38 weeks!

We went to the doctor on Tuesday and she couldn't confirm that baby's head was down so we had to have another ultrasound. Unfortunately, we now know that baby is breech and will have to make a decision this week on whether to try to manually turn baby or if we will just schedule a c-section. I'm not sure how I feel about this, I'm a little scared because if we have the c-section I will have to have an epidural and I'm afraid of needles. Plus it's major surgery! I'm disappointed because I really wanted to try to have a vaginal birth. But over all, I want our baby to be healthy and to arrive safely. The ultrasound did show baby is healthy, weighing approximately 7 pounds, 8 ounces. That's bigger than Zach or I expected! Baby also has some hair, is practicing breathing on its own, and has shown us it can stick it's tongue out! We have uploaded the picture of baby sticking out the tongue! It's a little hard to see but baby's head is clear to the right. Its head is surrounded by arms, feet, and the umbillical cord.

I also now know why I am so uncomfortable and why my ribs hurt all the time. Baby's hands and feet are right on my rib cage and baby's head is also very close to my ribs. At least I know there is an end in sight and we will have this beautiful baby in our arms very soon. We'll keep you updated on what we find out this week.

Below is my week 38 picture, possibly my last! I look forward to uploading baby pictures very soon!

Almost there!

We will be 36 weeks tomorrow, which means baby will be here in less than a month! I am ready to be done, however I want the baby to be healthy so I will wait until the end. If baby isn't here by the 26th, I may get a little grouchy! I am very uncomfortable and I can no longer sleep in our bed. I've been sleeping in the recliner for the past week. Zach volunteers to sleep on the couch with me but there's no sense in both of us being uncomfortable. I feel like my stomach has no more room to stretch and yet every picture we take, I continue to look bigger. I know, it's a good thing. Next week we start doing weekly appointments at the doctor.

We've been having numerous baby showers lately. Tomorrow my family is coming to my house for a baby shower. It's great to receive presents and it definitely helps us get ready but the challenge is finding a place to store everything! Who knew how much organization is required to get ready for a baby!

Zach took some time this past weekend to trim our trees and remove the broken branches from an ice storm this past winter. There's a picture below of him in the tree. I am happy to say that he managed to stay healthy and in one piece while trimming. He's going to take the brush to the dump tomorrow.

Hopefully we will be able to blog one more time, at least, before the baby comes but if not we will post baby pictures as soon as we can after the baby is born. Below is a picture at almost 36 weeks.

Week 33 Update

It's been awhile again but we have been very busy! We started taking our child birthing classes in February so our Monday nights are shot! We really enjoy our instructor though and I think this class will prepare us enough to have this baby. We are 33 weeks and I'm quite large (as you can see in the picture) and yet I think I will still be getting larger! I have been pretty uncomfortable lately and sleeping has been a challenge but baby is moving and doing well. Our doctor gave me some stretches to do each day and I have felt some improvement. We've started going to the doctor every 2 weeks and now officially have all of our appointments scheduled. I am only able to travel long distances for a few more weeks so if you don't see us before the end of March and you live more than an hour away, you won't see us until after baby comes.

We finally have our crib and dresser! It is not the one that was back ordered though. We decided to look around after waiting for so long and found a set that actually fits us better. This set is a little smaller and doesn't overtake the room like the other one would have. I love being able to store baby's stuff in the dresser!

Zach and my dad put the crib and dresser together one Friday night. Zach also put together our travel system. It was fun to watch him read the directions and put together the crib. It was even more fun to watch him practicing with the stroller. He is going to be a wonderful father! The pictures beside are of the process and then the final product.

We've been looking at baby names recently. Zach has read through the baby book and put together a list of 100 names for a boy and 100 names for a girl. After reading all of them to me, we have narrowed it down to approximately 45-50 name of each. We will probably narrow the list to only the names we both had. which will narrow the list to 20 each. With only 7 weeks left, we had better keep working!

March is going to be busy with baby classes and baby showers! In case you are wondering we are registered at Babies 'R Us and Target. We hope to see all of you soon and we look forward to introducing our little one to you!

No more snow!!!

We at the Erickson household are tired of all this snow and cold weather! Zach has been working extra hours due to being on snow duty with the City of Des Moines. Anytime it snows more than 2 inches he has to go in and supervise 4 plowmen. He usually works a 12 hour day, starting at 6 a.m. and getting done approximately 6 p.m. Then he has to come home and shovel our driveway, which is no picnic! We've been saying for almost four years "we should get a snow blower." But every year it snows once or twice and then we get hardly anything. Well, we have broke down and bought the snow blower this year. The pictures below are of our past snows and of Zach using his new toy.

We were hoping the purchase of the snow blower would mean an end to this snow and that spring is coming. However, it only took a week to prove us wrong.

I suppose that we shouldn't rush into the spring time just yet. We are currently 30 weeks along which means this baby will be here before we know it. It feels like we have a lot left to do and not a lot of time to accomplish it. However, whatever gets done, gets done.

We are still waiting on our crib and dresser set. We checked today after our doctor's appointment and it looks like it will be another 3-4 weeks before it is back in stock. We are thinking of looking at a different crib and dresser due to the timing. I would like to have the nursery set up before baby is born so we won't have to worry about it later. I'm not so worried about the crib but I really want the dresser to start storing baby's things.

We have started taking our childbirth classes and we are going to the doctor every two weeks. Today I met the doctor that delivered me and my brothers! That was a little odd but he is a very nice man and I can see why my parents chose him for all three of their kids. Unfortunately, he is not delivering babies anymore so he won't be delivering our little one. We do get to see him one more time before baby is born.

The picture to the left was taken tonight, at 30 weeks. I look really big in this picture and I'm not sure that I really am but it's nice to look like I'm in my 3rd trimeser.

Baby moves all the time now. We know that baby is currently a late night/early morning baby so I hope that changes when baby arrives. It's fun to watch my stomach move and Zach is getting to see it more often.

Well, 10 weeks left and hopefully we'll know if we have a boy or a girl. Now it's time to start looking at names!

We are in our 3rd Trimester!

Since it's been snowing and I'm not allowed outside today, I thought I'd post the pictures we promised last week. We have not been very good at updating the blog but I vow to do better!

Currently we are a little over 28 weeks and things are going very well. We toured the hospital we will be delivering at and signed up for all of our prenatal classes. March and early April will be very busy! We tried to order our crib and dresser but they are both on back order so we will have to wait until the distribution center gets more. Hopefully that will be soon!

I started my new part time job at the church this week. I am really going to enjoy working with the people at the church. I will miss AIB but I know that this is what God has planned for us. It will be great to have time with baby at home. We need to start thinking about daycare!

The picture below is from 27 weeks. I'm also including a picture from a friends baby shower. Zach wanted to show that he can be pregnant too! Let us know if you are in the area and we'd love to see you!

Nusery Time

Zach had the day off for MLK Jr. Day, so we decided that would be a good day to paint the nusery, since Regina had to work so she would be gone. We painted the room a neutral yellow. It goes really well with the Nork's Ark theme. To the left are the before and after pictures, enjoy.

Speaking of work, Regina has a new job. She is leaving AIB to work for the church as the finance coordinator. Starting on Feburary 4th she will be working 18 hours at the church and 3 days at AIB part-time. Then when the baby comes Regina will leave AIB and just work at the church 18 hours a week. We are very excited that this opportunity happened. Regina will be able to stay home with the baby more, but she also gets to stay sharp by being in the workforce.

Stay tuned for a posting this weekend that will include pictures of Regina's belly!!

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2008 already. Pretty soon we will be holding this baby in our arms. We are currently 24 weeks, 3 days and things are going very well. Both Zach and I are keeping busy with baby preparations. We finally decided on a theme and bought bedding for the baby. Now we just need a crib. Our theme will be Noah's Ark. We got quite the deal on the bedding too! I had been looking online and found this particular bedding set at 3 different places. My mom and I were at Babies 'R Us one Monday and there were 2 left on clearance. When Zach and I went to our appointment that afternoon we stopped again and there was one left! We decided to buy it and when we got to the register we found out it was an extra 30% off! We ended up getting the bedding for about $100 less than I found online. I guess we have money to use for other accessories now! There are pictures below of the quilt.

The set also comes with a fitted sheet, bumper, dust ruffle, valance, and a diaper stacker. The next step is to pick out a paint color and let Zach paint!

We also received baby's first pair of slippers from some friends! Baby will probably wear these home from the hospital. The picture is below, GO Cyclones!

Lastly, the debate has started on whether I'm having a boy or a girl and what we should name baby. Many of our family thinks baby is a boy but some church friends say baby is a girl. I don't know, you are welcome to guess as well and we'll find out in a few short months! The picture below was taken at 24 weeks.