Growing Pains

At least that is what I think I had last night. Let me back up. We had dinner at Den.ny's last night. Of course I was feeling some pregnant cravings so I had the appetizer buffalo chicken strips and the appetizer bacon and cheese covered fries. Thus spicy and greasy food. Not good for my already sensitive and filled to the brim with stones - gall bladder.

About 30 minutes after we got home, I started having constant pain all across my upper abdomen - right near or under my ribs. When I was first holding the right side of it, Dean immediately said I shouldn't have eaten that stuff because now my gall bladder is acting up. I told him I would be SO PISSED if after 37 weeks of pregnancy, NOW would be the time it wanted to act up? When I'm already so big, it hurts to bend over?? But then the pain was in my lower back as well and I could NOT get comfortable. We were trying to watch a movie and I kept getting up off the couch and bending over the couch and laying down and walking laps in the living room...nothing would make it stop. This continued for about 2.5 hours. We didn't want to call the doctor just yet because the pain wasn't fitting into the description of Braxton.Hicks, pre-term labor, early labor, or labor-labor. Yes, we did have to bust out the What.To.Expect book to be sure. Nothing matched because the pain was constant and not coming and going as contractions should do.

I asked him to call the doctor and he said they weren't going to do anything for me so why call? Well, I can't get comfortable and the last paragraph of the labor chapter did say, "If you have any doubt, CALL." So he talked to the on-call doctor (not same on-call doc that prematurely had me thinking I had pre-e, thank goodness). She said basically that the baby is growing a whole lot right now and these are basically just late pregnancy pains. Take a warm bath and a couple of Tylenol. UGH.

So off to the bathroom we go for a bath at 11:30. That helped the pain until the water started cooling off. I was so tired and finally decided to try and go to sleep - HOW I have no idea as there were zero positions that I could get cozy in.

I ended up, upstairs in the guest bed because its not as squishy as our bed, and helped my back a little. I tossed and turned for a few more hours, but finally was able to go to sleep. Of course, this only lasted a few hours because then I had to pee! Luckily after that pee break, I slept all the way until morning. Morning - at 9:30 - when Dean came in to wake me and Maddie barked and tried to bite him for touching Mama! She is totally in protective mode now.

This morning we are pain free, thank goodness.

Oh but I have another story for the day - ugh and it's only 10:45 as I type. When I got up, there was a voicemail on my cell. Guess who? Remember this lady who was going to save the day? Yeah, it was from her. We had a meeting this afternoon to meet her and see her house where our baby would be taken care of....the message was this, "Hi Kim. It's Jen. I know we were supposed to meet today, but I didn't really get a good response from the ad I posted (remember she posted it on 3/9 and I was her first call last week) so I am going to have to look for something full time outside the home. Sorry, Thanks, and Good Luck."
WHAT THE HELL? Why are you waiting until the day we are supposed to meet to drop this on me? What we think happened is she talked it over with her husband and he said if you are only going to be keeping 1 kid, that's not enough money to cover us so you need a full time job. And I understand that, but her timing B.L.O.W.S.

So Dean has posted an ad on our neighborhood website and I just found a home based child care lady in the section across the street from us. Hopefully one of those will pan out...

The What-Are-We-Going-To-Do-When-Mom-Goes-Back-To-Work-Game is back on.

Baby Game and Busy Week

Tomorrow is the last day for the Baby Guessing Game @ ExpectNet. I am closing it on Wednesday to all guesses and changes to guesses. If you want to change what you originally guessed, leave a comment here and I'll update it for you.

I'm still contemplating the prize for the winner, but I think I have it narrowed down.

This is a busy week for us. Today or tomorrow (last minute appt maker - that's me!) I am hoping to get a hair appointment to update my highlights which haven't been attended to in at least 4 months! Tomorrow, we meet the babysitter-to-be. Tomorrow is also Dean's band practice.
Wednesday is Dean's follow up from his cardiologist appt - I'm going with him this time - to meet the cardio for one and also to hear for myself that things are going well. Not that I don't believe him, he just makes everything sound so peachy!
Thursday is the car seat inspection at the local fire station.
Friday is our 37 week appt and maternity pics.
Saturday is Dean's band concert and I am going to a Pampered.Chef party - WOOT!

Hope you all have a blessed week!

Weight has been lifted....

So we've been unsure of who would be taking care of Peanut once I have to go back to work. We really didn't want to use a daycare because babies in daycare tend to get sick easier and more frequently because of all the germy little kids running around. Grammy has been a pre-k teacher for about 20 years or so, and we had hoped she would be quitting her job in order to take care of Peanut for us full time. She has other plans though. She's been going to a community college for years taking classes towards a certification in child care. She has finally finished and will be graduating in a few weeks. Next on the agenda is her associates in childcare development, and then a bachelors. I am happy for her that she is finally completing this task, but it makes me sad too that she won't be helping raise Peanut on a full time basis.

Since this was discussed, we have been looking around for a caregiver -preferably a stay-at-home mom who is wanting to take in a few more kids for some extra money. We live in a 3300 acre community with I don't even know how many homes in it. Surely someone fits that bill around here? I have posted in our Yahoo group and had S look in hers as well...we finally got a hit a few weeks ago from S's group, but they wanted to start immediately. REALLY? How can you start immediately as a babysitter when I don't have a baby to give you to sit yet?? So it didn't work out. We've also looked at the Texas Registered Child Care website (I don't have it bookmarked and don't feel like looking it up - call me lazy) but it seems like most of the ones who care for only a few children aren't registered or licensed or they live too far for me to be dropping Peanut off before the van every morning - call me lazy again - but mornings aren't my thing and if I can find someone in our neighborhood, which would only require an extra 10 minutes (yes, I know baby will create more time) to drop off, that would be AWESOME!

Our other reference we had was a co-worker's sister who had a baby in February. She didn't say she wanted more kids to look after, I actually approached my friend to ask her - she lives just outside my neighborhood. Well, we had plans for her to come over and meet us and she canceled - not feeling well. Then we had tentative plans to meet later in the week - she never confirmed. My friend finally told me that she wasn't really interested. If she had been, she would have been more gung-ho on meeting us and getting everything setup.

Anyway, today a lady was coming by who used to be a bunco friend's nanny. She is currently employed at a Montessori here in the neighborhood, but might want to come back to nanny'ing (is that a word?). She came and brought a friend with her who is currently unemployed but might be looking into nanny'ing too. Anyway, after lots of small talk we finally got to the gist of the meeting - the money. Apparently we low-balled her big time. I thought she was going to laugh at our offer. We thought it was generous knowing what it costs for an infant in a daycare and what it costs for a nanny through an agency - you're looking at $225 versus $500 per week. So that pretty much ended the conversation. She BS'd a little while longer about her kids in her class and how well they minded, blah, blah. And was like LATER!

Needless to say after she left, I was bummed. This was technically the last source we had and we managed to kill 2 at once (the friend she brought). I am stressing about it and wondering why in the world Grammy can't quit for me?? Not to mention, we are down to the wire before Peanut arrives and with no care lined up for after maternity leave makes me kinda nervous. So Dean went back upstairs and said he was going to post some things on some sites - yahoo group, craigslist, etc. First he stopped at our neighborhood website where there is a small classifieds section where people ask for babysitters, dog walkers, house sitters, etc. Lo and behold, there's a posting dated 3/09/09 by a stay-at-home-mom who is wanting to take on up to 3 more kids in addition to her 6 month old. I figured it was worth a call anyway - oh and!!! she was asking for the same amount we offered the previous visitors! I called and she sounds super sweet. She actually has had ZERO people respond to the posting so she is still just home with her son. We chatted a while about child care in general and the dilemmas of choosing daycare vs. nanny and her and husband went through the same things we are!

I am so proud to say that we have a meeting setup to meet her and her son next Tuesday. If all goes well, we will have a sitter lined up to start in June when I go back to work!!!

Thank the Good Lord above for small favors!

**If you've read all of this, sorry for the long-windedness and for all the parenthesis. (Apparently I really like them today!)

36 Week Update

• Blood pressure - R arm: 130/90; L arm 120/90; after resting L arm 110/76
• Weight - up 2 lbs from last week
• Little bit of swelling
• Belly measuring 37 weeks
• Baby HB - 148 (NOTE: he has been super active today up until right before the appt so I guess it was enough to increase the hb since its been in the 130's for the past several visits)
• Baby hasn't dropped
• Baby weight approximately 6 lbs.
• Cervix a little soft
• No dilation

HOLY MOLY did that internal exam hurt like a BI-ATCH! I thought her fingers were going to come out of my throat! I had to potty before we checked out and it was already spotting a little bit. She said that was normal and due to the soft cervix.

She said since the baby was still high and no dilation, she doesn't expect labor any time soon. Which is fine by me. I love being pregnant!

Hospital Registration...

I just pre-registered for the hospital! AAAAAAAHHHH!!! That makes it feel so real and like it's that much closer!!

36 week appointment with first cervical check tomorrow afternoon!

Grandma Update

The sister just called with good news. Grandma woke up this morning - as in fully awake with both eyes open. They moved her into her chair and into the dining room to see everyone. She had some water, vanilla milkshake, mashed potatoes and green beans! The first food she's had since breakfast Friday morning! Her eyes are open and she's talking too! However, they now feel that it was an actual stroke versus TIA because the right side of her face is now paralyzed. She is back to her smiling self - albeit from the left side only though.

I am so happy and glad that she's doing better now. I was VERY scared that something was going to happen to her this close to my due date. I know that sounds terrible and selfish of me, but after Grandpa passed away on our 1 year anniversary, that date forever makes me sad. Every year on October 15th, we go to the cemetary on the way to our annivesary dinner. I didn't want to have my baby's birthday be the same day that Grandma passed away. Plus I REALLY want her to be able to meet her first great-grandbaby. She tears up everytime we tell her about it.

**Please don't hate me or criticize me for what I said***

Update Round Up

Time for some all around updates...

The Sock-It-To-Me-Exchange is closing out. Last day to send out those cutie socks was on Saturday. I sent mine and can't wait for a picture to be posted on my recipient's blog! She's a reader of mine, so I hope you like them! I haven't received mine yet, but we haven't checked the mail since...er...Thursday I think.

ICLW has started. Actually it started on Saturday, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I just love ICLW. It brings new visitors to my neck of the woods and lets me read new blogs as well...Since I don't really have an "About Me" post to refer you new peeps to, I will steal the same idea that Nancy stole from Kym.... It's the ABC's of Me:

• April is the month my baby is due.
• Boy is what I think the gender is.
• Chocolate is my favorite!
• Dean is my husband's name. He's 23 years older than me, has a daughter 6 months younger than me, a son 4 years younger than me, and a 10 year old granddaugther!
• Eggs make me puke - any way you cook them...except for deviled.
• Foster kids are what I wanted if we hadn't gotten pregnant the last time.
• Grammy and Grampy can't wait to hold their first grandkid!
• Home is where I love. Since working from home the past 3 weeks, I have realized how much I really love our home and how little time I spent here before.
• Ice cream and orange cream slushes from Sonic are what I have been craving.
• January is the month that has the most birthdays in my family.
• KimboSue is a nickname my friend gave me when we were freshmen and it has stuck with me ever since.
• Love - overwhelming love is what I feel already for this baby.
• Mashed potatoes with BROWN gravy - MMM, MMM!
• None of my close friends (except for 1) have babies or kids.
• OctoMom pisses me the f*ck off.
• Peanut is what we have been calling our growing bun in the oven since we haven't found out the gender.
• Quinn is the name of an old friend's new baby girl.
• Rodeo is something I volunteer for. I'm on the sign shop committee. We make all the signs for the rodeo - exit here, buy beer tickets here, no minors, etc.
• Soon, in just 4 -1/2 short weeks (maybe more, maybe less) we will have ourselves a real live baby in this house!
• Trumpet is the horn that Deano plays. He used to play professionally. He has "retired" several times, but his friends keep asking him back!
• Uterus is Dean's new favorite word to say.
• Vagina is a word that I wish I could pretend didn't exist. It is so WEIRD.
• WalMart is awesome for a baby registry - no receipt to return something? No problem - here's some store credit. SWEET!
• Xrays of my teeth will be needed after I have this baby.
• Yogurty-caramel dip with apples is my new morning snack!
• Zebra is the Little People animal my friend Steph always calls "Giraffe" when playing with it and Andrew! He will forever get them confused! :0)

Friday afternoon Grandma had a small stroke. The term they used was TIA stroke. I have been scared to Go.ogle it, so maybe Martha RN can fill me in? The doctors said that she would come out of it within 24 hours. 24 hours was over Saturday morning, 11 AM. So far there has been no progress. They have her on oxygen with a continuous care nurse by her side 24x7 in the event she comes to. Other than that, its pretty much like she is just sleeping all the time. She does move a little and rubs her face or scratches her arm sometimes. She has opened her eyes a couple of times, but not really focusing on anyone in the room (she's been at an Alzheimer's/Dementia facility since 10/06) and the nurse said if she puts the flashlight in her eyes that her eyes are not dialating as they should be. So all we can do is visit and rub her arms or face and talk to her. However, it does appear that she can hear what we are saying. Yesterday morning the nurse told her she was going to suction her mouth and throat out for her and she promptly snapped her mouth shut. Apparently she doesn't like this. I wouldn't either - I saw it done on Grandpa - and no thank you. Please everyone keep Grandma in your prayers and pray that she wakes up out of this state so we can start having our funny little conversations again...

My sleep was better last night - finally. I think the bed was the culprit. We have one of those mattresses that looks like a regular mattress, but actually is a waterbed inside. I told Dean we needed more water in it - to make it firmer. Apparently my fat pregnant ass was so heavy, it was sinking during the night and since I have to sleep on my sides, that is what was causing my hips to hurt so much. So last night was MUCH better and I only had to pee 3 times. A little relief anyway!

There's a banner at the top of this page for ExpectNet - it's the Baby Artall Guessing Game. Time is quickly running out fellas. I'm closing the game on April 1st, so get your guesses in now. There will be an actual prize (I should probably get working on said prize now, you know, before Peanut shows up and takes up all my time!) for the winner. Right now, girl votes outnumber the boy votes!

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this, especially if you're here from ICLW!

35 Week Update

• + 2 lbs. since appointment 2 weeks ago
• baby heartrate = 132
• belly measuring at 36 weeks
• did a swab to check for bacteria called Group B streptococci (GBS).
• Now we are on to weekly appointments.....EEK!

We had a nice dinner with friends (and a bunch of their friends) last night. They moved to TN 2 years ago and were down for 2 weddings. It was nice to see them and catch up.

I am amazed by the power of Facebook. I recently "found" 2 long lost friends. I went to elementary, jr. high and highschool with them. We are meeting today for lunch to catch up on what's been going on in our lives for the past 13 years or so! I am looking forward to it.

Nothing really planned this weekend besides a baby shower tomorrow. Hopefully I will get some much needed R&R!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

No Sleep & Lots O' Pics

So I have finally gotten to the point where I cannot get a full night's sleep to save my life! I had a headache last night so I took 2 Tylenol and went to bed at 9:20. I was hoping going to bed early would let me get a little bit more sleep, but no. I woke up at 11:45, 2:00, and 4:00 and 6:00 to go to the bathroom!! How does my little, tiny, squished bladder have the capacity to hold that much fluid without me drinking anything during the night???

I am also having to sleep with the wedge pillow under my belly and the big giraffe body pillow behind my back in the event I try to roll over in the night - which I do - but if I don't have the pillow I start to get short of breath? I guess cutting off circulation to my main vein would do that, right? Oh and to top it off, Maddie has turned into a 65 year old man! She snores SO LOUD and SO LONG! I was knocking on the headboard and calling out to her from 4-4:45 to get her to shut up!! Finally I picked her up and put her on our bed. For some reason, she doesn't snore up there, but if she does, I can easily give her a little nudge with my foot!

The 35 week appointment is this afternoon, so I'll update that tomorrow morning. Until then, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Beautiful Mess asked for pics of the patio furniture we bought last weekend...

Here is the 35 week belly pic!

The first piece of Peanut's Blanket-to-be, signed by all the shower invitees...

The changing station, dresser, and hamper. The baby's name will go above this once we know what it is!

The valance...the picture of the whole window wouldn't show up clear because of the sun shining through the blinds...

The pics Aunt Mel, Grammy, and myself painted and the crib...

The growth chart

The little shelf and painting Aunt Mel painted. We will put the baby's name and birth information in the clouds. It will also be hanging on our Post Partum room at the hospital!

The pappasan that I just can't get rid of (it will probably move to the living room and the rocker will go here after the baby moves into the nursery), the monkey we will take baby pics with, and the blanket my sister-in-law made.

The wardrobe - it has diapers and wipes inside!

Nothing Special for a Title

We had a pretty good weekend, laid low most of it anyway.

• Friday night, Dean wanted to stay home and watch movies on his new TV. However, our friend SI wanted us to meet her out to see a band play at a restaurant/bar in Pearland. Given that she doesn't live in Pearland, anytime she does come to this side of town, we had better jump on it. :0) So we met her and some other friends to see the band. And there we are at 1 AM for the 2nd night in a row!!! Whew - another tired Momma Night!
• Saturday Dean had taken his son to pick up the motorcycle and when he got back we were going to go look at patio furniture. I couldn't decide if I really wanted to go or not since it was raining for like the 4th day in a row. We ended up going anyway and hit a couple of different stores looking around. We had a few prospects, but hadn't really picked anything yet.
• Sunday we looked at the ads and Acad.emy had a pretty decent (in the picture at least) 10 piece set for only $299 - 4 chairs, 2 swivel/rocker chairs, large table, side table and 2 ottomans. We decided to take a looksy. Of course, Acad.emy is the closest of all the stores we visited! It was actually nicer than the picture and we came home with it. It was still nasty outside but we unboxed it and put the tables together in the garage anyway. Then set everything up and relaxed in our patio-garage furniture! We did eventually put it on the patio Monday night....
• Tonight we are going out to dinner with friends, tomorrow is Dean's annual stress.test (Please keep him in your prayers. He's never had a bad test, but because of the stents he had implanted a few years back, he has to do these tests every year.), and tomorrow is the HOLY COW - 35 week appointment!

Hope everyone is having a splendid week!

Bonus!

We had our Infant.CPR.and.Safety class last night. We are now educated in car seat installation, CPR, and choking - or rather how to releive choking I should say. It was definitely worth the time and money for this class. It was the shortest of the 3 that we took, but probably the most beneficial considering it could be applied to save Peanut's life!

Afterwards, we met S&J and Baby Andrew at Buffalo.Wild.Wings because, you know when Peanut wants wings, Peanut gets wings! (It's never because I want wings, it's always because "it's what the baby wants!") We hadn't got to visit with them in a while, so after dinner we went back to their house....until 1 AM! HOLY MOLY is this Baby Mama T.I.R.E.D. I felt like I got run over by a truck. Dean had a 7 AM con-call he had to get up for. Me, well I "work from home" too, but remember I don't have anything to do since my backup-to-be wants to "learn all the ropes" before I am really out on maternity leave and un-contactable (is that a word?). So I slept in - SSHHH - don't tell LaRay. Wait. Who am I kidding? She left last night to take the fam to Disney World for Spring Break. She'll never even know!

We have a pretty boring weekend ahead. Dean is taking his son to pick up a motorcycle he bought off of Craigs.list. It's a 1963 BSA - Sportstar or something like that. Not that I know what that means. Just that it's a small, light bike that is super cool according to our friend in the UK. It is currently not running, but the boy is eager to fix it up. I am excited too, because he has no other transportation right now and lives 15 miles away. Anytime we want to do anything with him, we have to go pick him up, usually just to bring him back to our house. Then after whatever we are doing, Dean takes him back again. I just hope he gets it running sooner than later!

After that, we plan on going to look for patio furniture. Dean built this awesome flagstone patio 3 years ago when we moved in. And then last year, we finished building this outdoor barbecue. Now we need to add some nice furniture to complete the ensemble. We had better do it now while we still have money leftover from my bonus at work. Oh - and I think I forgot to post what else we have already bought with it. Baby stuff? NAH. Mommy stuff? NAH. Daddy stuff? BUT OF COURSE!

Not ONE, but TWO 46" LCD HD TV's!! Here's a pic of the one in the game room, currently in front of my couch planted butt...

Actually, he has been wanting one of these TV's for a very long time and at Christmas I put a note in his stocking that he could use some of my bonus in March for a new TV. But TWO? REALLY? And you'll never guess where we got them....at the grocery store! Our HEB is an HEB Plus. This just means it has more stuff than regular HEB's, but not as much as HEB Central Market (The granddaddy of all grocery stores). It has textiles, electronics, baby department. Anyway, they were clearing out their '08 models to make room for the '09s. We got the last 46" in a box and the display model. He was so happy to be rid of our 1990 TV's....not really 1990, but the old school box style. Hell - one was my TV from college!

What a loving wife I am to give my husband the money that I so desperately worked for (ok, the company worked for) to let him make such a grand purchase???? LOL

A little delayed, but here's the 34 week, 2 day belly pic. Please excuse the no bra and fishing pants that I am borrowing from the husband. None of my pajama pants will fit anymore!

BF'ing and e-Shower Pics

We finished our breastfeeding class last night. I'll have to say that we are now rethinking our plans for pumping and storage. Steph is letting us borrow her Med.ela Pump'N.Style pump and in the stuff I sent with my sister to return/purchase included the Med.ela Accessory.Kit, breast milk storage bags, and a breast milk organizer tray.

Now we are second guessing those choices. Apparently only the Med.ela Sym.phony pump (hospital grade - the one you can rent because it costs $5000 to buy) and the Ameda.Purely.Yours are the only 2 that have a closed circuit system. Meaning these are the only 2 guaranteed no cross-contamination between users. That is why the Sym.phony can be passed from mother to mother in the hospital (each one has her own accessory kit) and not worry about bacteria transfer. We had thought that by purchasing a Med.ela accessory.kit that I could use her pump with no worries, but since that one is an open circuit, there is a risk that there is milk or milk spray or antigens that were able to be pushed back through the tubing and into the motor. Even though the tubing is replaced in the accessory kit, there is no way to sterilize or clean inside the motor because you can't take it apart. Now I love my Steph, but I don't know about getting her booby milk germies and giving them to my Peanut!!

Since we hope to breastfeed for at least 6 months, it is more economical to purchase our own pump, rather than rent so we are going to buy the Ameda.Purely.Yours.

We are still debating on exchanging the breast milk storage bags. I liked them because you can set them inside this organizer tray standing up (to avoid leakage) and order them by date. This way you are always using the oldest milk first. She said plastic bags cause some breakdown in some vitamins in the milk. Also you have the transferring issue - where every time you transfer the milk - from the pumped-into bottle - to the bag - to the feeding bottle - you are exposing it to germs in the air. I think our freezer can better handle the one tray full of bags, rather than multiple bottles or jars!

Also, amid the stuff I sent back with my sister, we had a box of bottles/nipples/brushes and the bottle sterilizer. Somehow the sterilizer got put into her truck and returned! WHOOPS. We will have to get another one of those - sorry LaRay!

Breastfeeding will definitely be a challenge, especially when I go back to work, but the benefits are so much greater!

And now for some e-shower pics...

This is me just dialing into the con call on my cell. We don't have long distance on the home or office phone so that was interesting. Also, I have no clue what I am doing with my hand.
This is me with all of Martha's goodies...

This is Maddie checking out her gift from Martha. She isn't sure about the spikes...

The cutest (and most perfect) little bib for My Little Peanut!

The adorable onesie....

The Disney bowl and utensil set... I don't even look pregnant here!

Andrew checking out the books/boobs. He LOVES my boobs!

After the shower...Andrew watching Uncle Dean mow the backyard.

Thanks and Pics

• First of all, I would to again thank April, Loretta, Steph, and Martha for coming to my virtual e-shower this past weekend! Martha really did a bang up job of planning the shower for my blog friends! I received a "baby shower in a box" complete with a decoration and matching napkins. It had several gifts for Peanut, even one for Maddie! There were favors of See's chocolates, magnetic picture frame, and a reusable Disney shopping bag! Peanut's gifts included several baby books and a onesie that says "I HEART Mommy." Dean got a box of See's chocolate cigars to pass out when Peanut arrives. It was very great to "hear" everyone on the phone and get some great baby/child raising advice. Dean and I appreciate all of you!
• My last biweekly appointment is next week, but Dr. S had me come into the office yesterday just for a BP check and a pee test. Initial BP check was 134/84. After a 10 minute rest, it was 118/64. Pee test showed no protein. YAHOO
• And now for a few pics from Shower #2 (e-shower pics are still being held captive on Steph's camera).

This is me in my "Don't Touch My Belly" shirt I wore at the shower. This is right before we were "allowed" into the living room where everyone was. It was like the big reveal of the Mr. and Mrs!

This is a cute idea my friend SI made. It's a piece of fabric with a Zero in the middle of it. Everyone signed it like you would a guest book. She said as Peanut grows up, she is going to bring one of these to each birthday party and have everyone sign them. At some point, she's going to sew them all together to make a baby blanket. How thoughtful this was!

These are my girls...Laura, Tammy, Fatso, Shayla, and Steph.

This was Dean opening his present from me - Daddy's Tool Bag AKA Daddy's diaper bag!

This is a homemade blanket my sister-in-law made for Peanut. It has several animals on it made of touchy-feely fabrics for Baby Peanut!

Bringing Home Baby...

So now my dilemma is what outfit to bring home the baby in. Yes, I know it's a little early, but I want to have it here and ready when its time to pack the bags.

Dean has little or no opinion with anything I have suggested. His response, "I'm a guy. I don't know about these things. Ask a girl." REALLY? You are the baby daddy so I would think you would at least want a little input...

When we cleaned out the spare bedroom closet not long ago, we came across 2 baby outfits of Dean's...One was his christening outfit and the other just a sweater and hat someone handmade. They are both yellow and kinda girly if you ask me. I had planned on getting them cleaned - by hand with Woolite - and using one of those, but it appears they are going to be too big. The christening gown says 6 months. The other outfit obviously has no tags, but looks big.

SO....on to Plan B.

Do we I want something fancy? No
Do we I want something funny? Maybe
Do we I want something cutie? Of Course
Do we I want something comfy? Absolutely

Since I have to get a "girl's opinion," can you internets help me out? We have a lot of newborn and 0-3 month onesies that are cutie (ducks and frogs mainly) that would suffice (no pics, but you know what they look like), but I kind of want something that more represents us and who we are or what we like...

A little background story to my 2nd option...A few years ago, a friend of mine (LH from CO) told me that a friend of hers told her that there is not a day that goes by in our lives that we do not see, hear, or read about a MONKEY. That being a picture, something on TV or radio, hear a monkey noise, or just hear the word monkey. I said, "yeah right." Then I got on a plane to fly home from visiting her and suddenly monkeys were everywhere! It was like I had moved to Planet of the Apes or something! So I told some friends and now they are believers too! So monkeys are kind of our thing. I bought a big stuffed monkey for the baby for monthly pictures to chart how much Peanut has grown in relation to the monkey.

So my 2nd option is this monkey onesie I found on eBay. It's only $10 with free shipping. I think I have a baby hat and socks that could go with it already.

So which is it internets? Ducks or Monkey?

33 Weeks & Picture Updates

I have been promising some pics for a while, not to mention we forgot in all the commotion last week to take a 32 week pic... But the pics in a minute. Let me catch up to date on "Is it Pre-E or Is It Not?"

Today was our 33 week appointment. This is also the first time we have actually spoken to Dr. S since going to L&D last week and being told to stay away from work. They were only running a little bit behind schedule today. Good thing, since we had a cooler in tow with the pee bucket inside! I think they felt sorry for us and let us go on back to the waiting room in the back with the ice chest. Luckily, we were put into a room promptly after that, just for the nurse to check vitals, but it got us out of the weird stares - I kept telling Dean I felt like we were transporting a liver or a heart or something. He kept putting it up to his ear asking if it was still beating...ugh - boys! Anyway, the vital check:

• weight check - down 3.5 lbs since since 2 weeks ago
• BP - initial 128/81; had me lay down for a few and it was 117/60. REALLY?
• baby HR - 138
• baby belly - measuring on schedule

Dr. S said looks like the resting was helping with the bp. We said wellllll....and proceeded to tell her about this crazy week and that the Monday after all that was done was the day I called the after hours line and had to go for BP monitoring. Her response? That high activity and stress have NOTHING to do with pre-e and that no one even knows the cause of pre-e. If someone did, they would win the Nobel Prize! HA! She said old school medicine said if you had high BP, protein in your urine, and swelling, then you had pre-e. Now swelling is not even considered a "symptom" of pre-e because almost every pregnant woman has some type of swelling. But the ONE POINT over the limit of protein and my BP not remaining high (it goes down after sitting or laying) means that I DO NOT HAVE PRE-E!!!!

WHOO HOO!!! She said she doesn't see me having pre-e or any other issues and to just take it easy. She even said I could go back to work if I wanted. I said I was more comfortable working from home because when I was getting those killer headaches, it was at work. I think (not that I have an MD, only from Go.ogle) that sitting up all day caused those. She said she was good with it either way. I spoke with my boss and she said she was ok with it too. Whatever it takes to keep Peanut incubating as long as possible! So I will continue working from home....however, my backup dude has asked for him to still be able to do my tasks and for me to just "supervise" him, given that we have been blessed with this extra time that I am available for questions. So....sounds like a cush job to me right? ;0) Not cush, just an awesome, understanding manager who only wants best for me and this baby. So UNLIKE my previous managers!!!

We also asked Dr. S what was up with the weight loss and she said a week of resting probably and then weight loss probably meant it was swelling weight that I lost. I didn't even realize I HAD swelling. I've been checking my legs and ankles and didn't see anything. She said it was probably all over swelling, just under the skin where I couldn't even tell.

So all in all, it was an AWESOME appointment. She doesn't expect any more issues for the rest of the pregnancy - THANK GOD. Hopefully we'll get the 2nd pee bucket results tomorrow and it will be normal again...

We learned lots of good info at Breastfeeding Part 1 last night. I am very glad we signed up for the class. I especially got a lot from the actual holding of the pretend babies and the pretend boob to know how to hold each and help the baby get a good latch. I am sure Part 2 will be just as informative! And I think Dean laughed only twice - once when they said the word "placenta" - for some reason that word just makes him hysterical - and another when they talked about not allowing the baby's nose to be smushed into the boob - he says "you'll suffocate him." HA very funny!

Ok, onto the pics....

This is a chrysalis that will be a butterfly soon. It is residing in the Butterfly Garden at the Children's Museum where we took the fam 2 weeks ago.

This is the fam at NASA - Adrien (daughter), Dean, Jody (son-in-law), prego and Catherine (granddaughter) in front.

If you look closely in the bubble up top, you can see Catherine waving to us! This was in the indoor playground at Space Center.

During our NASA tour of the astronaut training facilities, our tour guide noticed this thing was being taken out of the building so we all hauled it outside to watch it in motion. It's the new Mars Rover that will be used for our first Mars landing!

And finally....the 33 week belly pic! In my oh-so-attractive Men's XL sweat pants!

Thanks for the Words....

Thanks everyone for the prayers and slaps back into reality to let me know that I really am doing something laying around on my butt all day long....and that is growing Peanut bigger and stronger everyday.

I also feel better since Sister came over yesterday and organized the baby stuff that was still all over the place. I also sent her with some things we need to return to various stores, as well as a list of things we still need i.e. the changing pad!

Nothing on the agenda today besides thank you notes and filling out the warranty cards for the baby items that were put together on Sunday.

Tomorrow night is the first breastfeeding class. That should be interesting. I rsvp'd for only myself, but at the childbirth class on Saturday, the instructor said the partner should come too, so they know what is going on and how to encourage us if we are having trouble. I am sure D will be all over that because undoubtedly there will be pictures and/or videos of boobies!

Thursday is our 33 week appointment with Dr. S, as well as the first time we will have had to talk to her since everything went down last week.

Happy Tuesday.

Socks Rock!

Kym from I'm a Smart One is SOOO smart! She has decided to host a sock exchange. Why? Because socks rock! They are warm and fuzzy like all the bloggy love we got going on in our little circle of internet friends.

For rules and how to sign up, read her post here.

I will have to send Deano or my other fun sock lovin' friend Steph, to the store for me. But by God, I'm getting me some fun lovin', put me in a better mood, make the OB smile when I take off my shoes, socks!

***Also Nikki had her bouncing baby girl over the weekend. Please go and give her Sophia some lovin'!

Homebound Day #5

Here I am, in the recliner, on Day #5 of resting. I have the TV, laptop, phone, water, BP cuff, and Maddie all within my reach.

Saturday was our Fast Track AKA 8 hours long child birthing class. It was ok. The teacher was nice and educated. We did learn a lot of information and see a lot of videos. Dean could have gone without the delivery of the placenta, but hey - it's all part of the process, you know? HA. The hospital I will be delivering in has recently built a new wing - which we got to tour. Apparently by April, all of their rooms will be Private (no more sharing with some other mother) and L&D and Post Partum will all be in the new wing. That is awesome! The other side of the hospital is a little bit more antiquated. They are trying to keep up with all of the other hospitals in the area. The instructor had asked if I wanted a wheelchair for the tour. I said no, that I would be fine. But near the end, my cheeks were flushed (Dean says this is always an indication of my BP going up). So when we got back to the classroom, I had to lay down on a mat with my pillows while everyone else was in chairs. I felt like the slow kid in the class. :0(

That did me in and I fell asleep while watching a movie after dinner.

Sunday I had big plans to remove the tags off of the remainder of the washables and get a laundry pile ready for somebody. All I did was come upstairs, get some stuff out of the closet, something out of the dresser, and then sit on the floor to cut the tags off. Dean came up to see how I was doing and my face was flushed again. He told me to quit so we went downstairs. It was almost 1:00 so I wanted to take a shower and he told me no. I started crying. All I wanted to do was get my baby's stuff organized and take a shower and I couldn't even do that. He had some errands to run at the grocery and hardware stores, so he left me on the couch and said not to get up. I cried the entire time he was gone. Its just so hard. I know there is so much to get done in the baby's room and I can't do a damn thing without getting flushed.

I just know in my heart that Peanut is going to want to come early and I won't have anything ready. What a terrible Mom to not even have an outfit ready for him to come home in! There are some things that need to be exchanged for some things we really need...and the nursery needs to be organized. Right now all the non-washable things like pacifiers, bottles, car stuff, etc. are just sitting in baskets on the dresser.

Luckily, the grandparents came over yesterday and Grammy washed the clothes, blankets and bath stuff. Some of it got put away, but some still needs to be put up as it came out of the dryer after she left. Then Dean and Grampy put together the stroller frame, pack-n-play, swing, and bouncy seat. I feel a little bit of relief. But I would still feel better if the room in general was prepared...

I know this ended up being a whining and complaining post and I know that all of this resting is for the betterment of Peanut. And that's all that matters in the end, right? No matter how many weeks I have to stay at home and/or in bed, that's one less stressful week that Peanut has to fight to live outside the womb. Everything is about the baby.

AND I LOVE MY BABY!