29 Weeks

How far along?:  29 Weeks 1 day

Total weight gain: As of last appointment 26 pounds

How big is Baby?:  2 1/2 pounds, 17 inches. Approximately. 

Maternity clothes?: Pretty much every thing I own is now maternity. And some of the shorter maternity tops are becoming...shorter. Which means my belly is getting GIANT!

Stretch marks?: Still the same. One little one of my boobie. Meh..Oh well!

Sleep?:  Mostly good. Some days I'm still wide awake at 4:30. Other days I can sleep for forever!

Movement?: Considering he is kicking my coffee cup that is on my belly...Lots. And actually, he moves a TON at night, but I never notice it in my sleep, only when I wake up. 

Food cravings?:  Still sweets. I now eat peanut butter on EVERY THING. But, good news, I have been so much better about my eating. I try to eat protein with every meal/snack to make it last longer. And that has helped soooo much. But I still have my Oreo CheeseQuake blizzard every now and again. 

Gender: Still a boy. =) Love him!

Milestone: Bought my first set of cloth diapers!!! Now I have 12 cloth diapers that will hopefully fit either right away or after the 1st couple of weeks. Also, ordered 12 prefold cloth diapers off Amazon.com. Totally not impressed with those after getting my amazing pocket diapers from Kawaii. But they will be amazing for extra liners, lap pads, burp cloths, cleaning or whatever. But I am 100% sure that we will not be using these as our primary diaper. 

How's Mom?:  Good this week! So much better than last week. Had a nice long talk with a friend from high school about pregnancy, weight gain, and losing the weight afterward. I feel so much better about weight right now. And like I've said before, I FEEL great...It's that darn number that gives me every time!

So happy that it's the weekend! And my plans to relax are going out the window. I have so many things that I need want to do this weekend that I have a feeling that it will be less than relaxing.

Wish me luck as I head to the thrift store today! I am hoping to find some cool decorative pieces or furniture that will be super cheap!

Love,
L

Baby Steps Forward

I've blogged a little bit about how J and I need to save money and pay off some things. And it feels like we are finally on our way, taking what feels like a baby step to get us there.

Let me give you a little background. J and I have bought lots of cars. For me, I bought a new car about once every two years. And J has a pretty similar pattern. Between the two of us we have owned 11 cars. In about 7-8 years. Can any one say EXPENSIVE? And finally we are breaking the pattern, with one last car purchase.

We just traded in my 2008 Honda Civic coupe (not terribly baby friendly) for a 93 Toyota 4Runner with room to spare. And the reason that this was the best financial decision for us, is that it will be paid off in just over a year (if we stick to the payments we've been making - which we can afford) or less if we get a nice tax return that I am crossing my fingers we will get (last year it was like $400, and I all really care about is not owing....anything else is BONUS!)

So....Paying off a 2 door car in 2014, or paying off a 4 door (4X4) SUV in 2012.....I am thinking we made the right decision. As long as we continue to maintain the 4Runner, we should be way ahead.

And then we can work on paying off our Kia (my new mommy-mobile!) And then be CAR DEBT FREE!!!

Can you imagine? I am soooo passionate about paying off our cars right now, that I know we are going to make it happen. And J and I have a pact that whichever of us wants to buy a new car, the other is going to slap them silly talk them off the ledge remind that person of our goal for our life. And how that goal is heavily weighted on being completely debt free.

And we are gonna do it! And I am excited about it!

Love,
L

28 Weeks

Officially in the 3rd trimester! Less that (hopefully!) 12 weeks to go. And that makes me both super excited and super freaked out!

Had my 28 weeks check up today....Not my favorite appointment by far. I've gained a ton of weight. Drank a yucky drink that made me feel yucky (but thankfully I did not pass out, throw up, or get explosive diarrea!), got more blood taken, got a shot, waited a ton, and didn't get to see the little man. If there is anything wrong with my blood work, they will give me a call next week. If nothing is wrong, I'll just go to my next appointment like normal. And to be honest, I am not worried about having gestational diabetes or not. If I have it, then I'll deal with it. No biggie. If not, no biggie.

Last week of the 2nd Trimester....Holy crap where did the time go?!?!?!

How far along?: 28 Weeks

Total weight gain: 26 pounds. HOLY FREAKING COW. But, I know that some women (me) gain more than others. My mom and aunt both gained well over 30 with all of their babies. My mom, 50 with her 1st and 35 with me. My aunt gained about 40 each time. Maybe this is me too. But I did learn more about how the body processes carbs today and since I have been eating a ton of carbs, I am probably not processing them as well as I used to and need to cut back. No more cereal/bagels/toast for me! At least not very often. 

How big is Baby?:  2 and a half pounds. Wow! And strange to know that babies grow at different rates now, so he could be a little bigger or smaller. 

Maternity clothes?:  Lots and lots and lots. And they are so comfy!

Stretch marks?: Maybe of my boobies...But you would think, with how much they have already grown over a short period of time that they would be immune to stretch marks. Who knows. They could be dark veins also =) Sorry, TMI!

Sleep?:  Hmm.... Lots of let cramps. Not sleeping as amazingly as I was, but still pretty darn good. 

Movement?: Lots and lots! And my little perfect man kicks mostly in my sides or my belly area and not on anything painful like my ribs and hips. Hopefully he will be this perfect outside the womb (particularly by sleeping thru the night!)

Food cravings?: Nothing particular. I am trying to eat more protein though so I feel full longer. 

Gender: Still a boy, as far as we know!

Milestone: Officially in the 3rd trimester. Finished my glucose screening test. Oh, and we figured out our little man's name! But that will be a secret until he is born and we announce it to everyone. Gotta keep something a surprise!

How's Mom?:  Today was a REALLY hard day for me. My appointment put me in a bad mood and I had a really hard time snapping out of it. I was crabby, impatient, and emotional. Great! The first thing that was hard, was my weight gain. I know that it is stupid. And it is just a number. And apparently that number means a lot more important to me than I thought. It's a stupid number for crying out loud! And I am going to try to not let it get to me anymore. I feel really good. And I feel like I know which foods I should eat more of, and which I should eat less of. And baby is good. That is truly all that matters! 

My whole appointment was not fun. I ran into some girls that I try to avoid, and they kept popping up wherever I was next (appointment, pharmacy, lab, back at pharmacy). They aren't very nice girls, and they would make some sort of rude comment every time they walked by me. (HELLO high school!) So, I ignored them, but I think my appointment would have been a little more peaceful had I not seen either of them. 

Glucose test = not so much fun. The drink wasn't soooo bad.....But it made me feel so yucky afterward. And the nurse reminded me that should I puke, they would just reschedule me. And that made me want to puke. And then I alternated between super hyper and wanting to pass out. Not a fun feeling. 

Got my Rh shot. Super important for baby and I, but really? Who in their right mind likes shots. 

Ugh! Glad it's over! And I am now onto the weekend!

Love, 

L

Hind sight is 20/20

There are two things in my life that I would do over given the chance.
Buying our 1 bedroom townhouse when we though the housing market would only go up (hello September 2007)
Trading in my 2006 Scion xB for a 2008 Honda civic coupe.

Both are financially expensive right now. There is nothing we can do about the house (but cross our fingers our renter will sign another 1 yr lease!) but with the car we can try and fix our past mistakes.

If I still owned the Scion it would be paid off this year. It had 4 doors and plenty of room for our expanding family. But everyone made fun of my "toaster on wheels" and I succumb to peer pressure and sold the car. And I have to say, I absolutely LOVE my Honda. But is it practical? No. Only 2 doors with a car seat? Sounds fun! Is it expensive? Yes. And it won't be paid off for another 3 years.

So, we are pulling on our big girl (or in my husbands case boy) pants in our house and Delong my beloved car. And once it finally sells we will be buying a very inexpensive 4 runner for my husband that we can lay off in a short period of time. And after our "new" car is paid off then we can work on paying off our 2009 Kia optima. My mommy-mobile.

one day maybe we will be with out car payments. But for now, I'm gonna work on fixing my /our mistakes. We have a plan and we are gonna stick to it!!!

Love,
L
One at a time so we can eventually live the life we want.

Pregnancy Is Glamorous

Before I got pregnant, all I could think about was the cute belly, and how much fun this next step in life was going to be. Sure I had friends or perfect strangers tell me about some of the not so nice aspects of pregnancy (heart burn, stretch marks) but I had no idea how um-glamorous pregnancy could be! Don't get me wrong, I love being pregnant and wouldn't change anything for the world, but there is a whole lot of "stuff" that happens when you are pregnant that just makes me laugh.

Here is my list of all the fabulous things that I never expected:
Heart burn
Acid reflux
Gas
Constipation
or on the flip side, going after every meal
swelling of your feet and fingers
gaining weight in your arms (love the flab!)
your rear end spreading
stretch marks on your perfect (and paid for) boobies
a weird line down your tummy that your husband thinks is "weird"
side aches when you walk
throwing up when you brush your teeth
being out of breath after walking a flight of stairs
running your belly into things because it never used to stick out before
getting butt cramps after sitting in the car for too long
leg cramps
foot cramps (gave myself one the other day...awesome!)
weird dreams
randomly waking up and being AWAKE
hating coffee (the thing you love most in the morning)
craving a glass of water
craving a very specific item (DQ's mini cheesequake blizzard anyone? how about Arby's beef 'n chedder)
being crabby and hormonal and telling your husband before you actually yell at him
freaking out over dog hair
cleaning compulsion. Some days, I swear I have OCD
talking to my belly
needing to put my hand on the outside of my belly to feel kicks, even though I can feel them on the inside
eating like a very hungry man
talking about my food like I am having a love affair with it. SCARY!
hobbling around because my low back hurts so bad I can't hardly stand

Pregnancy is very weird. Most of these things I can't control, and as weird as they are I know that one day I am gonna miss it all. Crazy how much life has changed in just a few short month. And how much they are going to change once I "officially" become a mom. Maybe then I will tell you all about the strange and gross things that happen to moms.

Love,
L

Belly Pics!

27 Weeks

Last week of the 2nd Trimester....Holy crap where did the time go?!?!?!

How far along?: 27 Weeks today....6.75 Months. oh.em.ge!

Total weight gain: I'll know next Friday!

How big is Baby?: Still just over 2 pounds and about the size of a cucumber. 

Maternity clothes?: I have gotten to the point where normal shirts dont quite cover my belly anymore...Totally a hot look, just in case you were wondering! 

Stretch marks?: None yet!

Sleep?:  Starting to get a little worse. A few more days where I am up at 4am, and a few more nights where I can't fall asleep till midnight. Makes for a cranky mom!

Movement?: Got a little bit nervous today. Didn't really feel the lil man moving around so much yesterday. And then not so much movement this morning. At lunch I decided that since we would be at the hospital for our childbirth class, I would have them check me out just to make sure everything was fine. Well....My little mover and shaker came back at lunch time and hasn't stopped moving, so I am pretty sure all is grand in my belly. =) 

Food cravings?: Several days in a row I have ate like a normal person! Woo hoo!!! Lot's of oranges. A few sandwiches. Nothing too crazy that I am craving these days!

Gender: Still a boy, as far as we know!

Milestone: 2nd week of pregnancy class, and last week of the 2nd trimester. Crazy to think that this who pregnancy thing is almost over!

How's Mom?: Good! Gearing up for a trip to Portland to hang out with my family. Looking forward to that this weekend. Going to be a little crazy, lots of driving, and probably very tiring but will be so much fun and so worth it. Sad the hubs will be missing out, but he has to work. Oh well! 

That's all I've got! Have a great weekend!

Love, 

L

I'm pretty sure THAT should not come out of THERE!

Today was week 2 of childbirth class. Week 1 was all about the last trimester, warning signs, when to go to the hospital, and signs of labor. Plus a tour of the labor and delivery area. All pretty sweet and fun and not too scary.

Then comes week 2. All about labor, delivery and pain medication. And now all I can think is: I'm pretty sure I want my baby to live in my belly FOREVER. Do you know what the nurse calls pain during labor? Discomfort. I am pretty sure that everyone who has ever had a baby would call it pain. Who does she think she's kidding? And do you know what happens to your uterus after you have a c-section? They take it outside of your body. Yup, just pull that sucker on out. So glad I won't be able to see THAT should I have a c-section.

And then there is the pain meds. Which I'm gonna say are discouraged. Mainly because the baby takes what you take. So if you are getting happy on your perscribed narcotics, baby is happy right along with you. Which can cause breathing complications once they are born. Oh and the fabulous epidural I was looking forward to? Apparently it doesn't always numb everything. And pain free might not happen. Great. I am officially looking forward to having this baby. Okay, so holding him in my arms, yes looking forward to. All the parts before that? Not so much.

Maybe I will be totally ready to do anything to get this baby outta my belly n a few weeks, but right now? He can stay there forever.

Scared-Mama-To-Be,
L

P.s this is posted from my iPhone so I appologise for any weird words my iPhone has decided I'm trying to use.

Scatter Brained!

Happy 1.11.11 y'all!!!!


So we are 11 days into this brand spankin new year and I am already a little scatter brained! I blame pregnancy, but in all honesty, it's probably just me.

In attempts to keep myself, the hubs, and the lil man organized this year I am going to try to follow a few guidelines:

Write everything down in the check book - I finally did this today and I can't believe how much (not really all that much, but more than I thought!) money we have spent on "stuff" so far. And this goes beyond what our normal "allowance" is. Granted, some of the stuff will help us stay organized, but still! Personal finance 101: Write everything down! Hopefully I can balance our checkbook weekly (or at least make sure I've written everything in there) to keep us on track this year.

Clean out closets - I really want to get rid of some crap stuff that is just hanging out in our closets. The only problem for me is that I'm pregnant. And what if it fits when I am no longer pregnant. Don't worry about the fact that I haven't worn it in 2 year...I might!

Use the storage bins that I just bought at Wal-Mart (for $4.44!!!) - I bought several of these because, hey they are like dirt cheap! And also because I really do want to store some stuff in something other than paper boxes. I bought two for the lil man to keep his clothes in that he won't be big enough for or things that he won't use until he's older. The hopes is that I can wash everything, put it in nicely labeled totes, and once he is old enough or big enough to fit into (or play!) with these things, I can pull them out and then put the clothes he's grown out of in boxes to give away.

Contain my piles of random crap stuff - I have a problem. I can not get rid of ANYTHING. Especially if it is paper. I keep bills, cards, coupons, magazines, and random things sent to us in the mail. I try try try to go thru everything once it's opened and shred/recycle what isn't needed but I still manage to acquire piles of stuff. So on my recent Wal-Mart trip I bought a cute white bin to leave on our kitchen counter (where the piles accumulate) and any time my piles get too full for the basket, I have to go thru it and get rid of stuff. So far this is working!!!

Keep up on my Google spreadsheet - I keep track of all of our bill payments and how much we own on things (like credit cards and cars) in google. And I haven't been so diligent in checking it and updating it monthly. And in keeping in step with that, our credit card bill hasn't been going down =( And I am pretty sure that this is related (okay I know it's related...) So I am vowing to update my debts on my google spreadsheet monthly. I'm pretty sure that's not a lofty goal. 2011 is the year we are gonna pay stuff off and keep it that way! (uh...fingers crossed!)

Ohhh.... I just ordered our first set of cloth diapers today! I am sooooo stoked. Except for the fact that we might be getting some pink diapers for our baby boy....Oops!!! I am hoping they get my (several) emails stating that I do not want pink. And hopefully only blue and white ones arrive. I'll let you know!!!

Love,
L

26 Weeks

Wow.....Pregnancy just keeps trucking along! I can't believe that I am almost into my 3rd trimester (next week) and then baby will be here! CRAZY!!!!!

How far along?: 26 Weeks today.

Total weight gain: Who knows. And at this point I really don't care. I feel good, and I'll lose the weight after. It may take forever, but it will come off. So as long as I'm feeling good and baby is healthy then I don't care if I gain more than the recommended amount. 

How big is Baby?: About 2 pounds and 14 inches. Still getting bigger!

Maternity clothes?: Yep. And I love em! So comfy. Still work some regular shirts in there, but for the most part, all maternity. 

Stretch marks?: None yet!

Sleep?:  Up until today, great! Woke up at 4am with a bad leg cramp. My amazing husband actually woke up and helped me pull my toes up to stop the cramp. Much better than last time when he tried to massage my foot (not helpful). And so I've been up since then. Gonna get cleaning on the house though! And then go for a walk. I'm gonna take advantage of the extra hours. 

Movement?: Yep, lots. He's a wiggle worm! If I do "kick"counts right now, it takes about 2 min when he is in his active stage. =) Love it! I'm gonna miss it when he is out of my tummy I think. 

Food cravings?: No cravings this week. Still liking all the food that isn't healthy for me. I'm trying to be good though! And I'm eating TONS of oranges. 

Gender: Still a boy, as far as we know!

Milestone: Hmm...Can't think of anything new this week. No change in the nursery, no appointment, not a whole lot going on. Still just trucking along!

How's Mom?: Good this week. Enjoying being pregnant. I know that I probably am enjoying this more than most, but I've got a lot to enjoy. Pretty much the whole pregnancy has been perfect. Hardly sick at all, only minor issues, I love food a lot, and it's super easy to take care of my little man! Love it! And that being said, I am sure that once he is here I will enjoy that much more than being pregnant. I just hope he is as easy outside of my belly as he is inside my belly. Fingers crossed! 

Keeping it real here...

There is something that has been bothering me. A lot. And I am super pregnant and easily annoyed. And this whole situation just amps up my annoyance.

So what am I annoyed with? Adult/Pregnancy Acne.

I blame you Mom. I still love you. But I blame you =)

I swear that I broke out all of maybe 5 times in high school. And since I turned ohhhhh 20 or so I feel like there has not been a day where I did not have at least 1 pimple of my face. And usually it's a whole cluster.

Awesome. Way to make a girl feel pretty with her expanding belly (and buns and boobies and what-not.)

I feel like I have tried everything to keep it under control. And nothing works. It looks like it's starting to work....and then nothing. Everything stays the same.

And I am sick of caking make-up on my face. Because seriously? It's doesn't look good.

Maybe one day I will grow out of this. Or find the magic combination of crap to put on my face to make it pretty. But until then, me and my pregnant self will be annoyed.

Stupid acne....You can go away anytime now. THANKS!

Love,
L

25 Weeks and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!!

I don't normally do New Year's Resolutions (I never keep them!) but I do have some goals for this year :

Keep on carrying my sweet little man in my belly. 

Hold sweet little Hyatt in my arms and love him like crazy!

Pay off our lovely washer and dryer/moving expenses. 

Save money for my maternity leave/day care. 

Continue to on the path to financial security. (i.e. Emergency fund, gift fund, car fund, and spend some money just doing fun things!)

Go back to school - Get my AS in Business. Or at least start finishing it!

Take time for myself after Hyatt is born on a hopefully weekly basis. I don't care if it's a bath by my self, or a walk with the dogs or a glass of wine and a few oreos. Do something for me.

Enjoy having a newborn and infant. Know that all of the hard things (like lack of sleep) will eventually pass and take the time to enjoy him while he is little. Also take advantage of all the people who want to hold him and baby sit it. 

Be genuine in my faith. I want it to be such a part of who I am that everyone who meets me notices it. Strengthen my relationship with Christ, and I know if I do that every thing else will fall into place. 

Seems like a long list, but I know I will feel accomplished at the end of the year!

I also have know that a few scary things are probably going to happen this year and I need to keep a good attitude about them. They are :

J is probably going to deploy at some point in the next 12 months. Not that we know of anything yet, but most likely he will. And I am gonna need to look at all the positive aspects of the big "D" that I can. 

I am going to have a child. And it's going to be painful. And then after I have this child I am going to have to take care of it. No more passing off the crying baby to it's parents. We are the parents!

Either find a way to be happier in the job that I have or find a job that pays more or makes me happier. Not enjoying your job stinks. Been there done that. And that starts to take a toll on my relationships, mostly with the hubs. And I want him to continue liking me. =)

How far along?: 5 Weeks, 1 Day

Total weight gain: Good question! Not gonna answer that one till Jan 21st...My next appointment. 

How big is Baby?: 9.2 Inches and 2 pounds. About the size of an Eggplant. Yum! And holy moly! He's two pounds already!

Maternity clothes?:  Loving the maternity pants! And I am still mixing and matching with everything else. Which makes me wonder....did my clothes make me look pregnant before? Hope not! Hah!

Stretch marks?: None yet....

Sleep?: Still really good. Maybe I am sleeping a little less. And I swear, on the weekends, my eyes just pop open and I am awake at like 7am. Not so much during the week when I have to get up though. 

Movement?: Lots and lots! I did a kick count the other day...and when he is moving he kicks about 10 times in less that 2 or 3 min. It's crazy! 

Food cravings?: Oranges this week. I made J go out and buy me a giant bag of oranges so I could eat them whenever I want. Yum! I have at least one, maybe two or three a day. 

Gender: Boy! 

Milestone: I might have had my first Braxton Hicks contraction today. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't enough of a tightening in my tummy to know for sure if that was what it was or I just moved in a weird way. I'm sure they will either continue or start sometime soon though.

How's Mom?: Not looking forward to my next appointment. I get to do the glucose screening test (which sounds icky...Necessary but icky). Plus I get blood drawn. Plus an Rh shot. And probably a few other things that I don't even remember. Oh yea, and I get weighed. That's a ton of fun. At least I am feeling good about my body this week! *Note to self, yoga pants or shorts with the fold over waist are AMAZING. You might want to buy like 7 pairs of these so you can wear them everyday.*