Pregnancy: Week 36-37 in Review

Or rather what this post should be titled: "Pity Party For One."

Well, I'm reporting live from my living room couch - essentially the same place I've been since last Thursday. I've been sick and finally went to the doctor today and have an upper respiratory infection. NOT fun for this about-to-be 38 weeks pregnant lady. I'm taking some medication that my doctor OK'd and hope to be better in the next couple of days. In the meantime, you might consider avoiding me altogether until I get over this bout of sickness and accompanying pity party.
Feeling? Terrible, but I think 90% of it is related to my sickness.

Sleeping? Normally, I sleep alright. My cough is definitely keeping me up at night, which is really interrupting all the sleep/rest that people keep telling me I should be trying to get. 

Weight Gain? A little over 25 pounds.

Baby Size? No idea... They should give us an estimate at our appointment tomorrow, though! My guess is that he will be an 8 lb baby, though, by the time he arrives. Just a hunch! :-)

Maternity Clothes? I kind of don't even want to talk about it. But please don't judge if you see me wearing the same thing multiple times in the next two weeks. All I care about is being comfy and looking (relatively) presentable.

Cravings? Same as before... but I'm on a bit of a kick with sweets. I just got some Girl Scout Cookies last weekend and ummm, they are rocking my world. And my hubby picked me up a sugar cookie from Potbelly the other day and it literally made my entire day. Granted, I'd been home sick, alone all day, so it was a rather lame day, but still. (It's the little things.)

Baby Position? I'm pretty sure he's still breech. He's had some pretty violent movement over the past week or so, but don't think he's flipped. So we're scheduling a c-section.

What I Miss? Honestly, the only thing I really miss is just feeling good. Which I expect to return as soon as I get rid of this sickness.

What I'm Looking Forward To? We're putting a few finishing touches on the nursery and doing some major organization, so we're excited to get that done so I can begin to wait impatiently for our little one to arrive.

Best Moment? We've made a ton of progress on the nursery. I called in reinforcements (i.e. a few friends to help me with the gallery wall and my Mom to help me with some projects) and things are starting to look really good!

Belly Button Status? Outie. And it doesn't even bother me anymore!

Breaking my cardinal rule of "No cell phone pics in the bathroom mirror" but the hubby has been working late so had to get creative...

Pregnancy: Week 34-35 in Review

There have been lots of changes over the past two weeks. My sweet little baby kicks have turned into moments of "Excuse me, can you just stop what you're saying for a minute as my baby is moving my insides around and it's rather hard to concentrate." Nothing painful, just errrr...uncomfortable? Distracting? I originally had a feeling this would be an easy, low-key, laid-back baby, but now I'm not so sure. What do you know? He's not even here yet and I already can't control my own child. ;-) But on to the recap...


Feeling? I feel alright. I really do. Things are getting a little harder. I get tired more quickly, my ankles swell at the end of the day and I just don't have the energy or motivation to exercise like I did before (Sorry, Summer Sanders pregnancy DVD. Not today!) But overall, I'm still relatively comfortable.

Sleeping? Normally, I sleep alright. I wake up several times a night to go to the bathroom or flip over (which is a task in itself), but I think the real loser on the sleeping end is my poor hubby. I have what I'm just going to call "pregnancy congestion," which means I've started snoring. I've given him full permission to move to the guest bedroom on nights where it gets too bad.

Weight Gain? I've gained nearly 25 pounds. Whatevs. I'm growing a human.

Baby Size? At of the end of week 35, he was 6 lbs (or so they say). There's really no way for them to tell the exact weight

Maternity Clothes? My maternity wardrobe is quite narrow now as I've outgrown a few items... But aside from one tunic I bought from Target, I refuse to buy anything else!

Cravings? Same as before... Sweet pickles, chips, pineapples, apples. But I'm into a new thing where I let myself indulge in one naughty craving a week. Week 34 was chili dogs (no judging) and Week 35 was a ginormous box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch... because, I mean really... how great is that cereal?!

What I Miss? Being able to lean over and easily get on and off of our big chair in our living room.

What I'm Looking Forward To? Now that all of our showers are done, I'm just ready to finish the nursery and hang out with my hubby the last few weeks before baby arrives.

Best Moment? Getting to visit friends and family at our baby showers! Also, pretty much anytime anyone says, "You look so great! I can't even tell your pregnant until I see your belly." What people don't realize is that no matter how small or not swollen you still are, you definitely don't FEEL that way. So it's such a self-esteem booster!

Belly Button Status? Outie. And. Owning. It.

Baby Position? {new category} He's still breech (head up). But by the time it's time for me to have this baby (one way or another), I will literally have tried every (safe) option to get him to flip. So, if he decides not to flip, I think I'll be at peace. :-)

Other fun happenings:

We got to see our littlest love on Valentine's Day!

Fun with trying to flip the baby - this is my ironing board "breech tilt"

Nursery Decor (Planning & Progress)

So, we've been working on the nursery quite a bit. Mainly just organizing and putting gifts away from our showers, but we're getting ready to start really pulling the room together.

What we've done:
- Put together the crib

- Finished the changing table (full post to come on this, but wanted to show you the finished product!)

Greg spent so much time and energy on this changing table and it's perfect. :-)

- Replace lighting fixture with drum light (see in below photo)
- Add a neutral rug (see above and below)
- Add side table for next to glider (see in below photo)


So, here's just a little sneak peek (excuse all the stuff all over the room!)

What we have left to do:
- Add glider - It should come in as early as this week... Or as late as mid-March. We're waiting on you, little glider!

Ours will be navy with white piping - it's from Buy Buy Baby

- Add book shelves (We bought a bunch of white photo ledges from Ikea that will serve as bookshelves. We'll add them right above the glider and are hoping to make this corner of the room our little reading nook where we can do bedtime stories.)

- Add curtains - something similar to these, but a few tweaks and in different colors:

I'm sending in for help (from my Mom) on this one!

- Do gallery wall above changing table - this will be a mix of photos and cute framed art that I've either DIY'd on Photoshop or will be ordering from Etsy.
- Add toy box - my stepdad is building Connor a toy box, which we think will live along the wall next to the crib. We may hang a small mirror and potentially a shelf and a hook above that, which can hold the diaper bag. Still figuring this one out.
- Hang pennant that says baby's name over his crib that my Mom made.

This is the pennant (picture from my baby shower)

So we're hoping to wrap up everything in the next two weeks... Can't wait to show you the finished product!

Operation: Flip That Baby

A trip to the doctor last week (baby is totally fine!) and a sonogram gave us some news that we were not anticipating. Apparently, our little baby is breech as of right now. This means that instead of being head-down, his head is hanging out near my right rib cage and his spine on my side and his legs and arms are folded up in front of him. And note that when I say "little baby," I mean "ginormous baby." OK, not necessarily ginormous, but according to my all-knowing BabyCenter app, our little guy should weigh in around 4 3/4 lb. Nope, according to our sonogram technician, he's weighing around 5 lb, 5 oz. It's just a matter of time before I start having nightmares that my baby will come out this size:

But back to the whole breech baby sitch... Basically, my doctor and nurse (and 8-10 other not-necessarily-qualified-to-answer people) I asked seem to think the baby still has a few weeks to flip. If he doesn't, it's scheduled c-section city for me and I'm not a happy camper about it. And note that when I say "not a happy camper," I mean "I cried at the doctor's office, then cried at lunch after the doctor appointment, then cried some more at home." It's one thing to go through labor and for one reason or another, things don't work out and you have to have a c-section, but as a first-time mommy-to-be, I feel like a scheduled c-section is sort of robbing me of the experience. (Healthy baby is obviously the #1 priority!)

So, enter Operation: Flip That Baby (said like how they say "Spin That Wheel" on The Price is Right or is it Wheel of Fortune?). My yoga instructor has been talking about this pose you can do that helps to balance out your uterus (TMI?) and can help in flipping a breech baby. It involves kneeling on the edge of a couch with your forearms on the ground, head-tucked for 30 seconds. So, I've been doing those religiously. I'm also currently blogging live from my living room with my rear up in the air. (again, TMI?) I even entered the dangerous, but very informational Internet vortex of home remedies for flipping a breech baby. So far, we've tried almost every (perfectly safe) option:

• Inversions (yoga poses as noted above)
  
• Talking to the baby, being encouraging, asking him to flip, if he can. I'm pretty sure the hubby looked at me like this when I explained this one to him:

  
But bless his heart, he's trying to be supportive of my craziness, so he even got down at the bottom of my tummy and talked to the baby. I'm pretty sure it started out something like, "Connor, this is your father speaking..." :-)

• Putting a cold pack up by where the baby's head is (apparently babies don't like this) and something warm down at the bottom of my tummy. I think this pissed him off quite a bit as there was quite a bit of movement. No telling if he flipped, though.
  
• Playing music at the bottom of my belly (It's like a "go toward the sound" idea). I've set up a pretty awesome Baby Lullaby Pandora station. Hopefully, he's not all like "Ugh, Mom, turn that shiz off..."
• Shining a flashlight at the bottom of my belly (similar to the above craziness, babies are supposed to "go toward the light.") Thirty seconds after starting this, we felt bad and worried he might get scared so we stopped this one.
  
• Peppermint oil - I haven't tried this one yet, but apparently you rub it at the top of your belly and babies don't like the smell, so it makes them want to flip.

I go back to the doctor on Thursday, but won't have another sonogram until next week, but we're hoping he flips before then. If you can, please send your prayers, good vibes and whatnot that he flips. Or if you know of any other tips or have experience with this issue, I'm definitely open to them!

Pregnancy: Week 32-33 in Review

Well, on to month 8, and may I just say that time is FUH-LYING? I thought I'd be finishing the nursery around week 34, but, ummmm not the case. Either way, I still feel like we have plenty of time, but maybe time to get going on that. My BabyCenter app also tells me it's also time to SLOW DOWN and get lots of rest. You know what? Not. A. Problem. That's actually my goal for the next 6 weeks. So, on to the recap...

Feeling? I had a couple of rough days where the baby was putting pressure on my pelvis, but other than that, I've actually been feeling alright. (Turns out pre-term labor is not the same things as just feeling uncomfortable... who knew?!) I get tired a bit easier (hello heavy breathing while climbing stairs... definitely can't hang like I used to!), but other than that can't complain.

Sleeping? (Yes, this is a new category.) Honestly, compared to other horror stories I've heard, I'm still sleeping pretty well. I get up a couple of times a night to run to the restroom and I do flip sides every few hours, but overall, I'm feeling so much more tired, so I'm still sleeping OK. The baby does like to wake up early on Saturday and Sunday mornings, therefore, so do I...

Weight Gain? I've gained about 22 pounds total. I've also stopped obsessing about my weight. There are way too many other things to obsess about...

Baby Size? He now weighs approx 4 1/2 lbs and is approximately 17 1/2 inches long. Now, he should be spending the next few weeks fattening up. Something like this... although I have no idea which direction he is.

Maternity Clothes? I feel like the size of my belly is getting a little out of control. In the coming weeks, I'm a bit afraid that I'm going to outgrow some of my maternity clothes. So don't judge if I wear the same 4 outfits over and over... I refuse to buy anymore maternity clothes.

Cravings? Same as before... Sweet pickles, chips, pineapples, apples. I eat all of these things every week as much as possible! But I'm on a bit of a sweets/pastry kick. We bought a King Cake (to commemorate Mardi Gras!) and I swear, I've single-handedly ate about 80% of that thing. My lowest point was when I was eating it right out of the box with a fork and knife. (Judge if you must.)

What I Miss? I do miss my energy and feeling in-shape. I also miss my mind. I've been having some mild pregnancy brain lately. Basically, if I'm at work and I don't write something down that I need to do, well, it's not going to happen. So I've got some crazy lists going on right now. Also, the fact that my husband and VP have the same name is not helping the situation. I came DANGEROUSLY close to sending my VP a calendar invite to a breastfeeding class. Um, dodged an awkward bullet there.

What I'm Looking Forward To? I had my first baby shower last weekend and it was absolutely wonderful (blog post to come on this later!). Over the next few weeks, I'm looking forward to our second shower and visiting friends in Oklahoma. Also, I'm really focusing on the nursery so hope to make a lot of progress in the near future! Finally, spending every minute I can with my hubby (despite his crazy "busy season" work schedule) since this is the last time it'll be just the two of us.

Best Moment? I'm really trying to soak every minute in. While we absolutely cannot wait to meet our little one, I feel like I'm going to be really sentimental about the pregnancy ending because, overall, it's gone so smoothly. Mentally blocking out the constant nausea of Weeks 5-11 and a handful of body freakout moments, I've adored every moment. :-)

Belly Button Status? OK, this is one area that I've - as my yoga instructor says - released control of. We've nearly entered the full "outie" status. And when I laugh or cough, it sort of pops in and out a bit. It's kind of hilarious. Maybe slightly terrifying, but still funny.

Picture by the baby's assembled crib!

Whoa - look at that belly. It makes this maternity top look like a baby tee!

Living Room Refreshed

So, I think when I decided I wanted to do some slight tweaking to our living room, I didn't realize how much time and energy the nursery and... you know, GROWING A HUMAN BEING would take. So, while I've only made some small changes, I'm still very pleased. And now that this is done, all energy will be put into finishing the nursery (updates to come!) and taking it easy.

So, in my original post, I outlined 4 steps. The first being:
1. Get New Area Rug to Help Pull the Room Together -- Done
2. Replace Ugly Art Canvas
3. New Couch Throw Pillows -- Done
4. Accessorize

I was able to knock out #2 and sort of #4. I think I told you previously that I bought the wall art on a random shopping trip; I only kind of liked it, Greg hated it, but we had a space on the wall to fill. Now I'm happy to tell you it's been replaced; never to return again! 

What did we replace with? Well, when we got the dresser that we turned into the baby's changing table, it actually came with this gorgeous mirror. When we went to pick up the dresser, the antique store owner was like, "Oh do you want the accompanying mirror?" I knew we wouldn't use it for the nursery, but it was free so we took it!

The hubby and I decided to spray paint the mirror a really pretty oil-rubbed bronze color and luckily it fit perfectly.

Step #4 was tweaked a bit when I got to thinking that I would have a baby crawling around in less than a year's time, so I picked up a couple of new items to accessorize, but decided to otherwise leave things more bare.

Here's the final product!

I'm happy to say that I was able to knock these few updates out for less than $300, which includes a new area rug, 5 new throw pillows, a mirror (free!) and a few accessories like the gold tray on the coffee table. 

I'm not going to say I'm done with house updates as I feel like a home is never finished, but my priorities are shifting and I've been putting so much effort into our little home simply so I could sit back and enjoy the baby once he arrives.

Pregnancy: Week 28-31 in Review

So, I'm all up in my third trimester. Despite the bouts of nausea throughout my first trimester, everything is going shockingly well. I felt awesome all throughout the second trimester - had lots of energy, didn't feel stressed... it was awesome. Then, Trimester 3 was all like "bahahhaha, hope you enjoyed it. It's over." I'm pretty sure I cried three times in the first week of the third trimester. I think the hubby was a little bit like, "ummm, what just happened to my wife?" I think I got just a bit overwhelmed, but I've since decided the chill the eff out and I'm back in control. So, on to the recap...

Feeling? Overall, I feel pretty good. I'm still sleeping decently well, which I'm super-grateful for. I definitely get tired more quickly and am feeling a little more on the lazy side. But again, nothing to complain about too much. :-)

Weight Gain? Well, I'm getting a little freaked out over here. As of the end of Week 31, I've gained about 20ish pounds. Oh well, according to my prenatal workout DVD hosted by Summer Sanders, (yes, the host of Nickelodeon's Figure It Out) it's all about "Growing Bellies. Healthy Mommies. Healthy Babies." Whatever you say, Summer.

Baby Size? You guys, he's getting so BIG! He now weighs more than 3 lbs and is approximately 16 inches long. According to BabyCenter, he's something like this:

Maternity Clothes? Oh yes. My pants situation is getting a little tough as my belly is getting bigger, but most of my maternity tops still fit OK... I'm tired of buying new maternity clothes, so hopefully no one notices that I wear the same 2-3 pairs of pants every week to work.

Cravings? Sweet pickles, chips, pineapples, apples. I eat all of these things every week as much as possible!

What I Miss? Being able to lean over without my belly getting in the way. And energy. I miss energy.

What I'm Looking Forward To? Baby showers (getting to see my family and friends!) and of course continuing work on the nursery.

Best Moment? Well the past few weeks have been full of lots of NOT fun stuff (glucose test, more bloodwork, a shot), but there have still been a few awesome moments. I feel like I'm starting to figure out his schedule; that he likes to move around/play in the evening (and at night) and early mornings, but I think he sleeps a lot during the day.

Belly Button Status? Ugh, I sort of can't even talk about this. It's, like, half-way to outie status. Last time I was at the doctor for a tummy check, I laid back on the table (so the doctor could listen to his heartbeat) and my belly button popped out! At first, I thought it was just me... until I saw Greg's face and I knew it was the beginning of the end for my "innie." In fact, if you check out this one maternity shot, you can actually see it poking out a bit...

Belly Pics:

Christmas Morning!

On to Month 8 - and 8 weeks and counting!