Week 37

Full term! Apparently the baby is fully developed at 37 weeks and the remaining weeks are dedicated to adding baby fat! It is staggering for us to look back to the day we realized the Kara was pregnant... It seems like we have traveled so much distance in such a short amount of time! Our nursery is (more or less) ready to go, we are pre-registered at the hospital, and I have mapped out alternate routes to the hospital to anticipate any possible traffic scenario!

This week has been good and eventful. We had an appointment with the midwives early in the week. The baby is fine and well and remains head down. The heart beat ranged between 130 and 150 bpm depending on activity. There was a baby shower for Kara on Wednesday (pics below) that was fantastic. It was fun to socialize with coworkers around a non-school related event. We were touched by the generosity and support that the entire school community has shown us. Thursday was our four year wedding anniversary and we celebrated with a nice dinner out. We have finished our week trying to attend a Yankees / Red Sox game at Fenway Park. The game was rained out on Saturday afternoon and has been rescheduled for Sunday evening. We will be paying particular attention to whether the baby kicks when the Yankees or Red Sox are batting… perhaps an early indication of team preference???

Erica, one of the hostesses

Only put the diapers on your head *before* they have been worn!

Diana, Kara's faculty mentor and one of the hostesses

We are excited about the many books we have received!

There are 7 women pregnant at school this year and 5 of them live on campus!

Week 36

This was a pretty typical school week for us... Greg was one of two faculty members who chaperoned 32 5^th graders on a three day field trip to New Hampshire. The weather was gorgeous and he had fun assisting in various group-building exercises outdoors. While he was gone I was in charge of the boys on our floor and all went smoothly! Greg also selected his soccer team on Friday and has started the selection process to choose 10 committed students to join his Challenge 20/20 group. My classes are all going well and I am enjoying each of the groups I teach.

In terms of pregnancy, my belly continues to grow! I woke up this morning to the baby hiccuping which was fun. Even though the baby is “head down”, it still manages to move its limbs quite a bit. My ribs are actually quite sore due to all the activity!

We got to see my parents this week too which was wonderful. We saw them as they made their way up and back down the coast for a quick trip to Maine. They even brought a piece of Maine - in the form of lobsters- back to us. We cooked them up and enjoyed them in a delicious pasta dish with a light lobster cream sauce Greg prepared!

Week 35

It has been busy here at school and our delayed posting for Week 35 is evidence! We had a doctor’s appointment early in the week and they confirmed that the baby has turned head down. The constant kicking on Kara’s rib cage was a pretty good indication but we now have medical confirmation! The baby continues to be very active and we hope the video provides a little glimpse. We both feel that the video really understates the size of the movements but we still thought it would be fun to share!

Click on the play button below and enjoy!

Week 34

Week 34- neither of us can believe it! It is amazing to us how quickly the pregnancy has gone by! Fortunately, I continue to feel well but am a little more tired as I adjust to being on my feet and teaching kids all day. I am glad that the days are cooler and slightly less humid!

This past week we had our fifth and last birthing class. While we enjoyed meeting the other first-time parents and having a birth class taught by one of the midwives from our practice, we are a little relieved that the class is over as school is now in full swing.

Below is a picture (with the fish eye) of how we have converted our office into the baby's room. We almost have all the pieces in place!