Yep, Still Pregnant

I feel a little bad that I'm 26 weeks into this pregnancy and I've barely written about it at all. Honestly, though, I've barely written about anything over the past few months.  My life has been one stressful day after the next.  We have had repair contractors at our house every single week for as long as I can remember.  We've been dealing with plumbing issues since April and HVAC issues since July.  When our plumbing repairs are finally resolved, there will most certainly be a post about it. They have disrupted our lives tremendously and are costing us a fortune.  But, enough about that for now.  Let's do a little catch-up.

This pregnancy has been quite different from my pregnancy with Dutch.  I started out with a ridiculous appetite, I think because I was having really bad "morning" sickness.  Putting food in my stomach helped relieve some of the discomfort, but that meant I ate way too much!  I gained weight quickly and felt like my belly popped out immediately.  Luckily my doctor prescribed something that really helped with the sickness, which in turn decreased my food intake.  I felt dizzier and clumsier more often in this pregnancy than before.  I had the same insomnia and horrible heartburn/reflux that I remembered from last time, but they seemed to arrive much earlier in this pregnancy.  My insomnia is getting better, but the reflux is a daily occurrence.  I often feel like I can't quench my thirst throughout the day.  I will go to the fridge multiple times and attempt to drink milk, tea, water - anything because I feel so thirsty.  That does mean I end up drinking tons of water every day, though, so it's not so bad.  I can't say I "crave" anything - didn't during the other pregnancy either - but I do find myself wishing for candy every now and then.  It's not like a "I have to have this right now" feeling, but more of a "it would be nice if there were skittles in front of me right now" feeling.

Other symptoms include feeling fatigued quickly and going to the bathroom constantly. I remember the excessive bathroom breaks last time around, but again, I feel like that started later in the pregnancy.  I was already suffering this time at 19 weeks.  It's ridiculous.  I'm up at least 2 times a night to pee, and a zillion times during the day. I will literally go to the bathroom, go sit back down at my computer, and five minutes later feel like I could pee again. The worst is when I get the feeling of needing to pee and then can't remember if I just went or not. Man, pregnancy brain is sweet. I'm experiencing some sciatica, but it hasn't been too horrible so far. For about a week at a time, I will get this really sharp pain where my pelvis and spine meet, after I've taken a few steps.  Then it'll be gone the next week.  A couple weeks later, it will resurface.  I'm not getting the shooting pain down my legs or the numbness or tingling I experienced previously from the herniated disk, so I'm hopeful this pain really is just related to the pregnancy.  I was running for the first few weeks of this pregnancy, so I'm optimistic I can get back to that (pain-free) after this pregnancy.

Lastly, my weight.  I know women don't like to talk about this, but let's get serious.  It's on most of our minds.  I'm not embarrassed to say I struggle with my weight and I wish I was 15 pounds lighter before getting pregnant again. Being a mom and having back problems that restricted my exercise meant I didn't get into the shape I wanted to, though. I just see that as motivation to try harder after the second baby. I'm 5'7 and my starting weight was 148.5lbs at 4 weeks pregnant.  That looked like this:

What's funny is that I felt at the time that I needed to lose weight, but I look at that picture now and go, "Damn, I was skinny!"  Lol.  Here's a picture from 12 weeks:

You can definitely see the changes that took place on my front side during those 8 weeks. I forgot to weigh myself and write it down, but I had probably gained 7-10 pounds at this point. Here's what I looked like at 20 weeks:

I can admit that I don't look too big, but unfortunately the numbers on the scale told a different story. By 20 weeks, I was up to 167lbs, which meant a total weight gain of 18.5lbs at that point. Considering some people have gained just a third of that at the same point in their pregnancy, you can see how disconcerting that can be.  I haven't taken my 26 week picture yet, so here's the one from last week:

It is what it is!  I'm definitely getting larger and feeling more uncomfortable. My weight is around 174.5lbs now, which means 26 pounds gained.  I'm not a petite person, and I make large babies, so this weight gain was to be expected.  But, I'm hopeful I can keep it under control and not gain more than 40lbs total.  I gained at least 45lbs with Dutch, probably closer to 50.  I was able to get it all off in about 5 months' time, but if I can keep my weight gain to 40lbs or less this time, maybe it'll be a little easier!  I'm not gonna lie, though, making big babies is not so bad. I can feel this baby move constantly, very clearly.  I like that he's large enough that I can really feel all of his movements.  It's a nice reminder throughout the day of what the bigger picture is in all of this.

40 Weeks

LAST pregnancy photo!  Looking forward to meeting my son for the first time tomorrow.  :)

Almost There

I'm over 37 weeks now, but this pic was taken at 36 weeks, when we were celebrating some friends' birthdays at III Forks.

Are we there yet??  I'm growing pretty impatient!  Can't wait for our little guy to make his appearance.  He'll be here sometime in the next 2-3 weeks.  Stay tuned!

Journal of Janet

I was fortunate enough to be thrown two more baby showers this past weekend, and we are feeling much more confident now about being prepared when the little munchkin decides to make an appearance!  Our nursery is filled to the brim, thanks to our generous friends and family!  Besides things from our registries, we received a few more very thoughtful homemade gifts! 

My friend, Katie, made this adorable knitted cap:

My friend, Rachel, (who is 37 weeks pregnant btw!) made Dutch this blanket in my favorite colors, orange and green.

Previously I picked out fabrics that I liked for a blanket my mom would make, and she gave it to me on Saturday.  I love, love, love it!

Here's the sweet little tag that she stitched into it:

I saved the best homemade gift for last.  My mom did an awesome job of keeping journals while she raised my sisters and I.  When the two of them got pregnant with their first child, she transcribed their journals onto her computer and then printed them out and bound them.  I knew she had done this, so I have been eagerly anticipating getting my journal for the past few months!  She gave it to me this past weekend, and it's truly an amazing gift to give your child.  Now I have a written record of so many memories and milestones from my birth through age 11, as seen through the eyes of my mom.  It's neat to see when I started crawling, walking, talking, etc, and I'll be able to compare Dutch's future milestones to mine.  Here's a few pics of excerpts from the journal.  Lots of entries cracked me up!

Around 9 months old

just shy of 2 years old

27 months old

34 months old

35 months old

44 months and 47 months

just shy of 7 years old

7 years and a few months (my skepticism apparently started early!)

And then, of course, the last page of the journal that I can't read without getting choked up:

It's Coming Together!

I'm finally feeling like I'm getting close to a functioning nursery.  Even though our munchkin will be spending a lot of his time early on in my arms or in the co-sleeper in our room, it'll still be nice to have everything ready when it's time for him to move into the nursery.  Here are a few pics showing where it's at now:

I'm guessing the sink in the room will come in handy!  I like having it separate from the toilet and tub/shower that's next door because I can decorate this area for a kid, but leave the main part of the bathroom still looking like an adult's guest bathroom if we have a guest staying in the adjacent bedroom.

I picked up this wall decoration from Bed, Bath & Beyond.  It doesn't scream out child's room, but I really liked what it had to say, and thought it would be good to serve as inspiration to us and our kiddo when he's able to read.

I did this quick little painting to hang above the closet doors.  My favorite quote is "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."  So, I shortened it just a bit and fancied it up with the orange dots.  I'd like my son to learn from an early age about selflessness and charity, and this will help me teach him that.

Here's a wide view of the majority of the room.  We don't have a lot of floor space left because we've got all our big furniture pieces bought, but we're still lacking in the bedding area.  I need a mattress pad, some sheets, and possibly a bedskirt and then I think we'll be in good shape.

And lastly a close-up of the crib and bookcase.  Next to the crib (not shown) is a dresser filled to the brim with clothes for Dutch, and once we get a changing pad, we'll put that on top of it.

34 weeks today, so let the countdown begin!

She's Nesting Again!

With the realization that my munchkin is just a little more than a month away from gracing us with his presence, I'm back in the nesting mode.  Our master closet is not small by any means, but I still found myself feeling like it was disorganized, cluttered, and cramped.  After getting my hubby to move our dresser closer to the wall, I set to work on getting everything into its place and opening up some more floor space.  I think it looks good now!

  

Now, let's see how long we can keep it in this condition!

Christmas Week Recap

Another week has quickly come and gone, and of course we were busy!  Meezy and I set up our baby monitor, but it's not your typical run of the mill store-bought item!  Thanks to my husband's wicked smarts, we bought the necessary items individually, and I'm pretty sure it's much better than what any of the baby stores are currently selling (and comparably priced).  First, we bought the Foscam wireless pan/tilt IP camera.  It uses infrared to get good views in the dark, and also has two-way sound. 

Next, we bought the Vizio 8" Android Tablet to use as the monitor.  We downloaded one of the many apps that's compatible with the Foscam camera, and it gives us a great view of the crib, on a large screen, with sound.

We also downloaded apps to our smartphones, and we can view the live feed from there too.  We can adjust the camera's position from any of the devices, and also hear sound or set it up to notify us if there's movement in the crib.  I'm excited to put it to use!

Another advancement in the nursery was the hanging of our little man's initials.  They came plain white from the store, so I added some colored circles to fit with the theme of the room.

 
On Friday night, we went to a lovely dinner at St. Martin's with our friends Brian, Sharon, Justin, and Stari.  It was French cuisine, which was the perfect preface to our next stop - watching Les Miserables at Winspear Opera House.  I had never seen the play/musical before, but I've heard Meezy talk about it in the past as one he liked, so I was excited to get the chance to see it too.  I enjoyed the show, and didn't realize that I had heard a couple of the songs previously but didn't know they were from Les Mis at the time.

 
On Sunday, we traveled down to the Midlothian area to spend time with my side of the family.  It also happens to be my Mom's birthday on Christmas, so we had lots to celebrate!  I love seeing my nieces and nephews, because they bring such joy to my life.  It's hard to believe there will be another little one joining the celebration next year, but I look forward to it.  This is our last Christmas without a child, and from here on out - everything changes!  Here's a pic of me from Sunday, at 31.5 weeks.

 
We're less than two months away!

The Baby Owner's Manual

Meezy and I have sporadically read What to Expect When You're Expecting, but we haven't read it from cover to cover, partly because it's pretty thick, and partly because it's just not very intriguing!  Don't get me wrong, it has good information in it, but I just see myself using it as a reference book if something comes up that I have a question about.  We ordered Let's Panic About Babies thinking it would be more entertaining and keep us reading, but the first few pages were really cheesy and not funny like I expected them to be, so I stopped reading (I know - we're hard to please!).  We had given up on finding a good baby book until our friends, Brandon and Ericka, bought us one called The Baby Owner's Manual.  We were pleasantly surprised!

 
It's just over 200 pages, so it doesn't seem like wayyyyyy too much information than you'd ever care about.  It approaches parenting very practically, and doesn't include the constant eye-rolling mushiness that I don't need to read about (I'm going to experience it myself soon enough, so I'd like my baby book to give me knowledge, not an emotional response!).  It's also funny, but doesn't try to be too funny.  It doesn't go into too much detail on any one topic, so you feel like you're getting a good overview in a lot of areas without feeling bogged down.  I read the book from cover to cover pretty quickly, because I was actually interested, and I kept coming across little tidbits that made me go, "Oh, that's a good idea." or "I didn't realize that."  So, in other words, I would recommend this book to soon-to-be or new parents if you want a break from the run-of-the-mill encyclopedia-like books! 

Catching Up

I feel like I've been running around like crazy lately, but busy is good!  Let me try to catch up on our happenings over the past week or so. 

The glider we had on our registry went on sale for $75 off, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get it for a steal!  I ordered it from Target on a Saturday and got it the next Tuesday.  Nice!  We put it together and we're pretty happy with it.  It looks good in the room, and is comfortable.

We were also incredibly grateful to receive an amazing gift from our good friends, Jonathan and Rose.  They bought us the swing and pack and play from our registry.  Can you say generous??  We set up the swing and I just wished I had my little angel already around so I could put him in it!  It's so cute.

And here's what the pack and play looks like:

We also received an awesome package in the mail from our friends in San Francisco, Jimmy and Rosa.  We couldn't help but smile when opening it!

I can't wait for our little guy to be old enough to wear it!

Last Friday I was super busy trying to negotiate a real estate contract, but I was able to get things settled in time to make it to my 3 year old niece's holiday program.  It was quite entertaining!  As much as she loves to sing at home and wants everyone to be quiet so she can be the center of attention, it was unusual for her to sit there during the program and not sing a single word!  Lol.  I guess it just wasn't her cup of tea that day.  She still managed to be a little ham during it, though, and made silly faces towards us in the audience.

After the program, I told Livi that the baby was moving and she could come feel him kick if she wanted to.  She put her hand on my belly and her face lit up when she felt him move.  It was so sweet.  A little time passed and we were eating dinner, and she abruptly got up and said, "I'm going to check on the baby" and walked over and put her hand on my belly.  Talk about my heart melting!  Later that night, we went looking at Christmas lights with her, and she kept us entertained with her wit, as usual.  We drove through a community display of lights, which included a man in a Santa suit at the end, passing out candy canes.  She waved to him, got her candy cane, then made a disapproving look and said, "I don't think he's the real Santa."  What a stinker!  After eating her candy cane, she turned to me and said, "smell my mouth."  Sometimes you just can't explain what goes on inside a kid's head, but it sure does keep me smiling!

On Saturday night, we went to a tacky Christmas sweater party thrown by our friends, Casey and Rachel.  We had nothing sufficiently tacky enough in our own closet, so we had to do some shopping to try and find just the right outfits.  I think we succeeded!

The hubs in a sweater vest and me in a fringy sweater with shoulder pads.  yeah buddy!

Our outfits hurt my eyes when I looked at them, but they were actually quite tame in comparison to what some of the other party guests were wearing!  Haha.  It was a good time and I look forward to starting the planning process a little earlier next year so we can try to be in the running for the prize for the tackiest outfit!

In other news, I passed my glucose test, and this week marks my 30th week of pregnancy!  I'll be going to the doctor for my normal checkup and then I'll be back again to see her every 2 weeks until the 1 week appointments start.  Whoa!  This pregnancy sure is flying by.  I hope I stay just as busy as I have been lately.

Finally, let me use this opportunity to wish my parents a happy anniversary!  Today marks 40 years of marriage for them, and I couldn't be more proud.  They are a wonderful couple, and they have always been amazing parents to me and my sisters.  I am so happy they reached this impressive milestone, and I look forward to the day when Meezy and I can celebrate 40 years too!    

Not Your Average Baby Shower

If you know my husband and I, you know that we don't like doing things the same way as everyone else.  We like to buck tradition and just do what makes us happy!  On Friday night, we had a party to celebrate our pregnancy.  Most people would call that a baby shower, but how many baby showers do you know that are for couples, have catered Mexican food, serve beer and beergaritas, include a betting board, and end close to 1am when the last guests finally retire from the drinking games?  That's how we roll!  Doesn't matter how old we get, we'll always be young at heart.  Here's a peek at the awesome invitations, provided by Lauren at Palm Papers:

 
My hostesses - Kari, Katie, Jenn, and Jo - did an amazing job of making the party exactly like we wanted it.  They brought in fajitas, enchiladas, beans, rice, guacamole, and queso from Rosa's Cafe (my favorite!) and cupcakes from Stein's Bakery.  They set up an adorable clothesline filled with socks and onesies, placed beautiful orange lilies around the house, made a board where guests could bet $1 to guess when the baby would be born, and set up a scrapbook station where guests got their picture taken and wrote down advice for us.  It was perfect!  Here are some pics:

  Our adorable kiddo clothesline

The generosity of our friends!

Car seat cover made by my friend, Colleen

Nursing covers made by my friend, Tiffany

Rocking chair made by my friend, Jenn

Cutest rocking chair ever!

Diaper cake made by my friend, Michele

More of the diaper cake

Love these burp cloths!