Pregnancy WEEK 30 (June 9th - June 15th)

  Well, I think she’s having another growth spurt, because the belly’s definitely bigger. (BTW, I apologize for the blurry shot, The Hubby needs more practice at the camera.)

This week was my 30^th week check-up (I go every two weeks now), and I’ve got good news!!! Apparently I’m still ‘bigger’ than normal, but I am down 1 cm from two weeks ago! Hiphiphooray. I measured at 31cm, for 30 weeks. So I’m about average-ish. Like most of you said, I’m not worrying about it, everyone is different.

The doctor also said that she’s turned!!! And that’s probably part of all the lower tummy pain I’ve been having lately. So she’s got her head down and is (almost) ready to head toward the light!! It’s kinda surreal to think about. But exciting at the same time!

Last weekend we made big progress on where we’re actually having her. See, there is the hospital, but then there is a birthing center. I had numerous people tell me that while the birthing center was nice they couldn’t perform C-Sections and would have to wheel you through a tunnel to the hospital (the center and hospital are right next to each other). So for this reason, I was pretty set on the hospital. I mean, with my family history of women needing C-Sections, I figured I’d better play it safe.

Well, we toured the hospital, and honestly, it wasn’t flashy. Nothin’ special. But it’d do. Well, Ryan wasn’t impressed. The TV wasn’t big enough. (yes, ladies, that did come out of his mouth.)  So we decided to walk across the street and tour the birthing center.

Once we got in there, it was night and day difference! The nurse that gave us the tour was amazing. She informed us that yes, they can do C-Sections, they have their own OR and everything, they just won't do a 'scheduled' C-Section. And if there is anything that is majorly wrong with with me or baby, that's when they'll wheel us over to the hospital. So, I think that's OK. 

They have a kitchen area to store snacks and drinks, and even have some snacks and cereals on hand in case someone needs something. They have a play room for any young kids, and a really nice waiting room. The actual birthing room is huge, and has a pull-out couch for Ryan. Plus you get to have the baby, and then stay in the room from start to finish. No moving around (like with the hospital).  OH, and there is a DVD player in the birthing room. I would like you all to know, that the first words out of Ryan’s mouth were, “Sweet! I can bring all my hunting DVDs and we can watch them while we’re waiting for her to get here!!”

Oh. My. Gawd.

See what I have to deal with?!?! SEE?!?!?!

Don’t worry, I gave him the evil bitch death stare and said ‘No’ very firm-like.

Another bonus to the center is that you can basically pull up to the door and walk into your room. Unlike the hospital, which is a maze of tunnels and elevators, that makes you want to punch a pygmy because it’s so complicated to navigate. I can just picture my mom calling me like 23 times (while I’m pushing out Baby Girl mind you), because she’s ended up in New Jersey via the Wichita Hospital tunnel system.

Now that we have the location down, I can breathe a little easier! All I have to worry about now is the bagazillion other shit.

*sigh*

BTW, Butterfinger Crisps are the best candy bar on the planet.

Just saying.

Moving onto Baby Girl! This week she hasn’t changed much in height and weight, but she’s made major improvements on other things! Big news is her brain has taken on those characteristic grooves and indentations, vs it being a smooth surface up until now. Those wrinkles allow for an increased amount of brain tissue, so she can have her Mama’s street smarts when she pops out!!! (Not that that’s saying much.)

Another big change is her bone marrow has taken over production of the red blood cells. This is important because it means that she can thrive on her own when born!

Also her hairiness is going away. Those little hairs called lanugo to help her keep warm are starting to fade as more and more fat cells accumulate under her skin to keep her body warm.

30 weeks down. 10 weeks to go!

We have the first of 2 baby showers next weekend and I’m soooo excited!!!!

Who knew a little baby's bedding could be so complicated.

So I was looking at crib bedding the other night, because I think that we may have found a crib. And since we now have a house to put all this shit in, I figure I better get a move on, on decorating Baby Girl's room. (Because clearly I have nothing better to do than decorate......helllllooooo moving AGAIN in a couple weeks, baby shower #1 coming up, working overtime, and my photo business is kinda crazy too right now. Procrastination at it's finest.)

Back to the bedding.....I've decided to quit my job and sew baby bedding for the rest of my life.
Seriously! This shit is expensive!!!
This is my absolute favorite:

Wanna know how much that bad boy is?!?!
(Ryan, you better sit down.)
Almost $300.00

THREE HUNDRED!!!!!

I didn't even spend $300 on MY OWN bedding set, and that has about 3 times as much fabric as the one above.
WHAT.THE.FRICK.?!

Well, I found some other ones that I like too, but the prices range from $140-$250. So, really, not much better.
Ugh.

I like this one too, but it's on the expensive side.

Then there's this one, but it just seems so plain-jane, ya know?

And this one isn't bad, but I really am kinda wanting to stay away from the animal things, and stick to patterns.

I also found this:

That's right.
Realtree Lavender Camo Baby Bedding.

And before you even open up your mouth Ryan, we are NOT getting this.

Oh, and I found this too, just to complete life:

I mean, I love me some Wildcats, but this is going a little overboard.

I'm toying with the idea of just buying fabric and making the bedding myself. Which I can totally do, because my mom taught me how to sew when I could barely stand. Like her mother did to her, and her mother to her, and so on.
But ain't no one got time for that shit!

Plus I don't know where I packed the sewing machines. Yes, I have more than one. One's about 30+ years old and to top that the other one was Ryan's grandmother's. So that's got to be at least 60+ years old.
Classic sewing machines are cool. Don't be jealous.

I don't know.

Then I think, who the eff really cares?! I mean, Baby Girl doesn't care. She's just going to pee and puke all over it anyway. So maybe I should just get some cheap thing that looks decent and move on.

But I want the nursery to look pretty!! (said in a very whinny voice)
(queue foot stomping and dramatics please)

What to do....what to do....

Pregnancy WEEK 29 (June 2nd - June 8st)

As you can tell, I took this picture this morning and was still not awake yet.

OK! Lots going on last week!(Yes, I know, I'm late again....just deal.)

First of all, I’d like to tell you about a new little preggy ‘symptom’ that Ryan just loves……snoring.

Yes. Ryan says I snore.

Deeeaaaaaaad. Sexy.

And it’s not the little dainty cute snoring. It’s the ‘sounding like a pig wrestling with a tiger’ snoring.

Not pretty folks.

I, on the other hand, completely deny these heinous accusations and blame the dog.

Going along with the whole ‘snauze’ theme, I’ve also noticed that I now get a bloody nose at least once a day.

Again….not pretty folks.

When I was young, I got bloody noses frequently, and the doc said that I have some weird blood vessel in my nose that can easily break, or it’s thin, or something (I don’t really remember, it was a long time ago, and I barely remembered to wear a bra today, so, now you know where I’m coming from on the memory sitch). But recently, the slightest touch to my nose and it starts gushing. Mostly when I’m at home and either washing my face or blowing my nose.

It’s not terrible, and it usually stops within a few minutes, it’s just that it’s extremely annoying. 

I think it’s from all the mucus piling up because of my little nugget. Also, the increased blood flow probably has something to do with it too. I don’t know. I’ll talk to my doc next week about it. I’m sure it’s nothing.

In other pregtastic news…………….. I feel huge.

What’s new, right?

But what’s weird is I’ve gotten multiple comments on how I don’t look almost 7months pregnant. Which is great! I mean, I know I’m not waddling around like a mammoth, but I still feel huge. But it’s good to know everyone else thinks I’m not. Bonus!

Other than that, there’s not much going on. With me anyway. Same ol’ cravings……lots and lots of ice cream! My back’s still doing good. It has it’s moments of hating life, but majority of the time it feels good.

OH, wait. BIG change……I think that 3^rd trimester ‘slow-down’ is happening. And by happening, I mean, more like I’m teetering between feeling…..meh, I’m ok…..and OhMyGiddyAunt I think a truck just ran me over. Like 12 times. The other day I came home, took a 2 hour nap, got up and went to get a pedi, came back, did some stuff and then went to bed at 8:30. LaaaaaammmmmeeeeOOOOOOO.

I can tell you, I’m not happy about this. Not happy at all. I love this energy! We’re besties! I want it around forever!!!

Then my body says, “No way beeatch, I’m going to make you feel miserably tired. Bawahahahaha.”

Rude.

My plan of action for this: Get as much sleep as possible when I want it. That way I can function when awake. And maybe it won’t be so bad this next 2 months.

A girl can dream.

OK, onto Baby Girl!

She’s about 17inches right now (or 20, if she’s following in her daddy’s footsteps.) And she’s close to 3 lbs. Her wrinkled skin is smoothing out as more fat is deposited under the skin surface. And it’s called ‘white fat’ which is the same kind of fat that I have, to help serve as an energy source. (In my case…..it’s a HUGE energy source….and it’s prime location is just south of the beltline.)

Space in the tummy’s getting a little cramped, which is why I’m feeling her do a triple roundhouse on my bladder about every 5 minutes. The kicks are less sporadic and more controlled due to her getting stronger and responding to all sorts of stimuli, like sounds, and light, and maybe that tub of mint chocolate chip I just had.

I’m supposed to be keeping track of her kicks twice a day to make sure that she’s getting in at least 10 ‘movements’ within an hour……however, she freaking moves like crazy all the damn day, so I haven’t been keeping track. She usually moves around a ton in the morning after I eat, and it lasts for a good 15 minutes, and she also is super active at night too. So I think we’re ok. But I probably need to do some sort of counting, just to be sure.

OK, that’s it for this week!!!

We have a home!!!

OK, so I know this post is waaaaayyyyyy overdue, but I just wanted to document our fabulous new home.

So, first off we looked at this home awhile ago, and while we liked it, it still wasn't our 'first pick' or our 'dream home' or whatthefuckever. Then, all of the sudden there were houses getting snatched up left and right. Some homes that had been on the market for 240 days would have a contract on it 24 hours after we looked at it (happened to us TWICE). And to top it off, we noticed that there wasn't a lot of 'new' homes being put on the market. We definitely noticed that the market in general was starting to swing the other direction, and we didn't want to get caught renting for the rest of our lives. PLUS, interest rates had got up .75% in a month. If we waited much longer for the right one, we might not be able to afford any house!

Ryan and I sat back down....with the new realtor, btw, who I freaking adore......and started to go over all the houses that we'd rejected for one reason or another. And we stumbled upon the one that we looked at and initially dismissed. Both Ryan and I went through the pros and cons of it, but decided to take a gander and see if looking a 2nd time would trigger something.

Right after Memorial Weekend we trucked it over there, and I really started looking at it in new light. The kitchen, living room and dining room were open, the master bedroom was HUGE, the location (while not exactly where we wanted) was only 15 min from work, and its the best school district in Kansas. WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!!!!

The sellers had already dropped the price $5000, but we decided to shoot them a slightly lower number, just because we knew that they were super motivated to get out of the house (it'd been on the market for over 100 days). We went back and forth for awhile, and eventually settled on our top dollar, their bottom dollar. I think it worked out the best for both of us! Our realtor also took $1500 off her commission, and their realtor took $500, so that helped too. God, I just love our new realtor, she's freaking amazing.

All in all, we close on July 12th. About a month before Baby Girl gets here!! Nothing like cutting it close.

But, my friend Jess had pretty much our exact situation, and she ended up giving birth 10 days after they moved. She gave me some GREAT advice: 'Get the baby's room set up (just for your piece of mind), then the kitchen, and make sure you have TV! Because there will be a lot of late night TV watching!'
So, that is my plan of attack. Everything else will just fall in place.

And at last, here's more pics!!!

Front of the house.

Upstairs bedroom--->Baby Girl's future room!!!!

Entryway

Living room

Dining room, and we're planning on taking out the carpet and putting down laminate wood floors. Who carpets their dining room?!?!

Different view of living room/dining room. Plus their kitty----^

Master Bed, and that's a California King! This room is huge!!

Master Bath w/ walk in closet! (thank you lawd.)

Kitchen. We hate the tile, so we're going to do laminate wood floors in here too. And eventually change the backsplash.

Basement living room, with built in entertainment center!

And finally, Mr. Wyatt's domain. 1/4 acre of fenced in yard to do with as he pleases. Spoiled animal.

The property sits on almost 5 acres, and while the land is pretty bare, I see it as a great blank canvas for lots of landscaping!!! We're going to plant cedar trees and I think I'd like an apple/pear orchard. Along with my garden....of course. But also let some of the pasture grow out to pretty prairie grass. I think by the time we sell this....in 15-20 years......we'll be able to make a killing for how cheap we got it. And because of all the improvements/updating we're going to do.

I just can't wait to move in!!!!!

Oh, and BTW, if any of you have so graciously offered to help......we're taking you up on that. So plan on getting your butts to Wichita on July 13th! Because Mama ain't moving a single box!!! That's all we need is to move in AND give birth in the same weekend.
And y'all know life would shit on me that way. It totally would.

Pregnancy WEEK 28 (May 26th- June 1st)

OK!! We’re officially in the 3^rd….and last…..trimester!!!

Can you freaking believe this?!?! Only 12 weeks to go?!?! CRAAAAAZY.

As you can see from above, I’m definitely pregnant. Big ol’ belly. Just a hangin’ out.

Good news is I think she’s moved or something, because I haven’t been having near the amount of back/tailbone pain that I was having a few weeks ago. It’s almost like I can sit like a normal person and don’t need to utilize the coccyx cushion!!! But I still use it….cause that’s how I roll. Yup, like a 97 year old rollin' down the 'hood on her scooter and coccyx cushion. Don't be jealous.

I did go to the doctor on May 30th and have some, well, interesting news: Apparently my uterus measures at 32 cm. Y’all are probably like, so?! What’s the big deal? Well, since I was only 28 weeks at the time of measurement, that means that my uterus is a lot bigger than it normally should be. Rule of thumb is at 28 weeks you’re supposed to be 28 cm. Makes sense.

Except when you have gigantor as a husband.

Seriously, the doctor said, and  I quote, “WOOOOOOOW, you must have a BIG baby in there!!!”

He had to measure me twice, because he didn’t believe the first readings.

Awesomesauce.

Ryan’s mom said that he was a whopping 23 inches when he was born…..TWENTY-THREE!!!! WTF?!?! He was like a freaking toddler when he popped out.

I have a feeling Baby Girl is taking after her daddy. What do you all bet?!?!

Cheers to reconstructive surgery of the vajayjay region!!!

And on that note……lets move on.

As far as the weight issue is, I gained about 6-7lbs. Doc still hasn’t said anything, and I’m still within ‘normal’ range, so I’m going to continue to eat ice cream by the truck load. Take that. Besides, I’d feel like a bad mother depriving my daughter of the one thing that apparently she neeeeeds all day, right? Right. The doctors office 'flat chested ho bag' said that my magic number is 187lbs. I kinda want to cry just typing that. But I know it’s ok me being pregnant and all.

I’ve truly made the choice to completely change my eating and exercise habits after she’s born. I’ve got Ryan on board too. My friend Chelsea has just inspired me to get fit. Not to lose weight really, but just be HEALTHY! So look for that exciting saga come mid-august.

As far as other preggy things, not much is going on. I still crave sweets, ice cream being the majority. 

She kicks non-stop, lots in the morning and in the evening. And I can tell it’s getting cramped in there because I’m starting to feel it on both sides of my tummy.  Although I keep getting comments on how I don't even look pregnant. I mean I have a belly, yes, but I had a client just say to me last week that she thought I was only 4-5 months along, not in my 7th month! Must be my long torso, she just is growing vertical in there and not pushing out. Maybe. I don't know. I like to make shit up. Just bare with me.

Also.....better late than never…..we’ve started our ‘pregnancy & labor’ education DVDs!!! Whoop whoop!!  My SIL gave them to me, and man do they beat trucking our sorry asses to some hospital for Lamaze.  Very educational. Ryan learned a lot about the female reproductive system on the last CD. He also learned about what happens when you start to go into labor. He was particularly interested in the part where I’ll lose the ‘mucus plug’.  And by ‘particularly interested’ I mean he turned to me with a disgusted look on his face, and said, “No. I do not want to see it, I don’t want to know about it, nothing. No. Not going to happen.”

Guess I know his feelings on that now. Lol.

OH yeah, and we bought a house!

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!

We have a home!

Baby girl will have a room!

I can decorate!!!!!

Here’s some pics, I’ll do a more detailed update on another post:

Funny, I just noticed that the outside kinda looks like our old house, but just bigger. Anyways, we have a signed contract and will close on July 12th! About a month before baby girl gets here!

Ok, that’s about it for me, on to Baby Girl!

She weighs around 2.5lbs, and should be about 16 inches in length (measuring head to toe).  This week, baby’s brain wave activity is developing more and more and she may even be dreaming! The book says that she probably has sleep cycles and rapid eye movement and everything by this time. I wonder what she dreams about? Lol.

She has also started blinking, and she’s doing some coughing, more intense sucking, and most important….better breathing.

At this point in the pregnancy, she could survive in the outside world if she was born right now. Her lungs have grown enough to support her. However, we want to keep baking her for a little while. Better she waits a little while longer!

I should have lots of updates about life this week, so tune in!!