The Final Stretch!!

It is less than a month until Baby Muller's estimated arrival!! Ahhhh!! It's crazy to think Dennis and I will soon have a little human being in our lives. It's getting more and more real by the day. Somedays I can't wait to give birth but other days I just think it's so much safer for this baby inside the womb. It could stay in another month or two and it would be alright with me.  A lot of people tell me that I am not going to want to be pregnant towards the end but I have to say so far I still love it. I love feeling Baby Muller kick and having a baby bump....especially to rest items on ;) But I guess I still have about 30 more days to go so I will let you know how I feel in the end. As for my tummy, I really can't imagine it "stretching" anymore but I am sure it will. I will keep on posting pics of my progress :)

36 weeks pregnant! 

Nesting has come into full force and I have rearranged the furniture again but this time I actually really like where it is and didn't make Dennis move it back. I talked to Dennis on the phone that day before he came home from work and told him I had a surprise. He walked in and saw all the furniture moved and said "This is not surprising at all" LOL! Other than moving furniture, I went through every cabinet and closet to see if I could organize, clean, and make room for potential baby items. Now all I want to do is start some projects like painting stripes on my curtains or building some shelves for the baby room. I think both of these projects might be fueled from too much pinterest and will end up being a little too ambitious for my lack of craftiness. The nursery is still a work in progress as far as decor goes. We have all the essentials ready but it is lacking some wall decor. It has all been ordered, mostly from etsy, but just takes a little while to get out here to Japan. I will post some pics once everything is up and looking cute.

What is your birthing plan?

I ultimately would like to have a natural, non-medicated child birth. I know things could change and it might not ending up being the final outcome but I am going in with the hopes of a all natural labor. My thoughts are women have been doing this for hundreds of years without medication or surgery and it's what are bodies are made for. Plus, there are so many benefits of natural childbirth for the mother and baby. I know I could possibly be singing a different tune once the labor pains start but my mom told me think of this....If she was able to go through natural childbirth with me, mind you she has one of the lowest pain tolerances of anyone that I know, than I can do it too. I think that's going to be my motto going into birth. If mom can do it, I can do it. I have read a couple of hippie books on pain management to try and prepare myself for what I will be feeling and how to better deal with it. Hopefully, with those and Dennis at my side I can have a nice easy labor.



I hope everyone has a great labor day weekend! We will be hitting up the beach, relaxing, enjoying   one of the last few weekends of it being just the two of us, and watching some college football! I will appropriately end this blog with a Go Gators!!!!!

Nesting

 KJ and me trying to keep cool in the Pacific Ocean.
33 weeks pregnant.  

It has begun....I am 8 months pregnant and I have become a nester. Dennis comes home to find all the furniture moved into different places just for me to tell him that I am not sure about it and have him move it back. Poor guy. I have been organizing and cleaning like crazy to get ready for the baby's arrival in just over a month. The other day I even looked up online the most efficient way to fold a onesie. Those little suckers are really awakard to put in drawers....Haha. I still don't have the nursery completely ready just yet but it is slowly getting there. I am still waiting for some cute decorations that I ordered from Etsy to get here for it really to feel complete. Other than nesting, I have been feeling pretty good still. I am a little achy in the morning when I wake up and my feet are starting to hurt by the end of the day. But I can't complain too much....I am still able to workout and do pretty much everything I did before pregnancy just a tad bit slower and a little bit more labored depending on the activity. For example, bending over to put on shoes is requiring a little more effort than usual.

The only real complaint I have about being pregnant is being extra hot. Thankfully, the base recently approved one portable floor a/c unit per household. We bought one on Amazon Japan the other day and it arrived in just three days and it feels like it was heaven sent. With the very limiting specs they gave us the unit can only cool down one small bedroom efficiently but I have to tell you it's a lifesaver at night. We have it in our bedroom and it makes a world of a difference compared to us sweating in bed before and it's only really cooling the room to 77. Compared to how it was before it feels like 65 degrees to us. We are so thankful that the base finally approved this and I am sure Baby Muller will be thankful once he/she is here as well.

While I have been back in Japan, my good friends Corban and Amy threw Florencia (another pregnant lady in my squadron) and I a baby shower. It was such a great time, with great food and company. The 13th and 14th squadrons are so generous and Dennis and I are so thankful to have them in our lives. Thank you to all who attended and showed their love to Baby Muller. A special thank you to Corban and Amy for hosting the shower. It was a perfect event and I am so lucky to have amazing friends like you.

What are you and Dennis thinking Baby Muller's gender is going to be? 

I have gone back and forth but I think it's going to be a boy and Dennis thinks it's going to be a girl.  I think we are both secretly hoping, well mine isn't so much of a secret, for the opposite genders than we are predicting. Either way, we are going to be so happy no matter the sex and we can't wait to meet our little baby boy or girl in late September. It's coming up so soon!

I hope everyone is enjoying the last weeks of summer and to all my teacher friends I hope you have a great start to the school year! We can't wait to see most of you in November/December!

Christmas in July

Love these ladies! 31 weeks pregnant.

I am back home in Japan now after visiting the states for a couple weeks and I am in my 8 month of pregnancy. It's always bittersweet leaving the states because I love being with my family and friends but it's great to go back home to the hubby and puppy. The states were fantastic and the American food was everything I remembered and hoped for. I can't believe next time I am home I will have an infant with me. Crazy!!

When I got home, I opened up the nursery and there were about 30 packages. Dennis said he went to the post office one day after being gone for a week and there were so many packages that they barely fit them in his large SUV. Since he really is not interested in the baby gear and wouldn't even know what half of the items were I opened them all once I got into town. It was like Christmas!! I loved reliving my shower and reading all the little gift notes from everyone. Thank you to everyone who sent Baby M such wonderful stuff. We are just so blessed.

How are you feeling now that you 8 months pregnant? 

I still feel wonderful and surprisingly have lots of energy. One thing that has changed is that my feet get tired really easily now. I think I need to buy some orthopedic old lady shoes to walk around in now. I did have my first feet swelling last night and let's just say my feet were not looking their sexiest. Other than that, I am starting to feel the heat of Misawa since we do not have air conditioning in our homes but my car does so I might just sleep in there for the next 2 months. LOL!

What are you doing about clothes? 

My best childhood friend Allison is an ultrasound tech and has scanned me at various time throughout my pregnancy. She is the only one who knows the sex of the baby. No, you will not get it out of her....her lips are sealed shut. She scanned me one last time while I was in the states to confirm her earlier prediction. So this is how it's going to work....I will be registering for boy/girl clothes online and giving her some money. She will buy them and have them shipped to me in Japan.  I will only open them after I come home with the baby. That way I won't just have gender neutral outfits to dress Baby Muller in. As I have been online looking at clothes, I realize how much more fun it is to buy girl clothes. They are just soooo adorable. I filled up a cart at gap baby with about 3 times the amount of girl clothes than boy clothes. Now it's just figuring out what I am really going to need for Baby Muller when he/she arrives.

If anyone is interested in buying Baby Muller clothes once we find out the gender I would highly suggest buying them online and having them shipped directly to Japan. It saves you so much money compared to shipping them yourself. Especially since a lot of online stores have free shipping and the package will arrive here in about a 1-2 weeks. Gap, Old Navy, and Amazon are great sites for this.

Matt and I showing off our bumps ;) 

Before I sign off, I want to send a HUGE thank you to my Mom and Dad for putting me up and taking care of me while I was home. I love you both so much and I know you are going to be such wonderful Grandparents to Baby Muller! See you in November!