Tuesday, April 30, 2013

unanswered questions

 
 
i had a dr. appointment last week
and i'm still measuring "really small."
so small, that after she checked for the heart beat,
my doctor went back and remeasured me to be sure.
hmmmm, not good?
 
i asked her about traveling to st. louis for a wedding in may.
she said no.
 
i asked her about the swelling on my left side.
she said that brette was making her home on that side.
and that was the reason for the slight swelling.
nothing to worry about.
 
i asked her what i was measuring.
around 30, but i'm supposed to be around a 34.
(normally, however many weeks along you are,
is how many centimeters you are.)
so i'm off about a month.
 
but do you know what i didn't ask her?
what that meant.
so now i have no clue what the deal is
and once i was home i had a million questions.

what does this mean for brette?
what does this mean for my due date?
what growth rate does she want to see out of me in the next month?
is there something i can do?
 (my mom heard i should drink a gallon of water a day. 
try it. its super hard and you'll most likely spend the
majority of your time in the bathroom.)
 
my doctor said to come back in two weeks and get remeasured.
depending on what my measurements are then,
i might have to get an ultrasound to check the level of my amniotic fluid.
that could be the reason why i'm measuring small.
if its too low, its dangerous for the baby.
 
since my doctor didn't freak out and thought i could wait two weeks,
i am also not freaking out.  but i wish i would have asked more about
what she thought the reason for my small measurements were. 
i obviously have lots of questions and i'm trying to wait patiently for next week
when i will know more.
 
pray for lots of growth.
(just not the extreme kind that will give me stretch marks.)




Monday, April 29, 2013

owl love you girls forever

i had an amazing baby shower over the weekend.
my besties invited all my friends to come celebrate brette.
all the details were perfection.
 
(its a girl pink nail polish favors)

(mini cupcakes, fruit kabobs, parfaits, veggies, sandwiches)

(candy for everyone)

(owl theme, presents, wine)
 
(jaime and dana)

(reese, practicing future wine glass skills)

(owl tulips)

(my girlfriends from work)
 
(my gf's but i cut out jess)
 
(the hostesses and my best friends)
 
 
(me and brette)

(opening gifts while kass folds all my tissue paper)

(college roomies)

(my besties in all of our jean jacket glory)
 
just want to give a big shout out to my ladies.
owl love you girls forever,
thanks for making me feel so special.
 
 
what did i wear?
my chevron old navy maternity dress.
so comfortable. i love it.
(35 weeks)


 
 

Monday, April 22, 2013

update: 34 weeks

i'm thirty-four weeks.

weight? i haven't weighed myself in weeks.  i need to.  i don't think anything crazy happened like i gained 10 lbs, but i know i'm still growing. i'm not sure if this is true, but i feel like i get bigger as the day goes on.  by nighttime, i'm pretty uncomfortable and feeling huge, but ronnie (encouraging as ever) says its not as bad as he thought it would be.  so sweet. he could write greeting cards.
*** update: i weighed myself this morning and i've gained 21 lbs. totally on track.***

cravings?  this has not changed since day one.  i want a soda and something sweet.  and since i'm not having the one, i overload on the other.  did you know you can get three warm amazing chocolate chip cookies at mcdonald's for $1? life changing, i tell ya.

side effects? my back pain is still around but not nearly as bad as it was the last time i checked in at 27 weeks.  its much more manageable now. if i ever feel major back pain coming on i normally strap on my back brace and try changing positions. usually i can work through it.  my newest issue is i believe brette has taken one of her feet and wedged it between a couple ribs on my left side. i feel bruised there and i am constantly applying pressure to try to get her to move.  its not working. i also feel like my left leg might be swelling. sounds really pretty, right? its not bad and i don't think you would notice, but i can feel it. maybe something weird is happening because all my symptoms are on my left side?  hmmm.

baby? brette should be around 5lbs - - compared to a bag of flour and around 17 inches long.  holy baby.  she also has fingernails that have reached the end of her fingers, her eyes open when she's awake and close when she's sleeping and she has developed her immune system.  sounds like she is definitely get the final touches before she comes to meet us.  she is also moving constantly, but i'm happy to say she's pretty still at night. i'm hoping that means she does not have her days and nights confused. here's hoping. but her movements are strong.  they no longer feel like i'm riding a roller coaster, they feel like i definitely have a baby in my stomach flopping around.  it's weird.

preparations? the nursery is pretty much done.  i still need to buy a mirror, which i found, but haven't bought yet and ronnie still needs to make her a shelf. i picked a pediatrician and sent in paperwork to the hospital to get us set up for some classes.  i'd really like us to have infant cpr and i'm looking into anything else they offer. i plan on getting it all done in may, so all we'll have to do is pack a bag and wait. my baby showers are this weekend and the weekend after that, so that should help us get the important things we need like sheets, bath stuff, blankets, etc. i'm so excited to see what my friends and family cooked up. 
          
the best thing? um. its almost over. she'll be here and i can have my body back. and i'm really excited for the baby showers.  i like to feel prepared and i can't wait to have everything bought and set up for her arrival.

the worst thing?  the rib thing is pretty bothersome right now, but since my back pain is actually getting better, i can only be thankful.

so there it is.
me at 34 weeks.

 34 weeks
 33 weeks
32 weeks

some comparisons?

                                                                                      
    
go clockwise:
      17 weeks, 22 weeks, 27 weeks, 34 weeks

Sunday, April 21, 2013

the flood plains

we came home from an amazing vacation to
an ugly problem.

our basement flooded.

big time.

apparently, shortly after we left our sump pump's motor burned out
and stopped pumping.  so instead, it backed up all the water into
our newly finished basement.
ughhhhhhhhh!

so frustrating.
we had the ugliest basement for years and not one water problem.
as soon as we paint, carpet and build a built-in,
things go to hell.

we called our insurance company
and they had some workers come by to remove
the baseboards
the carpet
the drywall.
oh and they found mold, so then we had to call in a specialist.
they've sprayed, cleaned, and dried out the most of it.
but we did have to pitch the bed, a bookshelf and two nightstands.
we were able to salvage ronnie's shelving unit that he built,
so that's one relief.

but i hate life.
we're basically starting over from scratch.
so much to do and i really don't feel like working
on the house anymore.
i just want to relax and be pregnant.
and poor ronnie has an endless list.
hopefully the insurance company will pay for someone else to do the work.
i'm over this.
remember when our basement looked like this for the first three years we lived here?
not one problem.
then we did a bunch of work and it looked like this?

(living room) 
(bedroom) 
and now...

(living room)
 (bedroom)


can you believe it?
i still can't.



Wednesday, April 17, 2013

driving down the 101

we headed as west as we possibly could and hit the coast.
ronnie loves the mountains but i thought we definitely needed to visit
the ocean since we were so close.
and the mountains were still all around us,
so it was the best of both worlds...
and once again, so freaking pretty.



beached whale, i don't want to talk about it.






lighthouse #1


ronnie got a little seasick on our whale watching boat ride.
poor thing.



lighthouse #2


amazing little lunch spot after our boat ride.


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

cascade, not just for dishes

my family's favorite place to go is the rocky mountains because its so beautiful,
but i think i've found a new favorite.
the cascades.
they are gorgeous.
it's so green.
everything is covered in moss
and i loved it.
the fact that we stayed in the columbia river gorge only helped
my opinion of the area.  
my pictures don't do it justice.
 
 

 
please take note of the top left picture below.
ronnie and i were trying to cut across the mountains to get to our hotel
and we ran into snow.
so much snow that we had to turn around and back track an hour and a half.
it was a crazy adventure and our rental corolla wasn't up for the challenge.



 

 
my favorite part was driving down old highway 30,
known for its waterfalls.
 

the town where we stayed was part of the old oregon trail.