34 Weeks

Maternity Clothes ~ Still in a mix of maternity and regular clothes.  I wore a maternity dress for the first time.  I'm super annoyed by any pant with a elastic band up to my chest.  It's uncomfortable and I feel suffocated while wearing them.

Sleep ~ It's starting to get worse and worse as I move closer to the due date.  I've been waking up with pains going down from my chest to my belly but I think it's because she's set up camp in my upper belly and causing my ribs to expand all the time.  The other night, I woke up with the same pains plus cramps in my lower abdomin and back.  I thought I was going to have to wake up B and have him take me to the hospital but I was able to get back to sleep and I have felt fine the last couple of days.  Just a little bit of a scare.

The pain between my shoulders is back so I'm going to go back to the chiro to get adjusted.  I can't sleep on my sides as it causes too much stress between my shoulders. 

Best Moment This Week ~ We're officially prepared to have this baby.  We finished up our baby prep class this past week.  I would highly recommend to couples having their first baby.  B thinks it was a waste but I got a lot out of it.  I'm the one going through the labor and all he has to do is be supportive though it so of course he didn't get much out of going.  Plus if it doesn't involve fishing these days, he's not really interested in it.

Cravings ~ Sugar and sweets (just like me! :)

Gender ~ GIRL!

What I look forward to ~ Meeting this baby and having no more body pains.  This baby needs to get out of my rib cage pronto.

Milestones ~   Baby is the size of a honeydew.  This week, the protective vernix caseosa (cheese-like, white, waxy, coating that's keeping her skin safe) begins to thicken ensuring that her birthday suit stays smooth and well-moisturized during D-day. 

Sorry, that's all you get this week...I'm lazy and late on this post just like everything else in my life.

Friday Funny

A friend of ours actually introduced us to this video.  Everything by The Lonely Island is hil-a-rious.  I mean that's the point of it all right?  While you're at it, go check out their YouTube channel. 

Happy Friday!

33 Weeks

Maternity Clothes ~ Still in a mix of maternity and regular clothes.  We took out Barney's shorts this weekend and I found all of mine.  It was a little depressing that I can't wear them but in due time I will be back in them.

Sleep ~ I now wake up 3 times a night but otherwise, I'm getting good sleep.

Best Moment This Week ~  I went to a bunch of garage sales this weekend and got loads of clothes from 6 -18 months, hardly used of course.  We have our last child birth class tomorrow night and we will be officially prepped to have this baby.

Cravings ~ Lay's Honey Barbecue chips and cherry licorice.

Gender ~ GIRL!

What I look forward to ~ the upcoming holiday...I can't wait to have a scheduled Monday off.

Milestones ~   Baby is the size of a honeydew.  Baby is running out of room and mom has maxed out her amniotic fluid level making each kick and poke extremely uncomfortable (my ribs have been killing me this week).  This also means that baby will be moving less because she has little room to do so.  Antibodies are being passed from me to baby to develop her immune system.

 

The Wedding

My one and only sister got married this past weekend and I played the part of matron of honor well or as well as I think I should have. 

Aside from the crappy, rainy, sort of cold weather and my two year niece walking around the altar during the vows (which was pretty hilarious - she didn't make a sound, just cruised around for a little while), everything went relatively smoothly.  (I actually shouldn't say the whole day was crappy, just during the ceremony and the rest of the evening.  They did get some great outdoor shots in but it was still a little chilly out).

Then again, it wasn't my wedding and I don't pay attention to detail so maybe something went wrong that I wasn't privy too but I'm guessing not.  My sister was uber happy so I would say it was a major success.

Everyone looked gorgeous as expected.

I received quite a few too many belly rubs, thankfully only from my family members and not complete strangers. 

I drank an entire glass of champagne.  It was delightful. 

I lasted all night and I didn't even have to change sandals.  I also attempted the Cha Cha Slide and if felt like a ton of bricks coming straight down on my bladder.  Note to self: don't attempt jumping until you're unpregnated.

All of my brothers were seen on the dance floor which was shocking!  I think their girlfriends or wife had something to do with it.  There are pictures to prove it.

I think my parents mom is an expert wedding planner now.  Three kids down, two more to go.  Let's hope the last two are quite a few years down the road!

We were only 30 minutes-ish late to the wedding rehearsal Friday afternoon.  I think it was a mutual effort on both B and my parts but he'll say it was all me.  I let him take an extra long nap while I got ready and no matter how hard I try, I will probably be late to everything from here until July.  I tell B that because I'm bigger, I'm also slower.  My sister heard there was sort of a meltdown on someone's part.  I don't recall a meltdown but things may or may not have gotten tense in the car on the way to the church that day and also the next morning on the way to the hair salon.

B told me yesterday on the phone that if our little one is anything like her mama, then she'll be 2-3 weeks late, coming out with a pretty pair of heels, Lia Sophia jewelry and Mary Kay lipstick on.  Psssh, like he knows me.

Anyways, back to the wedding...here are some of the pictures I took that day plus a couple I stole (thanks Amy!).  These plus others will be seen on Facebook so they can be stolen by whomever.

Hubby & I at the ballgame/rehearsal dinner. 

 Sisters!

 Hubby and I with the flower girl.

 Bride and her flower girl.

 Four pretty bridesmaids.

 Normal interaction.

 The best picture we took that night...guess who's not looking at the camera.

 Husband and wife

 Get that garter!

 The ring bearer showing off his moves!

 Beer chugging!  Their first contest was back at my brother's wedding in 2005 so of course they would need a rematch.

 Husband at his finest.

 Hubby and littlest brother, Tim.  Party boy dance!

Sisters!

Mom and her two daughters.

Proof that 2 of the 3 brothers were on the dance floor.  The other was probably off talking to husband about softball or fishing or whatever men like to do.  He was found later, dancing with his wife.  (See next picture).

All in all, a fun day!  Bonus -  no headache the next day!  That might be a family wedding first. 

31 Weeks

Re-posting for my sake...turns out Blogger didn't lose it.

I'm about 3 days or so late with this post and I am actually well into my 32nd week.  Oops!  I've been crazy busy with work.  So much so that I spent 11 hours there yesterday.  I do not plan on doing that ever again.  I am looking forward to the half day I've earned myself this Friday.



I had a doctor's appoinment last Friday.  Baby is doing great.  Heartbeat sounds good.  The doctor has now confirmed that she is head down which they weren't sure about 2 weeks ago.  I can definitely tell now that she is down because I can feel her more, especially her feet up in my ribs.  I can also feel what I think is her butt high on my stomach.  Everytime I tell the hubby to feel her moving, she stops.  It's like she knows and isn't going to move or kick or do anything for her daddy. 



Also, I didn't gain any weight over the last two weeks.  I'm glad for obvious reasons but the doctor I had to see was the "nice" one who pointed out in a not so nice way, that I had maybe gained too much over the course of a month so it was great that she couldn't hold that against me this time.  I promise that I will reveal how much weight I gained over the course of my pregnancy at the very end.



This past weekend, I had my mom come along with me to buy a massive amount of landscaping edgers since we or mainly I have decided to relandscape the front of the house.  It's a project I started last summer and need to finish now.  I just need to finish it.  We also got flowers and mulch.  My mom was my man power since I can really lift little to nothing because let's face it, it's really ackward when I do.  Luckily, every where we went, they were willing to load up the truck for us so she didn't have to do much work.  I ended up working alot of the weekend on re-doing a flower bed.  Something that would have taken hubby a couple hours to do.  It's quite the challenge to get up and down from a truck bed as well as off the ground now-a-days.  I also received my first sunburn of the year because it was gorgeous all weekend!

Truck load of supplies.

Before

Hours and hours after (and after a watering).  No, I'm not for hire.

I actually got to spend a significant amoujnt of time with the hubs this weekend.  The plant closed around noon on Sunday so that the men could enjoy a bit of time with the women in their life or whoever really. 

Hubs was so nice that he took me fishing.  I actually caught my first fish!  It was more like hubs asking me to watch his pole so that it didn't go flying in the water while he fetched his already caught fish more water.  The second he got up the pole started moving.  Then the fish yanked a bit so I grabbed it and slowly reeled it in.  I got a "thata girl!" from the hubs so I knew then and by look on his face, he was the proudest husband there has ever been.  Then he made me go and get the camera to record this historic moment.

I let the pro go back to his fishing but made sure to let him know with each fish he caught thereafter, that my fish was bigger!

Maternity Clothes ~ Still in a mix of maternity and regular clothes. 

Sleep ~ Still going fairly well besides waking up a few times a night.  I'm generally lights out once I turn the lights out and the television off.

Best Moment This Week ~  everything above.

Cravings ~ still craving fruit punch Frooties and ice cream.

Gender ~ GIRL!

What I look forward to ~ my one and only sister is getting married.  I've got my dancing shoes ready.  Let's hope these ankles stay normal sized.  We started our birth classes this past weekend and I have to say they're interesting.  I'm anxious to finish because that means we're more prepared and a few weeks closer to meeting baby!

Milestones ~   Baby is the size of a squash.  Baby is gaining more weight than height now.  Since there is less room to stretch out, baby is in and will remain in fetal position until birth.  Baby is strong enough now to grasp a finger. 

32 Weeks

So because of this whole blogger f-up last week, my week 31 post was deleted or lost or whatever the hell they did with it.  The whole idea was to keep a log of how my body, cravings, etc change from week to week so that when we have another baby, I can look back and compare.  I'm not going to recreate that week but I want to go on record that I'm pissed about it.  Sorry to my FB peeps who can't access it anymore.  Maybe one day it will reappear but I don't have my hopes up about it.

We had our second child birth class this week.  The best part of it was going on a tour of the birth center.  The delivery rooms seem large and accommodating and the post partum rooms seem nice as well.  We also learned about drugs, their interactions with mom and the baby's bodies.  I know I need more information but right now, I'm really not into an epidural but will use it if absolutely necessary, as a last resort.  If I need drugs to help through the pain, I'm going to start with Nubian and see where that takes me.  Before, I was always the give me drugs types but now that I know a bit more information about them, I'm turned off by them.  We shall see when the day finally arrives. 



Maternity Clothes ~ Still in a mix of maternity and regular clothes.  I'm up to 3 maternity tops now.

 

Sleep ~ I now wake up 3 times a night but otherwise, I'm getting good sleep.

Best Moment This Week ~  Watching my sister get married and not messing up my matron of honor speech & toast!  Child prep class!

 

Cravings ~ Anything sweet!  I cannot get enough sugar!  I really crave hot dogs that you get at the ballpark and Friday night did not do it justice.

 

Gender ~ GIRL!

What I look forward to ~ Wearing a pair of pants that have a zipper. 

Milestones ~   Baby is the size of a squash.  Baby is around 4 pounds and over 19 inches long.  All baby's major organs are fully functioning except the lungs, which need just a bit more time to mature completely.  Baby is practicing all the skills needed to survive outside the womb, from swallowing to breathing to kicking and sucking.  Baby's skin is now opaque.

Recipe: Make Ahead Muffin Melts

Doesn't that just sound delicious?  I don't even have to hear what's in the recipe to make my mouth water. 

This recipe comes to you from my friend Ree. That's right, we're kitchen BFF's.  Well maybe not BFF's or friends even, but if there is one person out there that I can relate to most in the kitchen, it's her and my mom.  I've blogged about one of her recipes before. Do you remember, Buttered Rosemary Rolls? 

Well  this my friends, is Make Ahead Muffin Melts.  The recipe is super easy, delicious only requires the use of the broiler feature of an oven and of course the stove.  You can whip up the recipe, store it in your fridge or probably even freeze it until you're ready to make them.  Stick the muffin under the broiler for a few minutes and you have breakfast or dinner, fast.  Do you love breakfast for dinner?  Okay good, me too!

Kitchen Tip: if you want to try out a recipe but don't know if it will win the hearts of your family, make half the recipe.  Just divide all your ingredients by 2.  I did this with this exact recipe and I even have enough leftover mix to make a few more and I think that is the menu for tonight.

Make Ahead Muffin Melts
12 whole hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
6 whole English Muffins split

Combine eggs, cheese, mayo, bacon, mustard, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.  Fold together gently.  Cover and store in the fridge overnight.  Spread on English Muffin halves, then broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Serve immediately.

30 Weeks

There is nothing really special or noteworthy going on in my pregnancy so sorry if this post bores you to tears...

I received my RhoGAM shot on Friday.  For those who don't know what it is, it's a shot given to women who have a negative blood type, meaning they're Rh negative.  I'm O neg which means I can save every single one of your lives!  Basically, the mom's blood can build up antibodies later in the pregnancy which can be harmful to the baby if there is any transfer of blood.  Women with negative blood types need to get the shot, especially if the father of the baby has Rh positive blood or the baby has Rh positive blood (at the time they request it, they obviously wouldn't know the baby's blood type without doing genetic testing so I believe they do it as a precautionary measure).  If the mom didn't get a RhoGAM shot during her first pregnancy or after, has built up or developed antibodies in the blood (which are irreversible), and becomes pregnant again, the fetus would not survive.  After deliver, the baby's blood is tested to determine if it is Rh positive and if it is, a second dose of RhoGAM will be administered to the mom.

I was not a big fan of getting it.  First of all, the girl who took my blood to test apparently didn't know how to take it or I was her first patient...EVER!  She "found" my vain, which by the way are not hard to find at all - they practically bulge out of my arm with a little target that says poke here.  She inserted the needle and attached the tube and there was nothing (never in the bazillion times at the doctor office has this ever happened to me where my blood didn't come gushing out right away).  So what did she do?? Jabbed the needle further in.  When she was done, she gave me a cotton swab and told me to apply pressure.  When I released it for her to apply the band aid, it was still gushing blood.  Needless to say, as I was leaving the hospital, I was freaked out that I might be bleeding to death.  When I got to my car, I removed my blood soaked band aid and the bleeding had ceased - THANK GOD.  I think she was trying to kill me and make it look like an accident.  My arm is still bruised.

Two hours later, I returned and took the shot in my ass.  Just kidding, they put it in the part where your back meets your ass.  I'm getting really sick of being prodded and poked at all the time and that definitely is not the last of it.

Friday night we went out to dinner with a few other couples to a hole in the wall type of bar/restaurant/establishment in the middle of nowhere, Iowa that serves amazingly delicious food.  Hubby's been wanting to go there for some time and I just love the french fries.  We basically went out to dinner and came home...I think we're all getting old. 

Saturday, I went along with one of my friends, who happens to be getting married in September and I'm her personal attendant, to an appointment where she tried on her wedding dress.  The dress was completely unexpected from her personality and how she typically dresses but it's, of course, beautiful.  I can't wait to see her in it on her wedding day. 

I then forced her (and her sister) to take me to Babies R Us so I could make a couple returns and purchase the Pack N Play.  Then I made her carry it out to the car...just kidding, she wouldn't let me touch or lift it.  We did some other random shopping and had lunch at Texas Roadhouse.  I'm not a huge fan of Texas Roadhouse and I often wonder why since it offers all the foods that I love.  I ordered a iceberg salad (because I don't prefer classier lettuce) with chicken fingers on top and I have to say it's a new favorite. 

Saturday night, we went out for dinner yet again.  A pool league team hubby subs for won their league this year and had lots of monies leftover to spend so they took everyone who played on the team out for dinner.

Sunday, I spent about 5 hours doing actual work, cleaned out, vacuumed, dusted and washed my car.  It's like I had a whole new ride until a bird shit right on the sunroof today.



Maternity Clothes ~ Still in a mix of maternity and regular clothes. 

Sleep ~ Still going fairly well besides waking up 1-2 times a night.  Certain positions cause pain but sleeping on my back seems to be working the best.

Best Moment This Week ~  working out.  I put it off all the time because I hate how I don't have the energy like I used to.  The last couple of weeks have been 1 day of yoga so today I sort of kicked my butt and did 30 Day Shred by Jillian.  I felt super good afterwards too!

Cravings ~ I love food but I have a very bad craving for Fruit Punch Frooties and I would satisfy that craving pretty quick if they came in a smaller package.

Gender ~ GIRL!

What I look forward to ~ This coming weekend, I am finally getting my hair done.  I think it's been longer than 3 months and that is not like me to go that long.  I'm also recruiting my mom and going to a gardening center so I can get the supplies needed re-do my flower beds and make my house look pretty.

Milestones ~   Baby is the size of a squash.  Baby is growing so fast that if she kept up this growth rate, she would be 200 pounds by her first birthday.  Baby continues to absorb nutrients from my body.  Calcium for her skeleton, protein for her muscle growth, and iron for her red blood cell production.  Baby's hair may start to grow in right now as she finishes losing the covering of fine, downy lanugo hair on her body.