Overdue

There's something psychological about a due date that makes you feel, once it's come and gone, that you're in a straight jacket.

Of course that is unless you're one of *those* moms who feel great during pregnancy. One of those moms who "glowed." Well...not I. Though I certainly wish that was the case. I'm fully aware of the wonderful miracle that is taking place and the brand new human who will be here (not) soon (enough). But he needs to be miracling in his bassinet now, not my belly. I'm ready for that transition.

As it is I wake up feeling like I spent the night being beaten up. My back is a joke - my ability to stand upright is progressively declining. My ability to smile it away when people ask how I'm doing -- oh and the "are you still pregnant!?" and "are you sure it's just one?!" -- is rapidly disappearing.

Proceed at your own risk.

Swelling: check (ever-present, no reprieve)

Numbness/carpel tunnel: check (though wearing the splint at night helps the pain)

Sleep: fitful, restless. And when I wake up, pure suffering for a few hours as I reacquaint myself with being awake.

Breathing: shallow at best.

Attitude: getting worse by the day.

Hospital bags: packed a month ago.

Baby's room: ready for baby!!



Photo: me at 40 weeks, 08.31.12

35 weeks. 35 days to go.

Today marks the completion of my 35th week and the last 35 days of my pregnancy. The first several months went so slowly; I think I judged my progress on whether or not - or how much - I was showing. Once I started showing - around 4 months I think? - it started going faster. It's just a physical way to assess the progress I suppose and makes it feel like its going by faster? The last couple months in particular have flown.

I've felt so huge and clumsy, tired and achy and crampy. But I've been excited and happy about the "big day" getting closer and closer. It's been something of a roller coaster, emotionally. From day to day I am thrilled (yay! My own sweet little boy to take care of!) and then scared shitless (I'm going to be a mom! What was I thinking?!).

It's a good thing there are 9 months to get ready. All the back and forth has finally stabilized and I feel ready. I'm confident and happy and almost completely ready for a new little human to live in my house.

He has a beautiful bedroom waiting for him and a pretty bed and comfy clothes and lots of love. I know it won't always be pretty and I know there will be days and weeks of madness and chaos and freaking out. But I'm ready for him to be here and join out little family. I'm excited to see what he looks like and to figure out his personality and temperament and his likes and dislikes.

It's just hard to believe that we have a month to go before we are "officially" parents. It seems like yesterday was December 22nd and I stepped out of a late-night shower to see "pregnant" on that test.

He'll be joining our little family before we know it!

Can't wait to meet my little guy!!

Not sure how the pets will act but ... they better behave with a new baby in the house! ;)

... We might be a different story. Behaving: sometimes.

Third Trimester?? So soon?!?!

Today marks my 28th week - 7th full month - of carrying around this little dragon.

He's been kicking and flailing what feels like non-stop for the last couple of weeks.

It HURTS!

Maybe I'm just a weenie, but it's painful lately: SO MUCH pressure and SO MUCH tightness.

I have embraced the ever-so-graceful pregnant lady waddle 110% and when I get up from the couch or out of bed, my knees are the widest part of me, like a bowlegged cowboy. *Awesome*

I am starting to feel like I'll have to get all new shoes since practically every pair is now very snug. I'm hoping that's just the swelling and my feet will go back to their normal 7.5-ness, but I've heard that some people's feet actually stay bigger post-pregnancy so ... who knows. I kind of like my shoes and really don't want to buy a whole new shoe wardrobe.

Apparently little man is about 2.25 pounds and 14 inches this week. He is approximately the size of a napa cabbage. Makes me hungry for cabbage salad with steak and sesame dressing and noodles and lime juice.

With only 84 days to go, I'm definitely starting to feel the crush of duties that are yet to be completed.

Two showers are in the works. My nesting instict tells me these should have been done 5 months ago (along with having all baby's clothes washed and folded, nursery complete, hospital bag at the ready ... learning to sew) so I'm kind of (irrationally) uneasy about the timeline; but I really just need to chill out about that. The hosts are doing a wonderful job and they are giving me such a great gift by hosting these parties for me, I'm beyond honored. I just need to chill out and not be mom-zilla!!

Speaking of showers, here are a few maxi dresses I've been eyeing. I've wanted to get some for a long time and I figured being pregnant (maxi dress = best piece of clothes you can own as a preggy!) and being another hot Texas summer AND having 2 parties coming up, I might as well get something cute to wear.

Sources (l to r):

Dress: Old Navy

Handbag: Charming Charlie

Sunnies: Pinterest

Scarf: Old Navy

Shoes: Pinterest

Sunglasses: Pinterest

Dress: Old Navy

Necklace: Forever21

Handbag: Forever21

Shoes: Tory Burch

Dress: Old Navy

Necklace: Forever21

Handbag: Charming Charlie

Shoes: Old Navy

Baby's room is laughably under-prepared. Curtains, unhung (not even purchased yet, for that matter!). Walls, unpainted. We bought primer, supplies and 4 different paint swatches to try but we haven't done anything with them. I still have to make a trip to IKEA for like 1/2 the stuff that I need for his room. Really stressing me out. I've been "meaning to" get his room ready for weeks, MONTHS, but it's just sitting there collecting dust. I imagine that it looks like the nursery in my mind: complete and coordinated and clean and ready for a baby to live there. NOT EVEN CLOSE. *bites nails*

Here is a little collage I put together of all the elements I'd like to incorporate in his room. The quilt is an inspiration piece I found on Pinterest that my amazing quilting friend is going to recreate for me. She said it won't be exactly the same, but close. She's also making a gray and bright orange pillow for the glider (of course we don't have that yet either!).

Sources:

Dresser: IKEA

Storage Cubes: IKEA

Glider/Rocker/Recliner: Amazon.com

Pillow: will be similar, handmade

Side Table: IKEA

Rug: IKEA

Mobile: Amazon.com

Quilt: similar, handmade

Crib: Amazon.com

Curtains: IKEA, navy stripes will be DIY

Maternity Leave Across the Globe - Prepare to have your mind BLOWN!

Oh I just HAD to share this gem!!

A Facebook friend just posted this and I am yet again awed at the staggering discrepancy between our own 'great' nation and other nations around the world when it comes to the benefits - nay, rights - provided to working families.

Being pregnant makes you aware of so many interesting things about life and existence and parenthood and all that. Most especially as a female, the fascinating - disgusting! - lack of respect for the family unit  when it comes to paid time off for mothers is simply mind boggling. (The family unit, which we as a super-conservative country seem to praise from the hilltops! What gives?!)

Take a look at the other countries around the world treat their pregnant women/new moms. In the US, we get a whopping ZERO weeks of paid leave. Yes, friends. Good ole FMLA allows us to take off something like 10 weeks of UNpaid leave. Great if you have zero debt, no car payments, 6 months of living expenses acrued and your car never ever breaks down, your A/C never ever stops working, you never ever have to go to the Doctor unexpected. Yeah, basically not so great.

For a huge chunk of average women and families, having no paid leave means no leave at all, since many can't afford to simply not generate a paycheck for 4 or 6 or 8 weeks - however long each individual woman deems necessary for her proper recovery AND bonding time with her new baby.

Of all the things we need to rectify about our great US of A, paid leave for new moms AND new dads needs to change, drastically. And NOW. This is unacceptable.

As my FB friend commented: "Pakistan? Really? Come on guys!!!" Yeah.

Pregnancy Related Incapacitation!

My first thought if drop something on the floor: "$&@#!" (let's be honest)

Next: "Do I really need that?"

And then: "I'll just get another one."

Ahh, pregnancy.

Slowly curing me of OCD, one day at a time.

Dragon Lady is here! aka: grumpy pregnant lady. (Plus, yummy British foods)

The last couple weeks I've been a wimp and complained about everything.

Grumpy.

Moody.

Edgy.

You name it.

And honestly I haven't had that much to complain about. =/

I'm feeling great. Which is a nice change.

My back isn't hurting as much and I'm sleeping better. Even though I wake up uncomfortable sometimes, I'm not tired and I don't really have a "tired slump" as much in the afternoons, so I know I'm getting rested. I do wake up on my back a lot and supposedly you should sleep on your left side for circulation to the fetus or whatever.

But sleeping on my left side is PAINFUL - I have a sharp stabbing pain in my left ribs whenever I inhale. Not conducive to sleep. It's hard enough breathing these days, period; but add pain to the mix? ... So I sleep on my right side now. And then wake up on my back. Breaking all the rules!

I haven't been as hungry/cravey lately. Though I suppose I have been craving fruit. Some days it's almost all I eat before dinner: a banana, apple, orange (sometimes two), sometimes a handful of almonds, sometimes a small piece of cheddar with the apple, any leftovers I may have brought from home, a flipping gallon of water, and then dinner at home. I feel like I'm eating all day but I'm never hungry. I just feel the need to eat something and eat it. I am definitely NOT counting calories these days.

OMG, Kevin convinced me to try some new McVitie's (I'm kind of stuck on my dark chocolate dipped digestives)called HobNobs and I'm flipping out. Addicted!

We got the original ones which are just-crispy-enough and oaty and so good (nobbly!).

And the vanilla creme sandwich HobNobs which are half the size of the originals and filled with yummy vanilla creme, like Oreo but better.

SO FLIPPING GOOD with my tea after dinner.

I'm pretty sure I'm a land whale but that hasn't slowed me down.

Here is my 25 week self!

Baby Update

Yesterday I went to my monthly Ob visit. Everything is "perfect" apparently ... my weight (hah!), the baby (of course he is) ... his heartrate was 150 - I always like getting to listen to his little heart.

I'm at 22 weeks and 5 days today.

Fetus is (almost) the size of a pomegranate.

At my next appointment I have to get the glucose test. I've heard some mixed feedback about that so we'll see how I handle it.

Now to wait another month.

This year is flying.

By September there will be a third human living in my house.

*wow*

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the day that determines the color of all the baby clothes we will be gifted by people who think baby girls have to wear pink and baby boys have to wear blue until they are old enough to have long hair that differentiates them from the opposite sex. Some people really are that old fashioned.

I'm not old-fashioned, really. I guess I'm not very traditional at all. I don't think that hair or activity or color of clothing - or even style of clothing - determines sex. I think that a child should be able to choose what they wear even if that sometimes means they look like an old bag lady or Hallowen costume gone very, very wrong.

I think when they are too young to chose for themselves, that parents could manage opening up their predispositions and allowing a little yellow, orange, green, red and black (gasp) into their child's wardrobe, whether boy or girl. I'm not sure who came up with the pink/girl, blue/boy themes but I'm over them. I want ALL colors and lots of them around my baby. I am pretty sure there is nothing wrong with exposing your child to all the options out there and allowing them to make their independent decision to wear blue or pink or orange or purple without swaying their choice. Check out this Smithsonian.com article for more.

So yeah, all that to say: tomorrow we find out if our little dragon is a boy or a girl.

We go in at 1:30pm to have our sonogram and find out if everyone and their dog has been right: My friend and I are the only ones who thing 'boy'; Kevin and everyone else think we're having a girl.

If the old wives tales hold any water, then I feel like it might be a boy based on my symptoms. But you never know. I have a 50% chance of being wrong! ...

I'm not sure how this might change my ideas of baby color coding. I tend to get a tiny bit nauseous when I see babies in pink and flowers and lady bugs or blue and trucks and bears and construction equipment. (Or worse yet: Dora! omg! Take your infant OUT of that branded polyester, please! Gap makes great cotton onesies. No logo or mascot required) No wonder your toddler loves those things; that's all you've exposed them to.

There is still so much gender expectation and inequality, however modern humanity likes to think we are 'advanced' and 'open-minded'. I'm not sure who or where these open-minded, free-thinking parents and citizens are but they certainly aren't in Texas (open-minded, free-thinking, non-traditional people of Texas please prove me wrong!)

I may find out we're having a girl and then go nuts for tutus and pink - paint and clothes and stuffed bears and shoes and socks blankets, and, and, and - but I really don't see that happening.

We'll know tomorrow! =)