40 weeks!!!

That's right...yesterday was Baby T's due date!!  We were sorely mistaken, but we definitely thought that his birthday would come well before his due date.  We blatantly ignored the statistic that half of all babies are born after their due dates (especially first babies) and proceeded on the assumption that our little man would be here early, maybe even in September.  As evidence, we had our bags packed in mid-September and we even did some stocking up grocery-wise in late September.  We didn't make any concrete plans for the last week of September, and even our plans prior to the end of September did not seem likely to pan out.  We prepared everyone at work, which is probably why we get confused looks (and sometimes high fives) every day we make it in for another workday.  We thought we'd be able to have our annual Halloween party because our little guy would be old enough by then.  We also thought that we'd be watching the debates with our little guy and already taking long walks in this gorgeous fall weather.  We prematurely went on what we thought would be our last date night prior to baby a few weekends ago.  We even had our families fooled, which is obvious by the birth date guesses which don't go past 10/16 (this one is actually really late...the earliest guess was 9/27 and the latest other than this was 10/12).  We have many friends with birthdays at the end of September and in October, but we always laughed when anyone with a birthday in mid-October or later said, "Maybe the baby will share my birthday."  We thought, "Yeah right."  Needless to say, we were wrong.  This is a time when it's okay to be wrong though.  We're grateful that he's stayed put for so long because only he knows how long he needs to stay in order to be healthy.  With that in mind, he can stay in there for as long as he needs...well, maybe not too much longer :)

We found out at our doctor's appointment yesterday that it actually won't be much longer until we get to meet Baby T.  We learned that Bridget has progressed to one centimeter dilated and is 50% effaced, although Baby T's head is still pretty high.  Bridget's blood pressure was initially a little high, but it came down the second time the nurse checked it.  So, we have another doctor's appointment scheduled for Thursday morning to check Bridget's blood pressure again.  Assuming it's normal, our doctor scheduled an induction for Monday night.  Basically, we'll head into the hospital on Monday night to get things started, but the actual induction with pitocin won't start until Tuesday morning.  So, if all goes well, we'll only have to wait one more week at most to meet our little guy!  In the meantime, Bridget's last day of work before maternity leave will be tomorrow.  Since we're past his due date and Bridget's starting to feel the effects of being overdue, it seems like the perfect time to slow things down a bit prior to the baby's arrival.

As always, we'll keep you updated.  To close, here is a picture of Bridget from Sunday with her 40-week belly and a picture of our little devils ready for Halloween :)

 

Less than one week!

As of today, we're less than one week away from Baby T's due date, October 15!  Needless to say, we're anxious, excited, nervous, and all of the other words that you can use to describe the days leading up to a big life event.  We went to see our doctor yesterday and learned that Baby T seems to still be happy in his current home.  His heart rate is good and he's still moving a lot, which tells us that he's comfortable.  Bridget is doing well in that her weight gain has tampered off (normal at this time in the pregnancy) and her blood pressure remains good.  After not getting "checked" since 36 weeks, we learned that Bridget's body has made some progress in preparing for labor over the last three weeks.  She is starting to dilate and is about 25% effaced.  Bridget was secretly hoping that the check would lead to an exclamation that "it's time!"  As our doctor puts it though, this doesn't tell us much about when he will arrive (i.e., someone can go from no dilation to baby in a few hours, or can sit at three centimeters for weeks).  So, now we wait.  We have another appointment scheduled for 40 weeks on Monday, but we're both hoping that Baby T doesn't hold out until then.  If he does though, our doctor said that she would likely recommend that we schedule an induction for the following Monday night, meaning that October 23 appears to be the latest date that we could meet our baby!!  It seems like it's far off, especially since we thought he'd arrive by now, but it's nice to see a light at the end of this pregnancy tunnel.

In the meantime, thankfully Bridget is still feeling great physically.  Bridget's new best friend is her birthing ball, which she hopes will help induce labor.  Brad also gets a kick out of sitting on it :)  Along with that, we've been walking more, eating spicy foods, and trying other things to get this party started.  Brad's staying busy at work and Bridget's schedule is tapering off, especially since her last day before maternity leave will at most be sometime next week.  Since we feel pretty prepared for Baby T to come home, we've kept ourselves busy with some last minute cleaning (it seems that our house can never be clean enough, especially with two rowdy puppies running around all of the time!), putting up our Halloween decorations, spending time with friends and family, and enjoying nice dinners out as a couple.  We're spending some quality time with our fur kids, of course.  Here is a picture of them after their recent hair cuts and Penny with her buddy, Frankenstein...

We will keep you all updated.  Hopefully our next post will be to introduce the newest member of our family!          

Baby T's Domain

Happy 37 weeks!  That's right...as of Monday, we were full term.  Also, we reached another big milestone this week.  Since Baby T didn't make his appearance and Bridget was able to work the full week, she shouldn't have to return to work until after Christmas!  Since reaching her goal, Bridget has been humming, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."  :)

Now, we're just waiting for this little guy's arrival.  Bridget can tell that things are happening and has had some mild contractions, but no labor yet.  We've been on high alert, but part of us can't believe that this will actually happen in the next few weeks...or days...or hours!!  We had all of our immediate family members guess which date would be Baby T's birthday.  Everyone got two guesses and yesterday was the first guessed date, which makes it feel even closer.  Bridget says that it feels like we're living in the future, because this last week of September has been a week that we've been looking forward to for a long time...well, for about eight months!

When Baby T does decide to make his appearance, we're ready, as evidenced by the pictures of his nursery below...

Many thanks to our family and friends who helped outfit Baby T's room, especially our parents, i.e., the soon-to-be grandparents!  Also, Brad deserves much praise for his skills in putting together all of the furniture and installing the video baby monitor.  We get a kick out of using the remote control to scan the room and have even threatened the dogs about putting it in their room for a day, just to see what they really do in their crates while we're at work.  Pepper informed us that that would be an invasion of privacy and he would file a lawsuit, so we haven't taken that risk yet :)

Speaking of the dogs, this post wouldn't be complete without a picture of our pups, Pepper and Penny.  They love the baby's room and we often find them rolling around on the rug and playing in there.  It will be interesting to see how they feel about the room after their baby brother arrives :)

36 weeks!

We hit the 36 week mark on Monday, which is a big deal to us as this is when our doctor told us that they wouldn't stop Baby T from coming if he decides to make his debut!  To celebrate, we had a doctor's appointment and an ultrasound.  This was the first time that we've gotten to see our little guy since, well, finding out that he's a little guy :)  It was so fun!  We first determined that he is head down and face down, so he's in prime position for delivery.  That means that every time Bridget has been rubbing her stomach and thinking that she's feeling his head that she has been patting his butt instead - ha ha!  The second thing we determined, which was the biggest surprise of all, is that he has quite a bit of hair!!  We've been wondering about this for awhile, especially since Bridget had a full head of dark hair and Brad had a little blond hair when he was born.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to determine the hair color :)  Pepper and Penny were both thrilled that their little brother will be hairy, just like them!  The ultrasound tech kept going on and on about how much hair our baby has and that we might need to schedule a haircut for when he's born.  So, it looks like Kitson will be getting another Boggess/Thoenen family member as her customer :)

The fuzzy looking stuff in the pictures below is the hair...

Next, we got to see quite a few of Baby T's body parts, including his legs, which were up near his head - flexible little dude!  Here's a picture of his foot...

We got to see that he has a full bladder and stomach, which means that he's practicing swallowing.  Also, we could see his diaphragm moving, so he's also practicing breathing.  We got to see his umbilical cord, which is not wrapped around his neck, thankfully.  Of course, we also got confirmation that he is still a boy - he was quite proud of himself!

Since he was face down, we almost didn't get to see his face, but near the end of the ultrasound, we got a good look at him.  It was amazing!  Due to the angle, it was almost like 3-D.  We could see his face smashed up against Bridget's uterus.  His little hands were near his chubby cheeks and it looked like he was blinking.  In the picture below, he's looking right at the "camera" and you can see his cheek and that his eye is closed.  Brad couldn't stop looking at this one and imagining meeting his little boy...

Also, we got an adorable profile shot - Bridget is convinced that he has Brad's nose :)

Everything checked out well.  He's measuring at 36 weeks and 2 days, so right on track, and he's estimated at 6 lbs 2 oz, which is also right on target.  Bridget isn't dilated yet, but our doctor warned us that that doesn't mean anything and he could still come any day.  So, we're on high alert for "Baby T time," as Bridget's family calls it.  In the meantime, we'll be visiting our doctor on a weekly basis, we have both a breastfeeding and CPR class coming up, and we have just a few more items to get to make sure that we're ready for our baby's arrival.  Also, we're fitting in some quality time with friends and family.  We will of course keep you updated and post some pictures of the nursery soon...

Baby T Showers...

At the end of August, Brenda and Nikki hosted a fabulous nautical-themed shower for Bridget and baby boy Thoenen.  They went all out with the decorating, thanks in part to Pinterest :)  When Bridget walked into the house, she was in awe of the attention to detail and cute decorations that were perfect considering her and Brad's love for the ocean and Baby T's nautical-themed nursery.  Here are some pictures of the amazing shower...

Seriously, we all think that Brenda should think about a career in event planning!

After some snacking and chatting, we played a few very fun and creative games sponsored by Nikki, including guessing the guest's baby pictures (a popular guess was that Brenda's baby picture was Brad's!), writing birthday cards to Baby T, giving advice to the parents-to-be, and predicting our baby boy's looks.  The last game is something that we constantly discuss and wonder about, especially with our due date quickly approaching.  We can't wait to see who this little guy looks like, be it one of us or a grandparent, aunt, or uncle!!


Bridget had a blast at the shower and was so happy to spend the afternoon with so many great friends and family members.  She was showered with gifts, and we are so grateful for all of the help stocking our little guy's room.  Here are a few pictures from the shower...

Then, last Friday, Bridget's work hosted a lunch shower for her.  It was nice to spend some time celebrating Baby T with her coworkers.  With the work shower over, it now feels like everyone is waiting for and guessing about her last day before the baby comes.  We'll just have to wait and see...

Last weekend, our friends Laurel, Terra, Carly, and Sarah threw us a fun co-ed shower at Laurel and Danny's house - we had a blast!  We were impressed by the cute and creative decorations (many of which were homemade by Carly!) and the delicious food (great BBQ by Danny!) and drinks (blue Sangria by Terra!), including the fabulous nautical-themed cake.

It was so nice to celebrate together with our friends and family!  We especially enjoyed the game organized by Terra where everyone helped us gather items to take to the hospital for delivery.  Props to everyone for their enthusiasm in bringing us items - we had some good laughs from it, especially Kyle's success due to his proximity to the expectant parents, the mad dash to give us items, the occasional flying baby item, the necessary drink for the dad-to-be from Mark, and, of course, the kiss from Julia!  Then, we opened gifts and were surprised to find that we almost finished our registry.  Here are a few pictures from the shower...

Thank you so much to our wonderful hosts, friends, and family who celebrated with us!  Also, special thanks to Marcus and Julia for making the trip across Missouri to attend :)  

Now that we have everything we need to welcome Baby T, we've spent the last few weekends packing our bags for the hospital (Bridget takes her time packing...) and getting a few leftover necessary items.  We also have been doing some laundry and putting the finishing touches on the baby's room...pictures to come.  With that done, we both feel like this could happen any minute...and now that we're past the 36-week mark, it seems like that could be the case.  We had a doctor's appointment and ultrasound today, but that's for another post.  We'll keep you updated on what the next few weeks have in store for us...

Pre-Baby Travels

With Baby T due to arrive in less than seven weeks, we recently took a few weekend trips to tide us over until we can travel again after he arrives.  We're hoping that our travels during pregnancy will help the travel bug rub off on our little guy :)

First, at the beginning of July, Bridget and her mom went on a pre-baby weekend away to Branson.  Much like a bachelorette party, Brad dubbed this Bridget's "baby-ette weekend."  The girls had a great time in Branson, complete with a spa day at their hotel (Chateau on the Lake), dinner at The Landing, lots of outlet shopping (mostly for Baby T), visiting with friends (including the Hoenes and Shifletts), dinner at Great Cedar Lodge, lots of candy and fudge, hanging out by the pool, and a trip to the drive-thru animal safari in Springfield.  Yes, you read the last part correctly.  Since Bridget is such an animal lover, she requested to relive one of her favorite childhood memories by visiting the animal park.  Although the walking part was a bit depressing with all of the animals in their cages in the heat, the drive-thru part was exactly how she remembered it - fun and funny! Brenda and Bridget especially enjoyed the emus, which made them feel like they were in Jurassic Park.  Also memorable were the zebras who wouldn't get their heads out of the car, the cow who slobbered all over the car windows, the camel that stuck his head through the sun roof, and the hoards of llamas.  It was a fantastic weekend and Bridget is very grateful to her mom for all of the fun memories!

The view from the hotel room...

The pool overlooking Table Rock Lake...

Bump at the pool...if you think it looks big here, just wait until the end of this post...

Out and about in Branson...at The Landing...

Strange, but not uncommon, sights on the strip...

The hotel...

The animal park...this bear reminded Bridget of Penny...

Can you see the fear in Bridget's eyes??

Of course, with Bridget out of town, Brad sat around the house crying :)  Kidding, of course!  He kept himself busy by putting together the crib and hanging out with Bob, including a trip to Manifesto.  Then, on the following Monday, Brad started his new job!!  He joined the law firm of Seigfreid, Bingham, Levy, Selzer and Gee, and we couldn't be more thrilled!  He'll continue to practice litigation there, including employment litigation, and we're excited that the firm is located downtown so that we can continue to have lunch dates, especially after Baby T is born.

Then, in mid-July, we were thrilled to visit our good friends, Cole and Jenny, in Nashville!  It was a great weekend with lots of lounging at the Icon and the pool, good food and drinks, exploring Nashville, touring Cole and Jenny's new place (including the "study"), a whiskey tour and tasting (smelling for Bridget), hanging out at Jenny's favorite honky tonk, a visit to one of Bob's favorite places (The Patterson House), late night impromptu karaoke (songs of choice for Brad and Cole: Private Eyes and All of the Lights...props were necessary and, of course, hilarious!), and great conversation and catching up.  Both Jenny and Cole were incredible hosts - we especially enjoyed the "Sorry We Party...in Nashville" CD and homemade cookies and bread!  We're looking forward to more visits to Nashville to spend time with the Gustafsons...that's right...a few weeks after our visit, Cole popped the question and Jenny said yes!!  We could not be more excited for the happy couple!!!

Getting ready to head out in Nashville...

View of the city from the pool deck at the Icon...

Just the three of us...

Only these two could successfully rock the towel skirts...

Tasting at the distillery tour...

Pregnant lady at the bar :)

At the honky tonk...

At the famous Patterson House, where we had great drinks and every dessert on the menu...that's what happens when you take Cole and pregnant Bridget out on the town...

In between trips, we celebrated Penny's first birthday!  We can't believe she's already a year old (or seven, in dog years)!  Here she is enjoying her birthday bone :)

Finally, a few weeks ago, we went on our babymoon to Scottsdale, Arizona, for some relaxation prior to Baby T's arrival.  We spent a long weekend at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and enjoyed more lounging by the pool (do you see a pattern here?), sleeping in, great Mexican food at La Hacienda, golfing for Brad, and a spa day for Bridget (and baby boy Thoenen).  We enjoyed this last getaway weekend before our little guy arrives, but we couldn't help thinking of how much fun it will be to take him with us on future trips!

Hanging out at the pool...can't believe the size of that bump!!

The courtyard outside our room...

First night out to dinner at La Hacienda...

Bridget lounging at the spa pool...

Brad's morning at the golf course...

Another day of sunbathing and swimming...

Posing in front of the golf course...

Out to dinner at La Hacienda again...yes, it was that good!

Cacti!

Brad dubbed this cactus "Baby T" :)

Our favorite bar...even though it was never open...we want something similar in our next home...

In addition to traveling, things have been going well!  We've been nesting like crazy and trying to get the house ready for its new tenant.  We started taking childbirth and other baby classes a few weeks ago.  Brad is settling into his new job and Bridget is trying to prepare for maternity leave and part-time employment thereafter.  Bridget had her baby shower last weekend (stay tuned for a post on the shower) and we have a co-ed shower in September - we're really looking forward to filling Baby T's room.  Bridget has now started seeing the doctor every two weeks on a routine basis and we have an ultrasound scheduled in mid-September.  Baby T seems to be growing right on schedule, and we both love feeling him move around in Bridget's belly, including his frequent hiccups.  When we look at the calendar now, we're constantly shocked and excited at how close his due date is getting, especially since babies tend to arrive on their own schedule.  Now that the weather is cooling off and Halloween seems to be right around the corner (based on the candy aisle at the grocery store!), we find ourselves counting down the days, but also considering that those days could be even less (or more) depending on when this little guy decides to make his debut!  We're taking bets on his arrival date, so feel free to wager a guess :)