No Baby Yet!

I know it’s only August 3rd and I’m only one day “past” my estimated due date, but I was hoping Baby Minton was going to be here by now.  The anticipation is killing me…how about you?

Heading to the OB to see Dr. Johnson this morning.  Not sure what they are going to do today, but they told me that I should plan on being there for 40+ minutes.  I’m hoping that I come home with some good news.  If I’m still dilated to only 1cm, it’s going to be a long two weeks!

Our “new” rental house

We signed a lease on a “new” rental house today in Livonia.  It’s South of Plymouth and East of Merriman.  To give you a better idea of the location, here’s the distance between the house and my parents home.

I saw the house on Craigslist and responded to the ad within an hour of the posting going up.  By 7pm that night I had yet to hear anything back so Mike and drove around the neighborhood where it was located as I could see a For Rent sign in the front yard.  We found the house and I called immediately.  I was there the next morning to check it out and I fell in love with it.  Two days later, we signed the lease and we can move in anytime.

If you’re wondering what the house looks like, you’re in luck.  When we signed the lease today, I took some pictures.

This is of course the front of the house.  It has nice landscaping, but will be extremely low maintenance, which is great for us as I figure between the dogs and the baby we’ll have our hands full!

Here’s a look at the front room.  The whole house has hardwood floors except for the kitchen and bathroom, which is fantastic.  I didn’t take a picture of the bedroom, but they are all decently sized and my home office will be right off the kitchen.

Here’s a picture of the recently updated kitchen.  The cabinets are new and the granite counter tops are beautiful, plus all of the appliances are new.

One of the criteria that was most important to us in selecting a home was a fenced in backyard for the dogs.  While they’ve been to the house, they have experienced this new paradise yet!

Last but not least, here’s the bathroom.  Mike and I make a quick trip to Target today to pick up a few things, one of which was a new shower curtain.  Looks good, doesn’t it?

Can’t wait to have everyone over to see the house.  Our plan is to start moving our stuff in now and then get settled over the next two or so weeks.  A lot of our planning is dependent on when the little guy decides to show up.

The Dogs Dig Michigan

It’s been a big adjustment for the dogs living in Michigan.  They went from having a large fenced in yard with a dog run and doggie door to a backyard filled with flowers that they need to avoid.  We’ve been diligent in taking them to Jaycee Park to run around and do their business which is good exercise for both them and us, but I will say that the highlight of their evenings is sitting out on the back patio chillin’.

Here’s some pictures of them from a week or so ago.

Swollen feet…OUCH!

I really shouldn’t be complaining as my pregnancy has been relatively easy so far.  I didn’t have morning sickness and I haven’t had any chronic back pains or weight issues, but within the last two weeks I’ve definitely started to slow down.

One because my belly has gotten bigger and Two because by the end of the day my feet and ankles start to swell up.  Mike’s been good about rubbing them for me, but they get sore and throb after a long day.  I know I should be better about keeping them elevated, but there still so much left to do…like pack my hospital bag!

39 Weeks Down…

And hopefully less than one to go???

My due date is less than 5 days away, but I have a feeling that Baby Minton isn’t ready to make make his grand debut just yet.

This week at my OB appointment Dr. Johnson did an internal exam to see whether my cervix has started ripening.  Unfortunately there were no changes from last week, it was still hard and I am only dilated to 1cm.  At this point, if I go past my due date, I will go in for some fetal testing (probably a sonogram)  to ensure that it’s safe to continue the pregnancy.  If I don’t go into labor on your own, they may decide to induce labor once I reach one and two weeks overdue.

So what’s Baby Minton up to this week? He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it’s likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon.

Moving Snapshots

I guess it’s been a while since the last time I downloaded pictures off on my camera as I recently found these from our move from Denver back to Michigan.

Here’s Karmel trying to “hide” before the big move.  Surprisingly both him and Kali survived the trip back to Livonia without any issues.  I thought that the plane ride would be traumatizing for them, but they hardly cried or meowed.

 Here’s a look inside the first Budget Truck that we rented before we loaded it up.  I don’t have a picture of the second truck (fortunately!) as Mike was the only one who flew back to Denver to get the second load.

 Here’s a look at some of the boxes we had packed up and ready to go.  I’ve never been to Home Depot or U-Haul so many times.  It seems like we always needed one or two more boxes…

Dakota and Guinness both survived the LONG drive from Denver to Livonia.  They slept most of the way and didn’t eat much.  I don’t think they are looking forward to another road trip like this anytime soon!

Finally you get to see Mike in the Budget Truck!  He looks happy here, but he wasn’t so happy when he couldn’t find a hotel at in NE that had availability and accepted dogs!

  Last but not least, here’s a picture of Mike leaving Denver pulling my Jeep behind Truck #1.

Our Blog Needs a New Name

I’ve officially been in Michigan for 23 days now, so it’s probably time to start thinking about changing the name of our blog.  Although seeing as we haven’t named our son yet and we found out 6 months ago that we were having a boy, maybe that’s just how it goes.  Now, before anyone freaks out…I’m not saying that the name of blog is anywhere as important as the name we choose for our child, but it does mean something.

The whole reason this came up again was because my co-worker Tom asked when we were going to update the name of the blog.  In discussing the update I mentioned that while I was on a short hiatus from blogging after the move, I was planning on jumping back in and that I might even blog from the hospital as they have wireless.  After mentioning that he responded with the following:

(12:48:31 PM) Tom Whittaker: I think it should be “1200 Miles West (and back): The Erin Quinn and Mike Minton story, as told by Erin Quinn”

Since I do a majority of the blogging, I couldn’t agree more!

Anyone else have any suggestions for what we should call the blog?  If so, please share.

My Pregnancy Weight Gain

If you’re wondering…I have gained more weight.  I’m up to about 22 or 23 pounds now, with most of that being added in the last 3-4 weeks.  It’s all in the front and it’s starting to weigh me down.  I guess I should count my blessings as I could have gained more, but 20+ pounds is enough for me…

I’m heading out to my 38 week OB appointment today.  I have a feeling that they’ll tell me to sit tight and continue waiting, but you never know.  With only 10 days left until my due date, I’m hoping Baby Minton decides that he’s ready to make his grand appearance!

Guinness and Dakota Go To School

Okay, it’s not really school, but they did have to take a test to get in and this morning we had to get them up extra early to get them ready to go. 

So where are they going?  Today is their first day at their new doggie day care.  They will be going to 4 Legged Friends here in Livonia.

Our plan is to take them once a week, more than likely it’ll be on Wednesday’s, so that they can get some exercise and also socialize with the other dogs.  Mike and I currently take them to Jaycee Park by my parents house at least two times a day to run and play, but I think they are missing playing with other dogs.  I’ll have to check them out on the web cam today to see how they are doing.

We absolutely loved taking Guinness and Dakota to Camp Bow Wow in Lodo when we lived in Denver and we would have taken them to another one here in Michigan had there been one near by, but there isn’t.  We’re hoping that they enjoy the staff and the facilities as much here in Livonia as we did in Denver.

Before we left Denver in late June, Guinness and Dakota were voted Campers of the Month at CBW.  Here’s the excerpt from the newsletter announcing it:

Guinness and Dakota are our campers of the month for June! This pair is always ready for camp – they love playing with all their friends and each other. They are both very happy and loving lab mixes who love two and four-legged attention. Any activity is exciting for these two as they go eagerly to each new adventure.

I hope they have as much fun at their new doggie day care as they did in Denver!

My Due Date is 2 Weeks Away!

Baby Minton has really plumped up.  He more than likely weighs about 6.8 pounds and he’s probably over 19 1/2 inches long or the length of a leek.  He has a firm grasp, which we’ll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time!  His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Also, we have finished our birthing classes which gave us a great overview of what to expect as we prepare to head to the hospital.  What is driving me crazy is that I have no idea when that will be!  I’d like to deliver near (or on!) my due date, but as my OB back in Denver would say…only 5% of women deliver on their due date so good luck with that.

At this point I think I’m more excited then nervous.  I can’t wait to see what Baby Minton looks like.  Is he going to have brown eyes like me?  What color hair is he going to have and how much?  I guess we’ll have to wait and see…