Why I AM Ready

Today (well, yesterday now...) is officially my due date! Whoa! Who knew I'd make it here?  Apparently enough of you because when I did a vote a few months ago most of you said Floodling would probably arrive late.  But since then I've been told by numerous people that I'd never make it to my due date. Though I tried not to listen I have to admit that I am surprised that he still seems to be staying firmly put.

About two weeks ago I told you why I was not ready for this baby to come yet.  I would have been fine if he came, but there were still some things that I wanted to get finished.  On top of that I wasn't feeling as miserable as most women seem to feel by this point.

Well, I've had plenty of time to complete my to-do list.  My bags are packed, car seat installed (it feels funny to drive around with a car seat in the car already!), the nursery is decorated... I've even had time to do plenty of other things! I've vacuumed couches, dusted fans, mopped floors, cleaned and sanitized bottles....

It's starting to look like there might be a baby around here!

Nesting?  Maybe... maybe not.  I generally do a lot of cleaning during summer break (I do summer cleaning, not spring cleaning).  A lot of things get left undone during the school year.  Jason is awesome about keeping up with daily things like laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc. (I'm a really lucky gal!), but all those other things just have to wait until I have a little free time.  I haven't found any unusual amounts of energy, so it may just be my usual summer cleaning, so don't get too excited.

So my list is done... what about how I'm feeling?  While overall I still feel great, I'm starting to be plagued by more and more annoyances...

Tying my shoes?  It's getting quite difficult... and this is what they end up looking like...

Tied towards the inside of my feet because that's all I can reach!

My feet? Sigh... getting swollen.  Had to keep them propped up at my friend's wedding or they wouldn't fit in my (flip-flop style!) shoes...

And just moving around?  Well, I managed to fall yesterday.... no worries!  Floodling and I are both all right, if not a little ego-bruised.  How long has it been since I have actually fallen to the ground?  I was trying to step over a computer wire that was too high, tripped, hopped, then went plummeting to the ground (while twisting mid-air so as to not land on my belly).  Thankfully my trusty birth ball (or excercise ball for you normal people out there) actually broke my fall, what luck!  I do have a bruised leg and a sore back though.  Thanks belly for throwing off my balance! (And making me unable to see exactly where that cord was....)

Okay, I didn't look quite like this, but you get the picture. ;)

But seriously, I'm feeling good.  I just want to meet this little guy!  I can't wait to find out who'll he'll grow up to be.  And in the process I can't wait to snuggle him, and ooh and ahh over him, and just enjoy the little bundle of joy he'll be (when he's not waking me up....).

So Floodling... I'm ready to meet you and introduce you to the world!  Anytime you want to make your appearance.... ;)

Why I'm NOT ready

 At 38 weeks I know a lot of women are just "done" with pregnancy.  They're over the whole thing, tired of sharing their body and all the aches, pains, and side effects caused by it.

I, however, am apparently not at that point yet.  It could be partially due to my long "to-do" list which looks something like this:

1. PACK!
2. Install car seat!
3. Clean carpets
4. Get glider cleaned and moved
5. Make curtains
6. Hang wall art
7. Find a solution for bookshelves
8. Finish organizing nursery

I need more time!

I'm sure there's a "fear" element too.... fear of not being a good mom, not knowing what to do, not being able to handle things, not getting enough sleep, and overall life changing so drastically!  But I'm also super excited to meet this little guy and get to see who he looks like, what he'll be like, and who he'll grow up to be!

It could also be due to the fact that I'm simply not miserable.  What I'm about to write makes me nervous because I could be ruining everything, right here, right now, as I bring up all the things I have yet to suffer.  I could be "jinxing" myself to say these thing "out loud" (okay, in writing, but still...).  But here goes....

Overall I feel I've had a really good pregnancy.  Except for the pretty rocky beginning (see these posts: 1, 2, 3) I've skipped out on a lot of the typical complaints, as I've mentioned before.  I have been happy not to suffer from:

• Morning sickness- except for the one morning I actually threw up and an overall sense of "bleh" for a little while, I never really had a problem with morning sickness
• Itchiness- I don't know if it's been the stretch mark creams, or what, but I am thankful that my belly and skin haven't been driving me nuts!
• Moodiness- even ask Jason, he'd tell you overall I've probably been more level-headed than normal.  Until the last few weeks that is... I'm getting a little irritable and the stress of the unknown with my job is getting to me too... but still, I don't seem to have "whoa, watch out for the pregnant lady!" mood swings.
• Trouble sleeping- okay, this one is kind of surprising me.  I still only get up once, maybe twice, a night to go to the bathroom, then I go right back to sleep!  Sleeping is not as comfortable as it used to be, but it really doesn't take me long to fall asleep, nor do I wake up out of discomfort or from Floodling squirming around.  I used to be an incredibly light sleeper, but things have changed and now I sleep like a rock.  I swear this kid could kick me right between the ribs and I wouldn't even roll over.  Kind of makes me worry about when he arrives.... will I wake up when he cries!?
• Painful kicks- I've heard a lot of people complain about their little ones getting their hands or feet all tangled up in their ribs, or getting really painful kicks.  Every once in a while Floodling will do something that makes me go "oof" (especially if he hits my bladder) but it hasn't been bad at all!
• Swelling- unless I sit in a chair for too long I really haven't had any swelling!
• Food cravings/aversions- I've had a few things that I've had "hankerings" for- spicy pickles in the beginning, steak in the middle, and right now it seems to be s'mores, but I haven't sent Jason out in the middle of the night to grab me anything because I haven't needed anything "right now!!".  Nor is there anything that just completely turns me off.
• Weight gain- I've put on the appropriate amount of weight, not too much, not too little, so I feel good and mobile still! 
• Stretch marks- I know I still have 2 weeks to go, and he's going to grow a lot in those two weeks, so I really shouldn't say anything yet, but so far, so good!  My secret? Check here!
• Heat- I really haven't been overly hot at all. I think, though, that I've really just become more like a normal person.  I am usually always freezing cold and my husband and I would always argue over the house temperature.  I think he's fairly pleased that I am now happy to have the temperature set where he likes it!

Now I'm not going to say I haven't had my complaints....

• Back pain- if I move the wrong way, or sit in the wrong type of chair, my back gets so achey that the only thing I can do to make it go away is lay down.  I can't even do the stretches I love at the gym because they make my back hurt!  And spending more than an hour at a restaurant? No thanks!
• Bending- it's getting incredibly difficult these days, and so, of course, I seem to be dropping everything!  I can thankfully still tie my shoes, though that is a long and annoying process in and of itself!  I'm loving that it's summer break and I can wear flip flops all the time!
• Getting around- getting up off the couch, out of the car, out of bed.... everything takes a little extra effort these days and it's getting a little old.
• Exhaustion- trying to get my "to do" list finished seems impossible sometimes because I get half a task completed and am just too tired to keep going!
• Bras- This is probably THE one thing that is getting to me the most.... the pain I posted about earlier has still not gone away!  Even after giving the bra a break for a bit.... the doctor thinks Floodling must have a foot there or something and it's stretching the muscles or skin.  I don't know, but living with this stabbing/burning sensation constantly is one thing I am looking forward to getting rid of!
• Bathroom- for someone who used to go maybe 3 times a day, it's hard sometimes having to go 3 times in one hour!  But I do have to admit that's not the norm for me.  I think I went from peeing like a camel (hardly at all!) to peeing like an actual normal person.

But overall I don't have the feeling yet that I'm just ready for this to be over.  (Of course, nor do I feel like I want to do this forever!)

My grandmother said that her mom told her not to wish away the pregnancy because "they're easier to take care of on the inside than the outside!".  So for now I'm happy to go with the flow and not wish away my time. 

We'll see how I feel in another week or so........

Hello pregnancy, where have you been?

So it seems like all at once all the pregnancy complaints I have yet to complain about came crashing down on me today.  I attribute it to a mix of things really more pregnancy-unrelated, but today was the first time I really felt like a pregnant woman and wondered if I can handle this...

It started yesterday really when I came down with a cold.... or finally succumbed to Spring allergies... or got a sinus infections... or whatever it is.  My throat was burning so bad and I had so much mucus I could hardly breathe or swallow.  The most miserable thing was not being able to take anything to make me feel better!  Jason was at work so I couldn't even get ginger ale which is my "mental medicine" when I get head colds.

I hardly slept last night... I've actually slept really well throughout the pregnancy only waking up once or twice to use the bathroom then going right back to sleep.  Last night I woke up almost every hour nearly choking.  I would cough and hack, drink some water, go to the bathroom, cough and hack some more, then go back to sleep.  I repeated this at least 6 times.

Needless to say I was not in the best of moods this morning when it was time to get up to go to school.  I still wasn't feeling good and totally would have stayed home if it weren't the last day of school with the prospect of not returning next year.  I wanted one last day with the kids.

To add on top of feeling miserable, my back decided to join the game this morning.  Amidst running late and trying to make parfaits for my News Team (as a farewell "thank you") my back decided to seize up.  I got a sudden sharp pain on the right side and simply could not move.  It eased up a little, so I continued my running around only to have it seize up again.  I was limping around trying to get myself out the door on time wondering why it decided to start doing this now.  I've complained about the occasional back pain, but this was like nothing I've felt before.  I think it probably has more to do with coughing and sleeping uncomfortably last night than with pregnancy, but it definitely didn't make my morning easy.

Because of all my running around I managed to more or less skip breakfast (not something I do these days!).  I got a few bites here and there and intended to eat with the News Team kids, but it just didn't happen.  I always get "emotional" when I'm hungry.... but that mixed with little sleep, uncertainty about next year, and of course pregnancy hormones made for a very explosive situation.  I cried in front of the entire first grade when the music teacher told me I should go home because I didn't look well.  I cried to the principal for half an hour as I tried to get questions answered about the upcoming school year.  I cried to teachers walking down the hallway who offered to help pack up my room.  I would never try to claim I'm not an emotional person, but I have honestly only cried at school twice in my three years there.... to people's knowledge at least.  On top of that I've been really happy throughout this pregnancy, seeming to have avoided the raging hormonal mess I expected to suffer.

Coming home and taking a nap helped me feel a little better, but I think the hunger monster struck again without me realizing.  I was in the middle of making dinner and grabbed a pot off the stove that needed to be cleaned.  The handle had been resting up against another pot that was boiling water... I knew it would be hot so I used a glove.  I set the pot on the counter, walked away, did a few things, came back to the pot and grabbed the handle full on (having forgotten by now that it was hot) and burnt three of my fingers.  I immediately went into hysterics, crying like a toddler having a temper-tantrum!  Jason had to finish cooking dinner...

Sigh... what a day.  I'm hoping the sleepless night, the back pain and the hormonal roller coaster of today will be just that... simply the events of one "bad day".  These typical pregnancy complaints really only came about by being fueled by other factors, but I still thought to myself, "wow, this is how it feels to be 8 1/2 months pregnant! No wonder people complain so much!".

I'm believing that once this cold is over though I shall hopefully return to my happy, relatively comfortable, pregnant-self!



Added later: Wow... not even joking.... no less than 2 minutes after publishing this post I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed and discovered....a tick! On my back! How did that get there!?  We all know how much I love bugs... (I'm paralyzingly afraid of them in fact).  So.... that led to another break down as I freaked out while Jason tried to get it off, which led to uncontrollable coughing thanks to this cold, which led to me throwing up.  Woo hoo!  What a day!  I really should have titled this post "My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day".  Has anyone read that book?  Maybe I should add it to my list of books for Floodling...

Feeling good!

Posting a little late today, sorry!  I decided to get up and get going this morning rather than laying in bed as I usually do, but it's during my lazy laying in bed time that I usually post my Saturday weekly updates.

It's been a long week since our Tahoe trip brought us back home at nearly midnight on Monday night, putting me to bed around 1 before getting up at 5am (yes, I get up at 5... I have to be at school by 7:15, it's a 40 minute drive to get there, and I have to do meds, etc. before leaving).  Starting off a week that way generally leads to a very long week.  And it certainly did!

So, I am thankful to have a restful weekend this weekend.  I say I got "up and going" this morning, but I neglected to mention that I didn't wake up until 9 and would have slept even longer if it hadn't been for the lovely Charlie Horse I got in my calf.... ugh... hoping that's not going to become a frequent thing as I've had a couple in the last week or so and I keep reading that at this point they become fairly common in pregnancy.  I think it was from not drinking enough water (for me it tends to be from dehydration).  I slept so solidly last night that I didn't wake up once.  I usually wake up thirsty as a camel several times throughout the night, but I didn't wake up at all so I didn't drink a drop!  Thankfully that means I didn't wake up to go to the bathroom, but it apparently also left me somewhat dehydrated.

Even with being as tired as I've been this week, I'm thankful to say I have been feeling a lot better overall.  The achiness in my sides and belly has seemed to go away.  My back has been hurting, but not as frequently as it had been.  I'm really thankful for this as I had been starting to wonder why people say the second trimester is the most comfortable.  I kept thinking "if this is the best it gets, how bad is it going to be later!?".  Hoping the last month of the second trimester will continue this way... :)

I had fun shopping today with my gal pals in Athens.  My friend Lisa is getting married in September.  She's very busy finishing up in vet school so she's trying to pace herself in wedding planning and is trying to get things done as she can.  She ordered her dress a few months ago and it arrived this week, so she went for a fitting and for Sarah and I to try bridesmaids dresses.  Obviously I couldn't really try anything on right now, which makes me sad!  I love trying on dresses!  I will also have to order the dress by May, which means it will be a guessing game as far as sizing.  I'm hoping I will have dropped my weight by September (that gives me about 3 months), but I guess we'll see! They recommended buying a size larger than I normally wear (pre-pregnancy) that way it can be altered smaller if necessary but I won't screw myself over by having a dress that doesn't fit at all if I don't loose the weight.

For whatever reason, the site that I get my weekly development blurbs from (babycenter.com) says that at 23 weeks our baby is the size of a large mango, but the picture for 23 weeks from the same site is a corn cob... strange.  I was using two different sites before for my pic and development update as I liked the pics from another site better (thebump.com) because I liked how it showed the week number, and approximate weight and length, but that site only had a brief development blurb.  Anyways.... since I can no longer use the weekly photos from thebump.com as there are no weekly photos anymore, this is what I've got! :)

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

I've been saying it for a while now, I'm glad that the baby gets used to sounds now.  I was scared for a while that my frequent coughing would constantly wake him up or scare him.  I'm glad to know that he should be used to it by the time he gets here!  Maybe he'll also be used to our loud cats! They are worse than our dog!