The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Saturday marked exactly one month until my due date! Yay!

Yesterday started the first of my weekly OBGYN appointments to check on little Aubrey's progress until she makes her debut. For now, the trap door is clamped tightly shut, but as each week goes by, doc will be monitoring any progress that may be being made down there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a timely delivery, if not early. She's getting so big, and subsequently, so is my belly!

For now, it's just a waiting game...

Jerry and I are super excited about Aubrey's arrival, but we're kind of at that point where all we can do now is wait. The nursery is finished, the "stuff" has been bought or collected, and everything is washed, prepped, and ready for her! I don't even think I've been in the nursery for days, if only because I don't want to over-nest... if that's possible.

So here I am, being patient. :)

Breast pumping??? Yikes!

I went and purchased my breast pump today. It's the last "major" thing from my registry that hadn't been purchased yet, so I wanted to go ahead an get it out of the way just in case Aubrey comes early. Being prepared is definitely my "thing," and I don't function well without organization and a good plan... so I feel much better having absolutely everything in order now. All that I have left to do is pack my bag, and I'll be doing that next week after I see my doc on Monday. :)

So... for the breast pump. It's a strange thing. I mean, I guess I never thought twice about breast feeding my baby because it's like the most normal thing in the world to do, right? Plus, it's so healthy and has so many benefits for both myself and the baby, but that's another post altogether. Anyway, so I get it home and take it out of the box and start trying to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to do with it and how it works. It was all very confusing...

See? So much "stuff" to figure out and put together. Luckily, since you're not really supposed to introduce the bottle for 4-6 weeks so baby can really get used to nursing first, I have some time. It seems so awkward!! However, it's really important to me to have a way for Jerry to be involved in the feeding time, etc. since there's so much bonding that happens at that time, so pumping it is! 

Of course, as an added bonus, pumping also will allow us to let the grandparents babysit, or allow me to have a glass of wine or a marg now and again, and let J do some of the overnight feedings on the weekends so that maybe I can sleep some too. ;)

I am learning so much... LOL!

Mother, the heart of the Family.

Nations rise and fall, empires prosper or crumble and men are stirred to great accomplishments or driven to shameful failure often because of the influence of a wife or mother. The wise poet has properly said, "The hand that rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world."

For most women, motherhood is a great privilege, a crowning joy and sublime fulfillment. Perhaps the greatest privilege of motherhood is that of sharing a giving. No one shares and give as a mother does. She shares her body with another in order to conceive. She shares it again with her unborn child. Then, she shares her time, energy, and talent with it after it is born in order to meet its needs and help it to grow and develop. But most of all, she shares her heart and her love as she weeps, laughs, sorrows and rejoices with her child through the months and years of it's life.

Motherhood, while being a great privilege, also involves obligation. No task on earth requires more dedication, greater skill or fuller commitment. Her responsibilities demand devotion to the highest ideals and patient perseverance over long years of time. Her task is formidable because there is no human obligation that is less adaptable to substitution than motherhood. You can substitute for the teacher, policeman, governor, and almost anyone else- but no one has found an adequate substitute for a mother's love.

Happy and blessed are the home and the children of a loving, devoted mother. Happy Mother's Day!

**I am looking forward to sharing my life with my first born child in only 5 short weeks. I only hope that I can be half the mother that my own is. :)

Much Love,

Rachael

The 35 week bump!

Yay to my sweet, sweet, hubby for taking these pictures for me. It was such a beautiful afternoon, and the grass was freshly cut... I just couldn't resist getting outside for some "bump" pictures. Here's one of us just for the record. ;)

Ya think Aubrey will have blue eyes?? LOL

It seems like the ol' bump is getting bigger every single day, so I need to take the opportunity to get some pics while she's still there!! I'll be 35 weeks in a couple of days, so we're down to 5 more weeks and counting!!

Boo the kitty was awfully jealous of all the laying in the grass, especially since I don't do that often. He was intent on participating in whatever it was we were doing... so, just for good measure, we let him get in on the action too. He's such a handsome little guy...

And oh, so photogenic!!

The nursery is finally finished!

You know already how hard J and I have been working on this... I really envisioned it to be a place where her little imagination can run wild, and she can daydream and feel enchanted. I hope I've accomplished this... in any case I'm REALLY proud of it. I only wish that pictures did it justice.

View from the entrance:

My precious little hoot owl, watching over the crib :)

The birdie mobile I made for her myself!

I love this little quote...

Cool light fixture:

Songbird

For you, there'll be no more crying,
For you, the sun will be shining,
And I feel that when I'm with you,
It's alright, I know it's right.

To you, I'll give the world
To you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,
It's alright, I know it's right.

And the songbirds are singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before.

And I wish you all the love in the world,
But most of all, I wish it from myself.

And the songbirds keep singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before, like never before.

-Christine McVie, "Fleetwood Mac"

Baby Shower!

Well, it's early Sunday morning and I am still glowing in the aftermath of the baby shower yesterday. What a wonderful day!! It was so much better than I could have even imagined!

I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful, beautiful friends and family members who all came together to celebrate the imminent coming of baby Aubrey. It was truly magical to have all the ladies I love most in the world congregated in my home, laughing, talking, and sharing Aubrey's day with me. She is a lucky, lucky little girl, and she's not even been born yet!

I will certainly say this, once she finally does make her debut, there will be PLENTY of outfit changes in her day-to-day routine! This little girl is going to be better dressed than anyone on the planet!! haha! It always amazes me what SUPER cute girly clothes can be found! Believe me, we'll have to be posting tons of pictures to showcase all of her cute little things. :)

I love love love you all, and am so blessed to have you all in my life. I could not ask for more special people to share this experience with. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with me, and thank you all dearly for all the wonderful gifts. My living room is brimming with lovely baby goodies! And thanks to my beautiful mother, without whom, such a wonderful shower would not have been possible. I have certainly loved all the "baby time" we've been so fortunate to spend together!

Oh yeah, Mindy (ever the fantastic photographer!) took some pics of the nursery too, so I'll post those as soon as she sends them to me as well. I tried to take some, but they just didn't come out great and definitely didn't do the nursery justice, so I'm REALLY excited to see the ones she took! I caught some flack for not making good on my promise of a "sneek peak" the other day, haha! Now that everyone's seen it in person, I'll be happy to share the pics when they come my way. :)