Baby Shower in a Box!

The week before Finn's arrival, we FINALLY received our baby shower in a box! I say finally because that box took quite the trip around the world. My friend Anna, also known as hostess with the mostest, came up with this idea, organized the shower and mailed off the box in mid-FEBRUARY.  I know we live in Germany, but it normally takes about ten days to two weeks for things from the East Coast to arrive. Instead, this box went to Amman, Jordan, Baghdad and then back to the United States before arriving in Berlin two months after it left Pensacola.  Quite the traveler!

Anyways, we had a blast at our shower, even though everyone was around the world.  I didn't know much about the contents of the box, but kept hearing bits and pieces about it from various friends and family members, all of whom were having a blast completing their tasks at hand. Anna literally thought of a way to bring every part of a normal baby shower to us, even if our friends and family weren't there.

Around Christmas, I sent Anna a list of guests that I would like to invite and their addresses and around the new year, she sent out a package of activities to each guest.  Each package included

• an invitation to the shower
• a wooden shape for decorating
• a paper onesie with well wishes for the baby on it
• a card where they could guess the birth date, baby's weight, and height
• two newborn diapers where guests wrote messages for us to read during late night feedings
• instructions on how to participate in the shower

Guests were given a deadline to complete their activities and mail it back to Anna.  Then, once Anna received all of the packages, she packaged them all up with a few extra things for me, including decorations for our apartment and instructions on what to do. 

Then, when the package arrived, it was shower time! Anna had created a Facebook event and I invited all of the guests to join the group.  Since we hadn't told anyone the name, I had asked for name guesses earlier in the week.  Reading them was hilarious because some were so outrageous, but others might be added to our list if we have another baby boy.  Anyways, we also set a date and time for the event and then when the time came, I logged on to Facebook Live and started the shower. 

Mike joined me and was a big help! I don't think he was too interested in it at first, but got into it as we started reading people's responses.   It was so amusing reading everyone's responses.  The late night diaper messages were hilarious, the well wishes were endearing and Mike had fun filling in a calendar for people's due date, height and weight guesses.  There were lots of inside jokes and pop culture references, as well as many loving and thoughtful wishes, all of which made us smile and laugh.  I had already opened the gifts that people sent us since our due date was quickly approaching, so I gave our viewers a little tour of our house with all of the various baby items scattered about.

Once we come out of the newborn fog and I'm not nursing around the clock, we are going to hang up his alphabet over our nursing station. 

I'm going to use some ribbon to tie these all together as a little keepsake for Finn to read once he gets older.

We ended with many thanks to all of our friends and family for helping shower our little guy with so much love! While we would have loved to celebrate in person with everyone, the combination of us living abroad and our friends and family living all over the world, that was nearly impossible.  This was the perfect solution!!

Luckily for you, Anna has an Etsy shop where she sells her Baby Shower in Box kits, as well as kits for bridal showers and birthday parties.  I know I'm a little biased, but this is such a great idea for military friends, family who lives far away, and anyone who has friends or family far and wide!  

Hi! I'm New Here!

Finnegan Michael Hogan 

was born at 8:15am on Friday April 14th, 2017 weighing 7.05 lbs and 20.87 inches

Mike and I couldn't be happier to welcome a new member to our family.  

He's truly our biggest adventure yet!

37 Weeks

Alright, little guy, you can come whenever you want. After a weekend of walking around, sitting in uncomfortable chairs, and getting out and enjoying the beautiful weather, I'm officially exhausted and uncomfortable. Mike's sister, Kelly, was here this past weekend and the weather has been GORGEOUS (we're talking sunny and 70s....all the praise hands!), so we've been out and about trying to embrace such a nice weekend. While this has been absolutely wonderful and so much fun, I'm exhausted and ready to have my body back.  The rest of the week was chilly and overcast and since Kelly left, it's been a good excuse to hang around the house, get some last minute things done, and just recover from a busy weekend.  Luckily, a few days of rest and relaxation had me feeling much better, but it was a good example of how my stamina has changed (drastically).

Symptoms

I was telling my mom that walking is exhausting and standing or sitting is uncomfortable, so that leaves lying down, but even that isn't great for more than a few minutes. So, we just have to keep moving, which is exhausting.  My fingers aren't swollen, but I think my ankles are a little bit because my socks are feeling a little bit tighter.  I also notice that when I'm lying on my right side, my hip really hurts, which is probably due to the fact that Maximus is so low and head down.  Hip flexor stretches always feel really great, but haven't provided much long term comfort.  One great thing I've noticed is that my skin is looking and feeling great.  Sometimes in the winter, it feels pretty dry, but all of those hormones have definitely led to extra soft skin.  I guess it's that pregnancy glow!

Emotionally, the physical discomfort is making me impatient and ready to meet our little man! I haven't had any extreme nesting tendencies, but I feel like all I want to do is be at home hanging out with Mike and enjoying these last few days as a family of two. I also notice that my emotions are a little more extreme, so my normal happy and laid back demeanor has been met with a few moments of emotional meltdown when I haven't felt great or have felt overwhelmed.  I found myself crying for no reason and then laughing at myself for not being able to stop cry the other night.  I'm pretty sure Mike thought I had lost my mind.

Looking Forward to

Obviously meeting our little guy, but that should be assumed :)  Other than that, I'm looking forward to having my body back.  I really haven't had any complaints about my growing size, but after this weekend and not being able to sit on a bar stool and just being uncomfortable, I'm looking forward to being able to return to basic activities that are now just uncomfortable.  I know it won't be immediate, but it's something I will be happy to have return. I'm also looking forward to watching Mike as a dad.  We've been talking a lot about what we imagine life will be like once Maximus gets here and it's always fun to hear what Mike wants to do.  Currently, he's planning a Bro-ad trip once he's bigger.  No girls allowed (ie me).  I feel like I'm always talking and dreaming about our life with a baby and it's so much fun when Mike chimes in.

Food

No food aversions and only the normal cravings of peanut butter and sweets.  We included dried dates, flax seeds and raspberry leaf tea in our weekly grocery order because they're supposed to help or induce labor. Can you tell we're ready for our guy to come?

Baby Purchases

No purchases, but I put the swing together and Mike put the car seat in the car! We are all ready to go!

Doctor Update

I'm going to the doctor weekly now. The doctor said everything looked great and baby boy was healthy, but there were no signs that he would be making his appearance any time soon. He's going on vacation with his family for the next two weeks (his children have spring break) and has another doctor coming to cover while he's gone, so he said he hoped he didn't see me until my post-partum appointment six weeks out, but that if I was still pregnant when he got back, I would see him for my weekly appointment.  We both laughed and said I'll see you in six weeks when I left.  Inshallah.

Weight Gain

25 pounds

Maximus' (estimated) weight

3.1 kg which is about 6.8 pounds.  I was hoping he was going to be on the smaller side, but it's looking like he might be a little bit of a chunkier newborn.  If he doesn't make his appearance soon, Mike will get his wish and get to tell everyone that our baby is YUUUUUUUGE (said in the Donald Trump voice). Let's all hope for my sake that's not true.

The Third Trimester

I can't believe I've entered the home stretch! In some ways, I feel like this pregnancy has flown by, mostly due to the fact that I've felt great.  In other ways, I feel like we've been planning and talking about Baby Maximus FOR-EV-ER.  I just want to meet the little guy.    We're so thankful to have made it until now with no major issues.  Since there is no telling when our newest addition is going to make his debut, I figured I'd do a blogpost about my third trimester through 36 weeks and then do weekly posts from there.  So, here it goes!

Week Twenty Seven: Feeling good! It's been an easy week at home, but we did get to see our little guy when we went to the doctor.  Everything is going as they should and he looks happy and healthy.  The doctor said he's weighing in at 1 kg 150 ounces, so about 2.5 pounds. The doctor also said he was "head down" which is good because that means he's getting ready to make his appearance. Ever since then, I can feel him when I'm walking, which is kind of uncomfortable.  It's nothing major, but definitely noticeable. It almost feels like I have to go to the bathroom, but not really.  It's just like an extra presence (obviously) down there.



Week Twenty Eight: We spent the week traveling in Spain and it became apparent that my stamina is not what it used to be.  Thank goodness for the Spanish siesta!  I also struggled with sleep since I have a Snoogle body pillow at home that literally is a lifesaver and is the only way I can get comfortable sleeping anymore.  I managed, but the exhaustion was real.  I can still feel Baby Maximus moving all around, which he always seemed to do right around the same time as the siesta.  I also tried to treat myself to a glass of Sangria while in Spain and it did not sit well.  Oh well. Let's just hope this isn't a permanent thing.

Week Twenty Nine: I'm feeling very pregnant.  I know I've gotten past the point where people wonder if I'm pregnant or overweight because people keep telling me congratulations or pointing and saying "baby?" It's kind of nice, but I think my days of a cute baby bump are coming to an end and the days of the bump that can knock over something in a store are near.  I also had a day of heartburn, which is no fun. Hopefully that's short lived! Our little guy has been moving and shaking and I can see my stomach move in all sorts of crazy ways.  He just likes to make himself known, I guess!



Week Thirty: It's pretty funny to ride the metro now. It's so cold that I'm so bundled up so you can't really tell I'm pregnant until I unzip my jacket. The other day, I got on the crowded metro and unzipped my jacket and three different people stood up all at once. It's like parting the Red Sea.  Considering my balance isn't great, I gladly accepted a seat.  Baby Maximus has been moving and shaking.  We went bowling this past weekend and the hardest part about the whole experience was putting my shoes on and off.  Doing things like putting my shoes on, shaving my legs, and bending over have definitely gotten more difficult!  I went to the doctor and he said the baby is weighing 1.9kg (~4 lbs!) which sounds like a lot and has my mom and I wondering if we should be buying bigger clothes!



Week Thirty One:  I hung out at home in Berlin all week while Mike was skiing in Kyrgyzstan.  I had another doctor's appointment and my doctor said "If everyone had a pregnancy like you, I wouldn't have a job!"  I'm just so thankful that I've made it this long and still feel great.  I was having some lower back pain early in the week, but after moving around and spending A LOT of time in Child's Pose on the floor, I'm feeling back to normal.  I do notice that simple things like walking to the metro are a lot more effort, so while it feels good to keep moving, it's at a very slow pace and usually involves sitting afterwards.  Speaking of the metro, I had my coat zipped up and someone offered me a seat, so I must be showing, even throughout all of the layers! Hopefully there are only a few more weeks of really cold weather because I'm not sure how much longer my coat will zip up!



Week Thirty Two: Moving around is definitely more of a struggle, so I spent 20 minutes walking around with my shoe untied because bending over to tie it was just too much work and there wasn't a bench around. I was still able to work out, which was great, but after a work out and walking around the town of Innsbruck for an hour or so, it was time for a nap. Other than that, I've been feeling good and everyone tells me I'm looking great, which I appreciate and am thankful for.

Week Thirty Three: We are back at home; me indefinitely and Mike for a few days before one last pre-baby trip.  Lots of kicking and moving going on inside and lots of eating going on outside.  I was saying it's nice to be able to eat so much, but it's exhausting.  I feel like I can't go more than an hour or two without being ready for another hearty snack.  I haven't stepped on the scale this week, but I'm sure I've gained more than the normal pound a week.

Week Thirty Four: I spent the week showing Rachel around Berlin and am pretty impressed with how well I fared.  I was beyond exhausted at the end of the day, but Rachel (and myself) was impressed at how much I was able to do, especially when it came to walking.  That being said, I could definitely tell a difference in how much of a toll it all took on my body.  I woke up in the mornings feeling tired and by the end of the week, I needed to take a day just doing a lot of nothing.  Rachel kept asking if I was okay and telling me I didn't have to go all of these places with her and, even though it was exhausting, it felt great to move around.  I get so stiff and uncomfortable when I sit or just lounge around all day, so moving is good.

Week Thirty Five: I can't believe we only have five (or maybe six) weeks left.  Regardless, I feel like we went from having months left to now only a few weeks.  We took our prenatal class this week, which was so helpful and we both walked away glad we did it.  I'm starting to feel a little less like myself physically.  I was typing this up mid-week and I wrote that I wasn't feeling uncomfortable, but I wasn't quite comfortable.  Well, that's a lie.  By the end of the week, my back is pretty sore and the past few nights of sleep have been ROUGH.  I seem to have random week s of bad sleep, so I'm hoping this is one of them, but the sore back has me a little concerned this might be longer term situation.  I really can't complain though because there are a lot of women who have a lot bigger issues during pregnancy, so if I have a few weeks of a sore back towards the end, I'll take it!



Week Thirty Six: I reached my limit yesterday afternoon with a sore back, but luckily, a warm bath helped immensely, at least temporarily.  I've been having some indigestion all weekend, but when I think about what I ate, I'm not really surprised, so I'm not blaming our little guy...entirely. I went to the doctor for my now weekly checkups and he said everything looked good and that it didn't look like Baby Maximus would be making his appearance anytime soon. Mike and I were both kind of disappointed to hear that, although we know that the more time cooking in the oven, the better. Our little guy was sleeping when they were doing the heart rate monitoring, so the nurse had to push around on my stomach to try and wake him up, but other than that, everything looked good.  I'm sleeping better this week, which is a true blessing.  I'm somewhat uncomfortable all of the time, but I definitely feel better when I don't stay in the same position for a long time.  I think my ankles are a little swollen because my socks and pants feel tighter, but my rings still fit on my fingers so no swelling there! All the praise hands!

Weight Gain: 24 lbs! Right on target! As much as I hate working out these days, I'm pretty proud of this number. All of those squats have been paying off....

Food Cravings/Aversions: I started drinking smoothies in the morning after I randomly started craving them around the new year.  I feel like it's a great way to get lots of fruits (and some spinach!) and it usually fills me up for at least a couple of hours. I've continued with my spoonfuls of peanut butter craving, but they're not nearly as bad.  Overall, I'm just hungry all of the time. The amount I eat is actually impressive.  No food aversions really.  I let myself have a glass of champagne on New Years and a glass of Sangria when we were in Spain (judge away! I know you aren't supposed to drink alcohol when you're pregnant, but a glass here and there is not going to do anything.) and both times felt pretty dizzy and had some major hot flashes afterwards, so even a small glass of alcohol seems to really take a toll, so alcohol is out (not that it was ever really in).  I am ready for a nice glass of wine and some non-vegetarian sushi though!

Baby related purchases:  We had our baby shower and so many people were so generous that we didn't even have to make a ton of purchases.  We did buy the pack n play when we saw it go on sale on Amazon and made a few purchases of small things (changing pads, some more bottles, etc) we still needed after the shower, but you guys really took care of our little guy. Thank you so much!!

I can't believe we're in the home stretch!! Here's to hoping we make it another week!

Our Prenatal Class

I always knew that we would take some sort of prenatal class.  I wasn't sure how, but I knew we would do it.  I was looking for a class that would offer different breathing techniques, birthing positions, and just a general overview of the labor process, as well as what the first few hours and days with baby might look like. There are so many expats in Berlin and so much English is spoken that I figured it wouldn't be hard to find a class taught in English and I was right! I posted in an expat moms group on Facebook asking for recommendations and had a ton of suggestions.

The one we settled on, at Hebammerie, was taught in English (obviously a requirement for us!) and was from 10-5 one Saturday and Sunday.  They offer classes in German, as well, which are taught for a few hours once a week over the course of eight weeks.  It actually worked out better for us to have it all on one weekend because we didn't have to work around Mike's class schedule or our travel schedule.

We arrived on Saturday with no idea of what to expect.  I knew it was a group class, but didn't know how big, who the other participants were or really what would be taught in the class besides the basics.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a huge room with mats, birthing balls and a kitchen where the teacher was making tea and coffee.  I also wasn't sure if everyone would bring their spouse, but they did.  I'm sure Mike was glad to not be the only guy as we talked about cervixes, crowning, and post-partum recovery!

The class was led by a midwife who was probably in her 40s. The first day, we talked about the natural stages of labor, the different positions to try during labor and breathing techniques.  The second day focused more on pain management like epidurals, as well as what happens during a c-section. We also talked about the role other people (like the spouse) can play in delivery.

I thought it was extremely informative weekend and I think Mike agreed.  Knowing what to expect made us both feel much more prepared for the big day.  I was a little worried that it would be a little too "hippie" and pro-natural birth, but the midwife did a great job of presenting the pros and cons of both sides. Our only regret was that there wasn't a section on baby care, such as how to change a diaper or how to wrap a swaddle.  I'm sure that the hospital or the midwife can show us, but I think it would have been an easy addition to the class that would have made it even better. Overall, though, we have no regrets and are so glad we found this class.

And because I couldn't take a picture in the class, here's a picture of me as of Monday.  Feeling rather large and ready for this little guy to make his appearance!

Buying a Chicco Stroller and Car Seat Abroad

We are in the home stretch! With less than a month until Baby Maximus' due date, we are assembling all sorts of baby things, washing ALL the baby clothes and anxiously waiting for our little guy to make his appearance.  Shortly after we broke the news to my parents about their upgrade to grandparent status, they graciously offered to buy us our stroller and car seat combination (aka travel system).

We began researching our different options for travel systems, as well as car seat requirements in both Germany and the United States. I knew that our car seat would have to meet American standards since the majority of our driving would be done in the United States.  The last thing I wanted was to get pulled over shortly after our return to the States and get a ticket for a car seat that didn't comply with American requirements.  That would be quite the welcome back!  We decided to go with the Chicco Bravo Travel System.

Because of this, we had to order our car seat, and therefore the entire travel system from the United States. I didn't really think this would be an issue since we have a DPO box and have things shipped to it whenever we need something from the United States without any issues.  What I didn't think about was the size of the box the travel system would come in.   There is a limit of a combined 108 inches in length, width and height on any package shipped to an APO/FPO/DPO address.

Whenever I tried to put the travel system in my online shopping cart on Amazon or Babies R Us, it quickly notified me that the travel system couldn't be shipped to our mailbox.   Buy Buy Baby would let me place the order, but I got an email the next day saying that my order had been cancelled because it couldn't be shipped to my address. My mom called Buy Buy Baby and spoke to someone who assured her that it could be shipped and placed the order, only to have it cancelled the next day.

She called back and after lots of troubleshooting, my mom and the representative decided the best way to have them shipped was to order a car seat and a stroller separately.  I guess when you order the travel system, both items are shipped in the same box, which exceeds the shipping dimensions.  If you order them separately, they are shipped in two smaller (although still pretty big) boxes.   Two weeks later, they arrived at our DPO box and we are now the proud owners of a car seat and stroller!

Thanks to my mom for spending lots of time figuring this all out and to both of my parents for their generous gift!

Five Pregnancy Favorites

We don't have a ton planned for this week besides Mike working on a paper, so I figured I'd update you on all of the pregnancy things we've been doing around here to get ready for our little guy.  

We found out that one of Mike's high school friends and his wife are expecting (YAY Reidels!) and I was talking to the mom-to-be about pregnancy.  It got me thinking about things that have made this pregnancy easier physically and otherwise.  I figured it'd make a good blogpost for those who may be pregnant and for those of you who know someone who is pregnant (all of these would be great gifts!).

1. Burt's Bees Mama Butter 

I ordered this at the end of my first trimester out of fear of stretch marks.  TBD if it actually prevents stretch marks, but let me tell you, it feels so good on my stomach.  The few times I've failed to apply it after a shower, I've found that my stomach is kind of itchy, even if I've used other lotions.  An added benefit is that it isn't greasy like other lotions.  It literally feels like butter. 

2.  Snoogle

Go ahead and laugh at the name of this body pillow, but this thing has been a lifesaver the second half of my pregnancy.  My aunt sent this to me in December and I started using this as soon as my stomach started growing and I haven't gone a night at home without it.  I'm a die hard stomach sleeper when I'm not pregnant and this helped transition me to a side sleeper.  Now when I'm much larger, it has saved my hips, my sleep and my sanity.  When we were travelling, I was constantly requesting more pillows from the front desk to replace it, but I was always happy to get home to my Snoogle.

3. LuLaRoe Clothes

LuLaRoe leggings and Irma top

Anna brought me a few pairs of leggings and a few LuLaRoe shirts when she came to visit and I fell in love.  They aren't maternity clothes, but I am 35 weeks pregnant and still wearing them comfortably. The leggings are fun, the shirts loose and everything fits wonderfully.  I did move from their One Size leggings to their Tall and Curvy leggings around week 30 for a little more room in the waist (do I still have one of those?), but I'm still able to fit in the OS leggings.   I've pretty much given up on maternity pants at this point, so leggings and dresses have become crucial.  There is a reason that you are seeing LuLaRoe pop up all over Facebook.  Their clothes are so comfortable and I know I'll be enjoying them even after Baby Maximus comes. 

4. Bump to Birthday Book

This was another gift from Anna and has been such a fun way to document the pregnancy.  It has a section for each week where you can put pictures and document what you did and how you were feeling, as well as any notes about the baby.  It also has pages for important doctor's appointments, how we told people, and lots of baby milestones for after the baby's arrival. I've had so much fun filling out each week of the pregnancy and I can't wait until I can document all of Baby Maximus' milestones.

5. Ekouaer Pajamas

Normally, I just sleep in tshirts and gym shorts and don't bother with fancy pajamas, but as my stomach grew and there was less room for my belly in my tshirts, I wanted something a little more comfortable.  Plus, I knew once Baby Maximus was here and I was breast feeding, it would be nice to have a shirt that buttoned down the front for middle of the night feedings.  I ordered this set, as well as another brand of button down pajamas and this set wins the prize.  It's stretchy and soft, plus it's airy enough that I don't get hot. They're in my hospital bag right now, so I'll have to go a month without wearing them, but I know they'll be perfect for the hospital and afterwards.   I'll probably be purchasing another pair once my body has returned to (somewhat) normal because I think this pair might be a little too big, but they're so comfortable I will definitely keep wearing them. 

Honorable Mention

Ingrid and Isabel BeBand

My mom sent me this after I mentioned that my regular pants didn't fit anymore, but I actually didn't start using it until this week. After my regular pants stopped fitting, I started wearing maternity pants or leggings without any major issues, but within the past few weeks, even my maternity pants are struggling to stay up.  This band just slides over the elastic part of my maternity pants and adds a little extra support since it's a little bit tighter.  I also think it will be great post-partum to help transition me back into my old pants and shorts (hopefully!).

Who will have their baby first?

In case you haven't been following along with the internet sensation that is April the Giraffe, let me fill you in. A few weeks ago, a zoo in New York set up a camera so you could live stream April the Giraffe.  The idea was that, when she goes in to labor, you'll be able to watch the delivery via live stream.  This was all very exciting and millions of people tuned in to watch.  It's now been two weeks and we still don't have a baby calf, but you better believe I've been streaming every day in hopes of seeing some hooves! Anyways,  I'm pretty sure most people thought April would have her calf by now, but alas, she's still pregnant.   Her tentative due date was mid-February, but they aren't 100% sure of her conception date, so it's not surprising that we're almost a month past.  Giraffes are pregnant for up to 464 days and have one of the longest gestational periods of any animal, so we could be waiting for a while.

I, on the other hand, have a very definite due date of April 22nd.  I'm singing all the praises that I don't have to be pregnant for 464 days.  I'm feeling great, but hoping our little guy doesn't make his appearance for a few more weeks, especially since Mike is out of town this week!

So, the big question is.....

Who will have their baby first?

Vote in the poll to the top right corner of the blog!!

Also, shoutout to Karen for being my April updater!  :) 

A Few Days in Innsbruck

Mike's winter break started the day he left for Kyrgystan.  Unlike last year where we did a four week non-stop trip, this year, we broke it up a bit.  It didn't make sense for me to go to Kyrgystan and hang out in a yurt all day while the guys were skiing, so Mike came back to Berlin for a couple of days to do laundry, get reorganized and pick me up before we hopped in the car and drove down south (all while saying a little prayer that our car would make it) to Innsbruck.  We stopped at the airport in Munich to pick up our friends, Melissa and Ryan, (Melissa is the scholar in Rabat, Morocco and Ryan is her husband) and headed on our way to Innsbruck.  We checked in to our hotel and met up with another scholar, Claire, and a friend of hers for dinner at an Italian restaurant before calling it a night. 

The next day, the rest of the gang hit the slopes for skiing while I hung back in town. I enjoyed a few hours at the hotel, lounging around before working out.  Then, I ventured out to explore Innsbruck, which is a super cute mountain town. 

There is a palace and a cathedral which are the main sight seeing highlights. I didn't go in either, but they both have received phenomenal reviews.  After spending a couple of hours, it was time for a nap, so I headed back to the hotel to nap and wait for the skiers to return. 

After showers and a little rest, we all headed out for dinner and trivia at a local Irish pub (we manage to find an Irish pub in every town we go!).  Despite our lackluster performance, it was a blast.  We laughed at the fact that most rounds we got less than half of the questions right, while the team next to us were semi-professionals, wore head lamps to see the questions better, studied in between rounds and rarely missed more than two questions. To each their own...

The next day was a skiing bust.  After much debate over whether to drive to the further slopes which were better or to stay closer.  They decided to drive to the further ones, only to find out the weather conditions were pretty terrible, so they ended up not skiing that day.   They were back at the hotel by two, so Mike and I went out for a late lunch while everyone else rested.  We went to this sushi restaurant where I had the best vegetarian sushi to date.  Mango, avocado, and cucumber make the perfect vegetarian roll. After lunch, we met up with Melissa and Ryan for a stroll around the town before stopping for a snack at a burger joint.  Ryan had a burger and we all devoured macaroni and cheese.  We ended day two at this awesome beer bar that had delicious pizza.  Basically, it was a successful day of eating and drinking, even if there wasn't any skiing involved.

Wednesday we headed to Liechtenstein and I'm going to do a whole separate post on that, but we ended the day back at the burger joint for dinner where we enjoyed more macaroni and cheese, burgers and I had a milkshake while everyone else got beer.  I wasn't jealous because that milkshake was life changing.  They should be jealous.

Still dreaming of this milkshake

Thursday was a day that was always up in the air.  Melissa and Ryan eventually needed to make it to Munich because their flight left at some ungodly hour Friday morning.  In planning this trip, Mike and I decided that it'd make sense for us to just stay in Munich Thursday night to help break up the drive back to Berlin since we were going to be dropping the Dombrocks off there anyways.  The question was, what to do all day on Thursday.    

Wednesday, we tossed around the idea of them skiing in Innsbruck, as well as skiing in Garmisch, which is kind of on the way to Munich.  No one really seemed dead set on skiing, so we decided to head to Garmisch for the day and do some sight seeing.  If the ski reports were amazing, people could spend the afternoon skiing, too.    Ultimately, everyone decided against skiing and instead, we took the lift up to the top of the mountain for lunch and to say we have been to the highest peak in Germany.  Ryan and Melissa try to hike up to the highest peak in various places, but it was not possible in the winter here, so on the ski lift we went!

Mike and Melissa with the Olmsted coin at the top!

Me, Mike and Maximus

Couldn't resist taking a selfie!

We walked around for a bit, ran into some Coca Cola polar bears and stopped for lunch.  Warm soup never tasted so good!

Little did we know when we were planning this trip that another Olmsted family, the Stevens who are in Kiel, Germany, were planning a week at Garmisch. Luckily, they had the afternoon free to meet up with us for some drinks and a snack after our venture to the top of the mountain. I always love meeting up with other scholars and hearing about their adventure.  The Stevens put our travel to shame! Man oh man! Anyways, after a couple of hours of catching up, we had to hit the road, so we said farewell and headed on our way to Munich. 

Ryan Stevens (Kiel, Germany), Melissa Dombrock (Rabat, Morocco) and Mike (Izmir/Berlin).  Three Olmsted scholars!

We made it to Munich around nine, ordered Indian food and hung out at the Dombrocks' hotel before saying goodbye.  It's gotten to the point in our Olmsted adventure where we know that we might not see each other for a little bit longer since our adventure is coming to an end, so it's always a little sad to say goodbye, but I think the greatest gift of this Olmsted experience is the friendships.  Moving abroad isn't easy and knowing that there are 17 other families who are going through the same thing definitely forges a bond like no other.  So, until next time Dombrocks! Can't wait to see you stateside!

We ended our trip with a stop at the Commissary on the drive home to stock up for some post-baby rations and treats. Mike ended up getting food poisoning from the hotel continental breakfast, so the drive back was less than delightful, but we made it back in one piece and were glad to be home after a fun week away.

This was my last trip pre-baby since I'm not allowed to travel after TODAY!!! Mike is currently at a wedding in South Africa, but once he returns in a week, we'll both just be hunkering down in Berlin until Baby Maximus makes his debut!

Finding a Hospital: Part One

I told myself that I would start looking for a hospital and figuring out the logistics behind registering once we rang in 2017.  In hindsight, I wish I had started earlier because it turned out to be more difficult than expected, mainly because we don't speak German. Oh the joys of living abroad....

We started by asking my doctor for recommendations and his preferences.  We knew that many doctors in Europe do not deliver with their patients, but I wanted to get his thoughts on hospitals.  As it turns out, the week of my due date is his children's spring break, so he'll be out of town if Baby Maximus is timely.  The one hospital that he does deliver at isn't covered by our insurance, so we kind of ruled that out.

One of Mike's professors had twins within the past year and loved her delivery at a hospital, (St. Joseph's) that was less than 10 minutes from us.  This hospital kept coming up and has a great neonatal unit if we need that.  Unfortunately, it wasn't covered under our insurance.  We still wanted to look at it though because there is the option of switching our insurance plan so that we can go anywhere and just get reimbursed.

Our other option was to keep our insurance plan as it was and go to one of the hospitals that was covered.  Unfortunately, there are really only two hospitals that are covered in Berlin for giving birth, one of which is an hour away. The other, Krankenhaus Walfriede, is about 30 minutes away.  It doesn't have a neonatal unit and, if we needed that, he would go to the neonatal unit at St. Joseph's anyways, which would then be covered under our insurance.

We decided that we would go and look at both of these hospitals, time out the drive, and see which one we were most comfortable with and then decide what to do about our insurance.  Then Mike got sick. I called St Joseph's one day while we were in the depths of illness.   I just wanted to make sure we didn't need an appointment, especially since we needed an English speaker. The woman I spoke to said that we just needed to call ahead when we wanted to come.  Fast forward two weeks and we were ready to go tour. We called back to the hospital and couldn't get hold of anyone who spoke English.  After many tries, we finally decided to go to the hospital and see if we could figure this out in person.  We spoke to a very nice nun who told us the only way to make an appointment or go on a tour was to call.

Meanwhile, we were doing the same thing with Krankenhaus Walfriede and having even less luck.  Every time we called, we just got a recording.  We couldn't even get someone on the phone to ask for someone who spoke English.  Luckily, we had more success when we went to the hospital.  We were able to make an appointment to talk to someone.  It's not until I'm 30 weeks (two weeks from now!), but I think we're both relieved to just have an appointment.

At this point, I think we realized that we were not meant to deliver at St. Joseph's.  It seems like everything was pointing us to Krankenhaus Walfriede and that it just wasn't going to be worth it.  We are a little concerned about the distance because traffic on the highway can be HORRENDOUS and can add an extra 15-20 minutes.  Plus, if Mike happens to be in class when the time comes, that's an extra 30 minutes it takes for him to get home, but these are all things that I know many people deal with and overcome.  I just don't want to be the girl who gives birth in the car....

How far did you have to drive to the hospital?  Anything I should ask on my hospital tour?

The Second Trimester

Between our visitors and travel, the second trimester flew by! I felt great throughout, which was appreciated as we were busy.  We've started researching hospitals and birthing classes and are now overwhelmed by all of the things we have to do before Baby Maximus comes, but we're excited and anxious to meet our little guy.  I'm 27 weeks today, which, depending on who you ask, is the start of the third trimester, so here's a little recap of how the second trimester went.

Began the second trimester looking like this.  I miss those pants....

Week Fifteen: Other than my emotions and hormones being out of control and having a few nights of not so great sleep, I've felt great.  I can definitely tell a difference between the first and second trimester.

Week Sixteen:  Sleep has seemed to returned to it's normal state (hallelujah!), even though I'm still waking up to go to the bathroom at least twice a night.  I'm sure this is short lived, so I'm trying to embrace it and rest up. This was the week we found out we were having a boy!  Cue adding all the baby boys clothes to my Amazon registry and making a few purchases around the interwebs! We are so excited!  We also traveled this week and for the first time, I had to ask Mike to help carry my bag.  Running through an airport and carrying a bag left me a little dizzy and winded, so Mike gladly offered to carry my bags from here on out. I'm not the most fit person, but I like to think I can run through an airport while lugging a suitcase with the best of them, so this is just another sign of all of the changes going on.

Week Seventeen: Nothing too exciting or eventful.  I've been able to feel him move a little more regularly, which is exciting!



Week Eighteen: Uncle Mike and Aunt Anna came to visit!! Along with their visit came some serious back pain, but luckily it didn't prevent me from sight seeing.  It just made sleeping and sitting a little more difficult. It seemed to get better as the week progressed and by the end of the week, it was pretty much gone.



Week Nineteen: I've determined that Baby Maximus is taking after his cousin J.P. and is going to be a soccer player due to all of his moving and shaking!! I went to the doctor and everything looked good.  He was so much bigger than the last time we were there! His arms and legs are proportionate to the rest of his body, so he looks so much bigger! It would also explain why I no longer fit into any of my normal pants and maternity clothes are generally feeling so much more comfortable than my regular ones.  I had some serious pregnancy brain going on, which resulted in Mike getting hit on the head with the trunk of the car and me almost losing my wallet.  Luckily, Mike is a forgiving guy and we're both hoping that this pregnancy brain disappears with the arrival of Baby Maximus.

Look at those legs!

As our future president would say, he's yuuuuge!! Such a big boy!

Week Twenty:  Halfway!! Wow! I can't believe it! I feel like the first half flew by and the second half is super busy, so hopefully it will go by just as quickly.  I'm still feeling great and my baby bump is definitely making an appearance.  I found out that there is another Olmsted baby coming shortly after Baby Maximus, so it was fun to get to do some baby talk with a fellow mom-to-be this week.

Week Twenty One: Another week, another doctors appointment.  Luckily, Baby Maximus is growing right on schedule and there aren't any issues.  My doctor is a little worried since my sugar levels in my urine tests have been a little high a few times, but I'll do the Gestational Diabetes test the next time I go to the doctor.



Week Twenty Two: The week started out on a very exciting note because Mike was FINALLY able to feel Baby Maximus kick!  He said it just felt like I was flexing my (non-existent) abs, but a huge smile spread across his face and I was so happy that he could finally feel what I have been experiencing All. The. Time. for the past few weeks.  We headed to Sweden where we went dog sledding, played with reindeer and slept in bunk beds. I'm still feeling great, which Mike and I have both agreed is a huge blessing.  We've been able to do almost everything we did travel-wise pre-pregnancy.  Thanks Baby Maximus!   My pregnancy hormones mixed with missing the holidays have led to quite a few tears on my part, but I think that was to be expected.  Here's to being a grinch and just kind of wishing Christmas would come and go so hopefully the tears will stop and I can resume being my normal, overly emotional pregnant self.



Week Twenty Three: We spent Christmas weekend exploring the Baltics, which was a good way to "skip Christmas."  We also had our second big ultrasound, which showed a healthy baby boy to much of our relief.  He's growing on schedule and everything seems to be developing as it should.  We were able to see some 4D scans which led us to believe he may have a big nose, but we think he's the cutest baby in Berlin.  We may or may not be a little biased.  I woke up one night with a Charley Horse in both of my legs, which was not fun, but other than that, I've felt pretty good. I've slept great and been able to work out, although it's not quite as easy as it used to be.



Week Twenty Four: Happy New Year little guy! All three of us rung in the new year in Berlin! We had lots of fun experiencing a true Berlin New Years. I've felt pretty good besides one dizzy spell late on New Years where I think I was just tired.  I went to my doctor for my monthly checkup and for the gestational diabetes test.  Whoever said that stuff didn't taste good was wrong! I thought it tasted delicious!  Baby Maximus is looking great and we're still waiting on the results of the diabetes test.

Look who popped overnight! I feel like just this week I've gotten so much bigger! I'm definitely not complaining though.  I'm enjoying this stage of being pregnant for sure.

Week Twenty Five: No news is good news when it comes to the diabetes test and we've made it over a week with no phone call! Hooray! I'm celebrating by continuing to eat anything and everything remotely sweet.   It also became quite apparent that my ability to travel and keep up like I used to be able to is no longer possible.  I found myself huffing and puffing up the hills of Lisbon and needing a siesta around 4:00 every day.  I definitely have "popped" and Mike just keeps saying "You're so pregnant! I love it!" 

Week Twenty Six: The week started off with a cancelled trip and a very sick Mike. While Mike was sleeping, I was googling "mono while pregnant" and "tonsillitis while pregnant," neither of which resulted in me being very happy, all while eating clementines and drinking orange juice (which proceeded to give me minor heart burn).  Luckily, I've managed to fend off any major illness and only ever developed a common cold.  We've spent a lot of time hanging around on the couch, which Baby Maximus has taken advantage of and has been kicking up a storm.

LuLaRoe Tall and Curvy leggings make the best maternity leggings! So soft!

Weight Gain: 12 pounds total.  A true miracle considering how much (sweets) I eat!


Food aversions and cravings: Sweets. I want them all.  Hahaha.  It's more just that I have a sweet tooth already and have let myself indulge a little bit more than usual.  Peanut butter by the spoonful has also been added to my almost daily diet.  I just opened my last jar of peanut butter and had a minor panic attack realizing this had to last me 14 weeks through this pregnancy. I haven't had any of those "run out to the store in the middle of the night" cravings, though.  And no food aversions! Hooray!

Gender guesses:  Our guess was right! It's a boy!

Baby Related Purchases: Black Friday was all about Baby Maximus! We bought clothes, bibs, and hats galore.  The biggest purchase from myself is the Wildbird Sling, which I am so excited to use.  Next trimester, I'm having my baby shower and then we'll make a few purchases of anything not purchased off our Amazon registry.  We've already been showered with lots of gifts for the little guy from grandparents and friends, so there's really no reason to do a lot of buying yet, but it's just so fun!


Overall, I feel great. I definitely get tired more easily, which is to be expected.  When we're traveling, I can pretty much count on being done by around 4:00pm. I've definitely also had some emotional moments where I've let out the exclamation of "I don't even know why I'm crying!" but nothing was as extreme or as terrible as the horror stories I've read online.   While I never felt terrible during my first trimester, the second has definitely been much more enjoyable.

"I'm not going to lie, you being pregnant is pretty cool." -Mike one night after feeling Baby Maximus give a nice big double kick.  What a guy!