Countdown

Less then two weeks. 


I don't think i am grasping that sentence. We are almost in single digit days here. How did this happen!? It always felt like July was forever away and now it is days away. Days! 


People keep asking if im excited. I think the only thing i am though is in denial. I don't think i am fully realizing that this whole pregnancy thing is done, and there is a baby behind it. Really- are you sure i won't just be like this forever? It's strange. 


Even stranger is the feeling of being a ticking time bomb, with no idea when it will explode! It could truly be any minute, any day. It's kind of a scary feeling. It's exactly like being on that ride at amusement parks that takes you up to the top, makes you sit there, then drops you! I fell like i am on that ride. It takes forever to get to the top, i am there, and i am just waiting. Half excited, half scared out of my mind. Knowing literally any second it's coming but having no way of controling when. No warning. Just BOOM. 

Scary. (Side not though, i really do love this ride in real life!)

xoxo

the mom

Getting Ready

With the knowledge that you are due to come any day now i figured getting our bag together for the hospital might be a good idea. I made a list of all the stuff we need to get still, and the stuff that will need to be grabbed last minute (like computer and chargers). I hear some people wait to pack their bag until they go into labor, but seeing as i do NOT do well with pain i know i will be of no use then. So i am getting together all the things i can and pinning a big note to the bag with all the last minute items to grab before we leave. 


I took a little trip to target and got all travel sized toiletries for us to bring along. I have no idea what they have there at the hospital but i would feel better knowing i have my own deodorant and soaps. I am not a fan of stinkiness (or dirty ears- see the qtips!). 

Notice the travel size tums. Those are for your dad, he has the weakest stomach and at any point without warning it can get wicked so i figured it would be a good idea to have something for him. 

I also made up a bag with a dozen mini gatorades and a few snacks in it. I know from experience that if you ask for a drink it can take a freakin hour before they give you a tiny little cup of juice! I only included a few snacks, they are mostly for your dad but i did include some skittles in there for me!

I am trying very hard not to over pack (i do that often). All these lists online include a million things, do we really feel like hauling all of that around? I evaluated and tried to cut it down to the minimum of what i think i will really need. It seems to be a bit silly to pack clothes other then very comfortable, very lounge like outfits. I am not putting anything pretty or cute in there so i apologize to all of you who may come visit, you will just have to deal with the lounge outfits. I figure no one will be paying attention to me anyway so it will be okay!

I also decided to go out and buy cheap underwear that i can just toss out before leaving he hospital. I do not want to wear the hospital mesh ones i hear they give you and i don't want to ruin all my nice expensive underwear. Aren't you happy i'm sharing information about my underwear with you? 

Still a few things to take care of, but not a bad start!

xoxo

the mom

Babies come with a lot of stuff!

I went through your diaper bag last night and made sure it was well equipped. It's got diapers, wipes, all the little travel sized powders and creams and soaps, poopie bags, little first aid kit, binkies, hand sanitizer wipes (that ones for me), wash cloth, a fuzzy blanket and a receiving blanket. I think that's it. Is that all i need, i have no idea. Isn't that terrible, i probably have everything i don't need and nothing i do! I figure once you are here and i am hauling you around i will figure it out.

Is that even something we need at the hospital? I don't know but i figured it was something i should have ready. 

I am thinking the only thing we need for you at the hospital really is a carseat (which we still need to get installed!) and an outfit to bring you home in. I did pack a couple blankets in there because the nurse at the hospital told us you needed one to come home in, but its going to be july, i don't know that a blanket will be needed! 

Your little coming home outfit is not in there though. Grandma and auntie e bought you an outfit but its newborn size and we are all worried you will come out a monster baby like your dad (did i mention yet he was 11lbs?) so we are afraid to commit to it. Once you are here and we know what size you are then they plan to wash it and bring it up to us, or go out and get a bigger one! I hope you can wear it though because its very adorable. 

xoxo

the mom 

10 more days

The normal thing for everyone to do (at least where i work) seems to be that a few weeks before the baby is born you go on leave.  I was stupid though and thought, "what will i do with myself for weeks, at home, alone, waiting for the baby". I was positive that i would be able to work up until the you were born. 


Little did i know that those people probably didn't sit at home twiddling their thumbs. They probably had a million things to do still. At this point it is literally any day you could come and i am not ready. You have no bed to come home to, wash still is not done, the house is a wreck, shelves need to be hung. I took 4 days weeks for the last couple months thinking that would be enough to get everything done but i was very wrong. Those days are filled with sitting in the doctors office then scrambling to get a few things off my list. It's exhausting and before i know it that day is over and im back at work.


I try and get stuff done when i have a few minutes here or there but i literally cannot find the energy. I sit there and cry because there is so much to do and i know i need to do it but i just cannot get it done. It's not that i don't have the will or i physically can't do it, i am just so tired, so very, very tired. 


The smart thing would have been to at least give myself a week. If anything i would have some peace of mind. Right now i just have stress. Work is stressing me out, the house is stressing me out, the thought of a baby being here any day is stressing me out. I know how bad that is, i get it, and i really don't need to hear from people that i need to relax and that it will all come together. 


There is a light at the end of the tunnel though, i can see it. I have 10 working days left. I can do it. It may involve crying on the way to work every morning, but i CAN do it. So for now i am just going to stare at that number and watch it dwindle away. 

xoxo
the mom

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Baby Elephant

I decided to do elephants after seeing this awesome James Eames chair which I just had to have, until i realized how expensive it was! Isn't it the cutest thing ever though?

That was just not going to happen though. I figured i could still do elephants though, and although i added other animals as well elephants were still my favorite. 

There are not many cute and reasonable mobiles out there and the plan had been to make a pinwheel mobile because i could control the colors and i thought it would be really cute. 

Until i got the idea to find an elephant one. And by find i mean create! Your grandma jill is great at knitting. She made a cute teddy bear for pancake and cherrio at christmas so i figured she could probably make elephants too. And i was right! 

Using the fabric from all the bedding and curtains she matched the yarn and created five little elephant. I got a mobile and replaced the toys. 

I think they are so adorable! One of my favorite things in the room. 

xoxo

the mom

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xoxo

the mom & the baby

Wives Tales

I am doing my best here to move things along. Taking my rose oil, spending hours rolling and bouncing on my yoga ball, taking long walks. These are all things that the midwife recommends and she knows will help. Then there are all those crazy stories and wives tales you hear about doing this or doing that to help go into labor as well though. Some of them are crazy but some are as harmless as eating pineapples. So that is exactly what i've started doing. I picked up two nice big pineapples from the store the other night. 

I figure nothing bad can come from eating lots of pineapple so why not give it a try. 

xoxo

the mom

Pity Party

I had a bit of a mini melt down this morning. Fortunately I work in a very casual place where it is okay that i wear my one pair of old navy flip flops every single day because those are the only shoes that will slide onto my feet anymore. I can throw on my frumpy maternity clothes and call it a day. 


Every once and a while though a girl just wants to feel like she looks nice! I love accessories, always have. They make such a huge difference. Nice shoes and some pretty jewelry make a big difference. Most of these maternity clothes are a bit drab looking but could be saved with some nice accessorizing. 


This morning i tried on almost every pair of shoes (which is a LOT), including several high heal shoes but not a single one fit. All these beautiful summer sandals and wedges going to waste.  Then i pulled out the jewelry but the only finger any rings would fit on was my pinky, and somehow i was just not pulling that look off. I shifted through all my bangles hoping one would slide over my ginourmous hand. Nothing. 


So i sat down and cried for a minute because i felt like an ugly, frumpy clothes wearing, no accessories freak. Which probably sounds really dumb to most people but it was just one of those mornings where i really needed to feel like i looked nice. I needed that little confidence boost. Instead though i had to settle for a pair of pretty earrings and my rubber flip flops. At least my toes look really nice thanks to that pedicure Mandy treated me to the other day though! 


xoxo
the mom

Butt action!

We are a little lopsided this morning. I have a butt pushing on the right side of my belly, making for a not so perfectly round stomach!

very weird. 


xoxo
the mom

Pregnancy

It's almost over. Which I really cannot believe. Where did that time go? I remember it being November and I just couldn't wait to speed things up and now that its almost July I kind of want to speed things down. Does that make sense at all? Probably not. 


Everyone keeps asking if i am ready, and i am, but i'm not. 


I am ready to be able to roll over in bed or get up off a couch without a huge amount of effort. I don't know that i am ready to actually labor a baby out of me (did i mention i am terrified of this part!?). I am very ready to meet your little face and see what you look like. Not so sure I am ready to have another human relying on me every second of every day for ever (again, a little scary). 


Some people say they just love being pregnant, others despise it. I think i am somewhere in the middle. 


Reasons i love being pregnant:
It's fun to watch my belly move around as you squirm. 
It was so exciting to see a growing bump, even if i was the only one who noticed at first. 
There are so many possibilities and hopes.
You never have to suck your gut in after a meal (haha i love this one!). 
I think i look kind of cute this way. 
It's fun to see friends so excited about this little person on his way. 
Seeing mark get excited is the best thing in the world. 
My nails and hair grow super fast! 


Reasons to not love being pregnant:
I hate the attention, every stranger and check out person feels it is their need to talk to me about being pregnant and ask me questions. 
I felt like total crap for the longest time in the beginning. 
It takes a while to actually look pregnant, until then everyone else just thinks you're fat. 
It is impossible to roll over or get out of bed. 
If i drop something, it will stay there unless someone else is there to assist me getting back up. 
Lots of weird stuff happens, like my hands being numb all the time. 
So swollen. I miss shoes, and jewelry. 
The fear and anticipation of labor. 


Overall though I am sure it is worth every nauseous swollen minute. I still cannot believe it is almost over though (i hope anyway!).


xoxo
the mom

36 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: ugh, i hate to say it but i think 23lbs. getting very close to my 25lb goal, something tells me with almost 4 weeks left i will end up going over, hopefully not too much though!

Pregnancy Woes this week: just the heat really. i usually love hot weather but being this pregnant i CANNOT tolerate it! and my pants are starting to get tighter, which i think means my butt is growing- not okay! 

Happy times this week: the whole week was fairly happy actually! (except for the heat!)

Belly Button Status: normal. it will certainly never pop. i think i have an abnormally deep belly button. 

Food Cravings:  nothing still. 

Dr. Visits:  once a week. last visit on friday the midwife said you will probably be close to your due date because you haven't dropped yet. she suggested rose oil and squats to move things along. everything else seems to be going well though! 

Labor Signs: i think i've been having practice contractions, but having never actually had a contraction before i cannot say for sure.

Projects I worked on this week: finally finished painting the bookshelves, we just need to hang them. i also washed all the newborn and 0-3 month clothes so they are ready. washed all the toys, blankets, socks, bibs, hats as well. 

Looking Forward to: the midwife saying that you have dropped! 

And now for a very blurry photo of snee and i. 

speaking of the dogs...they love to snuggle up next to my belly. Especially pancake, and she pushes against it, which must annoy you because you start kicking her. Neither one of them have even been phased by this though. So maybe next time, kick harder!

xoxo

the mom

a little perdiction

It was our company "outing" at work the other day, which actually took place in the building. The theme this year was boardwalk so they brought all the boardwalk fun to the office. One of those things was tarot reading. You can't walk more then 10 feet down the AC boardwalk without seeing some kind of psychic booth. 

I thought it would be fun to see what she had to say so i participated. Of course it was mostly about you. She had me draw 6 cards, but a 7th got stuck to one of them, which happened to be the king card. She asked if you were a boy, i said yes, and she said thats what the extra card was all about. 

The number three came up so according to her we will see you in about three weeks. According the the cards she anticipates a quick and easy delivery (she could have also just been trying to make me feel better, she is getting paid for this afterall!)

We shall see if she is right, she had also said she sees a lot of money coming our way within the next 6 weeks, i think she was confused though and meant she seems it dissipating! Between me leaving work, and your arrival (not to mention your dads expensive car issues lately) i am quite certain there will be no large increases in our bank accounts any time soon!

I think i will go ahead and convince myself she is right about the three weeks though! Just to make me feel better. 

xoxo

the mom

A little update

The guesses for your arrival all surprisingly seem to be earlier rather then later. Seems you might be proving everyone wrong though. With almost exactly 4 weeks left the dr said yesterday that your head is still pretty high and chances are you will be arriving closer to your due date rather then earlier. 

She did however suggest a few things to convince you to get moving. Apparently if i do squats everyday that will move you into place, she also suggested taking the herb rose oil. So that is my plan :)

You dad has practically been shoving those rose oil pills down my throat, i think he, along with many others, is anxious to see you! 

xoxo 

the mom

Guessing Game

Your dad and I were talking about when you might come so we decided to make a little chart. Here are some of the guesses so far...

(click on it to make it larger)

xoxo
the mom

Tea Party

A few pictures from the tea party shower!

Arriving at the party

Yum!

Vera diaper bag- yay!

HUGE line of clothing that went on and on and on...

Grandma and Auntie

Grandma and Great-grandma!

xoxo

the mom

Shower Invitations

Your Auntie is awesome and created the cutest baby shower invites I have ever seen. The shower was a tea party so she set the invite up as a tea bag, pull cord and all! 

Invite, Envelope and Thank you card (which she made but would not share!)

She also created menu cards and set the out at the tables.

There was a table set up with lots of pretty pitchers filled with different teas.

She made tea tags to go along with each pitcher so people knew what they were.

Simply adorable!


xoxo
the mom

Foot Envy

I love flip flops, its one of my favorite parts of warm weather. I have lots and lots of cute sandals however these days the only ones im sporting are the rubber old navy flip flops or somehow by a miracle my coach flip flops (which i am probably stretching out and ruining). 

I usually wear about an 8 maybe 8.5 but the other day i couldn't even get my feet into a size 10 flip flop! Size 10 i say! Large swollen feet/ankles/calves are simply a part of life now. I ice them in the evening but nothing seems to help. 

I feel like a total freak and just go about the day hoping people won't look down past my belly. 

Here is what my feet normally look like in my coach flip flops

(this was last june just after i got them)

And here is what they look like now

Another comparison for you...

It's incredible. I actually forgot what my normal feel look like. I had very pretty little feet at one point, now I am just filled with foot envy! 

xoxo

the mom