Today Ian and his brother built the second flower box around our deck! We are getting closer each weekend to our finished backyard, thanks to all the help from our wonderful families!! 🙂 We couldn’t do it without you–especially since lately my only contributions have been sitting, watching, and maybe offering some constructive criticism occasionally (aside from planting the flowers in the flower boxes). 😉 Thank you so much, Mom, Dad and Khyle! We love you all!
The flower boxes!!
We have one busy weekend planned. Ian has to take his teacher certification test this morning which will take a couple of hours, then getting our house cleaned up a bit, then hanging out with Khyle and Brittny (Ian’s older brother and his gorgeous girlfriend) and maybe even go to a first birthday party for one of Ian’s best friend’s babies- one of the cutest babies ever I might add. Then tomorrow we get to see our friends and family at our baby shower that my best friend, Brittany and her sister, Kelly are throwing for us! We love you girls!
In addition to all that, we got our disc of maternity photos back in the mail a couple of days ago! They turned out great- not that I had any doubts- our photographer (Jessica Gutzman) is kind of a rockstar :)! Yesterday we got some developed to put in the frames hanging on the wall in the baby nursery. I wanted to share just a few of our favorites today, and I’ll be posting the rest soon!
❤
We had our 36 week doctor’s visit this morning, and it turned out to be an eventful one. The purpose of this checkup is to determine the position of the baby (hopefully confirming he is head down) and to see if the cervix had started to dilate. A culture for Group-B Strep (GBS) is also normally performed. GBS is a type of bacteria found in the human body. The midwife told us that 1 in 3 women carry the bacteria without developing an infection or illness, but it’s necessary to find out if a woman has it during pregnancy because it can be passed on to the baby and cause respiratory complications if not treated. If the mother is found to be a carrier, she’ll be given antibiotics during labor to prevent it from being passed on to the baby.
My blood pressure is “rock solid” and I have gained a total of 21 pounds now- up three pounds from my last visit! My baby bump is measuring right on the money. The midwife predicted Grae is now a little over 6 ½ pounds and that if he decided to come now he would more than likely be just fine… Although, another OB doctor always says “White boys are weak! You gotta keep ‘em in there as long as possible.” 😉 Although, after today’s appointment, its even more obvious that our baby could join us at any moment (and finally we can welcome him without worries of NICU time).
My midwife performed the cervical exam and confirmed that the baby was head down and that he had “dropped” very low. The last time I had my cervix checked, it was excruciating. This time, she told me to make two fists with my hands and put them under my bottom before the exam. This was the best advice I’d been given, because it wasn’t anywhere near as painful as before (thank god!). She told us that I was 1.5 centimeters dilated and my cervix was 50% effaced, or in other words, half way thinned out. She said that it had softened a lot, but wasn’t as soft as it could be. When I asked what this meant, she said that I would not be one of those 41 week mommas that has to be induced (I’m really hoping that she is right).
So now, at 36 weeks, my complaints are starting. My stomach is gigantic, it’s a challenge to sleep comfortably or even breathe at times, I can hardly bend over to pick something up without grunting, I’m peeing every 10 minutes, it takes me forever to get dressed because finding clothes that are tolerable enough to wear throughout an entire day is nearly impossible, and now my shoes barely fit and socks are not my friend as I cannot bend over far enough to put the things on. I am having at least two contractions every day, my back hurts and the right side of my chest is the worst part of all- I have a little baby bottom shoved up there, stretching my rib cage apart- pleasant, eh?
But I know it is all worth it… We love you, Grae
We have been overwhelmed by the amount of support and words of encouragement from our friends, family and the blogging community. It has been wonderful to learn about all of the people who we have never even met that read this blog on a regular basis- people who are expecting their first child, couples who have already raised their families and are now expecting grandchildren, and even people that say they enjoy reading it because they hope to have a family someday in the future and they now know what to expect. Again, it was always our intention to write this journal for our child, so someday when he is grown, he can read about his early life, and for our family and friends so they can be a part of this pregnancy, even though they are so far away. I never would have thought that our writing would reach people that we don’t know, but we love so much to hear from each and every one of our readers. The encouragement, questions, advice, support– we look forward to opening our emails every day.
Lately, I have been getting many great questions from readers regarding our pregnancy and the baby. I thought I would take the time to answer a couple, and will try to do so more often, so please ask away!
Heatherfaith asked: Have you thought about circumcision yet for your baby boy? Are you for it or against it? We are 22 weeks pregnant and found out I am carrying a boy, and my husband and I disagree about this topic.
Ian and I have been doing a lot of reading on the subject of circumcision, even before learning we were carrying a boy, and there is so much new research to suggest that the old stereotypes that it is “less hygenic” or can cause infection are untrue. The thought of putting our brand new baby through a cosmetic medical procedure makes me uneasy to say the least.
But there is a huge WHAT IF to this. What if choosing not to circumcise causes him to feel like he is different from the other men in his family? from his friends? What if it affects his confidence and makes him feel embarrassed when he is in the locker room at school or in future relationships as an adult?
Societal norms aren’t always right, and in most cases I would say “So what!” but this is such an intimate subject that it is going to take a whole lot of discussion, prayer and thought for Ian and I.
Circumcision is becoming as controversial a subject as vaccinations these days and it’s a choice we are not taking lightly. With that being said, when we do make our final decision, we will not be sharing it on our blog. We feel that this is a very personal, private matter- one that each family should make on their own- after conducting extensive research on the subject. As with everything else, we will weigh all of the factors and make the decision that we believe is best for our son.
chaseaway asked: Do you plan on having more children after your son?
I have been asked this many times. My answer is always “YES!” I would love to have three, four, maybe even five children- but I’m not yet sure if I will give birth to all of them. There has always been a calling in my heart to adopt. There are so many factors to explore- the money, planning, legalities that come along with adopting – but it’s an echo in my soul that can’t be ignored. Ian and I actually had a conversation about adopting children one of the first times I ever spoke to him. He was so accepting of the idea- I truly believe it was just one of the reasons I fell in love with him. After fostering 8 children, I can easily say that being a parent is so much more than purely giving birth to a child. There are many different kinds of parents, and each of them has the capability to love their children just as much as if they were biological.
I know it sounds crazy to even be thinking about future children when the one in my belly has yet to be born – but all dreams deserve to be acknowledged, no matter how far off in the future they might be.
Will answer more soon.
Love, A
The countdown is on– 3o days until Baby Grae’s due date!
One of my second grade students (a little girl) raised her hand in class yesterday and asked, “Mrs. Mielke, is your baby a girl or a boy?”
I replied- “He’s a little boy.” She sat there, contemplated it for a bit, then raised her hand again.
“Yes, Molly?”
“But, how do you know it’s a boy?”
“Well, because the doctor told me it was.”
“But… I still don’t understand- how did the doctor know?” (Dead pan, straight faced- asking these completely innocent questions out of pure curiosity)
“They took a picture, kind of like an x-ray of my belly, called an ultrasound. They were able to see the baby and they told me that he was a boy.”
“How can the doctor tell the difference between boys and girls?”
“Ummmm… well…how do you know you are a girl and not a boy?”
“MRS. MIELKE!! All babies look the same! Even girl babies have short hair!”
I just smiled at her and moved on with my lesson.
She came into my office today at lunch with her face bright red. She said… “Mrs. Mielke, I know how doctors can tell the difference now. I thought about it all night.”
LOL! I love kids.
When I first learned I was pregnant with Grae, I researched and read to the point of over doing it. I scared myself with every “what if” scenario and added unnecessary stress by reading about unusual and rare pregnancy conditions. I was so happy to be pregnant but fearful of everything that could possibly go wrong. I felt out of control of the process and let myself get worked up over the things I had no ability to manage.
Finally, exactly one month away from my due date, I have settled into a quiet confidence with my body. And, so for these last few weeks, I’m allowing myself to just enjoy being pregnant without falling victim to the stress and anxiety. I watch as my belly grows and feel those aches and pains of a rapidly stretching body, but instead of fearing the worst, I know that every thing is going right. The hardest part of this journey still lies ahead of me – giving birth to my son and then learning to care for his individual needs. I’m enjoying the confidence I’ve discovered in myself- I’m sure it will not last forever, but it sure feels good right now.
Our little boy has a name! I don’t know how or when we finally decided to finalize it, but when contemplating names, we knew we wanted it to be something a little obscure. Not obscure in the “Can you please spell that again?” sort of way because I’d really like to spare my child the hassle of spelling out his name for the rest of his life. And not obscure in the “We just made it up” sort of way, but something simple, artful, pleasing to say, lovely to write, and not another one in his school sort of way.
That’s a tall order to fill. We sorted through biblical names – Abraham topped the list of Momma’s favorites. (Wouldn’t Bram be a cool nickname?) We listened to our family suggestions-although when Ian’s dad suggested Nimrod, I think we started to loose faith. We dug through those giant 50,000+ baby names books- I swear 90 percent of those “names” were just made up for the pure fact of numbers. Ian and I tested out our favorite names one at a time, none of them feeling quite right.
Until we finally settled on Graeson Royce Mielke. We will call him Grae.
Our sweet, precious boy has a name. A real, fine name.
On Saturday, Mom and Dad came over and continued to help us landscape our backyard- this has been a work-in-progress for over a year now, and finally it is coming together. A couple of weeks ago we went to this huge fall sale at a local nursery in Augusta and hit the jackpot. We found tons of beautiful bushes, decorative grasses, ground cover, Holly Trees, even two Japanese Maple trees all for a little over $100 (Dizzle made friends with the guy so he hooked us up)! So Mom and Dad brought all of our new plants over to us, Dad and Ian planted them (in our what once was a dirt/red clay floor covered in poison ivy “backyard”), while Mom did her amazing landscape design- spray painting where new trails should go and instructing the boys where to plant each tree. Mom and I also got sent to Home Depot for some things (silly boys) and we came home with a whole pickup truck full of more goodies. Dad and Ian got everything planted and even stayed up into the night building a flower box around the deck- it got so late and so dark, they both were wearing headlamps! Now that is devotion. 🙂 Our backyard is really starting to turn into that woodland oasis I had envisioned when we bought the house, thanks so much to all of the hard work from Ian, Mom and Dad! 🙂
[PICTURES OF OUR BACKYARD COMING SOON]
We also had a foster child come to our house yesterday- just for the day. A beautiful, five year old little boy with so much personality, so much potential. We had a great time with him. Ten minutes after walking into our house, he started calling me Mommy. It was very eye-opening to see just how much children need that relationship in their lives. Even at five years old, he knew that something was missing and attempted to fill the void anyway he could. I hope he gets to come stay with us again. Even though it has been really nice to have this month to ourselves since our foster daughters moved back to their family’s house, it definitely made me miss having our house filled with the energy, giggles and shrieks of little people. 🙂
We are officially baby-ready!! This is the first time I’ve felt like we would be just fine if he decided he was going to come tomorrow. We have cleaned and organized our entire house (like, OCD style). We have finally finished the baby nursery (well, except for a night light and photos for the frames on the wall). All of the baby clothes are washed and folded and put away in drawers, organized by size. His diapers and wipes are stock-piled and stored according to size. His bath tub, first aid kit, and “whale shower caddy” are all in place. We even have our entire house “baby-proofed”- heavy furniture bolted to walls, medicine and cleaning products up on top shelves and/or locked up, and outlet covers in every outlet. 🙂 There is a safe, warm place for baby to sleep in every room. We even have the infant car seat in the car! Packing my hospital bag is on the to-do list for tomorrow. Only 33 more days until he is due- and now that everything is ready for him, I seriously cannot wait. 🙂 Anyway, as requested, I wanted to share pictures of his finished nursery. 🙂
Chandelier and cow skin rug from IKEA, one of my favorite stores.
Some of things on the shelves: My bunny, Carrots, from my childhood- I couldn’t spend a night without him. The new bunny from Grandma, purchased at a very special store in NYC, my brother’s bookends from when he was a baby, filled with my favorite books from my childhood, and “Play With Me Puppy” from Beverly Novakovic.
Toy basket with chalkboard paint from Target
My old rocking horse 🙂
The baby mobile my mom and I made using a Mother Goose book 🙂
In just 10 days, my belly has truly doubled in size! I cannot believe how fast this baby is growing and how strong his little legs have gotten! We had our 34 week OB appointment this week, and the midwife confirmed that our little boy is already head-down, ready to come out! I have gained 18 pounds so far (apparently the norm is 24-29 lbs)- which she thought was great and told me to go ahead and eat the ice cream (did I mention, I LOVE her?!), and confirmed that Baby’s heartbeat and my blood pressure are perfect. She also said that at the end of week 35, the baby is technically considered full term! Wow. Our next appointment at 36 weeks will begin the weekly doctor visits until he is born. We also got an appointment with our first choice pediatrician!! Usually she has a six month wait list, so I am really not sure how Ian convinced them to schedule us- but I’m very excited to meet her on November 7!
I can’t believe we only have 36 days left until his due date. Time is FLYING by! As excited as I am to meet him, I am in no rush for the pregnancy to be over. I have loved every second of this incredible and miraculous time. I love my big huge belly and I am going to miss feeling him move inside of me when he’s not in there anymore. I love the peace and comfort of knowing he is perfectly safe and I have the power to protect him from most everything. This will be the safest he ever is! As soon has he joins us in the world there will be a host of dangers, pitfalls, and heartbreaks I will want to save him from, but just won’t be able to.
It’s midnight and I have been up for days. I’ve been having trouble sleeping through the night lately. I read online this morning that 78% of pregnant ladies experience insomnia. I’m glad I’m not alone, but I’d be happier if all 78% of us could get some sleep. It’s a bunch of things keeping me up. Firstly, it’s nearly impossible for a former back sleeper like me to get comfortable, no matter how many pillows I employ. Then, even if I do finally get to sleep I can count on being awoken at least four or five times a night with the urge to pee, crazy dreams, contractions, heartburn, or INTENSE HUNGER. More likely than not, I am awoken by all of these things at once. *Sigh* At least it’s good practice for the nights to come.
(I am fully aware I am looking pretty rough in this picture, but ignore my hair- check out my GIANT baby bump! 😉 )
Here is my 0-40 update on baby:
Your baby kind of looks like she’s coated in a layer of cream cheese these days. The thick, white substance that protects her skin from pruning in the amniotic fluid is called vernix. When she’s born you’ll probably see some vernix lingering in her “hard-to-reach” places like under her arms, behind her ears and around her va-jay-jay, if she’s a she.. Other news from the womb this week:
The soft fur, lanugo, that covered your baby’s body for much of her stay in the womb is now almost completely gone. Your baby begins to develop her own immune system, instead of relying solely on antibodies received through the placenta. This will come in handy when some grubby relative manhandles the baby without washing his hands first.
This week, your baby measures about 17¾ inches, as almost as long as an American Girl Doll (!) and weighs almost 5 pounds, as heavy as a bag of sugar, minus the cup you put in your decaf this morning.
The Mielke Way 