Baby Shopping!

Today I decided to go to Target and get some of the "must have" baby items crossed off my list. I had a target giftcard plus a visa giftcard to use. The thing is even though I got half of the things on my list I ended up adding even more things I hadn't even thought of! Go figure! I have to admit it was a little overwhelming to stand in the baby isle staring at so many different brands and kinds of everything! In some cases I knew what I wanted, but in others I just stood there wondering "well, what's the difference?" Simple things like baby shampoo and lotion and bath stuff... there are so many different kinds and brands!

My nesting urge from the other week has disappeared for the moment and I am now just exhausted. I see things to be done but I feel so tired I don't want to do them. I think i'm just overwhelmed by what I want to get done before the baby comes. I need to sit and think about what really needs to get done and what doesn't. I think in my mind there are things I want to get done that i really don't need to do... such as reorganize my computer room.

Tomorrow night is my dress rehearsal at the birthing center... its scary to think that in 2 1/2 weeks i'll technically be full term! I'm so not ready for this guy to be born in 2 1/2 weeks!!

Weekend Kittens!

So since this blog is not only about my pregnancy journey, its also about my cats, I decided that i'll put up some photos of my cats when they were just tiny balls of fluff! This weekend i'll start with Caligula. 





Yes, thats right, he used to fit nicely in the palm of my hand! This was taken a few days after I got him, so hes about 8 weeks.





Look at the ears!





Proof kittens can sleep anywhere!

The comments make sense now...

So I couldn't figure out why for the past 2 days, especially today, I have gotten TONS of comments on the size of my stomach and when I was due. So today I came home and took my 34 week photo... and then I compared it to the 33 week photo. Wow... where did this come from and how much bigger am I going to get?? And more importantly, just how big is this baby?! 








In other news I met with a pediatrician this afternoon. He came VERY highly recommended by two old coworkers of mine. They say hes wonderful with kids and dedicated... and I would have to agree. While his office isn't highly fashionable, he seems like he really does care about his patients. Hes the only one in the practice and hes on call 24/7 (he has a pager he carries around). I asked what his hours were and he said he doesn't close until the last patient is seen. If you call in the morning with a need to come in they'll see you. Now that impressed me because most doctors aren't like that. He seemed okay with the spacing of the vaccinations too, which was good. One of the nurses, who i talked to first, said they have a few patients who don't vaccinate at all. I only had a few moments with him (most doctors do this for free so the visit is only a few minutes) but I could hear him talking with other patients while sitting in the room and he sounded like he truly cared... the same goes for the nurses. It was an utter ZOO when I went, but again its flu season so I guess thats to be expected. Personally i'd rather have a great doctor with crappy furniture then a horrible doctor with a beautiful office. =)

Not quite an ear infection...

So since becoming pregnant I've had a stuffy nose and stuffy ears. Nothing horrible, but enough that I can tell the difference. However I noticed over the weekend my one ear was getting really bad, to the point where I couldn't hear anymore and it was also starting to ache a bit. Not a ton, but just enough for me to worry. Instead of waiting and seeing what happened I figured I would go to my general doctor today. They are very close to work and usually good about getting me a same day appointment. After having lots of ear infections growing up I recognized the signs of an impending infection.

I go and answer all the obligatory questions... no recent illness, no colds, just pressure and I can't hear, yadda yadda yadda. So the doctor comes in and takes a look in my good ear... for comparison you know. All normal. Then she goes in the bad ear and goes "now this ear is another story". I'm sitting here waiting for the response of "its an infection". Nope. What I do get is "there is so much wax in here I can't even see the eardrum". HUH?! I've NEVER EVER had an ear wax problem before! So she sends the nurse in to clean out my ear and then she'll have another look.

Now to those who have never had this process done its not exactly fun. Basically the nurse got a syringe, warm water mixed with hydrogen peroxide, and pulsed water into my ear while I held a little container to catch the water and wax. It is the weirdest feeling in the entire world and not something I wish to repeat anytime soon. After doing this quite a few times the nurse still couldn't get the last bit of wax out so the doctor came back in and got a little scraping device and gently scraped the last of the wax out. Disgusting is the only word that comes to mind... and apparently my ear wasn't that bad. I shudder to think at what a bad ear would look like! 

So, good news is no ear infection. Better news is I can hear again! The only downside is that now my ear is sore from being cleaned out so thoroughly. I've never had a wax buildup problem before... my ears have always been nice and clean. It never ceases to amaze me how much your body can change when you're pregnant! Hopefully that is the first and last time i'll have to go through ear cleaning! 

Random Cat Photo!

A random photo of Caligula asleep under the blankets. Yes, he did it himself! Of course about 10 seconds after I took the photo he decided to get up. 





Now I am off to bed insanely early. I am fighting off the cold that is going through my job... I refuse to get sick!

33 week photo

Here is the 33 week photo! There is a guy at work who is constantly joking/teasing/harassing people and he keeps asking me if i'm sure there's only one in there. So far I haven't come up with a good witty comeback.

So much for a lighthearted night of TV...

My new Thursday night routine is watching Ugly Betty and Mercy on Hulu. Mercy can sometimes have stories that are sad, but Ugly Betty is always pretty light hearted. Sure everything doesn't always go right, but its never really truly depressed me... until today. After a stressful day at work I was looking forward to coming home, eating leftovers, and catch up on this weeks episodes. Of course both episodes were highly emotional.

Mercy featured a very young newlywed couple. The wife was battling very agressive uterine cancer. In last weeks episode they eloped and she went into surgery with a 50% chance of dying. This week it shows she's made it out of surgery so you are optimistic, thinking that this young couple will get to spend their life together. Wrong. Thats right, she dies. I was almost bawling it was so sad. I told myself "its just a TV show" and watched Ugly Betty next. It always picks me up and makes me laugh. Always. Well, not tonight.

The entire episode was great, until the end. The current plot line is that Betty's sister got pregnant by accident and the guy is trying to step up and be a dad. The second they mentioned everyone in the family going to the ultrasound I knew what was coming next. I knew it and I prepared myself for it, but it still made me tear up. They go to the ultrasound only to discover no heartbeat. It just dredged up all these old memories I haven't thought of in so long... with the year anniversary of my miscarriage coming up and that... it just made me relive those emotions all over again. I felt myself tearing up sitting at the computer.

To distract myself I went and did my usual check before I get off the computer: Facebook, ivillage, and blogger. A women in my EC on ivillage had just posted that she found out at her 30 week appointment there was no heartbeat. My heart broke for her. I can't imagine being so far along only to find out that everything isn't okay. I can't begin to imagine how painful that must feel. It was hard enough having an early miscarraige at 6 weeks... but to loose my baby now? I'd be completely devistated...

I just feel so depressed tonight now... I wish my husband was home because I just need someone to hold me and reassure me everything is okay. I just wanted a lighthearted evening and instead I am sad and feeling like I just want to cry. Apparently my husband is psychic because he just walked through the door.

Sorry this post is so long and depressing... hopefully after a good nights sleep i'll feel better.

33 weeks and a breastfeeding class

Yesterday was my 33 week checkup. Again, uneventful. I gained 3lbs which is more then I wanted but oh well... at this point what can I do? My blood pressure was normal, but high for me. However, I have read it is perfectly normal for your blood pressure to go up at this point so i'm trying not to read too much into it. That and I had just come from work which is insanely stressful right now! Again no success with getting this guy to coperate for a heart rate check! The midwife this time didn't try as hard as the one I saw last time... I think she realized it was a lost cause. Of course the entire way home I got beaten up as punishment for letting the midwife try and find his heartbeat. ;)

Last night I took a breastfeeding class, which was awesome! I didn't make my husband come because I figured it would be more informative for me and it wasn't worth him missing his lessons over (when you're self employed you don't get paid time off!). 3 of the women there did bring their husbands while 2 others didn't. There was even a girl there with her mom! I found out afterwards by logical deduction and overhearing her talking that the girl was in high school! While I give her brownie points for going to a breastfeeding class and birthing at the birthing center it stung a bit. You could tell this wasn't planned by any means and she didn't look too thrilled to be at the breastfeeding class. In fact her mom looked more into the class then she did! I still will never understand why some people can get pregnant by accident while others who really want to have kids never do. But, thats another post for another time...

So, breastfeeding! The woman who ran the class had then mentality of "Anyone can breastfeed" which I really liked. She said in 30 years shes had 6 people who physically could not breastfeed. She listed many of the reasons people do not breastfeed or give up so quickly, many of which I knew but some which surprised me. A lot of the breastfeeding facts I already knew, but the videos she showed were really good. There was one that went really in depth into correct latching which made SO much more sense. I've read the books about it, but seeing it in action really made me go "Oh, thats how it works!". Hopefully I remember all this knowledge when it comes time to actually breastfeed. =)

So when I first became pregnant I really liked the idea of having a doula, however after investigating the cost (and a car breaking down) the doula option became financially impossible. Baby stuff or doula? Not really a hard choice. At my midwife appointment yesterday they mentioned that Johns Hopkins has a free service they offer. The person isn't a trained doula yet, they are someone who is going through their program and is considering either being a doula or a midwife. So now I am back on the whole "Do I want one" debate. While my husband will be there, I think it may be nice to have someone who has experienced birth before and can help. Sure, my midwife will be there, but not every moment of my labor. I'll have to talk more with my husband on this one. Any thoughts?

So it seems the next 2 months are filled with appointments. Next week its the pediatrician, the week after that its the dress rehearsal at the birth center and a baby basics class, and then every week after that its a doctors appointment! This guy is going to be here before I know it!

A Shameless Promotion

I interrupt this blog to shamelessly promote my friends etsy page! She has just started selling earrings on etsy! They are really amazing and beautiful! What are you waiting for? Go take a look!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/wildlifegirl83

What I Miss...

So I have tried really hard not to make negative comments about being pregnant... some people spend the entire 9 months complaining about EVERYTHING and while I'm not going to say its a walk in the park, overall its not bad! However the closer I get to my due date the more I am looking forward to having my body back.

Things I Miss:

1. Being able to roll over in the middle of the night. Before I just simply rolled over... now it requires sitting up, adjusting pillows, and then attempting to get comfortable again.

2. My amazing bladder control! Before I could easily only pee once a day at work, sometimes less then that! getting up in the middle of the night to pee? Almost never! Now I plan everything I do around bathrooms (this includes running errands... i know which stores have safe bathrooms!)

3. Being able to move at my normal pace. I am a pretty independent person and I usually move at a good clip. But now I move slower, get winded easier, and can't do simple things. Even feeding my cats in the morning is getting more difficult!

Baby Shower!

Over the weekend my friends threw me my baby shower!! Sadly I have no photos (I didn't even THINK of this until afterwards!!) but it was a lot of fun! It was just a small group of my close friends as all of my family lives overseas. I got lots of adorable baby outfits as well as the useful stuff: breast pads, cream, and sterilizer bags! It was nice to relax for the afternoon and not have to worry about anything!

My friend also gave me all of her 0 - 6 month baby clothes this weekend. Her son was born in Feb, so all the clothes are seasonally appropriate! I went through this weekend and washed the 0 - 3 month stuff and started putting it away. It was so surreal to sit and pull out these tiny clothes and wash them and realize that in a few weeks someone will be wearing them! I then reorganized the baby's room again and attempted to move things into the rooms they will be in once the baby comes. Up to this point we've been using the room as a catch all for everything baby related. I also washed the soft toys and the covers for both the swing and the bouncy seat. Can you tell this nesting thing has really kicked in??

I have my next doctors appointment Wednesday and then also a breastfeeding class that night. Hopefully this little guy will cooperate this week and let the midwife get his heartbeat!

Not quite as easy as it once was...

Since being pregnant I have really tried to be good about exercise. During the 1T it was pretty impossible due to nausea so once I started to feel better I got back into the swing of going to the gym twice a week. Then the holidays hit, and between shopping and preparing my gym time was pretty limited. Now I am ready to get back to going regularly and... my gym clothes don't fit!! I absolutely refuse to buy anything new, so I guess no more gym for me. However I am still going to try and do exercise. Yesterday was a nice day out (high 40s!) so I decided to go for a walk after work. The city I work in is a planned community type place and is actually the same place I grew up in so I am very familiar with the area. Part of the idea of the planned community was areas where people could walk so there are tons of paths that you take through slightly forested areas to get... well, everywhere! There are also 3 man made lakes with paths around them. The distance ranges from 1 to 3 miles, depending on which lake you visit. I decided yesterday to do the easier 1 mile lake close to my job. Well, it used to be easy.

It wasn't long before I realized that being 8 months pregnant really slows you down! I was happily waddling along, listening to my ipod when I realized that even the senior citizens were walking faster then me! Then about half way around I realized I kind of needed to pee... except of course there is no where to pee! 3/4s of the way around my back and hips started aching and I almost gave in and sat down on a bench, but I knew if I sat down i'd never get back up again. I have never been so exhausted from what was once a simple walk! I can say however that I slept better last night then I have in weeks (minus the VERY strange nightmare). I didn't ache as much and I didn't have a two hour stretch where I didn't sleep.

I am also nesting in full force and its driving me crazy. The part thats driving me crazy is its not consistent! Its weird things that are setting me off! Example: Earlier this week after work I was making dinner and I suddenly had to clean and organize 3 drawers in the kitchen... so while dinner cooked i cleaned and organized! I also can't stand having things just laying around the kitchen so it looks messy... I am always tidying up and moving things around. That being said my computer room is slowly turning into a mess and it doesn't bother me at all! Its also driving me crazy how messy the baby's room still is and I am itching to get it finished. I am also organizing things one way and then suddenly I come up with an even better way to arrange things so I have to go in and move things around again! I guess I should enjoy this crazy organizing motivation while it lasts right?

32 week photo!

Here it is... me at 32 weeks. I don't realize how big I look until I see these photos... no wonder I have people asking me how i'm feeling! 





I realized today that I have anywhere from 5 to 12 weeks to go... ACK!!

Scary Looking Stretch Marks and A Winter Rash

So my stomach looks scarier and scarier by the day. I knew the stretch marks would come... its all in your genes and I already have stretch marks from when I was younger (puberty was not nice to me). I really can't see them too well because they are low down, but the other day I looked intentionally and went to myself "Wow, thats sexy!" I now understand my husbands comment of "oh wow, that looks painful". Needless to say no photos of the scary stomach will appear on this blog! I've been rubbing burts bees belly balm on nightly which helps with the itching if nothing else!

I also discovered last night I have developed a weird rash on my legs. At first I thought it was razor burn from shaving, but then I realized I haven't shaved my legs in weeks so that wouldn't be it. Then this morning I noticed the blotchy rash on my calves. So, after googling pregnancy rashes I called my midwife only to be told that unless it was really itchy not to worry and just apply aloe and take oatmeal baths! They are gong to do some bloodwork just to make sure its nothing serious, but at this point there's nothing they can do.

So between the huge stomach, the scary stretch marks, and now the rash on my hairy legs (i did just confess its been ages since I last shaved) I must look really sexy!

A small update to my birthday post...

So I few days ago I posted about how I have a strange birthday pattern. Last night I woke up at 2am and for some reason it suddenly hit me that this baby's due date, March 10th, is right in between when I found out I was pregnant and when I miscarried last year. I don't know why this thought hadn't crossed my mind before... but for some reason it was stuck there. This morning out of curiosity I checked my journal to see the date of my miscarriage... March 18th. An 18! Creapy? I think so. I am now convinced this guy will be here on the 7th or the 9th of March. Anyone else want to add a guess?

The Baby's Room... finally making progress!

So the room is still a mess, but slowly and surely we are getting there! Today we went to Ikea to get some storage things for clothing and whatnot. We don't have much space so instead of doing a dresser I found something that we can use for clothing now and toys later. I also started washing baby clothes today! Its really starting to set in how soon this guy will be here... my due date is in 8 1/2 weeks!! It still doesn't seem real to me... I just can't quite wrap my brain around the fact that in about 8 weeks i'll be a mommy! I've finally gotten myself to say "my son" instead of the baby when talking about him... it still sounds weird. It sounds weird to say I'm a mommy!!


Two photos for you today. One is the room in its current state of chaos...





The second photo is of the baby dragon artwork I had that inspired my fantasy forest theme idea. =)





Decorative wise the room will have curtains that my friend is making for me once I pick out fabric. I'm also scanning stores for artwork. I'll post more photos as I get more done!

Birthday Thoughts...

So as my due date gets closer and closer (9 weeks!!) i've been giving more and more thought to when this little guy is going to make his appearance! I keep joking he has to come in March because I have too many February birthdays in the family already. That being said, my immediate family has a birthday pattern.

My mom and my step father are both born on the 9th of the month
My dad and I are both born on the 7th of the month
My brother and my husband are both born on the 18th of the month. I joke with my husband that I knew I could marry him because he completed my birthday pattern.

So will this guy come on one of those dates or will he start a new date? I'm really interested to find out. =)

31 weeks and a stubborn baby

So today marks 31 weeks! I've officially started nesting... its really odd. Up until now I have had no interest in cleaning/organizing. The only thing I was interested in was sitting myself on the couch and watching DVDs or laying in bed reading. Now however when I see a mess I have a desire to clean it up, its driving me crazy that the baby's room is a mess, and all I want to do is clean and organize! Its weird... the past 2 nights i've even laid my clothes out for work the next day, something I NEVER do! I really enjoy blinding reaching into drawers in the dark and figuring out what clothing is by texture. ;)

I had my 31 week appointment today. Only a 2lb gain in 2 weeks... WAHOO! Go me! Now if I can keep this up it means i should only gain about 8 more pounds. Still will put me at a 50lb weight gain... but enhh... i'll live! My glucose test came back normal, so I can continue to eat chocolate and cookies guilt free. Even better news. =)

I don't know if I have mentioned before, but this baby HATES the dopplar. Every appointment he moves away from it. Half the time the midwife has given up and just guesstimated. Today was the worst one yet... the midwife tried for a good 5 minutes before just getting the placenta rate and calling it a day. He was squirming, kicking, everything to stay as far away from that thing as possible. The midwife was pressing in different directions trying to get him to cooperate... nope! No dice! At the end the midwife said "At least we know hes okay in there, doing all that squirming around".

So far I really do love my birthing center... my only complaint is the woman at the front desk. Half the time she has this weird attitude and whenever you say something or ask something its such a big hassle. Today after my appointment I handed her the paperwork and she goes "do you need another appointment?". Umm, i'm pregnant... yes, i need another appointment... you should know this as you have my file at the front desk when I check in.

So my dull pregnancy continues to be dull (knock on wood!). Baby is head down, blood pressure good, baby heart rate good, no gestational diabetes... is it wrong that i'm waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Why I Think I Need A Bigger Bed

Most of the time I am quite happy with my bed... however sometimes when I go into the bedroom I think "Humm, maybe a bigger bed wouldn't be a bad thing"





Sebastian is giving me the death glare that says "Turn off the light already so I can get back to sleep".

30 week photo!

I was lazy last week with Christmas and didn't get a nice belly shot (i got tons of other horrible photos which will not be posted here. ;) ) 





No wonder the past few times i've gone out people have been staring at my stomach!


So that means 10 weeks to go until my official due date... however there is a plus or minus 2 weeks... so it could be as soon as 8. How scary is that?! I am starting to freak out now about how much I have left to do!