Bump Pics

Not often am I in the mood to post bump pictures, but when I am... I post them on Instagram.

37 Weeks

I actually got almost all that I wanted to accomplish done over the long Labor Day weekend - it was a miracle! All I lack is getting the rest of the laundry washed (which is no big deal because at least all of the clothes are clean and folded - now it's just towels and linens that need washing), and my pedicure!

Sad sack alert: I can't really justify getting a pedicure. I have to be careful not to spend too much on frivolous junk, since we don't know when my last paycheck is going to be before maternity leave (which will be unpaid, as far as I know). I would love to get another two checks under my belt, but we shall see! I think if I can do that, then we've got enough in the bank to get through 6 weeks of maternity leave. Especially if Steve goes back to work after 2 weeks (one being him taking his paid vacation time, and then the other week paternity leave... and we're not sure if he'll be getting paid for that). So I've started using a pumice stone in the shower, and most nights I remember to put my foot lotion on, and my feet look okay. It'll have to do until we get our finances back in good working order, though.

I wish I had more to report this week: the doctor said the baby looks great, they did an ultrasound today, and she scored an 8/8 on the fetal biophysical screening. (Which is basically just a scan for fetal movement, fetal breathing movements, and amniotic fluid levels.)

I love how I rambled about my feet for a good 8 lines, then 3 for the baby. I digress.

Next week they're doing my first cervical check; never had a male gyno before, so this will be interesting.

36 Weeks

How hard could writing about 10 weeks BE? Well, I just went an entire month without writing an entry... so read into that what you will.

Here's what's been going on around here:

All the nesting. I cleaned our room/bathroom last weekend, folded and put away all of the laundry I had been storing in the living room (about 8 baskets' worth - don't judge me), and washed/sorted all of baby girls' clothes by size. I also went to a sale at Goodwill and got a ton of baby clothes for 75 cents per piece, all in great condition.

So far this weekend the kitchen has gotten a complete scrub down and I'm working on getting more laundry done. My ultimate plans for the long weekend are to: unpack the swing, get the travel system set up and ready to go just in case of early labor, pack my hospital bag, get a pedicure, finish up decorating the "nursery" (i.e. - her corner of our room), and FINALLY write out the rest of the thank-you cards for the baby shower.

Baby has been growing like a weed. As of last week the ultrasound was estimating she weighs about 5 lbs, 12 oz. Things are looking good for a successful VBAC delivery; at this point, doctor says I just have to go into labor and we'll see how things progress. I'll be having another ultrasound next Tuesday, so I'm hoping everything looks good, and she's still head down.

I guess that's all I've got today - hope you all are doing well.

32 Weeks

This week has been unremarkable, for the most part. Baby girl has been moving a TON, and that's always really fun to watch. I had a doctor's appointment, but they didn't do a sonogram. I reiterated to my doctor my wish to attempt a VBAC delivery, and basically was told it would come down to the day of and how the baby and my body reacted to labor. Last time I had a sonogram, she was in breech position, so she needs to migrate to head down and stay there. Otherwise, I think I'll be back on the operating table. But he said he's going to let me go into labor instead of scheduling a C-section, unless I go past 40 weeks. Fingers crossed!

I did have really high hopes for this weekend... I wanted to assemble baby girl's crib and get the house cleaned up. Alas, neither of these things happened. The first, because the crib did not arrive when it said it would (thanks for lying to me about the delivery date, FedEx), and the second because I was too bummed about the first. I did get all of my laundry done, so that was something. But not much else. Guess I know what I'll be doing tonight.

Here's a picture of her crib that I pulled off the website. Isn't it cute? I'm going for a grey and yellow theme, so this fit perfectly with what I had in mind. As soon as I have everything put together I'll post pictures of her little space. I'd love to say she has her own room, but she'll be bunking with us until we get a bigger place. Ideally, we'd love to be into a house by next summer.

Luckily, even though not getting the crib was a disappointment, there was plenty of shopping to be done and it was an overall productive weekend. We went and bought the boys some new shoes for school since it's Tax Free Weekend in Texas, and I had a 15% off coupon for Payless. Then I traded in the stuff that did not fit them anymore at Once Upon a Child, and donated what they didn't want to their school. So now their wardrobes are complete! They have a TON of pants because they got tall all of a sudden a month or two ago, so all they really needed were shirts and new kicks. Of course backpacks are taken care of, and I think I mentioned I ordered their supplies from the school.

Then I went and bought the breast pump I wanted... I only ended up paying $65 out of pocket for it, when it's a $220 double electric pump. I'm not even mad. Had a ton of gift cards from my baby shower and a 15% off registry completion coupon. YES!

(I know about most insurance companies now covering breast pumps, but the insurance I have (Texas Women's Medicaid) is notorious for not wanting to cover things like this without tons of paperwork and a "medical necessity." Apparently, going back to work does not fit that bill from what I've read online from other moms. I did my research and you have to qualify for WIC to even be considered, and since I got a new job and am making more money we don't meet the income requirements for that anymore. (I did call and tell the state I got a new job, and they're still letting me keep the Medicaid through 11/30/2015 anyway - so I'm a very fortunate lady!))

Anyway, I think I've rambled on enough about this week. Sorry so scatter-brained!

31 Weeks

This week has been a trip.

I'm finally getting back to feeling like myself - bronchitis is NO JOKE. I've never had it before, so I didn't know. (Not that I ever assumed it was a walk in the park, but hopefully you get my drift.)

Tomorrow is my baby shower - I can't believe it's already here! I might be having it a little too soon, but I have such a busy next couple of weeks with the boys going back to school, and I didn't want to do it when I was way too large to be able to do anything easily with all the new gear.

I registered at Target, and it's been exciting to see the different things people have picked up that I have on my registry. I know I shouldn't peak, but I can't help it!

Speaking of the boys, they go back to school on August 24th! They're going to be THIRD GRADERS! I can't register them yet, but I did get their school supplies ordered from the school. $40/kid for all the stuff they need seems reasonable when you're 2 hours into a trip to find all the crap on the school's list and want to pull your hair out!

Generally, I love to shop second-hand. A great example of why that is: we grocery shop at Wal-Mart and last weekend we saw some cute shirts there for $9.88... Steve wanted to get them, but when I rationalize that for half the price we can get name brand gently-used clothes at a resale shop, it's pretty much a no-brainer! I can get nice jeans for them for less than $8/pair, shirts for $3.50 or so. You can't beat it! Plus, I shop there so often I have a 20% off coupon for my next trip.

I also have a ton of clothes to take up to trade out for new things for the school year. We have a little bit of 4/5T stuff, but mostly 5-6. It's so hard to let go of some of these pieces, because it's stuff they really LOVE. I also went through their little underwears and got all the smalls out, because they're wearing large now. Then I weeded through lots of tiny socks and under shirts. Heartbreaking to get rid of some of this stuff!

I talked to my doctor last Thursday about tying my tubes. I had a very emotional moment after that in the car. Apparently, they don't actually TIE them anymore, my doctor cuts them out, so the chances of conceiving again afterward are 0% unless I get IVF. It made me really sad to think about that. I know thinking that way is absolutely ridiculous, since I don't WANT anymore kids, it just got a little too real for me.

Okay, I have yammered on way too much this week! I'll hopefully have some pictures next week from the shower!