You Only Live Once, This Is How I'm Doing It!

Month: February 2013 Page 1 of 2

37 Weeks

37weeksbelly

I am officially full term.

Full

Term

And the way I’m feeling, this baby can’t come soon enough.

This morning I was lying in bed feeling my little guy wiggle around and suddenly, BAM! Foot shot right to the ribs so hard I actually heard an audible pop. Of course there was that split second where I paused to decide how much it hurt. I quickly decided he did not break the rib so I can only assume that the pop was it moving out of place slightly. It’s been tender all day. Probably doesn’t help that the area on and under that rib is the ONLY spot he likes to kick anymore. Stinker.

Great news at the doctor this week. Baby is head down and obviously very strong and healthy. My culture for Group B Strep also came back negative so I don’t have to have an IV during labor at all (baring complications of course). I love that I’m birthing at a hospital that will allow me to labor without even a hep-lock. I really hate needles. Really. I wasn’t checked for dilation or anything, not sure when they will start checking that. I have a feeling there’s no progress though considering the fact that he lives in my lungs. I miss oxygen.

I found a couple little stretch marks on my side. Or at least I’m pretty sure they’re new. I had a freakish growth spurt as a child (I was 5’3″ at 11 years old, I’m only 5’4″ now.) so I already had some on my sides and thighs. I’m pretty sure they’re new though so womp womp. I’m at least hoping they stay in that general area and don’t start showing up on my actual stomach. If that’s the case I will be a super happy camper. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I also now have a linea nigra officially. This I think is kind of cool. Not really sure why, but I like it. Plus I know it fades (right?).

Birthing class finished this past Sunday so that deserves a big old CHECK. Now just waiting to put all we learned into practice.

We’ve been making some serious progress with baby stuff. Took me long enough right? I don’t know, I guess I’ve been kind of in denial that this whole thing is actually happening. Like, I’m going to be bringing home an actual human child instead of just being pregnant for forever. I guess being pregnant for basically an entire year will do that to you. Anyway, we have all his newborn sized clothes washed, folded and put in a box under the bed. We have really limited storage in our apartment so we opted to get one of those under the bed bins for his clothes.

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And even with the biggest one we could find that would fit under the bed it’s still bursting at the seams. Such a spoiled little man already.

We also got the bassinet assembled so Wesley will actually have a place to sleep. And by we I mean Joel of course.

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There’s a fun little time lapse of the whole process on Joel’s blog if you want to check it out.

We don’t have much planned for this coming week except more getting ready for the baby. We are making an appointment with the police department to check out our car seat installation. I found the pediatrician we want so all I need to do is call the insurance company and make it official. We still need to pack the hospital bags and buy his coming home outfit.

Speaking of packing the hospital bags, I’m a bit lost on what I might pack food-wise for myself. I’m allowed to eat and drink during labor but I know laboring women generally don’t want much. What were your food and drink essentials during labor?

Surprise Baby Shower!

I’m still so completely blown away that this happened. Joel wrote about the planning process on his blog. I’m honestly still in disbelief that he kept a secret for that long. I have to practically force him to not give me birthday or Christmas presents the moment he buys them and usually all I have to do is question him and he gets the guiltiest look on his face. He is an open book.

Except I guess not anymore because wow did he keep a secret.

Actually, I think the fact that I assumed he couldn’t keep a secret worked in everyone’s favor here because I truly thought there was no way I could be having a surprise baby shower without Joel spilling the beans to me at some point. People asked me if I was really surprised and the answer is YES. It’s not that I didn’t have many times where I was a little suspicious but Joel had a quick answer for ev.er.y.thing.

I asked him why a childcare interview would be scheduled on a Saturday and he told me it was an open house. Oh, makes sense. He even had the director call me earlier in the week and confirm our appointment! That is some serious commitment. There were so many other details that went into keeping it from me. You really should read his post about it. It will blow your mind.

So yeah, really extremely surprised. Can you tell?

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The theme was travel which is obviously perfection. So many cute little details.

So many people I love were there and so many more told me how much they wished they could have been (after the fact of course, no one said a peep to me before). I didn’t get pictures with everyone but I’m so excited for each and every person that showed up. So much love.

We were utterly and completely spoiled with gifts. Seriously this little guy is completely set.

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Also, had to point out this picture because it cracks. me. up. My face! I don’t even know, but clearly I was excited.

As I said yesterday we had planned to wait to announce our little guy’s name until he was born… but I clearly have no patience. We had a couple options early on but quickly fell in love with one. We have been calling him by his name for months and after almost slipping dozens of times we agreed to share it with family. I also mentioned that if I had a shower it would be neat to reveal his name publicly there. Joel remembered that and so, if you attended you got the first look at our little boy’s name….

which is….

dramatic pause….

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Wesley!

My sister-in-law made that name from wood and covered it in maps from places Joel and I have been. So freaking amazing. It will hang in his nursery… when we get a place with more than one bedroom.

It was truly such a special day. So many people worked so hard to make every detail come together. It was pure magic and I will never forget it. I’m still floating on a happy high more than a week later.

More behind the meaning of the name and a cute little video on Joel’s blog. Go see!

Maternity Photos (Part 2)

My sister is so incredibly talented. I’m not sure why she doesn’t do photography professionally but I’m lucky to be related to her which means I get to benefit from her talent almost exclusively. We had so much fun doing this shoot, as I’m sure you’ll be able to tell. We went to the Indiana Dunes State Park in the middle of winter because we are crazy people. It actually wasn’t too bad though and I’m sure you’ll agree it was totally worth any slight discomfort temperature-wise. We also took a few back at her house.

There are a bunch because I seriously couldn’t narrow it down anymore.

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And lastly a little tease…

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Remember how we said we weren’t going to share the name with anyone until the birth? Yeah, we fell in love with a name and couldn’t wait. We revealed it at my shower and tomorrow when I post about it I will share it with you, Internets. And if your ex-boyfriend, elementary school bully or murderous ancestor shared that name? Don’t tell me because we love it and I can’t imagine we’d change it.

P.s. if you think the editing on these pictures suck blame me. She gave me the raw images and I played around in Photoshop with them and I have zero idea what I’m doing. So yeah, I need a class or something.

36 weeks

36weeksbelly

Nine months pregnant today.

One week away from full term.

One month from my due date.

Holy moly!

This week was amazing. Remember how last week I talked about the interview we had on Saturday for childcare? Big. Fat. Lie.

Of course I didn’t know it was a lie. It was Joel’s super conspiracy to get me to my surprise baby shower! It deserves it’s own post so I’ll just say that it was amazing and I’ve been floating on a happy high from it all week long.

In baby news we’re down to weekly appointments now for the midwife/OB. This week we did the GBS test and I’m crossing all my crossables that it comes back negative so I don’t have to have an IV during labor. Yes, I know some people opt out of it and there are some natural treatments but I honestly could never be comfortable with that. So, I’m just hoping it’s a non issue. I really hate needles. Hopefully I’ll find out at my appointment next week.

Everything else looks good. I was measuring a week behind but I only knew that because I know what the number is supposed to be. The midwife said it was great. His heartrate is fantastic and he is kicking like crazy. He is definitely opinionated, he kicked and wiggled away from the doppler as usual. It’s just 1cm difference so really it could have meant he was just lying a little funky. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. As long as he’s healthy I honestly would not mind a tiny baby. For practical reasons, you understand.

I feel like a house and I’m pretty much on permanent duck waddle status. I swear I’m growing my son’s twin in my brand new extra chins though. Looking through the pictures for the shower I had to cringe a bit. All the chins! sigh Oh well, I always did have a round face, pregnancy has just made it worse. Not saying this to fish for compliments, just being real.

Still no stretch marks but I don’t hold out for that lasting much longer. Also, my belly button is on the verge of popping. Sometimes if I’m laughing really hard it almost pops and it freaks Joel out. Then him freaking out makes me laugh even harder and my belly button comes even closer to popping… and it’s a vicious cycle.

I’ve been having a few contractions on and off. Obviously nothing to be remotely worried about. Unless you’re Joel and then you’ll start timing things if I have more than one in a row. It is pretty cute how jumpy he is about every wince and groan of mine. And trust me, there’s quite a lot of wincing and groaning going on. I try to downplay things but standing up and moving is quite the effort anymore so I’m not often very successful.

This weekend I’ll be performing in a hip hop version of Alice in Wonderland with my dance studio. I will make sure Joel takes lots of pictures because I feel like the amusement factor of me doing hip hop with my giant belly will be quite high.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my second maternity shoot post.

36 weeks

36weeksbelly

Nine months pregnant today.

One week away from full term.

One month from my due date.

Holy moly!

This week was amazing. Remember how last week I talked about the interview we had on Saturday for childcare? Big. Fat. Lie.

Of course I didn’t know it was a lie. It was Joel’s super conspiracy to get me to my surprise baby shower! It deserves it’s own post so I’ll just say that it was amazing and I’ve been floating on a happy high from it all week long.

In baby news we’re down to weekly appointments now for the midwife/OB. This week we did the GBS test and I’m crossing all my crossables that it comes back negative so I don’t have to have an IV during labor. Yes, I know some people opt out of it and there are some natural treatments but I honestly could never be comfortable with that. So, I’m just hoping it’s a non issue. I really hate needles. Hopefully I’ll find out at my appointment next week.

Everything else looks good. I was measuring a week behind but I only knew that because I know what the number is supposed to be. The midwife said it was great. His heartrate is fantastic and he is kicking like crazy. He is definitely opinionated, he kicked and wiggled away from the doppler as usual. It’s just 1cm difference so really it could have meant he was just lying a little funky. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. As long as he’s healthy I honestly would not mind a tiny baby. For practical reasons, you understand.

I feel like a house and I’m pretty much on permanent duck waddle status. I swear I’m growing my son’s twin in my brand new extra chins though. Looking through the pictures for the shower I had to cringe a bit. All the chins! sigh Oh well, I always did have a round face, pregnancy has just made it worse. Not saying this to fish for compliments, just being real.

Still no stretch marks but I don’t hold out for that lasting much longer. Also, my belly button is on the verge of popping. Sometimes if I’m laughing really hard it almost pops and it freaks Joel out. Then him freaking out makes me laugh even harder and my belly button comes even closer to popping… and it’s a vicious cycle.

I’ve been having a few contractions on and off. Obviously nothing to be remotely worried about. Unless you’re Joel and then you’ll start timing things if I have more than one in a row. It is pretty cute how jumpy he is about every wince and groan of mine. And trust me, there’s quite a lot of wincing and groaning going on. I try to downplay things but standing up and moving is quite the effort anymore so I’m not often very successful.

This weekend I’ll be performing in a hip hop version of Alice in Wonderland with my dance studio. I will make sure Joel takes lots of pictures because I feel like the amusement factor of me doing hip hop with my giant belly will be quite high.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my second maternity shoot post.

Maternity Photos (part 1)

Finally! Sorry it took so long but I hope you’ll agree it was totally worth the wait.

We found Rebecca Reichman through our doctor’s office actually. Her gorgeous work is hanging everywhere and I knew we had to check her out for her newborn photography. We then found out that by booking a newborn session we also got a maternity session. So, thanks to a generous birthday gift from my mom and a little bit of a technical error (explained at the end of this post), we found ourselves with dozens of gorgeous maternity photos.

Here are my favorites.

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Interjecting here to say I adore this picture. My belly looks so perfect. Loooove.

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This last one is my very, very favorite. She captured the glow of our love for this baby perfectly. I can’t wait to see how the newborn photos come out.

Friday will be part 2 which is the shoot we did with my sister. They are equally amazing and worth the wait. Trust me.

Maternity Photos (part 1)

Finally! Sorry it took so long but I hope you’ll agree it was totally worth the wait.

We found Rebecca Reichman through our doctor’s office actually. Her gorgeous work is hanging everywhere and I knew we had to check her out for her newborn photography. We then found out that by booking a newborn session we also got a maternity session. So, thanks to a generous birthday gift from my mom and a little bit of a technical error (explained at the end of this post), we found ourselves with dozens of gorgeous maternity photos.

Here are my favorites.

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Interjecting here to say I adore this picture. My belly looks so perfect. Loooove.

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This last one is my very, very favorite. She captured the glow of our love for this baby perfectly. I can’t wait to see how the newborn photos come out.

Friday will be part 2 which is the shoot we did with my sister. They are equally amazing and worth the wait. Trust me.

Chicago Auto Show: Pregnant Style

If you are like me before I’d gone to the auto show you probably can’t understand how miles of cars for hours could be interesting. I mean, that’s basically rush hour, right?

Except it’s so much fun. I’ll let the pictures convince you.

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We’re the nerdiest rockers. Or the rockingest nerds…

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Photobooth!

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Joel’s shirt seems extra appropriate in this picture.

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Trek meets DC. (p.s. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the actual Superman car because it was ridiculously awesome. I was too distracted with making Joel do cheesy poses. Oops.)

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I have no idea why sitting in cars is so much fun. But it is!

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Joel being super classy. Ahem.

Remember my dilemma about whether or not I should rent a wheelchair? Yeah, I didn’t get one. It just felt too silly, especially with a bunch of 80 something year olds walking around just fine (mostly in the Cadillac and Lexus areas. What?). We just went at an easy pace, I wore ugly gym shoes and I sat down. A lot.

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Loungin’ like a boss.

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A lot of my sitting was in cars. Although the getting in and out with my giant belly wasn’t always the easiest.

My only complaint was I couldn’t do my favorite event at the auto show, the Jeep off road simulation track.

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“Not recommended for women who are pregnant.” Annoying.

It was such a great time, as it is every year, even if I couldn’t ride in a Jeep going over a couple bumps at five miles an hour. Not bitter. Nope.

Seriously though, I’m not a car type of girl necessarily but the auto show is always a blast. I can’t wait to take our 11 month old little guy next year.

35 weeks

35weeksbelly

I’m not feeling very inspired to write this post. Probably because I’ve been resisting the urge to crawl into a hole lately, the reasons for which I explained in this post.

I’m not sure if it’s because of those reasons or just extra hormones or a combination but I’ve reached the weepy portion of this pregnancy. I thought I had before but suddenly things have cranked themselves up a notch. Best example lately was when Joel asked me to find him the post I wrote about why I don’t do Valentine’s Day for a post he was writing. Dummy me read through it and got to the part about my childhood dog dying and I had a complete. melt. down.

I’m talking full on, gasping, hysterical crying.

I grabbed Phoebe and started bawling into her fur about how she was going to die someday too. Poor Joel just sat next to me with a mixture of sympathy and total bewilderment. I mean, my dog died 13 years ago, it’s hardly fresh enough for that kind of reaction. In the middle of my sobs I looked up and saw both Phoebe and Joel staring at me like O_O and just as fast as I melted down I realized how funny it was and started laughing hysterically. Joel then started laughing so hard that he choked.

So yeah, living with me has been a bit of a roller coaster lately. Joel really deserves some kind of medal or something.

Thankfully we have some fun plans for this weekend so hopefully I’ll be able to snap out of this funk.

Tomorrow Joel and I have plans to attend the Chicago Auto Show which I am both excited and nervous about. Why nervous? Because lately it doesn’t take much physical activity to make my lower back and pelvis feel like it’s trying to break itself in half. So fun. If you’ve ever been to the auto show you know it’s huge and even without being pregnant my legs and back could get sore after all that walking. Throw in a 4-5lb human sitting in my pelvis and I’m not sure how I’m going to make it. Joel wants to rent a wheelchair for me but that just feels completely ridiculous. I want to go and I don’t want to be in extreme pain so I may let him talk me into it but, ugh it just feels so melodramatic. I’m pregnant not handicapped.

Someone tell me if it’s really ridiculous or if I should just get over myself.

Saturday we have an interview scheduled at the daycare we plan to send our little guy. I was supposed to be going back to work this March but I took another furlough so I won’t be going back until next March. I’m not sure how that will factor into the daycare thing as I don’t plan to send him if I’m not working. But the interview was scheduled before we knew about the furlough so I guess we’ll see how things go. I feel like a real parent, interviewing a daycare. I guess I should get used to that feeling as I am about to actually be a real parent. I can’t quite wrap my head around that idea yet.

And last but not least, we finally got the maternity pictures! They deserve their own post but I’ll put this one up as a sneak peek.

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More coming next week!

 

Little reminders

pregnancytestI’ve been kind of quiet the last couple of days. Certain dates snuck up on me, almost without me realizing they were coming. It’s a bunch of stupid little things, but they throw me.

The Chicago Auto Show is this week. I have so much fun at it every year but last year felt extra special because I was in the extra giddy, we just found out we’re pregnant, phase. I’m still pregnant again, a year later. When I say I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever, I’m not kidding.

Girl Scout cookies are on sale again. Thin mints used to be my favorite thing ever. Even though my nausea and food aversions are not too bad most of the time now, the idea of eating them turns my stomach. I’m afraid the mental association may have ruined them for me forever.

I’m doing Fat Mum Slim’s photo a day on Instagram (By the way, are you following me over there? If not you’re missing a bunch of pictures that never make it on the blog.) I’ve started this January. The first time I tried her photo a day was last February and it was part of how I announced to the internet that we were expecting.  I didn’t finish the year because on March 1st it just didn’t seem that important anymore.

After my original due date passed it was like a giant weight was lifted off me and I really was completely absorbed in this current, healthy pregnancy. It’s not that I never thought about my loss but it didn’t weigh on me like it did before. Now that I’m back to the same time of year as when we first found out we were pregnant I’m feeling a bit more introspective and sometimes even downright sad again.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still so much more happy and excited than sad lately. I’m getting so close to meeting my little guy and I am very much looking forward to that.

But amidst that excitement the dates that are now coming up again on the calendar throw me back. Back to a time when I was more innocent and naive. The thought of that pregnancy not working out was barely a blip on my radar, I just assumed it would. Last February I never thought I would still be pregnant this February. I know I got a couple month break but that doesn’t make it feel any less endless.

It’s nice that there aren’t too many bad dates coming up. There are definitely more good ones to look forward to. I’ll be happy to finally have my little guy in my arms. Next year I have a feeling February and March will seem much brighter.

 

 

 

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