Can you tell I am getting lazy?

Yup so now its Wednesday, which means I am officially 2 weeks behind on pics and 1.5 weeks behind on my blog, sorry world!  I get home these days and want to do nothing but sleep!  If my butt touches that couch or my head hits that pillow I am out like a light, heck the thought of going to Cold Stone last night barely got me off the couch once I started dozing off!

So I want to throw in some gripes this week so that once this baby is out and I think I miss being pregnant I can come back and remember all the fun stuff I am dealing with and be thankful I am not! So for this week I am going to do a lit of things I am NOT thankful for!

1. People giving their unsolicited advice on pregnancy/newborns

2. Swollen Feet & Ankles

3. Swollen Hands & Face

4. Lack of sleep do to not being able to get comfy

5. Heartburn (you can go and die!)

6. Feeling like a giant whale

7. My closet being filled with about 3 whole outfits I can still manage to fit my whaleself into

8. People staring at me anytime I go somewhere (yes I look 16, no I am not!)

9. The phrase "get your sleep now!" (um really b/c I can store it up and save it for later? oh no thats right b/c I am sleeping so wonderfully now & have been for the past 2 months!)

10. Getting asked EVERYWHERE I GO, "when are you due" "what are you having" "what is his name"....seriously cashier at sheetz do I know you? do you really need to know my personal history, you want my medical records too?

11. Being able to only comfortably wear 1 pair of shoes to work & 1 other pair any other time

12. Having the only question people ask me anymore is "how are you feeling" (like a fat cow with an alien in my stomach running on 2 hours of sleep, you?)

13. The feeling like my pelvic bone is about to rip into 2 along with my thighs

14. 2 Words : "Lightening Crotch"

Ok I will stop there :) Yes I am quite moody today and ready to be off of work for 6 weeks.  I have decided that at around 6 mo you should be qualified for disability and be able to not work!  The government pays people who are far less incapable to do nothing all day so why not help out a hard working tax paying citizen who is seriously disabled?

What really blows my mind is looking at other countires, with the exception of Australia we are the ONLY country that does not provide some sort of paid maternity leave, some countries even pay for the fathers to stay home!  It's sad that as such a strong country & world power that we cannot even do that.  I am grateful to have the 6 weeks off that I do, then I read online about moms in Canada and their 50 weeks paid! Makes me sick!

On another note lets get into the baby stuff as I am at work and no time to waste! (no this will not get done if I wait to do it at home lol)

Dear Little Man,

We are just 1.5 days shy of 37 weeks, you know what that means? Full term baby!! Woo! That means I am serving you eviction papers, in other words, I will be doing everything in my power to get you out! I am praying at my appointment Friday you have at least made some sort of progress from last week where I was a big ole nothing dialted!  Hopefully this week we have some sort of dialition, effacement, thinning.... something! 

I know there has got to be something going on because it feels like you are sitting right there ready to burst out at any moment, especially when I stand up!  You for some reason though are still attempting to escape out of my stomach, word to the wise, you are more than welcome to try the other way, like down the birth canal, the way god intended ;).  You can stop hurting me by trying to force your way out my stomach, belly button and sides, they are not buding buddy!

On another note if this makes things any better, we are ready for you to come.  We got the last few items we need (besides your cloth diapers which are soon to come next, but not needed for your immediate use) at my work baby shower last Thursday thanks to my generous coworkers, I have washed all your items (except some clothes, just in case) and your carseat base is in the Jeep and ready for you to ride! So again feel free to make your descent at any point now, we are SO ready to meet you!

My last 2 pics (the one above is from today!)

Is it weird that I look bigger in the one from last week? lol maybe its just me!

Survey Says!

How Far Along : 36 weeks, 5 days

Produce Size Comparison : Honeydew

Symptoms : *sigh* Heartburn (almost out of my meds!), Lightening Crotch, Swelling, General Uncomfiness,  Lots of Discharge (TMI yes I know)



Cravings/Aversions : The cookie skillet still sounds good, went to Coldstone last night and they had a hot cookie thing with ice cream but alas it had uncooked cookie dough on top (which of course I cant have) so I had a banana royale sundae mmmm.  No strict aversions, but not all that hungry anymore



Weight Gain/Loss : according to last Fridays appt +32lbs, according to my scale this morning +27lbs....who knows!



Next Appt : Friday (on weekly appts now) 6/29/12, hopefully this one goes better than the last!


Sex : BOY!!


Stretch Marks/Linea Nigra : yes to both :( luckily they are clear variety and will hopefully dissapear after the weight is gone!) good news is they are below the belly button so they arent as noticable



Maternity Clothes : done!



Baby Related Purchases? : I personally didnt purchase anything, but got some clothes, a Puj tub and a K'tan carrier from my wonderful coworkers, along with some books, a teether and some booties!


Movement? : painful pushing, turning, moving, whatever he's doing in there, plus head is down and it moves now too!



Bellybutton? : still in, dont think its going to change



Whats Baby Doing this Week : Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement. (yumm right?) haha




At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely he's in a head-down position (YUP!). But if he isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying he'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of your belly. (lets just say if he is not head down on Friday, you may hear me from 10,000 miles away!)

This is becomming a Tuesday blog ;)

So I am at the point where Fridays are just too busy/tiring and well now we are on a Tuesday blog post sort of deal lol.

Well in the past week not much is going on, we are down to the home stretch in the pregnancy and as of tomorrow down to 30 days left!  Sadly no work shower last week, guessing something came up and maybe it'll be this week? It doesn't really matter, anything they do for me will be amazing and greatly appreciated but not necessary :).

Alrighty well since I have been hounded about Little Mans nursery here it is, pics of his future room!

So thats it, hope you enjoy!! :) I am still looking for a small side table for next to the glider and I have my eye on a rug for in front of the crib but past that, its all done!

 

Home Front

So went on a cleaning spree this past weekend, must be nesting, and cleaned every last nook and cranny!  Thank god my vaccuum worked (I was worried it was broken as last time I wanted to use it, its sucking abilities well sucked! lol) so the house is squeeky clean.  Sunday I did a bit of shopping and ended up with a whole new bathroom set for the spare bathroom including, shower curtain, rugs, hand towel and bath towel..love the way it looks now!

We finally got the spare room cleaned out, and got a free sofa bed from a coworker of kyles,although its floral and very 80yo looking, it looks as if it was barely ever sat on and a cover can make it look modern so no worries! Glad we finally have somewhere for people to sleep when they come over!

Wedding Update

Nothing new to report here, been working on cooking the baby and finishing up the house!

Little Man!

As usual this is going to be the most updated.  Alright so really no new updates, still pregnant, but as an update we are def getting close as I have had a few early labor signs (I will spare you the gory details), but let me tell you I think he is not going to stay until the 20th, but I guess we will see.

My pics are going to be almost a week behind as I do them on Wednesday but here we go!

Dear Little Man,

So we are almost at 36 weeks, 1 week shy of 37 (full term!). Space is getting tight and BOY can I tell. You are pushing out and elbowing me in the side/front. I am completely dying to know what you look like and jelous of everyone that has gotten to see their baby. I am glad that you are growing properly and I haven't had the need for an U/S but man its weird knowing you are in there and not knowing what you look like. I am hoping you stay small and dont go past 8lbs, mommys tiny body can't handle it if you get any bigger! I guess since I dont get anymore ultrasounds your weight will be a guess as well. Luckily you (from what I can tell) are head down so stay that way until you decide you are ready!

Funny story, daddy was talking to you in bed the other day and we watched as you moved right towards his voice! It was amazing knowing you know his voice and wanted to be near it. Now whenever you are ready to make an appearance feel free, I am ready to have my body back to myself! Also your room is all ready to go and your temporary bed next to mommy in our room is waiting to be filled by your sweet self, so yea no need hesitate :)!

Love Always,

Mommy!

34 weeks, 5 days (last wed)

Survey Says!

How Far Along : 35 weeks 4 days


Produce Size Comparison : Coconut! perfect for the summer


Symptoms : Finally got my heartburn under control (thank you prilosec!), exhausted 24/7, cant sleep long stretches due to being uncomfy, pain from baby trying to escape



Cravings/Aversions : I am DYING for a cookie skillet or a hot brownie sundae! / no aversions, most things dont appeal to me anymore



Weight Gain/Loss : well since I havent had an appt I am going by my scale so +27lbs (I am ok with that, as long as the Drs doesnt show some crazy # friday!)


Next Appt : June 22nd - Friday, starting internal exams! also getting my Tdap vaccine


Sex : Still a Boy! (hopefully no surprises at birth lol)


Stretch Marks/Linea Nigra : up to 2 stretch marks (could be worse as they are clear and not purple), linea nigra all the way up the belly


Maternity Clothes : nothing nada


Baby Related Purchases? : nothing, no shower last week

Movement? : still pushing out, moving around, hurts like hell sometimes!


Bellybutton? : still an innie


Whats Baby Doing this Week : Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.





Any Day Now!

Scary to think that any day now our little man could come.  Its actually freaking me out sometimes, I will get a weird sensation "down there" and wonder if its something going on with labor! It doesnt help either that other women on my online groups have had their babies!! So yea from here on out I will be worried about every little twitch and twinge (although most FTM's go late so we'll see!)

So this past week..hmm not much really has gone on but we'll go with the usual list and update from there!

House:

Things are coming along nicely, the nursery is almost done (yes I know I keep saying that but I just FINALLY found a curtain rod and will be putting that up tonight once I get curtain rings to hang the drop cloth curtains with) & pictures will be up soon, since I keep hearing people want to see :) I just need to get the curtains up, find a rug to put in front of the crib & find a small side table to put next to the glider/ottoman & a lamp to put on that, not too bad.

We finally after much stressing from KB got the spare room cleaned up/organized and its ready to be his man cave (complete with "man cave" signs we found at BB&B on clearance!).  Its nice to see it put away but man that room looks empty now and I have no where to put my craft stuff (its stuffed in the closet *sniff*) that he calls junk!

Well with that room ready to go we now need a TV stand in there for the tv.  The original plan was to put the one in the living room in there and buy a nice new one for the living room, as of last night thats still the plan, yay, so hopefully we'll pick that up or at least order one tonight from Walmart!

Oh! I almost forgot, while picking up the curtain rod from Lowes last night I also went ahead and got some blinds for our kitchen window as well, and was quite pleased with the $7 pricetag vs the $40 the other 2 rooms cost us! Not to mention the $60 the living room ones cost us all together + $40 for the curtains + another $10 for the curtain rod (luckily Ikea is cheap! b/c we had to get 4 curtain panels and for $40 you can't beat that price!).  While at Lowes I also scored a good deal on Laundry Detergent to wash all the baby stuff in, yes yes I know I am behind, but they had the small bottles of Method Free and Clear on clearence for $4/pop and each bottle does about 25 loads so I picked up 2 for $8 which will do about 50 loads, give or take, and the big bottle they had below was 50 loads for $14! I think it was a pretty good steal if I do say so myself :)

Wedding:

Ok so nothing new here, we have the venue, we have our date and we have our colors picked + I have my bridal party all picked and all but 1 informed/asked! For now I am set with what we have done.  I plan on getting started with the rest of it probably mid September/October when I start dress shopping, aka when I have my body back to start dress shopping (hopefully!)

For those of you that are interested and dont want to wait until my Save the Dates are out (they will probably be sent this fall after we get Engagement Pics done (finally). Here are some details for now!

Date : June 8th, 2013

Location : Beaufort, NC

Ceremony & Reception Site : The Boathouse @ Front Street Village (ceremony will be held outside & reception inside in their Marlin Club (includes outside patio as well)

Colors : Navy Blue and Yellow



So there is that, I am very excited to get planning and already have a LOT of ideas in my head about how I want to do things.  Next is just putting them in place!

Baby/Little Man:

This week he has been extremely active and I think he dropped!  At my last appt I was told he was head down (finally got a Dr to check!) and since then I have felt a decent amount of movement down low coupled with having to pee a lot more.  Now the problem, I am so shortwaisted that although he "dropped" as I am speculating he is still up in my ribs and I still have horrible heartburn, ugggh! So needless to say at this point I am severly uncomfy and ready to have him out!  I don't sleep well, I cannot get comfy at work, at home, sitting upright, laying down, nothing..I have officially given up on trying.  The only thing that does help..my AMAZING bathtub...ahh its like heaven laying in there!  Lately its been my safehaven of laying in there with a good book (right now its 50 Shades Darker) and relaxing for about an hour.  The water helps to take some pressure off my ever growing bowling ball on my front side and is really the only way I relax (I almost fell asleep in there the other night lol). 

I also want to say Thank You to Michelle for coming over and showing me some yoga positions to help with now and labor and delivery & some yoga breathing that have helped with sleeping a bit and will help with contractions when he decides to make an appearance. 

Dear Little Man,

We have made it to 34 weeks (well technically since I am late this week 34 weeks and 4 days) and you are now big enough to make any movement known.  You are constantly getting hiccups, which is funny for th first 5 min and then is just plain annoying, I am sure you dont care for them either.  You tend to go NUTS when you get them and move all over the place trying to escape.  Speaking of escape, stop trying to plan yours.  No matter what daddy tells you, you are not cooked enough to come out and visit yet!  I would love to have you out and hold you and be able to be comfy again but I would rather you come out healthy, happy and not have to spend any extra time in the hospital, for health and financial aspects! 

I cannot believe we are down to the last 5.5 weeks until your arrival. So many people are excited to meet you, especially your daddy and your grandpa (my daddy).  Grandpa showed me that enthusiasm this past weekend when we went and saw Nathan and Mackenzies recital (which you loved the music btw and apparently didn't mind her sitting on my lap as you didn't kick once while she was there!) and he tried to talk to you to get you to move and accidentally blurted your name out for 3 new people to hear! As frustrated as I was at this, its ok and I know he's just excited! You'll one day learn about this type of love and learn to forgive Daddy and I when we do stupid things too :).

Love always,

Mommy

TORPEDO BELLY! haha

Survey Says:

How Far Along : 34 weeks 4 days


Produce Size Comparison : Butternut Squash


Symptoms : Heartburn, peeing a LOT, swelling (feet and hands, only when in the heat or standing/sitting for long periods), cannot get comfy to sleep anymore (same as last week), + peeing a lot and pelvic pressure when I stand up



Cravings/Aversions : Smoothies, Fruit, Milk, Chocolate / No Aversions



Weight Gain/Loss : I havent weighed myself since last week (im scared too lol) so we'll guestimate and say +25lbs for now :)


Next Appt : June 22nd, I start internal exams and weekly appts after that!


Sex : Still a Boy! (hopefully no surprises at birth lol)


Stretch Marks/Linea Nigra : ugggh found my first one *sniff* its low and its light, not nasty purple or anything but its there, Linea Nigra is up past the belly button and darker down below


Maternity Clothes : I caved and bought some post partum items at the Destination Maternity store (cant really call it an outlet as the prices were the same as the reg store) at the Outlet Mall. Got some comfy capri pants, a nursing bra and nursing tank (KB likes the easy access lol, he has been warned its easy access for baby only ;) haha! )


Baby Related Purchases? : nothing, expecting a shower at work this week (so we'll see what comes with that and anything left I am waiting on my completion coupons to get!)

Movement? : god he pushes and sticks his butt out and elbows the crap outta me now


Bellybutton? : about the same still an innie


Whats Baby Doing this Week : Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.



Time is slowing down!

So lately I have been attempting to be really good about doing these one time (yea its Monday so I am a few days off) but hey its better late than never right?

This past week really hasn't been all that exciting.  I guess Ill break it down by category of life (aka house, wedding, baby, just to make it easier to read).

House

Really nothing new going on in regards to the house.  KB plans on staining our back deck today (hopefully) but everything else is on hold until later as Little Man is 1st priority then it will be wedding planning!  See baby information for updates on the nursery ;)

Wedding

So my parents and I headed to Beaufort yesterday (gorgeous day to go out there btw) to meet with the wedding coordinator for our venue of choice for the ceremony and reception.  After stopping by the venue early and checking out all the new additions they had made we decided to head to the downtown waterfront area of Beaufort to see the sights and hopefully find some hotels/motels/inns for the wedding party/guests to stay at. We came out finding an adorable Inn right on the waterfront with huge rooms that would be perfect! We spoke to the lady at the front desk who gave us all the information and said they can do room blocks for us as well. 

After there we decided to grab some lunch.  We ate at this cute little restaurant on the waterfront outside and watched 2 guys clean this HUGE yacht!  Afterwards we headed back to The Boathouse (our venue) where we met with the wedding coordinator. 

Now I had my heart set on June 1st since we got engaged, no special reason other than the fact that its a month before our "dating anniversary" of July 1st and it would be easy for him to remember.  Well we were a weekend late, and the reception room or Marlin Club as they call it, was already booked for June 1st by a couple last weekend.  So after reviewing my calendar, I decided that really it was a blessing in disguise as June 1st is the weekend after memorial day weekend and most people would be blah to travel 2 weekends in a row, so without further ado......we are OFFICIALLY booked for our location & getting married June 8th, 2013 at The Boathouse @ Front Street Village in Beaufort NC :). (save the dates will be coming at some point, probably this fall).

So on the wedding front things are done for now (phew) until after Little Man comes and I get this weight off so I can go dress shopping!! woo

Baby Update

Ok so the nursery is "almost" done!  I headed to Lowes over the weekend and got blinds for KB to put up, and drop cloths to DIY some curtains (tutorial on it once I am finished).  I am still deciding if I want to just use the drop cloths by themselves (the canvas color works well with the nautical theme) or if I want to paint stripes on them in the color of his room, so we shall see.  In regards to everything else I just need to hang up 3 more things on the wall and it will be done! YAY! 

In regards to having things ready, we are still not 100% prepared.  In other words we still dont have a tub, any cloth diapers (we wont be using until probably 1 mo old at least), baby carrier and I haven't washed any clothes, sheets, changing covers, blankets, and we havent installed the carseat base in my car....*sigh*.  I am waiting on buying anything else as I am being told there will be a work shower for me and I want to make sure I leave them something to get little man lol.

Now I guess we will head on to the normal baby stuff....

Dear Little Man,

So 33 weeks, you are the size of a Durian Fruit!! (most people have no idea what this is so if you are not sure, google is your friend!) From what your daddy has told me its a very stinky fruit and the taste isn't much better, so I dont think I will be attempting to eat this one!  For being the size you are, you are still moving a LOT in there and its quite uncomfy as my stomach is only so large.  You push and squirm and rotate and to be honest I still have no clue what position you are laying in half the time.  It feels like you are doing flips in there between being transverse and being head down.  I am fine with this for now as long as you know you must be head down in the next couple of weeks, or we are going to have issues!  Mommy does NOT want to have a C-section so just be aware you have room now, but you still have a lot of growing to do so make sure you are where you need to be before you run out of space. 

Anywho your room is almost done and I am excited to bring you home to see it.  I still need to figure out what outfit I want to bring you home in.  You received so many cute things at the shower and of course I bought you a few more while out and about, as did Aunt Sheila, its a tough decision!

Well I think I am done for now, just remember to stop pushing so hard on that casing that is keeping you safe, its quite uncomfy for mommy right now and oh the bladder pressure, not fun! The whole getting up to pee every 5 minutes is hell on my production at work haha.

Keep cooking and we will see you soon!

Love always,

Mommy

2 days shy of 33 weeks

pic from maternity shoot, seems to be the "fan favorite" on FB

personally this one is my fav so far! cannot wait to see them all this week

Survey Says:

How Far Along : 33 weeks, 3 days

Produce Size Comparison : Durian Fruit


Symptoms : Heartburn, peeing a LOT, swelling (feet and hands, only when in the heat or standing/sitting for long periods), cannot get comfy to sleep anymore


Cravings/Aversions : Smoothies, Ice Cream n Milk / No Aversions

Weight Gain/Loss : 154 this morning and have an appt this afternoon so we'll see.  For now lets say +25lbs

Next Appt : June 4th, aka today


Sex : Boy Boy Boy


Stretch Marks/Linea Nigra : same as last week, holding clear on the stretch marks but that line is running its way up my belly!


Maternity Clothes : no more! I refuse although my shirts are now becomming too short...guess its dresses from here on out!


Baby Related Purchases? : broke down and went to Buy Buy Baby, bought the snuggler insert for his head for the carseat and also a diaper bag I had been eyeing!


Movement? : lots of pushing and moving and flipping


Bellybutton? : getting more shallow but still an innie!


Whats Baby Doing this Week : This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.