Piece Four of The Puzzle

The after math. This will also be the final piece to get current.

 

After all of our guests left the shower we cleaned the house up, put everything away, and got all the furniture back where it neeeded to be. We had dinner around 7:30 and then finally crawled up to bed somewhere around ten or so.

 

I got about six hours of sleep that night and combined with the four or five hours from Saturday night I was completely exhausted (keeping in mind we did all the decorating and furniture arrangement [mostly Collin on that] and so on). I don't even remember that Monday at work. My only goal was to make it through the day so we could go to Babies'r'us and do our registry completion.

 

They offer you a fat discount to purchase anything left on your registry, AND you can add stuff to the registry while you are there (as you put it in the cart)! We got all the big items we had left to get, plus scored an awesomely comfy glider ottoman set that was on clearance for 199.98 before the registry completion discount. We made it home from that shopping spree around 7:30, and then ate dinner real quick with the plan to go crash... 

That didn't exactly happen as we decided to go through our loots from the store. Collin put together the stroller and played with the gadgety stuff while I separated everything else into other groupings; feeding; bathing; clothing; etc.

 

Of course it was during this fun stuff that I got my second wind for the day... We didn't get to bed until almost ten... Again.

 

The only thing I remember about Tuesday is that we had a doctor's appointment after work and then finally got to watch that weeks epsiode of Walking Dead. The doctors appointment went great. My OB loves how my pregnancy has been going (especially since I am "technically" high risk because of my weight), and he is confident labor and delivery should be pretty smooth. Obviously, we all realize anything could happen when I pop, but I am keeping a positive attitude about it and actually really looking forward to the life experience of it. The best part of the appointment was when I went to lay back so he could measure and check the fetal heart rate and, I swear, the girl had her ass sticking out. It was where I believe her backside to be and it was sticking out quite significantly from the normal "belly" shape. 

 

Honestly the whole rest of the week is kind of a blur until the weekend. I do remember that the weather was gorgeous and I enjoyed the couple of walks we managed to get in.

 

Friday night I had a ton of energy for some reason so I made pancakes for the weekend's breakfasts. Partially so we could heat and eat in the morning before going for a walk and then heading to the coast to take my father groceries. I am fairly confident that there will only be one more trip over there before our little girl makes her way into this world.

 

After going to and from the coast, we forced ourselves to run the handful of errands we had left for the weekend before going home so that Sunday we wouldn't have to go anywhere or do anything. After we got home from the errands we enjoyed a lovely evening of gaming and ate WAY too much food. We ended up staying up until around eleven so that our stomachs could digest it. The sucky part is that I am at this point where I normally don't/can't eat large amounts in one sitting except on the occasion where my little princess shifts and my stomach is suddenly HUGE and wanting food. Saturday night was one such night... Only I hadn't taken the moment to consider her shifting back into her (now) normal positioning, thereby causing my stomach to not exist as quickly as it had begun it's existance. Kind of reminiscent of the whale and the bowl of petunias.

 

When we did crawl into bed, we managed to stay there until after eight the next morning (which is LATE for us even on the weekends). We shuffled downstairs for coffee and left over pancakes and found that it had been raining. This made the decision to do nothing for the day so much easier to make. We watched all we needed to be caught up with one of our shows, did some gaming, and I made lasagna for dinner. Great way to close out the weekend.

 

Monday was a normal day, and after work we ran to the store for Halloween candy to hand out, fake blood, and a baby doll to dismember for my costume (which I have since dubbed "I think I am starting to show...").

 

Tuesday followed much the same as Monday, the only difference being that I made the cheesecake for Collin's birthday, and uploaded new preggo pics and shower pics to my computer (finally).

 

And now we are to yesterday, another "normal" weekday. Collin had his weekly "Man Date" with his best mate, and I made the previously mentioned (in the last post) four dozen chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, one loaf of chocolate chip pumpkin bread, and completed assembling/decorating Collin's super awesome birthday cheesecake. After my mini bake-athon I enjoyed a very well matched hockey game that my team won!!!

 

Today I wore my super awesome Halloween costume to work. There was a mixed response of mostly laughter (as intended) and a few slightly startled associates. Here's a picture to help get the point across of 1. Why did I dismember a baby doll, and 2. why were some people a little freaked:

Yes, those are baby (doll) limbs protruding from my abdomen. Thirty three weeks today.

For Collin's birthday (which is also today; I love my Halloween hubby) I made him this awesome "Choose Your Adventure" style birthday card/booklet. I gave him the choice of five countries:

Mexico

China

India

Italy

Great Britain

Each one is for a different restaurant for his birthday dinner (which we will be doing Saturday night), and a fun little "thing" that we have to do. Like Mexico - I would have done a mexican hat dance for him. China was to eat the entire meal with chopsticks. India; we would have to try one dish we have never had and one that we have.

 

I also bought him something he has been in need of (and is actually pretty important with the impending event we have coming up): a new cell phone battery. His has been having charge retention issues.

 

The cake I made is from a pin I found on Pinterest. It did not turn out nearly as pretty as the original but I am happy with it, and I'm sure Collin is too!

Original Pin (if you click the pic it will take you to the recipe):

 

My attempt (I left off the white chocolate and the didn't get super fancy with the piping):

 

And with that I am going to go and chillax the rest of the evening away.

Have a spooktacular evening!

Piece Three of The Puzzle

The baby shower!

 

It was a great day. The weather was beautiful, and for what ever reason I woke up at 3:30 that morning and could not get back to sleep. I tried. For over an HOUR. Just wouldn't happen. Lame.

 

I figured I could get up, work on stuff, and take a nap at some point through the course of the morning. Yea, no. That didn't happen either. Before I knew it it was time to get the cake, and then I still needed to shower and eat something before people started to show up.

 

I was super excited by all the people that came. K came over from the coast, my brother came up, and two of my dad's sisters attended (one of which drove over TWO HUNDRED MILES ONE WAY to be there). A bunch of our closest friends and coworkers came to the party as well. It was just great the whole way around. The first hour was spent visiting and socializing, then we moved on to the games, followed by the nomilicious cake and me opening the gifts.

 

For the games we had four word/puzzle games and then the penultimate shower game: "Don't Say Baby." For the prizes (which if you remember I was five shades of stoked about), I made cookie mixes in jars. A picture's worth a thousand words so here's about three thousand words:

And for the favors we had little bottles filled with jelly beans (since we have preferred to call her a jelly bean as opposed to the popular "Peanut" moniker).

 

We got a ton of amazing gifts that were all needed and greatly appreciated. Everything from nursing pads to clothes to diapers and wipes to the sound machine/projector we wanted for the nursery. It was almost overwhelming. LOL.

I still feel like I am running a week and a half behind on these posts, but oh well. That's the way of it for a couple more days at least. 

I am mildly distracted, after a mini marathon bake/decorating session there is a very important (to me) hockey game on. Oh, and my cat is acting like a psycho... But that's not new.

Just got done making four dozen chocolate chip pumpkin muffins for work, plus a loaf of chocolate chip pumpkin bread to freeze, AND I was decorating Collin's cake while said items were baking... I am tired. I am going to go curl up on the couch with my crocheting and watch what I hope will be a great hockey game!

Piece Two of The Puzzle

Monday through Saturday following the hospital tour.

 

The whole week is kind of a blur. I remember that we got our hair trimmed. Ummm, and then there was some other stuff. Mostly the week was centered around prepping for the baby shower.

 

Oh and now the flashbacks start...

 

It was evening upon evening spent washing and folding all the massive amounts of baby clothes we had already received pre-shower. I also had to sort through and decide which ones to try and sell at the upcoming consignment sales, and which ones to give away. Spaz attempted to help by laying next to my foot and staring at me with her loving little kitty face... Yea, loving.

 

She has actually taken all the baby stuff pretty well, which I find promising as to her adjustment to the new minion.

 

Oh and there was also the vacuuming, which in actuality I suppose was all done Friday and Saturday.

 

Somehow I managed to time it just right that not only was our baby shower this past weekend, we also needed to do our monthly BIG grocery shopping. We both got off work early on Friday and went about grocery shopping, and once we were home and had it all put away we began the super fun times of re-arranging the furniture, and last minute cleaning.

 

Saturday was suddenly upon us. 

I am currently on an oatmeal, craisin, chocolate kick. The weekend before I made what I have since dubbed Cowboy Pancakes (think the cookies but in pancake form). Basically, I made my normal from scratch pancake mix and threw in a half cup of old fashioned oats, craisins and chocolate chips. The point of this is that I decided to try making Cowboy Waffles. Yep, made my standard waffle batter and threw in oatmeal, craisins and chocolate chips. They were amazing.

 

After a VERY satisfying breakfast we took a nice long walk. It was a beautifully clear and chilly fall morning. We had a really great talk to about re-prioritizing our goals and tasks that we had set out before ourselves. Most of it is still up in the air, but I hope to have it settled by next week. After the dust is settled I will elaborate more, but I will share the fact that our decisions have put both of us at ease and given us peace on things that both of us were worried about. For the most part at least.

 

The rest of the day was spent picking up food, prepping most of it, and setting up other things as we could. We had a wonderful evening of playing our newest addiction: Terraria. It is very similar to Minecraft but it's 2D and there is so much more to do. It's super nerdy and we love it for that.

 

After enjoying a few hours of that we made ourselves blink, and crawled up to bed around ten (which is pretty late for us at this point).

 

And now we are to the day of our gloriously awesome baby shower! Stay tuned for that piece of the puzzle that is the past two weeks.

 

In current events, I am shocked to share that my oldest niece is SIXTEEN today... Crikeys, that makes me feel older than I am.

Piece One of The Puzzle

So much has been going on in the last two weeks, and every time I think, "Hey, I am going to type up a post tonight!" Something else comes along and says, "NOPE! Not tonight sucka!"

Take just now for example: barely typed first paragraph and now there is something in my right eye.... So annoying. Sheesh.

I figure over the next couple nights I will try and bring you all current with little posts of the each big thing, or maybe two things in a post depending on how big the things are. Tonight: The Hospital Tour!

We went in for our hospital tour back on the 13th. It's great because the hospital is about three quarters of a mile from where we live, so we walked to the tour. It seemed more like half a mile or less, but I guess after the mileage we have completed in the past anything under two is next to nil. (Two to three is my limit at the moment unless there is a bathroom along the way!)

So we were blessed with a crisp fall morning to walk to the hospital. After arriving we were seated in the lobby to wait for our tour leader. She arrived and started us off with a fun little lecture from an informative brochure they hand out with the NEED TO KNOW info they want the expectant mommies to have (should they opt not to take a birthing class).

Of course there was one couple in our tour group that loved to ask some of the most interesting questions (these are the collection for the tour duration):
"What's the difference between bouncing the baby and shaking the baby?"
"Can the partner order food through the hospital? Is it covered?"
"What if the partner is sick?"

Yea, they were that kind of awesome...

Other than them and the dude who insisted on opening EVERY cabinet in the patient rooms we were shown, the tour was pretty awesome.

The hospital is amazing and new and sparkly. In the labor and delivery AND the postpartum rooms there are these nifty consoles on swing arms by the patient bed that can be used to rule the world! Okay, not quite, but you can stream music and video, go online shopping (what every woman in labor wants to do...) and order food to your room. Pretty nifty. Both room types also have decent looking bathrooms; showers only, but the shower in the L&D room is big enough for you, your belly, your partner and a yoga ball! They don't offer water birth yet, but they do have a large float tub on the floor if you want to use it. There are also two operating rooms on the floor should you need a c-section (or have scheduled one).

It was all pretty freaking awesome! I am stoked to be pushing a tiny human out of my body in this facility. Oh, and I forgot to mention the super special labor and delivery parking reserved for, you guessed it, women in labor! It's right outside the entrance that popping mommies get to use to be whisked to the maternity ward via the special patient elevator!

If I can I want to walk to the hospital when I go into labor. Realistically, Collin will probably only let me walk a third of the way there because that is about how far he can legally follow me with the car and still be RIGHT there if I need him. It will also come down to the weather outside, given that I am due mid-December there is always the possibility that walking just wouldn't be safe; such as if it is icy and such.

In the next post I plan to run through the events of the five weekdays between this event and the super busy weekend we had just this past weekend. I am still trying to recover from it!

The baby says good night... She uses Morse code; punches are dots and kicks are dashes.

Okay, so she might not be THAT advanced yet, but at least it makes the kicking seem more meaningful than she just wants out...

Now That I Have Cooled Off

I know that last post was pretty heavy... LOL.

 

The past couple days have been exceptionally productive, as has today. The other night we got all the non-food related shopping done for the shower. Which in a way just created more work for me, but I am mostly done with those tasks too!

 

Last night I put together ALL the favors, and tonight I assembled the prizes for the handful of games we will be playing. I want to share on here now what the favors and prizes are, but don't want to spoil the surprise for any potential attendees reading my blog. I will say this: both favors and prizes play off the sugar and spice bit from the invitations which I think I mentioned in my last post. I am just that excited about it that I want to share it twice twice.

 

I am finally getting myself back into working on my "scrap" blanket. It's this blanket I began crocheting around three plus years ago. Considering how long it's been I should be SOOO much further towards completion but oh well. I only tend to crochet during the fall and winter months, and last year I took up knitting to make a baby blanket for a friend. So, what is this scrap blanket? It's compilation of all the random odd scraps skeins of yarn I have left over from a variety of other projects (mostly caps and scarves). I want to give it to my daughter when it's done. Luckily, she will be too young to remember when I finish the blanket should it take me a couple more years. LOL.

 

Today has been a Saturday Night Fever kind of day in the world of baby. At least that's the best thing I can picture/equate it to when explaining how she has been moving today. Think Travolta pointing up and out with the right hand and touch/tapping out with the toe of his left foot. Like this:

 

That's what her movements feel like today.

And now to go eat dinner... Soon..  I hope... Waiting for Collin to get home from a work function thing...  

So hungie... Here kitty... Om nom nom nom.

Save the Boobies!

Being that it is October, which means it is Breast Cancer Awareness month I felt the need to throw that in there. Boobs, after all, are super important for a wide variety of reasons; two of them being nourishment of little babies, and fun times for all! Big, small, perky, droopy, lopsided and all; boobies are an important part of the world.

Take a moment to really think, my money says that you know AT LEAST one person who has either been directly or indirectly affected by breast cancer. If you're reading my blog then BOOM! you know someone. Collin's grandma has had TWO bouts with breast cancer. She is a survivor. Sadly, there are still way too many women that perish due to detection coming too late.

This leads me into the only time I intend to comment on our current politically driven government BS. It will be short and sweet so pay attention (like religion, I purposely avoid sharing my political views because the range and scope of them might be confusing and baffling).

This is why our country needs to find a way to provide preventative care TO ALL CITIZENS. People shouldn't have to neglect their basic health needs. It's that effing simple. I know there are services available and so on and so forth, but how many of you TRULY understand the criteria a person needs to meet to get these basic health screenings for free? It disgusts me that our elected politicians would rather hold out on TONS of other services with this ridiculous government shutdown because they don't like the Affordable Healthcare Act. And so we're clear, I don't believe AHA is the BEST solution, but it's a start. I don't agree with mandating a person HAS to have coverage. The biggest thing that should have been addressed before this went into effect is em effing MEDICAL INSURANCE REFORM! Seriously, not rocket science here.

And that's it. I do believe in affordable/free healthcare for all Americans. I don't believe in mandatory insurance coverage. I do believe that medical insurance reform is a necessity in this country.

I also believe we need to see about a 95% turnover rate in both the house and the senate as elections approach. Just saying.

Back to the more normal stuff you read from me.

We spent most of the day Saturday cleaning the house in preparation of our upcoming baby shower. There is still a couple things that need to be done, but it's more last minute furniture arranging and vacuuming than actual cleaning.

Sunday was a lazy day of movies and relaxing. Again, I know we need to enjoy these days and moments while we can, because in just over two months our lives will be drastically changed by the tiny person who keeps kung fu fighting in my abdomen.

After we eat dinner tonight we are going to go and pick up the last few non-perishable items we need for the shower, such as favors and prizes for the games.

I am honestly not as stressed about throwing my own shower as I was about throwing my friend's a few months ago. One, that was the first shower I had hosted. Two, I am keeping it a little easier this time. The games won't be too intense. I am taking a cue from some friends whose shower I attended a couple months ago. Their games were all pretty straight forward and on paper. I am pleased with what we have come up with for prizes, since they play off of the "Sugar and spice" line we put on the invitations.

We shall see how it goes.

This weekend we are looking forward to our hospital tour. Yay, shiny new hospital!! It also happens to be right around the corner from our house. Weather permitting (and if I am at home rather than work) I really want to try and walk to the hospital when I go into labor. It's about a five to ten minute walk, so it should be perfect. I told Collin he can follow next to me in his car with the blinkers on. If a cop should happen along during this Collin or I will inform him that I am in labor and walking to the hospital. Lord willing any cop will be cool with that. LOL.

Well, now I need to go finish making dinner so we can run errands and then come home and chill before bed.

Remember:

Never doubt the almighty power of the boobies!!! (and dudes: respect and worship the boobies!! And remember you can get cancer in your man boobies too!)

Two Minute Touch

It is a new thing that I made up this morning at work. I plan to feature it at my baby shower. 

As of right now, it appears there will be twenty to thirty of our closest friends and family there, so this should be interesting. A couple people I think plan on coming (including my mom and grandma) still haven't RSVP'd officially so that's why I am looking at a range of guests. I sent out a reminder email to my co-workers that were personally invited, but was hesitant to do so because I don't want it to be construed as pushy or demanding their presence or some such thing. But at the same time I felt I should send it so that I am not assuming people will be there when they won't.

 

Back to the two minute touch. As I have vented about before, people want to touch pregnant bellies. I still have not figured out why, but I have loved reading various forum posts about how other moms to be have handled it. I figure once everyone is at the shower we can have an ice breaker. I will call it the Two Minute Tummy Touch. The ENTIRE group present at the shower will have two minutes to touch my belly; all of them in the same two minute window. And after that the bump is completely off limits! Muahahaha!!!

 

Today I really started trying to get all the training materials in order for my maternity leave... I feel like I am forgetting something moderately crucial, and it is bothering the crap out of me. I'm sure it will come to me. I know that I still have time, but I am hoping that I have my back up completely trained up before mid-November.

Oh well, all that matters right now is that tonight is opening night for my boys and we are into the third period and we are up two to zip! Go Red Wings!!! :-)

Shrinkage and Expansion

I'll just tell you now that this is mostly going to be going on and on about how I am feeling today and other random observations tied to these sensations.

 

Today has been one of those days where I feel HUGE. I feel as though she has doubled in size overnight and is taking up much more space than she should. My appetite is limited to what seems a tiny, tiny stomach today. I am even finding it difficult to consume my normal volume of water.

 

Normally at work I drink anywhere from four to five twenty four ounce tumblers of water along with my cup o' decaf brought from home. I think I maybe took in three and the coffee. I am not concerned with dehydration as I know I am still taking in more than enough fluids.

 

As for food consumption; I've noticed in the last week or so I might have one snack between breakfast (5am) and lunch (12:30pm) and then nothing until dinner (5:30pm). I guess I should clarify that all three meals are small to begin with because I prefer small meals and snacks to maintain energy and blood sugar and such. Of course in the same breath, there have been a couple random instances where I am ravenously hungry and feel like there is a bottomless pit where my shrinking stomach once resided.

 

I attribute most all of the above to my ever shifting and growing parasite. And today has been far from the exception.

 

I feel like she is in there sprawled out like some Vitruvian baby. There is just not enough room. If it wouldn't look odd I would have spent the day reclining in my desk chair at work. As I type this now I flash forward to the next two and a half months when she will be tripling in size and just think, "Ugh."

 

This is the first day of the pregnancy that I am really feeling "pregnant." I feel huge and slow, and I know it's just an uphill battle from here. I am hoping as I continue to walk and be active these days will be just that, random days of feeling "off", but I am expecting it to slowly become the norm.

 

As October has descended upon me, the knowledge that December is the month after next is very shallow in my mind. Being in September made it seem like December was still miles away, but now we find ourselves at October first and December is looming large and fast on the horizon. This isn't a matter of fear, but rather one of excitement.

 

The idea of welcoming my little girl into the world is both overwhelming and immense, but in all the best ways possible. I don't have that apprehension (that I had expected to have) of whether or not I will know what I am doing. I am just stoked to be sharing this experience with my (I try not to spout this term off to often) soul mate. I have no doubt in my mind that he will be a truly amazing and wonderful father to our child(ren; we plan on having another). I am confident that we will be an amazing parental team.

 

The biggest fear I have is actually quite funny from an outside perspective, but I have been over everything in my mind repeatedly and this truly is my biggest fear:

How will my training and fitness goals potentially affect my milk supply?

That right there is the biggest concern for the immediate future. I really want/need to get back into my fitness routine, but I do not want to jeopardize my ability to feed my little monster. This is something I know I will need to speak to my doctor about, and I have every intention of doing so. Is it weird that this is my biggest concern as a first time mom?

 

I don't fear dropping the baby; Collin will probably be the one to do that. LOL. (Just kidding, babe!)

 

I am not worried about whether I will have a peaceful baby versus a cranky one; she could go either way at the drop of a hat just like any other baby.

 

I am really not scared of the delivery. I am aware of all the potential issues that one can face, and I know about all the different uncomfortable possibilities. The sick part is that I am kind of looking forward to the experience just to have my own version of it. Since being preggo I have heard numerous delivery stories; from super easy to absolutely dreadful.

 

I am not worried about the financial implications of having the new baby. They are to be expected, and I (being hyper organized) have already made those adjustments for when the time comes.

 

I am not scared of the first night home. I will probably be too exhausted/excited to sleep anyways.

 

I don't fear stretch marks; I already have a full set! My tummy skin is also conveniently pre-stretched from having been so badly overweight.

 

I don't fear whether or not my significant other will still find me attractive. I know how much he loves me and the attraction he feels for me is boundless.

 

I am seriously only concerned with whether or not I will be able to supply milk for my child for the duration I want to. There is always a chance I won't ever, and I know that it is no reflection on me as a woman or a mother. But, dammit, I have to carry these bitches around all the time so they damn well better serve their purpose! LOL.

 

I don't even know where this post has ended up at this point... I have gone off on this crazy preggo rant. Oh well, I'm entitled and need to take advantage of this once and a while before I'm not pregnant anymore. 

It's the first so I am going to pay some bills now... Yay! 

 

In closing I shall leave you with this:

 

HOCKEY STARTED TODAY!!! Go Red Wings!!!