Two for two..

Both my kids still like to make their own schedule.. a Wednesday morning ERCS turned into a Monday afternoon section when that morning's appt showcased my timely contractions..

(A last bump pic in L&D before introducing you all to Madeline....)

Obviously, a birth story (girlie scared us with her first Apgar of 5, but her second less than a minute later was 9...) and tons more pictures to follow!

Countdown continues to tick...

38w6days... one day past when Button was born, and BabyGirl is still cooking...

Thoroughly enjoyed my first week of maternity leave (so much done, got out of the house each day too!)

Been walking (the mall, the stairs in the house...)and also started pineapple (oh man, full circle...)
because OWT says it helps ripen/soften your cervix... Dude. I even ate hot wings after our Christmas PJ brunch last Sunday... and that's SERIOUS because I despise spicy like I hate bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails...

All that to say, she's still tucked away...

(and given the battle about Christmas Day - MIL has planned her regular activities (E's aunt, cousin, and older sister over for dinner) as if nothing else was going on... and basically then expects E to come "for awhile" with Button (as well as my parents, who will be flying in the night before!) so E tells me that, on day TWO of having a newborn daughter and wife in the hospital, he'll be spending "A few hours" at his mom's house that day... SERIOUSLY?! and MIL is all, "and then he'll come back to the hospital to relieve your parents so they can come spend some time [at my house]..."


Uh-huh.  Because my mom would want to leave her baby (me!) in the hospital on Christmas Day to "escape" and have some time at her IL's house...

(another reason I hope Baby Girl's arrival is earlier than the planned RCS on 12/23... hope to be out of the hospital by Christmas Day and avoid that drama!)


Button's about to wake up from his nap, as E is about to get home from hockey...

Will keep you posted on BabyGirlWatch Christmas 2015!

An inside job..

Baby girl is.. still inside, I mean.. contractions all freaking weekend, sometimes 8 an hour, sometimes 1-2..

Dr appt tomorrow at 2:15..

5.5 MOAR HOURS!

IT'S MY LAST DAY OF WORK!!!

5.5 hours left, and counting...

(a just-taken pic from the ubiquitous work bathroom!)

BabyGirl's still cooking... BH on the regular (are they BH? or are they still (slowly) readying cervix for labor? (I'm not allowed to say "ripening," the word just weirds out E lol so we say "readying"))

She's also totally dropped where, even the second I get out of bed and she's usually all up in my ribs from me laying horizontal all night, this morning she was, well:

shawty got low low low low low low low low

 Things are ready (mostly) - got the fabric to the swing washed and dried (I actually need to take off the car-seat liner and wash it - only because it's been sitting in the garage for a year from Button last using it - and no, it hasn't "Expired" yet/still meets safety standards!) 

Got hospital bags packed (just need to get nursing tanks out of a storage bin to be packed...)

And we've got our Christmas PJ Brunch tomorrow morning!

So hold on Baby Girl, just at least 24-36 more hours! 

(Is that enough music/dance GIFs for Friday? lol)

NOPE - it's Friday, and MY LAST DAY OF WORK!!!

 

False Alarm - Ish

And so it begins... lol

Contractions/BH started yesterday around 11:30am, somewhat inconsistently - but about every 30-40 minutes...

By nighttime at home, they were on and off - every 20 minutes or less, but again inconsistent (10 minutes apart for 30-40 minutes, and then 20 minutes apart randomly...)  ((and also not really painful))

We went to bed, figuring if they got painful enough to wake me in the night we'd grab our hospital bags and head over to MIL's to drop off Button before making our way to the hospital...

(Button woke up crying - bad dream I guess - around 2am and I had a Cx the second I got out of bed ((oooo there's one now as I type! lol)) and then I fell back asleep after comforting Button...)

This morning, they were inconsistently regular (lol) sometimes coming every 5-6 minutes for a half hour, and then stopping for 15-20 minutes before picking up again at 4 minutes apart for 20-25 minutes before slowing down again...

I called the answering service (it was before my OB office opened) and after speaking with the doctor on-call, the nurse asked me to call and head into the office when they opened...

So Button went to daycare, I finalized the hospital bags (filled travel-size bottles with shampoo, conditioner and my face wash, grabbed mittens for BabyGirl, etc) E packed an overnight duffel for Button in case MIL or SIL needed to pick him up from DC later, and then packed a bag for himself.

Off to the doctor's we went, to discover (after a painful cervical check - with a speculum! did he need that?!) that yes, I was totally having contractions (Dr was in the middle of palpating BabyGirl when one kicked in!) but were they BH or early labor?

Apparently only time will tell: as of this morning, I'm 1cm dilated, with a "kind of softish" cervix...

the game plan now is to wait and see if Cx get more regular/painful (right now they're only bordering on being slightly uncomfortable...)

so I'm at work now, seriously trying to wrap stuff up to be ready at any second to hand off the baton and say, "See you in 12 weeks guys!" (ha, yea right... I'm totally getting calls in the first month...)




and as excited as I am/was for her arrival to have begun, there's things I had scheduled for next week (my week off) and this weekend!

The Christmas PJ Brunch!

And next week, getting my car fixed! and maintenanced by Kia due to a recall! and then clean house! (the guest room, where my 'rents will be staying for 10 days is a DIH-SAS-TER!)

HERE WE GO!

Truckin' Along...

37 weeks yesterday, nothing new to report besides the same old... (to be honest, the last few weeks there's no change in the "weekly updates!")

lower back pain was SO KILLER after Saturday's WalkerStalkerCon (which was fun, and would have been funner if I had a scooter or wheelchair, and if one didn't have to pay like $400 to take a picture with Norman Reedus...)

(DH totally snuck a picture of him through the crowd horde at his photo-op booth...) will have to get those pictures...

Anyways - by the end of the convention, I could barely stand (walking was better than standing in place) and some residual back pain lingered last night...

There's been lots of BH (nothing regular, timing-wise, but definitely probably an average of 6-10 a day, depending on physical activity...

She has gotten pretty low (nurse made a comment at today's appointment... during which, BP/weight/urine was all pretty good...)

And I can tell: there's been some increased pelvic pressure, some hella-bad RLP (in trying to turn from side to side last night, I nearly couldn't do it due to crotch pain... oiy!)

All this to say, my last day of work is Friday - BabyGirl if you can at least hold on until Monday the 14th so I can get some time off of work (unlike when your big brother decided to come two days "early" - in fact, at 38wd5d - mere hours after I left work...)
(and yea, I know - just because she's low and I get frequent BH - that does not mean labor is imminent or any such thing...)

And as I hormonally ranted to DH, bitching (I'm sure) about a co-worker or someone who was still not directing questions to the correct staff who will be taking over during my leave - which is FOUR DAYS AWAY!! - he had the perfect casual chat-response:

KEEP CALM AND PREGGO ON...

A Tale of Three Stories...

As the EDD just passed for my first pregnancy (11/30 in fact... I didn't even realize it had come and gone until the night of December 1st, as I was sharing facebook pictures of my brother's new baby boy, born on 11/30...)  I began remembering the days I told E I was pregnant - three different times, three different styles, each pretty appropriate, I think, to the situation...



The big exciting BFP #1 was on Monday March 19, 2012... We had celebrated St Patty's Day the Saturday before, where I honestly can't remember if I drank at all or not... I probably had a beer or two (versus my usual party of drinks and shots) I remember sitting on our front stoop that Sunday evening (in unseasonably warm March weather) munching on a leftover cookie, thinking it tasted a little funny... (ooo a pregnancy sign??)
I tested that Monday morning after E had gone to work (I think 12DPO).  I grinned at my little secret all day at work, and that night E and I went into NYC to The Aspen Lounge for a white party (something like that: everyone wears white...)
As we sat waiting for our friend to meet us there pre-party, I slid my phone to E on the bar, with a picture of the positive digi pulled up (which E had at first thought was a picture of fBFF's recent +HPT (which had ended in a CP 2 days later)).
So, we were thrilled/excited - 10 months after going off of BCP, we finally got pregnant!
We were also cautious, having just vicariously lived through fBFF's CP a week or two prior...
We enjoyed sneaking me mocktails (cranberry & seltzer) all night as we kept our little secret between the two of us...






The next BFP (#2) was on November 12, 2012 at 11DPO.  Again, I tested after E had left for work (I think I preferred him not knowing I was actually testing, and waiting outside the door for either heartbreak or nervous excitement...)
Again, I nervously patted my secret little sweet-pea all day at work, and when I got home later that night, couldn't keep a grin off my face when in the kitchen with E... and upon seeing my goofy grin (and knowing we were approximately at test time) he started smiling, and said - "What? Why are you smiling like that?" (I think he knew what was coming...)
And it was a nonchalant, "I tested this morning, it was positive..."
So there we were again, excited - but nervous as hell after the last disastrous experience where we made it all the way through the first 8-9 weeks. and thought we were nearly out of the first trimester, only to start all over again at 3w4d...



The most recent BFP (#3) was on Tuesday April 14, 2015 at 9DPO!  (I still can't believe I tested at 9DPO... not even with FMU!) I had gotten violently ill with a (mercifully quick) stomach bug Monday night, and so was home sick Tuesday...
Something made me go POAS around lunch time (I think it was the fact I was ravenous after having just had a stomach bug, and it usually takes me a day or two to get back to my regular appetite).  Nothing showed up within the 5 minute wait time, but then when I checked it hours later (wait - you don't save your pee sticks for hours? how about DAYS?!) I convinced myself I saw a shadow of a line...
And lo and behold, the next morning FMU provided a barely-there squinter (that showed up in the recommended wait time!)
I didn't even tell E until Thursday night (after two more days of every-so-slightly darkening HPT lines... why did I wait? I didn't want him to get excited only to have it ripped away within hours by a CP...) but then I felt the giddy excitement from our first BFP - while I knew there was a long way to go, I wanted to find a cute way to tell him...  (which ended up not even working as E wasn't paying attention, so I ended up shoving a positive digi in his face... classy. at least the cap was on the pee end!)

But his reaction?
Way better than any of the prior BFPs... he got little-kid-before-christmas excited, tossed Button in the air, yelling, "You're gonna be a big brother! You wanna be a big brother?!"
(And Button just fed off his daddy's excitement, whatever it was for, and started squealing, "YEA!")



Each experience was so unique, so clearly remembered - as well as the experiences when the pregnancy ended: Feeling stoic while waiting for surgery to remove "products of conception" at what was supposed to be 12weeks...
Feeling the is-this-real?! as we sat in the hospital watching contractions hit every 4 minutes and learning Button was coming now and not in his scheduled two days...

And now... one week left of work (that can't pass quick enough) and then, days (how many?!) to nest with this little girl, as numerous BraxtonHicks make me wonder if she'll decide to jump the gun on her scheduled eviction date just like her big brother...

clever title here...

(apologies - I started this two mornings ago...) So this Monday morning started rough - E decided to clean just his bathroom sink (we have side-by-side his/hers) which really, I thought was just so NICE of him, considering I'd just cleaned the (disgusting) bathroom mirror (EVEN IN FRONT OF HIS SIDE!) over the weekend, and  - well, when have I EVER cleaned just "my" part of ANYTHING?!

And then - I tell E as we're scrambling around the house (a whole 'nother complaint - we could have negative three minutes til we have to go, and he will stop and play toys with Button...) that Button needs his winter (bubble) coat, as it was currently like, 38 degrees.
As we start to walk out the door, I see Button has a CORDUROY JACKET on...

so, long story short - Button and I are in the car heading to daycare and I'm just complaining, saying "Daddy doesn't listen to Mommy, and when he doesn't listen it makes Mommy mad..."

and you know what he says back to me?


"Mommy blows hot air..."


oh yea? Daddy says that? (Button says, "yea...")

ASSHOLE (of course this was said silently, because - holy REPEATING EVERYTHING stage...)

((yay for 36w pregnancy hormones...))

oh speaking of, THIRTY-SIX WEEKS?!

holy COW, there is less than two weeks of work left, and three weeks (as of Wednesday TODAY!) until baby girl's RCS date!! (NO... no set name yet, the one I am absolutely in love with now? E changed his mind on liking at all... GRRRRRRR!)

A quick summary: I'm super uncomfortable (is she still head down?!) getting LOTS of RLP (I think that's what it is!) and pelvic pain, and pain at part of my incision site that ached after Button was born.
And I can possibly kill livestock with the gas I get... and sleep? now I've got a slight bout of pregnancy insomnia, beginning with staying up til almost-midnight the past three nights in a row...

Weight gain has completely stalled the last month+ (in fact, my last appointment two weeks ago I'd lost a lb...)

Clothes, blankets, sheets and burp clothes are pretty much washed (nothing's been sanitized yet - pacifiers/bottle/pump parts) and a hospital bag is still yet to be packed (does it count that about 75% of the stuff I want packed is in piles on the guest bed?!)

While some sites say 36weeks the constipation can get worse, I am experiencing quite the opposite (especially for a gal whose "usual" is every few days!)

**Tuesday's doctor appointment went well, bp was fabulous, etc.  I had to get the GBS test done (a nice "Q-tip" swab of  ye olde vagina, which hadn't seen the light of day (or night) in so long, the dr had to basically unclench my knees...)
He palpated baby's position (yes, still head down - butt/back over to my left, and FEET/LIMBS having a ball on my right side...) and then (I guess?) did a cervix check? (he shoved two fingers so far, and was so uncomfortable...)

She seemed to have surprised the doc with how low she is (He 'tapped' his fingers against something, said, "feel that? that's HER HEAD!") but then answered my, "uh well - am I dilated at all?!" with a "Nope."
(We're also on weekly appointments now, HOLY COW!)
((and the differences between subsequent pregnancies - last appointment, 34 weeks, I totally thought I was 33 and the doctor came in and was all, "ok so you're 34 weeks..." and I literally said outloud, "I AM?!"))

 HORRIBLY overdue bump shots...

aaaand apparently I start to get lazy, taking photos only while getting into the shower. lol

(whoa, totally does look like she dropped a bit in the last pic!)

Hormones are touch-and-go (see above bitch-fest!) but nesting is going well, including crocheting adorable stuff like this sweater (ONLY NEEDS TWO BUTTONS before it's DONE!)

(I also started a stocking-hat last night, am planning on a matching diaper cover for newborn photos!)
something like this:

although I think my yarn's a little too stiff, or something - I've started on the pom-pom end and it's not exactly flexing... It actually kind of looks like a schlong-sleeve right now... (use your imagination on that one. lol)

We've scheduled ourselves SILLY these last few weeks before BG arrives:
this Saturday (12/5) we're going to Walker-Stalker Con! (Ha let's see how long I last at this...)
another Doc appointment on Monday (12/7)
a dermatologist check-up on Wednesday (12/9)
Next Friday is my LAST DAY OF WORK!!! (12/11)
and then Saturday morning we're throwing (what's hopefully) our first ANNUAL Christmas PJ Brunch!

I ordered these PJ's (on sale!)((they fit PERFECT)) and I have a cheery red tank to layer (which will hopefully peek out between pants and top!)

We'll be having four other couples, along with FIVE little boys (ranging from 5months to 4.5 years) so we'll have to get a little kids' table set up =)
((Is this crazy to be hosting so close to, well - EVERYTHING this holiday season and only one day after my last day of work?! OF COURSE IT IS! I CAN'T WAIT!))


**Also - this past Saturday November 14th my awesome SIL, MIL, DH's aunt+cousin put together a great Sprinkle for me, which, as I mentioned, a friend had kind of ruined the "surprise" but I was still surprised, as I totally didn't expect it that day! And there were more HUGE SURPRISES in store once the party got started!!
It totally deserves its own post, so next up - Sprinkle pictures (a few, no people/group shots really...) as well as pictures from the 3D ultrasound we got that evening (it was a crazy busy exciting day!)

Considering this post took me four days to get posted, hopefully I get shower stuff posted before BabyGirl comes!!

Backyard shennanigans!

So it was a project that originally began mid June (with hopes of finishing it by mid-July for Button's second birthday party - ha! we know how that ended up - NOT in our new backyard!) and didn't receive the FINAL-FINAL step/process/finishing touch (grass seed!) until, oh I think last month...

DH faced pain-in-the-ass contractors, finished a lot of the work himself, and is still waiting for one contractor to come back and turn (back) on the gas line to our garage so we can get our heater going again...

but it's DONE! our beautiful backyard (the top half anyways!) is ready for lots of BBQs and playing in! (come Spring! lol)

Here's how it went (in a teeny tiny nutshell!)

Stage one we ripped out the old privacy lattice-work fence (you can see the base) and marked off where the "new level" would go...

Stage two was delivery of a LOT of materials: paving stones for patio, stones for retaining wall, gravel for (I forget what. lol) dirt for fill, etc... our yard looked like a supply/lumber yard for a long time!

Stage three involved some destruction of big railroad-tie flower beds that were against the side of our garage (see top left photo - far left pile of railroad ties!) they also left the big equipment for one night at our house, and DH brought Button out that afternoon and let him sit on it...

Stage four (which felt like it took a large chunk of time) was building the wall (the contractors left it where it ended here, the rest you see in later pictures is the handiwork of DH!) more fill was needed to level off, as well as the gravel (oh yea! that's what it was needed for!) to go beneath the patio blocks...

Stage five they completed the patio (so pretty!!!) and this is where DH started to pick up serious slack left by the contractors (the rest of the retaining wall, and the above border between driveway (which was eventually repaired and re-asphalted) and the new yard...

Stage six - we're getting there!!! DH had finished off the wall, had loaded stones around the base of our tree to protect it from moist dirt, and a fencing company came and put up our PVC picket fence (with two gates - one at left to get lawn mower down to rest of yard and one at far back right for an eventual flight of stairs to the rest of the yard - oh I guess pictures to eventually come of the back-back yard!)

Grass seed got planted, sprinkler heads and piping got relaid, and this is our new lovely backyard looks like!!!!
We had some decent sunny weather this past Sunday where we got to enjoy it with Button for a bit, but most of the play will have to wait til Spring time! Next up will be the bottom-back-yard (our property goes for YARDS past the retaining wall/fence... I'll have to take pictures to show you all!)

Now for some fun same-POV comparison shots!

Falling in love with fall & Pumpkin Raviolis!

Word and picture vomit to follow (mostly because work? well it's crazy - between there only being holyfuckingshit SIXTEEN work days left and big projects being due in addition to the wrap-up of training and "OH WAIT I FORGOT HOW TO SHOW YOU THIS!")

Here's your 2015 Halloween celebrations:

We started to get into the fall mood with some Pumpkin Ravioli!! (I had found a looks-easy-enough recipe in a magazine, but then couldn't find the required Wonton Wrappers (plus forgot to look) until recently...)

 The filling was just (if I remember correctly) half a can of pumpkin, some salt&pepper to taste, and about 1/4 - 1/2 C of Parmesan cheese... Lay out the wonton wrappers and spoon about a tsp onto each, then run a water-wetted finger along each edge to "seal" a second wonton wrapper on top...

Boil up the raviolis like regular pasta (but be really careful! they're delicate!) and the sauce was just browned butter and fresh sage with a dash of lemon juice right before evertyhing is served (get the butter to brown by nearly letting it burn before each stir!)

The raviolis were VERY delicate especially after being cooked, so they kind of stuck together and clumped - but still, OMG DELICIOUS! I'll have to buy more wonton wrappers and pumpkin (I think I have a second can still in fact!) for another batch this fall!



The next day, (Wednesday before Halloween), DH's work had a small party (last year I was actually costumed-up as a mime, Button was Scooby Doo, and DH - well I just don't remember. lmao)
This year, I was just a PG lady for halloween, lol - but DH and Button were a hit!

(DH's fBook post: "Honey, they shrunk Marty!")

Friday was Button's big day - they had a party and parade at daycare in the afternoon for which I left work after the internal ponderings of: is it silly that I'm leaving work for a two-year-old's Halloween parade? I used to scoff at the mom who took an entire day for her THIRD child's preschool graduation thinking - it's your THIRD!
but now? I think... THEY'RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE!!!

So I darted out of work for an hour, watched this Ace do his thang at the parade, and then hauled ass back to work...

Except then Button and DH showed up to visit me at work the last few minutes before we all left together! (everyone LOVED Button...)

We decided (as we frequently do Friday nights) we weren't gonna cook (and had no leftovers at home) so we stopped at our favorite all-you-can-eat sushi bar where Button chowed down on his favorite: edamame and salmon teriyaki. (He also apparently had learned to WINK at some point and was Flirty-McFlirt with our waitress!!!)

Saturday morning (Halloween!) I decided to make iced pumpkin cookies 

(I had a powder mix recently purchased when we went to a petting zoo/farm and the canned pumpkin required).

After Button's nap, we headed over to my bestie Dee's house for a "Halloween party" (in quotes because it was only Bestie+DH+17-mo-son and fBFF+DH +almost-3-yo son) followed by some Trick-or-Treating!




We were then barraged with requests from family to "stop by" which entailed us being out and about until almost 6:30... By the time we got home, Button was hungry (and so, cranky) and I was worried our house would be egged since no one was home to hand out candy (not to mention all the candy we did buy that we weren't handing out! It wasn't candy I liked, and so I had no interest in any being leftover!)





(We only had ONE batch of TOTers after we got home... so all that candy has been brought to work for my coworkers over the last few weeks... 3.5 lbs of it, now GONE!)



That night was also Daylight Savings, and so - with fingers crossed - we kept Button up an hour later than normal (9pm pre-time-change) and ...
IT WORKED!
 Sunday morning he woke up his "regular" time!!! (7:30 post-time-change, which was actually 8:30 pre-time-change!)

(That was also the Sunday that Button and I hit up Kmart for half-naked-nesting time later that night!)

What I hadn't mentioned (or didn't have the pictures loaded yet to mention) was that after we successfully conquered DST Sunday morning, and after Button's nap, the boys did some leaf-clean-up before we enjoyed the last rays of sun at a local park (at 4pm - I HATE that about winter time!)

I also finally got pictures of our completed backyard renovations!!! (and holy pictures, there are a ton - a separate post to follow!)




**Also - this past Saturday my awesome SIL, MIL, DH's aunt+cousin put together a great Sprinkle for me, which, as I mentioned, a friend had kind of ruined the "surprise" but I was still surprised, as I totally didn't expect it that day! And there were more HUGE SURPRISES in store once the party got started!!
It totally deserves its own post, so next up - Sprinkle pictures (a few, no people/group shots really...) as well as pictures from the 3D ultrasound we got that evening (it was a crazy busy exciting day!) and some comparison bump shots I've slacked in posting! (and don't let me forget to tell you how I totally lost count of weeks this week! lol)

ACK! only 7 weeks left!

THIRTY-TWO WEEKS!

Baby

• Baby's getting ready for his or her descent—and is likely in the head-down position now. or not...   I was pretty sure she is transverse as I feel feet lodge into my pelvis and PUSH - and yes, confirmed at yesterday's OB check-up, "she definitely feels that way!" (while doc manhandled her to confirm, she totally kicked back like, "CUT IT OUT!")
• And baby's probably feeling even more cramped.  I will agree with this - the "kicks" are now more stretches and little limbs rolling around!

Momma

• More Braxton Hicks contractions. Are they getting more intense? um... YES.  like, alot alot. of course, these don't mean jack sh*t in terms of real labor... lol
• Heartburn. Go ahead and pop an antacid. Actually not too bad on this - I'll get a little bit of reflux here and there (like when I vurped this morning in the car... GAG)
• Feeling faint or light-headed can be a result of any number of things, including low blood sugar. I had more of this earlier in the pregnancy, but it's been much better recently (minus one "attack" this weekend where I waited too long to eat lunch....)

Best Moments This Week: Button is having fun looking at all the stuff coming in for "Baby Guhl" like his old jump-a-roo and bumbo (returned from my bestie Dee who borrowed 'em for her son!)

 

Total Weight Gain: I've plateaued the last two/three weeks, holding at 22lbs (with Button I plateaued the last month 1/2 or so...)

Maternity Clothes: yup. the paneled pants - the panels used to feel like they came to my chin, now they don't cover the bump all the way! lol

Symptoms: ok here's where we'll stop a minute... I've bitched the last two weeks of this pain and that, saying to E, "OMG I don't remember being this uncomfortable at this point with Button!" and said the same to the OB yesterday at my check-up as I complained of horrible bad low back pain (my coccyx sometimes feels like it's grinding on itself... OIY!) and take-your-breath-away RLP... and she responded, "each pregnancy is different, and of course there's pregnancy amnesia..."

meaning - you look back and think, "aw... I loved being pregnant! it wasn't that bad!" but it was un.com.fortable.... 

and I realized, thinking back on these check-ins that I was all, "no symptoms really! just a little tired!" so if I were to re-read these from Button's pregnancy, it wasn't that bad...

HA!

Here's the truth : I wake up at least 2-3 times a night, and then lay awake for a solid 20+ minutes, eyes closed, trying to get back to sleep... (and like last night, just as I doze off, Button "wakes" crying in a dream and needs soothing back to sleep)

There's times that RLP (or whatever it is) in my crotch makes me gasp as I shift on the couch (which then makes E yell, "don't gasp! you make me think your water broke or something!")

Whether it's from standing, or sitting all day at work - I get lower back pain that feels like bone grinding on bone, yet it feels so good to slowly get into a position on my back, feet up on the wall and relieve some of the pain...

and I cannot.  get.   enough.  sleep - like, first-tri fatigue again. I'm falling asleep on the couch by 9pm (holy lame...)

So there's a more honest "symptoms" answer =)

Sleep: well, I guess - see above. lol

 

Food Cravings: (same as last check-in) : nothing really crazy - it can change hour to hour...

Anything making you queasy or sick:  well, I can have a random moment hear and there (average once a week) where I get a quick wave of nausea (probably caused by low blood sugar or a too-empty stomach...)

Movement:  performing recorded kick-counts now on this cool app - and it hasn't made me go crazy yet! (like, if I start a count b/c she kicked once and then doesn't kick anymore, giving a "Failed" count even though I started it at a random time that I know is not her usual wake time!)
She's active as I lay in bed when I first wake up, very active about 9:30 as I settle in at work, again just around lunch time, again in late afternoon, and another two noticeable sessions - once when I get home from work and again after Button's gone to bed. (that doesn't count her 2-3 minimum active sessions during the night!)

Stretch Marks:(same as last check-in) : Still just ones I had on my hips from highschool...

Gender: (same as last check-in) : Baby Girl!!

Labour Signs: yup, more Braxton Hicks (regularly irregular. lol)

Belly Button In or Out?: it's getting close to poppin' here... if I don't double layer shirts (and have full panel pants on) you can see it (and Button likes to poke it. lol)

Wedding Rings on or off?: (same as last check-in) : On

Happy or Moody?: pretty off-kilter, so happy one minute and moody the next. lol a single bad driver (or pedestrian, guy who darted in front of my car last night in BLACK CLOTHING!) can set me off for awhile...

 

Purchases for baby: Nothing lately - got another bag from a daycare mom (different mom this time) who was just "cleaning house" and so it was a random small bag of 2T stuff, but we'll add it to our stash!

Purchases for Momma: nothing lately... I'm wanting to get a cute sweater dress or something new to wear to the baby shower, but kind of tough since it's supposed to be a big surprise and I don't even know when it is...

Miss Anything?: this answer has not changed. I'd really like a good martini especially after a stressful day at work... and a nice cold Blue Moon while watching the Patriots play football... *sigh*

Looking forward to: yup - meeting baby girl! Her name is stressing me - I keep waiting for a sign or an indication that a certain name is the one... so we still have no name. lol

this was late last night after my nightly couch-nap on my way to bed...

(so pardon the zombie-tired-look lol)

What Nesting Looks Like...

As I've slowly accumulated a decent amount of clothing for Baby Girl (yes still EFFING unnamed...) I've realized the 3-4 plastic drawers in the top of Button's closet will be totally insufficient storage... (hello! Girls need more space!!)

So I decided to do for the nursery closet what I've done in mine - throw a dresser in the bottom of it!  (So now baby girl will have 5 plastic drawers at the top of the closer, and a 5-drawer dresser at the bottom - plus maybe a drawer in the changing table if I can squeeze crib sheets / changing-pads into storage elsewhere.)



So - Button and I ran to Kmart yesterday morning (after enjoying the fact that somehow we did Daylight Savings prep right - kept Button up an extra hour Saturday night and wore his ass out with Halloween festivities so he slept in Sunday morning until his "usual" time - even with the hour we gained!)

We picked up the dresser (which, usually I'd be a "I CAN LIFT THIS!" type, but I decided to be smart and have a sales guy help me heft the 50+ lb box into my cart...) and also got some great (i.e. cheap) frames to get up some more of Button's art work in his playroom. (will take pictures tonight!)
UPDATED with pictures! (for the first time ever after promising pictures. lol)

 The five drawers we started with, and the new dresser in the bottom (the bags that look all sloppy at the bottom are clothes that still need to be washed for BG...)

The dresser sat in my car until DH got home to take it out during Button's nap, and then sat upstairs in the hallway while we enjoyed a sunny afternoon at a nearby playground (and watched the sun set at like, 2pm. UGH!)


And so, (without pictures so please use your imagination from this description) here's what nesting looks like at 7pm on a Sunday night at 32weeks:

     me sitting on Button's floor, in sweatpants and a bra (because holy sweatiness...) while E gave Button a bath and I assembled drawers with a screw gun and hammer.

and DAMN if I couldn't sort and load into the dresser all the itty bitty pink and purple leggings, onesies and sleepers.... maybe I'll get to do that today after work as I mope about in pitch black dark, you know - since the sun sets before I even step foot out of my job!


(Also - I'm getting excited/antsy for my baby shower I found out was being thrown for me!
1 - I'd like to be dressed nice, possibly even in a new sweater dress or something flattering that I feel good in!
2 - I'm also enjoying the surprise aspect this time (with Button, I knew exactly when my shower was... and while I found out about it in general this time around, I have no clue when/where/who's coming!) but I'm also kind of glad I know it's coming - I've reined myself in a few times when I would have normally bought cute little things for BabyGirl!

32week check-in to follow in separate post!

Aw Dump It...

First, before I dump the many photos, I had to share this awesome GIF I recently saw, especially after Sunday's game (which, because we were with family, specifically sports-HATING-SIL, I didn't dare ask her to put the game on while she was watching Sex In The City reruns and so I worriedly checked the score every 15 min or so on my phone, and the second SIL stepped away from the living room, I confirmed she was done watching and dashed in to watch the last 4 minutes of play... The Pats kicked it up against GangGreen (gangrene - the worst name ever!) of course when I started watching... thank bajeesus)

*Right back atcha babe!*


Anyways - photo dump time! (Because, catch up posts? with like, a post for each week/weekend I'm behind? NEVER GONNA HAPPEN...)

So here goes:

end of September - we got the finishing touch for his Halloween costume (except now DH has setup a second costume for Button to wear to his work party tomorrow evening... as I made fun of moms that had two costumes for their kiddos. lol)
Also - a G-rated (no?) bathtub shot, and the kale is STILL coming! (which reminds me, there's THREE bagfuls in my fridge waiting to be used!)

The craziness that happens on weekend mornings... 

Second weekend in October, we hit up the "local" (and WAY OVERCROWDED) pumpkin "patch" (where - ha - we didn't even actually buy any carving pumpkins... too anxious to escape the crowds that kept showing up!)

but Button sure had a lot of fun going down the slide (over and over and over and over) and checking out the fun tractor!

a little random October fun - sleepover at "Auntie's house" (she captioned her pic "guess whose waffle is whose!") 

and a great yard-sale find for $5!

What can I say? the kid loves to clean!! (his little vacuum was another yard sale find - I think $1 or $2?)

"Shades"

(yes the first pair says Heineken... don't judge... he loves those shades!)

The next weekend, we went for a walk (technically to get "family" photos in the beautiful fall foliage - pictures are still on my large Canon!) and DH got some cute phone photos...
the next day was a christening for a cousin's second-born son, where the parents and kids were slave to the DJ played some stupid hoola-hoop game...

This past weekend, while DH was off playing hockey/hanging with the guys (ALL WEEKEND! ugh no resentment here...) we had a craft evening!

We made yummy homemade popcorn (vs the microwave-bag-kind) with Bacon Cheddar seasoning (as requested by Button)
And Mommy took over on the fish craft
(aw who am I kidding? it was my craft from the start lol)

And this past Sunday was carving day at the IL's where Button got icked out by the pumpkin guts, and then helped Daddy carve (or at least pull out the eyes after they were carved...)