Oh, hey 30 weeks!

January 8, 2016

Hello, Third Trimester!! I can’t believe that I’m over 2/3 of the way through this bad boy…

New carpet sighting! Since I rarely wear socks, this is a seriously welcome renovation.

It has been a hectic few weeks with all of our Christmas travels – but it was wonderful to visit with family and friends over the holidays.  

The beautiful view on Christmas Day -- my aunt and uncle's home on Cedar Lake, IN. And yes, that's the sunrise, folks. I had to get up to pee for the 2nd time around 6:30am.

I love that Brendan took this photo... Pie Face was a big hit this year!

And I’m very proud to report that we have been SUPER productive at the Iowa homestead, as well.

New carpet installed upstairs, new countertops, a new stove and new dishwasher in the kitchen – all are looking fantastic – and we even got the crib and nursery bookcase assembled and the new dresser moved in there. I’ve been pushing hard to get all of these projects wrapped up before Truebe Tyke graces us with his or her presence… I was pretty worried or actually relatively sure that it may never happen if we waited until after. I hear this crazy notion that babies take a lot of time and attention from their parents?? :)

Doesn't it look amazing?? I'm very lucky to have such a handy dad and husband. 

Funny story about the dresser (that Adam already predicted I would mention in my blog – I’m sorry, honey, it has to be done): we found a set that we liked at Buy Buy Baby the last time we were in St. Louis, and the floor model was marked as Clearance. Nothing excites AT more than saving money – so he was all about getting that one – and we’d planned to coordinate with my dad who has a truck to pick it up over the next couple of weeks and haul it to Iowa, since he was graciously helping with all of the other renovations. Turns out it was marked down so far because it had a HUGE scratch on the top – no idea how that happened – looked like vandals at work to me. But regardless, Adam enacted his primo negotiating skills, and we got them talked down even further – originally priced at $600, we got it for $240 with the coupon. I don’t think he stopped smiling all day after that. Ha! So, now he's sanded down the damage, and I’m planning to paint the top a different color (like a vintage or distressed golden yellow) with chalk paint and make it nice and baby/gender-neutral friendly.

Vandalism at it's finest in Buy Buy Baby.

I really haven’t been that excited or gung-ho into planning the nursery until the last couple of weeks… and now, I’m all in. I believe that’s what is called “nesting”… am I right? A lot of the bedding, etc. that I’ve been liking and registering for is star-focused… I guess that’s what you gotta consider when keeping things gender-neutral – you can’t really go with girly flowers or masculine airplanes (although I’m totally for women flying planes and men being florists, don’t get me wrong) – but regardless, I’ve settled on a celestial theme of stars/moons/sun/world elements – along with the incorporation of an adorable sign that Adam’s grandpa got us for Christmas that says “You Are Our Greatest Adventure.” Aint that quote the truth!?

We’re still keeping it relatively simple – probably just putting up a pretty mobile in the corner, maybe some easy star decals on one wall and some fun elements incorporated on the bookcase -- but I’ve also got this idea to put up a series of prints in nice frames above the dresser that incorporate song lyrics that reference these astrology-themed pieces with baby references, of course. And most know that I’m a HUGE music nerd, so this has been really fun for me to research and pick out which of these songs/artists I really like and want to be a part of the kiddo’s first space. Etsy is amazing for these types of projects.

This is what I’m going with:

·      Here Comes the Sun, Little Darling (Beatles)

·      Fly Me to the Moon (Frank Sinatra)

·      Look at the Stars, Look How They Shine for You (Coldplay)

·      Baby, You Are the World (Brad Paisley)

My good friend, Carrie, who’s a designer at my work, Paradowski – is going to create the last one for me. I’m SO excited about them… I’ll be sure to post a photo when it’s done.

We're getting there...

Okay, other than nesting – I’m learning to deal with some other interesting and not-totally-welcome implications of being 30 weeks pregnant. One – I have this super weird cowlick in my hair that has never been there before. Literally, where my hair parts in the front, I have a cluster of follicles that just stick straight up. It drives me crazy! I also have these little red bumps all over my arms and back – luckily, they don’t itch or hurt or anything like that – they’re just really weird… now what does itch is my stretching skin over my belly. I’m slathering various lotion and body butters/salves on there morning/noon/night!  I’ve already complained about the heartburn, and it’s still plaguing me, unfortunately. It was at an all-time high over the holidays, and I was suffering succotash… at 3am after returning from Christmas Eve festivities, where I ate nothing but junk (i.e. heavy appetizers and desserts), I woke up to actually having to vomit the acid that had built up in my esophagus… it was brutal!  My doctor has approved that I can start taking something more heavy-duty like Zantac if it persists – so really hoping that gets better…

Adam was doing this to be funny. I was highly embarrassed/slightly inclined to push him down. 

I also can’t get up out of the couch like I usually can either – and as Murph is getting older and more stubborn/lazy, he doesn’t really move for you like he should. I ended up hurting the poor guy the other night as I tried to get out of my nook on the chaise part of the couch and one of my heavier body parts (no idea which one – they all feel more dense these days) came down on his right leg. He yelped in pain and when I tried to comfort him and examine the damage, he curled into a protective ball next to Adam (who was sleeping) and wouldn’t let me pet him or take him to bed. I cried a little bit.

And for the record... he was fine. A little dramatic in his old age too, I'd say.

I had my glucose test a couple weeks ago, and was very proud to pass – for some reason; I was quite worried about that… I think because my carb/sugar addiction is at an all-time high, and I’m terrified at the idea of daily needles/testing and a potential bed rest diagnosis as I near my due date. But – you’re supposed to stay under 140 and I got a 77 – so the nerd in me feels like I aced that sucker… yes, I’m a bit of a Monica Gellar, admittedly. 

Everyone needs a little... how else would you have good stories?

For the first time in life as I know it, I went to sleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Now THIS is a sign of true adulthood – right? Or, I’m just a victim of circumstance (more likely scenario) and naturally took advantage of not being able to partake in celebratory cocktails or a party atmosphere. I did sort of force Adam into dressing up for 90 minutes while we went out to dinner at the nicest place in town – which let’s be honest, is not very nice – but the food is delicious – and I secured the last available reservation by waiting to call until that morning. Oh yeah, baby -  we were locked in for the 5:30pm senior citizens special. Ha! We were also home and changed back into sweatpants by 7:30. I fell asleep after two episodes of Making a Murderer and awoke on New Year’s Day to a fully rested body and clear, non-throbbing head. Major pregnancy win in my book = no hangovers.

All dressed up for dinner with the elders of Muskie...

It’s tough to make a New Year’s resolution when you’re actively going through serious mind, body and soul changes and will be reproducing a life just three months into the year 2016. If I had to choose something for now – it will be to go ahead and eat better/drink more water/get a little more exercise in the last remaining 10 weeks of this pregnancy. My doctor and Adam ganged up on me a little bit at my last appointment since some levels in my urine test indicated not eating/drinking enough – so after I got over the annoyance – I vowed to be better. It’s a sad thing when in real life, you’re a major eater and have what many might call a larger than most appetite – and while undergoing pregnancy (when it’s supposed to be okay to eat whatever you want whenever you want), you struggle with food. I’ve never quite gotten my appetite on track during this rollercoaster… I constantly struggle with ideas of what to eat and making decisions on what I really want to eat. I don’t have a lot of cravings. I always have buyer's remorse and want what the other person ordered. I’m so busy at work that I have to set reminders on my calendar to get up and go stand in the kitchen to stare in the fridge and the pantry and try to be inspired. “Grazing” is what I’m supposed to be doing since eating large meals is nearly impossible with the limited stomach space I have right now… and don’t think I didn’t take note of the large farm animal reference and how my bod is feeling at this stage either.

Anyway... we’re getting super close, my friends! Less than 65 days to go… I’m both anxious to welcome double-T and terrified that we’re not ready. One of my damn apps told me we should start practicing the route to the hospital and packing my overnight bag at this point. AAHHHH! There’s way more to do before I can even think about that…

In the meantime, I’ll be cracking the whip on my loving spouse while our unborn child continues his or her kickboxing lesson under my ribs.

Shout-out to my sister-in-law and Truebe Tyke's aunt who's got a birthday today -- Happy Birthday, Greta!!

Happy New Year, everyone!