The Bump part 5...

This is the last and final installment in "the bump" series. Realistically we will take one more photo this sunday... but not sure that actually warrants its' own post when soon we will have photos of the little guy to post here and let's face it those will be much cuter to look at.

36 weeks...

37 weeks...
38 weeks...

39 weeks... Happy 4th of July!

Random CJ photo (sorry Di). I thought this post could use a super cute photo. I was making a patriotic wreath and she may have complicated the process a little bit by trying to sleep under the fabric I was in the process of cutting...

Dear Mikey...

Dear Mikey,

I think it is time you considered making your debut. Not that I don't think it is great that you are so warm and comfy in there, but let's face it after 38.5 weeks you are ready and I am ready, let's just get it over with. Don't worry, you won't be cold out here, this is Texas in July, if anything you were cooler inside. If you are waiting for "Auntie Em" to show up... you have until next week, my vote is if you are waiting for her that we go straight from the airport to the hospital and skip the hanging out for the weekend and mid week induction. If you are waiting for us to get all your stuff together, well that was done weeks ago, we are ready to go minus you. If you are waiting for us to know what to do as parents and be awesome at it... well buddy you are going to be waiting awhile, but we won't know how much we have left to learn until you are out and we have more to do as parents than take childbirth classes and wait for you to arrive.

Trust me little dude, we are as ready as we are going to be, plus we are super excited to meet you- anytime that you feel like showing up (sooner would be preferable) would be great!

Final Countdown

On Friday we set a date for induction. There is a chance that this little guy will come on his own before that day (and if anyone can encourage him to do it we would appreciate it), but in the event that his stubborn streak continues he is going to get a bit of (strong) encouragement on July 13th. So here is to the beginning of the countdown- 16 days until the little guy is here!

Track pants as day clothes

So for the past two days I have done something that I never do except when I am sick, and even then I try to avoid it- I wore track/sweat pants as day clothes. If you knew my dad you would know this is a cardinal sin, somewhere on the same level as spaghetti sauce from a jar and sleeping in, so for the past 25 years it has been drilled into my head that daytime is for day clothes, nighttime is for night clothes. Since I am obviously not going running at this point in time (haha that would so funny) there is no reason to be wearing these as day clothes, especially when they were purchased as pjs. So here’s what happened, the other night I went to the store to buy a few items to pack in my bag for the hospital (which fyi is still not packed) and I saw these comfy pants. They had pockets and were extra long, pretty much had to purchase them- as a side note why do clothing manufacturers not think that women’s pants should have pockets?, anyway so I bought some. I brought them home and tried them on and they were super comfy- totally worth buying two. The next day while I was getting ready I decided to ditch the jeans and go for these… to be fair I did take a shower, get ready, even put on makeup. Yesterday I felt guilty, kinda like I was turning into a hoarder (I have got to stop watching that show) so I was super productive- you should see how organized my pantry is, but today not so much. I mean I am still going to be productive, but I have pretty much accepted that these are really really comfy, they have pockets (like real pants), I will change before I go somewhere, I am not a hoarder, I “got ready”, woke up at a regular time, and did I mention that I am super pregnant and these are 10,000 times more comfortable than jeans that button. On a side note, last week I went into the office twice, I have been working from home so jeans have been totally fine, but on those two days I had to wear dress clothes- horrific. The pants button, and some of the shirts are okay, but the outfits that were once cute are now… awful, it literally looks like I swallowed a melon. Sadly the track pants look better, I think it might be because really when do these pants really look that great… it isn’t like the look can really get worse.

The Nursery is... DONE!

We finally finished the nursery! Okay we finished it a couple of weeks ago but I wanted to wait and take pictures until the changing pad came- it finally came (because we finally ordered it). Everything appears to be ready, all the clothes are washed and folded, the blankets are put away, the diapers are in the stacker thing... we are ready! So get ready for this awesome virtual tour- one warning, my photos leave something to be desired, but you get the gist.

The bookshelves- I picked them out at hobby lobby and Brian painted them navy blue for me- they look great you just cant really tell from a distance. We thought he might need some books while he is just a little guy, dont worry we will get him more- if we want him to go to BYU some day he is going to have to start reading as a little guy. Did you notice the cute star shaped hook? Also adorable, bought it at hobby lobby, and my wonderfully accommodating husband painted it and hung it up for me (there are two more on the other wall, but I didn't take a photo).

Crib and letters. We would hate for him to be confused about which room was his. FYI this confirms that we are spelling 'Michael" the normal way, not "Mikel" or "Micel" or "Mikal", just the normal boring way.

A closer view of the quilt, the car is a little sweater- so cute!

Closer view of the mobile. This is my favorite one, Brian likes the hot air balloon best, but this little chubby car is my favorite.

The road "wall pops". I know these serve no purpose and they were probably a rip off but I love them. This looks much better in person since the wall isnt actually grey, but anyway.

Rocking chair (tan to match the accents in the bedding). Notice the boppy, it also has cars and trucks on it. I may have been a little bit obsessed with the matching...
Dresser/changing area. This is the changing pad I was waiting for- not exciting, but since the dresser was made to fit it, I think it looks better than the pile of blankets I was too lazy to move. About the little pictures on the wall. I thought it would be a good idea to put something on this wall (so it wouldnt be so boring) and for some reason I had the "brainwave" that we would buy little canvases and paint them to match the bedding. Brian painted the hot air balloon and it turned out adorable... then I decided to paint the boat and the car... not as good, the colors arent quite right, the shape is a little off, but I'm not an artist so this will work.

The close up version, given our limited artist abilities I think it is a miracle you can tell what these are supposed to be.

To Pee or Not to Pee...

*Warning: this post acknowledges the fact that people "pee", if that term makes you uncomfortable stop reading.

To pee or not to pee that is the million dollar question. I'm sure a bunch of pregnant women and women with children will back me up on this. In my limited experience, this is a question that I ask myself about 10,000 times a day. 10 months ago I peed a normal amount, it wasnt a big part of my life, and I rarely if ever thought about it, now I think about it a lot. See here's the thing with pregnancy, you could have just found a bathroom, used it, washed your hands and planned to move on with your life, and then 1 minute later something stabs, or jumps on, or shifts and you have to find the bathroom again. When you're pregnant you spend a lot of time thinking about bathrooms whether it is to throw up or to pee, a lot of thought goes into finding them, using them, and avoiding them. Anyway back to the million dollar question. I feel like this comes up most either right as I am going to bed or some time around 2am, 4am, and 6am. These are the times when I sit there in the dark and weigh in my mind whether or not it is worth it to untuck myself from my nice comfy bed and visit the bathroom yet again. This is an internal struggle (and now one that has been broadcast on the internet), I could get up (which at this point requires a fair bit of effort) or I could sit there and hope that he will shift and I can just go back to sleep. At some point during this battle I usually give up in frustration, but I have to say it is a battle almost every time... I want to tap on my stomach and ask "seriously? can't you just let me sleep all the way through one night?" During these nightime battles I have come to one conclusion- this is practice for getting up to take care of a little baby, by the time he arrives I will be used to waking up every two hours and not sleeping or at least not sleeping for "long periods" won't see so out of the ordinary. But still, no matter what this is preparation for, I am sure tonight, tomorrow night, and every night until he is arrives around 2am I am going to rip the covers off and think "seriously!?"

Can you believe you just read an entire post about pee?

Fearing the Inevitable...

It seems like every day someone asks me if I am afraid to give birth. Part of me wants to give these people a look that says "you are the dumbest person ever of course I'm scared" and part of me wants to say something sarcastic like "No, I am thrilled to push this gigantic baby out!", instead, I laugh a little nervously and say something like "I'm sure it will be fine" or "well I guess that is what they make epidurals for". But here's the truth, at the moment I'm not that scared, I thought I would be shaking in my boots or flip flops since let's face it boots are out in June. In this one and only instance I am not that scared or worried. I figure that ship has sailed, if I didn't want to give birth that is something I should have considered months ago. At this point I have no choice, whether I am ready or not this kid is going to come. And in all reality, the thought of staying pregnant for another 9 months is significantly more frightening to me. I have read the books, will take the class next week, and know what I need to to understand the process. Right now worrying is just going to lead to more sleepless nights, something I don't think I can deal with. I am positive that once the contractions start I am going to be panicked, but at that point there is really no turning back, right? Don't worry this kid has no plans to come out any time...soon, but the time he gets ready or the induction date looms near I'm sure I will be properly scared of the process.

What to Pack...

Dear Readers,

What do I need to pack to take to the hospital with me? Obviously I am not headed there (to have a baby) anytime soon, but I like to be prepared, and why not pack now. So what to pack? PJs are a given because as much as other people like wearing hospital gowns... that is absolutely not going to be happening for an extended period of time after the little guy arrives.

So besides some pjs, toothbrush, something to wear home, and something for the baby to wear home what do I need to pack?

Baby Mug... the rundown

Yesterday we went to the doctor to have an ultrasound and check in on Baby Mug. From what they could see (which is apparently a lot although the images they were showing us didnt make a ton of sense) he is doing well. His heart, lungs, and kidneys appear to be functioning correctly and he appears to have grown (considerably) since the last time we saw him (when he weighed 11oz). His head is down and his bum and feet are conveniently located in my rib cage. He appears to be a healthy little guy. A few exciting things: 1. from what they could see he has a little bit of hair, they said not to get our hopes up it could just be peach fuzz but that is a step in the right (not bald) direction, 2. he still moves a LOT which makes getting good pictures of him challenging and a little bit impossible, 3. he still a boy, and 4. his estimated weight is 6lbs 7oz (which seems big enough to me). I wonder how big he is going to be by the time he arrives... I am hoping not more than 8lbs.

I know these photos are a little bit... "ghetto" (yes i finally got to use the word) but since I couldnt really tell what they were of anyway and since people were impatient to see them I thought this way would work. Not the best option, but trust me seeing them in person does not give you a better idea of what the picture is of... I mentioned he moves a LOT, right? So Auntie Em here are the photos of your nephew...

It's a boy... even though you cant tell! but yes he is still a boy.

Face... or that is what the caption they put on there says. If you turn it to the side and unfocus your eyes a bit it does look kinda like a face with little hands in front of it which is what they told us was happening.

Face... a couple of seconds later, same issue with the hands

The bump part 4...

This is either the last or one of the last of these lovely and attractive bump posts. I went through and looked at the photos, compared the last few weeks... this week I look like a house. Anyway we are nearing the end so that is good... I guess.

31 weeks...

32 weeks...

33 weeks... despite that same outfit as the 31 week photo this one is different, see my shirt doesnt fit quite as nicely as the previous one... yeah about that.

34 weeks... I may or may not have forgotten to take a photo this week, and then purposely avoided taking photos where my tummy showed during our trip... this is the best I have, yes I know the knife is creepy and it doesnt really show my tummy but this is what I have.

35 weeks... officially in the "house" phase.

Maternity Clothes Make Me Want to Vomit: a 90 Minute Solution to the Problem

When it comes to clothes I am a cheapskate. That isn’t to say I don’t spend more money than I should on clothes, it just means that I have a hard time spending a lot of money on any one item. Maternity clothes have presented a problem for me, not only are they expensive (insanely expensive considering how long they can be worn), but I hate them. I hate that the pants “grow with you”, that the shirts have an entire extra yard of fabric, and that everything seems to be ruffled. The whole thing reminds me of the “fat guy in a little coat” song. I hate the patterns, the texture, really the whole thing, so I have limited my maternity clothing purchases to three items: 2 pairs of dress pants (dress pants have too many buttons), and one black pencil skirt. So far so good, one of the pairs of pants still has the tags granted I haven’t been going for the “cute pregnant person” look, so things are a bit easier. Instead of I have purchased normal clothes (well loose fitting normal clothes) one size too big- I will have to make alternations if I hope to use these items in the future, but they are a temporary fix. On a slightly related note, I cannot figure out where everyone else has gotten cute maternity clothes. The friends I have that have have had kids always look adorable when they are pregnant, these clothes have to come from somewhere... apparently I am looking in the wrong places.Anyway, so needless to say between my dislike of maternity clothes, and my cheapness my wardrobe is limited at the moment, but the other day that, that changed… a little bit. I was browsing one of my favorite blogs when I came across this lovely idea here:

I thought given my limited sewing skills I might be able to put this together, so I bought the pattern ($5) and some fabric and got to work. 1.5 hours later I had a skirt, not the world’s best skirt (because of my impatience) but still something that resembled a skirt sold at Downeast. Then I decided to make another one, and another one, and another one. Okay really have made 2 but purchased material for 4. The skirt is super easy and did I mention super comfy… and the best part- the whole thing costs about $10 (depending on the price of fabric) and takes about 90 minutes to make (assuming your press your seams, which I recommend).

Modeling the first skirt... take what you can get, the skirt was finished at 10pm on saturday night...

This was the second skirt, the print was pretty awful on the bolt, I had to buy it and give it a chance, turns out it is much cuter as a skirt. Did you notice the rick rack? I LOVE rick rack, I have to thank my wonderful sister in law for encouraging me to use it in the first place (not on this project but another one) now I cant get enough of it!
Smocking... my mom loves smocking and would always try to get Em and me to wear "smocked" dresses, we hated them, but I like it on this skirt (partially because my shirt covers it). Also, i thought this was going to be beyond my sewing skill level, turns out all you need is a bit of elastic thread and the whole thing works out... even when you are impatient and not a great seamstress.
The first skirt, this print is much less 70's than the second one.
rick rack! I love rick rack! My grandma gave me this rick rack when she moved, turns out she bought it in the 1960's... which makes this skirt vintage... just kidding, that would be way to trendy for one of my clothing items, but really the rick rack is from the 60's, too bad I didnt have any authentic 1970's rick rack to go with the print on the second skirt.

Baby Project 1

I thought when I had my own kids that I would be super crafty before they were born, then I remembered that I am actually not really that crafty, and got a job that required I spend the majority of my time in another state... needless to say the craftiness has been lacking. I have only made this kid 3 blankets and this lovely contraption. Okay granted this project was more difficult to attach to the car seat (which i did a poor job of in this photo), but I think it is pretty adorable. We'll see if we actually use it, but now I can check one thing off of the list of projects I have to get done before the little guy arrives.

The Nursery Part 1

We have started to make some progress on the nursery... granted it is not done, but that is what the next 8 weeks are for, right.

So here is our progress to date: we finally purchased some bedding (which were overpriced and none of the ones we originally like, but dont worry it is pretty cute), picked out some paint (after a million trips to home depot and quite a few little sample paints), painted the room (all brian), picked out a crib, and assembled the furniture (again all Brian). There are still a few things that need to be done... all the cutesy stuff is "in progress", but the room is starting to look like a place where a child will live rather than an empty room!

This was the most important purchase we made... a laundry hamper. I know CJ looks demonic in this picture, but really she is pretty cute, anyway, we bought this hamper for the little guy, but it turns out she really likes it, every once in a while we find her in the other room playing it. Great Ikea purchase.

Brian wanted to paint the room two colors. I was resistant to this for two reasons: 1 picking one color was hard enough, and 2 i didnt think we would be able to get the lines straight enough. Well after quite a few samples from home depot and a lot of effort on Brian's part the two color idea ended up pretty cute. This dresser/cabinent combo is also pretty darn cute, but I'm not biased at all. Anyway, we (i) have decided that some decorations are needed on this dark blue wall. I am going to paint some little square canvases with trucks and cars to match the bedding (scroll down). I am pretty sure that is going to be a fiasco since I am not artistic, but we're going to try it out. We painted some shelves that are going to go right above the glider (light blue wall), they will hold books and stuff (dont worry Di I bought him a few books last night).
This is the first and only thing we have on the wall, dont worry there is more to come. This picture doesnt do the adorable mobile justice, but trust me, it is cute (not worth the insane price, but cute), there is even a hot air balloon. Dont worry I will take a better picture soon.

The crib... see pretty darn cute. So after making a trip to several baby stores we finally decided on this cute bedding. It doesnt contain any red (which if you have been to our house is actually quite shocking), and isnt sports related, but we thought it was pretty cute, it has boats, cars, trucks, planes, and hot air balloons. And best of all, it fits nicely with BYU colors, all we need to do is get some BYU paraphernalia and start the "brainwashing" (you know this kid is destined to be a Cougar).

The bump: part 3

Several people have asked for updated photos... why I am posting them is a little beyond me. These photos are kinda like that bad yearbook photo that you hope no one in your adult life ever runs across. Anyway... the bump continues to grow... which isnt great for photo ops, or for finding clothes in my closet that fit (I refuse to succumb to maternity clothes but more on that later), but it is a good for the little guy! So while I am not thrilled to show these photos, I am happy to report that the little guy is still doing well, gaining weight, and kicking like crazy.

26 weeks...

27 weeks... this one is my favorite, too dark to actually see anything

28 weeks...

29 weeks... sorry about the dress Di...

30 weeks... again sorry about the dress...

The bump revisited

I love "bump" photos when other people post them... I hate them when I post them (and take them, hence the super excited expression in every photo). I keep thinking to myself that someday (when clothes fit again) that I may want to look back and see the bump grow... until that day I will just pretend these photos were never taken.

21 weeks

22 weeks
23 weeks (and sick)
24 weeks (go BYU- hence the shirt- which you cant really see, sadly they lost)
25 weeks (this is when I decided that I should wear dresses every day, and no this is not a maternity dress... it is just a dress purchased in the regular people section that makes everyone look a little pregnant)

Another Pregnancy Crisis

On Friday I had another pregnancy panic attack- don’t worry this one wasn’t nearly as bad as the time it occurred to me that I wont be able to wear my normal 3 layers when I am giving birth- this was a bit calmer.

So here ‘s the story. On Friday I went to visit my OB, normal visit- blood pressure, pee in the cup (well most of you have been there an know), stand on the scale, quick chat the doctor and go home. The appointment was fine (everything looks good), but afterwards I decided to stop at Target. In reality I tried to find the stupid maternity clothes store but couldn’t, so that was an added level of frustration which I attempted to diffuse by going to Target. I bought a dress for church (since none of my skirts fit- bella band cant help the ones with high waists and zippers in the back which happen to be 90% of my skirts) and then went to look in the baby section… the baby section is really big. This is where the crisis occurred- I don’t know what I need to buy for this little guy, there is a lot of stuff out there- what does he actually need?

So this is where you guys need to come in, what do I absolutely 100% have to get, skip the big stuff, I know he needs a crib and a car seat, think about the minute details, what are the things that you either overlooked, or that you didn’t think you would need and absolutely love? What has been a lifesaver for you? What would you recommend every new mom buy?

Little Feet...

I have a slight issue... (super attractive photo)

Let's call the issue "the little guy" or more specifically "the little guy's hands/feet/knees/elbows etc. Most of the time he fine, just moving around in there without any major issues or disruptions, but sometimes... I would say about 30% of the time, he likes to lodge something in the left part of my lower rib cage. Not the right part, just the left. No matter how many times I shift positions, poke him, or just wish he would move he won't, there is something about the left side that he is magnetically attracted to.
My left side is getting really uncomfortable... I feel a bit off center. Any ideas?

"Well you look great!"

This phrase, “well you look great!” was one I hadn’t heard much before pregnancy. Let me give you a bit of context. This phrase usually gets thrown into a conversation around the time someone asks my due date. Right now it is becoming pretty obvious that unless I have some strange abdominal tumor I am pregnant, so the due date question comes up pretty frequently. After I let them know that no the date isn’t next month, but in fact sometime midsummer they usually respond with “well you look great!”, at which point I don’t know whether or not to laugh at the awkwardness of the situation or tell them just kidding May 1 is the day! I don’t understand what this phrase is supposed to mean, I understand it is one of those phrases used to fill awkward situations, and let’s face it commenting on when someone is going to go into labor and how much weight they have or have not gained is one of those less comfortable grey areas but still I am scratching my head in confusion. Does this phrase mean- “given that you are growing a human you still look sorta like a normal person”, or does it mean something along the lines of “wow, thought you were ready to pop any day now!”. Hmm… confusing, either way- apparently I look great…

Dear...

Dear Random Tummy Toucher,

Why do you think it is appropriate to reach over and pat/poke/tap my stomach in the elevator/airport security line/cafeteria/grocery store? Do you think patting my tummy is going to result in a pillsbury doughboy reaction, good luck, or bring some joy to my day? Trust me when I say, you keeping your hands to yourself is appreciated and the best option. Feel free to comment on how round I am getting, how my due date must be fast approaching, or about how many children you have. I would love (well maybe not love) to hear about all of them, but please do not reach over for the tummy pat. I know that it is fun to feel the little guy kick, and yes if you poke him hard enough he will react (trust me his dad has already tried it), but please restrain yourself. Think of my tummy as a one of those zoo enclosures with the sign that says "do not tap the glass"- do not tap the tummy- look, dont touch. Dont try to wake the little guy up, rub my tummy for luck, or congratulate me by giving me a tummy pat- I dont like it, and if I could, I would have the little guy give you a hard kick in the palm.

Thanks a Bunch,
Peeved in Pittsburgh

Way to Go Little Dude!

Several baby updates (arent you in love with these).

The little dude (that is what we are going to call him) now weighs 1 pound and we can stop with the annoying fruit comparisons (read what to expect when you are expecting to understand). Way to pack on the ounces little guy!

The little dude loves to kick... all the time... especially on airplanes, in meetings, and around 2:30am

bonus changes never cease to bring excitement to my otherwise sedate weeks!