Maternity Photo Shoot

My bestfriend from high school Bradie takes amazing photos. She offered to do a maternity photo shoot for us the other night around West Seattle. I think my favorite photos are the ones she took in the alley down the street. I am not sure how she made the alley look so urban chic!!! Here are a few of my favorites. . .

Bradie will also be taking newborn photos of Baby Bates when she arrives!

34 Weeks . . . 6 Weeks to go!!!

This week I am 34 weeks pregnant. I think it just hit Eric and I that we are actually having a baby! I can't believe how fast the last few months have flown by. Baby Bates is due to arrive in 6 weeks . . . technically I guess she could arrive anytime after 37 weeks!!! My nervousness just set in this week. Being a mom is something I have always wanted and now that it is coming true I continue to wonder what kind of mom I will be. I can only hope to be as good of a mom as my mom has been over the last 35 years.

Here is how baby Bates is cooking along according to BabyCenter.com:
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine.

Here is the belly . . . as you can see Coho looks a bit annoyed with my self portrait!

Baby Shower #2

On Sunday my sister and good friends (Kelly, Leslie & Alision) hosted a baby shower for Baby Bates. The food was amazing and the company was even better. We played two shower games that were really fun. We had to guess the price of baby items for one game which was pretty funny because my sister won and she has not had to buy baby items in years!!! The other game was to guess if the old wives tail meant you were having a boy or girl . . . some of them were so hard but I managed to tie for first place!

Baby Bates and I were spoiled yet again with so many wonderful gifts. I feel so lucky to have such great friends and family in my life. Thank you to everyone for making my baby shower such a great time! The day was perfect from beginning to end.

Loved the shower invites.

Kelly and I are due two weeks apart (I am due 9/7 and she (and Jayme) are due 9/21.

The Hosts of the shower!

Everyone thinking hard during the shower games.

Alison and I striking a pose!

The 5 pregnant gals at my shower (in order by due date)

Breast Gel Pads . . .??? All the girls say they will be my best friend very soon!

Jayme, Tracy and I are all due within about one month of one another.

Delicious mini-cupcakes . . . The red velvet were amazing!

Rattlesnake Lake

Saturday afternoon was beautiful so we decided to head to Rattlesnake Lake for a few hours to enjoy the sunshine. Since I was supposed to take it easy this weekend I sat in the sand while Eric threw the ball for Coho. Rattlesnake lake is perfect for dogs because they can be off leash all around the lake. Once Coho was exhausted we took a slow walk around the lake to enjoy the view. We had a great afternoon!!!

Just a little bump in the road!

Friday was an interesting day to say the least. On Thursday night Eric and I were trying to wrestle Coho on the bed so we could clean his ears. Coho is not a huge fan of this so he typically puts up a good fight but we always win . . . well until Thursday night . . . I lost! During our little wrestling match I ended up hitting my belly really hard on the tip of our bed frame. I knocked the wind out of myself and immediately had a big red mark and bruise on the right side of my belly (of course this is where Baby Bates like to lay).

That night I was a bit worried about the baby but she seemed to move a bit here and there so we decided not to call the Dr. Friday morning I noticed my belly was pretty sore and Baby Bates was not moving as much as she usually does. SO . . . I gave in and called the Dr. They were glad I called and had me go to the triage clinic that morning. Eric picked me up from work and off we went.

Basically they wanted to monitor the babies heart rate and my contractions until 7:30 that night. Her heartbeat was great and my contractions started to space out more once I had fluids from the IV etc. We also had an ultrasound to make sure there was no bleeding and that the placenta did not have any abruptions.

After a long nervous day everything tured out great. The Dr. said Baby Bates was healthy and that she did not see any issues we should worry about. We did learn that our "little" girl is about 5 pounds . . . which is the 80th percentile for 32.5 weeks. We have one healthy girl on our hands!!!

Baby Class Fun???

Eric and I have been going to some baby prep classes over the last few weeks. The last class we went to was newborn care. We learned the basics like swaddling techniques, bathing tips, soothing positions for the baby and much more. We even had our own doll for the night (sorta creepy but necessary I guess). We both felt like the class was informative. . .much more than the all day class that just freaked me out about labor!

Eric obviously was not paying attention the entire time because during class he found time to dress our doll up in sunglasses and he even pretended she was making a phone call :) OK, I will admit I was the one laughing out loud taking the picture!! Who knows what we will do in our CPR class next week!

Baby Bates 32 Weeks

I am officially 32 weeks pregnant!!!
Initially 32 weeks does not sound all that scary but knowing I only have 8 weeks left sounds very scary (and exciting). Here is the weekly update from BabyCenter . . . She is cookin' right along :)

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama - or squash according to TheBump.com) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Happy 4th of July - Vashon Island

It is tradition for our family to spend the 4th of July at our cabin on Vashon. This year was a bit different than the past . . . Brian and Molly ended up heading to Sunriver with friends and my parents went to Bainbridge so it was the Kelsey/Bates crew on the island. Although the weather did not cooperate 100%, we had a great time. Sophia and Ella got their crabbing licenses this year so they spend lots of time setting and checking the crab pots with Fred and Eric. I think the final crab count was 12 (or maybe closer to 14) crab!!! Other than crabbing we spent lots of time on beach walks, walking around the point, playing games, throwing the ball for coho (he loves to swim), fishing (well Eric went fishing), reading magazines, resting and of course watching the fireworks from our deck where we can see the Vashon and Tacoma fireworks. Another great 4th of July on Vashon!!!