34 weeks (quick post)

We're just about to head out to WI but I wanted to quick put on my 34 week pictures (a day late). Enjoy! More when we get back about WI and the baby shower! :)

Other pregnancy things up 'til now

So below you'll find the nursery furniture post but I didn't want to put that post with other stuff, so I just separated them out. This one might get long unless I tucker out, in which case I'll post more things with the 34 week pictures tomorrow. (Woah - 34 weeks)

I've had a few more symptoms pop up and while they are not always consistent, they're worth noting.

• I can feel more pressure "there." This typically happens after having a rather physical day (ie. house work, weeding, moving things around the house, etc) or after sitting at my desk for a long period of time, which is unusual in my job, but right now I'm still organizing, emailing teachers, etc. in an effort to get ready for kids to really get started. It's more of an ache, I suppose, but it's a hard sensation to describe. It doesn't necessarily hurt, but it's an uncomfortable pressure. It goes away within about 3-5 steps but it's quite the waddle until my body "works itself out."
  
• Not a symptom, but the doctor's office called me Monday and said they were giving out flu shots to preggo people so I ran there after work and got poked. I was fine until just before I went to bed...started to feel a little icky...but nothing too terrible.
  
• Monday night, after eating dinner at 6ish (not abnormal) and not having any snacks or excessive amount of liquid right before bed, I was feeling like I had something stuck WAY up high in my throat and no matter what I did (multiple swallows, sips of water, etc) nothing helped. So not only did I feel icky from the flu shot, now I couldn't manage b/c I'm assuming I was having some serious reflux. :( Boo. So after we crawled in bed, Adam was a sweetheart and ran upstairs to the guest bedroom to grab me 800 pillows. After building a pillow fort all around me including being propped up high, I actually got to sleep within a half hour. Then a few hours later, as I was attempting to roll over (now a tremendous feat) and trying to semi-stay on my side of the bed so as not to wake Adam, I accidentally stabbed him in the eye with my finger. :( Needless to say he was WIDE awake instantly but was so nice about it and told me it was ok even though I was almost in tears I felt so bad. I slept well the rest of the night after I got over almost stabbing his brains out so that was good.
• Today a coworker asked me if the baby had dropped. Finally! Someone else who's had kids to validate what I've been wondering for a few days now. I think I posted this suspicion on Sunday when I realized I could make it through almost an entire song in church without stopping singing to huff and puff in the middle of each verse. The odd thing is that I would have thought that the bottom of my belly would be more uncomfortable due to the added pressure and/or stretching. This is not the case, however - I am more uncomfortable on the very top of my belly which feels like it's being pulled down (which it is, duh). But still, one step closer - dropping is a good sign!
  
• The past few days, Baby has been having some serious kicks and pushes that occasionally make me catch my breath b/c they hurt ever so briefly, but are quite powerful. Since they are so quick, it registers as a quick hurt but is typically gone quickly.
  
• Lastly, the baby woke up early today and was doing some of those giant pushes...and Adam put his hand on my belly and she calmed down. As soon as he took his hand away, she got a little crazy again...more Daddy's hand, less crazy baby. Finally I had to get out of bed and she seemed to be ok with that.
  

Ok, I think I ran out of steam for the night...and it's only 9:15pm. Hope you enjoy the nursery furniture post below...

The Nursery Furniture Post

Ok ok!! Several of you have been asking for some time now (and I mean a few days) for nursery pictures. Since the furniture is all here and constructed (as of Monday night), I've decided it's finally time to do just that. We might still be debating on another dresser, but I think we're going to play that by ear for now after August was a big "hit" to the baby account. :) Keep in mind that these are more FURNITURE pictures than actual nursery pictures...we have zero decorations or anything and have not removed the giant boxes from her room b/c the trash doesn't come again until next week. Let us know what you think!

Getting the glider out for some construction, with the help of Maddie & Jessie

Adam relaxing after some minor assembly.

Practicing using our reclining glider & ottoman...
reading "Goodnight Moon" before bed.

Dresser parts - out and accounted for. Time to assemble.

Getting there....

Drawer #2 in progress...

Taa daa!! A dresser, complete with fuzzy puppies posing. :)

Can we help?? (M & J like to be involved)

Three sides assembled...a bit more to go.

All we need is a mattress and bedding...mattress only for now.

Adam's girls posing in front of his masterpiece - our daughter's crib. Sooo happy!
xoxox

Daddy's Hands

The baby knows Adam's hands. I'm thoroughly convinced. On mornings when I wake up before my alarm clock, I put my hand(s) on my belly to see if she's awake yet - without poking her - and she hasn't responded to my hands much lately and doesn't fully wake up until later. Since Adam's been home Friday, he puts his hand on my belly first thing in the morning before we even roll over and she instantly starts playing with his hand. Sometimes the kicks/movements are big, sometimes they're smaller ones, but she always responds to his hand. I find this super intriguing b/c I wonder how she knows (even though I have an idea - he usually has a "heavier hand" on my belly when feeling for her) it's him...but she knows. We both think it's adorable and Adam thinks it's just the coolest thing ever. I love how it's their way of bonding before she gets here. She's already Daddy's little girl...

So I can't be sure but I think she might have dropped a bit since this morning. My friend Abbie thought that she looked lower in my most recent 33 week picture...but after seeing myself in the mirror this morning and then looking again later this afternoon, I think she may have gone down just a bit. I could be wrong - the rookie part of me tells me I might just be dreaming. BUT, there seems to be a little more space b/w the top of my belly and the bottom of my bust, so who knows? I was also able to sing in church a bit better without running out of breath, so she HAD to have moved down a little. Or maybe she was just positioned differently. A few hours ago Adam and I went to Menards/Walmart to run a few errands. When we were at Menards, she started moving around and I stopped to see what she was doing...and she was ALL different. I can't tell you where she is at the drop of a hat usually, but I have a pretty good idea. That said, all I know is that it was different and she felt different. This was AFTER I felt like she had moved into a lower position. All I know is this little wiggle worm has me confused. And in love. :)

Speaking of love, can I take this moment to say how much I love my baby's daddy? I have to write this - when we were walking into a store earlier today, I said wow, can you believe I'm 8 months pregnant? He responded with "Woah - that sounds much closer to her being here than 33 weeks!" I'd have to agree. So on to more reasons why I love my husband -

• He is helping me more and never gripes about it. (Ok, 1% of the time doesn't count in my book)
• He came with me on all my errands today and only groaned once (see, there's that 1%).
  
• He put the glider and ottoman together and they look phenomenol. And it's some of the most comfy furniture that I've ever had! So glad he agreed and said yes when I said this is the one I want!
• He reads stuff about first-time dads online without me even asking. Dedication. :)
  
• He randomly asks me how she's doing while I'm at work.
  
• He's going to be the best dad ever. I think we might have to repave the highway b/w our house and the softball fields if she wants to go ANYtime since I have a feeling they might be heading down there often... ;-)
• I'm the luckiest woman ever. That's pretty much all there is to say about that.
  

Now that I've been trying to post this for the past hour and finally finished writing it, I'm going to bed. Another long work week that will inevidably go too fast and we'll be another week closer to the baby and my leave. It makes me a little nervous to make sure all my work things are in order so that my subs have smooth sailing...but I think it will all fall into place. Uh oh, rambling again...g'night! And pictures this week from the new camera, I swear!

33 weeks...

Oh my gosh. We're at 33 weeks today. Officially 8 months pregnant. She's huge. She's been trying to crawl out the sides of my belly the past 3 days. I can push on/feel my stomach now and likely feel a bump of something baby without looking around too much - not much "empty" space anymore. She's awake more often. Her patterns and sleep/wake cycles are getting seriously on schedule now. And I still love her more each day b/c she doesn't wake me up at night. I love her more than words can say in general and while I want to hold her so badly, I want her to stay in there for a while yet b/c I'm just not ready quite yet. We don't have her nursery set up, she doesn't have the baby things she needs (although she's on her way) quite yet, and I'm not mentally prepared. Will I ever be the last one? I doubt it. But if you were to hand her to me right this minute, I think I'd be ok. I can feel her hiccups regularly. She makes my laptop move around from her wiggles when I'm just sitting here and not typing. So I guess I'm feeling rather sentimental this evening, no? I'm a lucky girl...soon to be lucky mommy. Happy me. :) Happy Adam. Happy family. xo

Crib - check. Reclining Glider/Ottoman - check.

I'm excited it's Wednesday already. Nice! Yesterday (Tuesday), my mom and her boyfriend, Lee, came down to visit so that Mom could take me to the 3rd birthing class in prep for this little kickmonster to get here. They got here shortly after I got home from work and after some touring (they'd not been to our house before) and chit chat, we realized we needed to make dinner hasta pronto or Mom & I were going to be late for class. We wolfed down a yummy dinner and left Lee to fend for himself with the two dogs. :) The baby was super active all day yesterday and continued to be as such all through class. Last night's class consisted of a pediatrician coming and letting us pick her brain about what to expect, watch for, not worry about (yeah right), etc. and it went well. After class, Mom, Lee, & I went to Tee's for ice cream and then we went to see the bridge over the Mississippi which lights up at night in Muscatine. It was such a good time but way too short as they had to leave this morning so Mom could work tonight. Can't wait for the next visit!! My stepmom, Susie, is coming next week since Adam will have class. It's the last one so I can stop asking people to make monster trips to come with me so I don't have to go alone.

Yesterday was really just an all-around good day. I'm going backwards but oh well. :) Yesterday was my first day back at my elementary school (they started on the 20th) and I had lots to do since I have a new (smaller) room that I'm sharing with another program at the school (for space only, not time) - needless to say, I had a day of organization on my hands - which the OCD part of me LOVES. It went so well despite the heat and I was super pleased by the time I left. It's odd but I feel much more at home in this smaller room that I had time to decorate and organize this year. I also knew better which papers from previous SLPs to keep, what to ditch, sent a few old tings back to the AEA to store, and just overall have a better feel for the building. I also feel much more at home this year b/c people know who I am, what I do, and (even better) my name! Needless to say I'm very happy and eager to start the school year...only to leave for a time. But it's a GREAT reason to leave in my book! The principal even came to help me move some big bookcases which doesn't always happen - sometimes principals don't care and won't do anything like that. Yay!

On my way home, I talked with Adam (who's in Quebec again this week) and asked him to check the tracking status of the crib since it had shipped out last Friday. I had not checked it yesterday and had no idea where it was...until I drove in the driveway and it was leaning up against the garage!! :) SO excited! I was worried we wouldn't get her crib b/c many different places were out of stock. Not to worry anymore! And how convenient that Mom & Lee were here...they carried it upstairs for us since it was set to rain (and rain and rain and rain)! How great! Then today I got a call from Babies 'R Us saying that the glider/ottoman we ordered on Saturday is already in and we can pick it up anytime (which we will do Friday). It's all coming together and Adam's going to be busy building furniture this weekend. Can't wait! My plan is for him to put it all together and then sit in my new reclining glider/ottoman and read to my belly every night. Wow, I can't wait until she gets here. She's just going to be so tiny (for a while, anyway). I could just burst and shoot happiness everywhere thinking about it!!

Ok, now that I went all out of order yesterday, I forgot to write about her antics yesterday. Baby was super active and doing her regular big movement wiggles all over the place. Then, I was sitting at my computer just getting ready to leave work email and get back to organizing when I looked down and feel this little monster do one of the biggest movements I've ever seen/felt in my life. I swear she decided to completely vacate the right side of the belly and take up residency in the left side only. The belly got HUGE on the left side and I felt her pushing with all her might against my right side. It was cool (b/c it didn't hurt) but then I got all worried that she flipped breech b/c it was such a big movement and I couldn't tell where she was! I planned to ask the nurse who teaches birthing class if she could palpitate my belly and tell me where the baby was...but in the middle of class Baby got the hiccups and I could tell right where she was. Silly baby...

Today was my birth-3 day and I'm seeing each week getting a little more difficult getting up and down off the floor to work with the kiddos. I was kinda sore by the time the day was over and I'm starting to notice that soreness in places I was expecting but not experiencing yet. Sometimes by the end of a more active day (or the day after, apparently), I'm sore all over in my hip region. It's not bad, but it's noticable and not usual (prepreggo).

Ok, sorry this post was all over the place. Can you tell I'm tired? Was up a bunch early early this morning for some wicked storms that went through and just as I'd get back to sleep, another one would roll through just as loud as the last. So I'm going to ponder getting some ice cream, lying down, and calling Adam. He'll be home in a touch over 24 hours and we can't wait. He's traveled a lot these past 4 weeks and he doesn't have much scheduled b/w now and baby's arrival. REALLY looking forward to having the daddy-to-be home!

No more all day meetings, please.

Today was our all-staff meeting in Bettendorf which took...ALL day. I was sitting in the meeting for about a half hour this morning when I got a text from Adam. He had a minor emergency and needed me to send him something in Canada (he was b/w flights 1-2 of 3 at the time) so I had to leave, run to the airport (which was relatively close to the AEA), and drop the forgotten item off at the Post Office, and get back to the meeting. Thankfully, this got me up and moving and out of our LOOOONNNGG meeting for just over an hour. The speaker we had was fine, but the sitting kills me now. Actually, the morning went fast (likely due to the leaving - thanks again, Abbie!) and I wasn't sitting that much. Then after lunch, the UNcomfort began. I was wiggling, shifting, moving, and nothing was working. I finally gave in and got up to walk around for a bit but by that point, I was done. I was chugging liquids all day but that doesn't help if I don't get up and move. Needless to say, that means that my BH contractions were going rather strong by the time we left. I was feeling fine...until we got in the car. It was warm outside but for some reason the heat totally got me once I was in my coworker's car. She had the air on full blast, but I felt nauseous and icky pretty much the whole way back to Muscatine. Once I got home, I laid down and felt better within about a half hour. It's a little frustrating when my body doesn't agree with what I CHOOSE for it to do during a day. Like why on earth can I not sit through a day-long meeting without my uterus deciding to be tight a majority of the day? Or why does my body temp decide to de-regulate whenever it wants to? I know, I know, hormones, but still. Sometimes I wish it would listen to ME once in a while. I sort of miss that even though I know t's for a good reason.

It's a short post tonight...what!?Melissa not be long-winded?!? That's a big fat YUP for tonight.