Laid Back Baby or Laid Back, Baby

Or both.

Just a brief little update to tell you I had another appointment yesterday.  The weight news was much better.  After 3 weeks, I'd gained less than a pound.  Yay!!  Now to stay on track with that.  I have to set another appointment in about 3 more weeks -- they are getting closer together!  Crazy!  I also went to a lactation nurse.  We'll just say that was awkward and leave it at that.  I feel both less nervous and more nervous about breastfeeding after that.  Haha...  But I keep telling myself:  women have done this from the beginning of time, and babies have survived.  So it'll be okay :).

As for Baby-kins...  Everything is on track.  When the doctor was listening for the heartbeat, he said, "Well, you're certainly laid back right now" (referring to me, because my heartbeat was nice and slow and even).  Then he found Baby's heartbeat, and he said, "Well, Baby is laid back too!"  But as soon as he said that, Baby's heart-rate started climbing.  And then Baby kicked.  Haha...  So he said initially the heart rate was around 120 beats per minute, and then, by the end, the baby's heart rate was around 140.  And Baby still seems to be head-down.

So that's the new baby news.  And other than trying to finish up plans for the baby shower I'm hosting this Saturday and doing other church stuff.  And currently waiting for my cinnamon bread to finish it's first rise :).  Hoping it's tasty!  And that's that!

These Dreams...

Sometimes you dream something, and you decide you need to act on it.

That happened to me today.  And I'll tell you about it.  The dream is in italics.

I'm still working at the County.  And I'm at work.  I'm randomly exploring various cubicles of people (not like snooping, just being in their cubicle).  I realize I need to pee.  (Sorry if saying it so bluntly is uncouth.  But you know... I kinda am sometimes).  So I decide it would be wise to go the bathroom.  And I start walking -- toward the bathroom, I suppose.  Only I end up in the kitchen.  And my boss is in there talking to some random guy I have never seen before.  And I'm irritated, because with them in there, I realize I can't pull my pants down as I'm crawling into the refrigerator to pee.  (I have no idea...).  So I manage to get into the fridge, and I really have to pee.  But I have to pull my pants down.  And I have to lay down in the fridge, of course, because there's not enough room.  And it's really hard to get my pants down in this position with such limited space.  And so I am getting really frustrated and angry.  And hot.  Like this is taking a lot of effort to try to wiggle around in there.  And I really have to pee.  

And I wake up.  And I have to pee.  And I'm really, really hot.  (I get hot when I sleep, especially lately).  So, I decided I probably needed to act on that dream.  I got up and went pee.  And when I got back in bed, I didn't put the covers back on.  I was hot.  Haha...  The only thing I can figure as far as that strange dream of me planning to use the fridge as a potty (as though it was the most normal thing in the world to do...) is that I was hot and my subconscious somehow decided a refrigerator was a good place to go to cool off...?  Maybe?  Who knows.  I laughed about this dream.  And so did Jeremy when I told him about it.

I had another dream a few weeks back where the baby was moving a lot and the more the baby moved, the more transparent my stomach was, and I could actually see the baby's form.  And then I could completely see the baby.  And it was a girl, and she bore an uncanny resemblance to my sister when she was a baby.  And even had pierced ears.  Weird, huh?

Well, now that I've sucked you in with my wacko dreams...  I'll torture you with more news about pregnancy.  Hahaha.  And other stuff.  As promised, here is the glider we got:

It irritates me when blogger uploads these pictures sideways for no rhyme or reason.  Sorry about that, but whatever.  I don't know how to rotate it.  But you get the gist.  I'm pretty satisfied with it (the glider) :).

A lady from church stopped by Wednesday and dropped off a box full of baby stuff.  3 packs of jumbo pack pampers diapers (sizes 1 & 2), 2 blankets (one pink, one green), 4 sleep & play outfits, 5 other outfits of different sizes, and a box of wipes.  She is a wonderful lady, and I've had the opportunity to work with her when I was in Relief Society, and now in Primary.  She and her husband are very generous, and she always likes to bring all the Primary kids a treat on the holidays.  Anyway, I thought it was really sweet of her, and I totally didn't expect it!

I will have back-to-back (2 Saturdays in a row) baby showers.  April 27 and May 4.  Crazy!  And by then, I'll only have 3 to 4 weeks to go!  Ack!  We haven't registered, and we probably won't.  We are lame like that.  But I figure things like diapers are always necessities, and you don't really need to register for them...  I took a gift to a baby shower last Saturday, and got stuff off her registry.  One of the items was nursing pads.  When I brought them home to wrap them, Jeremy saw them, and he was like, "What are these!?!"  So then he read the box and got quite the education on a pregnancy "must-have" if you don't want an embarrassing moment and are planning on breast-feeding.  Ah yes... This is going to be an adventure indeed.  Because truthfully, though I am fully aware of things like nursing pads, I hadn't given one iota of thought to them.  And now I'm contemplating whether or not I want a breast pump.  Decisions, decisions.  Aren't you glad I shared ;)?

And ah, yes...  Today was our 1 year anniversary :)!  This has been a wonderful year.  To celebrate, we had linner (late lunch, early dinner) at The Olive Garden.  We like to miss the crowds :).  We actually really enjoyed our meal of unlimited salad and breadsticks, bruschetta appetizer, and I got the Garlic Tuscan Chicken while Jeremy got 4 Cheese Ziti al Forno (whatever that is...).  It was a lot of food, but they have this deal going right now, so we went for it.  And it was good!  And Jeremy can eat a lot of food -- even when I can't :(.  I told him that we needed to take a picture on our anniversary.  So this is what I got :).  He was headed outside to work on something, hence the headlight ;).  Yeah, we're pretty much done for the day, so we are all pj'd up. 

It was a great day, though :).  Baby has been active a lot.  We feel like we got stuff accomplished, and we got to enjoy a nice meal out to celebrate our special day :).  One down...  And to infinity and beyond!  :). 

And P.S...  Did I mention this was a song title post?  Oops :).

Because Who Doesn't Want Another Pregnancy Post?

Yeah, it's all I blog about.  I know.  But it's what's going on in my life.  That and food.  Haha...  So I'll even include a food picture.  Just to shake things up a bit ;).

Today marks 31 weeks.  It really is weird to think I've been pregnant that long.  Baby goes from being really active for several days to not as active.  And then repeat.  Actually, I think baby is still active, but I'm not feeling as much depending on how Baby is situated.  Because I can look down and see my stomach moving and not be feeling much of anything.  I think this is due to the fact I have an anterior placenta.  Oh the things you learn...

And look!  There's sunshine in Washington!  Today was rainy then sunny then rainy, then finally sunny.  And very windy. 

I have decided that my inability to sleep well at night may be the whole "your body is helping you get ready for when you have a baby" thing.  I wake up at least twice during the night and it takes me forever to get back to sleep.  And then I make up for it the next morning after Jeremy leaves.  I always get a good solid two-hour early morning nap in.  Part of me feels guilty for sleeping in so late.  The other part of me says, "Eh... Enjoy it while it lasts."  The latter part wins out every time :).  But yeah... This morning I actually got up with Jeremy at 6, because I'd already been laying there awake for an hour.  Good times.

Oh, and in case you needed to know... I don't like our new upstairs neighbors.  We had a blissful month of nobody up there.  And before that, it was a single guy and our biggest complaint with him was that we could hear his video game music through the floor/ceiling when we were trying to go to bed.  But even that was pretty tolerable.  These new people stomp a lot and have a kiddo who doesn't walk -- ever.  He runs and jumps.  Jeremy says it's a good thing, because we won't have to feel so guilty about a screaming baby in a few months. 

I invited ladies over for crafting again this month.  I tried a new pinterest recipe.  Eh.  Not all I hoped for.  I love lemon.  Love it.  Love lemon bars.  Thought these would fit the bill, as they were really easy.  I should have gone for a chocolate recipe.  So if you want to know... you take one box of Angel Food Cake mix and mix it with 2 cans of lemon pie filling.  Then throw it in a greased 9x13 and bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool completely then sprinkle with powdered sugar.  They are okay.  But I don't like the texture and they just aren't my favorites.  I won't make them again.  I also made a queso blanco cheese dip.  It was yum, but the link wasn't working when I needed it, so I went off my memory.  And my memory pretty much failed me.  I left out 2 ingredients.  And perhaps, with those two things in there, the cheese wouldn't have solidified so fast after being heated.  Boo.  That was my big complaint.  And like I said, probably my own fault.  I also made a punch that I got compliments on and I enjoyed.  However, it was really sweet.  And I should have read the reviews.  Had I, I would have turned the 1 1/4 cup sugar the recipe called for into 1/4 cup sugar.  Because everything else you add (except the water) also has sugar in it...  I didn't take pictures of the cheese or punch.  But here are the lemon bars :).

 

And now that you've had a break from pregnancy stuff...  How about I show you some exciting things I have gotten :)?  So...  One of the things I really wanted to get brand new was a boppy.  Women swear by them.  I was even told by a former male co-worker that -- if you have a two-story house -- you should get two of them: one for each floor.  Because you just don't want to wait to have to go downstairs to get it.  Haha...  But these things run $30 (if you get the one sans slipcover) to $50 (I'm guessing for special limited edition slipcovered ones?).  I was totally going to spend the money ($40 for a regular slip-covered one).  But I stopped into Ross last Friday, thinking I'd get the baby carrier thing (you know, those things you carry the baby around in so you can have your hands free) I'd seen there a few weeks earlier.  Well, they didn't have any more of those.  But I happened upon this boppy!  Brand new, with slip cover, for $25!  The only one!  I snatched it up.  Who cares if it's blue and we don't know what we're having (but we think we're having a girl...)?  That slip cover comes off.  And who cares anyway...  The baby won't.  And I have a friend who has already told me she can fashion me a new cover that could be neutral.  So there we go.  I saved $15.  I was so excited!

 

We also got a glider off Craigslist.  (Alas, this time it came from a stranger, so no cool stories there...).  I was excited to find this nice glider for $40 when all the other ones I have seen have been going for $60 to $75.  Woohoo!  I will take a picture when we have it all put back together (it's needful to disinfect things you know :)).  But it's a nice one with arm rest covers that have pockets :).  Woohoo!

And then a lady at church gave me these:

The bunny is a blanket buddy and the other is a cube/ball.  They are adorable and so soft!!  I'm not sure if they are knitted or crocheted.  I plan to learn to knit here soon, so maybe one day I'll know :). 

So yep, we're racking up the baby stuff.  That extra bedroom is filling up.  I've been told I shouldn't buy anything else until after the baby showers.  Just so people can get me something.  But I feel bad about people spending money on stuff...  And especially big ticket items.  I figure we should incur that expense.  Because I'll be needing diapers and wipes out the kazoo.  And all sorts of other odds and ends (who knew babies come with so much stuff!).  It's looking like I will have 2 baby showers... One thrown by church friends and one by Lea.  And they will be consecutive weekends:  April 27 and May 4.  And life is not going to be slowing down between now and then!  It's crazy. 

And guess what?  Jeremy and I will be celebrating one year of marriage on Saturday :).  Hard to believe it's been a year!  And what a year it's been! 

Well, ta ta for now! 

The Craigslist Caper

So, here we are at 29 weeks and 5 days.  Hard to believe I'm only about 10 weeks out!  Maybe 12.  Maybe 8.  But you know...  Generally, we'll just say 10. 

The baby has been quite active the last 3 days or so, starting on Friday evening.  And what an evening it was!  Jeremy got shifted to day shift (only a more Hila-friendly one that has him leaving at about 7 in the morning) mid-week last week.  And he actually has weekends again!  Woohoo!  So last Friday, while Jeremy was at work, I decided to scour craigslist for used baby items.  Because you see the countdown I just stated.  10 weeks is going to fly.  Specifically on our list of things to find was a stroller and an infant car seat.  My in-laws are going to get us a car seat as well, but since our hope is to have our kids relatively close together, and because so many of my friends have said they just prefer the infant car seat and base -- especially for the first little while, because it's so easy to just carry the car seat with you -- Jeremy and I decided we'd look for an infant car seat and then ask his parents for the kind that converts up.  This way, when we (hopefully) have another baby while this one is still in toddler years, we won't have to buy any car seats right away.  That's the plan at any rate.  We have no idea how our child will grow, and all these things are based on weight and height.  So anyway, I saw a little travel system (this means stroller and car seat, where the car seat can sit on the stroller and you stroll Baby in the car seat).  So I emailed the poster, asking if they knew when the car seat had been manufactured (these things have expiration dates...  something I learned recently).  But I checked all day and never heard back :(.  I told Jeremy about it and even showed it to him.  He said, "Well, you are dealing with craigslist, and there are a lot of weirdos on there."  So I chalked it up to an "oh well... we'll keep looking."  And we got ready for our date night!

Jeremy and I went to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers with Lea and some of the other ladies I used to work with at the library.  Lea's son Xavier was in the play and this is his last high school play.  It was really good!  We had so much fun!  I checked my phone at intermission and had a phone call from a phone number (and area code) I didn't recognize.  They left a message.  I tried to listen to it, but I didn't have any reception in the auditorium, so I couldn't.  We went back to watching the play.  Afterwards, Lea and I got our requisite picture with Xavier.

 

Then we headed over to a restaurant that is open late so we could enjoy a nice meal :).  All of us in the group who went to see the play.  Before going inside, I decided to listen to the message.  And the message just said, "The baby stroller you wanted it sitting outside your door."  Ummm.  What!?!  I looked at Jeremy and said, "I just got the weirdest voicemail ever."  And I told him.  His response:  "If we get home and there's a stroller in front of our door, I'm buying a shotgun."  Haha...  Because seriously...  I had not given out a phone number or address to anyone regarding any baby items.  I only contacted -- via email -- the craigslist person and asked about manufacturing date!  I was baffled.  And I didn't have a clue where that area code was from!  So we went in restaurant and shared the story.  One of the ladies in the group had a smartphone and looked up the area code and said it was from Minnesota.  Minnesota!?!  So I could only think of a couple at church who moved here several years ago from Minnesota.  And then I started thinking, "Well...  They would know my phone number and address.  And they would recognize my email address, because I worked with Karen in Primary until January, and her husband has been the Ward Clerk, so I've emailed him recently to order Primary stuff and request rosters..."  And, truthfully, thinking it could be them, I actually heaved a huge sigh of relief!  Well, first of all, because there was no crazy stalking us through craigslist.  And secondly, because now I would know the history of those items!  I knew the house they came from -- I've been in it!  So we finished up dinner and I checked my phone (by this point it was about 11:30 at night), and had a bunch of text messages from yet a different number!  Saying they had wanted it to be a surprise and hoped we'd gotten the items -- and called me by name.  Aaahh!  I couldn't respond at that point, because it was so late.  But figured we'd go home and look up the phone numbers for these people we were thinking it was.  Well, we did...  And it wasn't the number!  So then I was baffled again.  Who did we know that has lived in Minnesota who would give us baby stuff?  So Jeremy said, "Look up the new number."  We did.  And thank goodness for google (haha... well, maybe).  It totally pegged the phone number owner!  And it was the couple we were thinking of!  So funny.  Oh, because, yes... There were baby items waiting for us when we got home!  And I have to say... I am so thankful to know the history of these items.  What a blessing!  And then, to top it off, they wanted to give them to us as a gift.  Which, we didn't really want.  (They had wanted it to be anonymous, but we were a little freaked out, and Karen told her husband it was creepy not to try to ease our minds... haha.).  Karen actually told me she had wanted to offer these things to me all along, but was worried she would offend me by offering me used baby things.  So they just decided to list it.  And then, when it was I who responded to their ad...  She said she saw it as a sign.  haha!  So we are going to make them dinner as payment.  We feel really badly they won't let us pay what they were asking (because it was already a good deal -- and now an even better one, since I know where it's from!), but we don't want to refuse a gift and kindness they were trying to offer.  So that's what we're going to do:  cook them dinner.  So here are the baby items we got from them (and below that is the baby papasan chair I got at a thrift store for $3.50!  It vibrates and sings and I just washed it up nicely :).

And now I call that our Craigslist caper!  Anyway, it was a late night for Jeremy and I.  And we didn't get to sleep in as much as we had hoped to on Saturday...  But that's okay.  We got up and got ready for Benjamin's 7th birthday party!  They have limited parking where they live, so Jeremy and I picked up my mom as well as Desiree and Emily. And we headed over.  We just had pizza, ice cream, and cake and hung out.  Watched him open his presents.  Then we headed out a little after 3 so we could take my mom home and then take the girls home and then go to Wal-Mart.  By the end of the day, I was tired, so our date night ended up being on Friday rather than Saturday :).

Oh yeah, and there's a picture of Emily and Uncle Jeremy.  She was too short to see the cake during "Happy Birthday." 

So, it was a great (and full!) first weekend of no work for Jeremy ;). 

The WEIGHT of Things

Why not begin with a couple of bump pictures.  I find it funny that my bump looks bigger sometimes than others -- even when I'm further along.  I'm thinking it may have to do with Baby's position, but what do I know?  I think the bump looks small in these pictures (at 29 weeks today)...

But I just had an appointment yesterday, and everything is on track growth-wise, so I am not worried :).  What I know is that the baby is head down right now.  Which is great!  But...  There's still plenty of room (and time) for baby to wiggle into the "wrong" position.  So I know that can change.  Baby's heart-rate is strong and steady at 140 beats per minute.  My blood pressure is great (which I always like to hear!).

My weight, on the other hand, is not.  Ew.  I thought I was doing pretty good.  Of course, I haven't had the benefit of a scale, but I was having no problem wrapping my fingers around my wrist and able to touch fingers!  Haha...  My own personal (and apparently flawed) fat-gain tester.  I managed to gain 18 pounds in 9 weeks.  And that ain't all baby weight!  (I think, currently, maybe 3 pounds can be attributed to Baby, with about 5 more pounds attributed to the other necessary weight gains of pregnancy, so my total pregnancy weight of 23 pounds is mostly my bad eating habits.)  (By the way, the goal was 25 pounds total for the pregnancy) Sigh.  And I know how I managed it, too...  It was called late nights waiting up for my hubby and me being a bored snacker.  And so, I'm buckling down.  The doctor said that, as long as I'm eating my healthy 3 meals (or their equivalent) a day (like 6 smaller meals), then if I were to go in at my next appointment and find I'd lost a couple pounds, it would not be bad.  Just that I am not to starve myself to lose weight (which, naturally, I wouldn't do).  I am not overly obsessed about this.  I just don't look forward to having a lot of extra weight to take off post-baby.  So whatever healthy options I can do now to help out for the future, I will do.  As long as they are still healthy options for the baby.  That's really what matters most. 

So I titled this blog post that way because of the actual weight gain.  But also because the closer we get, the more we realize the heavy responsibility of parenthood.  It is one we have both wanted and for which we are grateful.  But it's still sometimes so surreal to realize that, in the not-too-distant future, there will be a baby here all the time.  Haha...  Jeremy and I will be sitting on the couch talking, and there will be a little munchkin sitting on the floor playing with toys or something.  We desire to raise our children with so many good things.  And I don't mean toys and material things.  I mean that we want to teach them (and hopefully have them internalize and learn) what it is to be self-reliant, the value of work, the value of a dollar, the importance of forgiveness, to be resilient in the face of disappointment, the importance of love.  We want them to have confidence and know who they are.  We hope they will choose wisely in life -- and we hope to teach them and give them the tools to make those wise choices.  And at the same time, I had the bittersweet realization last Friday evening (based on an article I read in a pregnancy magazine while waiting for the glucose test) of how fleeting all these moments are.  How the time will pass so quickly.  How I want to enjoy every moment (even the fatter-than-desirable Nilla ones) of carrying this baby.  So the article talked about making an effort to film your tummy, like when the baby is kicking and your stomach pokes out where the baby has kicked.  The article said that, believe it or not, you will sort of forget those feelings of the baby inside you.  And so, as I sat watching my stomach move randomly that evening, I thought back to that.  And I realized that, while I am excited to meet our little one, I will miss those unexpected kicks and jabs and wiggles that make me giggle sometimes.  I will miss moments of talking to my tummy (because nobody else is around ;)).  It makes me think of a poem my mom cross-stitched for my cousin when she was expecting her first baby.  I don't remember it all -- and don't know enough of it to google it; I just tried.  But, in the end, it is the mother saying she still looks forward from going from landlord to roommate or something like that.  Speaking of my cousin Elka...  I laughed when, at Christmas time, she asked how I was doing and I said, "Good.  I mostly just feel worried and fat."  And she said, "Welcome to motherhood... That's how you'll feel now every day for the rest of your life."  And yet, I welcome it.  I know in a way that isn't complete yet, that I don't want this baby to have to experience the horrible things about this mortal life.  But I also know that they are necessary lessons of life and intended for growth.  I know I will want to protect this child, my baby -- hence the thought of wanting it to stay in utero forever ;).  But I know I will need to let go (and that's going to be a toughie for me...  I already know this).

Anyway, that's a lot of muddled thoughts all in one paragraph.  Hope it conveys my thoughts adequately, though.

In less weighty news...  I bought our first big pack of diapers yesterday at Costco.  Woohoo!  Little by little, we're filling our house with baby stuff :).  Still looking for some of the big things, though.  But we'll get there.  In fact, Jeremy's shift changed again (mid-week) and he is now on days.  But this should last for a while, because the other project is done and the next one won't start until May or June.  So he'll actually have weekends again!  And I think, this Saturday, we're already planning to go do some baby shopping.  :).  I'm pretty excited about it, actually!  It'll be our date night :).  And maybe with some frozen yogurt as a treat (I will have earned it ;)). 

GD Free! Yipee!

I'm so excited!!  I got the results back from the glucose tolerance test I took this morning.  And all my ranges are completely within normal range!  Yay!  And not even on the high end of normal :).  This is beyond exciting for me :).  I would not have enjoyed counting carbs.  But even more importantly, I am thankful that it's good news for our growing baby.

I have to say, the test wasn't as awful as I had anticipated.  The drink they gave me was orange and, to me, tasted like a mix between an almost flat (and overly syrupped) orange soda and medicine.  I thought I was going to be getting a huge amount of this stuff, but it was less than 16 ounces, so I was pretty surprised about that.  I drank it fast -- mainly because I didn't want to extend my time there because I was drinking it slowly.  I will admit that it was feeling mildly burny on the way down toward the end.  But we got it down quickly :).  And the timer was on.  Of course, they drew my blood before-hand (after not eating since 10 last night).  I went out and read and waited for an hour and went back in for another blood draw.  Which was done in the same arm, because my veins in my right arm are small, deep, or both!  So yeah, had to get a third draw after the 2 hour mark (again in the same arm).  But it wasn't awful at all.  I also ran into Sylvia, who I used to work with at the County, while I was waiting for my prenatal vitamin refill.  That was a nice surprise :). 

I came back home, took a mini nap, and then headed to pick up a friend's kids to watch them for a couple of hours so she could attend a seminar.  Then it was off to do grocery shopping, and finally back home.  I was beat!  I usually don't get up at 7:15 in the morning these days ;)...  After going to sleep at 2 a.m. at least!  So yeah, I was tired!  And took another nap after getting all the cold stuff put away.  Haha...  And after I woke up, I checked my email and learned the grand news of no gestational diabetes!!!  I'm still pretty stoked about that.  Especially considering I made a whole bunch of these yesterday!

These are "everything bagels" that have parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder (and dried onion in the batter), sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and shredded cheddar cheese.  Yum!  These are supposed to be New York style bagels -- they are very chewy.  We also made garlic parmesan ones and plain ones.  The recipe is here (in case you feel so inclined).  I will say I probably won't make them again -- especially on my own.  I had a friend from church over and she made them with me (she has been making them for a while).  They are wonderfully delicious, but they take quite a bit of effort!  Haha...  And use up a lot of dishes.  Of course, we did make 2 double batches, because otherwise you only get 8!  I don't know... Maybe if I make 2 single batches in the future I might give it a go :).  They are really good.  I have the majority of them individually wrapped and frozen in the freezer.  Then I made almond poppy seed bread (one I made before from pinterest -- so good!).  I gave one loaf to Ani, since she came to help me with bagels and also gave me a bunch of poppy seeds (and those ain't cheap!).  Plus, now I have a loaf for us to eat :). 

And here is one of my projects... The one I mentioned last post.  Getting our 72-hour kits compiled.  Still a work in progress, but I picked up the majority of the food items today during grocery shopping.  I'm close to checking one whole category off the list :)!