Pregnancy #4: 36 Weeks

I can't believe baby girl is 36 weeks along! Seems like time is flying, but it also seems like I've been pregnant forever!

I've been working on a few things in the baby's room. I moved the wall unit in from the bathroom to hang above the changing table. I had a shelf with knobs on it, but I think this will be more functional for diaper changing and dressing our baby girl.

I also went through baby's clothes, pulling out the newborn stuff and making a stack of things to take to the hospital. I'm starting to feel that I should go ahead and pack that bag, but my other babies have been over 41 weeks, so I think I'm ok for now.

 Our little girl is not lacking for shoes! Aren't they fun? She has at least 10 pairs!

As for me, I still feel pretty good, usually. I do get tired easily. We were very busy this weekend and with the time change, I've been going to bed pretty early! I'm still walking (my October review is here) and can still do a mile, though I'm much slower than I was a few weeks ago. Everything looked fine at my last doctor's appointment. Starting this week, I go every week, and because of my "advanced maternal age" I'll be doing a non-stress test each week as well.

I've hesitated sharing this on the blog because people are so opinionated, but a list of factors has made us opt for a scheduled c-section this time around. I've had one before and felt strongly in favor of natural births for my 2nd and 3rd babies, but here we are again! It's definitely different to have a day scheduled instead of waiting for baby to decide.

I thought it would be fun to do a series of weekly shots starting with 18 weeks when we learned this baby is a girl. She (and I) has definitely grown!

That red shirt sure stands out! I actually am wearing it in my 35 week photo, but it looked so similar to the 33 week shot that I changed it to black and white. I do love red...

Only one more update to go!

Project #walk365 {October}

You guys! I'm still walking!

Seriously. This is kindof a big deal!

My original goal was to walk 365 miles in 2015, an average of one mile a day, obviously. At the beginning of the year, the other part was to walk every day. I'm taking weekends off now, but I'm also growing another human, and I passed the 365 mile marker back at the beginning of October! So the goal has changed along the way, but the point is that I'm still walking!

1. Oh look--feet! I've decided to set my October goal to 1 1/2 miles 5 days a week. Hope that will keep me motivated but not overwhelmed.
2. Just an early morning walk with a rafter of turkeys. That's Idaho!
3. Bam! 365 miles complete! I'm not quitting my walks quite yet though! (It just so happened that this milestone was on my 40th birthday!)
4. I'm having to walk later in the day because mornings are cold and dark. Glad I have a schedule that allows for that!
5. We live by a tree farm and it's fun to see the colors en masse on my walks.
6. Same tree farm as yesterday. Still pretty!

1. Aren't the clouds cool? So was the weather. Should have dressed a little warmer, but it still beats being hot!
2. Old MacDonald's barn is my turn-around spot these days. (Seriously, that's the name on the mailbox!)
3. My, what long legs I have! The bump is getting more prominent.
4. The hills are highlighted with yellow and orange!
5. I love fall! We've been having frosty nights and warm days with plenty of sunshine. Wish you could see the mountains better.
6. Not a bad view on my walk today.

1. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! 380 total miles this year!
2. We showed the boys the joy of geocaching today! It was great for the first three caches but the fourth had us scaling mountains and watching out for bears! We never did find it.
3. Sunset over Lake Pend Orielle (part of the geocaching adventure).
4. We got rain last night so the sky is clean and the grass and trees are sparkling.

1. I want to walk down this road to see where it goes! Sadly it's private property.
2. It was 39* when I left for my walk with frost still in the shade.
3. Did you know there are deciduous conifers? I just learned about tamarack trees this week. They're pretty!
4. It was still frosty and a cold 34* at 8 AM and I had to bundle up for my walk!

1. There's snow on the mountain behind the clouds!
2. The rain has greened up the grass, even as the leaves are falling.
3. On a whim we tried the Viewpoint Trail at Priest Lake. When you start at the lake there will be climbing involved to get to said viewpoint! Climbing is hard when you're 34 weeks pregnant! The view and the feeling of accomplishment were worth it though.
4. Celebratory selfie at the top of the Viewpoint Trail at Priest Lake.
5. Thankful for a break in the rain for my walk today. I like rain but not getting wet.
6. There was finally another break in the rain and I got my 1.5 miles in! Technically it's November, but I need one more for October, so I'm counting it! Also, more snow on the mountains!

Ok, so my last October walk was really in November, but I'm totally justifying it. Both Friday and Saturday were really rainy and really busy, and I just couldn't make myself walk in the rain. That brings me to a total of 33 miles in October, and 396 miles total for 2015. Yay!

My goal for November--taking into consideration that it's weeks 36-39 of my pregnancy, there's Thanksgiving and the weather might just include snow before the end of the month--is one mile a day, five days a week. That's only 20 more miles! I will take December off (hello, baby!) and slowly ease back into walking in January, if the weather allows.

Have you kept your exercise goals for 2015?

Indian Creek Campground, Priest Lake

My husband Gary is a pastor, so you wouldn't think we'd get many weekends off, right? Thankfully in this district, he gets a weekend off when there are five Saturdays in a month. October is one of those months, so we headed to Priest Lake here in Northern Idaho!

Isn't Northern Idaho pretty cold in late October? What is an 8-month pregnant lady doing going camping? Don't worry, we borrowed a trailer! Heaters, lights, a real bed, a bathroom, and preparing meals indoors!

Here's our first look at the lake on Friday afternoon. We were racing to beat the sun, so we didn't linger over the views. We camped at Indian Creek Campground, and though it's only 20-30 miles from where we live as the crow flies we had to make a giant U around the mountains to get there. Still, Indian Creek is just over 2 hours away, and we will be back!

On Saturday after a questionable night's sleep despite the real bed and heaters, we ate breakfast and headed out to see what we could see. We started at Headquarters where the boys learned about different animals and their fur while Gary chatted with the rangers about hikes and kayak trips and bear safety.

Then we headed off on a hike! We walked so fast everything was blurry! Either that or my cell phone photography skills are especially lacking in low light!

There was a chance of rain, the sky was overcast, and the temperature was stuck somewhere in the 40s. We had sweatshirts and were just warm enough if we kept walking.

We chose a hike called the Viewpoint Trail and should have known it required some altitude to get a good view of the lake. I'm proud to say this winded, 40-year-old, 8-months pregnant lady did not die! I rested frequently and just kept plodding along.

It really was a beautiful view!

The boys explored the rocks and moss while we kept a lookout for bears and mountain lions. The only thing we saw was a squirrel.

Of course there was the celebratory selfie!

We hiked back down to the lake in a quarter of the time it took us to climb up. We think we walked about 2 miles total, though our apps weren't working we were so remote.

The ranger had told us about some red fish we could see from the boat dock, so we headed over to investigate.

Sure enough, there they were!

These are Kokanee salmon who come to the shallow water to spawn. They were about a foot long and swimming in groups by the shore. Very cool.

The lake looked moody and cold! This was about midday. We learned that Priest Lake has a long history of Indian settlements, Jesuit priests, and early settlers.

We took a break for lunch (and heaters!) back at the trailer, then came out to explore some more of the shore and let the boys play on the playground equipment.

Indian Creek Campground has cabins for rent, but they're just bunks and heaters, no cooking facilities or bathrooms. There are community bathrooms but all water is shut off from October-April, so you're best off in a trailer if it's cold. The campground is open year round and there are snow shoeing/cross-country skiing trails in the woods.

Gary and the boys gathered firewood and built a raging inferno that afternoon. It was cozy to sit by the fire and be warm! It would have been proper to have hot dogs roasted over the fire, but I didn't even think of that until we were there! Oh well, we enjoyed our spaghetti dinner inside the trailer, then roasted marshmallows in the fire and made s'mores. Phew--at least I remembered that!

We also got ice cream at the camp store! We MADE the boys eat it, as you can clearly see. Stinkers! This was some marshmallow-pop rock weird stuff that the lady PILED on their cones. Needless to say, Gary and I had portions that should have been shared between three people, but we did our duty and packed it away. #cleanplateclub

Our second night redeemed the first, but after a pancake breakfast we had to head home. Don't worry, Priest Lake, we'll be back!

Homemade Burp Cloths

I confess, this isn't a DIY or tutorial, just a report on something I did with a few pictures to make it post-able. There are plenty of tutorials out there, this one being very similar to what I did.

I don't have any burp cloths for our baby girl yet. There's still a month to go and two baby showers, but I also had a stack of receiving blankets I'd gotten as hand-me-downs. Personally, I prefer swaddler blankets or the thicker, softer baby blankets. That got me thinking, I should make burp cloths out of the receiving blankets!

So one evening I cut down several of the little blankets while watching an Income Property marathon. I also made a stack of washable wipes with the same blankets. (I may or may not write about those some day, we'll see.)

I chose to round the corners because that's how the receiving blankets were made. I then matched up two coordinating patterns, then sewed them together on the machine. I thought the double layers would help the burp cloths be more absorbent. And they're cute.

I actually had to take my sewing machine in for a check-up before I could complete this project. It gave me the incentive to get it fixed, finally! I asked around for a local repair shop and was given the name of a man who works out of his garage. He was so nice! He tweaked the tension and showed me a few tips, added a nut here and a screw there, and sent me on my way. I asked how much I owed and he said, "Nothing!" I've felt totally blessed all day because of his generosity. And he has a loyal customer as long as we live here!

It didn't take me long to sew the two pieces of flannel together. And now I have a nice stack of burp cloths! I think 10 is enough, but I have a few more receiving blankets if I want more!

Have you sewed anything lately? I'm thinking of making a crib skirt...