Dress Rehearsal

Please excuse this quality blackberry picture. You might guess- we were COMPLETELY UNPREPARED for today. No camera, bags, books, nothing. Don't I look thrilled?

Turns out we have a snarky baby and she wanted to celebrate our big Due Date by touring Labor and Delivery for a few hours this morning. BUT JUST TOUR. None of this admitting and staying business.

We had a routine weekly doctor's appointment this morning where my doctor confirmed my suspicions that I am indeed, still pregnant. Little baby's heartbeat was a bit high (185 are you kidding me child.) and didn't come down after a few minutes, so we headed down to the women's pavilion to have a non-stress test.

One backless gown, three wired monitors, and sixty minutes later, we were good to go. Her heart beat was high for a while, but came down into normal range and all was fine and dandy. I'm very, very, very relieved because the only cure for a high fetal heart rate is an immediate c-section delivery, which is something we are trying to avoid here. Prayers were answered and our baby just laughed at the irony of us leaving the Labor and Delivery floor on our exact due date, no baby in hand.

She is just so HILARIOUS. On the positive side, we did get ourselves registered- now we actually know where to go and what to do when she is less faking and more serious about the whole labor thing.

PS I love that the baby countdown on the right side of the page says "40 Weeks 0 Days- It's go time!" I kinda want to slap it silly.

40 Weeks

Dear Baby Sorensen,

I was secretly hoping I wouldn't have to write you this letter, and that instead I could just talk to you in real human life form. Tomorrow is our due date. 40 Weeks. 280 days. This is supposed to be the end, don't you know?

You are 18-22 inches long, and weigh between 7-8 ish pounds. You are likely prepared for the outside world now- you can blink, suck, inhale and exhale. I know it isn't very much to know, and I promise I will teach you a lot more stuff if you just please promise to come out. I'm doing everything I can to encourage this- walking and bouncing and all sorts of things- but you don't seem to be getting the hint.

I'm sitting here awake earlier than usual today- you see, I'm having a little trouble sleeping. I know that it seems like carrying around another whole human being would be nice and soft and squishy but you are large and bony and heavy. Never before in my life have I been so consumed by something so exciting and life changing as your birth. I think about you all day long, what you will look like, if you will have my nose, if your eyelashes will be fluffy. I think about you when running errands, I think about you when I walk past your nursery. I dream about you at night, about what it will be like when you get here.

Someday when you are all fancy and grown up, you will read all of these letters that I have been writing you. I hope you know how much that we love you, how much we want you in our family, and how excited we are for your arrival. I can already tell that you have a feisty spirit and some serious spunk and you will fit in perfectly here.

Please, please, please, I am begging you, don't give me the opportunity to write a 41 Week letter. Mom will not be a happy camper.

See you soon. xoxoxo

Momma

PS Just to recap: You may come out at any point now. Anytime is good for us. Anytime.

Baby Projects, Part Two

So. I've been doing a bit of sewing in all of this spare time in which our baby has decided not to come. I'm kidding, I'm being patient. Sike.

This is a car seat tent/cover thing I made after seeing this tutorial over at The Thrifty Chick, except I changed it a bit. I made mine kind of hourglass shaped so it fit my car seat better, and I rounded the edges so it was a little more finished. I really like the way it turned out, especially since I have seen these at boutiques for $40-$50. Mine cost $14.

I made these little flowers for the handles out of scraps and some buttons. Scraps and buttons!

Burpies galore. Found these at this website, and just made my own pattern out of parchment paper. (Good for baking AND sewing!) These were very, very easy to make and didn't take too long. They are made with flannel and batting and I confess I find myself cuddling with them.

I made a set of four pink ones, and then Jazz requested some "more manly looking ones." So I made the green striped/blue polka dot ones. Much more masculine.

These are just some receiving blankets I made, I LOVE the paisley one, it is flannel and oh-so-soft. The green one has this really cute green embroidery around the edge. Can you see it? Look, we live in a basement, not a ton of natural light.

Its nice to feel like I am doing something even though I am not doing anything at all. Yesterday I ventured to the grocery store. Fully dressed! With makeup! It was a miracle, really.

This part.

Today we hit 39 weeks. You are probably thinking, "Hey, I recognize that outfit!" Yeah, because its ONLY ONE OF THREE THAT FITS ME. My shape is so different, I think the baby has dropped some and I really hope she is making some plans to eventually come out.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and I am making some progress- I won't go into details because I'm fairly certain my mother would drop dead if my blog post included the words cervix or dilation. We set up another appointment for next week, which will fall right on my due date.

This is the part of the 40-week pregnancy that you don't really think about. In the beginning you think about making it to the milestone end of first trimester, hearing the baby's heartbeat, trying not to throw up. Soon you are flying through the second trimester, counting down the days until you have that all important ultrasound and can find out the sex of the baby. Then you hit twenty weeks, you are half way.

You start to feel the baby move and it is the greatest feeling in the world. Suddenly you are in your third trimester and you can't believe how quickly the time has gone by- you are making plans and having baby showers and washing tiny clothes.

Then you hit 37 weeks. You are full term. And you wait. And wait. And wait. THIS IS THE PART NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT. And suddenly, the first 37 weeks of pregnancy seem so insignificant and silly because you just know that you will be pregnant forever.

I'm packed for the hospital, car seat installed, all ready to go, but I am basically at the mercy of this tiny 7 pound baby that has taken my body hostage. Now, I'm sort of a "planner" type person and I hate not having this delivery penciled in on my calendar.

I know, I know, sleep while I can, get things done, make more baby items, I KNOW. I'm just a tad impatient. Plus, I'm getting really tired of these same three outfits.


PS- We have so much great baby gear that I am excited to use once she actually comes- I'll let you know which things are great to have and which ones to do without. I will be reviewing a fun Skip Hop changing pad kit from the nice people over at http://www.csnbaby.com/- check their website out for really good deals on nursery furniture. Stay tuned!

Baby Sorensen's Nursery

Here are some pictures of Baby Sorensen's little pink and green nursery.

You can see we still have the full size bed to the right- this is a temporary thing. My mom is coming out to stay with us after the baby comes and I'm sure she will want a place to sleep that is neither the Moses Basket nor the crib.

Tiny table, tiny chair, pink frame to be filled upon arrival.

I found those round chinese lanterns at Zurchers Party Store, and the smaller ones I made from tissue paper. The frames I got at JoAnns (40% off!) and put some favorite fabric inside them.

Fell in love with this Moses Basket, she will love it.

Her closet. I'm convinced she has more clothes than me, I'm not kidding. I really wanted to pull out some outfits and photograph them because they are honestly so so cute, but I figure they will be cuter when she is in them. Plus, who likes to read a blog post with hundreds of pictures of baby clothes. Snorefest.

Little bouncer! (Thanks again to our ward for that!)

In case you are laying on the floor.

I'm sure once she comes we will adjust, tweak and add stuff until she is content in her little room. Eventually, we will put the bed in storage and possibly get a dresser, though her closet is plenty of room for now. I'm so pleased with the way the nursery turned out, and every time I walk by it, I get a bit giddy.

Jazz installed the car seat this weekend. I guess I should pack a bag at some point? I just can't believe my due date is nine days away. Single digits. Hopefully she will be here and enjoying her nursery before we know it!

Banana Split

This was me. Yesterday. Approximately 5 pm. Leaping from my office into my car for the LAST TIME EVER.

I can not stress to you what a momentous and JOYFUL occasion it was. You know that ending part in Braveheart, where Mel is totally going to die, and you are basically sobbing, and they are like "dude just give in and pledge your allegiance..." and Mel like takes a big breath and yells FREEEEEEDDDOOOOOOOM. and then he dies.

It felt kinda like that.

Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate this job immensely. I am thankful to have found a position immediately after my college graduation, with good hours, good pay, and flexible vacation time. I can't say it was a perfect fit for me, and I am honestly very surprised that I lasted as long as I did. Back in February when we found out we were expecting, I could not imagine working up through my 38th week of pregnancy.

But I did. And I am so proud of myself.

And if I wasn't carrying around a billion extra pounds and sporting some hefty kankles, I would have SKIPPED all the way home.

Today I woke up feeling like a new woman. I know this period of unemployment will only last a few weeks until our baby comes and I become a human feeding/changing/burping machine, but it feels like the calm before a very beautiful storm. I love that I have a little time to relax, organize and prepare things- after all this is the last time in my life that I will NOT have a child. Weird? Yeah, totally weird.

Official Sponsor of MY LIFE.

This scent owns me.

Calming and refreshing.

I have it in my shower.

And in my kitchen.

And in my purse.

And I want to eat it up.

Thanks Bath and Body.

You win, here is all my money.

*What is going on lately, I am a blogging FIEND! Ok fine I have some time on my hands...

What my house looks like lately...

So lately I have been bitten by the Craft Bug. I found some really great blogs with cute and easy ideas and I decided to try some out before I get busy not sleeping and stuff. Also, am I the only one who had never been to Hobby Lobby?? Totally worth the drive out to One Million West, it was awesome. They had really great sales on cute baby fabrics, buttons, ribbon, etc. I would definitely make a shopping list before you go though- once I got inside I was like, I NEED ALL OF THIS. ESPECIALLY THESE TINY STAMPS. AND THAT FRAME. AND SOME GLUE.

The first project was to bedazzle some onesies for the baby. I started these before Mom came into town, but she helped me do some hard stuff, and even Sabs come up to show off her hand sewing skills. Behold- the results.

Mom made this receiving blankie with ruffles, Sabs appliqued this onesie with the same fabric and hand stitched the edging.

I made these ruffle bums and I can not stop giggling about them. Just think how much cuter they will be with an actual BODY in them! The purple one has a bird shape on the front, the multi-colored one has some cute buttons around the front collar.

More onesies- super easy to make, I cut out the elephant and whale patterns, ironed on some backing, and sewed around them. Incidentally, some of this fabric is left over from a past nursery project so she will MATCH her room. So cute, might barf.

We also fancied up some burp cloths (aka cloth diapers) with ribbon and fabric. Mom hand stitched the green ones- she can REALLY sew.

This is a little project I did today- its a crinkly tag toy. There are a few layers of cellophane sewn in between the fabric layers so it makes noise. Apparently babies love to play with tags and noise? This is the gossip, anyway. I've seen these in baby boutiques but did not want to pay boutique prices.

I also fancied up a couple of my own shirts- like that purple shirt in my shower photos. It was just a regular boring shirt and I sewed some little ruffle flowers for the shoulder from an old tank top that I never wear. Please don't think I am being inventive, all of these ideas have mostly been stolen from other people/blogs/projects- I am merely copying and tweaking them for my own projects.

I still have some in-progress things, and I'll update you on them once I finish them. Plus, Jazz brought home a 1/2 bushel of peaches on Friday that I am apparently making into freezer jam. Have I done this before? No, of course not. Can anyone say NESTING?

My September Shower

Today my mother-in-law and sister-in-law threw me a lovely pink and green themed baby shower. I know what you are thinking. What? Another shower? If you are keeping track, that is three. What can I say, I am a super lucky girl!

Bobbie and Britta had such cute decorations and we all enjoyed Chef Mo's creations. I loved how casual it was- we all sat around and caught up on each other's lives and then opened presents. We received so many fun things- Baby Sorensen is going to be so fancy! Gifts and food, how can you go wrong?

Homemade fruit tarts

Pastry puffs stuffed with chicken salad

Pink and Green Vanilla Cupcakes

Is this not the cutest cake you have ever seen? I mean, honestly. And it was TASTY. Its a little tribute to the cake my mom had at her shower when she was expecting me.

Mo baked approximately 239234 hours. I ate approximately 239234 things.

My family!

Almost 38 weeks. It hurts me to post this because of my twelvety chins. But I want to document this now so I can look back in a number of months and say oh my holy hell, look how chunky I was. Whatever, this too shall pass.

A BIG thanks to Bobbie and Britta for hosting the wonderful shower- and to Mo for baking and Sabs for being a fantastic assistant/chauffeur/dishwasher etc. Also, thanks for everyone who came and brought such fun baby gifts! Now more than ever we are SET and ready for this baby to arrive. Now- if we only knew when that will be...

37 Weeks

Dear Baby Sorensen,

Today is a big day for us- you are now considered a full term baby! Your wee little lungs should now be mature enough to function outside the womb, you are a fully developed little person. You are probably around 19 inches long and weigh somewhere between 6-7 pounds, about the size of a watermelon. In my opinion, you are probably a COSTCO watermelon because seriously, child, you are getting big.

In case you are wondering, I think you will find your earthly home quite comfortable. We have a place for your socks, for your clothes and booties and hats. We have a place for you to sit and swing, a place for you to sleep, a place for you to play. Your dad and I have done our best to prepare for your arrival, and we seriously could not be more excited.

I will confess, I am starting to get a tad uncomfortable these days. Carrying you around is hard work, and I have forgotten what it is like to not be pregnant. I still sleep really well, and you have successfully stayed out of my ribcage. However, bending over is nearly impossible and lately when I drop stuff its pretty much gone forever.

Last night as I was falling asleep you got the hiccups. Maybe from my pre-bedtime orange juice binge? I don't know. Anyway, I put both hands on my belly- one hand could feel your little stomach hiccup, and my other hand could feel the hiccup travel up through your esophagus and out your mouth. I almost died right there, it was such an incredible feeling.

Sometimes I'll walk by your room and think about what everything will be like when you finally get here, and I swear I can go from zero to choked up in about 3 milliseconds.

Anxiously awaiting,

xoxo

Momma

Baby Booties and Blog Booty

ATTENTION EVERYONE.

Calling all friends, family, friends of friends, blog stalkers, cousins, aunts/uncles, coworkers, ward members, closet blog readers, strangers, and that one person reading from Florida.

This is a very important post. You will all want to read this post, take it in, digest it, and get back to me.

This Wednesday, September 9, 2009, I AM CONSIDERED FULL TERM. AS IN. FULL TERM. If Baby Sorensen should choose to come early there would be no medical intervention to prevent her from making her debut.

Yes, but what does this really mean?

2009 Baby Sorensen Prediction Giveaway!
(Insert whistles and cheers here!)

Leave a comment with your best guess on the date and time of our baby's birth. For good measure, throw in her height and weight in case of a tie. We want to be official. If you are the person with the closest guess, you will receive a $25 Visa Giftcard! Think of what you can do with that. It's basically free money.

Fact.Her official due date is September 30th. Fact. I have been measuring on track for the duration of this pregnancy. Fact. Jazz and I were both late babies, weighing in at over 8 pounds.

Ok there you go- have at it! And if anyone guesses later than October 15th I will personally hunt you down and kill you.

xoxo.

Grandpa Ross

On Tuesday, I called my mother to tell her about a fantastic dream I had. We were home, in California, Grandma June and Grandpa Ross were sitting in our fancy living room- Grandma was holding our new baby girl. We sat around and laughed and talked just like old days when Grandma was alive. I asked how her flight was, and she said something like don't be silly, I don't fly, these days I come and go as I please. Silly me. The dream was nostalgic and warm, I woke up feeling like I spent all night with my family.

After my Grandma June lost her husband in the late 1980's, she re-connected with her young adult sweetheart, Ross. Ross had lost his beloved wife to cancer. The two rekindled their relationship and were marred in 1992. I was 8.

Grandpa Ross is the grandpa I remember best. I vaguely remember a few things about my other Grandpa's- like how it felt to sit on Grandpa Ray's lap, or the way Grandpa Pete's scruff felt on my little face. But Grandpa Ross was around through my childhood and young adult life. He was a kind, quiet man who looked an awfully lot like Bob Barker.

Once he was visiting us when Morgan was still quite little. She had followed him into the guest room, and he was about to get ready for bed. Grandpa Ross said, "Alright Morgan, I'm going to change now so I need you to go out for a little bit." Morgan loved Grandpa Ross so much and replied, "Oh, its okay Grandpa, I don't laugh at boys."

More than anything else, Grandpa Ross loved to golf. He golfed every single day, rain or shine. We'd say, "Grandpa where are you going?" And he would always respond with a smile, "Off to work!" He served as the ward clerk for many years and I remember him using his tiny golf pencil to note the number in attendance on Sundays. He drove Grandma across Nevada in their pink Lincoln Continental to spend Christmas with us the year we adopted Zeus.

After my Grandma died in 2002, he remarried again and moved down to St. George. We heard from him from time to time- weddings and celebrations and that sort of thing, but I haven't seen him in years.

Wednesday morning my mom called to tell me that Grandpa Ross passed away on Monday at the age of 85, after suffering from a variety of illnesses. I feel sad- sad that I haven't seen him in so long, sad that Jazz never met him, sad that truly all of our grandparents are gone now. But, I get the overwhelming feeling that like in my dream, they are healthy and happy and helping preparing our baby for her time on earth.

*For more information on what we believe happens after death, please visit this website.

Really? Already?

I can't believe it is September.

No, seriously. It is September the 3rd today. Which means we are 1/10th of the way through this month. I can't believe my due date is this month. I can't believe summer is over. (Can I get an amen hallelujah!) I can't believe I am counting down the days (27!) until our baby's expected arrival.

I have all these other blog posts I have been working on, but can't seem to finish because my mind can not wrap around that idea it is finally September. It's basically all I can talk about now. Let's stay organized and cover a few topics.

1. "Hey Micci, why don't you post some new pictures?" Because I don't want to. Obviously. I love pictures and documenting our lives and everything, but no one needs to see my triple chin via computer screen. I can't control a lot of things these days but I can control my blog. Deal with it.

2. This is a busy month. And I don't just mean because I will be watching for ANY SIGN OF IMMINENT LABOR. I mean birthdays and mom visiting and another wonderful baby shower and best of all- my last day at work.

September 9-12th: Mom visits, lots of baby shopping shall ensue
September 10th: Happy Birthday to my bay area BFF Leigh
September 11th: Mo's signif other JR's bday celebration
September 12th: Baby Shower!
September 16th: Last day at work AKA Liberation Day
September 19th: Mo's 17th Birthday! Ok, fine she is 20. Seriously though, 21.
September 26th: Sabrina's 24th Birthday!
September 30th: Baby Sorensen's eviction day

Sorry for the list, it helps me stay organized. I'm a list person, did you know?

3. I want to take a second and publicly praise my better half. Not once in ten months (Yes I am now in the 10th month of pregnancy) has Jazz complained or whined about anything. He deserves a HUGE GOLD STAR AND A MILLION DOLLARS for putting up with hormonal pregasaurus rex Micci. I could write a whole post on this, probably keep up a whole separate blog just to brag about how fantastic he is, seriously. He has taken over household duties that have become difficult for me, scrubbed hot pink nail polish off of our bathroom floor/toilet/wall (and also my foot), tolerated my tearful meltdowns, and accompanied me to every single doctor's appointment.

He has gone shopping with me probably enough to last a lifetime, opened his wallet to accommodate our new arrival, and helped with all the nursery preparations. He lovingly giggles with me about the awkward/embarrassing parts of pregnancy and always has the right answer when I ask, "Do I look fat in this?" I'm so lucky that we are going on this adventure together.

"Don't you take my picture. Stop it! Ok, fine but I am doing cheese face. And I'm not happy about it."

4. Did I mention it is September??