Busy, busy! 34 weeks!

34 weeks down, 6 to go (hopefully at MOST)!  Sometimes that feels like a lot, other times I freak out because technically it could be less than that and there is still a LOT to do.

We had baby showers this past week. Sunday was the big one with family and friends. It was good and low-key which I like.  Brunch foods, lots of presents, and no dumb games which made me happy. My sisters know me :-)  They also held it AT MY HOUSE which was pretty awesome because then I didn't have to pile all the loot in the car and then lug it up 2 flights of stairs once I got home!  Everyone just grabbed their own present and brought it up to the nursery before they left. Win! They also did all the dishes and cleaned up before leaving so I didn't have to lift a finger AND I ended up with all the leftovers. Best baby shower idea ever.  
My work shower was this past Wednesday and it was good too.  The theme was books and everyone brought their favorite kids book as a gift (either their own favorite from childhood or the favorite they read to their own children). So now our baby's library is fully stocked! I thought that was a great, easy idea.
So now we have a house full of baby stuff. It is like a baby tornado hit the joint. I have SO MUCH STUFF to put away.  Most of all: baby clothes. My sister gave me ALL of my niece's old baby clothes (they didn't find out the sex so most things are unisex which works out well), AND one of my girlfriends just had twin boys about 7 months ago and she gave me all of the stuff they've already outgrown! I am so so appreciative for all of this but holy crap it is just a lot of STUFF to organize, wash, fold, put away...  I'm a tad overwhelmed currently.

But the nursery is getting there!  We have most of the stuff we needed now and plan to shop for some of the remaining stuff this weekend. Our rocker/recliner has now come in so we'll be adding it to the nursery soon :-) We also ordered the one last piece of "furniture" (nightstand-type-thing to go next to the chair for breastfeeding stuff) and once that's in it will be pretty close to complete!  It will still be a bit before I post pictures though since the nursery has taken the full brunt of baby-tornado. I have a LOT of work to do...

Also this past week we had baby classes at the hospital.  Last night was Breastfeeding Success (which I don't feel was particularly helpful but did give me some more info), last weekend was Parenting your Newborn (it was fine if you like to play with dolls) and we also squeezed in the tour of Labor & Delivery last weekend so we know what to expect when the time comes. And can I just say - this hospital is AWESOME.  L&D is called the "Mom's Center" and the whole wing is just so relaxing and the staff we met are amazing. And the room. Holy crap. Correction: the SUITE!  Everyone gets their own suite with kitchenette, sitting area, Hubs gets his own pullout bed, there's a jacuzzi tub, big screen TV... the place is awesome. All meals are delivered in doubles so that Hubs eats too. And the best part of all - baby gets to room in with us as long as there are no major health issues that require him to be in the Special Care Nursery. The hospital is slightly earthy-crunchy but not overboard and they are HUGE on having immediate skin-to-skin and breastfeeding upon birth (even with C-section if at all possible). I'm thrilled. The staff will be able to do all the tests and checks while he is on my chest and they like to allow at LEAST 1 hour of skin-to-skin at that time with no interruptions expect for a nurse who will stay with us in case of any worries (and lactation consultant if I request one). 
Up until this class I really had not given too much thought to how I want my labor and birth experience to be. My "birth plan" is pretty much: labor until I can't take the pain, get an Epi, push the baby out. I'm hoping for a vaginal delivery without assistance but if there are complications then I plan to go with the dr/midwife/nurse's recommendations. And if I need a c-section, so be it.  Ultimately, my "plan" is just to have a live, healthy baby in whatever way that needs to happen. That's all I've wanted. But now after seeing the ideal, I reeeeaaaally hope everything will go well with the delivery with no major complications and that I'll be able to deliver and then have skin-to-skin time. I really want that and now I have been dreaming about that moment and cannot wait. I guess we'll just have to see how it turns out though.

Really nothing to update on the Pre-e front. I got my B/W and 24 hr urine collection results back and they were "normal" according to the doc.  Most numbers were on the high end of normal and some were slightly high (especially the protein in my urine) but I guess it's nothing to be majorly concerned about.  She just said to continue to try to "take it easy" and keep an eye on swelling and BP.  I gotta say, the 24 hr pee collection was a good time. I just loved having to play with my pee like 20 times a day after collecting it in a bedpan thingy that felt like a child's potty. Gross. I hope I don't have to do that again.

In related news, I freaked out a bit last week when I had such a big weight gain in one week but the doc must have been right about all the potential factors that led to it. I've been trying to eat less sodium this week and my weight actually dropped about 2 lbs so maybe it really was just extra water retention.  I'm now officially 16-17 lbs up which is still good for 34 weeks but just feels like a lot for me since I skipped from +11 to +17 lbs in no time at all.  Oh well.

Wow, I rambled a lot today.  I'll shut up now. Here's a parting comparison pic: