I Don't Always Love It

Merry (late) Christmas, everyone! I hope all of you had an amazing and blessed Christmas this year. Here in the B house, we are still recovering and now we're battling the nasty cold bug that has started making rounds. B is bed bound today while J and I hold down the fort. We've been traveling to various family events so J is now sleeping off all his exhaustion.

Last Sunday we found ourselves at my aunt's house for my dad's family Christmas. Me and B were sitting at the table with the rest of my cousins when we started talking about being a parent. You see, one of my cousins had the first grandbaby last year, J was the second and the youngest of all of us is pregnant with the third. There was one more cousin at the table that is now engaged and his fiancee was talking to us about our baby's schedules. We began comparing sleep schedules, breastfeeding woes (don't worry, my breastfeeding post is being compiled now) and the most recent winner of the "Guess What's On My Shirt" game and that's when she looked across the table and mouthed to her significant other "We will never have kids". That's when it hit me that I was that person I hated during my pregnancy. I think every new mom knows that person. She's the one who tells you every horror story known to man about childrearing before she tells you of all the joys that come with it.

I don't always love being a mother and I would be lying if I told you there weren't days when I secretly wished I were alone in my house or on the beach with Mr. David Beckham.... wait, I think that's my marriage speech but I can honestly  say I would never trade this experience for anything in the world. 

I don't always love it when...

1.) I get nice and cozy in bed just to have J wake up and start screaming

2.) He looks at me with giant alligator tears in his eyes and I don't know how to fix whatever is making his tummy hurt.

3.) I am all dressed up nice for an event and J pukes on me. Who needs perfume?

4.) It's 5 am and I can't find the paci in his crib. Why don't they make those things glow in the dark?

5.) I feel like I finally have some sort of schedule figured out for J and then he has a growth spurt and we start over at the beginning.

6.) I'm covered 24/7 in puke, pee or both. I actually went to bed last night with both on my clothes and didn't bat an eye.

7.) J gets gas or has a hard time with his poops. He cries while he's being held, eating, laying down, sucking on his paci, then he blows up his diaper and feels all better.

But these are the things I love...

1.) I love when J smiles up at me with milk all over his face and gurgles a noise of approval.

2.) Bath time. I love giving J a bath because he's such a cute naked baby!

3.) Play time on his mat.

4.) When he gets sleepy and just wants to snuggle.

5.) He's now starting to giggle and it's the best sound ever!

So while I don't always love being a mother, I wouldn't trade my experience with anyone or for anything else in the world. J has turned our lives upside down but day by day we're learning to deal with his changes and it's the most rewarding path we could have taken.

-W

Thoughts

2.) I need to do laundry... like, yesterday. Seriously. B has been wearing the same pair of panties for 4 days. 

D.) I need to find some sort of childcare option for J. I can't believe I'm supposed to actually part with that sweet face in 6 weeks!

45.) Why are Zaxby's bathroom stalls so tiny? 

T.) It's Christmas in the south, y'all! Our tiny little city is all dressed up for the season and it looks beautiful.

8.) Since having J, my memory has taken a severe nose dive. I'm pretty sure I birthed most of my brain cells along with him.

73.) Our house is about a quarter of a mile from the train track in town. There's a train that runs around 10 o'clock every night and we call it the "sick train". It makes us laugh.

Y.) My mom and dad still live in the small town I grew up in. My dad's cousin owns a funeral home and used to be the sheriff of the county. My mom somehow ended up on the email list for the funeral home and gets emails every time someone in town dies. I used to think it was amusing, then she came home with the funeral home's calendar a few weeks ago and now I think she needs to be committed. 

11.) Love you, Mom!

2e.) Did you know the Queen of England doesn't have a last name? In fact, none of the royal family has a last name. You're welcome.

J is waking up and diapers need to be stuffed and put away. Have a great day!

-W

One Month... Maybe

So do you count a month from October 14th to November 14th or by 4 weeks? I'm not sure which to go with so I decided to post somewhere in the middle of the two dates. That and week 4 hit yesterday and I was a little too busy with Baby J's breakdowns to even pee. Either way, he's still growing (ugh) and he's somewhere close to being a month old.

Things I've learned in the last month:

1.) 5 minute showers are in these days.

2.) You aren't cool if you don't have puke and poo on your shirt, in your hair and somewhere on bare skin.

3.) There isn't Scotch Guard for the walls.

4.) Pacis hide when you need them the most.

5.) Said pacis are found in weird places like under the couch, at the foot of the bed and in the dogs toy box.

6.) You aren't above cleaning pacis in your own mouth before giving it to the little one...... just kidding..... please don't call DFaCS.

7.) Baby sleeps wherever baby wants to sleep. Even if that is in the crook of dad's arm in the chair. Baby J's head often times smells like B's deodorant. It's at least a little more pleasant than the puke smell it normally has.

8.) Sometimes it's ok to think bad thoughts about your husband as long as you don't act upon them.

9.) Postpartum sneezes are scary because of, you know, the lady factor but they're also scary because they hold the potential to wake a sleeping baby. I'm sure my brain comes close to exploding every time I try to hold one in.

10.) The love you feel for you new precious one is enough to trump this entire list.

Is it bad that I actually had to read through that list again to make sure I could count to 10? Oh sleep, you are missed.

-W

3 Week Thoughts

O.....M.....G! I can't believe my baby is 3 weeks old today! I know, I know. It doesn't compare to "OMG my baby is 18 and moving out today!" but it's still pretty significant seeing how we are still trying to figure out just who this little guy is. He's only been home a little over a week now and things are still a little shaky in the B house. We definitely aren't as sleep deprived as we could be (thanks to the NICU for getting him on a schedule) but naps are becoming a beloved family activity at this point.

My recovery has gone pretty smooth so far. I had a little run in with mastitis and that slowed me down for a little while but we've overcome that now. Baby J is sleeping decently at night and peeing all over the wall behind his changing pad. Boys are supposed to do that, right? I've heard that when he gets older, he'll actually do it on purpose and laugh at his crafty little self. God, help me.

A lot of people have asked how I feel.... you know.... in my lady bits. For the record, I feel fine. But I do want to say this. The first postpartum poop has NOTHING against the first postpartum sneeze. I will now warn all of my patients about this ill fated day.

Many quotes have been thrown around our house lately and I can't help but share my three favorite B to J quotes.

- I'm sorry, bud. You didn't have many choices. It was either me or the state.

- (After a long feeding) You look like you just waddled out of the Golden Corral.

- (Looking at a mastitis pamphlet) Wow, buddy! Look at all those buffets.

And those are just to name a few.

I'm behind on Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Pretty Little Liars and American Horror Story but I'm ok with that. Hanging out with J is pretty rewarding.

Check out my handsome little man.

-W

Jack Update: day 9

Day 9 and the end is near. Can you feel it? I'm so ready to get our little man home where he belongs. Last night was the last lab draw he will have done. Everything came back within normal limits this morning which is fantastic!!! All of the labs that indicate he has an infection were all normal so the antibiotics did their jobs and now we have a healthy baby boy. Except that whole fractured clavicle thing. We've been splinting his arm for now and will continue to do that when we get home. Not sure how long it will be needed but as long as it heals, I'll do anything.

The nurses have also allowed us to feed him on his own schedule which is much easier. He's eating about every 4 hours at this point but taking in much more. He is getting to the point of taking in about 4 ounces each time. What a pig!!! I feel like we're cheating the parenthood system with him being here. When we get him home he'll be on a pretty good nighttime schedule and then demanding during the day.

Even though we feel like we're cheating the schedule, we've been getting our sleep while he's here. Until last night, that is. I woke up around 5 am and needed to pump so I got up, pumped for 15 minutes and went back to bed. Of course, B also woke up and helped out where he could. We turned the light back off and as the heat kicked on, we heard a rustling noise on the nightstand. I had a plastic bag of bottles sitting there and thought it was the air rushing past the plastic. We both dismissed it and laid there a little while longer. Then we heard it again and B told me to turn the light on. I did as I was told and there it was, the biggest, ugliest palmetto bug I've ever seen in my life. Of course I screamed like a girl and it scurried around on my nightstand in complete terror as well. B ran over with a flip flop to save me but managed to knock it to the ground which caused it to the escape under our bed. At this point I had my bags packed and vowed to never step foot in the house again. Luckily B is quick on his toes at what was now 5:30 in the morning and was able to meet it on its way out on the other side of the bed. The bug met its end behind B's nightstand and had a proper water burial in the toilet.

As for me, I didn't sleep all that well because I just knew he had an accomplice lurking somewhere in our house. Maybe tonight will be a bit easier.

Sleep tight!!

-W

Jack Attack: Day 6

Ugh day 6. Me and B both are so tired of being in the NICU. The staff is amazing and there are great accommodations for the families but nothing beats being at home in your pajamas. Jackson is hooked up to so many leads and lines that we have to keep him near his crib. Oh yeah, he's in a big boy bed now. They moved him off the warmer bed yesterday and he's now in a crib.

We're also letting him tell us when he's hungry. We were on an every 3 hour schedule and that wasn't working. He's getting bigger now and takes more with each feed. He's up to 90 ml per feed which is 3 ounces and there's no way he's hungry every 3 hours. Today should be much easier because we won't have to fight him all the time to eat.

His color looks great and his bilirubin levels are coming down. Remember, bilirubin levels tells us if he needs to be on phototherapy for his jaundice. His level went up yesterday but this morning it was back down.

The other surprise this morning came from our nurse. His PICC line has to be examined fairly frequently to make sure it is still in the right place. This morning they did the x-ray for confirm placement and the report came back showing a fractured right clavicle. Apparently this has been the case since the first day but no one has informed me. There isn't anything you do for a broken or fractured clavicle but to splint it so that it heals properly. I feel bad because I've been laying him on his right side to feed but he's never cried out in pain. We'll just start splinting and move forward from here. This shouldn't keep him in the hospital any longer than normal.

Our expected discharge date is still this Friday. We're on day 6 and will begin dose 7 this afternoon. We are counting the days until our little one gets to come home and we're a complete family. I feel like I'm missing out on so much each night when I go home. The room has a couch bed that I can sleep on if I want to stay with him at night but I feel it is best if I go home and get some rest before he gets there. I want to be able to take care of him to my best ability and making sure I am healing is the only way to do that.

My mom chip is kicking in this week and I'm starting to worry if he's a bother to the other babies on the floor. Every time he cries a nurse comes running in to ask if I need help. He usually cries during his diaper changes and when I'm swapping him to a different side to feed. I feel it is normal but some of the nurses are making me think he's being too loud. B keeps reminding me that I'm worrying over nothing and it's normal for him to get upset when we expose his hiney to the cold air but I can't help but worry.

So for right now, he's doing really well and making progress every day. I'll post more updates when I have them!

-W

And Baby Makes Three!

That's right! Our brand new baby.......  BOY is here! Mr. Jackson Bryant Burns was born on Monday, October 14, 2013 at 7:20 pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs 12 oz and was  a whopping 22 inches long. Where was all that baby at inside me?

I'm sorry this post is coming so delayed from his birth. You see, the entire experience hasn't been, dare I say, expected? You can't plan a delivery and how the recovery will go but you always have this small hope inside your head that things will go normally and you'll come home with a perfect baby. Then you get a nursing license and fate turns on you. We call it the "nurse curse". All nurses know of it and fear it with all they have. Kind of like Murphy's Law, when a nurse comes into the hospital for any reason, anything that can go wrong, will. 

My water broke on Saturday. Two days before my new bundle of joy would make his big entrance. I'm sure you remember my last post talking about bladder leakage. Well, I was wrong. It was actually amniotic fluid. I didn't think my water had broken because contractions didn't start within 24 hours, it was dime sized amounts that I was leaking and I couldn't find a pattern. Sometimes I'd have a Braxton Hicks contraction and leak a little and other times I'd just be sitting on the couch watching t.v. Either way, I was walking around with a broken bag and didn't know it. 

I'm sure you also remember me talking about that GBS test that is performed on all pregnant women at about 35 weeks gestation. My test came back negative which was a relief. 

All of this makes for the perfect nurse curse storm.

I woke up Monday morning and leaked a little. I was tired of this happening and voiced my frustration to B. He told me to call the OB and let him know what was going on. My OB had me go to the hospital and have the fluid checked. We hoped in the car with our bug out bags in hand and headed off to the hospital. When we go there, we were checked in as normal and shown to our room. The nurse performed what's called an AmnioSwab to check the fluid. You look for the tip of the swab to turn a specific color. The color turned but wasn't as dark as it should be so it was considered equivocal and they did another test called Amnio Sure. This is a test that is like the swab but the swab is then sent to the lab for confirmation. A short time later the nurse confirmed my fear. My water was actually broken and my baby was coming today. 

Fear is probably the word not many people would use in this situation but I was scared because any rupture over 18 hours increases the chance of infection for the baby. I was immediately fearful for my little one and couldn't believe I let myself go that long before going to the hospital. But there was nothing I could do about it at that time. I had to pray for the best and accept what God was about to hand me. 

The time we spent in the L&D room was actually pretty short. Family started filtering in around 12 and that helped take my mind off of things. I had my epidural placed at 11 (way too long after the pitocin was started) and didn't feel another contraction until I started pushing at 5. I pushed for 2.5 hours and there he was. My little Jackson. I would go into depth on the delivery story but I don't want to relive that nightmare right now. Let's just say I had an epidural placed but ended up with a natural birth.

After the delivery isn't a grand experience either. I'll sum that one up by saying the delivering OB had a body part inside my body well after the baby was here to help stop my bleeding. My dreams still haunt me.

We were then taken to my postpartum room to begin my long journey as a mom and my difficult recovery period. Remember, I work as a nurse on postpartum so this part was very familiar to me. I knew what to expect here. My fellow staff member welcomed me with open arms and showered us with hugs and kisses. Correction, they aren't staff, they're family. 

The first night was pretty hard. Jackson had a lot of fluid in his throat and tummy so he was pretty spitty  all night. Because I was a prolonged rupture, the pediatrician decided to do a blood culture and CBC on the baby. I'll explain the labs and their significance a little later. The next morning we woke up unrefreshed and ready for a shower. I had gotten sick during the delivery and wasn't allowed to shower due to my IV and foley catheter. The first shower was magical. You can never appreciate a nice warm shower until you've had a traumatic delivery. 

The day was progressing along quite nicely and then we got the news. My unit manager and clinician came in for a quick visit with me and also dropped the heartbreaking news on me. My clinician told me that Jackson's blood culture came back positive.... WHAT!? I've never heard of a positive blood culture.... ever. What it means is that his blood was put in a dish and began growing bacteria. My brand new baby's blood was infected. This isn't supposed to happen. They're supposed to be born perfect and fresh. She then informed me that the pediatrician was being notified and they would let me know what was going on. A few minutes later another nurse came in and informed me that the pediatrician wanted Jackson to be admitted to the NICU to begin receiving his antibiotics via IV instead of muscular shots. My mind immediately went to my prolonged rupture and I began blaming myself for making my baby sick. After all, I was the one that didn't go to the hospital. I had about 5 minutes and the nurse came back and took my sweet little one on over to the NICU so he could begin his injections. I sat in my room with B and my parents and cried harder than I ever had in my life. 

When babies are admitted to the NICU in our hospital, the in house neonatologists begin following him and making all of his medical decisions. Working there made this transition a little easier. I knew the neos already so I was pretty comfortable with the group. When he got there, one of the neos called me to inform me of this care. I couldn't go to his room and meet with her because he was having IVs started and getting medicine. They requested that I wait about 30 minutes before coming to see him. The neo informed me that she thought he had a GBS infection. There's that bacteria again. What we expect now is that I am actually GBS positive and my initial test was a false negative. The other theory is that I developed GBS between the time I was tested and the time my sweet Jackson arrived. 

The next few hours are a blur. I ended up deciding to be discharged the next day and come home without my baby. I'm so happy with that decision because it allowed me to come home and get adequate rest so I can serve him a little better. 

As of today, his lab values look great and you can tell he's feeling much better. The neo that saw him a few days ago wants to keep him until next Friday which would equal 10 days of antibiotics. He's doing so well that I still cling to the hope that he could come home at the 7 day mark on Tuesday. Either way, I want a healthy baby boy coming home and not a sick one. I would take care of him either way but if he's safer in the NICU right now then that's what we will do. 

I'm hoping to keep everyone updated on his care but remember that the NICU is a very tiring place. Right now we get there around noon and stay until 9 at night. We then come home, eat a snack and go to bed so we can rest to do it all over again. 

There are some parts of the story that are missing, like how he did the past few days, but they will come into play a little while later. 

I called this morning to get an update from my favorite nurse, Heidi and she said his jaundice levels have come down and he's now off of phototherapy. YAY!! Phototherapy is a therapy of lights that help break down bilirubin that sits under the baby's skin. The bilirubin is what causes baby's to have a yellow appearance and is what is called Jaundice. When the bilirubin is passed, the yellow goes down and the phototherapy can be stopped. I expected him to be on therapy when he was born and it isn't a NICU specific thing. I have an appointment with a lactation specialist today at noon so she can watch Jackson feed. He and I both are adjusting with that right now but things are going well. I'm also pumping about 4 ounces each time so his night time feedings are covered with two pumping sessions. 

Here are some pictures of our little one. The bright blue lights in some of them are the phototherapy lights. 

That's all the updates I have for today. I'll check back with you tomorrow for more!!

-The B Family

Week 38

Yep. Still lugging this kid around. Unfortunately, during this busy week, I forgot to have B take a lovely bump/watermelon/bean bag chair picture. I had an appointment on Friday and the OB told me that I'm now 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. We also did a quick scan of the babe and discovered she now weighs around 7 lbs 3 oz. My OB then proudly said "If you make it to your due date, you'll probably have an 8 lb baby!" To which I then mentally thought "Then let's not get to the due date... k?". Either way, sounds like baby is perfectly healthy right now.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but I refused all genetic testing during this pregnancy for various reasons. There aren't any genetic issues in our family that I know of and none in B's either but I'm still a tiny bit nervous about the delivery day for that reason as well. Either way, we can't give our baby back... that I've been told... so no matter how this kid comes out, we'll love it any way and I'm sure God will give us the strength to deal with any of it.

The good: We're nearing the end!! Finally!!! Also, my aunt finished the pieces of the nursery she was making. I'll take some good pictures and post them soon as well. I also sleep a little easier these days. A few nights ago, I slept 3 straight hours and woke up thinking "WHOO HOO! I slept all night long!" Oh the life of a soon to be mom.

The bad: I can no longer wear my wedding rings and my ring finger on both hands does some sort of weird popping, stuck in position thing. It doesn't hurt but it doesn't make me want to puke a little.

The inappropriate: Two words.. bladder leakage. Two more words.. panic attack. Yes, I am finally at that point in my pregnancy where my bladder refuses to do it's job and instead lets a little urine slip right through. Then the panic attack sets in. I immediately freeze wherever I am and pray to God Almighty no one else notices. The bad part of all this? I've heard it never goes away.

We'll see what happens in week 39.

I wish you lots of peeless sleep!!

-W

Still Pregnant (a.k.a. 37 weeks)

Why, hello, 37 weeks. I'm so glad you're here. This means Baby B is now considered a full term baby! That doesn't make it easier knowing she could make her appearance at any time. For example, last night I had some pretty strange dreams and woke up about every 2 hours wondering if I were in labor. Of course I wasn't but it still had me pretty freaked out each and every time I woke up.

At week 37, Baby B is measuring around 18 to 20 inches long and weighs between 6 and 9 pounds. I'm praying she's on the smaller end of that scale but my OB says this baby is definitely on the bigger side of things. At this point, baby is gearing up for life outside my body. She's practicing things like inhaling, exhaling, sucking, gripping and blinking. She's also brushing up on her super spastic yoga moves as well.

As for me, well, that's another story. Emotions have definitely kicked in and I'm genuinely freaked out about becoming a mother. Both in the physical labor part and in the Will I Make A Good Mother way. B and I had a great (horrible) idea of watching child birthing videos a few nights ago. I have watched my fair share of births and think the whole process is pretty amazing but now I know it's about to happen to me. That makes me want to crawl in a hole and die. It also confirmed my yearning for an epidural the minute I walk through the door in labor. There is no way this girl will ever feel the "ring of fire".

It was also brought to my attention last night while getting ready for bed that I use my blog to share a little too much information. B tells me my blog posts are becoming a little risqué. I rolled my eyes and then reminded myself that it is wrong and I could go to jail for suffocating my husband with my Snoogle pillow. Plus, I need him to help out with night time feedings.

He also helped out with this...

Yep. He wrapped my poor swollen ankles in cabbage leaves. How sweet of him.

The Good: Baby is basically less than a few weeks away from coming to play with us!! How exciting!? The doctor also said I am 1.5 cm dilated now. It may have been a very small progression but it's progress either way.

The Bad: I'm definitely starting to have more dreams about the delivery day that tend to keep me up at night. Nothing too freaky yet but they still wake me up and make me wonder if everything is truly ready for the baby's arrival.

The Inappropriate: I would have put this under the good but, per B, this is TMI so I thought a new category would work here. My inappropriate update for this week is..... I HAVE BREAST MILK!!!! Not tons but just a little bit. I am able to hand express very small amounts of colostrum. I've always worried about being able to successfully breast feed the baby but now there's hope for me!

Sorry, B.

See you next week...... maybe.

-W

Week 36

It's here. The week by which I should have already packed my bug out bag is upon us and guess what? I only have socks and nipple cream in my bag. Yes, I just shared probably a little too much but at this point in the pregnancy, I really don't care. I figured I've already lost the readers that have "boundaries".

Poor quality picture tonight. We had the camera but B turned it on and noticed it was it was dead. Neither of us wanted to go get the full battery. We're going to make such awesome parents.

This week Baby B is the size of a honeydew. Weight and length haven't made many improvements over the last week but that's ok because I'm running out of room. The baby is starting to make his way "down the shoot" as B likes to phrase it. What he means is the baby is starting to descend further into my pelvis in preparation for delivery.

I went to my OB yesterday for my first weekly appointment and they did my GBS test. I'll get those results back on Friday so I'll update you next week. He asked me all the normal questions but, again, added a new shocking on in just to make sure I was paying attention. He asked if I would like to plan to have my membranes stripped to help speed up the end of my pregnancy. Stripping membranes is when a physician uses a finger to basically separate the water bag from the cervix which releases prostaglandins to help induce labor. This method is definitely not a sure way to start labor but if everything is progressing well, it shouldn't harm a pregnancy either. But either way, I freaked out. I'm totally not ready for this baby to show up any earlier than we have planned.

Then he gave me the fantastic (sarcasm) news that I'm 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced. Effacement is when the cervix is thinning out top to bottom. When the cervix is 100% effaced, labor is right around the corner. *Barf*

After all this excitement, we headed downtown and ate at a great burger joint and headed to Ikea for some retail therapy which consisted of a dresser for the baby's room. Have you ever bought a dresser from Ikea? Yeah, it's like doing a 1,000 piece puzzle without the picture. Great fun.

The good: Baby is starting to drop so I can now breathe a little bit easier. I don't feel myself getting out of breath as easy anymore. I'm beginning to feel the nesting urges, which I'm sure makes B ultra happy, so I want to get everything ready for baby's arrival.

The bad: Seeing how the baby has dropped a bit, it now feels like someone takes a taser to my lady bits every hour or so. More often when the baby active. Not fun at all. I'm also having painful contractions. They aren't too bad right now. I'm usually able to make the pain go away so I know it isn't true labor just yet. Keyword, "yet". Oh and I still sleep horribly. Poor B calls his extra blanket on the bed his "survival blanket". I, however, sleep in a t-shirt and sometimes pull the sheet up. The a/c is still on 72 and I'll leave the fan on as long as he doesn't come home with divorce papers. I stand my ground.

That's all the excitement I have for now. I have another appointment next week but I'll try to post before that one. I'm also still trying to talk B into posting a little something but I'm not having any luck. He claims to better things to do like install carseat bases, look up child safety gates and pack bug out bags. Buzz kill.

-W

Week 35 *barf*

Week 35 is upon us and I'm not sure what to think. For some reason I look at this week as being the "baby could come at any time" mark. It isn't too far from the truth. Our hospital policy is that babies born after 36 weeks are just considered low birth weight and, if healthy enough, can stay on postpartum with the moms. Which basically means, next Monday, I'm pretty safe for delivery.

I also went to the OB for my last bi-weekly appointment and the physician said the baby is measuring about a week ahead of schedule and if I were to go into labor right now, I'd be safe and he wouldn't stop me. Of course, that was at the 34 week appointment.

I have another appointment this Tuesday and this will begin my weekly appointments. This week he is going to do a swab for my GBS status. GBS stands for Group Beta Strep and is a bacteria that lives in a woman's vaginal and rectal areas. If passed to the baby during delivery, the baby can become sick and need antibiotics. Fingers crossed for a GBS negative status!!

This week, Baby B is about the size of a coconut. She weighs in now at 4.2 to 5.8 pounds and measuring 17.2 to 18.7 inches long. Her hearing is fully developed now and responds best to higher pitched noises. That's a good thing because her eye sight will not be fully developed at birth so she'll at least be able to hear me. She's also beginning to beef up a little more in preparation for her big arrival.

The Good: We installed our car seat bases this week which was pretty exciting. Now no matter what vehicle I waddle to when I go into labor, we'll have a base installed for the baby's first ride home. The OB also told me the weight from the previous week probably wasn't accurate and even though it looks like I've lost weight this week, I'm actually right on track.

We had a baby shower with work friends last week as well which was amazing. After the shower was over, I took B on a tour of our labor and delivery unit and the postpartum unit so he could feel a little more comfortable when we arrive. Of course, he asked tons of questions, which I'm so excited about, and got a grasp of what is to come. At the end, we turned in our preregistration form so when we get there, all we have to do is check in and get an arm band.

I also ordered about 6 more cloth diapers this week and they came in the mail. My favorite is definitely the red, black and white plaid ones. Now the baby has panties for the Dawg games!

The Bad: I'm really beginning to get uncomfortable. My Braxton Hicks contractions have started to become more frequent which makes me feel like I have to sit up straight all the time. I'm also starting to have the "real deal" contractions which aren't all that fun at all. Of course, I'm only having one or two a day so I'm still a long way away from delivery.

And of course, the very possible worst happened. I saw my first stretch mark while getting in the shower one night. Ok, so maybe it isn't the worst that could happen but it still made me sad. B doesn't understand why I'm not just embracing the stretch marks as a small side effect of the much more important human that I'm growing. While I'm incredibly impressed at what my body has been able to endure during the last 8 months, it's also a little sad knowing that I now have "tattoos" that are going to be staring me back in the face every day.

The next day, B sent me this link. Check it out. I'm pretty amazed.

Until next time!

-W

Week 34

Expectations need to, once again, be lowered. I feel so horrible about not posting last week that I'm not worried about making this week's picture all pretty and fancy. I worked today and I work again tomorrow so this is all you're getting. Take it or leave it.... but please don't leave. K? Love you!

 Oh jeez. What a horrible picture. Thanks, B. Week 34 is upon us and I'm really feeling the pressure. Pressure in my bladder, lungs and in life as I try and make sure things are ready for Baby B. This week, that sweet thang is about the size of a butternut squash. A lot of the stuff I've been reading says the baby can be up to 5 pounds by now. That's a little larger than I had expected at this point. The baby can also recognize songs that I sing. The ones that are sang more often may actually grab her attention when she's here. Maybe I should start filtering what I'm singing. I catch myself singing and/or humming You Are My Sunshine a lot.

The Good: We're almost to the end!! YAY! I can't believe we're in week 34. I see the OB this week and then one more bi-weekly appointment and we'll be going weekly.

The Bad: Sleep is a thing of the past. Seriously, I'm not sure when the last time was that I slept through the night. I pee at least twice and it takes forever to actually get out of bed not to mention getting back in bed and settled. I'm also getting really stiff all over. I'm sure it has a lot to do with where the baby is laying which causes certain nerves to be pinched and other areas to swell. Who knows, I just don't like it.

As you can tell from the picture, me and B have been working on another project. I'm kind of getting tired of constantly working on a room in our house. It doesn't feel like things have been settled since we moved in. This time it was pretty simple. All we did was slap a little paint on the walls and bought an actual bedroom suit, thanks to all the Labor Day sales. I must say, it was hard to convince B a king size bed was much needed but it was well worth all the hard work.

Here's where we started.

The way the room looked before wasn't horrible but It just didn't feel warm and cozy. Here's where we are now. *Note: The room still isn't finished*

We definitely need a new bedspread. Matching lamps would be nice. Nightstands that are the height of the new bed would be great as well. Pictures on the walls. We still have a ways to go but we'll get there.

My parents came over on Saturday to watch the UGA game with us. They brought along their amazing and totally cute lab, Charlie. I LOVE HER!

Charlie gets interested in cameras.

And then she invades your personal space.

And on that bombshell... Goodnight!!

-W

Week 32

Oy! Week 32. Things just keep moving right along and leaving me in the dust. But something exciting is on the horizon.... UGA FOOTBALL!!!!! That's right! The Dawgs will kick off their season this Saturday night against Clemson. Football is a religion in our family and this Saturday is our Holy Day. I surprised B with two tickets to one of the games so we will be making the trek to Athens to watch our beloved Dawgs play before our Redcoat product makes his or her big arrival. But let me break it down.. Football= fall= October= BABY TIME! Oy.

Clearly I spent a lot of time on this particular picture. More importantly, what the heck is a jicama? Baby B is weighing up to 3.6 pounds now and is around 16.7 inches long. My belly is getting a little tight these days. I'm sure baby is running out of room.

At this point, the baby is beginning to settle into position for delivery meaning, the baby is (hopefully) rotating to a head down position. As I get a little further along, that position will make me extremely uncomfortable. I also read that my..... nipples..... may be getting a little darker. This is in case the baby is delivered early, he or she will be able to find where to breastfeed. Pretty awesome, right?

The final masterpieces are being put on the baby as well. At this point, we would be able to see the baby's toenails. Baby B's hair is also developing all of its color so it will look more uniform. The baby has also been developing this layer of hair on its body called lanugo. This fine layer of hair on the baby's skin is believed to help with temperature regulation.

Now on to some old business. The baby shower.

I made that banner! So proud!

Banana Cheesecakes for Curious George

Green eggs and ham.... which were all eaten before the picture.

Grandma to be!

Great aunt to be!

Me and J! B's cousin's wife.

We had a great time! The shower was book themed so all the food was based off of a book. The pictures were taken after the fact but I think you get the idea. I have to send a big shout out to my bff K for putting it all together and bff chef R for cooking everything. Seriously, they worked until 2 am the night before getting things together. They're the best friends a preggo lady needs.

Now some new news. The nursery! This week was pretty big for us. We found a crib on Craigslist (do you know how much those things are new?!) and B finished the closet before he headed off to Houston. Last business trip before the baby comes!

The only part left on the closet is the toy chest that will be built in on the bottom right. I'm so proud of B and all the progress he has made on the room. I think this is it for the nursery. Now all we have to do is get the final touches in place for Baby B to come home. Oy.

The good: We've finished the nursery and now have a crib even though the baby will be sleeping in our room for the first few weeks. My plan is to let the baby nap in the crib once a day to help transition him over to his own room.

The bad: I had an appointment this week and to my surprise, I gained a ton of weight in the last two weeks. The doctor also noticed this and said I need to watch my portions, sweets and make sure I'm exercising. Poop. I don't think my portions have been that bad but I've never craved sweets as much as I have in this pregnancy. At least the weather is cooling off a touch so walking in the evenings will be comfortable. I stepped on the scale this morning so I'll keep a closer track of my weight at home.

-W

Week 31

For this week's update, you will need to lower your standards. I'm not sleeping very well these days and I desperately need to take myself and the little one to bed. I will be giving a more detailed update tomorrow along with some pictures from the baby shower Saturday and some pictures of all the cute baby things I've been collecting/buying/begging for.

But for tonight...

Thought I'd change it up a little and put the fruit/vegetable in the carseat so you have something to scale the size to. Not sure if the baby is the size of just the yellow part or the yellow and green combined. At 31 weeks, I would think the yellow part. 

I better get a head start on that bed thing. It now takes me 1238464.5 days to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. 

When will science take a note from the sea horses and let men carry the baby?

Enjoy!

-W

Week 30 (!!)

Esh! Week 30 is upon us and that means only 10 weeks until the baby gets here. Panic, anxiety and excitement are all beginning to set in. I can't believe we are on the down hill slope of this little person making their big entrance. I'm going to miss being pregnant. Things have gone so well up until now and there really isn't anything I can complain about. Like I said last week, I start going to the OB every two weeks now and that appointment is Wednesday. My first shower is also coming up for this weekend. I'm super excited about that as well. I feel like we're so unprepared for the baby but things will really begin to pick up at this point and I'm sure our family and friends will supply us with all the necessities.

The website I refer to for the vegetable comparisons says the baby is the size of a cucumber this week..... Not sure about that one. I couldn't find one big enough to fit the size that the baby should be. For this week, just look at the belly. That's how big baby is.
Our little one's brain is getting all wrinkly now to make room for more brain matter. I hope the baby has  B's smarts. The baby also now has enough strength to grasp our fingers! The thought makes my heart melt. The baby has also developed distinct sleep and wake patterns. Too bad they don't match up to mine.

Now on to the nursery. Friday afternoon I taped up the walls and began painting the base board. I got a little tape happy and B informed me that I didn't need to try and prevent painting the white walls with white paint. Oh well. I wanted to make sure I didn't mess up. I took me a little longer than normal because I was watching Scandal on Hulu and sometimes that show requires your attention.

Saturday night, B went to a baseball game for a buddy's birthday party. Before he left, we started putting down the shoe mold. If you look in the lower left hand corner, you will see a little bit of it. It's pretty basic so I didn't feel the need to focus on it. At the end of the night, I had one wall painted.

At this point, I was a little worried that the color wasn't what I truly wanted. But I walked out of the room, closed the door and returned around an hour later to look at it again. I realized that I actually loved the color and just needed to look at something different for a while.

Sunday I had to work so B finished up the room. How pretty is this?! Today I was able to see the wall color in different types of light and now I'm 100% positive we chose the right color. Now we're on to picking out furniture. B originally wanted to build the crib but I think he may be drifting from that idea a little due to the time and tools it would take. I think he did a great job on the nursery so there's no need to impress me.

The good: We're 10 weeks away from meeting sweet Baby B. I've also had to add another pillow to my sleep regime. Sometimes I feel like I need the added support. B is also getting more interested in this whole baby thing. Let's face it, there isn't much he could have done up until now. But now he has taken on the very important task of packing the hospital bag, or "bug out" bag as he calls it. I find it really sweet that he's getting excited about things too.

The bad: As you probably have already figured out, sleep is becoming more difficult these days. Between peeing and not being able to find a comfortable position, I find myself awake all night. Which brings me to my second problem. Laying on my back. The baby and my uterus now sit on the major vein that runs into my heart and basically cuts off the circulation. Sooooo, when I lay on my back, the blood pulses in my face as if I'm hanging upside down. The second pillow in bed gives me a little support so I can lean back without rolling over to my back. Complicated, I know. B isn't sure what to think about the new intruder in our bed but he's being super supportive anyway.

That's all for this week. Next time I'll have some exciting pictures of our baby shower! I'm also trying to talk B into writing a post of his own. Wish me luck!

-W

The Weekly, An Expo and The Nursery

Week 29 and I haven't blogged in two weeks. So sorry for that. My photographer was in Houston, Texas last week and I pulled not one but two 14 hour shifts at work as well. The only thing on my mind was sleep at the end of the day. Last week I also had my regular doctor appointment and had my glucose challenge along with a blood draw to test for anemia. I'm happy to report all of the lab values are normal and I am progressing along quite nicely. There use to be a time when I would get anxious about my next appointment because hearing the heartbeat was the only way I knew there was a little person growing in there but now the kicks are so frequent, the appointments have lost their luster. The kicks are actually starting to make me uncomfortable. The baby kicks when I'm trying to sleep, while I'm talking to my patients, when I'm driving.... all the time! But with every kick, I fall in love with him/her a little more.

This week baby is the size of an acorn squash. Seriously, what am I supposed to cook with that?! Baby B weighs in between 2.5-3.8 pounds and is measuring 15.2-16.7 inches long. Can you believe he will almost triple in size before delivery?! Look at how big I am! There's no room left to grow!! Baby B is also putting on some weight (like some other people I know in the B house) and because of that, he has a little more energy. That explains why I feel him kick a lot more each week. He's also beginning to run out of space in there and that explains the foot in my rib for a good portion of the day.

I've also been busy making my registries this week. I am only doing two and have both of them completed. That was crazy fun. If you ever want to get a good laugh at B, take him to a baby store and set him loose with a scanner in his hand.

My mom, cousin, aunt, sister-in-law, best friend and I headed to Athens for a free baby expo. It was my first and was a lot of fun. While we were there, one of the booths had a little photo area set up.

That's my cousin and I. Our moms are sisters and we are only about 6 months in age apart from each other so we grew up pretty close. Two years ago she had her first daughter.... 13 weeks early. She never got to enjoy registries, showers, and expos so I've tried to include her in everything that I've been doing in my pregnancy. We're even having a joint shower in September. She's due about 6 weeks after me so our little ones will grow up together as well.

Next order of business, the nursery. I'm so proud of all the progress B has made on the baby's room. Here's where we started Friday.

I should have taken a better before picture because, at this point, we had already ripped up the base board and cleaned up the mess.

Here is where he got to on Saturday afternoon while I was at the expo.

I think he gets more work done when I'm not home. Not sure how to take that.

He worked on it some more Sunday but I forgot to take an update picture but this is where he was Monday night when I got home.

Pretty! The room definitely isn't finished. It needs shoe mold and paint. The bottom half will be all white and the top will be grey. I've already started buying small things to hang on the wall and my aunt is going to make my curtains and bedding. Yay for a nursery!!

Also, here's a close up of the bead board we used.

The good: I passed my test which means so gestational diabetes for me! I haven't started developing any stretch marks... yet. I'm sure they're coming but for now I'm enjoying my skin being nice and clear. I also invested in a belly support band last week. That thing is amazing! Sometimes you feel like you need that extra help holding up your ever growing abdomen.

The bad: Sleep is getting a little more difficult. I feel like I wake up more often now but I don't pee each time which is nice. I can't seem to cool off. Poor B sleeps with the sheet, comforter and an extra blanket on the bed. I feel bad but I feel like I sweat all the time. I know I said my belly band is nice but between that, my compression hose and maternity bra, getting my uniform on for work each morning takes a little more time than usual. But on the flip side, I stay comfortable for the entire 12 hours that I'm on my feet.

That's all you're getting this week. I now start going to the OB every 2 weeks so my next appointment is next Wednesday! How exciting!

See you next week. Don't forget, IT'S SHARK WEEK!!!!

-W

Week 27

Week 27.. 13 weeks until we meet Baby B! Things are really picking up around here. Showers are being planned, registries are sort of getting done and baby shows are being booked. We've also began work on the nursery... kind of. We've gone in and started drawing on the walls what we want to do and making sure our ideas are matching up. The bump picture was taken in the nursery again and you can see some of the drawing in the background. I thought it would be fun to show my progress and the room's progress at the same time.

As I mentioned before, we were at the beach all last week. We had a great time relaxing with family and enjoying some much needed time on the beach. My dad and B have this obsession with go-cart tracks. Every time we go on vacation together, they, along with my brother, have to race around a track at least once. There was a track down the street from my grandparent's house where we were staying so we walked down one day. As they were racing around the track, the lovely track attendant decided to drop his two cents on my pregnancy. The conversation went something like this:

Track guy: So why aren't you guys racing?
Me: *Patting belly*
TG: Oh I guess that's a good reason.
*Gives me a puzzled look*
TG: You're pregnant?! How far along are you?
Me: 26 weeks.
TG: Wow. How old are you?
Me: 25.
TG: *Shakes head* Babies having babies.

WHAT?! Are you seriously telling me I was just told I was too young to have kids by a man who is working a teenagers dream job?! I was terribly upset by this. Maybe 25 is too young for some but I've been married for 2 years, graduated from college and am currently work my dream job. Why not add a little more joy into my personal life?

Ugh. Some people.

I'm dropping two bump pictures on you today. The first is a picture that B took last week while on the beach at sunset and the other is this week's current picture.

This week, Baby B is the size of a rutabaga. What do you do with those? At this point, the baby can survive, with medical assistance, outside my body but I've seen much smaller before. Her brain stem is almost fully developed and her cerebral cortex is also growing more and more. So she's basically becoming a complex, karate kicking, hand grasping little person in there. She's also measuring between 13 and 14 inches and weighs in between 1.5 and 2.5 pounds. That's a good size baby, if you ask me.

The good: My Snoogle pillow is really making sleep much easier so I feel a little more rested in the morning. And as most weeks, I still love feeling my little one kicking around in there. Though, the absence of kicks causes me to stay awake until I sit up and hunch over so my lungs crowd the baby's space and forces her to kick. Sorry, kid.

The bad: B got a recliner from my parents a few weeks ago and we realized that it is perfect for when my feet are swollen. It usually takes one short nap in the chair and my ankles are back down to size. A few days ago I noticed a nasty adverse effect. I realized that my hands were going numb and my elbows felt tingly. Yep. Somehow reclining causes fluid to shift in my hands and makes my carpel tunnel flare up. Awesome. And better yet, the baby also sits on my sciatic nerve which makes my legs hurt halfway through the day. I'm also eating Tums like they're Skittles these days but I'd take those symptoms any day over being sick. Oh, and I'm also still having contractions.

So we've covered last week, bump pictures, unsolicited opinions and my pity party. Sounds like a typical week in the B house!

See you next week.

-W

Week 26

I would normally see this as just another week but I'm starting to relate every week that ticks by with the quickly diminishing remaining weeks. So while this is week 26, I see it as 14 weeks until baby B makes his or her big debut and we don't even have the nursery ready. Scratch that. We haven't even started the nursery. Procrastination at its finest.

Fortunately, we are at the beach so the nursery is the furthest thing from my mind. 2 years ago, me and B got married on the beach in the middle of some of the worst rain I've ever seen. Now, we have come back for the first time since then to celebrate. We went to dinner at The Boatyard, which was fantastic and then ended up with a sort of friendly game of putt putt. I lost. I owe him a milkshake of his choice. I'm still trying to renegotiate the terms of my loss.

I'm posting from my iPad so I'm not sure where the picture is going to end up. This picture was taken before we left for dinner. Anniversaries are a big deal for us so we dressed in our finest for dinner.

This week, Baby B is the size of a head of lettuce. Pretty big if you ask me. He weighs in between 1.5 and 2.5 pounds and is measuring somewhere between 13 and 15 inches. His eyelashes are now fully formed and so are his eyes. He will soon start to open and close them. His immune system is already taking in antibodies from me and he's also starting to inhale and exhale amniotic fluid. So in other words, I'm growing a fish.

The good: In some books, week 26 marks the beginning of the third trimester. Not sure how I feel about that. I'm excited but also nervous about the upcoming delivery. B is also able to feel more kicks these days. Every morning he rolls over, lays his hand on my stomach and feels our little wiggle worm moving into a new position. I'm glad he's able to share that with me.

The bad: Swelling is getting a little worse. I now make sure I wear my compression hose every day or my ankles become cankles and my feet no longer fit in flip flops. Just a small price to pay, I guess. Heartburn is also getting a little worse. I notice it more when it's time to eat. I keep Tums on hand when I start to notice flare up.

That's all for this week. I'll check back with you next week for t-13 weeks.

-W

Week 25

Hello again! Two posts in one week. Way to go, me! We have arrived at week 25 and things are still moving a long quite nicely. I have to admit, I'm kind of loving this whole pregnancy thing. The thing I love the most is laying in bed feeling the baby move around and kick. When the movements first started, it felt more like kicks but now that the baby is growing so big, the movements feel more like the baby sticks a foot out and then glides it across my stomach. Such an amazing feeling that can never be described to anyone else.

This week, Little B has progressed to the size of a cauliflower. The baby measures about a foot long and weighs a little over a pound and a half. That's a pretty big baby. He is also aware of which way is up and which is down. Hopefully, he will know to start heading south towards the end of all of this. The baby is also beginning to develop some cute baby fat and more hair is starting to grow. Now for the scary part, this kid is growing finger nails. Now, when you say finger nails, most people would picture cute, tiny, little nails on the tips of those cute, tiny, little fingers. To one who is pregnant you picture 10 inch talons that are going to scratch and claw your insides out as you're pushing the baby into his new life. How scary is that?! I'm sure it isn't the way things will happen but it still keeps me up at night. That and the thought of snakes falling on the deck and eating my baby.

The good: My Snoogle pillow. That thing is amazing. I sleep so much better now and I think B has adapted to something else being in the bed with us as well. Like I said before, the kicks are definitely still nice to feel.

The bad: Heartburn is starting to kick in. It doesn't happen all day but usually in the afternoons, either before dinner or shortly after, I feel a little heartburn flare up. It doesn't bother me that much but it is an uncomfortable feeling. I know I've said the movement is amazing but the baby has now grown big enough to stretch way down to my bladder and pelvis. Usually around 7 in the evening, the baby will make a trek down to my internal trampoline and have a little cardio workout. But that isn't the worst part, when he's jumping on my bladder, sometimes he bumps into my pelvis and occasionally, my spine. It doesn't hurt but it is uncomfortable and I sometimes feel a little sore. I've asked B if we can pull a seahorse and let him carry the baby for a little while. He's still thinking about it.

Week 26 may be late or nonexistent due to our upcoming trip to the beach. This will be the first time since our wedding that me and B have ventured back to the location of our wedding. We're super excited but vacation means no computers. 

See ya in a few weeks!

-W