baby bump and weekend update

i'm currently sitting somewhere between 31 and 32 weeks.

and yesterday i had 3 people ask "how much longer" and another ask if i was sure there was just 1 in there.  i thought i was going to cry.  i'm feeling ginormous with 2 more months still to go.

on the bright side - the farmer's markets are in full swing - i was able to get tomatoes at $2 a lb and asparagus for $3 a bunch - all of which have now been consumed - i've noted to buy extra this coming weekend.

bill was kind enough to take care of our patio garden this weekend

bell peppers - which have done really well on our patio in past years - and mint that i love adding to tea

plus

a hanging basket of basil to pair with my tomato obsession.

the fresh fruit and vegetables are welcomed after months of not feeling like cooking.  and since i currently feel like a whale - eating whole foods again at least makes me feel better about my current state.

blt salad found on pinterest : spring mix + cherry tomatoes + corn + feta cheese + bacon + avocado
lime dressing : olive oil + red wine vinegar + fresh squeezed lime juice + sugar


a little nursery update:

i purchased a crib skirt at PB Kids to finish off the crib

and Lucy's great aunt Jennifer got her a lovey

bill and i hung up the kitten prints above the crib

i just can't get over how adorably cute these are

the other side of the room is still a bit in chaos

but we now have a changing pad (and clothes to be put away!)

bill successfully installed the car seat base this weekend - so if lucy were to come early we are prepared!

i still need to organize the diaper situation

we picked up 2 dozen cloth diapers and 4 diaper covers to get us started for the first few months.

these are kind of old school - they are the prefolds - which are just really thick cotton that has been prepped for absorbency and the waterproof covers will go over top of them to hold everything together.  the prefolds are sized for newborns and should be enough for the first two months or three - depending on her size and shape.

my plan (ha) is to buy the fancier insert style reusable diapers and a few all in ones once Lucy gets a bit bigger.  after taking the cloth diapering class and talking with the staff at the diaper fairy it seemed the one-size-fits-all reusable diapers work best once my infant chunks up a bit.

i had thought about using disposables up until that time - but the prefolds can be used later for extra protection in insert style diapers as well as burp cloths - a win win in my book - so i pulled the trigger on the purchase.

i will admit that it took me a few tries to get the hang of wrapping a rectangle shaped cloth around a teddy bear.  there is a learning curve - especially dealing with the snappee (the blue piece that is used instead of safety pins).  but after a few tries i kind of got the hang of it.  and infants and babies lay flat and still like teddy bears, right?  good.  i'll be fine then.

things currently running through my mind:

1. my first baby shower is this weekend and i couldn't be more excited to celebrate
2. my sister in law is due a month before me, but informed me that she could go early based on her last dr visit- which is too much for me to process!
3. we need a plan on what to do with woodford when labor strikes
4. call prospective pediatricians
5. make a list of what to pack for the hospital

and that's only the top 5 things.  ugh.

8.3 more weeks to go!

 

week 30

today i am officially 30 weeks pregnant!!

and i'm beginning to think i'm going to need a chauffeur because i can only scoot my seat so far back and still reach the pedals. 

whenever i hear someone is in their 30-something week i automatically think they're almost done!

and i'm certainly feeling "almost done" despite having 10 good weeks left

eating dinner is difficult - i should probably sit at the actual dining table, but when i get home i need to put my feet up; my ankles are the size of softballs!  leaning over my plate is out of the question as then i can't breath - so eating is often done in the reclined position with my belly sometimes acting as a table.

and i'm serious about my ankle situation

for whatever reason my left ankle is always worse than my right.  the swelling makes getting anything done in the evening near impossible since i feel like i'm waddling or limping to walk across our tiny space.

but i have been trying to do tiny tasks when i can or the mood strikes.  this past weekend bill and i decided to try and organize some items that had been shifted around while laying the new floor.  we had a few baby clothes that had been purchased at consignment sales and my job was to remove the BAJILLION safety pins and tags on the clothes and wash, fold and put them all away.

i also dusted off MY old rocking chair - which has been patiently waiting for my own little girl to rock in one day.

it's also a jenny lind (which matches the crib and cradle) - gah! i love the spindles!  and the little piggy was found over at bill's grandmother's - the whole room is turning into a sentimental collection (really all of my decor through the house is) - which makes walking into the room without crying difficult.

this little guy?  a doorstop i rescued from a yardsale my granny had.  i apparently was obsessed with the thing as a child and couldn't dare see it go - and it has since lived in the house in one spot or another.  it's actually functioning as a doostop now, and since the nursery seems to be a menagerie of animals (kittens on the wall, pig in the rocker, and now peacock on the floor) i thought, what the heck!

i can't wait to show the whole room - but there's still a table saw on the floor and an ottoman underneath the window and i'm lacking some art work.

my other big accomplishment

putting together the jogging stroller and car seat that arrived at our doorstep yesterday!  i was too impatient to let bill help me (he was at work) so i huffed and puffed and dumped everything in the floor.

surprisingly it all went together with a few clicks.  we went with the graco jogging stroller travel system since we knew we wanted a jogging stroller, but definitely didn't have the room to store more than one kind of larger stroller - so one that was compatible with a car seat was a win win.  the graco system had great reviews and was budget friendly - i kept looking at the BOB strollers and couldn't believe the ridiculous price + NONE of the accessories (cup holders, car seat adapters, etc) were included - all sold separately.  so if you invest in the stroller and then decide you want the accessories, you could easily have $700 in...A STROLLER.  i just couldn't.  i'm the least speedy runner anyways - lucy and i will be performing more of a trot once she's big enough to "run" with.


in other baby related news - my baby app is telling me that my digestive process is slowing down,  and i made the mistake of buying fiber one brownies.  i ate like 4 in one afternoon.  don't judge me.  they are 90 calories each and TINY.  great for a small indulgence when dieting - horrible when you're pregnant and eat 4 of them.  i sounded like the little engine that could the other night and was surprised bill didn't go sleep on the couch.  must be love.

Lucy is now the size of a cabbage (wasn't she just the size of a head of lettuce?  aren't those 2 things similar?)- about 15.7 inches long and weighs about 3 lbs.

i'm starting to think she knows when bill is around or can tell the difference when he's touching my belly or i am.  bill got off work early the other night and we were watching tv.  i had him place his hand on my belly and almost immediately she started kicking and thumping his hand - big kicks that moved my belly.  we joked that she knew it was her daddy - but i secretly think she did know - already a daddy's girl!

odds and ends:

•  mother's day is this weekend, and i've reminded bill at least 6 times.  i expect at least a card.
• my mom and aunt are coming in this weekend...they're looking forward to shopping for lucy, i'll just be along for the ride :)
• dr's appointments are now every other week - which makes me excited since i will have something baby related on the calendar almost every week
• i want to pick up some nursing bras but have been warned that things could change significantly.  so my question is when do i pick them up or should i go ahead and buy a couple?
• my breast pump came in, and my heart began racing - another reminder that this is real...also, it looked so medical and weird. 
• i've been knitting diligently as well as working on sewing cradle sheets - can't wait to show them off!

that's about it for the week.  to all the mommas and mommas-to-be  - happy early mother's day!

 

29 weeks

happy last week in the 20's!

week 29 is here and making itself known!

i am constantly oscillating between feeling super on top of things (like i said the other day) to feeling like "oh sh!t - i still have x,y,z to do!" (i probably won't be happy until there's a carseat strapped in, a hospital bag packed, baby clothes and bedding washed, and house scrubbed clean one last time....all things that probably won't happen for another 6-7 weeks.  er, i mean we'll clean in between but probably not a good scrub until closer to go time and obviously the master bathroom should take top priority...ahem...)

after months of claiming a side-effect free pregnancy - my feet are now in a constant state of semi swollen and fat.  no matter how often i prop them up at work or how much water i drink, they kind of just puff up a bit until i get home and lay on my side for about an hour.

probably due to the extra fluid being retained in my feet, i'm now having to get up at least once a night to potty - which makes it really difficult to fall back asleep.

i'm convinced, if old sayings hold any truth, that baby Lucy is going to come out completely bald.  i've not had heartburn once!  BUT i've started to experience some indigestion.  which, is that the same thing?  i've heard of pregnant ladies complain about raging heartburn to the point they thought they were having heart issues.  mine feels like i need to burp or have something stuck in my esophagus - so if that is indeed heartburn, maybe Lucy will have a light fluff of hair?

i'm also starting to feel incredibly slow.  bill and i went to the cherokee triangle art fair last weekend - it wasn't too crowded but i constantly felt like someone was behind me waiting for me to walk faster.  bill usually walks faster than me anyways, but lately i just can't keep up and am constantly reminding him to slow down.  it was nice and warm out too - close to 80 - and in the shade with a breeze it was wonderful.  it wasn't until we got back to the car i realized how hot it actually was.  i had pretty much sweat through the seat of my pants.  very humbling - especially considering we were headed to the diaper class right after.

a few weeks ago i called to start my registration process with short term disability (i don't know how most places of employment do maternity leave, but where i work i get 6 weeks of short term disability paid leave but can take another 6 weeks off through the FMLA act - though it is unpaid unless i use vacation time).  so anyways, i've called and am talking to a representative - giving typical information.  she needed to know when my first prenatal doctor visit was, when i'm due, who my doctor was...etc.  we have clearly established i am pregnant and taking the leave for this reason.  so when she asked her next question i couldn't help but laugh and ask for further clarification.  the lady, very seriously asked, "what are your symptoms?"

...crickets.  and then laughter.  excuse me?- i said...and then laughed again - there's a baby kicking me from the inside?  there's an alien-looking being in my womb according to an ultrasound?

she seemed flustered at that point, never really acknowledging it was kind of a weird question.  i'm sure she was reading off a standard form that is actually used for real disability claims (not pregnancy) so she conceded and moved on.



i'm looking forward to the next 11 weeks - baby showers, my mom and aunt visiting and coming to shop, becoming an aunt, myself, again! in june

trying to get in extra cuddles and lovins with my fur babies, too!  i can't tell if woodford thinks we've created a fun palace for him in the nursery or if he knows something big is about to happen and he's protecting the space.
 
a few last items

• i've bought a whole frozen key lime pie at the grocery the past 2 weeks.  i cannot get enough of the tart flavor.
• sonic's diet cherry limeade. enough said. (this was a pre pregnancy thing too)
• Lucy is now the size of a butternut squash - 15.2 inches long and 2.5 lbs
• i hope to get in one prenatal massage soon..hint...bill...mother's day...hint.
• i'm attempting to sew a couple crib sheets and cradle sheets
• i'm really behind on my knitting and am semi depressed i haven't made Lucy anything yet
• i wake up at least once a night with the panic of where i will change Lucy while she sleeps in our room (it's not even a big deal when i'm awake - but in my sleep i'm concerned?)
• i'm trying to justify paying for an elective ultrasound so i can see Lucy with some fat on her cheeks!