The Valabek Family: Week 38

Hi lovely people!

:) Welcome to week 38!! As of today there are 12 days til little miss Ava Mae is due!!! So I think most of you know that at last weeks appointment I was put on bed rest (boo) for swelling. I may have overdone it a bit with the move and running around with 2 year olds and well it turned into 5 days of laying on my left side with my feet elevated above my heart. It wasn't terrible and I think I did pretty well on it. Mike did allow me to go to dinner for my sister's birthday on Saturday night and then to Nanny's house for a Labor Day BBQ...but other then that I was pretty much in bed. Ohhhhh and floating. I floated in our pool twice---once while the boys were installing a gutter on the back of the house. (Very nice work I might add so if you need gutters make sure you call Michael, Richie, and my dad! They are now professionals! see pictures below) Wow, i just read over that and it doesn't sound like I rested at all---but i promise, I did!! For dinner I just walked and sat down, floating actually feels great because you're weightless, and at Nanny's house i was in a lounge chair practically the whole time. Anyways, I must have done something right because I went to the doctors today and was taken off of full bed rest. He doesn't want me going back to work or overdoing it, but I lost most of the water weight and my poor little feet look practically normal now! :) He did however say that when i go back for my normal checkup on Thursday if I am swollen he will put me right back onto bed rest so I'm going to be good---i promise. :)

Hmmm...other then that not so much going on here. My poor noles lost last night. It was a good game until the end---and just so you know i don't want to talk abut it. I did drink root beer out of my NOLE beer koozie and painted my face. I was trying not to get all flustered because as good a birth story that would be (Your mom was 9 months pregnant, watching a NOLES/um game and cursing at the TV and all of a sudden her water broke....) I think it's a little cliche and silly to go into labor on LABOR day and hello that silly game would be stuck in my head forever.....sigh. Moving on.....GO NOLES!
Ohhh and Michael and I put together our bassinet and the pack n play---i'm not going to lie, seeing them in the rooms makes me sooooooo excited. :) I feel like if she were to come tomorrow she'd have places to sleep and i'd be ok. :)

Ohhhhhh and to everyone who has sent us presents---i promise that i'm not a complete slacker, but I can't find the thank you cards (the ones that are finished and the blank ones) and I feel terrible. Once i find them I will make sure that I send them out ASAP. And i know it's been 2 months since my shower, but things have been so hectic.....enough excuses, i'm sorry. :( LOVE YOU.

So what's up with Ava?!?!? :) Well babycenter.com says that she's about 6.8 lbs and 19 1/2 inches long. The doctor felt my stomach today and said that she feels like she's about 7 1/2 lbs to 8 lbs---so i'm thinking these babycenter.com updates are just silly at this point. We have our ultrasound on Thursday (last one--wow!) where we will find out a rough estimate of how big (or small) the little lady is. :) They do say that she has a firm grasp now....ughhhhh i can't wait to see her little hands!!!!!!!

So my friends here are the pictures!! A lot of fun stuff has happened in the past couple of weeks! :) Enjoy and I'll probably post again on Thursday to let everyone know what is going on with Ava!! :)

Love,

Rachel (and Mike)

As nole'd out as a preggo gets----nole butt shorts, nole ribbon. :)