38 weeks...and Evacuated!!!

Around 5:45pm last night the "Tea Fire" broke out in the canyons between Santa Barbara and Montecito. Patrick could see the flames and smoke from his office, so he called me and told me not to panic, but to pack a bag. I got Suzallo (our cat) in his carrier by the front door, and put our fire safe box with papers in the car, and then kind of wandered the house trying to figure out exactly what the "necessities" are when you have to just grab them and go.
From the street in front of the house you could see the glow and smoke from the fire just over the hill, the neighbors were all outside talking and making sure everyone was getting organized and getting ready to leave. It was scary, but I felt reassured that everyone was looking out for each other.
Patrick came home from work (after what felt like ages!), and we had time to pack some larger bags (with two weeks left before my due date I was torn between my maternity clothes and my regular ones!!). We grabbed baby stuff and personal stuff and headed out to Goleta to stay with Linda and Maynard. Our neighborhood was officially put under mandatory evacuation a few hours later. We're safe, we have everything we need if we have a baby before we can get home...or if the worst happens and we lose our home.
As scary as it was, the fire looked spectacular crawling across the hills in the dark. I'll try to post some pictures soon...and promise to keep everyone updated on what is going on.

Week 36 update.

I have always been ankle challenged (thanks Grandma Buzzell), but I have officially transitioned into "cankle" territory this week. The ankle/feet swelling symptom all the books talk about has finally come my way. Thankfully, not many other troubling symptoms have bothered me and I have had a pretty great pregnancy. I am both scared and excited to be 4 weeks away from my due date...but mostly excited.

I'm slowing down a bit and have finally replaced my weight training classes with more prenatal yoga. I'm still as active as I can be, it is hard to get comfortable enough to sleep at night...so it helps to be really tired! I have also given up the scooter for the most part. It is actually more comfortable to drive than trying to fold myself into my car...but it is dark so early now and I'd hate to be out somewhere with it and go into labor and be a bit stranded. At least with my car Patrick can bike over to meet me, throw the bike on the roof, and drive me home!

Patrick and I are fully "educated" on this birth stuff now...we finished our childbirth class series this week and this morning we attended a Baby Basics class. We brought along some of our cloth diapers and got to show the class how cute and easy they are...hopefully we inspired some converts! This afternoon we installed the car seat (thanks again Grandma Andrea and Grandpa Dave!) it seemed pretty easy so we'll definitely be dropping by the fire station to have the guys there give it a safety check!

Other than that we're just trying to enjoy the fall weather in SB by hiking, going to the beach, and baking lots of cookies. Here are a few recent pictures...

Baby Shower

My baby shower was this past weekend! My friends Tanya and Diana teamed up with Patrick's Aunt Linda and his cousin Veronica to pull everything together and I think everyone had a great time. Patrick's Mom came out from Yuma...but for all our 'too far out of town' family and friends...here are a few pictures!

30 Weeks and still a Gym Rat!

Well, somehow I made it to week 30 already! The agonizingly long first few months have morphed into weeks just flying by! It is hard to believe I am just 10 short weeks away from my due date, and only 7 weeks from "she could come anytime" status.

I am still feeling pretty good, I am happy to say. Here I am coming home from my weekly power walk with my friend Medina...we go a little slower each week, but she's hanging in with me for about an hour and a half each Sunday down by the beach.




I am also still at the gym most days, although the sideways glances are getting more and more obvious. Most people I interact with are supportive of my quest to stay in shape for labor, but I think my Group Power (weight lifting) class has started a pool to guess when I'll finally give it up!




Got some new gym gear recently at Lucy, their roll waist yoga capris are great for growing bellys! I also graduated up a size in tops...but am wondering if I should trade in for baggy tee shirts...What do you all think? Too much belly for the gym?

"BabyMoon" in Vegas!

Patrick and I took off over the Labor Day holiday for 5 days in Las Vegas for our last grown-ups only trip for a while. We had a great time and enjoyed the time off work and away from the daily grind. It was over 100 degrees outside, so we spent most days lounging around the pool.



We had a great room with a terrific view of the strip. The color in this photo is a bit off, but you can see how big my belly is growing! I am in week 27 during this trip.






We went and saw the Cirque du Soleil show "O", it was amazing!! We did a bit of gambling - but mostly chilled out in the evenings and enjoyed some great dinners.

Shopping in Portland, hurray!

Last week I flew to Portland, Oregon to visit my Mom for some quality time and shopping. My flight was uneventful, the little one didn't seem to notice, and I didn't feel different than I normally do. It was HOT in Portland, 104 one of the days (yes, you read that right, 104!), but my Mom and I survived by staying mostly indoors.
The shopping was a huge success, thank heaven for Mimi Maternity and Bella Bellies...I now have some super cute maternity clothes that don't make me feel like a little girl or a whale in a muu muu. I found some Lucky Brand maternity jeans that are like a dream, and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Hooray!
Shopping for the baby was also a treat, although not as immediately gratifying. Our little girl will now sleep and dream in the cutest sleepers and has a few dresses for hitting the town. Not to mention one super cool pink cowboy hat courtesy of my friend Jeanne...thanks again!

Deciding on Home Birth

Ok, so as soon as I found out I was expecting, I started to panic about how this baby was going to make it out. As a lifelong avoider of pain, I have been pretty set on a planned c-section to be my choice when and if I ever decided (was lucky enough) to have a child. My boyfriend, Patrick, although not thrilled with this idea, was supportive of my choice.
I was between jobs when we got the good news about the baby, so I found myself browsing Netflix one day between surfing LinkedIn and Monster.com. I found the documentary "The Business of Being Born", and watched it.

You can check it out here: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

Lets just say it changed my whole perspective on how to give birth to my child and propelled me into a research frenzy. I had let fear of the unknown and an aversion to pain lead me to choose a major surgical procedure to give birth. Popular culture and the medical community says this is safe...but my research contradicted this.

Check out this movie, do some research, and make a birth plan that is right for you. Patrick and I chose to find a Certified Nurse Midwife and plan for a home birth. My fear hasn't gone away...but I am excited and optimisitic that I"ll have a great birth experience. I encourage you to watch this movie, then read everything you can get your hands on before you let a doctor or a insurance company tell you what is right for you.