Baby Update!

Between the kicks to the ribs and punches to the bladder, our little one is making his or her presence known quite frequently. We got to see our little bundle of joy on the ultrasound last Monday and the doctor says he/she weighs about 4 pounds 2 ounces! Another positive note is that the baby is pretty much head down, which will make a natural delivery easier.

Belly at 32 weeks- in our new kitchen!

Daniel and I toured both of the hospitals in town and have picked St. Mary's, which is the smaller of the two. Both hospitals have level II nurseries, lactation consultants, nice amenities (tv, dvd player, stereo) and nice rooms for mom and baby as well as a place in the room for daddy to sleep comfortably. We decided on St. Mary's for a few reasons: they have LDR (labor, delivery, recovery) rooms and then separate postpartum rooms, which have beds that are more comfortable and lower to the ground than those in the LDR rooms; the jacuzzi, which helps to relieve labor pains, is separate from the shower and bathroom (Integris has them, but they're connected to the shower); according to our doctor (chief of the L&D wing at St. Mary's) the food is better at St. Mary's and they even have their own pastry chef! [The food was not a deciding factor in our decision, but it certainly doesn't hurt!] We'll be attending a childbirth class on Saturday at the hospital since it's the only one offered between now and the due date that Daniel will definitely be here to attend.

It's been wonderful setting up the nursery in our new house and washing all the little clothes. I washed, dried and ironed all of the bedding and valances today. Once we get some supplies, it will really start coming together- we need to get paint and some hardware for hanging the window treatments. I promise to post pictures as we continue to get our house together. I also finished the sweater I've been working on for the baby. It's made from alpaca wool (red) and a merino wool (cream). Here are some pictures of that:

Along with getting ready for our baby, I am delighted that a few more babies are on their way! Not only are Nathan and Megan expecting (see earlier Pensacola post), but so is another friend of mine from Saint Mary's along with a friend here from Vance, Andrea. It's really neat to know Andrea and Matt are expecting because before we left for Alabama, she mentioned to me that they were going to start trying for a baby using NFP (natural family planning) and they were successful! So now even more bundles of joy will be joining us this year and I ask that you all keep the babies and their parents in your prayers. God Bless!