39 Weeks

Would you believe there's only 7 days left?! I know I can't!

To be honest, despite the fact that I've truly enjoyed being pregnant I am ready to NOT be pregnant. It's not just a matter of the superficial things I'm looking forward to (sleeping on my back, sushi, etc) but has become a matter of me being miserable. And yes, I'm about to get whiny. My hips hurt and even when I don't do anything I can't walk at the end of the day. I can't sleep through the night and turning over is exhausting, painful and involves loud cracks and pops from my hips and back. I can't stand up or sit down or move without my hips cracking or sending shooting pain down my legs. My belly is so huge I can't do anything anymore, and the skin is so stretched out that it's numb...but it still itches, which is maddening. Everything is swollen, and it's not getting any better. I haven't been able to wear my seahorse ring in weeks and I feel like I look like a balloon that's filled to bursting. Seriously, soon my flip flops won't fit. Clothes don't fit properly anymore either. All those shirts that were cute and adorable with a little bump are awkward and unflattering now; they need to make separate maternity clothes specifically for the third trimester, or at least for the last month or so. Ok, I'm done whining. And I'd like to add this caveat to my whine: I have loved being pregnant and the fact that my body can make a little human is amazing! I'm astounded at my body's ability to make life and I love feeling him squirm and kick and am so excited to meet him. But, there are cons to it, and I needed to vent them out, so, again, sorry for the whine.

Tuesday was pretty relaxed. I spent the day working on one of the wedding presents for the big day on Friday! Both James and I are super excited about it. Wallaby has strict orders to stay in there until Friday evening; after 6:30 pm, he is free to show up whenever he'd like. Unfortunately, my lunch date fell through due to a miscommunication, but it's ok. I was a bit exhausted and not really up to going out to eat. I'm not really up to going out at all lately. I just get so tired so easily, and the above whine applies all day too.

Wednesday was the beginning of the festivities, and the beginning of the end of work for me. Only 16 hours of work left. When work was over, I ran home to rest for a bit before the rehearsal. Since we're not actually standing up there with them, our part in the rehearsal was minor; we will light the candles next to and on the altar, marking the beginning of the ceremony. Then we headed to the rehearsal dinner, which was lovely and delicious. Salad and lasagna and good company, what more could you ask? We got to sit with some lovely people and chat; even though I was tired when we got home, I had a great time.

I woke up Thursday with a cold. It was supposed to be my last day at work, but with labour coming up soon and the wedding the next day, I thought it might be better to just rest instead of pushing myself. So unfortunately, I didn't make my last day at work. Instead, I stayed on the couch, sipping broth and hot tea and dozing on and off. I was ravenous, so every time I woke up, I ended up eating. James brought home some lemons so I could make hot lemon and honey for my throat, and I went through at least a box of kleenex throughout the day. I had been looking forward to getting my nails and toes done with the bridesmaids, but I ended up having to opt out. I just didn't want to get anyone else sick, and I really wanted to conserve my energy for Friday--I'm so excited about the wedding! Thursday was just a miserable day and I can't imagine going through labour while being this sick.

Friday was a very busy day. Luckily, I did my makeup before my doctor's appointment, since the appointment was at 2 and the wedding at 5:30. I was worried about getting there on time if the doctor was late for some reason (like surgery, which he does Friday mornings). Sure enough, he was a bit late. My blood pressure was a bit high again and they had me lie down on my side. It went down again, but not as much as before, so the doctor sent me for tests. He had said if it hadn't gone down, I'd have to go to the hospital for monitoring, and when I asked "Today?," he said "Well, yes. What else are you going to do?" To which I replied "We have a wedding! Can you wait until 6:30?" That's when he ordered the blood tests, to be completed STAT with the results called in to his cell phone. They would call me if there were any problems. Naturally, this freaked me out, especially added to the fact that he wanted to see me on Monday again. So, I tried to stay calm as they drew blood and we headed home. I refreshed my makeup and hair as James got his suit on. Since there's black in my dress, I brought it to the church with me and changed. I managed to wedge my feet into my most comfortable heels for the duration of the ceremony, but changed into flip flops in the car on the way to the ceremony. The ceremony was lovely: Laura looked absolutely gorgeous and radiant and Chris looked like a little kid on Christmas morning. It was so sweet, especially as Laura kissed Chris' hand after putting his ring on. We stayed after for the photos and then headed to the reception with the rest of the bridal party. There wasn't anywhere to sit out front, so we sat in back as we waited for the guests of honour to arrive; this worked out well since the caterers came out with the hot hor d'oeuvres to the back first: yum! We walked out with the bridal party and discovered that someone from the church had saved us two seats, which was great. We had a lovely time, eating appetizers and chatting. We got to see people from the church and people from my sorority that I haven't seen in ages. It was so much fun to catch up with everyone. And eventually, I even felt good enough to dance a bit. And everyone else was shocked that I was dancing, but I had a fun time--gonna dance that baby out of me! We ended up staying the entire night until the bride and groom headed out. My favourite part was probably the garter toss--it turns out they used the garter Chris caught at our wedding! Instead of going straight to bed, we walked the dogs and went back out to Lazy Dog to grab a late dinner (my stomach demands more than appetizers these days) before heading home and absolutely crashing out. Or at least, I crashed out completely. I had so much fun, but was so exhausted. Luckily, there was no call from the doctor, so nothing was too wrong with my bloodwork.

Saturday was pretty relaxed--the only thing we had to do was meet McKenzi, our wedding photographer, to get James' graduation photos taken. My mom had a robe and mortarboard from her graduation, and got James a tassel and honour stole from Prescott and photos for his birthday. Since McKenzi was in town, we were able to book a mini session with her to get some photos done. She also had me step into some, which I wasn't expecting: James was all fancied up and I was in my sweats, so we were a bit incongruous, but she did take an absolutely adorable photo, which you can see below! It was great to see her again; she's helped us capture some of the most memorable milestones of our lives together, and it was nice to add this one too. We ran some errands, just trying to get everything done before Wallaby arrives. We were both pretty tired from staying out so late the night before, but we still didn't manage to get to bed until about 11 pm. I wasn't feeling too great, and knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep for a while--I was having contractions, I figured they were Braxton Hicks, and figured I'd walk a bit, have some water and wait for them to go away. Well, they didn't go away and before long we were heading to the hospital! (For the full birth story, please read the next post)

How far along: 39 Weeks

Total weight gain: +37 lbs

Favourite clothes: I wish I could just stay in my pyjamas all day long

Sleeping: Pretty decently, when I manage to fall asleep

Best moment: The wedding was so much fun! I loved seeing everyone and dancing and had such a great time!

Worst moment: The ASAP bloodwork made me worry quite a bit, especially the few hours after, waiting to see if we got a call or not

Miss anything: Everything I can't have

Cravings: Nothing right now, just eating a LOT (I'm so hungry all the time!)

New symptoms: I'm so hungry all the time! And those contractions were definitely new!

Looking forward to: Holding my baby! I couldn't wait all week, but just kept hoping he'd wait until the wedding was over!

Pregnancy brain moments: None right now

Listening to: Let's see, they played Lady Gaga at the wedding--I had to give Chris some shite about that since he gave it to me for playing some at our wedding.

Crafting: I've given up on finishing things before Wallaby arrives, so we'll stick with what we have

Baby projects: See above!

So there's a lot of photos this week...deal with it :)

Coutesy of Taylored Photo Memories. Labour started that night

39 Weeks: Wallaby is the size of a pumpkin

Pumpkin sized belly

Oy. Carrying that baby around!

39 Week profile shot!

38 Weeks

Only 14 days left! I know the due date is just a guess, and I have this feeling he's going to be a bit late, but it's still exciting to have a countdown! I have a feeling he's going to show up sometime on the 19th. Anyone else want to offer a guess?

It was a pretty relaxed week, which is good because I'm so easily exhausted now. I had lunch with a friend of mine on Tuesday afternoon and ran a few errands afterwards. It's mostly just little things now instead of big ones. Wednesday and Thursday were spent at work, but James and I went to the young adult group Wednesday night, where we watched the presidential debates. The relaxing effects of crochet are completely negated by the debates. And I wish I didn't have to go into work the next day; usually I can just let my boss' political comments roll off my back, but it's been getting harder and harder. Oh well, only 2 weeks left and I'll be off work for about a month after the election's over!

We got the carpets cleaned Friday morning, and they showed up 20 minutes early, just like the exterminators. Luckily, James hadn't gotten into the shower yet, though he had the water on and was about to step in when they knocked. We rushed around, getting as much as possible off the carpets--on the bed, in the crib, in the kitchen or on the patio. They were great--even moving furniture and cleaning underneath. After a few days with fans going, the carpets are pretty dry. The doctor's appointment showed some small progress--my blood pressure wasn't elevated at all and I'm a tiny bit dilated (0.5 cm) which is some progress. It seems he'll probably follow his marching orders and not show til after the wedding. When we got home, I managed to reorganize my entire bathroom and all those drawers of stuff, including going through my incredibly large stash of makeup (the stuff I am no longer keeping fills a gallon size ziploc bag). I was exhausted, but it felt good to get something done. James picked up some enchiladas from our favourite Mexican place (along with chips and salsa YUM) so we didn't have to cook or clean up.

The rest of the weekend was spent running errands. Usually I'm ok, but between hip pain, stomach pain and a tension headache that randomly appears at the back of my skull, I end up quite grouchy sometimes--James is truly the most patient man I know. We dropped James' car to get his back windows tinted, something he's wanted to do for a while and helpful for shade in the back. We got gas, braved the Costco crowds, did a Target run, stopped at two different Babies R Us-es and three Macy's to find nursing bras, got the wedding presents for Friday (though now we need wrapping paper!), stopped by Home Depot and ended up exhausted both nights. Luckily, we had some easy meals, but sadly, I missed my little's bachelorette party as I was sacked out on the couch by 8:30 (apparently they had barely gotten started by then).

Monday I ran some more errands--a Skype date in the morning, followed by my sugaring appointment, then a quick stop at the library for some more books before meeting James for lunch. After lunch, I got the groceries we'd need before heading home to work on the baby book with the photos from Costco. I got some of it done, but sadly I got glue all over one photo when I had to pull it up and re-place it, so I have to go pick up another set of photos before I can finish that. In sorting laundry I also learned that the clerks at the Macy's in Westminster forgot to remove their ink tag security device from one of the bras, which means I have to find time at some point next week to go down there and get it removed. It's not like the next few days are going to be busy enough--between the wedding happenings and my last two days of work, I'm not sure when I'll have time to wrap the wedding presents, let alone get to Macy's or run any of the other going out errands I have to do before baby arrives. I know there will be stuff I don't get done, but I'd like to do as much as possible.

How far along: 38 Weeks

Total weight gain: +37 lbs

Favourite clothes: My nightgown. And a blanket.

Sleeping: Pretty well, despite early starts in the morning

Best moment: 0.5 cm dilated! That's a little bit of progress at least! 

Worst moment: Heartburn. I really, really hate heartburn.

Miss anything: Not being pregnant

Cravings: Nothing in particular, though salads are delicious

New symptoms: Heartburn. Also, the skin on my stomach is numb. And itchy. It's bizarre...

Looking forward to: Laura and Chris' wedding on Friday! Whoo!

Pregnancy brain moments: I keep switching words. Like Spoonerisms, but with complete words instead of letters. It's quite annoying.

Listening to: Mumford & Sons

Crafting: I finished the cocoon on Sunday!It looks cute, even though it's SUPER long...

Baby projects: I definitely didn't get everything done I wanted to, but that's ok.

38 Weeks: Wallaby is the size of a watermelon!

I like these belly and board photos because I'm ridiculously swollen, but you can't tell as much in these photos

38 week profile shot

How is this size even possible?

37 Weeks

Here we are! Full term baby on board and an unimaginably large belly. Despite the little aches, pains and inconveniences that I've vented about here, I've really enjoyed being pregnant. It really is absolutely amazing that women's bodies can create a brand new life, and I feel bad that men don't get to experience that. But, then my hips start aching from sitting, or I run into something with the belly and I don't feel too bad. :)

The breast pump saga has continued. I spent about 3-4 hours total on the phone with Blue Shield this week. Finally getting transferred to a manager after a supervisor put me on hold for an hour only to tell me what I began our conversation with. Apparently, with the implementation of the ACA, I get to be a guinea pig since Blue Shield's provider contracts haven't caught up with the new laws. My case got sent to the "Plan Architects" for them to figure out how they'll accomodate the fat that they now have to cover 100% of a purchased (not rented) breast pump of any style. With the pressure of my due date and the help of the manager fighting in my corner, it was dealt with quickly--she called with daily updates and on Monday I got a call with a new provider name. I'll be calling them as soon as I get the new authentication. It's been a SAGA, but I am hopeful that it's finally over.

My emotions are a bit crazy, and I totally blame hormones. I readily admit that I am an easily irritated person; it's not something I'm proud of, and it's something that I'm constantly trying to work on. However, with the pregnancy, my tenuous hold on my temper has become more dubious. Wednesday let me in a grumpy mood after an overpriced, icky lunch left me with no water, afternoon snack or book  (the first of which I finished in the morning). I also missed the young adult group since my stomach was upset. Thursday was even more interesting. My boss loves his conservative talk radio, and I can usually tune it out, but he went off about something called the Obamaphone on Thursday. I really don't have the energy to get into it right now, but Snopes points out that it was not implemented by Obama and my boss has a high chance of getting a computer virus based on the fact that he would visit a website called obamaphone.net...*smh*. In the afternoon, a "solicitor" came by. I use the term loosely since she was so lazy that she didn't stick the flyer in the door, through the mail slot or even come in; she just dropped the flyer on the sidewalk outside of our door! I was so upset that I went out to pick up the flyer, and started admonishing her for littering and being lazy. She just stared at me like I was crazy. My boss said he was scared of me, and he was inside! Maybe I am crazy, but I can't believe someone littering so nonchalantly. Gr. Between the headache this incurred and the hip pain that struck later, it was a long afternoon. James made a surprise dinner for me so I didn't have to cook--a fantastic chicken piccata. I am truly blessed with the best, most thoughtful husband.

On Friday James got his shots--apparently there's a whooping couch endemic in California, so he got his booster (I'll get mine after the birth) and then a flu shot, then the second of a two part vaccine he never completed. His arms were pretty sore for the next few days. My blood pressure was a bit high again at the doctor's, but after lying on my left side, it dropped again. My doctor is watching like a hawk for pre-eclampsia, but since it drops, he doesn't seem too concerned. We have another appointment in a week since there's no sign of labour happening soon. We had some guests for dinner, making pollo asado tacos with grilled pineapple and mango salsa. It was delicious and great to see friends, but I had to cut the evening short--I just get so tired and I'd overextended myself, which made itself plain in my hip pain. I broke down and took some pain medicine, but could still barely walk.

The weekend was very long but fun. We woke up Saturday to no hot water, which continued on and off for the entire day. The property manager wouldn't approve paying a plumber overtime, and I was lucky to get a hot shower at 9 pm (by 9:20, James' shower was cold). My stomach was also so upset the entire day I couldn't do anything or eat much of anything either. Then I got to spend an hour on the phone fighting with Verizon--smartphones hate me and I'm just about done with them. Luckily, being stuck on the couch all day was good for my hip. Sunday started with a car seat inspection at 8 am at the Irvine Police department. It's a good thing they had a cancellation since their next appointment wasn't until the end of October! We ran some more errands: returning a robe we bought for the hospital (I am done convincing myself I'm a robe person, I'm not), looking for a cheap, throw-away nightgown for the hospital, returning the window shades (get cling-on ones!) and waterproof playard sheet (didn't fit), getting special files for baby receipts and manuals and making a quick return to Macy's and getting some slippers for the hospital too! We ended at Macy's at the mall, and while I stopped at the restroom, James surprised me by getting tickets for the Avengers at the dollar theatre. We had an hour to kill, so James took me to Destination Maternity, where he found a very cute nursing cover--it looks like a cardigan instead of an apron and he's very proud of having found it. Then he took me to the cafe in Nordstrom for some food before we quickly headed to the movie. I felt so pampered and spoiled! However, I can only assume what happened next was contractions. Not only did my stomach muscles get all hard, but I had really, really bad period cramps. I was close to telling James we had to leave, but I'm stubborn, so I ended up taking a quick catnap (like 5 minutes) and changing positions until they went away. They didn't come back, but they did convince me that I'll probably end up getting an epidural. Now, before you rush to comment, this is between me, James and my doctor and I do not want your opinion on it (sorry to be blunt, but any comments on that decision will be ignored and deleted, it's my body and my choice and it's not one I make lightly). We headed home to make chicken enchiladas and spend some time the pups. It was a wonderful day!

Monday started with a call to the dentist. I'd been having some really bad tooth pain on and off all weekend and it turns out I needed a root canal. So I spent my Monday morning in the dentist's chair, getting my tooth drilled. It's really not that bad, and the pain wasn't horrible, though I did end up with a headache at the end of the day. Despite the fact that I feel like it wasn't a big deal, it was still exhausting, and I spent the entire afternoon sleeping on and off on the couch. I still have some soreness if I bite down with that front tooth, but I figure it takes a day or two for the tooth to recover so I'm not too concerned at this point. I ended the evening by eating way too much.

I guess BabyWatch 2012 has officially begun (much like our news' stations "Storm Watch 2012" sensationalism). It's the first question parishioners ask James at work, and I got three calls yesterday! (I love you guys, but I hate phones...sorry!) Do not fret, you will know what happens when it happens--especially via facebook. I really don't think he's going to show up any time soon, so I wouldn't expect to learn the name until at least the due date! ;)

How far along: 37 weeks

Total weight gain: +34 lbs

Favourite clothes: A nightgown my parents got me. Super soft and comfy

Sleeping: Pretty well, minus the snap, crackle and pop I hear with each position shift

Best moment: My Sunday evening pampering!

Worst moment: Root canal

Miss anything: Normal activity, getting up without grunting

Cravings: Nothing in particular, though I really wanted some of Gabbi's shrimp enchiladas

New symptoms: Nothing new. The hip pain just gets worse and worse and I am so exhausted

Looking forward to: Meeting my baby boy, my friends' wedding, seeing my parents

Pregnancy brain moments: Nothing so far, though James left an empty water glass in the fridge the other day...maybe I passed it on to him!

Listening to: The Piano Guys! They're pretty cool and do great instrumental stuff

Crafting: Still working on the cocoon, but exhaustion and headaches make this difficult

Baby projects: *Sigh* so many, and so little time left. I think I'll have to give up on some/most of these ambitious plans. But it's ok, we've done a lot and I'm happy with what we've managed to do!

37 Weeks: Wallaby is now FULL TERM!

Oy, the belly is getting big

Very, very pregnant

Maternity Calendar Shirt

I have had so many people ask me where I got the shirt I use in my weekly photos, and I've decided to write up a post about the DIY I followed and the tips and tricks I learned (by making mistakes). If you love the shirt, but aren't a DIY person, do not fear! The original creator has the shirt available for purchase here.

First of all, credit for the idea goes to Miranda of One Little Minute, and was posted at DIY Maternity. I basically used her tutorial, but I changed a few things and there are some other things I would change if/when I make another one.

I'm not going to go through her tutorial; it's fantastic and thorough and that's why I linked to it. But I will share the things I learned:

1) Buy a NICE shirt that will last you the pregnancy. The ruched side Target shirt I got looked great until I hit the third trimester. Now it is unflattering, and requires a cami underneath it (because it shows my belly and because it's so thin). I wish I had invested in a Pea in the Pod ruched side shirt--the two I have I'm absolutely in love with.

2) I am not a fan of puffy (dimensional) paint, so I chose to use Tulip's matte fabric paint. Black for the numbers and crimson to cross off the weeks.

3) Since you'll be tracing onto the freezer paper, conserve trees and print the numbers double-sided with one space between them.

4) Turn on a movie or a few tv shows and curl up with your freezer paper, a fine tip sharpie and your exacto knife (I bought a hobby knife specifically for this). It'll take a few hours to trace and cut out everything. Remember to keep the little pieces from the 4, 6, 8, 9 and 0's--you'll have to iron these into place too!

5) Carefully place your stencil before ironing. I wish I had measured and centered it perfectly. A little OCD? Yes, but the fact that it's off centre drives me NUTS.

6) Place something between the two layers of your shirt, unless you want to paint the layers together, like I did the first time. (This also applies for each week you cross off! Even a plastic bag works!)

7) I used a sponge brush and sponged on a coat of the black over the stencil. I had an issue with brush strokes pulling up the stencil on my first shirt and learned that daubing the paint onto the fabric worked best for me. DO TWO COATS!! I ran out and am impatient, so mine's a bit light and faded now.

8) DO NOT IRON THE PAINT. I know the original tutorial says to, but this is how I ruined the first shirt (and almost ruined the iron). Read the instructions on your paint to see if it needs any special setting technique and follow those instructions. I ended up with melted paint smeared all over the shirt.

9) I am a bit of a perfectionist, and not skilled enough with a sponge brush to pull off decent-looking cross-marks. I have a brush whose bristles are glued together (it's my glue brush!) that makes a nice, fine line that I use to cross out the numbers.

10) Wash the shirt inside out to prevent as much fading as possible. Mine's faded pretty noticeably by now, at least up close and in person, but since the cut is no longer flattering on me, I don't wear the shirt except for the photos.

11) Cover your work area! Somehow, fabric paint (both red and black) ended up on one of our brand new dining chairs and on the rear of a pair of James' shorts, both of which are khaki. I don't know how since I don't think he was even home when I was working on it, and it's not a huge deal since I figure the impending child will cause many more messes, but still--take precautions, no matter how careful you think you are.

One last note: Please remember that this is for personal use only--you cannot make and sell this shirt. That would be WRONG and STEALING from her. So don't do it. Check out the disclaimer at the bottom of the tutorial for the legal wording. (In fact, I asked permission to even link before I posted this). Now, happy crafting!

Nursery

Last weekend James and I worked on the nursery and finished it all up! We went with an ocean theme, since we both love the ocean and it was gender neutral before we found out Wallaby was a boy. Most of the decorations are from the Bubbles & Squirt collection by Lambs & Ivy. I'm really happy with how it turned out--I think it looks nice and I enjoy hanging out in there (when it's cool at least). So here's some pictures of the finished nursery!

This is looking into the nursery from the doorway. You can see how most of the room is set up. Our room is to the right.

We got a toy chest that has pistons to avoid slammed fingers, a hamper that looks like a whale and the crib.
                            


Here's the glider we recovered. There's a two drawer file cabinet we're using as a side table that the lamp and night light are sitting on. There's the dresser/changing table that also has a bookshelf. There's a diaper pail, a diaper bag (hanging on the edge), and the painting I did.

A little school of fish below the window! These decals were so cute!

Our vinyl decals over the crib to make a little underwater scene for Wallaby. James was awesome putting them all up and helping me design it. The best part about the decals is that they're reusable!

Here's the quilt that came with the crib set. It's so cute. And the blowfish (which you can just see the bottom of) has a squeaker inside of it! He'll be sleeping in our room at first, so it might be a while before he gets put in the crib (especially since there's no air conditioning in the nursery and it is still HOT here)

The closet is hiding my sewing machine and craft organization on the right, and some baby stuff on the left. You can see the whale triptych, and the valance over the closet doors.

This is the rug we found at Costco! It was just one of those awesome accidental finds. Ocean-y and educational. Although I don't understand why the last row of numbers is backwards, it's still cute!

36 Weeks

36 weeks; that's 28 days, 4 weeks, 1 month left!!! In some ways the weeks are flying and in some they're crawling. Overall, the pregnancy has gone by extremely quickly, but these last few weeks seem to crawl by, though the days never seem to be long enough for me to get everything done. So I guess I'm just proof of Einstein's theory of relativity (if I understand the theory correctly that is).

Tuesday was spent crocheting and resting without much interesting going on. James keeps reminding me that not only am I carrying around a baby, but that he's "stealing my food" too, but I still feel lazy when I get tired so quickly. I do as much as I can, but a few hours out of the house wears me out, and if I push it, I end up with a lot of pain at the end of the day. Wednesday was a great day! Not only did I hit all the green lights and manage to turn left out of the complex in the morning (this never happens), but when I got to work and went to pull something out of my purse, I found a chocolate chip muffin in a ziploc bag with the cutest note written on it! James is so thoughtful and sweet and knows me extremely well :) Work was interesting; when I declined a call from James in front of my boss because he was talking to me, I got a mini-lecture on how God and family come before work stuff. Seriously, I work for a great boss, but after thinking about it, it was that I wouldn't interrupt an in-person conversation for a phone call, unless I were expecting a serious one. Either way, as I left, I was reminded "God, family, then work!" What can you do but laugh? We ended the night at First Pres' new young adult group, which involved pizza and a nooma video and discussion. I'm not a huge fan of the nooma videos, but now they're even weirder because the host reminds me of my OB.

Thursday was a LONG day. It started off with one of the contractors telling me that I looked huge. I really don't understand where people get off with ignoring basic common courtesy when confronted with a pregnant woman, and I'm even less understanding when they've been pregnant or have experience with pregnant women (ie their wives). I was upset about it, but honestly, I don't have that kind of energy anymore and being that upset is exhausting. Especially with the day we had; I spent at least 45 minutes on the phone with one of the company's warehouses dealing with about 7 different orders we had for one type of carpet and trying to figure out the nightmare that was POs, reference numbers and yardages. While on the phone, the other line hardly stopped ringing and it was just ridiculously busy. I was going to write a separate rant about people's filters and nursing bras, but ended up with no energy left. We also had a busy night since we spent a few hours at the hospital in Labour and Delivery.

It's certainly one way to get a tour of the maternity ward. Since I was still not full term--only a few days away, but not quite there--I had been told to call my doctor if I had more than 4 contractions in an hour. I had about 6 that I identified as contractions and when I called my doctor, I was told to go to the hospital. So about 10 minutes before work ended, I ran by the church and James took me to the hospital. We got all checked in, and I was nervous, but not really concerned because I was sure it wasn't anything huge. I'd tried changing position and drinking water, etc, but the contractions didn't reduce. However, they weren't hurting or getting more intense. They got me into a room (spacious and very nice) and hooked me up to monitors. Turns out that what I thought was Wallaby pushing against my stomach were actually contractions, and I was having them every 7-9 minutes (didn't even feel most of them, not even as a tightening!). However, no dilation and no effacement, so I was sent home being told that I was in false labour. I'm still having plenty of contractions; apparently mine just like to be on the right side (doctor said my uterus might be tilted that direction?) which is why I was confusing them with movement. They also said I don't need to worry unless they're painful and getting more intense. So even though I feel silly, it ended up being really good: we got a dry run, know what to expect and I feel so much better about delivering there--it was completely different than our experiences at the ER. Overall, it was a good experience and I'm glad that we went; I'd rather go and feel silly than not go and regret it if something were wrong. And now that Wallaby is full term, I don't have to worry unless the contractions are frequent and intensifying, or my water breaks.

Friday was another extra work day that I picked up and another crazy day. Like Thursday, my boss was running around like crazy and the day was spent putting out fires and taking messages while he was out of the office. James picked me up for my doctor's appointment, and when we arrived my blood pressure was a bit high, so the doctor had me lie on my left side and then retook the pressure after about 5 minutes. What a difference that made! It dropped by about 20 points! It also explains the frequent headaches I've been having, which I had just attributed to stress. So now I'm more aware of it and try to spend more time lying on my left side when I get a headache instead of just assuming stress or hunger. My weight gain has also slowed, and he pronounced that I had gained healthily. The best news was that Wallaby is in the right position, which means he's already head down! That was one of my big concerns, so it was great to hear that he's all ready to go when the time's right. And that I'm not crazy and I actually do feel little feet sometimes :) I have now dubbed the process of getting a breast pump via the insurance a SAGA. This saga continued on Friday. After still receiving no calls from Apria, though being assured daily I'd receive a call back the next day, I called them only to discover that the particular style/brand I requested wasn't covered by their contract with Blue Shield. After calling Blue Shield and discovering that I have NO RESTRICTIONS on breast pumps (for the 7th time), I had them call Apria. Apria told Blue Shield it was because they had no authorization, which I had given them the first time I called. After an HOUR on hold with Blue Shield, I finally discovered that with my medical group, Apria and Blue Shield on a three way call, Blue Shield and Apria were negotiating a price on that particular pump and I would receive a call back on Monday. I'm not holding my breath. Having submitted the original authorization request in July, I'm starting to get a bit freaked out about getting this taken care of prior to Wallaby's arrival. So, the saga continues.

Saturday was spent working on the nursery since it was a bit cooler than previous days. We got almost everything done in the morning, just a few pieces of furniture left to get and getting picture hanging supplies to finish the wall art. The afternoon was spent running around doing errands and getting those last few things we needed. It made it a really long day, but also made me feel better since a lot of what needed to get done happened, at least for the most part. Unfortunately, running around to a bunch of stores and walking all day took its toll on me and by the time we got home that night I was exhausted. After lying down to get rid of the headache I had brewing, I got up and could barely move I was in so much pain. My hips were just screaming out, from the joint itself all the way into my lower back. I could barely walk. I'm really not sure how many more evenings like that I can take, and will be glad when I can go back to walking or sitting or lying down without pain or clicking. Sunday started early: heartburn woke me up at 3:45. I was awake for about 2.5 hours before I finally felt better enough to crawl back into bed and sleep for another hour or two. At that point, church was out of the question; we were just too late. We did get a lot done--we drove all over the county getting stuff from Craigslist. We picked up an awesome toy chest (with pistons to prevent slammed fingers, a chalkboard inside the lid and a little organization tray) in Long Beach, a play mat that retails for $80 (!!) for only $10 in Mission Viejo and after running home to drop those things off, we ended the day picking up a two drawer file cabinet that's doubling as a nightstand/side table in San Clemente and getting more water (and some Bio Oil) at Costco. There was also an incident in the mall; a little boy walking by with his mom tapped my belly as he walked by. His mom didn't notice, and I almost turned right around to follow and bitch out the kid, but I didn't. Nonetheless, it was another energy-draining incident which upset me, despite my efforts to ignore it. Really, personal space at the least should be respected, and you should NEVER tap someone on their stomach; is it really that hard to teach kids to respect others?! When we got home, we were able to Skype with both our parents and show them the nursery before we moved everything into the crib in the middle of the room and covered it all with sheets because our unit was being sprayed for bugs (we found a cockroach!) the next morning.

Monday started sooner than I expected. I had my lovely international Skype date with a friend, and thought I had about an hour to finish up the last few things I needed to move, change and eat something before pest control arrived. I had just finished changing and pulling my long dresses onto the bed when the doorbell rang, and pest control arrived half an hour early. After feverishly picking up the last of the rugs, throwing some food into a bag and harnessing the dogs, I got kicked out of my apartment for the next four hours. With nowhere else to go, I took the dogs to the church and we hung out in James' office. I slept on two chairs pushed together, we got lunch at Panera and after another nap, I walked over to the library to pick up some reading. I was finally ready to shell out the $3 for a replacement card, since waiting in the customer service line when the quick check out was always available was getting old (I've never had to pay for a replacement card, so it was principle! Plus, I'd never activated the old card because we got married then moved!!) As I checked out my books and asked for a replacement card, I got a pleasant surprise: not only do they now offer keychain cards, which means I don't have to carry the big one with me, but this month only they're offering free replacement cards! I knew there was a reason I was waiting, even if I didn't know what it was. I left with 6 new books and have already devoured half of one of them. I read a chapter or two aloud to Wallaby every now and then; if he comes out of the womb with a love of murder mysteries, I guess I'm to blame. I finally got to go home, though there was a lot to clean up/put back when we got home. James did a lot of it, and even cleaned my bathroom while nothing was on the counters. We waited a bit too long for grocery shopping so ended up going to In N Out for dinner. I wasn't too upset--their animal fries are delicious!

How far along: 36 weeks

Total weight gain: 33 lbs

Favourite clothes: My pyjamas. I just want to nap!

Sleeping: Not great, but not as horrible as it could be. Mid-day naps and lots of rest are still required though

Best moment: Getting the nursery all done and seeing everything put together!

Worst moment: I did freak out a bit in the hospital since we were so not ready for him to be here yet

Miss anything: Same old, same old. Sushi, we will be spending some quality time together soon

Cravings: Never, ever watch Diners, Drive Ins and Dives when pregnant at midnight...

New symptoms: Same old, same old again. More stretch marks, hence the Bio Oil

Looking forward to: Meeting our boy. I can't wait to hold him!

Pregnancy brain moments: I've been doing ok this week actually

Listening to: No particulars

Crafting: Still working on that cocoon. It shouldn't really take this long, but I just don't pick up the crochet anymore since I'm usually spending my "leisure time" lying down

Baby projects: I think they're all being placed on hold, or being abandoned. We just don't have enough time left.

36 Weeks: One (1) Month Left!!!

Profile shot. Despite the fact that my belly is large, I still don't feel
*that* huge

Belly zoom

35 Weeks

We hit the 30 day mark this week!! I can't believe there's only a month left! So, the official due date is October 16th, but I have a feeling he'll be in there a day or two longer. I'm guessing he'll arrive October 19th, probably in labour by the 18th...any other guesses? Just for fun!

Tuesday was pretty chilled out. Running some errands, but my back pain is really interfering with my life. I have trouble moving around and every time I turn from side to side at night, I can feel my back click and pop. I haven't started waddling yet, and can still move pretty quickly if I need to, but when I first start walking after sitting or lying down for a while, I definitely hobble. Tuesday night we went to the "Maternity Open House" at St. Joseph's, which was described as a tour. Online, it told us to meet in the hospital lobby, but as a very rude woman there informed us, we were to go to a different building with a classroom. Gee, I can't wait to give birth in a hospital with such nice people...that was sarcasm, in case you didn't catch it. It was interesting; the "tour" was basically the virtual tour available online and I didn't really see the point of having gone to this. Plus, the air conditioning was broken and the people next to me really needed to use deodorant, which made the night pretty unbearable. I guess it was ok, but it felt like a waste of time for the most part. It's also frustrating that you have to pay extra to have a private room, which is the only way James won't get kicked out after 9 or 10 pm. (This is after labour, obviously). They also apparently force you to watch a video about caring for newborns; the assumption of ignorance is incredibly frustrating. But, we'll see; I'm going to go in with good thoughts since I want this to be the best experience it can be under the circumstances.

Wednesday and Thursday were full of work and pretty much the norm. But Thursday night, we had one of my sorority sisters over for dinner. She brought a delicious salad (I really hope my tastes don't change back after Wallaby is born--I'm loving enjoying fresh veggies and fruits) and we had bbq chicken sliders. This is James' creation of bbq chicken with Stubb's spicy bbq sauce and mozzarella cheese, on top of King's hawaiian rolls (SO GOOD). Plus, she brought chocolate gelato for dessert, which was fantastic! And, she left the extra salad and the gelato, which was also great. We had a really lovely time; we hadn't had a chance to catch up since shortly after the wedding, and it was great to reconnect. She left us with a beautiful crocheted blanket and an offer to cook us dinner after baby arrives. It was a fun night, with good food, good conversation and good company. We quickly packed up some of our stuff after she left in an attempt to get an early start the next day to Coronado.

Well, it wasn't a super quick start, but at least it wasn't too late either. We packed up all of the clothes and bedding Wallaby had received to wash, as well as our laundry and food and thank you notes to address. We stopped by Freebirds for lunch and the girl who prepped our order differentiated our burritos with the monikers "Momma Bear" and "Poppa Bear" which was adorable. Then we realized we'd left the packed cooler sitting on the stove. Luckily we weren't too far from home, so we only hit the road after going back to pick that up. We got to Coronado and James had enough time to run to the library to print out something he needed to sign to allow our apartment to reglaze our tub (yay!). Then we had our massages. It was an interesting experience. It was very different from what we were used to--a lot of stretching, but not much deep knot work. Since I can't lie on my back, I had an astounding assortment of pillows propping me up. I haven't been that comfortable in months! I was lulled to sleep for a few minutes on either side and woke up feeling more rested that I have for quite a few months. Unfortunately, the style of massage didn't work for James or me; James said he felt a bit beat up and my lower back was bruised the next day, which was too bad. Ultimately, for me, it was worth it for because I felt so rested for the first time in a long time.

Well, the idea of getting out of the heat didn't last--it was 103 degrees on Saturday (how is that even possible?!)! Despite the heat, we ventured inland to pick up a clip-on high chair we had been looking at, and I think it'll be really helpful, especially since it folds flat for travel and we have a counter height table, but our families don't. We did laundry and my godparents came over for dinner. My godbrother was also able to join us for dinner before heading to work, and it was great to see them. We had salad and ravioli, and it was fun to chat and relax. They brought the crib, so that got unloaded for James to set up the next day. Since it was still early when they left, we spent the rest of the night folding up the teensy, tiny baby clothes and bedding. As long as he isn't going through 5 outfits a day, he should be ok (again, laundry will be interesting because we only have the pay community washers and dryers that are downstairs).

Sunday we went to Christ Church; it's so nice to be able to walk down there, and the rector is so nice, especially since James' aunt and uncle used to go to church with him, which is a neat connection to have. In fact, after the service, he asked us (sincerely) to call them when we had the baby so they can pray for us, which is very sweet since we are neither members nor regular attendees. The only downside is the "parish intern;" I'm not really sure what his role is, since he seems like a seminarian, but seems to be done with seminary. His preaching style isn't quite to my liking: both the sermons of his I've heard are very long and very disorganized--like looking at someone's brain map for an essay before they move forward and organize their thoughts. It's like he tries to fit in too much instead of focusing in on one or two thoughts. After church we finished laundry and James treated the outside of the house with bug spray. The pups got baths and then it was time to pack up the car and head home. Since we got home relatively early, James decided to wash the dog blankets and our bedding (separately, of course) before we head to bed. The tub had been reglazed, and for the first time since moving in it looks clean!!

Monday morning saw me wide awake with heartburn at 5 am. It was horrible and kept coming back throughout the day. I had lunch with some friends in the circle and then managed to run a few errands, including grocery shopping and some returns. The hospital store ended up not taking returns, even though it was their fault that it didn't work, so I wasn't too thrilled with that. I can tell you, I'll never get anything from that store again considering how unhelpful they were. So much for hospitals doing the right thing...Ah well, such is life. We got the stroller and spent the night setting it up! It's so exciting!! It's beautiful and it'll be so great to have; just as easy to set up as it is to fold and steer! It was a long day, especially considering the early morning I had, but for some reason I still couldn't sleep. Eventually I'll get some rest and some sleep at night, but not for the past few days. All in all, it was a pretty good week, and every week brings me closer to meeting my little boy!

And the Cliffs Notes:

How far along: 35 weeks

Total weight gain: Somewhere in the realm of 30 lbs

Favourite clothes: You get to see those Sesame Street boxers this week!

Sleeping: Horribly. Hopefully I'll be able to get some sleep between midnight feedings once he's here...as for now, I barely get any sleep, and definitely no rest

Best moment: Dinner on Thursday was really great

Worst moment: Getting up Sunday night and not being able to walk from pain, Monday morning with heartburn

Miss anything: Sleeping, moving without pain, not being swollen like a balloon

Cravings: Salad with goodies in it (tomatoes, bell peppers, olives, avocado, etc)

New symptoms: Heartburn. Waah!

Looking forward to: Just in the next week, all the things we ordered should be showing up! Looking further forward, Laura and Chris' wedding is coming up! Yay!

Pregnancy brain moments: So I have a problem with remembering nouns anyways, and this is just exacerbating, but here are the two best ones:
Trying to describe the terracotta warriors: "Those Chinese people, that aren't real people"

The post office: "That place that takes the things to the other places"

Listening to: I haven't really had music I've been absolutely obsessed with. Just the normal shanties and war or drinking songs

Crafting: I need to crochet more! I only did one row. I need to get back into the groove!

Baby projects: Same as last week. Getting the car seat installed is top to do right now!

35 Weeks: Wallaby is the size of a durian. It's a fruit, apparently
Note the sexy boxers and squint (it was super bright)

35 week profile. Again, note the boxers lol

35 week belly. He's all out in front!

34 Weeks

I know there's only 5 weeks left now, but I feel like these last few weeks have been crawling by so slowly! I know it's gone fast, and there's so little time left, but I still feel like it's taken so long for these last few weeks to pass, and I think that feeling will continue.

I grabbed some old Cat Who... mystery books by Lillian Jackson Braun before leaving Walnut Creek. They used to take me about a week or so to get through in 5th grade, so I figured four of them would be plenty. Oh, how wrong I was. I finished all four of the ones I took in 3 days. And I realized something. Jim Qwilleran, who I had always admired was actually a womanizing jerk, a dirty old man. Maybe I just glossed over it because I was young and it went over my head, but YUCK. Anyways, maybe that's in the earlier ones; it's definitely interesting to see the difference in attitudes toward women displayed in the 60's and 80's, especially as the book is written by a woman. There are 29 books in the series, and I'd like to make my way through all of them again. Unfortunately, our library doesn't seem to have the early ones, so I'm a bit stuck...Coronado has them, but while we'll go down once more, I don't think we'll be back after that to return them.

Tuesday passed too quickly; unpacking and recuperating from the long weekend. It always seems like you need a vacation from your vacation, doesn't it? James had started feeling sick before we left, but got better once we were up north. Well, it was back in full force by Wednesday. We're relatively sure it's caused by the mold in our bathroom, though we finally have a new vent in the bathroom. They had to get us a commercial grade one to make it work, but it actually does! I spent Wednesday evening on my own with the pups while James went out with the groomsmen and women for a pre-bachelor party get together. He seemed to have a good time, but he really didn't sound great when he got back. Thursday was calm and we had tangy black bean soup for dinner. Since I couldn't decipher the directions (they made no logical sense, like big chunks were missing), I just made it up as I went and it ended up being really good!

I ended up working a half day on Friday to cover for my boss' wife. I would have worked the whole day, but I had a doctor's appointment at 2. It seems like everything is looking good--the doctor was late since his surgery that morning had run late, but there was nothing to be concerned about. Basically he confirmed my suspicion that since the gallbladder ultrasound came back negative for stones, it's just one of those fun mystery pains. It still pops up every now and then, and sometimes just touching my stomach is painful, but I'm managing. Friday evening our friends took us out to dinner at PF Chang's for James' birthday. We had a wonderful time and had some great food; even some leftovers to take home for lunch the next day! They also treated us to dessert at this place that specialized in macarons! Not the coconut, fluffy type, but the whoopie-pie look-alike type. They had all kinds of different flavours, but we went with salted caramel, vanilla and chocolate. I really liked the caramel and vanilla, but the chocolate had a weird fudge-like consistency I didn't care for. And the fact that there's a store that only sells macarons is crazy--definitely only in Newport Beach! It was a really fun night and I'm so glad we have such great friends.

Saturday was my baby shower down here! It was perfect--I have a bit of social anxiety so I always get nervous before these things. There were about 8 people there and it was great--we had food, played games and opened presents. Plus I got to catch up with people I don't get to see very often! The games were really fun---nursery rhyme riddles (with some I'd never heard of!), baby food guessing game (failed miserably) and baby animal names (very informative). I even won one of the games; no, it wasn't rigged! I was so grateful to Theresa (and John and John Lawrence) and Vanessa for putting this together for me. I just had so much fun. I think James' eyes bugged out of his head the most when he saw the 53" teddy bear my godmother got us--it's huge and cuddly and must be protected from the dogs who would also love it. We got to spend the evening with my godmother, whom we hadn't seen since Easter. It was great to catch up and have a nice dinner and chat, and she helped us out a great deal by taking the old crib down to San Diego for us to put into Coronado next weekend (which would have been difficult in our cars). It was a nice night, but we had to get some rest because Sunday was busy too!!

Sunday was the shower that First Presbyterian threw for us. We went to church in the morning, and after the service, they had McAulay Hall all decorated--it was so adorable! It was a beautiful set up and there were balloons in the shape of pacifiers and tons of people showed up. It was a little embarrassing, sitting in front of everyone, but at least this time they didn't make us give a speech (like at the wedding shower) haha. We had a great time, and good cake, but didn't have time to open the presents at the shower since it was about 20 minutes before the Christian Education class started. We opened them all at home, and had a wonderful time. It was so sweet of everyone and the items will be very well-loved and used, I'm sure. The only thing that upset me a bit was when I stood up, one woman told me that I was so big there was no way I'd make it another month, let alone to my due date. Now, this is the first thing someone has said that has upset me to this degree; don't tell someone their baby is going to be premature...it's not nice. And don't say it repeatedly! Plus, what woman is ok with being told how large she is? I mean, really?! I managed to NOT smack her, which I consider a very large feat of self-control, and even more so, I managed to keep a smile (if slightly strained) on my face. But, overall, I had a great time and everyone there was so loving and supportive. It's nice to know that we have such a large support network.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Babies R Us looking at strollers/car seats. The one we had registered for was a bit clunky; it would take up the entire trunk of the cars and it was quite heavy. A friend recommended the B Agile on facebook; it's made by Britax and their car seats attach (as well as any others with the help of an adaptor). We totally fell in love with it! It is true to its name, very agile, and light, easy to fold and so small when you fold it up! We ended up ordering the Sandstone colour travel system Monday night and I can't wait for it to get here!! (PS: Just realized it perfectly matches the diaper bag, which was a total accident, but is awesome!) My priority right now is getting clothes/bedding washed and the car seat installed in case Wallaby shows up early. In the evening, we had our maternity photo shoot! Alison Conrad of Alison Kay Photography was our photographer; she was James' colleague when he first moved to Orange in 2005. We had such a great time at Crystal Cove in Laguna Beach, even if we ended up with wet pants! I felt very pretty and can't wait to see the photos in a few weeks! And, we're set up for her to do newborn photos once Wallaby gets here too, so I'm thrilled! It was a really fun weekend, but it was a very long, long weekend and even before the photos I was in quite a bit of pain and exhausted. I took one of the pain pills my OB gave me and that helped a bit, but I'm afraid I was quite cranky before that. I had so much fun this weekend, but it was with relief that I crawled into bed Sunday night with plans to do a whole lotta NOTHING on Monday!

Monday was spent online--researching prices and strollers and seeing exactly what we still *need* versus what we want and how that works with the gift cards we've received. Also, about 5 hours of napping; completely and totally crashed out on the couch instead of running errands. But after hours of numbers and ending up with different numbers each time I added things up, I ended up giving up for a while, but will try again later. I also finished up some thank you notes, though we're going to have to go buy some more for the church! Finishing those is on my list for Tuesday, along with grocery shopping and organizing the baby stuff in the nursery...it became a mess again when we removed the crib lol. All in all, a wonderful week with a fun, exhausting weekend!

How far along: 34 Weeks! (3 weeks til full-term!!!)

Total weight gain: +30 the weight gain has slowed down a bit, and I have appointments every 2 weeks now

Favourite clothes: Those Sesame Street boxers I got are not only awesome, but totally comfy! (Oh, and I can't comfortably wear my normal bra anymore--nursing bras here I come? :/)

Sleeping: Still difficult for tossing, turning and getting up to pee. I try to get in naps during the day, during which I tend to sleep well

Best moment: The baby showers were such an outpouring of love and support, it was amazing!

Worst moment: Sunday afternoon between strollers and photos was really hard--I was in a lot of pain and very grouchy...Plus I'm still ticked off about that lady's comments. 

Miss anything: The norm. Does anyone know if I can eat blue cheese if it's pasteurized, or is it just any blue cheese that's out?

Cravings: No big ones this week, but I remain suggestible

New symptoms: The old ones--my stomach is so sensitive and there's both internal and superficial pain, but there's not much to do. Pain on and off in my hip. I'm finally getting too big to reach things on the ground, like my purse when I'm in the car. I'm just uncomfortable in general, but that's par for the course. Braxton Hicks contractions are kicking up again and, speaking of kicking, Wallaby has turned my uterus into a kickboxing gym!

Looking forward to: We have the labour and delivery tour this week and dinner with a friend I haven't seen in a while, plus a weekend in San Diego (our last til Thanksgiving I'm sure)

Pregnancy brain moments: Words get mixed up and I always say the wrong ones...or write the wrong ones

Listening to: We got Raffi cds from the shower! EEEE! 

Crafting: I need to get my butt in gear, but I've been so busy with other stuff that I've barely made any progress. Gotta change that this week...

Baby projects: Still the same. Like I said, I need to get down to work on these since I have like 5 other projects I still want to finish

34 Weeks: Wallaby has hiccups at least once a day!
It's true, for about 2 weeks he had a hiccup problem

34 Week profile shot

34 Week baby belly

33 Weeks

I feel like I say this in every post, but I really can't believe how quickly time is going by. Whenever Tuesday rolls around, I'm always amazed how quickly the weeks have gone by. At the same time, these last few weeks seem to be crawling! As I said, I can't wait to meet our little guy and hold him and not be pregnant. Despite all the aches and pains, I've really loved being pregnant, but I'm ready to not be for a while now.

I was so worried the past weekend because Wallaby had calmed down and wasn't moving as much as I was used to. I was going to call the doctor, but then his kicks started up again. Wednesday morning was especially interesting. James and I have been making a concerted effort to get to bed earlier since he's waking up earlier for work. It's made a big difference, and on Wednesday I even woke up early enough to sit and watch some news before leaving for work instead of grabbing a coke and bolting out the door with barely enough time to wash my face. Since James goes to work an hour before me, and 15 minutes before my alarm goes off, he tries to start waking me up before he leaves (yes, it is a process lol). This time I woke up, and as soon as I was awake, he started moving. And boy did he move. Not only did he have hiccups, but he was kicking and stretching out like I'd just given him an espresso! It was amazing! It's starting to get a little more uncomfortable since he's stretching out pretty strongly and kicking out pretty hard, but I just laid in bed, hand on my stomach feeling him move until my alarm finally went off.

Tuesday I had the biggest craving for Johannesbeeren or red currants. I used to eat them at my babysitter's house in Germany; we would pick them fresh and eat them in a bowl with milk and sugar. They were delicious and tangy. I cannot find ANY in the 18 years I've lived in the states, which is incredibly sad. If anyone knows where I can get FRESH red currants (not preserves), please let me know ASAP! I would love to have some again!!

For Wednesday's dinner, we decided to try this recipe for Chicken Pillows. Now, we changed some things (as usual). We didn't use three chicken breasts--how she managed to fit that much stuffing in each pillow I have no idea; we used two filet-ed chicken breasts and had more than enough filling. I also used 6 oz of cream cheese since that was all I had in the fridge. We also needed a little more butter and just eyeballed the bread crumbs. They were delicious! The filling is great on its own too, on top of a cracker or just by itself; almost like a chicken salad, but much tastier. Then when you cook them; YUM. Although, I would make a different gravy (and did when we made them for my parents on Saturday): try the Ikea gravy packs, or if you have Rahmsosse (from Germany), that works very well. We ended up freezing half of them, and eating two apiece.

Thursday we left for NorCal to spend the long weekend with my parents. We did the trip in two steps. When James got off work we finished packing and got a bit of a later start than we expected, leaving at 9 instead of 7. We ended up at the hotel in Bakersfield around midnight, with takeout bags from In N Out. The dogs were very well behaved and got a treat--they were allowed to sleep in the bed with us. I was very grateful for the A/C, since those two are like little space heaters, but neither of us slept very well in the hard hotel bed. After our complimentary hot breakfast (weird bacon), we hit the road for the rest of the way. Although it was nice to get a rest, I think both James and I would have preferred to drive through the night and sleep in in the morning. We were pretty lucky and didn't hit much traffic on the way up. James realized he had no church clothes, so we ended up having to make a Target trip for some khakis and a button up shirt; he had a belt, socks and shoes, but nothing else. We got in around 2 pm, and were able to celebrate mom and dad's 27th (!) anniversary with them that night. We picked up some roses and lilies, a tiramisu and a movie for the night. It was a nice night spent together, and mom got to feel little Wallaby moving.

Saturday was a long day. We left later than expected for the games, but that was fine since sleeping in was nice. It was a lot cooler than most years, but a pregnant woman still gets overheated pretty easily and it was hot enough. The cool weather meant it was a lot more crowded than usual. We missed my old Scottish country dance teacher, but got some meat pies for lunch. We got the last two meat pies and had to supplement with shepherd's pies. I was disappointed--this particular company doesn't give you any gravy, and their filling leaves quite a bit to be desired,  but I wasn't going to stand in another 45 minute line for something different. Next time though, I'll remember not to go to that stand; I wish Dixon Meat Pies was still there, but their double decker had raffle tickets instead of food :( We listened to the Browne Sisters, met up with a friend from high school and her beau, then headed out to shopping. I picked up my jam and coo-ed over the baby kilts, but we decided to wait til Wallaby arrives to get him one (but he WILL have one!). James and I left a bit early, leaving mom and dad to come home with Peggy who stayed for dinner. We made the chicken pillows and had the previous night's tiramisu for dessert. My toes looked like little sausages by the end of the day.

Sunday we went to mom's church as we do when we're up there. It was great to see everyone; we always feel so welcome and loved when we're there. It's such a lovely congregation, and we had a nice time catching up at the coffee hour. We had made plans to see Peggy at 2 that day, and we arrived to a surprise baby shower! The same friend from Saturday, my maid of honour, her mom and a friend from my home church were there. It was so nice to see everyone outside of facebook and spend time with them! We had such a lovely time, and I was completely blown away! We got to open presents, read some of the books we were given, eat spinach balls and h the cutest Disney/beach themed ice cream cake. The ice cream was delicious, but we all looked like we'd eaten Smurfs--the icing turned everyone's mouth blue! It had a cute little note on it, which read "Waiting for Wallaby!" It was such a lovely party and both James and I really enjoyed ourselves. It did make for a long day, and we crashed out pretty early.

We left Monday after packing everything up. Mom and dad had found a box of my old baby books, so we took some of those with us and packed up the car with all of our things and the puppies. We stopped at Genova's delicatessen on the way out of town for lunch (a meatball sub and a philly cheese steak, plus some frozen ravioli and meat sauce to take home) and then we hit the road. James drove the whole way, as he's wont to do. We hit some traffic--one of the lanes on the grapevine was closed and there were a few places where it slowed down a bit. I slept quite a bit, but overall we had a miraculously easy drive. Even in the middle of LA, there were hardly any cars on the road with us. It was great, but definitely surreal. We stopped by Fresh and Easy to pick up a simple dinner and  ended up asleep before 9 pm. It was a long weekend, but it was so much fun!!

How far along: 33 weeks
Total weight gain: Somewhere in the realm of 25-30 lbs
Favourite clothes: If I could just live in the new Sesame Street boxers I got, I would
Sleeping: Better with the tv on, worse if I'm not in my bed
Best Moment: Walking in and seeing my friends at the shower!!
Worst Moment: Waiting in line for meat pies for 45 minutes only to receive subpar food
Miss anything: Sleeping on my back!!! Sleeping on my side is only exacerbating my hip problems
Cravings: Johannesbeeren or red currants, with milk and sugar please
New symptoms: I get tired so easily, it's like the first trimester all over again, but more uncomfortable
Looking forward to: The baby shower next week and our maternity photos
Pregnancy brain moments: I don't remember any in particular, but that might be one in itself
Listening to: Mo Ghile Mear by Celtic Women
Crafting: The cocoon is the only project I have going right now
Baby Projects: The same ones as before, but I'm quickly running out of time!

With my parents

33 Weeks: Wallaby is the size of a honeydew
James can be in the photo when someone else takes it!

33 week profile (hobbit door!)

belly zoom

32 Weeks

Tuesday was James' birthday! I always tease him about being an "old man," since he's older than me, but maybe I should stop now that he's approaching 30? Nah...I don't think so either ;) My Tuesday started with fasting for the gallstone ultrasound, and on the way home I decided that James could use some "birthday hashbrowns!" Ok, so maybe I wanted a hashbrown, but I got enough to share, and brought them to James at work. The day turned out a bit differently than I had planned. I had all these grand designs on getting things done and a special dinner planned, but my stomach pain returned during lunch and since sleeping seems to be the only relief, I napped for most of the afternoon. I think it knows it's Tuesday since this was the third Tuesday the pain has gotten bad like that. Plus, Wallaby has a habit of pushing up against it, which is incredibly uncomfortable. I did get James' present done: I made a certificate entitling the "bearer" to newborn photos by the same woman who's doing our maternity photos. I knew he really wanted them and managed to make it work out without tipping him off. I also finished carrot cake cupcakes for his birthday. They were frosted with cream cheese frosting, and half of them were also stuffed with frosting. I love to bake, but don't eat my baking much, so James' work was treated to cupcakes throughout the week. Since I didn't have time to make the chicken and dumplings he wanted for dinner, we went to Lazy Dog instead. I think sweet potato tater tots made up for the lack of dumplings, and we'll still make them, just on a day that we have more time. Plus, it didn't require cooking or clean up, and we managed to get to sleep earlier than usual. Overall, I think he had a good day and hope he enjoyed the low key birthday!

The rest of the week was pretty mundane: I picked up an extra day at work, which worked out well since James ended up having to go in on Friday too. The results from the ultrasound also came back relatively normal. It showed I have a slightly fatty liver, but since I still haven't heard from the doctor, I'm assuming there's nothing to worry about. Googling it says it can cause a light, dull pain in your right side, but I'm not convinced that's what my pain is: my pain is sharp and so severe I can't stand up straight or touch my stomach and I have a relatively high pain tolerance. I guess it's just another one of those mystery pains, which is so much fun. Hopefully it'll go away, like my hip pain mostly has. I'm still not up for exercising, but at least I can walk around without pain. However, my fatigue has returned with a vengeance. It's almost as bad as the first trimester, but I think I'll manage.

Our weekend was really relaxed, but still pretty productive. I didn't finish everything on my list, but I feel pretty good about what we did get done. We stayed in Orange since I was hoping to make it to my professor's memorial service, but my exhaustion struck again and I ended up sleeping through it. I spent pretty much all of Saturday working on the covers for the glider. Though I ended up having to sew the cushions at least twice (three times for the back), I'm really happy with how it turned out. The original tapestry-like fabric was gross and the homemade cover it came with was blue and flower-y...not our style. Mom found this gorgeous, ocean-inspired fabric with blue and green stripes and we used that. Mom's getting some more since we didn't have enough to cover the ottoman with horizontal stripes. I can't wait to have the whole thing done--it's so comfortable already, and I love sitting and rocking/gliding in it. The backs are just pinned together; one because there wasn't enough extra to even make a hem (though I did zig zag stitch to prevent fraying) and one because I'm too lazy to hand-sew on snaps. Despite the pinning, it still turned our wonderfully. It's my first "real" sewing project that wasn't a minor repair, so I'm thrilled with how well it turned out and I just adore it in the room.

I also had my first experience with elastic thread this weekend. The pants I found at a maternity consignment shop ended up coming unhemmed on the top of the full panel and were fraying badly. James brought them back from the laundromat (the dryers were broken here) with a giant knot on the top of the pants. After sewing the whole thing with regular thread, I stretched the panel and *SNAP*, the whole thing came undone. So I threaded the machine with elastic thread and nothing happened...I finally figured out that you put the elastic in the bobbin ONLY, and it ended up working fine. It doesn't look great, in fact it looks horrible, but it's the panel so no one is going to see it and it'll keep it from fraying further. Next up: ruching a shirt I bought a few months ago and fixing my capris, which will involve lifting the hem and lowering the panel since it lands smack in the middle of my belly. This was all happening while multiple repairs were going on in the apartment. That's a completely different rant, but suffice it to say that I am beyond frustrated with the so-called "repairs" to fix the maintenance issues we've had here. *deep breath*

After sleeping in again---this exhaustion is in itself exhausting---I worked on some of the smaller projects. The weekly board and pictures (and hence the blog) are up to date finally. The kitchen is cleaned, though the pantry didn't get organized yet. The breast pump is clean, though we're going to get a new one thanks to Obama and my insurance (this involved way more drama than necessary, and a test run involving a ziploc full of water...). The coffee table drawers are organized everything is cleaned up. The cocoon is coming along nicely, and the aquarium should go pretty quickly since it's just three or four small objects. I thought I was supposed to be the one nesting, but James went crazy cleaning. He cleaned everything but the nursery (which is still being organized), even the baseboards! I dusted and cleared off the tables with vinegar, but James won't allow me to do anything with heavy lifting (vacuuming, mopping) or anything involving harsh chemicals (toilets, etc). I felt a bit useless, but he did a great job, even though we didn't get to dinner until 10:30. Thank goodness tacos are pretty quick dinners.

I'm convinced Wallaby knows the days of the week: he spends every weekend chilling out, moving much less. When I start to worry about it, the week starts and he becomes more active again. He does seem to be getting more and more squashed inside, but he's still stretching out. He loves snacks, especially smoothies, which I have learned are very simple to make. When I got home from work on Wednesday, I saw my entire belly jump up and down and side to side. It was crazy! I'll miss him moving when he gets here, but to be honest, this week I have been more than ready for the little things: sushi, a margarita, normal jeans, my old favourite shirts and my red hair. But more than that, I'm ready to hold my little boy and see him! I want him to stay in there until at least the due date, but I am so ready for him to be here...I can't wait to meet him! Both James and I are getting so excited--it's becoming more and more real; only 49 days left!!!

Tl; dr:

How far along: 32 weeks

Total weight gain: somewhere in the realm of 25

Favourite clothes: Those new pants are so comfy and so lightweight

Sleeping: Much, much better with the tv and butterfly pillow (aka "the wall" according to James)

Best moment: Seeing the glider all finished. I'm so happy with it!

Worst moment: Just how tired I feel. And how cluttered I feel our bookshelves are. More projects!

Miss anything: Sushi and margaritas. And jumping on a trampoline, which I haven't done in years, but because I can't I want to

Cravings: Zucchini fries! Searched about 8 restaurants' menus before finding somewhere with them. SO GOOD!

New symptoms: The fatigue is back in full force; I'm so exhausted, almost like the first trimester again

Looking forward to:  Pleasanton next weekend! Meat pies, music, jam, dancing and KILTS! Yay!

Pregnancy brain moments: Quite a few at work lately, but luckily my boss is cool

Listening to: I *finally* found a digital copy of Schooner Fare's "Twa Recruiting Sergeants" and for some unknown reason, Christmas music

Crafting: Finished the glider cushions (the hard part), working on the cocoon, fixing up the capris

Baby projects: Still gotta finish the cocoon, jellyfish rattle (requires yarn), crocheted aquarium and that mobile (if I ever get around to it...I'm scared I'll screw it up)

32 Weeks: Wallaby is the size of a squash & getting pretty squashed in there!
Note the new pants!

32 Week profile. Look at that shirt!! Eeek!

Baby bump. Should've gotten a longer shirt...