happy thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Roberts and the Holubecs
Thanksgiving 2008 at Oak Ridge

the lilac room in the orange house

We never expected to paint a room in our home lilac, but we did, and it is! At first, we were discussing earthy, neutral tones, but as we've become more and more excited about having a little girl, plans changed.

As things go at the Orange House, the preparation was much more involved than we expected it to be....

Robin and I cursed our 52 year-old drywall as chunks of fell out when we removed some shelves from the wall in the old office/new nursery.

Once again, Robin had the opportunity to test his wall-repair skills.

I added texture to all of the walls to help mask the repairs.

Robin primed and painted the room -- lilac on the top half and a very light lilac on the wainscot.

Though I am still trying to get used to having lilac in our house, the project looks great. However, it is nowhere near finished. We had hoped the ceiling and trim would look okay with the lilac, but it is way too warm and looks awful, so Robin will paint them with a cooler white on Sunday. Once everything has cured and aired out, we'll start painting the wall art. We're looking forward to seeing the finished product and hope to be finished by Christmas!

thirty week ultrasound and appointment

We had what is expected to be our last ultrasound today. I am still amazed at this technology and the level of detail that it reveals. The baby is still measuring near the 60th percentile, and weighed 3lbs, 14oz. Dr. Reinhart assured us that any and all complications are behind us and told us to expect the last two months to progress as a "normal" pregnancy.

After our ultrasound appointment, we had our 30-week check-up with Dr. Nokleberg. These appointments have become fairly uneventful and routine, but this time, I had questions!

A little background... I am set on the idea of natural childbirth (I don't want to be induced, I don't want pain medications and I don't want any intervention unless we enter a life-threatening situation), so we've been taking classes in the Bradley Method. Our class is split between two couples who are delivering at a birth center and three of us who have opted for hospital deliveries. The birth center option is sounding better and better to me - they even have a park they can walk around in during the first stage of labor, and they can eat and drink... luxury! However, I still think the hospital is our best option considering the complications we had in October. When I went to the hospital in October, I was restricted from eating or drinking anything (including ice chips) at 11 a.m. that Friday, because they weren't sure what intervention would need to be done and when. I was put on a saline IV later that day, but on a way-too-slow drip which dehydrated me beyond discomfort. My first sip of water after surgery Saturday morning (more than 24 hours after my last sip of water) was a little piece of heaven. This ordeal started one of my newest phobias - dehydration.

Back to the questions... As you can imagine, my first and most important question was whether or not I would be allowed to at least drink while in labor. It turns out that Presbyterian has a strict policy against this in case a stat cesarean is called. I'll only be allowed ice chips. I wonder if they monitor the quantity? This is reason enough for me to wait as long as possible before going to the hospital! Managing pain the Bradley way is about relaxation and meditation, which I think will be much easier for me to handle if I can at least drink water. I also found out that I won't have to be tethered to an IV unless there is a medical need. They'll just install a saline lock and hook into it if/when the need arises. This is a huge relief for me.

All in all, the visit was good and Dr. Nokleberg expects us to carry to term. She estimated the baby to be around 8 lbs. at birth. She also cleared us for travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, so Robin, Nikko, November and I will be traveling to San Angelo and Oak Ridge to spend time with mom and dad.

Baby Roberts profile shot -- 30 weeks, 2 days

Posing for her close-up. Robin is convinced she has my lips. Right now, it looks like she has his hair.

29 Weeks

We are officially in the third trimester and today marks the start of week 30. At first, it felt like life was moving at a normal pace and that we had plenty of time to sort out the details, but suddenly, the days, weeks fly by with little warning. Robin and I both can't wait to meet our little girl, but we also want her to join us when we have her bedroom put together!

Since my hospital stint, I am more determined than ever to have a natural childbirth, so we started taking classes in the Bradley Method with Linda Worzer last week. The classes are every Tuesday from 7 - 9:30p for eight weeks and so far have been very good. There is no way I can remember everything we've learned, so thankfully, Robin is a great partner who is into the process 100 percent and can fill in where I forget. He especially appreciated the idea of last week's homework -- for him to get a 15-minute massage each night (decidedly a ploy to engage him in the process). Homework was never my forte, but he did get one massage out of it. This week's homework is to start working on our birth plan...

Crystalyn and Baby Roberts at 29 weeks

Just eleven weeks to go!