Week 32: It's a Big Damn Deal

So here we are at week 32 (almost 33!).  Why is that so important you ask?  Well if you look at my Google search history- please don't, it'll just be awkward for both of us- you'll see I asked that same question.  Everyone has been telling me to make it to 32 weeks and you're in a "safe zone".

Counting down to 32 weeks

The morning of hitting 32 weeks I expected *something*, which is crazy I know, but really what does 32 weeks means?

1. It means that, if BGC should be born today, she would have 95% of survival with all organs developed, she just needs to store up some fat.  I'm happy to donate.

2. Surfactant has formed in the lungs- this is a substance that lines the inside of the lungs to help them not stick to each other when they expand and contract to breathe outside of the womb. #science

She is also gaining 1/2lb a week so she's, most likely, approaching 5lbs.  Also measuring between 17-19 inches long she is running out of room in the womb <heh.  But that hasn't stopped BGC from doing this at 3am>>>>

She is quite the mover and, don't get me wrong, I'd rather have her move than not, but I have noticed it is slowing down and is now more rolling and arching.  It kind of looks like a bowling ball moving under a sheet.  That's best I've got as Meg gets grossed out when she looks at it.  But don't worry- she still does it frequently between 2-5am.

I am also now having trouble bending over even the slightest.  Drying my legs after a shower is basically me waving a towel at them like sending smoke signals.  Sitting up to eat is rough as the more you eat and drink the less good it feels to bend in anyway so you end up getting whatever food you can get.

We are now at the point we will be seeing our midwife weekly until BGC is born.  They also informed us that starting at 36 weeks we will have weekly ultrasounds so they can perform BPPs (Biophysical Profile).  This is something that isn't typical for most pregnancies- it is because I'm a larger woman and *sometimes* that can cause complications and my doctors don't foresee anything, but it'll be reassuring to see her every week!  Only a couple more weeks left!

With that we're gonna leave you with a bad joke until our next post...

Two cows are standing next to each other in a field.  Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning."  "I don't believe you," says Dolly.  "It's true!  No Bull!" exclaims Daisy.

Pregnancy. Period.

It's Raining Men... Oh, Wait. That's Not Right. (A Shower Story)

Over the past two weekends we've been lucky enough to have not one, but two showers thrown in our honor.

The Bristol, CT posse (including G-Pa and the Godfathers)

Our "friend" shower was a joint effort with many people pitching in. It was so wonderful and we felt so loved!

Our good friends (all of which Meg and I met through our gigs working in the Boston arts scene) came together to throw us a party.  And we must say it was "us" to a tee (a baby T in fact <rim shot>).  Grandpa Curtis came in from CT with cupcakes, adorable onesie cookies as baby shower favors and a boozy concoction called a Mamatini (virgin version was also served for Kate).








While opening the many lovely and heartfelt gifts from friends, baby shower bingo was enjoyed. Guests wrote in what they thought we'd receive on each square, which certainly got them invested in the gift opening!  I think their cheers were louder than ours.  "A BINKIEEEEEEEEE! Bingo!"

The onesie making station was a hit.  Guests were provided with an array of onesies in all colors and sizes and iron-on decals ranging from LGBT themes to musical theater references... actually that's not quite a large range.  But you get the point.  By the end of the party we had upwards of 30 onesies for BGC made with love (and sass) from our friends.

Thanks you guys!

This past Saturday was our family shower hosted by Meg's mom and our step-sisters/in-laws (<it's too complicated, let's just call them our sisters). #blendedfamiliesAMIRITE

Awash in pink and green, we were surrounded by family! Our sister Jess made a 3 layer cake with accompanying cupcakes.  The whole place was covered in handcrafted decorations by Jess as well.

Jaimie had stations set up for guests to write little notes of wisdom or humor that were then rolled around a piece of candy and put inside a clean diaper, adding to our diaper stash.  So when we are up with BGC at 3am for the umpteenth time changing her diaper we'll get a little note and a piece of candy to get us through.

Another station had a picture with a bare tree with an ink pad next to it.  Guests were asked to add their thumbprint like leaves onto the tree. If you see anyone walking around with a blue thumb, you'll know they were part of our shower! Another nice addition to BGC's nursery.

Meg's side of the family is also VERY talented in the Arts and Crafts department.  Meg's cousin (and goddaughter), Laura, made this adorable elephant! We named her Barbra (mostly because, as Meg's parents are both Speech Pathologists, Bs are easy for babies to say early on), but I also like to sneak a little Babs into BGC's life whenever possible.

Another hit was Meg's Aunt Gail's gift.  An avid knitter, she hand-made a hat for BGC for each month, starting with a coming home hat.  Note: September (the all white one) has a little veil so she can celebrate our wedding anniversary with us, November is a cupcake to celebrate her birthday (although she is welcome ANYTIME after 37 weeks).

Hats in order from December 2014 through November 2015

We are VERY lucky and grateful for all the generosity, both in talent and gifts, that we received and can't wait to have 58324095435 photo sessions with BGC- don't worry, we'll share them here.

When you get a Babies R Us gift card.

Operation Nursery: DONE! (Almost)

(words by Meg + gifs by Kate)

When someone asks us to "build" something

Kate and I are really terrible at being lesbians. I mean, we're fine at BEING lesbians (wink, wink.. sorry mom and dad), but we're not the usual handy sorts. Kate's dad gave us a toolbox and we don't even know what half of the contents would be used for. Honestly I couldn't tell a drill bit from a wood screw, so when it came to building the crib, we thought we'd call in the Calvary, aka my former roommate and current friend, Brittany Burke.

Read the instructions first, you say?
So that's where I've been going wrong all these years!

Kate while watching Brit and Meg construct things

In between the whale pictures is BCG's initial,
which is blurred out to preserve the surprise/drive my dad crazy.

Once the crib was done, we were on a roll! I was surprised to find out that hanging three pieces of artwork was harder than building the furniture. That's what happens when you live in an old (read: slanted) building.


Brittany kept saying "what's next?" so we kept answering her! Last, but not least, she put up our new curtain rods and hung curtains.

Looking into the nursery from the kitchen.

There will be a changing pad on top of that teal dresser.

After the big pieces of the nursery were assembled, I couldn't stop myself from organizing. It's what I do.

Baby girl has more clothes than I do!

TINY SOCKS!

We're in the market for some crib sheets, a changing pad and a couple of other things and then the nursery will be complete. We're ready for you, baby girl!

31 Weeks: Chillin' Out Maxin' Relaxin' All Cool

My transition into the home stretch of being pregnant

So here we are at 31 weeks.  I'm gonna be honest.  As soon as I hit 30 weeks everything started to hurt.  I woke up one night and it felt like someone was stabbing me in the ribs and, as it turns out, somebody is! Then I went to stand up one day and I thought I had just jumped on the banana seat of my bike wrong.  After some googling (DEVIL!) and chats/visit with my OB, prognosis: No UTI (most common thing to happen to women during pregnancy), the rib pain was due to my uterus growing/BGC pushing and kicking which is causing inflammation to my rib

What you think relaxin should feel like
v. what it makes you feel like

cartilage and the "I just went on a 20 mile bike ride down a gravel hill" feeling was due to the pressure of the baby (she's head down) and the hormone relaxin.  Sounds like it should be magical right?  No.  Relaxin is a hormone that helps certain parts of your body to grow and stretch in preparation for labor.  I'll leave it at that.

We had an ultrasound this morning and BGC is measuring in the 56% percentile and a couple of days ahead!

  She weighs 4lbs 1oz and likes to throw her weight around- which is a good thing. 

They also performed a BPP, or, Biophyiscal Profile.  It measures the health of the baby through body movements, muscle tone (flexing the arms and legs), breathing movements (the baby's ability to move her chest muscles and diaphragm), and the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding her.  BGC got an 8 out of 8! #harvardmaterial 

We have our next, and (probably) final, ultrasound is in a month.

We saw also saw our favorite person, Nurse Judy, today!  I've lost 4lbs (don't hate me) and all mom vitals are good!  If you remember from a previous post, our doctor options were thinning as our top 2 were leaving the practice.  After our birthing class and some long talks with new friends we have decided to change to a midwife!  More on that later.

How Ya' Feelin' Kate Corner

I want our baby to be born in the best possible time for her health, but I'm gonna be honest.  I'm ready.  I would like to not have a rotating wardrobe of 4 outfits because even maternity shirts aren't long enough for my torso of fury.

I want a deli sandwich.  I want an adult beverage.  And I want to see this little nugget who performs excerpts from the musical triumph "Stomp" nightly.  I will say though that when she is born I will miss the excuse to eat anything I feel a craving for.  I'm also very hormonal and have been prone to random acts of maternal feelings as well as toddler-like meltdowns.  So, sorry to everyone I encounter!





Up Next: BABY GIRL CURTIS NURSERY COMPLETION!

Mo' Money Mo' Problems?

(written by Meg + gifs by Kate)

I recently had a discussion with a friend who is in her mid 30s and hasn't yet started trying to get pregnant because she's worried about how she'll afford a bigger apartment, daycare, diapers, and all
the other costs that come along with having a baby. Though I understand and share her concerns, I encouraged her to get going! She might (MIGHT!) have more money in a couple of years, but then she'll also be beyond the magic pregnancy age of 35 and have all kinds of other things to worry about it.

Then I came across this blog post called What Comes First: The Chicken or the Nest Egg? by Rebecca Woolf of Girl's Gone Child. I chuckled when I read her smart words "there is never enough money and there is never enough time and there is never enough of anything ever the end." I couldn't agree more.

Kate and I did wait until we both had decent(ish) paying jobs and an apartment that can (perhaps uncomfortably) accommodate a baby...but we didn't wait until we had enough money to really do this thing.  I'm not sure when that day might come. We had the added financial complication of needing to put up a fair amount of money at the beginning just to attempt to get pregnant, so we actually did have a bit of a nest egg. Since it only took 3 tries (woohoo!), we had some of our baby making savings left over, a bit of which we recently used on vet bills for our other baby, Batman the cat. But I digress...

My point is that I don't think there's ever a "right" time to have a baby. Obviously it's ideal if future parents have enough money to provide the basics for their baby and I certainly do wish we had a little more (who doesn't?), but I don't regret our getting pregnant before having all of financial ducks in a row. I should add that we're very lucky to have very supportive families who would never let BCG go diaper-less. Phew.

We want to hear from you! Do you have financial check boxes on your pre baby-making to-do list? Did you make it it work on a budget? Do you have advice for us? We'll take it.