Tuesday, April 27, 2010

"Is He Going To Come Out of Your Mouf?"

That was the adorable question asked by my Nephew Luke this past weekend...the kid defines adorable, as you can clearly see from the picture below. Other sound bites from the weekend were:

1. "Is Yogan still in your belly?" (This the morning after he had just kissed, and felt the baby kicking)
2. "Can Yogan come out and Play yet?"
3. "Are these for me? Can I have these?" Referring to the fun bath toys Jas and I received at the shower


I love that little guy SO Much! And it's so fun to see him super excited to meet his cousin in a couple of months! I told him while he couldn't HAVE the bath toys, he COULD take a bath at our apartment when he comes to visit and play with them then...he was REALLY excited about that option!

Love you Mr. Luke! Oh, and in case you're wondering, I told him "Yes, the Baby is going to come out of my Mouth"...seemed easier then getting into the details of childbirth with a 2 year old...correction- 2 and 11/12ths year old.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Update of the Belly!


Here's our 30 week Belly Photo! Jas did a funny little picture comparison of me last night- with photos of me from 7 weeks and this week....Holy Cow! Being pregnant DEFINITELY lets you appreciate your pre-baby belly....and I laugh that there were things I was unhappy with before! Life is funny!


This weekend Jason and I are flying up to Seattle to participate in the Baby Shower that my Mom, Sister-In-Law and friends Elizabeth, Jen and Lindsey are throwing...we're really excited- it should be a great time!

Gretchen made some amazing invitations (That match the Laubsters we have on our Nursery wall), my Mom and I are making these beauties for everyone's indulging pleasure and I hear that there are some fabulous games to be played as well!

Of course, as is usually the case in Seattle, the weather will NOT be cooperating, but I don't care...being surrounded by some of my most favorite people on the planet will make it feel like a sunny, 75 degree, perfect day!

See you all TOMORROW!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Nursery so far

This past weekend Jason and I spent Morning, Noon and Night working on the mural for our Son's nursery...and I must say we did an AWESOME job...check it out for yourself!!
BEFORE
The set up
Martha Stewart paint...It's a Good Thing
Beach and sky!
Jason Making Waves
Sandcastle, Crab and Turtle...the First residents of Laubster Cove!
Baby "Laubster", Daddy Laubster and Mommy Laubster
The happiest sail boat around!
2nd Best Looking pilot I've ever seen (My husband being the first!)

The final product!

I feel like singing a tune from Annie...


"We Got Annie" Remember that song? When Daddy Warbucks OFFICIALLY adopted the adorable red head, and Grace the assistant and some other guy danced all aroudn the mansion singing "we got Annie!"...anyone? Ok, well, that's how I felt Friday night, though instead of singing "Annie" I wanted to sing "We Got Uppa!" as in UppaBaby Vista! Yes, oh yes, months of waiting and hunting online finally paid off :) Jas found a great deal for a "used" 2009 UppaBaby on Craigslist on Friday, he called up the seller and the agreed to meet that night to take a look at the goods! Jas called me after the meeting and sadly told me he did NOT buy the stroller...he said that the stroller was filthy, the people's home was filthy and he could not WAIT to get out of there...he said it was a complete waste of time to head out there...I felt HORRIBLE. I didn't even care that we didn't get it, I just felt bad that he went ALL the way out there when he was SO tired, only to be disappointed! I cursed myself for falling for a well written craigslist post with a stock photo...I knew you should never trust a stock photo!! Always look for an actual photo of the actual merchandise! Drat!
However...my husband is VERY sneaky and enjoys toying with my emotions... because 45 minutes after he called me to break the news to me, he walked in to our apartment PUSHING THE BEAUTIFUL, RED, 2009 UPPABABY VISTA!! Tags still on the stroller (as the ad had said they were) plastic wrapping STILL on the aluminum frame and bassinet! AMAZING! This was basically a BRAND NEW STROLLER! Never been used!! And it was ours! I was so excited! I immediately started playing with it, pushing it around the apartment, taking the bassinet out and the toddler seat in, playing with the sunshade, the basket underneath! Jason just looked at me like I was completely nuts...but at least I was happy and at least i would finally shut up about this dang stroller! I was very tempted to take one of the cats, plop him in the bassinet and stroll him around the block...I didn't though...not yet at least. I may have to in the coming weeks....

Friday, April 16, 2010

So close!!!

At 8:30 tonight, THIS beautiful baby could be OURS....



It's a 2009 UppaBaby Vista in Denny Red that Jas found on Craigslist this morning. As most of you know, I am obsessed with this stroller...It's no secret that I love nice things, and normally nice things are expensive, but usually I'm a pretty low-maintenance gal and can be persuaded to purchase the bargain version of something if need be...but for some reason, this little beauty got ahold of me early on and I haven't been able to let go of it yet! The item that's being sold is at a SUPER discount, mainly because it's last years model but has never been used! Jas is going to look at it just to make sure- he has a pickier aesthetic eye than I do so I trust that he'll argue if anything is at all wrong with the stroller.

So if anyone sees a woman 6.5 months pregnant pushing a stroller in the Playa Vista area either filled with NOTHING, or 2 cats...don't call the cops, it's just ME enjoying the new UppaBaby!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Happy Birthday to My Babies Daddy!




Today is Jason's 32nd Birthday!!What a year it's been!
I love Jason so much, he's an amazing man, and every day I feel so blessed and lucky to have him in my life. I don't know what I did to deserve his love, but I'm glad that I've got it. From the moment I met Jason, I knew he was a caring man, and as our relationship has grown I've only become MORE and MORE aware of his compassion, love and support- whether it's him supporting me or him supporting others. I only hope that I give him the same support from day to day and that I make him feel as loved every day as he makes me feel. Watching him get excited about our pregnancy, makes my heart swell every day. When he leans to my belly and asks his son to "Please come out now!" I can't help but laugh- I think a lot of me are nervous about becoming fathers, and maybe Jason is too, but I can see he is more excited than any other emotion and i know he is going to be an amazing and natural father from the moment he lays eyes on his first born.

Thank you Jason for being who you are and for being in my life!

I LOVE YOU!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Baby- Meet your Doctor!

Tonight, Jas and I met with a potential pediatrician for our little munchkin, and we absolutely LOVED the doctor we met with!

We found her through 2 recommendations from people I work with.

we didn't have any questions prepared for the doctor (Which is very unlike us!), but we knew there were a few things that were very important to us:
1. Her views on immunization (Jason and I are both very much FOR immunization)
2. How accommodating her practice is to new parents- aka calls at 2 in the morning because we just can't get the baby to stop crying and we are CONVINCED it's because she has some disease!

She met our standards and then some on both points.

Her philosophy seemed to be a bit more old school in terms of doctoring- and even though I never saw my Grandpa practice medicine, I had a feeling that he would have liked her as well, which was a very comforting thought.

She told us that our baby is like her baby too so she's going to teach us how to care for him. She's going to teach us how to not NEED her- which is great. She talked a lot about how both Jason and I have a parental instinct, we just don't know it yet, and she feels it's her job to help us tap into that.

She also believes that it's a doctor's job to help- and to answer questions when asked (no matter how ridiculous!).

We're both very much looking forward to starting this new relationship with this Doctor, and are very excited about checking one more thing off THE list (ok, well maybe the checking off part is more of an excitement for me! haha).

Next up...Nursery!

Love,
Ash

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Updated pics!

This week Jas, Baby and I will enter the 3rd trimester! Can you believe it?! I can't...it seems like just yesterday we realized we were indeed expecting!I've been getting more and more excited about meeting our son, I can hardly stand it! Previously my surges of excitement were paired with moments of panic, but those moments of panic are dwindling everyday...panicking about LABOR is another story- those thoughts still sneak into my mind every now and again :) But I'm sure that's natural!

Last weekend, Jas took another profile shot of me at 27 weeks, and we also thought it would be fun to measure my ever expanding waist line at the same time...well...maybe FUN isn't the right word :) hehe...but it's obvious that GONE are the days of my 24" waist...oh well, it was fun while it lasted right? Hehe :)

Enjoy!





Oh, and just so everyone knows, all parties are healthy and accounted for in the Laubster family- the earthquake that hit this afternoon wasn't as bad in our area as the news is making it out to be. It really felt like minor shaking...Jason was in his office while it happened, and i was at home in bed...it was so faint that the CATS who are supposed to have a 6th sense about it didn't even bat an eye! They looked at me like I was nuts when I went and stood in our bedroom doorway for protection...so much for relying on THEM to let us know when something is off! haha :)

Happy Easter everyone!

Saturday Night Chuckle!



This made me laugh last night. I started taking a new pre-natal pill last night, and the picture above shows the back of the pill packaging. It made me think "Hmm...wouldn't it be nice if giving birth was this easy? Just Peel and Push!" Not sure exactly what we'd be peeling, but it sounds a whole lot better than dilating, effacing, Lamaze, epidural, pitocin and stitches!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Kauai Post #2: Kayak Tour!

After a good nights sleep in our upgraded hotel room, Jason and I were up and at 'em first thing on Friday morning to go on our Kayaking adventure!

Due to my current condition (being pregnant!) we weren't able to do some of the more strenuous kayak tours we normally would have jumped at doing! Instead, we opted to do a low impact tour that consisted of paddling down stream with a guide, "parking" our kayaks after 2 miles and then taking a brief hike/walk through the rain-forest to a picnic location, and then we would be pulled back to our starting point via a boat!



Our tour guide was a funny fellow who's name I have already forgotten, he seemed to take on that Island Lifestyle and pairing that with the crazy tattoos on his back, both Jas and I assumed he was a native Hawaiian, when we asked him if he was, he surprisingly said no and instead told us he was from Colorado. I leaned over to Jason and whispered "I bet he's from Boulder..." sure enough, later on in the hike I asked him where he was from, and he said he spent a lot of his time in Boulder and even went to University of Colorado at Boulder for his Undergraduate Degree (BOOO!). Those of you from Colorado will know why I thought he was from Boulder...those who aren't, well, let's just say he's probably an expert in Hackey Sack and his cologne is of the pachouli variety!

Mr. Tour Guide was great and told us a lot about the Hule'ia River- a few Polynesian legends, discussed the plants that grew along the river (Humongous bushes that are not native to Hawaii, but came from somewhere else and had to survive in the open water for weeks before making it to the island to plant themselves! Very impressive!), and even some Hollywood artifacts- the rope swing that Indiana Jones swings from in Raiders of the Lost Arc to catch a ride on the sea plane is still hanging above the Hule'ia River!

The kayak ride was great- Jason sat in the back and was in charge of steering and getting us going in the right direction. For a few minutes, he tried to rock the boat a bit too much for my liking! The river was calm, so it was nice to take a break every once in a while and let the current take us down stream.

Once we got to the end of our kayak tour, it was time to go on a "hike"...which was really just a walk in the rain forest! Our tour guide would stop every once in awhile and tell us about the plant life surrounding us, what foods are made from certain plants, what plants were native and what plants were brought to the islands by others and why. We stopped after about 10 minutes of walking to have lunch. The tour we chose provided a picnic lunch for all of the kayakers that day, and it was a great lunch! Definitely needed for Little Mama over here! As we all sat down to enjoy our meal, we were invaded by a gang of Chickens! 1 rooster (The obvious leader) and his 3 lady hens were after our food and they were going to Cockadoodle Doo until we gave in and fed them! Luckily, we were spared a lot of damage because one of our fellow group members gave them a huge hunk of bread (Idiots) which they enjoyed. It was pretty funny to see these chickens travel down the hillside and then coming right next to our group NO FEAR!

After lunch, we stopped by a little swimming hole and 3 members of our group took a ride on the rope swing (A different rope swing than the Indiana Jones one)- neither Jason or I partook in the adventure- and we're very ok with that. Everyone that went in the water looked EXTREMELY cold on their way out!

As promised, our ride back was very laid back and easy! We just sat in a boat while Captain Ben drove us "home", it was great!

Such a fun way to spend the day and see another side of Hawaii!

Now it's time for Mommy to pass a test!


A while back, I published a post talking about a test that Jason had passed (Contractor's license test) and one that Baby Laub had passed (Genetic testing)- well, now it's my turn!

I found out today that my 3 hour glucose test results came back normal!! That means that I do NOT have gestational diabetes! YAHOO!

That's all!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Holy Shnikes! 90 Days?!

OH...EM...GEE...I was just reading the post I just posted and took a look at the floating baby on the sidebar and noticed that it now reads "90 Days" until due date...NINETY DAYS?! WHAT?! When did this happen? Ninety Days = 3 months in case you weren't aware and 3 months = NOT A LOT OF TIME!

Let the freak out BEGIN.

Holy Cow.

Wow.

Say Hello to My Little Enemy!

Please meet my friend Mr. Glucose...to be more specific, Mr. 100g of Glucose...to be even MORE specific, Mr. 100g of Glucose that makes me sick!

A few weeks ago, I had to take a standard glucose test and then have a blood test. The purpose of this test is to determine if I have gestational diabetes. The initial test is fairly simple...I was given a small bottle of liquid, similar to the one shown in the picture above (Only the liquid contained in the 1st test was only 50g, the 2nd test was twice that), which I had to drink at then head to the Dr. office to have my blood drawn. The results came back the next day, and I "failed" the test! Normal, non-gestational diabetes results should show your glucose levels somewhere between 70 and 140, my results came in at 147! So close!! But, according to the doctor's office, being 7 points over the line or 700 points over the line is the same thing and I needed to be re-tested.

That brings us to today. For the past three days, I was put on a special "diet". Not a diet like most people do, this one had me ADD food to my regular diet, and not just any food...GOOD food...CARB-filled food, SUGAR-filled food...light Doughnuts, and ice cream, pancakes, french toast! Fabulous! The funny thing was, some of the foods are already IN my regular diet (Which is maybe why I needed to have the test re-done? Just a thought!). I made it through my 3 days by adding yogurt to my banana & peanut butter sandwiches each morning, yogurt to my lunch (Which is already enormous and I graze through it all day...PB&J, Cashews (just a few), apples, carrots, apple sauce, raisins, 3 cookies, string cheese etc) and then ice cream at night.

This morning I arrived at the Dr. Office at 8:30am to begin the tests...the first thing I had to do was have my blood drawn so they could see how my blood looked after fasting since midnight the night before. Then I had to drink the orange drink. The first time I took this test, the drink posed no issue for me...I wish that had been the case this time. Maybe it was the fact that the amount of glucose was doubled in this drink (So basically this was like Tang on steroids), or maybe it was the fact that my stomach was completely empty this time around, but whatever it was...it wasn't working for me! I went back into the waiting room and felt my stomach just lurching at any chance it got. I had heard horror stories of women puking in their dr. office during this test, and I did NOT want to be one of those women! So I asked the receptionist for some water- and I was denied. Apparently I couldn't have ANY liquid in me in order to continue the exam...this was not good news. It was as though as soon as my mind and body realized they WEREN'T getting water, they threw a fit...like a full on 2 year old and I thought I was going to pass out. Passing out/fainting is something that has happened to me in life from time to time, so I'm no stranger to the sensation. I sat in the waiting room as long as I could before I finally got up and asked the receptionist if I could lay down. They brought me to a great little room that I am assuming is normally used for acupuncture and massages, and let me rest out the remainder of my appointment in there.

30 minutes later, my little timer went off and I needed to have my blood drawn for a 2nd time. I had a great nurse, who stuck me perfectly each time. When she was done, she put a band-aid in my arm, and sent me back to bed. I set my timer again, and after another hour, it was time to have my blood drawn for a 3rd time...yippee! Then I went back to my room and waited another hour for the FINAL blood draw! At 11:30 it was that time, and I gave my blood then saw myself out! I had survived the test! YAY!

I walked next door to Jason's jobsite so he could take me out to lunch...I very quickly started feeling less than awesome, especially as we drove through the busy streets of Santa Monica and made our way to In N Out (Of course that's where went...). Thankfully we found a parking spot (Miraculously!)and the In N Out staff was pretty quick in getting us our meal. I scarfed that food down so fast, and a #2 with no onions and a strawberry shake NEVER tasted so good! I still felt a little queasy and weak, but much better than where I'd been previously.

I headed home after lunch and took a 5 hour nap...I haven't been very good at getting enough sleep lately, and even though I got 7 hours last night, the bags under my eyes and the soreness in my throat would have argued that fact, so getting a few more hours is JUST what the doctor ordered!

I am hoping to have the results of the test by either tomorrow or Monday. if it turns out I DO have GD, I will need to adjust my diet slightly for the remainder of the pregnancy. The good news about GD is that it doesn't affect me postpartum...it's a weird little diabetes diagnosis that is caused simply by the levels of hormones I have running through me while pregnant and for some women, the pancreas just gets confused on what it's supposed to do with the body acting somewhat abnormally. GD can affect the baby only if I didn't stick to my diet- he could produce too much insulin in his body which would cause him to gain extra weight, which could result in a more difficult birthing process (And depending on the size of him vs the size of ME, could end up in a C-Section delivery). Once the pregnancy is over, GD goes away, the baby has no lasting effects and I would be considered "Cured". The only other long lasting effects are that I will have a higher risk of having GD in any other pregnancy, and I'm put at a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes later in life.

But for now, I'm just trying to think positive and hope that my test results come back fine and I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the pregnancy...we'll see!

On a side note, I must say that i have several friends with similar stories as mine. They "failed" the first test, and passed the second test, so hopefully that is my fate as well!

All in all, today was a trying day for many reasons, I'm just glad it's almost over and then the weekend can begin!

I'll update the rest of our Kauai stuff this weekend too!

xo