Week 37

This week has been a whole lot of hurry up and wait. So Randy has taken this opportunity to paint our office. I was really hoping that we wouldn't be updating any rooms at this point in the pregnancy, but I'm still nesting so I guess it's a good thing that he's painting, right?!? You know you're nesting when you get excited that Home Depot now has washable flat paint! Seriously though, this nesting thing is driving me nuts! Let me tell you I can give you a list a mile long of all the things that bug me about the house. But after last week, I'm grateful for the distract that nesting has provided. I know that this is God at work to help me with the healing process.

We "celebrated" Maggie's 7th birthday yesterday. I can't believe she's 7 years old! We usually mark the dogs' birthdays by giving them Frosty Paws ice cream, but I couldn't find it this time. So Rory and I baked dog cookies to the mark the occasion (we also baked chocolate chip cookies for us to eat). I know I'm a little bit of a cook-a-roo about our pets, but they are all my babies and feel very lucky to have all of them.

The dog cookies we baked. They must be good because the dogs go crazy for them. 

The birthday girl!

This is random...
I was at target this afternoon and when I got back to my car I found this. How lazy is this person to leave their cart there? Instead of returning the cart to the cart return, they decided it was a better idea to squeeze it between two cars next to the cart return.

Rory

Rory has been just hanging out this past week. He's been a champ helping out around the house. And he's doing great adjusting to his new class at school. And he's also picking up on some new phrases.... "that's cool", "not yet", "it hurts bad". I love when he says something new!

Having a snack this morning. He's all smiles because he got to sit in daddy's chair

Watching the Dodger game. Like father, like son. I love that Rory is clapping for his team!
(This one's for you Chuck!!!)

Pregnancy

Back contractions are back!!! I experienced them all day yesterday and today. And even though they are not productive,  they are becoming more intense. We'll have to see what the doctor says at my appointment tomorrow morning.

Week 37 has brought cankles (and as a result, sore ankles too)! Luckily I was able to flush out 8 pounds of water to shrink my cankles and sausage toes back to normal in just a few days.

Yup that's what 8 lbs of water looks like.

How far along? 37 Weeks & 1 Day
Total weight gain/loss: 32 lbs  
Maternity clothes? Anything that fits over the bump 
Stretch marks? Very faint ones, nothing major. And I've already done research on how to diminish them. If anyone has any remedies, please share!!!
Sleep: Still good.
Best moment this week: Feeling little baby's hiccups! I don't remember Rory having hiccups, so it was a different feeling. 

Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? Being 32 pounds smaller
Movement: Tons of movement! And lots of hiccups!
Food cravings: Junk food. Especially veggie chips. I love them when I'm not pregnant, and I may or may not have polished off 2 bags of veggie chips in a week by myself. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really
Symptoms: Heartburn for sure. The rib pain and shortness of breath is lessening, hopefully because our little one is dropping. And I walk oh.so.slow. It takes me forever to do anything. Rory now waits for me at the top of stairs and as I get close to the top, he holds out his little hand and says, "come Mama" as he helps me climb the last few steps. :0)

Have you started to show yet: Yup. 

Gender prediction: A girl

Labor Signs: Back contractions again
Belly Button in or out? It's still an outtie inside an innie

Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happier for sure. I think I'm becoming more content.
Looking forward to: I cannot wait to meet our little baby! I'm dying to see if the baby is going to look like Rory. Is that weird??? And I love the names we picked out and can't wait to finally give the baby one of them.

Week 36

I can't even begin to describe how hard this past week has been for me. If you've been following my blog for the past few months you know that we recently adopted a turtle. And you probably know that I've fallen completely in love with her. But last Friday I went outside to spend some time with her and discovered her to be unresponsive when I took her out of her pool. I cried for Randy to come outside and he tried so hard to get a reaction from her, but I knew immediately that something was terribly wrong. And after some time we realized that she was gone. We have no idea what happen, she was fine on Thursday night when I fed her. But like I told Randy, it doesn't really matter what happen, it won't bring her back. And I have spent everyday since then so heartbroken over the sudden loss of my beloved Shelly. I miss her everyday. I don't know why I loved that turtle so much, but I did. The last few days' routine and events seem more like a distraction than anything as I try to come to terms that she is gone. I know I will eventually find peace with this, but until then all I feel is sadness. I wish I could deal with this in the way that Rory is. He asks about her, and we tell him that she got sick and couldn't stay with us anymore, and that she's gone. And he simply replies in his sweet voice, "Yeah" and moves on to the next thing on his mind. So as a tribute to my Shelly Girl, here are my favorite pictures of the sweet little turtle I fell in love with.

She was Rory's little buddy

She was one of my babies

She would always fall asleep on my belly

Mommy loves you Shelly and misses you very much

As I wipe away my tears...

Let's move on to our little one. The nursery was painted this weekend and I've begun organizing and arranging it for baby Sweet Pea. I definitely needed this to keep my mind busy. I know it looks a little bare, but I promise it will look much better when we get the bedding. It will add some much needed color. I still need to hang some pictures, but for now I'm content with it.

The boy bedding...

I'm not a fan of all the accessories, but I definitely love the bedding, throw pillows and hamper

Better view of the quilt (which they never use, but still so cute)

The girl bedding...

I'm in love with the little girl monkey with the flower in her hair

Rory


This kid cracks me up. Since I've moved all his clothes into his new dresser he has been able to get dress all by himself. So now he gets up, gets dressed, brushes his teeth, and then tells me he's ready to go (even if we don't need to go anywhere). He's becoming so self sufficient these days. He even buckles himself into his car seat now. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but I know it will come in handy when I have to get the baby in the car too.

Watching Mighty Machines will do it every time

An early morning trip to drop off Randy at a golf tourney = donut time

Pregnancy

How far along? 36 Weeks & 1 Day
Total weight gain/loss: 30 lbs 
Maternity clothes? Mostly non-maternity... Basically whatever fits over the bump 
Stretch marks? Nope and keeping my fingers crossed!
Sleep: Sleep has been pretty good. I probably just jinxed myself!
Best moment this week: Finishing the nursery! At least of what we can do at this point without knowing the gender

Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? Yeah rolling over in bed with ease. I feel like a whale thrashing in the ocean! 
Movement: Lots! And lots of belly bouncing when the baby moves
Food cravings: nothing really this week. My appetite is sorta hit and miss right now.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Eating too much at night
Symptoms: Same as always, everything is just getting more and more intense as each day goes by

Have you started to show yet: Yup. 

Gender prediction: A girl

Labor Signs: Monday I experienced pretty constant back contractions 
Belly Button in or out? My belly button is still looking weird, an outtie in an innie. And it still hurts. I think I'm gonna skip the flat, pancake-style belly button and go straight for an outtie.

Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Trying to be happy through all of this, but with Shelly gone I've been really sad.
Looking forward to: My doctor's appointment tomorrow. And I'm dying to meet our little one.

Week 35

Week 35 has been a little rough. The last few days have been spent twisting and turning, standing and sitting, all in the hopes for getting comfortable. The rib pain is unbearable these days. I spend the day going back and forth from rib pain to shortness of breath. I hope this doesn't last much longer. I feel so back for the baby. I know our little one is snug in there. I can feel his or her nudges and at times my belly will just bounce from the baby's movement. Hang in there little Sweet Pea, we're both just trying to get comfortable, and soon enough you will be able to stretch out your little legs (and so will mama without getting leg cramps).

I've been able to check off a lot from my to-do list. Don't get me wrong there's tons left to do, but at least if we're surprised by an early arrival, we're ready!

Baby has a name... check
Bassinet is ready... check
Changing table is stocked and organized... check
Baby clothes are washed, folded and put away... check
Both mama's and baby's bags are packed... check
Hospital registration complete... check

Ok so the nursery is definitely not ready, but its in the works. But since I'm done with Rory's room for now (I'm still waiting on a few items that have to be ordered), I'm making my way to the nursery this weekend. And since we won't have the bedding and matching decor until after the baby's born, paint is really the biggest thing that needs to be tackled. I did manage to purchase the curtains, so Randy will have to hang those. And while Rory and I were out running errands today, he saw this cute little giraffe and said that we should get it for the baby. What a sweet boy!

This little guy is so soft!

Changing table is all organized. I need a few more things, but we're pretty much set.

The bassinet is waiting for our little one!

Rory

A few weeks ago Rory was moved from his 2-3 year old preschool class to the 3-4 year old class. I'm so very proud of him. Last week was his first week in his new class and his new teacher said he did great! When I dropped him off, a boy in his class walked up to him and gave him a high five and soon a line formed to welcome him to the class. I'm so proud to see how much he's grown since last summer and I'm excited to see what this new class has to offer him. Way to go Rory! Mama is so proud of you!!!

From Mother's Day... I know I included this on my Mother's Day post, but I love this pic and I'm a proud mama!

Rroy helping me clean our bathroom.
He wanted to clean the bathtub because the baby's tub is inside of it.
(Not sure why he makes bug eyes when he takes a pic lately)

Pregnancy

How far along? 35 Weeks & 1 Day
Total weight gain/loss: 30 lbs 
Maternity clothes? Still both maternity and non-maternity. It's kinda weird because some of my maternity clothes don't fit anymore, but a lot of my non-maternity clothes still fit...sorta. 
Stretch marks? Nope and keeping my fingers crossed!
Sleep: It's OK. Now I have to deal with waking up sweating, because I'm so hot. And the leg cramps are getting worse. Instead of once a night, I'm getting them 3 and 4 times a night.
Best moment this week: Checking many items off my list. At least the ones I felt we needed ASAP! (Just in case of an early arrival)

Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? Yeah not feeling like my ribs are going to break
Movement: Lots! And the poor baby is so snug in there! Poor thing
Food cravings: Ground beef <-------- still

Anything making you queasy or sick: Eating too much at night
Symptoms: Same as always, everything is just getting more and more intense as each day goes by

Have you started to show yet: Yup. 

Gender prediction: A girl

Labor Signs: not yet
Belly Button in or out? My belly button is still looking weird, an outtie in an innie. But now it hurts. Has that happened to anyone else???

Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Still emotional, but happy for the most part
Looking forward to: Meeting our little one for sure. I'm getting super anxious and I'm dying to know if there's a little girl or little boy in there. The waiting is killing me!!! And I have another doctor's appointment next week where I'm going to be checked every week to see if we're getting close to going into labor. 

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mother's out there! 

I've always had a great Mother's Day story from the very beginning...

Here's the story, or at least from what I've been told (since I was only there for part of it and the part I was there for, I was... well you'll see). Mother's Day 1981 started out pretty normal for everyone in my family, the plan was to meet at a park to celebrate all the wonderful moms. Some had made to the park and some had not, one of those being my mom. Instead she was headed somewhere else... the hospital! Yup, I foiled the Mother's Day plans and changed the location of the festivities to Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. I guess I decided that waiting until July was not good enough for my mom and that making my arrival on Mother's Day was a much better idea. So for Mother's Day 1981 I gave myself to my mother as a gift. I have shared all but a few birthdays celebrating Mother's day with all the moms in my family, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've always loved that I was born on Mother's Day, and as a mom, this time of year is now extra special to me.

Without three special ladies I won't have the family that I have today. The family I cherish and adore, and love with all of my heart. The family that makes it possible to celebrate today as a mom!

Happy Mother's Day to my Mama, my Nana and my mother-in-law!!!

At Medieval Times circa 1988

My Mama and my boy a few years back

My Nana with her grandchildren, 4 of their spouses & 4 great-grandchildren circa 2002

My Nana and baby Rory

My mother-in-law

Taken right before we left for the hospital to have Rory

As for my Mother's Day, Randy and Rory treated me to lunch to satisfy my chicken pot pie craving.

I love this pic of us! 

Rory made me a card at school this past week...

...and also made me a flower

And Randy made me a collage of me with all my babies
(Yes, he knows that it should be Mother's) :0)

Week 34

This past week has been interesting to say the least. So what I thought (and hoping) were allergies turned out to be a cold accompanied by an annoying, hacking cough. Such a bummer. I use to prided myself on the fact that I never, ever got sick. I use to breeze through flu season with not even a sneeze, while everyone around me lathered their hands with sanitizer. I'm really hoping that all these ailments are due to the pregnancy. The good news is Rory seems to still be healthy. Knock.On.Wood. On top of the usual discomforts of being 8 months pregnant and having a cold, the anxiety of the size of my to-do list finally caught up with me over the weekend. Saturday ended with me in tears and since then my mind has not been able to settle down with all the items that need to be tackled and completed. But each day has gotten a little better, and with Randy's  help, I don't feel completely unprepared for the baby, should our little one decide to come before June 11th.

Rory's room is about 95% done. YAY! We just need to get him a twin bed... which is on this weekend's list. Hopefully next week's post will have some pics of his new room. But until then, here is the before and after pics of the dresser I undated for his room. The dresser was Randy's grandfather's and it definitely needed a good facelift. I love the new look and I hope my mother-in-law approves of it.

Before and after of Rory's new dresser... a little cleaning, light sanding, new paint and knobs

I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and the baby is doing great! This had to be the quickest doctor's visit ever! I was in and out in of the office in 15 minutes and I even had to request a doctor's note for the jury summons I received this week. Yup that's right, I was called for jury duty a week before my c-section. Hopefully the court system will find my pregnancy a valid reason to excuse me from jury duty.... fingers crossed!

So back to the quickest doctor's visit... It was a good thing it was done so quickly because Rory wanted to go with me. And I have to say that he was the best little guy while we were there. He even gave me a thumbs up when we were listening to the baby's heartbeat.

Playing around while we waited for the doctor. Thank goodness for the rolling stool!

Rory was so good that he got a lollipop.
(He becomes very serious when he gets into an elevator. His face says it all.)
By the way: This is Rory's new favorite shirt

Pregnancy

An extra large cantaloupe melon

How far along? 34 Weeks & 1 Day
Total weight gain/loss: 28 lbs 
Maternity clothes? Still both maternity and non-maternity. 
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: It's OK. I fall asleep just fine, but I wake up at the sound of pin drop (at least that's how it seems)
Best moment this week: Having Rory with me at the doctor's appointment

Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? Just moving with ease.
Movement: It feels like the baby is cramped and is nudging me
Food cravings: Ground beef 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Eating too much at one time
Symptoms: Same as always, everything is just getting more and more intense as each day goes by

Have you started to show yet: Yup. 

Gender prediction: A girl

Labor Signs: not yet
Belly Button in or out? I'm not sure what's going on with my belly button. It looks like I have an outtie inside an innie

Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm very emotional right now. I'm not sure if that's the anxiety coming out or what.
Looking forward to: Starting on the nursery this weekend

Week 33

Of course I have to start with my baby sprinkle that my mom hosted this past weekend. I truly enjoyed every minute of it, sharing in the celebration of our little baby. We are so blessed to have such great family and friends! For all of you who were able to make it, thank you from the bottom of my heart for making the day so special for me and the baby.

Thank you to all who brought diapers!!! We're are definitely set for a while. I went through all the gifts this morning, and to say that we are blessed is an understatement. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful gifts. We cannot thank you guys enough!!!

Diaper wreaths welcomed guests

Baby animal cookies, baby face cupcakes & chocolate covered pretzels

Playing the decorate a onesie game

the onesies

Opening gifts

Baby clothesline 

My beautiful Mama

How cute is my Nana?!? So so cute! 

My childhood partner-in-crime, my cousin Janet! I love her so much & I'm so glad she was able to come down from Chicago to spend the day with me!!!
(OK, the pic was taken at a baaaad angle & there is a weird shadow behind us that makes it look like the pic is blurry)

My niece Kylie, Laura & Deven
(PS: I remember when Laura was pregnant with Deven. Time sure does fly!!!)

My sister-in-law Courtney & Laura
(Friends since high school)

Rory

Rory had his own partner-in-crime, his cousin Ethan, to run around with at the baby sprinkle. They were way too cute together!

A rare moment when I got them to sit still to take a pic

Pregnancy

This past week has been a bit of a struggle with the pregnancy. As the baby continues to grow, the pain in my ribs becomes more painful and frequent. The baby is also making it extremely difficult to breathe at times. My poor little sweet pea is running out of room.

Not sure if I'm getting a cold or have allergies, but I'm not feeling great today and this picture shows it

By the way, the baby feels like the size of the pineapple I drew, rather than the size of an actual pineapple.

How far along? 33 Weeks & 1 Day
Total weight gain/loss: 28 lbs 
Maternity clothes? Still both maternity and non-maternity. 
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: It's OK. It's not great, but it could definitely be worse.
Best moment this week: My baby sprinkle! I had so much fun!

Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? Just moving with ease.
Movement: Lots!
Food cravings: Ground beef!?! Not sure why 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Eating too much at one time
Symptoms: Still having the same symptoms, plus my bump itches like crazy around my ribs. With all the pain in my ribs and the intense itching near my ribs, the baby is moving them for sure!

Have you started to show yet: Yup. 

Gender prediction: I'm sticking with a girl

Labor Signs: Nope and hopefully not for at least 3 more weeks
Belly Button in or out? Still half & half. It's a strange little thing

Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Grumpy a lot of the time. I try and be happy, but being uncomfortable just makes for a grumpy pregnant girl.  
Looking forward to: Organizing all of the wonderful gifts we received and sending out the thank you cards. Yes, I still send thank you cards!