DOWN - Swelling continues. Grumpiness with my aches and pains continue. Not wanting to focus at work alternating with being totally engrossed at work continues. Sadness that the pregnancy is almost over continues (is that weird - that I WANT it to be over and DON'T want it to be over at the same time???)
Also, having trouble breathing. Feels like asthma but think I'm just running out of room! Oh, and I'm starving all the time but if I eat more than like an apple sized portion, I have mega heartburn and want to barf.
UP - We went to Buy Buy Baby and purchased a coming-home outfit! It's one of the few outfits we've actually purchased ourselves and it's SO CUTE. We also picked up a few other "necessitites"...like a kit to make a mold of Peanut's foot when he's so tiny...and a few of our favorite books (Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Love You Forever, Mother Goose)...a 'first fish tank' with a fabric / plastic bowl and fish and crabs and stuff...you know stuff we NEED.
(Sheesh. We don't even have the car seat yet but this was way more fun! And we're waiting for our completion coupon discount for 15% to buy that, so we're golden. Right?!)
Jeff's mom was an elementary librarian mother, and my mom was, well my mom - we both LOVED books as kids and have a tons of fond memories reading, being read to, looking at books...I guess if we have a propensity to go overboard with something, books are an ok thing to do it with? (Versus video games for a baby???)
DOWN and UP - The weather was GORGEOUS this weekend. I went to my camper like 3 times and opened the door and wished I was out in it all day...I want to ENJOY this weather!!!!!!!!!!
But I'm sure it would be way too hard to sleep in the queen bed and rough it for a weekend at this point. I really want to hike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I can barely walk from the parking lot into work without having to pee.
Or getting kicked in the pelvis-ish area. I guess I will just have to wait until May?
Monday, January 27, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Prepared Childbirth and Car Trouble
Last weekend we spent 6 hours at a "Prepared Childbirth Class" at the hospital. We arrived at 9AM - there were supposed to be a few other couples, but it was just us, and one other nice lady. And the instructor.
The class covered A LOT. Everything from the physiology of what happens when the body delivers (with videos), to pain management techniques, to expectations in the hospital, to recovery and what to expect, to caring for a newborn while in the hospital, to cord blood banking (I won a Baby Bjorn from the salesperson), to breastfeeding and kangaroo care at the hospital, to a tour of labor and delivery and post-partum rooms............
We left around 3:30PM. Jeff looked at me a bit glassy eyed and said, "Mind blown."
Yeah. It was that good.
In any case, I "feel" more ready, at least for labor and delivery. I'm hoping for a natural childbirth and am ordering Hypnobabies home study to prepare and practice. My doctors and midwives are supportive of both medicated and natural births, and are on board with natural as long as everything is progressing ok. Hopefully Peanut stays on the good growth curve, keeps his head down (it is now), and everything goes well so I can avoid induction, Pitocin, drugs, surgery etc.
We are fully planning to trust my doctors and midwives though. Because WHO KNOWS what will happen, right? At the end of it, we just want a healthy baby and healthy mom!!!
On Sunday, we spent time with our friends who have a 9 month old. She had TONS of baby gear she is lending me - I had no idea she was going to do that, and feel SUPER prepared gear-wise now. She had a baby bassinet for the bedside, a swing, a Rock and Play sleeper, a playmat, and tons of clothes. I'm so, so grateful because although the nursery is about done, we don't have much else ready! We are supposed to get our 'fulfillment coupons' soon but I'm starting to get anxious we don't even have the car seat purchased yet.
And her generosity came just in the nick of time because my car's OH SHIT lights came on (you know, the one that says 'pull over and turn off engine immediately')...a complete head gasket replacements required, and no longer covered by warranty. The warranty on my car ran out 4 months ago, even though it doesn't have 100K miles on it yet (only 60K). It was going to be almost $3000 out of pocket.
I asked the dealership if there was ANYTHING they could do to make it cheaper since we were so close to warranty...looks like our repair will be split with this special program they have and will be around $1200 instead. Still a lot of money, but way better than over double that! They only crappy part is it will be at least a week in the shop to repair it, so we will have to share the Acadia.
Anyway, getting all that baby gear on loan has freed up cash to be able to pay for the car repair. I am a grateful cookie this week.
The class covered A LOT. Everything from the physiology of what happens when the body delivers (with videos), to pain management techniques, to expectations in the hospital, to recovery and what to expect, to caring for a newborn while in the hospital, to cord blood banking (I won a Baby Bjorn from the salesperson), to breastfeeding and kangaroo care at the hospital, to a tour of labor and delivery and post-partum rooms............
We left around 3:30PM. Jeff looked at me a bit glassy eyed and said, "Mind blown."
Yeah. It was that good.
In any case, I "feel" more ready, at least for labor and delivery. I'm hoping for a natural childbirth and am ordering Hypnobabies home study to prepare and practice. My doctors and midwives are supportive of both medicated and natural births, and are on board with natural as long as everything is progressing ok. Hopefully Peanut stays on the good growth curve, keeps his head down (it is now), and everything goes well so I can avoid induction, Pitocin, drugs, surgery etc.
We are fully planning to trust my doctors and midwives though. Because WHO KNOWS what will happen, right? At the end of it, we just want a healthy baby and healthy mom!!!
On Sunday, we spent time with our friends who have a 9 month old. She had TONS of baby gear she is lending me - I had no idea she was going to do that, and feel SUPER prepared gear-wise now. She had a baby bassinet for the bedside, a swing, a Rock and Play sleeper, a playmat, and tons of clothes. I'm so, so grateful because although the nursery is about done, we don't have much else ready! We are supposed to get our 'fulfillment coupons' soon but I'm starting to get anxious we don't even have the car seat purchased yet.
And her generosity came just in the nick of time because my car's OH SHIT lights came on (you know, the one that says 'pull over and turn off engine immediately')...a complete head gasket replacements required, and no longer covered by warranty. The warranty on my car ran out 4 months ago, even though it doesn't have 100K miles on it yet (only 60K). It was going to be almost $3000 out of pocket.
I asked the dealership if there was ANYTHING they could do to make it cheaper since we were so close to warranty...looks like our repair will be split with this special program they have and will be around $1200 instead. Still a lot of money, but way better than over double that! They only crappy part is it will be at least a week in the shop to repair it, so we will have to share the Acadia.
Anyway, getting all that baby gear on loan has freed up cash to be able to pay for the car repair. I am a grateful cookie this week.
32 weeks - Ups and Downs
UP - Peanut had a HUGE growth spurt! After my ultrasound this morning, he is in the 11th percentile - but most impressively gained almost an entire pound in 2 weeks! Mama gained two pounds (not sure how that works)...
Anyway, so now we don't have to monitor again via ultrasound for another 4 weeks (36 weeks)...and then I will be almost done...wow, I cannot believe how fast everything is going.
DOWN - I peed myself last night. Just a little, but still! I was reclining in my favorite chair, in jammies, and started coughing from water going down the wrong pipe.
Something about the angle, plus the baby pressure, plus a little bit of needing to go potty...leakage. YUCK. At least I was at home to clean up and change!
UP - we ordered one of the final things (a book rack) for the nursery. I can't wait to hang it and everything else, and load up the bookshelves with cute baby stuff.
We also bought some baby hangers so I can get clothes organized! I have everything loaded up in the dresser but it's not working for me - I can't seem to find anything.
DOWN - It has been FREEZING!!! They even cancelled school one day, for threat of ice / rain. Normally, being so cold is not too bad for me because it's so short lived here in Georgia.
Even so...none of my winter coats button up! I have a tie belt on one of them that is for "fashion" but this week it was for "function". Brrrrr............
Anyway, so now we don't have to monitor again via ultrasound for another 4 weeks (36 weeks)...and then I will be almost done...wow, I cannot believe how fast everything is going.
DOWN - I peed myself last night. Just a little, but still! I was reclining in my favorite chair, in jammies, and started coughing from water going down the wrong pipe.
Something about the angle, plus the baby pressure, plus a little bit of needing to go potty...leakage. YUCK. At least I was at home to clean up and change!
UP - we ordered one of the final things (a book rack) for the nursery. I can't wait to hang it and everything else, and load up the bookshelves with cute baby stuff.
We also bought some baby hangers so I can get clothes organized! I have everything loaded up in the dresser but it's not working for me - I can't seem to find anything.
DOWN - It has been FREEZING!!! They even cancelled school one day, for threat of ice / rain. Normally, being so cold is not too bad for me because it's so short lived here in Georgia.
Even so...none of my winter coats button up! I have a tie belt on one of them that is for "fashion" but this week it was for "function". Brrrrr............
Sunday, January 12, 2014
31 weeks - Ups and Downs
I forgot to take a picture for 31 weeks!!! Life is going super fast...
Ups - Yea! Happy New Year! We celebrated with Ryan Seacrest (like always) and I made it until 1AM!
Downs - Boo! Back to work! I love my job but lounging around is better!!
Ups - We finalized a lot of stuff on our registry - we made decisions on a lot of the "gear" we think we will need. We decided to register at Amazon primarily, with duplicates at Babies R Us as a physical store. Amazon has a great registry fulfillment coupon, plus we are planning on joining Amazon Mom (for diapers, etc) which gets even more savings, plus free shipping.
Downs - My shoes are starting to not fit...that kind of sucks. Hopefully my feet go back to normal later.
Ups - I "FINALLY" feel like I have a baby bump like all the time - not just in pregnancy clothes. It's taken me till the 3rd trimester to look pregnant-not-chubby, but hey it happened eventually :)
Ups - Yea! Happy New Year! We celebrated with Ryan Seacrest (like always) and I made it until 1AM!
Downs - Boo! Back to work! I love my job but lounging around is better!!
Ups - We finalized a lot of stuff on our registry - we made decisions on a lot of the "gear" we think we will need. We decided to register at Amazon primarily, with duplicates at Babies R Us as a physical store. Amazon has a great registry fulfillment coupon, plus we are planning on joining Amazon Mom (for diapers, etc) which gets even more savings, plus free shipping.
Downs - My shoes are starting to not fit...that kind of sucks. Hopefully my feet go back to normal later.
Ups - I "FINALLY" feel like I have a baby bump like all the time - not just in pregnancy clothes. It's taken me till the 3rd trimester to look pregnant-not-chubby, but hey it happened eventually :)
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Redecorating
My mom has been so so so helpful in finishing our home. We recently turned our former dining room into the fish tank sitting room (who uses a formal dining room anyway?).
Jeff got a new saltwater fish tank probably about 2 years ago and we have been slowly getting the room ready. My mom said - and is right - we should do all of this kind of stuff before the baby comes.
So we have a new sofa, artwork, lamp, and rug...the rug is so soft, Peanut is going to love crawling on it.
I've already taken MANY naps on the sofa. It's great.
And it's so relaxing to have a room to watch the fish. This room is also right next to the office where Jeff spends a lot of time, so we decompress together while I sit on the sofa and he is at the computer desk.
We also FINALLY got a new dining room set, just in time for Christmas dinner!
Our old set was purchased - used - in Rapid City, before we were married (and when we were still in college)...so well over 10 years ago. The chairs had been reinforced but one was a little lopsy. The tabletop had some stains on it. But it served us well. AND I re-sold it on Craigslist for probably half what I paid originally. Not bad!
Our house is almost ready...we still need to purchase some kind of storage / flat top item to put all our downstairs baby stuff (like bath and diapers and clothes). Our main floor has only one closet - the coat closet by the back door - and we have no place to put anything! I think we found something at Target that will work for now, but we are going to keep looking a bit...but you can't argue with Target prices, especially for something you're not sure you will need long-term.
Our house is almost ready...we still need to purchase some kind of storage / flat top item to put all our downstairs baby stuff (like bath and diapers and clothes). Our main floor has only one closet - the coat closet by the back door - and we have no place to put anything! I think we found something at Target that will work for now, but we are going to keep looking a bit...but you can't argue with Target prices, especially for something you're not sure you will need long-term.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
30 weeks - Christmas!
My mom and sister came to the ultrasound with Jeff and me during Christmas week. I was so glad they were able to share in the excitement!!! Usually having family so far means they miss out on this stuff, so I was really grateful.
I continue to get weekly ultrasounds to monitor baby's growth - he is definitely "intra uterine growth restricted" or "IUGR", which means he is small and lower than the 10th percentile of growth for gestational age.
However, even though he's small, he's still plugging along the growth curve, right around 7th to 8th percentile. All of his bio markers check out as well - cord blood pressure, movement, practice breathing, amniotic fluid - so he's doing great!
Our ultrasound tech (who I love) was really good about trying to get Peanut to move around so we could see different things.
We could see him wiggling, turning, kicking, practice breathing, heart beating...and when she zoomed on his face we saw him wiggle, then YAWNED a big ole yawn!
The fact that Peanut is a BABY (and not just blobs on the screen) became real for Jeff in that moment. I'm pretty sure Jeff fell in love with him right then. It was really cool to watch that happen.
Now, the normal ups and downs list:
UPS - Christmas hike was ACCOMPLISHED although SLOW for me. I seriously thought he might drop out of my you-know-what at certain points, but I'm glad we did it.
DOWNS - My feet and ankles are starting to swell more by the end of the day. And my skin is getting so dry!
UPS - Christmas break was REALLY good for napping. So grateful. Wish I could do it every day.
DOWNS - My hips are really starting to hurt more when I try to flip around in bed, and when I get up. I have to shuffle-step my way to the bathroom REALLY slowly (3-4 times a night) before my legs work properly.
That's it for now!
Friday, January 3, 2014
Justin Timberlake is even more awesome...at 29 weeks
Best. Concert. Experience. Ever.
Jeff and I had purchased tickets way back in May to see Justin Timberlake the Tuesday before Christmas...wayyy before we were pregnant.
As many of you probably know, we are both superfans of JT. Seriously. We watched the last tour DVD at Madison Square Garden maybe a hundred times. He's such a great entertainer.
And - this concert did NOT disappoint! Quite possibly the best "show", and definitely the best "sound quality" I have ever experienced at a concert. The music quality was everything you always hope a concert will be, but never quite is (something fuzzes out, wrong note, weird rhythm, etc).
And it turns out, babies LOVE loud music with bass :)...they dance and dance and dance. (Waiting in the infamous ladies' room line is not so cool when pregnant though. Just FYI.)
Anyway, I can home from work early to get gussied up - at 29 weeks its getting harder to feel cute! But I put on my fanciest pregnancy clothes and away we went :)
The show opened with a super awesome DJ warming up the crowd.
Then...there he was.
JT interspersed some oldies (our favorites) with the new tracks (which are becoming favorites). It was cool too because familiar songs morphed into new songs and vice versa - nothing sounded 100% like it does on the album, which I think is really neat.
The outfits were - of course - suits and ties (designed by Tom Ford). Even the women dancers had girly-ish versions of suits for several costumes.
Speaking of, the 'other' stuff on stage was amazing - six backup dancers that were almost as fun to watch as JT, 4 backup singers that were amazing in their own right and had their own choreography, and a freaking full band, including horns and a bunch of other instruments...I think the only band member who did not have some choreography was the drummer!
Here's the set list...
Pusher Love Girl
Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)
Rock Your Body
Don't Hold the Wall
FutureSex/LoveSound
Like I Love You
My Love
TKO
Strawberry Bubblegum
Summer Love
LoveStoned
Until the End of Time
Holy Grail
Cry Me a River
Intermission
Only When I Walk Away with HOLY LASERS, so crazy cool
True Blood
Drink You Away
Tunnel Vision
Señorita
Let the Groove Get In - the stage started MOVING! These songs were all played at the back "VIP" area of the arena.
That Girl
Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley cover)
Not a Bad Thing
Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover) that we all sang along to with all the lights on
What Goes Around... Comes Around - who does NOT like this song? No one.
Cabaret
Take Back the Night / Jungle Boogie (Kool & The Gang cover) - the stage moved to the front of the arena
Murder
Poison (Bell Biv DeVoe cover) - quite possibly the coolest homage ever
Suit & Tie
SexyBack
Mirrors
No encore - but I kind of liked it that way. It totally played into the theatrics of the night...it was a SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And worth every penny :)
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Welcome 2014!
I'm excited. This year is gonna be awesome. I have been saying that every year for a really long time now, but I believe it every year! And its almost always true :)
I have a tendency to be a bit pessimistic but about short term, specific things. Maybe that's realism. I don't know. Because for long term life stuff, I typically feel like it will all work out like its supposed to! And I just know 2014 will be no exception.
To say goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014, Jeff and I got dressed up...in jammies. We prepared our traditional chicken and cheese quesedillas, and frosted some cutout cookie snowmen.
We settled in to watch Ryan Seacrest, and flipped back and forth between New Years Rockin Eve and a show about Sturgis bike week on the Travel Channel.
At midnight we clinked our glasses (prosecco for Jeff, Lacroix and OJ for me), kissed, and danced...I'm so lucky to have my best friend share my life.
To 2014!
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