Renewable Energy

Find Renewable Energy in your area:
http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/buying_power.shtml

Be Charitable

Check out this website to make charitable contributions that will actually affect change:
http://www.charitynavigator.org

This is just a cool thing to do...

http://365daysoftrash.blogspot.com

Good Green Fun

This site has neat green items that don't seem hugely overpriced...

http://www.zanisa.com

Safe Plastics

There is always something, isn't there? So now the big concern is BPA in plastics. Mostly this affects hard plastics like polypropalene (Nalgene bottles) and seems to be the most problematic when the plastics are heated (microwave or hot water in dishwasher). However, lots of kid food containers are plastic for their obvious non-breakable properties. What is wrong with BPA? Some sites say nothing, "The use of polycarbonate plastic for food contact applications continues to be recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food, the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, the Japan Ministry for Health and Welfare and other regulatory authorities worldwide."(http://www.bisphenol-a.org) Other sites say link exposure to BPA to estrogen like properties in girls and boys.

I am not sure but there seems to be enough research to warrant limiting exposure. I am going to try to remove #3,6,7 plastics from our home, stop washing our nalgene bottles in the dishwasher and switch Josh & Mira to BPA free cups. Joshua is mostly switched as it is and I have already ordered a new bottle for Mira (she pretty much only uses one anyway).

Rice farms in America?

How novel! Check out this company: Lundberg Eco Farmed. They carry it on our local grocery store. Here is their website: http://www.lundberg.com/

Wash Away!

It is here! I chose the 300 NEXXT Series Washing Machine from Bosch purchased at Lowes. In the end I saved $242 off the price with coupons, rebates and sales. Wahoo! :-) I am going to try selling me old washer for $100 to offset the purchase even more

Now we wait 3 months to see how our water bill fairs.

non-stick

National Geographic has a website 'The Green Guide' out with lots of good stuff! I recently came across a non stick surface called thermolon, this is what they had to say about it:

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/ask/thermolon

Trash Day

Trash day was not quite as light as it has been the past few weeks. I guess all the cleanup from our trip paid it's toll in the trash we put out. I wasn't quite sure if there was a better place to throw the broken ice maker from our new fridge. Some of the items I know can be recycled... somewhere but nowhere convenient for us and I am not going to hold on to them in the meanwhile. It is a toss up. I found a place 30 min away that recycles #5 plastics but I need to determine if it is worthwhile to save them for when I am in that area. I wish they just recycled them locally. We use a lot with our yogurt and other containers. If I end up getting a yogurt maker as I would like (for my birthday :-)) then that will take care of some of our plastic excess.

The popsicle maker just can in the mail today and is filled and chilling in the freezer as I type. I am very excited about that since Joshua is very sensitive to sugar and it will be a good earth investment. 2 points! Yeah. So, I am finding that a lot of the decisions and changes we make for the earth are better for us, too. Go figure

I had a successful, I thought, trip to grocery store last night. I was able to get a number of organic items on sale so that they were the same price or cheaper than their non-organic counterparts. I am going to try shopping the sales more now so that I can afford to incorporate more organic items into our food shopping.

New Stuff

I found a website where you can go to look up recycling locations for all sorts of stuff earth911.org Finally I can figure out where to recycle #5 plastics!

Also, yet another great green website http://www.planetnatural.com/

I found that I can get local free range eggs for $.50 a carton cheaper at a farm stand than in the grocery store! Yeah!! :-) Still need to order the side o' beef. The resort we went to this past week had recycling bins in the rooms and was powered by wind energy. So cool!

Enter to win

Stoneyfield Farms (the yogurt company) is taking information on their customers and giving away a month of free yogurt. I know that my telling you this diminishes my chance of winning yogurt BUT I'd be happy to see you win, too. AND maybe you'd share :-)

Go to their website, the link is on the front page to register...
http://www.stonyfield.com/

Petcare, Melaleuca & Phones

http://www.globaldognaturalpetproducts.com/natural_organic_dog_food

We love our Melaleuca products but lately I have been feeling like maybe they are not as green as I would like them to be. We buy the 'concentrate' of cleaning products but the packaging to ship the items is not as small as it could be and they always send lots of magazines and catalogs... So, I am going to start comparing again to see if we can get similar items in the store or elsewhere. So that is a green and money thing.

I also, on a money saving note, we are rearranging our phone plans. I have dropped down to a very basic local calling plan on our home phone and we will be using our cell phone or calling cards for long distance. Maybe we will drop our home phone all together... we'll see. But for now, that is a $20 monthly savings.

Looking into Solar Powered Energy

http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/solar-panels/index.html

Interesting link. Seems like these panels would be easy to install and the rebates from federal and state (total $4000 plus $3000 grant money) would be helpful in purchasing but the website says it will save you $80 a YEAR in energy costs? Wow, that is not very much... I'll have to do more research.

Also, checkout this site for reel mowers. I could see doing this. Maybe we buy one used or something to try it out. I have a feeling I would be doing most of the mowing in this case...
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/reel_mower_landing.htm

Check this out for your next party...

Compostable cups, plates, bowls, etc. How cool!

Mansfield Paper:
http://www.mansfieldpaper.com/environmentallysafe.html
Staples GreenWave: http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?&storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&partNumber=712662&cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Shopping-_-Office_Supplies_%253E_Breakroom_Supplies_-_-712662-GC16S&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=712662


Other links to check out:
Pay As You Throw Garbage Program
EPA - Pay As You Throw http://www.epa.gov/payt/states/md.htm
I can't believe that Aberdeen (the next town over has this program and we do not...)
http://www.carr.org/mtairy/reports/recycle_.htm
I think that PAYT should be mandatory along with recycling everywhere - I guess I am an idealist
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2007/08/12/news/local_news/newsstory1.txt


http://nrdc.org/greenliving/
idealbite.com

The Great Diaper Debate

So, my thoughts on the great diaper debate (cloth vs. disposable) are as follows. I do use disposable diapers on occasion. Probably 1-5 per week. Usually I use them when I am washing the cloth diapers or when we are going to be out all day. Otherwise I use cloth. I have a mix of diapers and I use whichever suits the purpose. But the greenest way I have found to diaper the kids is no diaper at all... ok so I don't usually go diaper free. (there is a website http://diaperfreebaby.org/) But, I am doing for Mira what I did for Joshie and that is watching her 'signals' I take her to pee now after waking up. She usually goes within 5 min of waking so I can easily catch her then and I am just now noticing that she arches her back when she has to pee so that is a sign. I make a sound when she goes 'psss' and tell her 'good job' if she does it when I make the sound. For Joshie, this meant that he was mostly potty trained by 18 months and we had reduced the amount of diapers we were using by about half prior to that. Now at 2.5 he is almost completely potty trained. We even have dry naps and nights now. Given that a lot of boys these days take a LONG time to be trained. I think this is pretty good! Mira seems to be responding well to the potty and I have a feeling she will be trained even sooner. (She is currently rolling on the floor next to be chewing on her toes).

I am a big fan of early potty training as a way to better communicate with your child, save money, save the planet and make a lot of hilarious memories in the meantime!

Saving Gas

At the recommendation of my middlest sister I have reduced my driving speed to 60 or below as much as possible. It worked!! I normally get about 21 mpg and this fill up I made it all the way to 400 miles on one tank of gas. That is 23 mpg and a savings of $6 per fill up! Over the course of a year that is over $300!!

Saving Money

A coupon site to check out (when I have time!) grocerycouponsplus.com I stopped getting the newspaper for coupons because we didn't read it and the cost for the coupons outweighed their benefit. So, I figure getting just the coupons you need is a green thing to do :-)

Trash Day

I am happy to report that two weeks in a row now we have only put out 1 white trash bag of garbage. I have been making an effort to be aware of what goes in the garbage can recently and trying to think if another option would be better. I guess it is working. We even had company on Sunday and Tuesday and we were still only 1 bag! Pretty cool. I have not used my dryer in at least 5 days. I am trying to stick to 1 load of laundry a day but yesterday and today I did two. There were items that had been sitting around needing washing and I just went ahead and took care of them.

Along the washing machine front. I think we have decided on a Bosch. Although, the one we want is a little big for our space. We are going to need to remove the door frame to fit it in our laundry room. The problem is that I have read reviews on tons of washers, even the top rated ones in consumer reports and it is a crap shoot. Bosch has the only washers that were not rated below a 3(out of 5) and no one complained of leaking problems. I can buy one online or at Lowes. I am probably going to do Lowes to get the warranty and delivery. Since we don't need to replace the washer we have time to wait for a sale, special financing or free delivery. Plus, I am going to go online to ebay to buy a 10-20% coupon like I have done in the past for big purchases.

Green Stationary and Such

So I am a dolt, sort of.... My very good friend, Jill, and her company Copper Willow are committed to green practices and I didn't even know it! Here is an article about her company http://www.la-confidential-magazine.com/article_1.html in an LA magazine and her website copperwillow.com. Plus, there are lots of other links in the article about living green in your home.

A car that runs on Compressed Air...

Jason's Aunt and Uncle sent us this link and I just think it is the coolest thing. Of course, getting it here in America is a long shot since the oil and car companies would boycot it but...

http://www.onecataircar.com/

Another version... I am assuming by a different company is

http://www.theaircar.com/acf/index.html

The second website has options for keeping posted on progress and supporting the development. That car is in South America. The first link is in India.

Junk Mail

I've been making an effort to call the magazines and catalogs that I receive and be removed from their lists. In addition to saving a few trees, it should also save me the time of sorting through all that stuff... plus, I do most of my shopping online these days anyway. I also found that you can sign up online to 'opt out' of the various credit requests/offers and other mailings.

Here are the links:

optoutprescreen.com
catalogchoice.org
1-888-5optout (gotta make a phone call on this one)

From the book I am reading, if we all reduced the junk mail we receive and recycle the rest we could save 100 million trees a year!

Links to look into later...

Just finding stuff to research as time permits...

http://www.mdhomeperformance.org/
energystar.gov

Cars, musings and such

So I have changed the title of this blog from Pregnancy Journal to Green Journal since I am no longer pregnant, little baby Mira arrived in Feb, and I am feeling rather environmentally conscious these days.

It all started with ... well more than one thing. I guess my internal green movement has been building but the catalyst was a water bill that was way to high, in my mind anyway. So I began to do a few things to conserve water starting with calling the water company to make sure they didn't think that the excess was due to a leak. The answer was 'no' just us using way more water than usual. So for a month or so I have made the following changes:

1 - No more nightly baths for me
2 - No more nightly baths for Josh, he now showers with us when possible
3 - Turn the water off while I am washing my hands and brushing my teeth
4 - Turn the water off while I am lathering up in the shower
5 - Save the water from the shower while it is heating up to use in the laundry
6 - No more standing at the sink and running the water as a fun toddler activity
7 - Returning to traditional dish washing and using a tub of soapy water instead of running water to wash the dishes
8 - No longer rinsing before putting dishes into the washer, just scraping them off really well

So after the water thing and a nice long weekend camping, I decided that my family was living too excessively. We are starting to make small changes, and a few bigger ones, to help our pocketbooks and the environment including:

1 - Limiting the number of trips out of the house. Letting Jason pick up items on the way home
2 - Using fans instead of turning on the A/C
3 - Being conscientious of lights, appliances and other items left on or plugged in.
4 - Drying clothes outside on the line at least 2 times a week
5 - talking to the kiddos about conserving resources
6 - putting recycling recepticles on all floors of the house
7 - reducing our weekly waste to 1 white trash bag by donating, recycling and composting the rest

On Saturday I picked up a book called "Go Green, Live Rich" and I have been reading it for ideas and inspiration. It certainly seems to be working. You can find it in your library or bookstore but it is not yet on paperbackswap.com I also received Heifer International's magazine that was chock full of ideas that not only help the planet but also the people on it. It is very interesting.

My current big quest is to replace our water hog washing machine with one that is more energy and water efficient. I am leaning towards the Bosch Nexxt 500 series model 3301. It is one of the only front loaders I have found that does not have a bunch of 'My washer leaks' reviews. We should be the proud new owners of some new machine in the next two weeks. With 1 load of laundry a day in our house, this should make a big difference.

I found this link: http://www.fueleconomy.gov that has lots of good car info. After the laundry machine issue is resolved, the car/driving will be the next item on the list.

The Contest

For those of you who want to know how the contest turned out on guessing the dates, etc for Mira's birth here are the results:

Aunt Trina was right on with length and weight (7 lb, 7 oz and 20 inches) but off on the date and gender

Godfather had the right date and the time (midnight) and was very close on the length and weight as well (7 lb 6 oz and 19 inches) but also off on the gender

Since both got the gender wrong, we'll just go by the other factors and declare Godfather the winner! So now the question is... what did he win?

It's a girl!

Mira Jean Owens
7 pounds 7 ounces
20"
February 15th at 12:39AM

Dr. Appointment

We saw the dr. today. I am 3 cm and 90% effaced. I've been having more regular and stronger contractions but they tapered off today. So, we wait... a little longer.

39 weeks, 3 days

My dr. appointment last night was cancelled due to freezing rain. I rescheduled for Thursday afternoon. It was disappointing. I look forward to the weekly check in to see how far I am (not) getting. Maybe my estimates for March 1 will come true. Ugh. This child will be gigantic!

I did have some good contractions last night. With Joshua, I had steady contractions every night for about a week that would taper off in the morning. So, it could still be a while or maybe I'll have a Valentine's baby. There are a number of guesses for Valentine's day...

Jason and Joshua are both sick right now. If they could both get a little healthier (without me getting sick in the meantime) that would be nice, too.

39 Weeks

Wow, I didn't think we would make it here. Feeling just fine. No big labor signs. We took a walk yesterday which usually gets the contractions going. It did but . . . nothin'. I guess 'Daddy' and Aunt Jill didn't win the guessing game :-) We'll see who's closest :-)

Given Joshua's weight (9 lbs at 41 weeks) My guess is that the baby is around 7.5 pounds now. I think that sounds like a much nicer sized baby to push out than a 9 lb one. Come on baby, come out!!

guesses

What fun to see everyone's guesses on the baby's birthday, gender and weight! We'll leave the game open until the baby comes so everyone can keep guessing. I think we'll figure out a prize to send to the person who guesses the closet :-)

I have been feeling great other than being very moody. Sometimes it feels like the baby is tickling my hip bones. Maybe he/she is! I know that I am only at 39 weeks but it seems now that the baby is going to hang out in there forever! Maybe the prayers for the baby to 'stay put' worked a little TOO well. LOL

Dr. Appointment

Argh. Nothing. No weight gain, belly is measuring the same size but baby is deeper down in there. No dilation. I was sure I was at least a centimeter or two. I had such strong contractions and pains down there this past weekend but I guess I was wrong. I'll see the dr. again in one week.

The dr. did ask me about the headache and he seemed rather chipper for having been awoken at 2 or 3 in the morning. My bp was 128/82 and I didn't catch the baby's heart rate, I'll have to ask next time.

Oh what a night!

I had a headache through most of the day yesterday. It was a busy day so I got my nap but didn't worry too much about the headache. It subsided in the afternoon and came back in the evening. I did my new evening routine of taking a bath and heading to bed early. Then at 12:54 am the headache woke me up. It was as intense as a migraine and nothing I was doing was easing the pain or helping me get back to sleep. Jason woke up and seeing me in such pain called the dr. He suggested Tylenol thinking that I had already taken it. But, since we have been very careful not to take any medications, I had not. I think sometime close to 3 we finally were able to get back to sleep. I kept thinking two things: one, that I was going to go into labor and have to deal with this migraine-like headache AND contractions and two, that I was pre-eclapmtic and if I went to the hospital they would induce me.

But, thankfully, we made it through the night and aside from being tired I am feeling mostly well.

38 Weeks, 1 day

Baby is probably about 7 pounds now and all 'cooked'. I will be returning the preemie outfit I bought 'just in case' tomorrow since it won't fit when the baby is born. Baby should be gaining a pound a week, I think, in these last few weeks. Guess we will met him/her in the next three weeks for sure!

I am supposed to go again tomorrow for my dr appointment. I may move it to Wednesday. Nothing much going on now. Mom is coming out in the morning and will be here over night. Not much left to do to 'prepare' for baby. I purchased a diaper change pad and cover the other day, really the only thing we were missing.

Guess the Due Date

I set up a game to guess the baby's arrival date. Hope you'll participate!

37 weeks, 6 days

Today I am pretty sure that I lost my plug. It lost it 11 days before Joshua was born so it could still be a while. I am pretty sure I have begun to dilate. I can feel it. I've had a few stronger contractions but nothing regular just more of the same. Don't really want to deliver today or tomorrow since the dr. on call at the hospital I have never met. We'll see if baby will wait until a weekday when my dr or one of the other's in the practice is around. Yes, I AM being picky!

I surprised Jason with a relaxing overnight at a local b&b with dinner out at one of our favorite resturants on Thursday night. Mom and Aunt Jo came out to visit and watch Josh. We had dinner then went over to the B&B. It was so nice to take 2 hours to eat, not be interrupted, to sleep in and have food made for us, to just relax. We met the gang at the library and then headed to lunch out to round off the adventure. It was really, really nice. The funny thing is that we ate at the same fancy resturant at the same point in my pregnancy 2 years ago with Joshua.

Dr. Appointment

I saw the other dr. in the practice last night for my appointment. I like her a lot, too, but I don't see her very often. My weight had not changed. I was a little surprised since I have been so hungry recently! I just walk by the pantry and have to eat but I guess it didn't 'stick'. Or maybe next time I will have gained 5 pounds again :-) that's my pattern.

The dr. wanted to do an internal exam this time, again. I bet the nurse that there was no change. She thought there would be some change but if we had put money on it, I would have won. The dr also thinks this baby is not going to be very big but I think she is mistaken. I wasn't huge with Joshua but he was gigantic. We'll see. The baby's heart rate was in the 130's and everything looks healthy and happy so I go again in a week.

Today Aunt Jo and Mom are coming out for an overnight visit. It has been ages since I have visited with Aunt Jo and I am really looking forward to it.

37 Weeks

From BabyCenter.com

"Congratulations! Your baby is full-term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel."

Joshie and I went to the dr.'s office today to get my rhogham shot. It was mostly uneventful. I will be returning on Wednesday for my next appointment. I continue to feel good and even got out for a nice walk with Joshua (in the stroller) today. The weather is supposed to be in the mid 40's all week which is definitely bearable. I don't mind winter but 20 is cold, period. I asked the nurse about the pains in my right leg, which I have assumed are sciatica, she agreed and said there isn't too much to be done: good posture, warm compresses, massage and delivering the baby.

Other than the contractions, no signs of labor... it may still be another 4 weeks!

36 weeks, 5 days

Another dr appointment today. They will now be only one week apart from here on out. I hope that I won't have to go to 3-4 more but that is the likelihood (in my mind anyway). I weighed in at 141 for a 5 lb gain over the last appointment and 29 pounds over the entire pregnancy. Everything else was normal for this stage. I had the group b strep test and 37 week blood work. I'll get those results next Wednesday at my next appointment. I will also have yet another rhogham shot this weekend. Other than that nothing has changed.

I feel pretty good. The contractions come and go without rhyme or reason that I can see. I have been getting out with Joshua more for dr's appointments and grocery trips. Tomorrow I will take him to story time. At this point this is a totally normal pregnancy so I am free to go about business as usual. If it weren't so darn cold in the morning I would start walking, too but 20 is just not warm enough for me! Today was 40 in the afternoon but then I was out of the house...

36 Weeks!

Could be any day, could be in 4-5 weeks. I am finally enjoying this pregnancy. Yippee! On Friday I had my massage that Jason gave me for Christmas and that was wonderful. On Saturday I met with Christine for breakfast. It was supposed to be a group of home schooling moms but we were the only two to show up. It was nice going out though. I have been enjoying lots of cooking and baking recently. I am stocking up for when baby comes. Each day I try to make something to freeze for later. Last night I made bread and it was soooo tasty!!

So Baby is probably up to 6 pounds now and packing on the pounds. I am getting more sore in my hips and back especially at the end of the day. I can't seem to sleep in at all so naps and early bed seem to be imperative but other than that things are good. The baby is so low that I don't have the problem of him/her kicking my ribs or interfering with meal time but he really makes me waddle!

Chugging Along

Mom was out again this week on Tuesday and Wednesday and we got a number of things done. I am back to working on projects around the house. Just little things that have been left undone for a long time. The nursery is pretty much all set except for moving the mattress back up to the top level. All the clothes, blankets, diapers & toys are washed. I hung a couple of hooks and Jason's birthday present from Jill and Tara. Both should help us keep things neater around the house.

I've been doing a bit of baking/cooking and freezing. I don't have as much food made up as I did for Josh but I am making progress. Since we had to get a new fridge this weekend, I ended up turning the chest freezer back on and I think we are doing to do a stock up meat run this weekend. That is something we haven't done in a LONG time.

The proofs are back from the photographer and look great! Email me if you want the link. I'd rather not post that here. We'll be picking out what we want this weekend.

Body-wise I am getting more achy and tired. My hip/back was hurting all day yesterday but is mostly fine today. Today, my abdomen is tired but that is probably from all the work (contractions) last night. They come and go throughout the day but don't seem to progress. I guess that is what the whole 'irritable uterus' diagnosis they gave me back in November is all about. I may start going to bed earlier again. I am energetic when I am up but when I sleep I feel dead to the world and have a hard time waking. That said, I am off to nap time!

35 weeks

We have made it! This is the date that my doctor and we were shooting for. Although, I am still taking it somewhat easy...not driving except for to downtown and not with Josh in the car, not picking Joshua up, resting when I need to, not chasing the little tyke around. I made it to church today and that was great. I hope I can get a few more Sundays in. We went to Walmart this evening for an errand. Jason just about fell over laughing when he turned around and saw me waddling down the aisle. It is most pronounced when I try and move quickly. I have to actively concentrate on putting my feet the way a 'normal' person walks. I almost peed myself when I started laughing in reaction to his laughing. Oh the joys of pregnancy!

We had maternity photos taken yesterday morning. I should have the proofs online by Wednesday. The photographer was great and the photo session was a lot of fun. The focus was the growing belly but we did get shots of all of us during the morning. I am looking forward to seeing how they turned out. We will have a second photo session after the baby is born.

Baby is now over 5 pounds and most of his/her organs and systems are developed. At this point he is growing and putting on fat. There is a chance that he would end up in the NICU if he were born now but long term he should be ok.

Jason has been very encouraging as far as helping me to remember my exercises for delivery. He been reassuring in the fact that if we can get even a couple of weeks in before delivery my body will be ready. Delivery has definitely been a concern for me since I have been so sedentary and not nearly in the shape I was for Joshua's birth.

I'm Free!

The Dr.'s appt went well today. Everything looks good and he has taken me off any restrictions. I am even allowed to drive if I want to. At this point, it is up to me to determine how much activity is right for the baby. If I feel the contractions are picking up I should drink water and lay down. The baby is 'right down in there' as the dr put it so that is a good thing, too. Baby's heart rate was 136 tonight and he measured 34 weeks. I didn't gain anything these last two weeks but then again that has been the trend. I will probably gain 10 pounds next time :-) I will see the dr. again in two weeks. Then I will be going weekly.

He was very pleased that we made it this far and attributed it to doing a good job on bed rest. I can't really claim responsibility since it has been Jason and Mom that have kept me supine.

Out and About

I got out a bit with Mom and Joshua yesterday. We went to Target and JoAnne's. It was nice to see the outside world. I may be going to get my haircut today. We'll see. I am not feeling great right now. I don't know if it was something I ate or what. I am resting and trying some cereal without milk to see if my tummy settles down at all. I woke up last night with a contraction but really only one that I can remember and then went back to sleep. Our dr. appt is tomorrow and I have a list of questions for him. I am eager to see what changes, if any, have occurred. On Saturday, we are getting pregnancy photos taken. I am looking forward to that. I need to pick out a few outfits to try for the 'photo shoot' :-)

34 Weeks

I thought that 34 weeks would come as a relief since I would be able to come off of the medication but it has not. It is a relief to be off the meds since I don't like taking a lot of medication and there is not clear evidence about that drug and the health of the baby. But, the contractions have picked up the in evening and here and there throughout the day. So, it looks like back to laying low. Jason went back to work today and we are in agreement about needing to take it easy at least until the dr's appt on Thursday and probably until week 35. I will be reassured a bit if in spite of the contractions my cervix has not changed.

Baby now should be about 5 lbs. Most of his body parts are developed and he is packing on the fat and pounds for his upcoming arrival. He continues to be a mover and as is typical likes the evening hours for doing it. If he were born now, he would most likely end up in the NICU for a little while but the prognosis is good that he would develop without major issues later on.

We have a birth plan written (revised from Joshua) and a calling list. Still need to put that darned bag today for the hospital. That task has been on the list for weeks now...maybe if I don't do it, baby will wait to come! :-)

2 more days...

Until we stop the medication that seems to be keeping my uterus calm. Last night and tonight the contractions have been picking up so I am a bit nervous about stopping the medication on Sunday. My next ob appointment is Thursday and I hope we make it there.

I dug out our birthing ball tonight and we need to fill it. I also cleaned the bouncy seat and the co-sleeper today. I really ought to pack a bag! Maybe tomorrow :-)