Thank Goodness For Air Conditioning

In case someone has not heard me talk about missing Seattle to date, 3rd trimester pregnancy in Oklahoma summertime has me feeling homesick and wishing I could soak my feet in the Puget Sound on a daily basis. All whining aside I am one lucky girl to have the modern convenience of air conditioning (My grandmother did this back in the 40's in Lawton, OK at Fort Sill). I think my ankles would be the size of my thighs without it!

Thanks as well for the fun and friends at KC (Kimberly Clark). They threw a very nice couples shower for us on Friday (Thanks Kim & Amber!), complete with lots of pink and blue jelly bellys and guesses on the gender of HBW. It was a fun time and we have a very lucky little baby that went home with lots of wonderful and useful gifts.

We are off to our weekly doctors appointment tomorrow and we hope this one will be uneventful......unless of course the baby would decide to begin making his/her arrival. We'll take that event!

Can You Ever Really Be Ready?

The one final item we were waiting on arrived Monday.....the crib. With all of our bedding washed and in hand (thanks Nana, Papa, Grandpa Doug & Grandma Sharon), we were ready to finish assembly of the HBW's room. A few snags with our area rug but the room is now functional for any baby that needs to sleep, eat, burp and poop lots. Just in case I needed another reason why marrying an engineer was a good idea, the crib assembly provided it. After hearing everyone's horror stories about crib assembly, HBW's Dad had it assembled without issue in 30-45 minutes.

Now we are down to odds and ends, and not too soon as we had another exciting Doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I ended up back on the fetal monitor but HBW was an overachiever and had everyone at ease immediately. I'm having contractions and have begun the dilation/effacement process so things are headed in the right direction. With the temps now at 100 here, I would sure love this little one to make an early arrival. Nature will tell...........

Visit from Grandma & Opa + Shower

We had a long weekend with soon-to-be Grandma and Opa Ziegler. They were especially good about relaxing by the pool or in the A/C with me and it was nice to have the added company. They both got to play Dad's favorite game with HBW, which constitutes pushing on his/her foot and feeling it move around the right side of my belly. The next time they come to Tulsa, the Weiland's will be "3" (+4 if you count Leo)!

With family in town we opened the shower-by-mail gifts that have arrived so far. It was very fun to read cards and messages from many you. We are really looking forward to letting you all know when Baby Weiland makes his/her debut. An extra special thanks to Aunt Sarah for organizing the shower!....and one of the special gifts from the Gibb's, a T-shirt that read "My Dad Is Cooler Than Your Dad".

Preferred Mode of Transport

Contrary to the attached photo, I am still walking these days. Although the grocery store greeter has offered me the electric cart twice in the past month. (The first time I was unintentionally snotty in my negative response and felt bad afterward.) The Okie heat aside and normal final month discomforts, I am really feeling good. I've told a number of you this already (skiers you'll relate), every morning feels like the morning after your first powder ski of the year. Yoga and walks on the treadmill continue to energize me and help me sleep better at night.

Last week we found out that our HBW is truly Healthy. Yep, the doctor actually cringed when she told us our baby was weighing in quite large by ultrasound estimates. Just what every first time Mom facing labor wants to hear:) At this point, we are still on with our mid-August due date. Off to Doctor this afternoon for our weekly check-up........

33.5 Weeks, June 28

I'm folding up clean onesies and baby socks this morning. It is very strange to see these little clothes in our laundry basket. We finished up birthing class last week and have our birth plan and hospital list ready to go (Ipod/station for Mom, sandwiches for Dad:). HBW slowed down in the past week which gave us some concern. We went through an hour of being hooked up to the fetal moniter on Tuesday. HBW was not cooperative for the first half hour but kicked in for a final 30 minutes with great results. After passing this test we were thankful to be heading home.
We are looking forward to a visit from Grandpa & Grandma Z in a couple of weeks. Mom is a little stir crazy not traveling for work and feeling pretty slow these days. Workouts are down to (slightly) brisk walks on the treadmill and yoga. I work up a sweat everytime:)

30 Weeks, June 5

We are ten weeks from HBW's due date - although they have warned us in birthing class that 1st timers usually go 8 days late. Mom is still feeling good and exercising regularly (modified), although her cravings for ice cream have increased with the 90 plus degree weather we have been "enjoying" since Memorial Day. HBW continues to measure and weigh right in range. Lately he/she has gained the strength to suprise Mom with some solid jabs to the ribs. Dad thinks this is funny.......

Virgin Pina Colada Please

At 27 weeks HBW enjoyed Mom and Dad's last hurrah in Miami and the Keys. A full day in the Everglades National Park, HBW loved the fan boat ride and numerous alligators but definitely tired of the various hot walks through the many ecosystems (or at least Mom did). We relaxed in the Florida Keys, including a fantastic offshore reef snorkel - proving that the pregnant belly provides the perfect handle for your arms/hands while floating with the sealife. Thankfully our hotel had great virgin pina coladas and super view of the ocean. Ending the trip with a night in Miami, we spent an afternoon on the infamous South Beach. The crowd lived up to its reputation - its a good thing HBW was still in utero!