Week 28: Rib kicks, Mommy fears, and Baby books

Every week just seems more and more surreal. There's no way I've been pregnant for 28 weeks, is there? There's no way Baby Girl will grace us with her presence sometime in the next 12 weeks. And she just keeps getting bigger.  Baby P is the size of an Eggplant this week.  She can now open and shut her eyelids (they've been fused shut until now).

It drives me NUTS when the picture frame is tilted in the picture and the photographer doesn't say anything!! Rant over. I'm very grateful for my photographer and fruit drawer.

New this week: I got kicked in the ribs the first time this week.  I've heard this hurts, it wasn't necessarily painful, but similar to the sensation of someone pushing a painful bruise. It will definitely stop you in your tracks. Perhaps it gets more painful as she gets bigger, but most of her kicks are off to the side of my belly.

I've had a very strong, and what I'm assuming, instinctual realization this week. With only 12 weeks left until our Lil Princess makes her grand entrance, I have this sudden fear of her not being protected by the safety of my belly.  With her being in my belly, I know where she's at and what she's doing at all times. I have complete control of her safety and full protection over her.  Once she comes into this world, while I can still protect her and care for her, I lose so much control over her safety.  I guess this is just the first step in the very scary adventure of parenthood.

Special moment: Aside from completing our Childbirth Class (which I'll write about separately), Kevin and I looked through my Baby Book together.

I know the Pediatrician we chose for Baby P was my doctor growing up, but I didn't know he was legitimately the doctor my parents chose for me at birth.  Pretty Cool.

I'm so happy my mom did a Baby Book and makes me wonder if having this blog will be as special for Baby P as the baby book was to me.  Or should I plan to do a baby scrapbook.  We shall see.

Pain:  Aside from my persistent back pain, I've had some sciatica pain this week. I went out to walk earlier today and had to turn around because I could barely stand.  It's still been radiating through my butt/hip all day today, and there hasn't been much to alleviate it.  I'll be trying the heating pad tonight.

Sleep: I actually got a couple of good nights' sleep this week. But to supplement, another couple not so good. I think I've finally trained by brain to just give up on the tossing and turning and stay on its left side.

Exercise: Not being able to jog is making me go a bit crazy.  I. NEED. TO JOG. ugh.  Sure I've found alternative routes to expend some energy, but it's not the same.

Looking forward to:  Getting the nursery painted!! I never thought it would happen, but we decided on a color. This was a biggie. We've had countless paint swatches taped to her wall for the last SEVERAL months. It came down to 2 and finally 1 today after getting a couple samples. I will surely share as soon as it is completed!

Week 27: The beginning of the end

Hello Third Trimester!!!

deep breath. in shock by that statement.

This week, Baby is the size of a Rutabaga.  Now, for you other preggos out there, I know, I know, we are all shuffled around on what sized fruit Baby P is, but quite frankly, that's not what the pictures are for anyway. They are for that rapidly growing Baby Bump. And everything out there is saying she's roughly 2 pounds, when last week she clocked in at 2.2 at our Ultrasound appointment.

I want to add that I LOVE LOVE LOVE these maternity pants, they are my go to professional/work pants.  I got them at Destination Maternity, they are Motherhood Maternity brand, $34 full price. But to have them for work is priceless. Washer/Dryer friendly, and figure friendly.

Movement:  All I can say is Wow.  You can officially begin to decipher body parts flying across my mid-section. She must be in there doing Mouse-rcise or something because this baby literally NEVER SLEEPS.  There is always something going on in there, and I wish I knew what it was about the inside of my belly that's so fascinating.

And for those that aren't aware of Mousercise or didn't get excited to accidentally wake up at 5:30 AM when it came on, this is what you were missing as a child:

Oh, and Baby P gets the Hiccups at least once a day. Sometimes they are so strong it gives me the same feeling as if I had a case of the hiccups.

Wedding Rings:  So incredibly bizarre, but they are still literally falling off of me.

Back pain: Getting bad. Especially my left side just beside my back bone.  I'm just hoping that it's not related to my minor scoliosis and that it doesn't continue to get worse.

Innie or Outie: I think my belly button is what gives away that I'm not just fat. You can definitely see it through most shirts I wear.  It may sound weird, but I think my belly button that is sticking out (not 100% all the way out yet) is cute and I cannot stop touching it. lol. Yeah, that does sound weird.

Cravings: Still Candy. Our leftovers from Halloween are rapidly diminishing. I haven't had any wayyy out there cravings really.  And everyone I've talked to that is having or has had a baby admits to the husband/significant other doing late night runs for food, or whatever.  2/3 of the way through, and that still hasn't happened. Likely just jinxed Kevin. He has voluntarily surprised me with an evening run to the store before, but by no means encouraged or provoked.

Missing anything:  I know most of you would think, obviously Elyse would miss her wine, and of course beer on gamedays.  Oddly, this just isn't the case. I'm enjoying my newfound weekend morning clarity, though I cannot wait to have a glass [or bottle] of red wine again. And I do miss Sushi very, very, very badly. AND certain types of cheeses on my favorite salads.

Exercise: It took a while, but I now have Kevin officially on schedule with my walks with the dogs every morning. No more talking me out of it, or skipping (to which I threaten to take them alone). Since the dog walks are not sufficient enough, My routine switches from going back out to walk or a prenatal workout DVD.... which I'll try to write about in a future post.

Ultrasound: Over the moon!

So this ultrasound was incredibly exciting!

First and foremost, we got great news on some of the blanks that were left open from our last ultrasound back at the beginning of September. You see, Baby P is screwed (or I should say we, her parents, are screwed). Her dad is stubborn, I'm stubborn. It's inevitable and already apparent that she is as well. She likes to make sure she is right in the way of anything that needs to be checked, which also meant that I had to have both types of ultrasounds this trip. You know, both. Fun! Lil Princess was not pleased with the internal one, she was kicking the highest I've ever felt her kick to date. Either way, they managed to screen everything this time, and she and I are healthy and right on track!

To the exciting part.  We noticed our Doc was in the office this day, which usually he isn't there on Ultrasound days.  We were greeted into the room with him, the ultrasound tech, and a rep.... for a new ultrasound machine they were testing! We didn't know what this meant until we saw them playing with some settings. And then, voila, there she was, in 4D! Totally unexpected!

As an aside, we had gone back and forth on whether to spend the money on a 3D/4D ultrasound. I kinda think they make babies look like aliens and wasn't sure I wanted to splurge. But interestingly on the way to the appointment, Kevin and I had discussed it, and I had expressed my new desire to do it.

While we only got to take home 1 picture of the 4D (again, they said she wasn't cooperating), that 1 picture and getting to see her was plenty enough.  Kevin and I keep telling one another we can't stop looking at it.  She is just perfect.

They said she has a big head full of brains, and it couldn't be more perfectly shaped :-). After a relatively nerve-wracking previous ultrasound, we are over the moon after this one and even more anxious for her to finally get here.

These updates are from last week (week 26), so these updates will likely be stacked together, so long as I can find some time to post Week 27 soon!

Size: Interestingly, while a couple of websites I have been using have her at roughly 1 2/3 pounds this weeks, we found out at our ultrasound that she is approximately 2.2 pounds! Her heartbeat has slowed down, which is typical, to about 132 beats per minute. 

Sleep: No bueno.  Waking up and rolling over all night. And it's in slow motion too because the ligaments in my belly are very, very sore when I roll and I am absolutely PETRIFIED to trigger another one of those painful episodes that I experienced a few weeks back.

Weight:  I'm at plus 4 pounds from last month!! Overall I'm at plus 11 pounds. Officially seeing numbers on the scale I've never seen before.  The more I gain, the more I feel like I need a scale in this actual house. But then again, I'm staying active, [trying to] eat healthy, I'm listening to my body, so I trust that I will gain the amount of weight I am intended to gain.

Exercise:  Speaking of staying active. It's official. Doc asked me to cool it on the jogging.  I'm so bummed. I've been having these cramps when I jog that feel like when you exercise and haven't drank enough water. But I drink water like a camel.  I'm pretty upset I'm losing what I would consider my sanity, but I'll stick to walking and this pre-natal exercise DVD I've used a few times.

Our Jacksonville shower was this weekend, and we were incredibly excited to finally see the family. We haven't seen them since we shared the news back at the beginning of July!! Can't wait to share.

Week 26: Baby P goes to the Capital

This week was a bit different than most (similar to week 15 when Baby went to Disney).  Kevin and I made a last minute decision to make the trek to the promised land, our Alma Mater, Tallahassee, for one of the season's biggest games, the FSU vs. UM game.

Baby P is the size of a scallion this week, though I'd prefer to say she's the length of, because I hope she's not that skinny! Other sources say she's the size of a cucumber! She is roughly 2 pounds, her hearing is improving and she is practicing her breathing in amniotic fluid (and getting A TON of hiccups in the process).

We have been known for spontaneously deciding to hop in the car and head somewhere (read: Disney or Tallahassee), and we knew this was likely our last opportunity. 

After experiencing tailgating and the game, I can confirm that it would be our last time, at least making the 6 hour drive to a game this year.  We walked miles upon miles to tailgate, to stand in line at the porto-potty over and over again, to watch almost the entire game standing (I took a few breaks to stare at some backs), to walk more miles to get back to our car, for this momma to spend more than an hour behind the wheel in bumper-to-bumper traffic, to have to settle for Taco Bell (blah!) at 2 am.

Now, don't you dare get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  I had a flippin' blast and always love watching my Noles play, but I have never been more physically exhausted in my entire life. And yes, I stayed for the ENTIRE game!

But oh did it ever feel fantastic to be in Tallahassee.

yeah, that's me.

That's the best I got.

Florida State football, beautiful weather, friends, and incredible family that were all extremely gracious and excited for Baby P's "first" tailgating experience.

I already miss it.  And I am SOOOO incredibly sad that my friend (who is 10 weeks ahead of me) and I didn't get a single picture together, and we even stayed at her place!  She is about to pop, and I'm so disappointed we won't see them again until their baby boy arrives!

I honestly can't talk much about any major developments that I typically bullet point because this week was a frenzy. But I will say how incredible it is to feel like she's more and more of a human being every day. We got our Ultrasound done yesterday, so I will be posting about that separately and include some of my more regular updates.

Halloween costumes: 50 shades & Magic 8

Kevin and I had a Costume party to attend last week for Halloween, and I knew this would be difficult for me.  In year's passed, I have always found something "revealing" to make out of old clothes from college and high school, but clearly that wouldn't work this year.

And I prefer creating costumes than buying them, both because I like an excuse to be creative and make something and also because I hate spending money on something you'll never use again.

Luckily I always have the help of my very ambitious Momma whom, once given a task such as this, will inundate you with anything and everything related.  So, when I emailed her to asked for help for costume ideas just 2 days before the party, I immediately received email after email with links for ideas. Creative juices combined and flowing, we narrowed in on the Magic 8 Ball.

And making this costume couldn't have been any easier.  Black leggings from the closet, black tank from the closet, and felt. For the 8 on my belly, I used white felt with a sticky back, I believe it was $1.49 at A.C. Moore.

And for the triangle with your fortune, that was the stiff type felt, which was also a dollar something.

We haven't gone out much since I got pregnant, so it was nice to get all dolled up for once.

And for the record, if you notice there is a distinct shadow, making my belly look much larger than it is! Whew, it scared me when I first looked at the pics!

Kevin had come across his idea online somewhere for 50 Shades of Grey, so we made it a mission to begin snagging paint samples at home improvement stores. It only took a couple of stops before we had well over 50 samples.

It seemed simple enough, I laid it all out to make sure we had enough.

I had warned Kevin that his idea to simply duct tape the samples on a shirt likely would not hold. After spending 30 minutes of sticking individual pieces on, the moment he began walking around was the moment they started dropping one-by-one.  Ugh.  After several attempts of getting this to work out and pinning certain ones, Kevin had given up.

After taking a breath and thinking outside the box, he began laying all of the samples out face down on the bed and began taping the backs together.  This pretty much created a shield.  We then took this shield and pinned it on, and Voila! 50 Shades. Not exactly how we planned but it worked nonetheless.

I think we both had a couple of simple and creative costumes that were a lot of fun!! 

Happy Halloween and be safe!!

Week 25: Hi-C blood test?

Running a bit behind on this week's update, life and work have been super crazy.

Baby P is the size of a head of cauliflower, an eggplant, a rutabaga. Sources say she's anywhere from 1.5-2.5 pounds (quite a variation if you ask me) and 13.5 inches long. She's growing more hair and baby fat this week!

Man, I wish I knew how unflattering these jeans were on my behind before now.... and I wish you could see the detailing of the cauliflower better, I was very impressed with Kevin's sketch, though him, notsomuch.

We went to a Halloween party this weekend, which I'll post about separately, but it was definitely interesting having to take a different approach to costume decision-making.

I look back at some of the pics in the early weeks and almost laugh.  Did I think there was a belly?  I think I tried. But it's ok, because I know in a few weeks I'll look back at this week and laugh. But how dare I laugh at that pitiful, first trimester me, who couldn't get any food down and didn't enjoy the sight, taste, or smell of anything.  Poor thing. I wouldn't mind never being in her shoes again.

News this week: Had my glucose test this week. After my first sip, I was rather excited... Hi-C!  Honestly, it's really not a big deal because it's not that big of a bottle, and it's not like you're being asked to gulp something heinous. But you hear all sorts of different (and dramatic) opinions about what this stuff takes like, it's more the anticipation of what it's actually like. Tasted like Hi-C on sugar steroids to me.

I was given the instructions to sip over a 5 minute period, not gulp. Well, 5 minutes goes by super super fast when you have 10 ounces of super sweet orange to drink. That last portion of the bottle I was smacking my lips trying to finish it. I take back my comment about it being good.  My stomach didn't seem too happy by it either.  Luckily Quest Diagnostics has a separate waiting area for those of us with waiting periods.... reclining chairs and a TV, though I spent my time taking pictures of the bottle and instagramming.

Baby P must have loved my Hi-C , because she was moving like crazy in that dreadful hour I had to sit in the lab. And there were a few moments when I thought I may hurl from an uneasy stomach.

All for you, Lil Princess. All for you.

Movement: Holy Cow, I never expected a baby living inside me to move as much as she does!  And they are no longer bumps, you can legitimately see her rolling across my belly. Doin' the worm. It looks like it has a mind of its own. Oh wait. She does.

Other news: I do feel as if I will single-handedly take down the rest of the world's forests due to the amount of bathroom breaks I take a day.  It is almost debilitating.  I can't do anything or go anywhere without needing a restroom break.  Luckily I mostly work from home so I can go as I please, but conversely, unluckily I mostly work from home so I am eating through our TP paper stash like there is no other.

Looking forward to:  Our ultrasound next week!! Can't wait to see how much our Baby Girl has grown in a 2 month span!!

Pregnancy Epiphanies

At some points during pregnancy, time feels like it is just dragging on, like every annoying and uncomfortable symptom will never end, like time is standing still, she will never arrive.  Other times, I feel like time won't stop, like we're on a speed train, like we'll never get anything finished before she gets here and we're totally unprepared to introduce her to this big, scary world.

And then there's the in between times. The times when life just goes on, where the day-to-day happens and being pregnant is just another part of life.  Work, cleaning, sleep, dishes, laundry, bills, all of the responsibilities of life.

Between the slow times, the quick times, and the day-to-day, she's still in there growing by the second.  And every couple of days, there is a moment where I look down at her and time. stands. still.

It's in these moments of realization when life just sort of pauses.  Every worry, every concern, every stress of life is muted, and every ounce of concentration is placed on the little human that is growing inside of me. And the gravity of what I am experiencing hits me: the fact that I am carrying a child that will be a part of my life indefinitely. These little moments where it just sinks in for a second. A vivid image of holding her in my arms consoling her as she cries, where I can almost make out what she may look like.

That little nudge I just saw make its way across my belly will soon be a newborn rocking in my husband's arms, a baby covered head-to-toe in baby food, an infant taking her first wobbly steps, a toddler tugging on our pups' ears, a child on her first day of kindergarten. The thoughts halt there because it's almost too much to take in. It doesn't seem real. And it will be here before we know it.

It is pure gratitude. Pure contentment. Pure serenity. 

All accompanied by the magnitude of being able to provide for and raise another human being.  Someone has given me the grandest gift this life has to give.

It's these moments that assure me that the hardships of these 9 months will all be worth it. I can only hope that I will be to her what she already is to me.

And then the dryer buzzes, my eyes shift from her, and life goes on.  Every movement, every kick in between, a gentle reminder of these miraculous pregnancy epiphanies. Each one just another step closer to her arrival.

I can't wait to meet you, Lil Princess.