Pregnancy update

Sarah: Well it's officially November, which means we have reached THE MONTH that our little baby girl will be born! Things have continued to go well for us, and I have been feeling great. And by great I mean there is nothing out of the ordinary that needs to be complained about - I'm definitely bigger, slower, a bit more uncomfortable, I grunt more, and don't always get the best night of sleep...but that's all normal, right? This first picture is of me at 32 weeks.

As our time is coming closer and closer, we feel like we are scrambling a little bit trying to get prepared. The nice thing about living in another country in a small one-bedroom apartment is that we can't spend any time on fixing up a nursery (since we don't have one) and it doesn't take much time to organize things (since we don't have the space and thus don't have a lot of baby clothes and accessories). So while we feel "prepared" for this baby to come, we've been working a lot on getting things in order at QERC and for the semester program. We can recognize the fact that our lives WILL change after having a baby....we're just not sure HOW. :)

So back to baby. We have decided to name her Adele Marie. That was one of our top two names and once we started thinking of her that way, it just seemed so right. It is exciting to have it finally decided and start imagining what her personality will be like to accompany her name. In Spanish her name will be Adelia, or even Maria Adelia as the full name. Many Costa Ricans use their middle name as their main name, and Maria is a very common first name - especially here in the valley where we live. So little Adelia will fit right in! This second picture if of me at 34 weeks (enjoying the special parking offered for pregnant women in Costa Rica!).

In preparation for little Adele's arrival, we picked up a crib from our friend Laura at the bakery here in the valley a few weeks ago, who is lending it to us while we live here. We were extremely grateful for the offer and upon setting it up in our bedroom felt a bit of a reality kick settle in. (The TV will eventually be moved...and we do have a mattress to put in the crib!) Next came the washing-the-baby clothes ritual, which our housekeeper Ana was quite excited to take part in. Since our weather has been unpredictable, she constructed her own makeshift clothesline in one of the bedrooms upstairs to hang the clothes up to dry. Ana had been begging me for weeks to let her wash the baby clothes, and once I gave her the go-ahead, she got right on it as she "ooohed" over every small piece of clothing. When it came time to take the clothes off the line to fold them, she called up her 9-year old daughter Karla who had been begging to come help organize the clothes. However, when it came time to actually put the clothes away in their own organized fashion, I told them I'd like to go ahead and do that (much to their dismay) - because I'd like to play with my own daughter's clothes too!

We've also had a couple of doctor visits in the last month, and he seems to think everything is progressing very well. At this last visit I was almost 36 weeks and he said that Adele looks like she's right on schedule to be born toward the end of November. We're still hoping she might decide to make an appearance a little earlier...but are extremely happy she is developing so well. The ultrasound guy kept saying every part of her was perfect - "su cabeza está perfecta", "su tamaño está perfecto" etc. The most fun for us on the ultrasound was being able to see her open and close her eyes, open up her mouth and stick out her tongue, and suck on her fingers. She continues to move A LOT as she rolls around all over my stomach and tries hard to stick her little feet up in my ribs whenever she gets the chance.

Also this last time in the city, our friends at LASP threw us a baby shower. It was really special and thoughtful, and we are very thankful for good supportive friends here in Costa Rica. Our good friends from LASP Trevor and Laura are kind enough to let us store some things at their house in San Jose so that when we stay with them for about a week up until the due date, or however long we will stay with them after Adele is born, we will be as prepared as we can be. This last time in we brought our pack-'n-play, our diaper bag full of supplies, and some extra personal items and toiletries we could afford to leave there for the next few weeks. Finally, this last picture is from today, and I am 36 weeks and 4 days along.