8 More Weeks and Then I Can Breathe!

Well the baby is out of room, says the doc. She has grown up under my breast bone which means her feet stay in my ribs and breast bone. This results in me not being able to breathe. She is soooo high. The doc says now I will start growing out.

In my recent post, I talked about how people kept saying I am small and I totally did not agree. Well now I do. After going to these classes with Matt and being around other pregos that are the same weeks, I am much smaller. Even Matt couldn't believe how much smaller I am in comparison. I am glad I am pretty much all belly, so then the weight will come off A LOT easier! 

Over the past couple of weeks I have had the worst pain due to my sciatic nerve on my right side. It got to the point I could barely roll over in bed. In the middle of the night my hip would freeze up and I wouldn't hardly be able to walk. Luckily, the baby moved off of it the other day. Matt bought me a prenatal massage and it was AWESOME!!! The masseuse was gentle but relieved a lot of pressure and it didn't hurt. I know Matt means well, but he bares down and it hurts!!! She also couldn't believe I was 8 months. She thought 6.

As of now, the only discomfort I am having is feet in the ribs and the massive ball of pressure in my stomach. I have to sit up really straight--hard back chair and stand like I am a puppet on a string. Other than that, this has been a great pregnancy and I hope labor and delivery is the same. Many prayers have been said so hopefully my worries will be just worries.

My biggest worry right now is the cord around the baby's neck. That is a huge fear of mine. She moves around soooo much, I'm scared about that and when she starts moving down the birth canal. She is over 4lbs now and hiccups multiple times during the day. She is really growing!!!! We can't wait to meet her and see what she looks likes, who she will favor, and how she will be. The anticipation is making us inpatient!!! 

Another prayer was answered as well. We have a babysitter for Mondays and Tuesdays!!! We are soooooo happy that Matt's sister, Christie has said she would do it!!!! This is exactly what we were hoping!!! She will be wonderful with Andi and we get to keep the baby in the family!!!! 

Onto a different subject. Talk about irony. Last Sunday I was talking to Matt, wondering what happened to the case of my stolen wallet from last year. They were suppose to have trial for the guy in May and never heard anything. Well Wednesday I got a subpoena and I have to testify. They originally had the wrong guy but I looked up his mugshot and the one they have now is the one. I really don't want to go to court. It is going to STRESS ME OUT!!!! Oh well, he used $3000 of mine, so I am definitely going to press charges. Oct 29th is the day and they have him for 8 different charges. It says that I might have to appear for future hearings...boo!! Oh well, hopefully it goes well.

Something to Think About

Matt and I have been going and enjoying our childbirth education classes/lamaze. I think it is really helping Matt overcome his anxiety about the birthing process. I am very proud of how interactive in the class he has been. He has been answering questions about me and my discomforts...things that I haven't really noticed. Something I have been debating A LOT lately is

getting an epidural. The more I have heard stories, the more I am not for it. I know that doctors tend to push back getting it so you can get up and move and let gravity do its thing. Then I have heard about how it wears off too early or doesn't kick in until after the baby. I have not taken any kind of pain meds like Tylenol this whole pregnancy. There have been plenty of times I've wanted to especially these days but I am sticking to my guns and not giving in. I consider myself a pretty tough person and I think I am going to go as long as possible, if the entire labor, without pain meds.

Our instructor has talked about the transition phase in labor which is when the woman becomes a holy terror. This really holds true if there isn't any pain meds so Matt is in for a shocker. However, during our last class the instructor was telling us what to pack in our hospital bag and she said a good camera/video camera. We have 2 good cameras so I really didn't think much about it until Matt came home the other night and videotaped me. He said he is going to video the birth of our daughter and show the family my transition phase during labor. In the beginning we were worried he was going to be unconscious and now he is going to video? He said he will have his sister, Christie, come in and massage me while he tapes. I am excited that he is getting anxious, but not so much that he has turned into a camera man. He has been making hunting videos of himself, taping the dogs, and me.....glad he got himself a toy!

Dillard's had another really good sale again, and I couldn't refrain from getting stuff for Andi. This time I got 12-18 months. The coat and hat is 3months... so she will be wearing it this winter. We are expecting her to be in 0-3 months at birth because she will probably be an 8 pounder.

This last one is on behalf of Matt. He really liked it too even though it is pink!

We had been contemplating getting a rocker for the nursery. There isn't a whole lot of room, so we didn;t want anything big. The rockers we were finding weren't comfortable until Matt's mom, Barbara got us this leather one with ottoman. It is soooo comfortable and looks great in the room!!!!

We have 9 more weeks until D-day! I have been reading soooo many books, especially breastfeeding since that is my plan. My goal is to do it for a year plus work full-time which is going to be difficult. I really wish I could be a stay-at-home, like the rest of the women in my family were...but unfortunately due to my stupidity when I was younger with a credit card, I won't be able to. Hopefully in 2 years I will be debt free and be able to at least work part-time. 

Another worry at this point is finding a good babysitter. We just need one for Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week is covered. I don't want to do daycare, just someone to either come to our house or take the baby to theirs. We will be praying a lot for this to fall into place.

As for present time, the pregnancy is going well. However, Matt has started having to give me low back rubs and my sciatic nerve on my right side has been acting up. In the middle of the night my hip to mid thigh is froze where I have trouble walking. My right foot keeps swelling during the day, my left not so bad. If I work a long shift then my hands start swelling too. Overall, things are good. 

Andi's movements now take my breath away. She does things with such force. Matt got to feel his little Bam Bam's rambunctiousness the other night. It literally feels and looks like she is trying to come out of my stomach. She is over 4lbs now and I have only gained 17. Hallejuah!!! 

28 Weeks and Counting

I am so glad we are almost to December. WE are very excited to meet Andi. I went to the doctor Thursday for my glucose test. Yay! I passed, thank goodness. The drink was cherry syrup and I could literally feel it going through my veins. I couldn't sit still. I think I could have ran a mile. I had a scare earlier when I gained 10 lbs in 3 days, but thankfully I lost 5 of those pounds due to water weight. So far I have only gained 15. I would like to max at 20, we shall see. The baby bump is below:

So many people keep telling me that I haven't gained enough for 7 months. Several people have said I look like I am maybe 5 months. Here is why they think that. I wear all black every day with a white lab coat. Black camouflages/slims and the coat hides. Therefore, I do not look that big. When I am in my regular clothes, I look HUGE!!!! I said I would never take a pic of my belly showing, simply because I don't think pregnancy is beautiful on me lol...but thought I would show the difference:-) 

Thankfully due to bathing in lotion, I haven't gotten any stretch marks and hopefully I won't! When I went for my doctor visit, he listened to her heartbeat and he said she is very strong and healthy. He said one of the signs as to why was because her heartbeat would speed up, slow down, and mimic mine. Her heartbeat was very loud, as loud as mine. She is over 2lbs and almost 16 inches. I will start going every two weeks now:-) My mission now is to find a good pediatrician. We start Lamaze classes next week for 6 weeks, then infant CPR class, breastfeeding classes, and finally grandparents class!!!

She is very, VERY active. I think she is going to be like Matt in this aspect. Matt has a hard time sitting still. He constantly has to be doing something and that is what I am noticing with her. She stays active for about an hour to two hours and sleeps for an hour or two. She has gotten into the habit of rolling. Last night she was rolling over and then would move side to side, up and down. This morning she woke me at 4am dancing. She would roll over then tap, tap, tap....roll over, tap, tap, tap. She did that for 30 minutes straight.

I have found this as bonding time between me and her. Matt has felt her do her thing but once is enough for him. I don't think he understands, simply because he can't feel her inside. It really is a miracle how life is created.

One thing I am not liking about pregnancy is my ever growing boobs. They have started growing under my armpits. I think I have gained most of my weight in them ( 3 cups). Trying to find a bra that fits is unbelievable. Finding one that I fit in the cup, is too big up at the top where the straps are and it gapes open. I have been wearing sport bras and I think I am going to continue. I can't wait until they engorge with milk!NOT!

We are going to have our shower November 4th. I will be right at 9 months. Two weeks after will be Thanksgiving, then two weeks will be my due date. Time is going to fly. This pregnancy has flown by, thank goodness it has been good...so far! 

We have been getting more items from our families. My dad bought us the pack-n-play and the rocker/walker.My aunt bought us the swing. The play yard will be in our room for 3 months or until I feel comfortable placing the baby in her crib at night. It is a lot of fun putting the items together. Matt has only done the crib. I have done everything else with the help of the dogs..lol

I bought a stuffed animal for Andi and I have been putting it in the swing. Every time JuJu goes in there she thinks it is her toy and will drag it out by the tail and be standing over it looking at me.

Sam and JuJu have so much personality and they are going to be great with Andi! I can see Andi dressing JuJu up in baby doll clothes and riding Sam like a pony. This is how they greet us when we come home.

They meet us at the door. Sam has his pig. They run and get on the bed so they can give us a hug!!!

They get soooo excited!!!!
I know I am talked about how much clothes she has gotten, and she really doesn't need much more, only shoes. However, it is hard to resist cute clothes. Here are some I couldn't pass up. 

Needless to say I love overalls!!! She is going to look soooo cute in them. She has several jean overalls as well. Now we need to get her some pink cowboy boots!!!
 

Nesting

We pretty much have everything ready to go, and I am only 6 months...lol. The nursery needs a few more things done before it is complete but for the most part it is done. I have been doing a lot of nesting lately. I have taken Andi's clothes out of the armoire and hung them, leaving only the onezies and sleepers folded. It is like I can't stay out of her room...lol. As for Matt, he is in MAJOR bow hunting mode, gearing up for turkey and deer season next month. I don't know how many times we have watched the same hunts over and over and over. Needless to say, nesting has come at a good time:-)

We got the crib Saturday and assembled it! That was a lot of fun to watch!!! Matt and Barbara got to do all the work while I babysat the dogs.

We didn't get either one of the cribs that I had picked out. I took Matt to Babies R Us and had him look at them and choose which one he liked best. He actually ended up choosing a more expensive one, which shocked me but at least it changes into a full bed. We got a crib that has the changing table attached. The changing table converts into a night stand.

There were A LOT of pieces and the instructions said to use the allen wrench provided. From the reviews I read, people said it took about 2 hrs to assemble.

Matt decided he was going to use his dandy screw gun and it was assembled in 45 minutes!!!

As you can see, the dogs had to be apart of it all. Everywhere I went, they were by me. Unfortunately we kept getting in the way so we were shut out of the room...lol

Once the crib was done, we came back in and JuJu found a new hiding spot. Poor Sam can only fit his nose underneath.

Barbara insisted on getting me in the pics so I have only posted a few. I have been looking bad lately, mainly because I am really pale and my hair hasn't been dyed in 7 months so the roots have grown out horribly!!!

It is really weird whenever we are in the nursery, JuJu has to be held. Both her and Sam have been showing odd behavior lately. I am pretty sure they can sense something is about to change! Sam has had days where he has reverted back into a puppy. He went and pooped on the floor in the nursery and chewed up my flip flip. Both things he hasn't done in over 1.5 yrs and JuJu has become a mischief maker as well. They are still getting the same amount of attention as before, I just really think they know something!!!

Barb insisted on a belly shot too, so here is 24 weeks.

The crib turned out beautiful!!! The colors in the nursery are very soothing. It seems like the most peaceful/relaxing room in the house. Once I have everything, I will post pics of the entire nursery but here is one of the crib.

At my last Dr. visit...I had gained 10lbs in a month. They said that was really sudden but since that is all I have gained so far, that is good since I am half way through the pregnancy. My next appt is Sept. 13th and it is the dreaded sugar test. They say to not fast because you are cheating the test, and yet they say don't eat because you can fail. I am going to eat something, probably an egg just not any juice.

We are pretty much ready to go since I am in MAJOR nesting mode. We have the car seat installed in Matt's truck. Matt shocked me because he installed it early...lol. If you can't tell we are ready for Andi to be here!!!!

I went and bought the diaper bag. Everything that I have registered for is gender neutral because we plan on using everything again when we have our 2nd child...hopefully a boy! As for the diaper bag, I wanted to get something that Matt would be comfortable carrying around. I knew he wouldn't go for something bright pink, so I surprised him with this!

Thrills and Frills

What an exhausting weekend it has been. We had a garage sale the past two days. This is my first time having one and we made almost $600. It was nice to finally get rid of a lot of stuff I have been hanging onto for far too long. The only bad thing was the heat. Friday we shut down at 3 and yesterday at noon. I thought that was enough.

The dreaded swelling has begun just in my feet and hands. Some days I can't get my ring off and my feet swell around the ankles halfway down. My feet look weird because midways down to my toes is thin, and then up to my ankels it gets fat...lol...

I am now 22 weeks. The baby is a little longer than a banana and is at 1lb. She kicks constantly. Sometimes she kicks my bladder over and over, which makes me feel like I have to pee ALL THE TIME. She has also started stretching out, it feels like. It seems as though she will push with her hands and feet and it creates a weird wave like look on my stomach. One night Sam had his head resting on my stomach and she kicked him. He jumped back with a weird look on his face looking at my stomach...lol...it was really funny!!! 

The weight gain has begun too. Last week I had gained 5 lbs. I've gained 8 so far which is good considering I am 5.5 months!!! Over the past week my hips have started widening because I can feel the skin stretching and my undies cut into me now. The skin on my stomach has started stretching too but I am keeping bathed in lotion so hopefully no stretch marks will appear.

I got Andi's bedding and it is gorgeous!!! We just need the crib which we will hopefully get soon. I have narrowed it down to 2, one at Babies R Us and the other at Target. I am going to get the matching changing table as well. The pics are below.

 I am leaning more to the last two in the dark cherry. The cribs both convert into toddler/full beds which is good. Either way they are going to be about the same price.

Barbara( mother-in-law) and I went to Babies R Us yesterday and everything is SOOOO overwhelming. I have been doing a lot of research on products and I just don't know on some, especially strollers. I think Matt and I are just getting the crib, changing table, and possibly a chair. We will register for everything else. 

As for baby clothing, Andi is clothes poor now. Barbara has stock piled us with clothes from yard sales. They are in good condition, a lot of new things that are ADORABLE. So far 3 tubs full you will see below. We are running out of room. She is making a clothing store in her basement so as of now I am only keeping up to 12 months then I will switch out. 

All of the drawers are full in the armoire. Now I am having to hang stuff...lol....did I mention Andi is the first grandchild on both sides of mine and Matt's family. She is going to be SPOILED ROTTEN!!!

As for new clothing, I couldn't help myself at work. Since I work at Dillards, they have pretty good sales at the end of each month. In July they had an additional 30% off marked down clothes plus my discount. I was able to get 18 brand new, pricey clothes for $4/each!!! AMAZING. Here is the problem....the pictures below show how my mom dressed me growing up, keep in mind I was a MAJOR tomboy. She dressed me like a little pageant princess and I hated it, however when we got pictures done, I was a ham!!!!

This is what it was like on days before church. Notice the thrilled expression!

Once my parents weren't looking, this is what would happen....FREEDOM!!!

I have my Sunday school purse, ready to go!!! I swore to myself growing up that I would never dress my daughter in all the frills...let her decide. Well, I guess I won't be standing by my words because the frills are the cutest and hard to resist!!! These are just a few of what I bought, some of my favorites. I did get some frilly dresses but they will be seen later.

 

The bottoms are absolutely adorable...ruffle butts!!!

One of the reasons I didn't want a girl, besides the drama in later years, was because I knew how much would be spent on her. It's already adding up!!!

I tried to not buy so much pink for the sake of Matt. However, Barbara out did me. We have gotten a lot of camo stuff since Andi is going to be a hunter/bow shooter like her dad. I did get her this outfit on behalf of Matt:-)

We can't wait until she is here and she is already getting spoiled while still inside the womb. Only 3.5 more months to go and our lives will FOREVER be changed, for the best!!!

Cupcake Surprise!!!

I've been up since 5:30am, not because I want to. I no longer get to sleep in because the baby starts kicking and punching between 5:30-7am. I guess I am getting prepared for the coming months:-) Last night Matt felt the baby kick twice for the first time. It was on a rampage, which that is how it is right before I go to sleep.

Today was a lot of fun. We have known about the baby's gender since Thursday and have kept it a secret until now:-) The pic below is of the body and face. It is covering it's eyes!

 I wanted to make the reveal fun so I baked cupcakes:-) The surprise was inside, whether pink or blue icing.

Everyone took a bite at the same time! ( I didn't get everyone in the pic)

3 said we were having a girl and 4 said we were having a boy. I said boy, Matt said girl. Who was right? Look at how long HER legs are!

I will admit when we had the ultrasound and she said girl, I got teary eyed. I was wanting a boy really bad, and just felt that is what I was having. The funny thing is at the beginning of the ultrasound there were two circular objects and Matt said, "Is that the testicles." The technician said no, that is the cervix!! Matt said girl from the very beginning and he believes my first pregnancy was a boy, but we will never know.

I am very happy with what we are having and that she is very healthy:-) As of Thursday she was 10oz and her heartbeat was 154 bpm. 

In a year this is what Matt will be doing....

He said he is going to have to get the shotguns ready. He will make a wonderful dad and I am excited for December to be here so we can welcome Andi Faye Maness into the world and our hearts!!! She is going to be sooooo SPOILED!!!!

As I said in the last post, I will post a belly pic. I feel like I have gained more than 3 lbs and my hands have started to swell some. As of now nothing of mine really fits anymore which I dread having to buy maternity clothes. Oh well, that is part of it!