38 Weeks (+4 Days)

As of today I am 38 weeks and 4 days along. That means our due date is about a week and a half away! ...Of course, Baby may not decide to arrive until 41 weeks or so, but at least we're getting closer. :)

Baby and I at 38 weeks-ish:

 

Why should the baby and I get all the photo ops? Here is Brian at 38 weeks: 

 

Even with the nursery mostly finished, I am still in full blown "nesting" mode. I want to clean every inch of the house and I want everything to be perfectly organized. At least I'll be able to keep myself busy until this baby comes! 

The car seat base is installed in Brian's car- now we'll be able to bring our little guy home from the hospital! I've also mostly packed our hospital bags. The baby's coming home outfit is ADORABLE and I can't wait to put him in it.

We are borrowing a bassinet from some friends- it's now all set up for the Baby to sleep in for the first few weeks/months. I also got super motivated this weekend and set up the rock-and-play and the little activity mat. (They weren't difficult to set up but I'm not handy, so I was proud of myself!)

Brian and I are starting to plan some fun date nights for the week after our due date. This way if the baby hasn't arrived yet, we have a lot of fun things to look forward to! (And things that are also easily-droppable in case he DOES arrive). I don't want to be sitting around waiting for him to come and sad that he isn't here yet. So this way we'll have some great times together before it's no longer just the two of us. Plus, we have our anniversary on September 6th to celebrate! We'll finally be able to dive into the top tier of our wedding cake that is taking up half our freezer. :)

38 Week Highlights

• Our 38 week appointment went well: Baby continues to measure on track and have a good heartbeat. 
• I've been more tired this week and have had a little more pain, but I haven't had any real contractions or anything. 
• Baby is most likely about 6.8 pounds and about 19.5 inches long. 
• So far I've been really fortunate to not have too much swelling, even with it being summer. Sadly though my hands have swollen enough that I can't wear my wedding ring. I've decided that's the worst part of pregnancy so far!  

For now, Brian and I will be enjoying these last few weeks of "normal life" before Baby Nicklaus arrives and shakes up our world!

The Nursery

The nursery is (mostly) ready for the arrival of Baby Nicklaus! For his room, we decided to do mint walls with gray, yellow, and white accent colors. This room used to be a purplish/pinkish color and the mint looks MUCH better. Brian painted everything and now it looks great!

The crib and mobile: 

David and Carol (Brian's parents) gave us a dresser that is perfect for a changing table- it's exactly what I was looking for. My friend Rachel helped me give it a fresh coat of paint. We lined the inside with contact paper and put on new knobs. The "You are My Sunshine" print was from my grandparents- as you can see, we still need to actually hang it up on the wall.

The glider and ottoman is all ready for rocking the baby: 

Here's the toy bin and book crate. I took a wooden crate and painted it yellow and gray to match our nursery colors. As you can see, this baby already has a lot of stuffed animals, fun toys, and great books!

And here are a bunch of cute clothes that I can't wait to put him in!

A few weeks ago I did a "Wine and Canvas" event with a friend. (Well, for me it was "Diet Coke and Canvas"). The instructor provided incredibly detailed directions on how to paint the scene. Otherwise, this would just look like two big blobs! At some point, we will hang this up. Because I'm not very crafty, it's fun to have something in Baby's nursery that I actually made for him!

In addition to the nursery, the baby is already taking over other parts of the house. His adorable whale bathtub, wash cloths, towels, and bath toys are in the hall closet and ready for bath time. The basement is also full of baby stuff! 

The pack-and-play is ready to go: 

Brian actually assembled our jogging stroller a few months ago. There are a lot of great trails around our house, so we can't wait to take our little man on walks.

And the car seat and bases are put together! Next step: putting the bases in our vehicles. 

And as the sign says.... 

37 Weeks! (+1 Day)

As of today, we are 37 weeks and 1 day along. Although we won't be considered "full term" until we reach 39 weeks, we are now considered "early term".

According to my BabyCenter app, this means that our little man probably weighs about 6 1/3 pounds and measures about 19 inches in length. These are just estimates but it's fun to know!

This week Brian and I took a Baby Basics class where we learned more about newborn sleeping, eating, and bathing, as well as other aspects of baby care. We also practiced diapering and swaddling. I can't wait to wrap this baby up like a little swaddled burrito. :)  

37 Week Highlights

• At our 37 week appointment, Baby had a good heartbeat and is measuring on track.
• He continues to move, wiggle, and squirm all the time. 
• Baby gets the hiccups a lot: he'll usually get them between 1-3 times per day. He will also jump a little if he gets startled.
• He also has a favorite place to jab me: many times during the day I'm pushing his little elbow or knee (not sure which) back into a more comfortable spot.
• Cravings: I'm still craving fruit and ice. And Diet Coke. ALL THE TIME.

Just a few more weeks until we get to meet Baby Nicklaus!  

36 Weeks! (+5 Days)

36 Weeks!

With less than one month away from our due date, we are getting very excited for Baby Nicklaus to make his arrival! As of today, we are 36 weeks and 5 days along.

We are preparing for Baby’s arrival and getting his room ready. Emily visited this week and helped us make a lot of progress on the nursery. We now have lots of clean clothes, bibs, and blankets that are all ready for Baby. The crib and bedding is finished as well as the changing table/dresser. Next stop: packing hospital bags!

In addition to “Best Husband Ever”, Brian has also earned the title of “Handiest Husband”. He’s assembled our stroller, put together the crib, and painted the entire nursery. Last night he even put together the pack-and-play and the car seat and bases. Which is great since now we'll be able to take our baby home from the hospital. :) 

And no, in case you were wondering, Baby Nicklaus does not have a name yet. So for now we are telling people that we’re going to name him “Nicholas Nicklaus” or “Saint Nicklaus”.

36 Week Highlights 

• At our appointment we found out that Baby is head down.
• Baby continues to be very active and moves a lot. Some days I wonder if he ever sleeps! He wiggles, ninja-kicks, and jabs are frequent and fun. Although he surprises me with the knee and elbow jabs throughout the day, I'm thankful that he is so active.
• My pregnancy continues to go very well. Entering the 9th month has brought a lot more discomfort than my previous months. However, overall I've still been blessed with a great pregnancy.
• Cravings: Right now I am mostly craving fruit and ice water. In the first trimester I constantly wanted McChickens and hot dogs, so at least things took a healthier turn.  

 Here is a sneak peek of our crib: 

I'll put up more pictures of the nursery once it's ready!

Hello There, World

The Nicklaus Family has entered the blogging world! With our baby boy due in early September, we thought this would be a great way to stay in touch with friends and family.

We can't wait to share stories and pictures of our little guy with everyone!

Although we don't have photos of Baby Nicklaus yet, we do have some fun maternity photos to share. We took maternity photos on Saturday, August 2nd when I was about 35 weeks along. Carrie Krupke, our photographer, met us at a park in Waukee and took some beautiful pictures!

You can read her blog post about our session here. 

You can also view the full photos from our session here.

Here are a few of my favorites: