Back from the babymoon

It's after Christmas, and I'm just now starting to feel like we're (I'm) breaking out of the babymoon and back into real life. For a while there it seemed like we would never leave the house except with several hours of planning, gathering necessities, bundling everyone up, etc., but now life is looking much more manageable.

I got a new toy for Christmas and I am super excited about it. It's rare to get presents that you can actually play with as an adult, but this one has been very fun. My mom and dad got me a new 50mm F1.8 camera lens, and I've been having lots of fun with it. Thought I'd share some photos from Christmas.

41 weeks 2 days

And I'm not taking off these sheep slippers until there's a baby here. 

Week 41

Still here. Let me go ahead and copy the status report from the SAME DAY LAST PREGNANCY:

"Status:

• 2 cm dilated, 50% effaced
• sporadic slightly uncomfortable contractions
• miserably tired of waiting
• bio-physical ultrasound scheduled for Thursday morning (last time was Wednesday afternoon)
• induction scheduled for Sunday night (last time was friday morning)"

So, now I'm going to go cry and eat myself into a nap.

Halloween

Due to the similar costume of a schoolmate, she insists that her costume is a Bad Astronaut. 

40 week belly

Probably not going to get much bigger than this. 

40 weeks

Happy 40 weeks to me!

Why yes, I think I will have a slice of leftover birthday cake.

39 weeks

A whopping 4 days remaining until my due date (which is a pretty accurate due date, I think, based on LMP and ultrasounds and whatnot). No labor signs yet that I know of - generally painless Braxton Hicks contractions every once in a while, but not with any regularity. I have an appointment this afternoon, just to check heartbeat and size, but I don't expect anything to come of it. I'm mentally committed to turning down all induction methods and fetal monitoring until at least 42 weeks (unless something changes, of course), so there's really not much to do but wait.

I feel like my life is on hold waiting for this baby, which is how it's supposed to be I guess. I have basically nothing to do at work, and I'm too awkward to do much at home since everything that needs to be done is manual labor related. The nursery stuff is set up, the clothes are all washed and put away. The house is fairly clean and at least a couple weeks worth of meals are in the freezer (especially if, by meals, I mean cookies).

Here's a pic of me at 39.5 weeks. This is Wilson's shirt and I am unable to keep the buttons buttoned. Also I put on sweatpants immediately after taking this photo. 

Also I left work early. It's nap time. 

Pool of Misery, Version 2

1. 
   Calling for more guesses - would someone PLEASE guess October?

1. 
   meredithJuly 31, 2013 at 6:27 PM

   Date: Nov. 2nd
   Time: 10:41 am
   Weight: 8 lbs 2 oz
   Length: 21 in

   ReplyDelete
2. 
   wislonAugust 1, 2013 at 9:36 AM

   Date: Nov. 6th
   Time: 2:12 am
   Weight: 8 lbs 8 oz
   Length: 20.5 in

   ReplyDelete
3. 
   apazAugust 1, 2013 at 9:40 AM

   Date: Monday, November 4th
   Time: 8:15pm
   Weight: 8 lbs. 5 oz.
   Length: 22 in

   ReplyDelete
4. 
   MattAugust 1, 2013 at 3:10 PM

   Date: Nov. 1st
   Time: 5:22 am
   Weight: 9 lbs 10 oz
   Length: 21.5 in

   ReplyDelete

36 weeks

Another bathroom belly pic. This is partly because there's a mirror in there and partly because I'm in there A THOUSAND TIMES A DAY.

I'm a little afraid to say how much weight I've gained as of week 36, but since I went to the doctor today, I guess I should be honest and admit that I'm up 32 pounds! At 32 weeks, Sunny Meadow's ultrasound estimated him at 4.6 pounds which seems like a hefty premie to me - the thinger puts that in the 65th %ile. With Sam, I was at 155 pounds at this point, so I'm not over by too too much, but I did gain TEN MORE POUNDS in the last month with her, so that's not something to look forward to.

Part of the reason I'm packing it on is probably because I'm eating whatever I want. This is my last go around being pregnant (hopefully), so I'm going to gosh darned enjoy it. Doughnuts, cookie dough, CAKE, second helpings, and 9pm bowls of cereal are all fair game.

In preparation for the birth and homecoming of Baby#2, we've been looking at pics from Sam's arrival. I thought you might enjoy some of those too. She looked like such a little frog.

Wait but why

I can't stop.

This is what led me here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/generation-y-unhappy_b_3930620.html

To this:

34.5 weeks

Trust me that I'm saving you from the color scheme in my office's bathroom.

Laundry Room, Part 2

I owe you an update of the laundry room renovations, which you may remember was described as a Level 1 project (so, no electrical or plumbing and less than 100 trips to Home Depot). Even though the duration on this project has been relatively short, I have to admit that it has still been a surprising large pain in the arse. Those sticky vinyl tiles, though self-described as "The Easier Floor You'll Ever Install," were actually majorly time consuming and challenging to align. Plus, they aren't all that durable, so the corners were easy to bend and the edges were easy to chip. And even before that, we attempted to level the terrible floor with some self-leveling compound, which turned out to not be all that successful. You can see how terrible the floor was on the kitchen side of the room. It...was...gross.

But Wilson plugged away, and eventually covered it all up. Here's a photo, pre-trim.

Overall, the room looks better. It really does. But I'm not really in love with the floor. I think the color is ok, but the tiles still feel cheap to me, and the foam underlayment we added below the tile gives it a sort of squishy feeling that I don't really enjoy. The thing that I LOVE though, is the wall that Wilson built out behind the washer and dryer. It looks AMAZING.

We picked up a big cabinet from Craigslist last night, which I plan to stick in the corner behind the door, after I paint it (of course). I want the cabinet to hold various mudroom things, including: cat litter and supplies in the bottom, swimming stuff, disc golf stuff, camping stuff, seeds and gardening hand tools, etc.

33 weeks

49 days to go, folks.

Here are some updates on the important things.

Sunny Meadow's Heart:
Our follow up ultrasound with maternal fetal medicine at the Children's Hospital went as well as it could have. The tech looked at the heart for what seemed like forever, and when we consulted with the doctor, she was highly reassuring that his heart is just working it out, and that he'll be fine at birth or shortly thereafter. There are no structural issues - he's just having trouble keeping a rhythm going. So we're not so worried anymore. Also, he had the hiccups during the ultrasound (and has them now, incidentally) and it's really tough to watch a fetus with the hiccups AND an irregular heartbeat. You just feel so bad for the poor guy.

Food:
Food and I have been getting along famously. I haven't run into anything lately that I haven't liked. Everything tastes good, and I have been eating a lot. My favorites have been vanilla granola, frozen cookie dough, bagels with cream cheese, and apple juice. No real cravings lately, just a general taste for...well...everything.

Weight:
Despite the food situation, I'm holding steady on weight gain, thankfully. I get out of breath walking to and from the car, so I need to keep the weight down just to make it through the next few weeks. BabyCenter says I'm right on track.

Brain (mine):

I am getting a touch crazier, I think. I cried in the car last week when the Mumford & Sons guy's version of The Boxer came on the radio, and I think I've picked up every accessory in our home and moved it to a new location. I also can't seem to stop washing all the baby things, even though I know they'll get cat fur and dust on them between now and 2 months from now. 

Work wise, I'm feeling pretty checked out. I need to start transitioning my stuff to other people so that I can mostly take off the last couple weeks prior to my due date, but it's hard to relinquish control of things, especially knowing that it'll all be messed up when I get back. Last time, I hardly passed anything to anyone - I just left and came back to it three months later. I'd like to do a bit better this time, and perhaps get some things off my plate permanently. 

31.5 weeks

Here's a belly shot from Thursday in the work bathroom. I don't think I look that big, but people have already started suggesting that I'm going to deliver next week. I'm up about 22 pounds but that has held steady for a few weeks now. I feel like my weight gain has been good and I hope to only gain another 8-10 before my due date. Of course if I go late, I fully expect to put on ten pounds of misery weight fueled mostly by carbs and cookie dough.

Accent belt!

While Wilson was out of town this week, I had a pretty solid scare when my regular midwife appointment discovered an arrhythmia in the baby's heartbeat. She immediately referred me to the hospital and I spent several hours hooked up to the heartbeat machine with Sam in tow, stuffing herself on graham crackers and watching cable. The diagnosis turned out to be fetal PAC, which is a somewhat common and usually benign heart thing. It will likely resolve itself before birth or shortly thereafter, but of course, now we're gonna worry about it for two months. All things considered though, I'm very thankful that it isn't something more serious. And I'm thankful that Wilson is home, hopefully for the remainder of this pregnancy. 

Laundry Room, Part One

So, apparently we're renovating the laundry room now. I just can't keep seem to keep Wilson away from demolishing things.

Our main complaints with the laundry/mudroom are mostly aesthetic, with a bit of complaint about lack of storage. Luckily we're not planning to move anything around, so this project shouldn't involve any electrical or plumbing. Normally we'd consider this a Level 1 project, but given that it will likely involve multiple trips to Home Depot, I'm going to assume it'll jump to Level 2 pretty quickly. 

Our goals are:

1. Replace the flooring - We're going to peel up the existing sticky vinyl tiles, leave the asbestos tile below and just replace the sticky tiles with different sticky tiles to the threshold between the kitchen and the mudroom.

2. Paint - Obviously, my favorite part. I still love the wood plank walls, and of course I love the white, so I'm just going to give the walls and trim a fresh coat of exterior white paint to freshen things up. 

3. Build out wall behind washer/dryer - The plumbing for our washer/dryer comes up from the basement and just basically hangs out directly behind the washer and dryer and looks awful. There's no washer connection box, and the dryer vent pipe offsets the dryer forward 6 inches from the wall. It's just a nasty space where dryer lint, unmatched socks, and spiders live, and so we're going to block it out with framing and an access door of some kind. This will also provide a nice place for a small ledge behind the washer/dryer to hold detergent or whatever.

4. Remove open shelving and add closed cabinets above washer/dryer - We'll likely get these from Ikea. I don't hate the open shelving, but I think closed cabinets would be cleaner and there's nothing special about the open shelving that makes me want to save it.

5. Add storage - This will probably also be an Ikea ordeal. I'd like to add a closed cabinet for storage behind the door, which would be modified to also serve as the cat litter depository. My vision is that it would be storage for several things that don't currently have a home, namely: swimming/pool stuff, disc golf stuff, tools we need on a regular basis,road trip supplies, and camping supplies (as if). I'd also like to add an open upholstered bench under the window with a bit of shoe storage - I plan to keep it open rather than built in, because there's a heater vent and an electrical outlet centered on the wall and I don't want to upgrade this project to a new level.

6. Build in the beer fridge - Ok, so probably I'm the only one who cares about this, but the drip tray for the kegerator sticks out ever so slightly into the door and I swear one day Sam is going to slam into it and need stitches. We need to shave a tiny bit off the window molding and then it can scoot back against the wall so the drip tray is recessed. And of course I'd also like to paint it white with appliance paint, but Wilson might kill me.

7. I have a few miscellaneous requests for the room which will be no big deal once we've got the big stuff done. I'd like a place to hang clothes/swimsuits/bras to dry. I'd like some kind of rug which will catch the leaves that blow in from the deck. I'd like to replace the storm door with a fabulous screen door to improve circulation. I'd like cornices for over the windows. 

But for the most part, this looks like some pretty basic weekend project stuff. Huzzah!

27 weeks

My "What to Expect" app says I'm in the 3rd trimester, which seems a little wrong to me, but I'll take it.

I feel better this week than last week. Sunny Meadow is becoming more active, but is less in my rib cage with his feet and that is more pleasant. I've learned (finally, because I am dumb) that I can't eat as much as I want to at meals because it makes me feel miserably uncomfortable for hours afterward. Instead, I have to spread out the food throughout the day. I'm up about 14 pounds, which is right on track with the recommended curve.

Last week I had another silly prenatal visit. It was supposed to be the one where I got screened for gestational diabetes - they make you drink a 12 oz. horrid warm flat orange crush drink and then test your blood sugar an hour after to make sure your insulin is eating the sugar. With Sam, I just barely failed and then had to take the 3-hour fasting test (way worse) and I was super miserable for the whole day and for no real reason. This time I declined the test, and I'm really glad I decided to stick up for myself. Everything else at the visit was fine - normal heartbeat, normal size, normal weight gain, etc. My next visit is in 5 weeks, but I'll likely skip that one if everything is still ok and instead go back around 34 weeks.

I'm going to go ahead and throw in my due date guess to get the party started. Feel free to play along! The actual due date is October 28th.

Date: Monday, November 4th
Time: 8:15pm
Weight: 8 lbs. 5 oz.

Here's a picture of me looking nervous and Sam looking skeptical.

From where I stand ... (Ok, where I SIT) ...

Looks like the last day for this shirt. If the button even makes it through the day. 

Belly - nearly 25 weeks

I Can Blog Now...

...Wish I had more to say.

Jess invited me to this blog about five seconds after the white stick had the number of pink lines on it it that means that you need to buy another stick to be sure. For some reason, I have only become able to post as of ten minutes ago. Google. [sigh.] Me. [doublesigh.]

Here is a list of thing about Jessica that have not changed even though she is pregnant:

• She does the vast majority of the housework.
• She does 99% of the cooking slash food preparation.
• She is, as described by Sam, a "monster in the morning."
• She smells nice.
• She is bringing home 70% of our income.
• She has great style and zero confidence in her style.
• She applies toxic paint to things constantly and for no reason.

As I have said many times before, I am hoping that this new little human will be much dumber than Sam--making all of our lives easier and him ultimately happier.

Here is a picture of Sam looking at a ridiculous plastic boat we littered into a storm ravine:

The Red One Is Winning, But Really We Are All Winners.

We put a blue one in there too. We called it a "race" for essentially no reason. It was a great experience. Rivers can entertain for hours.

I Told You There Was a Blue One. Sam Is Wearing the Same Clothes,
Proving Incontrovertibly That This Occurred on the Same Day.

That "river" is literally full of shit.

This is what it looks like when I blog. See why I shouldn't?

TEAM DIAMOND!

24 weeks and more chickens

Pregnancy is boring. Let's talk about chickens some more!

Though we were lead to believe (by the internet, of course) that chickens are basically living composters, we've tried feeding them all kinds of goodies and they've turned down all but one. Watermelon, corn on the cob, bread, grass clippings, and herbs have all been turned down. The one thing they agreed to eat?: peaches that I canned three years ago and have been afraid to eat because what if they have botulism?! Eek. They were alive this morning, so it looks like at least that jar of peaches was safe.

We also spiffed up a the coop a bit in between rainstorms. Here's how it looks now with the added flowerpots and mulch. Also, I had to share a picture of Wilson's chicken lovin.'

On the pregnancy front, Sunny Meadow is becoming more active and much bigger. I've gained about 10 pounds, which doesn't feel great, but as Wilson likes to remind me, this is the best it's gonna be for a while. I don't have another appointment until the end of July, and I'll likely skip that one since these appointments in the middle are pretty worthless when everything is going fine.

I came across KiwiCrate today which sells these adorable little crates filled with activities and crafts for kiddos and I thought Sam would really enjoy it. I may have to try out one - their Summer Discovery Pack looks like a good time.

23 weeks (and chickens!)

Feeling pretty crummy this week since I've come down with a summer cold. Not being able to breathe at night coupled with not being able to roll over or find a comfortable position has made my sleep terrible and I'm really worn out this morning. Wilson assures me that it'll start getting better quickly, so here's hoping for that.

Despite the family illness we did manage to get many things accomplished this weekend around the house, including one thing we've been prepping for months - the chickens!

Wilson built the coop out of almost exclusively materials we demo'd from our TV room renovation (plus some latches and hinges from spares in the basement. We did have to buy the chicken wire for the run, and the slats for the frame, and a big piece of pink foam insulation for the inside, but all told I think we spent less than $50 on the coop. I'll admit I got a bit carried away at Tractor Supply on Saturday and spent over $100 on the feeder, waterer, food and bedding (and a kids puzzle book with a chicken theme that somehow ended up in the cart).

We bought our chickens at Poultry Hollow Hatchery, which is about 45 minutes from Nashville in a really pretty part of middle Tennessee. The farm itself was super disorganized and understaffed, but the people were actually really nice and the chickens were well taken care of and the selection was pretty good. We didn't mind messing around the farm for a while until someone could help us get our silly small order filled (they had all kinds of livestock: a donkey, an alpaca, peacocks and crazy birds galore). We opted for three different birds: an Ameraucana (the light brown one), a Rhode Island Red (the dark brownish reddish one), and a Barred Rock (the black and white spotted one). They're all supposed to be good urban layers and relatively friendly. Ours are between 9-10 weeks old and should theoretically start laying around 20-22 weeks, assuming they are actually ladies (I'm not yet convinced).

Sam is pretty into the chickens, though we're all still a bit nervous about holding them - we haven't clipped their wings yet so they're a potential flight risk. Also, they are DUMB. Like, really dumb. I'll have lots of examples of that shortly, I'm sure.

Mom & Dad (and random cat)

Here's a picture Sam took at our farm stay a few weekends ago. Girl has some skills.

Week 20

Technically 20 weeks, 3 days, which puts us right smack at the exactly the halfway point.

With just over 4 months to go, I feel both over-prepared and under-prepared. Last night we set up the crib (which I painted white over the last couple of days, much to Wilson's confusion), so that's a big check off the list. However, our next door neighbor asked to borrow some of our baby stuff since they have a visiting baby in a couple weeks, and I panicked that I didn't own a single thing she needed. And if she needs it for a visiting baby, I guess I probably need it for a permanent baby. So to calm a bit of anxiety, I started an Amazon Baby Registry (link in the sidebar).

I feel good, up about 5 pounds, noticeably pregnant, mostly wearing elastic waist skirts, feeling kicks every now and then (but not as often as I'd like, and not nearly as often as with Sam). We found out the baby is a BOY - did I mention that yet?

I will now share a conversation that Wilson just had with Sam.

S: Dada, help me get my sock on.
W: I would be happy to.
S: Dada?
W: Yes?
S: You're the best.
W: Aww, that is really sweet, Sam. Thank you.
S: Why did you say 'Thank you'?
W: Because you complimented me. You said something very nice and so I said 'Thank you.'
S: Ummm. Then you say something nice.
W: So you can practice saying "Thank you'?
S: Sure. Here we go. Dada, you're the best.
W: That is sweet, Sam. Thank you.
S: Okay. Now you.
W: Sam, I think you are a really really great kid.
S: I know I am. [Leaves room.]

Belly - nearly 17 weeks

Week 16

Here's a quick update, since it's been a while.

Weight gain: I'm up maybe 2-3 pounds from normal, though I only lost that same amount in the first trimester, unlike the 10 pounds I lost with Sam.

Food: I'm back on food! The only exception seems to be mushrooms, which I honestly don't like anyway. I could seriously eat a whole pineapple and a jar of peanut butter every single day.

Movement: Yes, finally. Once a day or so I feel some little taps and rolls. I think that feeling the baby move is pretty much the only good thing about pregnancy, so I'm glad to have the little one starting up the action.

Most people at work seem to have figured out that I'm pregnant this week, and I've had two people just come up and ask, which must mean that I'm showing.

One of my many birthday/Mother's Day presents was a family weekend trip to visit Stillwaters Farm in Henderson, Tennessee (about 2.5 hours from our house), we're heading that way this afternoon!

For dinner tonight

Half a pineapple
Half a cucumber
Half a bagel with cream cheese

Week 13

Which is really almost over, amazingly.

Still nothing very interesting happening. Though I'm eating constantly, I haven't gained any weight. I look super pregnant, but just from rearrangement of insides and not from a real taut baby bump. No actual popping to speak of yet. I'm still sick and tired, but only about every other day, which is half as bad as before. I told my boss and HR at work, but no one else yet. I've seen a couple people eyeing my belly suspiciously though, so I don't think I'll get to stay in the dark much longer.

I thought I'd share my list of Yes/No Testing that I brought to my first prenatal appointment. Last pregnancy I did almost all the basic testing they offered because I though you had to and I didn't really know what I was doing. I turns out, for me at least, that all those tests just caused me more anxiety instead of easing my mind, and I decided this time that I would attempt to really think through all the testing and determine if each individual test made sense for me/us. I'm going to a different midwife group this time (still associated with Vanderbilt and still delivering babies in the hospital), and they seemed to be a bit more laid back so I thought I'd give my "low-care" plan a shot with them.

Lucky for me, my midwife not only supported my decisions, but actually suggested them even before I did! I was thrilled, and am actually looking forward to my next visit and will have a 2nd Trimester Yes/No sheet for that. Of course, the best laid plans often go astray, and that will be most likely once I'm in the hospital and can't defend or explain my choices due to pain and general craziness. Wilson will help with that, and hopefully a solid relationship with my midwife will help this time too. My next appointment is 7 weeks from my first one (way better than the standard 4 week visit requirement), and I'll be something like 18 weeks then.

My 30th birthday...

is less than one month away.

http://www.thesocialdept.com/products/midwest-work-ethic

Just saying.

Week 11

Well, that was an unpleasant 24 hours.

I scheduled my first prenatal appointment earlier than I wanted to because I needed to get a release from my midwife for the Avon Walk - it was yesterday at 11.5 weeks instead of 13-15 like I would have preferred. The visit went just fine, but at the end when she tried to find the heartbeat with the doppler, she couldn't. I was pretty torn up. I heard Sam's by doppler at 9 weeks or so and 11 weeks seemed like a normal time to hear it and she tried for quite a long time so I was just - concerned. My nasty symptoms have been fading slowly over the last few days and that added to my nervousness. And so with some urging from Wilson, I went ahead and scheduled an ultrasound for this morning just so we wouldn't have to wait in agony until my next appointment.

I was excruciatingly anxious walking in to the appointment this morning. I had prepared myself for the worst. And though I know it wouldn't be tragic or really that big of a deal, hearing bad news would still mean that we would have to start over from the beginning and that is just a lot to bear. So when the tech said, "there's the heartbeat" first, I was so insanely relieved and not even really sure how to behave.

Everything else was fine. Heartbeat of 167, measuring 11 weeks 1 day, squirming around a looking very baby-like. Not a great start to my low-prenatal-care pregnancy, but hey, I'll take it.

Parkour!

Spring is here!

Wilson made me some vegetable planter boxes from some old pallets I picked up on the way home one day. Despite having to tolerate being made fun of for Pinterest projects, I'm still pretty pleased about how they turned out. Still need to paint them, sink them, fill them and plant them, but we're well on our way to more veggie space at this house.

This spring we've planted:
9 asparagus
20 strawberries
1 fig tree
1 forsythia (not a vegetable, but Wilson missed the one at the old house so we got another)

Week 10

I guess I'll never post if I wait until there's something interesting to post about the babai, because NOTHING HAPPENS DURING THE FIRST TRIMESTER. Except nausea. Ugh. Glad to get that out of the way.

In other news:

Sam had her first visit to the dentist. It started off pretty bad, but our really awesome hygienist somehow broke through her sour mood and got in a brief cleaning. By the end, Sam was asking to go back the next day.

I may have kind of forgotten that the Easter Bunny was a thing. I may "forget" again next year. But I really wanted to get Sam roller skates because she's been asking to go roller skating for weeks, so I called these her Easter Bunny present in my head. Because what kind of mother just gets her kid a present for the heck of it?

Our first prenatal appointment is next week on Wednesday. Doubtful that there will be much more to report after that, but I'm sure I'll check in.