Ready.... Set....

Birth class? Check.
Baby prep books? Check.
Baby Showers? Check.
Thank you notes? Check.
Birth Exercises? Check.
Hospital list? Doctor? Pediatrician? Check. Check. Check.
Nursery? Check!
Baby stuff? Check. Is it organized? CHECK!

     This list basically summarizes our January activities. Well, almost. Its been a long road but we're nearing the end of it! Peanut will be full term this Saturday (Jan 25th). And after months of preparation, we're ready! (Minus a few odds and n's like packing our hospital bag.) But we're feeling great. Peanut can come at any time and we've got all the basics covered to help with the transitional onslaught. We're so excited! We're ready for you, Peanut!
     I'm thinking this will probably be the last update we post till the birth, but we'll see. If I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs in late Feb, I may blog out of boredom... which is entirely possible! Jeremy might also post something before the birth. But as for me, I'm feeling great. Feel great physically, mentally, emotionally. I'm ready for the roller coaster.
     Peanut is rolling around in my big belly. Head's down. Lock and load position. I've very much enjoyed having this little miracle of a room mate sharing my body with me all these months. Like a friend said to me, "You're only pregnant for the first time once. You can pay attention to every little thing." And that's how I plan on spending the next few days/weeks before the birth. Just feeling and bonding with little Peanut and being so happy to welcome him/her into the world. Can't wait to cover him/her with kisses! I also can't wait to see Jeremy hold and kiss little Peanut. Happy Daddy! I love my new family!

Here are some pictures of getting the baby's room ready. Turned out pretty cute!

Bookshelf! Good job, Daddy!

Baby Room! Its ready for you, Peanut! (Glider chair will be arriving in Feb)

Baby Showers

     Friends and relatives gathered at two beautiful baby showers this month to provide much needed social time and celebration. Jeremy, Peanut, and I were showered with all the needed baby items we could think of. We are so blessed and grateful for having such wonderful and generous people in our lives.

The 'Ladies' Shower
     Mom has so many wonderful friends. I call them 'the ladies.' They are women I've know for pretty much my whole life and they all gather for each others' family events, showers mostly; engagement showers, wedding showers, baby showers. And come to think of it, these ladies have been gathering once a year since 2011 for Jeremy and I as we have gone through all the shower events available. This is it, end of the line for us! Thank you ladies! It's been wonderful! You all are TOO KIND!

The Hostesses: Mrs. Castello, Mrs. Azar, Mrs. Gray

Two pregnant daughters, what's more exciting?

Friends!

We got Facknitz representation with Grandma Facknitz & Aunt Kara (photographer of the day, thus we have no pictures of her!) 

Presents! Food! Wonderful!

Sister Secretary for the unwrapping. Thank goodness! 

That's how I felt! Lots of presents!

The Girlfriends' Shower

     Sister Megan was sweet enough to have a 'Diaper Shower' for Jeremy and I. Friends of mine gathered to shower us with baby essentials, diapers of all kinds. We're gonna try out the fancy cloth diapers when Peanut gets to be about 3 months old. So, our friends were kind enough to help us with the initial investment. The shower was so cute and super fun! There were a lot of hilarious Mom stories being swapped, which is just what I wanted! Good to be reminded of the importance of maintaining your sense of humor through Mom-hood. Megan and my friend Jen did a great job with the food and adorable diaper decorations. Cute and functional! 

Biggest gift of all! Friend Che came from Colorado bringing the mountains with her! Yeay!

Diaper Flowers! Diaper Cake!

Stories! Laughter! Girlfriends!

Rounding the Bend: weeks 33 - 36

     Well, here we are, rounding the bend of this beautiful adventure. The holidays certainly came and went quickly. Jeremy and I were chomping at the bit to start getting the house ready for the baby (well maybe that was mostly me). So much so that we had our Christmas tree and most of our decorations down and packed away at the end of New Years Day. We had ambitions of going out for one last late, fun, adult new years party but Jeremy woke up with a bad cold New Years Eve so we ended up hanging out in our pajamas and watching movies till 2014 came around. Oh well. At this point, I'm so big I prefer to be in my house robe at 7pm.
     Speaking of big, late third trimester life has certainly slowed me down. At the end of December I was still pretty active despite my size, able to walk for an hour or so every other day. But as January moved on, my exercise regimen has slowed and shortened. Walking for 20 - 40 minutes is about all I can do for exercise. Not to mention needing to nap some afternoons if I've been out running errands or are generally active. My feet hurt by the end of the day most days and Jeremy's started giving me foot rubs in the last week. (thank you, sweetie) Sleeping continues to be broken up with needing to turn from side to side about 6 times a night. (imagine sleeping with a backpack strapped to the front of you and trying to switch sides) But luckily I'm only outta bed once a night to go to the bathroom at this point. Hot flashes have also become a part of my daily life. Kind of interesting breaking into a sweat when you're just watching a movie. In the last few days, I've also taken to eating smaller meals. Peanut is so big now I can't breathe if I eat a lot!
     The most recent change and the most interesting has been feeling more and more Braxton Hicks contractions. I started noticing them around 35 weeks, this random hardening of different parts of my stomach. (Ha! I'm having one right now.) Braxton Hicks contractions are basically my uterus' way of training for labor day, working different sections to make sure every part is ready to work together effectively when the big day comes. As we've moved beyond the 36 week mark, nearing full term (37 weeks), I've been feeling more intense contractions periodically. This is why they call the 9th month "labor month." Cause you're actually laboring for weeks up to your due date. Kinda crazy! We're there!
     With our labor month underway, Jeremy and I have been keeping up to our little birth prep exercises. Relaxation, massage, back strenghening, etc. Jeremy has been a great trainer & coach thus far. I know he's gonna be stellar the day of. Not too long now!

Week 33: Still looking good!

  

Week 35: Look at that baby! Doctor said the baby gains a half a pound every week from 36 weeks on. We'll see what that does to mommy!

Week 36: As my friend Che said, "You're small!" Yep, I guess so. Compared to some women, my body likes to keep my baby high and tight. Seems like I'm staying around the same size, but Peanut isn't! We'll see what changes come around in the final weeks. 

Christmas 2013

It was a very jolly Christmas with the whole Facknitz family coming down to the St. Louis area. Jeremy and I were very grateful they all made the trip down and provided a Christmas Eve dinner of beef roast, mashed potatoes, broccoli, rolls, cider, and egg nog in appreciation. Thanks to Anne Weidmann (Winney) for housing the whole clan and for hosting all the wonderful meals we enjoyed on Christmas day. The Sustar family joined us for dinner. The nieces Siena and Libby had a great time with their new friend, Rocky. After dinner, Jeremy, Jarod, Erin, Rocky, and I all made some music Christmas night in celebration of the merry, mellow gathering.

All the Facknitzes had some time with Peanut and squealed with awe with every bump and movement. Peanut was very excited to have some quality Facknitz time.