Medical School Baby Shower

As most of you know Ivan is completing his first year of medical school. Bloomington has been a great place for him to study. His class is about 35 students and he has made some great friends. It has been fun for both of us to get to know his classmates over the past year. 

We were both surprised and honored when they asked if they could throw us a baby shower.  It was our first baby shower and it was a lot of fun. They put together a pitch-in lunch last Sunday. Most of his classmates came out and the weather was perfect. They had a pinata for us to break and got us some wonderful presents for future Baby Lupov. 

Ivan is one of the older students in his class, and we are the only ones that will have children. It was awesome to see how excited and supportive his classmates are in our new endeavor. I know they will help Ivan adjust to medical school with a new baby next year and I am sure we will have a babysitter whenever we need one. 

Thanks guys! 

Fun Baby Decorations!

They had a tiara for me and a medal for Ivan. 

Ivan and the Pinata!

Yes...the pinata is a baby carriage. 

Chick Beer...since we are having a girl!

More Baby Class

Ivan was a trooper last weekend and made it through another 6 hours of baby class. We spent the morning in the Baby Basics - learning about bathing, diaper changing, umbilical cord care, etc. It was actually a very helpful class. I think we both learned a lot. The only thing that kind of disgusted us was the poop chart they provided for us. But I think it is probably good for us to face what lies in our future. 

The afternoon class was breastfeeding basics. I think this class was more directed toward me but Ivan does have a better idea how he can help. We were both laughing because they said newborns eat 8-12 times a day and eat for 15-45 minutes - to us that seemed like we are going to feeding this girl pretty much 24/7. I guess it is good to get ready! The class was extremely helpful, especially concerning how to continue breastfeeding when you go back to work. It doesn't seem quite as overwhelming! 

Here are some pictures from the class! 

30 Weeks

I can't believe we are already at 30 weeks. Baby girl is going to be here so soon. Everything continues to go well. She continues to grow and be very active. Her new thing now is to occasionally kick me in the rib or do some kind of flip that makes it feel like my stomach is turning upside down. It is fun to feel her moving all day long. 

My mom took some pictures this weekend that I thought were fun and I would share so you can all see the baby belly getting bigger. 

Birthing Class

Ivan and I went to birthing class yesterday at the hospital. It was from 9am-6pm and full of great information. I think the class made us both realize how little we really knew about labor and delivery. It was a great class, very informative and provided us with a better idea of what we would like the birth of our little girl to be like. 

They had an empathy belly that Ivan tried on and I made him try to bend down and pick something up. It was pretty entertaining. They also had tons of information on relaxation techniques to help you make it through labor. We have two more (shorter) classes at the hospital next month - baby basics and breast feeding - that we are both looking forward to. I think it set us more in the baby mood. 

Ivan with the Empathy Belly

Using the ball for relaxation

Snoogle

I wanted to introduce everyone to my new favorite pillow in the whole world....the SNOOGLE! About a month ago I started having some trouble sleeping. I noticed that I would wake up in the middle of the night and my hips would hurt from laying on my side. I am not able to sleep on my back anymore because it causes my lower back to hurt. By 3-4am I found myself rolling around trying to get comfortable and not having a lot of success. 

With the urging of Ivan I went online and read about pregnancy pillows. All of the reviews directed me towards the Snoogle. I body sized curved pillow that you can wrap around yourself and either support your back or your belly. I love this pillow! My sleeping has improved significantly which make both Ivan and I happier. 

I thought I would include another belly picture for your enjoyment. I am getting bigger! Yesterday I felt baby girl's foot for the first time. She stuck it out there and you could feel it distinctly under my belly button. It was pretty neat :) 

Still Growing!

Sorry I have not posted in awhile...I guess this is the quiet phase of pregnancy where this little girl just grows. Things are going well! We went to the doctor a few weeks ago and they took some more pictures of Baby Girl Lupov. She was stubborn yet again and curled up in a little ball and wouldn't move into the position they needed to see her spine. Here is a picture from the visit.

The doctor says everything looks good. She is growing well and is healthy as far as they can tell. She continues to move around and give me some good kicks. Ivan is now able to see her moving - which I think weirds him out a little bit. My belly is growing and things are becoming more uncomfortable. Sleeping has become a bit more challenging, it is hard to find a comfortable position and takes some work to reposition in the middle of the night.  My feet are achy and a bit swollen by the end of the day and I have lower back pain which comes and goes. So I am experiencing more joys of being pregnant. Overall, I am feeling good and can't complain. 

We have been working more in the nursery and I think we are pretty much done. I finished putting the decals up on the walls and we ended up getting a new crib that will actually turn into a toddler bed. I think the room is ready for a little girl. 

Adding Some Color

Since we live in an apartment we have decided not to paint the walls. We would be required to repaint in a few years when we decide to move. So I have been browsing the Internet for weeks trying to sift through thousand of different nursery wall decals. I finally found a few I liked and my mom came over yesterday and we put them up. It did take some time but it was remarkably easy. Putting up the decals made me realize how big the nursery is and how much wall space there is. Since we like these we ordered a few more to add to it and give the room a little more color. 

A picture of both the tree and the monkey. 

The Monkey (my favorite)

We have been keeping the nursery door closed for the past several weeks to get the cats use to not being in the room. They are not big fans of this plan. They LOVE sleeping in the crib. While we were putting up the decals I decided to go ahead and let them come in the room. Within minutes they were both sound asleep curled up in little balls in the crib. They are so darn cute...but I have to stay strong and keep them out of the room. 

Moose and Skunk Enjoying the Crib