Oh, The Swelling

I wrote this post last week, and never published it- oops!

I am nearly (tomorrow) 33 weeks. I have not been blogging for various reasons. But this weekend I had a baby shower, my mom in town for the shower, and we moved to our new apartment.

I left off last time mentioning our upcoming Thanksgiving trip, and let me tell you- if you're invited you should definitely stay with A&W. I am not even kidding when I say that we felt like we stayed at a bed and breakfast. They are the best hosts, and so fun to hang out with. We have already looked at Southwest for deals to get back to Dallas to see them again. After our first night of sleep at their place we opened our bedroom door in the morning to hear the coffee pot beeping to let us know there was fresh brewed coffee, and we found a tray of cinnamon rolls on the kitchen table. I wish every morning started that way! I was feeling like I was coming down with something, and as soon as I mentioned it, Whitney was handing me a glass of Emergen-C. We toured the "Dallas Palace" together, and had tons of fun. I have lots of pictures that I can't show you because I lost the cord to my camera. I need to buy a USB memory card reader, but I just haven't yet. Anyway, thanks to Andy and Whitney for a wonderful time.

Kevin and I got pretty sick somewhere between Texas and Arkansas, and arrived at his parents house feeling horrible, complete with fevers! An ER trip, an urgent care trip, and a bunch of antibiotics later- we're all better! And as a bonus- it wasn't H1N1!

I will save my post about the baby shower for another time, but for now I'll say that some of my dear friends that I have known for a long time made great efforts to drive from various parts of SoCal to be at the party. It was so great having them here.

But the real star of our weekend was my mom! She came down to attend the shower, but she got roped into helping us move, and clean! Kevin packed almost our entire apartment by himself due to my major lack of energy, and the ability to lift heavy items. Then, he and three guys packed a moving truck, and unloaded all of our belongings into our new place. So by Sunday he was totally exhausted, and we still needed to clean the old apartment. I think my mom put in about 5 hours of cleaning. She saved our lives. There is no other way to say that. Thanks mom!

How far along? 33 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: I have an appointment tomorrow, and I guess I'll face the scale then.
Stretch marks? Yep.
Sleep: Sleep is still pretty good except for the 2 times/night potty break. Also, sometimes baby and I disagree on when we should be sleeping. :)
Best moment this week: The baby shower, my friend put so much thought and care into all the details of the event, and I felt totally spoiled.
Movement: Yes, seems like we've still got plenty of room for the baby to roll around.
Food cravings: Yesterday I suddenly wanted ambrosia salad- umm, eww. I did not indulge.
Gender: 7 weeks 'till we know for sure.
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? In!
What I miss: Food tasting like it should. Chinese food tastes like wet cigarettes to me, and pizza still makes me vomit.
What I am looking forward to: Putting away tiny baby clothes. I washed a few things before we moved, and I just love the teeny tiny little socks.
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy the time the baby is inside, it can only last so long.
Milestones: My ankle swelling has reached new heights. I don't know that this is a milestone, but it is shocking for me.

29 Weeks or 11 Weeks Left

For some reason this is the first week I've started to think about time left, versus time passed. And 11 weeks seems like such a short amount of time. And at the same time, my friend Erin's due date just passed, and she still waiting and I can't imagine being there! Confusing.

How far along? 29 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Ok, I'll fess up. I have gained 15 lbs. At my last appointment, my doctor seemed very pleased with this, which in turn makes me feel proud. He set a goal for me for the rest of the time, but said that if I go over it's ok too. But at this point he figures I'm on track to gain 20 lbs total. I'm good with that!
Stretch marks? Yes, yes, yes. I hate them!
Sleep: Still going strong on the sleep front. Last Friday night I slept for nearly 11 hours. I also have a new habit of taking short naps over my lunch hour. I sleep for about 30 minutes, and it's pretty much amazing.
Best moment this week: Feeling Peapod roll back and forth. Now that Peapod is nearly 3lbs, those rolls are definitely felt, and seen. One night I changed position and the baby was not amused, and starting punching, or kicking so hard. Kevin got to feel this little in-utero tantrum.
Movement: See above.
Food cravings: Still lemonade, but I am having a minor love affair with milk- the colder the better. I like to leave the milk in a glass in the freezer for a few minutes before drinking it. Oh, and spaghetti! With meat sauce, mmmmmm.
Gender: We'll certainly know in 11 weeks!
Labor Signs: Nope, but the braxton hicks contractions are getting a little more serious, and sometimes uncomfortable.
Belly Button in or out? Holding strong as an innie.
What I miss: With the holidays just around the corner I am missing wine, and brie.
What I am looking forward to: Maternity leave! My boss and I have not even talked about this at all yet. I don't even know if they will hire a temp for while I'm gone. In the mean time I am trying to organize my computer and files to make things easy and accessible for whoever may be sitting here for those few weeks, at least I hope someone will be.
Weekly Wisdom: The only thing that helps my swollen ankles is drinking 16oz of water every hour, and sweating it out at the gym.
Milestones: This week for the first time ever being pregnant slowed down my workout. I was on the elliptical and after only 5 minutes I started to get a painful contraction, so I slowed down- but it didn't help! So I am officially a walking on the treadmill only kind of girl. Sigh.

On Monday we leave for Dallas to see Andy & Whitney and then we're driving from there to Arkansas. I could not be more excited about this trip. Dallas, here we come!

We're Moving!

Do you remember this? Or this? We're doing it again! By now it must seem like we love oven cleaning, trips to goodwill, and packing boxes. This will be our fourth apartment in three years! The best part about this new apartment? We have a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, and a fenced private patio. We will also be able to have cable again, and it even has a breakfast bar. We are moving further from campus, and though it will be less convenient, it will be so good for us. We are planning to move on December 11-13, which is pretty much the best weekend with how busy things are otherwise. I will also admit that preparing is a great outlet for my nesting urges.

I am starting to pack and clean, focusing on our kitchen first. It's always that thing that sneaks up on you during a move. Books, and wall decorations are the easiest, while all the random things- cold medicine, extra bottles of hand soap, check boxes, etc. prove to be the most annoying. We are moving back into a one bedroom, and this means we will have room for a full size couch! I already have it picked out, and I'll let you see it once it is purchased, set-up, and being used in the new place. We may even have space for a table and chairs to eat at! Don't get me wrong, I'm sure we'll still use our tv stands on select occasions, but it will be nice to actually sit across from each other again.

Oh, and during this move I will be nearly 33 weeks pregnant. Yep. I'm doing the packing, while Kevin will be doing the actual moving with the help of some friends. It's hard to let go of that control, and letting it all happen while I'm at work, and distracting myself with my mom's visit here. But, I will label my boxes well- and knowing Kevin, it will probably go better than I could even hope.

I'm totally stealing this, but it's a great way to give pregnancy updates.

How far along? 27 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I've gained weight, and you know what? It's not fun seeing new territory on a scale. I don't like seeing it there, and I'm not ready to post it here. If you really need to know, email me.
Stretch marks? Yep. I have very very sensitive skin that does not like to be messed with. I've had stretch marks since, oh I don't know- the positive pregnancy test? No, really probably week 15.
Sleep: Love it thanks to my snoogle. Though this week my body does this thing where during my every-two-hours potty break, I wake up like it's 7am. I sit up totally awake and ready for the day, but it's like 2am. So I grab snoogle, and fall right back to sleep. Can't complain.
Best moment this week: Finding our new apartment, and (this was really last week) buying our crib that we found on Craigslist.
Movement: Pretty much all the time, last weekend Peapod head butted my mom's hand, such a good baby. I love lifting my shirt and watching random parts of my belly jump with action. It's so weird, but I love it.
Food cravings: Meh. I've never been driven by the need for a specific food as of yet. But I will take a huge glass of ice cold lemonade (fresh, not powdered) with extra lemon slices any time of day. It really can't be too sour for me.
Gender: Jury's still out. A friend of mine just gave birth, and her girl was in fact a boy. They didn't have a name picked for him, and he came home to a very pink crib, and some precious dresses. Oops.
Labor Signs: None thankfully, it's too early! But, I do get Braxton Hicks contractions these days, in fact I had 11 in 12 hours the other day. But, they are not painful at all, and I welcome them because they are preparing my body for labor- so bring it. Random- playing Rockband gives me these practice contractions too.
Belly Button in or out? In, and it really doesn't even look that different yet.
What I miss: Advil!
What I am looking forward to: Laying in our bed with our newborn, and just staring and marveling at those tiny fingers and fat feet.
Weekly Wisdom: "sleep in, go on dates, and go out to movies" wisdom provided to me by a mom who was missing the days pre-baby.
Milestones: Third trimester, and we started our childbirth class.

Sort of related- strangers definitely put their feet in their mouths when it comes to pregnancy. I have a friend who is almost 7 months pregnant, and the other day a woman she just met said "oh, are you 8 months pregnant?" My friend said "no, about 7." the other woman then said "is that only one baby?" So, let's all remember to keep our stupid assumptions and guesses to ourselves when it comes to hormonal pregnant women.

Nesting

I haven't blogged in too long, and a lot of that has to do with the insane amounts of energy I've had over the past few weeks. Once the vomiting ended, pregnancy became a very enjoyable thing. Especially with the extra energy. I am not even kidding. On some days I make it through my 8 hour day, go to the gym, and still find myself dying to wash the dishes, do laundry, etc. And the nesting, dear God the nesting. There must be one specific hormone associated with this, and I would love to know what it is. I think Kevin would love to know what it is so that he could eliminate it.

Here's a perfect example: Friday night was a big big big work event for me. The biggest event all year in fact. I had worked for months preparing every last detail. On the day of I worked for 12.5 hours, and Kevin worked for 14. The event involved over 1000 people in attendance, and it also involved a lot of manual labor from Kevin. Anyway, we got home late that night and we were both exhausted but couldn't sleep right away. So we stayed up until 1am, and woke up around 8am the next morning both feeling like we'd been in a car accident. We dragged ourselves out for coffee and bagels. After we ate Kevin was ready to go home and veg. Not me. I was suddenly hit with the need to nest.

I cannot quite explain exactly what it feels like, but basically I am suddenly consumed with energy and the need to do something, anything, but sit still. (As a side note if you've ever seen Stephanie after a latte, and with a sketch pad full of ideas, while her hands get all panicky and shaky as she explains why we should "make unicorn shaped pancakes, right-this-second!" It's sort of similar, but imagine being Stephanie) So Kevin said "are you ready to go home?" And I said "no, I kind of feel like buying Peapod a stuffed animal today." What I meant was "I'll settle for a stuffed animal but I'd really like to buy a stuffed animal, then find a crib, and a crib mattress, and a mattress pad, and build the crib, and set the stuffed animal in it." OR, find a new apartment this minute, one preferably with laundry hookups, and then buy a washer and dryer, and sit in this empty apartment doing laundry in my own machines! While these were the things that nesting was telling me to do, we went to Target instead where we shopped for a friend's baby. Then I barely made it to the cereal aisle before I completely lost all my energy, and all my desire to nest and could do nothing more than lean pathetically on Kevin and whine. I finally felt the way the poor guy was feeling all morning. The events from the previous day finally caught up with me, and my head was pounding, and I just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep for 3 days. I actually said to him "this is how you've been feeling this whole time, and you walked through Target with me? I am such a jerk! What is wrong with me?" But he just sort of nodded his head (probably not wanting to do or say anything that might wake the nesting beast within me). By the time we got to the car I was super cranky and whining about having low blood sugar. Kevin silently unwrapped a fruit leather and handed it to me as we drove home.

The Beginning of My Birth Plan

Did I tell you about the time my doctor and I made some preliminary decisions about my labor and delivery? Well it went something like this.

Dr.: "which hospital do you plan to deliver at?"
Me: "Arcadia Methodist"

Dr.: "if it's a boy do you want him circumcised?"
Me: looked at Kevin and made him answer.

Dr.: "do you think you'll want an epidural?"
Me: "Nope." huge nervous grin.
Dr. "great!"

Yes. I have committed to an epidural free delivery. I feel like this is such a debatable topic. Let me first say that I am not against epidurals. Choosing to relieve some of the pain does not make a mom less of a woman. But I will explain my decision, and why I think it is best for me.

It really started quite a while ago. When I was in high school I was very interested in child development, and took multiple child development classes. In these classes I had the opportunity to watch babies being born in every situation one can imagine. The most impacting video shown involved two women in labor at the same time. One woman chose the epidural, while the other woman chose to be epidural free. At the end of their labors each woman birthed beautiful and healthy babies. But there was a difference. The baby whose mom had the epidural was sleepy (albeit snuggly too). He just sort of hung out, eyes closed and quiet. The baby without the epidural was looking around, and making lots of noise. They did a split screen of each baby laying on their respective moms bare chest. Epidural baby just sort of laid there. The other baby managed to move his head directly to his moms nipple, and began nursing. I was shocked. I had never considered the drug's affect on the baby. I felt pretty convinced in that moment that I did not want an epidural. I also had to watch women receiving epidurals, and I am more scared of that than I am of having the baby.

Secondly, I see the human body as being incredible. The fact that I am working on growing an entire human being never ceases to amaze me. As soon as the tiny embryo implanted itself in my uterus, my body took over the growing, and nourishing of this little person. I have not had to think about developing a heart or imagine bones forming. My body is just assisting the process. I take vitamins, but those are honestly more for me than the baby. I tend to see this as the ultimate test of my body. Keeping that in mind, our bodies have an amazing way of handling labor. We have hormones that are released periodically that accomplish different portions of the baby being born. I think my body knows what it needs to do, and I will just need to endure the very real pain that accompanies the process.

In the mean time I am trying to prepare my body for labor. I know that once that process begins that it will be similar to running a marathon. I am trying to exercise as much as possible, including exercises specifically for toning my "pelvic floor." Every time Kevin and I walk downtown, or I do cardio at the gym I know I am preparing for labor. I am also doing so by eating lots of protein every day, and drinking ridiculous amounts of water.

I also chose a hospital that is known for its low c-section rate, and for allowing women to labor on their own timetable. Our hospital even has "family" showers where I can work through contractions under the warm water. They will allow me to bounce on a ball, or take a walk in their garden as labor progresses. My doctor will allow me to go two weeks past my due date before suggesting induction, and allowed a friend of mine to labor naturally for 36 hours without pressuring her to take something to speed up labor. He also did not argue with me when I said I did not want an epidural.

I still have a lot to learn about labor, and breathing, and positions, etc. But in the mean time I take any pain I experience now as being nothing in comparison to labor.

Peapod

Well, we had our 20 week ultrasound on Friday, greatly anticipating seeing Peapod's goods. Peapod had other plans. Our baby kept its tiny knees glued together. It doesn't help that our doctor's ultrasound machine is ancient, and that everything is a little blurry. We were told that there's a 70% chance that Peapod is a girl. But, after reading about many seventy percent-ers turning out to be the opposite we just feel confused. I even read a blog today in which a couple was given 70% that their baby was a boy. I thought certainly that would be clearer, maybe they use the same ultrasound machine as our office. The good news, no- the great news is that our baby is perfectly healthy! We feel like we were given a huge gift that day just in hearing that Peapod is healthy. So, for the mean time we refer to the baby as "she" but we still feel a little weird since there's still a 30% chance that "she" is "he." So maybe 70% equals "we really don't know what your baby is."

Last Minute Guesses?

With Peapod's reveal scheduled for tomorrow morning, I thought I'd see what you think our baby is. So, boy or girl? Vote to the right. I think I may have waited too long on this.... Oh well!