Growth

Just for some perspective here are my weekly photos from weeks 22-34 (I'm now at 36 weeks). Once I hit the 30's the belly became a bit out of control. You can also really see how chubby my face has gotten the past few weeks  And to think I thought I looked huge back at 25 weeks. I had NO IDEA what was in store and I still have potentially another month to go.  Believe it or not I'm still measuring right on schedule. 

Just thought this was a fun little review of my belly growth over the past 3 months.

Also, can someone explain to me how despite the pre-natal vitamins I've been taking my hair doesn't seem to be getting any longer. I thought pregnancy made your hair grow faster???

Stuff

-We had my in-laws over the other night to watch football (my FIL) and to work on the nursery (my MIL) and we had such a great time. I wish they would come over more often to hang out.

-Bedrest sounds great in theory...forced to relax, yes please...but honestly after about a day it gets annoying, especially when you have a mile long to-do list that you are eager to complete.

-I haven't bought one Christmas present yet and have no idea when I'll start. No one has told me what they want and I don't have the brain power to come up with ideas on my own this year.

-With that said I haven't been able to tell anyone anything that I want because there really isn't anything that I need or want other than maybe a new phone that takes better pictures than my crapberry.

-My mom and older brother get back tonight from their Europe trip so now I don't have to worry about the baby coming early and them missing it. This has actually been a big fear of mine the past week.

-I was really looking forward to decorating our new house for Christmas this year but since I was told to essentially be a couch potato Kristian has had to take the lead on all the decorating. I didn't want to put it off just in case the baby does come early, I want to bring him home to an already decorated house. With that said I think he's actually doing a better job decorating than I would have.

-The nursery is about 90% done and it's looking great. I can't wait to put the finishing touches on it and post pictures.

-Since I've been home I've become obsessed with watching A Baby Story on TLC. I cry every episode. Also, I'm getting more and more nervous to deliver this child.

35 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along: 35 weeks

*This was taken at my in-laws house during Thanksgiving, I still look really swollen from all the fluids I got in the hospital*

 

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a honeydew melon

 

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 . 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.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I refuse to answer this since my weight gain is a bit exaggerated thanks to all the fluids I got in the hospital and Thanksgiving yesterday. I don't even want to weight myself. Maybe next week. 

Maternity Clothes: Maternity clothes and Kristian's clothes for lounging around in. 

Gender: BOY!

 

Movement: Lots of movement, sometimes it's so strong it hurts a bit. Our nieces and nephew got to feel him kick yesterday which was fun. 

What I miss: Right now I miss being able to do anything other than lay around, I feel like there is still so much to do and I can't really do any of it and it's driving me a bit crazy but keeping him inside is more important at this point. 

Sleep: Since I didn't sleep at all in the hospital Tuesday night I've actually slept great the last two nights, my body was exhausted.

Symptoms: Lots of braxton hicks contractions and swelling, I now have cankles.   Also, some nausea on and off. 

Cravings: Nothing really, I don't have much of an appetite. I've been drinking lots of water to stay hydrated and that fills me up. 

Best Moment this week: NOT having the baby on Tuesday night, I really want him to wait until my mom gets back from Europe and until he's further along. Also, Thanksgiving yesterday was really nice. 

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully getting everything done before he arrives. 

Thankful

This year in particular I have so many things to be thankful for. There have been so many exciting and wonderful changes in my life and I'm truly blessed and grateful. So this year I will be giving thanks especially for:

-My amazing, wonderful, loving, handsome husband who treats me better than I ever imagined possible. I still can't believe how lucky I am to have him.

-My sweet baby boy that is (thankfully) still growing in my belly. I'm so excited to meet him and watch him grow up.

-My family, including my in-laws, who have always been so supportive and loving.

-My fur children, Halpert and Moxie, who provide hours of entertainment and unconditional love.

-My house, at this time last year we were stuck in a condo we hated and dreamed of owning a house that we loved, a few months later that dream came true.

-Our jobs, yes it would be great to win the lotto and retire early but in this economy we both know how lucky we are to have jobs that support our growing family.

-And of course our friends who have been there for us for years no matter the ups and downs.

Today we'll be celebrating and stuffing our faces at my in-laws house. Just think, next year there will be a high chair and sweet almost 1 year old baby boy at the table with us. I can't wait!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

False Alarm

This is how I spent my evening last night...

Yep I spent my evening in Labor and Delivery. Fortunately baby is okay and still baking away in mommy's belly where we hope he will stay for a few more weeks at least.

When I was leaving work I went to the bathroom and noticed I was bleeding a bit, since I haven't bled at all during the pregnancy I freaked out a LOT. I left work and called my doctor's office. They told me to go ahead and head to the hospital to get checked out. Between the rain and the holiday/rush hour traffic it took me an hour to get there. I was a little stressed especially since my mother is on vacation in Europe until next week and I have this fear the baby will come while she's gone. I called Kristian, who was already at home, and he met me at the hospital.

When I got there, I went to the bathroom again and this time didn't see any blood which was comforting. They hooked me up to the machines and saw that I was having contractions 2-4 minutes apart!! Most of them I couldn't even feel and the ones I did felt just like my regular braxton hicks, nothing too painful. The nurse checked my cervix and HOLY MOTHER OF SWEET BABY JESUS, that is no joke, it hurts!! Honestly, I think she stuck her whole arm up there because apparently my cervix is very far back. Thankfully I wasn't dilated at all so the nurse didn't think the baby was going to be coming that night.

They thought I was dehydrated so they hooked me up to an IV (that also hurt) and pumped 3 bags into me pretty quickly. I was literally having to get up to pee every 20 minutes from all the fluids. They also gave me a pill to slow down the contractions. After about 3 hours with little change they told me I had to stay overnight.

They moved me into a delivery room and kept me hooked up to the IV all night and would give me more pills throughout in the hopes the contractions would space out. Finally this morning it looked like it was working and my contractions were very irregular and more like 10-15 minutes apart. The doctor determined that I could go home but that I need to basically be on bedrest until my next scheduled appointment next week where they will check me again to see if I'm dilating. I am allowed to go to my in-laws tomorrow for Thanksgiving (they actually live closer to the hospital than we do) but basically I am only allowed to sit around and eat, that I can do! Kristian also basically has to cater to me for the next week.This does however put a big crimp in all the things I planned to get done this weekend for the baby but I guess Kristian can just do it all for me.

I'm very thankful that baby boy didn't arrive early, even though at 35 weeks he would probably be fine, it's better if he can stay in there for a few more weeks. We were both very anxious last night at the thought of him coming right now, I definitely don't feel ready yet and the thought of labor is scaring the shit out of me. This is all getting very very real but at least now we've had our test run so hopefully next time it won't be quite so scary.

Weekend Recap

It's amazing to me that our baby free weekends are rapidly coming to a close so it's important to try cram in as much as we can while we can. I haven't been feeling that great that last few days, as I get closer to D-Day the worse I seem to feel physically so it's been tough getting shit done and just doing anything other than lay on the couch. Here's a quick recap of our weekend.

Friday Night-
-I made my husband take me out to dinner. We haven't been out on a "date" in a while and I felt I was due. We went to a little Mexican place close to our house and I've now discovered the best queso dip in Northern VA. Kristian loved his meal so much I really thought he was going to hug the waiter. I think we'll be going back.

Saturday-

-While my husband and father-in-law went to check out a gun show (yes a real gun show, not the kind where you just show off your biceps) I did some more baby shopping. I decided to check out a baby consignment shop I had heard a lot about. I picked up several little outfits (all in great condition) and only spent $17! When you think that most babies only wear an outfit a couple times before they grow out of it most of this stuff looked almost brand new. My only complaint- they didn't have a public restroom to use...when you have pregnant chicks as your main customer I highly suggest having a bathroom for them to use. Common sense.

Sunday-

-Got up early and dragged Kristian with me to see Breaking Dawn. If we go to the movies (which isn't often) we always go to the early show on the weekend because it's the cheapest....only $6 a ticket as opposed to $12.

-Overall I liked the movie but not nearly as much as I liked the book.  The theater was pretty packed for it being so early and there was a woman at the end of our row who thought it would be a good idea to bring her approximately 4 year old daughter to see the movie (totally not appropriate by the way). Well I guess the child is neither Team Edward or Team Jacob because she started SCREAMING during the movie (and not at a scary part either). The mother just acted totally oblivious until finally people started yelling "Take her out of the theater" or "Leave" before she finally got up and took the child out. By the way, nobody said anything for about 5 minutes, all hoping she would settle down, when the screaming got louder that's when people started to get pissed.

**Here's the thing I get that kids are going to throw tantrums and it sucks for the parent but you need to be a responsible adult and take your child out if you're in a theater or restaurant or other public place and they throw a fit (if you're on a plane and literally cannot go anywhere that's different). I know it's inconvenient but it's not fair to ruin the experience for those around you. Rant over.

-I spent the afternoon, washing baby clothes and working on a DIY project for the nursery while Kristian slept in his recliner watching football

So that was our weekend in a nutshell. I'm hoping to get a lot more accomplished on the baby prep front during the long holiday weekend as well as start decorating for Christmas. We'll see if my energy level can match my to-do list.

34 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along: 34 weeks

*Despite my hugeness I'm still measuring right on schedule according to my doctor's appt. yesterday*

 

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a cantaloupe (this feels about right)

 

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds 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 (this is comforting!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +28 pounds approximately. I suspect Thanksgiving next week will definitely push me over the 30 pound gain mark.

Maternity Clothes: Yep and I'm already sick of the few outfits that I keep having to rotate but I refuse to buy more clothes to just wear for a month.

Gender: BOY!

 

Movement: He's still quite the mover and shaker and his movements are getting stronger by the day. You can just see my belly dancing around which is neat.

What I miss: My cute winter clothes and boots that no longer fit. I'm so sick of wearing the same few outfits over and over. Also being able to roll over easily in bed, it's a huge production to get comfortable every night.

Sleep: Still not great but I'm getting use to the lack of sleep.

Symptoms: Same as always. The braxton hicks seem to be increasing in frequency and the swelling is getting worse. I had to retire my wedding bands this past weekend :(

Cravings: Anything liquid, I'm ALWAYS thirsty.

Best Moment this week: Washing all the baby blankets and a lot of the clothes-Nesting has kicked in full force. Also, the changes/additions we've done to the nursery. It's so close to being done and I LOVE it! Can't wait to share pictures.

What I am looking forward to: my maternity leave! Work has been so busy lately that I can't wait to take my 6 weeks and just focus on my little guy. It will be the longest I've gone without work and/or school since I was 15. Not that taking care of a newborn is a vacation by any means but it will be a nice break.  

**Starting in 3 weeks I will be having my weekly appointments and they will be checking my cervix each time to see if I'm dilating. I'm not looking forward to the actual checks since I hear they can hurt but I am curious to see if/how much I'm dilating.**

Reality

Currently my commute each day to and from work is about an hour long, on a good day I can make it in 45 minutes but that's rare. Last Thursday night there were two accidents and it took me 1 1/2 hours to get home. Needless to say I was not in a good mood.

While sitting my car, realizing I wouldn't get home until close to 6:30 (I get off work at 5pm) I started to think about how it will be after the baby comes. Because we can't afford for either of us to quit our jobs the baby will be in daycare once my maternity leave ends.  Since Kristian has to be at work by 7am the plan is for me to drop the baby off in the mornings around 7:30am and then Kristian will pick him up in the afternoons. His schedule is flexible and he's usually done by 4pm at the latest so this way the baby won't have to be in daycare from 6am-6pm and will get to have a few hours alone with daddy every day until I get home around 6.

What I realized while sitting in traffic is that with me not getting home until 6pm or later everyday I'm not going to have much time with my kid during the weeknights. Once I get home we'll be busy making/eating dinner and then it will be time to give him a bath and start getting him ready for bed etc.. From what I've read most babies go to bed around 7:30-8pm. So basically I'll have 1 1/2-2 hours each night with my kid and that's about it (I'm not going to count the middle of the night feedings/diaper changes since I'll only be half conscious).

I know this is pretty standard for most working mothers so I'm in no way a special case but the realization of it just kinda sucks. It makes me sad to think that I won't get much quality time with my little guy during the week but unfortunately there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. We can't afford for me to be a stay at home mom, my job won't let me telecommute everyday and seeing how great the job market is I don't think I'll have much luck finding another job that pays me the same (or more) that is closer to home. Sigh.

So do any of you working mothers out there have any advice or tips for how to have as much time as possible with my little one once I head back to work?

O.M.G.!!!!

This morning the official movie trailer for the Hunger Games was revealed on GMA and it's AWESOME! I admit to doubting some of the casting choices in the beginning but I'm fully on board right now. The trailer gave me goose bumps and I CANNOT wait to see this movie in March. Better line up a babysitter now because mama's going opening night. Check it out below and if you haven't read The Hunger Games drop what you're doing and go read it!

Hunger Games trailer

33 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 33 weeks

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a pineapple

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds 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.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +26-27 pounds approximately. I seem to be gaining about a pound a week which is what I should be doing.

Maternity Clothes: mostly maternity and even some of those shirts are getting tight, but that could be because I seem to shrink everything I wash.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Lots of movement and it's getting stronger everyday. He seems to be doing more rolling than kicking though some of his movements are so strong they catch me off guard.

What I miss: Being able to just move around easily like I use to. Even the smallest things like getting dressed in the morning or getting off the couch is a struggle nowadays.

Sleep: Not good, getting up a lot to pee, it's rather annoying.

Symptoms: It would be easier to list the symptoms I don't have! At this point I have a bit of everything- backaches, lots of braxton hicks contractions, minor heartburn, slight swelling in the feet, and just general discomfort almost 24/7.

Cravings: Chocolate milk and cherry coke (though not together) and basically anything sweet.

Best Moment this week: Going shopping with my mom last weekend for baby stuff. I have a slight addiction to baby clothes that is not healthy for my bank account.

What I am looking forward to: Having no set plans this weekend, hopefully I can get a lot of "nesting" done. Also, looking forward to Thanksgiving in two weeks and having a 4 day weekend, I need it badly.

 

**Don't forget to put your guesses into our baby pool

Baby Pool

With less than 2 months to go until this child makes his grand entrance into the world I thought it would be fun to setup a little baby pool and let everyone guess on when they think baby boy will make an appearance along with the rest of his stats. I actually saw this on Kirstens blog and thought it would be a really fun thing to do. You just go to our personal site and enter in your guesses. The winner will get....bragging rights! Who knows maybe I'll come up with a prize if someone really does guess dead on.

**If I end up with a scheduled C-section, we'll throw out the birthdate part of it and just keep the rest of the categories.

32 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 32 weeks

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a large jicama

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +25 pounds approximately. I'm thinking my goal of not gaining more than 30 pounds is out the window considering I still have about 8 weeks left and the holidays thrown in there.

Maternity Clothes: mostly maternity but still can squeeze into some jeans and larger regular shirts. My shoes are starting to get a bit tight though.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: All day everyday. The other night Kristian was pushing on my tummy where the baby usually kicks and 30 seconds later he would kick. Kristian would push again and a few seconds later he would kick again, it was like they were playing a little back and forth poking game with each other. It was cute.

What I miss: Not feeling uncomfortable 24/7 and wearing heels

Sleep: Good nights and bad nights. Last night was great, Tuesday night was miserable.

Symptoms: Same old same old; backaches, braxton hicks, some slight swelling at the end of the day and just recently minor heartburn. Good times.

 

Cravings: Still more interested in drinking than eating. I'm always thirsty but not particularly hungry most of the time.

Best Moment this week: Getting my maternity photos done last weekend. I love them! As of my doctor's appointment yesterday I'm back to measuring on schedule rather than two weeks ahead so that's good news.

What I am looking forward to: Finishing up the nursery, my goal is to have it done by the beginning of Dec. unfortunately I need Kristian's help with a few things and he is not in the nesting mode like I am so he's taking his sweet time with things.

Maternity Shots (taken at 32 weeks)

This past Sunday my friend Laura, who happens to be my sorority big sister, came over to take some maternity photos for us. Laura recently moved to Northern VA with her husband and two little boys which is awesome because I haven't seen her in years and now she lives right by where I work. It's always nice to have friends (and especially those with little kids) in the area.

Laura recently started a photography business and after seeing a lot of her photos posted on Facebook, including some great maternity shots of her pregnant sister I asked her if she would be so kind as to come shoot some of me. She very happily agreed and I'm so glad she did because the pictures I've seen so far are awesome!

She came over and took a bunch of photos of me in the still-a-work-in-progress nursery, some in the front of our house and a lot in the woods and down by the water behind our house. I can't wait to get a few of these framed and put in the nursery.

I think this is one of the more flattering shots of me. I think it's funny how my belly is veering to the left a bit. I guess he was moving around at the time.

While we were taking pictures in the nursery, Halpert kept coming in to watch and at one point he jumped in the glider and was posed so perfectly so we couldn't resist getting a few pictures with my furbaby. Based on his facial expression I think that he's thinking "Are you sure I won't be the baby anymore mom?"

I love this shot because it reminds me of one of our wedding photos where the photographer caught us kissing through the trees in a very similar pose. 

This will probably go in the nursery.

This is another favorite that I want to put in the nursery.

We were joking that this is the closest that I get to camping.

Love this shot as well. That's our front door behind me and a rose from our garden.

This is another favorite! And you get a sneak peek at the crib and bedding in the nursery. The little bear in the crib was Kristian's as a child.



These are just some of the photos she posted on Facebook. Check out her Facebook page if you want to see some of her other work, or if you live in Northern VA and needs a photographer.