Things I will NOT miss about Louisiana...Volume 1

I will not miss people selling things out of the back of their trucks. Everywhere we go you see them set-up on the side of the road hawking some sort of "treasure". My biggest complaint goes out to the people selling puppies that put them in over-crowded wire kennels under the blazing sun all day...boasting that they are pure bred, AKC cerified, etc. Umm...sorry, but I just don't believe you, Bubba.

Today, I've reached my boiling point and that is because one of these people decided to make house calls. An old white pick-up pulled up to my house and knocked repeatedly at about 10am. D had left to go back to work and it was just Molly and I at home. I guess the non-stop dog barking and me yelling at the dog for barking gave away the fact that we were there. When I answered I was told that our house was on a list for "appointments" and would I like some "tender, succulent chicken"?

VOM.

I'm pretty sure our house is off the list for future appointments, but add this to one of the many reasons I can't waitttt to get stationed somewhere new! (Less than a year...less than a year...)

Pregnancy Week 29

Better late than never, right? Hopefully Baby M doesn't get her timeliness from her momma! A lot of you think that she is going to be here pretty early! While I am not that optimistic, I do think that she will make her debut right around her due date (October 7-9...depending on which of the 3 doctors I've seen is right. Lovvveee Army hospitals...but that's another post entirely), hopefully not too much later. Anyways, this week has been pretty uneventful. I don't have any fun appointments to talk about or much going on aside from work and the usual schedule. I will say that for the first time in this pregnancy, I've thought to myself that I might need to slow it down a notch at the gym. It's not like I'm doing anything crazy, but I did have a really sore pelvic area this weekend and think that it might have been from doing the stair machine a little too hard or trying to throw in a lap or 2 of jogging in on the days where I walk. Who knows. Baby M is getting getting noticeably heavy and strong! I can't imagine what the next 10ish weeks will hold...

How far along?: 29 weeks (andddd 5 days for those of you that watch the ticker)

Total weight gain: +26

Maternity clothes: Still yes and no. I actually bought a couple regular things from Old Navy this week that I can squeeze into.

Sleep: Not so great during the week, but I seriously make up for it on the weekends. The problem with the weeknights are that I have to get up at 6ish no matter how I slept...boo for responsibility. ;) I should probably thank Baby M in advance for preparing me for not getting full nights of sleep.

Best moment of the week: Seeing my baby girl's room start to come together...I can already tell it is going to be my favorite place in the house.

Movement: Crazy some days, slower on others...she seems to always be doing something for the most part.

Food cravings: Still Skim Milk and my newest love- fresh veggies dipped in sour cream that is mixed with taco seasoning. Try this. I'm serious, it is my personal indulgence right now. You can get reduced fat sour cream, and the veggies cancel the bad stuff out anyways, right?!

Gender: Girl

Belly Button: Ranges from flat to poked out on top depending on how much I've eaten...kind of looks frowny. :(

Stretchmarks?: Not yet...still applying Cocoa Butter and oil like a fiend.

What I miss: Not worrying so much about everything. I hear this doesn't go away though...like, ever.

What I'm looking forward to: Hitting the 30 week mark because it is a nice even number and heading home next Wednesday!

Weekly wisdom: Put your feet up whenever possible. I have not really had much swelling at all and hope to keep it that way for as long as I can. I even try to sleep with them elevated. Water and feet up...water and feet up...I really can't afford to lose my shoe collection. ;)

Milestones: I can't remember what my little baby updates say, but a semi-new thing with Baby M is hiccups! I feel them multiple times a day and I think it is hilarious. I would be so frustrated if I were the one hiccuping, but hers are adorable little pops.

Alright, bear with me this week...

I really need to give up on taking self portraits, cause they turn out off center and creepy looking. Don't worry, I'll be taking Week 30 here soon and I'll have my trusty photographer around for that one. :)

xo,

H

New Poll!

Stage right...

I ended it on the week where I would be 41 at the end. I've been told that they would induce by then if necessary...plus, Baby M would probably be close to 10 pounds, so hopefully the doctors here will be kind. :)

I'm alive

Promise.

I also have a 29 week post for you all- as soon as I take the time to not look like a pregnant hobo and snap a quick pic. I'm working from home today, so in the off chance I put on real clothes, I'll try to get that up by tonight. Slacker, I know.

In the mean time, lets talk about what I've been up to...

Work has been busy, but I really do love it. Like I've mentioned before, by the time I get off, get to the gym, come home, make dinner and shower...it's light's out. I've gotten better about taking time to relax, but that has consisted of D and I watching TV or taking the dog for a walk...or him throwing the ball with her while I sit on the back porch and watch...not necessarily jumping back on the computer that I've been on all day.

Last week D painted Baby M's accent wall. We went with a very light pink. I was shocked, because those of you that know D, know that he is most definitely not a pink kind of guy...but he thought green wasn't girly enough for the room and made the decision. What is the world coming to?! Our crib came in on Friday and we put that together this weekend. Take a peek!




When we get back from our mini vacay that is coming up ever so quickly, we will order the rest of the furniture and get things on the walls. I love how our bedding looks with the dark wood and light walls...I'll have to snap a pic of that for you guys too!

Alright...back to work for now, but again, I'll do my best to get that 29 week post up! Hope every one's week's are going well!

xo,

H

Wishing a very happy birthday to...

My Mom!

Thanks for being such a great example of what it means to be a good mother. Baby M is going to be one lucky girl if I can do half as well as you have! I love you. :)

xo,

H

Pregnancy Week 28

I sound like a broken record, but I absolutely can NOT believe that another week has come and gone. I noticed that the little baby ticker at the top of the blog is really pushing towards the right these days...crazy.

Updates:

How far along?: 28 weeks (and 3 days), but who's counting? :)

Total weight gain: Teetering right below 25. The doctor and I talked about trying to stay below 35 by the time I deliver. She stressed that I "look fantastic" and shouldn't worry, but brought it up, which of course makes me over analyze...

Maternity clothes: Yes and no. If someone wants to find me a flattering dress to wear to a wedding that would be fantastic. Everything I've ordered has been a dud so far. Ugh. Tents or cheap fabric.

Sleep: Getting worse. Not because I'm uncomfortable, I just can't turn my mind off at night. Boo.

Best moment of the week: D surprised me with a sweet card and a new tennis racket! We attempted to play together and it was very thoughtful of him. He can actually play and is trying to be patient and teach me how not to embarrass myself. It's slow going...

Movement: Haha...yes. Still tons. I can't wait to be home in a couple of weeks so everyone can see what I mean!

Food cravings: Skim milk. Lots of it.

Gender: Baby girl

Belly Button: It popped today. Officially closer to an outtie than an innie.

Stretchmarks?: Still none, but my belly has been itching like CRAZY! I'm getting a bad feeling about it...

What I miss: Being able to comfortably put on gym shoes. Not being stared at like a science project.

What I'm looking forward to: Heading back to VA in two weeks, seeing my favorite people, and having a baby shower. So many exciting things going on!

Weekly wisdom: Buy Tums in bulk.

Milestones: Nothing huge this week.

Stripes were a bad choice:

So large and in charge. :)

xo,

H

Check out what we bought today...

We are the proud new owners of a crib! It is made by Baby Cache, who coincidentally is rated an A in my Baby Bargains book. :) Delivery should be in the next couple of weeks, and after we get the wall painted and the rest of the furniture that is in the room out of here then we will get the matching low dresser.
Yay! So excited. We also got in our first little piece of bedding and picked out a paint color for the accent wall. I wish that we owned our house (not this one, per say...ha) and could be more creative when it comes to wall painting. D has a pretty easy week and is going to get started tomorrow while I'm working...which is veryyy convenient for this big bellied girl. Soon it will be on to hanging things on the wall and getting everything set up! I'm feeling much more relaxed about everything we still have to get done. It WILL happen. It has to, right?

Week 28 update, coming up!

xo,
H

Guess what?

I passed my Glucose Test!

No 3 hour tests for this girl! Yayyyyyy!

Pregnancy Week 27

Hello third trimester, nice to meet you...so far.

Well, here we are! Can you believe it? I can't. I keep waiting for time to slow down, but it just doesn't seem to want to. This week will be filled with work and then my 28 week appointment on Friday. Nothing too special going on aside from the usual stuff, so maybe I can make a blogging comeback this week! I'll try my best! :)

anddd here are my weekly stats...

How far along?: 27 Weeks
Total weight gain (let's just take out the "/loss"): Well last week it was about 21.5, so I'm going to go ahead and guess that its close to 22 or 23. I'm not really a fan of the scale these days. I've officially come to terms with the fact that I will gain closer to 35 then the 20 that I had planned on originally. Seriously, I really thought I could only gain 20 pounds...so naive...
Maternity clothes: Still yes and no. Lots of non-maternity dresses are actually more flattering than the maternity stuff out there.
Sleep: Peeing 2x a night lately. Waking up from lots of movement at times.
Best moment of the week: Seeing my little lady at last week's ultrasound. :)
Movement: Yes...especially after dinner. I can literally see my belly shaking and her going crazy. I will try to get video of it...it is very entertaining. At least for me.
Food cravings: Nothing specific
Gender: Sugar and spice and everything nice.
Belly Button: Pretty much flat.
Stretchmarks?: Not on the belly yet. I have some old leg stretchies that look a little more pronounced. Cocoa butter in the morning, Belli oil at night.
What I miss: Being able to comfortably partake in personal grooming. Is that TMI? No, but really, it is getting difficult and I refuse to go into labor looking like someone out of an 80's "miracle of life" video. I may have to branch out and find a bikini waxer...in rural Louisiana. Wish me luck.
What I'm looking forward to: My 28 week appointment this Friday and Glucose Test results.
Weekly wisdom: Make time for exercise, even just walking. It makes you feel so much less whale-like.
Milestones: Third trimester! As for the baby, I don't even know this week. I read somewhere that at this point they should supposedly be able to start really hearing you if you play music, sing, or read to them. It will be muffled by amniotic fluid, but still, it's kind of neat to think that Baby M might start to recognize our voices.




Last, but not least, our weekly photo shoot...

Progress

The new reoccurring theme on this blog is my apologizing for being a huge bore, so once again...it's been a long week and when I have had time, I just haven't been motivated to write. Hopefully I'll snap out of it soon.

In big news, I had my Glucose Test on Friday before my ultrasound. You basically get to choose a flavor of this really sweet drink to have and then they give you 5 minutes to finish it. Mine tasted like orange soda, and I thought it was pretty good! After that, you sit and wait an hour in the waiting room (which seems like for.ev.er) and then go in and get blood taken. If you don't "pass" the test then you get to go back for a 3 hour test...and if you fail that then you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Let's just hope that I passed this first one with flying colors, ok?

Pic of the drink found online...not my hand. :)

Now for the good stuff. After the that I went down to radiology for my follow up ultrasound that was scheduled because of baby girl's nuchal cord. Here's what we found out:

• Baby M is no longer wearing her cord like a necklace! Yay! :)
• She is hanging out head down right now
• She is measuring over 2 weeks ahead!!! I knew she'd been be big and healthy!
• They estimate her weight at 3 lbs already...(average 27 weekers are a little over 2)
• She has hair. I got to see little wispy hairs on her head- let's hope they stay!

It was an awesome appointment. I really want to do a 3D ultrasound in a few weeks to see how much progress she makes because she is already SO cute. Her little cheeks and chin look chubby and she was all cozied up with her hand cuddled up by her face. I also had them double check that she is in fact still a girl, and we got another great money shot and tons of face pictures.

I have my 28 week appointment next Friday and will get to review everything with my doctor and see what she says. Until then I'm just happy to have had a positive appointment and am glad that the lab work is done for now.

This weekend D and I sold the rest of the furniture that is in the baby's room and are going to start ordering new furniture this week. We are going to get the bedding in and then get started on painting the wall hopefully by next weekend. I'm feeling much less anxious about not being prepared now that we have a plan of action and are getting underway. We also got a desk for the office yesterday, so once we get a new guest bed in there it will be close to complete! Less than 13 weeks people! (Hopefully...)

I'll be back with my 27 week post later today. We have some church, groceries, and house stuff to get taken care of before this evening! Check back...

xo,

H

Pregnancy Week 26

Well aren't we just cruising through the second tri? Barely a couple of week until we are on the homestretch. We started getting serious about prepping the baby's room by selling some of the old furniture that is currently taking up space in that area. We sold a desk and chair today and are working on the twin bed, armoire, and night stand. Things are looking good! We have noticed that the puppy is pretty sure that the room is her's...so that should make things interesting once the baby gets here. Wouldn't it be adorable if Molly slept on the floor in her room and was protective of our little girl? Let's hope it goes that route rather than start a sibling rivalry...

Anyways, on to the weekly details!

How far along?: 26 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I actually haven't stepped on the scale yet this week, so I'll get on that tomorrow morning rather than at bed time. :)
Maternity clothes: Yes and no
Sleep: I've slept so hard this week, it's been wonderful. Even my pee wake-ups have gone down from 4 to 2. Yay!
Best moment of the week: D saying that he was proud of me for being pregnant...haha...he meant it sweetly, I think.
Movement: So much!
Food cravings: Jello pudding!
Gender: Girl
Belly Button: Looking kind of shallow these days.
Stetchmarks?: No newbies yet, but lots of little veins. So not cute.
What I miss: Nada. I'm having fun being pregnant these days. Honestly, even beer isn't really appealing when you already feel bloaty without any...
What I'm looking forward to: Our ultrasound this week! Let's keep our fingers crossed that the little lady has wiggled her cord away from her neck area. Let's also keep our fingers crossed that my Glucose test goes well, because if I don't pass I get to go back for a three hour test, which sounds completely miz. More on that later this week!
Weekly Wisdom: Water, water, water...I can't say it enough. Oh- and extra sunscreen. My newly sensitive skin can get pink after just 10 minutes in the sun.
Milestones: Miss M's eyes are going to be opening any day now, if not already, so she can practice blinking. She's as big as an eggplant this week and is weighing in around 2 pounds still, give or take. I will probably start having Braxton Hicks, or "practice contractions" here soon. I actually think I may have felt some already, but it just feels like stomach tightening...nothing painful or concerning.

Now for pics!

There ya have it! One month until our visit...yay!

xo,

H

Double Digits and the Feral Cat

Oh-em-gee, I didn't even realize that we are under 100 days now! Craziness.

Anyways, Happy 4th of July! We celebrated yesterday with a BBQ at a friends house and then headed to Freedom Fest for some carnival food, Trace Atkins, and fireworks! It was actually a really nice event that was on Fort Polk's air field and the weather even cooperated and was nice and cool by the time we made our way there.

Let's backtrack. Our day started out not so cool, calm, and collected...

While I was busy with my breakfast (the first of many important food related events of the day), D took Molly out for a morning walk. About 30 seconds after they leave, the door opens, Molly runs back in, and D is still outside. Turns out he had found a kitten laying in the middle of the road, unconscious and still breathing. I went out to investigate and sure enough, it was just laying there, out cold. It didn't look like it had been hit by a car, but it also didn't look like it was in great shape. We decided that we couldn't just leave it there in the middle of the road, so we got a box, put an old towel in there and D brought out some water and tuna. His theory was that the tuna would work like smelling salt and bring that cat back around. That didn't work (obviously). We left the box on the back porch and kept checking on it every so often. Finally around 2:30 pm the cat rose from the semi-dead- and it was terrifying. It looked like it was clearly diseased and neither one of us really wanted to get near it. Once again, we decided to leave it be and check on it later. (By this point D had also named it "Tuna" and was trying to convince me that if it did miraculously heal, we would be obligated to keep it. (Not happening) It was still alive by the time we went to bed and just hanging out in it's box. This morning the first thing D did was run out to check on the cat's progress- and what do you know- it had miraculously healed. In the box there was no longer a cat, but a nice little parting gift of some cat poo. I guess you could say we are heros AND don't have a cat that we are "obligated" to keep. All in a days work people.

I'm off to watch some Hot Tub Time Machine and eat my nightly jello pudding pack. :)

xo,
H

Lately...

So lately my blog inspiration has been super low. I read other people's blogs and think of all the different things I can write about...but then when it comes time to put pen to paper, orrrr, hand to keyboard...I just would rather sit on my boo-tay with a jello pudding pack and the TV remote.


So a quick catch up-

• Work is going great. I am so happy with it and will be happier once I am not stuck commuting every single day. I also can't get to personal email or blogger from the office, which is really cramping my style.
• I'm still heading to the gym 5-6 times a week and feeling awesome, albeit large.
• D and I are in full on "get our house ready for baby" mode. We've picked out a crib, made plans for our guest room/office and are going to start making a few big purchases every pay check. Yay!
• We've officially started telling people the baby's name...let me see if I can convince D to let me post it here. :)
• I can't remember if I have already said this- but we bought our plan tickets home earlier this week. It's official!
• I have a faint linea negra...or weird line that runs from the pubic bone to belly button. It is NOT cute.
• Speaking of belly buttons, I'm guessing mine will be completely flat in the next couple of weeks. Not sure how that makes me feel.
• Random Fun Fact- October 5th is the most popular birthday in the US...theory is that most of those parents conceived on New Years Eve. I'd be fine with Baby M making her debut on the 5th!
• In my spare time I've been going through my closet and donating clothes that are either 1. never going to fit again, or 2. not appropriate to wear with a child in tow. I so wish that I lived closer to everyone so that I could just have a "cleaning out my closet" party know my stuff will be going to my pals!

That is all of the random stuff for now! You'll be pleased to know I actually took my Week 26 pictures YESTERDAY and am not in workout gear. Ahhh, I love long weekends. I'll be posting more about our holiday happenings later and will even have the weekly post on time! Hope everyone is having fab bbqs and fun!

xo,

H