Mo Money

Thanks so much for all the advice on my last post! I hope it helped some other moms-to-be too with questions they had. First of all, I think I have decided NOT to do the waxing. I’ll just keep up with it the best I can myself at home before heading to the hospital. Once people mentioned it, I did realize that things are a bit more sensitive down there these days so now may not be the best time to try something new. And I’ll just stick with the whole “they’ve seen worse” theory. :)

The cleaner is still up in the air. We got most of our house de-cluttered last night and will finish up this weekend. If I can manage to keep it clean for the next two weeks, I’ll probably have someone come out the week of August 14th. It won’t be a professional company, just an individual, and one we have never used before. That being said I don’t think I feel comfortable having a stranger in my house when I’m not there. As much as I would LOVE to come home from the hospital to a freshly clean house, it may not be entirely possible. But it will be close.

We do have a Social Suppers or Let’s Dish around. I’ve also been told about a website, www.carecalendar.org that you can set up and have your friends sign up to bring you dinners on specified nights. I feel awkward at this point asking for help, but it might be a good thing to do. I’m seriously considering that as an option and I will definitely have to look into some of the casserole recipes you all mentioned.

Great tips and ideas for packing the hospital bag! I plan on going shopping and getting it all organized this weekend so I’ll let you know what I end up with.

And again, great tips and ideas for organizing baby clothes and miscellaneous items in the nursery. That’s another chore for this weekend; to get the closet cleared out and organize all of her things.

I mentioned in my weekly post that a friend threw me a shower last Sunday. My friend Lindsey over at Just Add Sugar wrote a post about it and included several pictures.

Then yesterday I had my last shower at work. I was very impressed with how “all out” my department went for me. It’s become a little more difficult to host showers at the office lately, mainly HR issues. It must be during lunch or after hours, and come on, who is going to give up those times to stay for a shower? But my department actually bought pizza for everyone so I think that bumped up attendance a little bit. We started off by eating and playing a celebrity baby name game. Then we opened gifts and played another fun word/candy association game. We had cupcakes for dessert and then everyone went back to work. It was actually a really fun time and we were blessed once again with great gifts for Chloe.

One of my co-workers made this!  I can't wait to put it up.

 This is pretty much what every picture looked like - me opening a gift.

Now that we are done with the showers, JJ and I have a pretty good list going of what we still need and are going on a shopping spree this weekend to finish buying it all. Good thing I got paid today! :) I also hope to finish the final touches on the nursery in the next week so I can finally show you all pictures! I am loving the room more and more! I just can’t believe how cluttered it already is with baby gear and baby isn’t even here yet!

The Unknown

As we get closer and closer to meeting our baby girl, there are a few things I need to take care of first.  This list is going to be all over the place, but I could use your advice on it all! 

1) I can't believe how hard it is to um, be nice and tidy down there if you know what I mean.  I can't see jack anymore!  So, I want to make sure everything is well groomed.  I am thinking about getting waxed for the first time ever.  Eek!!  I'm nervous about that.  Something about hot wax and a lady ripping it off down there just doesn't sound too appealing.  But I think it's a must.  Now the question...when should I do it?  I don't want to do it too early, but I don't want to wait too long and have miss Chloe make an early appearance.  My due date is August 22 - when would you have it done?  And for those of you who have had it done before, any advice?

2)  I want my house cleaned by a service.  But that means I have to clean my house first before I pay someone to come clean it again.  Do you all do that?  I mean, you kind of have to.  You want to get all the clutter and everything picked up.  I even go as far as to straighten up the shower and clean the toilets.  Hell, by the time I'm done I might as well save my money and just finish the job.  But I have a feeling it won't be so easy trying to clean the house right now.  I want someone to come at least once before she is here and once after.  So the question again, when should I have someone come out?  I don't want to do it too early and make a mess of the house again (remember we have two dogs, one who sheds like a mother so vacuuming is a must), but I don't want to wait too late and have miss Chloe once again make her appearance early, and have a disaster of a house for whoever comes to take care of the dogs. 

3)  Someone else asked this on their blog today and I thought it was a good question to ask.  I'm not much of a cook. I love to bake, but cooking isn't so much my thing.  JJ is the one who cooks for us most of the time and with him being gone so much, our kitchen hasn't gotten much use.  We don't have much of a support group that will arrange cooked meals or anything once Chloe is here, so it will be on us to continue feeding not only miss Chloe, but ourselves.  Do you have any suggestions of meals we can start making now to put in the freezer?  We have two big deep freezers in the garage so we have plenty of room, I just need ideas as to what I should make that would save good for a while.  Start throwing some ideas my way!  It will be much appreciated!

4)  And for all you momma's out there and momma's-to-be, what are you packing in your hospital bag?  I have heard very conflicting information when it comes to this topic.  Some say pack everything under the sun and others say you won't need half the stuff and it's just more to have to lug home with you.  So, what are the necessities?  What are the odd things I wouldn't even think to pack?

5)  One last question I'll throw in there - how are you organizing the nursery?  Are you hanging clothes, folding them in a dresser, where are the blankets going, what about bibs and all the extra random stuff?  I'm thinking about getting a closet extender so I have two poles to work with in the closet and then a hanging sweater storage unit thing to fold a lot of her clothes in.  Then blankets and sheets in the dresser.  Thoughts? 

36 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights: (Anything in pink was written after my appointment today)

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Size of baby: Chloe is the size of a Crenshaw melon; over 18 ½ inches long; almost 6 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 23 lbs. Holy shit!  I gained 6 pounds in 2 weeks!

Maternity Clothes: It has been so hot here lately, I have been living in my maternity shorts, dresses, or my robe at home

Gender: GIRL!!!!!!

Movement: This girl has been so entertaining the past few days.  Saturday morning I took about 10 videos of my stomach moving.  This lasted about 45 minutes and she was very restless.  I can now see an obvious foot roll across my side which is so weird.  Here are a few videos.  Of course each one only has a few moves in each.  As soon as I would shut the camera off she would go crazy.

                                          

Sleep: Same – not great.  Naps in the evenings are almost becoming a must.  This week is busy though so I probably won’t get them in.

What I miss: Having a good night sleep.  Moving around normally and not going to the bathroom every 5 minutes.

Cravings: Ice, sweets, fruit – Interesting fact: I learned that eating ice is a sign of an iron deficiency which is true in my case.  Guess I need to continue with my iron supplements a little while longer.

Symptoms: Definitely still getting tired through the day.  The heartburn has kicked in again as well as the acid reflux.  I also had my first experience with swelling over the weekend.  It feels like pins and needles when I go to stretch out my hands.  And I’ve had to take off my wedding rings.  I have a ring on my right hand that I can’t get off, so hopefully with a little soapy water I can get it off and put them all in a safe place for the next month.  I’m not sure if I’m having BH or not.  I know I did several weeks back, but what I feel now I think is just her pushing out from me.  She hangs out on my right side and it definitely gets tight most places, but the left side still has some soft spots.  I plan to ask the doctor about this.  A new symptom is that I'm getting pressure in my butt - lovely I know.  I haven't paid close enough attention to see if I feel her moving when I feel the pressure or not, but it makes me have to change positions if I'm sitting it's that uncomforatble.  The doctor said that since I still have a soft spot, it's most likely not BH, but just her getting bigger and pushing out.

Best Moment this week: I had another shower this past weekend and got to see some friends I haven’t seen in a long time.  We got some great gifts off our registry that have already been put up in the nursery.  We are slowly but surely whittling away at our list of things to buy.

Side Note: Well, as you read earlier, I started off my appointment getting on the scale and realizing I had gained 6 pounds in two weeks.  Both the nurse and the doctor could tell that concerned me a bit, but the nurse reassured me that I am right on track and the doctor reassured me that it was the heat and humidity, and that these last few weeks my weight will most likely fluctuate.  Then she did the Group B Strep test which was nothing at all, but after that she checked my cervix.  I wasn't expecting that at this appointment and it was not comfortable at all.  She said I wasn't dilated yet but that my cervix was nice and soft.  I guess right as it should be.  She said if my test comes back positive they will most likely call me before my next appointment in case I go into labor before then.  Really??  We're that close already that that's a possibility??  

She answered some questions that I had, went through the list of pediatricians that I brought, and I was on my way.  I'm up to my weekly appointments now so I scheduled another one for next Monday.  I am officially 9 months pregnant and on the last stretch of this journey.  As uncomfortable as I might be some days, I really want to enjoy these last few weeks of having Chloe in my belly before she is welcomed into this world.

I also attended a breastfeeding class tonight with a girl from work who is about a month behind me.  We didn't make our husbands go with us, and really there wasn't a point for them to be there.  I feel like we learned just as much as we will that first day in the hospital, but at least last night we didn't have the distraction of a newborn and being ridiculously tired.  We both learned some good tips so I'm glad I went.  Every time I leave a class I feel much more calm, even though the nerves are definitely starting to kick into high gear.

Ooh La La!

One of my best girlfriends is getting married in September, and she had a lingerie party on Friday night.  JJ was able to come home Thursday, so after work on Friday I ran home for a little bit to see him before leaving for the night.  The party started at 7:00 and I was surprised to not know as many people at the party as I had expected.  I was talking to the bride's mom and a few other people while the bridesmaids were in a back bedroom getting their dresses fitted.  The heat is still going full force here, and the house with 15+ people was miserable!  It was so hot!  After a while, I realized the bride still hadn't been out and we had already been there about 45 minutes.  She finally came out and we got the party started.  It was a slow start to the evening though (considering I thought I'd be on my way home by 9).

The first thing we did was eat and socialize some more.  They had good snack foods and I met a girl who lives near me who has a one-year old son so we were talking "mom stuff."  So weird to say that!  I did feel bad though because if people weren't talking about the wedding, we were talking about the baby, and I didn't want to take any attention away from the bride. 

The next thing we did was decorate underwear (I can't stand the P word, so this is what you're stuck with, ha!).  They had some really cute thongs and boy shorts and a bunch of iron-on decals for everyone to decorate a pair.  The only bad thing was the steam from the iron was making it even hotter in the house.  All the girls were starting to pull their hair up or fan themselves with whatever they could find.  This was another thing that ended up taking way too long.  At 9:45 we hadn't even opened gifts yet or played any games.

We finally wrapped up the decorating and got the bride in to open her gifts.  She got some great things, and kept saying how her fiance isn't gonna know what to do with all of this stuff! :)  Let's just say she is set for a long long time when it comes to baby-making outfits. 

We went straight into a game and then I was able to duck outta there.  It was past 11 at this time and I was exhausted.  I noticed when I got home that I had my first experience with swelling.  My ankles were bigger than normal, especially my right one - think it was because of the heat?  Now I've been paranoid and checking them all weekend.  But anyway, it was great to get out and see some of the girls I haven't seen in a long time, meet some new friends, and celebrate my friend getting married!  The two month countdown is on for her!

35 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 35 Weeks

Size of baby: Chloe is the size of a honeydew; over 18 inches long; 5 1/4 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 17 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: It has been so hot here lately, I have been living in my maternity shorts or dresses.

Gender: GIRL!!!!!!

Movement: The hiccups have become a daily ocurrence now.  She seems to get them a lot when I eat ice, and if she gets them once during the day, she normally gets them a few times.  Her movements seems to have slowed down, meaning they are rolling movements versus quick kicks.  I can also feel what I think is her foot rolling around my ribs sometimes. 

Sleep: As much as I love JJ with all my heart, we each took a few days off work so he's been home more than I'm used to.  That being said, he snores - which makes the sleeping aspect even worse.  I've slept on the couch a few times or have dealt with his snoring the few nights it wasn't too bad, so sleeping this week wasn't too great. 

What I miss: Having a good night sleep.

Cravings: Ice, sweets, fruit

Symptoms: Definitely still getting tired through the day.  I'm also getting out of breath after walking up stairs.  We still go on walks at night and I have to walk slower than I used to. 

Best Moment this week: Knocking out several more things for the nursery!  We got the lighting done, the letters for her wall, cleared out all the gifts we've received so far so I can clean the closet and get that organized this week, and we have a good head start on an accent table we are building. I also celebrated my birthday yesterday and got the best present this year - miss Chloe Renee!

Picture Overload

We got the rest of our maternity pictures and I have to say I'm really pleased with how they turned out!  Our photographer did a great job capturing photos we will cherish forever. Here are some of my favorites...

 We got an engagement picture taken in front of this door - we thought it would be cute to get a picture now there too, but the pose was a bit modified.  We looked at each other for a few minutes to see if we thought we could pull off the same pose, and then decided on this.  Ha!

34 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Size of baby: Chloe is the size of an average cantaloupe; almost 18 inches long; 4 ¾ pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 17 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: It has been so hot here lately, I have been living in my maternity shorts or dresses.

Gender: GIRL!!!!!!

Movement: I’m blown away by her movements sometimes.  JJ has been home more this past week and he can’t believe how much she moves either.  Neither of us really knew what to expect, but it sure is fun watching my belly move.  Her kicks are getting stronger though and every once in a while she’ll take my breath away or make me hunch over if she moves just the wrong way.  She is also hiding out under my ribs on my right side too – always the right side.

Sleep: The acid reflux is now what is preventing me from sleeping well.  I have three different positions I can sleep in; sitting up, or lying down on my left or right side.  Usually I go from one side, to sitting up, to the other because if I go straight from one side to the other, it hurts my stomach – like she weighs too much and the shifting of the weight doesn’t feel good.  I know those of you who have gained more baby weight than me are laughing out loud at that comment and I don’t envy you at all!  I don’t know how you do it!

What I miss: Having a good night sleep.

Cravings: Ice, sweets, fruit

Symptoms: I’ve noticed I’m getting exhausted again once the afternoon hits.  Usually after lunch I start to slow down and once I get home I don’t have any motivation to get anything done.  Which is not good, because we still have a LOT to do!  The acid reflux continues to be bad but I took Tums one night before bed and that seemed to help.

Best Moment this week: We attended our childbirth class and I feel so much better about the whole process.  That’s not to say I’m still nervous as hell, but I’m so glad we went and learned numerous tips to help us along the way.  I also set up our consultation with the maternity coordinator at the hospital to get all of our paperwork taken care of ahead of time.  Each week I do one of these updates, I can’t believe how close we are getting.  Only six weeks or less now!

Side note: I had a doctor's appointment today, and even though I didn't meet with my normal doctor since she was out of town, I still got some questions answered.  First off, I will get the Group B Strep screening at my next appointment.  That doesn't sound too appealing, but at least it's not a blood draw.  I also learned that the linea nigra goes along with the size of your uterus.  I thought it was just from your belly button down, but mine goes higher than that and the doc said it's because it's as long/high as your uterus.  Good to know!  I asked the doc if she could tell the position of Chloe and she said her butt is under my right ribs and her head is very low, right above my pubic bone.  Just stay in that position baby girl for the next 6 weeks and we'll be all good! :)

Childbirth Class

Today JJ and I attended an all day child birth class.  It was something I never intended to do, but after getting pregnant and my due date getting closer and closer, I thought it would be very beneficial since neither of us know anything about what child birth is like.  Plus I thought it might calm some of my fears about the delivery itself – or at least I hoped that would be the case.

Within the first 30 minutes of us being there I was starting to feel a little sick just because the instructor dove right into a creative illustration of the uterus and the baby and what our bodies look like right now.  It was so surreal that in a matter of weeks I will be giving birth to our baby girl.  Definitely hit home.  As time went on though I started to feel better and really think about what all the instructor was saying.  

The first half of the day we went through basic anatomy of the mom and what the baby is doing/looks like.  Periodically we would then use the birthing balls and try different positions to break things up.  One nice thing about a child birth class is you get lots of breaks because the mom’s have to go to the bathroom. J  Then we spent a lot of time on the different stages and phases of birth.  It was very helpful to know what takes place at each stage, when to go to the hospital, etc.  We also watched a live birth – right before lunch.  Not sure who planned that, but it really wasn’t too bad.  I have to admit I looked away for the 5 seconds of “south side view” that was in the video.  I don’t plan to watch the birth of my own child; I don’t need to watch someone else’s either.

We broke for lunch for about 45 minutes and then when the afternoon session started, we met over at the maternity ward at the hospital.  It is brand new and really nice!  The waiting room itself is small which kind of surprised me, but then we started walking through the halls and ended up in one of the delivery rooms.  You can tell that’s where they used all their space.  The delivery rooms are awesome – great amenities, large, very homey feeling.  The instructor demonstrated how the bed works, different positions you can put it in to help ease contractions, there was also a tub in the room for mothers who choose little to no intervention.  I did find out that after the baby is born, we will be transferred to another room after about 2 hours and that’s where we will stay the rest of the time.  The reason for that is so there is always a delivery room available for mom’s coming in in labor.  I was very impressed with the safety measures that have been put into place for baby.  If a baby gets too close to an exterior door, an alarm goes off and all the doors lock.  Then there are green squares marked in the carpet around each elevator that if a baby enters one of the squares, the elevator won’t work and an alarm goes off.  At one point we were stopped in the hall listening to the instructor, and a woman came out of the NICU with tears in her eyes.  The instructor asked if she was OK and she said yes, that it was just hard to leave the NICU.  That was not really something I wanted to see.  You could tell most of the ladies were starting to get uncomfortable after walking around so much, so we headed back to the classroom.

After we got back to the classroom we went over different kinds of interventions and medicines that would be available to us during labor.  I was surprised to hear about the analgesics that are available, but after hearing more about them, I don’t think that is a direction I would go.  Since they are a type of narcotic, they kind of mess with your head and make you feel dizzy, sleepy, almost drunk.  I don’t do well with pain killers and I hate the way they make me feel, and these sound like they would do the same thing for me.  Plus if they are given to the mom too late, the baby might come out sleepy and in somewhat of a daze.   I always thought I would get an epidural and I did not change my mind after today.  If anything I feel a little more comfortable about it.  First of all, it seems as though the pain associated with getting the epidural is actually the general anesthesia you get to numb the spot.  It sounds like you don’t actually feel them putting the catheter in.  I could be wrong, but that was my understanding.  Then we watched a couple more videos, one on a birth story where the mom had an epidural and one where the mom ended up needing a c-section.  We tried a few more positions to help ease labor pain and then we filled out an evaluation and we were done.

I am so glad we went and I know JJ is too.  We both keep talking about random things we learned and how we both feel more prepared.  I think the one day class was just fine and we didn’t miss out on anything other than the empathy belly with our partners.  The 5 week session also incorporated a newborn class, but we were able to sign up for that class for free, just on another night.  One other key thing I learned was about the umbilical cord.  I was nervous about the cord getting wrapped around the baby’s neck during delivery.  The instructor said at that point the baby is still getting oxygen through the cord, so even if the cord wraps around the neck, it’s not that big of a deal.   It’s if it gets pinched that there is a problem and that is much more rare apparently.  As we walked into the hospital for the tour after lunch today, I asked JJ if he could believe we would be doing this for real next month.  Next month!!  Both of us are so excited but I can’t get over how close we are getting to meet our baby girl!

33 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 33 Weeks

Size of baby: Chloe is the size of a pineapple; over 17 inches long; over 4 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 15 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Lots of dresses and cheerleading shorts around the house.  I wore my normal bathing suit on vacation this past weekend and felt super awkward!

Gender: GIRL!!!!!!

Movement: She continues to be a mover.  She’s moving more during the night which makes it even more difficult to sleep, and sometimes she really goes crazy in there with my stomach bouncing all over the place.  I have to wonder what she’s doing…

Sleep: Same 'ol. (See above)

What I miss: Nothing except being able to move around as quickly as I used to.  I’m definitely getting up and down slower and not walking nearly as fast.

Cravings: Ice, sweets.  I’ll have to elaborate on the ice – I’m loving QuikTrip ice right now.  I wish I had one closer to my house, but during the week I go almost every day because there are a few close to my office.  They have the crushed ice and it ALWAYS sounds good!

Symptoms: Let’s see, the symptoms are starting to become more noticeable.  I’ve had occasion heartburn again, but the acid reflux is getting bad.  Any suggestions?  The back pain is also flaring up here and there and my rash is still spreading to new places.  I think at least having a little bit of a tan helps hide it though.

Best Moment this week: Taking Chloe to the lake for the first time, ha!  It was so surreal sitting in the pool by myself watching all the families around me interacting with their children knowing that this time next year, JJ and I will have our daughter to play with.  I also bought my first items of clothing for Chloe on vacation and then yesterday JJ and I did quite a bit of shopping for the nursery.

Three Posts in One

I feel like I have a lot of updating to do, so this is going to be a random, numbered post:

1)  I was finally able to get away for a short vacation!  Wednesday night when JJ came home late, we had decided to just say screw it and leave for the lake Thursday.  After he heard I was planning on going into work that day, at least for a little bit, he said go on in and get your stuff done and we’ll hit the road.  When I left Thursday morning, I made sure to set his alarm for 8 am.  Starting at 8:15 I tried calling him…and calling him…and calling him.  I figured he would just meet me up in KC and we’d leave my car somewhere and head to the lake, but once noon came around and I still hadn’t reached him, I decided to call it a day at work and head home to see what was going on.  Either his ringer was off or her slept through all of my phone calls.  But of course he woke up just as I was pulling into the neighborhood and called me.  His work was still really iffy so we held off that day and instead we went and got his license replaced.  He got called to work that night so I decided I would just go to the lake by myself.  It was the smartest move to make, him staying back to work.  It sucked, but I just really needed to get away.         

It was nice being down there, but it just felt off.  I didn’t get to go out on the water once, I went shopping by myself at the outlet mall, went to the pool by myself, and hung out with my dad and Nina most of the time.  I bought Chloe clothes for the first time and it was so strange having a reason to go into a children’s store.  Both days I was at the lake I went to the pool and couldn’t believe how busy it was.  I decided not to get a maternity swim suit so I felt really awkward in my normal two piece with my big belly.  But oh well, I’m so grateful to have a big belly this summer.

JJ continued to work the whole time I was gone and finally had worked enough times in one week that when he got off Sunday morning, he didn’t have to go back in until at least Monday morning, and there was only a slight chance that they would need him that soon again.  So I came home Sunday afternoon to spend time with him.  We set off some fireworks that night and made dinner and relaxed. 

2)    2)  My next bullet point leads up to today –it’s our 3 year anniversary!  JJ hadn’t slept in over 24 hours but I didn’t want him sleeping the day away.  I woke him up about 10 am and after getting a slow start, we both went out to the pool for a while.  We had Izzy in there with us too on the raft and we were getting a kick out of watching her.  We got cleaned up after about an hour and a half outside and then I asked if we could do some shopping for the nursery.  We didn’t have anything else planned so we went to BuyBuy Baby (which just opened up in KC and is awesome!), Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, Target, and Wal Mart and got a bunch of stuff for the nursery.  I figured since we haven’t gotten much off our registry, we probably aren’t going to, so we need to start buying things ourselves.  Now we are making dinner and getting ready to go watch some fireworks.  We didn’t necessarily do anything special for our anniversary, but in my opinion it was a perfect way to spend our day together.  

3) 3)  And lastly, Happy 4^th of July to everyone!  I hope everyone was able to enjoy the day off with friends and family or doing whatever is enjoyable for you.  I love this holiday, especially the fireworks.  I’m glad the weather is perfect and we were both able to spend the day together.  Since this is already random enough, I’ll do my weekly update tomorrow.