The Smith Family Adventures

I have been attending a pregnancy fitness class for the last three months or so. It is basically water aerobics modified to keep the heart rate down in a safe zone. It was recommended to me one day when I went lap swimming, and with much coaxing from Nate, I decided to try it. Pregnancy fitness class is the best! I would encourage any pregnant person to try it out. It helps just to get in the pool and get the weight off, but it is also fun because I get to talk to other pregnant ladies.

But….I’ve been noticing that I move slower and slower each class. I feel like my body barely resembles the exercises it is supposed to be doing. Pretty soon I’ll just be bobbing around the pool like a cork…..but hey….at least I’m trying.

I was blessed to have a wonderful baby shower over the weekend. A special thank you to Kristy and Peggy Brice along with my mom for hosting and planning it. Nathan and I were overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity when we got all of the stuff into the baby’s room. Now, a few days later, we are feeling really good about our nursery. Our crib has been delivered, clothes are washed and put away, and everything has a place. We are just waiting on a coupon to come in the mail from Babies R Us so we can go get the last few things we want/need.

I’ll post some pictures from the baby shower and some comments below:

The cake was so cute! There was a Noah's Ark Theme.

I love this picture of Kristy (my future sister-in-law) and her sister smelling the diapers during game time.

The quilt my mom made for her first grandchild!

Me and Nathan after I got home. I made him look at everything!

Of all the maternity clothes we bought for Kimberly, we never got her a rain coat.

With just under three weeks left until our due date I have been thinking a lot about time. 3 weeks often sounds like an eternity since we are now mostly ready for the baby and it is getting more and more difficult for me to sleep and move around. But then I think about how quick 3 weeks could also go by….are we ready to be parents? I pray often that we are. I have had tons of experience working with children…but I don’t dare delude myself into thinking that teaching is adequate preparation for parenting.  Luckily we have so much wonderful family in the area. I am so excited to meet our son! Soon we’ll have little pictures and things to write about him!

I am pleased to announce that today marks the end of major clean-out operations in the Smith household. It is true that not everything has gone to plan, and it has dragged out a lot longer than anyone hoped. But the house is more or less ready for the baby’s arrival.

Now we are just waiting for the crib to be delivered. It is amazing how much expecting a baby can motivate you to get rid of unneeded junk.

Last night Nate and I went to OMSI At Night for a Young Adults Group event with some members of our church. We were both surprised at how busy it was. We had fun looking at the exhibits….especially the Einstein one and the life science. (Although it is so sad to think about the 32 week fetus in there….) Nate got to play with the water tables and showed a little impatience while trying to follow instructions to make a 19-step paper airplane. 🙂 For me it was nice to go to OMSI without being responsible for 24 third graders! Overall, a very fun night out!

With the arrival of our first child only five weeks away or so, Nate and I decided to spend some time together for our last vacation before kids. We were especially blessed because due to family and future extended family, it was entirely free except for fuel expenses! Our week was divided into three portions. 1. Stay-cation  2. Beach camping   3. Sunriver

During the beginning of the week we stayed in town and got lots of much needed “stuff” done. We did get to go to a Portland Beavers baseball game though. Nathan was excited because it was the baby’s first professional baseball game. Unfortunately, the Beavers lost, but we were glad we could go see them one more time before the Timbers take over PGE Park.

On Tuesday morning we headed up to the coast for some camping and fishing. While I was quite nervous about this, camping didn’t turn out to be too difficult. Since Nate had to wake up at five anyway to go fishing, he only had to wake up two extra times to walk me to the bathroom. Nathan also enjoyed commenting that it was the baby’s first camping trip, camp fire, s’mores, etc.

We ended our week by heading to central Oregon for some relaxing with just the two of us. We went swimming, and just spent time together.

Overall, it was a wonderful week. We are looking forward to our baby coming soon, but I am so glad we got some time to have our last vacation before kids. Spending time with Nate is the best!

A pregnant wife in summer results in the consumption of many delicious fruit smoothies.

We have been working on the baby’s room a lot over the last few weeks….and although we’ve got a long way to go, we’ve made a lot of progress! It is so much fun to sit in the rocking chair and envision the little guy in the room with us. We have everything cleared out that isn’t for the baby, and one side of the room pretty much set up. The crib is ordered, but won’t be here for awhile still. Here is a picture of our progress.

The almost-finished side of the room!

As always, our kitties wanted to be a part of everything. Hermione just nonchalantly sat on the windowsill out of the way, but Olive played around in the bag and wrapping materials for our wall hangings. She enjoys making messes.

Hermione

Olive

Nathan and I are signed up for many classes to prepare us for having and taking care of a baby. Today we had our first two: a hospital maternity orientation and a newborn care class. We packed our lunch and emergency snacks and set off for the longest day of classes since college (6 hours). Little did we know we’d get a little more than we bargained for.

After finding out some useful information at the maternity orientation, we were supposed to go up and see the registration desk on the third floor. You can’t actually tour the maternity ward, but we got to see where to come when it is time to check in for labor and delivery. Unfortunately, just before arriving at the third floor, our elevator gave a lurch and stopped. We were stuck.

There we were. Four pregnant ladies and their husbands. Trapped. With no bathroom. Various awkward conversations ensued. After pressing the “help” button the voice informed us that help was on the way, but after finding out who was inside, she put a “rush” on it, then played us some nice elevator music.

We only had to endure about 15 minutes stuck in the elevator….but that is 14 and a half too many if you ask me….and it doesn’t give me much confidence for when I’m actually in labor.

In other news, the newborn care class afterward was excellent. Nathan got to ask the question: “What do you do with the poop?”

We practiced changing diapers, swaddling, holding, picking up, bathing, and many other skills we’ll need. It was fun watching Nate…although once he hit the fake baby’s nose on his shoulder pretty hard. We both still have lots to learn. 🙂