Thanksgiving / Baby Moon

Happy Thanksgiving a few days late!

Todd and I had our first Thanksgiving solo. Since we were not flying back to be with either of our families (and friends), we decided to make a special weekend of it. Todd planned a really nice get away to Yountville. This is a small town in the Napa Valley....we ate thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant called Hurley's. Their claim to fame, according to Todd, is that they kill all of their meat fresh that day. I am not sure if that really happens or not:) But, the turkey dinner was really good. And, there were no leftovers, so we aren't eating turkey sandwiches everyday this week. On Friday was the Festival of Lights in Younteville. People were setting up all day only to have a torrential downpour at about 3pm. We ended up going to the outlets and each bought some shoes for 50% off! Then off to Calistoga. We had dinner at a place called Jole. The chef at this restaurant used to own Matyson in Philadelphia (one of our favorites) and moved to CA about 1.5 years ago and opened this restaurant. Our dinner was awesome (thanks to Bri and Erica for the gift certificate!!). On our way back to Yountville we drove through all of the 'festival of lights'. They looked beautiful and were a good start to the holiday season.

We passed this cafe named in my honor while we were exploring Calistoga.









I forgot my camera on our getaway. But I took a few pics with my iPhone. They are not the greatest but good for memories.












We came home on Saturday. While I put up Christmas decorations, Todd was doing odds and ends around the house. And, carrying everything up and down the stairs for me! He has been awesome throughout my whole pregnancy helping me with things like that.

We graduated from our birthing class and while we know a lot more about what to expect, I think that we both feel like we also know that you really can't plan for it. You just have to take the birthing process as it comes! Should be a crazy ride!


Only 7 weeks left until my due date. It is hard to believe how fast it is coming....although sometimes it seems time is slowly creeping past, most times it feels like time if flying. The baby is moving around like crazy - he is punching or kicking me in the ribs and rolling over. Sometimes I swear he is burrowing his feet into my ribs to keep warm. Or maybe he has long legs like his daddy and there is no where in my stretched belly to put them:)

30 weeks

So, here we are at 30 weeks! Todd always says that I should show a little smile in these pics...but I feel dorky smiling at myself in the camera. But then I look mad if I don't smile. I could never be a model....
















Dork - smiling at myself
















Angry - not really, but it looks like it

Todd and I decided that I will stop working two weeks before my due date...primarily because that is the best thing to do to maximize short term disability. But now that time is counting down, I think that it is going to be a really good idea. Now that I am 30 weeks it means I only have 8 weeks of work left. But with the Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years Holidays I really only have about 6 weeks left! I can not believe how fast time has flown.

I just had my check-up today and things are going as they should. My weight and size are right on the mark up to this point (although Todd, in the most loving way, said that I may weigh as much as him by the end of this - and has taken to calling me 'baby sequoia'). The heartbeat sounded very strong and the baby is continuing to kick and move around. I am now starting to feel as the baby rolls over or runs its hand/foot along my belly - it's not a kick or jab but a drawn out motion. It is so crazy!

The mid-wife advised me to prepare to go past my due date. The research shows that most women go past their due date when delivering their first baby. For some reason this week, before she told me this, I had been having a feeling that I might be about a week overdue. I guess only time will tell. We learned more about positioning and moving around during labor this week. Todd practiced helping me open my pelvic floor but putting pressure on the hips....you should have seen the room of people practicing this move. It was quite entertaining and then Todd just kept tickling me:)

I have been full of energy up to this point (or at least mostly full of energy)...but that seems to be waning a little. My daily walks with Murphy are a little slower and going up the stairs to the house makes me out of breath....I called out of choir tonight because I was feeling really tired! And, Todd's parents are visiting this weekend, so I want to be well rested and ready to go! Also, Todd is playing the his club championship on Saturday so I want to be able to at least walk along on the back nine. In usual Sarah fashion, I am feeling a little guilty about slowing down....but I just keep telling myself, 'self, you are growing another human!' WOW!

We are planning to get a little work done in the nursery this weekend with the assistance of Todd's parents. Should be really fun!

back to my old 'do'

After nearly a year of growing my hair out, I decided to go back to my old haircut. I did not go as short as it was at some points over the past couple of years, but definitely chopped it. I sifted through the last few years of pictures and went armed to the hairdresser with pictures. I knew she was going to be a little nervous as in her words women get 'crazy with their hair when they are pregnant'. She is really sweet....so we talked and came up with a game plan. I feel much better with this new haircut...my longer hair was much more work and I was just not liking the way it looked most of the time. AS you can see Murphy is thrilled with it:)

Birthing classes

So, we started our birthing classes on Tuesday night. It was very interesting...we showed up armed with two pillows, a blanket, and a snack (my leftover burrito from dinner) as instructed and ended up sitting in really uncomfortable chairs all night. The instructor assured us that next week we will be on the floor using our pillows and blankets.

We learned a lot about the woman's pelvis, the hormone relaxin, and how the baby moves into position for delivery. It is so cool how all of that works and it really just happens....or we hope that it all happens as it is supposed to. The most memorable part of the class was watching the videos of three births. None of the women were given any pain medication. They were not trying to make an endorsement for natural child birth, I think that it was just less complicated than getting into the details on medication. Which we will also do in class next week. At this point I am planning to go without medication unless I am truly suffering. But, we will know more next week. Half way through the video I looked at Todd and said "holy shit, that looks awful!" The ladies faces were all swollen and they were moaning and writhing. Woah!! But then I was tearing up as the babies were born. I can't imagine how it will feel to hold our new little baby boy! I can't wait (really, I can wait another 11 weeks. There is a lot to do in that time!!!).

In other news, we have officially hired a dog walker. Not for daily walks, which Todd and I still do religiously. (Mine are a little slower than they used to be!) But for those days when we have to stay in the city later and driving back home is not an option or economical (crossing the bridge a couple of times a day can get pricey). I had my choir concert on Monday, Todd had dinner with our friend Pete and his parents, and then we were at birthing class on Tuesday...so Murphy got the royal treatment. Mary Lyons picked him up and plopped him in the front seat of her car, as were not sure how he would be in the car with other dogs. She then made the rounds to pick up the other dogs and proceeded to the trail for an hour of hiking. Then made her rounds again and dropped everyone off! Murphy got a great report both days. He was a gentleman with all of the other girl dogs and loved hiking...as we already know! He really seemed to love it...Todd said that he could tell Murphy was in a really good mood because of his hike!

30 weeks is fast approaching.....belly pics to come next week!