hurry up

I AM SO READY TO HAVE THIS BABY!!!

okay, maybe not READY ready, but i'm tired of feeling uncomfortable, and not being able to move around, and getting up to pee during the night, and feeling like a stuffed-pig... enough already... i have my weekly appointment tomorrow so let's hope i've progressed since last week (1.5 cm) - stay tuned... :)

this weekend was really busy for both eric and i... we started off with breakfast at the diner on saturday morning and then i headed to the salon for my day of pampering... i got a bikini wax, haircut, and pedicure, and boy was it nice to just sit and relax for a change... i heard all sorts of baby/kid stories during those few hours so that was pretty fun... i also made my next two appointments including foil-highlights in december so i'm all funked-up before coming back to work... :)

on my way home, i stopped at the mall to have some security tags taken-off my nursing tops i bought last week then went to target to pick-up a few things... i needed to pee and upon doing so, (TMI) found some brown spotting/mucus and high-tailed it home... i knew since it wasn't bright red that i was okay and i hadn't been feeling crampy or back-achy so upon reading, it was probably the passing of my mucus plug... i WAS a bit freaked-out when i got home and told eric, "i'm not ready" and he goes, "yes, we are - stop worrying"... and that i did and proceeded to clean the bathroom, do laundry, organize more stuff in the nursery, and swap our summer/winter bedding... on sunday - i was still pretty motivated and went to the grocery store, made banana bread, did more laundry, and then my mom came down to help iron/hang curtains and do some final organizing in the baby's room... we watched both the steelers and redskins game, and then eric made ham, potatoes, and green beans (from our garden) in the crockpot for dinner... my back was really hurting by the end of the day so i took a hot bath and then sat in the chair with the heating pad for a while... needless to say, i slept like a baby (pardon the pun)... :)

as for work - my last day is friday so only 3 more days to go... i finished a big report this morning and technically - there's nothing else pending or on my plate right now... my boss told me on friday (during my review) that's she's not sure what they'll do without me, and says to call if i get bored... ha, right... i have too many projects on my to-do list and worrying about work doesn't even make it to the top-20... ;)

so that's it for now... hope you're having a good week!

sorry

ugh, where has the time gone? sorry for being MIA - just have a lot going on and after feeling pretty good up to this point - monday evening something changed and i've been feeling pretty crappy... i STILL thank my lucky stars every day that this pregnancy has been pretty uneventful (no heartburn, no hemorrhoids, decent weight gain, etc.), but other stuff is starting to happen and it's taking me some time to adjust... like lower back pain, pelvic pain, insomnia, over-emotional, swollen feet... i've cried uncontrollably both monday and last night even though i know this is almost over and that i'm in the home-stretch... let's just hope they induce me sooner, rather than later, or that the little bugger comes on his own (crossing fingers)...

sunday was our last baby class and i thought my alien chestburster shirt would be appropriate... little did i know that after class - instead of going to my friend's house to watch football, i would be going to my surprise baby shower... opps, so much for being funny (i knew i should've packed something else)... most people found it amusing (ok, maybe not my mom), but how was i supposed to know... and if eric had told me to change - then i would've suspected for sure...

the shower was really nice - all but one of eric's sister came, along with his mom, and all the way from pittsburgh... many of my closest girlfriends were there, along with 2 of my aunts, my sister, my nieces, and of course - my mom... we got a lot of really cute things including a big, yellow tonka truck for when he's bigger, a diaper cake, a really cool sticker calendar, and of course - lots of adorable clothes... since there were some things still left on the registry, i'll be getting those later this week and hopefully - everything will be delivered/set-up in time... and if not, i will NOT stress about it... so here's a big THANKS to those that helped plan the shower - i am truly blessed... :)

so what else has been going on... the treadmill was delivered on saturday and is now in our basement, though it hasn't found a permanent home... we're just not sure where it should go or how we should arrange things since space is limited... it's pretty nice though - has several preplanned workouts, up to 12% incline, and a 2-speed fan which is always nice... my couch & chair were also delivered on saturday - both look amazing and like brand-new furniture (which they are since they tore it down to the frame)... eric assembled the sofa and end tables so once the recliner is picked-up this weekend and our old couch is gone - the LR will be complete... okay, i still have photos to frame/hang but the big stuff will be done... :)

today, we had a "meet and greet" with the pediatrician that my good friend recommended... it's about 10-minutes from our house and quite impressive with things like doctor call-in times (3x a day!), online appointments, and an on-staff lactation specialist... and since they are only affiliated w/the hospital where i'm delivering, that makes things much easier too... yay! :)

tonight, the girls at work are taking me to dinner since i didn't want a work-shower... and of course i chose mexican - can't wait...

well, that's about it for now - i'll leave you w/some photos of my shower... enjoy! :)

hump day

i was all ready to start the non-stress test today at my OB appointment, but she said let's wait another week... not sure why, but i'm okay with that since i forgot a book and will need to lay still for 20-minutes... the baby got an 8/8 today and as for me - weight is good (though i'm up 2.6 since last week!), measurement is perfect, and blood pressure is normal... besides my allergies - i don't really have any complaints except for i now have ONE pair of capris that fit... since i am finally going to see my old roommate that had twins in may - i am hoping she will have some that i can have (why buy when you can borrow?)... i think i've gotten all the wear out of my 'normal/bigger' clothes and think it's time to just suck it up and accept that a stretch-panel can be my friend... here are my updated stats - i'm still holding at a good weight, but am expecting to gain more each week until i deliver this little guy (7 weeks to go!)... :)

• current weight: 195
• gained so far: 24.2 pounds
• how many weeks: 32

the nursery was finally cleared-out this past weekend, after the basement was reassembled and things were move downstairs... we also have an extra dresser in our bedroom which is making things tight for the time being, but it's nothing i can't handle... eric managed to get the ceiling painted on sunday and that's as far as we've gotten... monday we visited a daycare center and shopped at home depot, and last night - we ran to another home depot and then IKEA to find an area rug... no such luck, but it was swedish meatball night and we had dinner instead... i WILL be starting the walls tonight, come hell or high water! :)

work has been less-busy then i would like, but that just means september will be hectic and maybe that's a good thing so it will distract me from being pregnant (or make things worse, who knows)... my boss said that the designer who used to work here, is going to freelance for us while i'm on leave, so that makes me feel better... she just finished grad school and is looking for a job, so in the meantime - she can help us out... yay! :)

guess that's all the updating i have for today - hope you're having a good week!

happy wednesday...

smiles everyone, smiles

the sonogram tech was FINALLY able to get a decent profile pic during my appointment today, sometimes the little bugger is just very uncooperative and won't stay still... he was moving his mouth and we could see his tongue moving - very weird/touching/exciting to see... everything is still looking good and i spoke more to the doctor about when it comes time for me to be induced... seems it will be coordinated w/the hospital and since i'm at higher-risk - i will be closer to the top of the list (though i still won't have an option on what day/time - damnit!)... i'm also at a higher-risk for having a C-section, but they'll no more once i start having internal exams and get closer to 39-weeks... i'd rather NOT have one, but if that is what god intends to keep me and the baby safe - then so be it... i also asked how long they let inductions go before they say, "okay, time for something else" and he said if i'm not close to 9-10 cm after 14 hours - then we'll move to plan B... oh, and i can TOTALLY have drugs if the little guy comes before my induction date - i just have to have my blood tested as soon as i get to the hospital... if my "bleeding time" is okay (how long it takes for my blood to clot, etc.) and the anesthesiologist approves - i'm good to go for an epidural... amen! :)

i treated myself to a piece of starbucks lowfat berry coffeecake on the way in - that stuff is just too good for words... last night, eric went to hang-out w/a friend so for dinner i had a piece of cheesecake... amazing how according to MY scale, i gained a pound this week and according to my doctor's scale - i stayed the same... :)

the nursery furniture has been coming-in slowly - yesterday it was the crib and the day before, the mattress... still have 2 dressers on the way and those should come later this week... i had a bit of a meltdown last night when i got home - i was all set to work on the basement with eric but he had a bad day, and was in a bad mood, so there was no going down the road... i just felt overwhelmed by everything and had a good cry, but was reassured that we'll get stuff done... i know we will, i just like to worry over nothing...

well, i hope you're having a good day... :)

happy thursday...

ta-da

our weekend was consumed with carpet-cleaning, but i'm happy to say - the rug doctor came thru and our rug looks new again... we had to move everything to one-half of the basement so we could start on that side saturday... on sunday, we moved everything to the other side and tackled that portion next - we were done by 12:45 and back to the store it went! this was after a yummy breakfast at the local diner, of course... the carpet looks better than it did, that's for sure, but you can still tell where the high-traffic areas are... even though it was cheap to rent, we may consider buying our own steam cleaner esp. once the kid gets older and starts crawling around... can't have dirty carpets for that! :)

i was going to go chair shopping w/my mom, but that was put on hold until after the basement was done... no progress on the nursery and i'm trying my best not to get stressed or freaked-out - it's not like he's going to know if it's painted or if all the furniture is together... i just want to enjoy my last month of pre-baby w/out having to worry about stuff that needs to be done (it's just how i'm wired)...

after finishing the basement on sunday, i tackled the bathroom and kitchen, and then we called it day around 1:00... it was nice being able to relax w/the hubby, while watching pre-season football... at one point, i had turned on the cooking channel and tyler was making a basic cheesecake... eric asked me, "do we have all the ingredients for this?" and i said, "yea, why"... and he goes, "cus i want to make you a cheesecake!"... and he did, and it was very yummy... thank you, darlin! i'm going to make you watching the cooking channel with me more often! :)

last night, we had an appt. with an in-home daycare not far from our house - the woman was very nice and it was definitely an "in-home" setting... she doesn't like to have more than 4 children total, and is very into teaching kids the basics - rules, manners, structure, no tv, lots of reading, etc.)... the only downfall would be is that she's not sure if she'll have an opening in january, so we'll keep looking and get back to her...

tonight i'm doing dinner w/some girlfriends that used to work here - should be fun... nothing else planned for the week besides my weekly appt. on thursday where i'll need to get more info on this whole induction thing... i just want to know what ALL my options are...

happy tuesday...

show-off

it's always something, i swear... there was a huge storm that passed-through the DC yesterday - actually 1 in the morning and then 1 more in the evening - and it rained so hard and so fast, that our window wells filled-up and flooded our basement... i was looking out the window and told eric, "wow, it's like a river on the side of our house" and he goes, "maybe i should check downstairs"... not 2 minutes later, i was grabbing every towel i could find as water literally poured down the wall, under both windows... this is the same wall where i had just moved 2 of my bookshelves this past weekend, as well as the wall where my desk/computer live... if we hadn't been home, things could've been much worse so for that - i am very thankful... eric's gotten a lot of the water up via a dry-vac and fans, but the carpet is stained in some places... that will be our project tomorrow - renting a carpet cleaner, which really needed to be done anyway... so much for making progress on the nursery... :(

besides the flood - i also had my OB appt. yesterday - everything went as well as can be expected, but i learned that because i'm on lovenox, i will be induced at 39-weeks... apparently, this is pretty common but i need to do more research and find-out if it's really necessary or if it's more of a safety issue in-case i have to have a c-section... i've read some things online today where many women said they didn't have any problems being induced, or were switched to heparin closer to delivery since that wears-off much quicker... i asked what happens if i go into labor before i'm induced and she said i just wouldn't be able to have an epidural (because i could bleed-out)... either way - we're looking at the weekend of october 11... holy cow, people - that's like 9 WEEKS AWAY!!!

today i had my weekly sonogram and eric tagged-along since it was at a different office and their equipment is much better... we were able to see the baby's face more clearly (kind of freaky, actually) as well as his private-parts, which he shows-off at every chance he can get... the tech also pointed out hair/fuzz on his head which i find funny since both of us are blonde and i was expecting the baby to be bald (or look that way anyway)... measurements were fine and she said i was looking more like 31-weeks and he's almost 4 pounds already... then she added, "babies usually gain 1/2 pound a week" and i hope that's not true or i'm going to have an 8+ baby... holy crap!

weekend plans will be to get the basement back in order and do some shopping for a LR chair... and maybe take a ride with eric (if i can fit my belly on the bike)... oh, and tonight i'll be watching the skins vs. the bills pre-season football game - i cannot WAIT for the season to start... :)

have a great weekend!

TGIF

so what do you think of emma watson's new cut? personally i love it, but i am biased since i've had short hair since college... one would have to believe she is thrilled to NOT have the hermione granger hair any longer... ;)

i received my jean-lounge pants yesterday - eric said to me, "you will be forbidden to wear those in public after you have the baby"... they are very comfy and will be perfect for around the house and for when my belly gets bigger... :)

speaking of belly - my weekly appt. went well... the glucose results were perfect, he said, and same for my measurements and weight... i will be starting non-stress tests/monitoring soon so that should be interesting... i also spoke to the doctor about the whole cord blood issue - he basically said that if you can afford it - it's better to have it and not need it... he gave me brochures on two companies so eric and i will be sitting down this weekend and making our decision... research has also been started on daycare which i should've started-on months ago (i know, i know)... i would never think of asking my mom and would feel more comfortable with an in-home environment over a 'center' type of place... out of the 3 places i've contacted so far - 1 doesn't have an opening, 1 has a 12-18 month waiting list, and 1 isn't open past 5:30... okay then... :(

plans for the weekend - we need to start clearing-out eric's office so i can finally begin the nursery... i've spent the last few hours redebating my furniture color since i got the new IKEA catalog yesterday and really like one of their dressers (see pic)... unfortunately - chocolate brown is one of the colors in my bedding so i don't think it would look right with black furniture... guess i should stick with my original plan and just order everything in expresso... /sigh/

we also may try and see 'inception'... i really wanted to see 'predators' but waited too long and it's not showing in our area anymore... oh well... and besides the usual cleaning, grocery shopping, and laundry - sat/sun should be pretty nice... just what i need... :)

hope everyone has a nice weekend! =)

what time is it

yesterday was rough - i can't really blame it on one thing though having to wait an hour and 20 minutes to see my OB didn't help... this guy is known for running late, but it still makes me angry esp. when it was a 10:00 appointment... who runs THAT behind, THAT early in the day? anyway - my sonogram went well (cervix check) and i was told that i have to do the glucose test in 3-weeks... SO looking forward to that! and then starting shortly thereafter - i will have weekly check-ups so they can monitor the baby and make sure no clots are forming anywhere... talk about a pain in the ass, but it's all part of the process (for me anyway)... this morning was my monthly bloodwork and everything looks good there too - can't complain... i snapped a new pic and will update monthly in the sidebar... =)

my whole day was ruined after that appointment and some things at work weren't going well either, so i had a meltdown at my desk and cried for about 10-minutes... i hate being late and i hate feeling like i'm not pulling my weight around here (even though i know i am)... just one of those things... i was tired and just wanted to go home, but made it til 5:00...

on the way home - we picked-up the kitchen tile, then met w/the guy at the house to discuss details, then hopped back in the truck to meet a friend and pick-up something he was giving us to use for the project... then it was back to lowes (after grabbing dinner at chipotle) and we were home after 10:00... i was exhausted and fell asleep in record-time...

today has been much better, thank-god... i'm wearing a cute, new dress and enjoyed a light coffee frappuccino on the way in (so did the baby_... lets just hope the rest of the day continues on this pleasant note... =)

happy thursday...

OMG

I GAINED 10 POUNDS THIS MONTH! HOLY SH*T! even though i didn't weigh myself before we left, please tell me some of that was from our honeymoon... ugh, i'm not handling this whole "gain weight while pregnant" thing... and yes, i know it's temporary but when you've been struggling to lose weight, for what seems like your whole adult life, this is just plain hard... it's hard seeing my body get bigger, instead of smaller... it's hard putting on clothes that fit 2 weeks ago and now suddenly, they don't... it's hard to not eat because i feel like i'm starving the baby... please tell me this is normal and that i'm not crazy and that all pregnant women go through this? =(

besides gaining a lot of weight (gulp), the sonogram went well and the doctor said everything looked great and that i'm measuring perfectly... he said that i should start to feel movement too, but more of a "flutter/flicker" type thing and mostly at night or in the morning when i'm bed... i AM very thankful that things have been going so well, and hope i don't sound ungrateful or anything because i'm not... =)

our weekend was good, but very busy... we hit some yard sales on saturday then went to a friend of mine's post-wedding party downtown... this was the first time that most of my friends had seen me since we told them the "news" so it was fun catching-up and getting advice from the experienced moms... eric spent the rest of the day working on the bike (all the tins were repainted) and i spent a few hours packing up clothes, doing laundry, cleaning, and going to the store... yesterday, we put in my mom's a/c and then had dinner w/eric's brother - finally got to meet their new dogs, sparky and buster... all in all, it was a great weekend... =)

this week is busy for me - lots of doctor appointments and i'm sure work will pick-up again... i MUST keep to my workout schedule and go every day this week - there's no excuse and i can't keep putting it off... i came in late today and would normally skip going after work, but there's no reason why i should... it's good for me, it's good for the baby, and that's all that i should be focusing on from here on out... i just can't understand why it's so hard (minus the fact i've gained so much weight)... maybe that's it...

well, enough of my rambling... hope your monday is going well...

oh yea, i forgot to tell you

i'm pregnant... =)

i apologize for not telling you guys sooner, but we were waiting for the right time and then my dad passed away and well, you know the rest... we just told eric's family 2 weeks ago, the rest of our close friends last week, and my coworkers last thursday (still haven't said anything on facebook)... i admit - it was fun keeping a secret, but i'm glad to finally have it out there... =)

so our little "spicy meatball", as eric likes to call him, is due the week of october 18 and puts me at 16 weeks... i found out that i was pregnant after having my pre-op bloodwork done before foot surgery - the doctor called me at work and said, "so we have your results here and i'm not sure if you know this or not, but you're about 5 weeks pregnant"... i had been about 2-weeks late, but thought nothing of it since my schedule was sporadic anyway... i had to keep quiet the whole day and didn't tell eric til we got home from work that nice - talk about stressful... he wasn't really surprised either - shocked maybe, but not really surprised...

to be honest - i NEVER thought, in a million years, that i would get pregnant this quickly... i had even asked my OB back in january about how long should we try before getting concerned - he had told me that if i wasn't pregnant by june, to come back... you should've seen his face when i went back for my 8-week appointment - he said, "wow, that didn't very long, did it"... i feel truly blessed and very lucky because i know there are a lot of women out there who have issues with getting pregnant - i really, really thought that was going to be me... guess i was wrong...

so after finding out - it threw a wrench into my foot surgery plans since i could no longer be put under anesthesia... so i had to get a note from my OB saying it was okay to have a local instead, and the rest is history... i was awake for the whole thing (which sucked) and couldn't take any pain medication afterward (which sucked even more)... will i be going thru that again any time soon? probably not and so far, my foot hasn't been hurting as much... yay!

overall - i've been feeling good... no morning sickness (at all) but i'm still pretty tired at the end of the day... the first few weeks were brutal - like as soon as i got home, i put on my PJs and was on the couch ready for bed... the doc says this should pass soon, but that i may start to get headaches (yup)... i've had a barrage of prenatal testing (because of my age) which has consisted of ultrasounds, sonograms, a triple screen test, and most recently - an amniocentesis... everything has looked perfect so far and we were able to get a firm confirmation on the sex --> a boy... again, i'm not surprised - i have always said that i would have a boy and would've been shocked if they said "it's a girl"... needless to say, my family (especially my mom ) is thrilled since we've only had girls... =)

so as you can imagine - my eating has been all over the place and same with my weight... i did not start this pregnancy at a weight that i am happy with, but there's nothing i can do about it now... they say 25-30 pounds is a good amount to gain, so that will be my goal though it's been hard during the last few weeks... i've hardly exercised because of all that's been going on - work, being extremely tired, and my dad, but know i have to make it a priority... just going for a walk is good they say, so that is going to be my focus...

i've had to buy new clothes already, though i don't think i look pregnant, and nothing from last summer fits (pants anyway)... size 16s are a tad too big right now so i'm trying to make do with buying stuff i can either grow into or wear for more than a month... i can't stand anything tight either so most of my shirts will have to be replaced soon as well... good thing i like to shop! =)

well, there's my news and hopefully this site won't turn into a total baby-blog, but i'm looking forward to sharing things with you since many of you are moms and have been thru it... and feel free to pass along any tidbits of advice - websites, stores, books, etc... =)

happy hump day...