MOMMY'S HERE!!!!!! =)

So I know I'm late on giving everyone an update, but who wants to blog when you're having so much fun in real life?! Mom got here Tuesday evening and we have been enjoying each others company ever since. =)

Yesterday we took her down to Yongsan to set up our Stork's Nest room, went to my 39th week Dr.'s apt., then we went to 63 Building (we took Flat Stanley there with us too, Kaylee! =),

did a little bit more sight seeing, and went shopping and out to dinner with Jessie (can't believe I forgot to take pics! Ah!).

In other news, on the way back from our date with Jessie, I noticed I was having more and more contractions so I decided to time them for a while...turns out they were 5 mins. apart for over an hour! Once we got home and I was able to change positions they died down, so it seems like that was just a pre-game warm up. But I'm definitely having more and more, though they aren't as consistant as they were last night. Soooo, any day now...! xoxox

Baby's the size of a watermellon! (week 39)

Our baby's waiting to greet the world! She continues to grow a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds. The outter layers of her skin are sloughing off (I HATE that word!!! So gross...it pains me to write it.) as new skin forms underneath.

Taken from: www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-39-weeks_1128.bc

THANK YOU!!!!!!

I just want to say a HUGE THANK YOU!!! to everyone who has sent us baby clothes, baby stuff, or money to buy them. Stover & Liz, Laura & Emily, Mom & Dad, Aunt Susie, Uncle Paul & Matthew, the Biffies, Aunt Margie & Uncle Spike, Mama Lisa, Cole, Kat, Sarah, Lauren, Aunt Diana & Uncle Art, Johnson & Tracy, Stan & Cathy...you all have blown us away with your generosity and thoughtfulness. I just did all our baby laundry and couldn't believe how much we have!!

Thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart for welcoming my little baby girl into this world and loving her so well already. =) xoxox

Correction...

So I realized I got some of my info. wrong during one of my last posts (www.gigiandjojo.blogspot.com/2011/01/have-you-heard-news.html) and thought I should clarify. =) The bonus we got was not for signing on to stay here another year, it was money we were supposed to be getting all along for staying in Area 1 but that was back-paid to us because we hadn't been getting it. Coincidnetially they happened at the same time. However we will still be getting a signing bonus for staying an extra year, so that's even better! "Money Mustakas" or "Big Money" as his soldiers fondly refer to him now, is still working extremely hard bringing home tons of bacon. =) We looooove bacon. Hahaha.




We're both really looking forward to TUESDAY when Mom gets here (WOOHOO!!!! =) and whenever our baby girl decideds to arrive - that way Joe will get a bit of time off and a break from his killer schedule. Oh, and family time too. =) We bought our crib, dresser and changing table and will set up the nursery this weekend. (Can't wait! I'll take pics. =) We pre-ordered a glider and ottoman too, but they are backordered so we'll have to wait a month or so before those come in.


On Friday we got our key to the Stork's Nest, so that's a huge sigh of relief. If I haven't already explained it to you, the Stork's Nest is basically 3 cottages that are on Yongsan Garrison (where the only Army hospital in Korea is) that are available for Moms-to-be who live farther than 1/2 an hour away from the hospital. There are 3 private rooms per cottage, with a shared kitchen and laundry room. We went and checked ours out once we got the key and it's really nice! Queen size bed, air mattress, comfy couch, huge TV, little table and chairs, dresser and full bath - with a tub!! So excited about the tub. The whole point of the Stork's Nest is so we can have a home away from home before I go into labor and so I can labor there until I feel ready to go to the hosptial. The hospital birthing rooms have showers but no tubs, so I'm really looking forward to being able to labor in the tub, at least for a while. =)


In other news, I've been sick this week. Killer sore throat, sinus pressure/pain, the beginings of an ear infection, kinda achey body...Joe took me to the Dr. and we got some meds, so hopefully I'll be able to kick this before baby girl comes. Let me just say, being pregnant and sick is no fun. I think it's harder on your body than normal. But I am enjoying the fact (if that's possible) that this is the last time I'll be allowed to be sick and self-obsorbed, without having to worry about another little one to take care of as well. Big ups to all the Mom's out there who are/have been sick with kids. Not sure how that's supposed to work out, but I guess you live and learn, hmmm? =)


Guess that's all for now - can't wait to post pics and tell all about our time with Mommy!!! =)
xoxox

Baby's the size of a watermellon! (week 38)

Our baby has really plumped up. She weights about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long. She has a firm grasp, which we'll soon be able to test when we hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color our baby's eyes will be? We may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Taken from: www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-38-weeks_1127.bc

Baby is the size of a watermellon! (weeks 37-42)

At week 37, our pregnancy is considered full-term, meaning baby is likely to thrive after birth. Baby spends these last weeks in preparation for the outside world...meaning careful refinement of the blink, suck, inhale and exhale. Meconium, which we'll probably find in the first diaper, is accumulating in the intestines. If (okay, as) we worry about giving birth, consider what it's like for the little one. During the journey out of my womb, baby will produce more stress hormones than any other time in life.

Taken from: www.pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-tools/slideshow/how-big-is-baby.aspx?page=23

Baby's the size of a honeydew! (week 36)

Our baby is still packing on the pounds - at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6.5 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Our baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, which will form the contents of her first bowel movement. At the end of this week, our baby will be considered full-term. WOOHOO! (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 weeks are post-term.) She's in a head-down position. But if she wasn't, our practitioner might suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version", which is a fancy way of saying she'd try to coax our baby into the head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of my belly.

Taken from: www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-36-weeks_1125.bc