Week 29 and Zantac

It is a very momentous week for me...due to my killer heartburn, I have graduated from Tums to Zantac. (*With the Academy Awards music playing in the background*)"I would like to thank my dear daughter, Emma, because without her, I would not be where I am today." =)

Larry and I spent a few hours working in her nursery today to install the chair rail. Larry is painting them as we speak so I'll post pictures after we take off all the tape. Emma sure is lucky that Larry and I love her so much already because lil' miss thang is going to have the nicest room in the house. =) 11 weeks to go and I am still stretch mark free. I don't want to get my hopes up yet, because I know there is still a lot of growing to go.

My laundry room construction is completed and I am very excited to have the washer and dryer back where they should be since I don't have a lot of clothes and going two weeks without laundry was rather painful. Now Larry just has to repaint the room (I'm sure he is just LOVING painting these days) and we have to get some new shelving units so my pantry won't be in my kitchen and dining room for much longer. All of the old units had to be taken to the dump due to a nice layer of mold developed from the water exposure. Yuk. Then I will cross my fingers to be house project free at least until after Emma is born.

Here are the belly pics of the week...

Goodbye carbs. =(

I had my 7 month doctor's appointment today. Here is the low down. My test results for gestational diabetes came back normal. The glucose in my routine pee-in-a-cup business was rather high today. Apparently this is due to the two pieces of pizza that I ate for lunch. I was told I need to decrease my carb intake due to how my body is processing them right now. Pthhhhhh. I love carbs! When the Atkin's diet became all popular, my first comment was, "I would rather be a blimp than not eat carbs." Well, the advice was not due to my weight....(although my 6 pound weight gain since last month was also discussed). So I will suck it up and modify my carb intake for the sake of Emma's health. Eliminating them completely is just not an option however! My total weight gain is now a hearty 25 pounds. With 12 weeks to go, I'm on the road to 40 pounds of chunkiness. Yeah baby! I told the doc my heartburn has been kind of a bother, but it has been manageable with Tums. She said I could take Zantac if it gets worse, which it probably will since my uterus will continue to compress my stomach, which is now just under my boobs.

I also had to get another needle stuck into my arm. This was my RhoGam shot (due to my negative blood type). I now have a fancy card to carry in my wallet saying I received this shot and to notify people that I am Rh negative. If after Emma is born, her blood type is positive, I will get one more shot. This is just to prevent problems with future pregnancys. We'll see if I'm game for another child after I give birth! =)

I was approved for my leave of absence at work so my tentative last day is May 8th. That does not seem so far away since February is almost over. I am very eager to see my baby but can patiently wait for her to "finish cooking". I reluctantly check my belly button every morning, but fortunately have not busted out the "turkey timer" yet. It is more shallow than before but not poking out. While I know this is totally normal, protruding belly buttons always kind of freaked me out. Still stretch mark free so hopefully that will continue but we will see! I have procrastinated all night on writing a paper that is due at 4 tomorrow, so I will pretend to be productive now!

My little B-Girl!

I am convinced Emma is break dancing in my belly. Last night she was moving so much, my shirt was moving all over the place. I wish I could take a peek and see what exactly she is up to. =) We had a pleasant weekend despite laundry room construction and so much clutter in my house that it is making me crazy! Larry finished painting her nursery yesterday. We had very good intentions of putting up the chair rail today, but seem to have lost our miter saw. Not that losing a saw is common. Perhaps someone just helped themselves to it in our shed. =( We will borrow one from a friend on Friday and hopefully get that finished and build her crib and dresser next weekend so I can post final photos.

Here's the belly at the start of my final trimester. We are in the home stretch now! (And I have reached the point of some serious muffin-toppin' it with the waistline...ew!)

If you're going to poke me, do it right!

No sickos, this is not a post about sex or Facebook. I had to take the day off work and didn't get home until almost 12 from my lovely 3-hour glucose test and now my arms look like a heroin addict! I thought I was going to pass out that first hour but was fine after awhile...until my second blood draw. The tech "had trouble getting the vein" which has never been a problem on the million times I've had blood drawn. She tried twice on one arm and moved the needle around everywhere hurting like all heck (which had already been poked for the first draw) and then gave up to use my other arm. Really, two extra pokings for a total of 6 made me grumpy. Hopefully I passed. That test sucks!! Two other women were in the lab to do their one hour and they were crying just attempting to gag the drink down and I secretly hoped for them that they passed and didn't have to come back and do this one! On top of all of that, my work laptop took a crapper about 45 minutes into my 3 hour adventure, leaving me with nothing to do for the remainder of my boring ass time in there. I wasn't even allowed to leave the office to make a phone call or to go get a book from my car. Lame lame lame. Lucky you are so loved Lil Miss Emma! The fabric for her bedding and her crib were delivered today. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Project Nursery

I chose to paint this room yellow when we bought the house thinking it would be a nice, neutral color for a nursery. Well, I wouldn't be a typical "nesting" mother-to-be if I didn't want to completely redo the baby's room!

Project Nursery...BEFORE

The pile of stuff on the rocking chair is Emma's already accumulating pile-o-stuff! The dresser will go against this wall.




The closet, still filled with tons of our crap! And this was before I finished hanging the closet doors, which was finally completed after almost 4 years in this house. =)



The corner by the window.




Project Nursery DURING.....

All of the white is still just primer. Larry plans on painting the white part next weekend and then we'll put up the white chair rail where the two colors divide.

The corner to the right of the window is where the rocking chair was.



The crib will go on the wall to the right of the door.




Yay, the closet is finally empty! The wall on the left side of the closet is the same wall where the crib will go, opposite the big window in the room.



I will keep pictures coming as we progress!

Fasting can kiss my butt!

Especially when I do it for no freaking reason!! I fasted in preparation for my 3-hour glucose test today. The lab was open at 7 so I arrived a little before 8. I had to stop by my doctor's office in the same building to pick up the lab order from the front desk. Well, the door was locked. Thanks to my handy Blackberry, I was able to look up and see that the doctor's office didn't open until 9. Waiting an additional hour was clearly not high on my list of priorities, but I did it anyways. My stomach was already growling at this point. =( I wasn't even allowed to drink water for crying out loud! At 9, I mosied on up to the office to find the door STILL locked. I went back downstairs and asked the lady at the information desk if some of the offices were closed due to the holiday. Low and behold, my stupid doctor's office was closed. I tried a quick pleading attempt at the lab to have them do the stupid test anyways so I wouldn't have to take a day off of work. Fat chance. Hungry and tearful at the fact that I was just trying to stay ahead of my life and clearly this was not in the cards for me, I headed home in the pouring rain. I have to have the test done before my next appointment on Monday so needless to say, I am not too happy to have to take time off of work for this. I am out of sick days, so my paycheck gets docked when I miss work now. =( Ugh. I am so irritated!

On a bright, ungrumpy note....Project Nursery has begun! Larry painted all the lavender in Emma's room and just has to paint the white and then put up the chair rail. Her crib should be delivered this week, along with the fabric for her room, and the vinyl hibiscus flowers to put on the wall over her crib. It looks so cute already...I can just picture having her in there! *tear* I took some before pictures and will take some "during" photos and post them when I am not too lazy to go to the other computer.

I went to the hospital yesterday to visit baby Grayson before Kelly and Jerry were able to go home from the hospital. He is ADORABLE!!! What a perfect, petite little face and SOOOO much dark hair! Emma kicked me as I was holding him, so perhaps this was her first "whattup" to her future buddy! Here are some photos of the handsome boy at one day old! =)

Emma Gets a Playmate

One of Emma's future playmates, Grayson, was born this morning and is a healthy Valentine's Day baby! I am so happy for Kelly and Jerry and can't wait to meet their new son! I can't believe little Emma is only 90 days away!

Friday the 13th and Week 27

Almost to the third trimester! Here's pics of the expanding belly. I am really looking forward to a 3 day weekend! =)

Bad attitude returns

Ugh, I am so grumpy today. Valentine's parties are overrated. I need much more structure in my school day. I am interested to see how I survive tomorrow! =)

A grandparent of one of my kids asked me today, "Are you sure your baby is okay? You look so small for being almost 7 months." Not so tactful. I wanted to just tell her to shut up. I told her the baby is growing just fine, she moves all the time, and everyone carries babies differently. I certainly don't feel so small. People need to keep their opinions to themselves. Grr.

So the arc of Clairemont is still afloat. Our house sprung a leak during the heavy rains this past weekend. A contractor came and checked it out today. Things are fixable. Just another expense at a inconvenient time. Oh well. Things always seem to work out.

Charlie horse leg cramps in the middle of the night have still be plaguing my sleep. I have increased my water, potassium, and calcium intake, so hopefully that will do the trick. I have been falling asleep on the couch and when I go to the room, I am not able to fall asleep again. This is annoying to lie awake until 2 and 3 in the morning. Sure makes for long days. I have decided that today needs to be over. Stay tuned for tummy pics....

A New Decade Begins....

My 30th birthday sure was a great one! Emma decided to be a calm baby the night before and let me sleep rather well! When I left for work, Larry had left me a rather touching card on my steering wheel. I cried of course. =) My friends at work were super sweet and brightened my day with flowers, a decaf vanilla latte, and sweet sincere birthday wishes. Even better was my Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni lunch! For those of you that don't know the history behind me and Hamburger Helper...here's a quick run down. Basically, I love the stuff. Grew up eating it over rice. I know it's not gourmet, but it is a comfort food for me. Larry is not such a big fan. I think his exact words were "it is white trash food!" So needless to say, it is never on our dinner table. =( When Larry asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner, everyone was surprised that I didn't request Hamburger Helper. As an afterthought, I wondered why I hadn't either. Of course, spaghetti and meatballs were my request! Anyways, I felt lucky to have been indulged by the Hamburger Helper. Clearly my friends are in tune with my random desires!

Sorry for sidetracking there! Larry sent me beautiful roses to work with a card saying how he looked forward to many more birthdays with me and Emma. *tear* (again!) My day ended with a long IEP meeting, but it could have been worse. I received an outpouring of emails and phone calls. It really was a special day. I am so thankful for all of my friends and family and can't wait for Emma to meet all of them! Larry made me a delicious spaghetti and meatball dinner and my favorite misto salad. He even made sure to have pasteurized feta cheese since it is the only way I am allowed to eat it while pregnant. Damn it was good! I was unfortunately suffering for a rather gnarly cold, but indulged on some Sudafed cold, one of the few cold medications on my approved list. To end my evening, Larry emerged from the kitchen carrying an ice cream cake with a candle and purple icing. =) Yes, he even sang to me. And yes, I cried again. While a low key day, I couldn't have asked for anything more. =)

So, this post was a bit more about me than about Emma, but the purpose of me mentioning how wonderful my day was was because I seriously feel so lucky for the people in my life. I know Emma will be surrounded by so much love (and diversity!) which makes me so excited to bring her into this world. I have had thoughts of "man, I hope I didn't bring a baby into a world that is falling apart" but all of the worldly issues and the shitty economy seem so irrelevant when I realize how much LOVE will be in her life. 

My annoying news of the week was that I failed my one hour glucose test which means I have to go for the three hour test. Let me fill you in on how incredibly sucky this is for a pregnant woman. I have to fast from the night before. The lab doesn't open until 7:30 in the morning. They have to draw my blood and then I have to drink that nasty ass glucose crap again. Most of my friends said their drink was orange flavored but mine was lemon lime. The grossness of this sugary, syrupy, sort of gritty drink may have turned me off of Sprite for the rest of my life. Anyhow, then I have to stay at the damn office for THREE hours and they will draw blood every hour. Bottom line, I will be starving, probably nauseous from only having nasty sugar syrup in my tummy, and they will poke my arm FOUR times. Yeah, sounds like a blast. Pthhhh. I'm sure Emma will also express her displeasure with this event and kick me repeatedly wondering why I haven't given her any food yet! Normally by 11:30 ish I have already eaten breakfast and a snack (or two!) 

I can't believe that I have already reached the 6 1/2 month mark and there are less than 100 days left until my due date. I sure can't wait to see my little girl! My belly seems to be getting rounder and heavier every single day. You can check out new photos next week. ;)