Baby shower!

My baby shower was June 29. It was another special event. My mom and sister planned it and we hosted it in my parents’ backyard. Danielle bought a “baby’s First ABC Book” from her friend at SamanthaBDesign.com as an activity to do at the baby shower. We also had people decorate diapers and cut out shapes for the tree in the baby’s room. We made three types of crescent sandwiches: cucumber and dill cream cheese, ham and brie with honey mustard, and egg salad with bacon. People from lots of walks of life were there; childhood friends, a friend from when I worked at Oshkosh, several from my time at the Reporter-Herald, a mom and her daughter from my bible study in Westminster, and a couple from CSU grad school. It was wonderful. Mom and Danielle did a great job planning it.

July 2019

Aunt Pat visited from Nebraska for a week. It was so nice to have her here! She came to the baby shower and in the week following, she helped me organize all the baby clothes and even helped me move out of my house.

I attended a baby class on July 6 with Mom. It was eye opening and a little nerve wracking. I never had to watch Danielle be in labor since she had C-sections. So I have to go through that whole process! People say it’s just a day and then you don’t remember the pain anymore because you have the baby. I hope that’s true. :)

Gracie was a pretty quiet baby and it took me a long time to feel her kick, not until around week 28. Partly that was because I had an anterior placenta, which cushioned her blows. It felt like a rolling in the stomach, balump-balump! Then just a couple weeks into July, I pressed my hand below my breast and felt her push back. Oh wow, she was really in there! When I went to one of my prenatals, the doctor felt for your heartbeat and laughed because you kept moving around. “Little stinker, she just kicked the dopple!” she said. Then, I started to feel her all the time, especially when I sat still. They weren't sharp jabs, just pushes here and there in random places, like she was stretching out.