Sunday, May 03, 2009

A Shower for the Mogrunt

In Gestation News:
As of Friday, May 1, I am 34 weeks pregnant - which means that I have approximately 6 weeks to go - give or take.

I'm feeling well, except for the swelling in my feet and hands. I'm combatting these two things with maternity compression stockings and physiotherapy. The compression stockings are wonderful but warm. Everything is warm these days. I'm so glad that I'm not due in August. I think we'd have to buy a wading pool and keep it filled with ice.

At my last appointment, my doctor told me that the baby has "assumed the position" - i.e. his head is down. This is both exciting and a little intimidating. Hard to imagine being intimidated by a tiny person... but like I've been telling everyone:

Being pregnant is a bit like building a boat in your basement - After a while you start to wonder how the heck you're going to get it out of there without wrecking the place.


The Shower:
On April 18th, my wonderful friends threw a baby shower for us. As the friends who were planning the shower either live outside the city or they have cats which they refuse to shave (I'm allergic), they crashed my house and took over my kitchen.

One of them decided that it would be a good idea to highlight my girth - in case there was any question as to what we were celebrating:

Shortly before I threatened to strangle my friend


I'm happy to say that she survived the tumble down the basement stairs and will be back at work in a few months.

People and food started arriving:

The ladies



More of the table o food



Babies were cuddled:

Snorgling the Girl



Some even managed to knit and snuggle:

Awwww



Cupcakes were eaten - I have some photos that show a few of us with "nom-nom" faces, but it's just not nice to share those - and PRESENTS WERE OPENED. The Mogrunt is already very, very spoiled:

Shower gifts


If you go to my Flickr page, you can see the details on the presents. Not shown: baby papasan chair, high chair, playpen, lots of hand-me-downs, and clothes that were drying on the line the day I took this photo. Also not shown - a couple of presents that arrived after the shower, which I will post later.

There were, of course, some beautifully knitted items:

Edmund


Edmund the Elephant - made by J from KOL.

Knitted goodies


The blanket, the fishy hat and the sweet baby cap were all made by Deb. Wow. That's all I can say, just wow. The bear (which has bells in it) was made by a very sweet lady from home.

And there was even a promise of MORE to come:

Sox in a box


Socks in a box from Jen!

The most surprising gift of the day was when four very special guests arrived:

SURPRISE!


That's my dad on the right, I'm hugging my SM and that's P - also known as Mommy P. Not shown, P's husband R - who was just outside on the step, probably protecting his ears from my screams of excitement.

When I had told my SM about the shower, she said that they weren't sure if they could make it as Dad was scheduled to work that weekend. Turns out, the stinkers had formulated their plans to crash the shower when they were in Florida together. I hadn't seen my dad and SM since they visited in February, so this was a great surprise. I'm so glad that they came. (Another dear friend, Mommy B, had intended to come as well, but her grandson was in the hospital. All is well with him now, but it was quite a scare.)

My Dad did a little shopping at a sporting goods store in the States called "Cabela". Seems he wants to ensure that his grandson starts his hunting career early. Maybe a little too early:

The Answer to "How did you misplace the baby?"



He's even got a hat, which thankfully states that he will only be hunting for hugs. You don't need a firearms license for that:

Hunting for Hugs


If anyone asks how we misplaced the baby, these photos will serve as the answer.

At the end of the day I felt very, very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

Thankful
These last 7+ months have had their ups and downs. I've been missing my mom a whole lot. April 30th marked 12 years since she died and while I try not to dwell on the fact that she's gone, and instead try to focus on the time that we did have and the way that she impacted my life and the lives of so many people, this year is just a little harder. There are things I need to do on my own that I imagine she would have helped me with.

Andrew has been wonderful through all of this, but he understands that some things are just not the same. This year has been difficult for him too - his mom has Alzheimer's Disease and while she knows and is excited about the baby, she's not able to do the things we know she would love to do.

In some ways, it seems that the two of us have been dealt a really bad hand when it comes to our moms. In other ways, we realize how fortunate we are:

We not only have amazing families, but we also have wonderful friends. (Did you see the presents?) I'm quite sure that our mothers have had a role in that. Andrew's mom has, over the years, shown kindness and compassion to so many people who are now turning it around and showing kindness and compassion to her and to her family.

I can't help but think that my mom has helped me to find the right people to be in my life right now. How else would I have hooked up with a bunch of cloth-diaper-using, breast-feeding knitting moms as well as my amazing work-friends who do crazy things like sniff the Mogrunt's "bum" (my belly button) almost every morning and say hi to him while I stand there trying not to laugh? Friends who arrive at showers with Rock-star banks, and epsom salts and tote bags for wet diapers and nursing pads and $ for a dinner out with Andrew... all the things I hadn't thought of.

I think she's looking out for me as much as all of you are.

So, thank you. Thank you to all my wonderful friends and family. I don't think we could do this without all of you.


xoxoxo

Steph, Andrew and the Mogrunt

12 comments:

  1. kisses hugs more kissses a bigger hug..
    Sorry I wasn't there to share in the fun and love.
    One of these days....

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  2. *sniff sniff*

    I feel pretty lucky to have you too.

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  3. Mini-cupcakes and decorative fruit arrangements...you do have good people in your life. Take it easy these last few weeks.

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  4. Anonymous9:36 a.m.

    Wow, you look so great, and what an awesome shower!

    Charlene (and Mac)

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  5. You look so darling! And it looks like you have wonderful friends to celebrate with.

    I'm sure your mom is right there with you.

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  6. cupcakes! you look amazing. and it is no accident that you have wonderful friends and family to treat you and the mogrunt so well.

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  7. I'm sure your mom is right there with you, too.

    Hugs to you!!! You look FANTASTIC!!!

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  8. Aw that was a great post...I'm tearing up. Um you only have six weeks to go??? That's crazy talk! You are gonna do great and I can't wait to see mogrunt model all of those great presents. Will be sending lots of happy birthing vibes from down under!!! oooxxx

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  9. Me again. Just had to come back and say that I loved your 'boat in the basement' analogy. I told the hubby that one and we both laughed mightily.

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  10. Sounds like this baby is already very love and highly anticipated! The food and gifts look awesome. Hugs to you and I bet your Mom is looking down on you with a big wide smile of pride and love.

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  11. I think we're the ones who are blessed, and most certainly grateful, to have you guys in our lives.

    You do realize however, that some day mogrunt will want to know why weird aunt T. always writes "Happy Birthday Stinky Bum" on his cards. :)

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  12. looks like a fabulous event. living in rural nb, i've got to say that the cabelas baby gear is AMAZING! (no - my kids aren't allowed to wear camo as everyday wear... it's just for "special".)

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