Kristy Maute

Maute Moo Update – Week 36

I’m entering the final stretch of my pregnancy. It’s almost my “due month.” My doctors appointments will now be weekly. Our doulas came and meet with us to finalize all the details of our delivery. I’m in the process of filling out all my maternity level and FMLA paper work. We are pre-registering at the hospital. Although I’m anxious to meet Chet and I’m getting more uncomfortable by the day, I really just want him to keep cooking for a few more weeks. These last few weeks are crucial leading up Chet’s birth day. He’s storing up antibodies to help support his immune system until my milk supply is established. He’s doubling his fat percentage. All the important little details that so often get over looked are happening right now in my baby. Although his lungs and other organs are strong enough to support him in the real world, he is busy working on many developmental milestones that can make breastfeeding more successful, that can allow him to bond more easily, and will prepare him to be ready for the real world. Right now I like knowing he is safe inside my belly.

Although I’d love to be able to tell everyone who is constantly asking me – Any day now, huh? – that he is due any day now, I really want him to stay put until he decides he is ready for us.

Thanks to my nesting, the outside world is almost ready to meet Chet also. My to-do list is slowly shrinking, but there are some things left that I need to accomplish

Final nursery touches – hang art work and bamboo blinds
Order Cloth Diapers
Buy nursing accessories – breast pads, nursing bras, and nursing tank tops
Wash bedding and clothes up to 3 months
Install Car Seat
Get swing and bouncy seat ready
Get Moses basket from my sister

And then there is the Christmas list…I won’t even start listing those items. I have a lot to do, but I think we will get a good chunk of it done this weekend. Maybe this year I can talk Christian into going to a tree farm to cut down a tree!!!!

I still trying to stay as active as possible in these last few weeks. I’m making an effort to do more exercises at home that will help prep me for labor. I can’t get enough yoga. It also feels great to get outside and walk. I know how important it is to go into labor feeling strong. Now is not to the time to let go of all my physical activity (both physically and mentally speaking!)

4 (ish) more weeks to go! These belly photos make me laugh each week. I don’t feel as big as I look in the photo although I do feel rather HUGE!

As of right now, I’m feeling incredibly relaxed and excited about giving birth to Chet. Inviting the doulas to join us in the delivery room was the best decision we have made this pregnancy. Although there are some choices I would definitely change IF we have another baby, the support, encouragement, and care we have received from our doulas would make me beg them to join us again and again. I really can not wait to experience child-birth with the support of Christian.

Now if I can just get my ever-growing to-do lists tackled, I might be able to relax a bit.

Fun Full-Circle Story for you: Yesterday we got a piece of mail for the original owner of our house. We bought our house that was built in 1960 from the original owners last year. The husband passed away in the 80s. We’ve seen the wife’s name hundreds of time but never the husband’s name. Guess what his name was? Chet! I love carrying on the name in their family home!

A weekend to be Thankful for…

After this weekend, I’ve decided that we should all work 3 day work weeks and enjoy 4 day weekends. I got so much accomplished this weekend, and I was able to relax and enjoy family.

Top 5 reasons for giving thanks this weekend:

#1 – My Aunt! She flew in from St. Louis to spend Thanksgiving with us. She is currently battling breast cancer that has spread to her liver and her bones. If you are looking for strength in life, she is full of it. She had chemotherapy on Tuesday, and she got on plane Wednesday to see us. I think of her as a sister not an aunt, so it was so great sharing time with her this weekend. We laughed. We talked. We talked about her cancer and her thoughts about everything that is going on. It is so great to be able to have these conversations in person. Over the telephone and email just don’t do them justice. We went out to see live music. Although it wasn’t are normal “get into trouble” mood, it was so great having her energy fill the room. There is something so refreshing about being around someone who just doesn’t give a damn! I love it!

#2 – My hubby! I know how much I love my husband. I know how great it is to share life with him. As we enter each new phase of our relationship, my appreciation of him always intensifies. He’s tackling my to-do lists. He’s eagerly attending birthing classes. He wants to be at every doctor’s appointment. He’s absorbed more knowledge then I have about the entire process. I don’t think he has thought about himself once during my entire pregnancy. He’s always making sure he is supporting me in whatever way I need him to support me. I’m really excited to experience the birth of our child with him.

#3 – Cole Monster! I feel like I’ve watched him grow up this year. He’s gone from being little Cole to a miniature adult. He’s loving school this year (thank goodness for amazing teachers who help students find what they are good at in the classroom!!!). He’s really turning into his own person – a person I’m very proud to be associated with.

#4 – Chet (poor kid needs a nickname besides Maute Moo!) – In the past 8 months, the baby inside my belly has added a whole new level of love to our family!!! It’s truly amazing to watch and experience. I feel so lucky that I’m able to carry him inside of me, that I’m able to bring him into this world, and that I can raise him side by side with Christian.

#5 – Support Systems! – This one is new for me. I’m learning, I promise! I’m thankful for family that lives so close. I’m thankful for in-laws I love. I’m thankful for a healthy marriage. I’m thankful for finding two amazing doula’s who have educated us and support our journey to have a natural birth. I’m thankful for friends I’ve met a long the way – old ones who have stood by me and new ones who lead lives that are inspiring to me. I’m thankful for the small pockets of authenticity I’ve found in this city that allow me to grow through running and yoga.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Weekend! (Why didn’t I take more pictures?)

Soup-er Sunday sponsored by my Super Husband

During our Thanksgiving clean-up, my mom asked if anybody wanted the ham hock to make ham hock soup. Christian immediately took her up on the offer. He has been slaving in away in the kitchen all day working on a soup of his creation. Thank you Amy and David for leaving it behind!

Last night he soaked the beans from a 15 bean soup pack. This morning he tackled the rest of the soup.

#1 Remove and Chop up Ham that remained on the ham hock

#2 Bring Beans, Ham, Ham Hock and a half a bag of split peas, and 2 quarts of water to a boil

#3 Simmer and cook for 3 hours (He skimmed the soup the entire time to remove some of the excess fat from the ham)

#4 Eat

So maybe he didn’t slave away in the kitchen all day, but he did take over soup-er sunday responsibilities. He also slaved away working on my long list of to-dos before Maute Moo makes his entrance into the world.

After reorganizing our entire house to make a kid cave and a baby room, our bedroom has slowly become a disaster. I’ve been working on Chet’s room, Cole’s room, the kid cave, and our family room office area. Our bedroom has been forgotten for the past few weeks, and it slowly given birth to a mess of its own. After today, the last room on our to-do list is done. Our bedroom is officially cleaned and organized including the closest. Christian moved around furniture for me. He packed up boxes of goodwill items. He even went through the pile of things that have existed on top of his dresser since we moved into our house. I washed our sheets, cleaned the ceiling fan, dusted the blinds, and vacuumed our mattress (tons of dog hair!).

This means……..(GASP!) Our entire house is now organized and cleaned. Bedrooms are done. Kid cave is done. Family room is done. Office corner is done. Closets are organized. Even our linen closet has been organized. The mission for the month of December is to maintain the organization in our house.

If my to-do list wasn’t long enough for our bedroom, Christian also washed both our cars today. My crazy pregnant brain wanted my car to be clean for the car ride to the hospital when I’m in labor. Cole was nice enough to help Christian with the cars, and I managed to help by vacuuming the inside of the car.

The boys rounded out the beautiful afternoon by playing football in the front yard. Alex even crashed the party for a while.

Another successful Sunday after a long weekend to be truly grateful for…….Thanksgiving, my Aunt’s visit, beautiful weather, a clean house, and a really awesome husband who doesn’t grumble (too much) when I make silly pregnant requests (like a clean car for a commute to the hospital).

30 days and exactly one calendar month until Chet’s due date! I’ve got baby on the brain!!!!

Maute Moo Update – Week 35

35 weeks! 35 days until my due date! Time is still flying by. Sometimes I really do forget that I’m pregnant and that we will have a baby home with us in less than 2 months. And then Chet kicks me in the ribs or pushes on my cervix or jabs me in the hips…….yes folks! I am having a baby!

Although I’m still uncomfortable, ready to have my body back, and achy, my energy levels are definitely higher than they were last week. I don’t feel like I could tip over and fall asleep at any point this week….well at least not from exhaustion. I might tip over because the belly is huge, and I’m incredibly clumsy now. I also feel like my entire body is starting to fold in on itself. I keep catching myself slouching and with a beautifully attractive hump back. Baby and Boobs are not helping with my posture.

Moment when I feel the most pregnant – Hands down, without a doubt, the moments in the middle of the night when I try to roll over. It is not exactly graceful. I’ve been calling it my 5-point turn, because it really does require me to move in sections so that I can flip over. Graceful, right?

Favorite pregnant moments – Hands down, without a doubt, the moments when Cole feels his brother move and talks softly to my belly. Cole got kicked in the face by his brother this past weekend. It was so cute to see him interact with his brother even though he is still in my belly. A very close second place goes to the moments when Christian feels his son move and talks not-so-softly to my belly. Although Christian loves Cole just as much as he loves Chet, I love witnessing Christian experiencing pregnancy and parenthood from the start. He dove right into parenting when Cole was 3, but there truly is something magical about pregnancy and the first few years.

Chet’s Nursery – It is just about done according to my standards. It is more than ready for a baby to come home though. I received the print I ordered yesterday. LOVE IT! I’m still searching out a frame. I’ve also got a fun idea for the quote I want in his room. I have one of Cole’s pieces of art work I want to frame and a few baskets to buy, and I am done decorating.

Latest Doctor’s Appointment – In an attempt to be non-dramatic about it, it was a disaster. I will never ever ever see that doctor again. EVER! (Please do not let her be on call when I go into labor!) She didn’t read my chart. She didn’t call me by my name. She didn’t know how far a long I was. She didn’t know if we were aware of the gender. She told me it’s impossible to locate the head and the butt at this point (and that it doesn’t matter). She didn’t tell me Chet’s heart rate until I asked. She didn’t tell me anything about my belly measurements until I asked. She rolled her eyes when I mentioned natural birth. She told me she has done this 100s of times, and there are things she knows that I don’t. She said if I want to move during delivery, she will let me sit on the edge of the bed. Good thing I’ve got my secret weapons….a very strong sense of how my birth should go (unless medical intervention is TRULY needed), an incredibly supportive husband, a birth plan that is supported by Sentara hospitals, and two amazing doulas. Maybe I do want her to be on call during my labor, so she can witness how amazing the birthing process can be. Needless to say, I did not like her at all. I also came up with all the responses and questions I wish I would have asked as I was taking the elevator back to the lobby. Why does that always happen? (Not too dramatic, right?)

~~Running~~ Walking – I’m moving and it feels good. I’ve thought about running, but it never happens. I’m quite content knowing that I will probably not run until post-Maute Moo. There is no point in being uncomfortable at this point.

This week has definitely been easier on me then last week. Working 3 days instead of 5 might have something to do with it. Having my Aunt come in town tomorrow is definitely helping. We have also managed to get a big chunk of our Christmas shopping done.

My attempt at a self-portrait! Christian is on his way to Max and Erma's to get me some chocolate chip cookies as I write this! I'm too sleepy to wait for him to get home to take one of me.

5 (ish) more weeks to go!!!!

Tonight we also had dinner with our friends Jimmy and Carrie. Carrie came with a bag full of baby goodies. She MADE the cutest bear blanket for Chet that is identical to the bear-bears Cole carried around with him for years. She had no idea how perfect her gift would be. It’s so perfect that Cole has temporarily claimed “Big Bear” as his own. All 3, Bear Bear, Other Bear Bear, and Big Bear are in bed with Cole tonight. I love it!!!!! And I still can’t believe she made Big Bear.

Happy Adoption Day!

One year ago, we rescued our dog Alex from Virginia Beach’s Animal Control. He was turned in by a family that said they could no longer take care of him because they had a baby. He was only 5 months old at the time? Last time I check, babies are made in less than 5 months. We think Alex was probably kept in a very small room in there house because he refused to enter our bathroom or laundry room for months after we brought him home.

Although he is a “dumb dog” and lacks simple doggy boundaries at time (my lap is not always available for him to sit on), he is a permanent member of our family. He truly is a family dog, and I feel very lucky to have found him. He’s Cole brother. They are best buds. I have no doubt he will love Chet too. He is so gentle with my 2-year-old niece. He is full of energy and loves to play, but he can be a good listener. He’s Christian’s skateboard buddy. He is my ~~annoying~~ running buddy.

I’m so glad we found him just in time for Thanksgiving last year.