dad's and my baby bellies. :)

34 week pics

while my daddy-man came to give me a walk-in closet, sista friend came over to help me with the nursery and snapped some 34 week pics.
the nursery is basically finished, and my baby shower is on saturday! i can't wait to see everyone! i will take some nursery pics after i can clean it up a bit, but here are a few to whet your appetite. ;)

i know what you're thinking....
i had 7 days off and didn't post once??? well, i had.....things....to do? eh. not really. i spent this mini-vacation galavanting with my friend amy and the girls, sewing, being stressed out, and going to doctors.
so i will fill you in:

1. sewing: amy taught me how to use a sewing machine. and we have been making flannel baby wipes (yes, i said baby wipes- as in tushy wipes) for avonlea's adorable heiney. we have decided to cloth diaper using mainly BumGenius diapers and are soooo excited that justin's grandmother is buying a majority of the diapers for us as a gift! i know that to the unknowing cloth diapering seems like a lot of hassle, (and it might be too much for us to handle) but we are gonna give it a whirl. if it doesn't work out, we will switch to disposables, and probably feel that twinge of guilt every time we have to empty the diaper pail. :)

2. being stressed out: let's see...besides the fact that we are having the baby in 8 weeks, justin is having job issues (to put it lightly), is doing his BEST portfolio for the state of CT (part of being a teacher, i guess), and has been very absent while he tries to get it all done before the baby arrives. which is stressful anyway, but uber stressful when you are 8 months pregnant and just want your husband present with you as much as possible. especially since it's going to be a looooong time before you are ever alone together again. i just miss him i guess.
Also, the application for this years NELRP (nursing education loan repayment program) came out, giving me 3 weeks to complete it. when i have absolutely nothing ready. and this application gives me paralyzing anxiety, since i have been denied already for it. i hate doing it. and i can't even think about it....i am getting anxious already!!! aah!

3. going to doctors: since i am getting so close to baby-time, i have to go to the OB every two weeks. on top of going to my general surgeon every 4 weeks, AND my cardiologist. so, i'm kind of going all the time now. and in a few weeks, i have to start going to the OB every WEEK! who has time for that?? when i went to the cardiologist on wednesday, after telling him about a small problem i was having, he decided to put me on a heart monitor. for a month. (ugh!) which would be fine if i wasn't allergic to the adhesives and metal found in the leads. so, let's just say this is going to be a very itchy month, and i already feel like i am crawling out of my skin. :(
but, besides that, everything is good. my belly is measuring fine, the baby's growing and her heart rate is normal. and, despite the ridiculous amount of junk food i have been consuming, i didn't gain any weight. i am, however, VERY anemic, and they are very concerned, so i had to add some iron pills. if it doesnt come up by the time i go back to the MD in 2 weeks (for my last ultrasound!) they mentioned something about a transfusion. can i just have a normal anything health related in my life? the answer is no. obviously.
so, iron it is, with all the other crappy stuff they have me on. maybe that's why i am so tired this week. i have no blood! :)

in other news, i am scheduling a professional photography shoot today, and can't wait to see what she can do! i will keep you updated on that. and, our rocking chair came in! so, me and a friend are going to go see if it will fit in the jeep! i can't wait to get it in the room! then i can REALLY finish the nursery! :-D yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

i know, i know

i know i haven't posted in for-ev-er. but i had a silly stretch of working nights, and haven't had the energy, much less the time.
things here have been pretty good. i'm feeling more and more pregnant and stressed as the days wear on. especially lately, as i gained like 10lbs in the last 2 weeks. :( (hard to remind myself it is baby-fat and not amber-fat)

so i hear she is roughly 3.5lbs and about 19inches long in there. she's got a sleep pattern and a wake pattern, sucks her thumb, swallows, and pretends to breathe. it's pretty neat. :) we are starting to get the little planning done, like finishing up the nursery, finishing up the registry, and *gasp* packing the hospital bags. i know it seems silly, but it's a just-in-case thing. i think that if i went into labor now at 31.5 weeks i would freak out and forget everything important at home. so, i will probably pack a preliminary bag in the next week or so. :)

i am considering getting some professional photos taken, and am wishing that my jenny lived a little closer to use that gorgeous cannon on me. :-D (can't wait to see the jamaica pics!)

justin took a mental health day today, and i'm pretty sure we are going to lounge around and do nothing. it has been far too long. :)

have a happy thursday!

who is more pregnant?

My daddy is STILL more pregnant than I am. ;)

what is funnier, is that his belly is actually PUSHING my belly in. :)

eventually, i'm gonna beat him out! or, maybe i won't if he keeps eating like he's the pregnant one!

cheeeese!!!

our cheesy faces. :)

my sweet girl

this is my lovey girl, Cailin. aaah! i LOVE HER!

my 29 week pictures

here's me. at 29 weeks!

nursery

the crib still needs a mattress...i'm workin on it.

a sneak peak

here's a little sneak peak of what i have done so far of the nursery, as i have been harassed about not posting pics. :)

birthday belly

Here's my 28 week belly pic from when i went out to dinner for my birthday. she's getting bigger in there! this week, we are working hard at gaining a half a pound and fine-tuning the brain! :)

i think i'm turning into a frosted flake

i would just like to say that in the past 24 hours, i have eaten 5 bowls of cereal! it's the only thing that i really want to eat today. and so, i just keep eating it.
4 bowls of frosted flakes and 1 bowl of cocoa pebbles. personally, i would have made them ALL cocoa pebbles, but J bought me cocoa KRISPIES by accident, which are clearly inferior to the pebble variety.
i figure it's ok for me to eat my weight in cereal, considering that they are fortified with all these vitamins now. plus, the milk gets me my proteins.
so, i'm all set.

ooh. i gotta go. i just remembered i have ben & jerrys in the fridge. ;)

happy birthday to me...

yesterday was my birthday. it was an ok day. i got a fabulous massage in the morning, leaving me sore today, but feeling much looser than i was before, which is nice.
then J and i went to target to get my father-in-law a birthday gift, as we share the same birthday. then we napped on the couch and went out for sushi dinner with my sista-friend, amy & greg.
sarah made me a fabulous dessert, which i scarfed down far too fast, and then we set out to brave the blizzard and make it home.
all in all, a good night.

today, we went to my in-laws to celebrate again with a waffle extravaganza. there were herbed waffles, chocolate waffles, pumpkin spice waffles and belgian waffles, all with different toppings and sauces. it was delicious. i am a fan of waffles apparently. my sister-in-law made a giant cupcake for dessert, which was also fabulous. so, i have certainly eaten my fair share today!
now we are laying around, and i am going to try out my claw-foot tub and lavender bath salts. :) i am excited for a warm bath. this has certainly been a weekend of pampering! it's ok, i deserve it every once in awhile, right?

greetings earthlings....

I am at work, finishing the last night of my 5 in a row. no, i did not schedule myself this way, my managers clearly hate me and are punishing me. ;)
so, after talking with some friends, I have decided to post some interesting, if not humerous issues related to being knocked up, as only one of my friends have actually been privy to the experience. May this serve as my two cents on the matter. :)

the changes that happen to your body are very strange. here are just a few of my favorites, without oversharing...

1. i consider pregnancy a hostile take over of your body. now, all of the pregnancy books sing the praises and beauty of being "with child", but i bet, that if you secretly polled women, a majority of them would tell you that being knocked up sucks. for various reasons. but i promised i wouldn't overshare. plus, apparently rosey cheeked, glowy pregnant women aren't actually supposed to tell people that they don't like being pregnant. kind of how nobody really used to talk about sex in the 50's.

in the first trimester:
you are lovely shades of green for most of the trimester, if not all of it like i was. you don't want to put ANYTHING in your mouth, let alone the healthy foods that the books tell you that you should be feeding the baby.
you are so tired that you can not for the life of you keep your eyes open. it's an inexplicable form of exhaustion, and i actually fell asleep mid-conversation with my in-laws one night at dinner. it feels like you are constantly in a nyquil fog, sans runny nose.
everyone likes to tell you how your body is changing...i havent figured out why this happens. in a 3 day span, i had 3 different people come to me and tell me that you couldn't tell i was pregnant from the front, but you could certainly tell from the back. who says that? and what does that mean exactly? do pregnant bottoms look different from non-pregnant bottoms?

in the second trimester:
the nausea subsides, but then come the cravings. lucky for me, i didn't crave anything unnatural. citrus seems to be a big craving for lots of pregnant women, or so they tell me. i like pickles. salty, crisp pickles. and anything related to the carb family. but, that isn't really anything strange for those that know me. i guess i haven't really craved much of anything in particular. although, i am always thirsty.
the baby starts moving, and it feels really funny. tickley. or, as i have described previously, it kind of feels like someone is bumping into you from the inside, dull and blunt. there isnt really any rhyme or reason to it either.
your pants stop fitting and you have to buy maternity pants. that is really annoying. maternity clothes are ridiculously expensive!
you start getting moody and inexplicably anxious for no reason. oh wait....i was already doing that. ;)

as i enter into the third trimester (!)...
since the belly has popped, i find that my balance is going. you can't really bend at the waist anymore, so you have to squat. have you ever seen a roundy pregnant woman try to get up from a squatting position? tonight, i fell on my bum trying to do that. thankfully a friend at work lugged me to my feet. :)
and as hard as it is to get up from these positions, you are suddenly all thumbs and drop EVERYTHING all the time. and you bump into things all the time. and, really easy concepts are suddenly difficult to understand because your head seems all foggy.
those nice, dull, blunt baby movements have turned into quick jabs that can make you jump right out of your skin. most women know what it feels like having your cervix jabbed.... but it's a whooooole new experience when it's being jabbed from above. repeatedly. as you are trying to sleep. or watch tv. or do anything. also, you suddenly know what those movements are. i can tell the difference between a punch and a kick. and, the nugget is on a schedule already, bless her little 4-chambered heart. she likes to wake up and raise a ruckus JUST as i am going to sleep. no, no, no. so, i just rock my body back and forth for awhile, and off to sleep she goes. i wonder if she will like that when she's part of the outside world, or if that is just a private little mommy-and-me moment.

it's so strange to think that i am 7 months pregnant. tonight i told someone that the concept of me physically holding my baby and having to take it home in 3 months is kind of like me telling you that next week, green, spindley aliens are going to land in your front yard and move in with you and your cat and your husband. for all of time. how will the alien get here? what do aliens eat? how green is a green alien? will the alien try to communicate with me? or burn me to death with lasers? do you think the alien will resemble Alf and want to eat my cat?? it's kind of like that. you have the notion that something is coming....but you don't have any of the details, and you won't know anything for certain til it gets here.

i guess we'll just have to wait and see what the rest of this trimester brings, and hope that it's good stuff from here on out.

my triumphant return?

so, after thinking about it for months, i have decided to join my sister's summer softball team in Cheshire, CT.
last summer, justin and i went to a few of their games to watch and hang out, and these girls had sooo much fun! they all brought their little families with their little babies, and played a fun, stress free game...and then hung out after, gnoshing on picnic foods and beer after the game.
i can't wait to bring my little family, with my little baby, and play in their fun little league. :)
and i am so excited! i think it would be good for my post-baby psyche to hang out, get a bit of exercise, and it will be a nice break from maternity leave.
yes, i know i haven't played since high school, but it doesn't matter. i'm pretty sure that some of those girls have never played before, so at least i can say i have. :)
it's nice to be excited for the warm summer sun on your shoulders in this dead of winter chill. summer sun, summer beers, and new summer friends. :)