My 27th Birthday and Final Moments of Pregnancy

This year was a very different kind of birthday. Not only was I turning a very uninteresting number (27), but I was also in my ninth month of pregnancy and very much so! Supposedly, I still had three more weeks of pregnancy before I could even consider Nicholas' arrival. Lucky for me-as my discomfort was increasing, Nicholas would arrive exactly one week from my actual birthday! A sort of belated birthday present. I didn't know that then, and was not really in the birthday celebrating mood. Both of our families, however, rallied together and gave me a great birthday party that I never will forget! It was almost like a second baby shower, and in a way a final celebration before the big day occurred. I definitely needed to get out of the house and this was exactly what the doctor ordered. The party took place on Sunday, April 14 at David and Carol's club house that they rented out for the day. It was a big barbeque with yummy food prepared by the whole family. I didn't realize this, but Chris even thought to invite friends of ours so it was a nice surprise to have Dana, Wendel, and Danny there! I had such a great time and I am so thankful for everyone for planning this event and coming together for my special day. Also, a big thank you to Chris who convinced me to not back out because I was too tired or didn't feel well. I love you honey!!
Here are some photos from the party:

 Posing for a picture with my Aunt Chris. You can't tell, but my ankles are so swollen!

 Group picture before blowing out the candles

Some homemade German Chocolate Cake complete with some cupcakes from Blue Bird Bake Shop. Yum!

During the party we conducted a baby pool to see when people thought the baby would arrive and how much he would weigh. Cindy arranged for the winner to receive Starbucks gift cards (yum!) as a prize for guessing. Here is a list of people's guesses for Nicholas along with the final outcome!:

Cindy Mayer

The following guesses were made at Laura's birthday party:
Ken: April 23, 8 lbs.
Carol: May 1, 9 lbs., 2 oz.
Dorrie: May 2, 7 lbs., 9 oz.
Marion: April 26, 8 lbs., 9 oz.
Ann: May 6, 8 lbs., 10 oz.

If you want to change your guess, please do so in a new post!

Cindy Mayer

My guess is April 30, 8 lbs., 8 oz.

Lisa Robinson

May 6th - 8lbs 3oz!

Drew Ranostaj

April 27th 7lbs even! : )

Debbie Kendler Leviten

May 8th. 7 pounds 3oz.

 

Patti Bengston Stewart

May 10 - 7lbs 14oz (laura's birth weight)

Craig Osekowski

May the 4th be with you! 8lbs, 9oz.

Chris Bengston Niblett

May 3rd which is Laura's Great Grandpa Nesom's birthday. 8 lbs even which was Kyle's birth weight

Angela Ditmore

Thanks for the invite Laura :)
I will guess May 6th 7lbs.1 oz
(mine and Jason's anniversary and ansley's birththweight)
SO excited for you and Chris!!!!

Michael J. Maitland

April 23rd 7lbs 7oz.

Wendel Clay

May 11 and 8lbs 7 oz...

Laura Elizabeth Maitland 8 lbs., 6 oz. April 24

Emily Bengston

May 3rd--date
7-lb. 14-oz.

Candace Holland

Cinco de Mayo and 8 lb. 7 oz. Can't wait to meet him :)

Katie O'Shea

I am going with May 4th ( iz birthday too) and 8lb 7 oz. come on Laura hold out for my date!

Carol Vandenbelt

May 1st... 9 pounds 2 oz

Chris Maitland

Not sure mine should count since I have insider information but I'm going with April 27th and 8lbs 6oz since mom already stole my 8lbs 8oz guess :-P

Nastasha Winniczuk

May 3, 8 lbs, 3oz!
Even though I don't enjoy odd numbers...05/03/13 8 lbs, 3 oz sounds better than what I originally wanted which was 05/02/13 8 lbs, 2 oz. :o) I'm weird.

Marion Maitland

I guessed 8lb. 90z. Sun. April 26. If that is taken, I'll take 8lbs.10 oz

Cindy Mayer

Some baby pool updates:

The earliest date picked is April 23 (by two out of the three Grandpas)
The latest date picked is May 11.
We have a tie for the most popular date: May 3 and May 6, with three people on each.
Dates that are still open: anything before April 23, plus April 25th and 28th. In May, open dates are: May 7th, 9th, and anything May 12th and beyond (and we are not wishing that on Laura!).

The lowest weight so far is 7 lbs. even,
The highest weight is 9 lbs., 2 oz.
The most popular weight is 8 lbs., 7 oz. with three people choosing it.

A few people have joined but not given a date or weight. You need to have a guess in to win!

We've had to come up with a tie breaker, since we have a few dates and weights with multiple people on them. In the event of a tie, the person who is the closest on both guesses gets a $15 gift card, the next closet a $10 gift card, and the third closest a $5 gift card. Since we have 3 people on the dates of May 3rd and May 6th, those dates are now closed. The same applies to choosing the weight at 8 lbs., 7 oz.

Here's a little trivia about Chris and Laura's births:

The doctor thought Chris was going to arrive a month early, but he was born 2 days after his due date. He weighted 7 lbs. 7 oz.

Laura was born 2 weeks after her due date, and weighed 7 lbs., 14 oz.

Not sure if this helps or not in your guesses, but it will be interesting to compare with Nicholas when the time comes!

 

Allison Allegood-Boyle

April 29 - 8lbs 13oz.

Lol I have no idea how much babies normally weigh..

Patti Bengston Stewart Trip Stewart weighed 8lbs 13oz - could happen 

Tanya Maitland

April 25th 9lbs 5oz

Beth Palma

7lb, 10 oz, April 30!

Ashley Arnhart

I'm going for 9 lbs! May 1st (and freakishly cute)

Ilea Trahan

I really want to see a current belly picture, so I can attempt to make a more accurate guess. Without that...my guess is May 7th BC I think May 4th is already taken...9 lbs, 1 and 1/4 ounces.
Here is my 'unofficial' welcome to the 9 pound club my love! ;-)

 

Mike Maitland

One dollar Bob!!!......um, uh, wait wrong game. How about April 29th and 8lbs. 9oz

Katie Burggraf

I'm going with April 28th and 8 lbs 5 oz :)

 

Trip Stewart

Yesterday and 14 Newtons.

 Somehow Trip won....don't ask me how!

 

Cindy Mayer

Ok, the final results on the baby pool.

For guessing the weight, Mike Sr. wins as he was the only person who posted 7 lbs., 7 oz. exactly.

For the birthdate guesses, Trip Stewart posted "yesterday" on Thursday 4/18, which put him in a three-way tie with Ken and Mike Sr. (they both chose 4/23), making them all within 3 days of the actual birth. Mike Sr. guessed the weight exactly which puts him in first place. Ken's guessed 8 lbs. on weight, which puts him in second, and Trip guessed "14 Newtons" which I calculate is between 3-4 lbs., making him third. Robert Stewart and Grandpa Nick had both given verbal guesses of 4/19, but didn't post them here, so they both earn honorable mention!

Gift cards will be sent out shortly! Thanks to everyone who participated, Chris and Laura got a real kick out of it!