39 weeks...HOLY CRAP

Yeah, holy crap we are having a baby. We have had 39 weeks to get used to the idea, riiiiiight. It hits me every now and then but it really just hit me just now that we are in that window of "many babies are born in this week". I have been wishing for her to come for about a week now. I obviously still want her to show up any second now but something seems real about it. I attempted to bribe her at Target today while in the baby clothes section. She kicked around a couple times but there were no contractions and no water breaking. I totally would have welcomed water breaking in public too. Embarrassing, yes, but welcome, yes. So she didn't get anything at Target.

I am over being home, going out for longer than 15 minutes kills me, it is frustrating right now. I know that I am not the first to feel that way and that helps a bit. Target has a lot of pajamas on sale but I managed to leave with out buying any. I bought a pair of slippers a couple weeks ago but yesterday I put my bags in the car so now they along with my other comfy clothes are packed in the car. I am wearing the same couple of things every day, but when I don't really go anywhere I only really feel sorry for Paul.

I am not going to do any of the insane self induction techniques but I keep trying to trick/jinx my body into it. It is stupid that all these self induction things are basically designed to make your intestines feel like you spent the night in Mexico drinking the water. Why would I want to suffer like that before going through labor. So, mostly I am making sure that I am walking quite a bit. I have heard that stairs help too so I'll start throwing in an extra set here or there in addition of just being in the house. The doctor said that if there is no progress as of my appointment on Tuesday that's when we'll discuss what happens at 41 weeks because my office doesn't let you go past 41 weeks. Unfortunately 2 weeks from this Friday seems like eternity.

Yes, 39 weeks flew by, and I am beyond impressed with the fact that I never had the impatience problem until now. I went appointment to appointment and pretty soon I found myself in the "full term" stage. I guess it is much easier to be patient when the alternative is problems with a premie baby. Now, it seems logical that she should just show her pretty little face. Also, I'd like to set up that "out of office" email reply for my work email.

She will be here when she is ready. I know that.

38 Weeks and she's still hanging in there

Yeah, it is still early, but I would not be one to complain if she were all healthy and ready to come out now. I am hoping that my gut is right and her birthday is the 26th. Who knows!? I am beyond uncomfortable at this point. The sciatic nerve on my right side gets insanely bad. It has been clear since the anatomy ultrasound at 18 weeks that she would be hanging out on my right side predominantly because there is way more room over there because of the tumor. So all her weight is right back there on that side. My left side feels peachy, feels like I could run, then I try to lift my right leg and it is a whole different story.

The lovely bruise

All that said I am so thankful that I have had a very uneventful pregnancy. There hasn't been one test that has come back close to needing rechecked or worried about. The most "eventful" thing is that on Monday the doctor sent me to the hospital for monitoring because our little girl is a spaz and her heart rate was a bit higher than where they like to see it and I was quite swelled with rib pain. Turns out like I said she is a spaz and her heart rate was fine and consistent. The blood work came back fine and so my liver is fine and the swelling is just swelling. The blood work was the most "traumatic". I know my veins, I know what gives blood and doesn't . I know that the one that runs down the side of my left arm just outside my elbow is the one that a blind person could draw blood from. I probably would have preferred a blind person. The woman tied on the tourniquet tighter than anyone ever has EVER. I was pretty sure she had stopped circulation all together. So she stabs me and snaps the blood tube in there and it is slow she tells me to squeeze a fist. A fist full of fingers I can barely feel because of the band and fingers that are swollen and achey to begin with. Finally she fills the two tubes. I had been on an automatic blood pressure cuff that she did not unvelcro she just slipped it back up my arm pushed the button and left. Mind you this is on the arm that she just dug in, as the cuff tightened I began wondering if that vein blew if I'd bleed out. The cuff wasn't even up my arm where it should be, it was almost over my elbow so very close the blood draw site. The best part was watching Sarah who had been driving me that day. Sarah finally got up and was like I am fixing this stupid thing and she unvelcroed it and put it on right and surprise my blood pressure was fine the next time it went off. The bruise that followed was nasty.

Stella eyes me

Patti joins her

My boss keeps emailing me and adding a p.s. that he keeps hoping to see my out of office note up saying that I am on maternity leave. No such luck yet :) I will just sit here with Stella and Patti watching my every move and feeling baby girl squiggling (not a word but is the best description) around.

37 weeks....Mommy shaming

There are, what, 18 years and 3 weeks at most ahead of me to deal with this. Then baby girl will go out into the world and demonstrate the type of person I hopefully helped her become and failings will still come back to me. I'd hope any mom knows this is what they are in for when they get pregnant. I did, but it doesn't make it any easier knowing what to expect. When that day comes in 18 years when Paul and I move her into college, clown school or her apartment next to the McDonalds she works at, is her path in life going to be what it is because I drank some coffee while pregnant, or because of the path my breastfeeding takes, or because we had her vaccinated? Is it going to be because of the age she learns her ABC's or how to count to 100? Maybe I should let her sleep in our bed. Maybe she should stay in her crib and cry all night to make her tough.

These are all choices I have had to make or will be making in the coming days and weeks. And everyone else seems to know better than me. What it seems is that they know what worked for them. This little girl pushing and stretching my stomach right now is her own person. She has her own personality and own needs. What works for her may not be what worked for my mom with me or for my mother in law for my husband. The wheel has been invented, perfect parenting has not. I fear the day someone says it has.

OH wait people are saying that.

I understand breastfeeding and look forward to doing it. Paul asked me last night how long I will breastfeed. I told him I honestly don't know. I don't have a time table or expectations. I am going to try my hardest to do it. First, it is free other than the food I feed myself. And it makes sense that she has spent 9 months growing in me so a food source that comes from me is going to be one of the best things for her. If, and honestly, when the day comes that something doesn't seem to be working right I will ask the questions. Chances are that time is going to be in the hospital after she is born. But I am never going to put the question out there for debate asking "should I be breastfeeding?" "should I stop breastfeeding?" that is up to her and I. And I hope that the people in my life will respect that. I pray I have surrounded myself by the right, supportive people.

Stella enjoys cuddle time with baby girl

I have no preconceived notions about being the perfect parent or expecting that Paul will be. We are not going to knowingly put our daughter in danger. If something seems iffy, just as if we were dealing with ourselves or dogs, we will research it. By research I mean factual accounts. We have seen so much over the last few years and more now with all the in your face "since you are pregnant you should know" conversations, emails and random internet pop-ups about vaccination.

That is our choice and our doctor's advice to give. I feel lucky to know a medical professional in my sister and a friend who is in the field of biotechnology. I trust them. When I was going to get the HPV vaccine I spoke to my doctor and I spoke to her about the vaccine. We had a room mate who refused to get it because there was no way to know what the vaccine would do. As my friend said they didn't just mix it up in a lab and send it out the next day. Research, studies, lab tests and other tests are done before it is injected into my arm.

All this is to say that as friends, siblings, parents, acquaintances and strangers need to be focused on our families and what is best for us. If it is working for you then people will come to you with their questions. Don't seek them out with your answers first.

Now, with that off my chest I will be going back to trying to stay comfortable and busy to pass the time until we finally get to meet this little girl. Braxton Hicks are officially here. The doctor said that things are getting ready but there is no progress toward delivery.

36 Weeks...Kind of sort of any time now

And that would be alright with me. I want her to be as healthy as possible and ready to be born. At this point I feel like she is going to be about 2 feet long because I know she has dropped lower but my ribs are killing me still. It is nice to not be quite so out of breath.

Today is finally back to feeling like fall. If we had had another day of upper 80s my feet may have exploded. And my fingers really started to noticeably swell. My feet swelling will go down at night but then during the same time my fingers swell.

She did that whole get real quite for two days over the last two days and now today she is back to her normal fidgety self. And when that happens my discomfort always gets a little worse. It is like she has some sort of growth spurt during those two days.

While being impatient to get to meet her Oct. 26 is still sticking out as her birthday. So I guess 17 days isn't so bad and it gives Paul more time on the crib. I have made it 36 weeks but some how 17 days seems like forever. And don't get me started on the possibility of going over which I am not stupid and know it is a real possibility. Fingers crossed it doesn't though. Her car seat is in the car from this past weekend because I promised we'd travel over prepared. Her hospital bag is all done too. I was going to try to do my hospital bag today for something to do and then Stella chewed one of my flip flops in my last pair. So now I have to dig around and see if I have another lone flip flop in the back of a closet. I don't need to buy new because come on they are for the hospital. I figure I will get everything together in my bag then if I need to wear something or use something I will and then put it right back in. I don't really get how someone can pack a bag and not need anything out of it until the birth-day.

34 Weeks...Seriously 6 weeks?

Six Weeks, In the beginning at 6 weeks along I thought time would never pass. Now with 6 weeks left I feel the same exact way. I was so tired and sore last night that I could not really sit and be comfortable and if I was sitting comfortably it was in a position that when I stood up it felt that every muscle and bone was frozen. I know that the extra sore came from the fact that I had to go into work yesterday. My desk chair is torture not to mention that baby girl seems to think that it is okay to sleep sprawled out. She can punch me in the hip and lodge her feet in my ribs at the same time. My guess is still that she is going to be a tall little girl and she'll be here at the end of October. So maybe instead of 6 weeks it is more like 4. Who knows? Certainly not me.

She is still pretty active and I can feel everything she does now. I am thankful that I am not woken up by her moving around. What wakes me up is how sore I get laying in one position and then needing to roll over. Last night I lined my side of the bed with a row of pillows and slept on top of them. While that really helped my hips, especially the right one, I could not roll over well. I'd get stuck more on my back and fall asleep and then I'd snore. Paul was good about waking me up to roll over the rest of the way. I don't mind it all that he did because sleeping on your back isn't good and if I sleep on my back for any length of time it makes me more stiff to roll over.

Okay, it seems like I am complaining a lot. I kind of am but there is still a smile on my face. I still think it is all totally worth it and I wouldn't trade this time. There are times like last night where I can't figure out how women do this 2-19 or more times. I mean that Duggar woman has been pregnant for like 171 months of her life, minus a few for babies who came early. I hope she doesn't get morning sickness because that is like 50-60 months of morning sickness. But, I also cling to the fact of it all being worth it when she is here. I have run more than one marathon even though during each one it has felt like cruel and unusual punishment I subjected myself to. Birth and marathons aren't the same but hopefully the mentality is.

I am pretty much done with the nursery. I have to hem a curtain. I have the sewing machine here and all the time to do it so that pretty much means that it will take me longer. Also, Paul is still working on the crib and trying to get it finished but we have the bassinet and now the "fancy" pack-n-play. I am not worried. I guess next we'll have to get the car seat in the car just in case. But I know that we can just throw that in the car if needed and hook it up before we go home. I have the bag all packed for her and I'll just have to get out my empty bag so I can throw my stuff in it when the time comes. There isn't really anything I don't need right now that I can pack. I'd like to feel a little more prepared in that way but I'm not worried.

I have had "false" contractions most nights. They seem to happen after 8 p.m. and it is only one maybe two about an hour apart. There have been 1 or 2 first thing in the morning.

My next appointment is next week. And these are my baby "splurge" I didn't want to ask anyone for the "expensive" baby blankets so I used part of a gift card to get these Aden+Anais blankets. Reviews said that some moms wear them as a scarf so they have them as burp cloths or feeding covers. I am totally on board with that, they are so soft I can't let baby girl get them all to herself! :)

What do I need still?

Two showers down and the nursery is as done as it can be. But there are still things on my registry that I think I am probably going to need, bottles, a feeding pillow, another waterproof mattress cover, at least one more crib sheet, newborn pacifiers, disposable changing pads, then of course anything I'll need for breast feeding.

My insurance covers my pump fully, I just have to deliver and call down to the supply boutique at the hospital and have one delivered to my room. It also appears according to my insurance it covers a lot of accessories and I won't be pumping for a little while hopefully. So I am really just trying not to go over board and buy a bunch of bottles or something. I have two bottles and if we end up needing them I can trust to ask Sarah to go to the store or Paul with a very detailed request list.

I am just trying to decide because I have a gift card that is burning a hole in my pocket. I want to get the most for the money and things that I need. I could definitely just go head and buy the really cute books that I think baby girl "needs" but that seems a little irresponsible.

Any suggestions on the must have for baby girl?

33 weeks and there went my sleep

I am a morning person for the most part. I always have been. I hate feeling like I have wasted a chunk of the day by sleeping. So since getting pregnant the latest I have let myself sleep in has been 9. Now, I wake up so frequently I think I could function by sleeping 24 hours. I could sleep, wake up and accomplishing something in the time I can't fall back asleep, go to sleep and repeat all day. Currently Stella is helping me to not attempt that because when the FedEx guy dropped off Paul's new jack for the truck I woke up from my little nap, and she stole my pillow and place on the couch. So I am getting my work stuff done. I have noticed though that if I get up with Paul and then eat breakfast and then nap for like an hour from 7:30 to 8:30 or maybe 9 I am pretty good for the duration of the day.

In other "news" I had been pretty happy that for the most part all the stretch marks I had pre-pregnancy were the only ones re-stretching back out. THEN baby girl was pretty quite for about 36 hours and had me a tiny bit worried. I could always pester her into moving so I knew things were okay. At the end of the 36 hours yesterday I was driving to the outlets to buy my dress for Katie's wedding and baby girl was definitely starting to really wake up. Low and behold I change into the first dress to try it on and BAM way more than the one new purple stretch mark from two days ago. Someone was on a growth spurt. She is back to moving around quite a bit now.

I have been fairly patient up until this point. That is a big deal for me I have just taken things week to week. But now that we are getting so close it is getting so hard. I see all this stuff saying that she is 4-5 lbs now and like 15-18 inches long. That seems huge. That seems good enough to come out. BUT I know that I would rather have her with me all day right now in my stomach than her spending the next 3-4 weeks in a NICU until I can bring her home. I am definitely not hoping she comes this early I am just hoping that the next few weeks pick up speed a little.

A little unusual for me

Anyone that is at all familiar with me will tell you that if I get hungry I become an angry frustrated person. Since I hit 30 weeks almost 3 weeks ago I have seemingly lost my appetite. As I mention before it has lead to a stand still on the scale. Well, in the last two days I have realized that I am hungry again and if I eat I actually want it. But my stomach is not telling me that it is empty. My mood is. I sat on the couch frustrated to no end because I just wanted to be able to do the things I needed done myself and not wait for Paul.

Paul had his wisdom teeth out on Thursday so he has been doing things around the house and then taking a break to lay down or ice his face or whatever he needs. He has still gotten a lot done. BUT was anything something I had hinted at needing done? Not really. And I felt bad that I was so frustrated with him. I was angry at myself. Angry at what I wanted done. At some point after a few tears Paul was wondering about lunch. So while I figured out lunch I had some chips and dip and I could feel my crazies going down. By time we finished lunch I was feeling like a normal human. A normal human whose ribs now felt like they'd explode because that squished up stomach is up in them now but I wasn't frustrated and angry.

I did the same today. Today is when it connected with me what my deal was. So I guess on the plus side my appetite is back. Looking back over the weekend I am happy that in my frustration I did not try to a.) carry the changing table upstairs by myself or b.) try to screw in anymore screws by myself.

I decided I could drill in the screw anchor and then screw in the curtains Saturday morning. The curtains are up but it was not pretty to watch. Stella hid behind the glider in the nursery. I need to have anchors drilled in and screws put in to hang two shelves I have that I want to put books and pictures on. It is best I leave that to Paul. He at least had marked where the screws went for the curtains.

32 Weeks: Baby Girl is right on track

The 32 week appointment was today! I love my doctor. I really hope she is the one on call when I go into labor. I talked to her about how scared of the epidural I am and she did not talk down to me that I was being silly she just talked me through it like if I were talking to a friend about it. She told me about having one herself and that what caught her off guard is when they put the numbing stuff in and how she said "Holy Shit" to that because it burns and hurts a little bit. It did put me more at ease.

She was happy with my blood work from the last appointment and was impressed that I didn't even need to be told to up my iron. Take that prenatal vitamin crazies haha. Speaking of prenatals, I started taking them every other day. I got a bunch of samples in a formula sample bag and I couldn't find my Flintstones the other night. Not a touch of making me sick. The doctor also said to make sure at the end of the day I spend some time with my feet above my heart to help the swelling go down. I am hopeful that now that the heat has broken the swelling won't come on so early in the day.

Then there was the best part of the appointment when the scale said I didn't gain any weight. I was a little concerned that she'd be concerned (yes I know same girl that cried last appointment for gaining weight. but I know it is supposed to happen) but she did not have a problem with it at all. I am now only about a 1/2 a centimeter ahead. After hearing baby girl's 140-150 beat heart beat the doctor palpitated my stomach and she is head down. Also my worry that she only has room on the right side of my stomach because of the organ shift from my tumor was for nothing the doctor could feel that she is taking up my whole stomach. Basically my whole stomach front is baby. That is why in my pictures a lot of times you can see her butt or knees sticking out the top of my stomach.

Finally, the doctor agreed we had heard way too much this summer about people giving birth anywhere but in the hospital. She broke down the usual progression of labor and told me how to approach calling them when I go into labor and the timing of driving in to the hospital. Doctor is A+ in making me feel better.

Most likely it will change...right?

So, I am petrified of an epidural. Also, I am not a fan of pain. Now, I think I can handle pain okay, but come on I can't prepare myself for birth. Right? Every part of me says don't be an idiot just get the epidural when you can and wait for baby girl to show up (I know there are a few more steps than that). Two days ago there was a video being promoted on Baby Center "Watch an Epidural". I sat there with the mouse hovering. Should I or shouldn't I. Part of what scares me is that I am someone that HAS TO watch when I have blood taken or a get a shot. The person telling me "Look away, okay now this is going to pinch" thinks I am nuts usually. But I have jumped or flinched when I try the look away method. That makes it hurt. I don't mind giving blood or getting a shot, ever, as long as I am looking. Well, an epidural is in your back. There is no looking at the giant needle they are using to thread a catheter into your spine. YOUR SPINE people. I am pretty sure you don't want to flinch or move for that process. I am jumpy.

Case and point I had someone come up to me and they poked me and the lower back I ended up hitting the person standing in front of me in the forehead with my palm.

I don't want to go sit in a bath tub. I hate baths. So a bath plus pain yeah that sounds like a real treat right there. Oh and I hate being wet. I don't want Paul to help me through Hypnobirthing. I don't want a c-section really. That's mostly because I don't want to add to any scar tissue that is already in there. I recovered from a "vertical c-section" already. AND I know there are big needles and all that for the process of c-section delivery. It isn't a general anesthesia process.

How can I be so ready to meet this little girl but be so convinced it is just best if she stayed in there?

Pregnancy Brain...it is real...very real at 31 weeks.

So there I am looking down at my uncovered stomach and I think to myself: "Holy crap that stretch mark is going to be horrible." I am touching it and figuring that it is never going to fade once it becomes a full fledged stretch mark. About 3 minutes later it dawns on me, that isn't the beginning of a stretch mark it is my tumor scar. My initial "fear" of pregnancy vanity was how horrible my scar was going to look on a stretched stomach. It is actually a bit less noticeable for at least half of it and the other half is maybe a centimeter stretched but not in your face noticeable. It itches pretty bad from time to time that's about it. The reality is that the tumor was still just as big if not a bit bigger than everything going on in there right now.

The cake Jennifer and Sarah had done at Bilo. (it was soooo good!)

Aunt Shari's decorated onesie

Today I am 31 weeks-ish, since on Sunday I will have two months until my due date. Sarah and Jennifer hosted our first baby shower this weekend and it was so fun. It was not huge but I loved getting to sit around with all the people that really matter.

Then while I was gone, Paul organized a painting party and there were 6 people in the house helping him finish all the upstairs painting, including the nursery. It was wonderful to come home to that. I washed all the new stuff we got this weekend and it is all hung up and put away. We have a big dresser in the closet for baby girl but it is no where near filled, not that it needs to be though. The dresser just may be over kill for the time being. I love having clothes hanging too. They are so tiny and cute! Since everyone came and helped finish the painting Paul is now going to be able to use free weekends to go work on building the crib! I can't wait to see how it turns out. He said I can't see pictures or get too many updates now that they are closing in on the assembly of it.

I am so thankful for everyone and the things they do for us. I am really bad at showing it at times because I hate that I am a cryer. I get overwhelmed with happy or surprise and I shut down so I don't cry. Sometimes maybe I should just let myself.

30 Weeks

I guess I can start to really think the delivery date will come sooner than later. It has been weird in the 20-some weeks range. It just seemed like way more time than it was. Now at 30 weeks things seem to be a bit more real and winding down. Winding down time wise, definitely not "symptoms" wise.

She is moving around a lot most days. I have noticed on days that I am home alone for the duration of the day she moves with less frequency or intensity. But as soon as Paul gets home and I am talking to him or him to me she moves a lot more. I guess she just likes to get her sleep in while I am not bugging her. At this rate though I should be able to yell at Stella all I want when she comes and she won't bat an eye.

Speaking of Stella she has become even more clingy. When we are sitting down watching tv she almost always has to be touching me in some way, even if it is just a paw against my leg. I have started to not even realize that she is touching me until I am sweaty and hot and I realize there is 60lbs of dog laying against me too.

My "favorite" symptom has been that after dinner at night I have to lay down because there is no room for the baby and a full stomach. It causes my ribs to ache really bad. I have to stretch out so that she can stretch out away from my ribs.

I feel like I should try to nap most days but then I just think that I am still going to be tired when I wake up and I never feel refreshed from a nap. I may not have a choice though.

These poor, poor people

Sure growing up we all say that when we get older and become adults we can do whatever we want, be whomever we want. Then some of us begin to realize that those things come with a qualification...it has to be with in reason of what you can do and what is best for you.

By now anyone that is going to know about it or see it has seen the train wreck of Miley Cyrus last night at the MTV VMA awards. People with a little more time on their hands may end up checking out her Instagram feed as well. If you do happen to check that out you will see a storm of bickering in the comments. None of course by Miley herself.

Yes, she is an entertainers and with that comes a different level of trying to gain attention in a world where everyone is looking for attention. But if you read the comments you find people saying that no one can give her crap about her performances or photos because she "is just being herself", that she is and entertainer, and finally that people should stop expecting her to be Hannah Montana. I'll give you the last one.

People grow up. I am not the same as I was at 12 and she isn't either. But do I think she is being herself no. She is being a version of herself that will get her talked about. Is that girl on stage the same one that goes to Christmas dinner with her grandparents? I surely hope not. So why is it that her public persona has to be that that says you can wear your bra and underwear out of the house (sometimes she skips the bra all together, okay most of the time) and in the name of "being you" can do whatever makes you feel "free".

There is society. I would be fired today if I stripped down and dry humped a coworker while making out with a teddy bear and doing lewd things with a foam finger. Yep, I am not a singer or performer but neither are 90% of the people she is advocating living how ever you want. Nope she isn't a role model and she may say she doesn't want to be, then stop throwing out advice. There are parents in this world that are actually trying to teach their kids what the world expects of them and this trash she puts out is 180 degrees different.

We don't have to be sheep, but we all must live and work with each other daily.

Lessons learned in pregnancy photos

Over the last 29 and a half weeks I have come to realize a few of "rules" in taking photos of a pregnant belly.

The first is the only one that bugs me really. The younger you are the more "okay" it is for you to put on a pair of underwear and MAYBE a bra, take a 'selfie' in the mirror and then post it to the internet. I am afraid that my computer has been flagged for inappropriate photos because of teen mom's disregard for clothing.

Next is that apparently there is a purpose for boudoir pregnancy photos that I am missing. I mean do you hang them up? Do you save them in a drawer your children don't know about? I just imagine that day in 50-75 years when your kids and grandkids are going through all your things after you pass away and there these photos are, mom in a white thong and dad fondling her. They will laugh but who has the heart to take them or throw them away?

 Finally I want to say, yes if you put your hands together in the correct way they can make a heart. Hearts mean love and you love your baby and your significant other. But could we find a new trend that isn't heart hands over the stomach? Taylor Swift, and any tween with an Instagram, posts at least one a day. I don't fault anyone for jumping on the trend. And I am sure that there are infant photos that I will copy we just need to keep things fresh from time to time also.

These are just observations not an effort to change the world. I first and foremost hope that everyone does what they need to enjoy their pregnancy and make it memorable. Today for me that includes trying to get this spastic little girl's movements on video. She has been crazy active and has had the hiccups numerous times. From todays movement she is still laying across my stomach. The video is not working to upload right now :(

Well, that could have been bad

It isn't fun to watch your body pass a weight that you had always said you'd never see again.

My view for the 5 minutes of actual relaxing

Then most days you feel your little girl kicking around and it is okay. Then there is the day you think you broke the bath tub.

I am on day 2 of getting a progressively worse stiff neck as the day goes on. According to Dr. Google it is my body's weight shifting to being more in my stomach. I get that. I also get that a warm bath is going to help it, even though I hate taking a bath. You know bathing in your own filth, it is boring, etc. Paul tells me that yes a bath is a good idea to loosen up my neck. He is a big proponent for a bath.

So, I get my work I had done and I wrangle Stella up the stairs and start filling the tub. All is well and I get How I Met Your Mother going on Netflix on my Kindle. Finally, I figure I should get in. Stella is sitting tub side staring at me. She always thinks she wants to jump in the tub. I get myself as comfortable as a pregnant woman who floats can get. I am finally paying attention to the show and I am confident Stella isn't going to jump in on me.

Then there is a loud pop, Stella freaks out and acts like she is going to jump in and rescue me. I checked to see if it was the stopper popping out of the drain, no. I look to my left and it looks like the caulking detached from the wall. Hell no. I jump up and rant to Stella.

I end up calling Paul, thankfully he didn't answer when I first called him because I was on the verge of tears that my fat ass was collapsing the tub. When he called back he told me that the caulking has always looked like that. He wasn't sure what the noise was but I didn't break the tub.

I guess I'll track down the heating pad and have a less relaxing experience than a bath.

28 weeks but measuring at 30

I had my 28 week appointment on Monday. I also had to do the glucose testing. First thing's first, it was not torture. You are allowed to eat with in the few hours before the test and you don't have to chug the juice, 5 minutes is plenty of time to drink that little amount. If you don't make yourself fast then it really isn't bad. Though maybe if you are severely diabetic it could effect you a lot worse. That is to say I tested with in normal range! And my
blood panel was normal too. So my bruising is just normal me.

The doctor kept the Doppler on my stomach for a little longer than normal while she talked to me so it was nice to get to lay there and listen to her. When she measured my stomach she said that she was measuring just over 2 weeks ahead of her age. She asked if her father was tall (yeah I know it doesn't look like height would come from me too). I said yep he is tall and so are her aunts and uncles and grandfather. I definitely hope she is going to be a tall girl. I loved outgrowing my mom.

In other "exciting" news our stroller and car seat came in last night and I got it put together today. Put together is a strong word to use though. From the size of the box that they came packed together in I figured there would be more assembly to the stroller. The car seat of course was just in one piece. Upon opening the stroller box I found that I just had to snap it open and snap the wheels into their places. The directions say that only adults should put together the stroller. I'd be scared if a child couldn't figure it out. And despite people complaining that their one handed fold down stroller really isn't easy this one is beyond simple to one handed fold. Now I see why the Dutchess and Duke bought this for Prince George who needs super expensive when this is justas good. I of course picked out the red one though.

Glucose testing

Today is my glucose testing. Just the one hour one but I am still nervous for it. I don't have anything that leads me to believe that I should be worried but it is just one of those things that I really don't want to deal with. And then there is the fact that I have my normal appointment in the middle of the appointment and I will get weighed. Seeing those numbers sucks. But after that is done I get to go in and hear baby girl's heart beat so that is a very nice thing. I wonder if it will be any different since I will have just drank the glucose drink. I am pretty sure that I won't be getting any more ultrasounds but I really wish I was. It is a long time to wait from 20 weeks to 40 weeks/birth day to see her again! But after the crap that has happened with the car there is no option of going to get the elective ultrasound. Oh well! Patience. Mine are almost getting better now. I was hoping that pregnancy would help me with how bad my patience is and I think it has so far.

It is easy to feel patient when you don't feel ready in the least. Personally if my due date were tomorrow I think we'd be fine but there is the whole thing that we have no crib or anything yet. I almost have the nursery painted so that is a plus but not exactly functional. But we have 12-ish weeks to go. We'll get there.

I may have patience in waiting to meet her but I don't when it comes to what if we don't have the things she needs. I have this nightmare that I get to our shower and everyone has bought the same gift and we have 50 burp cloths and nothing that the baby needs. I am so excited for what Sarah and Jennifer are planning and getting to see everyone that can make it to the shower. A shower to me is not about being greedy for gifts but the honest truth is that a shower is about celebrating and then about helping out with the new baby. Sure I'd love to be a Kim Kardashian and be able to say 'no gifts just donate to this charity' but that isn't reality for us. Not even close.

*And I passed the glucose test!*

26 Weeks and learning her jump punches

I have been taking a photo every two weeks. Maybe if I actually took one every week I'd see the difference but really I think that two weeks shows it a bit better. Everything is going normally as far as the doctors are concerned and I don't think I am feeling anything I am not supposed to. I still get a little paranoid when I don't feel her moving for a little while. Then I tend to realize it is about the same time every day in like the 8 a.m. hour so I think that is when she finally sleeps. Other than that she is so active. Paul and I are now convinced that she is way more like him in the not sitting still area. I can't quite pin point what this new rolling thing she does is but I don't think it is hiccups because it isn't a steady feeling and it isn't a single kick or punch. Actually maybe she is like me and practicing her jump punches because it feels like a roll then a quick one two kick using both feet.

I have finally had two nights in a row of decent sleep so that has been really nice. I had a few bad nights and I thought that it was going to be a permanent pattern. I don't know that I have really had any cravings yet. I have had things that sound really good but if I don't get them I am fine. Like the other day I wanted the Loft House sugar cookies from WalMart and I found a recipe. The cookies turned out fine but I messed up the frosting by adding too much milk and ended up attempting to make powdered sugar, which worked but I didn't sit in the kitchen with the food processor going for long enough to make it fully powdered it was about half way there. At one point Sarah looked at me and asked if it would have just been easier to go buy the cookies. I have really enjoyed chicken salads of different varieties and they more often than anything else sound good. I could probably eat a fuji apple chicken salad from Panera every day if it was financially responsible. 

Going to give this a shot...again

Hello! I am going to give this blogging thing a shot again. I haven't really publicly done it since I first started to train for 1/2 and full marathons. But now I'd like to share and I'd like it to not be constantly over Facebook. It annoys me as much as anyone but with only having one family member in the immediate area of our house I know that everyone else would like to be up to date.

So, up to date, I am 26 weeks pregnant with a little girl. I have crossed the threshold to having something hurt every day. But also I am feeling her so frequently I tend to ignore a lot of other things until they are unignorable (yep made that up). I am pretty sure that even though 99% of wives tales were true in telling the gender before we saw the gender that the one about carrying high or low is not true. Baby girl loves to hang out very low and that is where the main part of my bump is. She is now responding to pressure so when Paul puts his head on my stomach she will kick it. Stella also enjoys laying with her head on my stomach. She doesn't so much get that she shouldn't stand on my stomach though. So it is in my best interest if people don't try to scare her (Paul) because that is her safe spot apparently. Patti seems to know what's going on but isn't as overly protective or clingy as Stella has gotten. Even if she hasn't been out in the morning yet Stella will stay in the bedroom with me while I get ready for work and Paul goes down to make breakfast. Drives me a little bonkers because a couple times it has lead to me cleaning pee at 6:30 a.m.

I am starting to feel a little rushed just because it feels like we have nothing ready. Yeah I know I only start the 3rd trimester next week, but since Paul is building the crib from scratch and the nursery still has all our random stuff in it, it doesn't feel like I have done much. Also for how sore my feet and back get I would like to get the painting done before I am a lot bigger.

So that's where I am. Tomorrow I'll take the 26 week photo and post it here.