Showered with Love

During November, Matt and I visited a total of 4 airports: Raleigh-Durham (RDU), Baltimore-Washington (BWI), Reagan National (DCA), and Nashville (BNA). The main reason for our airport tour was a good one: Matt and I traveled to our hometowns for baby showers attended by both of our families and many dear friends. All of our travel was tiring, to be sure, but it was worth it.

Our first trip was to Catonsville, Maryland, for a shower hosted by Matt's sister-in-law Michele. We were blessed to receive lots of great things for Bunky, including plenty of clothes to outfit him or her during the first few weeks of life, several blankets, and tons of children's books to add to our library. It was great to see so many people, including those from as far away as Schenectady, New York. Here are just a few photos from that event:

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" was the theme for the Catonsville shower.

Me with Michele, Denise, and the great food they made for the shower.

A quick photo op with the shower attendees.

Matt and I posing for a quick photo once he returned from his guys' lunch during the shower.

The very next weekend, we flew from Raleigh to Nashville, Tennessee, for a baby shower hosted by my sister and cousin. It was another great event at which we received lots of other great items to jump start our life with Bunky, including our stroller, high chair, and swing. Once again, it was great to see so many people there, including some from as far away as Chicago, Illinois. Just a few photos from our Nashville shower are below:

Me with my sister and cousin Karen (the hosts) as well as my cousin Darlene (who was a big help before the event).

Me and My Mom at the great table of shower goodies.

Me with my cousin Kayla who is having a little girl a few weeks after me (in February 2011)!

Guess who's excited about getting a bottle set?

Coming off of both weekends, I was a bit overwhelmed by the generosity that so many people showed us. As I looked around the room at both showers, I couldn't help but think of how blessed our little Bunky is to be surrounded by SO many people that love him or her already. Matt and I count ourselves thankful to be bringing our child into an environment like that and know that he or she will be all the better for it.

Bunky's Room is Ready

Lessons learned while transforming the office at our home into a nursery.

1. It helps to have help. (Thanks, Dad & Denise.)

2. Putting together a crib is not as difficult as I imagined.

3. Putting together a changing table is considerably more difficult than I imagined.

So now our child has his/her own room. I can't even say as much.
 

Dad hard at work.

Notice the false sense of optimism.

I also learned what an "accent wall" is.

Dad loves the pictures over the crib.

The glider. No assembly required.

Showing off the monkey clock from Spain.

Catching Up: Weeks 26 - 30

Well, it's clear that things have gotten a little busier lately. I've had less time to do lots of things, including updating the blog. Today marks Week 30 of my pregnancy. I still remember the days of Weeks 8 and 9 when Matt and I were getting excited about getting close to double digit weeks. Now, it seems crazy that we have experienced 30 weeks and only have 10 left to go.

Based on ultrasounds and what I'm feeling, Bunky looks really healthy and is extremely active. So, we feel blessed. And overall, I have been doing pretty well, which is another blessing. I've definitely started to feel the physical effects of the third trimester, but those things are annoyances at this point rather than setbacks. Here's an attempt at getting all caught up:

Weeks 25 - 29:

• Bunky had the hiccups for the first time (and it definitely wasn't his or her last time!)
• We registered at Babies R Us. What an overwhelming experience!
• I discovered that I couldn't see my feet when standing straight up
• We visited Nashville to have some fall fun with my family
  
• We went to our first baby class (which Matt posted about below)
• I hit my third trimester!
  
• We finished getting the basics for Bunky's room with a crib mattress and changing table
• We had two ultrasounds with good reports
• We found out that Bunky was in the 80th percentile for weight (as of Week 28)
• We took a tour of the Labor & Delivery unit at the hospital

What's happening with Bunky in Week 30:

• His or her eyes are fully formed and are blue in color (they may or may not change after birth)
• The eyes are also gaining the ability to track light from inside the womb
  
• About 1 1/2 pints of amniotic fluid surrounds Bunky, but as he or she grows in the coming weeks, that amount will decrease
  
• Baby is around 16 inches long (about the length of a laptop computer) and weighs nearly three pounds.
  

As I write this, Matt is busy painting Bunky's room with his dad and Denise. Crib and changing table assembly will be next on the list. By the end of the weekend, we should have Bunky's room painted and set up with furniture.

Things are getting VERY real for us these days. My belly is much bigger (photos to come), and we're able to feel Bunky much more now. It's also November, which sounds lots closer to January than previous months have. We're trying to soak in our last few weeks before Bunky's arrival, but we're also looking forward to the day when we get to see that precious face for the first time.

More to come!

Class No. 1: Baby Care

Poop, boobies, boogers. Yup, we had our first baby class this week.

I'm clearly not ready to be a father. Oh, I can handle the tasks we learned at Baby Care. That's not the issue. Rather, I'm concerned that each of those words made me laugh. This brings into question whether I possess the requisite maturity level for this rather significant life experience.

To be fair, you would've been laughing, too.

About Iris, our instructor. She  was a rather squat woman with a down-home accent and a highly energetic demeanor. Iris's already animated voice seemed to rise with excitement as she anticipated sharing what I can only assume were her own original phrases. "Make a boobie sandwich." That's one of them. There's more, but this is was should be a family blog.

Iris was the type of person who would be perfectly cast as "Happy Consumer No. 1" in a late night infomercial: "Doggie Poop Helper (tm) Changed My Life! Now I have more time to make boobie sandwiches!!!" And you'd believe her. What was that number to call again?

Close your eyes and picture a younger version of your grandmother. Now imagine grandma talking excitedly about parts of the human anatomy and body functions using elementary school terms. That was Baby Care in a nutshell.

Poop, boobies, boogers.

Now as far as my efforts to use hand shadows to pick the baby's nose during the slideshow, that's another story.

[I should mention that Erica and I liked Iris and found her to be endearing. She reminded us in words and in actions that it's supposed to be fun. And we'll always have Iris-isms to make us laugh when things get stressful.]

Buy This Book

We're very proud of our friend Jon, whose book American Wasteland was released last week. We celebrated the accomplishment at a recent party held in his honor. Jon's wife, Emily, organized a great gathering at Rue Cler in Durham. They both deserved a chance to celebrate after the many sacrifices they've made in this process.

Jon's given a lot of himself to this book. Watching him work provided us with a new appreciation for just how difficult it is to have your writing published.

The book grew out of his master's thesis at UNC in 2006. I can remember having breakfast with Jon and Emily in D.C. when he told us his plan to take a year to try and turn his thesis into a book. We respected his determination and willingness to take a risk then. That respect has only grown over the past four years.

We picked up our copy of American Wasteland on Saturday afternoon. Jon's book is in good company, appearing on the shelf next to authors like Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.  You can secure your copy here or at one of many fine book sellers near you.

Here's a link to Jon's blog and the many press clippings he's earned.

Kudos to Jon. Buy his book!


American Wasteland blurb

What Tom Vanderbilt did for traffic and Brian Wansink did for mindless eating, Jonathan Bloom does for food waste. The topic couldn’t be timelier: As more people are going hungry while simultaneously more people are morbidly obese, American Wasteland sheds light on the history, culture, and mindset of waste while exploring the parallel eco-friendly and sustainable-food movements. As the era of unprecedented prosperity comes to an end, it’s time to reexamine our culture of excess.Working at both a local grocery store and a major fast food chain and volunteering with a food recovery group, Bloom also interviews experts—from Brian Wansink to Alice Waters to Nobel Prize–winning economist Amartya Sen—and digs up not only why and how we waste, but, more importantly, what we can do to change our ways.

Celebrating Four Wonderful Years

Four years ago today, Matt and I shared a day we'll never forget. Surrounded by family and friends, we committed our lives to one another and became Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. What a wonderful experience, and what amazing memories we've created during the last 1,460 days. My prayer is that God will continue to bless us as we continue our journey together.

Week 25 Update

Well, I sailed right into Week 25 this past Saturday. It's hard to believe that I only have 15 weeks to go! Things are going really well these days, so I certainly can't complain about that.

Highlights of Week 24:

• We ordered and picked up the glider and ottoman for Bunky's room. It's super soft and comfy, so I certainly like that! It's so exciting to imagine all of the time we'll spend with our little one in that chair, whether it's reading, feeding, rocking him or her to sleep. Given what we've heard about parenting, we may do our fair share of sleeping in that chair as well.
• Bunky continued to be very active with lots of kicks. He or she has now added rolls and other squirmy moves to the repertoire. It certainly makes for some interesting feelings in my belly! Although baby has spurts of activity throughout the day, he or she is definitely most active at night. The magic time is right around 10 p.m. It's so funny how predictable he or she is in that regard!

What's happening in Week 25:

• Bunky continues to put on weight (and boy can mommy tell based on the size of her growing belly!)
  
• Baby can touch and hold his or her feet and make a fist.
• More and more hair is growing on baby's scalp.
• Baby measures about 13 1/2 inches and weighs about a pound and a half.
  

The reality that we're having a baby is slowing hitting Matt and me. We'll be in the middle of a conversation or driving down the street, and one of us will turn to the other and say: "We're having a baby!" It's just funny how, although we've known this for several months now, it's hitting us in a new way lately.

Exciting things are in store for tomorrow: I have another ultrasound! Although it's a diagnostic ultrasound to make sure that I'm not at risk for pre-term labor, we should be able to get another glimpse of our sweet baby boy or girl. More to come later!