4 Weeks Left!!!!

With my horrible hip pain due to a pinched nerve in my right hip... I am hoping she comes early so I am hoping that 3 weeks is all I have left! About 2 weeks ago while at work, my right hip got progressively more painful. By the time I got home, I could barely walk it hurt so bad with each step. We have a 2 story house so going upstairs was torture! The doctor's office was closed so I had to wait until Monday to call and see what my options were. that weekend sucked! I called in sick to work from then on and have had to stop working 3 weeks earlier than planned.

Calling the doc was disappointing because they first said to take some Tylenol (WTF, that doesn't even help with headaches!) then offered some narcotics for stronger pain meds... ummm NO thanks! They said the only cure was to birth the baby... no shit, really?!? So after some probing, I got referred to a physical therapists for pain management until the baby is born. They said PT won't help much... but I would rather give it a try than do nothing and suffer or take narcotics!

Its been a week of PT and yes, I still walk VERY slow and don't get around much but it has helped ease the muscle tightness and take the edge of the pain. I can manage with the pain around the house but the worse part is being limited from shopping and the house work I wanted to get done before the baby is born. Its so frustrating! Now I am not working and have the time but am physically not able to scrub down the house and stock up on last minute items. Damen is helping a bunch thought even with his long hours at work. He is such an amazing support and I am so thankful for that! Still it's frustrating cause sending him to the store for nursing bras and tanks etc. is difficult cause he is a guy LOL! Online shopping is my other option... paying for shipping sucks some but what else can I do?

Anyways, we are excited that the end is near and we will soon see and hug and kiss on our little girl! Her 3D picture is right on Damen's night stand and he looks at her every morning and rubs on my tummy and says good morning to her before getting ready for work. He says it still hasn't sunk in and won't until he sees and holds her. It's all to real for me specially feeling her butt push out on one side or knowing that poke was an elbow or foot etc. Its so amazing! She is getting so big now that her movement is more of rolls and nudges rather than flips and is not as frequent as 3 weeks ago.

At 36 weeks, she is roughly 5.5 lbs and boy does my back feel it! I can only stand over the sink or counter for 10 minutes at a time before crying uncle. I catch myself in the mirror and holy crap is my belly huge! I am not the least bit nervous or scared of taking care of her after she is born but the actually birthing process scares the hell out of me! The idea of the pain is bad but I think the thing that scares me most is unknowing... unknowing when it will happen and what it will feel like since this is my first. Sure you see it on TV, read all the books and hear from friends... but actually experiencing it yourself and going through the long labor is a whole other thing! The only things in life that stress me and wigs me out is the unknown... not knowing is the center of all my fears.

Damen is reassuring and supportive and I know with him by my side, we'll get through this fine. I am always amazed by his calmness. He will be an amazing coach, labor partner and father... I am so blessed and love him deeper than I ever thought love could grow. Holding our daughter and seeing what our love has created will be the greatest gift of all.

3D Sonogram Pics @ 31 Weeks Pregnant

The last pic that shows her little indent between the lower lip and chin is definitely from me LOL!

8 months pregnant and counting!

Its hot here and I have reached the uncomfortable phase! Sorry no updates recently. Been preoccupied and tired when I get home. I have enough energy to make dinner then head straight to bed.

We had our 3D ultrasound on Monday which was great and so much fun seeing her face for the first time. I will post pics here tomorrow. She has my lower lip pout LOL! I can't wait to see her now... the wait is killing me!

The crib and changer/dresser will arrive next week. So excited to see the nursery finally come together. We got the car seat and will be setting that up shortly. The bedside co-sleeper is already put together. I can already picture her sleeping in there ;o)

Had a rough day yesterday with a splitting headache all day... so I am taking it easy today and am going to nap right now. I will post the recent pics later and a few belly shots since I have been bad about posting pics too.

Hello 3rd Trimester! (Holy Crap... we're almost done?!?)

*How far along?: 28 weeks
*Total weight gain: 31 lbs... I have been bad last month due to birthday cheesecake and other goodies... pretty much celebrated the entire month eating!
*How big is baby?: about 2.25 lbs
*Maternity clothes?: pretty much all of them minus some of hubby's t-shirts ;o)
*Sleep?: OK most nights but getting up to pee in the night and then having a hard time falling asleep afterwards is my enemy. My work schedule had a few changes which disrupted my sleep for a few weeks but finally got them to change it back to an earlier morning schedule.
*Best moment this week?: Went to Damen's friends wedding in Denver and had a great 4th! It was a sweet wedding and its fun remembering our day and all our feelings of excitement, love and joy then and feeling blessed that we still feel that warmth and laughter 4+ years later despite some challenges and sideline drama.
*Movement?: TONS! She is a kicker! Maybe she will be a soccer player or kick boxing instructor?
*Food cravings?: anything that's baked & chocolate!
*Labor signs?: none so far
*Belly button in or out?: flat
*What I miss: The ability to bend over comfortable to put on my shoes!
*What I'm looking forward to: start our birthing class next Sat. and the 3D/4D ultrasound at the end of the month
*Milestone: Entering the 3rd Trimester this week

27 Weeks... almost done with 2nd Trimester!

The first Tri dragged on so slow but all of a sudden we find ourselves in the home stretch and entering the 3 trimester after this week! Cornbread has a REAL name now but we are not announcing it until her birth. The poor girl will be called Cornbread by Damen and I as a nickname for the rest of her life though, hehehe! She is still kicking strong and her most active is late afternoon and 2-3:00am where it feels like she is following a Tae-Bo workout in there! Damen is away TDY for a week and will be back the day before we have to leave for a wedding in Denver for the 4th of July weekend. This will be interesting flying and being pregnant! I normally dehydrate myself cause I hate the cramped nasty bathrooms on the plane but I have to drink plenty of water in my condition so I am soooo not gonna like this! That small bathroom is gonna suck even more with a belly in my way!

AT 27 WEEKS PREGNANT:
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

On a not so happy note, we are dealing with some family drama a-g-a-i-n and true to form, my MIL feels like making demands and being selfish and belligerent to get her way on something so ridiculous rather than being understanding towards our needs at the time of the birth. Her inability to see past her own selfish emotions and her verbal attacks on Damen and me when she is angry for not getting her way is beyond immature, inappropriate and abhorrent... borderline emotionally abusive! She even sank to a new low by calling my mom with ulterior motives of getting info from her to use against us and see if she can get her angry at us too! She is out of line and there is no justification for her behavior.

Being a active presence in the family we are building is a privilege NOT a right and with that privilege comes responsibilities. It requires being respectfully of our decisions and respecting our boundaries as parents and as husband and wife. You violate that basic requirement and your are not welcome in our home. If you see this as unfair or uncaring, seek some counseling because you have a warped sense of what a loving relationship should look like.

I am sad for Damen. He has to deal with the brunt of her verbal venom because he is protecting me from the added stress and emotional strain. This was not how he pictured things to play out when he envisioned have kids. It's heartbreaking.

Bought the bedding...

So we are waiting until July 4th sales to buy the furniture from Babies 'R Us (BRU). I really really wanted a different more modern looking set from a local baby store but opted for the discounts and sales + coupons I could use at BRU for a version made by the same company but less style options at chain stores. It still looks nice and got great reviews for sturdiness and safety. It's a convertible crib and converts to a full size bed so she can use it for the next 18+ years.
The bedding was hard to find because all girl crib bedding seems to be pink only! Yes I could have gone neutral but whats the fun in that since we knew it was a girl... I wanted girly but not overly common pink... so we went lavender:

We only got the crib bedding set and window valance, not all the matchy matchy extraneous stuff. We won't be painting the nursery walls because we don't feel like having to paint it back when we leave in 3 years. They will stay a neutral latte color like the rest of the house. With color form the bedding and drapes and some stuff to put up on the walls like letter decals and maybe some wall art from Target or Marshall's, the room will be super cute!

At 25 weeks, the baby is kicking stronger and more frequently. She definitely is almost on a regular schedule... kicking for an hour then resting for 2-3 hours and then back at it again. Her kicks are higher up now and can be felt at the top of my belly above the belly button and she has moved to kick more on the left side (depending on which way I am laying down) which she used to just kick to my right. My belly is bigger since last week and its gotten hard to bend over and pickup things on the floor. I have also lost the ability to see and sometimes reach my nether region in the shower LOL! Painting my toe nails is also an impossible task without making a mess of it. The WORST part so far is the going poop! Constipation is a biotch! I was in practice labor for an hour yesterday trying to birth one out! Hurt like hell and was almost impossible to flush just to give you a sense of the size of it! Yeah, yeah... TMI but deal with it, it's a fact of life... we all poop! I am sure Damen is sick of hearing my poop stories though LOL! It's my way of getting him mentally ready for the messy finale in September!

24 Weeks Mark!!! ...and a recent scare!

We are now 6 month along and have reached the viability date!  If Cornbread were to be born now, she would have a chance of survival outside the womb but she better stay in there until September or else!  You hear me young lady!?!  (LOL)

We had a bit of a scare last Sat while playing mini golf.  I felt some liquid run down my leg and wen to the bathroom to find some leakage which didn't look to be urine so we ended out put-put game to go to the emergency birthing center and get checked out incase it was amniotic fluid leaking.  I was so scared and was crying because I was in such a panic since it was way too early for birth.  Viability or not, she would have such a struggle being born this early!  Damen stayed calm and kept reassuring me everything was probably fine and tried to calm my nerves and prevent the tears from flowing.  He later admitted he was so scared but didn't let me know it until we got the ok that everything was fine and sent home.  Luckily, it was not amniotic fluid and was most likely she was pressing on my bladder causing the leak.  It didn't look or smell like urine which was why we went to the hospital just to make sure.  They ran some tests and looked internally to see if they saw any amniotic fluid leaking and if my cervix was closed... all looked ok.  We were told that next time to put a pad on and is the pad gets soaked and I am leaking more and it didn't appear to be urine, to come in with the pad and get checked again. They agreed its always better to be safe than sorry.... though they kept asking if we were first time parents... cause confusion and panic is expected then I am sure!

Anyways, while we were waiting for the doc to see us, Damen had his hand on my belly trying to calm me down and jokingly was telling our little girl to stay in there and hang tight.  He felt her kick for the first time while he was doing it!  Finally he had the right timing to feel her!  I have been feeling and seeing her kicks for 4 weeks now but it wasn't until the past week that they have become so regular and stronger.  When I get Damen to put his hand on my belly, she stops and then he gets impatient and moves away before she starts again.  When he felt her, he said he thought he felt something similar before but wasn't sure.  now the kicks are more pronounced and he was sure he felt it.  YEA!

So that was our crazy weekend.  My next checkup will be on my birthday the end of this week.  It is just gonna be a weigh in and measurement of my belly and glucose test for gestational diabetes.

We have picked out our crib and dresser and will be ordering that on the 4th of July (waiting for the sales!).  I'll post pics and stuff soon.