I’m completely obsessed- maybe even slightly addicted…it’s like having bookmarks all over the Internet.  Recipes, DIY projects, holiday decorations, even great ideas for teachers!  It is so inspiring- I am constantly amazed at people’s pure brilliance.  You know, the things that make you wish you’d thought of that.  The things that are so simple, yet so very clever– and that somehow make your life SO. MUCH. BETTER.

If you do not know what I’m talking about, go to www.pinterest.com and check it out.  It really is a fun way to waste a lot of time.

If you want to start your own “account” for lack of a better word, let me know your email address and I will send you an invitation.  🙂

With only 17 days until Grae’s due date, we have started packing up our hospital bag (apparently it was recommended to do this at the end of the second trimester… but we are running a little behind).  The best thing in that bag that we have packed so far is the outfit that he will wear home from the hospital!  We wanted this to be “classic”- something that will never go out of style- and something that matched his room, because we plan on putting it in a display box when he outgrows it. (I found this idea on PINTEREST, which I will talk all about in another post because I’m slightly addicted).

Coming home outfit display idea 🙂

Here is the outfit that we picked out for him! Get your cameras ready for this handsome little man, Grandma and Grandpa! 🙂

As we near the due date, I can’t help but feel a little heavyhearted.  I feel like my pregnancy with my first baby has gone way too fast- having him all to myself.  I love knowing that he is a part of my husband and a part of me, and I am growing him inside of my body- he and I are as close to “one” as we will ever be. As much as I cannot wait for him to get here- I already know that I will miss feeling him roll around when his favorite song is on the radio, and how he kicks when I tickle my belly.  Most of all, I will miss him being with me every single second of every single day, knowing that he is completely safe.

Anyway, before I get completely swept away in the joys of motherhood- I wanted to reminisce a little about all of the fun I’ve had carrying this perfect little boy in my belly.

March 8, 2011–The day it all started… the best day of my life so far.

The BEFORE picture 😉

Two weeks before finding out I was pregnant, I “booked” 3 baby goats to come visit my kids at school… they arrived three days after finding out we were expecting and I was absolutely terrified the entire time that I might pass a goat disease to the baby… LOL… looking back now, I realize how foolish this was… Just think how overprotective I’m gonna be when he is born! 

March 19, 2011- The day we shared our BIG news with my family 🙂 

Morning sickness starts… the only thing that sounds good at all is Life Cereal.  I took that box with me everywhere. 

And, sometimes I even decided to share 😉

May 12, 2011- The first time we laid eyes on our little bean

June 30th, 2011- The day we found out we were having a BOY!!!

August 21, 2011- His name is official- There is no turning back now, we painted it on the walls 🙂 Graeson Royce Mielke it is!

September 14, 2011- The first time we got to see his handsome face

Now we are anxiously awaiting his due date (November 11, 2011), or more importantly, the day he decides to make his entrance into the world…   What a great journey we have been on together and in so many ways, the best parts have not yet begun. 🙂

After picture (SO FAR) 37 weeks 🙂

Yesterday we went to the Women’s Center for a tour of the building where I will be giving birth to our baby boy.  I’m glad we went- it really helped clear up a lot of confusion, questions, and just helped ease the fear of the unknown.  On our way there we practiced our route as if it were the real thing.  Ian even asked if he should stop at the red lights.  :0) (I reminded him it would be good if we arrived ALIVE.)  We were one of 6 couples on the tour, and 5 of 6 of us were having boys!  Our tour guide showed us around the hospital- everything from the cafeteria, to the waiting rooms, to the gift shops- so we would be able to direct our family and friends.  The next stop was the labor and delivery floor. Ian and I were pleasantly surprised by the birthing suites- so comfy and roomy- it almost even felt like home.  We were thinking it would be a cold, sterile, typical hospital room. Instead, it had soothing paint on the walls (not the standard bright white), wood furniture, a television, recliners and rocking chairs, a wall of windows, a huge open area for labor and delivery, and a huge bathroom that even has a birthing tub and a big shower.  We will have the baby in that room, stay for about 2 hours to stabilize, then will be moved upstairs to our own private room for the next 24-48 hours (which is equally as nice!)  The nurse gave us a lot of ideas of what to bring in our hospital bag- things that we had never even thought of, so that was also helpful. We have lots of packing to do. 🙂

The doctor confirmed that the baby has indeed dropped- her exact words being “He has really dropped! You are getting so close!” Ahh!! As excited as I am, I’m starting to get a little anxious!  All my tests from last week came back negative- no diseases or bacteria that shouldn’t be around our little manfant- so that means no planned C-sections (which I hear is a good thing, but part of me was kinda hoping for a C-section instead of the alternative ;)) .  The scale reads WAY too close to 200 lbs when I step on the damn thing now- let me tell you- NOT my favorite part of the visit.  We got to listen to his heartbeat, which she said sounded great, and as before, he is measuring just as he should be, and she estimates that he is between 6 and 6.5 pounds now (although there is no way for her to be sure).

The best two words that were said today:  “FULL TERM!!!”   YAY!!!

The worst words said today: “He is now the size of a watermelon!”    GOOD GRACIOUS!

(pictures soon :))

We have been asked to join the TOP MOMMY BLOGS website!!  We are so excited to join this online community.  We would absolutely LOVE your help in raising our rank by voting for our blog on the right side of the screen.  You just have to click the little brown square that says “Vote For Us” and it will count as a vote.  Right now we are #685 out of #1060, but we would love to get up into the Top 10 eventually.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! 🙂

We love y’all!

Andrea and Ian

We now officially have everything we need for baby. We picked out the perfect outfit that he will wear home from the hospital (and later we will display in a photo box in his room), we ordered “props” (some really super cute hats) for his newborn pictures, have been doing load after load of laundry, washing all of his new outfits with that wonderful smelling baby detergent, we even have bottle warmers, bottle sterilizers, and bottles of all shapes and sizes- washed and waiting in the cabinet.  We even bought a fabric baby sling (that came with an instructional DVD) and taught ourselves how to use it today- thanks to Daddy Dizzle, the perfect practice tool.

Tomorrow is our 37 week doctor appointment.  I will decline the cervical exam, because last time it caused a lot of strong contractions- and quite frankly- I want Grae to take his time and come when he is ready, and checking every week to see where we are seems kind of pointless- you know in the “a watched pot never boils” kind of way.  (I’m not going to lie though, I would like to know if I’ve made any more progress since the 1.5 cm dilated, 50% effaced “diagnosis” last week! ;))  I am sure he has dropped significantly since last Friday’s appointment, as I can actually take a full breath without huffing and puffing. I had very minor heartburn for a few weeks, but that has pretty much disappeared now that he is much lower in my belly (Thank goodness, because I have been hearing HORROR stories from Mom and my aunt- they both said they spent the last few weeks of pregnancy sleeping sitting upright in a chair while devouring bottles of Tums.) Lets hope I didn’t just jinx myself!

Saturday we are going to tour the Women’s Center that I will deliver at.  I’m really looking forward to this- I think it will ease a lot of tension and confusion on the big day.  We also have a consultation appointment set up with a highly recommended pediatrician, and I have my list of questions ready.

Our TO-DO list is getting shorter and shorter… we still need to pack a bag for the hospital, make some freezable meals for after the baby, install the car seat (its in our trunk all ready to go- just not buckled in yet), and my midwife said we need to write out a birth plan.  Hopefully we can conquer these few things by the end of the weekend… hopefully being the key word.  I was a “nesting” fool a few weeks ago- from scrubbing baseboards to cleaning out every single drawer and cabinet in our house and everything in between; however, that phase is officially over.  I’ve been resting a lot more now- I even take naps once and a while (those who know me will understand the magnitude of this- I never sleep),  and Ian and I spend countless evenings out in our hot tub on the back deck- don’t worry it isn’t too hot for baby! 😉

21 more days until your due date, Little Man! Your daddy and I cannot wait to meet you- anytime you are ready!

I get emails almost every day in regards to how we feel about vaccinations for our baby.  This is such a controversial, HOT topic right now, and I have been debating for months if I should even address the issue on my blog.   I have finally decided that I will share my feelings, but that is the extent of what I’m sharing- just feelings and opinions.  In no way, whatsoever, are my opinions correct, and I do not disagree with any of you that chose something different for your children.  The decision we made just seemed to feel right for us.

For the last couple of months, I have spent the majority of my days researching.  Researching about the best type of bottles to use, cloth vs. disposable diapers, breast pumps and bottle feeding… To me, these small things can be scary and overwhelming… and when faced with huge issues such as circumcision and vaccination schedules-Ahh… just stick a fork in me!

I have been scouring the internet for anything that may be relevant to vaccinations.  I always try to place myself right on the fence and I like to play devil’s advocate for both sides when trying to decide where my beliefs fall when researching any controversial topic.  I’ve read reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics, autism and anti-vaccination websites, and my favorite- Dr. Sears sites.

Did you know that today’s infants are bombarded with nearly 3 times as many vaccinations than we were when we were children?  That being said, I know that these same vaccines have nearly eradicated many horrid diseases (Polio, anyone?) in our population.  I frequently read new studies that completely discredit the “vaccinations causes autism” theory, but at the same time, I am a complete skeptic when it comes to medication. I am a firm believer that many pediatricians are over diagnosing and over prescribing pills for today’s youth.

After a lot of research, Ian and I have decided that we fall somewhere in the middle.  We feel most comfortable with Dr. Sears’ thoughts and recommendations.  Grae will be getting vaccinated on a delayed vaccination schedule, which means that he will not get more than two shots per doctor’s visit.  This means that we will be spending a lot more time at the doctor’s office, as he will have to go more often, but it will also allow his little immune system to deal with one or two things at a time.  In addition to this, we have decided to forgo the non-life threatening vaccinations all together -such as rotavirus and chickenpox.

I want to point out that it is absolutely true that the AAP has done many studies to show that the current vaccination schedule is safe for children and that the Dr. Sears recommendation has never been proven in any study to be more effective in preventing autism or severe vaccine reactions.  Ian and I are choosing to follow the Dr. Sears recommendations because it is what WE are most comfortable with for our son. Each parent needs to decide what they feel most comfortable with individually.  We are confident in the decision we made regarding vaccinations and hope anyone else facing this difficult decision finds peace as well. We all just want to do what’s best for our babies! 🙂

XO,

Andrea

Our shower invitation designed by Kellys Creations 🙂

My best friend from college threw us a baby shower this weekend and it was wonderful!  It was so much fun to see our family and friends, and our baby boy got spoiled ROTTEN!  🙂  He now has his very own Baby Bathtub/Spa Bubbler, the most stylin’ stroller a little dude could travel in  (accessorized by the most convenient backpack stroller/over-the-shoulder bag I’ve ever seen), his own Peter Rabbit china dishes, and the cutest onesies imaginable to just name a few things.  We were also presented with “The Wheel of Responsibility,” which will allow us to “put parenting in the hands of fate.”  When duty calls, we will simply spin the wheel.  With the wheel, there is no more dodging diaper duty, no more forgetting who’s turn it is to give the baby a bath. No more sleeping through the 3am feeding. It says on the packaging that there are only two non-negotiable rules: 1. Spin the Wheel. 2. Accept your fate. If it lands on the line, ask yourself, “Is it really on the line or are you just cheating?” Ian says we are mounting it to our headboard. 🙂  Mom told me I needed magnets to weight the arrow. 😉  It was a fantastic day- Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us, thank you for all of the AMAZING gifts, and Thank you, Brittany for the PERFECT baby shower!! 🙂 We love you!!!

Here are some pictures from our AMAZING day 🙂