Del Mar Fair

We went to the Del Mar Fair yesterday with the Annaloros.  We used our free tickets we earned cleaning up the beach in Oceanside a few weeks ago from the Surfrider Foundation.  The doctors had given me mixed reviews about going to the fair, but I didn't feel like sitting around and waiting for this baby so we loaded up the car in case we had to go to the hospital immediately, and off to the fair we went!  We had a great afternoon and evening with Kristin, K.C. and especially Sophia who is finally big enough to go on some of the kiddie rides with her dad.  We checked out the livestock, the cool products for sale and of course, ate a LOT of terribly delicious food (we did NOT eat the deep-fried butter, but I had to prove that they made that!). We also visited the all-you-can-drink beer tasting area where award-winning beers from all over the world were featured and available for (not pregnant people or 2 year olds) your endless tasting pleasure.  We can't wait to go back next year!

Baby progress!

We went to the doctor today to get checked and we got some good news!  I am 1 cm dilated, and 80% effaced and advised to both "take it easy" and "walk walk walk !"  The first piece of advice is related the fact that my fluid level had dropped from 13 last week to 8 today.  If it gets down to 5, they will send me straight to the hospital for induction.  My next appointment is on Monday to check the fluid level. The latter piece of advice is to aid in the continued dilation and effacement of my cervix.  Whether I go into labor on my own or if I am to be induced because of a low fluid level, the fact that my cervix is "prepping" for labor is great news!
How am I feeling?  Well, after the news today my emotions have been all over the place, ranging from anxious to ecstatic.  Now that labor is imminent (I know, it has been imminent the whole time but it is becoming more real by the day!) I am a little scared of the fact that once labor begins there is nothing I can do to stop it and our lives will change forever!  However, I am much MUCH more excited that this is soon coming to an end and it won't be long before I will holding my little baby girl in my arms and introducing her to all my family and friends!
We have the car loaded up with the hospital bag, diaper bag and properly installed car seat, thanks to a visit to the CHP today.  So we are READY TO GO!
Stay tuned...

Father's Day Fishing trip

We had a great day honoring Ken (Alex's wonderful dad), John (my awesome dad) and Alex (excited dad to be!) on a fishing charter from Dana Point harbor on Sunday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and even though the fish weren't quite biting, we had a great time relaxing on the boat and just spending the day together.

Happy Father's Day!!

Sculpin fish, poisonous spines, YIKES

Catch of the day!

The boys

Dolphins!!

Aboard the Dana Pride

Avery and I

Video of Avery moving around in my tummy

Click to see the Avery the Alien video on my Facebook page
CRAZY!!

Completed Nursery

I am FINALLY done with Avery's nursery!! I am so happy with the way it turned out and I just love going in there every day and thinking about how soon she is actually going to be here and using all this "stuff!" Very surreal and exciting. I have included live links to some of the items I chose, for all my preggo friends that might be wondering what I got and where.

A MILLION thanks to all our generous family and friends that helped us prepare for our little bundle of joy! Definitely could NOT have done it without you.

Closet stuffed with adorable little clothes (more in the drawers of the dresser!) along with shoes, monitor, Bumbo seat, breast pumps etc. All the essentials!

Hand-painted tree by Daddy with Umbra wall flowers, changing table/dresser with crib

Crib with bedding and wall letters

Extra bed for Grammy (and Roo) bookcase and bassinet with blankets

The rest of the baby gear!! Strollers and play yards and swings, oh my! (Also car seat and infant seat)

Just call me Big Bird

Big, for obvious reasons and Bird for the insane amount of nesting I am doing right now!  At the end of a long day running errands (which may not sound tough, but when your ankles triple in size in the car and your daughter's feet are jammed in your ribs so even sitting hurts...) I cannot resist the urge to re-organize drawers and closets and do load after load of laundry.  My problem is that if I don't do these things that are on my mind, they stay on my mind and then I can't sleep!  I guess I am preparing for the inevitable sleepless nights ahead :)

Holy Sack of Potatoes!

So at my growth-scan ultrasound today, the tech said that Avery weighs an estimated 5 lbs, 14 oz (which is almost 6 lbs, which is HUGE-sounding to me).  Babies are BORN that weigh that much, and it is totally tripping me out that something that huge is inside me.  Adding to that, babies at this stage gain about a 1/2 pound a week for the remainder of their gestation, which means if I get to 40 weeks, she could weigh upwards of 8 lbs (which wouldn't be surprising considering both Alex and I weighed about that much when we were born)! 

Honestly, I would be more than happy with a 7 pounder but I am so glad to hear she is growing well and healthy.  It also eases my mind to know that if she was born tomorrow (which I hope she isn't, momma still has some things to do!) she would be a healthy baby and do just fine without much intervention.

Carrying around a sack of potatoes in my belly does explain some of the less than comfortable aches and pains I have been experiencing, but no pain no gain, right??

Non-Stress Testing

Since 34 weeks, the doctor's at Kaiser require me to come in twice a week for non-stress testing due to a low hormone level result from the genetic screening tests conducted in the first trimester.  This low level puts me at risk for preelampsia and can indicate that the placenta is not providing enough nutrition/oxygen to Avery which can lead to pre-term labor and low birth-weight.  She has been completely normal in every ultrasound and test that has been conducted thus far, but apparently the further along you are in your pregnancy, the risks I listed above can get even higher.  So, off to the doctor I go, twice a week (plus childbirth classes, and my regular check ups.  Feel like I should have a special parking spot at the doctor's office!)
Each appointment entails getting an ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid levels, blood pressure check, and then they strap my belly up to two monitors: one that measures Avery's heart rate and one that measures my contractions (pic above).
What they are looking for is for her heart rate to increase 15 points over her average for 10 seconds, 2 separate times (usually her average hr is 140 bpm, so they want her to get to 155 bpm two times for 10 seconds each time). Also, I am given a clicker to track when I feel her moving.
So far, she hasn't been able to have these increases on her own, so the nurses and I have to be creative to "spook" her.  I eat ice chips, change positions, and drink juice. Sometimes, they use this buzz wand that makes a loud noise, and put it on my belly to freak her out. That thing rarely works for her, she is generally pretty calm in there!  Putting me on my right side and drinking juice seem to do the trick the best.
So far, everything has been great, my fluid and blood pressure are measuring exactly as they should.
I enjoy getting to see her on the ultrasound machine twice a week (she has been head-down for a few weeks now, and the nurses say she has lots of hair!!!) and it is generally relaxing laying there listening to the sounds of her heartbeat fill the room.
Tomorrow, I have a growth-scan ultrasound to see exactly how much she weighs! My guess? 5.5-6 lbs...What do you think??

36 Weeks!

So I am officially 9 months pregnant! For those of you who are thinking, "Wait, isn't 9 months all there is?"  Don't we wish! Your due date is actually calculated to 40 weeks of pregnancy (which equates to 10 months, for the mathematically challenged).  This means that I have 4 weeks left if she comes on her due date, which is still set for July 5th. The big question is, How am I feeling?  Well, aside from the feet swollen to twice their size, the sporadic back pain, the ligament pains low in my belly and the constantly interrupted sleep (changing positions, going pee, racing mind), I am trying to enjoy these last weeks of pregnancy. I am definitely feeling like we still have SO MUCH to do to prepare for her arrival, the Honey Do List grows by the day (poor Alex) but I know it will all get done and we will welcome her whenever she decides she is ready!

Welcome!!

Welcome to our blog!  So many things to welcome here in this first post, starting with me to blogging (HTML might as well be in Chinese or something, most of this stuff just goes right over my head)
Of course, the next thing would be to welcome Alex and I to parenthood (unless you count Griffy...) although we have a few more weeks until that becomes official.
The purpose for this blog is for Alex and I (well, mostly me) to chronicle our lives as they adapt to the impending arrival of our baby girl, Avery Patricia in a few short weeks. We are beyond excited and preparing as best we can, but let's face it, we are definitely fish out of water here!!
I suppose we should establish some sort of "baseline" of our lives pre-Avery so you have something to compare it to as we update things after her big debut.
Alex and I are definitely what you would call "busy people." We enjoy being with our friends, who mostly reside in Orange County and even LA, and since we moved to Carlsbad in Februray, this requires a bit of commuting to continue our desired level of socializing. 
We also like to travel as often as we can.  From Costa Rica (twice) to Catalina, there isn't a country not on our "must-see" list and while we do expect to make some huge adaptations after we become a party of 3, we hope to share our love of travel with our daughter.
For these next 4 weeks while we wait for my water to break, we plan to continue to ready things around here (assemble swing, pack n play, install car seat, wash baby clothes, pack hospital bag...) and try to spend a few more quiet days before our world gets pleasantly turned upside down.
Check back often for updates from Casa de Klingensmith!
Thanks for reading :)