31 weeks - 62 days to go!

The weeks are really rolling by, aren't they? Here's my weekly picture....and is it just me, or does my belly look twice as big as it did last week????

The college is closed this week, so I have the entire week off of work - yippee! Unfortunately, Jason will still have to work a lot .... poor guy deserves a break, but recruiting duty never seems to stop. He will be off for Thanksgiving Day, so we've planned to cook lunch for the two of us. Afterwards, we are going to put up our Christmas decorations - I am very excited about that! (not so sure Jason is since he'll have to do most of the heavy-lifting) :-)

We had our final childbirth class last night. We covered a lot of information, including Shaken Baby Syndrome, Dr. Karp's 5 S's (Swaddle, Side/Stomach, Shush, Swing, Suck), Breastfeeding Techniques and what happens immediately after delivery (to both mom & baby). We really enjoyed the childbirth series and even though most of the information covered was stuff we had already read, it was nice to have a chance to get hands-on practice.

I am not sure if I've mentioned this in a previous post, but Jason & I REALLY like my OBGYN, Dr. Rowe. She is very patient, answers all of my questions without making me feel rushed (and believe me, there are usually a TON of questions!) and has the nicest demeanor that puts us both at ease. We wanted to do something special for Dr. Rowe and show her how much we appreciate her being by our side through this entire pregnancy process.

Yesterday, I went shopping and picked up some items for a Christmas/Thank You gift for Dr. Rowe. I found out some of her favorite things "through the grapevine" (actually, my friend Carrie is a nail tech and Dr. Rowe's mother-in-law is one of her clients - sneaky, right?) I purchased a bottle of her favorite wine, then went by a local store called "Backyard Soaps" and bought an assortment of lotions, body washes & soaps. Once I got home I was in the mood to put my wrapping skills to the test - below is a picture of what I came up with:

The gift basket - the note on the wine says "Recommended especially for you by Andy at the Wolverine Market," which is one of Dr. Rowe's favorite wine shops

Close-up of Backyard Soaps, Dr. Rowe's favorite body products