35 weeks

Today was a momentous occasion for me.  I finally took Step I of the USMLE, after 10 weeks of hardcore studying.  Well, at least as hardcore as a massively pregnant lady can study.  I had finally put the test off as long as I could.  Any longer, and we risk Baby Girl coming DURING the test, and that's not particularly good for the performance. :)  She behaved quite well, only squirming around a little bit.  If I tapped on my stomach in a rhythmic way she would stop and listen. 

It was a difficult 8 hour test, but you know what?  It wasn't nearly as bad as I'd expected.  I'm so completely glad to get it over with.  Now I can knit!  And read!  And watch Project Runway!  Life is good again.  It's a tremendous sense of freedom to be able to close the door on this chapter of my life.  You should see the stacks of books I have strewn around the house.  I've never studied like this in my entire life.  

So....  I ordered a crib!!!  There were a few that I looked at on Craigslist and just didn't love enough to purchase.  I would have loved to have saved money on a big item like this but my super-generous mommy decided to give me a great gift, and so this is the one we chose:

And I also ordered these wall dots for decoration:

I'm so excited to finally start nesting.  The house is a neglected mess from the two of us frantically studying, so I'm tempted (even at this hour) to put on a good long podcast and start cleaning.

It's going to be a great last 5 weeks!!!

H&M

Boy, I hate to spend money on new maternity clothes with just 6 weeks left in my pregnancy. But today it was necessary. I'm down to just one pair of pants that's comfortable to sit down in, and it's starting to fall apart at the seams. I'd read on one of the Ravelry forums that H&M had maternity clothes, which was news to me.  So when Zampano and I decided to mall-walk today, I had to pop in and check out what they had, very skeptical that they would have anything in my size.  I'm too fat for their normal clothes.

But their maternity wear was GREAT!!!  Most everything fit just fine.  I tried on lots of things and surprisingly, they all fit.  I walked out of there with a pair of pants that I will probably wear every day until I give birth.  YAY!

34 week belly

34 week belly





28 week belly

Pretty big difference!

First post from cell phone

First post from cell phone
Originally uploaded by linuxgrl

This adorable little guy is a gift from my sister. Thought I'd test out blogging directly from my cell phone so I can post pix of the baby as soon as she's born!

almost 34 weeks

Had a good doctors visit today after a very long wait in the waiting room.  It was my first time at this particular branch of the practice and I will never go there again.  It took over an hour before I even got a room.  The office closer to me runs far more smoothly for some reason.  One woman got to the front desk and stormed out of there practically in tears, saying "I'm going to find a different doctor."  Apparently they get backed up a lot at this office.

I didn't mind too much though, there were a bunch of cute babies and little kids, and I had my new book to read, Rockabye.  It was worth the wait to find out that Baby Girl is definitely head down.  The midwife actually showed me how to feel for the positions of her butt and head, which was awesome.  The doctor I'd seen twice before wasn't able to tell, which worried me a lot.  I knew this lady would be an expert though.  Love, love love her!

After that, Zampano and I headed over to the birthing center and went over our birth plan with the nurse.  Everything went well and we're all set to give birth there in a few weeks!  

In other news, I AM GINORMOUS!!!!  I need to post a picture.  It's starting to get really uncomfortable to sit or stand or do anything, really.  My belly feels like it's grown a lot in the past couple days.  Which means I will be taking the USMLE just in time.  Just 11 days to go....  

33 weeks

Our stroller is here!!!  One of the most amazing, generous gifts we received at the shower was from Zampano's aunt.  She got us a whole travel system, which includes a matching stroller and car seat.  Mailed to our apartment.  How awesome is that?!

You can see pictures here.

It was really, really easy to set up and I just love how it looks!!!  Practically everything we have now is pink, and I swear I was never really into the whole girls wearing pink thing, but IT IS ALL JUST TOO CUTE TO RESIST.  Well, at least Zampano has a few things for her that aren't pink.  A yellow "Long live the punk cabaret" onesie is coming.  

Home Again

Well, I'm back home after a trip to Virginia for my baby shower.  My amazing MIL and Zampano's aunt threw it for me and it was fantastic.  We ate lots of delicious food and I could not believe how many people showed up!  Several people made long road trips to be there!  Two people hand-crocheted baby blankets for Baby Girl, and she got tons and tons of presents!  I was overwhelmed with everyone's generosity.  We had so much stuff that it looks like my parents will have to drive it all up when they visit for the baby's birth.

The games were really fun, and it was just such a fun, happy time.  I met a lot of new people and it was so good to see Zampano's cousins, who were so excited about the baby.  I can't wait for her to meet everyone at Christmas.  We haven't decided yet whether we're going to drive or fly.  Which is better with a 4 month old?  Both sound pretty daunting to me.

In other news, my big medical licensing exam is in 10 days and it's definitely time to get down to business.  Suddenly time has really started to fly.  I really, really do not want to have to push my date back again, (all the available dates are in August) so I'm hoping that I can get a lot of cramming done in the next few days.  I've pushed back all my prenatal classes and even a doctor's appointment so I will have no interruptions in the coming week.

Wish me luck!!!

The Birth Place

I am feeling SO much better about labor now that Zampano and I have visited The Birth Place - our birthing center which is attached to St. Joseph's hospital.  Everything was incredibly nice and the nurse took us through the whole process and answered all our questions.  You get your own private room with a private bath, and they dim the lights and help you to have a peaceful, relaxing birth.  It was EXACTLY what I was hoping for.  Couldn't have created a nicer environment.

I think even Baby Girl was excited.  She squirmed the entire time we were there.  

Are you ready baby?  Your mom and dad are SO looking forward to meeting you!  I can't believe I'm saying it but I'm really, really excited about going into labor!

Now all I have to do is find a good pediatrician!