Ready... Set... NOT YET

Before we get started, I'd just like to say that business casual has taken on a whole new identity. I promise to be professional again when I return from maternity leave!

So yesterday was Wii Night. It was fun/needed to hang out and I'm so glad we have these friends. After a tasty tasty meal of pork burgers, homemade fries, and Cheetos =) I started having some contractions. Some were even painful. I just assumed they'd let up soon BUT they didn't.

I drank tons of water, did a load of laundry, picked up a little bit, finished packing the final necessities in the hospital bag, and decided a bath may help do the trick (plus, I wanted to shave my legs, you know, just in case). The bath didn't help either so I decided I'd better start paying more attention. I started timing the contractions and they were averaging 10-11 minutes apart. Not a big deal right? That's nothing! Thing is - they continued on like that for around 2.5 hours... sometimes getting closer together. While sleeping was certainly out of the question, it was hardly a cause for a hospital trip. Except that I was having was I thought could be fluid leakage. I wasn't super convinced, but it continued for a couple hours and I started to second guess myself. Why do I do that? 

Dac woke up and suggested I call the on-call nurse. I did and she asked me a few  questions before telling me to head to the hospital just to play it safe. I should learn to be more of a risk taker, but I digress. 

Dac hopped in the shower real quick, we loaded the car, and were on our way at around 3:30 a.m. We got all checked in, they did a check (2cm), tested for fluid (negative), monitored the babe and me, and then checked again just to rule out labor (even though the contractions had completely stopped by this point so it was pretty obvious) and I was sent home... but not before the "walk of shame" out of the hospital. =| ha! 

Apparently I fell asleep for a second. Yikes. I was incredibly uncomfortable in that bed - which is probably why I'm making that awful face.

When we got to the hospital initially, Dac said "Hey, if you're in labor, we'll have a baby soon, and if not, we can go on a breakfast date! Win-win" Well when we left, we were both so darn exhausted, we just went through McD's drive-thru, came home, and crashed for a few hours. 

Since then, Dac's been working on photos (and waiting on me) and I've been... a total bum. Don't judge. I watched last night's Grey's Anatomy online, have been writing this blog post, and I had a special visitor... my Grandma stopped by with a very special gift. More on that later. Here's hoping for a much less exciting night. =)

Weekly Check-Up

I had my weekly appt. yesterday. Both baby and I are still normal (relative... I know...) and healthy! =)

Looks like Pop Tart may make his/her world debut a little earlier than originally expected too.  Of course, nothing's for sure and babies have been known to hang on longer than expected but there is great progress being made and baby's down in position. Hopefully that means a nice simple labor and delivery whenever the time comes!

Midweek Randoms

• You already know that Dac and I took a quick trip to "almost" Wichita last Wednesday. We partook in some cheap Halloween food, then came back and helped hand out candy at his parents' new house for a little bit. When we got home we watched Criminal Minds and then I'm pretty sure I just fell asleep in the recliner.

• Thursday, we went to Wichita again and this time actually saw the doctor! =) Success. We ran to Hobby Lobby afterwards and ate at City Bites. While at Hobby Lobby I got some wool yarn to make these dryer balls. Haven't tried them out yet but hopefully they work well!

• Peety had a spa day at the vet. Bath and pedicure. AND a handsome bow tie! =) He still doesn't smell the best, but he sure is soft!

• We finally finished 24. I wasn't in love with how it ended but I'm not sure what I expected really either. Still, loved the series and kinda sad it's over. It's best that it's done though and we can go back to being more productive citizens.

• Friday, I was feeling pretty miserable. Couldn't really even tell you what I did. Oh wait - I went to the doctor. They couldn't really give me anything aside from a nose spray... which I ended up having some leftover at home. Then I took a little nap after work.

• Saturday, I went in for my prenatal massage. It was amazing. It hurt a little and I couldn't breathe to my liking but oh my, it was heavenly. I left feeling so much more human. She worked a ton on my hips and pelvis which was the really sore part - but it was wonderful. After that I went to the store. Yep - even felt good enough to brave the Wal-Marts. The massage was THAT good.

• I had huge plans to clean and get the house ready over the weekend but I just didn't feel up to doing much. I spent much of that day in the recliner while Dac worked on pictures. Oooh - I did make stew though. Success!! Had a big container leftover to freeze.

• Sunday, I made potato soup - and same thing - had a big container leftover to freeze. I also make some twice baked potatoes for the freezer. That wore me out. Then, my parents came down. My dad sanded the baby's dresser to get it ready to paint and re-finish (yeah, STILL haven't done that yet) and my mom cleaned my kitchen cabinets, helped sweep some floors, and do some other cleaning for me! There's still a lot to be done but that was an incredible help!

• Have I mentioned I lost my wedding ring? Yep... I thought it was gone for good. I had been taking it off halfway through the day for a long time - due to the swelling. I should have just put it in a safe place when I had to start doing that but I didn't. Anyway, it was lost for several weeks. Finally, Dac found it!!!! I was so thankful and relieved. I was afraid we'd never find it! =) All is well now and it's in safe keeping until it fits again!

• Monday, I stayed home sick from work. This cold has really been kicking my hiney. I figured surely by afternoon I'd be feeling a tad better and could maybe even get a chore or two done. Um... NO. I stayed in the recliner all day... watched a couple random Netflix movies in the morning then took a siesta in the afternoon... then fell asleep early... then didn't sleep all night. =(

• Yesterday was election day. I'm glad it's over. People can be so rude to each other - and belittling. Just because someone doesn't think like you, doesn't mean they're a moron, a bad person, or even uneducated. Enough of the party line bologna. I personally wasn't impressed with either of the major contenders... just like last election, I found myself more in line with a third party candidate. It is what it is I guess. So am I happy with the election outcome today? No. Do I think we're going to Hell in a handbasket and life is over? Also no. My God is bigger than that. I also have plenty of super conservative friends and plenty of pretty dang liberal friends too and I just so happen to love and respect them all! I really don't even feel the need to argue with any of them most the time. It's doable. =) So there's my two cents. 

• I helped with our district's KIDS VOTE program and once again the students accurately predicted (by the way they voted) the national outcome. They have done so for many elections in the past. Kind of cool.

• I did some house cleaning last night... getting closer and closer to having a semi-clean and safe home to bring a baby home to. I am a little type A when it comes to cleaning and the order of my house. There... admitted. I don't like a lot of "stuff" taking up space. Our decor is very minimal (partly because I can't commit and partly because it would be minimal even if I could! ha!) and I like things to be put away and clean. Anyway, I haven't had the energy to stay up on things like I'd like. Plus, our home is still a bit of a construction zone so it's hard to have things in their place anyway. I keep trying to remind myself that babies are born in some pretty sub-par places every day... they are born with nothing... my baby is going to be just fine. Deep down I know this to be true. It's me I worry about. haha!

• After I exhausted myself and started having some contractions - we decided to take a ride for some ice cream. We ate it, dropping some in our laps with every dip in the road, while we drove around chatting. It was a good time. The contractions eased up and I was actually able to get some sleep!

• Dr. day again today. Hoping for yet another great report! How blessed am I to have had such a healthy pregnancy? Wow. Beyond grateful. 

Monday Morning Pop Tart

Week 36 - Whoa baby! We’re in the FINAL month. I can hardly believe it!! This week we spent time with great friends, attended our final birth class, photographed a couple final sessions, and had our first weekly appointment with Dr. A. We’re both doing good - minus this cold/sinus stuff I’m fighting again. Hope the coughing and nose blowing isn’t too annoying for you. =) Your dad has really enjoyed interacting with you. He shines a flashlight at you - which we’re pretty sure you do NOT enjoy - to see you move and he talks to you. You’ve already brought a whole lot of happy to our lives. =)

(Please forgive my lack of picture. I've been sick with this nasty cold for several days so it just didn't happen this weekend. I stayed home from work today and by the time Dac got home to take it, it was too dark. Sigh. Trust me, I'm still growing.)

Highlights

How Far Along: 36 weeks

Size of baby: Honeydew

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  + 47

Maternity Clothes: I broke down and bought another pair of maternity yoga pants. They're not in yet but I'm sick of doing laundry every day so it had to be done. =)

Gender: Still team green. What's your best guess?

Movement: Yes.

Sleep: Not really happening.

Symptoms: Belly aches, swelling (although that has been improving again!), heartburn, pain, sinus junk. Also, I can no longer really sit like a lady AND I waddle. No denying it. =) Pretty sure the baby has dropped.

What I miss: Still having "plenty of time" to get things done before the baby comes and honestly, this week, I've started to miss the sleep.

Cravings: WATER and ice cream still.

Best Moment this week: Seeing lots of friends and getting a good report from the doctor.

What I am looking forward to: Weekly appointment (it's kind of a pain but it's also nice to have constant updates without the month-long wait) and making some serious progress in the nesting department.

36

I am 36 weeks today. That means in approximately 1 month we will have a baby here! Whoa.

So my Dr's appt. went pretty well yesterday. My BP was still good and the baby's heart rate was 146. I got a my whooping cough vaccine and the Group B Strep test. Since I go back next week, I'll get those results then. 

Otherwise, I'm exactly where I need to be. Not dilated and 50% effaced. Baby is head down, real low, and appears to be doing just fine!

Try Again

Dac and I took off early today to head to my doctor's appt. We go about 45 minutes before getting the message that Dr. A had to go deliver a baby and we'd need to reschedule. =|

Doesn't she know I shaved my legs for this? =) 

Anyway, we turned right around and came home and will try again tomorrow afternoon. I'm interested to see what she'll say. Several people today say it looks like the baby's dropped. It does feel a bit different in there but not quite the difference I was expecting, so who knows. 

Here's a quick crappy screen shot from Sunday:

And one from today:

In other news, I ate 50 cent corn dogs for lunch and a 50 cent cheeseburger for supper. So yay Halloween. AND I ate a TON of candy. =) Milk Duds even!

Midweek Randoms

• The two McCrazy weeks are over!! AND - I survived! =) Oh - and Happy Halloween!!

• PS - Why is it that I always seem to get either too much water in my oatmeal or not enough? Frustrating. As I write this, I'm eating a combo bowl of regular oatmeal and blueberry oatmeal. It's real dry. I'm having a glass of Fresca on the side. It had been years and years since I'd had any Fresca until just a couple weeks ago. I don't hate it. It reminds me that my old babysitters used to have "lemon-lime" soda all the time. Fresca is not lemon-lime soda per se but it just reminds me of that. PLUS - this is a randoms post so it's totally acceptable to get side tracked. =)

• I mentioned in the Pop Tart post that I had some extra swelling creep in this week. Wednesday night I was doing some housework - nothing major, just the usual suspects, when my feet started to swell real bad. I cut my work off early and hit the chair for some Criminal Minds time.

• When I woke up at 3:30 Thursday morning to get ready to go to the conference... the swelling was still there... and again, it was more than usual. I went anyway - choosing sandals in the cold, rainy weather because that's all I could get on. As the morning went on, things continued to get worse and in a hurry. I had to slip my shoes off, my legs became painfully swollen (this was new) and I could feel it creeping up my arms and my face. I knew pre-eclampsia could come on in a hurry so I figured it was worth a call to my OB's office. You know that from there - I was sent to L&D. 

• When I finally got home, Val came and picked us up to grab some food downtown. I was STARVED since I hadn't ate in well over 7 hours and that doesn't cut it for me on a  non-pregnant day. I didn't have to do a ton of walking but the little bit I did do, about did me in. Ha! I wasn't super impressed with my food choices either, so that was kind of sad. Thankfully, I talked her into taking me to Braum's for an ice cream cone afterwards. =) Best SIL ever.

• Friday was another conference day. It was pretty interesting and it's always nice to be with people who understand and do what I do. 

• That night was the big Class of 2002 10-year reunion. We went, I caught up with a few friends I haven't seen in years, ate some BBQ and cake, drank a Dr. Pepper. It was fun. It would have been more fun had I felt better and could have hit the dance floor - but hey - could have been SO much worse.

• Here's me all ready to go... and you'll notice my hot kicks for the night... sad.

• When we left, we swung by Kayla's so I could pick up my new 31 Bag purchases. I got a new cross-body purse and an organizing tote I plan to use as kind of a diaper caddy around the house and maybe eventually a daycare bag, etc... I'm loving the purse already.

• Saturday, was day two (and final day) of childbirth bootcamp. It really was kind of fun. We're both glad we chose to take the classes. Like I mentioned before, the other couples were all really nice and the teacher was good. She even brought us cookies... bonus!! This week we did more breathing/position practicing, a LITTLE more massage practice, talked about all the meds, interventions, things that go wrong, C-sections, postpartum, and toured the hospital. We also ate lunch at Jimmie Johns again just b/c it sounded good. =)

• After class, we hurried back for a night of soup, cookies, and fun time with Matt, Kelly, John, and Anna over at Matt's parents' house. They are always so gracious to host us. We chatted for quite a while, I got to open some fun baby gifts, and we played Settlers of Catan like only real nerds can. haha.

• At that point, it had been a good 2-3 days since I was really able to be off my feet and have them propped up so things were looking a little sad in the feet and legs department. =( Hurting too!

• Sunday morning we went to church to see the twins get baptized! =) They looked so sweet in their fancy dresses and even Charli coordinated - looking like a rockstar as usual. =) 

• After church we said goodbye to Matt and Kelly then did a family session for John, Anna, and miss Ruby. Oh my, she sure has grown!! Loved seeing her be even more of a big girl this time. A couple outfit changes later - the session was done - and we went to Braum's for lunch (and a treat).

• I was so dang worn out that I went home a took a nap. Spent pretty much the entire rest of the afternoon/evening in my chair, feet up, watching TV. Productive I was not but I think I was doing exactly what I needed to be doing.

• I actually did some grocery shopping Monday! Holla!

• I also had an impromptu date with the chiropractor (and just to clarify, by date, I mean appt.) My pelvis feels like a wishbone being snapped in two so we are seeing a lot more of each other these days.

• Last night, we shot a family session for fellow photog friend Jennifer up in Wichita. 

• I had another 9-3 week for my football picks! YEAH! I'm still not moving up in the ranks, but maybe there's still hope! =)

• I can still (barely) paint my toe nails. I painted them dark grey Monday night and they actually looked alright. I'm done with that though - it hurt like heck and was like a total-body cardiovascular workout. Next time they will be done by a professional following a nice foot rub. Period.

• I kinda love these two boys. Just a little morning love pug time. When have back rolls ever looked this good? =)

• Lopsided, contracted belly... I'm thinking baby butt there on the left??

• Dr. appt today! Should be good times. Fully expecting a good report. I, of course, will be back with an update for those of you who are wanting to stay in the loop.