1st Xmas

Justin's 1st Xmas went great! It was great to have someone help me with all the festivities. First he helped me bake cookies...

then he helped me wrap all of the Christmas gifts for our family...

He got enough gifts (tons of toys and loads of cute outfits)for 10 babies- everyone was so generous! At first (Christmas Eve) he wasn't that into opening gifts...

Then he thought that presents were food so he got a little happier...

Eventually (by Christmas day) he got the hang of it and decided that he loves Christmas just as much as mommy does! (he's with his Grammie Linda in this picture)

Tagged

I got tagged by Melissa so I figured I should uphold my end of this bargain =)

Here's the game..
1) Choose the 4th picture folder on your computer
2) Choose the 4th picture
3) Explain the picture
4)Tag 4 other people



I'm sure Jody would be so embarrassed if he knew I posted this. We haven't had the new computer very long so we don't have a lot of picture folders. This was the 4th in the 4th folder. It's from about 3 weeks ago- It's Justin and Jody getting ready to go to sleep one night. I think it's cute! I love my guys.

Unfortunately, I can't do the last part because I don't know anyone else with a blog besides the people that were tagged with me, lol.

Silent Night, Holy night...

Justin slept through the night not once, not twice but THREE nights in a row. It's funny because when my alarm would go off at 6:30 for work I would think, "ugh oh God, already 6:30?". Now I wake up and I'm like, "Yes! 6:30- good job baby!". Every night at like 10:30 I feed him in my bed and we watch a little of a movie (we're in the middle of Pretty Woman- he loves it). He's usually asleep a little after 11, I put him in his bassinet and then- not a peep until around 6/6:30am. I feed him, change him and then we nap/snuggle til 8:30 when Jody gets up. He really is a fantastic baby!

We're still alive...

I know it's been a looong time since I posted. The only computer time I really get is when I'm feeding Justin and it's one handed. It takes forever to blog with one hand, lol. Life as a mommy is wonderful.

Justin will be 5 weeks tomorrow! At his one month appt he was up to 10lbs 15oz. That's my big guy! He is definitely a sweet, sweet baby...but with a temper like his mom's. He randomly sleeps through the night 1 or 2 times a week. Other than that he's up 1 or 2 times. I think my body is just used to waking up now. I'm getting used to substituting 8 hours of sleep for 3 two'ish hour naps through the night. He started to smile a few days ago- it's the most amazing feeling in the world. From about 3 weeks on we could rub his lower lip and he would "smile" but now it's real. If I come over and talk to him or sing in a silly voice his eyes crinkle up and here comes that little smile. He is so adorable. I can't believe how exhausting and hard it is to care for an infant 24/7. Yes, I knew about lack of sleep or crying etc... but it is sooo different when it's you, trust me. He went through a "fussy" period in the middle of last week. He would having screaming fits for like 20 minutes at a time (and now his crying comes with tears so it makes me feel way worse). You just feel so helpless and flustered. I went through a lot of aspirin. We learned that this kid needs lots and lots of burping and now life is MUCH better. I don't know how people have babies with colic. Jody said he would jump off a bridge.

I just had a "wow, being a mom is incredible" moment. Today we went Xmas shopping and visited Jody for lunch. It was freezing so when we got home I nursed him and then I laid down in bed. He snuggled right in against me with his head on my armpit laying sideways. I covered us up (only to the waist- I know my baby sleeping rules, lol) and we both fell asleep. I woke up first and he was still asleep. He was so warm and smelled so good and I could hear his soft little breathing. Maybe I still have postpartum hormones but I started to cry. He looked like the sweetest thing ever cuddled up against me and he has the most adorable sleeping face- honestly, like a little angel.<> I love being a mom =)

I thought the clock was broken.

I put Justin down to sleep last night at about 11:30 and I could tell he was gassy. He fussed (he kind grunts/whines) for about 10 minutes and I figured I was settling in for a rough night. I kissed him good night and fell asleep. I woke up to him fussing so I rolled over and much to my surprise the sun was up. I looked at the clock and it was 7:15. Whaaaat? I couldn't believe it. My little man slept through the night!!! I wanted to give him 5 million kisses. I'm sure it was a fluke or a stroke of good luck but I feel fantastic today. I fed him his bottle and he actually fell right back asleep. We knew he was overtired yesterday- he was being such a little grump. Even when he is a grump I cannot get over what a gorgeous, amazing baby he is. I keep peeking over at him now- I could stare at him forever.

On the mommy side of things I decided to brave the scale today. I've lost 26 out of the 41 baby pounds, 15 pounds to go. Oh, not to mention the additional 10 I had holding on from Xmas and our cruise riiight before I got pregnant. My goal is to lose that 25 (baby + holiday eating machine) pounds by Disney. I don't think it's unreasonable. I have about 5 1/2 months and lots of determination =)

Baby Jekyll and Baby Hyde

Baby Justin is 3 weeks old today! I can't believe it. Last night was a great night. We went to sleep around 10, he woke up at 3 to eat and then was back asleep by 4 until 8:30. It was MUCH better in comparison to being up every 15 minutes from 12 until 7am like Tuesday night. He is back on "required mittens" again. He loves his fingers so much that I feel guilty but it just has to be done. Yesterday I went to wash my hands after I changed him and I heard him screech/start crying. I ran into the bedroom and he had clawed his little nose so hard that he had a drop of blood coming down it. His nails grow so fast- sorry little guy, it's back to the mittens.

Goodbye Daddy =(

Today will be Jody's first day back to work. I can't believe it's already been a month. I guess it's time to find out if I really can do this alone. It's not like he's leaving and never coming back but he is just such an incredible help to me. It's funny to think that 3 weeks ago he had never even held a newborn. Now he is like an old pro. If there was a trophy for baby burping he would win it...trust me. We have just been such a great team. I'm going to miss his help and his company.

Last night we gave Justin his first "Tub" bath. (We had to wait until all of his cord was out and his circumcision healed.) He slept through the first half of it. Then the air must have hit his little weenie because he started peeing. I had to drain the tub b/c I didn't want him in his own pee. I was nervous about the water temp being too warm so I kept it on the cool side. I must have used too much cold because he screamed. We used that Johnson & Johnson bedtime lavender bath wash. It says "clinically proven to help baby sleep better". Justin slept from 12 until 6 straight through. I'm going to try it again tonight and if he sleeps like that again I will buy CASES of that baby wash.

Way to go!

After days of searching and a some time sucking on his index finger, my little peanut finally found his thumb this morning! Good job son!

Exhausted

Well, yesterday didn't start off so well. Justin was up at 6:30 and didn't want to go back to bed. I guess it was okay because I had so much cleaning to do. Our 2nd annual Thanksgiving Feast was a success. We ended up having 29 adults, 4 kids and 3 babies. We went through almost 50 pounds of turkey! Everything was delicious. Justin slept through most of the day but then work up around 4:30 and then charmed everyone for about 3 hours. After everyone left he was fighting to stay awake- I think he was all wound up from getting passed around so much. He ended up getting waaay overtired and was pretty crabby during the night- poor little guy...and poor mommy. I took him for all the night feedings b/c I'm trying to get used to it before Jody goes back to work Tuesday. I can't believe that it's already been a month since we started our leaves. I can't imagine how strange Tuesday will be. Even though we've been together all day, everyday for the last 30 days- I wish it could be more =(

I know I haven't been posting many blog pics but here's one from yesterday. 2 weeks old- Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Day!

Just wanted to blog real quick before I start a whirlwind of Thanksgiving cleaning. It's our 2nd annual Thanksgiving Feast (for 28 people) at our house. I'm about to put a 36 pound turkey in the oven... yep- my dad's turkeys turned out HUGE!

I am so thankful this year. How could I not be? I have a perfect, gorgeous, amazing son that I love more than life and a perfect, gorgeous, amazing husband to share him with. I'm thankful that Jody took 2 night feedings so that I could sleep 11-6:30 and feel well rested today, haha. Most of all I'm thankful that all of my family is healthy and will be together today.

Growing up

Last night Justin's cord "stump" fell off. My little man is growing up already!

A little a head of myself

I stare at Justin... a lot. I can't help it, he's the most perfect, gorgeous baby on Earth. This morning after he just finished eating, he was just staring at me with those wide baby eyes and all I could think was, "Please don't grow up. Stay this way forever!" I know he's only 10 days old but he's just so precious I wish he could stay exactly like this- always.

The 1st Week

I can't believe that he's over a week old! Well- 9 days today. With the exception of our little jaundice scare, life with baby Justin has been quite wonderful. At his 1 week check up he was up to 9lbs 14oz, my little chunker. His jaundice is clearing up just fine. He sleeps like a champ. Every night I have to set my alarm to wake him up to eat. The Dr said it's important to make sure he eats every 3 hours to finish flushing the jaundice out. Jody and I have always been on kind of opposite sleep schedules so it's worked out well. I started pumping so that I can have bottles ready and daddy can help with the feedings. I can feed Justin and be in bed by 10 or 11. Then Jody takes the 1 or 2am feeding (he's up anyways), then puts him in his bassinet and I can sleep until 4 or 5. Honestly, 5/6 hours of sleep was all I ever really needed anyways. Justin got to meet all of his cousins this week- it was really cute. Avery, Reese and Rory are all pale blondes so he sticks out like a little sore thumb.

He makes the cutest faces. I know, I know- newborns don't smile but he makes a "smile-like" face. He gets so alert during the day. I just can't put him down when he's all wide eyed and awake. He just looks so adorable. I know it's gross but I have to mention it. I have never hear a baby toot the way Justin does. He's not a good burper but when he does pass his gas- it's from the basement and I can hear it like 3 rooms away. It cracks Jody up. The kitty is doing well adjusting. He smells Justin alot but seems to care less.

My recovery has been pretty good. The swelling in my feet and face has gone down almost all the way. My skin has started to clear up again- thank god! I braved the scale on his 1 week "birthday" and was shocked to see that I had lost 18 lbs- yay! I mean I still have like 23 to go but that's okay. I'll get there. I got to wear pants that buttoned this week- granted they were my "fat pants" but it felt great.

ER

What a few days these have been. On Sunday we had a home care nurse stop by (just to check in and for a lactation visit). Well she said he looked a "little jaundiced" so we should make a pedi appt. No big deal. Monday at 1 we took baby Justin to the Dr who sent us to the MAC center for bloodwork. All the nurses loved his hair- he's a little lady killer already. Well we finally got home and settled in when his Dr called me. His jaundice levels were above the safe level and she wanted us to take him to the Children's Hospital ER as soon as we could. He would need to be admitted overnight. I went hysterical. I kept kissing him and saying "he's so little, he's only 4 days old" I just felt soooo horrible for him. My understanding of jaundice was "oh, ha ha the baby is a little orange put him in the sun" now all of the sudden we hear about blood transfusions, super high levels doing brain damage or signs of liver failure.

We got to the ER and my eyes already burned from crying so much. We had to get his little stats checked and then we went to one of the "ER rooms". They told us we were waiting to be admitted to the 7th floor and they needed to run more bloodwork- that it would be about an hour. They started him on light therapy right away. I had to leave the room b/c they gave him and IV and it made me want to die- I'm not exaggerating. I could hear him scream down the hall and I almost puked. He was crying so hard and he had already been tested a bunch of times that day. Well we waited... and waited in that little room. The ER at children's is an absolute shithole. I promised I would never sugar coat my blog so there it is. The people are rude- it was filthy disgusting and our "1 hour" turned into 6 hours. I was beyond exhausted. Not exactly the "4 days postpartum" rest I was supposed to be getting. Finally after Jody started really laying into people, things got done. We were transferred to the 7th floor at 1am. What a world of difference! The upstairs nurses/rooms/facilities everything were just amazing. I cannot say enough about how fantastic everyone was. We were so well taken care of. They had beds set up in the room for us since he needed to be in one of those "tanning bed" light therapy tank/cribs and monitored. Here is the medical back story- I guess that his bili- reuben levels measured 22 at the MAC center. 25 is serious danger and 30 is organ failure. Anything above 18 needs light therapy. They said he could need up to 2 days of treatment. He was eating/pooping fine and there were no other problems with his blood tests. I guess it's just a normal, random "body getting used to processing" occurrence in some babies. When he was retested at Children's he was an 18.8- WAY lower than we had originally thought/been told. By 5am he was down to 17.6 then by noon he was at 14.6. We were released in 24 hours, last night at 7.

He was SUCH a little tough guy. I cannot believe how much he had to go through. I'm so proud of him already. It was without a doubt the WORST day of my entire life. I thought I felt my heart break before... HAH! Seeing my 4 day old son hooked up to tubes, covered in bandaids from bloodtests. It was torture. Now I'm just so glad he's better and we can go back to life as normal with our sweet little peanut =)

Worth the wait...

Our gorgeous son was FINALLY born Thursday night. His story is long (and I mean LOOOONG) and a little boring but here it is...

Wednesday morning I woke up with a little bit of a tummy ache. I attributed it to the 3 brownies I ate for breakfast. I decided to head to Target to look for a computer desk- Jody "gave me"/set up his old computer since we're both on so much. I had some starbucks, shopped at Target, stopped at Walmart and came home- still a little crampy. While Jody put together the computer desk around I made him a big breakfast. I was putting the dishes away and I felt a warm squirt of water. I though- no way... so I went in and peed and went back to the dishes. 10 minutes later another squirt. I thought that maybe at 41 weeks I was becoming one of those preggos who pees themselves. Well, this went on for like 45 minutes. Around 1:30 I went to the bathroom to check on it and whoosh- water came spilling down my legs. We both were SUPER excited. I called the Dr who said get right to the Hospital. We both showered, packed and were on our way.

We checked in and I was given a test (like litmus paper) to see if it was indeed my water. Of course, it was and the monitors showed I was having contractions 7 minutes apart. Since I was only 1.5 cms we decided to go on with the induction procedure as scheduled. The fact that my water had "ruptured" was going to help speed things up. I had cervidil inserted at 6pm and my contractions moved to 4 mins apart. Well all it took was another good woosh of water and the cervidil actually fell out after only 2 hours (instead of 12). My Dr said it was fine since my contractions were already getting stronger on their own. Justin was posterior aka facing the wrong way- so I was having all back labor. L&D was dead that night. We were moved to a jacuzzi suite and I got to lay in the tub for awhile. I found out that pitocin would start at 6am. I slept for 20 minutes that night. I was so anxious and excited, plus I was strapped to like 3 monitors- not exactly comfort.

In the morning. I had my "last meal" of cereal. I was given an IV of fluids, an IV of antibiotics (since my water broke the afternoon before we wanted to avoid infection) and pitocin later at 7am. The pitocin dose starts at 0 and can increase to 30. They turn it up by "2" every 15 minutes...boy does it get intense fast. I was fine until the dose got to about 12/14. My contractions were all in my back/hip bones and they were every 2-3 minutes. I tried the ball, I tried standing/swaying, massage, watching TV...everything. When you're on pitocin you have to be constantly monitored so you can't walk very far. I'm not going to sugar coat it- I felt like my hips were going to explode like dynamite. I could tell Jody felt terrible. I was sweating a ridiculous amount and on the verge of tears. The pain only got worse from there. The nurse checked me and said I was about 3 cms. I was begging for the epi. I think of myself as tough.. I'll tell you right now. On 20 minutes of sleep after 20 hours of contractions, if there was no epi I would have said right there that Justin would be an only child forever. I got my epi at 11:00- it didn't hurt too bad, just a little sting. It was almost impossible to sit still through the contractions though.

Life after the epi was amazing. I had visitors and I took 2 naps.The Dr said to expect 1 cm of progress an hour. So we figured around 6'ish I would be ready to push. Well, with the pitocin at 26 now I was fully dilated by 3:30. My dr wanted to let him "naturally descend" as much as possible so we waited until 4 to start pushing. Pushing is THE hardest, physical and mental thing I have ever done. We had expected about an hour, maybe 2 of pushing. They turn off the epi so that you can "feel" when to push. Well- 3 and a half loooong hours later, there he was. I wanted to give up so many times. I was so tired, nauseous, I had blurred vision and could barely lift my head. I kept snapping- I can't do this anymore, I can't. THANK GOD for Jody. I always pictured him just kind of hanging out near my head waiting for the baby. No way... he was holding my legs, lifting my head, counting contractions, getting ice- getting towels. Honestly, they should have paid him. He was AMAZING. He stood right with me forehead to my sweaty forehead encouraging me. I just am in total awe. He is the best most amazing man alive.

To wrap this up our peanut came out at 9lbs 11oz. Pushing out his shoulders was the worse 20 seconds of my life, lol. I went hysterical when I saw him. I couldn't believe that we finally did it. I never saw a baby that looks so much like his dad. I ended up needing about 15 stitches which were not pleasant- but eh. Due to his size he had to be tested for low blood sugar and he spent his first night under the warmer getting formula supplements.

Recovery is not horrible, honestly. Breastfeeding is challenging but we'll get it. I'll be on iron supplements for awhile due to blood loss during the long labor.

He is the most gorgeous, most special, incredible baby alive. Jody has adapted SO well into being a doting father. I'm beyond impressed. Just the thought of how much I love our little family brings me to tears. I'll keep posting updates and pics =)

I win by default

Never in my life have I heard of a baby "lasting" longer than his entire baby pool. That means that I win by default, haha! It's just so funny that everyone, including my doctors had me convinced I would be early. Like I mentioned before, I'm excited for this whole full moon thing because I'm so superstitious. However, it made me think- L&D is probably going to be packed if the myth really is true. That's the only part that kind of sucks. I have to call ahead before my induction Friday to make sure that there is a room available. Jody and I have been dying for a private room b/c he really wants to stay with me. I think my chances are gonna be slim to none =(

1 week late

Today officially makes this baby one week late. It also means T-minus 3 days until we start my induction. I can NOT imagine how I am going to sleep Thursday night. My Dr told me that there is no prep for an overnight cervidil induction, just have a big "last" meal and gets lots of rest. Yeah right! I just read online that Thursday night is a full moon! All of my superstitions have been wrong this entire pregnancy but I'll give this one last "sign" a go. Plus, the 13th is the anniversary of Jody's grandpa's death. They were extremely close. The twins were born on his (Grandpa Wilson's) Bday- so hey, you never know!

It's official!

That was my last Drs appt. We are officially scheduled for an induction this weekend. I will be admitted at 6:30 Friday night so that they can give me a dose of cervidil and monitor the baby overnight. Saturday morning if I'm not progressing, I will rise and shine to an IV of pitocin. I didn't even want an IV at all so it does make me a little nervous. Plus, from my understanding- the drug forces your body to contract, making the pain reeeally intense.

I was sort of hoping that they would move my induction up a little bit but it was a no go. This stubborn little baby passed his NST with flying colors. It IS really great news, it means that even after almost 41 weeks he's still "thriving" in the womb. He cooperates great for Drs but not for mommy. I was on the monitors for almost 1/2 an hour and they did show I had 2 "good contractions". They aren't regular or painful yet so it's not really any news. I did dilate a little more from my last appt to about 1.5 so that was good. I had the "stretching/sweep" done for a 2nd time so maybe that will do something.

Anyways, to wrap it up- I'll have this little peanut in my arms this weekend. At this point I don't care; natural, pitocin, c-section... I just want him to be healthy and snuggled up with his parents.

Just for fun...

I was thinking about all the Old Wive's Tales I have tried to get this baby out...
*Drinking Raspberry leaf tea (up to 3 cups a day)
*Taking Evening Primrose Oil supplements
*Eating Eggplant Parm
*Eating fresh pineapple
*Eating Several Spicy Foods
*Walking, walking, walking
*Going up and down stairs
*Cleaning (vacuuming, sweeping,moping) my floors
*Bouncing on an exercise ball for hours
*Jumping Jacks and squats
*"Bumpy" rides in the car
*Massaging pressure points above ankle and on hand
*warm bath
*s-e-x (shhh)

...nothing . Well, there is my personal favorite where Jody give me a really tight wrapped hug and slides his arms down my back slowly- he claims he is squeezing me like a tube of toothpaste.

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Alright, so not anymore but we did get snow last night. Don't get me wrong I am not a big snow fan. I like this very first dusting and then snow on Xmas. I think it's so peaceful and pretty with just a light snow on everything. Every year I make a big deal out of the 1st snow. I just stare out the window and make Jody snuggle because it's romantic to me. I have to admit I felt optimistic last night. I was thinking, this is it- this would be the perfect moment, the "magic" of the 1st snow! Cue the water breaking! Yup- nothing. I have my "non stress test"/fetal monitoring at 1:30 today and then an exam. I'll post an update when I get back.

I just wanted to C&P an email I got and plug a good website. I am on thebump and babycenter everyday. Both of those websites are set up for me to "have a newborn" and I get all kinds of reminders/emails about my new baby. It's depressing that they assume everyone gets their baby on time. However, I get a daily "what to expect while you're expecting" email and there has not been 1 mention of a newborn. It's comforting. I don't know...being overdue makes you even weirder =)
The big due date came, but your baby didn't. Don't feel bad; you (and your baby) are in good company. Fifty percent of expectant moms don't deliver before their due dates, and ten percent have pregnancies that last 42 weeks (or longer). By now, your practitioner has probably discussed labor induction with you, but that doesn't mean that you won't still go into labor on your own; some babies just need to take their time.

Weather

Oh this weather is just horrible! 2 days ago we were walking Hamburg beach and now it's freezing cold hail?!? EW. No baby updates. Last night before bed Jody had a "heart to heart" with him. I know my husband- he is very charming and persuasive so let's hope it works =)

Still here.

40 weeks and 4 days pregnant...wow. At 37 weeks when the baby's head was "soo low and already engaged in the pelvis" I spent every night thinking- oooh this could be it. Installed the car seats, packed the hospital bag and faxed in pre-registration to Mercy. Now I have kind of settled into the fact that the baby is comfy and stubborn so I'll be meeting him next Friday at his induction. It's impossible to describe until you actually are overdue. You are so pumped up and excited but then so disappointed every day. Last night we went out to dinner and all of the "babies" were there (Our nieces/nephew). I rubbed baby Reese and baby Rory on my bump for good "mojo" as Linda calls it. I'm not stupid- it's not that I literally think that baby will never come, it just feels that way some days.

Like watching grass grow...

Ok, so the minutes are ticking by veeeery slowly as I wait for this baby. Today there is a "Thankful Thursday" post on our nestie board and I thought it was such a great idea! I could have posted 800 things to be thankful for but I try to keep it short. I do feel very thankful (well, probably just hormonal and emotional) today. I really have had a fantastic pregnancy. Even at 2 days overdue I'm honestly not in any discomfort. I'm still up taking care of the housework, cooking and shopping like before, just a little slower. I still sleep great and I even painted my own toenails the other night. It's a gorgeous day, like 65 degrees and tomorrow is supposed to be 70! It's nice to have the time off to relax with Jody in our last few before-we-become-parents days. Usually we only have a few hours together after work. At first I regretted starting maternity leave at 39.5 weeks since the baby would be late. Now I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm so glad we planned (and saved, lol) to have this time together.

Optimistic!

"My original guess was 10/31 but for some reason the date 11/6 has been sticking out in my head. I think he's going to be fashionably late." <-- I blogged this on October 3rd. I think maybe I jinxed myself.

Honestly though, for some reason I feel very optimistic about tomorrow. I promised myself no crying today. I guess I should confess that I had a tad bit hysterical crying after the Dr's appt. I just felt so disappointed. Tomorrow is the most popular day of all in our baby pool. Tomorrow, we have an appt for the whirlpool guy to finish installing my new wall oven- FINALLY.(We have been waiting 5 weeks for parts but that's another story-ugh.) My "stretching procedure" yesterday gave me some pretty bad cramps but overall I feel okay. I bounced on that darn exercise ball until my thighs were on fire. C'mon kid, let's go!

Due

Well, today is my due date. I just got back from my 40 week appointment. Well, actually I got back about 1/2 an hour ago but I had to relax a little before I decided to blog. I can admit it, I was pretty upset. I thought for sure that I would get an induction appointment for this week. Nope. November 14th. You have got to be freaking kidding me! 10 days!?! I guess it's a good thing. I know that inductions can be high risk and they are typically more painful. My Dr said that she just does not see any medical reason to induce. The baby and I are perfectly healthy. I know that they baby could still come at any minute but 10 days seems forever away. I have an NST Monday afternoon. Basically, I will be hooked up to a monitor for about 45 mins to an hour to make sure the baby isn't it any stress by being past his due date. They will track his movement and heartbeat. If anything seems wrong they would move up the induction. Warning- gross info... My Dr did "stretch my cervix" aka "swept my membranes" today. Not to get too graphic but basically once you start to dilate the Dr can reach in and kind of swoop/stretch with their finger to loosen things up. It definitely was not the best feeling in the world but if it gets things going- it will be well worth it. Now I just sit and wait...and wait...and wait.

Considerate

What a considerate baby I have inside of me. He's obviously just waiting until his due date because he knows how much his mommy appreciates punctuality!
Tomorrow morning I have a Dr's appt at 9:45 where hopefully we will talk "The big I"...induction. It's not that I even really want to go through that process but it would just be nice to have an end date. My doctors claim that 80% of the time when they schedule an induction the baby ends up coming before the date. I am a very superstitious person so I hope they schedule away. I just have this horrible feeling that tomorrow I will go in and they will say, "well- why don't you come back at 41 weeks and we'll talk induction then". That's the problem with being the happy easy-going pregnant woman...seriously! Tomorrow I will be standing up for myself and what I want, darn it! The Drs keep calling me their "textbook" pregnancy and since I never have complaints my appts are like 2 minutes long. Well tomorrow I am going to put on a whiny face to make sure I get what I want- a threatening induction date for the baby. I know that they are already concerned about his size so I think that will work to my advantage. In the meantime, I think I will stay off of TheNest baby boards and just stick with my upstate board. These baby board girls are like 34 or 36 weeks pregnant making all caps posts like "I want my baby out NOW" and "I can't take this anymore". Oh please ladies- suck it up. The wait only gets worse. Well, I'm off for my daily morning walk. Ok, so it's only been like 3 days but that totally makes it qualify as daily now =)

T-minus 2 days

...until baby Justin's due date. I just wanted to point out that Saturday is over and I still don't have my baby. How will I spend that dollar my Dr. owes me from our bet? ha ha! Decisions, decisions...

Last night we went to a family Halloween party. I never bought a costume because I was so convinced I would be in the hospital for the party, lol. So I threw on some wings, a halo and some glitter with a white shirt and went as an angel. One of the little boys at the party asked, "Are you really pregnant or is that just a costume?" I thought that was just too cute =)

Roller Coaster

I felt so optimistic yesterday. Today as much as I hate to admit it, I feel really sad. I think it's just hormonal. I'm sure after this vent I'll feel much better. I see all these girls on TheNest baby boards or on BabyCenter with my due date (or earlier) who have already had their babies. I think I'm ready to admit it...I'm so insanely jealous. I couldn't even watch Baby Story on my sick days because I wished it was me so bad. Every night, with every cramp/twinge I secretly think, "oooh this could be it but I don't want to jinx it"- then nothing. The baby has been so big and so low that I would have bet a million bucks he was going to be early. My 1st day of maternity leave is Monday. Jody was going to start his leave Monday. Every day that the baby isn't here is one less day that we will have off- the 3 of us. I can already tell it's going to be so hard to see Jody go back to work after his paternity leave. Every one I see is asks "oh, no baby yet?" or "can't you just have the baby?". I know that they're excited and I LOVE LOVE that the baby is coming into a family already so excited/in love with him. I'm just frustrated because I'm excited too but I have to put on my "patient mom-to-be" face and I just don't feel patient any more. I want to hold my baby more than anyone, why won't he just come out? =(

Happy Halloween

Well today is my day in our online baby pool. I would have loved to win but I'm afraid nothing's doin' down there. I'm still having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. Also, he does this thing where (I'm assuming it's stretching) he pushes out his little bum super hard- it feels like a contraction but it's only in one spot. I had a lovely lunch with my sister- eggplant parm of course- now is no time to stop trying all these old wives tales. If you really think about it, he's not even due yet. He still has 4 more days. When I think about how scary preemies look in the hospital or the kind of complications they can have, I'm actually grateful. I just have to stay in the mindset that I am so lucky to have a healthy body that will nurture a baby for so long. Plus, Jody told me that he doesn't want the baby to have a Halloween birthday. I guess he's right- I have an uncle with a Halloween Bday and he always seemed a little weird...and smelled like pickles. Today is a wonderful, glorious day. It was my last day of work! Yep- I'm officially on Maternity leave. I walked out those doors today, in the 60 degree weather and I was so happy I almost cried. The 1st of the month is kind of a big day in our house. Our "dating anniversary" was April 1st and our kitty's birthday is March 1st. Maybe baby Justin is just waiting for 11/1 so that he can keep the consistency.

39 wk appt

I'm off "sick" again so I'll blog =) I had my Dr's appt this morning. Everything is still going well. I had a little scare because of the nurse. She told me that my blood pressure (which averages like 120 over 75'ish) had jumped to 140 over 92. I'm no nurse but I know that blood pressure is one of the "things to watch" at the end of pregnancy. When my Dr came in for the internal exam he took my BP 4 times throughout our checkup and each time it came up around my normal rate- he averaged it at 120/74. He said the original reading may have just been a fluke. phew! As predicted, my weight gain has finally slowed down. I've only gained 1 lb in 3 weeks. I'm not dilating yet but I'm "more than half way thinned". I really thought I would be at least 1 b/c of all the contractions I've been having. I guess they are still those Braxton Hicks. It's not like they hurt- it's just that my tummy gets rock hard like it's flexing and then I feel a little pressure down below. He reassured me (like everyone else) that dilation means nothing. He said that with the baby's head being engaged so low he has a feeling that he will come this weekend. He said he'd bet me a buck that he comes Saturday. I wonder if he was just telling me what he thought I wanted to hear. Oh well- I'll take it.

39 weeks!

Wow- could this be my last "belly pic Tuesday" post? I sure hope so. I'm just so, so, so excited to meet our son- he can't come soon enough. I have become that crazy pregnant woman that will try anything to get the baby out. I've eaten spicy food and eggplant parm. several times. I've been drinking 2 cups a day of raspberry leaf tea and taking Evening Primrose supplements. My sister loaned me her exercise ball so I bounce lightly on that while I watch TV. I make every excuse to use the walk and use stairs at work (taking them in wide lunge kind of steps.) I researched some accupressure points and massaged my hands/ankles. The truth of the matter is that this little guy will come when he wants... I know. I have a Dr's appt tomorrow morning so hopefully I get a good update. I was feeling pretty grumpy today so I booked 1 last maternity massage- maybe it will relax all my muscles and start labor! I really thought it would be today. It was my dad's guess and Gram's guess- aka the feast of St Jude. Jody has this visor clip/pendant of St Jude and I looked the guy right in the eyes this morning and said, "ok, do your stuff"...nothing. I have good hope for tomorrow because it's Linda's guess (notoriously psychic when it comes to baby info) and Jessica's guess. We'll see! Well- here's the pic, I think the bump looks small and low today.

ew

It's 11:30pm on Sunday...already. Where do weekends go? I don't want to go to work tomorrow! Oh well, at least it's the start of my last week before my leave. Thank God!!! There are no guesses on the baby pool for tomorrow- guess it doesn't sound like a good birthday =)

Single digits

9 days until baby Justin's due date. I can't believe it's single digits already. I've had a lot of tightening in my stomach the last 3 days or so. Nothing that's "time-able" or painful thought. Poor Jody, yesterday was his baby pool guess that he was so confident about. It was funny because I woke up with the stomach tightening and a pretty bad backache yesterday. Immediately I thought, "Holy crap, he was right this whole time!" Well despite cleaning the house and then walking for about an hour(in stores b/c it was so gross out)nothing happened. Jessica even brought over an exercise ball that I bounced a little on while I watched TV b/c I read that can help "guide" the baby down to where he needs to be. I just hate the "not knowing" feeling. The baby has been hiccup crazy for the last few days- getting them 3 or 4 times a day. I hope this means he's excited to come out and he's well on his way.

Let the game begin!

It's not too late to get in on our baby pool! I can't believe it but our first "guess" is for tomorrow! Okay, so it's Jody's guess and I think he just got a little too excited for the baby but hey, you never know. My weird pregnancy symptom of the day is numb thumb. Last night we carved pumpkins and I realized I lost feeling in my right thumb. Well, 20 hours later it's still not back... it feels SO weird. From what I've read I think it means that the baby is just sitting on a nerve.

Good day!

At like 1am last night I realized I should have asked my Dr's office if they could fit me in for Thurs (today) instead of next week when there was no appts. Sure enough I got up this morning, called when the office opened and they were able to get us in for 1pm today. Jody even got to take an extended lunch to come with me =)

The tech said that she hasn't seen this much movement from such a big baby in a long, long time. Yep- that's our boy, he's a squirmer! Oh and he is definitely a boy. I asked if we could just peek there real quick and there were indeed boy parts. Even though it was confirmed 100% at 19 weeks I just wanted a little more assurance. What I thought was pushing/squirming actually turns out that it's a contraction. Sweet- let's go baby.

For a growth ultrasound they measure several areas on the baby (head, belly, bum etc...)and then they measure the fluid levels. The computer averages all the measurements and comes up with a number. At just over 38 weeks baby Justin is 7lbs 14 oz. His measurements are in the 79th percentile. The tech said that if I go to 40 weeks he would be about 9 lbs. My guess is the baby pool was 8lbs 11 oz at 5 days early. I think I'll be pretty darn close. She said that his head is very low. We got to see him taking his "practice breaths" so that's a very good sign for his lungs.

I have no pictures because the poor little guy is so smushed in there you couldn't see much of what was what.

Mood swing

Okay, so I played hooky (hookey? how do you spell it?) today from work because I had a mid-morning Dr's appt, like the previous post says. I figured I deserve a day or 2 to relax before the baby gets here and enjoy my last few moments of silence. Ugh- wrong. All I can think about is how bad I want the baby to come. Everything is ready and just waiting, including me. My "impatience" has grown into quite a bit of grumping over the day. I don't know how I'm going to wait this out. I know, I know- it's already been 38 weeks, what's a few more days, right? NO! I am just DYING to know when "the day" is going to be. I just have this bad feeling he's going to be late and I can't imagine 3 more weeks of waiting and wondering! AHHHHHH!!! I'm going bananas over here!

Alright- mood swing/vent over, thanks for reading.

Appt

Today I had my weekly Dr's appt. The Dr that I met with today I really like (I rotate at a group practice). He looks and talks like Dr. Drew, from that old show Loveline. He never really gives me the %'s/numbers as far as progress goes but he's really nice. He said that he can feel the baby's head up in my cervix. Anyways, this is the 2nd Dr to point out that it feels "a really good size baby is packed in there" so he ordered an ultrasound for my next appt. I know that those ultrasounds can be "off" so I wouldn't make any bets based on it but I was SOO excited. I never thought I was going to get another ultrasound and even just a quick peek at the baby would make this wait a little easier. Then I get home and re-check my appt card, the receptionist made the appt for the wrong week (11/4 instead of 10/28) when I called to fix the error there were no appts open for next week =( My office only does ultrasounds on Tues or Thurs. The woman on the phone was really nice and said to call back Monday and see if there were any cancels. I love baby Justin and I honestly love being pregnant but I am getting veeeeery impatient to meet him.

38 weeks!

This time is just flying! I am dying to see our baby! I feel so, so overwhelmed with excitement. I just can't wait to see what/who he looks like and how big he is. I've been trying to do lots of walking to hopefully "get things going". I went fishing with Jody, my dad and Jake the other day and took quite a good hike down to the 18 mile creek. I have a Dr's appt tomorrow morning so we'll just wait and see. Jody and I had a great afternoon- we went out to lunch and took a little drive out to get some apples from the cider mill. My left hip joint hurts pretty bad today. It kinda feels like the bones are rubbing together when I walk. I guess that Gram warned Jody about this- that I would have "adjusting" pains, but it was a good sign that the baby is on his way. Woohoo! A few baby pool guesses are within the next week, it's so weird! I took a side and front shot this week so you can see how low my belly is dipping. Hopefully it will encourage people NOT to get multiple navel piercings- I have 2 ugly scars above my belly button, as you will see =(

Lazy bum

Who knows how much longer until D-day... the baby is waay low. My pants (and undies, haha) keep rolling down because my belly is sloped downward a little now. It's quite an effort to keep them up- but it's for the good of all mankind that I keep on top of it and don't expose my giant bum. I just wish there was a little timer or alarm that would tell me exactly how much time I have left. I'm kinda sorta a "planner" and it's been tough not knowing exact dates.

I'm starting to think that nesting is either A.) a myth or B.) something that just hasn't hit me yet. Don't get me wrong- I like to have a clean house but I think nesting is always shown as this giant pregnant woman scrubbing her floors with a toothbrush. I am just way too tired for that. I have long surpassed what I originally planned as a healthy weight gain. I don't regret 1 single Reese cup or french fry but I gotta say- life is pretty tough this big/pregnant. I know that the swollen feet, the shortness of breath and the bad balance things are all normal but it's just so weird when it's you. Usually I HATE sitting around but these days I find myself crawling into bed mid-day just to "rest". I've gotten the hang of getting a little momentum before rolling over or getting up off the couch- I wish I could see myself. Even now, I'm only blogging because I needed an excuse for a "break". I just vacuumed and thought I was going to have a heart attack!

Happy Sweetest Day!

I know it's some made up Hallmark holiday (that I learned in college is a WNY only thing) but eh- I still like it. Judge me if you will. Who wouldn't want an excuse to be just a little extra mushy even if it's just for a few minutes? Today is also one week until Jody's "predicted" due date. Ever since like March he has sworn that the baby would come 10/25. I'm not totally convinced that Justin will make his arrival that soon but you better believe I have everything packed and ready just in case.

Growth update

Every week you get to see "how big is baby" in relation to a fruit or vegetable- it's been kinda cute. Well this week I get my last one. They just kind of clump the last month together. I feel like it was just yesterday that he was just a poppyseed- now he's a watermelon!

Weeks 37-Delivery (Month 9): Watermelon




At week 37, your pregnancy is considered full term, meaning baby is likely to thrive after birth. Baby spends these last weeks in preparation for the outside world… meaning careful refinement of the blink, suck, inhale and exhale. Meconium, which you’ll probably find in the first diaper, is accumulating in the intestines. If (okay, as) you worry about giving birth, consider what it’s like for the little one. During the journey out of your womb, baby will produce more stress hormones than any other time in life.

Stick a fork in him...he's "done"

Yep- that's right, 37 weeks aka FULL TERM. I can't believe it. Now he's just hanging out in there putting on some more weight. I know I should knock on wood but once again I luck out with my wonderful pregnancy. My fat feet have pretty much went away. They are still a little swollen at the end of the day but nothing like last week. I've been walking more and drinking a ton of water- I think it's helping. Tomorrow is another Dr's appt so I'm excited to see if I've "made any progress". Also tomorrow night is Legally Blonde at Sheas- woohoo! I'm super excited. And what does a big full term belly look like you ask? Like this...

Weirdest "Compliment" ever.

..."You have a great pelvis!"

Today was my 1st internal appt. As I suspected my lil peanut is in the head down position with his little fanny pushing out just above my belly button. My feet are still ugly but apparently normal and healthy. The nurse went to measure the fundal height (that's pubic bone to top of uterus for you non preggos) and she looks and me and says, "wow! you're really full in there." My fundal height was measuring right on track but apparently I feel very "full and compact". She went on to do the internal and that's when I got the "compliment" about my pelvis. She told me not to let anyone order an ultrasound (there are 5 Dr's at my office) to try to scare me about the baby's weight- she said that they're usually inaccurate and I should be just fine. I guess my body was just built for this big baby. I'm not dialated yet but my cervix is thinned to 50%. I got a lil packet info about "the big day" (parking, signing in etc...) it's so close!

I am BEYOND excited. Plus Jody talked to his boss today- between his paternity leave and vacation he will have almost a whole month off paid leave when Justin gets here. I couldn't be happier. I have been daydreaming about it all day now. Our little family- spending our 1st month together. It will be just starting to snow,I'll make cookies with hot chocolate, Jody and I will snuggle on the couch watching a movie with baby Justin sleeping in my arms. I don't know what I did to deserve a life like this but I feel like the luckiest woman alive.

Yabba Dabba Do! (36 weeks)

Great- last night while I was sleeping someone cut off my feet and replaced them with Fred Flintstone's feet. It's not that my feet hurt or anything, they just look soo ugly. Normally I have very bone-y (and vein-y, sorry I know, it's gross)feet. Now they look like 2 cooked sausages, haha! Oh well...good bye ankles- see you in a few weeks =)

Here is my 36 week belly pic. I wanted my work clothes off ASAP so I got brave and went bare tummy- oooh!

It's a Miracle...

The nursery is finished. I can't believe it! I'm not one to toot my own horn but it looks fantastic. I don't know if it's a mental thing (knowing it's for the baby)- but it feels so sweet and relaxing in that room. The rest of my house still looks like a Tornado hit it but at least this one room is "ready". Now I'm 10 million times more excited! Here is a before and after pic. (I used to use it for crafts/sewing projects so it was a disaster, haha)

Whoa- tomorrow?!?!

...Is exactly 1 month from my due date. Now I know that a due date is only an estimate and most people can give or take 2 weeks but that's pretty darn exciting! Tonight Gram and Linda both told me I look really "low". Hopefully that means baby Justin is moving down to where he needs to be. My original guess was 10/31 but for some reason the date 11/6 has been sticking out in my head. I think he's going to be fashionably late.

Today my dad was over so he helped me set up the window treatments for the nursery. They look just adorable. I feel a little better compared to last night's hysterical breakdown. I was putting away laundry, I folded up all the baby blankets/towels from the shower and then it hit me... I have no where to put these. I looked at all the shower gifts, still in boxes/bags in the living room and my crazy kitchen (our new oven is being installed) and I just lost it. Our house looks like a disaster zone- it hasn't been this messy since we've moved in. I have lots of projects this weekend, haha.

Shower

My shower was just incredible. We got everything I could have wanted x1,000. Our families put so much hard work into it I just couldn't be more thankful. Since Justin's nursery theme is "froggies" my Mother-in-laws basement got turned into a lime green rainforest. It was SO cute- the pic doesn't do it justice. I think I'm going to skip the 35 week belly pic tomorrow for a few shower pics today...I can't believe how pregnant I look now! Haha!

Shower weekend!

I can't believe that it's the weekend of my shower already- holy moly! I have a long weekend from work (well with the exception of a 90 minute meeting tomorrow morning). Today I have a huge to-do list with cleaning and organizing some stuff in the house and it's "find a shower dress" day 2. Tomorrow I am using some of my birthday gift cards to have a little spa day. A pedicure (thanks to Jesse/Kelly) and a massage (thanks to Jess/Alex.) Then Sunday is the big party, I'm so so excited! I just have this feeling that once the shower is over and we bring home all that baby stuff my "flying by weeks" will come to a screeching halt. I can't imagine how the wait for him is going to feel once his little room is all set and full of cute stuff...

Psychic?

I was farting around on the computer when I found this... I remember I wanted to save it and see if it was true, just for fun. You didn't enter any information about yourself but you had to answer weird questions like; your favorite color, what time of day you were born and something about smells you like... Weird, I know. I did this back in like March so I figured I would post it here. I know its just some stupid website but the baby did turn out to be a boy AND we both have dark hair and hazel eyes.

The day you deliver, outside will be unusually hot. Your baby will arrive at night.
After a labor lasting approximately 24 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 8 pounds, 11 ounces, and will be 17-1/2 inches long. This child will have hazel eyes and dark hair.
But there is more. Although you may feel tired, your pregnancy will be over before you are truly ready to let go of having this precious baby you have all to yourself. I sense that you will look back and long for these days. I suggest doing something now to preserve some memories of this time

34 weeks

I know that I say this all the time- but these weeks are just flying by! My only big news is that I slept through the night last night. No restless legs- no hip pain- no getting up to pee. 11:30-7:00 just straight sleep, it was heavenly. I don't know what I did different but I wish I could figure it out.
Here's weekly belly pic =)

Weekend

We got back this morning from our family's annual (or bi-annual) fishing trip. We went to Lake Chautauqua for the weekend. The cottage and the weather were both really nice. I came very close to falling down the spiral staircase in my slipper socks but I managed to "grab" the railing with my armpit and only hurt my foot. The pain/bruise is way better than falling on my tummy I figured.

It's just fun to spend time with family relaxing. I stayed behind when everyone went fishing in the boat- they go out for hours and I can't hold my pee or stand that long, haha! I just lounged outside and watched the lake. I got a lot of reading done. It kinda hit me all at once that this was our last "vacation" before we're a mommy and daddy. Our 1st family vacation will be to Disney in May. (He will go at 6 months, I waited 21 years, lol) These last couple weeks have just flown by. On one hand I'm so excited to meet Justin, to kiss and snuggle him. On the other I'm going to miss being pregnant, it's almost over already! I love my tummy and the feeling of little baby movements. Maybe by the time I get to like 38/39 weeks maybe I'll change my tune.

The weekend went WAY too fast. I can't believe it's back to work tomorrow. I hate my job so much.

33 weeks (long update, lol)

My work is a short-staffed, poorly organized, mad house- I haven't even had time to blog this week! I'll try to blog the short version...

Most importantly I feel great! A little bit tired sometimes but really happy- I'm still loving pregnancy!

Last weekend was my birthday. I honestly gotta say it was one of the best that I can remember. Jody really went above and beyond! We went out for sushi lunch, a little roadtrip for apples/cider, lots of shopping (I was even "allowed" to pick out baby clothes, lol) and gorgeous flowers. We just happened to find a super good deal on a new wall oven so Jody bought it. I was SO excited I wanted to cry! (It was fun to have the same oven as Carol Brady- but her's worked better in the 60's when it was made). Saturday I went to the "Mothertime marketplace" sale with Jess and Linda- that was fun. Very crowded but lots of good deals. I got to visit Reese and Rory twice which was awesome- they are such cuties. Then we ended the weekend with a lil birthday BBQ at my dad's house. My fam is adorable and picked out some very thoughtful gifts for me.

One of the shopping places that had to shop at was kmart. They had tote bins on sale and I need them for my surplus baby outfits. We were cashing out and the lady was like "how far along are you" so I said, "oh about 7 1/2 months". She said, " wow, you are beautiful- your face and everything, you're so lucky to be so pretty" and then went on to tell me that she was "huge" and had to wear a harness. So it was a little weird but SO nice just out of the blue.

Justin's bedding is washed and on his little crib. His curtains are just waiting to be hung. I started to wash all his little outfits and realized I have a baby shopping addiction, haha. He's doing great. I can NOT believe how strong he is. Today my right ribs hurt so bad- I'm thankful that he's healthy and active but the boy is a little beast. I'm not exaggerating, I think I have internal bruising. Maybe he's excited like I am because we have 2 big weekends coming up. This weekend we are taking our annual fishing trip with my family. Fishing, s'mores, board games, campfires- woohoo! Then next weekend is the shower- yay!

Well here's my obligatory picture- it had to be another bathroom pic because I Jody won't be home until 8 and I want into my PJs ASAP- which are not picture worthy =)

Growth update

Confession

I snuck a glance. I honestly had good intentions... I wanted to take 1 last peek at our registry because I know that the invites went out last week. (I am the world's WORST decision maker, I will look at something 10x and compare it to 100 alternatives before I make a choice.) I wanted to make sure that I was happy with our choices...

OMG there is like nothing left. All of the "big" things have already been purchased. (I know I didn't technically "get" the things yet but I guess everyone doesn't wait until the last minute like me to shop, haha.) To be completely serious, I am just so happy and lucky and thankful for all of the wonderful people that will be in Justin's life. We have the most amazing, generous family and friends a baby (or mommy-to-be) could ever need. No matter how tired I get or how much I hate my job it's things like this that make me realize how great life really is.

32 weeks

Happy Tuesday! Here's the pic from 32 weeks.

In our childbirth class we learned that the whole "heartburn= a hairy baby" myth is an old wives tale...supposedly. I sure hope so or I am giving birth to a wookie. Everything gives me heartburn these days. It's not like doubled over in pain heartburn, just a dull'ish consistent pain.

In other news, I'm not mad at Target anymore. (reminder- they had "online-only'ed" and then back ordered my entire nursery set. I bought the bedding (new) off of ebay but couldn't find the matching curtains anywhere so Target won and I ordered them. I was furious with the ship date of 9/28-10/6 but sucked it up.) Anyways- I just got an email that the curtains have been shipped. Whoa! 3 weeks ahead of schedule. Yay!

All learned up

We completed our "prepared childbirth" class yesterday. We opted for the 1 day 8-5pm class offered by our hospital. Some of the info I already knew but it was definitely worth it for me. No matter what you read online or in books- you still never know what will be available/procedure at your specific hospital. I could not believe some of the people in our class. There was like 8 preggos and their coaches. We had a "baby thug" and his fiance who were due in a week (admitted they had no carseat- no pediatrician etc...) their biggest concern was putting the baby in their own clothes in the hospital nursery. I bet baby Roca-wear, Josy bets baby Fubu. 2 husbands were massaging their wives backs almost the whole class. One girl had her feet up on pillows because the chairs weren't comfortable. This same girl (who's about 35wks) made her husband put her shoes on her on after class. Trust me, I am a total back rub junkie (as Jody put it, lol) but really... for hours...in a room of strangers? I understand that these girls were 2-3 wks ahead of me but I think they're milking this. I'm kinda-sorta-a-little stubborn and controlling so the idea of having someone else prop up my legs or put my shoes on is just insane to me. Our instructor was really nice. Unfortunately, she had a family emergency and had to end class 1/2 an hour early so we missed out on the hospital tour. Oh well, we were just there 2 weeks ago for the twins- I'm sure not much has changed.

Speaking of those little peanuts...baby Reese and baby Rory got to come home yesterday! They weigh a little over 6 lbs each and are perfectly healthy. I can't believe how tiny they are. They are so content and adorable. Avery did great. She "gives the babies kisses"- which means she goes at them open mouth and kinda presses her mouth on them. She walks on her own for a few steps now- it's big news. We're so happy for Jesse and Kelly- they have a gorgeous little family.

Little challenges

I just got back from the Dr. and I have a little time before work. Everything is going great- I just feel so, so lucky. Blood pressure/heartbeat/belly measurement are all on track. Even in all this heat I haven't had any swelling. I haven't been making mention of weight gain lately because I got a little "off track". It just felt SO good to finally be able to eat again in the 2nd tri I think I went a little overboard. My original goal was to gain 30 lbs- max. So far I've gained 27 lbs...oops. My Dr says it's normal and everything looks great. You know what, I'm sure it's hard to lose weight after a baby and in the end will an extra 5 or 10 lbs on my "goal" weight really make a difference? We're healthy and happy- that's all that matters.

On the subject of eating I can not believe how much it hurts to be "full". I expected this around like 38 wks when things are really squished in there but I've been this way for about a week already. I've always had a healthy appetite and pregnanacy only seemed to increase that. Now, I eat like 1/3 of my dinner and it feels like my belly is literally going to burst open. Just something I need to be conscious of, I guess. I will add it to the list of the "pregnancy suprises/challenges" that I've learned. Also going on the list of suprises this week- it IS possible to get out of breath painting your toenails and my personal favorite- who knew putting on your underpants would become such a challenge? (I don't know if it's the whole balance thing, mixed with weight gain, mixed with "not being able to see"below the belly...) but I feel like a weeble-wooble every morning.

31 weeks- take 2

There are 2 reasons I am adding a 2nd "31 week" picture.
#1. I hated the blurry pic from yesterday
#2. I feel like someone sprinkled miracle grow on my tummy in my sleep last night and I just have to show it off! Haha!

31 weeks

Yep- down to single digit "weeks" on the countdown- how exciting! For some reason our pictures kept coming out blurry today and after about 12 of them...no joke... I just gave up. This is the best that I have- sorry! Happy Tuesday!

Officer Jerkface

Our anniversary was going wonderful. We spent the day by the pool at Linda's and even had a surprise visit from Kelly and Avery. We had a delicious dinner at Romanellos.

When we were leaving Romanellos I remembered that Jody wanted French toast for the breakfast the next morning and we didn't have enough eggs. Even though Tops is right down the street we decided to stop out and see my dad. (Jody loves his farm eggs because he says they taste fresh and "yolkier"). Anyways- as we're driving through the boonies of Orchard Park, Jody got pulled over by a state trooper for rolling through a stop sign. I totally thought that we were going to get out of it. Jody (aka the world's best schmoozer) explained that it was our 1st anniversary- we were on our way to stop at my dad's because I was pregnant and not feeling well. (Which was true, I totally overstuffed myself and was complaining, lol) Well, no dice. We got the ticket and the court date is Jody's birthday. Then this jerkface starts telling us congrats- enjoy the baby and about his grand kids. I wasn't in really in the mood to chit-chat with someone who just wrote us a a ticket. Anyways, he did explain how to get out of court and reduce our ticket, so that was nice. On the way home someone was pulled over in the same exact spot.

Oh and the rumor is true- your wedding cake tastes yucky on your anniversary! =) To be fair, I don't think we wrapped ours well.

I do have some good news. Remember how mad I was at Target for back ordering and "online-only"'ing our bedding? Well I bid on it (for like the 4th time) on ebay last night and won! I'm biased but I think it's just adorable. The last few times I've "lost" the auction there were well over 30 bids for the set. I wasn't planning on winning... and spending the money but oh well, it can be my early birthday gift to myself.

People are silly

"The first year of marriage is the hardest"
"Marriage changes everything"

We heard it all and I want to go on record and say I think it's a load of baloney! Today is our 1 year anniversary! YAY! I seriously cannot believe a year went by so quickly. I can honestly say that our 1st year of marriage was amazing. Jody is the most caring, generous, loving husband I could ever ask for. (The man sleeps on the couch so his giant pregnant wife can spread out with 800 pillows and get a good night's sleep.) I hope Justin grows up to be just like his daddy.

I try not to get too mushy but married life is just the best. As husband and wife we went to Tahiti, Miami, Cozumel, Grand Caymen and Disney World. We worked hard to continue fixing up our little home. We hosted our first big holiday. Last week we met our brand new niece and nephew. Now we have our sweet little baby on the way in just 2 months! Not everything went perfect for us on an individual basis this year (jobs, cars, bills...Sophie, lol) but we were ALWAYS there for each other. No matter how horrible the day was seeing him always made me feel so much better.

I know a lot of people that read this blog are already married and probably doing just fine without my advice. I just want to say one thing- then get off my little soapbox. The 1st year of marriage is what you make of it. Remember that you are "on the same team" so support each other in everything. Go out of your way to do nice little things for each other; kiss in the grocery store, pack him a lunch with a love note in it, rub her back, let her sit on your lap and cry even if it's for the most ridiculous reason. Ugh- hormones are making me weepy so I'll wrap this up.

Happy Anniversary to us and many, many more!

I'm an aunt again...and an aunt again!

Woohoo! Kelly had her twins yesterday! She had a c-section schedule for 9/10 because one baby was feet down. The babies did not want to be told when to come so they picked their own birthdays. Linda called Jody around 1:30 and he, of course, called me right away- all excited that the babies would be here soon. It was a hurry up and wait kind of afternoon- they kept telling us, "15 more minutes" or "30 more minutes". At 2:58 the little peanuts were born at 35wks 3 days. Actually they're not peanuts at all! The 1st baby was a girl, Reese White and weighed 6lbs 8 oz. Reese looks JUST like her big sister Avery. The 2nd baby was a boy, Rory White and he weighed 6lbs 0 oz. The middle names are still being decided. Even though they are big healthy twins they had to go to the NICU for observation/tests. It kind of stunk b/c we had to go see them in small groups. By the time it was my "shift" the nurse was shoo-ing everyone out b/c the babies needed rest- I guess they weren't letting people take a lot of pics either =( The babies have these little domes over their faces with mist and oxygen to help their little lungs and they have little feeding tubes for now. I promise to post pics when I get them. Kelly is doing great. She was a little sleepy and shakey but good. I felt bad b/c she was in recovery for 3 hours and hadn't even really got to see the babies yet. I guess that typical of a c-section especially with preemies.

Seeing the twins makes me really hope that Justin goes full term (at least 37wks) so that he doesn't need all those NICU precautions. I'm too nervous of a person for that, lol. It was SO different. When Avery was born we all got to hold her and pass her around- she was right in the room with Kelly. Oh well, all that matters is that my little niece and nephew are here- they are adorable and they are healthy. What a happy day!

30 weeks

75% of the way "done"! Wow time really flies by. Jody swears by 10/25 as the date for the baby. Right after we found out I was pregnant he said the number 1025 kept coming up at the bank. Kinda scary to think that 10/25 is less than 2 months away now! I'm still sticking with Halloween.

Last night I went to bed around 11:30 and poor baby Justin got hiccups again. I know that they don't hurt him but I personally hate them for myself. I kept trying to reposition myself but nothing helped. This is humiliating but I got really quiet (held my breath, lol) and then tapped my belly real quick to try to "scare" away his hiccups. It made sense to me but Jody thinks I'm losing it =) Almost 10 minutes went by so I walked around a little and finally they went away. My restless leg syndrome has me up about every hour during the night with "pins and needles" from my hip to my foot. Not so fun but nothing a little tossing and turning can't fix.

Jody and I are on opposite schedules today so I took my own pic- it's not the best but I tried. Happy Tuesday!

Lots of growing!

This time I'm not talking about my belly! Jody has really taken charge of the garden this year and boy is it doing great! We have cherry tomatoes and broccoli coming out of our ears. We've had a few great (bell and banana) peppers and some impressive zucchini. Our beans and peas are doing okay- along with the cucumbers and carrots. He wanted to "experiment" and try a few new plants this year now that he's not a newbie to gardening. Here are a few photos of Farmer Jody's successful experiments. Hey- he's 4 for 4 I'm proud! The first is 1 of several cantaloupes he's grown. There is 1 of the DELICIOUS strawberries. A few ears of his corn and the biggest pumpkin in the "patch" (so far it's like soccer ball size.)

Darn you Target!

I'm thinking of totally getting rid our Target registry. Basically it's several pieces of our bedding set and now they are all "Online only". Everyone I know shops last minute for showers (myself absolutely included) so I don't think that many people will be ordering things online. Now, not only are the items online only- they are "online only, in stock soon, order now! First come first served". Seriously Target, WTF?!?! I'll already be almost 35 weeks at my shower- I don't have 6-8 weeks to wait to order these if I don't get them. I think I'm going to suck it up and just buy the darn bedding myself off of ebay or amazon. Thanks a lot Target- I didn't expect this from you =(

"C" is for cookie (and Cow and Cankles)...

I need a baked goods intervention. I just got back from the Dr's where I learned I gained almost 4lbs in 2 and a half weeks. He assured me that it's normal but I can't imagine that coffee cakes, brownies, cookies and twinkies are helping. He said that if I start to feel "concerned" about my weight I could just reduce the number of carbohydrates I eat. Riiight buddy. Easy for you to say.

It is time for my leave yet?

My department was already short staffed and then someone was fired yesterday. I work in the most un-organized, ridiculous piece of crap department ever. I'm tired... we're all tired- stop putting night meetings that are an hour away on us last minute. I'm sooo fired up right now. I decided to work up until the latest possible day so that I can save my all leave for when the baby is actually here but it's getting harder and harder to convince myself that =(

Yup, that's my rib...

Everyone says how hard the 3rd trimester is. Whenever I ask someone that's like 34 weeks and up how they're feeling I always get, "done." or "so ready to be done." or even "miserable". I promised myself from the very beginning that I will NOT be the token miserable 3rd trimester woman. I honestly am that sap that believes a baby is a miracle and I love, love being pregnant. He is something I wished for and hoped for (and even begged for.) I really think that a lot of pregnancy is mind over matter. I just need to stay positive and enjoy the short time this little baby is inside of me.

My little auntie-to-be of a sister says she looks forward to my honesty about pregnancy and child birth so I promise to always be honest. I can admit that I feel some definite changes in the past few weeks. Besides the restless leg syndrome, I have been waking up with hip pain a few times a night. Then it's inevitable that I'll have to pee. I've been having trouble falling asleep this week too. Just lots of tossing and turning. I know for a fact that Baby Justin has gotten very, very strong. Yesterday at work some part of him was jabbing me right in the ribs- it felt like his toe was stuck in there trying to push the rib forward. I tried to "massage" him down a little bit and eventually he moved. He's "awake" much more now- his favorite is right as I'm drifting off to sleep. Even though it can hurt, I still think it's cute because I imagine him saying , "hey how about another snack down here?".

As far as mental changes- I am a firm believer in "pregnancy brain". I hemmed a super long pair of pants for Jody that are now up above his ankle bones b/c I "forgot" the measurements. I have left my straightener on about 10 times in the last month- Jody keeps joking that I'm trying to burn the house down. Today, Cate pointed out that I was walking around work with my cardigan inside out. Still nothing AS good as the day my phone rang at my desk and I tried to "answer" the tape dispenser but I think we're getting there... Pregnancy is the most wonderfully weird thing in the world!

29 weeks

Happy Tuesday!!!

Hiccups!

I have been reading about other women feeling the baby hiccuping for a few weeks now but so far...nothing. This morning I was laying in bed relaxing and I felt him moving around a lot- which is unusual because he's usually a "night baby". All of the sudden- there they were. It was like "bumps" or "taps" in the same place, every 3 or 4 seconds. He's hiccuping!!! They lasted almost 4 minutes. My doctor (and baby center, lol) says that hiccups are totally normal and don't hurt the baby. It's actually a really good sign that he is practicing his breathing and his diaphragm is getting strong. What a little cutie!

Progress!

Woohoo! Now all we need is the furniture assembled and the baby inside! The first pic is the "before" as our storage room. The 2nd is Dad and Grandpa installing the new windows and the 3rd is my awesome paint job- I love it!