36 Weeks (A Day Late!)

How Far Along: 36 Weeks!

Baby Face

What We've Been Up To: We got to spend some quality time with Finn's grandma, which is always a special time. It was so great that she was able to travel out here before the baby was born and we are so excited to see her again soon after the baby makes their big debut! She's such a wonderful woman and it's just too bad we can't see her (and the rest of the Illinois crew) more often!

We had our 36 week check-up at the OB this week as well as an ultrasound. Although I was measuring (belly wise) 3 weeks ahead at our 35 week appointment the baby is actually measuring about one week behind (or the 30th percentile for its current age). Either way, all looks good. My cervix has softened which is a good sign! My Strep B test came back negative which was good because I won't need to be on antibiotics during the delivery.

Finn and I went to Red Rocks to see Common and Atmosphere at the first ever winter Red Rocks show (Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks). It was an amazing concert and we had a great time. It did snow for some of the show, but nothing crazy! It was about 15 degrees, but with the wind chill the real feel was about 2 degrees. As long as we kept moving we felt great, and as long as Finn kept drinking his cocktails didn't freeze! :)  We also think that the baby must love Atmosphere as about as much as us since I had started having contractions once he came out and they continued (sporadically) throughout the entire set! They had a giant fireball space heater at the top of Red Rocks which was pretty neat, the pictures of us aren't too great, but here they are anyway.





I got SHOWERED!! Charlotte, Hanni and our moms hosted the most awesome baby shower!! It was a beautiful day and I was completely overwhelmed with the amount of people that came and the love, kindness and generosity that filled the day! There were no traditional baby shower games but instead there was a tie-dye station for baby onesies and other baby clothes as well as a tile painting station (the tiles will become the border/frame around a mirror). I think everyone enjoyed themselves with the arts and crafts! There was also plenty of lemonade (and I'm sure other drinks...) and a lot of delicious food! My mom and sister made a pretty incredible Rice Krispie treat cake/castle with a giant duck on top that was a huge hit!! I will plan on doing a post more dedicated to this party at a later date, but wanted to share a few pictures from the day with you all.

Our good friend Josh came into town and got snowed in with us! It was a fun-filled weekend with him (as well as my sister). It was nice to get to spend some time with him since he lives in Tampa these days and we don't get to see him all that much. And he even shoveled one day!!! :)

We went to our friends Ryan and Danielle's wedding this Saturday. It was a beautiful Greek Orthodox ceremony filled with tradition at a church in Boulder, followed by a super fun reception at an art gallery in the Santa Fe Art District in Denver. I got lots of compliments on my dress/shoes/generally attitude which was nice and funny - but boy did my feet hurt by the end of the night! Hanni was a bridesmaid and looked as beautiful as ever and Freddy looked pretty darn dapper in his attire as well.

We had maternity photos taken this past Sunday (yes, Superbowl Sunday). We both had a great time and cannot wait to see how the pictures turned out! Here is a little sneak peek...

No, I'm not topless :)

Cravings:  The lemonade was delicious!! Otherwise nothing really.

Sleep: I don't want to jinx myself but have been getting a bit more sleep the past few days. I think some of that may be due to the fact that my head cold is finally subsiding, and we've had a lot of activities over the past week.

Gender: Currently on the baby pool we have 12 people thinking it is a boy and 8 people who think it is going to be a girl! The boys are getting one vote at a time and continue to take the lead in this pool. Here's the link for anyone who is interested in playing: http://www.expectnet.com/games/ComeOutAndDanz

Names: We haven't done anything with names this past week, but we've still got a decent list of "top names" that is short so that is helpful.

Symptoms: Still experiencing all the usual symptoms (check it). Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (PUPPS) has cleared up, actually! I found a miracle "cure" of sorts - Aveeno Oatmeal Baths helped but didn't do much once I wasn't soaking. However, Grandpa's Wonder Pine Tar Soap (yeah, you read that right) has done wonders for my skin!! It smells like it sounds like it might - and Finn doesn't find it too appealing, but I'd rather smell like I rolled in a pile of manure (not what the soap smells like, I assure you) than have to itch the way I was. I used this at least two times a day for the past week and then used Aveeno hydrocortisone cream afterwards and now I have hardly any signs of the rash and very little itching!!! I would seriously recommend the soap to ANYONE who has ever had to deal with PUPPS!!

Favorite moments since last post: Pretty much everything I wrote about! :)

What I'm looking forward to this week: We have a baby safety class tonight which should be very eye-opening and helpful. I am (as of today) considered a full-term baby carrier now!