Bumpin' Around

So I'm 10 days until my due date and this is how I feel:

Not amused.

I have been blessed with a pretty uneventful pregnancy, but I am so ready to be unpregnant and to meet our little man.  I am so anxious wondering how and when he will arrive.  One of my favorite ways to entertain myself lately is to tell my husband that I'm "having labor".  Last night I had a few hours of intense cramping/back pain and although it obviously wasn't true labor since I'm still pregnant, it sure felt like it.  I keep thinking every little cramp is the real thing and I make sure to exaggerate to him since it's fun to freak him out.  I know you're cozy in there, but hurry up, Baby C!

I thought it would be fun to document my belly so far...

Beginning

(sort of... about 8 or so weeks):

Middle 
(again, sort of... about 22 or so weeks):

Almost End 

(36 Weeks):

Almost, Almost End 

(38+ Weeks):

It's amazing what my body has done and what it continues to do. Here's to hoping that our next picture will be of a BABY!

38 Week Update

Today marks 38 weeks in our pregnancy.  I am just now noticing swelling in my hands/feet... and apparently in my face... like so:

38 Weeks

The past week and a half has been difficult.  I'm still missing my sweet boy, but I know he's in doggie heaven with all of the toilets he could ever want to drink out of, all of the bones he could never eat due to his allergies, no rain to get his dainty paws wet, and squirrels to chase at every corner.  I'm convinced God made his precious life short for a reason and someday I will know why.  

(the last picture I took of him with his "sisters")

"Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them, filling an emptiness we don't even know we have."

I am trying to focus on other things while my heart heals. One of them... our hospital bags.  I'm so glad I checked them over the weekend because we had all of the baby stuff ready to go, but hardly any clothing for ourselves.  Here's a peek into what we're bringing:

for the baby...

Left to right, starting at the top: Heavy blanket, 2 light blankets, 2 swaddle blankets, 2 burp cloths, 2 footie onseies, 2 regular onesies, 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of scratch mittens, 2 hats, 2 pacifiers (which we probably won't use), a diaper or two.

and for Mom and Dad...

 Left to right, starting at the top: 2 old towels, 2 old pillow cases, shower shoes for each of us, sweatpants/t-shirts for him, pajamas/leggings/nursing tanks/breast pads for her, a brush, granola bars/snacks, all of our toiletries (including extra contacts and Lansinoh), socks for him, socks for her, unmentionables (not pictured, of course!).

I realize we are probably over packing, but we live 25 minutes away from the hospital and I'd rather not make a bunch of trips home.  I want us to be able to enjoy every second of the experience together.

One last thing we did this weekend...

It's official!*

*Maybe.  Our officiant was a bit sketchy... and may or may not remember to send the papers in. But it's all good.

Waylon

I never knew the pain of losing a pet until today.  I can't even put to words what I feel, but I know I want to write something to remember him by.  I want to remember my precious baby as the loving and goofy dog that he was, not for the things that happened to him that were beyond his control.

Since I found him in a parking lot with his sister 3 years ago, sick and abandoned...

 he was a mama's boy.  I felt so lucky that someone else didn't want him and that he was mine.

He loved kids.

He especially loved his sister.

He even loved his cat.

I love you, my crazy-excited barking maniac.  I'll never forget you, sweet boy.  My heart hurts so bad.  I'm so, so sorry.  I promised to take care of you forever and I feel that I've failed.  Until we meet again...

"A good dog never dies.  He always stays.  He walks beside you on crisp autumn days when frost is on the fields and winter's drawing near.  His head is within our hand in the old way."

Digging to your tonsils

I started my weekly checkups yesterday since I've officially hit 36 weeks.  I also had the pleasure of the Group B Strep test and a cervical check.  I'd told the midwife about my intense Braxton-Hicks contractions and she wanted to check, even though I'm not "full-term" for another 4 days.  I asked if it would hurt and she said it would feel like she was "digging to your tonsils".  And it did.  Yuck.  Turns out I'm not dilated at all, but my cervix is "soft".

We've got our last baby class tonight - Baby Care Basics.  I've been most excited about this one because seriously, we need it.  I babysat growing up and recently, but never with a newborn.  I'm sure a lot of it is instinct, but hopefully going to this class can give us a few good tips.  

I hope everyone is having a great week!

36 Week Update

First off, Happy Easter!

"I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." John 11:25-26

We were blessed with a beautiful day here. Monday marks 36 weeks and only one month left until the little man is supposed to get here.  Not much has changed except that turning over in bed is now an Olympian sport and I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions all throughout the day.  Other than that, things are going pretty well.  

This weekend was spent doing a small amount of schoolwork, stopping by for more FroYo....

taking possibly of my last few preggo pictures... 

~ 36 Weeks

(Can you tell we're using the Canon Rebel instead of the iPhone? Woohoo!)

...and starting on baby laundry! It's so much more fun than regular laundry.  I decided to just wash his sheets, some blankies, his newborn clothes, and his 0-3 month clothes.  Even if he ends up being too big for his newborn clothes, we can always give them away or something, but I wanted to have them all washed and ready.  We can't fit his crib into his tiny nursery here, so we are using a cradle/bassinet that was in R's family for a very long time.  The mattress is much smaller than a normal one, so we are going to just tuck his fitted sheets underneath it and safety pin them at the bottom to make them fit until we move into a bigger place.

And that's my sparkly gym bag turned hospital bag next to all of the laundry.  My sister bought it for my birthday - it's the Pleated Pocket Gym Bag in Black Sparkle from oGorgeous.  It's perfect for someone that does yoga because the sides zip open to slide your mat through.

I just wanted to use it as a hospital bag because it's glamorous and might make me feel a little less yucky in the hospital.  I plan on doing a post on what's inside the bag later....

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

They never warned me about...

... the weird and random side effects of pregnancy.  

1. Restless leg syndrome.  Something I'd heard of on television but assumed it was for older folks.  I didn't realize until I had it that it was also a pregnancy thing.  I've had it pretty bad on about 5 different occasions during the last month of so.  Once it was so awful that I woke me up in the middle of the night screaming/crying in pain.  I'm hoping this is one of those things that goes away completely after birth...
2. The dry skin.  I'm pretty sure I had scales at one point.
3. The clumsiness.  There was one week where I tripped several different times going up/down stairs that I have been using every day for the past 2 years.
4. The unspeakable things that happen to the... nether regions.

As one lady told me, it's basically like "an alien taking over your mind, body, and soul".  As crazy as it all is, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

FroYo makes the world go 'round

This was my first weekend of my maternity leave and that my fiance has officially "lived" with me.  Weekends got a major upgrade.  Instead of sitting at home working on the grad school grind (EVERY weekend was spent studying since the majority of my weekdays were spent working or in class), we had a leisurely weekend of sleeping in, napping, going to dinner and a movie (Hunger Games), dogwalking, Target (the little girl section is SO much bigger than the little boys section - unfair!), and trying out a new frozen yogurt spot.  I also went with him to get a haircut and there was a wait so we played on our phones (DrawSomething, anyone?) and took this pic.

~35 Weeks

Can I just say I SO miss being tan? Like this:

Family vacation to Hawaii

But I know tanning can't be good for the little one so I have stayed away.  I also like to use the gradual tanning lotions, but I figure that can't be good either, so I will stay pale for now.

Something that I've noticed in the last week or so that we are no longer in a long distance relationship, what is it about men needing to go to the grocery store EVERY DAY?  I am more of a planner and will make a big Wal-Mart trip every two weeks and then go to Kroger once or twice in between for fruit or salad (or to fulfill an unhealthy craving).  My fiance is perfectly content to go every day to pick out that evening's dinner.  Is this a man thing?  I have been going with him just to spend extra time together but seriously, he's about to be doing solo missions if this keeps up.

Now let's get back to the FroYo.  I think these self-serve frozen yogurt spots are genius because 1) they are self-serve and require minimal staff 2) they can crazy overprice on a per ounce basis, and 3) people actually think they are eating healthy.  I realize that it's not healthy, but that doesn't mean I won't go and pile up my little cup.  I always try to get the smallest cup to limit myself from going crazy. 

Image Source

I taste-tested the Thin Mint and Cookies & Cream flavors but ended up with my trusty chocolate piled with strawberries, blueberries, a few pineapple chunks, chocolate waffle cone bits, a tiny hunk of brownie, a few lone gummy bears, and a Peep, just because it's almost Easter.  So random but delicious.

Looks like the rest of my Sunday will be spent cooking watching my fiance cook and watching Desperate Housewives because I'm classy like that (I am still shaken up over Mike's death and will admit I balled my eyes out).

I hope everyone had a great weekend!