Sunday, October 27, 2013

33 Weeks- 1st Shower!


How far along? 33 weeks- I'm getting a little nervous.  Only 7 weeks till my due date.  I had a hard time sleeping last night while thinking about everything that needs to be done...

Baby’s size? A durian fruit (whatever that is...)
Total weight gain/loss: Okay, I went to my doctor last Friday and he told me that I'd gained 1 pound in 2 weeks and then proceeded to say, "looks like you finally got your weight under control.  Have you been eating any differently?"

WHAT!?  At no point at any of my previous appointments has he said that he's concerned about my weight gain.  For the first 5 months it was the exact opposite.  I was so confused, but so shocked that I didn't even think to ask him what he meant by that... 

Total, I've gained 20 pounds from my lowest weight of my pregnancy.  Though the way I've been eating the past few days I might easily gain up to 30-35 pounds...

Stretch marks? None.
Sleep: Like I said above, my brain went into overdrive last night thinking about all that needs to be done.  Oi with the poodles already! (name that tv show!) Plus, the whole getting up all the time to go to the bathroom.  Thankfully, I'm not super drained during the day because of my lack of sleep.  I manage to get through the work day productively.  Aka, NOT falling asleep at my desk.
Best moment this week: PAYING OFF MY STUDENT LOANS!!!!!  Totally not pregnancy related I know, but all that money we've been using to pay off my loans can now go to other things (like saving for college...).  

And my incredibly sweet baby shower on Saturday night.  More on that below!
Miss Anything? Deep breaths and exercise.  Like running, sweating, dancing exercise.  I'm a good walker, but anything more strenuous than that tends to hurt a little...
Movement: She's still moving up a storm most of the day.  Every now and then she'll calm down a little, but then she's back to stretching, tumbling, twisting!
Food cravings: So much sweets cravings!  I was eating Taco Bell for lunch today (seriously, I couldn't get it out of my mind and had to stop for lunch...) and all I could think about as I ate the greasy deliciousness was how when I got back to the office how I was going to have several of the cookies that were left in the workroom.  Mind you, this was WHILE my stomach was greatly protesting the amount of food I was putting into it. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm still not hugely hungry at dinner time.  I can take it or leave it.  Last night Mr. and I each had a salad (which I was kind of "so-so" about).  I didn't eat all of it and wasn't hungry at all the rest of the night.  That's VERY abnormal for pre-preggo Lauren.
Gender: Baby girl!
Labor Signs: Braxton hicks all the time.  Not at an alarming rate, but still frequent.  Usually at night and especially if I have had a long day.
Symptoms: 
Belly Button in or out? Still flat and showing no signs of poking out.
Wedding rings on or off? Still on. 
Exercise: I was up at 6:30am on Friday (my day off) and ran a ton of errands, re-organized all of the drawers in my bedroom, and (for the most part) packed our bags (minus baby's) for the hospital (which I realize might be a little early, but I was feeling super motivated).  I'm counting it.  
Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy.  Weepy, but very rarely actually moody.  In fact, we just started watching "Once Upon a Time" and I cried in the first episode because a baby was given up.  I know, usually I would roll my eyes at myself too...
Looking forward to: My church baby shower!  And most of all, my family all being here.  Both sets of parents, all my siblings, and my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece will be here on Saturday and Sunday for the shower and I'm so excited!  

Please pray for: A healthy baby and mommy the remainder of this pregnancy... 6 weeks to go!


I can't tell you how absolutely BEAUTIFUL my shower was last Saturday night.  Mr.'s office threw it for us and it was such an incredible blessing.  We had the best time.  I love spending time with his co-workers and their spouses- it was a great evening.

We had the shower at the most beautiful and whimsical house, outside in a garden on a perfect night.  The weather was pretty cool, but it wasn't too cold.  The food was so delicious and there was a red velvet cake with a cream cheese filling for dessert.  Yum!  

The pictures from my phone don't do everything justice, but they'll have to suffice for now:






We are so thankful for all of the friends in our lives!  

Thursday, October 17, 2013

32 Weeks!


How far along? 32 weeks... oh my gosh, two more months!

Baby’s size? A squash!
Total weight gain/loss: I go to the doctor tomorrow, but I think I've gained another 3 or 4 pounds.

Stretch marks? None.  I thought I was getting one on the right side of my belly button, but later remembered I just scratched my belly while putting a box of cereal away...
Sleep: It's been better than the last few weeks, but still not stellar.  I get up to go to the bathroom several times a night.  Mr. used to ask me if I was okay when I would get up, but now he just knows that I've got to pee.  Again.
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat thumping away at my appointment on Friday!  And we started our lamaze class on Monday nights last week.  It's been hilarious, informative, and fun.  Our teacher is a kook!  She keeps saying the most inappropriate things... so funny!
Miss Anything? I don't at ALL want this to sound vain, but I've missed my old body the past week.  Not in a "I think I'm getting fat" kind of way, but more in a "this belly is in the way of EVERYTHING" kind of way.  I'm so happy to house our child for 9 months, but I ran into the dresser Sunday morning!  I'm just off-balance in a way I've never been before.  And I've always been very good at balance!  It's just weird.  

I wouldn't change it for a thing.  Just being honest.  

And I miss my clothes.  And (dare I say it), jeans that button.  And being able to tie my shoes, or pull on boots without some difficulty and uncomfortableness.  I have some sweaters that I really REALLY want to wear, but can't.  I know, that's total vanity.  I'll wear them again.  And when I do, I'll have a little baby!

Seriously, it's totally worth it. 
Movement: Absolutely no more thumping.  Just big, giant rolls and pushes.  And hiccups.  Some of my girl teensies felt her hiccup on Wednesday night (it's pretty common for a flock of them to come and put their hand on my belly...) and were SUPER excited about it.
Food cravings: Orange juice, sweets... nothing abnormal.  :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Dinner.  Seriously, by the time 6pm rolls around, I'm not feeling dinner.  I ate cereal last night for dinner and was perfectly content the rest of the night.  I don't know if it's because I'm exhausted or what, but I've been completely uninterested in any food by the end of the day.
Gender: Baby girl!
Labor Signs: Same old, same old braxton-hicks... blah blah blah.  My belly loves to practice!
Symptoms: Exhaustion and major baby brain!  Ask my poor co-workers.  And my teensies!  Sunday morning, I had promised my class that I would show them part of a Veggie Tales video and tell them who Baruch was (we're studying the Old Testament prophets), but totally forgot.  If I don't write it down, there is absolutely NO WAY I'll remember it.  So I write everything down now.  And put EVERYTHING in my calendar on my phone.  Thank goodness or I would totally forget everything!

I've also been having back pains.  But not lower back pains.  Right by my spine and a little lower than my shoulder blades.  Mr. thinks it's probably related to my desk and chair at work.  I've been playing around with adding some pillows and I got a foot rest so I could have a place to rest my feet (they don't touch the floor if my chair is all the way up and I'm sitting the way I should be- ie not slouching).
Belly Button in or out? Still flat and showing no signs of poking out.
Wedding rings on or off? Still on. 
Exercise: I haven't done my yoga video in a week or so, but I feel like I'm on my feet often.  Does shopping and housework count as exercise?
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, with some moodiness.  I tend to get cranky as the day goes on...
Looking forward to: I have my first shower on Saturday night!  Mr.'s office is throwing us a shower in the MOST BEAUTIFUL GARDEN EVER.  Seriously, it's magical.  One of his co-workers lives in a beautiful house in a lovely part of Fort Worth.  She has the most amazing garden in her backyard.  The first time I went over there it took my breath away.  I'll make sure and have pictures for next week's blog post. Can't wait!!
Please pray for: Healthy baby and healthy mommy.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Week 29/30/31: Nursery Part 2!




How far along? 29/30/31 Weeks!  :) (sorry for the lack of posts in the past few weeks, I've been pretty busy! Thanks for understanding!)
Baby’s size? She is now the size of a pineapple and weighs anywhere from 2.5-3.8 pounds!  Yikes!
Total weight gain/loss: As of Friday I have gained 19 pounds.  That's from the lowest weight that I got to from the first trimester and what my doctor refers to as my "sickness" when I was in the hospital. 

Stretch marks? None.
Sleep: Um... patchy at best most nights.  I have had a couple of nights that I can't get comfortable and it takes forever to get to sleep.  Others I get to sleep easily, but wake up easily and can't get to sleep for HOURS.  One night I woke up with a HORRIBLE calf cramp.  I was hollering so loud I woke up Mr.  I finally felt it start to go away and as soon as I laid down it started up again.  Mr. was able to stretch and massage it until it calmed down for real.  He's my PT in shining armor!  :)

I've also been fighting a cold/allergies/sinus infection the past few days.  I'm usually okay (a little sniffly) during the day, but as soon as I lay down... BAM!  Congestion city.  Yuck.  Mr. turned on the ionizer on the AC unit we have in our bedroom to try and clean the air a little bit and put the humidifier right next to the bed and I still struggled to sleep last night.  *sigh*  Stupid nose and sinuses!  I ended up sleeping practically sitting up... so sleep hasn't been great.
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat thumping away at my appointment on Friday!  And we started our lamaze class on Monday nights last week.  It's been hilarious, informative, and fun.  Our teacher is a kook!  She keeps saying the most inappropriate things... so funny!
Miss Anything? Nothing new!
Movement: Holy moly, she's starting to run out of room!  I can feel her EVERYWHERE.  And all the time.  And I can push on her and she'll respond!  So cool.  Mr. enjoys watching and poking on her too.  It's a nightly ritual to play with my stomach. 
Food cravings: Orange juice again.  I went through an entire container of OJ in 3 days... oops!  And when I wake up I'm starving!  And even though I went to Panera and was good and got an oatmeal (their oatmeal is the absolute BEST), I'm totally craving a cinnamon crunch bagel with LOTS of cream cheese.  Sweets and I are best friends still.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Coffee.
Gender: Baby girl!
Labor Signs: Braxton hicks off and on.  Nothing more than that- keep on cooking Baby Girl!
Symptoms: There have been a few nights where I'm queasy by the end of the night.  I have NO idea why.  It's annoying.  I also go to the bathroom ALL THE TIME!  There's also exhaustion, but I'm attributing most of that to the anemia.  I've started 2 pills a day and I hope I get better results when I get my blood re-tested in a week or so.
Belly Button in or out? What belly button?  No seriously.  There's nothing there!  It is officially completely stretched out and flat.  It's pretty hilarious since I'm SO used to my really REALLY deep belly button!
Wedding rings on or off? On.  So far I haven't noticed any swelling of any kind anywhere.  I've still got 9 weeks to go though...
Exercise: Walking, and I've done my yoga video a couple more times.  
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  Like I said, it's been a pretty uneventful week which has been REALLY nice with all that has been going on.  We had a busy weekend (Fright Fest with the teensies) and so I walked around.  Since I can't ride any rides.  Boo.  And I don't do haunted houses.
Looking forward to: I have a shower for a friend this weekend and then her WEDDING is at the end of the month (yes, I'm a bridesmaid.  yes, I'll look huge!).  So excited for her!!!
Please pray for: Healthy baby and healthy mommy.

ON WITH THE NURSERY UPDATE! 

So, I left off last time with my dad and Mr. heroically buying new paint.  My stepmom, sister and I made our way to Buy Buy Baby and Target to begin registering.  Along the way my stepmom called my dad and I called Mr. to see how things were going.  Both of them were... vague in their answers.  We get home and my dad is STILL painting the room, and Mr. has just finished putting together the dresser:


Now, my dad paints a LOT for his job.  He's kind of a master painter.  I was SHOCKED that it took him like 5 or 6 hours to paint that room.  It's really NOT that big... he's painted giant classrooms in shorter amounts of time!  


We are all chatting, Mr. and I, my stepmom and dad and I hear my dad tell my stepmom, "what she doesn't know won't hurt her!"

Say wha!?!?!

Mr. is shaking his head and I ask my dad, "What don't I know?"

He kinda laughs and says, "Um, well we had a little accident..."

Apparently, Mr. was in the living room putting together the dresser while my dad was painting.  My dad KNOCKED OVER A GALLON OF PAINT onto the carpet and DIDN'T NOTICE IT FOR SEVERAL MINUTES!  A GALLON OF PAINT!  

He finally noticed it and immediately sprung into action!  Between soaking and diluting the paint with buckets of water, loads of towels to soak it all up, the wet-vac I got Mr. for his birthday (SO glad I got him that!), and 2 and a half hours of frantically going from inside to outside, they managed to get it all up.

THAT's why it took so long for my dad to paint the room.  

Once that was cleaned up and cleared up, he was able to finish and I must say it looks fantastic!  The perfect gray!  Plus, he painted stripes on the weird ledge in the room and that took FOREVER and a very steady hand (Frog Tape failed us...). I don't have a great picture of that, but I'll make sure that it is in NEXT week's post.  :)

He also painted her name to put up on the weird ledge.  It's so cute.  Ya'll take my word for it!

Here's her dresser (in our living room): Mr. did a fantastic job putting it together.  And a special shout-out to my co-worker Mitchell who came and helped Mr. haul it into the house after a youth rally!  It was a seriously large and heavy box!

 The Monday AFTER my parents left, we got a notification from Walmart saying the crib had arrived!  We went an picked it up and put it together that night!  I had read online that some people had trouble putting it together, but I don't know why... it wasn't difficult at all.  I think it probably took us 30 minutes tops.

Look at that cutie putting the finishing touches on.  This was taken after I had a little bit of a breakdown on the floor of the nursery... Yes, I had a little breakdown.  I'm pregnant and hormonal and was COMPLETELY overwhelmed by the fact that in a few short months there would be someone to put into the crib.
And a look at it agains the wall.  And the crib skirt my mom and I made!  And a basket of my baby clothes all washed and ready to be put away.
And what will go over her crib?  Well, I found these AMAZING books on Amazon.  I scanned them and then had them printed, and put them into white Ikea frames.  I'm in love.  
 We are working with a VERY loose "book theme."  I'm not really into themes for rooms, but books have always been very important in my life, and I love stories of all kinds.  So instead of going with one particular story (like Harry Potter or Star Wars or something like that), I knew I wanted baby Clara to always be surrounded by books (something her elementary school grandmother and English major uncle are THRILLED about!).  So when I found the board books above, I knew I had to have them and incorporate them into her nursery.

She's also got a bookshelf that will always be stocked, but that's for next week's post!  I'll try to get that out in a more timely manner...

Mostly, we are just working with things we like and colors that we like and feel like can be used for another kiddo in the future (if there is another kiddo in the future).  That's why we chose classic white furniture and a neutral wall color.  That way if Clara winds up with a little brother, we don't have to completely change everything.

Another note about the furniture, we decided to go with things that we knew were sturdy and would last.  We did a LOT of research.  Okay, WE is a little misleading... MR. did a lot of research.  We went with solid wood that wasn't ridiculously expensive.  We also went with something convertible.  The crib turns into a full size bed which we think will definitely come in handy down the line.

Stay tuned for part 3!