Early Early Labor... update

Hey all- 

Just wanted to send a quick update while things are still feeling easy.  I've been having contractions since last night, and they're getting a bit more regular and closer together.  We're still probably a ways off from having the baby, but just wanted to let you all know that things are definitely changing.  We appreciate all your love, support and prayers, and we'll keep you posted as much as we are able.

For those counting, contractions are somewhat all over the place, but generally in the 7-12 minute range.  

Love and hugs to all,

Amy & Osei

39.5 weeks- any day now!

Hello all!

As I write this letter, we are now 40 weeks pregnant, which is our official "guess date."  We call it a guess date, because only 5% of babies actually show up on their "due date" anyway.  Which is actually fine with me... I'm not quite ready to be done being pregnant, but ask me in a few more days how I feel.  The good news is that it appears my belly has finally dropped.  I can walk up stairs without breathing heavy, and the heartburn has basically gone away.  The only downside is that instead of having to pee every 40 minutes, I now have to go every 20 minutes.  

My last day of work in the office was Wednesday, and now I'm working from home until the baby comes.  This has been a true blessing to have this flexibility right now, especially because last week I was hit by a nasty cold (and thanks to all this extra pregnancy blood, daily nosebleeds too- no fun!).  I complained to Osei about how I was supposed to be enjoying my last week of pregnancy, this week was supposed to be really fun!  

Luckily, I'm feeling much better now, and we enjoyed a beautiful weekend together- very typical New England fall weather.  We spent the day Saturday frolicking around Boston, taking lots of pictures, sightseeing, and soaking in a wonderful day together.  It was a perfect weekend.  Osei has been pampering me silly, and we're definitely enjoying our last few "just us" moments.

Hopefully our next update will be to introduce this little kiddo cooking inside.  Our birth plan is to have this baby during the Patriot's bye week.  

Love, hugs, and blessings to all,

Amy, Osei, and baby "Omee"

38.5 weeks- only a few more to go!

Hello all,

As of today, I am 39 weeks!  This is getting really exciting!

Our weekends now amount to precious moments of attempting to cram as much as we can into a short amount of time, and take advantage of the opportunity to get as much done as we can (while also building in time for naps and cuddling of course!).  This weekend was particularly special.

Our major art project of the weekend was making a plaster belly cast.  At first, I started putting on the plaster strips myself, with Osei simultaneously a bit fascinated and grossed out.  However, half way through he got his hands dirty and had a blast finishing the rest.  We learned a lot for next time- mainly that Osei will take over from the beginning-  I couldn't exactly see what I was doing on my own belly! 

Osei also fixed our sewing machine!  We'd bought an old Singer 457 (metal machine, from the 1960's), and the timing became out of sync, causing a gear to break.  The estimate to repair the machine was 5 times what we even paid for the machine, so my saavy and industrious husband did research, ordered a part, watched multiple youtube videos and figured out how to fix it himself!  I'm incredibly impressed, and this means that our next project of sewing a cover for the diaper changing pad is ready to begin.

Finally this weekend, we also went apple picking.  Osei and I had gone apple picking on our 3rd date, so the entire event was incredibly sentimental for me.  Though we went to a different orchard, we did manage to recreate some pictures, as well as our enjoyment of fresh apple cider donuts.  We picked over 20 pounds of apples and promptly baked 3 apple-cranberry pies, which in my opinion, far surpassed the deliciousness of the pies we made after our first apple-picking adventure.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my last day of working in the office, and then I'll work from home until the baby is born.  My commute to work has gotten progressively longer in the past month, as my walking speed has slowed to turtle-like pace.  I won't miss fighting for a seat on the crowded subway and am very thankful for the flexibility to work from home!

Please continue to pray and send healing thoughts for my mother, Nancy.  After surgery last month for breast cancer, she begins chemotherapy on Friday, and we are all prayerfully optimistic that her cancer will never return.

Love and blessings to all,

Amy, Osei, and soon-to-be-welcomed-to-the-world, Omee 

37.5 weeks

Hello all,

Time is ticking and we should get to meet this baby within the month (though hopefully closer to two weeks). As of today, I'm 38 weeks and 1 day.

This past weekend we had a wonderful party/baby shower where we got to celebrate with friends and family in Boston. We all had such a nice time and both Osei and I are extremely blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful and supportive people. We were especially touched to have people come from so far away (Vermont and New York City) to join us for the festivities, and were blown away by the generosity of all.

It finally hit me Saturday night that our next "event" is the birth of this baby. It has felt like non-stop activities and travel all summer long, and now nothing is left on the list but to have this baby! Now feels like the perfect time to just slow down, cuddle on the couch and enjoy this last bit of precious time between just Osei and I. It feels very special.

Much love and hugs and blessings to all,

Amy, Osei, and baby Omee

36.5 weeks (and full-term as of today)!

Hello all,

This picture is from this past weekend, at 36.5 weeks. As has been the case lately, we had another busy weekend of nesting, errands, washing baby clothes and cloth diapers, and getting things ready for the impending arrival of baby Omee. In fact, we're so busy these days, there is hardly time to shower and actually dry my hair before taking these pictures!

Things are going very well and I'm still feeling pretty good, for the most part. As of today (Tuesday), I'm now considered "full term," which means that from now on, whenever I go into labor, we are cleared to have our homebirth. However, being full-term has no bearing on when this baby will actually arrive (it could literally be anytime in the next 5 weeks, but hopefully somewhere close to our expected due date of October 18th). We still need a few more weeks to figure out this whole name thing too!

Much love and blessings to all,

Amy, Osei, and baby omee

35.5 weeks- About a month to go!

Hello all,

We're getting closer! Our "guess date" is around October 18th, which a) is now less than a month away and b) means that the baby should arrive anytime in the next 1-6 weeks. Not exactly a small window or anything, but we are getting ready and very excited to meet this little person who keeps kicking me!

Osei and I spent the entire weekend nesting and organizing our house- such as sewing, washing all of of our baby clothes and moving our computer/office to our downstairs room. Years ago, Osei inherited an antique buffet from old roomates made by Consider H. Willet, a brand named after the maker himself (yes, his first name was actually "Consider"). It has spent the duration of our marriage in our laundry room kitchenette until now. In a wonderfully productive spurt of "daddy nesting," Osei did all sorts of research and then stripped and refinished the wood to turn the piece into a beautiful dresser for baby clothes. We're still waiting on the drawer handles to arrive, but it is absolutely gorgeous. Pictures to follow!

In other news, the past few weeks has been a mix of positive and somewhat stressful news. On September 2nd, my mom (Nancy) and Ralph, her sweetheart for the past decade, got married in a private ceremony on top of Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder (see picture of the glowing newlyweds). I've thought of Ralph as my stepdad for years now, and we are all so happy for them and their marriage!

Their choice of wedding day and their good news was also intended to triumph over some not-so-good news... We also confirmed that my mom has breast cancer. It is somewhat beyond "early stage" but is the most common and treatable type of cancer, and we are all incredibly encouraged and hopeful for her full recovery. Last Thursday, her treatment began with surgery, and chemotherapy will follow. She is in wonderfully good spirits and the surgery went very well. I am struggling with being so far away from her right now, but I greatly value our frequent phone conversations. Also, as this impacts our travel schedule in the next few months, this is a great opportunity for us to join the new millenium and learn to skype! We are all greatly appreciative of your continued thoughts and prayers for her recovery.

Much love and blessings,

Amy, Osei, and baby Omee

34.5 weeks

Hello all,

For the second weekend in a row, I was back in Vermont this past weekend. This time, I was there for a Childbirth Educator Training course in Montpelier, which was a great time! It was extra special as well to see a very special newlywed couple, who was gracious enough to host me!

Osei spent the weekend representing the May family in NYC at our Goddaughter's 3rd birthday. I wish I could share the video of her enthusiastic WOW reaction to the floor puzzle (a map of the USA) he gave her! I got choked up when Osei told me about the gift, mainly thinking how much I loved my nerdy husband for selecting such a cool educational toy. Thinking about it makes me very excited to see Osei with his own daughter or son.

Pregnancy is chugging along at an alarmingly quick rate. It is shocking to think that I'll be considered "full term" in another 2 weeks (but full term means the baby will likely be born anywhere within the next 2-7 weeks, but hopefully closer to about 5 weeks). Osei and I are planning on a homebirth and slowly preparing to get ready for birthing.


Finally, I wanted to share an interesting pregnancy tidbit you all might want to know! Even if you're not a Patriots fan, you have to admit that Tom Brady is an amazing quarterback. In fact, he and Osei definitely have a lot in common (especially the good looks). Tom Brady and his wife (who happens to be supermodel Gisele Bundchen) also live in the Boston area and also had a homebirth. Just thought you would enjoy knowing how much Tom has in common with Osei!

Hugs and blessings to all!

XOXO,

Amy, Osei and baby Omee

33.5 weeks

Hello all,

We are happy to report another big adventure for this past week!

Last Wednesday, we had a wonderful visit with Osei's parents (who are both extremely excited to meet their first grandchild). After work on Thursday, we headed up to Vermont for a weekend of wedding festivities and to celebrate the marriage of my dear dear friend (and my oldest friend!) Chelsea to her now-husband, Dave.

Osei, Omee, and I also spent 3 days camping at a pond recreation area. Our new tent is a massive barn of a tent- it sleeps 8 people and was big enough to stand up in. We had an air mattress, and the ground itself was incredibly soft to begin with. We brought a few extra pillows, and it was remarkably comfortable. We both slept so well that we hardly even heard the team of college rugby players (at least 30 of them!) crammed into the campsite next to us!

We probably also slept so well because we were so exhausted from all of the fun wedding activities! The bachlorette party was breakfast and a hike, followed by a day of working on the farm where the wedding was to be held. I was first in line to volunteer for picking blueberries (and actually picked more than I ate this time). Saturday we all went orienteering. This took place in the woods, and we were given a topographical map with little controls located all over the map area (1 square mile). Each team had to navigate and find as many of the controls as possible, competing against the clock and other teams. We certainly weren't the fastest team, but we were far from last! Saturday night we all went Contra dancing, (which is the New England version of square dancing), and I can't honestly remember the last time I had so much fun. I would highly recommend trying it!

The wedding on Sunday was beautiful, and it was an honor to see two people I care about so much get to marry their best friend. I know from experience that there is nothing greater than being married and getting to spend the rest of your life with your best friend! The wedding was on a beautiful hilltop meadow, overlooking lush Vermont mountains and surrounded by foggy forrests. Due to the wet grass, I opted to go barefoot for the ceremony (I was a bridesmaid). The sun emerged just as the ceremony ended, and I think I will always remember standing in a beautiful field that looked like something from the Sound of Music, barefoot, pregnant, and with the sun now shining. And as if it couldn't get any more perfect, little kids carrying bowls of blueberries and blackberries ran around feeding us delicious treats grown on the bushes around us.

After all the fun we had this weekend, I also realized that I'm definitely not finished being pregnant yet! Which is a good thing, because I have about 6 more weeks to go, but right now I am enjoying this pregnancy so much that I'm not ready for it to be over!

Hugs and blessings to all,


Amy, Osei, and Omee

31.5 weeks

Hello,

I know what you are probably thinking. No, I did not swallow a soccer ball!

We're now inside two months to go until the expected due date! Happily, the baby now has a place to sleep! Here is also a picture of the finished co-sleeper. Over the weekend we sanded the wood, and then finished the wood with beeswax. I made the mattress out of old 100% wool Swiss military blankets, which I washed and cut into panels and sewed together with yarn. The only thing left to do is make an additional mattress pad (the same wool panel treated with lanolin to make it waterproof), as well as sew the bedding. The sheets I will make with some fabric given to us by my Aunt Rosemary (thank you again, Aunt Rosemary!). The co-sleeper is now attached to our bed (there are handles underneath) and it is ready to go. It only took 7 months, but I was finally able to convince Osei to switch sides of the bed with me, so now I'm also 4 steps closer to the bathroom. At this point in pregnancy, those 4 steps are definitely important!

Osei and I are doing very well, and getting more and more curious to meet this little baby constantly doing hula and breakdancing moves in my belly!

Hugs and blessings to all,

Amy, Osei, and baby Omee