36 Weeks down, only FOUR to go!

My due date is only FOUR weeks from TODAY! Eeeek! So we are on countdown mode.

We had our Week 36 doctor appointment this morning. From here on out, we'll be seeing the doctor every week to check for dilation. And next week, at 37 weeks, I'll be considered full term. But as of now, no progress. Nada. Nothing. So that is GOOD!

I am not yet at the point where I feel the need to serve Baby Lima Bean with an eviction notice. In fact, I think she's probably MUCH easier to take care of in my tummy than outside, so I think she should stay there for a little while longer. Redecorate, darling. Make yourself at home. But, please, do stop all that squirming around!

Below is a photo of what it looks like inside my belly at 36 weeks... So the bumps that I see as Baby Lima Bean moves are probably her butt or heel sticking up at the top of my belly. It's mighty funny to watch my undulating flesh! Plus, she hiccups all the time. So she already has a drinking problem... Hmmmm. Will have to keep an eye on that!

At the appointment today, we learned that she is head down. Good, girl. And that my fibroids look like they'll not get in the way, so more good news. Plus I am only up ONE pound since my appointment TWO weeks ago, so that is very good!

Total weight gain so far is 31 pounds. Naturally, I rewarded myself by having some chocolate.

Then, this evening, our productive day continued with a visit to the pediatric office we are considering. We met with the doctor who founded the practice and got to see the offices and ask questions. We liked him a lot. Very straightforward guy.

The group is a large practice -- about 11,000 patients and 8 doctors. But we liked the facility and the services they offer. Plus, they have a lactation consultant on staff, which will be helpful, and they come to Sibley to check the babies as soon as they are born. And just about everyone we know goes there... And several pregnant moms I know are also planning to go there. Needless to say, the place comes highly recommended.

So, we plan to go with them. Whew. One less thing to worry about!

Up next: Getting our car seat installed and packing our hospital bag! One thing at a time!

We have outdoor furniture!

Speaking of deals, this has got to be one of the biggest yet! Papa Bean found a great set of 6 patio chairs and a glass table for sale on Craigslist for only $50! The woman selling them is moving and just needed to unload them. We paid cash and picked the chairs up last week and the table up on Sunday -- great deal!

But what makes it even sweeter is that while we were at the Leesburg Outlets last Saturday, Papa Bean found this gorgeous Pottery Barn umbrella on clearance for only $124, with 20% off of that price. So for only $100, we got this great umbrella that was originally marked at $449! The stand is regularly $119 and we got ours for only $60!

So for this set you see here (below)... We paid just $210. WOW!


Now all we need is a grill... And probably a rake? And some special Wild Bird Accents' decor? ;)

We are looking forward to some cool Fall days where we can sit outside and relax under our umbrella with our little Lima Bean. We think she'd approve of the color...

Look what I found!

Unpacking has never been so profitable! Digging through some old file folders in our new home, which had previously been stacked up in a storage space, and before that had been in a damp basement, I came up on a patriotic looking envelope...

Inside were two $50 savings bonds, one dated November 1976 and the other December 1976. They were gifts to me months after I was born, one from each set of my grandparents!

The bonds were purchased at $37.50 each, and they matured quite some time ago. We took them to the bank to cash them in, and over the past 32 1/2 years, they earned $476.38 in interest.

With each bond now worth about $275, I ended up with $550 in hand!

We deposited the cash into our new joint savings account -- for the time being. Since they were gifts from my grandparents when I was born, we decided to pass it on to our daughter when she's born. So as soon as she has a name and a Social Security number, we'll use the cash as seed money for her soon-to-be-set-up college fund!

It'll be a little special gift from her great-grandparents. I'm sure they wouldn't want it any other way.

Deals! Deals! Deals!

A few fun finds from the Leesburg Outlets... Yay to baby stuff!

• Chocolate brown play mat from the Restoration Hardware outlet - Only $35! (regularly $79)
• Pink and green plates from Pottery Barn Outlet - only $1.99 each! (regularly $4.99)
• Brown plush blanket from the Restoration Hardware outlet - Only $17! (regularly $40)

I. Am. H-U-G-E!!!

Imagine carrying a 10-pound dumbell in each hand, and having another 10-pound plate duck taped to your stomach. That is about what it feels like every step I take!

Add to that a squirmy baby who likes to do summersaults and stick her butt out and turn my tummy into a lopsided mound of undulating flesh, and it's all I can do to keep from tipping over these days!

Baby Lima Bean... Seriously, if you are running out of room in there, maybe you ought to come out soon? Because trying to stretch my belly to accommodate your acrobatics is not exactly the most comfortable thing for mommy to endure! And the jumping on my bladder doesn't help things!

So anyway.

With one month to go (Week 35, Day 3)... Here is the belly of all belly shots!

Baby Deal Alert!

Discovered a great new Web site... BabySteals.com! No, they don't steal your baby. But they offer ONE big deal -- as in a "steal" -- each day. Today, Oioi diaper bags are offered at a substantial discount!

Of course, I had to sign up for a daily e-mail alert of the deal of the day. I am only wondering how most of my pregnancy has flown by without me knowing about this amazing site!

Another big deal to be aware of is that gDiapers is selling some of their cutest little pants for 20% off!

And both Amazon.com and Diapers.com are having a sale on Britax car seats right now.

Update: Two more sites where you can sign up for daily baby deal e-mails are GreenBabyBargains.com and MamaBargains.com

Happy Shopping!

Sneak Peek: Our nursery is coming together!

Are you ready to see how our nursery for Baby Lima Bean is coming along?! First, here is a shot of our nursery the day I got home from my fabulous shower... Look at all this stuff! Where to put it?!

Two weeks ago, we selected these four paint choices... Hmmm.

After seriously considering Pottery Barn's Wales green, I decided to take a chance on Benjamin Moore's bright "Apple Green" paint! This is what our nursery looked like last Thursday -- only one week ago!

THEN our fabulous glider rocker arrived! I love how the Amy Butler quilt and bird in Amy Butler's pink coriander fabric look against the dark brown of the chair and bright green of the walls! All three items on the chair were fabulous Etsy finds!

Finally, here are some shots of how the room is developing thus far! We still are waiting for the valances (also in Amy Butler's pink coriander fabric) and we need to put up some bird art on the walls. Plus the crib and crib skirt and a fabulous bird mobile from my mom are coming too! But in the meantime... Here's a sneak peek!

Here is a close-up of the pink toy bin that we snagged at the Pottery Barn outlet last weekend for $14! And a lime green one for bath stuff! Slowly but surely, we are getting ready for baby!

35 weeks down, only FIVE to go!

We are now in crunch time! We have only a little more than a month to go, unless Lima Bean is early. A girl I know just gave birth this past weekend at 35 weeks and 2 days. If I was that early, I would be in labor THIS FRIDAY!

But I just heard from another reporter today who was a week late with her child that timing depends more on heridity than anything else. My mom was late with me, very late, as in weeks, I believe. So that should mean that I am more likely to be late with Lima Bean.

In the meantime, we are plodding along. One thing at a time.

Also today, Lima Bean took her first step toward becoming a TV star! A reporter friend e-mailed me this morning because a TV crew at her office was looking for pregnant women to video for a story about a new swine flu vaccine for pregnant women. Sure, why not?

The cameraman and producer just came over to my office and took some shots of me walking down the sidewalk and sitting on a park bench rubbing my belly. I am in a black dress. If anyone sees me on the nightly news, let me know! Baby bean was a great prop. She even kicked me vigurously when I was sitting on the park bench, as if to say, "Look at me! Look at me!"

Drama queen, this one. :-)

Happy Birthday Aunt Jenny Bean!

Baby Lima Bean can't wait to visit you in Spain someday! Or, wherever exciting place you are living. And she can't wait for you to teach her some Spanish as well! Besos!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Howard Bean!

Lima Bean definitely has a sweet tooth, so I know the two of you will get along just fine! I know this because every time I eat something sweet, she does summersaults in my tummy. Er, maybe I am the one with the sweet tooth?

Our house is coming together!

Such a busy and productive weekend! And it's only half over!

Our nursery has been painted - Benjamin Moore's Apple Green in Natura paint! The chocolate brown upholstered glider rocker chair from Grandma Enid Bean was delivered! The Restoration Hardware dining room table was delivered! Our house has been painted too! Wall paper is down and new paint is already up - Pottery Barn yellow in the kitchen, blue in the dining room, sage green in the living room and khaki in the hallway and stairs! Plus, to get out of the house when the painters were here, I spent the day shopping for baby stuff at Buy Buy Baby!

Pictures to come. We are so excited about our house. And we're closer to having everything ready for baby Bean! Not that you can ever REALLY be ready, but still.

Our stroller has arrived!

Holy amazing cuteness! Is this not the best stroller ever?! A big thank you to Grandpa Howard Bean and Mema Wanda Bean for such an amazing gift!

If you recall, it took us a while to decide on a stroller... We wanted a sporty, rugged stroller that could handle the city streets, walking paths and rough terrain around our house. Papa Bean wanted durable wheels. I wanted lightweight and cute. Meet our new baby buggy - the Baby Jogger City Classic!

Here is Papa Bean looking at the pieces:

He put it together and didn't even need my help! (Darn, I like to lend help, offer advice, but he put it together before I could say a word!)


I then attached the parent console (shower gift from Mary Clare, another soon-to-be Baby Jogger parent!) and Papa Bean attached the all-important drink holder (thanks again to Grandpa Howard Bean and Mema Wanda Bean!):


Another shot at our lovely ride! Baby Lima Bean will love taking rides in her stroller! Stay tuned for details about our lovely and ultra-safe infant car seat, also a gift from Grandpa Howard Bean and Mema Wanda Bean! We need to get it installed in our car... Soon!

34 weeks down, only 6 to go!

If Baby Lima Bean, bless her little heart, goes full term (pleeeease!) then I've got a month and a half left! But if Baby Bean decides to buck her momma's advice and come early, I might have ONLY THREE WEEKS LEFT!

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

The good news is that there is no news. We had our Week 34 sonogram and doctor's visit today and Lima Bean is measuring a full FIVE POUNDS! She is now in the 40th percentile as far as size, so that is good. My belly and weight are also perfectly on track.

Still, my baby is FIVE POUNDS?! No wonder momma has gained so much. (I'm up 30 pounds. Still under the recommended weight limit. And I started out small-ish. Remember me at our wedding? I was so skinny I could have disappeared!)

Side thought: Someday when she is older, I will remind Baby Lima Bean that she once weighed no more than my girlie 5-pound weights. And she will roll her eyes at me. And I will realize that I have become THAT mother. Kill me now.

No fruit picture this week because Baby Bean is still the size of a honeydew melon. I can't wait until she hits watermelon status in a few weeks. Now, come on, is that a necessary mental image? Really. I told Papa Bean today that the next time he tells a pregnant woman that she looks like she is going to pop any day when she is only 7 months along that I will bop him on the head.

Note to men: If a woman LOOKS pregnant, most of you know well enough NOT to open your mouth, because what if she isn't? The same goes for a women who LOOKS like she is about to pop. You do not need to tell her that she has gotten HUGE and that the baby must be due ANY DAY. Because if she still has a MONTH AND A HALF TO GO, she will kill you. Word to the wise.

And now, here are some new pictures of our darling little five pounder. The first two shots show her profile and right hand, which she kept sucking on. The last shot is looking down at her face. I sure hope she doesn't really LOOK like an alien. That would be so hard to explain to Papa Bean. Your daughter is green and glowing because.............

Oh my cuteness!

I. Have. Discovered. The. Cutest. Baby. Clothes. Ever! Seriously. I may not be able to buy cute clothes for my bloated self (I swear if one more person tells me that I look humongous and the baby must be coming any day now, I will scream!)... But I sure can buy adorable designer threads for my little princess! Who cares that she's not born yet. Since when is being born a necessity when it comes to cute clothes?

I discovered the Tea Collection when I was at Buy Buy Baby purchasing items for our stroller, thanks to Grandpa Howard Bean and Mema Wanda Bean! (More ranting and raving on the amazing stroller coming up!)

Back to the cute clothes. Oh how I can't resist the Clearance rack. And there they were... The cutest clothes EVER! I displayed admirable restraint and only purchased two darling outfits...


BUT THEN, I Googled. I had to... And I discovered the Tea Collection Web site! And they just happened to be having a big sale, with 20% off already reduced prices THIS WEEK ONLY!

Again, I showed admirable restraint and only purchased several of the cutest dresses, in various sizes. Combined with the over-the-top cute clothes that Lima Bean already got at my shower, these dresses will certainly make her the best dressed, cutest baby ever!