Our Unexpected Beautiful Life

Today was a great day. I got a lot of sleep and just spent the day hanging around the house with my dog. She seems really anxious and I'm trying to get a lot of quality time in with her before things change so drastically. We hung out watching movies and cooking shows today and she didn't leave my side all day. I freaking love my dog. She is the sweetest dog in the world.  I did end up making it to the store, though I admit that's getting harder so I might ask my mom to go with me next time.  I have a work training tomorrow morning so I'm heading to bed super early tonight. I'm so grateful I'm finally able to get sleep. It has been wonderful feeling rested.  11 more days!

So my dog, Kaci, has been acting really weird. She's always been very sweet but now she will not leave my side for a second! And if I have any moment of discomfort, she's practically in my lap giving me kisses. Yesterday, when I tried to leave she tried to go with me, which she never does, and then did this weird howl when she realized she didn't get to go.  It's just weird for a highly independent dog to suddenly act like this. I'm really starting to wonder if she knows something is coming.  At night, this is what she does lol. Seriously makes you wonder just how intuitive dogs are. I love her!!!

I will be meeting my son on August 11th! 12 more days!!!! It's so fun knowing his birthday! My C-section is scheduled for 3:00pm on August 11th. I'm mentally preparing for recovery and excited to meet my baby boy!!!!! Yay!!!!!

Yesterday, I went in for a routine doctor's appointment and they noticed high blood pressure and protein in my urine, 2 of the 3 symptoms of Preeclampsia. My doctor then admitted me to labor and delivery to be tested for Preeclampsia. After four very restless hours, they discovered that I had the very beginnings of preeclampsia so they decided to move up my c-section to keep us both safe.

Last week, I learned that my baby is frank breech. This position is the most rare form of breech and the hardest to turn. His feet are up by his head and he never turned. And just for the record, only 2% of babies are frank breech at 37 weeks, and my child is one of them! Because of his positioning, and me being uncomfortable with the risks of turning him, I will be having a c section. When he comes out, it is likely his feet will be up by his head. This was hard on me as I don't want him to hurt, but my doctor assured me he will not be in any pain and that his legs will go down in a few days. Poor little guy :( An example of legs up after birth.... I've gone through all the tears and now feel good about the c section decision. I know we are both in good hands and I feel good about doing what's best for my son. 

Well Adam has dropped! I didn't even notice until my mom said something and now I'm like OH WOW, he has!!!! 

Today during my ultrasound, the sonogram lady told me that Adam has chubby cheeks and tons of hair, like an inch! Omg how cute!! And that explains the awful heartburn.  I hope it sticks straight up, and if he has dimples like his mama I think I just might die. I can't wait to see my boy!  I was told to be ready for labor anytime after 37 weeks. That's next week! Holy cow!!!!

Today I did NOT feel good. I stayed in bed pretty much all day. Everything hurts and I've had some pains in my abdomen. Adam has been crazy active today, too. I've felt pretty nauseous and can't wait to get to bed. Kaci, my dog, has been so sweet today. She never left my side, in bed, the hour or so I got up, and then when I had my bad nausea spell, she was pretty much in my lap checking on me. I'm always amazed at how much dogs can love. I honestly don't know what I'd do without my furry daughter. Tomorrow, I have a sonogram at 10:00am and then I'm going up to work for a little while to get some supplies ordered for my sub.  Hoping tomorrow is better!

So I've mentioned before that I've been suffering from insomnia. Last week, it got REALLY bad. There were several times that I only got 2-3 hours of sleep per 24 hour period and I was miserable because of it. It affected my life, as I was miserable around people, by myself, and it was really hard to make plans because I never knew when I would be alert. I remember one day I actually cried. I was just SO in need of rest. My doctor recently prescribed me a more serious strength of Ambien and so far it seems to be working. I slept 10 hours last night and I tell you what, I feel like dancing. There is nothing better than feeling rested when you haven't been in so very long. As of right now, I'm back to a normal sleep schedule, being awake during the DAY. This is so nice. Next week I have two work trainings and a couple of doctor appointments so I'm hoping that this will keep me on days for a little while. And I'm hoping some productivity will wear me out and kee...

So I have to admit, I'm a bit freaked out every time I look in the mirror before a shower. There are some SERIOUS changes going on concerning boobage. When I first found out I was pregnant, the boobs were very sore for about 2 weeks, which has never happened before. It then subsided and they just grew and grew. They seemed to stop growing around the middle of my second trimester. Now, some freaky stuff is happening! The areolas are completely dark now, we're talking REALLY dark brown, gross! And now the milk glands have formed so there are seriously long bumpy glands that pop up randomly. The areolas have about tripled in size. Weird. Also, I'm getting an OUTER swelling around the nipple, it looks crazy! So basically, I now have UDDERS! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!

Over the past two years, I have gained A LOT of weight. It started slowly, when I started slacking on my nutrition during my last marathon training season. I started gaining weight and running got harder. The harder it got, the more discouraged I felt, and I ultimately just stopped trying because every time that I did and rediscovered how hard it had gotten, I felt like a failure. Also during that time, I was toying with the idea of having a child on my own. It was quite an emotional battle for myself because it was such a big decision. This created stress for me and I kept gaining weight. Once I had made the decision to YES, move forward with having a baby, the next battle was fighting for the support from my family. This was pretty hard on me as many of them didn't support what I wanted. I was passionate and emotional and kept gaining and gaining. I felt very alone. Once it was time to start trying, I was always nervous to exercise during the two week wait period of finding o...

So as I've explained in the past, I have been having some serious insomnia issues. Ambien worked for a couple of day and now it doesn't at all. I couldn't sleep at all last night, so being restless and awake, I met a friend for breakfast. After breakfast, she treated me to a pedicure, so sweet! And we were laughing so hard because you know those massage chairs? Well, I turned it on, and I put it on the "knead back" setting, and it starting "kneading" so hard that it made my whole body shake really fast. My poor baby!! He probably had NO idea what was going on! LOL!! But anyway, my toes are pretty and I got some great quality time with one of my favorite people!  I came home and slept about 6 hours but now feel even worse because it's not near enough for two days. I'm going to try and go back to sleep here in a bit. We will see if it works. Tomorrow I go back to the doctor for my 35 week sonogram and check-up. I'm going to talk to them abo...

Well, I officially look like a pregnant lady. I realized today just how big I am now! WOW! About time I look pregnant!!! I've just been looking fat up until now. I don't even mind the roly poly face now that you can tell why. Ha! From now on, I will be taking pics weekly until birth to view the progress of the bump. I made my "bump" page in the baby book and it looks really cool side by side. FUN!

Okay, I'm sorry, but I cannot help but notice the huge aches and pains in my butt, hips and upper thighs. What. The. Hell. It seriously feels like I've done 100 squats, and I assure you, I have NOT! LOL. The only thing I've been working out is my couch. Oh and my remote. I looked it up and it says it sometimes happens in late pregnancy when the body is "preparing for labor." Ummm....okay, I definitely have not heard that one, but it was nice seeing it in print. Lol the things they do not tell you!!!

So nesting is officially in full force now. I think it's safe to say the instinct has been active all summer, but I've noticed that it has gotten stronger this week. For example, I was laying in bed trying to go to sleep, until I had the severe urge to take out all the trash, mail my bills and clean out my car. And it had to be done right then, at 5am! So I did it. Everything just has to be ready for him! And now that it's done, I am able to calm down and try to sleep. And yes it's 7am. The joy of getting days and nights mixed up. 

Well, it's been a very busy summer thus far, and now, everything is done! I've read all my pregnancy and baby prep books, I'm done with his room, I've packed all I can for the hospital until the last minute, I've cleaned my apartment top to bottom, and now....there's nothing to do but wait! WEIRD!!! I guess I could always organize the pantry and scrub the base boards. Hmm... So yeah, things just suddenly got very quiet and boring and I'm not sure how to feel about it! .........*cricket sounds*..............

Today was a really good day. I got an 8 hour stretch of sleep for the first time in about two months. I woke up so happy and I felt like a different person. Feeling rested for the first time in awhile made everything feel better; it was wonderful. Once I got up, I went to an SMC gathering and it was great. What I love about this group is that it's a group full of women that are in similar situations as me, and they feel like family and take care of each other. I also love that no one is into gossip and it's just a great group of supportive women. Oh and did I mention that the kiddos are adorable? It's so fun to watch them grow up. I can't believe mine will be running around playing with them soon. A friend of mine was sweet enough to give me a baby monitor (I've been having issues finding one that works) and a couple of toys so Adam has EVERYTHING now. It feels so awesome to provide for my baby boy and to be surrounded with such giving people. I also got some re...

Well I've had a lot to think about over the last two days. Let me start from the top.... I was really thinking that Adam had dropped because of the movement I've been feeling really down low. And there was one day I had some pain and I thought maybe he was turning. Nope, the pain was severe gas pains (ow) and the movement down low is just him growing. He grew one lb in the last two weeks. Right now he is weighing in at 5 lbs 15 oz, so almost 6 lbs and if I were to go full term, he is looking to be about 8 and a half lbs. They measured him and again, he's very average everywhere, just very long, which is adding to his weight. They also said long babies sometimes are overweighed because their length messes with the calculation of how they determine weight. So, I think he's gonna be a long and skinny baby. That'll be cute cause he'll look like an old man with his jeans up high! HAHA. Ok so here is the dilemma. He is STILL breech and the doctors want him to be h...

Great news! Today I feel decent! YAY!! My tummy pains are gone and I don't feel weak anymore. Plus my pain bubble pain is pretty low today, and I managed to get a cumulative 8 hours of sleep last night. Now it wasn't at night, it was during the day, and it wasn't 8 hours in one stretch, but I'll take it just the same! Tonight was my labor and delivery class. I have been very nervous about labor as it looks and sounds absolutely horrible. It also is fact that everyone likes to share their horror stories of the knowledge of their worst labor story of all time. This does not help. Well, I was hoping that the class would ease my nervousness and help me feel less anxious about the process. NOPE! Was a total fail. Let me start from the beginning... The class started and we had the grandma type instructor that taught my newborn essentials class. I was a bit bummed about this because she's a little more not with it and doesn't know her material as well. She's ve...

Today has been pretty rough.  Got no sleep and feel bad.  I think Adam is really growing because I feel a very strong and uncomfortable Streching sensation in my mid abdomen.  I'm wondering if maybe he's now in transverse position.  Hmm,  very curious to find out.  I need to go to the store today because I have no food but when I get back,  it's off to bed again I go.  Maybe I will feel better tomorrow . 

It's been an interesting week. I've had some great social experiences along the lines of quality time with great friends and family. My "feeling like crap" spells have been touch and go, though I'm happy to report that they haven't been constant. The pressure in my chest has seemed to open up a little bit, which leads me to believe that Adam has dropped. I'm now feeling a ton of pressure in my lower pelvic area and the movement I am feeling is lower, too. I'm very curious to see if he has turned. One good thing is that I seem to be sleeping a little bit better. Not normal hours, necessarily, but now I'm up to about 6 hours a night which feels better than the 3 hour a night streak I have been experiencing. I can breathe easier, which is nice because before it really was killing me. So yeah, other than the normal pain bubble and now the feeling of him falling out of me any minute, it's a bit better. Yay! Hope it lasts!! I am loving my time off, I...

Just a warning, this is a complaint post so if you're sensitive to pregnancy complaining, this one might be a good one to skip.  I've tried to stay positive, I've tried to be cognizant of my words but I need to get it out. Things are getting HARD. Here are my current symptoms: Pain bubble is back-constant pain level of 3 as of today Severe heartburn Shortness of breath Headaches Can't bend forward Severe insomnia, averaging three hours of sleep a night  Hurts to sit without my feet being elevated ZERO energy Random severe cramps Night sweats and frequent overheating Constant bladder pressure-very uncomfortable  Nausea spells Butt and tummy is expanding and it hurts to sit in smaller chairs LOTS of lower abdominal pressure-feels like a bowling ball is going to fall out of me any minute My point: I'm miserable. This stage in pregnancy is much harder than I thought it was going to be. I'm really ready for him to come. I'm medically considered full term at 37 we...

I've really been struggling with sleep lately. I always sleep for about three hours, then I wake up for two hours, then repeat. It's so strange. I've always been a really hard sleeper so this is a struggle. And it's weird because it's not like there's a baby keeping me awake. Maybe it's my body getting me ready or something. I just cannot get comfortable.... I'm also getting overheated easily and generally feel warm all the time. My poor AC is trying to keep up! Again, strange for this naturally cold natured girl. It really is starting to feel like I have a bun in the oven.  I woke up after two hours of sleep this morning to a VERY sick stomach. I finally think it's passing, and I don't think is was fun for Adam, he's all kinds of riled up now.  I'm off to try to complete a sleep cycle....wish me luck!!!

The nursery is FINISHED!!! I absolutely *LOVE* it!!!

I'm so excited! I just finished Adam's Baby Book! Here is the link: www.mixbook.com/photo-books/interests/adam-s-baby-book-10698369?vk=mK4wXkUjgU Now obviously the birth numbers will need to be adjusted when he arrives and the blank spots are for me to write and for pictures. I'm so glad I was able to customize something specifically for us so he doesn't have any missing daddy information. It's much more simple than the family yearbook but I'm still excited about filling this out for him once he arrives! Yay! :0)

So I have made a *HUGE* dent in my to-do list over the past two weeks. A lot of it is because of my awesome friends who made decor and helped me set up the nursery, and I also was able to get all of his stuff washed. It took *MANY* loads of laundry but I have officially washed Adam's: Blankets Burp cloths All clothes up to 6 months (he has A LOT of clothes) Hats Mittens Bottles Pacis Wash Cloths Booties Bassinet sheets Towels Receiving Blankets Crib Sheets Bibs Socks MAN! That was a lot of work!! The only thing I have left to do in the nursery is: -Hang Decal -Buy a trashcan and put it up -Put the glider in there (I'm picking it up tomorrow morning) I have some more to do on the to-do list but I'm making SERIOUS progress! If I can get the decal up, the nursery will be done by the end of this weekend and ALL of his stuff will be ready for him. I also got the bassinet ready, too. It has a new clean sheet on it, fully equipped with extra sheets, paja...

Yay! Some happy news!!! I played with my Camcorder, switched out SD cards, studied and learned the DVD software and I'm happy to report that I now know how to record videos, upload them to my computer, create an adorable DVD title page and menu template, fully equipped with music and graphics, and burn and make additional copies to DVDs! Why is it that I can't be hands-on crafty, but I'm pretty good at the computer stuff?! I guess because it's fun to me. Anyway, I am *SUPER* excited to make my first DVD! I've already started it. It's called: Baby Adam: Preparation and First Days Of Life The Table Of Contents will be: -The Gender Reveal -The Home Tour (I'm going to video a walk of the apartment for him) -Labor (Don't worry, just a SMALL part, nothing graphic) -Mommy Meets Adam -Adam meets his friends and family -Coming Home -Adam meets his sister Kaci -First Bath I'm *SO* super excited that I know how to do this! How fun will it be t...

Yesterday I had my 32 week dr's appointment and sonogram. The doctor's appointment went well, I was assured the pain and nausea I've been randomly feeling is completely normal and they seemed surprised that I've had zero swelling. My blood pressure was also perfect. I'm pretty healthy for a puffy girl! WOOP!! I saw a different doctor this time, which is probably good because any one of them will be delivering Adam, depending on who's on call that day. In the weight department, I ended up gaining four pounds over the last two weeks. Oops!!! The doctor I saw yesterday was pretty funny, outgoing and full of life. I told him that I've been feeling this really heavy pressure in my pelvic area and it's really uncomfortable. He replies with, "Yeah, at this point in pregnancy it should feel like everything is about to fall out of your vagina." Haha I said, "Oh. Wow. Okay. Well that about sums up what I'm feeling!" Lol.  I was happy to fin...