a little nip/tuck

So my little place on the inter-webs has gotten a little face lift... and I LOVE IT!!!

I have to give a huge shout out to Krystyn over at Krizzy Designs. I went to her after seeing her work on so many other bloggers' pages, with basically no clue what I wanted her to do. I think I seriously said, "uh I like pink and bright colors and vintage looks and that's about it". Some how she took that and ran and was so easy to work with! And quick!

Definitely check her out if you're looking for a new look!

randomosity

Has anyone else noticed that Simon Cowell is most def wearing eye liner on Idol?! And that Ellen has scary eyes?

No? That's just me. Whatever.

Being 33 1/2 weeks pregnant has made a huge change in my life. I have a new bed. I miss you Mr. Perfect, but our recliner is my new best friend. Best baby purchase ever, hands down.

My dogs are really stressing me out at the moment. Please tell me that gets better when the baby gets here. Because right now I'm freaking out that I won't be able to handle them and her. Gah.

I am very uncomfortable at work. Come on maternity leave.....

We got a little spring teaser this week and now it's blame cold again. Come on warm weather. I cannot take it much longer!

We had another doctors appointment this past Tuesday. My baby has a head full of hair (you can see it floating in the fluid and that is so weird), her chubby cheeks are even chubbier, and she has the cutest little mouth and nose. Oh I love her!! However, she needs to chill out on the growing. She gained 7 ounces bringing her up to 5 pounds 11 ounces already. And she still has a big 'ol head. Ouch. Her stress test went ok. My appointment was right at lunch time so I hadn't eaten in a while, so she was pretty tired. We had to pull every trick in the book (caffeine, the buzzer, crackers) to get her moving. She definitely gets her desire to sleep honestly. Somebody's like their mother! But she did great. This little girl is getting ready to make her appearance!

Hope y'all are having a great week!

33 weeks

Don't adjust your computer screen. I really am that large.


Total Weight Gained/Loss? Got to be honest right? I'm up 26 pounds. I could die. But in my defense, that is one BIG baby in there. Oh, and at some point this week, my boobs started taking steroids. Not kidding.

Maternity Clothes: All the time. She's high enough now that my maternity jeans are comfortable again, but I still prefer dresses, yoga pants, and Mr. Perfect's tees. Or nothing. But I'm trying to quit talking about nakedness on here as I'm sure I'm starting to scare people.

Sleep? It was fun while it lasted last week, because it's going away again. I still sleep great when I get to sleep, but it's quite the battle to get there. My heartburn has been insane this week, so I usually move out to the recliner in the living room to sleep now. It's much easier than tossing and turning in bed.

Best Moment of the Week? You can tell which body parts you're feeling on her now and it's so much fun to push at her foot and have her kick back. I absolutely love it!

Movement- All the time. I need to send this girl a memo letting her know her space is quickly running out!

Food Craving- pretty much anything. And usually none of it is healthy.

Food aversions- seafood still. I hope that my love for seafood returns when she gets out, because y'all.. I love me some seafood.

Morning sickness?- none.

Gender- Baby Girl =)

Labor Signs- Braxton Hicks. But they've kind of chilled out lately.

Belly Button- it's flat and it's huge. Like has it's own zip code huge.

What I miss- Being able to breathe, bend over at the waist, and sit still through church. I am so uncomfortable. She's so big and sticking out so far that I can't ever find a way to sit that doesn't kill my back. Oh, and it would be nice to be able to get out of my car like a normal person again.

What I'm looking forward to- everything. We hit up Babies-r-us for some last minute stuff today. Her dresser and changing table should be getting here soon (ahem, Mr. Perfect). She has appointments every week and I get to see her every week. It's all good.

Weekly Wisdom- She is worth every pound. I'm having a hard time being this large, but I know it will come back off and she is worth every little thing I have to put this body through. She just better take most of it with her!!

Milestones- She's a big healthy baby and she could be here soon!

update on Baby Girl

Mr. Perfect and I went back to the doc on Tuesday for our 32 week appointment. They had told us that at this appointment we would be having a biophysical profile done and a non-stress test. Neither of which I really understood, but whatever.

We got hooked up to the ultrasound machine first thing. Basically they did some measuring on our little girl and watched her practice fetal breathing. It's a very good thing that she's in there practicing her breathing. She's getting ready. She's laying head down already on her left side with her bottom right under my left rib cage and her feet and hands playing around near my right ribcage. My placenta still looks really good and she still seems to be getting everything she needs. Yay!

At the end of the ultrasound the lady told us how much she weighed. Normally for this point in pregnancy, the baby should weigh around 4 lbs. I figured she'd weigh a little over since she's been measuring a bit big.

Y'all, this little girl weighs 5 pounds 4 ounces. I literally started crying. She's huge. And that's going to hurt! But she's perfectly healthy with precious chubby cheeks and a chubby little belly.

After the ultrasound, they hooked me up to the fetal monitor for her non-stress test. By this point, Baby Girl was out. She stayed awake for the whole ultrasound so it was definitely her naptime. Her heart rate was doing exactly what it was supposed to while she was asleep, but they needed to see what it did while she was awake. So they gave me some orange juice to get her going. Totally didn't work. This girl likes her sleep. I don't blame her. So does Mom.

So the nurse brought out this horrible buzzer thing and put it right on her back and set it off. I thought she was literally going to jump out my belly button. And boy did it piss her off. From then on, anytime the nurse even spoke, it got her moving, and rolling, and kicking. Everything looked great. She's absolutely perfect. Her hearts doing what it's supposed to, as is her activity level, and lungs.

The doc came in after that and told us we'd be coming in every week from now on. I was completely shocked. I didn't think we'd have to switch to weekly appointments this early, but we'll do it. Every visit from here on out we'll have a biophysical profile and non-stress test done. I'm going to have the most photographed baby in utero ever.

I asked the doc about her size and what that would mean to me. I wanted to know if it was something that they would induce early for. Now I know induction is the choice for many people, but I do not want it. It makes me nervous and I'd much rather just do this on my own. However, it doesn't look like that will be the case. Not only does her size play into the matter, but my doc is looking at induction because of all our other issues as well. We'll talk more in the next couple of weeks, but it looks like she may be here sooner than we thought. I guess I'll just have to get used to the thought of being induced... I also let the doc know that I was very nervous about her coming early because of all of my blood thinners. Call me crazy, but I'm terrified of bleeding to death during labor. The nurse was great though, and sat me down and talked over my options if that should become an issue. But she really doesn't think it will.

I'm so glad that my doc is watching things so closely. I can't believe we only have 7 more weeks. And that's at the most!

32 weeks- 8 months!

Total Weight Gained/Loss? up 22 but we get a damage update tomorrow. Gag.

Maternity Clothes: yep. But still just living in yoga pants and Mr. Perfect's tees at home. Even my scrubs are uncomfortable. I wish society was ok with nakedness.... Or that I was, whatever. Obvs, clothes, not so comfortable.

Sleep? This week has actually been a lot better. It still takes me a while to get to sleep, but when I'm there, I'm there. I sleep hard. Only waking up about twice a night to go to the bathroom too because she's moved up so high. Hello sweet relief.. well, for my bladder. Not my lungs.

Best Moment of the Week? Had my 2nd shower on Saturday. This little girl is loved.

Movement- Constant. I've got feet in my ribs, a butt that pokes out around my belly button, and a child that rolls around like a fish all day. I love it.

Food Craving- I've become a muncher. I've never been a muncher. I'm equal opportunity too. Whatever is around is fair game. Oh, and I can't drink enough apple juice. That's new too.

Food aversions- seafood. blech.

Morning sickness?- none.

Gender- Baby Girl =)

Labor Signs- Braxton Hicks. A lot.

Belly Button- the whole thing is flat right now. I think she's hanging out under there...

What I miss- I can't sit still! I am so uncomfortable. I just cannot breathe. I can barely get through a church service now because I cannot sit up right. I either have to be walking around or laying down. That's it. Otherwise she attaches herself like an amoeba to my lungs and I can't breathe. I miss running. I think because I feel so large, I'm really missing my exercise routine.

What I'm looking forward to- doctor tomorrow and seeing her again!

Weekly Wisdom- Ignore peoples comments. This week I've gotten some comments on how large I am which hurts because that's never fun to hear, but then I get comments on how small I still am. Point is, everyone is going to have their opinions. Take care of yourself and your baby and the rest will work itself out.

Milestones- We are 8 months pregnant people!!

And while we're talking pregnancy.. My best blog buddy, Megan, who has become a real life friend, is also pregnant with her first and they just found out that her baby has some complications. I can't tell you how my heart breaks for her. So if you get a chance, please pray for her family and that God will take care of her little Cohen. And stop by and let her know that you are thinking of her...

snow day in coastal town

Holy cow it snowed in Coastal Town this weekend.

Peeps, that is huge. It hasn't snowed here since 1989. That's 21 years.

It didn't stick at my house (boo) and was gone the next morning, but Friday night we had snow. It was enough that it coated my car and the back deck. It wouldn't stick in the yard which the pups were highly upset about, but hey, it was snow.





Those are some impressive flakes y'all!

Mr. Perfect was not impressed that I made him come out in the snow...

He was miserable, but this had to be documented!!

This is how I spent my Friday night, watching the snow fall. I was in shock that it snowed, I totally did not believe our weather guy when he said it would happen.

Yep.. that's it.

The next morning, Face*book was overloaded with friends' pictures of their "snow day". It's quite obvious we don't get to see this.. oh ever.

It was really cold and wet though and my ear has hurt since I went out and played in it. So I'm good on snow for another couple of years. I know most of y'all are being pelted with much more snow than this, so keep warm!

31 weeks.

Total Weight Gained/Loss? up 22 and kill me now.

Maternity Clothes: Yea, I hate clothes right now. I wish it was summer and i didn't have to wear clothes. That might be TMI, but I'm miserable. And there just ain't no room in these clothes for this belly. Still living in dresses and yoga pants and the Mister's t-shirts.

Sleep? Ha. This week has provided quite a few challenges in this department. I will be so tired all day and then when I lay down... nada. My joints have started hurting and just throb when I lay down. Especially my knees and ankles. The heartburn has also made an appearance and really rears its ugly head when I lay down. I find I can only fall asleep sitting pretty much completely up.

Best Moment of the Week? Realizing we only have 9 weeks--- single digits people, until she's here!!! Wow. That's also really scary....

Movement- She's still flip flopping like a fish in there. I hope she realizes that she's running out of room and chills out soon before she cracks a rib of mine!

Food Craving- sweets and I. Can't. Stop.

Food aversions- nothing is turning my stomach anymore. I just eat what I want when I want it. And I wonder how I've gained 22 pounds....

Morning sickness?- none.

Gender- Baby Girl =)

Labor Signs- Braxton Hicks. A lot.

Belly Button- top half is out, bottom half is still in but is oh so shallow.

What I miss- Being able to breathe. Being able to bend over normally. My energy. My face not looking like a pre-teen's. Being able to get out of the car like a normal person. I told Mr. Perfect we may have to switch cars soon. He's going to be in the 'ol Bug because I can't get in and out of it anymore. Seriously, it's a chore.

What I'm looking forward to- My 2nd shower is Saturday. Wahoo!

Weekly Wisdom- As tough as it is, and uncomfortable as you may be, document all of this and enjoy it because it really does fly by. I can't believe how quickly...

Milestones- We've hit 31 weeks!! People we only have 9 more weeks!!

Home.

Currently Mr. Perfect and I live in the city I consider my "home". But actually, I was raised about one hour north of here in a very small town that I loved. My parents packed up the Marine and I and headed to the 'Ham when I was in the 5th grade. Reason being, public schools in my town suck, and private school seemed like a waste when there was a completely awesome school system one county over.

So we moved. Out to the boondocks. Literally.

We built my parents dream home on 7 acres an hour north of Coastal Town, GA. Our nearest neighbor lived 1/2 mile away. The nearest grocery store was 7 miles away and the nearest Wal*Mart was a good 30 minutes away. The town was so small and so spread out that you said you were from the county name, not the individual town you were from because no one had ever heard of those. Say you were from the 'Ham and everyone knew where you were from. And made an opinion about you, but that's neither here nor there.

Our schools were amazing. My friends were awesome. We all lived so spread out that you couldn't really hang out at each others' houses until we were all old enough to drive. Fortunately, I found an amazing group of friends in the 5th and 6th grades that I stuck with til I graduated. Our parents were friends and usually could be coerced to spend Saturdays together so we could all hang out. My best friend lived a few miles away and could ride her horse (yep, seriously) to our house to play, or I could ride my bike to hers (I was an ambitious child). The crime rate was non-existent. I stayed out of trouble. I made incredible grades. I was involved in everything and loved it. Like I said, I made a ridiculously close group of friends and we stuck together through everything. I dated the same guy all through high school, had the same love interest 6th grade through college (not the boyfriend, quite the story), never changed friends, didn't drink, and swore I'd be best friends with these people til I died. And most certainly our children would all be bff's as we were all coming back to the 'Ham to raise our families.

But then things changed. I hit 18 and decided I had no idea who I was. I felt like I'd been defined by that group of people, my boyfriend at the time, and even my grades and extra-curricular activities. I decided that I needed to find out who I was, and there was no way I could do it surrounded by the same people. So while they all went off to the same state school, I packed up and moved to a small, private college on my quest for self discovery.

Needless to say, I spend every weekend at State School with the gang. I missed them. I broke up with the boyfriend, but the rest of them (including love interest) I couldn't stay away from. They were my past. They truly did help to define me. That little county I grew up in that I at times loathed for how far out and small it was, became the place I loved running home to. I couldn't wait to graduate and go back.

Then things happened. Not good things, and things that forever changed me and the way I saw the world. My eyes were opened to quite a few things in college, and I started to resent going back to the 'Ham because every time I went back, everyone saw the old me. And I was so not that girl anymore. I was quite the jaded college kid and "Mayberry" didn't quite do it for me anymore. It got harder and harder to go home at the holidays and hang out with the old crew. They still seemed so young to me and I started to resent them for not being able to figure out that the world wasn't quite as perfect as they seemed to think it was. I felt like they let me down for not opening their eyes to some of the bad things around us. Ridiculous I know, but I wanted everyone to see things how I saw them at that time.

Then the parentals sold our childhood home and moved up North. There was no longer any reason to head back out to the country. My visits got less and less frequent. Phone calls to former friends dwindled. E-mails got shorter and shorter.

Life started changing for all of us and eventually we made our own new groups. The majority of my old "crew" is still best friends. But I forged my own road. It's fun to run into them and wax poetic about the old days, but truthfully, that place is no longer "home".

One thing that I still hold dear, even though I never want to move back, is my childhood I had out in the 'Ham. The amazing friendships, the good times I always had, my awesome school, and so much more still make me smile and remember the good things about the 'Ham. My "home" now is with Mr. Perfect and wherever we decide to settle, but I do want one thing wherever we end up. I want my daughter to grow up like I did. I want her to have a group of friends that you know everything about and that you do everything with. I want her to have a home she sees as her refuge when things around her get a little too tough. I want her to remember her high school days and smile, like her mother does now. It doesn't matter if we raise her here in Coastal Town, GA or somewhere we haven't even been yet. I just want her to find her home..

Baby Girl update

So yesterday I had my 30 week check up. My hemoglobin dipped way low again, so once again, I've been told to eat more leafy greens and red meat. Blech. But do-able.

My external measurements are right on track. It looks like she's growing as she's supposed to, but they are still going to do an ultrasound every appointment from here on out most likely. They are really concerned about my placenta not giving her the nourishment she needs, and if it starts to look like that, then out she comes.

Next week they are doing some special ultrasound where they watch her breathe and watch her do a few other movements followed by a non-stress test to see how she responds to certain stimuli. Any of you know anything about either of these tests? If so, please tell me what you know. Is this a routine pregnancy thing? I'll be 32 weeks at my next appointment so I have no idea what to expect at this point. I know my friends down here that just had their babies didn't have these tests done, so I know nothing about them.

I gained 5 pounds somehow. Up a total of 22 now. Gag. My blood pressure is still great even after days with a sick hubby and the in-laws staying with us. =) All in all, I think things are still good. I'm starting to worry about her delivery. I just want us both to be healthy to go through this.

Only 10 more weeks. Gah, this is flying by.

a bit of self-examination.

I am not a patient person. I know this about myself and I'm ok with it. I get really, really cranky when I'm tired and can literally feel myself hit a "snapping" point. I can point out the minute I'm about to "freak out". I try to walk away before I say something I will later regret. I don't like change. At all. I am ridiculously OCD. If you use the same spoon to dip out mayonnaise that you just used in the mustard, it will bother me. For days. I will have to throw away the mayo. I like my space and I like things in my space done my way. Sometimes I feel like I'm an 80 year old man, cranky and set in my ways, but I can't help it.

I hate seeing Mr. Perfect in pain, but this week has made me stretch myself in ways I never imagined and learn some things about myself. I've gotten up every 3 hours since Friday to take care of him. Apparently last night I started sleeping through my alarm and Mr. Perfect was having to do stuff on his own. I got really upset. Did I mention I'm also not good at feeling like I've failed at something? Like taking care of those around me.

I get very scared of how I'm going to handle things come April when my life takes on a humongous change. But then I realize I did it this week, with no help, and I've survived (well almost, he still hasn't been cleared to do anything). In April I'll at least have help and now I know, I CAN do this. It's going to be hard and I'm going to have many mental breakdowns, but I will do this and I will do this well.

It's medication time. I'll see you guys on the flip side. I promise to be cheerier next week. =)

30 weeks

*Please ignore the picture of Scary Spice. This has been a hard weekend for this girl and I barely even remembered to take this picture. I've been up every 2 hours since Friday to medicate and take care of Mr. Perfect, and it's kicking my tail. So sorry if this one is short, but I still wanted to get it up here for my Baby Girl.*
Total Weight Gained/Loss? Still up about 17, but going back to the doctor tomorrow, so we'll see what that number has done in two weeks...

Maternity Clothes: Only thing comfortable is yoga pants, leggings, dresses, and maternity shirts. Forget jeans.

Sleep? Not this week. But I can't really give a fair assessment as it's not Baby Girl keeping me up this week.

Best Moment of the Week? She gets hiccups a lot now and then she gets frustrated and goes crazy. It feels so weird but it cracks me up!

Movement- Her movement has no rationale. She moves when she wants. Some days she's really, really quiet, others, she won't settle down. If I'm all over the place or worked up about something, she's very quiet. Figured that out this week. I figure she hates stressful situations like her mama.

Food Craving- Snickers and now Snickers ice cream bars.

Food aversions- meat. blech.

Morning sickness?- none.

Gender- Baby Girl =)

Labor Signs- Braxton Hicks. They are getting pretty frequent. Go ahead and get me ready for the big day 'ol uterus.

Belly Button- top half is out, bottom half is still in but is oh so shallow.

What I miss- Being able to breathe. Being able to bend over normally. My energy.

What I'm looking forward to- We're at doctors appointments every 2 weeks. Makes me realize how close it is!

Weekly Wisdom- I can't do this this week. I am way too tired.

Milestones- Only 10 weeks til she gets here. Wow.