm typing, the air is filled with the lovely, spicy scent of baking apples and cinnamon.  Aaah!

Fortunately, apple crisp is really easy, and fine for a Monday night.
I started by making brown sugar.  For most people, making brown sugar isn't a necessity, but for those of us living away from readily accessible brown sugar, my baking always requires homemade brown sugar.  Fortunately, homemade brown sugar just requires mixing 1-2 tbsp. of molasses (or Zuckerrübensirup) per 1 cup of sugar. Just mix the two together and smush all the molasses into the sugar with a fork.

And when its all worked in, you have fluffy, wonderful brown sugar:

Once the brown sugar was all set, I got to work peeling and slicing the apples.  Once all the slices were in the baking dish, I mixed together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little flour, and sprinkled it over the apples:

Once the apples were set, I got to work on the crisp topping.  I mixed together melted butter, brown sugar, oats, and flour.  I then decided to throw in a little extra cinnamon and a dash of vanilla for good measure.  A little extra cinnamon and vanilla never hurt anything.

Once the topping mixture is good and crumbly, spoon it evenly over the sliced apples.  Then, just pop the baking dish full of appley goodness in the oven, and bake at 350° (175°ish C) for about 40 minutes, make sure to enjoy the wonderful smell!

 Here's the full recipe (adapted slightly from here)

Apple mixture:

5-7 apples, peeled, cored and sliced 

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Oat topping mixture:

2 cups quick-cooking oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder (Kaiser Natron here in Germany)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter, melted

*I added a little vanilla extract and some cinnamon to this mixture too*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the sliced apples in a lightly greased 9x13 inch dish. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour, nutmeg and cinnamon together and sprinkle over apples. 

Combine oats, 2 cups of flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter. Spoon over the sliced apples until evenly covered. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce.  

How far along?  29 weeks

Total weight gain: still about 10 lbs.

How big is baby?  Our "Little Pea" is now the size of a butternut squash.
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.
From www.babycenter.com

Maternity clothes:  Since its gotten much cooler outside, I've had to go back to some of my non-maternity, but far warmer, sweaters.  The good ones are cardigans.  My non-maternity tops are hitting now about mid-bellybutton.

Sleep:  Eh,not the most desirable.  I'm still having leg cramps.  I also have trouble falling back to sleep after my 2 am bathroom trip.  Plus, I have a miserable head cold, and haven't been able to breathe the past few nights.

Best moment this week?:  Well, since this post is actually two weeks worth, the best was getting a 3D picture of Erbse's face at the doctor last Monday night.  It was the first time that he was sleeping at the doctor, so she could get a good shot of his face.  This past week, the best thing was seeing Erbse's room painted a perfect shade of "Little Boy Blue." You can see me in Erbse's room in this week's picture.

Movement?:  Erbse has been moving so much that two weeks ago, I was worried that I hadn't felt him move in about 20 hours.  I called the doctor and she had me come in right away and they hooked me up to a fetal heart monitor.  Of course, as soon as the nurse strapped me up and drew the curtain, I got a little karate chop to the stomach.  I was slightly embarassed, but the doctors and nurses agreed that it was best that I come in.  We've decided he is going to be a soccer player or a ninja.  Erbse's kicks are getting much stronger, which has really surprised Joern, and are getting a little painful to me.

Food cravings?:  Nothing really intense.

Labor signs?:  None yet, crossing my fingers that we don't see any for a while. 

Belly button in or out?:  A shallowie.

What I miss?:  Coffee.  I miss coffee so much!  I know I can have some, but don't want to get back to my 2 cup a day habit, so its safer to avoid.  Boo hoo!

What I'm looking forward to?: Next week is 30 weeks! 

Milestone?:  We're well into the third trimester now.  Because so many websites and books disagree as to the beginning of the third trimester, I've definitely been in the third trimester for over a week now!

Other Erbse related news: 
As of last Monday, Erbse weighs approximately 1200 grams (about 2.5 lbs.).  According to the doctor, this is perfect, according to a website, he is measuring about a week ahead.

We finally went into a baby store to look for a stroller and car seat.  I am trying to decide between the Britax/ Roemer sleeper, which allows the baby to lay down in the car and is supposed to be much more ergonomically correct; or the Maxi Cosi Pebble, which is more of a traditional car seat, but has the bonus of being more in a laying position than the average car seat.  One of the parents at school gave me a beautiful convertible stroller, that looks barely used.  The only problem is that it doesn't fold down very small, so I would like another stroller for when we travel, or when we want to put something more than the stroller in the trunk of the car. 
The parents at school are so generous, and have given me quite a few baby clothes.  I can't believe how many clothes we have now! 
The room is all painted, and the shipping company is headed to my stepmother's house next week Wednesday. All of the furniture has now been shipped.   I  even made a few last minute orders, including the wooden letters for Erbse's name on the nursery wall, and the Fisher Price My Little Lamb swing, that will hopefully get in before the shipment leaves.  I can't wait to get all of Erbse's furniture set up in the nursery!

On naming a baby

Its no secret that Joern and I are having a lot of difficulty finding a name for our Little Erbse.  Today though, I probably got some of the best baby naming advice of all time.
One of my students from 3 school years prior was in the library today after work.  Oh yeah, I work in the library now, I'll have to write more about that later, now I'm talking about the serious work of naming a kid.  So, this girl who is now a fourth grader, was asking me a bunch of questions about the baby.  She asked me about the baby's sex, so I told her that we're having a boy.  She said that it was good to find out the sex so that you can start shopping before baby comes.  I agreed, but then added that for me, I am very glad that we know we're having a boy because we only need to choose a boy name, and that's stressful enough.  The student responded by saying, "well it shouldn't be that hard, I named both of my rabbits with just a little help from my mom."

So there you have it, I guess it should be pretty easy if I want to name the baby either "Floppy," or "Misty."  Apparently, I shouldn't stress about this name decision!

27 weeks!

How far along?: 27 weeks

*Total weight gain: about 10 lbs.
*How big is baby?: The baby is still the size of an eggplant

 *Maternity clothes?: I've been wearing a few non-maternity t-shirts lately, because it is so warm here, and I don't have that many maternity T's.  But, they make me look even bigger, and I feel much more comfy in my maternity clothes.

*Sleep?:  Pretty good.  But, if I roll too far over onto a side, then I get a pretty bad cramp pretty quickly.  And of course, Erbse kicks pretty good when I roll over too far too :)

*Best moment this week?: Reaching the third trimester!  That and when Joern definitely felt Erbse kicking, quite a few times!

*Movement?: Lots and lots!  He is managing to kick up under my ribs and probably punch down below my belly button at the same time.  Lots of kicks also end up in a little bulge in my belly.  I can stare at my stomach for hours now waiting for Erbse to move :)

*Food cravings?: milk

*Labor signs?: Too early!

*Belly button in or out?: Popping out on the edges.

*What I miss: being able to bend over without being in pain

*What I'm looking forward to: doctor's appointment next week

*Milestone: Third trimester!  We only have three months to go!


*Other Erbse related news:  I have to send in my documents for the shipping company, and Erbse's furnitre is set to leave my stepmother's house on the 26th of October.  I'm pretty sure Erbse will be here before his bedroom, but he doesn't really need his bedroom immediately.  I have tons and tons of clothes now, both gifts and very gently used clothes from moms at school.  I have washed everything, and am in the process of packing by age / size.  This weekend WILL be shopping weekend- we desperately need to look at strollers and car seats!