Here and there... we were sick, now we're better.

So I’ve been so happy to tell everyone that I’m the luckiest mommy alive. My baby sleeps through the night! My baby doesn’t care if he has formula or breast milk. He’ll switch from breast to bottle without a blink. He gives me kisses. He likes to eat food. He stopped peeing when the diaper comes off.

My luck ran out over the holidays. I woke up sick on Christmas morning and it’s been one thing after another since then. I was on two antibiotics for eye and ear infections. WTF? It was so gross. And I was exhausted. Limbs feeling weak, nodding off at the desk exhausted.

W started running a fever on New Year’s eve and completely stopped sleeping through the night. I know lots of parents are laughing at me. Finally!!! Hahaha! See what we all deal with?? But I’m siiiiiiiick. Uuuuuuuuggggghhhh. Waking up every 45 minutes every night was killing me. M and I generally try to alternate picking up W when he cries. That wasn’t working. M just doesn’t have the mommy touch. W would fall back to sleep, but then he’d wake up 2 minutes later (usually while M is in the bathroom), so I have to go in there anyway. We tried a few nights of winging it. We’d look at each other at the first cries and hope he’d go back to sleep. That meant he just escalated to wails and screams by the time one of us was in there. So the rocking would be 10-20 minutes at a time. Then we would give up and bring him into bed with us. That wasn’t working. Then we tried the no cry sleep solution. We would go in the second we heard the whimpering and pick him up and generally we could put him back down in a few minutes. We also set a cut off time – if (when!) he cried after 3 am, he just came to bed with us. So we got at least a few hours of light sleep. That worked well the first night. Then he started getting stuffed up and just could not sleep unless he was kind of sitting up. So after lots of tears, we went to the guest bedroom with lots of pillows and we both tried to sleep there. M and I alternated days for this. M tried to take more than every other night and would tell me, “Tonight I will take care of W. I’m not tired.” Then he would roll over and push me out of bed at the first cries. I was not mad at him, it was kind of funny. He has no recollection of the pushing.

At one point, I took W to the doctor to rule out any ear infections for him, but he was perfectly fine. I love my pediatrician even more because he took me seriously when I said that my reason for coming in was that W was just not himself.

So that was my life for 2 weeks. Bad sleep, stuffy baby, sick mommy, yuckiness. We started putting some cereal in his bottle at night and we set up a vaporizer and we are squirting saline in his nose (by the way – bad mommy moment – the face he makes when I spray it is hysterical). Something in this combination is working. We’ve had 2 nights of bliss. He’s been waking up, but he wiggles his way up so his head is pressed up against the crib and his butt is in the air and he goes back to sleep. He’s a little piece of heaven. We’re happy again!

I was getting pretty upset during that no sleep time. I would just sit there and rock him and he’d be crying and trying to sit up when all I want him to do is sleep. I was almost in tears from frustration, but then I would stop. I thought to myself about all the times I cried because I didn’t think I would have nights like that. It was strange, and calming, to sit in the middle of the night with a screaming baby and think about how thankful I am. Because that’s what matters the most. Not sleep, I’d trade sleep for him any time.

So back to the cereal in the bottle thing – W is breastfeeding less and less. He used to go to bed around 8 or 8:30 and I’d do a little dreamfeed around 10 when I went to bed. This got all confused when I was sick. I was going to bed right after W went down and when he woke up around 12 or whatever I would try to feed him. Sometimes he didn’t want anything. Sometimes that seemed to make things worse. So I started giving him a bottle right at bed time with a small amount of cereal. That is keeping him asleep and he isn’t even really demanding food right when he wakes up at 6:30. So the night nursing is gone. I’m left with just once per day, first thing in the morning. I’m going to keep it up until next week. He’ll be 8 months on the 19th… I’ll give him a birthday bottle that morning.

How do I feel about this? Not like I thought I would. I’m sad. But not upset sad, we’re weaning on my terms and I’m completely comfortable with it. I want to stop. I want to take strong cold medicines and drink lots of wine. But I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss the little face he makes when I put him on the boppy (um, he might think Milk comes out of the boppy) and the rooting. I’ll miss his little hands scratching me. I’ll miss the face he makes when I start talking while he’s eating. He pulls off and pushes himself off and gives me a LOOK. Like, lady, I’m trying to eat here. Can you please have your conversations at another time? Really?

The formula feeding stuff is awesome and convenient and easy. Washing the bottles kind of blows, but I had to do that anyway with daycare and pumping. It’s actually less now! W can hold his own bottle so we can feed him while we have dinner or do chores. That means more time for playing. He’s eating all kinds of pureed food. We’re going to start meats soon. He is –just- getting the hang of putting a puff in his mouth to eat it. I’m hoping he’ll start eating little pieces of banana soon. I want to feed him more finger food, but the lack of teeth is making me sad. I’ll be pureeing PBJ sandwiches when he goes to kindergarten.

Zippers

I’m wearing pants that button and zip today. I’m not saying I’m in my skinny jeans or anything, but I’m getting there. 5 more pounds and I’ll be at my pre-pregnancy weight. 10 more pounds and I’ll be at my happy weight. Since we joke about the last 5 pounds being the hardest, M has told me I should shoot for 5 pounds less than my happy weight – I’m hoping his idea works!

I walked almost every morning on maternity leave. I started slow, but worked up to over an hour every day. If it was too hot or raining, I went to the mall and chugged around and prided myself on not eating anything from the food court (torture!!). I gained weight from my 2 week incision check to my 6 week check. The nurse asked me if I was breastfeeding. When I said yes she was surprised, “Oh? You gained weight.” Hahaha. Fantastic. I’ve read that nursing moms store fat in case of a famine. I guess that means we’ll get through the next round of potato blight.
Now I can’t walk as much because I have chores to do at night (washing bottles) and I want to spend as much time as possible cuddling. M is a fitness guy. He runs, he lifts weights, he doesn’t add salt to anything and won’t eat hamburger helper (you know the type). He tried to get me to do his exercises, but it didn’t work out. I thought it was boring and I wasn’t good at the “flex your muscles and make a tough face” part. So now I’m doing a post natal rescue DVD. It’s not awful. W watches me. It takes 15 minutes. I don’t know if it’s doing anything… I’m on the second step. I’ll let you know if I ever get to the third one.

I’m hoping a bunch of this weight is in my boobs. I KNOW some of it is in my stomach. I’ve got a little pot belly that is preventing me from getting into lots of my pants. My boobs are preventing me from getting into shirts. I had trouble with button-up shirts anyway. Now I have to stay away from those even more. I put one on this morning and I looked like I was trying to be some comic-book office girl all busting out. Hot? Nope.

40 Weeks and 4 Days

I don't have anything new to say, just checking in to say that I have nothing to say. I always get excited when bloggie friends are close to (or past) the due date.

I do have a buddy lined up to let you guys know when the big event is complete. We must be the only people on the planet without iphones or laptops. Maybe that's a good thing...

40 Weeks and 2 Days

Four more wake-ups until induction. I'm scheduled for 8 am Tuesday morning and it can't get here fast enough.

After this post, I'm taking myself for a walk. I don't have any fears that the baby will start coming out while I'm walking, so I'm ok with going while home alone. I feel dumb that I used to worry about that.

I don't have much else to talk about. The baby is moving fine and I'm cranky and uncomfortable. My Father in Law gave me a nasty, sinus-y cold. So I'm kind of grateful that we don't have a baby right now. When my MIL found out that I got sick, she went ape-shit on FIL. You know that scene in A Christmas Story where Ralphie's mom asks him where he heard the F word and he blames it on Flick (or Swartz... I can't remember)? And Ralphie's mom calls Flick's mom and you hear Flick's mom start beating him with the phone? That's what happened to my FIL yesterday. Poor man. It's not like he was trying to give me a cold. Now she's all doom and gloom about M getting sick, but mostly about her getting sick and not being able to touch the baby.

The thing with this cold is that now I feel all protective. No one is coming near our little family without a doctor's note saying they are healthy. And maybe I'll make everyone wear surgical masks. I'm absolutely in misery and I'm 30 years old. Imagine being 30 hours old and getting your first head cold.

So that's my update. I'm cranky. I'm sick. I'm still pregnant.

40 Weeks

Hi! It's my due date! Where's that baby???

The good: I've made it to a fully cooked little (big?) baby! We're both healthy and happy. One of us is a little too happy... I am fully prepared to have a child in this house. I have cereal now.

The bad: Well, it's my due date and the baby is still in my belly. That's not why I was counting down to today!

The ugly: Me. I'm not in too bad shape, but I know poor M must think I'm gross. I'm just really a huge lump of sweat and farts that has to pee a lot. He's being nice and pushing my butt to help me get off the couch. But I'm gross and I know it.

The Appointment:
I did not gain any weight this week. This is the first thing I've had that I can find on my "what happens before labor list" that we get in childbirth class. The Drill Sergent told us that we would stop gaining weight or loose a little right before we have the baby. I am pretending that it doesn't matter that this was a morning appointment and I usually am in there right after lunch.

I measured myself with the tape before the doctor got in there because they never tell me where I am. It said 39 weeks. M said that means I have another week. I told him to never talk to me again. Then the doctor came in. She said I measured on time. I am 3-4 cm dilated and the baby is "way up there." So that's progress and I know I won't have to worry about going to the hospital and having them tell me I'm at a 1. That would suck.

I asked her about work and told her I stopped going on Friday. She said to just leave the disability forms at the front desk and they'll get them filled out for me. That's a great thing. Now I won't feel (semi)guilty about not working this week. And I can get another week out of my very crappy short term disability.

Then we started talking induction. I wanted to go as soon as possible. She said Tuesday. One of us is a doctor, so that person wins. I am currently waiting for a phone call from the nurse to get that scheduled.

Then for the fun! I got a Non Stress Test, which was awesome. I got to curl up in a huge comfy recliner and listen to the baby's heart beat for 20 minutes. M got to sit with me on a wooden chair. He had to pee, but he was afraid he'd miss something. So he just sat with me the whole time. I called my mom so she could hear the monitor and she liked it. The doctor took a look at the chart and pronounced us good. The heart beat was steady the whole time.

Next was an ultrasound to check the fluid. The baby looks SO different now. I couldn't tell what anything was, not even the head. We were on an old machine, so you can't really see much anyway, but she measured the fluid pockets and checked the position. Everything is perfect.

I guess I couldn't ask for anything more. We're both doing great, so there is no need to induce me now. That's a good thing (I keep telling myself). And with this much dilation... I could still go at any time (right?).

The emotional stuff: So, May 18th (Tuesday, induction day) is exactly one year since we found out our baby died. The worst day of my entire life. I could be leaving the hospital with a new baby one year after leaving with no baby. This is kind of hard for me to take. I told M I didn't really want the baby born on the 18th or 19th because those are bad days for me. But I also think that maybe it will be ok... I mean, it's like having a baby on Sept 11... it brings some good back into that day. Something positive.

Waiting

9 days until my due date.

I’m starting to believe I will be pregnant forever. This is where my complete lack of patience is starting to show. Every time I have any kind of little pain, I wonder if this is the beginning. It never is.

My plan for the weekend was to walk all over the place and do all kinds of labor inducing things. M would not participate in the ones he would be useful for… he said the baby isn’t ready yet and blah blah blah.

I have lots of little things from the weekend:

I met up with an old friend for dinner on Friday. I hadn’t seen him since 2006! We had Pho (Vietnamese soup made out of salt and beef and noodles). We were sitting around talking when I realized that my feet were exploding out of my shoes. Salty dinner plus hot day…. Oops!

We went to a sheep and wool festival on Saturday with the neighbors. It was a great time. I had Pit Lamb. Do you know how good Pit Beef is? Multiply that by 100. Wow. I did get to walk all afternoon and I wasn’t even that miserable! I had to wear normal shorts (I’m not about to go buy any more clothes!) and I had trouble getting them over my thighs. I did not see any pregnant sheep. Could you imagine being pregnant with something that has hooves???

Sunday was too hot to go outside, so no walking. Maybe tonight?

My bag is packed with a list of last-minute items sitting next to it. All of our windows are painted. My to-do list is still full of tiny things, but they are not anything that needs to be done before the baby comes.

Just waiting. Trying not to complain!

37 Weeks

The good: The kid is doing great. Lots of movement! I feel like my stomach is one of those massage chairs. If you have any back pain, just lean against my right side and a foot will give you a deep tissue massage.

The bad: I don’t like riding in cars now. Anything more than 15 minutes is terrible. Bumpy roads make me want to cry. The baby HATES seatbelts, so I kind of hold the lab belt out from the bottom of my belly the whole time.

The ugly: I’m angry a lot. I’m still happy, but my fuse is shorter than normal and I’m more likely to say the mean sarcastic comments that I’m thinking. Sorry about that, everyone I know (sort of).

Today is my 37 week appointment. I’ll get my first internal check and the Group B strep test. I’m not excited about either of those, but I do want to know if we have any progress. I’m hoping for something. M hopes the baby will be late.

My MIL called M last night while we were at Ikea (hooray!). She called our house at 7 pm, M’s cell at 8, and again at 9. By the time he answered the last call, she was FREAKING OUT. She thought I was in labor and we hadn’t called them. This makes me want to not call them when I go into labor.

Childbirth Class 3

Last night’s childbirth class was much calmer than the one we had last week. We just sat in the chairs and listened and watched videos. We learned all about epidurals and c-sections and all the other gory things.

We watched a video that showed a birth with narcotic medication, a birth with an epidural and a c-section. They were not gory or graphic (thank goodness). I cried every time the baby came out. I might have thrown up a little in my mouth when I got to watch a model of a c-section. But anyway, I was kind of embarrassed about my crying. M did not cry. I am going to be a mess when this baby gets here. Those little slimy, wrinkly babies! I’m crying a little now!

In other news, I had a good night of sleep last night. I think my exhaustion finally caught up with me. I’ve given up on my alarm clock and just get up close to when I am supposed to. I’d rather get 30 minutes of sleep than be on time for work. I’m so lucky that I don’t have set hours that I need to be at work. Whew!

Middle of the night ranting

This might not make sense. I apologize in advance. It's 1:27 am and I am wide awake. I'm so tired that I'm almost in tears. I'm freezing cold and my back is sweaty. I want to sleep for days, but I just can't.

I think my time is almost up. My MIL told me yesterday that the baby dropped. Who knows if she's right. I can breathe better and the baby's movements are lower than before.

I can't stop thinking about what I need to do. My list for stuff at home really isn't that long and isn't anything to stress over. I need to pack my bag and sterilize my pumping stuff. That is all I feel that I NEED to do before the baby gets here. I'd like to have the interior windows all painted, but that's not on MY to-do list anyway. My work list is crazy long, but all I really need to do is sit down with the people taking over the projects and give them an update. Then I can leave work with a clear conscience.

I have spent 5 of the last 6 days with my inlaws. Do I really need to say anything else about that? They are amazing people and did SO much work. We have 17 windows and doors in our house that needed the interior trim finished (wood filler, caulking, some drywall work, priming and painting). 14 of those are finished because my inlaws were helping M. Two of the last three are in the basement. Ideally, they'd all be done before the baby arrives, but the main work is complete and what's left can be done without disturbing an infant.

I just wish I could sleep.

36 Weeks

Ok, I was supposed to have everything ready by today. I am a little bit behind and I am placing all the blame on home renovation projects. The nursery is set up again, but it’s not finished and cute yet. I’m not sure how to convince M that getting a bookshelf is more important than painting the interior trim in the living room… I guess I’ll have to wait on that one.

The good: Baby dreams. I have dreams a few nights a week that I have a normal, healthy newborn. This is totally crazy for me. Up until now, most of my dreams have been wacko children that are full grown or talk to me in a deep voice or whatever. I am also craving jell-o. I made a huge batch and I just leave the spoon sitting in the bowl in the fridge. It satisfies my hunger and thirst in one! It is refreshing! It is green!

The bad: The usual. Hips hurting and bad sleeping. I’m huge. I will be taking a belly picture tonight and I will do my best to actually post it.

The ugly: I think this baby wants to be born through the top of my uterus, or possibly the side. The baby is constantly pushing out. I think it is stretching and it is painful! Today isn’t so bad, but yesterday made me feel like I was getting beat up. I’m pretty sure my birth experience is going to be less like the books and more like the movies.


My new favorite blog. I hate that she stopped posting a few years ago.

31 Weeks

Week 31… 9 weeks to go. That is single digits. I can do this!

The good: M could feel a baby butt (or head? Or elbow?) last night and he was amazed. I usually push the butt (in my mind, everything is a butt) back in when it sticks out like that because it hurts a little. But this time, M was right there and I had him touch it. We’re having his brother come over on Friday evening and I hope this little one will be active for his/her uncle!

The bad: M told me that he thinks pregnancy is just a bunch of peeing, farting and burping. I am having a hard time getting out of comfy couches. I leave things on the floor a lot. I just drop everything and I cannot bend over AGAIN to get it. So it stays on the floor until I drop something else nearby. Then I will get both. I believe that my husband should be picking these things up, but I don’t think he sees messes. In his defense: he emptied the bottom rack of the dishwasher so I wouldn’t have to bend over.

The ugly: My butt. Really. I do understand and embrace the idea of gaining weight during pregnancy, I can’t stress that enough… butt… butt… but my maternity pants are getting pretty tight on my butt and thighs. I’m storing up all that fat for nursing, I guess. I’m thankful that I’m not all huge and puffy and that my face still looks normal. I am getting comments about being “so small!” and all that, so I don’t really think I should complain. Butt. I am getting a big butt.

Just to say it a few more times. Butt Butt Butt Butt!

I forgot to talk about my awesome weekend! We went to the beach to see my parents, my brother, SIL and niece (age 4). We had a wonderful time. I kept looking around the house and trying to imagine having a baby with us the next time we are there. My parents decided to buy this house in May. They told me about it on May 16th and we lost the baby on May 18th. So it did hurt to think that I was supposed to have this first visit with a 4 month old. I thought about him a lot this weekend and how I’ll keep thinking about him with everything I do with this baby. It wasn’t all gloominess all the time, though! My niece kept talking to me about the baby. She wants to push the baby on a swing. She wants to feed the baby. She does not want to change the baby’s poopy diapers. She wants me to go to the hospital tonight and get the baby out for her. She asked M why I was having a baby. She did not believe that this baby will be his, too.

In work news:

{Drama Removed}

TMI question: My nipples are getting funny. Like they remind me of scabs that are flaking off. I don't like touching them or anything and this morning a little piece fell off and it was very weird feeling. Is this "cracked, dry nipples?" Should I be getting nipple cream now? If I were a baby, I wouldn't want to get my dinner from these gross looking nipples.

30 weeks!

The good: Two nights ago, I was cleaning up from dinner while M was still sitting at the table (finishing his wine…. grrr). He waved me over to him and I thought he was going to pull some food off my shirt (because that happens a lot). But he pulled me close to him and leaned over a little so his head was right up against my belly and he whispered, “I love you.” It doesn’t get much better than that.

The bad: Heartburn, as usual. I realize I don’t have it all that bad. I can take one Tums and it usually stops within a few minutes. I complain all the time because the Tums is usually not right next to me and it takes too much effort to actually stand up and get it. It seems that M&Ms are a big reason for this. I’m not going to stop eating them. I need to eat them because E can’t. Somebody has to eat the candy.

The ugly: We’re going to the beach this weekend. I’m thinking of getting some depends because the drive is through a whole lot of nowhere and I know I’m going to need to pee before my usual pee spot (and don’t act like you don’t have your typical pee stops on frequently traveled routes!).

Steak, furniture and classes

Hi! Did everyone have a good weekend? Things were insane in my house!

First Item!

I DO NOT HAVE DIABETES!!!! WOOOHHHOOOOO!!! Bring on the cookies. But make them cookies with a side of steak because I’m anemic. I have to take iron pills now. I blame that on M for not giving me cheeseburgers every night. My mom wants to know how anemic I am, so I need to call the office and get the actual numbers. I hope these iron pills don’t stop me up too bad. I got the slow release ones. Now I take 5 different pills a day (which, um, is nothing compared to what some of you do).

Next Item!

We spent all day Saturday emptying out the office and making it into a nursery. Poor M made at least 40 trips from our top floor to the basement carrying tons of stuff – mostly books! We got all of the stuff out of the room before noon (which is pretty darn good!). Then the in-laws came over to help with the furniture. We had some trouble getting desks to the basement, but it all worked out in the end.

M and his dad headed out to BRU to pick up the crib and dresser. They were gone forever. They called me once to complain that nothing fit in the Blazer. I told them to go to Home Depot and get some rope and make it work. They did. Then MIL and I watched them carry the fully assembled dresser up the stairs (we thought it would come in pieces… we probably would have picked different stuff if we knew it was fully assembled). The crib box was all busted up. I would have opened it at the store to make sure it was all ok. M did not do this (although he talked to the guy at the store and they assured him that they had opened the box and inspected everything). The crib headboard was split in half. Yippee! So we have a broken crib in our foyer until they deliver the new one. M called on Sunday and talked to a manager until they agreed to send someone to exchange the crib. He’s good at that kind of stuff. I was almost ready to cry when MIL pulled one of my Pollyanna tricks on me – she said “well, at least it’s not the dresser! I don’t think the guys could get that thing back down the stairs!” She was right. At least it was the much lighter crib that was carried up in pieces. At least the furniture will be here within a week or two. A broken crib 10 weeks before the baby is even due is not a big deal.

So now we have a baby room with a dresser and our office is all set up in the basement. It looks good down there. I wasn’t optimistic and I thought we’d be crowded down there. Now I kind of wish we’d always had the office in the basement.

Next Item!

We took the in-laws to dinner after all their hard work. I spent the dinner with a foot in my rib, so I kind of had to sit sideways to elongate myself. Everyone told me I looked like a fat trucker eating at a diner. I tried to sit better, but then I couldn’t reach the table. I am sitting the same way right now (but leaning to the right instead of the left). The kid will move when I push it down, but then reaches back up in there. Oh boy!

Next Item!

We went to an infant care class on Sunday. We learned how to bathe a baby and how to change diapers and swaddle. She showed us pictures of newborns and all the little things that might scare someone who has never seen a newborn up close. She spent A LOT of time telling us to trust our instincts, to advocate for ourselves and the baby and to not be afraid to ask for help. All the things that girls like me need to hear. I thought that was the best part of the class. The worst part was that our baby doll was ugly. And the clothes we had for him were pink and frilly. We felt bad that we didn’t bond with our ugly baby and then gave him a complex with girl clothes.

Next Item!

Alyssa wrote a few days ago about being on the other side of the fence.

That was a huge thing for me this weekend and last weekend. Normally, I do try to conceal this belly some. I’m usually wearing my huge purple MIL coat that just makes me look like a chubby lady who isn’t used to walking with her fat. I don't want anyone to look at me and feel the sadness that I used to feel.

Right, so we were in Babies R Us registering last weekend and I was sitting at the table getting everything set up. I had my coat on even though I was kind of warm. I didn’t want to bother anyone around me with my belly. Then I realized something. I was in the middle of preggo-land. Although people around me might have suffered from a loss or infertility, they were here because they were preparing for a baby and their dreams were coming true. I didn’t have to hide here!

I had the same feeling this weekend. We walked into the hospital and I kind of guarded my belly. Then I realized I was in a class for infant care. Everyone there was the same size as me. I could rub my belly all I wanted and I could shift uncomfortably when I had that foot in my rib.

It’s a great place to be.

29 Weeks

The title of this post should be: Why does water give me heartburn?

Things are still truckin along. I got a phone call last night telling me that our furniture is ready to be picked up. Oh Shit!

This evening (and maybe tomorrow and/or Friday if this new Snownami shows up), I am going to start gathering my craft things together and move them down to the basement. It’s cold down there, so I’m reluctant to move… but it’s worth it!

The good: The baby had hiccups again last night during the ski-cross. M couldn’t really feel them, but I could. I’m still getting nervous when I don’t feel a lot of movement, but whenever I sit still and have some food, it starts up again.

The bad: Hip pain sucks, but it goes away if I change position. I’m waking up in the middle of the night for hours and feeling wide awake. Everyone says this is practice for the baby. I think those people are full of S. I spend the time awake either planning my work day (which does not help at all) or thinking about a little yellow nursery with new furniture (which does help).

Also, I'm frickin STARVING.

The Ugly: Heartburn all over the place. Heartburn after breakfast. Heartburn at 3 am. Heartburn after ice cream.

28 Week Appointment

I’m back from my 28 week appointment. It was a quick in and out for the doctor part. The baby’s heart rate is in the 130s, which is lower than before, but baby is getting bigger. I’m measuring exactly on time. Hooray!

Um, weight… not that it’s a big deal but I am now officially heavier than I have ever been in my life. I weigh more than I did my junior year of college when I lived next door to the best on campus dining hall on the east coast and discovered that beer was better than liquor. This is expected and I’m fine with it. But I can feel the heaviness!

The glucose test was fine, I guess. I really didn’t think the drink was that bad. I have a huge sweet tooth… so drinking orange sugar drink is kind of a treat for me. I waited for an hour and had the blood draw. The whole time I was SO hungry and thirsty. I didn’t get my normal morning carb load and that made me cranky. Then I had a headache. Those things didn’t make me feel too excited about the results. I will load up on sugar and carbs for the next few days just in case.

I got McDonalds on my way to work and now I am happy!

We registered this weekend! And we bought our furniture! And then I took a nap!

Stretch Marks!!!

Oh Shit!

I was feeling all proud of my non-stretch-marked self for having such elastic skin and being so frickin beautiful.

Then, last night, I was getting punched in the belly while I brushed my teeth. I lifted up my shirt to see if I could see the punches from the outside when I saw something awful. Two little blue lines snaking around on my right side. M decided that I was getting bruises from the punches because we have the strongest baby in the world. I had to tell him the awful truth.

I have one small container of lotion for this stuff (I'll get more this weekend). I was rubbing it all over my belly and M was just laying in bed laughing. He said he wants to rub the belly from now on. Then he told me I look like Tim Allen in The Santa Clause. I love my husband.

27 Weeks

Isn't this really the end of the second trimester? Do I really have to wait another week? M and I discussed this over breakfast. We decided that if I am really cranky this week, it will be the 3rd trimester. Judge for yourselves!



The Good: Baby is back on its regular kicking schedule. Sleep is still going well. I am getting a prenatal massage on Sunday at it better be the best thing ever. If I fall asleep during it I am going to punch somebody.



The Bad: More Braxton Hicks! Ugh! I hate that stuff. I think it was caused by me being kind of stressed out yesterday and being a little "stuck" if you know what I mean. I took a break at work and stretched myself out and played some internet games for about 15 minutes. The contractions went away and when I got home I was able to fix the other problem.



I cut my toenails last night. That was harder than I expected. I have a girl's weekend coming up (hence the massage) and I'll be getting a pedicure, too. I HATE the feeling of someone else cutting or filing my nails (fingers and toes). I like to get that done myself before the appointment. It looks like I'm going to have to get over that pretty soon. The good thing is that I guess I have to get more pedicures now... poor me!



I have old man heartburn now. Just prop me up and send over the tums.



The Ugly: Like everyone else on the planet, I'm a little tired of hearing about Snowmageddon. And I'm living in the center of it. I'm not at work today (which is awesome!) but I have to take vacation time for it (which sucks!) and this is the most busy I've been at work for a while. That is why I'm kind of stressed out. Life will be better in a week or two. The bright side: at least we have power!



I think I'm working on a post-college record of not seeing my mom. It makes me sad. I hate you, Snowmageddon!

Here is the view from our office/future nursery window right now. I can actually feel the wind blowing from my chair. We really need to get new windows before I make a baby sleep in here!

P.S. A bunch of you gave me that awesome award and that is awesome. Thanks!! If I can get my sh!t together, I'll do the random facts. My only random facts right now are about snow and they are all angry.

An entire post about pee

I think I’m pretty close to the crazy peeing part of pregnancy. It would be nice if I was already there and this was as bad as it gets. But I’m pretty sure it will get crazier. I have to say I love getting classic pregnancy symptoms! It makes me feel normal!

I’m pretty sure I have pee on my knee right now.

I get an amazing pressure in my belly area when I have to pee. It doesn’t even feel like it’s supposed to, it’s like I’ve had to re-learn that feeling. But it goes away the second I pee. And I pee a lot (as in a large amount) and it goes all over the place. I have to “be neat and wipe the seat” every time.

My favorite part of the day is when I get home from work and I can pee freely. Like take off my pants and contort my body into any position necessary to get all the pee out. I can’t do that in a work bathroom.

Over the weekend, M and I were doing...you know... and in the middle we had to stop so I could run to the bathroom. I had somehow gotten myself in a pee position and I almost peed all over him.

I wear only sweatpants at home because it is easier access for peeing.

I’m not even going to start with gas….

25 Weeks

These weekly updates are starting to get monotonous… Sorry about that! I just like keeping a record of everything.

The good: The usual, movement is great, I’m starting to show more and more and my uncontrollable hunger is starting to get controlled. I’m still warm all the time, but that’s a good thing when it is 35 degrees outside. It’s a bad thing sometimes (see below), but I was kind of looking forward to this pregnancy symptom so I would stop being cold all the frickin time.

The bad: I am not sleeping well, even with my body pillow. I bought a huge one, which I LOVE, but now I’m hot. Of the two (intense back pain or sweating), I pick sweating. I might wake up just as often, but I’m falling asleep faster. M hates the pillow, but he cuddles with the side closest to him. Last night I was having trouble sleeping (because of stuff on my mind) and I crawled out of my nest and over to him. He was sleeping, but said, “yessssssss!” when I made him spoon me.

The ugly: I have lost all patience for anyone else’s petty emotional crap problems.
{drama removed}

Normal stuff: I told a client today about the baby. I’m supposed to start going on site visits for a building and I’m not about to go picking my way through muddy, uneven construction sites. I fall down on normal days on flat floors. I don’t want to trip over some rebar or risk anything. I told him that we wanted to go out to the site, but I wouldn’t be the one doing the visit. He was fine with that. I do really like site visits. You get to meet the people that call all the time and it’s time away from the desk! Plus, I’ll be the one doing all the work from the visit, so it’s usually best to get a glimpse of the actual construction. But I’d rather not go and my bosses have said they don’t want me doing anything I’m uncomfortable with. That’s a good thing! Not everyone has that luxury!

M finished working on the nursery/office closet and now I have shelves to put things on! Tonight we’ll be putting things on shelves in the guest bedroom and the nursery. Organizing makes me happy. Parts of my house are a huge mess right now, but parts of it are so clean! Woohoo!!!

24 Weeks

So, 24 weeks! Neat!

The good: This kid keeps getting more and more active. I had a kick that made me sit straight up in bed and almost scream. I’ve started getting punched in the organs above the uterus (very lightly, but still uncomfortable). I’m talking to the baby more and we’re starting to work on the nursery.

I ordered a body pillow and I can’t wait to get it. I would really like to be able to sleep without crazy back pain. M tried to help, but then he rolls away from me after a few hours. Every night he gets into bed and tries to shape himself like a pillow. It doesn’t really work. We talked about the pillow and I’m sad that it will get in the way of cuddling, but… it’s only for a few months. And I told him he could cuddle with the pillow, too.

We got our first baby outfit! I went to have dinner at my aunt’s house and she gave us a little toy and two onesies. I play with them every day. I love them. I can’t believe we have baby clothes!

The great clean out continues – we cleaned out the closet in the office. It was filled. We got out 3 bags of recycling and 2 bags of trash. I also got rid of a ton of books that I’m taking to the second hand bookstore tonight. I’d say they are about one trash bag full. That puts the total at 18 trash bags of stuff removed from our house so far. M is going to buy some more shelving for our guest room and office/nursery closet today and he’ll get those up this weekend.

The bad: I’m stressed at work. It sucks. That’s why I haven’t been posting here very often. Thank goodness this kid is staying active or I’d be double stressed. I hate work stress and I’ve always made it a point to leave work stress at work, so I do have that going for me. M asked me last night how things were going and I think I surprised him but just venting for about 20 minutes… so maybe I’m not that good at keeping it separate. He helped me out, though. The bad stuff for this project should be over by the end of next week (or it will get worse). Let’s all hope it gets worked out.

Preggo brain – not a myth. I left my purse at work last night (probably a mixture of preggo brain + stress). I don’t remember anything. Ever.

The ugly: I am now officially the hot, sweaty pregnant woman. I have to take my shoes off before lunch because my feet get sweaty. I’m worried that when I stand up everyone will see how sweaty my butt is.