Wednesday, November 16, 2011

THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT MY PREGNANCY

My pregnancy with Baylor has been quite a journey and I feel so blessed to have the ability to experience the great things about being pregnant and the not so great things about being pregnant! From  what everyone has told me, you want to document the little fun(not sure if that is the right word) facts about your pregnancy, so later on you don't forget. Well there is only one small problem with that, I didn't do it along the way and now being almost 35 weeks pregnant it could be interesting trying to remember everything. If mommy brain is anything like pregnancy brain we could have a real problem. I use to be the one reminding Case multiple times a day about random things that need to be done, and now that is his job. I swear the other day I almost jumped in the shower with my underwear on. I mean what can you ya do when ya no longer can see your underwear just looking down? haha.  So I figured the best way possible to even remotely do it by memory is to go by month. Maybe that will help me remember.  Honestly this is just a bunch of ramble and thoughts that come to my brain right now and could probably have things added to it later. So if you are not interested in reading this nonsense I will not be offended. I just thought it would be great to write it all down, not only for laughs when this is all over, but also to compare to my next pregnancy. Alright so here we go...


January 2011- Baylor was conceived this month. My last period was during the 2nd week of this month. I am guessing he was conceived close to our good friends, the Adeniji's, wedding. We weren't trying to get pregnant, but I guess you could kind of say we weren't not trying! haha.

February 2011-
7th(The day we found out)-   I usually get my period sometime around the 7th of each month. The 7th came, I worked all day and then went to workout. I had a funny feeling all through my workout(not only that day but the days leading up to it) that I may be pregnant. Mostly because when I did anything involving laying on my stomach my boobs KILLED! (This totally foreshadowing that these ladies were in for a serious change) I joked about this every month, so it was hard enough for me to take myself seriously enough to go get a test. Well, there I ran in my workout shorts and tank top into Wal-mart when it was freezing cold outside. Grabbing not only a package of First Response but also a bottle of shaving cream and a package of razors. They were right by the tests and I used them to cover up my First Response package on the way to the register. Yes, I chose Wal-mart because I knew they were the closest store with a self checkout line. I also held everything in the just the right position so anyone who may have seen the test would also see my wedding ring shining in their face. (Like they would care) It's not that I was embarrassed to be pregnant, because we have always wanted a family, but I kept overplaying the checkout process. I thought OMG how awkward will it be for the checker and myself. I don't think the next time I go to get one I will be so embarrassed, but for some reason I was insanely embarrassed, so I went and checked out all by myself.  I came home and ran straight into the bathroom took the test and waited for the pink lines to appear. This is what a saw a short minute later...

This followed with me calling Casey to tell him. Some may not find this exciting, but I wanted him to know right away and he was at work! It didn't matter to me how I told him because I knew that wasn't going to be what he remembered, he just would remember knowing our lives were about to change forever.

14th(Valentines Day)- Casey had decided to take me to our favorite steak restaurant in Dallas Pappa bros steakhouse. This is how I remember the sickness starting. Looking down at my fillet and green beans, that I usually would love, I couldn't help but feel all sick inside. The smell was driving me nuts. So instead of a nice romantic dinner, we waited for Casey to finish his meal and for me to eat only a couple of bites of mine, we boxed up my dinner and headed home. And then it began... I spent the whole night throwing up everything I swear that was left in my body. The way to not like some kind of food anymore is to throw it up, because you will NEVER want it again!

Everyday following this I threw up multiple times a day. No matter what I ate, it wasn't staying down. That's how I always wonder how I have gained this much weight. But, I think because I would just continue to eat and eat because my stomach was always empty. Who knows, definitely a mystery I will leave up to the big man upstairs. I would try mostly bland stuff, anything with too much flavor I couldn't even attempt. But anyone who tells you to eat crackers...clearly did not have morning sickness( all day sickness is what it needs to be called) I tried that at first, but it almost made it worse. I even remember running into Motherhood Maternity for Preggie Pops, which I have heard worked for some people. Again, not for me.
The first 12 weeks of throwing up were the worst. I kept thinking over and over again that there is no way I will ever be able to convince myself to get pregnant again. Like what am I going to do the next time when I have a toddler or young child running around, and I can not seem to pull myself away from the toilet. What a great mom that will be! haha. I even spoke with my grandma(granan) about her pregnancies over the phone. All the women of my family have had serious morning sickness through pregnancy. She joked that when my Aunt Nancy was a toddler and she was pregnant with my Aunt Susan, Nancy use to run around making puking noises all the time. I found this hilarious when I pictured it. Puking your guts out and a little toddler mimicking your misery.  Well during the the first part of my pregnancy there was so much I couldn't even try, so here is a list of my feelings on certain foods. Some of these feelings have lasted my whole pregnancy others thankfully have subsided...

The YUCK list:
Subway(loved before pregnancy)
Chipotle(really loved before pregnancy) or any Mexican for that matter
Starbucks coffee(my obsession before, are you seeing the trend)
Apples( bad experience with an apple and no liquids in my tummy during the 1st trimester)
Red meats(Hamburgers, steaks, etc)

The TRYING to keep down list:
Granola bars
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
bananas
Costco vitamin water
soft pretzels
Chicken( that and peanut butter were my only ways to get protein)

This is just a small glimpse of both lists, but you get the point.  Just because I could eat the stuff on the second list doesn't mean they stayed down, they just went down before they came up! :) I also didn't make dinner for WEEKS, I could barely get off the couch let alone stand in the Kitchen with the smell of something cooking.(Poor hubby)

Other things to include in this month...
-I took numerous days off work. Working in a bakery involves many smells I just could not handle!
-My acne became out of control, having zits all over my face along with a constant sick look on my face was not pleasant.
- I continued to work out at velocity, when I was able to actually get myself there.
- Even though they call it morning sickness, I felt the best(if you can call it that) in the morning and miserable at night. That's how it continued throughout the rest of my pregnancy as well.
- My record for days throwing up in a row was 6, but I threw up everyday and never just once.


March 2011-
3rd(8wk appt)- We had our first appt. with my new OBGYN Dr. Flowers at Baylor medical center in Grapevine, TX. At this point I already loved the name Baylor for a boy so I knew it could be interesting if this baby was a boy, because he would share the same name as his birth hospital. I loved this doctor and the whole office. I always made morning appts and even though she was busy I was in and out quickly. She encouraged me to continue working out, but because of all the work outs with stomach contact, Velocity would no longer be a good choice. They even gave us an ultrasound of our little nugget. This was such a fun experience. Case loves ultrasounds, so we spent all the waiting time in the appt. talking about it. I also got all my blood work done and we found out our Baby would arrive sometime around OCTOBER 12th.
My bro and his girlfriend Michelle came to Dallas to visit us around St. Patricks day. We took them to the stockyards in Fort Worth and tried to do as much as possible with a very sick pregnant lady. Their new dog(who is deaf and oh so sweet) Percy came with them and him and his cousin Kovu did not get along(Kovu was being quite a brat). Which created a lot of laughs and took my mind off the nausea.

31st(12 wk appt)- This appt. was nothing special other than getting my blood work back and everything being good and just doing the regular stuff like baby's heartbeat, my blood pressure, etc. I am pretty sure the babys heartbeat was in the 170's at this time.

Other things about this month...
- finished working at the end of this month, after spending a lot of time throwing up in the a bathroom at work and leaving work early from being sick.
- We decided to take a month break in April to visit family and friends on the West Coast.
- I experienced throwing up my prenatal vitamins with nothing else in my stomach. YUCK! Those things are gross. I officially moved my time of taking these to right before bed, while eating a snack. But that wouldn't be the last time I would throw those little tablets up.
- realizing how annoying the price of prenatal vitamins is throughout my pregnancy. Once a month you spend between $15-20 for little things that make you sick. Oh well they were making baby healthy so that's okay with me.

April 2011-
We spent this month in both Oregon and Washington visiting family and friends. I flew out there(we weren't sure if I could handle the 39 hour drive at this point) and Damola flew down to Texas to drive the truck with Casey. I felt a little bit better during this month. Even though I was still getting sick, it seemed to be a little less per day. My clothes were still fitting including my jeans, with the help of a belly band.  I was basically living in sweats during this trip though, because it was way more comfortable. I was almost fully grown out of my regular bras at this time. Which began the process of wearing my old larger ones I kept from before losing weight in 2010. We spent the first week or two in Corvallis at Damola and Amanda's house. I loved getting to eat University hero sandwiches, yummy coffee(I could do other coffee other than Starbucks) and so much more. Although, I was a little upset when eating Local Boyz Hawaiian food made me super sick. That stuff was amazing in college, but after throwing it up, just not the same.
We then went up to see the Kitnas and the rest of Casey's family in Washington. Chris and Heather and little Brookie also came out to Washington for a visit at this time. It was fun to catch up with them, and this was right before they found out they were expecting baby #2 on December 30th, 2011(my b-day). We all sat around the kitchen table after they left to go back to Cincinnati as Chris told us the news. This is Brooke, on a day out shopping with Heather and I, while they were still in Washington. She tried on this hat and those sweet pink shades(upside down) in Nordstrom. What a cutie!


last week of April (16wk appt)- I flew back to Texas by myself, just for the day for my appt. Again this was just a basic check up, and they let me know that the gender ultrasound would be at my next appt:) Would we be having a little girl or boy? That is literally one of the only things I could think about for the next few weeks.

Other things to remember about this month....
-I started my registries with the "basics," considering Jen was planning a family shower for the first weekend of May. Here is a goofy pic of my love relaxing in the gliders, while we registered at Babies R Us...


-I slept more than I can even explain during this month. It was much needed after working 8-5 everyday and getting horrible sleep from being sick. I probably averaged 9 or 10 hours of sleep a night.
- I also was on huge Arbys kick this month. I didn't even care about the fries, just that yummy roast beef sandwich.
- At one of Jordan(our little cousins) baseball games I felt a tiny quick flutter. It was a lot like people said it would be. Its almost  like a gas bubble, but you can clearly tell it is something different. It's  like the baby is finally saying, "Hey, I'm in here!!!" Such a fun feeling, knowing that you really have another life inside you, and seriously if that doesn't make you believe in God I am not sure what will.

May 2011-
1st(shower)- Jen threw a shower for me and the baby that was all of Casey's family and family friends in Washington. It was a bedtime story themed shower and everyone brought their favorite children or baby book.  We played games like a scatagories style game with picking names for the baby if it was a girl or a boy. They also made a Alphabet book, everyone had a letter and they cut out pictures and shapes starting with that letter. We also played the famous "dirty- diaper game," that many people have played. She will be sending me pictures of this soon. She had made me a book of pictures, but it accidentally got sent to Heather.

We left the next weekend to drive down to Oregon to do one last visit with our friends, the Adeniji's. And then made our way back to Texas. During this trip the boys did a lot of fence building and Amanda and I did a lot of relaxing. And then made our way back to Texas. Yes, I was proud of myself I made the 39 hour trip with minimal times getting sick, or peeing:) Kovu, our kitty, even made the trip with us. Look at him enjoying his seat out of his carrier! He isn't spoiled or anything!
This is a picture of myself( in my favorite pj's) at 18 weeks. These pants later ripped one day while making our bed. Sad day. But it was a bit funny at the same time! Nothing like making you feel like a fat pregger. Also excuse the messy bathroom we were getting ready to move. So my decor was gone and all my products were just out!

We then traveled to see my brother and his fiance in  Houston to celebrate their engagement. They got engaged at the end of April. It was fun seeing them, but I was definitely feeling  pale and fat in the hot weather. I could no longer cover this up with sweaters(unless I wanted to die of heat stroke). It was dress time in Texas and I didn't have any that really fit. I also definitely looked like one of the Cullen family members with my lovely skin color I had on a black dress. I needed some sun for sure at this time. Sorry no pics of this trip. We spent that Saturday at the boardwalk playing games and doing lunch down there. We both also go majorly burnt that day. The Texas sun can be intense even when you don't expect it to be.

25th(20wk appt)- It's a boy! We had our ultrasound, I thought through the whole pregnancy it was a boy, but all the sudden right before we went to the appointment I thought girl...NOT! The doctor was a bit concerned at this appointment of where my placenta was sitting. It was sitting on my cervix at this appt., if it did not move I would have a scheduled C- section for delivery. She also said his brain ventricle measurements were just slightly off. So, she wanted to schedule a 24 week ultrasound to check  on those two things. I was excited for another chance to see our boy, but praying everything would be fine. We decided to send all of our family an email with a picture of our little man, to announce Baylor Matthew Kjos would arrive in October. Here is what he and I both looked like at 20 weeks....





Of course after this appt. I spent all of memorial day weekend shopping!!! What a great week to find out what we were having cause they were having amazing deals EVERYWHERE. I turned into such a deal finder when I became a soon-to-be mom.

Other things about this month...
- We moved into Jon and Jens house temporarily after our lease went up. We knew God would probably have us be move again soon and didn't want to sign another lease. So we moved the essentials(TVs, furniture, kitchen stuff and clothes) into their house and left the rest in boxes.

- I spent lots of the days over the next couple days out by their pool. This is before it got so hot that the water wasn't even relaxing anymore, because it reached the temperature of outside. Being pregnant and having a private pool is a must. I had already committed to not buying a bathing suit this Summer so my bottoms from last year and a camisole tank top became my everyday pool wear. It was not the most flattering get-up I must say.  I feel like during pregnancy I have had a hard time soaking in the sun. I wore sunblock, but most summers even with sunblock I get tan. This summer I was only getting so much color. I thought your skin was suppose to absorb the sun more, especially since you are suppose to be super careful of burns.

- Baylor got some very fun "I'm a boy" gifts from some of our family and friends. Amanda and Damola sent him a baby North Face Denali jacket, Emily sent little navy toms for the spring, David and Michelle sent him a blue little blanket(which will probably be at the hospital with us), and he got a Beavers Jersey from the people I use to nanny for.


- We bought our first washer and dryer Memorial day weekend as well! I made sure it had a baby care setting:) Oh the little things.
June 2011- This month was probably my best month as far as how I felt! It was hot and I felt big but not HUGE yet! I was still sleeping great, and getting great workouts in! My favorite workout was walking the stairs in Jon and Jens huge house and cleaning a room in between each set of stairs. Lets just say I would be beat at the end of this process. I started working almost everyday on stuff for Emily's baby shower that would be July 31st.

7th-10th(Emily's visit to Texas)- My best friend Emily, who is due with her 1st baby September 22nd, came to visit me. She is also having a boy, Anderson Lee Astacio. We shopped a ton and just relaxed. It was so good to have her visit, and share our experiences with each other! I bought Baylor's nursery chair at Home Good's for $290 (which is a steal compared to the ugliness some of these baby places overcharge for) and his side table(that would later be painted white) at Joann Fabrics for $8. I did flip a bit on the people in Home Good's for the lack of customer service and the fact they about made me drive back there for a third time. Some peoples customers service skills amaze me. It is hard for me to put up with bad customer service after doing an internship for a company known for their their customer service (Nordstrom). During her trip, we were two preggers sharing a bed, while case slept on the air mattress. What a nice hubby! We both had figured out( or so I thought) what we wanted for our nurseries, so we spent time brainstorming that as well. No pics of the pregnant ladies together, I need to get better at this. Especially when this baby comes! But here is a pic of the chair...

I thought a recliner would be a good idea, cause it could later be used somewhere else. Some gliders just look to nurseryish(not a word I know) so it would be hard to reuse.

I was still decorating the bakery for my old boss with her merchandise, when she asked. Here is a random picture I took to show her while she was out of town. Excuse the back shelves and tables they hadn't been done yet. It took me 10 times longer than usual to do the tables, as I was starting to get bigger at this point.  Not to mention the bakery's AC went out this week. BAD week for me to be there. I was plain exhausted at the end of the 2 days of doing this.

Week 22 of my pregnancy was when I started  feeling Baylor move every day. Such a fun feeling! Totally a miracle. Yes, Ms. Worry over here was worried when I didn't feel him for 6 weeks. But my doctor said that was totally normal. It is crazy to feel a babys moves progress from flutters to what it is now full on jabs and rolls.

22nd(24 week appt)- My placenta had moved at this appt. to low lying and there were no issues with Baylor's ventricles! Praise Jesus! Here is our little man during this appt. Definitely starting to look more like a baby and  less like an alien. He was so cute, he kept moving his tongue in and out at this appt.
This next  picture is me at 25 weeks. Yes black is my favorite color during pregnancy, it makes you look a bit smaller. But It was nice at this point to look pregnant in clothes and not just fat. Those first couple months are just awkward. Because things aren't fitting, but you just feel chubby not pregnant. This is definitely a round pregnant stomach!
Other things about this month...
- Casey and I enjoying  my "good month," We had lots of dates, went to church every week and ate at a few places I wasn't able to eat at earlier in my pregnancy. It's amazing the things you can do when you feel halfway normal. I really have been so grateful for Casey's support through this pregnancy. I can't say I would have been as patient with myself if I was him! I got a great guy!
- Casey and I walked every evening, which because it doesn't really cool down at night in Texas this was a major cause for me swelling up.
- I finished up working on most of the things I could do for Emily and Anderson's shower from Texas. The rest would have to be done in Ohio.
- I also spent parts of this month shopping and organizing the nursery more, and sanding and staining the frames for his monogram. I posted about this monogram in my previous posts.
- I sent Lori Adeniji (Damolas step-mom) the fabric for Baylor's bedding. She will be making the bumper and skirt. Here is a small look at some of the fabric. The hounds tooth fabric is Ralph Lauren Barley hounds tooth. The tan linen is from Joann's, but I can't remember who actually makes it.
- I also found Baylor's coming home outfit on Etsy. It is made by the seller Anne Everett Rae. Its a pima cotton converter gown and matching beanie. I will have his monogram on the gown, but the hat will be plain like this picture...


July 2011- This month was a busy Month. Casey had been interviewing with companies for a few weeks. He has been in the application process for a government job for over a year. Considering it hadn't  gone through yet we needed other options, because it was just 3 months till baby day. Our savings would only last us so long, especially with a little one on the way. At the beginning of the month our crib came. It was so surreal putting it together, even though I didn't know at the time, we would do that yet again in less than month. He we were at 23 putting our sons crib together. When six years ago we were in high school dating, on prom court together, being each others cheerleader and basketball player and driving around in Casey's loud Honda prelude with blue neon lights.haha. Now, Casey was my husband and the father of our soon to be son! Don't ask me why this didn't hit me more when we found out we were pregnant or when we found out Baylor was a boy, but it hit me as I watched him screw the nails into Baylor's Jenny Lind espresso stained crib. I had a picture of him putting it together but I am not sure where it disappeared to. Hoping it comes up.

That weekend was Casey's 24th birthday and we decided to head to Houston to celebrate with my brother and Michelle. We loved being and Texas and it being so easy to visit them. My brother is hilarious and Michelle is super sweet! They always find fun stuff for us to do when we visit, so we thought that is better than us sitting on our butts. This ended up being the last time we would visit them. A week later Casey got a job offer for a job with Cintas (the company my brother also works for) in Denver, Colorado. This being just one week before I left for Cincinnati for my baby shower. So, we had one week to pack, find a place to live in Denver, get me ready to leave for Cincinnati, and finish any loose ends in Dallas. That was the most exhausting week by far of my whole pregnancy. I was swollen all over (It had been over 100 for 3 months straight in Dallas), getting sick again and I was stressed beyond belief.  This was a video I got of my tummy during those last few weeks in Dallas. At that time Baylor mostly moved at night (Reason for the nightgown).

21st(28 week appt)- Sadly, this was my last appt. with Dr. Flowers at Baylor.  This was the week of my  glucose testing. I had been having dry mouth (a common symptom for Gestational Diabetes) a ton and again I was just worried that I would have to alter my diet, that seemed limited as it was. For those of you who have had a baby, can we all say it together...YUCK. The stuff they make you drink before you get your blood drawn tastes like warm thick Orange Syrup. Not to mention this is on an empty stomach. An empty stomach my whole pregnancy had made me nauseous, so that was a grand combination. Plus they draw your blood an hour after that. Thankfully I didn't pass out after all this. I also signed all my records to be forwarded to my new doctor in Denver.

22nd(flight to cincy)- Casey dropped me off after a long night of packing at the airport and he headed off to Denver in a Uhaul with my car being towed from being. The truck would stay in Texas until Casey would get a chance to come back for it. I spent the whole day traveling instead of just a few hours like planned. Continental airlines screwed up and made me and a few other people miss our flight in Houston  to Cincinnati. So I spent 4 extra hours running around Houston airport, majorly pregnant and majorly tired. Yes, with all these hormones I did end up crying like a baby just out of pure frustration. I am an emotional person, when it comes to be frustrated anyways, but this was beyond anything I had ever experienced.

24th(Baby Shower)- Emily threw my vintage owl baby shower. Pics of this shower are in my previous posts. My wonderful strap broke on my dress from Motherhood Maternity within a couple minutes of having it on. I had already returned and repurchased this dress once for the same reason. Emily had the same dress and it also broke. So I attached the strap with a safety pin, just for the shower, then it was returned for good. I was thankful someone had a safety pin or that could have been an interesting shower. Especially considering my boobs are ginormous. For all of you who have yet to have baby, avoid Motherhood Maternity. Their quality is horrible and prices are ridiculous for what you get.

The rest of the trip included spending time with my Dads family who was in town for the shower, shopping with my mom, relaxing with my parents, eating all my Cincinnati favs(guilt free) and so much more. My doctors office in Texas also called to let me know I did not have gestational diabetes:) I was low on Iron though, so off to Costco we went to purchase a package of Iron supplements. I had heard these could make you constipated...THANK GOD they didn't. Although, they have made me more nauseous. Yippie:/

31st(Emily's Shower)- Emily and Anderson's Vintage baseball shower was so fun. Pics from this shower are also included in my previous posts.

other things about this month...
- one main other thing about this month and the past few months is I get a migraine at least once a week and once it starts it doesn't go away. This definitely leads to getting sick at night once it has completely worn me out.
-My upper stomach  has been in so much pain form stretching. It feels almost like its burning. Funniest thing about it is my hair follicles at the top of my stomach are so noticeable compared to usual. haha. Yeah this is a little gross too, but what isn't in this process
- I noticed my first stretch mark... ON MY BOOB! Thank God it is there and not on my stomach and I am still praying for none on my stomach. I don't even know how long it had been there. Saying my boobs are large these days is an understatement. An E cup...come on that is just plain RIDIC! The little sucker was hiding on the bottom side of my right boob. So thankfully no one will be able to see it because it will always be under clothes or a bathing suit.

August 2011-
2nd(headed to Denver)- I said goodbye to my family and friends and headed to Denver. I had to a long layover in Dallas. So I decided that was a good time to find my new doctor. I called and got everything set up for 32 week appointment. I was so happy to see my hubby when I got home. He had all the big furniture in place and all I needed to do was put the little things where they needed to go. I definitely had those high school butterflies when I saw him waiting at baggage claim.

6th(painting the nursery)- Daddy painted Baylor's nursery on this day and did such a good job. He has been such a huge help of getting things ready without complaining during the pregnancy. Especially since there is so much I normally would be able to do, but can't do because of fumes or heavy lifting. To see a picture of the color of nursery look at my previous posts.

19th(32 week appt)- I had my first appt. at my doctor here in Denver. It is actually located in Thornton, CO and is a short 10 minute drive from our townhouse. The doctors visit of course took forever, because we had to do all the new patient paperwork, and yada yada yada. This doctor is good, but yet her personality is a little quirky. But I can totally deal with that if she knows what she is doing. And honestly the doctor is only in the room for such a short time during delivery. You want to feel safe with your doctor, but they don't need to be your best friend. She did kinda drove me crazy, because she talked about my almost 30 lb weight gain so far like I had gained 80lbs. But then she realized how swollen I was, and how large my boobs were and I think calmed herself down. Talking about weight with a pregnant lady is just not a nice thing to do,  unless there is a serious worry.  I have heard from lots of people I know that they gained 40 plus lbs with their first babies. One family friend, who is extremely tall, thin and athletic gained 80lbs. So lady, BACK OFF!:) My other doctor was not worried in the slightest about my weight gain and she also focused her practice on health and nutrition, and she was one fit lady. I have kept up with some kind of exercise throughout my pregnancy, and I also have maintained a somewhat healthy diet. I definitely eat more than before I was pregnant, but not ridiculously and I mix the good and bad. But hey, it's the one time I can eat what you want without caring. Also, after reading through my records and seeing the placenta stuff she wanted to check it out to see where it was now. She seemed worried, but I was not because my last doctor wasn't, but she did want me to have an ultrasound at 32weeks just to make for sure one last time. So they scheduled me for an ultrasound for the following week, when their technician was in. This meant I was now going to see my doctor on odd number weeks.

That night I dropped  Casey off at the airport so he could go get his truck down in Texas and drive it 13 hours to Denver. He also picked up one of Baylor's baby gifts. It was bookshelf made by our great family friends in Texas, the Lakes. Russell, the dad, makes all kinds of furniture and they wanted to give us something unique and special. Unfortunately, we did the measurements for Baylor's room in Texas, so it was too big for his room here. It will eventually go in his room, considering it was made especially for him, but for now it works as our dining hutch. It was originally going to be a dark espresso brown,  but Russell gave us the stain to finish, so we could have it as dark as we wanted. Well, I ended up liking the color it was for the dining room we have right now. Here is a picture of the masterpiece, excuse my lack of decor in this picture. I hadn't pulled it all out their boxes yet so this room looks very plain in this picture. Plus we aren't painting any room in the house, except Baylor's, in case we move again shortly.

 I  also got some of the great additions to Baylor's nursery, like the Vinyl decals(from Amanda)  for the monogram frames and Scrabble letters(from Emily), during this week. During this week I also found some more fabric for Baylor's room. This is a horrible picture, as far as coloring, but the plaid fabric is cream, navy, brown and white. The cross- sectional designed fabric is white and chocolate brown. Below there is also a better picture of the plaid fabric made in a pillow from etsy.com. My good friend Janine will be making a pillow and curtains out of the plaid fabric and the changing pad cover  out of the cross sectional fabric. It is also used behind the frames as you can see in my previous posts.

I tucked in the cross-sectional fabric into his changing pad station to see what the cover would look like. Casey made me the wood changing pad tray back in July! We got the idea off of LayBabyLay's project page. It is screwed into the back of the dresser so it doesn't move around when Baylor is being squirmy. But when we are done with the changing pad it can easily be removed. This pic is super blurry and minus all the decor but you get the idea. This also shows the gray color color of the room well.

24th(33wk appt.)- Yay, I got to see my boy again. And like I said earlier Casey loves going to the ultrasounds. So I was able to schedule this appointment for the late afternoon, and his boss let him off early, so he could meet me at the appointment to see our little boy one last time before he makes his official entrance in October.

Key points from the Ultrasound:
*Baylor weights 4lbs 15oz
*She said his femur bone was measuring very long, so she guessed he would be a tall one.
*My fluid levels were great, which meant I am well hydrated and that is good for baby.
*He was actually measuring at 33 weeks and 4days. So a bit ahead of schedule.
*He was already head down, so no worries about him needing to turn in the next couple weeks:)
*He was being super stubborn and covered his face the majority of the time, except for a quick second to get a picture of his face.
  

*She said there was no doubt he was a boy! I probably would have had heart attack if that had changed at this point.  We are all baby boy in this household, with lots of blue and no bows in sight! haha.
* And finally my Placenta was FAR away from my cervix. It was 4 cm to be exact. God continues to answer prayers all through this pregnancy.

My doctor was pleased to let me know that everything looks great and I can continue on as a normal routine pregnancy. She also let me know more ideas of things I could take for the heartburn I have been getting everyday for the past few weeks. It starts after lunch and continues through when I go to bed. I basically live on Maalox or tums these days. She also told me it would be okay to use an ice pack on the top of my stomach to relieve some of the pain of the painful stretching going on. So this Ace reusable cold compress that normal people use for injuries on other body parts, I use on my stomach at least 6 hours a day, to relieve some pain or just to cool me down when I am hot.

This is my lovely side shot picture at 33 weeks. Just a bit large and swollen. That's okay though, we are almost there!
27th(get it done day)- I promised my wonderful husband if we got a lot of house things done this day our Sunday could be filled with nothing but relaxation. So that's exactly what we did. We painted our kitchen chairs(from Gray to Black), Painted our coffee table(cherry wood stain to white), hung light fixtures, hung a few things in Baylor's room, put together all the battery operated baby things, washed all Baylor's Newborn and 0-3 month things, washed and boiled all the nipples and binkies and so much more. We felt so accomplished and very worn out!

Other great things from this month...
- My diaper bag and other fun goodies from my Nordstrom registry arrived from Ms. Kellye. It is oh so cute, huge, and I am in love! It even comes with a matching changing pad. I have began packing it for the hospital.
- My carseat also arrived from my lovely parents. So now Baylor can come home from the hospital. We are still waiting on our stroller, because it is expensive and we don't need it right this second. The car seat is Peg Perego's Pois Black SIP 30/30 infant car seat. I wanted black so I could use it again if our next baby was either a boy or a girl!


-I found an adorable idea for part of our Christmas card pictures for this year. Although, Baylor will probably be a little less interactive with the camera at only about 2 months old. Isn't this just precious!



September 2011- This month is definitely in progress of the things we are getting done. I have started crossing things off my lists, but still feel like I have a long way to go.

Things left to do...
-Finish packing all of our bags. Baylor, Just needs his coming home outfit and his is ready to go. Mine needs a few more things. And Casey just needs to let me know what he wants to take and we are good to go.
-Finish decorating for fall
- Have the guest room all set up with necessities for my mom, who will be arriving on the 19th of October. Because who knows how easy that will be after.
-Finish getting the main things we will need for Baylor to use when he first arrives.
- Sept 14th we will be taking our hospital tour, so we know where to park, and where to go the day or night of the big event!
-Finish the nursery, but for financial reasons I am not sure this will be done until after he arrives. All that is really left is for the bedding and other linens to arrive and to finish his decor(the part that will have to wait a bit).
-Hang the monitor. Probably going to be done this weekend.
-Fax my registration sheet to the hospital.
-Get a pedicure for these swollen feet sometime after 36 weeks.
-possibly getting my hair done if I find a good deal, but very doubtful for this mane of mine.
-Give the cat a bath. Don't ask me why I think this is important before Baylor arrives.
-Figure out a cab company, to get me to the hospital, in case Casey is at work and its rush hour when I go into labor. I have read a few things that say, even if you feel okay to drive yourself, it is better to let someone else take you. Key point...you could have a contraction when you try to hit the brake and hit the gas instead, or vice versa. I will pay the little bit of extra money for a cab to get to the hospital safely. But definitely praying I go into labor in the evening or early morning before Case leaves for work.
-Get as much sleep as possible, because its not going to be like that for much longer.
-Enjoy one last month of getting up and going whenever and however I chose, without the having to get baby ready to go too. I realized this this week and how much of a luxury it really is.
-Eat anything else I am craving, because the eating without guilt is going to be going away soon. Of course, I am having this baby just in time for the Holiday season...what a great time to try to lose weight! And it is a necessity to do it semi- quickly. This leads me to my next point.
- Order my bridesmaids dress for my brother and Michelle's wedding that will happen next April. Orders are due November 1st. I am thinking it is probably better to do this before, than try to leave it for after Baylor comes.
- I am sure there is even more, some less important than others.

So I know I covered a lot of my pregnancy but there were a few things I don't want to forget, but didn't know exactly where to put them.

Oh the pregnancy life....
- I talked about my emotions earlier. I do agree that you have crazy emotions during pregnancy. But I wouldn't say all of them are not able to be controlled. This is me having to be clearly honest. Sometimes I notice myself being a brat or unreasonable and almost chose not to stop. I say its the hormones, but honestly I think it is just me being selfish. I have tried to work on this recently, but you would have to talk to my hubby to find out if I have actually done a good job at this.
- Waking up to pee in the middle of the night multiple times is the most annoying thing. But I think it somewhat prepares you for waking up with your little one. And during the day I probably pee every 5 minutes, this is not an exaggeration.
- Probably my favorite thing of being pregnant is Casey's reactions. The way he talks about Baylor or even when he just says randomly, "Baylor, daddy can't wait for you to be here!" makes all of this worth it. I would puke 500 more times to hear him talk about his excitement of having a son. I love our talks about what he will look like, what his personality will be like and when the first time Casey will take him hunting will be. It is also so fun to have Casey feel my stomach when Baylor is going crazy. He always says, "No, wonder you don't feel good." This kid is nuts.
- Thankfully we are almost 35 weeks and no stomach stretch marks. Almost there, please Lord! Just the few on the bottom of my boobs are fine with me:)
- I have talked all throughout this post of my puking, but I left out the most glamorous factor of puking while pregnant. No matter if you just peed or not, you will pee while you puke. So yes, this means during the beginning of my pregnancy I was peeing my pants a TON! Then I got smart and my stomach allowed me a few more seconds to rip off my pants before puking so I don't waste a pair of pants. Many times I would put on pants and 5 seconds later have to take them off, because I didn't get them off in time. I had to share this, because this is something no one shared with me before, but I have now experienced some fun laughs with a few of my friends who have kiddos and were very sick during their pregnancies.
- Okay so this is a vow to all of the people in my life. Please hold me a accountable if I do not shut my mouth on my opinion unless it is asked when I am around pregnant people in the future. Because the #1 most annoying thing is people giving their unwanted opinion on what you should do with your pregnancy or baby, unless it is out of good nature, which usually it is NOT. My main complaints during pregnancy would be peoples misconceptions of pregnancy, and thinking their opinion is the only right one. The most common ones I saw were these..
1. You have to basically live in a bubble during pregnancy and not do anything you would normally do.
2. You can't have caffeine.
3. Don't eat deli meat at all.
4. Breastfeeding is the only way.
5. NO DRUGS during delivery.

I won't give my opinion on these, cause that is exactly what has drove me nuts about other people during this process. I just I wish people just had respect for one another. I am glad if you make a decision that is great for you and your family. That is all all of us are trying to do anyways. Lets just hope people can  remember that when some people get so worked up about what someone else is doing with their life, their pregnancy, and their baby.

But I am forever grateful that God allowed me to experience this pregnancy. It has made me a stronger woman of faith, prayer and love. It has also strengthened my marriage more than I ever thought it could.
I have also learned more of what a need and want is. I can't say I have all the way learned this, because I am a perfectionist and I like pretty things. Although, a baby will not know the difference. God promises he will not give us more than we can handle, but we also have realize sometimes what we want and what God wants are totally different! Thank you Jesus for watching over Casey, Baylor and I through this pregnancy and I pray you continue to do so and help us to learn more each day how to raise a warrior for your kingdom even in this messed up world. I am excited and stressed for the task of figuring out parenting, but glad I have a great husband to lead us in the right way. Alright so we are are a little over a month till the due date! Time to start the guessing of which day it will be begin. Sorry if this all seemed to be ramblings, but I promised that is what it would be. There is so much missing taht I have actually experienced. But I can only think of so much these days:)





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