{ A Mister's View - 27 Weeks }

We're getting closer! 

It's been really fun lately to see a lot of my Facebook friends posting pictures of their new babies and just gets me more excited for our little guy to get here! And i'm just a little bit jealous... but i know our little guy needs some more "baking" time yet before he's all fat and rolly-poley!

Emotions are all over the place lately it seems like.  One minute I'm fine and the next minute I want out of this pregnant body and back to normal!  I've also had a few moments of freaking out about being a good mom.  What a HUGE responsibility and to be honest there are times that "i just don't wanna grow up!" :) but... then i think about how I run into some of those women while i'm out shopping, that have a cart full of more rug rats then she has teeth and then i think --- "ahh if she can do this... we will have NO PROBLEM!" 

We had another round of our childbearing classes this week and we were able to tour the labor and delivery floor of the hospital.  It was really great to get that opportunity, because i have a feeling things might be a little stressful when that day comes and if we had to drive around looking for the doors we were supposed to go in, this soon-to-be mama might just flip out!  We also had one of the Mankato Clinic's OBGYN's come and answer any questions that the class had which also seemed to be very insightful.  We have a few more classes left and then we're pros!... right!? ;)

After our class on Monday night I had my first bout of Braxton Hicks contractions as well.  Dang those things! Not something that hurts... yet.... but just uncomfortable.  Going to keep up with my water drinking and throwing back the bananas and try to keep them from getting severe! 

We had our maternity pictures taken this last week by SR Photography.  Here's one of the photos.  There will be more to come, once we get back down there to pick out some more :)

funny thing -- we're both kind of laughing because  we were both staring at cleavage :) ha

As you might already know, I asked the soon-to-be daddy to add something to this post this week. I really think down the road that our little guy  might get a kick out of reading some of these blogs and felt that Dad should say a little something too.  And, it's kind of nice to have something for any other new moms to reference if they read this too :)  Get a feel for how this Mister thinks.

MISTER: 

Amy thought having me write this week’s blog post would be neat, should be interesting as I am an avid writer, especially when it comes to translating my thoughts/feelings to others.

So pregnancy from the man’s point of view…..where do I start.  It is extremely hard, especially on me; ummm nope that’s not the truth, it is easy on this end.  Hardest part so far is trying to stay concentrated on back and foot rubs; which, as Amy will attest to, is pretty difficult for this guy. (luckily they sell electric massaging contraptions)  The mother-to-be has to go through weight gain and emotional highs and lows while the father-to-be sits back and reaps the benefits of the snack food cravings.  All-in-all my role around the house is status quo, although now I include keeping a watchful eye on the pregnant one to the list.  Old man winter has been pretty easy on me, requiring minimal clearing of snow and chipping ice to ensure my lady stays upright to and from the garage.

Child birth classes started a few weeks ago.  We are learning, but more than anything, it is nice to be in a room full of people, who, like ourselves are eager to master this parenting thing.  I have heard that this is the stage when it gets ‘real’ and you start to freak-out.  I can definitely see that it is becoming more ‘real’ as Amy continues to grow and the May 28^th date approaches, but I think we are far from ‘freaking out’.  My highlight, for which I am most excited, is our next ultra-sound and in a couple weeks we get to see the little feller again!

As I sit here typing this Tyson is lying sprawled out across the bed, boy does he have another thing coming when baby boy is here and steals the show.  Bet there is going to be a phase of intense curiosity followed by a short stint of jealously; but I don’t doubt for a minute he will fall into our new family routine just fine.

Along with my lady, this gul-darn mister is loving this experience and ready for the mini-mister to arrive.

Here's to a warm enjoyable March! 

{ 3rd Trimester Right Around the Corner! }

Today marks 26 weeks for us!  Besides this miserable long winter, things are going very well for us pregnancy-wise.  Mini-Mister is still just as active as ever and is getting into a terrible habit of keeping mommy awake after potty breaks in the middle of the night!  There’s no doubt he’s a strong little guy! He’s given me a few jabs lately that change the shape of my tummy, which is still very alien-like for me.  I’m not sure it’ll ever be “normal” that a child is growing inside my body.  It’s unreal.

Things are changing in the nursery!  We’ve ordered our baby monitor with a great discount I received from Amazon for ordering so many other baby items from there already!  So we splurged a little on a nice monitor.  We’ll be able to use it sort of like a walkie-talkie and be able to talk to the little guy even if we’re not in the room with him.  I have a feeling some fun will be had with that monitor between the Mister, Tyson and I before baby gets here though :)  So I’m sure there will be more to post about that in the near future!

We’ve also got the decals up on the walls in the nursery as well!  I think it turned out awesome and couldn't be happier with how easy it was to put up and how you can’t really screw it up.  The decals come off the walls and you can re-position them however you need to and then when baby grows up, they are easy to remove and NO ADDITIONAL PAINTING!

Tree with Owls and birds

A giraffe and an elephant with some flowers and butterflies

George the giraffe is still an ongoing saga.  Mister has gotten me with it a few different times lately (sometimes not so intentional – other times he’s still out to get me!)  Mister and I need to do a better job of setting George up when we know other people are coming to the house…. So beware if you’re a frequent visitor! :)

Valentine’s Day last week brought a new iPad to the Viland household!  Mister and I have been using it a lot and have been loading free books off of amazon.com for the baby as well.  I think the iPad might be a life saver for us when baby gets a little older and can be self-entertained with a book or a movie. 

On Monday we had our second session of childbirthing class.  This week’s topics included some tips for the Mister on how to keep me breathing through labor and to administer some of the calming techiniques (massages, birthing ball, walking, hip pressure etc).  And believe me – practice makes perfect right!?  And we all know what kind of a perfectionist my Mister is -- J:) YAY for mommy!

This last week a facebook friend of mine (Beth) posted a link on some things that new moms should know for after childbirth.  Some things I already knew but others got me a little “bug-eyed”!  For any other new moms or anyone looking to be a mom in the near future read this link. – For my male readers or others that don’t plan to have kids for a while – STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS SITE!

http://www.pregnantchicken.com/pregnant-chicken-blog/2010/9/23/happily-after-giving-birth-10-things-they-dont-tell-you.html

We’ve got maternity photos scheduled for this weekend so that should be interesting.  I’m much better at shooting the camera rather than being in front of it (if you didn’t already know that).  Looking forward to capturing some photos before I get to be the size of boat! 

Oh! And a little surprise is on the way for next week’s blog post!  Maybe a little “view from the Mister”!

Happy-Cold-Last-Full-Week-Of-February! 14 weeks to go!

{ 25 Weeks and Poppin’ like it’s hot….}

First thing is first --- Thank you to all of you that have been reading my blogs and letting me know it!  Always fun to know that people are taking the time to check in and see what we’re up to and finding some humor in it as well. 

k… now……..… I’m exhausted! Simply put! I’ve had a busy couple weeks and sometimes it’s hard to just sit back and take a deep breath and see the big picture. 

Last week I traveled to Tampa, FL for a convention all week for work.  Weather was great there, but I spent my time, except about 10 minutes, inside for the trade show.  Would love to go back down there and bring the Mister and spend some more time.  It was great to walk to and from the trade show in the mornings without having to start the car, let it warm up, put on a big yucky coat, mittens etc!  Just grabbed my stuff and took off!  I’m not kidding… spring can’t get here fast enough!  I’m ready to complain about hot and sticky rather than cold and dark! :) (Pregnant ladies get to complain, and you better believe I take FULL ADVANTAGE!)

Here’s a photo of a couple coworkers and I on one of our walks to the trade show.

When I got back from my work trip I was able to catch up with some girlfriends from home at a baby shower.  My friend Anna is having her baby soon!  Poor thing got put on bed rest and isn't due until the beginning of March!  It was a little eye opening to see all of her gifts and all I could think was “holy crap! Where am I going to put all this stuff when I get it!??!” Good thing was that she received a lot of stuff that I hadn't even thought I needed yet – one of them being nook with buck teeth on the end! Ha! Seriously how funny are these!? There are TONS of them out there too!  Lips, teeth, mustaches, pig snouts etc!  Hint Hint! 

I had another doctor appointment this week. Everything is looking good and the doctor informed us that our previous ultra sound showed now indications of any birth defects or any other concerns!  He does now have our due date listed as May 26^th now instead of the 28^th.  I know I know…. Nothing to get excited about because I’m sure this little dude is going to stay put until he’s evicted… but… good to know that I’m moving that direction rather than the other way! Funny thing about going to the appointments now, Mister and I place bets for the amount of weight I've gained.  Not that it really matters (because I lost of course) but he was dead on – 6 lb gain! We’ll see what the next one brings!

We also started our child birthing classes this week too.  It was pretty painless.  Looking forward to the next classes when we can actually go tour the hospital and see where we’ll be going before the day actually gets here and we’re lost! 

Pregnancy is really starting to push my limits as far as comfort goes…. Cuz I have NONE! Can’t seem to sit or stand for long before needing to move and trying to get comfortable laying down is near impossible (although my 10 pillows in bed do help and creates a great barrier for my mister to have to work through to find me to touch my belly hehe :)).  I know there are some woman out there that think pregnancy is great and love every minute of it… but I’m here to tell you.. THEY ARE CRAZY! ABSOLUTELY FRUIT LOOPS! Ha!  Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to see/meet this baby and get to hold him and show him off and the whole bit… but the farther I get in to pregnancy the more I wish the stork really did just drop him off at my front door and we could all just be on our merry little ways!

Our little guy is still VERY active and loves to give me swift kicks at night and after lunch.  I almost find myself walking and moving really slowly when I know he’s not active just to not wake him up! Ha!

Seems that lately I’ve gotten lots more comments of “Wow you’ve popped!” or “Hey baby belly!” and my favorite this week, from the 3^rd grade girl that I mentor, “wow! Your belly is really getting big now!” ha!  She means well :)

Here’s to another week and hoping that the sun and warmth are around the corner soon to change my mood! Only 33 more days until it’s officially spring… but who’s counting!?  These pictures are getting harder and harder for my Mister to take.  Can't seem to find an angle that I think flatters me at all! .... oh the joys.... but at least he just takes the camera and keeps trying!