Week 35 Bump!

Week 35 Bump! I can't believe we are in the final stretch. January and February flew by, with work being crazy and baby showers. Now we are working and nesting around the house putting finishing touches on things to prepare for the arrival of our baby! Ryan worked all day yesterday putting in ceiling fan/lights in our upstairs bedrooms. He is quite the handy man! I don't know what I would do without him. We finally found a nightstand and lamp to go in the baby's room next to the rocking chair. You would think it would not be that difficult to find a little table, but I think I have driven Ryan crazy or to drink trying to find just the right thing. I also got quite the deal yesterday- 2 really cute decorative shelves for the price of 1 (I think it was because I was pregnant and the lady at the store was so excited and thought I was so cute so I think she was just so happy to give them to me). The room is looking good and about set!

I decided to show you an actual bare stomach picture this week so you can really get an idea of how the bump is progressing. The alien stomach as my sisters would call it! I am still feeling great and hoping it stays that way for as long as possible.

Friends' Baby Shower

Last weekend my good friends from home- Courtney, Jaime and Tristi, threw me a wonderful baby shower! My friend, Colleen, from college drove up from St. Louis, which was a wonderful treat and she hung out at the crazy Bogdonas household. I was so grateful because so many friends from out of town were able to come, Marianne Neidhart, Anna Panagakis, and April Brabender! I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family! Everything about the day was perfect- the food, company, cute decorations and very thoughtful gifts for the little one!

Here are some pictures of the day:

Great Nona, Grandma and Aunts!

Waukegan Work Friends: Anna Panagakis and April Brabender (future babysitter!)

Aunt Lynn, Aunt Andrea and cousin Jenna

The wonderful hostesses! I am the last of us to have a baby!

Marianne Neidhart & Tristi (we have become friends through our crazy husbands)

The beautiful quilt that Great Nona and Grandma made! It is hanging over the rocking chair in the nursery.

The delicious food! My favorite salad that Jaime makes!

The party favors, which had to do with coffee (my favorite)! The coffee was delicious by the way.

The cute centerpieces- books and diaper cakes, etc. Of course, Jaime out did herself again! She is too creative, the next Martha Stewart, but better!

Delicious baby rattle fruit kebabs that Tristi and Karen Zbynski made!

Colleen & I

The best carrot cake ever!!! And Courtney even had the decorations look like the baby bedding we have!

Andrea & Felicity (Courtney's daughter). She was so good the entire time, you didn't even know she was there because she was so quiet. Courtney, by the way, such a stylish outfit!

This was our last trip to Rockford until after the baby is born! Next time we are there we will be bringing the new addition to our family! I can't wait! Now we are settling in and nesting for the month of March.

Family Baby Shower

My Mom, Sisters, and Mother-in-Law threw me a wonderful baby shower this past weekend. The shower was at my Nona's house, which is quite the party house we told her! This picture above was 1 of 3 diaper cakes that were filled with fun goodies for the baby that my creative sisters made for me. I am so lucky to have such wonderful sisters, mom and mother-in-law. Not to mention also a wonderful grandma and my aunts Therese and Carolyn who helped out with getting everything ready. The day was perfect and this baby is going to be so lucky to have such a wonderful family to meet very soon!

Here are some pictures of the day for some family members that unfortunately were not able to make it to the shower. Thanks to everyone who was able to come, it was a very special day.

Above was a creative gift that Aunt Teresa and Jillian got us. It was a rope with clothes, towels, shoes and socks, and you name it clipped to it. It was such a creative, cute gift!

So the only thing that I did not get that I had a dream about was a manual breast pump with mice running around in the see through box! I had a dream about a week ago that my Aunt Therese got me this breast pump that she bought from the hospital and it had 2 large see through boxes that you hook the pump tubes up to and mice run around in the inside. It was very bizarre, and thank goodness I did not actually get it for a gift!

We were definitely showered with gifts by everyone! I spent all afternoon trying to get things organized in the baby's nursery, which for those of you who know me well know that I love organizing, so it was right up my alley. I can't wait to put the baby in all of the cute clothes!

Prenatal Class Gone Bad!!!

The day started out great, we arrived at our prenatal class on time and enjoyed some delicious treats. We were learning some interesting information about the upcoming 'Big Day'. Then we practiced some breathing exercises and I was getting pampered by Ryan as he practiced the different relaxation techniques of tickling my arm (which is my favorite). We had a delicious lunch catered from Panera and then of course they brought out dessert because you can't have a room of pregnant women without food and especially sweets all day long. After lunch I was feeling very full but content, when the pediatrician came in to discuss how to find a pediatrician for your baby.

All of a sudden I felt hot, nauseous and like I was going to throw up. I told Ryan that I was not feeling good and I got up to go to the bathroom. Then I guess that I turned back in the hall toward the other door of the room we were in and the next thing I know I am laying on the ground. I guess Ryan went out into the hall when he saw me turn around and then everyone heard a thud and I had passed out and fallen to the ground. Luckily there was the pediatrician and nurse there and they got me cold washcloths and made sure the baby's heart was still beating. I was wheeled up to the maternity ward and admitted into a room. We got to practice using the external monitor and the baby was breathing and moving beautifully! My blood pressure was pretty low but I started feeling alot better and was no longer nauseous. However, they wanted to take precautionary measures, so then I was wheeled to the ER to have an EKG, some blood work, and a bag of IV fluids. So 2 hours later and probably a few thousand dollars later, the results came back that everything was fine and it was vaso vago (or something like that) which is common in pregnant women, and pretty much causes you to feel like I did and you just need to lay down and it goes away.

It was quite the day, to say the least! And on top of all of that, we missed the part of the class that we were looking forward to the most-the Tour. I guess we somewhat got a behind the scenes tour of some of the rooms in the labor and delivery area. However, I am not ready to see those rooms again in this way for at least 6 more weeks!

Tonight we are home, relaxing on the couch and now Ryan is really watching my every move making sure I am doing all right. I have such a wonderful husband! I felt bad because I really gave him a scare.

Well, now I have an excuse to just lay on the couch tomorrow and relax and cheer on the Packers.

Go Pack Attack!

Snowmaggedon 2011!

Blizzard 2011!

We have officially broke the record for being the 3rd biggest storm in Chicago history. The morning started at 4:15 am with Ryan getting up to shovel the drive way in an attempt to get to work. I was a worried mess because I did not want him driving to work. I turned on the news in bed and they had issued a civil emergency in Lake County (where we live) saying that no one can drive on the streets unless they are police escorted. So I had to burst Ryan's bubble and let him know he was staying home, Snow Day!!!

This is what we woke up to in the morning.

View from front door View out back

I decided to go and play in the snow while Ryan shoveled. The baby's first experience out in the snow.

The backyard. You can kind of see the top of the bird feeder and the compost bin way in the back.

The school district already called school off tomorrow! Although Ryan was off today he put in his day's work. He helped shovel 4 of our old or out of shape neighbors' driveways. Tonight he is resting on the couch from all the hard work. I on the other hand stood out there pretty help less and tried to help shovel a little bit. But I did not want to push myself into labor with the conditions of the roads, we most likely would have had a home birth!