Rounding a Corner

I've never understood how women could be in such a big hurry to be done with being pregnant. I've enjoyed almost every day of my pregnancy so far in some way. But I think I'm starting to get it. I've turned a corner where I'm starting to feel the suffocation of my uterus beginning to take over my lung space. As shown in my previous posts, it's getting harder to move around. I find I'm not comfortable sitting unless I'm reclined at least a bit. I went shopping yesterday and found I didn't have nearly the stamina that I have had in the past--I was exhausted and sore after just under 2 hours. Luckily, I was able to recognize this and quit before I felt too awful.

I'm not saying I'm not still loving being pregnant. Feeling this little one squirming around, rolling, and kicking in there is one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced. I love watching DH bond with this little thing in my belly--today he was using my belly button as a megaphone into my uterus. lol I appreciate the fact that I'm well on my way to being a mommy, especially after watching so many of my friends struggle to reach that goal. I'm just saying that I can begin to understand why someone (especially someone who is another 9 weeks further along than I!) might be ready to meet their baby and get him or her out of her tummy.

Free Willy!!!!

Yes, we're getting quite the menagerie...this morning was the first time I felt like a beached whale. It was pathetic. I had the hardest time rolling over to get myself out of bed.

If you look at me, I'm really not all that big still. But somehow this belly is weighing me down!

Picture this. I was on the right side of the bed (when you are in it) laying on my left side. I need to roll over to my right side, sit, then stand up. I had a couple of failed attempts at the rolling over. Then I couldn't get my feet to the floor so I could sit up. DH tried to help by pushing on my butt, but all that accomplished was nearly toppling me out of bed.

Pathetic, I tell you. And I have a feeling this is the beginning of a long couple of months...

One down, many more to go

Yesterday my head was swimming with all the things that need to be done before this baby arrives, so I wrote them all down in an email to DH. He told me that the biggest thing we need to do is sleep. Oh, but then added extra things that need to happen. Of course.

The two biggies were figure out child care and sign up for our maternity classes. We still haven't done anything with child care, which is starting to freak me out, but I'm so overwhelmed by the whole thing that I just keep ignoring it. However, last night we did sign up for three maternity classes. We'll be taking Baby Care Basics and Breastfeeding class at one hospital, then the Childbirth and Maternity Tour at the hospital where we'll deliver.

*sigh* So that's done. Mark one off....only a bunch more to go!!!!

Quack Quack

Yup, it's official....I'm pretty sure I'm waddling on a regular basis.

I had already started waddling when I was tired, but I can feel it even when just moseying down the hallway at work. Ugh.

In other news, I still feel pretty awful. I was doing better yesterday with taking Afrin and Benadryl, but stopped the Afrin today (not supposed to take it for more than 3 days b/c it can be habit-forming) and am feeling fairly yucky. I brought it with me, though, in case I need to break down and use it.

I feel like the only person in the world who is upset it STILL isn't raining!!! It keeps threatening, but nothing has happened...I just need some good rain to wash all this pollen out of the air! Even if my snottiness isn't b/c of allergies, I've got an itchy back and ears, which are typical signs of mine that I've got at least some allergies going on.

I've succumbed

I just went to CVS and bought Benadryl. And Sudafed. And Afrin. (I like options.)

I've made it 29 weeks and 4 days without any medicine besides some Tums. No Tylenol, even through the early-second-trimester headaches. No allergy meds, even though I had been on FOUR before getting pregnant. Nada.

I should be proud. I should feel good about this accomplishment. I do.

So why do I feel like a failure for giving in now?

I should be proud that I've made it this far. I am. But I also feel like a total loser for giving in at this point. Do I really feel *that* bad? I just made it an hour without blowing my nose (not something I was able to do during the day today)--do I *really* need to take some now?

So here I sit, box of Benadryl sitting beside me. Taunting me.

My doctor wouldn't tell me I could take something if it could be harmful to the baby, right? So why am I so leery of putting this into my body?

Okay, I found a slight compromise. The dosage is 1 OR 2 pills. I'll take one. Not taking the max dosage, but still taking some, hoping to get a better night's sleep than last night.

Wish me luck.

So jealous

I'm incredibly jealous of parents who don't have to put their kids in daycare. It seems like I'm surrounded by SO many women who either 1) have family members who can watch their kids full-time or 2) can stay home. I know being a SAHM/WAHM isn't easy work, but I think I would love it and am jealous of those who can do it. Yes, I enjoy my job most of the time, but sometimes I think it would be more rewarding to stay home with my baby, to not miss anything...

There's just no way we could swing one of us staying home. And while that's okay, it still makes me jealous of the people who do make it work or do have family members stay with their child. Both of my coworkers who have little ones (one a little over two and one about 21 months) have a grandma to watch their child. They still pay for it, but it would be so nice to know that someone who loves your baby as much as you do is the one watching it every day.

Making this decision about child care is impossibly hard. I have some friends who have gone through multiple providers in just a year or so. I don't even know where to start looking. I've gotten a list of referrals from Action for Children and am looking through them, but know that checking them out will just mean going with our gut and calling some and asking for references. The possibilities are endless and there are so many ways we could mess this up. I'm scared to make the wrong decision.

I feel yucky

Just need to whine for a second...

Last night DH and I took a walk. Soon after, I started getting drainage and a sore throat. I figured I'd feel better by morning, but, in fact, my throat is even more sore. I'm blaming this all on allergies, so I came to work. I still feel crappy, though. I feel more congested than I have in almost a year and also still have a sore throat, despite the 32 ounces of water, 8 ounces of hot apple cider, and about 12 ounces of water at home that I have drank since I woke up. Yuck.

The best part? I'm not going home until about 6:30 tonight after leaving around 7 this morning. It's a volunteering night, which was the driving force behind my not calling in sick today. I feel bad bailing on volunteering.

It's going to be a really long day...

3D/4D Ultrasound

What a cool experience! We had a great time, even though she (and yes, she's still a she!) was fairly uncooperative. She wanted her hands in front of her face the whole time, which means we get to go back and get more pictures of her later!

She's currently breech, which I don't think is a big deal at this point--I'm only 29 weeks. When we saw her, she had both her legs and arms crammed up against her face. How uncomfortable! Although, I couldn't help but wish I were that flexible. lol

Here's a link to the pictures--the pictures in Blogger aren't in a great format, so I just put them in a place to share so you can take a look:

LINK

Overally, it was a great day and SO neat to be able to see our baby before she's born!

Lots to say....

There are a ton of things on my mind, but I just haven't been able to put it all on here.

I started a blog post about bra shopping and will probably finish that up very soon.

Not particularly looking forward to most of this weekend. We're headed to the ILs tonight through Sunday morning-ish. Then comes the exciting part--our 3D/4D ultrasound! I can't wait to get a good look at the baby. I also can't wait to see where those body parts are...she's always poking me with something, but I don't know what it is! Sometimes I could swear she's either head-butting me or just, well, butting me. It's something round....lol

I generally am okay with going to the ILs, but it will be a full house, which means it will be a loud house. With 12 weekends left for sleeping in (give or take a few), I'm cherishing each one I can get...and this weekend won't be one of them, I don't think. I will also be sitting through a HS show choir concert that will probably last at least 3 hours. I don't sit for long amounts of time well, especially in a high school auditorium. I assume I'll be playing the pregnancy card and going to pee lots of times during the show.

The other thing I'm sort of dreading is that it's supposed to be a nice weekend. If we were going to be home, that would be fine. We'd probably go outside for a fire pit or to eat dinner, but generally just hang out inside the A/C because, well, my allergies don't allow for us to spend much more time than that outside during the spring (or summer...or fall....). Of course, the ILs will probably either have windows open or want to spend every second outside the whole time and no matter how many times I remind them how crappy I feel (I don't sneeze, have runny eyes or nose, etc.--I just get really bad headaches and earaches and get really dizzy from all the fluid backing up in my ears).

I hope everyone has a good weekend! I'll be sure to post pictures from the u/s!!!

Sending Prayers

I've been saying lots and lots of prayers recently for some of my friends. If you pray, would you mind including them on your prayer list?

1) Mrs. Hammer--you can read from her blog that her dad has been going through some health issues and every time it seems they're making progress, they have another setback.

2) A message board friend--she's struggled to get pregnant and a few weeks ago got some great news--they're expecting triplets! Unfortunately, they lost Baby C and appear to be on the way to losing Baby B. Please say prayers for her and her DH and their emotional well-being and for Baby A making it!!!

3) Another message board friend, Emily--her kitty, Pancake, who has been with her through a lot of the trials in her life, is very sick. Please pray for Pancake and for Em (who is also going through some stress with the health situation of a grandfather on top of Pancake--I don't know the status of that right now, so if you'll please include all of them in your prayers, it'd be much appreciated!)

4) One friend who is working very hard to become a mommy. I can't divulge all of the details here, but please keep her in your prayers--these next two weeks are going to be very trying for her!!!

5) All of my other friends who really want to become mommies. I only have an idea of the feelings of heartache that they're experiencing (most have, at this point, been TTC for longer than we had to), but I keep them in my prayers all the time. Feeling this little one bouncing around inside my belly is the best feeling I could imagine and I want all of these friends to be able to experience it for themselves very soon. They'll all be great mommies!!!

Small Things

1) Homemade Rice Kri.spy Treats--made some last night and satisfied a craving I've been having!

2) Virgin margaritas--again, satisfying a craving. It's not quite the same, but it was still delicious!!!

3) Nesting urges--last night I got the urge to organize cupboards, so I got on the floor (DH was outside weeding) and reorganized one cupboard and a set of drawers in the kitchen (this was after making aforementioned treats, baking DH a cake, and doing some general kitchen cleaning)

4) DH's birthday! We got a good dinner this past weekend, are going out tonight for his official birthday to Montgomery Inn, may try to celebrate with others later in the week...AND we've got cake waiting for us at home!

5) Doing yoga--I love to work out, but was scared to in the 1st trimester, wasn't sure what I *could* do indoors during the 2nd trimester (it was cold then!) and now, as I'm heading toward the third trimester, I've found a prenatal yoga video that I like and want to continue to do.

6) Impromptu lunch with a friend yesterday

7) DH encouraging me to read the Bible to Baby. It's actually not really a small thing. I was really religious in high school, but haven't made the effort that I should since then. DH and I were trying to find churches and attended one service, but haven't done anything else since. Monday night he saw my Bible and suggested I read to the Baby. I used the index to find some baby-related verses. Then last night he suggested it again. I read the whole story of Noah and the flood. Now I need to find some other things to read to her!

8) Getting out of work a bit early yesterday--I did some work for my boss on Saturday morning and she told me I could go home an hour early one day because of it, so I chose yesterday. We only left about 45 minutes early and had come in about 20 minutes early already, so I didn't get my full hour, but that's okay--it was still really nice!!!

9) Finding great baby deals online--I got two name-brand carriers yesterday online for $53 shipped (one is Peanut Shell and the other is Active Mom (both of their websites are down or I would include links)). Today I found a nursing cover that is typically $32 and paid only $7 to get it, including $7.95 shipping (fancy, eh?). Of course, if I keep at this rate, we'll have nothing we need to register for...for our four (and a half, I'm guessing...probably a small one at work...and DH might even get a small one at work...) showers!

10) My last 4 week break between doctor's appointments (although I'm not sure this counts with the 3D/4D u/s in the middle!). After next appt at the beginning of June, we'll be going every 2 weeks!

I Passed!!!

(insert happy dance here) I passed! I passed I passed I passed I passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So yeah. I passed my glucose screening. I was quite nervous about this test, with my mom having diabetes and my overweight status and the fact that I had tested borderline high on fasted glucose tests in the past. The threshold was 134 and I tested at 101 (have tested at 91 before fasting, so I thought this was great with the ultra-sugary drink and my breakfast in my tummy). Woohoo!!!

I passed!!!!!!!!

Anxious

I feel like anxiety rules my life. I had been off and on anxiety medications since my wedding in 2006 until getting pregnant. It originated as a diagnosed eating anxiety disorder and progressed to more become more generalized. The first 6 months of pregnancy I felt pretty great--hardly noticed any anxiety at all. However, recently I've noticed a major increase in the frequency of my anxiety attacks.

Just in the last 24 hours I've felt anxious (to the point of having a tight chest, getting a bit dizzy, etc.) about:

- Sw.ine flu. Yes, I realize this is being overhyped in the media, but working in a building where there are hundreds of college students leaving their germs all over the place doesn't help much with this. If someone here got infected, I believe it could spread really quickly. Hygiene just isn't something they are particularly concerned about. Add into that the fact that I have a diminshed immune system and I'm about to bring a baby into the world whose immune system definitely isn't developed fully....yeah, you could say I'm nervous.

- Worrying about what people think of me. Again, logically I know this isn't something I should worry about. But it is. I still get looks of surprise when I someone finds out I'm pregnant. So if I don't look pregnant, I look fat, right? And then I work on planning things and it doesn't work out the way I want...I take it all pretty personally. In groups I may look like I'm having a great time and am outgoing, but in the back of my mind I'm always worrying what someone is thinking about what I'm saying/doing/eating.

- Car wrecks. I hardly let DH drive anywhere anymore because I need to be in control of my destiny in the car. I get anxious about other drivers being stupid and possibly causing me to get into a wreck (again, because I'm the one that has to protect this baby! I can't imagine how bad it will get once she gets here).

- Work. Luckily, I don't have to worry about having a job, but I do get anxious about just about everything else with work. My boss, my coworkers, my job duties...they all make me very anxious and overwhelmed regularly.

- Safety. Ever since I can remember, I've worried about safety. I used to think someone was going to climb on the roof outside my bedroom and come in and get me. I look in my backseat every time I get in the car. I double-check doors. If I don't have some sort of noise while falling asleep (typically the TV), my mind races about the possibilities and the little noises our house makes. Luckily, DH makes me feel really safe when I need it. :)

- My baby showers. Actually, just one of them. Because of some ugly family history, it's looking like I'm going to be having two separate showers for the two sides of my family. I hate that it's all being brought about again and I feel stuck in the middle. I'm trying not to worry about it too much, as I can't do anything about it, but well, that's sort of what anxiety is....

I don't know why I'm enumerating it all here. Writing it all out does make me feel a bit better, though, so there you go :) No, I won't be seeking treatment or medication just yet. I find that I can typically breathe through most of the anxiety attacks and be okay. I did order a Prenatal Yoga DVD that I hope to receive either today or tomorrow and am hoping that doing that on a regular basis will help me with my relaxation.

99 days?!?!??!!!

You're kidding me. Really? 99 days??? There is no way 99 days is enough time for me/us to be mentally OR physically prepared to have this baby! Yes, we have more done than a lot of people at this point. We have furniture purchased and assembled and DH is painting the nursery today while I'm at a party. We've scheduled a couple of our prenatal classes. We've scheduled 2 of 4 showers. So yeah, when you look at those things...we're ready. But I'm ENJOYING being pregnant, for the most part. I want to stay pregnant for awhile longer (well, once the A/C in our house gets turned on...yesterday was absolutely miserable). Yes, I want to meet this little one, but she can stay in there for awhile longer as far as I'm concerned! When she comes we're truly responsible for this little life (it's a lot easier to keep her healthy, safe, and happy when she's inside me!)...how scary!

My belly button

I've been trying to come up with a cute title for this post, but just couldn't. Basically, my belly button is changing, but not in the way that I thought it would. I thought it would start to poke out first. But no, it's doing this weird stretching thing and is now at least twice as wide as it used to be. I was joking with DH last night that it looks like a mouth. He tried to stick his finger in it and I told him it would eat him. LOL It's creeping me out, but not nearly as much as it would be if it poked outward...so I guess I should count my blessings!!!

Most recent belly pic

To appease Miss Julie....more to come once I figure out a better way to get them into the blog.

Insert Techno Music Here

'Cause last night there was a dance party in my belly! This little girl has been busting a move more and move every day--to the point where I feel like my stomach should be shaking! She also keeps finding new places to hang out in there. One minute she's down pretty low, then the next she's found a new nook up on a side high up. She must be cruising a lot in there--hope she realizes 10 p.m. isn't playtime once she's on the outside.

I never want to forget this feeling. Sometimes I'll be sitting at work and she'll just be bouncing around in there and I stop what I'm concentrating on because, well, who wouldn't?? She just never ceases to amaze me! Right now I'm doing my absolute best to enjoy feeling her in there because I know I'll miss it when she's here.

Small Things

1) Homemade pulled pork (complete with leftovers!)
2) Blue box mac & cheese
3) My DH writing and talking about how much he loves this little baby and how he hopes she has my smile.
4) Texts from DH telling me he misses me, even though we're just at work
5) Knowing that DH is as distracted by all this baby stuff as I am!
6) Having hope for friends who are still struggling to TTC--hope is a powerful thing!
7) A great friend who offered to throw me a friends shower :)
8) Hosting Bunco next month!
9) My grandma who bought me a maternity shirt
10) The weather getting warmer again!

A brilliant solution to a common pregnancy problem

Yesterday was a rough day for both DH's and my olfactory systems. From the time I left work (ie. through shopping at a couple of OSU stores, Half Price Books, riding in the car, grocery shopping...) I couldn't stop it with the nasty, stinky pregnancy gas. It was awful. It got to the point where DH and I were both rolling down windows and running from the area of the store we had previously been in.

However, in the midst of one of those attacks (almost more of a blitzkrieg) in the car, DH came up with a solution. He grabbed my flavored lip balm that was in the console and said, "Here, put this on your upper lip". We both caked it on and rode the rest of the way to the grocery with our lips shoved up toward our noses (picture a fish face...), both of us giggling like maniacs. But it worked...

Making Progress

We're making some good headway toward not being slobs anymore. Our kitchen has officially been clean for almost an entire week. We've done a great job keeping it clean!


We've got an accordion file set up where we can put all papers that will eventually need to go to the filing cabinet. Yesterday I worked on coupons--I set up another accordion file for loose coupons that I can organize by expiration date and then put all of my inserts in order.

My coupons are a total mess, so I'm going to need to work on it more tonight and throughout the week!

We're working on getting caught up with laundry and are making sure with each load to get them put away so we can put the next one away. We will, again, work on getting this done during the evenings this week.

We went through the nursery to see what was in the boxes in there and now have 3 boxes of things to take to Half Price Books. Who knows what we'll get for it, but it will be out of our hair, which is a great feeling!

Our whole first floor is officially clutter-free, which is awesome. Now we'll just work on keeping it that way. Soon our bedroom should be in a good place, too. I'm hoping by the end of the April everything in our house will have its place and then we just need to work on developing good habits.

Thanks for all the great tips, everyone!!!!