38 Weeks and Ready!

This past weekend I had some time to myself because The Husband went to College Station for the A&M v OSU game.  He told me he got razzed for leaving his preggo wife at home, but I was happy to have some peace and quiet and time to finish up my ever-growing to do list.  One of my favorite things about our relationship is actually our independence, and we give each other the freedom and time to pursue our interests and hobbies.  It makes us both happier people and makes our time together more interesting.  Plus, I have a feeling we are about to get some super serious together time after the baby arrives!

Anyway, today I am 38 weeks and I guess I am as ready as I can ever be for Baby Hadley to arrive.  In the last few weeks I have:

• finished up the nursery
• installed the car seat
• washed guest room sheets and prepared for our family to arrive
• dyed my hair for the last time
• got my nails and toes done
• learned to use my new video camera and The Husband's digital camera (his is better than my old one but I never took the time to learn all the functions)
• watched the "happiest baby on the block" DVD that was highly recommended to us

This week I am getting my hair cut for the last time, having one last book club meeting and visiting our last pediatrician before I make that decision.  We are also having some repairs done to our home (long time coming, and a long story) and the house will be filled with drywall, tile and paint guys.  After that the cleaning lady is coming for sure!  I also hope to make a few things to stash for dinner in the freezer, including spaghetti, chili and my favorite - spinach balls.  I hear people will probably bring us food but we don't have any family here and most of my friends live about 20 miles away so I want to have some things on hand I can make easily.

I know you can't really be ready for a baby and the changes she will bring but at least the house is prepared!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

From time to time I visit the Daybook blog, since the author is also preggo it is  interesting to see her belly grow and here about her experiences so far.  Today I am participating in her Awkward and Awesome Thursday post and thought it would be fun to recap some of the highs and low at 35 weeks:

Awkward

• Not fitting through spaces that I used to be able to - like between chairs at a restaurant or behind my computer at work.
• Wearing flats and tennis shoes.  If you know me in real life you know I am 5'2" and almost always wear 3-4" heels.  When people see me in flats they are usually surprised at how short I really am.  Now that I am 8 months+ along I have been wearing more comfy footwear for certain occasions (like football games) and it feels funny.  I don't look like myself in tennis shoes.  Because I really don't work out anyway.
• Rolling myself out of bed.  You don't realize how much you use your stomach muscles for things until you don't really have use of them anymore.  So rolling out of bed is easier than sitting up and getting out.
• Attempting to shave my legs in our stand up shower.  I am used to easily throwing a leg up on the side of the shower about waist high to shave.  My leg no longer reaches that height and it is not that easy to bend down.  Oh well, I can't really see my leg hair anyway so I will pretend nobody else can either.
• Most people look forward to pregnancy because your hair grows thick and shiny.  Not me.  I had  enough hair before I got pregnant and now that hardly any of it falls out it is a huge mess on my head.  I can't wait to have the baby and start loosing my hair so it is back to a manageable amount!
• Clothing in general - Up until now I still wore a mix of my regular and maternity clothes.  Those days are numbered.  Trying to look cute is just depressing at the moment.
• Looking much smaller and more attractive in your own mind than you do when you actually see a picture of yourself:

almost 35 weeks at the A&M vs. SMU game over the weekend

note to self - horizontal stripes are not the best look!

Awesome

• Knowing the baby hangs out with me all day in "her house" aka my belly.
• Getting things I ordered and presents in the mail almost daily.  I am going to be sad when the surprises stop coming.  But The Husband will probably be happy I stopped spending money!
• Knowing that my nursery is totally complete and the baby can come stay anytime she wants!
• Frosties from Wendy's.  The lowest in calories and fat chocolate fast food dessert on the market.  Enough said.
• The Husband - who sat inside the stadium with me for a whole quarter during the football game and walked slowly the whole weekend as I waddles around campus to various tailgates in my sensible footwear

Week 29 Update

So its been awhile since I have done a pregnancy update, I have been pretty busy with not a whole lot of news to report, plus I didn't think these posts were that interesting.  But at my shower last weekend several people commented that they had been reading them, and I guess Facebook wouldn't be so popular if people didn't like to spy on others and compare themselves, so maybe some of you fellow preggers will enjoy this.

Here are my random thoughts as I enter my 3rd trimester - less than 75 days to go!  Yikes!

-  My shower last weekend was great, but coming home with all that stuff totally overwhelmed me.  I could not sleep on Sunday thinking about all the organizing and the stuff invasion.  I am normally pretty neat, don't hold onto stuff I don't need, and junk free.  Not saying that the baby stuff is junk, but I am just not used to having so much stuff.  I realized I would need to clean off a pantry shelf, a kitchen cabinet, a bathroom cabinet and do countless other things in order to put all my new baby stuff away and it was totally overwhelming.  After making a list so I could stop obsessing over it, I begged my Mom to come up for one last visit after my last shower to help me organize.  I am feeling much better.

- I have been very lucky with this pregnancy and have really not had one day of feeling bad.  Up until last weekend I hadn't even missed any work due to pregnancy related complications or illness.  Until I took the diabetes test.  I have always had sensitive blood sugar, and after drinking all that gross orange stuff I crashed and felt like crap.  Luckily I was back to new the next day after a long nap and a good nights sleep.  And the results came back good.

- I am finally starting to feel huge.  I used to be able to fit through tight spaces (like between chairs at a restaurant, or into little nooks in the garage between our cars to grab stuff from our storage shelves) but those days are over.  I don't hear other women talking about it much, but seeing those numbers on the scale climb to places I have never seen before is a little frightening.  Don't worry, I am not on a diet and baby is getting plenty of food, I am just saying, it sucks.  Call my crazy but I still weigh myself every morning (just like I have for the past 8 years) and I am pretty sure I will pass up my "goal weight max" before this is over.

- This weekend The Husband and I are taking a baby care basics class.  Some people told me I didn't need a class, but I am a nerd and I love school.  And learning from experts.  I don't have much baby experience so I think it will be good and calm some of my nerves.  After that we are going to dinner to celebrate our 5 year anniversary.  With a Groupon.  Yes, I am cheap like that.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Week 25 Recap

Well, I am officially in week 26, with just 98 days left to go!  Although people have been telling my they wouldn't be surprised if I delivery early because I am so petite.  Only time will tell.  I have been feeling really good up until now, but I am starting to get a little uncomfortable.  This past weekend I constantly felt full, and could barely eat anything on July 4th.  It feels like someone is blowing up a balloon inside of me and it is pushing on all my insides.  Like I might just split open.  Luckily I am feeling better today and I am actually looking forward to dinner tonight.

Week 25 went smoothly, and I signed Baby Girl Cox up for childcare.  I am trying to come up with a better word for daycare.  It sounds so terrible.  We chose a Kids R Kids franchise in our neighborhood, with a 4 to 1 ratio, great hours, friendly staff and a chef for when she starts eating solid food!  I am very fortunate that The Husband completely supports my need to return to work.  I know it can be a controversial topic, but I feel like it is the right decision for me for a number of reasons.

I am also making good progress on the nursery, but I am not ready to show you guys any pictures yet.  I have a few more things to get done, and in 2 weeks my parents are coming to visit to help us finish up some projects.  Till then you will just have to wait!  But I promise it is looking good.  I keep going in there to admire the wall I painted - I am so happy with how it turned out.  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make my mental vision come to life but so far so good!

Tonight I am off to get a haircut.  I have been trying to grow it out but it grows SO slowly and I want to get rid of some of the layers I have.  So I will probably have to cut some off.  To which I am sure The Husband will say, "I thought you were trying to grow it out?"  Contrary to what everyone says, pregnancy has not made my hair grow or look thicker.  I already had SUPER thick hair to begin with and my efforts to grow it out longer (to make my face look less fat!) have not been successful!

Week 23 Recap

This pretty much sums up how I have been feeling lately:


Me: We had PF Changs for lunch. I only ate a salad and I feel like my stomach is going to explode. This should be interesting, already feel like I am losing room in my belly for food.


Husband: Well you better figure something out because (baby shall remain nameless) is hungry


On a side note, I am feeling very accomplished as in the last few days I have:

• Had crown molding installed in the nursery
• Had the nursery painted
• Ordered the changing table
• Purchased fabric to have bedding made
• Tracked down and purchased a rug that has been discontinued
• Come closer to a decision on a glider chair
• Had a dining room table delivered

This weekend I am having a solo spa day - my favorite kind, no offense friends.  I also plan to finish registering, as my first shower invites will probably go out next week!

Week 22 Recap

I am so grateful that I have been having such an issue-free pregnancy so far!  I am still trying to eat healthfully (with some cheats on weekends!) and I can't get enough fresh fruit.  I am going through a carton of strawberries like every 3 days.

Nothing new to report this week, but I did have quite an eventful Friday night when Mom was visiting.  When we got home from shopping at like 10 on Friday night, I noticed a few ants in my bathroom.  We have had a few problems with them before, mostly because it is soooo dry here and they are looking for water.  I found where they were getting in, sprayed, and didn't think another thing of it.

At 4:30 in the AM I woke up and felt like there was something on me, but I thought I was just being paranoid from seeing the ants earlier.  I really hate them, they are so sneaky and whenever I see them I feel like they are crawling on my skin even if they are far away!  I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't, so I thought I would turn the lights and check and make sure there was nothing crawling on me.  I turned on the lamp and threw back the covers and THERE WERE ANTS ALL OVER IN MY BED!

I screamed, woke up Mom, and we threw all the pillows and comforter in the backyard and the sheets in the washer.  Luckily they were not fire ants, so they didn't bite, but they still scared me to death.  And I spent the next 2 nights sleeping in the guest room with Mom!

Quite an adventure!

Week 21 Recap

I'm a bad blogger, I missed last weeks recap.  I know you were all dying to know exactly how my week went.  Ha!

Here is what went on last week:

• I ordered a crib and it came in.  The color is antique white instead of white, so I am going to shop for some matching items to make sure the color is not hard to match before I decide to keep it
• I tested out some gray paint for the nursery walls, and I need to get some more samples.  The ones I picked are just not right.  On the bright side, I also tested out my stencil to make sure I could get clean edges on my textured walls, and I think that plan is going to work out great!
• Every few days I am feeling like someone stuffed a balloon down my insides and is blowing it up.  There is so much pressure coming from inside pushing on my belly!
• I officially survived the family vacation at the waterpark.  I have now attending preggo and sober the following events:
• 2 weddings
• A Jimmy Buffett tailgate and concert
• A weekend at the ranch with friends
• A waterpark

Stay tuned for more nursery details - Mom and I are going on a 3 day shopping trip starting Friday and I hope to come up with a bunch of good stuff!

Week 19 Recap

If you are an early morning blog reader, you may be reading this while we are at the Dr's office learning if we will have a baby boy or baby girl!  So excited!  I will share with you tomorrow, after we have had time to tell our family.  Till then, here is a recap of the week leading up to this exciting day!

• I can really feel the baby move now and there is no question that is what it is.  The other night it felt like it was doing somersaults over and over again
• The baby bump is here to stay.  Still wearing looser fitting clothing, no maternity yet, except some shorts. 
• I signed up for birthing and new parenting classes at my Dr office, still need to sign up for the breast feeding class
• I bought a gender-neutral baby carrier, the Beco Butterfly.  When I worked for the baby products retailer this was always my favorite carrier, and you can start using it practically at birth.  Since I am kind of a wimp with little arm strength, I think I am going to like the baby carrier vs. carrying the baby or carrying the car seat and baby around.
• My super size appetite seems to be back as well.  The other night I had dinner, then an hour later some peanut butter toast and before bed some cereal.  I could not get full!

I know the blog has been a little boring lately, with posts about my pregnancy, maternity clothes and other non-decorating things.  I promise to do more decorating posts as I start working on my own nursery.  I hope to include lots of DIY projects and cheap chic shopping sources!

Week 18 Recap

One more week till we find out the sex of baby Cox!  We don't have a nickname for the baby like "bumble bee" or "green bean" so I can't wait to start calling it by name!

Lets talk baby bump.  When I started my first job right out of college, I had a convo with several female colleagues about sucking in your tummy.  The 2 of us that did at all times (I guess it is something my mom taught me?) we surprised to learn that 1 of us had never done it.  Normally I go around all day sucking in.  It helps with posture, tightens abs and just looks better.  Well, last week I reached the point that I can no longer suck in.  The baby bump has not been very obvious until now.  When I suck, nothing goes away.  Its here to stay.  I guess at 4 1/2 months that is not too bad.  I can still wear some of my pants with the help of the bella band and my total weight gain is at about 8 lbs.

Last week I was also on a mission for sensible shoes.  I normally wear 3.5 - 4" heels pretty much all the time.   At work I wear heels and on weekends in the Summer - wedge sandals.  I am 5'2" so I like to look taller, plus I have very flat feet and heels actually feel better than flats with no support.  I decided that I needed to get a few pairs of medium-height heels and this turned out to be no small task.  I went to every shoe store I could think and and things in that mid heel range are just so dorky!  I didn't like the way I looked in them at all.  I finally ordered a few pairs online - hopefully the results are good!

Goals in the next few weeks:

• Sign up for birthing, baby care and breast feeding classes
• Take hospital tour
• Start reading more about birthing stuff in my books
• Read some more of the baby bargains book about things I have no clue about - mattresses, monitors, bath stuff - and work on my registries
• Design a plan for the Kimberly & Mom 3 day shopping extravaganza that will take place in a few weeks to start working on the baby's room!  So excited!

Week 17 Recap

We are getting closer to finding out the sex of the baby, and I can't wait to be able to call "it" by name.  People say its bad to refer to the baby as "it", but I'll be honest, I think I will be able to bond better once I know what I can call it and what kind of things I can do with the little boy or girl.

I also may or may not be able to feel the baby kick.  Its hard to tell if I am just having stomach grumbles or if it is really kicking.  The Husband felt it too, but neither of us could tell.

We went to a wedding this past weekend and it was good to see all of our friends.  Some did not know we were having a baby, since I didn't make any type of Facebook announcement or anything.  It was probably the last even I will be able to wear a regular size dress too as well, I feel like any day now the baby bump is going to pop out.  I can still control my stomach muscules and suck in a bit, but once that goes the bump is going to be huge!

I had brunch with some girl friends this past weekend, and the baby got his/her first present from my sweet friend Ashley.  A little soft stuffed lion blanky.  So cute!  Oh, and on Mother's Day, The Husband surprised me with a sweet card.  I was really touched - we are 2 of the least emotional people you will ever know so I was surprised.  He signed it with our baby boy and girl names.  Major points for him!

Week 16 Recap

Not much to report during week 16, here are a few bits and pieces of the developments:

• After shocking some friends with only a 3 lb weight gain during weeks 1-14, I have put on a pound a week in the last few.  So I think this is the last week I will be able to squeeze into my regular work pants.
• The Husband and I are attending a wedding this coming weekend which required 2 new dresses.  I scored big at Target and my favorite resale shop.  Pictures coming next week!
• I started selling everything in the second guest room on craigslist to start clearing it out for the nursery.  I want the room almost empty when we find out the sex so I can start putting together my design ideas!
• We assembled the stroller.  Or rather, I assembled while The Husband read me the directions.  Luckily, after 2 years of working at a baby store, I have experience assembling baby stuff so it wasn't that hard.  His level of excitement after I put it together was underwhelming.  We discussed that he is not going to be that excited about baby product purchases, so I set my expectations accordingly.  So I will be sharing these purchases with my Mom and my readers instead!

This is the stroller, but without the tan part.  I am going to wait on that accessory until we know they sex.  Yes, its a Bugaboo Cameleon.  And yes, they are expensive.  But I did save about 20% off retail and I had been saving my painting money for over a year for this thing since I knew I had to have it.  More details on why I chose it will come.....

Week 15 Recap

First, let me say thank you to all that commented and emailed to tell me congratulations!  The Husband and I are super excited and I can't wait to start on the nursery.  Its a little intimidating since I have been blogging about adorable nurseries for the past 2 years but I have some ideas swimming around in my head and as soon as we find out the gender (in about 4 weeks) I can start planning.  I already starting clearing out the guest room and listing my spare furniture on Craigs List this weekend.

Today I am 16 weeks.  Here are some of the things that were on my mind last week:

I am at that stage where I feel fat and frumpy.  My nicely tailored work clothes don't really fit that well but I don't look pregnant, just like I have gained some weight.  I am hoping that once I actually have a baby bump I will feel better about my appearance - at least people will know I am pregnant!

This is what I did last week to prepare for the baby:

• We toured our first childcare facility
• We starting thinking about getting life insurance
• I used a rubber band to hold my Citizens jeans together under my bellaband.  Glad my non-preggo friends thought that that was so funny!
• I transferred all my "skinny" clothes to another closet and hung up some of my new maternity purchases.  I am hoping this makes getting dressed and choosing something to wear a little easier and less depressing!

On a positive note, we spent some time at the pool Easter weekend and The Husband said I looked the same in my bikini that I always do.  Sometimes - rarely - he really knows when to say the right thing!

Week 14 Recap

Tomorrow I will officially be 15 weeks pregnant.  I thought it would be fun to document my thoughts week by week, so here is what has been running through my head this week.  Note, I am going to try to keep these light hearted and funny so even the non preggos can enjoy.  Oh, and this week, the baby was the size of a lime.

• I always thought that my current clothes would leave room for a little growth.  Boy was I wrong.  Good thing I work with mostly men because there is going to be a lot of outfit repeating going on until I really fit into maternity clothes.
• I am wondering what part of the baby exactly is living in my side fat.  Because my muffin top is growing more rapidly than my belly.
• I've used the bellaband a few times to fit into my pre-baby pants.  I then contemplated using them as spanx to help me fit into my dresses better.  That can not be good for the baby.  But if I am using them to hold up my pants, is it really that different than using them to hold in my fat??
• I can never pack enough food in my lunch.  Since I can't eat lunch meat (don't even get my started on this prohibited item) I have to actually pack and plan a lunch.  I always pack a morning and afternoon snack because I am STARVING all the time but no matter what, I am still hungry and must go procure food from somewhere near my office building
• I suck at drinking water.  My Mom never made me drink it as a kid.  I didn't drink it before the baby and I am really struggling getting enough now.  Even cute water bottles and cups are not making me want to drink more, no matter how hard I try.

Next week I hope to start taking some belly pics for you guys.  This will take cooperation from The Husband so wish my luck.  I also plan on writing a "Petite Guide to Maternity Shopping" as finding small size maternity clothes is turning out to be a highly frustrating yet entertaining task.  I really need to take a dressing room pic of me in some of the ridiculous mumus so you can all laugh.