Our little turkey girl is here!

SHE'S HERE!!

Cora Elise Martinsen was born on Thanksgiving day, November 27 (41 weeks!!), at 4:37 AM. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and 20 inches long. She is an angel, a true light in our lives, and we are so extremely blessed that she's here and healthy and stealing our hearts more and more every day. This has been the most rewarding, transformative, crazy amazing, crazy exhausting, love-filled two weeks of our lives. 

We love our little turkey girl! 

This is the babe on the way home - we only stayed at the hospital one day and wanted to be home asap to start our own family time. I have never been so happy to walk through our front door!

This is Riggs meeting the babe for the first time. He is going to be great with her.

Her little facial expressions melt me.

My whole heart and soul!

WE LOVE YOU, CORA! Welcome to our family.

remember when....

....I was bragging about being in the single digits of WEEKS left in this pregnancy? Well now we are down to single digit DAYS. This is assuming baby is on time. But let's be honest, I am a little psycho about being on time and think people who are late are rude. NO RUDE BABIES ALLOWED.

This waiting around period is really really hard. Really. Every week since about week 34 I've been taking a minute to be relieved that she's made it past some scary timeline points - this is the week she can viably survive outside if anything happened, this is the week her lungs would be OK, this is the week she can regulate her own temperature.... Now we are at the point where she could come any day and is "selfishly" staying around, packing on pounds. Pounds that I have to push out. My midwife says she's not a very big baby, but I feel like maybe she is. I know that she's snug in there and can't be comfortable because I am way past comfortable. I feel her stretch like she has RLS or something and there are no little movements anymore, it's all like the macarena in here.

I've also had two friends have their babies in the last 11 days which just adds to the anxiety of waiting. She's not late yet so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, but I sure hope (for my mental sake!) that she comes early or on time so that we can just start the next phase of our lives. I've never been so ready for something in my whole life.

We love you, baby. Please come soon!

It's November! 38 week update

It's finally the month that we will welcome our little angel babe. I wouldn't say that these past nine months have been quick, but so much has happened. We are officially ready for her arrival - from the room, to all the gear, to my body being done acting as a human oven! We just want her here so badly and the hardest part is knowing she could come any time. Two weeks ago, Kirk turned 30...it's not too hard to visualize two weeks from now coming sooner than imagined.

:)

impromptu pregnancy photos

So these pics were taken on our camera on a self timer...in a nightgown...in our hallway and in the baby's room. I had gotten ready for a brunch an hour earlier than I needed and spent the free time I had (and the makeup I'd done) by taking these. I added some fun, highly advanced filtering through google picasa and that's it.

I think they turned out pretty cute considering I wasn't going to even take any photos before the babe arrives. Enjoy :)

Home stretch!

This picture was taken for my 35 week photo and here we are almost into week 36 (the start of the 9th month!!!) How am I feeling? Full of baby. She moves almost constantly, which is great and magical because I know she's OK, but it's tiring. Constantly having to deal with stretching, twisting, punching, kicking, and just plain feeling huge is not the most fun. I am also not really able to sleep, which means I feel like resting during the day, which makes me feel lazy but I don't have the energy to really go out there and seize the day. I struggle to breathe because of how she's positioned, which makes neighborhood dog walks slow and labored. I now understand why some women have to take time off of work during these last weeks and I'm "lucky" that I'm able to spend these weeks at home (The lucky is in quotes because I got laid off but honestly I am very lucky). Also, the number on the scale, although superficial and not the focus of my life at this time, is quite the mind-F. Every time I step on the scale I see a number I've never seen before! I know where the weight is and where it's going, but that doesn't change that it's difficult to wrap my brain around. I am also constantly surprised by what strangers think is appropriate to say to me, but more often it's people who know me who say the off-colored remarks. I am not pudgy and I am not "the huge one"!!!! Saying it as a joke does not make it okay!

I just got back from a trip to the Bay Area where I endured another heat wave in Northern California (wtf), went to a friend's wedding, spent time with family, and de-stressed.

Then, last week my mom drove with me from San Jose back down to San Diego so I didn't have to do the drive alone. We had a wonderful time together shopping, cooking, and just hanging out.  I can't wait for her and the rest of the fam to come back to town after the babe is here for another lengthy visit.

This is us having a yummo lunch at a La Mesa mexican restraunt called Por Favor. 

So....what's on the agenda for the next four weeks? I have a handful of low-impact home projects to complete but I mostly just plan on taking it pretty easy until baby girl is here. Like I said, I really feel like people underestimate the energy it takes to grow a human, and I am infinitely thankful that women don't have to carry around a 6 pound baby for the whole 9 months. I know she's probably as uncomfortable as I am, which makes every passing day a little sweeter because it means she's that much closer to being here (and out of me!!).

baby shower - she's almost here!

Kirk's mom, Michelle, and her friend Rochelle hosted my baby shower this weekend and it was just the MOST. My dear friend, Kristen, also took help in the planning and games. Our baby was seriously spoiled with love and gifts and amazing food. 

Here's what the nursery looks like so far. We don't need much more to be ready for her arrival.

The blank space ^ in this pic is going to be filled with some kind of shelving system. EEE! We can't wait

single digits

We are officially in the single digit territory - 9 weeks left of this journey to mommahood. Some other things have been going on in the background that are super horrible and stressful, namely, I'm getting laid off from my job at the end of the month (yes the same one that I signed a 4 year contract not 15 months ago and wrote that now seemingly naïve post about how it was an answer to my prayers blah blah suck it) and money issues are on the fore-front of my mind. Instead of being focused on these last couple of weeks in this current life I know, I'm entirely overwhelmed by the "what ifs" of tomorrow. Everyone who hears about the situation is like, "well at least at the end you'll have your baby."

Yes, I will have a baby....a new person to nurture and care for. A new expense machine. We'll still have a mortgage and student loans and life bills. Anyway, I've already done the snowball of stress and so I've been able to come to terms with the fact that this change is happening and Kirk and I will make it work, no matter what, as long as we are together. There are many blessings wrapped in this circumstance, and we are coming at it with open arms.

...only after I've had three weeks to stew and freak out. All in one's own time, no?

Moving on: 9 weeks. 9 WEEKS! In three weeks, baby's lungs are fully developed. In 6 weeks I'm considered "full term". While I'm unemployed and not yet a mom, I'm going to be taking a trip to the Bay Area to spend time with my family. It will be helpful to have a full schedule, to be with those I care about, and to have my mind on positivity and light. I'll get to see my dear friend get married! I'll see my sister in her first high school play! I'll see fall colors and might even wear a sweater.

Then, when I return home, I'll have plenty of time to...compulsively organize things? Partake in lengthy visualizations of this babe's upcoming birth? Watch all of the shows on Netflix? No, for real, I'm taking the time to really make some plans about what I'm doing in life after the baby is here. The only answer I can think of is to get back on that damn horse I was riding a year and a half ago and get back to school to get my damn teaching credential. Many details to think of and figure out so that will definitely keep me busy.

So... here we go. 7 more business days at this job (then I get out and never look back!), then trip to the bera, then a couple of weeks of zen before she's here. Hopefully in the meantime I get some good sleep, the temp of southern california goes down in general, and my feet don't swell too much.